Chapter 11

Anakin stumbled from the bridge and down the stairs to the crew quarters. He crashed into the wall at the bottom of the stairs and leaned heavily against it, breathing hoarsely. He looked down the passage towards his and Obi-Wan's room, but couldn't see anything clearly. Feeling he was about to black out, he felt his way to their door using the wall to keep himself upright. He almost fell into the room as he entered and closed the door behind him. Sliding down the door until he was crouched on the floor, he laid his head on his knees and tried to clear his head.

"Padme," he whispered, "what…? How…?" He almost couldn't comprehend what Obi-Wan had told him. "She's all alone... I should be there," he cried softly. He looked up and said, more loudly, "I should be there." He stood, clenched his fists and stalked to their shared table, and swept everything onto the floor, crying out, "I should be there with her! What am I doing out here? I hate this war! Oh, Padme, what can I do?" With the last outburst, he sank onto his bed, elbows on his knees and head in his hands, fingers entangled in his long hair. "What can I do?" he sobbed over and over again.

Obi-Wan watched his friend's frantic dash through the hatch to the crew quarters. "What in blazes...?" Surely Anakin knew of her marriage, if not the child. Why would he be so surprised? It wasn't really a surprise, though, was it? He was...afraid! Afraid of what?" Obi-Wan took a deep breath and hung his head. Oh, Force, I knew they were close, but...could this be...? He did not want to think that, surely Anakin hadn't gone so far! As Obi-Wan started down the stairs, he heard noises in the corridor below that sounded like someone falling or running into something. And then a door slid shut. As he approached their quarters, he reached out with the Force and felt a wave of pain and fear emanating from the room. A cold hand gripped his heart; he knew. He knew why Anakin had run from the bridge. He took a few breaths, and then opened the door to their quarters.

Anakin was so deep within his agony that he didn't hear or feel Obi-Wan enter the room. The pain and emotion in the small space was almost palpable to Obi-Wan as he slowly crossed from the door to sit beside his closest friend, his brother; he laid his hand on Anakin's shoulder.

Anakin jerked up and turned his face away. "Obi-Wan, please...go", he cried.

Obi-Wan held more tightly to his shoulder. "No, I won't leave my brother in pain, Anakin."

Anakin continued to sob even as he tried to stop. He felt Obi-Wan's hand ease its grip, but it stayed there, comforting. "Anakin, are you-?" Obi-Wan paused. "Are you Padme's husband?" There was no answer, save for Anakin's sobbing. "Are you the baby's father?" he asked quietly.

Anakin lowered his head, took a deep halting breath, and nodded.

Obi-Wan looked away, feeling pain in his own heart, as he knew the ramifications of this admission. He put that aside, and turned Anakin towards him. He put his arms around his brother's shoulders and said no more. Anakin's head fell against Obi-Wan's shoulder.

After a short silence, Anakin cried softly, "I should be there, Obi-Wan. She's all alone. I should be there with her."

"She's not alone, Anakin, she has people around her who care about her. Certainly Dorme knows. I'm sure she's in good hands. Perhaps her mother is there, as well." He leaned back and took Anakin's head in his hands. Looking into his friend's shockingly blue eyes, he said, "Padme is a strong person, Anakin. She knows how to take care of herself. I'm sure she is fine."

Anakin took deep breaths until he was breathing more evenly. "You're right, Obi-Wan. I know she is strong, stronger than me in many ways. I just feel I should be there with her, especially now. I don't even know when the baby's due!" He stood and exclaimed, "I have to be there for that!"

Obi-Wan rose and said, sternly, "Anakin, you must control your feelings. You are here, now! You have a job to do! Focus on that!"

"How can you say that?" Anakin said, angrily. "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now, what this feels like!"

"No, I don't. But you're a Jedi, Anakin!" he said, harshly, grabbing his friend's arms. "You know what you must do; let it go!" Then he pulled him in and hugged him tightly. "The Force will surely let nothing happen to a baby of yours. You must let it go, my brother." He released him, but kept one hand on his shoulder. "Can you do that?"

Anakin stared at him; he took a calming breath. "Yes, I can...I think. I will." Obi-Wan turned as if to go to the door. "Wait," he heard. He turned back. Hesitating, Anakin asked, "The Council... Will you tell them?"

"No, my brother," Obi-Wan said, his face softening. "You must do that. I will keep your secret until you believe the time is right." Anakin lowered his head. "Thank you, Obi-Wan. Thank you."

Obi-Wan left the room, closing the door behind him. He started for the bridge, but stopped; he wanted to be alone now. He headed for the hangar bay. As he entered it, pain gripped his heart. He knew Anakin would be leaving the Order, and soon, probably as soon as the war ended. There would be no more missions together, no more dangers overcome, no more hijinks and laughter. His heart grew heavy as he leaned against the ladder to his starfighter's cockpit. He tried to enter a meditative state, but his mind kept returning to thoughts of his life without the daily presence of his friend, his...brother. His eyes blinked; everything became blurry. "What-?" He brushed at his eyes and his fingers came away wet. He looked at his hand in surprise and realized he was crying! He hadn't done that since...since his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had died at the hands of the Sith Lord Darth Maul.

He looked sadly into the darkness of the hangar bay and thought about the people in his life. Most were acquaintances, fellow Jedi, citizens of the Republic. Two, however, he had become very close to, his master, and then his own padawan. He remembered Qui-Gon as calm, serene, comfortable in the living Force. There were times, however, he'd seen a glint of a smile in his master's eye as Qui-Gon was teaching him, and he knew his master had been very fond of him. He, himself, had always held back from expressing warm emotions toward Anakin, even as he knew his student had tried to reach out to him. After the pain of losing his own master, Obi-Wan determined not to become too close to his own padawan, perhaps subconsciously fearing more emotional pain in the future. Somehow, though, Anakin had managed to insinuate his way into Obi-Wan's heart and attach himself there without Obi-Wan even realizing it.

He let the tears roll down his face, into his beard, allowing his heart to grieve. He hoped when it was finished, he would be able to let it go. He shook his head, sadly. How could he go on without Anakin? He envisioned an empty life in the Order.

"Master Kenobi! Anakin Skywalker! Report to the bridge, at once!"

Obi-Wan nearly jumped out of his boots as the earsplitting words echoed around the hangar bay. "Bloody Hell!" he shouted, clutching the center of his tunic. Exhaling loudly and using his cloak to dry his face, he headed for the bridge.

Anakin was already there, perched on the weapons station. An emotional look passed between them as Obi-wan approached. They turned to Master Tiin.

"Coruscant is under attack. We think it must be General Grievous and that possibly Count Dooku is with him," Tiin announced to them both.

"What?" Anakin cried, jumping up from the station. "What part of Coruscant?"

Turning to Anakin, Tiin replied, "The heart of the city, the Temple, the Senate District and several of the surrounding areas." Obi-Wan looked at Anakin; Anakin stared back, almost in a panic. "Apparently, we've been chasing rumors out here while the General has been planning this action. All available Jedi have been recalled to deal with the situation."

"Is the Sundiver returning?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No, our task force is remaining here to clean up whatever Separatist cells we find. You two are to take your starfighters and return immediately. The hyperdrive rings are even now being unloaded. Link up with them and go! Contact the Council for instructions when you enter normal space."

They sprinted for the hangar bay and climbed into their starfighters, which were being readied by the astromech droids. Anakin was first out of the bay, heading for one of the hyperdrive rings.

"Hold up, Anakin!" Obi-Wan yelled into his communication headset. "We need to arrive together!"

Anakin waited impatiently for Obi-Wan to link up to the other ring, and then both rings disappeared into hyperspace.

The Senate was in session once again and Padme was seated in her senate box, making notes on one of the senator's proposals. Suddenly, she found herself on the floor, as her box tilted forward. Pulling herself up by the rail leading to the box's entrance, she looked around and saw to her horror that several senate boxes had fallen onto those below, about twenty rows away.

"What is happening!" she wondered aloud, worriedly making her way to the concourse, where the din was tremendously loud with the building's occupants running in every direction. She crossed to the windows to join others scanning the outside to see what had just occurred. Screams of horror and disbelief surrounded her as she looked out on a scene she never would have expected to see on the Republic's capital planet.

The normally blue and white sky was unrecognizable as clouds and streaks of reds, yellows, browns, almost every color imaginable swirled above. The orderly lines of air transit in Coruscant's magnetic traffic lanes had become a massive disarray of vehicles moving in all directions, as their drivers tried to flee the falling debris and energy bolts from above. Crashes were occurring in every direction as she stared, open-mouthed from the window. Even as everyone watched, horrified, a large public transport came careening toward the Senate building, seemingly passing inches from her face, and impacting just a few floors below. She instinctively folded her arms around her abdomen and backed away from the window.

"Padme! Senator Amidala!" She turned and saw Bail Organa working his way toward her through the teeming crowd. "Come with us! We'll take my private speeder to a shelter!" he yelled over the din. Mon Mothma was with him and, as they reached Padme, each took one of her arms and began to work their way through the terrified crowd.

"What is it, Bail? What is happening!" Padme asked as they neared the door to the passageway to the Senate private parking garage. "I don't know, but I think we're being attacked, probably by General Grievous!" he replied. "This is unbelievable!" Mon Mothma exclaimed.

Just as he reached for the door, the three of them were hit from behind by a large alien barreling for the same door. Organa was spun to the right and Mothma to the left; Padme was thrown forward to her knees, her temple striking the window sill in front of her. The last thing she remembered was the coldness of the floor as her cheek touched it.

Padme slowly came to and found herself lying on a bench, wrapped in a cloak and leaning against Mon Mothma. "Padme, you're back, thank goodness," Mon said, as she helped her to sit up a little more. "We were so worried about you after that beast knocked you down." She searched Padme's eyes for clarity and sat back, satisfied. "Beast?" Padme asked.

"Yes," Bail said, as he placed his hand on her arm. "Some idiot trying to escape faster than anyone else. How do you feel?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. She immediate placed her hand on her belly, trying to be sure the baby was all right. "I think your baby is fine," Mon said, kindly. "You just hit your head and were unconscious for awhile. You may have a concussion."

Padme gasped, looked at her in surprise and whispered, "You know?"

"Yes, I had already suspected; that's why we came for you. But it was more apparent when Bail carried you to his speeder. It's all right, dear, don't worry about it. We're all safe here."

Gratitude in her eyes, Padme asked, "How long have we been here? Is it still going on outside?"

Bail answered, "We've been here just a little over one hour. We're waiting for the 'all clear'. It should be soon, I think. There is no definitive word, yet, but it's assumed the attack was instigated by General Grievous. Why he would try such a foolhardy action is beyond me."

They sat there silent for awhile, each with his or her own thoughts. Padme continued to lean against Mothma, pleading inwardly, Please, Anakin, come home to me. I'm so scared. Please come soon. I need you. We need you.

"Look," Bail said, pointing at the shelter doors, where groups of beings were starting to leave. "They must have given the signal. Let's go. I'll take us all to 500 Republica."

As they walked through the door, Bail supporting Padme on his arm, a HoloNet newscast was broadcasting on an outdoor giant screen. Many of those watching appeared to be in a state of shock. "Listen," Mon said as they moved to the side of the building.

"—whereabouts of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. I repeat, the Chancellor has not been found by the security police. It is feared he was abducted sometime during the attack. Please remain calm and stay in your homes. The attacking armada has retreated and appears to be..."

"What? Abducted?" cried Padme. "The Chancellor?"

"It seems so," Bail said, shaking his head. "There's nothing we can do about this now. I must get us home. Padme, you must see a medical droid as soon as you are in your apartment."

"Yes," agreed Mothma, "you have more to worry about than most. Please do that."

Shaking slightly, Padme nodded. "I will, and thank you so much for being there to help me."

They worked their way to where Bail had tried to hide his speeder and were relieved to see that it was still there, in one piece and hidden by debris, which Bail was able to remove. Helping Padme and Mon Mothma into the back seat, he got behind the controls and started slowly away from the shelter.