Padrem sighed. It had been a long day at the Senate, and all he wanted right now was rest. He ran his hand through his dark hair and went towards his room. Thankfully, Threepio was no where to be see. What he saw when he entered his bedroom surprised him slightly.

Anaka was sprawled in the middle of the bed, on arm on her belly and the other flung across the sheets. Her hair was messy and tangled, leading Padrem to believe she had had a long day as well. He hadn't known she was going to be home. He smiled. He hadn't seem Anaka in a few weeks, and even though they both had things to do tomorrow, sleeping next to her was just what he needed. He changed out of his bulky Senate robes, and into something more comfortable.

Anaka stirred. Padrem sat on the bed next to her and pushed a peice of hair off her face. She clenched her metal hand into a fist. Padrem frowned.

Suddenly, she tossed her head and her body tensed. Her breathing picked up. She clenched both hands into fists, and a frowned appeared on her face.

"No! No, I'm sorry!" she muttered. "I didn't mean it - I- I didn't know, please!" Her cries were frantic and Padrem shook her, trying to wake her up.

"Anaka! Anaka, it's just a nightmare, wake up!"

Anaka's eyes flew open. She stared at Padrem for a moment, then flung her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. Padrem held her tightly and whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

Finally, Anaka sat back and wiped her eyes. Her breathing was still shaky, and Padrem didn't let go. Tentatively, he asked,

"Nightmare?" She nodded. "Want to talk about it?" he asked gently. Anaka took a shaky breath and looked out the window.

"The last mission we went on - Obi-Wan and I - we went to an Outer Rim planet. Um... the people there militarily supported the Sepratists, and we - we had to fight them. Padrem, they were humans! They - we - we had to fight, to /kill/ humans, our own kind! It -" she stopped for a moment as the tears came again. "It was awful! It wasn't like killing battle droids, because we don't actually kill them. We can't! They aren't alive, they were programmed. But the humans? They were living human being, I killed my own kind!" She sounded desperate, distraught. "I can still see the way the light went out of their eyes, the way they knew death was coming and that it was inevitable! I - I haven't slept fully in weeks, Padrem," she finished, looking at him. And Padrem saw the way her eyes were hollow, the normally bright blue were dull. There were bags under her eyes, and the scar glinted especially bright on the darker skin.

Padrem wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She had been through so much, came out so scarred, and Padrem felt more helpless than ever before. He knew she could only confront her demons by herself, but he wished so badly to be able to help. He knew though, that as long as he was with her, she would be able to confront them.

"Sh, my darling Anaka, I am with you," he said softly as she cried once more on his chest.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Padrem," she said hoarsely.

"You would fight. You would keep going. You would survive, just like you did on the harsh deserts of Tatooine," he replied firmly, but gently. Anaka just shook her head. Padrem knew that she didn't believe him.

"Come back to sleep, my love," he said. She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"I told you, I can't. The nightmares with come back."

"No they won't," Padrem said. "I'll keep them away." He pulled her down with him under the sheets, and she pressed herself against his side, buried her face in the crook of his neck. He knew she believed him.

"I love you, Anaka," he whispered in the dark. Just before he fell asleep, he heard,

"And I will always love you, Padrem."

And for the first night in weeks, Anaka sleep soundly with no nightmares.