Laying in Obi Wan Kenobi's arms, Dorme felt safer than she had ever felt in her entire life. She felt like a proper woman and not the old maid she thought she would someday become.

For her, there were no big breaks. She wasn't like Anakin, a little slave boy with Force powers, nor like Obi Wan, delivered into a life of prestige since birth. Nor was she like Padme, from a family with enough connections to mold her into a powerful politician.

She was Dorme. Just plain ole Dorme. Pretty but not pretty enough. Smart, but not smart enough. Talented, but not quite talented enough…

Unlike the others, she'd been handed into poverty by the death of parents. A curse, in the Republic. Without protection, someone to watch over you, you were all but finished. You could be captured and taken as a slave or forced to accept a life of servitude. Lucky for her she was pretty enough to take a job as Padme Amidala's handmaiden. The only risk was being killed as one of her look-a-like security guards.

Despite all of her shortcomings, Dorme had something the others didn't… strength and the will to survive.

Obi Wan raked his fingers through the tendrils of her hair. His eyes were closed and she could feel the heat of his breath against the side of her face. They'd made a little cocoon, just for themselves underneath the blanket. He had a pleasant smell and Dorme liked being close to him. She coiled her legs around his, wrapped his other arm around her waist and snuggled close.

She couldn't love him. She didn't love him. But he was enough… for now.

"I can't stop thinking about them."

"About who?" Anakin asked.

"Obi-Wan."

"Are you trying to make me jealous?"

Anakin sat up and turned on the light.

"What?"

"Are you trying to make me jealous?"

"Jealous of what?"

"We're about to make love and you're thinking about Obi Wan."

"We're about to make love?"

"Fine. Be that way."

Anakin threw the covers back and climbed out of bed.

"What are you so upset about?"

Padme climbed out of bed and followed him out onto the veranda, which overlooked the lake. They saw little bibble bugs flittering about the brush, their little blue tails aglow. Waves crashed against the shore and droplets of rain began to fall.

Anakin held tight to the stone railing and gripped it with his mechanical hand. Padme wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his bare back.

"Something else is bothering you, isn't it?"

He looked over the side of his shoulder at her face. Padme's eyes were closed. She inhaled the intoxicating scent of early morning dew forming on the blades of grass just below them.

"You said you forgave us. But you lied. You were thinking about it just now... I sensed it."

"What are you talking about?"

Anakin shirked her arms away and spun around.

"Dorme. You know it was an accident. But you're holding it against us."

"US?" Padme shrieked. Her heart thunked in her chest like a metal ball.

"—I didn't mean it that way."

A tormented look fell across his face.

"You didn't think about what happened anymore until she married Obi Wan because it puts her on equal footing with you. Before, she was just a handmaiden."

Padme looked down at her hands. "I told you the past is behind us. We've both done things to hurt each other. But it's over now."

"Then why were you thinking about it?"

"Am I not free to have my own thoughts?" Seeing the angry look on Anakin's face, Padme drifted toward the house. "I didn't realize I was even thinking about it, actually… I guess, I'm a little worried."

"So you don't trust me?"

"She's a beautiful woman."

"Not more beautiful than you."

"Beauty has nothing to do with it," Padme protested.

"You just said it did. Don't tell me you're threatened by her now."

"It's not you. It's… the way she looked at you today."

"The way she looked at me? Now you're seeing things."

"And the way she DIDN'T look at Obi Wan!"

"Not that again!"

Anakin stormed by Padme , turned the light off, and climbed back into bed. But Padme hotly marched in behind him and turned the light back on.

"We're not going to bed angry," she yelled.

"Fine. Then we'll just go to bed."

Padme sat beside Anakin and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry if my thoughts made you uncomfortable. I know the Dorme situation was difficult for you. But you agreed to forgive her, I forgave her. Doesn't mean I'll ever trust her again."

"Because she's married to Obi Wan? You care about him that much?"

"Of course I do. He's been like a brother to me. And like a father to you."

"Like a brother? Or something more?"

"What are you getting at?" Padme asked, squinting her eyes suspiciously.

"I'm not getting at anything."

"Can we put this behind us now? Is it okay to love our friend of so many years and to feel concern for his well being?"

"If Obi Wan wants to be with Dorme then that's his affair. Not ours."

"You said you didn't like it either!"

"But you don't see me butting my nose into their business, do you?"

"Fine," Padme said.

She laid beside Anakin on her side and tucked the blanket down the center of the bed, dividing it in half.

"I'm sorry…" Anakin started. "Can we go to sleep now?"

"Of course, I'm more than happy to go to sleep!" she snapped.

"You said we're not going to sleep angry with each other."

"I changed my mind."

"I forgive you," Anakin teased.

Padme closed her eyes. After a few moments of calming herself down, she drifted into sleep… until, the baby began to kick, and turn flips in her stomach.

Padme sat up again, folding her arms.

"What now?" Anakin grumbled.

"The baby's kicking. You know I can't sleep when she's awake."

"He…"

Padme sighed. "It's your fault. If you didn't get me so worked up…"

"I'll pour you a glass of warm milk. Will that help?"

"If you would go to the convenience store and bring me a mug of tea and ice cream… "

Anakin groaned and climbed out of bed. He'd grown used to late night trips to the convenience store. And if he was lucky, they'd have exactly what Padme wanted. Or, he might find himself on the other side of town looking for it. The last thing he wanted to see was her disappointed face, should his late night mission go unaccomplished. It had happened before and it wasn't pretty.

Dorme sat in their bed awake, as Obi Wan slept off the takeout they'd ordered for dinner. Not quite the romantic meal for a wedding night, but as he'd said, being together was the only thing that mattered. Dorme sighed. She almost, just almost felt bad for misleading him. She liked him after all. He just wasn't the man for her.

She thought of all the things Obi Wan Kenobi's prestige could do for her reputation. Maybe, she'd leave her work as a child caregiver at the Order and fulfill her dreams of owning a crystal shop. He'd do anything for her. She saw to that personally.

Dorme smiled, thinking of their night together. But she had to be careful. No children should ever result from the relationship. It was only a temporary arrangement, after all. What a mistake that would be! So she did what she could to protect herself. PAPER LEAVES! Papers Leaves were a form of birth control.

Dorme climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. She searched the medicine cabinet for more Paper Leaves, but found an empty box.

Dorme swore under her breath and left the bathroom. She tip toed past the bed where Obi Wan was still asleep, crept to the closet, stepping quietly on her toes, and grabbed the fastest thing she could slide her body into. A light blue dress. She'd need the Paper Leaves before morning. There's no telling what could happen between them before then. After all, it was their wedding night.

She slid the dress over her body and ran outside. A trip to the drug store would do the trick. She'd be back before he rolled over and realized she was gone.

Inside the cottage, laying in bed next to the cool empty space she left behind, Obi Wan Kenobi slowly opened his eyes.