Exiled

Disclaimer: Owner by Joss Whedon, George Lucas and the master of this crossover, Drew Niehaus.

Notes: Beginning year two…

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You're Still the One

This was their second chance, their time to begin anew.

It was the vase of freshly-picked sunflowers that first caught her eye. She smiled at the simplicity of the gesture as she fixed her morning tea. It was during this time that she missed Threepio the most. He had been her companion and he made impeccable tea.

She knew Anakin was off with the Jedi already. He usually met with the Jedi that went on night patrol. She knew he was there mostly for Buffy's benefit, but she had a feeling Faith was in on it too. Anakin seemed to have a soft spot where Slayers were concerned.

She wasn't really worried about it. She'd heard the younger Slayers talking in hushed, excited whispers about how beautiful Anakin was. If it had been two years ago, she never would have doubted Anakin's heart. But now, she knew she doubted herself. After everything they had been through, she couldn't be sure anymore.

But the sunflowers were really very pretty.

After making her tea, she moved to their small living room. A small fireplace adorned one wall. The mantle had a shiny vase on it with dried flowers. There were pictures lined on the entire surface. She smiled as she saw pictures of her children. Luke and Leia were toddlers in these images. There was also a picture of Anakin and Buffy. He was towering over her and she was glaring up at him. It was a cute image and it clearly showed how close the two were.

Clearing her throat, she set the picture aside and moved to their bedroom. She needed to dress for work.

Once in her office, which was basically a corner of another office, she smiled at the shelf with the twin butterfly picture frames. These were pictures that her parents and Owen and Beru Lars had saved of her babies. Every morning when she walked in here, she looked at her pictures in the attempt to convince herself that they were doing the right thing.

"Angel?"

"Hi," Padmé said, turning around and spying her husband under the doorway. "I liked the flowers."

"They sort of reminded me of the flowers back on Naboo," Anakin said easily, striding into the office and folding her into his arms. She sighed happily as she rested her cheek against his chest.

"I wasn't aware you needed to apologize for anything though," Padmé said with a teasing smile as she pulled back, moving to her desk and sitting down.

"What?"

"The flowers. They either say I'm sorry or they're for a special occasion. I'm assuming that since there really is no occasion that—"

"Actually, there is an occasion," Anakin said slowly as he sat down on the edge of her desk. "I know it's not your birthday. Our kids are aging faster than we are. And I'm pretty sure we didn't win those lottery sweepstakes that for some odd reason we keep getting tickets for. But there is a reason and the reason is that five years ago today you told me something on the day we were going to die."

"Oh," was all Padmé could say as she looked away. She spied that there were stacks of papers and folders on her desk. She knew they were reports from the Slaying teams and budgets and proposals and everything else that Sir Nigel could throw at her. But suddenly this new job didn't seem to matter. "I'm sorry I didn't remember."

"I'm sorry I let you forget."

Padmé glanced up at him questioningly. "Annie..."

"No, Padmé," he said, taking her hand and moving around the side of her desk and dropping to his knees. "I need you to listen to me. I let things get bad between us. I was just trapped between a rock and a hard place."

"But your sister—"

"I should never have let her intervene like that," Anakin murmured. "We should have been able to work it out ourselves."

"Anakin, if she hadn't seen what she saw, you would be over there following the Empire and I would probably be dead, along with our son and daughter."

"I should have been strong enough."

"Oh, no, Annie," she whispered, using her free hand to touch his face and tip it towards hers. "Nobody can be that strong."

"But I need to be," Anakin said, desperate for her to understand.

"Anakin, you're a Jedi. No matter what happened between us, you're a Jedi first."

"It shouldn't come first," Anakin said darkly. "That's why things went bad. I was trapped by the Council into working for Palpatine and I was this close to killing my best friend, my brother… and I almost killed you. I don't want to think what would have happened if Luke or Leia—"

"But we're here now," Padmé comforted him as he bent his head. "We're safe and our kids are safe and—"

"We don't know how long they'll be safe."

"Anakin, you can no more read the future than stop death," Padmé sighed, leaning back in her chair. Anakin stood quickly and began to pace, his steps becoming more and more erratic. "Don't do this to yourself. Don't—"

"We should have another child."

She felt her hand fly to her mouth before she could stop the sharp gasp. "Excuse me?"

"I just feel like we should be doing something. I mean, I'm here and you're… you're there. And I don't like it and I feel like I'm being torn apart because I love you so much that I think it's going to kill me."

"Anakin…"

"I let my duty get in the way of things before. But I'm a different person now. I know what the dark side is like. I don't want that life. Not for us and certainly not for our kids. But I need to know if I'm on the right path—"

"Anakin." Padmé stood up and moved to her husband, even as he paced back and forth in front of her.

"I almost killed you." His voice stopped her dead in her tracks. "I love you so much and in that moment…"

"I know," she whispered. "I was there, remember?"

"But how can you—"

"Because I love you," Padmé said simply, walking over and placing her hands on Anakin's arms. "I love you and I trust you and I forgive you. You'll just have to accept that. We're both growing up now, Anakin. We're learning about our place in the world. You are a Jedi. You are maybe one of the best Jedi in the history of the Order. A wife couldn't be prouder. And now that they're relaxing the rules on Jedi marrying… you can have your duty and you can have your family, too."

"Right now, I don't have a family. Half of my heart and my soul have been ripped out and are on Tatooine and Naboo. I can't stand this," he said, walking over to the pictures on her shelf and holding one out. The picture of an infant Luke stared back at Padmé, bitterly reminding her of the sacrifices they both had made.

"We made this choice," Padmé replied, taking the picture and placing it lovingly back on the shelf. "We made it together. This is for the best. When the time is right, our children will be back with us. Until then, perhaps we should concentrate on our lives here instead of procreating."

Anakin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "But… are you even happy here?"

"Yes."

Anakin nearly ground his teeth in frustration as he sat down. "How can you be happy here knowing we're safe here and they're out there?" he asked in irritation.

"Because our families are doing what it takes to keep our babies safe, Anakin. The next time we see them, they will be talking. They will say mommy and daddy and they will look at us and they will know. It will be a most beautiful moment and one I can't wait for. And yes, I am happy here. The Watcher's Council is no Senate of the Republic, but I'm doing what I love best and that's standing up for the freedoms of others."

"You do seem happy," Anakin admitted in a small voice.

"So are you," Padmé smiled. "You're at peace here. You're well within your element. You're beloved by all of the younger Slayer females. You have two sisters here who adore you. And I'm not going anywhere."

"Padmé, my family is my life. I would never do anything consciously to hurt you again. Or Buffy or even Dawn, how little I know her. But I do know one thing: I would die to protect you."

"I believe you." Padmé moved away from him, her hand trailing on her desk. "I wish I could say the same for my family. But it doesn't matter," she said, gazing at Anakin with eyes too bright for her temperament. "You're my family now and you're what's important to me. Five years ago today I told you I loved you. That hasn't changed. You can't get rid of me that easily, no matter how many Slayers are plotting my assassination."

"I just want things to be okay again."

"They're fine the way they are," Padmé replied. "In fact, it's better here. The Jedi aren't trying to pressure you here. Those who kept trying to push you aside are gone now. There are new Jedi in charge, including your sister and Obi-Wan. They believe in you more than anything."

"Maybe I just needed to hear it from you. I just need to know I'm doing the right thing."

"We've been here a little over a year now, Annie," Padmé smiled as she took her seat again. "We've got a few left. I must say, I don't mind this. There are no pressures. There's nothing here to hold us back."

"Just you and me and love," Anakin beamed, remembering their conversation on Coruscant, on the one night he remembered thinking that it could never be possible again. "There are no politics here, no war, no plotting, no… it's just you and me."

"And love," Padmé said with a dramatic whisper as Anakin swept her up into his arms. After a moment, she started giggling. "Anakin?"

"Yes, angel?"

"Someone is going to see us."

"It's not like they haven't seen anything like this before," Anakin chuckled, twirling her around. Padmé let out a shriek, tapping at her arms. He obligingly put her down and once she was on her two feet, she pushed him playfully away from her. "You know," he said, watching as she put the desk between them, "this is kind of nice. We don't have to hide anymore."

Padmé couldn't resist smiling at that. She was so used to doing everything in secret and watching her tongue around anyone that could destroy the fragile balance and explosive instability that was their relationship and marriage. The freedom of being together without anyone standing there to tear them apart was just exhilarating.

"Do you have meetings all day?" Anakin asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure. I'll have to wait for Mr. Giles to tell me what's up today."

"If you have time later… do you want to have dinner?"

"Dinner?" she asked in a higher, flirty tone.

"I was thinking a little picnic, some of that pink wine you love, a warm blanket and…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain. "I'd appreciate it if you wore this."

He opened his fist and a tiny pendant fell out. Padmé felt her heart swell as she reached out to touch it. "Oh, Annie…"

"You know, because this is our fifth anniversary of being together," Anakin said, taking Padmé's hand and turned her around. He unclasped the necklace and placed it around her neck. "I know it's a star. And I know—"

"Where do you get the funding for this?" she asked breathlessly, staring at her reflection in the small mirror. She couldn't stop touching the pendant. "You know I have no use for trinkets!"

"Because you're worth every penny that cost and it cost a fair few," Anakin replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love you. You're my girl and you probably always will be."

"Unless one of the Slayers finally gets her wish."

"Never happen," Anakin murmured into her neck. "You know that they could never compare to you. You'll always be my starry-eyed angel."

"Now you're just embarrassing me," Padmé teased, kissing her husband before shooing him from her office. Another Watcher stepped inside and scowled at the couple pushing each other around and moved to his desk.

"I'll see you later, then?"

"I'll be waiting."

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end