Chapter 8:

The door had slid open about a crack before Angela's hand shot out and she quickly used the force to seal the door shut once more.

"Sorry Padme, you can't come in!" Angela frantically called over to her friend who now stood completely puzzled outside the bedroom door.

"Umm…" Padme began to call back but was cut off by Angela,

"I'm…uh...not presentable at the moment." Angela explained as she swiftly stepped out of Obi-wan's arms and grabbed him by the hand before she began searching out a place to hide her husband from view. Her eyes then landed on the closet on the far side of the room. She quickly led him over to it and opened the door before she pushed him inside. "I'm naked!" she added as she called back over to Padme. When she turned faced Obi-wan once more, he had an eyebrow raised at her words before his eyes slowly looked her up and down with the look that read, 'You're not naked.'

Angela's eyes narrowed at the smart look he now had on his face,

"Oh shut up!" she whispered, "…don't make a sound." She ordered before she quickly closed the closet door on him.

"Uh…well then….is everything ok?" Padme asked from behind the door. Angela quickly looked down on herself and decided that she was going to have to make herself look ridiculous if Padme is going to take her word.

"Ye…yeah, yeah! Everything's fine. Just give me a minuet." As Angela spoke those words, she reached her hands down to the skirt of her black gown before she swiftly yanked it over her head, crumpled it into a ball and randomly chucked it across the room where it then fell into a heap upon the ground. Next she pulled off her shorts and tossed them in the opposite direction. When Angela was left standing in her underwear with her chest completely bare, she scurried over to bed and yanked off top sheet before she wrapped herself up. The while holding the blanket closed with one hand, Angela used her other one to quickly mess up her hair before she ran to the bathroom, dropped the blanket for a quick second, quietly turned on the sink before she splashed her upper body with the cool water and lightly wetted the top of her head.

"Ah!' she hissed out through her teeth as the water the dripped down her bare chest, "…cold!" she quietly squeaked.

Without wasting another second, Angela quickly readjusted the blanket as she left the refresher to cover her exposed body properly before she ran to the bedroom door and opened it up. As it slid open with a hiss revealing Padme who still stood with a confused expression on her face, Angela watched as the confusion on her friend's face turned to concern.

"Dear God!" Padme softly exclaimed as her brown eyes took in Angela's appearance from her wild hair to the blanket she wore around her body.

"Hello to you too." Angela replied before she took a step back into her room and allowed Padme to enter.

"Wha…busy morning?" Padme asked as she noted the messed up bed and Angela's scattered clothes before she turned her brown eyes back upon her friend dressed in a blanket. Angela softly cleared her throat,

"Not as busy as it could get." She replied.

"Angela…" Padme began as she slowly started walking around the room, "…what happened in here?" she asked.

"I had a rough night." Angela answered. Padme softly snorted in response,

"No kidding…." She answered before her brows furrowed softly at Angela, "…why are you wet?" she questioned with worry etched all over her face.

Angela glanced down at the floor for a quick second to think of a logical answer,

"I've been sweating." She answered. Padme blinked a couple times at that answer,

"….why?" she asked.

Angela said the first thing that came to mind, "Hot flashes." She replied.

"What?" Padme answered in disbelief, "….why would you be having those? Are you ill?" she asked.

Angela shook her head, "Pssh…no I'm as healthy as ever." She assured.

"Then why are you having hot flashes?" Padme asked curiously.

Angela laughed nervously, "Well…I have a few theories…." She lied as she quickly thought some up.

"Well let's hear them." Padme encouraged.

Angela gave a quick nod of her head in response, "Right…well my first is they came as a result…." She paused to think of an answer, "….of stress."

Padme nodded her head in understanding, "I can see that happening, you have been under a great deal of it lately." She replied, "What else do you've have?"

Angela licked her lips, "It could just be that time of the month and I've acquired a new symptom foretelling its upcoming." she answered.

"Makes sense." Padme agreed, "…anything else?"

"Yes…my last theory…" Angela began, "….I've struck menopause early." She declared.

Padme silently stared at her for a couple seconds before she burst out laughing. While she raised a hand up to cover her face, Padme managed to speak out,

"Angela…that's ridiculous! You're… twenty six years old! There's no way…that's even possible." Padme explained between gasps of air. Angela smiled sheepishly before she shrugged her shoulders,

"Hey, you wanted to hear my theories." Angela reminded.

When Padme finally regained control over her laughter she walked over to Angela and placed a hand on her shoulder,

"This is true. Look, why don't you go take a shower and I'll make you some breakfast" she offered with a friendly smile. Angela smiled back and nodded her head,

"Good idea." She replied. Padme nodded her head before she turned on her heel and left the room. Once her friend had left, Angela used the force to close the door behind her before she let out a huge sigh of relief before she walked back to her bed and collapsed right on top of it. She closed her eyes for a brief second and heard the closet door opening from across the room. She then opened them up as Obi-wan approached the bed before taking a seat right beside her,

"Well that was some performance." He stated. "Good cover though." He added with a smile. Angela softly glared up into his eyes which were sparkling with amusement before she sat up and lightly nudged him with her shoulder,

"Yeah well the things I do for love." She answered breathlessly before she rose off the bed. Obi-wan rose too before he reached out and drew Angela into his arms,

"The things you do indeed." He murmured adoringly while his eyes quickly ran across the light blanket covering Angela's body. Angela smiled and leaned into his embrace long enough to plant a quick right on his nose before she wiggled her way out of his arms and began fetching her discarded clothes.

"Mmhmm. Now….how are we going to sneak you out of the apartment?" Angela asked curiously as she finished picking up her shorts and black gown. She quick brought the outfit over to the bed before she dropped the gown down on the mattress and swiftly stepped into her black shorts while she kept the blanket up around her body,

"Easy, distract her in the kitchen and I'll breeze right on by without her noticing." Obi-wan answered. Angela shrugged a shoulder in response,

"Sounds like a plan." She replied before she glanced over and Obi-wan and gave a shy smile before she turned so her back faced him before she dropped the blanket to the floor. She then used the force and brought her black gown over to her before she prepared it to go over her head. Behind her, she heard Obi-wan chuckle,

"A bit bashful, are we?" he asked. Angela smiled as she felt a blush come to her cheeks before she glanced over her shoulder at her observing husband,

"Possibly." She answered. "…I've always been the modest type."

Obi-wan smiled before he let his eyes slowly trace down Angela's exposed back, admiring every curve and how soft her skin looked. "Modest enough to hide from me?" he asked in a teasing manner before he lowered his voice, "….I have already seen every inch of you, Angela." He reminded in a gentle tone.

Another blush crept to Angela's face as she remembered the first and last time she and Obi-wan had ever made love, "…that was ten years ago, Obi-wan." She replied with a tiny nervous laugh, "… a lot has changed." She added.

"Yes is has." He agreed, "….I didn't think it was possible but it seems that you've only grown more beautiful since then." He answered. Angela smiled softly before she brought her black gown over her head and pulled it down to its proper place. Then she turned on her heel to face Obi-wan,

"I'm afraid we'll have to continue this conversation another time, my love." She stated with a small disappointed smile, "…in another place too." She added.

Obi-wan laughed quietly and shook his head in response before he closed the distance between their bodies, "Fair enough." He replied, "….but that just means that next time, I'll have all the time in the world to…. properly admire you without any interruptions."

Angela gasped softly at his secret meaning, her eyes widening slightly before a slow smile made its way across her face. "Whatever you say, Obi-wan." She replied with a soft shake of her head.

Obi-wan then leaned down and captured Angela's lips in a quick kiss before pulling away. "I best be leaving now….it'll be one thing sneaking past Padme…it'll be a whole different story if Anakin comes looking for me." He stated.

Angela made a soft hissing noise through her teeth at the thought, "…ooh…good point!" she agreed. "...ok…I'll go out first and you…just make sure you do actually get out." She replied.

"Right." Obi-wan answered with a nod of his head. Angela then swept past her husband and opened up the bedroom door before peaking her head out of the doorway to see if the coast was clear. When she heard the sound of Padme moving about it the kitchen, Angela swiftly walked out and headed off into that direction to keep her friend occupied long enough for Obi-wan to get away. As Angela marched into the kitchen, Padme turned away from the counter she was working at and smiled in greeting,

"Ah there you are…you look much better." She stated with approval while she went back to her work.

"I feel better." Angela answered honestly with a soft secret smile to herself. "...so what's for breakfast?" she asked while she went to take a seat at the kitchen table. As she sat down in the chair, she heard the soft hiss of a door opening up and closing. Padme then turned from the counter and carried a plate of food over to the table where she then set it down in front of Angela,

"Did you hear that?" Padme asked curiously as she took a seat right across from Angela.

"Nope!" Angela lied as she bit back a smile,

"Odd…I could've sworn I heard something." Padme mumbled to herself with a soft shake of her head.

Angela smiled deviously at her friend, "You sure that you're feeling well, Padme?" she teased enjoying the fact that she could turn the tables on her friend.

Padme playfully glared across at Angela before the two women started to laugh.

When things between the two women quieted down, a warm, tingly sensation shot down Angela's spine for a quick second before she quickly heard Obi-wan's voice speak inside her mind,

"I'll see you later sweetheart."

His words once more drew a secret smile out onto Angela's face before she picked up the utensil that Padme had brought over on the plate and started eating her breakfast.