Author's Note: I feel like I'm constantly apologizing to you guys for my slow updates. Instead of doing that, I'm going to skip the regrets and let you move on to the good part! Enjoy!

Padme awoke to see Anakin sitting up in bed, staring off into deep space. He looked so handsome and yet so upset at the same time. Padme worried that it had been something about the night before and wanted to confront him about his thoughts. Maybe she was overreacting, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She reached out to stroke the side of his cheek as he turned his gaze to her with the side of his mouth turned up in a half smile. There was something sad about it which only made Padme worry more.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He seemed to be thinking about his response very carefully because his eyebrows furrowed as his lips pursed. He was obviously hesitating to tell her how he really felt. She had hoped that after such an intimate act that they would be able to talk more honestly. But the reply he gave her wasn't what she had expected to her.

"Why did you kill him?"

Padme paused. She had no idea how to answer such a question, other than to tell the truth. It wasn't even asking her if she had done it, but rather he accused her of the act without question. And it was the way he had asked it that made her worry the most. He asked it as if he thought of her differently for it. And to her chagrin, he had every right. She had murdered someone and he had every right to judge her as a criminal. If only he hadn't reached her this way. She had trusted him enough to bring him into her home, into her bed, and into her heart. Now all Padme felt was a deep sense of dread as she realized that he probably wouldn't leave until she told him the truth. It all made sense. This was probably a part of his plan to get her to confess and unfortunately it worked. Suddenly Padme began to feel infuriated at not only him, but herself as well for falling so easily. Now she had nowhere to run. She was trapped.

"I didn't want to," Padme admitted. "Everything was just so wrong. He wanted to have sex with me and I didn't want to give myself to him. He had paid to use me however he pleased, and for once I stood up for myself. He didn't like it and forced himself on me. I did what I had to do, or he would have shot me first."

Anakin's eyebrow rose, "Then why didn't you tell the authorities that?"

"What authorities? Who the hell would I have told? I told the only person I could trust and I thought that everything was going to be okay. Even had I turned myself in, no one would believe that it was an act of self defense. No one would believe a Daughter of the Underworld."

"Maybe I believe you," Anakin offered.

"Maybe? I'm trying to tell you the truth here and you won't even give me the benefit of the doubt? Your just as bad as the rest of the scum you call authorities!"

"So, were back to the blaming game again, are we? When are you going to realize that I'm not like the rest of the people who have hurt you in the past?"

"When you get the fuck out of my house and leave me the fuck alone!" Padme got out of the bed and jabbed her finger at the doorway, "You know the way out."

Anakin simply raised an eyebrow again. "And what do you expect me to tell them, huh? That you confessed to the murder of Senator Kurin and give them the full rights to incarcerate you? Then what are you going to do? You'll need a damn good lawyer to get you out of that shit and I know you don't have the money or influence to get help like that."

Padme stared at him angrily. "So, you're blackmailing me now."

It wasn't a question.

"Look," Anakin sighed, "I'm just tired of your blaming game bullshit. If you could just accept the fact that I'm honestly trying to help you and get over your trust issues long enough to clear your name, you'd never have to see me again."

"Good!" Padme shouted irritably.

"Fine," Anakin concluded. "But you'll need to come with me to the Jedi Temple to give your statement."

"That wasn't part of the deal, asshole."

Anakin glared at her, "That was uncalled for. All you need to do is tell them what happened so that they can review the case and decide how to deal with it."

"And what if they find me guilty?"

"If you tell them the truth, that won't happen."

"And if it does?" Padme persisted.

"It won't," Anakin insisted.

There was a long pause of silence between them as Padme leaned in the doorway. Biting her lip out of insecurity, Padme finally pushed herself away from the door frame and meandered over to the bed. Anakin looked up at her as she sat down on the side of the bed, her back facing him.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked.

"Because I have faith that everything will work out. The Force works in mysterious ways."

Padme looked down at the floor before closing her eyes.

Then what are you going to tell them when they figure out that I'm Force sensitive?

Anakin inhaled deeply as he heard Padme's voice in his head. Her force presence was so subtle compared to the Jedi he grew up around that he almost forgot that it was there. Perhaps that was what happened to those who tried to ignore it for so long. When the Force isn't properly channeled or connected to, it became harder to hear its call. While Padme was obviously capable of connecting to the minds of others, that was easy compared to everything else. Connecting to someone else's mind was like reaching out to them with the deepest part of your soul. All you had to do was open yourself to them and carry your thoughts across. This could be done effortlessly as long as both minds were open. It made Anakin nervous that he had created such a bond with her. Normally he blocked most people out, and yet he heard her when she was hardly trying. The kind of the connection she was able to create with him shouldn't be possible. This complicated things.

"I don't know."