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Rest

Chapter 12

After nearly two weeks of seclusion, Padme, with many hesitations, decided it was time she contacted her family. However, she was not nearly brave enough to conquer her parents right away, and so she decided on the smaller, yet still gargantuan, target of her older sister.

Padme turned on her commlink and typed her sister's communication number. She took a deep breath before anyone answered, willing herself not to hyperventilate.

"Hello?" spoke the familiar voice.

"Sola? Is that you?" Padme was very nervous. Probably almost as nervous as when she had to tell Anakin. Maybe a little more, since Sola didn't know anything about the forbidden anythings in Padme's life.

"Padme?! Padme it is you! Thank the Force; Padme where are you? We were so scared! There's been a senator elect appointed to Coruscant, why were you replaced?" Apparently Sola (and likely the rest of the family) had been waiting for some form of communication from Padme.

"Oh. Well I'm fine Sola. I just…" she took a breath, and her mouth emitted the next bent-around-the-truth words, "needed a break from the Senate. It was getting stressful so I asked the queen for a leave of absence." So far fine, she thought. Those words should work.

"Stressful? Padme, you can't tell me you left because it was too stressful. You've never been affected by stress." Sola had more to add but she seemed to understand that she needed to draw whatever it was out of Padme.

Padme hoped that Sola would blame the pause in speaking on a poor com connection. "I was getting sick." Not a lie. "The healer said I needed a break." She did, back near the beginning.

"Huh. Padme, where are you?"

Oh Force. "Sola, I'm on Naboo."

"What! Padme! Why haven't you come to see us? Have you been here since your job was replaced? Mom and Dad will be so upset, worried about you then finding out you were here the whole time…" Sola kept talking.

Padme cut her off, "Sola! I needed a break. And I'm talking to you now."

"Fine. When are you coming to visit?" Sola demanded.

Padme fidgeted nervously. Anakin's face came to her mind, and she remembered his worry about her not involving her family. "Sola, I can't see everyone right now. I… I'll come see you first. Can you make sure no one else will be there?"

Sola couldn't understand where Padme's hesitancy was coming from. How was work stress affecting her like this? There must be something else going on. Maybe the rumours really were true…? "Ok Padme… I can have Darred take the girls out this evening. You can come over tonight?"

Tonight? I am not ready for this. "Sure," Padme piped up, her voice not waiting for her mind's complete consent.

Sola gave a questioning look. "Alright, I'll see you then."

Later…

Twilight lowered to the evening sky and Padme was half-prepared for the trip. Everything was ready to go, namely her speeder and her attire – a cloak and veil to effectively hide her identity from passersby.

Holding onto the side for balance, Padme shifted her uncomfortable weight into the speeder. She started the engine and began the trip to her sister's house. Still not ready for this, she thought.

The travel time was shorter than she estimated. In no time, she was trembling of nerves on the front steps of her sister's house.

Before knocking, she gave herself a mental pep-talk, similar to the ones she'd have before a large senate announcement. Only this was going to be a little more difficult…

It will be fine. Sola will just react to the situation for a bit then be fine. And if not I'll leave... Should I tell her right away or explain things a bit first then tell her? What if she hugs me? She'll figure it out herself immediately…

Taking a big breath and a lot of courage, Padme knocked on the door.

I'll just lean forward on the hug.

After a moment, the form of a face appeared through a stained-glass window to the left of the door. Then came the sound of a door being unlocked. The door opened, and there Sola stood before Padme.

"Padme!" Sola stepped forward to embrace her younger sister.

Oh, here it goes, thought Padme. "Sola," she said in a small voice. As Sola hugged her, Padme tried to be as nonchalant in her returned hug as possible. With her mind speeding, she felt as though the hug was lingering far longer than normal duration. Is she realizing? Or does she just miss me? Padme pulled back; she felt as though her face must look like a child's face when caught in a lie.

All Sola gave her was a puzzled glance. Sola stepped back into the house and said, "Come on in, I've prepared some hot water for tea." As Sola turned around, she gave her head a small, visible shake.

Padme followed Sola to the kitchen.

The kitchen was practically arranged, with a table for daily meals and a high-rise island for food prep and entertaining. The island had bar stools around it, which looked like they'd prove difficult to climb onto for any short-statured pregnant woman…

While Sola had her back turned to pour the tea, Padme asked, "Where shall we sit?" She hoped to sit down without appearing to have too much trouble, or else sit before Sola turned back to look at her. And the table chairs would be much more manageable than the bar stools.

"Oh, the table is fine. I was happy when we renovated the kitchen last, Darred likes having the island as a bar for mixing drinks when we entertain but I usually just use the table. Besides, it's better for conversation." Padme sat as quickly as possible before Sola turned back to the table with tray holding a teapot and mugs.

Padme looked to Sola as she approached the table. Sola steadily placed the tray on the table and took a seat on the opposite side of her sister. She poured the tea into the mugs and placed one in front of Padme, who spoke a soft 'thank you'. Sola took her own mug, warming herself with both her hands around its sides, and she sighed softly. Padme felt the apparent nonchalance of their meeting to be out of place for both not having seen her sister in over a year and for how tense she felt.

They both spoke at once. Padme bravely began, "How are things?" just as Sola cut her off with "—Padme, are you pregnant?"

Padme's mouth went dry. Her brain couldn't make the words; her body wouldn't let her use language to respond. Eventually, she nodded a yes.

Sola took a moment. Her eyes watered as she thought of the implications. "Oh Padme," she breathed. Sola stood up and went around the table to give Padme another hug.

After an embrace and teary eyes, Sola returned to her side of the table. "How many months?" she asked, as she held Padme's hand across the table top.

"Umm, nearly full term," replied Padme, looking down. But she changed her mind, and with strength looked up to her sister; "Sola, I am sorry to have kept this from you and everyone, but I needed to protect myself. I am so excited to parent my child and want you and our parents to be happy for me. These are just awful circumstances with the war and politics… I didn't want to have to step down from my role in the senate just yet..."

Sola nodded and looked for Padme to continue, who still seemed hesitant. Sola spoke instead, "I can't imagine your situation… I thought you might be planning to continue work on Coruscant at least until the political unrest was solved. We were so confused to see you be replaced."

"I understand," Padme breathed in, her stomach still full of nerves. "I suppose I don't have to tell you this wasn't planned…"

Sola laughed an uncomfortable kind of laugh. "No, I suppose not." So many questions sprang to her mind; she wasn't sure which ones to ask first. "Padme, where have you been staying? And… about the father…?"

Padme stiffened. "I'm stay at Varykino. C3P0, my droid, is with me, so I've been fine, really," Padme realized it sounded like she was making excuses, which was not how she wanted to appear. "The father… he's working away right now."

"Working away? What, does he work in transport? Are you... together with him? I mean, is he in the picture?" Sola wanted answers, and she didn't mind pressing her younger sister, however uncomfortable, to get them.

It was painful for Padme to think about Anakin's dangerous 'employment'. She let out her breath as she answered quickly, "He's working in active politics. We're together."

"Active… politics?" Sola questioned with a furrowed brow.

"Yes." While thinking about the meaning behind her choice words of 'active politics,' Padme could feel her emotions welling. She strained to keep them at bay.

From Sola's point of view, Padme was obviously holding things back. She thought she knew why, and decided again to be blunt and ask, "Padme. Is he that Jedi you brought back here a few years ago?"

From the look on Padme's face, Sola knew she had hit the nail on the head. Padme's eyes watered and she began to cry. "Anakin, he's… he's on Utapau." She let out a deep breath, "He'll be ok, I am just so worried about him. I can't shake the feeling that something might happen to him. It's like he thinks he's invincible, but every time he comes back there's another injury. I don't think I couldn't handle it if he didn't come back now…" She started to sob, and she felt the reassuring flutter of movement from her middle. In response, she clutched her arms around her belly.

Sola's heart lurched for her sister. "Padme, Padme! It's going to be alright. He'll come back. They always talk about him in those news casts on the holos, I'm sure the Hero With No Fear – that's what they call him right? – will be just fine. Does he know you're here?"

Padme nodded. Another breath, "He was on Coruscant a few days leading up to my departure here a few weeks ago. Anakin and I… well we've been together for a while. Actually Sola…" Padme breathed in, yet again. "We were married in a private ceremony here on Naboo, back when the Clone Wars began." Sola's eyes widened, but she stayed quiet about what Padme was saying and allowed her to continue. "So… he knows about it all, and he said he'll do his best to come back here in time…"

Sola nodded. She needed to be strong for her younger sister. "Okay, wow. My sister and a Jedi. And you're expecting, none-the-less. Well that's that then, Padme. It's ok. Actually, this is so exciting! Congratulations. I'm going to be an aunt!" Her face lit up brilliantly.

Padme smiled despite herself. "Thanks Sola." Another breath, "I was so nervous coming here…"

Sola laughed, "You know, I could tell, right away at the door. But really, save your nervousness for mom and dad," she said with a wink.

The colour disappeared from Padme's face and her stomach caught in her throat. "Sola… Sola could you please help me? You don't have to tell them but just prepare them? Or tell them and save me from that."

"Hmm… of course it won't be easy Padme, but I'll see what I can do. Maybe they can come over here tomorrow afternoon? Really though Padme, you do need to speak to them and soon. I'm surprised they haven't call again this evening to see if I've heard anything about you yet."

Padme did feel guilty about that… "Okay. Tomorrow then." She let out another deep breath before deciding to change the topic, "So tell me about the girls and Darred…"

The sisters caught up over the evening. Eventually, Padme fell tired and Sola prepared the pull-out couch in the den for Padme to rest on overnight.

In the midst of worry about telling her parents tomorrow, Padme's last thought before drifting into sleep was of Anakin, and she dreamed throughout the night of being with him and their child, happy and safe together on Naboo.