It was about an hour later that Obi-Wan entered Padmé's room in the temple. She had been trying to meditate, release her emotions into the Force and find peace with the consequences that were only starting to come from her relationship with Anakin, but it wasn't an easy task. She knew she was wrong, and was lucky to get away with such a light warning and no investigation, the council hadn't been cruel, yet she still felt betrayed and hurt and angry, so angry…

"Do you mind if I join you?" Obi-Wan asked.

Padmé shook her head. "You're more than welcome to, but I was just finishing up my meditation anyways." Hormones were her current blame for why she was having difficulty in comprehending her emotions. Maybe the baby was to blame for why she felt so emotionally unbalanced in general.

...Yeah, that was as unlikely as it sounded in her head.

"Are you doing alright then?" Obi-Wan asked, Padmé hesitated on the answer, which seemed to be all the answers Obi-Wan had needed as he sighed. "It could have been much worse."

"I know that." Padmé looked away. "I'm grateful they're not taking any action, but…" She couldn't figure out how to phrase it, so she gave up. "Maybe I'm just tired."

"Perhaps." Obi-Wan's answer was noncommittal. It was as much as Padmé could expect from him. "I'm afraid that's for you to figure out for yourself."

She'd expected as much. "Did the council come to a decision on what they'd like for me to do?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "You and I will both remain on Coruscant. We'll be serving as a contact for if anything changes with the situation on Mandalore." Before Padmé could ask what that entailed, he continued. "It's also been decided that you will be assigned to guard Chancellor Palpatine, as a replacement for Master Ti."

A pang of sadness flooded Padmé. In all of the chaos and reunions, she'd forgotten to ask how the Togruttan master had faired. It seemed she hadn't survived the attack on the Senate after all. "Are they sure it will be safe?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "The position is more of a formality at this point. I doubt another attack will come on the Senate Building this soon after the last one, not with Dooku gone." Padmé almost let out a sigh of relief. She, and the baby, would be fine. Nobody would be attacking or giving them harm. "Regardless, it still is important. We can never rule out another attack knowing Grievous, and if he does, you need to be ready."

"I will be. Compared to the battles in the Outer Rim, this can't be that hard." She ignored that during over half of those she'd been fighting morning sickness.

"I don't doubt it, I imagine being confined to Coruscant will be rather dull for the both of us." Obi-Wan gave a joking smile, and Padmé found herself grinning back in spite of the negative emotions she'd been trapped in earlier. "But I'm sure you'll find something to keep us both busy until we can leave."

Padmé laughed slightly. "That's easy, all we have to do is stay in Anakin's office. I doubt he's ever had a peaceful day."

"No, I doubt the Senator ever has." Obi-Wan stood up. "You'll be starting guard duty tomorrow. I'd recommend you get some rest for now, perhaps make up for the nightmare from last night."

She nodded, although hesitated for a moment. As tired as she was, her mind couldn't stop wandering to her dream, and what it would mean if it did return.

...No, for now she couldn't think about that. "Thank you, Obi-Wan." He gave her one last smile, and Padmé decided it would be worth a shot to try and take Obi-Wan's suggestion of rest.

The moment she fell asleep, all she could see was a red heat.

Another sleepless night had been all that had awaited Padmé at the temple, bothering her beyond words. Two nights wasn't enough to make a vision Obi-Wan had said, so she wasn't assuming the worst yet, but she still would've liked to have more than a couple hours of troubled sleep as she walked in the Senate doors.

"Knight Naberrie?" She turned around to see Anakin behind her, arriving the same time as her. While the sight of him had made her feel better, the fact that he looked just as tired as she was wasn't much of a consolation. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Translation: Are you here to visit me or for Jedi business?

"Nothing today, Senator Skywalker." She could feel his mood drop at her answer. She could understand why. She desperately wanted nothing more than to curl into his arms and have him hold her until she got some sleep and the nightmares stopped, but it wasn't the case. "I've been assigned to replace Master Ti as the Chancellor's guard."

Anakin remained silent. "I'm sorry for the Jedi's loss. I know she was a good Jedi."

"The clones are the ones hurting the most. They loved her." She could only imagine what the reaction would be when the news reached Kamino. She'd hate to see the devastation among the clones based there, who had worked closely with her, and she was suddenly relieved that Echo had found his place among the Bad Batch now. Domino Squad appreciated her more than words, and given Echo was the only surviving member of his training squad, he'd be devastated when the news reached him and have very few people able to offer him comfort.

"I hope they'll have a chance to mourn her, before the war resumes." Anakin looked like he wanted to say more, but seemed to have held himself back as instead he turned towards the Senate dome. "I'll be in my office most of the day today. If you find some time away from the Chancellor, don't be afraid to stop by."

"I'll be sure to visit." Padmé smiled. Had they been in a less public place, she would have done so much more, but instead she simply waved. "I'll see you, Senator."

"You as well." With that, Anakin left for his office, and Padmé began in the direction of the Chancellor's office. It wasn't a far walk from the elevator, and so she entered with a smile on her face. Maybe Anakin would have been the person she would have liked to spend the day with most, but Chancellor Palpatine was a close friend of hers and she couldn't complain about her assigned task.

"Padmé my dear, come in, come in." Palpatine gave her a wide smile. 'When I heard the Jedi were assigning you to be my new guard, I couldn't believe how fortunate I was to have such a brilliant Jedi ensuring my protection."

"Thank you." She smiled, taking a seat. "Although I'm afraid I'm not so much a 'brilliant Jedi' right now."

Palpatine looked at her, almost surprised. "Are you alright? I certainly can't imagine your skills have become worse in a single day."

"It's not a big deal." Padmé shook her head. "I'm just unable to be involved in active combat. I'm mostly here to scare people away in case they get the idea to hurt you." Palpatine waited for an elaboration. Had it been most anybody else, Padmé would have lied, but Palpatine was her friend, and while he didn't know about her and Anakin (nobody did) she didn't see the harm in telling him about this. "I'm pregnant."

Palpatine seemed frozen for a moment. "I see. I suppose congratulations are in order then. Might I ask who the father is?"

"I'd rather not answer. The baby will be staying with him until they're old enough to enter the creche. Afterwards, they'll be trained as a Jedi." She lied. If it was just her reputation at risk that would be one thing, but Anakin's was too. Explaining that he'd married a Jedi might have worse repercussions for him than it did her.

"I presume you'll be the one teaching them when the time comes?" Palpatine asked. Padmé shook her head. "Why not? Surely the Jedi must see the value in having one of their best teaching her own child. They're bound to be as strong as you."

"It would foster a strong attachment between myself and the child." Padmé's answer was automatic. "Not to mention, it would be rewarding me for going against the code."

He looked at Padmé in disbelief. "That seems unfair."

There wasn't much for her to say. While she hadn't planned on taking on her own child as a Padawan anyways (if they did become a Jedi, Obi-Wan was the only choice for that position in her mind) it truly hadn't occurred to her that the Jedi potentially preventing her from forming a bond with her child as their Jedi Master was unfair. She had broken their rules by acting on her feelings for Anakin in such a way, and she knew that was a fact, but why was it so important that she had? "I can understand why that might seem that way from the outside, but the Code exists for a reason."

"I do apologize then for the assumption." Palpatine smiled at her. Despite it being a kindly smile, she felt ill at ease. "I'm sure it seems much more reasonable from the perspective of being a Jedi."

"It's alright Chancellor." Padmé pushed the feelings of unfairness away for now that Palpatine had brought it up. She had broken the rules. She was lucky she hadn't been punished for it. She just had to remember that. "I'd rather not discuss the baby right now, if I'm honest. For now what happens with them is between me and the father."

"That's quite understandable, though you will have to take the child to me once they're born. I would love to meet them." Palpatine pulled out some documents, likely new legislative bills he was working on. "I'm afraid I won't be able to be too social most of the time you're here. I do have work to do still, but I also hope it won't be too boring for you my dear. I know you're used to the front, but I assure you your position is still plenty important."

Padmé nodded. "Of course." And honestly, quiet was what she needed. She could focus on meditating until the Chancellor dismissed her for the night. It would finally give her the chance she needed to reflect on the vision and process her emotions that had become increasingly unstable since the war had begun.

Anakin was just putting away the last of his datapads for the night when he saw a sight for sore eyes enter the room. Padmé was in the doorway, smiling. "Padmé."

"I came to see if you were still here." She walked in, closing the door behind her as she sat on his desk. "I wanted to escort you back home."

Anakin smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "You're more than welcome to stay the night assuming the Jedi don't need you. It's only been a day, but I keep worrying you'll be sent back to the front before I can say goodbye."

"I wouldn't leave before you had the chance." Not that that had ever been either of their choices whether Padmé could or couldn't. There had been a number of nights where their goodbyes to each other had been brief calls before she was pulled away for the war. "And besides, I'm on Coruscant until the baby's born."

At that, Anakin's attention was pulled away towards his wife's stomach, and he put his head on it, ignoring how ridiculous he'd look if any of his fellow senators walked in at that moment. "Hey there. Can you hear me?"

He heard Padmé laugh, a sound that made his heart soar as he realized just how long it had been since his wife had had a reason to laugh about anything. "I asked Kix about their development, he said that by now the baby should be able to hear some things, not a lot though."

Anakin's grin grew wider. "Hi then. It's me, Daddy." She laughed again, and her smile was so warm it made all of his stress feel so far away. "I want our daughter to be able to recognize the sound of her father's voice when she first meets me."

"What makes you so sure they're going to be a girl? They could be a boy." She teased.

"The Force told me."

"What? It did not." Padmé shook her head. "You haven't even had time to ask it, let alone meditate on the answer."

"Being the Chosen One has its perks, even when your training amounts to a few late nights with your wife." He put his hand on hers, squeezing it tightly. "What do you think she'll be then, or did Kix tell you that too?"

In truth, Anakin wasn't actually sure the baby Padmé was carrying was going to be a girl, but he wanted them to be more than anything. He'd love any child that came from the two of them, but a girl who looked just like her mother...nothing would win him over faster.

"A boy." Padmé decided. "What I think he'll be, not what Kix told me. I refused to let him do any tests. I wanted you there for whatever I could." Rather than let the unfortunate reminder of just how much of the pregnancy he had missed floating in the air, Padmé immediately continued. "But if I need to have a reason, you can thank both the Force and motherly intuition."

Anakin laughed, lifting his wife off the desk before bringing her in for a kiss. "Then if he is a son, I'll be just as proud of him as I would be a daughter."

"I know you will be." She clasped her hands in his and led the way back to the apartment.

Maybe, just maybe, things would be alright.

In a hidden chamber, deep within the Senate halls, a cloaked figure stood above a projector, having just told Grievous where to remain on standby until the war effort could resume, Sidious had other, more important items to deal with.

Such as the loss of his apprentice.

Admittedly, Tyrannus had always been expendable to Sidious. The former Jedi had grown disgruntled with the order due to the seeds that had been planted before Plagueis had died, and when Tyrannus had left the Jedi Order it was easy enough for Sidious to swoop in, in need of an apprentice and a mind to mold. He was useful as well, eager to please and desperate for more power from the Dark Side. An apprentice any Sith would have been proud of.

But Sidious wanted a longer legacy, an apprentice bound to him completely and willing to follow his every command. At first, that choice had been Senator Skywalker. The Senator was a beacon in the Force because of his power, and even at thirteen as he had been when he'd first shown up on Coruscant, the boy had been powerful. Unfortunately, he was harder to get a hold of than expected. The boy avoided him at every chance he got as he got older, as though sensing that there was another motive to Sidious's attempts to befriend him. Still, Sidious had hoped that as he grew older, the boy's mind could be bent. It was clear now, however, that the Senator would be little more than a tool to finally push his second choice over the edge.

His ability to reach out to the young Padawan had been what had brought Padmé to Sidious's attention during the attack on Naboo. She was fairly strong in the Force and eager to learn everything the Jedi could teach her, a bright shining beacon of hope, and at the time she had been his first choice, as he had not yet known of Senator Skywalker. Unfortunately, she was also an innate force of good. He had never met somebody so willing to help others. Even among the Jedi, she was more self sacrificing than most. It was difficult to believe she wasn't born knowing right from wrong right from the beginning.

It was because of those reasons that he had decided he would need to bring her down. And after years of earning her trust, of slowly tearing apart the bonds she had with her fellow Jedi and even Senator Skywalker himself, he could feel it in her. Something had finally caused her to crack, her murder of Tyrannus in cold blood was proof of that. She was willing to follow him no matter what he asked, willing to forsake her values and defer to his judgement.

It was only a little more stress he needed to pile on, something small that could finally push her over the edge and into the waiting arms of the Sith. It was only a little longer until she would become his apprentice, and he could form his empire.

And after this long, a little bit wouldn't be much harder to wait.