Disclaimer: I neither own these characters, these planets or anything else in this whole story for that matter.
A/N: I hope that I have put in Yoda's speech correctly as I don't think I am very good at that type of thing. This is my first ever fic. Please be at least vaguely nice to me! This is slightly AU, but mostly not.
This was previously The Inbetween
Summary: what REALLY happens in-between Geonosis and the Naboo wedding.
Geonosis to Naboo
"How is she?" He asked the droid nurse.
The young man had a frown on his face that no nineteen year old should have to tolerate, not even a Jedi padawan learner. His eyes were not on the droid as he asked the question, but on the woman on the large room's bed. She was asleep in one of the healing wing's biggest and the nicest rooms. Anakin Skywalker looked at his love's peaceful face. He wondered when she would awake from her slumbers.
He was already thinking about waking her up, just to see what her reaction would be mainly. Of course, the most pressing reason was to ask her himself how she was, and not just relying on droid technology, that could go wrong at any moment, he knew from experience.
"The senator will be fine Master Jedi. All she needs is some rest. Do you understand? Peace and quiet!"
The droid looked meaningfully into Anakin's face, as if she/it? knew just what he was thinking about. Anakin didn't let the sigh of relief show on his face, or even reach his lips; it was just an inner sigh that only an experienced Jedi would have even noticed.
He dreamt about what they would do together when she was back on her feet; they would go back to Naboo and enjoy the sunlight some more. He would try to wrangle another protection mission, protecting Padmé of course!
Unfortunately for the dreamer, Obi-Wan Kenobi walked into the hospital room just at that moment. As the master of the young padawan, he knew exactly what was going on in the young man's mind as he stood watch the sleeping women on the bed below him.
"My Padawan, don't let your feelings get in the way of your dream of becoming a full Jedi Knight. Anakin, are you listening to a word that I am saying? I am still your master you know, even if I allowed you to go on a mission by yourself and if I will allow you to go on another, again by yourself. Anakin? Anakin? Anakin would you please listen to me?"
"Yes master. No master. Yes master." Was the droned reply.
Anakin only half listened to the usual lecture from his master but bore it well, considering the stress he thought he was under, worrying about his one true love. Only now over the shock of seeing her fall to the ground and fait on the journey home, only now knowing that she was O.K and he would see her again alive and well.
Although Obi-Wan could sense that the padawan's thoughts were certainly not on his words, he couldn't see the point in delving further into Anakin's mind, not just yet anyway. Besides, Obi-Wan thought, the boy probably has his mind shields up. The Jedi Master turned to leave, calling through the Master/Padawan bond to the young man, telling Anakin that they had a meeting with the council in ten minutes. That, in fact, was why he had come to the infirmary room in the fist place.
Obi-Wan knew, of course (he was not really stupid, only a bit 'un-master-like' at times, but even that was terribly rare!), that he could have just called his padawan learner to the council room through their bond, but he thought that it was a good idea to fetch him.
To check the mental state of the young man before meeting with the council was certainly a better idea. It wouldn't go down very well (with Master Windu especially) to have Anakin breaking down with tears, or feeling any kind of tension before seeing the very Jedi Masters who were going to help decide if the padawan was ready to take the trials of master hood before dying, painfully, as a padawan on a mission in the Clone Wars. Even as protection to senator Amidala was a terribly risky mission at a time like this during war when facing becoming part of an empire.
As they left for the nearby Council Chamber, Anakin remembered the day both he and Padmé had received the injuries now burdening both of them. He flexed his metallic right hand, reflecting on the battle in which the evil Sith, Count Dooku, had cut the flesh and blood off at his shoulder.
His machine hand curled into a fist and its owner imagined strangling the Sith, for all the pain and suffering he had caused. Padm's injury had not seemed critical at the time, but when she fell into that sand dune, many types of bacteria had entered her open wounds, causing her to become very ill on the way back to the temple. Anakin thought about the passionate kiss they had shared before going to meet a painful death that day on Geonosis.
Little did they know that they would laugh death in the face and come out on top that day? Anakin thought about the question he was going to ask her when they were finally alone on a transport going back to Naboo. He was sure that he knew what he answer would be, if only he could work up the courage to ask that is!
"Master, why aren't Jedi allowed to marry?"
The young padawan looked cautiously at Obi-Wan. This ought to work, he thought.
"It keeps us from being distracted, that's all, Anakin."
Obi-wan answered carefully – he didn't want to accuse his padawan just yet.
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh! No reason, I was just interested that's all Master, really!"
Anakin knew that his master couldn't be distracted for long through questions seemingly unrelated to anything, so he stopped after just this one. All he wanted to do was to keep Obi-Wan in his own mind, and out of his padawan's. The only way the young man knew how to that was to bombard the master with questions that aren't easy to answer. It seemed that it worked, as they were now at the council room.
His master was not really convinced, but as they had reached the Council Room, he gave his mind to more pressing matters.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly as she surveyed the unfamiliar scene around the white bed she had been placed on. She wondered how long she had been in the large, uncoloured room, and why her handmaidens were not in her range of sight.
"Where am I? What am I doing here? What date is it? What is the time? Where is everyone? When did I get here? How long have I been in here? Why can't I remember any thing?"
Padmé Amidala Nadberie asked these questions randomly, without any thoughts as to whom or what she was asking, or whether she would even get an answer. Unsatisfied, but aware of the fact that she would not, the young women lay back down in the soft comforts of the plain white sheets and soft pillows (not unlike the ones in her homely, if not large, quarters in the senate building), and tried to remember the last thing she was conscious for.
"Ani!!!"
That was the first thing she saw as she closed her dark, chocolate brown eyes. Padmé saw Anakin Skywalker, with only one arm, lying on the floor with a ship flying into the faint distance. She could not remember anything more than the fact that they managed to get the injured padawan onto another ship heading to Courasant. Judging by that fact, Padmé assumed that she was in the temple, but did not know why she was here.
She was now quite frantic with worry over him. At Geonosis, she had told him that his love for her was returned to him. She had finally admitted her feelings for him. Finally admitted that she had also been dying a little bit each day since he had come back into her life. What would she now do without him? Padmé, at that moment, had no doubt in her mind that, without Anakin, she would probably die a slow and painful death of her mind, closely followed by the rest of her body and soul. If she didn't die, she would live in doom and gloom. Only knowing darkness forever more. Never to see happiness or light again. She would never again know love as she knew now.
Anakin was aware of it. Even if the other masters were not. Padmé was awake. She was awake, and if he knew her as he hoped, the senator was tearing her hair out with worry about something. In a way, Anakin hoped she was worried about him, but then he was the source of the worry waves that were fighting their way to him through the force!
"Agree with Master Kenobi, you do?"
Suddenly, Anakin was jerked back to the present, shaking away the dreamland where he and Padmé were always together, with no worries or assassination attempts to think about.
"I apologise Master Yoda, my mind was elsewhere."
"Keep your focus in the here and now, you should"
"Yes Master. I'm deeply sorry, Master."
Various members of the council hid grins behind sometimes too small mouths at that simple apology. Master Kenobi however gave his 'young' padawan 'the look', silently giving Ani a warning between them. Anakin heard the unspoken message as clearly as if it had been shouted into his ear: do that again young one, and you will be cleaning out the 'fresher for the next 3 months. Excluding missions, so don't think you can get away with it that easily Anakin. Anakin winced as he thought of the punishment – that had to be some form of abuse, although he couldn't think of it at that moment!
"Young One?" Anakin winced again, why did they have to use that name for him, even at the age of 19? I suppose anyone is young compared to that old toll, he thought. At least this time he had caught what was said and so was able to reply,
"I agree Master, all the evidence we have points to the Sith behind the assassination attempts and the rumours flooding around outside a noticeable Jedi's path. I think that all top security members of the senate such as senator Amidala, should be placed under immediate protection of the Jedi."
"Settled, it is. Senator Amidala, under Padawan Skywalker's protection, shall she remain. Leave in the morning, you will.
"Master Obi-Wan, the bottom of the mystery, you shall find"
Anakin stood at her doorway. Although he had heard her say that she was going to bed, the force was telling him that she was not asleep. Something was bothering Padmé. This was probably why she had told Sabe to take over as the senator to the Naboo.
The padawan knocked cautiously on the door. It took great courage to do even this small task. Just being around her was intoxicating and not being able to be with the one person he loved more than his dead mother was just infuriating.
The knocks haunted him as Anakin waited for what seemed, to him to be an age of not knowing. An age of anger and uncertainty. Each knock bringing him closer to the reason he existed, the real reason that he, Anakin was in the universe, to be with his love. To be with Padmé. It didn't matter that he was a Jedi, and she was part of the senate, all that mattered to him was they being with each other for other for eternity.
I can do this, he thought; all it takes is a little amount of stupidity, confidence and courage.
Anakin had exhausted all of his patience on waiting for her voice to answer his frantic knocking, so he forced the door open with a simple thought.
"Sorry, I knocked, but..."
He couldn't finish his sentence, for he was pushed over by an overwhelming force – Padmé had flung herself on top of him and was sobbing uncontrollably on top of him.
Anakin was so unprepared for this that he was immediately flung to the floor with Padmé, crying softly, laying on top of him. As he wondered what she was doing, the embarrassed young man absentmindedly caressed her head, and whispered sweet nothings in her ear, to try and calm her down.
"I'm so glad that it's you! I don't want to loose you. Not yet."
Anakin was sure he didn't know what the senator was talking about. Then he realised that she knew she was going back to Naboo for a long time to lie low and recuperate.
"No, no, no. I'm coming with you back to Naboo and staying with you, at least for half a year. You're not going to loose me. You," he stopped, and looked at her tearstained face and pointed at her on each syllable, "are stuck with the slowest learning padawan in the entire temple!"
"I wouldn't choose anyone else in the world, Mr. Slow Learner. You are the only one for me"
"Really? The only one?
Anakin stared in amazement. He, Anakin Skywalker was the one for Padmé. Now the time to tell her what he had wanted to say for a long time.
"Padmé, um... well... I love you... and well... I'd like it... well... if you would... Padmé? Will you marry me?
"Ohmygosh!"
Padmé fell down in a dead faint and as Anakin lifted her, she opened her eyes and asked if it was a dream, to the amazement of the man holding her. He looked cross, but the remembered the shock that had been his when Padmé had told him that she loved him.
"No, it's not a dream Padmé. This is real, I love you, and I want to marry you"
"Of course I'll marry you Ani! I love you!"
Anakin was so happy that he stood up, and did a war dance with his wife-to-be.
"I want a small wedding. Just you, me, the minister, and R2 D2 and C3 PO of course"
"Anything you want, Sweetie" She hated pet names of any kind Full Stop.
Anakin was so pleased; he would have said, "yes" to anything that she suggested.
It's all over!
That wasn't too bad, was it?
PLEASE REVIEW. Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top and strawberries and ice cream and chocolate sauce and ... you get the idea!