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He was coming home! Anakin was coming home! No more fearing for his life every single day. She didn't have to worry any more. She would now be able to see him. Actually see him with her own eyes! No more viewing his face through a comlink's small screen. He'd be right in front of her!

She was nearly jumping for joy at the thought, but….No, not now. She wasn't going to worry about it now. There would be time to think about everything over once he was home and safe in her arms.


"Calm yourself, my young…Anakin." Anakin turned and looked at his former Master with an amused expression.

"You keep forgetting that I'm a Knight, don't you?" Obi-Wan smiled and turned away. He kept forgetting how much things had changed over the past few months. He looked back at Anakin and realized that, just because his rank had changed, it didn't mean he had. Anakin was gazing out the window, nearly jumping out of his seat with excitement.

Obi-Wan could make a good guess at what would make his former Padawan so jumpy, but he wasn't going to voice his opinions on the subject. Silence was best in this case. As Obi-Wan pondered all this, Anakin was lost in his own thoughts. I can feel her presence. We're close. We're finally close to home.


Padmé tried to keep awake. It was mid-afternoon, and Anakin was coming….She was tired – exhausted, in fact. She shouldn't be so tired. But something was plaguing her mind, and she couldn't let it go. She hadn't slept in days. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt that darkness that wouldn't let her go. The lack of sleep was dragging her down. However torturous it would be, she needed to rest.

A glance at the chrono told her she had the time. She went into the bedroom and slipped into a long, flowing, white nightgown. She then went to take a nap of less-than-sweet dreams….

In the darkness, an iron hand closed around her throat. She couldn't breathe. The hand was harsh enough to bruise her and hurt like hell, but it loosened just enough to let her breathe some ragged breaths. She turned to look for help, but there was only darkness. It surrounded her and held her in a prison cell that she couldn't see. If she could only have some source of life, she might be able to escape her tormentor's grasp. Darkness and the unseen attacker worked together to make their victim feel helpless.

She couldn't fight any more as she realized that the tiny bit of light that she had held inside was fading fast. In a last attempt, she screamed repeatedly for help. The last tiny shred of control that she had held on to evaporated as she realized that she couldn't scream for Anakin. But it was worse, because she wasn't even sure if he could help anyway.