Obi-Wan entered the room and his heart sank. Seeing Padmé prone on a bed with just the steady rise and fall of her chest as an indication of her survival was a lot to process, especially when Qui-Gon's death was still fresh and raw in the back of his mind. The room was quiet, save for the sounds of the machines. It was unnerving. He settled into the seat next to her bed.
"Padmé," he murmured sadly. He reached out to take her hand in his. With his other hand, he smoothed some curls back from her face where they had been stuck with sweat. Then, he kissed the hand that he held. It was limp in his, causing his eyes to burn. The doctor had said that the surgery had removed all the shrapnel, and they'd dressed her wounds, but part of him still worried that she wouldn't wake up. He didn't know what he'd do if she didn't. Looking down at the rise and fall of her chest, he said a silent prayer to whatever would listen.
Then, he felt it.
The barest hint of a movement from the hand he held up to his lips. Her thumb, weakly running along the underside of his chin. His eyes searched her face, watching her eyelashes flutter slightly as she tried to wake from her sleep. Then, she was looking at him, a slight smile on her face until she took in her surroundings and the pain she felt. Her face crinkled as she tried to sit up.
"Padmé, please. Don't move, darling. You're injured. You'll open your stitches," Obi-Wan murmured, gently pushing her back to the bed. He repositioned her pillows so that she was propped up a bit better.
"Obi, what happened? The last thing I remember is you dropping me off at the office," she replied in confusion.
"There was an explosion in the office," he replied, deciding to leave out who caused it at least for now.
"A bomb?" she asked incredulously. "An attack on the mayor?"
"So it seems."
She took in some of the bandages on him and the soot on his clothes. "Are you hurt?"
"A little bruised, but I'll be fine," he assured her. "What's important is that you're alright."
"Obi-Wan, I was already inside the building. You were outside. Why are you covered in soot?"
"If I had waited for the rescue team, you could have died," he replied.
"So you risked yourself?" she asked incredulously. "Why?"
"I already lost one person that I loved recently. I wasn't about to lose another," Obi-Wan said pointedly. "Not if I could have done something to change that."
"Obi-Wan," she murmured softly, taking his hand. "It takes a lot more than an explosion to get rid of me."
"I know," he said with a slight smile. "You're incredibly strong. That's one of the reasons why I love you."
"You love me?" she asked softly.
"More than anything," he said sincerely. "I'm tired of denying us. I almost lost you today. That thought made me realize that I was being foolish. I love you, Padmé, and I shouldn't be afraid of that. There are worse things to be afraid of."
"We shouldn't live our lives with fear," she replied. "It'll only destroy us."
"Master Yoda?" he asked with a chuckle.
"The man has some very good points," she grinned. Her eyes flicked over to the window looking into the hall, glimpsing Anakin. "Is there a reason he's not coming in?"
Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder at him and sighed. "Padmé, there's something you have to know, but it's not my place to tell you."
Obi-Wan waved Anakin in. Hesitantly, he came to join them, sitting on the other side of Padmé.
"How are you feeling?" Anakin asked.
"Like I was run over by a truck," she chuckled. "But, I'm glad to see you. We've been worried about you."
Anakin swallowed and looked down at his hands guiltily. "Padmé, this is all my fault."
"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.
"I made the bomb, and I put it in the office. I didn't realize anyone would be there. They told me it would be empty," he said quickly.
"Who told you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"The Sith," Anakin sighed.
Padmé's eyes shot to Obi-Wan's. "Is there more to this?"
"Darling, I'm afraid there is," he sighed.
Padmé weakly rubbed her temples as she listened to the information that Obi-Wan and Anakin told her. Then, her eyes opened. "Hold on. You think your father was murdered for getting too close? Do you think that having Anakin attack the office wasn't a message for the mayor, but a message for us?" She turned to look at Anakin. "Did they tell you a time and a place?"
"Yeah. They told me today at that time," he replied.
"They know," Padmé murmured. "They know that we're onto them. That means we have to be getting close."
"But, close to what? We've only seen a meeting with Count Dooku and the mayor. It's not like we're detectives," Obi-Wan interjected.
"No, we saw a meeting with Tyranus. If Anakin was right about that being the Mayor's calendar, and Dooku is really this Tyranus person, then maybe that's what we weren't supposed to know. Does that name mean anything to you, Anakin?" Padmé asked.
"I've never met him, but I've heard Maul mention him as a rival for his boss' attention. He said that Maul used to be the Sith Lord's go-to until Tyranus came around," Anakin replied.
Padmé sighed. "You don't think..."
Obi-Wan looked at her, "I'd rather not believe that."
"What?" Anakin asked in confusion. "Believe what?"
"What if Palpatine is this Sith Lord?" Padmé asked.
"Impossible," Anakin said adamantly. "Absolutely out of the question. The mayor is a good man. He's been there for me a lot, lately. Besides, according to Maul, this Sith Lord's name is Sidious."
"And Tyranus is really Count Dooku. Sidious could just be an alias," Obi-Wan replied.
"I can't believe this," Anakin sighed. "I won't."
"I don't want to either, " Padmé said softly, "But, we can't ignore the evidence."
"Why would he do this?" Anakin asked, trying to get them to see reason even though he was actively avoiding it.
"Power. He's running for governor. If he has control of the city, then it only makes sense for him to want to control the state," Padmé replied. "I think he's the person your father has been searching for."
"If he's in charge, then that means he ordered Maul to kill dad," Anakin murmured hollowly.
Padmé reached over to squeeze Anakin's hand. "You're not alone."
"I know. I just feel so used and betrayed," Anakin replied, a quiet anger building in his chest. "Not to mention, who's going to believe us? He's the mayor. If we go to anyone with this, they'll just laugh in our face."
"We've got to find a way to connect him to Qui-Gon's murder," Padmé replied.
"But, he didn't actually pull the trigger," Obi-Wan sighed.
"No, but if we can get Maul to flip on him, maybe by playing up the fact that he's been replaced with Dooku, then he could unravel the entire operation," Padmé said seriously.
"And how do you propose we do that?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I feel as though Rex would help with that," Padmé replied. "Maybe pull him in for interrogation and bluff a little until he talks."
"You want Rex to lie?" Anakin laughed. "He's the worst liar in the world."
"Anakin has a point," Obi-Wan chuckled.
"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Padmé asked.
Obi-Wan and Anakin shared a look.
"Thought so," Padmé grinned.
A knock sounded on the door and a nurse walked in to tell them that visiting hours were over and that they should leave for the night.
"Feel better, Padmé," Anakin said, squeezing her hand. "Again, I'm so sorry. I'll make this up to you, I promise."
"I know you will, Ani," Padmé smiled, watching him leave to give her and Obi-Wan a moment alone.
"I'll come by tomorrow after work," he murmured, getting up. "The Doctor and I were talking earlier and she seems to think you could get discharged in a week or two if everything goes well."
"Good. You know I don't like wasting time in bed on my own," she winked.
Obi-Wan blushed. "Get well soon, darling."
"Obi?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbows with some effort.
"Padmé, you shouldn't push yourself," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders to coax her back down, but she waved him off.
"I love you, too," she said seriously.
"I know," he smiled.
"So, is my boyfriend going to kiss me?" she asked softly.
Obi-Wan grinned, leaning forward to press his lips against hers. His hand slid up to cup her cheek. As he kissed her, he slowly lowered her back down to the mattress.
"Good night, Padmé."
"Good night, Obi-Wan."