At first Padme only dozed lightly, twitching awake as Anakin moved or muttered in his sleep. But she must have fallen into a deeper sleep eventually, as she was startled out of it by Anakin sitting up abruptly. He looked at her with an expression of utter horror as she blinked back sleepily, saying frantically "Force, Padme, I am so sorry. I never meant for that to happen. How badly did I hurt you? Should I call for a doctor? I... I truly didn't plan to..."

She sat up and took hold of his arms. He might be awake but he wasn't exactly back to normal yet, whatever the reason. "It's all right" She insisted, shaking him gently to get his attention. "You didn't hurt me. You didn't do anything. You just wanted me to hold onto you while you were sleeping. Nothing else."

"I didn't...?" he waved generally at her body.

Oh gods this nightie's almost see-through, she thought. "No you didn't... try anything"

He was fetching her robe from the chair and handing it to her, looking away until she was covered up.

"Do you feel a bit better now?" How do you ask - Were you spiced and do you do that often?

"Not very often, just... sometimes when things upset me. I'll be all right after a bit more sleep."

My expression must be so totally obvious, I know I didn't ask out loud.

"Oh sorry, didn't realise. My head's not really straight yet. The spice makes everything sort of vague and out of focus. But the focus comes back before my control does. There isn't usually anyone around to have to put up with it. Just don't think about anything secret for a while. I'm not deliberately looking, but stuff on the surface... stuff you nearly say...? It's right there." He yawned. "I should head back to my own room and catch a couple more hours. Then I'll be back to normal." He giggled. "Normal. Some chance. Back to usual, anyway. Sorry 'bout looking inside your head. S'rude. I try not to."

"Are you seriously telling me that you can read my thoughts?"

"Mmm? Oh, yeah. But I don't, mostly. That would be rude."

Padme considered the possibility seriously for about thirty seconds, before deciding it was one of those 'not dealing with reality' spice things, and that he was just good at reading expressions and guessing what anyone was likely to be thinking in this situation.

"No, really. It's the Force. Do you know about that? It's in everything and between everything and some people are sensitive to it, and I am, and it means most people's thoughts are pretty easy to read and influence. Other stuff too. I'll show you. Later though, bad idea with my head like this. Honest - here, do you feel that?" She shook her head. "OK how about this?" She shivered; it felt as if a hand had touched the inside of her head somewhere, firmly but gently. "That's me. If I do it lighter again you'll probably feel it now you know what it's like." Another brush against her thoughts, lighter than the last. Then a third. Then a fourth, so light she might have doubted it if Anakin hadn't grinned and nodded at her questioning expression.

"See? Now if I do it, you'll know. But I don't mean to pry in your head, thoughts ought to be private. It's all just too much otherwise." He yawned again. "Sorry. Best get my head down for a bit. Thank you for being nice and not too weirded out."

And with that he picked up his boots and clothes from the floor and headed out of the room. For a moment his whole body was bathed in a shaft of early sunlight from the window. Wow, he looks good naked. Padme blushed, catching herself in the thought. Was he still able to hear her? A brush against her thoughts made that a definite yes. Somehow the contact managed to convey both amusement and pleasure in just that brief contact.

Padme settled back down in bed to try to get a bit more sleep herself. That had to be one of the oddest nights of her life, though not for the reasons she had first thought it was going to be. She didn't doubt him; he had some strange ability to read her thoughts. And, if the rest of what he had said was true, to influence them, which was even more worrying. But he had been clear enough that he didn't plan to do either of those things normally. And what had he meant about the Force? She had heard of it, but only vaguely. It was part of the banned Jedi religion. But surely it was just a spiritual concept, just another variation on the whole 'soul/spirit/life force/interconnectedness of all things' that many religions preached? He had spoken as if it were a genuine thing, something which could actually affect real life, rather than an analogy which taught important truths wrapped up in a pretty story.

She closed her eyes and yawned. Hopefully he would be prepared to talk about it tomorrow, and she would find out whether he did believe in it. There had been rumours that he was an ex-Jedi after all. Perhaps he had picked up parts of their teaching and used them as an explanation for something which science did not yet have an answer to.

She rose late the next morning, and then settled down to her academic studies. If she hoped to take her qualifications at the standard time then she needed to be focussed and catch up on what she had missed during the past weeks. She was engrossed in a chemistry lesson on the holonet when the door unexpectedly opened and Mark showed in an elderly man leaning heavily on a stick, rather stammeringly explaining that Lord Vader was not at home. Padme looked on in shock as she belatedly recognised Emperor Palpatine and stood up nervously. Should she bow? Curtsey? Kneel? Her experience of Imperial protocol so far had been a few holonet news articles showing fancy ceremonies at the Palace, which gave no clues what you were supposed to do if the Emperor turned up in your living room without warning.

Though perhaps she shouldn't be surprised. Lord Vader was his second in command. Why shouldn't he come to the house if he wanted to?

She settled for bobbing down in what she hoped would pass as a curtsey, only to hear an amused voice saying "How charming! Oh you don't need to stand on ceremony for me, my dear. I just thought that I would stop by. Perhaps a cup of tea...?" Mark bowed low "At once, your majesty" and left the room backwards. Padme fiddled nervously with the hem of her top. What were you supposed to do? "Would... would you like to sit down, your majesty?" She gestured vaguely at the comfortable seats by the window, and sat down after he had done so.

He continued to smile disarmingly at her, but she couldn't help thinking that he had not got to be Supreme Chancellor and then Emperor by being a charming old man, and wondered just why he was here. After all, he would presumably know where Lord Vader was, or would at least check he was home before stopping by unannounced. Which meant he was here quite deliberately to see her, in Lord Vader's absence. Though... she frowned and looked at the door. Surely that was Anakin nearby? The fleeting sense of his presence faded. It must have been her imagination.

"I do hope I am not disturbing your studies, my dear? You made quite the picture of the dedicated young schoolgirl sitting there." She blushed. Schoolgirl might be true but it wasn't exactly the impression she would hope to give to someone she met for the first time, especially in these circumstances.

"I must confess I was somewhat... taken aback... by quite how young you are. Though of course Anakin is scarcely more than a child himself in many ways, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised at the attraction. But I do hope... no, it's not my place to say anything. You are old enough to know your own mind I am sure, and won't thank an old man for interfering in your personal affairs."

"Oh, um, it's all right. You've known Anakin for much longer. And he works for you, so of course you have an opinion..." she trailed off, not quite sure what she was saying or why, beyond trying to reassure him that she didn't intend to be rude about him showing an interest.

He looked at her shrewdly for a moment before continuing. "Anakin... can be a lovely boy. And of course he's a dashing young man, tall and handsome. I can quite see the appeal. But... well, he is so very young, not just in years but in his outlook on life. I had hoped, when I adopted him, that he might settle down a little more, once he got over the loss of his dear mother of course. But he is not so very different now from how he was then. Impetuous is hardly the word. His attention span... well, I don't think I ever saw him pay attention to his lessons the way you are obviously capable of! They do say that young women are naturally the more mature of the sexes. Perhaps he will surprise me some day. But... well, I feel it would be unkind of me not to warn you to be careful of giving your heart too quickly. No matter how besotted he may be today, I'm afraid that tomorrow may bring some new fascination to tempt him and you may find yourself feeling... well let us say a little let down."

Padme blushed in confusion. He seemed to be assuming that the situation was quite different from reality. Had Anakin not spoken to him? Should she say something? No. Anakin was temperamental at best. If he hadn't chosen to tell his... adopted father?... that he planned to impregnate a young woman, then it wasn't her place to set the cat among the pigeons.

He was continuing again "Well, I'm sure you don't want an old man telling you what you should do. But, if you should ever feel the need of a friend, I do hope that you will think of me. If you call the Palace, or even just come there, I will make sure that you are welcomed and given any help or support that you might need. You will remember that, won't you? That you are not alone in the world?"

She nodded gratefully. He seemed so very sweet and kind. If Anakin lost interest in her, now or later, then it was good to know there was at least one person she could contact for assistance.

They chatted a little longer, and drank the tea that Mrs Bridges brought on a silver tray, and then the Emperor took his leave and Padme was left to her thoughts.

When Lord Vader returned later, he found her sitting gazing out of the window. He stamped around the room, muttering under his breath about it not being fair. Padme had to admit that the Emperor's assessment of him as immature was an accurate one. He was the very epitome of a sulky teenager at the moment. And, on last night's evidence, prone to bouts of other adolescent behaviour as well. What if he lost interest in her as quickly as the Emperor seemed to think likely? A pregnancy lasted nine months. That was plenty of time in which to get bored of waiting for anything. He might be fed up with the whole idea of a child before it was even born. The Emperor's promise to be a friend to her if she needed one took on an extra significance, which he surely had not intended when he said it. But the fact remained that it might be the baby's adopted grandfather who was the one to support and raise it, while its biological father might be in and out of its life on a whim whenever he found it entertaining, rather than a stable long-term influence.

He had finally stopped pacing around and sat down heavily opposite her. "So. Did you promise to hand over the baby as soon as it's born? Or just to let him train it when it's old enough?"

Padme looked at him in some confusion. "We didn't talk about babies at all. I don't think he even knows that's what you're planning, does he?"

"Of course he does. I can't breathe out of turn without him knowing all about it."

That sounded frankly paranoid, and Padme recalled other comments about the Emperor and how 'controlling' he was.

"Well, he didn't mention babies or pregnancy. And neither did I. He seemed to think I was... your girlfriend. He was more worried that I might fall in love with you and get my heart broken, to be honest. I don't think he knows anything about the rest of it. How could he, if you haven't told him?"

"He doesn't worry about being rude."

"Pardon?" What had that to do with anything?

"I told you. I don't look at your thoughts because it's rude. He didn't get to be Emperor by letting little moral qualms like that get in the way of what he wants."

"You're suggesting that he can read people's thoughts too? Like you did last night?"

"Exactly"

"And how would he do that?" Padme was starting to get quite worried about Anakin. It was bad enough for him to believe that he could read her thoughts - her conviction that he had managed it last night had faded with the dawn. It just wasn't something that people could do. And it wasn't something that sane people believed in. It certainly wasn't something that sane people went around accusing other people of doing. Which left a fairly major question over whether temperamental, impetuous, immature Anakin was playing with a full deck. And what the implications for her might be if he was not.

He was frowning at her now. "I could convince you if I wanted to. But I promised myself that I would never do that to anyone I cared about, and never about anything important. It's different when it's military, that's justified. This wouldn't be." He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair and looked around the room. "OK. So this was the room where he was? He came in, you were at the desk, studying. You stood up and you both sat over here and drank tea?"

She nodded, as he got up and prowled around the room.

"Have you moved things since he was here?"

"No. I couldn't concentrate, so I just turned off the holonet and sat here. I've been looking at the garden and thinking."

"And nobody would have come in to tidy the room while you were here?"

She shook her head. He was standing by the door now, looking around, and then suddenly grinned. "Come here and look"

She walked across to the door, unsure what he was thinking, and then followed the direction of his gaze. On the desk directly beside where she had been sitting was a stack of books she had planned to read later. They were all about pregnancy and babies. Even if the Emperor's eyesight wasn't perfect, the huge grinning baby on the cover of the top one would have been a clear indication of the contents. Padme frowned. The Emperor had made no comment, had deliberately talked in ways which didn't mention pregnancy. Of course he could just have been politely ignoring it. But why give her warnings about getting her heart broken when he could have given a much starker warning about the perils of going into a pregnancy with a man who lacked emotional maturity? Most adults, in her experience at least, were quick to point out that pregnancy was something to be planned very carefully, and were keen to warn young women not to let their hearts (or any other part of their anatomy) over-rule their head in such matters. Most of the 'health education' classes were focussed on avoiding getting pregnant, avoiding getting others pregnant, waiting till you were 'older', and so on. So why not say something?

"Whether he read your thoughts or not, he had some idea we were thinking about having a child. Now do you at least accept that maybe he isn't always 100% truthful?"

Padme nodded. That much at least she could agree to.

"What else did he seem to think? Or suggest?"

Padme thought about it, and then said slowly "He seemed not to know about my status. But he must have seen this." She waved her arm with its security bracelet. "He must have seen it before, or known about it. You said the girl before was an Imperial prisoner? So, he saw her, yes? Wearing this. He knew what it was. He knew I was a slave. So why talk about me going to the Palace if I wanted his help?" The more she thought about it, the odder it seemed. He had been persuasive, leading her to believe that he thought her some chance girlfriend that Anakin had picked up, who might be naive enough to fall in love and then be heart-broken when he lost interest. But he had known she was a slave, and that Anakin was planning to get her pregnant. She could hardly have bought the books for herself without Anakin's agreement, so the plan must be his rather than hers.

"He wanted me to think he would be my friend, if I needed one, if you lost interest in me. And... he wanted me to think you wouldn't be a very reliable father. So... I guess you were right. He wanted me to come to him, when I was pregnant or after the baby arrived. To let him help me. Why does he want that? Would he want me to get rid of the baby? But you said... you're not allowed to say no if he tells you to do things. So, he could order you not to do this, couldn't he?" Anakin nodded silently. "So he isn't stopping us from having a baby. He wants us to carry on and have it, and then for me to go to him for help when you turn out not to be interested, or if I get worried about something."

"I always knew you were intelligent as well as pretty." His voice sounded genuinely admiring. "Now do you see why he is so dangerous?"

She nodded. "But... why bother being persuasive? From what you said he could just... make me think things, or do things, for no reason at all..." Against her better judgement, she was starting to believe what Anakin had told her. Then she frowned, remembering something. "Were you here, earlier? In the corridor, or the garden?" He shook his head. "I could have sworn..."

"You felt something? Like last night?"

She nodded. "Yes, like that. Just for a moment. And I thought it must be you, coming back. I looked up at the door thinking you must be just outside. But then it faded and you weren't there. I thought I had just imagined it."

"That was him" Anakin said soberly. "He could have read everything out of your mind directly, though I guess he didn't have to. We haven't exactly made it hard for him to know what we're planning. But he had to be more subtle, not knowing how much I might have already trained you to block him, or at least to make sure his influence was clearly visible to me."

She frowned again "You could teach me to stop that?"

"To some extent. I think you have the capacity for that at least. Many people do, though they usually never realise it."

"Please do. I hate the idea of him wandering around inside my head. He was good enough at manipulating me without that. I really thought he was worried about a young woman having her heart broken, and wanted to be a friend to me when it happened. What is he really after?"

Anakin looked very sober. "He wants to be the one to raise the child. Or at least to have a major influence on its life from an early age. He didn't manage it with me. I was nine when he found me. The Jedi used to train children from two or three, and he was in favour of that. He thought that was the best way to be sure of their loyalty, because they were too young to have learned to be loyal to anyone else. So he wants to have that chance with another child, another Force-sensitive. He can't father a child himself, and he has had no success from cloning, so it has to be an ordinary pregnancy and an ordinary baby."

Padme felt a chill. "Anakin... why do you want to have a child? Is that what this is about for you too? Wanting someone to train, to mould? Because that's... that's not a good reason for bringing a child into the world. You should want them for their own sake, not for what you can turn them into."

His expression grew very distant and cold. "Why I want a child is none of your concern. You are here because it suits me to conceive a child with you. My reasons are irrelevant. When your birthday has passed, I will get you pregnant. Until then you should focus on your studies so that you are ready for the responsibility I am giving you." And with that he turned and walked out of the room without another word.

Padme stood gazing unseeing towards the garden. She wasn't sure either of them was a good person to raise a child.