A/N: Okay, so I promise that will be the last cliff hanger for a while. I'm not that mean... Or am I? *evil laugh*.
A lot of feedback has expressed issues with why Anakin is the way he is - I mean, there's no Jedi Order, or war, and he doesn't have to hide his relationship with Padme, which was the main reason for all of his turmoil and angst in the movies. So, in this universe, it seems unrealistic, right?
Wrong :)
Let me just point out that I've had this entire story planned out for AGES. And, everything happens for a reason. Which, you will find out in this chapter. So, without further adieu... Enjoy! Xx
"Padme? Padme! Can you hear me?!"
Teckla's worried voice was the first sound Padme heard when she regained consciousness. With a low groan, she slowly opened her eyes, seeing her young friend's green ones blinking down at her, wide in shocked concern. It was then she realized that she was sitting against the brick wall, legs stretched out before her and a damp cloth pressed against her forehead, being supported by Teckla's arms.
"Oh, thank god!" Teckla sighed in relief and continued dabbing her forehead with the damp cloth. "You scared me, woman! I didn't think you'd had that much to drink!" She gave a nervous laugh and then moved away from Padme, stepping over her outstretched legs to stare into her eyes once again.
Still in shock, Padme couldn't focus on anything. All she knew was that Anakin was in the hospital, in an unknown condition, and she needed to see him. Now. "H-hospital!" she cried in a raspy voice, making to stand up, but Teckla pushed her back down firmly.
"Hey, steady there, Girlfriend! You passed out! Don't you even think about moving!"
"N-no!" Padme spluttered, shaking her head in desperation, as tears spilled down her cheeks. "I h-have to go to the h-hopsital. A-Anakin… he's…" she broke off, choked by sobs. Pushing Teckla off her, none too gently, she hauled herself to her feet. "I've got to go. Now!"
She made to walk off, when Teckla gripped her forearm sharply. "Wait a sec, where are you going?!" her friend demanded incredulously, blinking her large green eyes at her. "Have you gone crazy?! You can't drive!"
Padme whirled around angrily, about to snap, because Anakin was lying in a hospital, possibly in critical condition, and she needed to see him now, to be beside him and make sure that he was okay. She did not have time to stand around arguing with Teckla about whether she was in the right state of mind to drive.
"Anakin's in the hospital!" she all but screamed, hysterically. "He – he had a… a – " she couldn't even get the words out, she was so worked up.
Teckla slowly released her arm, her entire expression softening into one of the sympathy. "Oh, Padme…I know. But…Honey, you've been drinking. You can't drive anywhere."
The logic of her friend's words finally sunk in, and she bit her lip, frustrated at the truth. She couldn't drive. And, neither could Teckla, who'd had more to drink than Padme. "I'll get a taxi," she said brusquely, making to head off again, when Teckla frowned. It was the first time Padme had ever seen her young, excitable friend so serious.
"Uh-uh," she waggled a finger at her. "No way am I going to let you get a taxi all by yourself. I mean, what if you pass out again? Huh? Nope. Not gonna happen."
Padme frowned at her friend's persistence, but knew she was right. Teckla had a point. It wasn't wise for her to be by herself in her current condition – she was far too worked up. "I need to get to the hospital, Teckla!" she cried irritably. "Anakin could be dying for all I know. You can't take me! And, neither can Dorme! So, a cab is really my only option right now!" She was getting hysterical again, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to make sure that Anakin was okay. She couldn't live with herself if he'd been critically injured, and she couldn't get to him. The last thing she'd said to him was that she didn't want to see him. If those had been her very last words to him…
The thought terrified her.
"Wait, doesn't your dad live near campus?" Teckla suggested after a few minutes of awkward silence, interrupting her thoughts. "He could take you."
Of course! Why hadn't Padme thought of that? It was the obvious solution.
Nodding her head quickly, she hurriedly retrieved her phone, and dialed her father's cell, all the while beaming at Teckla as though she had just discovered a new ancient civilization. "You're a gem!" she praised her gratefully, to which her friend merely returned her wide smile and winked, "I know."
"Padme?" her father's voice echoed through the other end.
"Daddy," she greeted him earnestly. She hadn't called him 'Daddy' since she was a little girl, but she was desperate and needed all the help she could get at this point. Her father's weakest point was his daughters, no matter how hard he was on them. "I need you to take me to the hospital."
"What?!" came his concerned response, immediately defensive and hot, and Padme realised it probably wasn't the best way to begin the conversation.
"Are you okay? What's happened? Where are you?" Ruwee fired the questions at her relentlessly.
"I'm fine, Dad," she assured him. "But… Anakin's had an accident and is in the hospital and I…I have to go and see him!" The urgency in her voice is enough for her father to grumble a quick, "Alright Sweetheart, I'll take you" before hanging up.
She stood there, waiting for him, all the while chewing on her fingernails, a habit she resorted to as a child when she was extremely nervous. Her mind was working overtime, replaying the events of the day through her head.
It was quite possibly the single worst day of her entire life. Absolutely nothing had gone to plan; instead, it had rapidly spiraled downhill, and now, to make matters even worse, Anakin was in the hospital. What was she supposed to do? Even though she'd said they shouldn't see each other for a while, she couldn't just leave him in the hospital all alone. He didn't have any family in Boston…Padme was it. Besides, she loved him far too much to just let him suffer, regardless of what had happened between them.
"How bad is it?" Teckla asked quietly from beside her, eyeing her cautiously.
Padme bit her lip and whimpered, shaking her head miserably. "I…I don't know. All I know is the police called me since I'm his emergency contact and said he'd been in a car accident and had been admitted to the hospital."
With a sigh, her friend placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and muttered, "Don't panic. I'm sure it's not too bad," she tried to reassure her. "They would have told you if it was critical, right?"
The word critical was Padme's undoing, and suddenly a wave of emotion suffocated her until she couldn't breathe. What if it was critical? What if Anakin was in a coma? She couldn't bear the thought of seeing his lifeless form, wired up to various monitors and drips, without him even knowing she was there.
The thought was heartbreaking.
If he was in that bad of a condition, uncertain whether he was going to live or die, Padme didn't know how she could possibly continue with her studies. The anxiety and grief would eat her alive.
Ten minutes later, her father arrived in his black Mercedes, and she hurriedly slid into the passenger seat and shut the door, urging her father to drive as fast as he could. She felt his eyes on her, scrutinizing her as she sat facing the window, chewing so relentlessly on her bottom lip that she was sure it was going to be red and raw by the end of the night. He wanted to ask her what was going on, but obviously, he could tell that she wasn't in the right frame of mind to talk right then. Padme was grateful for his forethought.
"You look lovely, Sweetheart," Ruwee commented quietly after several moments of silence.
Padme sniffled and looked over at him, the sad, proud smile on his face making her brighten just a little. "Thanks, Daddy."
"Can you tell me what happened, Padme?" he asked kindly.
Wiping her eyes, with the back of her hand, she shook her head. "I don't know, exactly," she confessed. It was the uncertainty of Anakin's fate that distressed her the most. She needed to know that he was going to be okay, needed to see it with her own eyes. "Anakin… he – he was in a car accident. He's in the hospital. That's all I know. That's all the police told me when they called me."
Ruwee reached over and took hold of her hand. "It's going to be alright, Sweetheart. Anakin is a strong, healthy young man. I'm sure he'll be fine," he soothed her. Padme was struck by this sudden soft side of her father – the sternest man she'd ever known, one to rarely show his emotions. Sure, she knew that he loved her, and she definitely loved him, but they had a somewhat rocky relationship (especially so since she'd been dating Anakin), and it surprised her to see him acting so…compassionate...where Anakin was involved.
"Don't worry yourself until you know for sure."
She only wished she could return his optimism.
Hours seemed to go by before they finally arrived at the hospital, and Padme wasted no time in leaping out of her father's car as soon as it was parked, and she all but sprinted towards the entrance, Ruwee struggling to keep up with her. Padme had never been to the hospital for all the four years that she'd been at Harvard, and whilst she was grateful for that fact, it also meant she had no idea where she was going. So, she did the only thing a grief-stricken, hysterical person would do – berate the receptionist.
"I need to see Anakin Skywalker!" she shouted once she reached the front desk, slamming her hands on the counter and staring at the receptionist with wide, frightened eyes.
The elderly woman peered up at her from behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, her expression far from impressed by Padme's outburst. "Excuse me, miss, but…who are you?!"
Padme groaned. Of course, this poor woman was just doing her job, and yes, she was acting like a crazed lunatic, but all she wanted was to see Anakin, and she didn't havetime to answer such mundane questions. "Padme Naberrie," she huffed impatiently, tapping her fingers against the counter. "I'm the I.C.E for Anakin Skywalker. I was contacted by emergency services. He was admitted here not long ago."
Clicking her tongue, the woman shifted through a pile of paperwork to her right and then typed away at her computer, and it took all of Padme's willpower not to jump over the desk and search for the damn information herself. Eventually, the receptionist directed her towards Anakin's ward, and Padme quickly set off down the corridor to the elevator bays, dragging her poor father with her.
When they arrived outside Anakin's room, the nurse eyed them suspiciously. "Are you the family of Mr. Skywalker?" she asked.
By this stage, Padme's patience had whittled down to less than an inch, and she was about ready to explode. "His family is in Minnesota! I'm his girlfriend, his I.C.E., and all he has here in Boston!" she growled, crossing her arms aggressively over her chest and standing firm, glaring at the nurse to further make her point.
Immediately, the nurse softened her expression and gave her a kind smile. "Well then, you may visit him, dear. But, visiting hours close in 45 minutes; so, I'm afraid you won't have long."
Nodding her head, she swallowed the lump of anxiety that settled in her throat and stepped inside the room.
He was awake. Thank goodness!
The sheer relief that engulfed her when she saw Anakin, lying on the hospital bed, propped up by a large, fluffy white pillow, and staring directly at her was enough to make tears prick at her eyes again. Anakin was awake and alive, and she let out a strangled sob of happiness. He was smiling at her, a small, sleepy smile, and his eyes were half-hooded, giving him a sort of dopey appearance, which Padme assumed was because of the painkillers. There was a small rectangular dressing over the far edge of his right eye, but other than that, his face looked fairly unscathed.
She quickly set about evaluating the rest of him. Her eyes raked over his form, and saw, to her horror, his right arm heavily bandaged in a sling. An IV drip was attached to his left arm. The rest of his body was concealed underneath heavy blankets. Her bottom lip quivered as she made to approach him, when Ruwee coughed suddenly.
She hadn't even realized her father had followed her in the room.
Padme glanced back curiously at her father, who smiled sadly at them both. "I'll leave you two alone. I'll be outside if you need me."
Nodding her head, she watched her father leave before turning her attention back to Anakin. "Oh, Ani," she sighed tearfully, moving to stand beside his bed. She longed to reach out and stroke his damp curls that clung to his forehead, but couldn't make herself move.
"Angel, you came," he muttered softly, and the honest surprise in his voice was completely heartbreaking. As though he hadn't expected her to come see him.
Oh, Anakin, what have I done to you?!
Sniffing back the tears that threatened to burst forth, she nodded her head earnestly. "Of course, I came, Ani."
His left hand twitched, itching for her touch, and so, she reached out and softly entwined her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand gently. His skin felt freezing. Such an alarming contrast to his usual warmth that Padme frequently indulged in when they were together. He gestured for her to sit down next to him, and she gingerly sat on the bed, beside his outstretched legs, taking care not to rock him, for she didn't know how many injuries he had underneath the blankets and didn't want to cause him any further pain.
"Anakin, what happened?!" She asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
He didn't respond right away. Instead, he flicked his gaze down to their entwined hands, watching as he ran his thumb delicately across her knuckles. There was almost a certain reverence in the act, as though he couldn't believe he was allowed to touch her, as though it was the last time she would let him. As much as it broke Padme's heart to acknowledge it, she supposed that he was right, in a sense, to assume that. She had basically broken up with him.
Sort of.
"After our…fight," he mumbled quietly, still refusing to meet her eyes. "I got a taxi and…well, some idiot ran a red light and T-boned us. A broken arm and four broken ribs later, I'm in here." He gave a feeble chuckle, a little delusional with the pain medicine, and Padme's breath hitched in horror. Four broken ribs?! "Oh, yeah," he added as an afterthought. "I almost lost my right eye, too."
Her gaze flicked up to the bandage over his right eye, and she whimpered. Her poor Ani. He'd been so, so lucky, and she sent a silent prayer of gratitude up to God, or Fate, or whoever would listen, thanking them for sparing his life. "Anakin…" She wanted nothing more than to kiss him, to relish the fact that he was alive and breathing and still had all of his body parts, even though he was significantly injured.
He still hadn't looked at her. "S'alright," he continued in a low voice. "The driver is a lot worse off than I am."
Padme squeezed his hand fiercely. "Ani, why were you in a taxi? Where were you going?!" She thought she knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from him.
It was then that he finally looked up at her. She'd never seen his eyes look so lost before – that beautiful blue she loved so much was forlorn and somewhat distant. It made her physically ache. "The airport," was his simple answer.
"Oh my god," she sobbed, shaking her head in disbelief as a waterfall of tears spilled down her cheeks. The airport. He'd gone back to the airport, to go back to Chicago, because she'd told him she didn't want to see him anymore! This was all her fault! He was here, in this hospital bed, with a broken arm, broken ribs and a cut over his eye because of her! Because she had told him to leave. If she hadn't, it wouldn't have happened. This wouldn't have happened.
The guilt made her feel physically ill, and she paled, her entire body going numb. "Oh, Ani…" she wailed. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault – all my fault." She removed her hand from his grip and slumped over, sobbing into her hands, her emotions getting the better of her once again.
"No!" Anakin growled fiercely and winced as he reached out to her with his good arm, taking her wrist in his firm grip and yanking it away from her face. "This isn't your fault. Don't you even say that, Padme. None of this is your fault!" She met his blazing stare, and it pierced right through her soul. It was so intense that she almost shrunk under it, but somehow, she couldn't look away.
Sniffling, she shook her head. "Ani, if I hadn't… then you wouldn't have… you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me."
Anakin frowned sternly. "You had every right to do what you did, Angel. If anyone is to blame for this, it's me. It's all on me. I brought this on myself."
"Don't say that, Anakin," she told him. "You didn't ask to get into a car accident. You didn't deserve this!"
He merely exhaled miserably. "Didn't I? Padme, I… I assaulted him. I lost control of my temper, and I – I could have done some real lasting damage." Regret trembled in his voice, and she knew that he felt truly terrible for what he'd done to Clovis. It gave her hope that maybe they could work through this, given time.
She couldn't deny the truth of his words, so she simply shook her head. "Regardless of what you did, you didn't deserve this, Anakin. You're a good person at heart. I know you are."
Sighing, he withdrew his hand, letting it fall limply by his side. "I'm not as good as you think I am, Angel," he admitted sadly. "I'm a – I'm a monster."
"No, Ani!" she reached out and stroked his hair fondly, before cupping his cheek, forcing him to look at her. "Don't say that. You're not a monster. You're not. You're brilliant and sweet and charming and wonderful, and I love you, I love you so, so much, Anakin." Despite all he had done, despite everything, that much she knew to still be true. She loved Anakin deeply, and she suspected she always would.
His eyes grew moist at her words, and she could see the shame swimming there in those gorgeous pools of blue. Oh, how she wanted to rid him of his agony. Knowing Anakin, he would beat himself up about this for months. Of course, what he'd done was wrong, in every sense of the word, and Padme wouldn't stand for such behaviour. But, she hated seeing him like this. She wanted to fix him, to help him, to work through this together and get passed it, so they could move on to better, more happier times...together.
"You shouldn't," he muttered darkly under his breath. "I'm no good for you, Padme. I'm not safe."
"Yes, you are," she retorted stubbornly.
He scowled at her, jerking away from her touch. "No. I'm not!" he insisted. "I'm dangerous. Unstable. I could – I could hurt you, Angel."
"You wouldn't," she sobbed and shook her head, several tears dripping down her nose onto her lap. "I know you wouldn't, Anakin. Why are you doing this to yourself?"
"Because you deserve better!" he raised his voice, shouting at her, and she flinched a little at the sudden rise in volume. The way he was looking at her, it was half-crazed, eyes wide, jaw set. She'd never seen him like this. He looked so pained, so full of self-hate and loathing and disgust at himself, and all she wanted to do was take him in her arms and kiss away his sorrow. "You're so perfect, and I'm a fucking mess! You deserve someone who's whole! Not me – I'm a disaster, Padme. A complete fucking disaster."
"Ani – "
" – no, you need to listen to me!" he yelled over the top of her. Tears of frustration rolled down his cheeks. "You don't understand. It's in my blood!"
She blinked at him, suddenly confused. "What on earth are you talking about?!" she asked, completely bewildered by his sudden outburst. What did he mean by it was 'in his blood'?
He swallowed and closed his eyes, exhaling deeply through his nose. Padme watched him, suddenly very scared for him. His fist was clenched tight, so tight that the skin stretched almost painfully across his knuckles and turned white. He was shaking a little – whether from rage or sorrow or shock, she didn't know.
"There's something you don't know…" he whispered, voice deathly quiet, and Padme had to lean closer in order to hear him properly. "About – about my…father." The word came out like a hiss, strained and full of malice.
Father?! What was he talking about?
Anakin didn't have a father – he'd told her that he'd left once Shmi had fallen pregnant, leaving her to raise Anakin all by herself. He didn't even know his father. Padme raised this question, feeling more confused than ever.
Anakin only sighed. "I lied," he confessed after a moment. "Mom told me to lie about him. To say, if anyone ever asked, that I didn't know him. That he left before I was born. That he never existed in our lives."
Padme blinked at him with wide eyes. "Why?" She asked the burning question that plagued her conscience. When he met her gaze again, his eyes were shimmering in fury, and there was a deep hatred resonating within him. Padme could practically feel it seeping out of his very skin. Suddenly, she was a little worried about what the answer to her question would be.
"He was…He was a monster," Anakin hissed angrily, his eyes narrowed into slits. "He would – no, I can't say…"
She took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It's alright, Ani. You can tell me," she encouraged him sweetly.
Nodding his head, he swallowed, and took a shaky breath, staring down at his lap. "He was a very violent man, Angel. Demanding. Mean. Hateful. Mom and I were in constant fear of him for years. If he had a bad day at work, or was in a bad mood, or if was drunk, he'd take it out on her. He would…" She watched as a tear dripped down the end of his nose, and she rubbed her thumb across his knuckles, giving him all the support he needed. "He would…beat her up, Padme…" He whispered, voice deathly quiet, and Padme's breath hitched at his admission, her eyes widening in shock.
Poor, sweet, gentle Shmi.
Padme didn't know what to say. What could she possibly say? It was awful. It was horrible. No one deserved that kind of treatment. She felt sick to the core.
"He'd make me watch," he snarled in absolute disgust. "He'd sit me down and tell me, 'Look, Son, this is what happens when you disobey me ' and then he'd force me to watch as he…he – " Anakin broke off as his voice was choked by a sob. He hung his head, his entire body shuddering, and her own eyes filled with tears at the sight of him.
"When I was about eight or nine, I tried standing up to him, y'know? I was sick of watching him abuse my Mom and have to sit there and do nothing!" his voice quivered. "But, he was so much bigger than me… I was only a kid – and I ended up in the hospital…Mom was hysterical! It was – " he paused, swallowed, then continued, all the while staring at his lap. Padme didn't pressure him. He needed to do this in his own time, in his own way. "It was the last straw for her. She…well, I didn't really know how it all worked out, but there were court hearings and all sorts of horrible things. Took about a year, but eventually my father was locked away, and Mom and I were relocated to Minnesota by the authorities." Eventually, he looked up at her.
"That's when I met you."
It grew silent between them. Padme didn't know what to make of any of it. Poor Shmi. Poor Ani. How could two such wonderfully good people be caught up in such horrific events? It wasn't fair! So, she simply kept hold of his hand, sending all her sympathy and compassion and love for him through that one simple action.
"Oh, Ani," she whispered. "I'm so sorry." He gave her a weak smile. "Why didn't you – why didn't you tell me?"
"Because of Mom. She said it was better if we just pretended it never happened. So, I honored her wishes."
Of course.
The only person Anakin loved more than Padme was his mother. If she'd told him to keep it a secret, he'd do it. He'd do anything for her.
"I wish I could have protected her," he said after a few minutes. "I couldn't. I couldn't help her! She endured so much, and I just watched her!"
"Ani, you were a child! What could you have done?"
"I wanted to kill him." His voice was low and dark and dangerous. The amount of honesty in his words made her freeze. He was completely serious, she could tell. If he'd been older, perhaps, he probably would have succeeded. Of course, she didn't blame him for feeling so strongly. It was natural to want to protect the ones you loved. And, after witnessing such prolonged trauma at such a young age, she now understood.
But, it was more than that. Suddenly, Padme understood everything. Why he was the way he was. It all made perfect sense. Anakin felt like he couldn't protect his mother, so he vowed that he wouldn't be a bystander anymore. When he'd seen that poor man being beaten by his peers when he was sixteen, he was physically unable to do nothing. He wanted to protect that poor teacher.
And now, with Clovis. Anakin had wanted to protect Padme – Clovis had mistreated her, maybe not in a physical sense necessarily, but in an emotional sense, he had, and Anakin couldn't not do nothing. He was severely traumatised from his horrific childhood – of all the times he'd watched his father abuse Shmi. And, whilst it wasn't right to act out in violence, Padme found that she now understood.
"I vowed then, when I was nine years old, that I'd never let anything happen to my mother again. That I'd do everything I could to protect her – to protect the people I love. But, I'm…" he bit his lip, pleading at her with his eyes, and Padme couldn't look away from his intoxicating gaze. Even here, broken and damaged and so very troubled, he was still so beautiful.
Perhaps, it made him even more beautiful in her eyes. "I'm turning into him." He shuddered as a tremor wracked through him, and there was fear in his voice, his expression. He was afraid. Afraid of becoming his father. "I hate him, Padme, but I'm…I'm just like him. I lose control…I'm dangerous."
She gave him a sad smile and shuffled closer to him, so she was sitting by his head. Her hand reached out and gently brushed his hair away from his face, before cupping his cheeks in both hands. "Ani, you're nothing like your father," she assured him softly. "You want to protect those you love, not hurt them…protect in the only way you know how. You were traumatised, Anakin. No wonder you are so protective of your mother…of me!"
"But… but look what I did!" he exclaimed. "This isn't the first time I've done this, Padme. I get so angry…I can't control myself, and then I just… explode!" He looked terrified, but she simply pressed a finger over his lips.
"Shhh," she hushed him sweetly. "Ani, did you ever get therapy? I mean, have you ever talked to someone…a professional, about your past?"
He shook his head no.
"I think you should," she told him wisely. "It would help you, I think, to get past your anger. To get past your guilt."
"Guilt?" he raised his eyebrows in confusion.
Padme nodded. "I'm no expert, but to me, it seems like you're holding onto a lot of guilt for what happened to your mother." When he didn't say anything, she continued. "But, it wasn't your fault, Anakin. You couldn't have helped her, no matter how much you wanted to. It's not your fault." She bent to rest her forehead against his, staring deep into his eyes, watching as tears clung to his long, thick eyelashes.
"Angel…" he reached up with his good hand and stroked her hair in such a sweet, loving gesture that made her smile. "I'm sorry. For being so… damaged. You deserve so much better than me."
"Stop it," she hissed at him, gripping his face fiercely. "Stop saying that, Anakin. I love you. Nothing you could say is ever going to change that. I love you, and I'm going to help you." And, then she kissed him, pouring all of her sorrow, her grief, her endless love into that kiss, trying to make him understand that she wasn't going to abandon him. Not now. Not ever. He needed help, but what kind of person would she be if she didn't stick by his side? For better or for worse.
Her sister had always told her she had a 'thing' for charity cases, for fixing people, and even though she hated that word, perhaps Sola had been right. Padme wanted to help Anakin, and whether that was because she loved him or because she had some sort of 'Mother Teresa' complex, or maybe even both, she was going to help him. They were going to get through this, together.
"Miss Naberrie," the nurse's voice interrupted their intimate moment and Padme pulled away, her cheeks wet from her tears. "Visiting hours are over. I'm afraid you'll have to leave now."
She shook her head adamantly. "No!" she cried. "I can't leave him. He needs me. Please!"
The nurse gave her a sad smile. "Miss Naberrie, I can't let you – "
"I won't be any trouble," Padme insisted. "I'll just be right here. You won't even know I'm here. Please!" She glanced back down at Anakin, who was smiling at her as though she was the only person in the whole world.
The nurse took pity on them and sighed. "Fine. My boss is going to kill me for this, but alright. I'll let you stay just this once." She changed Anakin's fluids and redressed the bandage over his eye, before turning out the light and leaving.
Padme stayed sitting next to Anakin, gripping his hand tightly as the morphine kicked in, and he drifted off to sleep. She watched his blissful face, admiring how innocent he looked when he was asleep.
"Don't worry, Ani," she whispered into the night. "I'm here. I'll always be here. I'm not going anywhere."
Leaning forward, she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and then manoeuvred herself so that she was curled up next to him, her right hand entwined in his left one, her head leaning against his shoulder. After all the drama that had occurred that day, she draped his blankets over her legs, and was asleep in seconds.
