Finally got around to starting this! The hard part about writing a prequel is trying to make the characters seem... younger and to remember that the things that happened in the other story haven't happened yet. I will do my best to keep continuity, but it is possible I might overlook some of the tiny details I mentioned in BYOR. Sorry ahead of time if that happens! After this prologue chapter there will be a bit of a time skip since the first couple weeks/months are pretty uninteresting as far as this story is concerned. Besides, don't we all want to see Anakin come in soon? I know I certainly do!

Enjoy!

-DFD

Prologue

The sun glowed a light orange as it only just peeked over the horizon. Its rays shimmered across the windows the building that stood before her- calling to her. Padme smiled up at the building from the sidewalk. It was her first day. No longer was she just a medical student, no; today, she is a doctor. Today she starts her surgical internship at Naboo General. It was perfect. One of the finest teaching hospitals in the region and it was just a town away from where she had grown up. Closing her eyes, she imagined all the amazing things she would get to do: transplants, traumas, appendectomies; she could hardly wait.

"Are you just going to stand there?"

Padme opened her eyes and was pleased to see it was only Sabe. They had gone to high school and medical school together along side their other friend Dorme. The three of them had always been inseparable and while Dorme had moved to Coruscant to become a nurse, Padme and Sabe had gone on to become full doctors and eventually surgeons. Padme shook her head, "No, just… taking it in." She said, "Can you believe it? We made it, we actually made it."

Sabe smiled at her, "We made it to the door, now we just have to survive a four year residency."

"Lets get started then." Padme said, a determined look crossing her face as she walked with her head high through the double doors of the hospital.

In the main lobby of the hospital there was already a group of the intern class gathering. She recognized some of them from orientation and while that night was about socializing and making good first impressions on the surgeons they would work under, today was the start of the big game. Today they had to prove they were the best that they deserved to be there.

Not long after their arrival, the chief of surgery came to stand before the large group. Finis Valorum was an older man. His hair already white despite how few wrinkles his skin had. Folding his hands behind his back, he turned and started walking down the corridor, stopping at the end and turning back to them. Without a word, a few of them started to follow and then Valorum turned again and continued down the corridor. Now understanding what he was doing, everyone hurried to follow. It was still early and the ORs were not scheduled for use for another hour or so. The chief led them to OR1 and entered the room, coming to stand just below the window of the observation level. One by one the interns entered, each one looking around either anxiously or excitedly. Valorum eyed each of them as they entered, his blue eyes meeting everyone's, demanding they direct their attention to him without a word. The interns were quick to obey the silent command and the moment it happened he spoke, "Welcome, to Naboo General." He said, "Today marks the first of many challenges you will face in not only your intern year, but all the years to follow. Today you are doctors." A loud cheer started from somewhere in the crowd and soon everyone took up the cheer.

Valorum allowed the excitement for a moment, before he raised his hand to settle them, "At the end of this year, five of you will switch to an easier specialty, and two of you will be asked to leave. Everyone in this room is your competition. If you want to win, be better than them."

Padme glanced at the faces of the interns in the room. Most of them looked like they were ready to fight for their spot as a surgeon, and she looked forward to the challenge they would present her with. At the back of the room, she saw one of the interns shift awkwardly on her feet, her eyes focused on the floor. She didn't recall seeing her at orientation, but based on her reaction she must have just barely gotten into the program. Padme shifted her eyes back to Valorum as he gave out assignments. The girl was no threat to her.

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After being assigned lockers and changing into scrubs for the first time, Padme left with her group of four to find the resident they would be working under. Dr. Silya Shessaun waited for them at the nurse's station. Five pagers were laid out neatly beside her next to two stacks of five pocket sized protocol books. At their approach she looks up from her clipboard to greet them, "Pagers, trauma protocol, and phone list. Take one and follow me." She said. The bluntness of her words confused the interns, as she looked nicer than her words. "Lets go." She said as they hesitated for a moment before springing to grab the materials on the counter then quickly moving to follow behind. "To be clear, I am not your friend. I am your mentor, your superior so don't try to be a brownnoser it doesn't work on me, and it certainly won't work on anyone else here." She said, "And to those of you here because of Grey's Anatomy, just go. This is not a TV show where you're going to fall in love with a cute doctor and have all sorts of drama happen. Either you're here to save lives, or you had better run."

Dr. Shessaun led them through the hospital and gave them the basics of how things are done. As the hour got closer to when the ORs open, slowly the hospital came to life around them. They came to a stop just outside where the MRIs were located. Shessaun pulled out her clipboard and read the list over, "Naberrie, Lago," She called, "run labs for the patients in rooms 2436 and 2198. Bring the results straight to me." Padme met the boy, Lago's eyes for a moment. His shock of red hair and the surprised look on his face made him look more a child than a twenty-something year old doctor. "Well?" Shessaun asked, "Go." With that said Padme and Lago took off as quickly for the patient rooms.

"Um…" Lago started as they walked down the hall towards the elevator, "I'm Ian." He said holding his hand out to her.

"Padme." She responded, shaking his hand once before hitting the call button. The elevator appeared a minute later and she stepped inside, "I'll take 2436. You can take 2198, that okay with you?" she asked once it started moving.

Ian rubbed his hands together, "Um… I guess." He said with a laugh, "Wanna meet up by the elevators then? That way we can deliver the samples to the labs at the same time and get back to Shessaun about the same time as well."

She shook her head, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"What if something is seriously wrong with them? The sooner we get the labs done and the sooner we get the results back, the sooner we can help. If we wait, they could die."

"Is everything a worst case scenario with you?" he asked as they stopped moving and the doors opened allowing them to step out.

Padme narrowed her eyes at him, "No, but it seems I take this job a bit more seriously than you." She turned down the hall and started walking away from him. She heard him scoff as he was left behind and Padme heaved a sigh. This was going to be a long shift.

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Raising the glass to her lips, she threw her head back, taking the shot in one big gulp. Padme scrunched her eyes at the burning sensation of the vodka sliding down her throat. Sabe sat next to her and chuckled at face she made. "Maybe you should stick with wine." She said, "Shots really aren't your thing."

Padme shook her head as she returned the shot glass to the counter, "I know, but I needed this after today." She said, raising her hand to the bartender and ordered a glass of wine, "I was running all over the hospital doing labs with that Ian Lago guy, and he is just so…" Padme shook her head and took a sip of her wine.

Sabe shrugged, "I got assigned to the ER. They had me doing sutures all day."

"You're lucky. I'd rather do sutures than babysit Lago."

She laughed and shook her head, "He is kinda cute…" She said, "Ever think maybe he's flirting with you?"

Padme raised a brow at her, "I haven't dated since-"

"-Since Clovis, I know. Don't you think it's about time to give it a chance?"

She shook her head, "College was a good time to date." She said, "Now, not so much. We work more hours than most and we could be called in at any given moment. Not exactly something most guys would be into."

Sabe gave a shrug, "That's why you go for the guy who is in the same boat. That way they do get it."

Padme sighed and took another swallow of wine, "Maybe some other time. Right now, I just want to get through the year."

Sabe raised her glass, "I hear you. This year is going to suck."

She raised her glass in agreement. The first year as a surgical intern was always the hardest. She knew she most likely wouldn't see the inside of an OR except as an observer. She knew that she was more likely to do her resident's charting than she was to save someone's life. And yet that is what she has to do if she has any chance of being a surgeon. A month ago after graduation when she had been accepted into the intern program, her parents had told her she could come home at any time. That she would always have a place in the family business. But that was what they always said- a bitter reminder that they didn't understand what she wanted to do. They had been trying to get her to peruse any other career but this- something normal. But the fascination with how the body works, and the ways it can be healed had called to her. She wanted to be a doctor. And when the choice to apply for a surgical internship came up, she took it. She knew this year was going to push her to the breaking point. But she can't allow herself to fail, not only for herself, but also to show her parents she isn't built for a cozy little office, but for an OR.