They lay quietly together in the darkness of Padmé's bedroom. Silently, she reached under the covers to take his hand. The cool, metal digits of his fingers flexed in response.

"I've missed you, Ani," she whispered softly, giving his metal hand a gentle squeeze.

"I've missed you too. Every day without you felt longer than the one before. It was agony being away." He turned his head to look at her, gently stroking her cheek.

The moonlight shone through the windows, spilling softly over the bed, and the gentle whirr of Coruscanti traffic serenaded them from outside. Padmé smiled softly, moving to bestow Anakin with a soft kiss. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. After five long months of waiting, worrying shedding an infinite amount of tears, her husband was home. Nothing made her happier.

Anakin took her hand once more, softly kissing each of her fingers. She heaved a small sigh, before moving her hand to stroke the side of his face. She kissed the large mark next to his right eye. This war had scarred them both in ways she shuddered to imagine. Her heart ached, as she stared into the eyes of the man beside her. The light in his eyes, while not altogether lost, had dimmed considerably. The carefree boy she once knew had been replaced by this broken man who'd seen far too much in his young twenty-two years of life.

Reaching over, she stretched out her hand to Anakin's flesh one. She gently placed it on the swell of her belly, over the spot where their child moved within her.

His eyes closed painfully, sending daggers into Padmé's heart. He gently rest his head upon the bulge that was his child, and carefully kissed it. Padmé caressed his head, running her fingers through his hair.

"I don't ever want to leave you again," he murmured softly. "Five months is too long. I've missed far too much already."

"I never minded waiting for you. I understood," she replied. She felt Anakin recoil slightly.

"I minded. There wasn't a day where I didn't want to get in my ship and run home to you." He caressed her belly softly, once more. "I won't miss the birth of our child, Padmé. Even if it means leaving the Order."

Padmé brought his eyes up to meet hers.

"I know you'll be there beside me, Ani." She smiled as the baby lightly kicked, happily surveying Anakin's face as he lit up with joy. The baby seemed to discern exactly where Anakin's hand lay, for the movement was greatest under his metal fingers. His smile was all she needed.

"Our baby, Ani," she said with a smile. "He'll be here soon. He wants to meet you."

"But what if I don't? What if I'm never around because of this idiotic war? I can't bear the thought of our baby growing up around me."

"This baby is a lot to hope for, and it will be difficult," she admitted. "But that doesn't mean that you'll completely miss out on his life. You're going to be here for us, Ani. We're going to do it together." She gently bent to kiss his forehead.

"There's nothing more that I want," he replied. The baby gave another hard kick under Anakin's palm, and he smiled sadly.

"How'll we make this work," he asked looking up at her. Padmé stroked his hair once more.

"We'll manage. Just like we always do. If anyone knows how to escape unnoticed form the Temple, it's you, my love."

He couldn't help but smile at this. After all, he'd had three years to perfect his technique.

"Ani. The war won't last forever. It'll end soon. And you will come back to me. To us."

"I don't want to talk about the war anymore. Right now, this is only about us. About our baby. That's all I need right now."

Padmé beamed at him, grateful for his change of heart. Their times together were too fleeting to be spent in worry.

He cuddled up beside her once more, wrapping his hands around the baby inside her. She turned her head to kiss his shoulder, and he nuzzled her neck.

"You are my everything," he whispered, his hands caressing her middle once more.

Padmé sighed, utterly content. This was how their lives should be: no worrying, no Jedi, no war. It was what they deserved. It was what their baby deserved.

Real life, she knew, would return in the morning. But for now, she was fulfilled. She could pretend she wasn't a senator, that her husband wasn't a Jedi, and that their only worry was whether or not their baby was a boy or a girl.

She brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it gently, relaxing against him. She allowed herself to revel in the feeling of being with her husband. Tonight there would be no repercussions. Tonight, it was just two young lovers excited for the birth of their unborn child.

That was all they both needed. Just a moment to dream.