"Dreams?" Bail repeated, his brow furrowed with concern. "What sort of dreams?"
Padme sat in the living room by herself with Doctor Organa. Her family, to give her privacy with the doctor, had gone to get donuts. Mindy and Anakin, to her knowledge, were not yet awake. Still, Padme glanced around and lowered her voice as she responded to Bail's question. "They're obviously dreams, but they're also scarily realistic. I wake up having a hard time distinguishing reality from dreams, and some nights it's hard to sleep."
Bail looked like he was at a loss for what to say. "I expected you to be more upset about what happened last night," He finally said.
"So did I. And I am upset, but he was also trying to kill me and at the end of the day I would rather be alive than dead." She didn't feel like telling him what she'd told Mindy. Bail may have been a family friend, but he was still a doctor. Her parents didn't need to have their daughter put into a psych ward on top of the scandal she had already created.
Bail studied her closely for a long time before he sighed, shaking his head. "You're stronger than I realized, Padme. Seriously, though, if you feel like you need to talk to someone about it…"
"You'll be the first to know." She promised.
Bail seemed satisfied by that answer. He cleared his throat. "Now as for the dreams, it could be that your body is stressed from everything that's been going on lately and that's its way of releasing that stress."
"I don't feel overly stressed though." Padme mused, biting her lower lip. "Not until recently, that is. The dreams have been going on for longer than that though."
Bail frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought for a solution. "Well, I have medication that is used as a sleep aid. Most people who use it report that they have had few if not no dreams at all when using it." He hesitated. "But it can be very addictive. If you use it, you must use it exactly to my specifications."
Now it was Padme's turn to hesitate. Could she really risk taking a potentially addictive substance just to stop some vivid dreams? Sure, the dreams disturbed and scared her, but she didn't want to risk becoming addicted to something that would have longer reaching effects on her life. "Could I take a few days to think it over?"
Bail seemed to relax a little. "I think that would be a smart thing to do. Whatever your choice, do what is best for yourself."
She nodded, opening her mouth to thank him, when a furry creature bounded into the room, wagging his tail so hard, he thumped it loudly on all of the furniture he passed. "Well hello," Bail laughed as Jedi approached him, tongue lagging happily as he sought attention from the doctor. Bail reached down and rubbed Jedi behind the ears, and Jedi's tail wagged harder.
Anakin appeared around the corner a moment later, breathing hard. "Sorry," Anakin said, "I didn't realize he was in the bathroom." Sola had put Jedi in the hall bathroom to keep him from disturbing Padme while she and Bail talked. Jedi looked back at Anakin and barked, as if to say, in your face human, and turned back around to get more attention from Bail.
Padme began to laugh, getting up and going to the back door. "He needs to go out anyway." She opened the door, instantly grabbing Jedi's attention. The dog bolted, out the door in seconds.
"And how are you doing, Mr. Skywalker?" Bail asked, his voice friendly, but Padme could hear the interest in his voice. "Have you remembered anything?"
Padme paused at the door, looking back to hear Anakin's answer. Anakin rarely talked about his memory loss, but it was still obvious whenever he came across something that he didn't recognize. She supposed Anakin viewed it as an embarrassment, and maybe that was why he chose not to talk about it.
"No," Anakin replied, his face unreadable, but she could see that his body tensed. Yeah, he definitely didn't want to talk about it.
"I see," Bail seemed troubled by this, but he didn't comment. "But have you adjusted well? Are you still going to therapy?"
"Yes." Anakin kept his reply short, his tone clipped, and Bail seemed to get the message: I don't want to talk about this.
"Well, both of you call me if you need anything else." Bail said slowly when it was clear that Anakin was not wanting to talk more.
"Thank you for coming." Padme said earnestly, hoping that Bail didn't take Anakin's aloofness as an offense. If Padme hadn't been around Anakin for the past few months, she would probably have taken his behavior as an offense. However, she had noticed there were some things that Anakin just didn't like talking about, and no amount of pushing would get him to talk. So instead she showed Bail out, promising to call him if anything changed.
Anakin followed her, waiting as Bail walked down the path towards his car. "Did he say that you were going to be okay?" Anakin asked as they stood at the open doorway together, watching the older man get into his car.
Padme nodded, looking up at Anakin. "He said I'm probably a little too okay, considering what just happened." She tried to make it sound like a joke. Anakin, however, couldn't manage more than a small smile. Clearly, he was still very worried for her condition.
He reached up and gently lifted her chin so that he could get a better look at the nasty bruise that had blackened overnight. She knew make up would just make it look worse, and from the throbbing it caused her face, she figured hiding it would cause her more pain anyway. But she reconsidered when she saw the worry in Anakin's eyes flare to life. "And this?" he asked quietly.
"It looks worse than it really is," She assured him, "And Bail said that if I iced it, it should help with the swelling."
Anakin still looked unconvinced, but he dropped his hand from her chin and let the subject go. "I'm going back inside," He said, "I'm glad everything went well." He turned and left before she could say a word.
Note to self, she thought, don't make jokes about my personal safety around Anakin.
She hadn't even closed the front door when another car pulled up. It was a familiar silver colored Lamborghini, and she smiled when its occupant parked and got out. "Satine!" She cried, causing the blonde-haired woman to look up and meet her eyes.
Satine did not smile like she normally did when they got together. "Have you seen the news yet?" Satine asked, walking up the driveway. She was wearing her best business suit, and her heels clicked purposefully as she walked up the sidewalk.
Padme frowned. "No, my doctor just left."
Satine paused at the doorway. "And are you okay?" She asked earnestly.
Padme nodded. "Just a little shaken, that's all."
Satine took a deep, calming breath, and nodded. "I'm glad. I have news, however, that may change that."
Padme's frown deepened. "Do I want to know?" She asked, already feeling enough dread that she considered asking not to know.
"Yes." Satine confirmed. "You need to know."
Padme let her into the house and they headed for the living room. As they passed through the kitchen, Anakin was rummaging in the fridge, likely for bacon. "Anakin my parents are getting us breakfast. They should be home soon." She glanced at the timer on the stove. The police should be coming by soon as well.
Anakin stood up, frowning and obviously debating on whether or not he would make bacon anyway, when he did a double take. "Satine?" He blurted out.
Satine stopped in her tracks, taking him in. "Do we know each other?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Anakin cleared his throat. "Um. We sort of met at the Halloween party." He said.
Satine squinted her eyes, trying to remember. Suddenly she gasped. "Oh! You're Ben's 'Wing Man.'"
Both Padme and Anakin couldn't help but start laughing. The night of the Halloween party, Ben was wearing a chicken costume. If Anakin had indeed tried to set Ben up with Satine, technically he would be Ben's wing man in more ways than one. "Yeah, although he didn't like that phrase when I used it." Anakin laughed.
"He didn't like it when I asked him if you were supposed to be his wing man, either." Satine grinned briefly before she frowned again. "I gave him my number. He hasn't contacted me."
A peculiar look crossed Anakin's face. "Did you now?" He said, digging into his jean pockets for his cell phone. "Say, why are you here anyway?"
"She's my lawyer." Padme answered. Satine was older than Padme, and when Padme had first started college, Satine had been halfway through getting her Doctorate. Satine now worked as a defense lawyer, and so far had been quite successful. Padme had insisted that Satine be her lawyer when her parents asked. "She needs to be here when the police show up."
Anakin scowled. "Can't the police leave you alone? Obviously you didn't kill the guy because you're a murderer."
"It may be obvious to you, and even to them, but the police need to be thorough." Satine responded. "Now. I need to show Padme the news. We can catch up later." She pulled Padme's hand and led her into the living room. She turned on the TV immediately and switched the channel until she found what she was looking for.
Padme sat down on the couch and watched apprehensively. At first, it was hard to understand what they were talking about since it was in the middle of a story, but then she heard her parent's names, and her entire body tensed.
"…Ruwee and Jobal Amidala have already taken a hit in the polls. The poll is still open, but as of right now their 'family' image seems to be ruined with the scandal of their daughter killing her date." The newswoman was saying. Padme's heart sunk—this was exactly what she'd feared would happen. "Senator Palpatine made a statement about the incident."
The camera cut away to Palpatine's face. He looked like the perfect concerned man for a misguided child. "I am deeply sorry for the tragic turn the Amidala family has taken. I hope that Ms. Padme will recover from her traumatic experience, and I hope that in the future she is more careful about the men she dates."
The camera cut back to the newswoman, still going on about how her parent's numbers had fallen while Palpatine's had risen, but Padme could hardly hear what was being said. She was literally shaking with anger. "That snake!" she hissed, turning the TV off. She had seen enough. "How dare he use this as an opportunity to make himself look good!"
"That's what politicians do," Satine pointed out.
Anakin walked in at that moment with a plate of bacon. Apparently he had decided to go with bacon anyway. If Padme wasn't so upset about what her stupid decision had done to her parent's chances of ever getting elected again, she may have smiled or laughed. "What do politicians do?" Anakin asked.
Padme put her face into her hands, taking deep breaths to calm herself. "People voted for my parents in the past because they represented the ideal American family. Whether that's true or not, it was still an important part of my parent's image. Now their numbers are falling in the polls, and Senator Palpatine is using it to make himself look like the good guy."
Anakin growled at the mention of Senator Palpatine. Padme remembered that despite her dislike of the Senator, Anakin really hated the man. Still, he refrained from launching into a rant, and instead sat down next to her, putting his plate of beloved bacon on the coffee table. "What can we do?" He asked instead, his voice tight.
Padme thought for a minute, trying to decide what the best course of action would be. "Maybe I can convince my parents to make a statement." She said. "Especially once we get it cleared up by the police, I'm sure that we can turn this around. Somehow." Politicians always seemed to be able to talk themselves out of big holes. She could list a few presidents who talked themselves out of rather big holes and still got re-elected.
"It might work," Satine tried to sound optimistic. "Once it's widely known that you did act out of self-defense, I'm sure people will sympathize." Satine made it sound easy, but Padme knew that many people would condemn Padme for even going out with Finn in the first place, as if Padme could have known that he was a crazy killer before she'd gone out. It wasn't like he'd had a sign around his neck that said, Hi my name is Finn and I'm a potential serial killer!
But the media wouldn't see it that way. Eventually it would blow over, but in the meantime Padme suddenly felt like hiding in her room to avoid making anything worse.
She wouldn't though. She would face the issue head on with her head held high.
She felt Anakin lace his fingers through hers, bringing her back to reality, her breathing immediately calming some. "We'll figure this out." He promised quietly, his voice firm. She looked up to find him watching her carefully, his blue eyes shinning with an emotion she couldn't quite place. Affection for her? Hatred for Palpatine? Worry for her precarious position? Perhaps it was all three of those.
She didn't respond. She just leaned her forehead against his shoulder, taking a deep breath, letting his presence wash over her. She barely noticed the sound of her front door opening.
"Padme," Her father's voice called, and Padme reluctantly pulled her forehead away from Anakin. She kept her fingers tightly enclosed in Anakin's hand however. "The police are here." He appeared around the corner, a box of doughnuts in his hand, and stopped at the doorway, his eyes zooming in immediately to her hand in Anakin's.
Padme blushed, but she didn't pull away. Of course her father would notice. It was the sign of a good father, even if the way his eyes narrowed at Anakin was a little embarrassing. Still, Anakin was her first real boyfriend, and this was the first time her father had to deal with something like this. But as an adult, she wasn't going to hide or act like she was ashamed of her relationship with Anakin either.
A small part of her, for some odd reason, found that to be a major relief.
"Padme, you didn't tell me you were dating anyone." Satine slowly said, her eyes on their hands as well.
"There wasn't much to tell until last night." Anakin answered for her. He didn't sound like he was bragging. He sounded matter-of-fact.
"I see." Satine said. "Well, I can't have the entire house snooping around while the police talk with us. Take your bacon and go somewhere else for now. I doubt the police will arrest anyone now if they haven't already."
Anakin hesitated, and Padme gently kissed his cheek in assurance. "I'm going to be fine. They just want to discuss the incident further." She whispered.
Anakin's eyes roamed over her face, deciding. Finally, he nodded. "Okay." He said. "If you need me, I won't be far." He sounded so serious, as if he really thought that the police could actually try to hurt her. She supposed they could try to arrest her, but that was what her lawyer was for.
Still, she didn't object as he softly kissed her lips, stood, and left the room, followed shortly by her father.
Satine smiled as soon as they were briefly alone. "When we're done with this police investigation," she said, "You're going to need to tell me how you landed yourself a guy like that."
That did make Padme blush.
Anakin headed straight to his bedroom. His wall was shared with the living room, and this was not a fortress. If you were quiet enough, you could hear whatever was happening on the other side. He sat at the top of his bed and pressed his ear against the wall.
"Are you eavesdropping, young man?" An older voice asked, and Anakin jumped a little to find Ruwee standing in his doorway, his arms crossed over his broad chest.
Anakin cleared his throat in embarrassment. If he'd had the Force, he would have sensed Ruwee still following him and saved himself the embarrassment. Anakin wondered if he never fully got the Force back, if this sort of situation would become typical. He hoped not, but with his luck lately…
No, he reminded himself, your luck is turning. Padme…Padme is yours again. And this time he could actually be open with his relationship with her. The thought made his heart soar. He struggled to keep a straight face as he replied. "Would you care to join me?" Eavesdropping was not the advised thing to do with the man who was technically, even if he didn't know it, his father-in-law. Because had Anakin ever stopped being Padme's husband? Anakin hadn't decided the answer to that question yet.
At first Ruwee tried to maintain the stern expression, but it soon crumpled and he sighed. "I'm only joining you on this because I want to make sure that my daughter will be okay. However, I hope that eavesdropping is not something that you regularly do." He pulled up a chair from Anakin's cluttered desk. He eyed the mess as he did so. "Do you like mechanics?" Anakin's desk was covered with various tools and parts that he had been fiddling around with whenever he wasn't working on school work or trying to remaster the Force. It was the only place in his room that was cluttered.
"I do sir," Anakin responded. "I'm studying to become a Mechanical Engineer." He waited with anticipation, hoping that Obi-Wan was right and it was indeed a career that Ruwee would find fitting for someone dating his daughter.
Ruwee raised an eyebrow, and Anakin thought he looked at least somewhat impressed. He silently reminded himself to thank Obi-Wan later for insisting that Anakin follow through on this school thing.
Quietly, they both pressed their ears to the wall and listened.
"…No charges against you." A male voice was saying.
"That's good news," Padme said, and Anakin instantly recognized it as her 'Senator' voice. He smiled with pride. That was his wife…uh girlfriend. Whatever she was to him.
"What have you found on the attacker?" Satine asked, also using that commanding voice that she'd used as a Duchess. It was only fitting that she be a lawyer in this world. She was suited to the role, just as Padme was. Together, the women would be a fearsome team.
There was a pause. "Well, you won't believe it, but Finn was actually a wanted assassin named Rueben. He's a wanted criminal internationally. His primary targets are women, especially women who have high connections. Being the daughter of two politicians, Ms. Padme is a prime target for a man like him."
Anakin sucked in a breath, trying to control the wave of anger than washed over him. He wanted to believe that it was just the fact that Padme was the daughter of politicians in this world, but he knew better. Padme's parents had worked as politicians for years without Padme ever getting hurt (to his knowledge). It couldn't be a coincidence that she was attacked soon after Anakin had run into Palpatine.
He didn't have any solid proof however. According to Obi-Wan, the law would not look kindly on them if they attacked the Senator without proof of his murderous ways.
So instead he held his tongue as he listened to Padme ask, "Do you know who hired him?"
"Unfortunately not." The officer said. Typical. If it was Palpatine, he would not leave behind evidence so readily. It had been the precise reason why it had taken them years to find out who Palpatine really was. During that time, Palpatine had used Anakin and manipulated him until when he finally revealed himself, Anakin was conflicted enough that it turned him to the Dark Side. "We are currently trying to trace the information on his computer, but I can't guarantee that we'll find anything. Everything we've found so far has led up to a dead end. Whoever it was, they aren't messing around."
"So you're saying that my client is still in danger." Satine said it not as a question, but as a statement. Of course she was in danger, Anakin wanted to say, she would continue to be until Palpatine was dealt with.
"Yes," The officer confirmed.
"She needs protection then." Satine's voice was firm. She has protection, Anakin wanted to say, I'll protect her. I made a vow!
But unlike his galaxy, he couldn't exactly follow her around 24/7 to make sure that she didn't get hurt. He didn't think this Padme would appreciate it for very long, just as she hadn't exactly loved being followed around back in his galaxy.
"We'll have officers watch the house," The officer replied, "And we've contacted Stanford to discuss increasing security around the school." He sighed. "With all of the shootings going on lately, it isn't bad for Stanford to increase security anyway." He cleared his throat. "Anyhow, you can also look into getting a bodyguard. I've already taken the liberty of drawing up a list of good ones."
"Wait, I don't…" Padme began to say, but Satine cut her off.
"Thank you. We'll look into it. Now, is my client free to go?"
"Yes," the officer said, "But I recommend staying out of the public eye as much as possible for a while."
"I understand," Padme said, but he could tell that she wasn't happy. He knew that she hated feeling cooped up or powerless to take action. He continued to listen as she thanked the officer and escorted him out.
"Well." Ruwee said, leaning away from the wall. "I'm glad at least that part is settled. Still, I must…" he began to mumble things as if making a list of things to do as he turned towards the door. He paused after taking a few steps though and looked back at Anakin. "That's right. You."
Anakin blinked. "Me?" He echoed.
"Yes, you. You're dating my daughter, aren't you?" Ruwee was serious, and Anakin could detect the worry in Ruwee's eyes. No doubt Ruwee worried that Padme was jumping into a relationship so soon after a traumatizing event. Normally, Anakin would have agreed with Ruwee. He knew from experience that making major decisions right after something awful has just happened was not an advisable thing to do for anyone. However, Ruwee didn't know the complicated history between Anakin and Padme. He never had, in any universe. He wondered if Ruwee had ever been told the truth of Anakin and Padme's relationship after Padme's death. Anakin knew that Palpatine had kept the identity of Darth Vader and the fate of Anakin Skywalker as strictly secret, but had Obi-Wan ever told them? Anakin somehow doubted it.
Now, though, was Anakin's chance to do things right. "Yes I am, sir." He replied. He figured throwing in the word 'sir' would be a good way to earn points with Ruwee. Had things been different and Leia had brought home a potential husband for Anakin to meet, Anakin would have liked to have been addressed with respect.
The thought caused Anakin to suddenly feel…unsettled. He did not want to think about that at the moment, so he pushed it aside.
"She's never dated anyone seriously before," Ruwee said, his voice distant as he clearly began to think of something. "I'm…I'm happy for her." He shot Anakin a glare then. "However, if you hurt her, I can promise you…I have no problem going to prison."
To anyone else, that might have been a joke. But Anakin could tell that Ruwee was serious, and again Anakin's throat tightened as he remembered how much he had failed Padme before. He had never fully considered how he had ultimately failed her family as well.
But he had promised to actually, truly protect her this time. He had to 'man up,' as Mindy would say, and live up to that promise. "I won't, sir." He said, his voice firm.
Ruwee stared at Anakin for a moment longer, as if deciding, before he finally nodded. "Okay." He said. "Now, I need to go speak with Satine on what needs to be done next." Again, he said this more to himself as he turned and walked out of Anakin's room…
Just as the doorbell rang.
Anakin grinned. He knew exactly who that was.
When Anakin reached the front room, Padme was already at the front door letting in a very concerned looking Obi-Wan. "Anakin should be….well he's right there, actually." Padme finished, flashing a tired smile at Anakin.
Obi-Wan, seemingly forgetting what Padme had no idea about…well, a lot of things Obi-Wan and Anakin were doing, whirled on Anakin, a panicked look on his face. "What happened? Has Palpatine made a move? Are you hurt?" He whirled on Padme. "Did he hire…"
"BEN." Anakin cut him off, seeing the confused and suspicious look on Padme's face, "No one is hurt." He didn't directly answer his question on Palpatine, not with Padme standing right there. He felt bad courting her and keeping secrets from her at the same time, but he didn't have proof. Perhaps when he did have proof, he would talk to her about what was going on…the parts she would believe, anyway.
"Then what's the emergency?" Obi-Wan demanded, turning back to Anakin cautiously.
"I'm confused," Padme said, "What's going on?"
Anakin grinned, crossing his arms. "The emergency is that Satine gave you her number, and you have yet to contact her." Obi-Wan went from very confused and concerned to annoyed and baffled at the same time. If Padme hadn't been standing right there, he may have started lecturing Anakin on the spot. "We need to rectify that."
"Your definition and my definition of what counts as an emergency are two very different things." Obi-Wan grumbled, and Anakin's smile grinned. He could see that Obi-Wan was trying bvery hard not to start chewing Anakin out right then and there.
"What?" Anakin shrugged. "The happiness of my friend is very important to me. I'm not going to let him blow his chance with the girl of his dreams just because he's too chicken to ask her out on a date." He had recently found out what it meant when someone called you a chicken, and he was very proud that he had found a very fitting situation to use that reference in.
Obi-Wan scowled at Anakin's intentional chicken-reference, while Padme bit her lip to keep from laughing and making Obi-Wan's humiliation worse. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?" Obi-Wan asked dryly.
"Not until you tell me what the bet you lost was about." Anakin jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "Stop trying to change the subject. Satine is in the living room talking with Ruwee. Go ask her out on a date."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and sighed. "I wouldn't even know what to do on a date before." He didn't elaborate too much on that—he had never, ever been on a date. He had been the faithful Jedi, and the closest thing he had to a date was protecting Satine from would-be assassins. It wasn't exactly romantic.
But to mention any of that in front of Padme would have sounded odd. "You could take her out to dinner," Padme suggested, as if Obi-Wan just wasn't creative enough to think of something to do. She didn't understand that he literally had no dating skills whatsoever. "Or you could take her to the ice skating rink." She glanced at Anakin. "Actually, that would be fun for us to do too."
"Ice skating?" Anakin asked, his eyebrows furrowing. There had been a few ice-skating rings on ice planets that he'd heard about in his lifetime, but he had never actually tried it before. Still, Padme looked enthused about the idea…
"It's really fun." Padme assured him, "And we could double, so that it wouldn't be super awkward for Ben and Satine."
"Wait, go on a double? As in, a double date?" Obi-Wan clarified, looking between Anakin and Padme. "As in you and Anakin going as a date?"
Oh crap, Anakin thought as he realized he had neglected to tell his master a very important bit of information: he hadn't told Obi-Wan that he was dating Padme.
Anakin cut in before Padme could answer. "Obi—Ben," Anakin started, and Ben turned to Anakin with an eyebrow raised. Anakin remembered how often Obi-Wan gave him that look when he was waiting for Anakin to tell him unexpected news. "Padme and I…well, since last night, we've decided…I've decided…" Now both of Obi-Wan's eyebrows were raised. This was not going as smoothly as Anakin would have liked. He just…wasn't sure, though, of how Obi-Wan was going to react, and that worried him. He didn't want to get into an argument with his friend and have their still preciously fragile relationship be destroyed. "Padme and I are dating." When Obi-Wan didn't immediately respond, Anakin added so that Obi-Wan knew that he hadn't intentionally hidden anything from him this time, "Since last night."
Obi-Wan was silent for a long moment. Finally he let out a breath. "Well. I guess I didn't lose that bet after all."
That was not the reaction Anakin was expecting. "Wait, what? You mean the bet you had with Mindy?" Anakin asked incredulously.
"Hold on," Padme interrupted, "Do you mean to tell me that you and Mindy bet on whether or not Anakin and I would start dating?"
Obi-Wan glanced at her, then back at Anakin, his face going red. "Maybe." When Padme looked rather put off by that, Obi-Wan hastily added, "I wasn't the one who brought it up. And…well, you two seemed like you liked each other. At the time, it seemed like a harmless bet. I didn't even think that she was serious."
"And when we didn't start dating after we kissed," Anakin finished, "Then Mindy demanded that you follow through on your end of the bet." He didn't know what he was more surprised by—the fact that Obi-Wan had bet that Anakin and Padme would start dating, or the fact that Obi-Wan didn't seem upset that Anakin and Padme were dating.
"Precisely." Obi-Wan looked rather embarrassed.
"And you didn't tell me what the bet was about because…?" Anakin probed.
"I didn't want to make either of you upset." Obi-Wan replied, and now his face was bright red.
Well. Anakin wasn't sure how, exactly, he felt about the bet. If he had found out about it before he started dating Padme, he probably would have been upset. But now that he was dating her, it did seem pretty harmless.
"I think I'm going to need to have a word with Mindy about this," Padme said with a frown. "In any case, I think it would be fun, and a very nice, casual first date. For both of us." She added, looking tentatively at Anakin to see if he liked the idea.
Well, Anakin had already gone to the beach and dealt with the sand for her. He wasn't going to say no to something he had never tried before. "I'm open to trying it." He said, giving her an assuring smile.
She relaxed a little and turned to Obi-Wan, waiting for his answer.
Obi-Wan hesitated, and Anakin knew what was going through his head. "Things are different now, remember?" Anakin softly reminded him. Padme looked confused by that, but she didn't say anything—yet, at least. Even in this world, she chose carefully when she should say or ask things. Anakin had always wished that he had that patience.
Obi-Wan still looked like he was warring with himself, but finally he nodded. "Okay," He said, "I'll go ask. But if this ends badly, I'm blaming you." He looked pointedly at Anakin.
Anakin half grinned at that. "By all means, go ahead."
So I'm going to be really honest, this chapter was really hard for me to write. The past few weeks have just been absolutely awful. My dog died, then I got WAY sick (sicker than last time), then my car broke down and I still have yet to get it back (I'm supposed to drive cross country at the end of this week) and that's going to cost way more than I expected, plus some other random crap that really was just not nice. So it was VERY hard for me to get into this chapter. I sat down multiple times to finish it and I just...couldn't. So if it seems a little off... you know why. I'm hoping the worst is over though, and I have high expectations for next chapter!
So last chapter, when I first posted it, I accidentally switched Padme's parent's names. As soon as I got a review alerting me to that, I fixed it. So thank you for pointing that out to me. The more characters you have, the harder it is to keep track of everything. I probably won't be adding too many more new characters for a while...although I'm finishing season 4 of Clone Wars right now and I'm totally shipping Lux and Ahsoka... so idk if Lux will make an appearance. It might be too much for me to handle and I might give in to temptation and add him...but probably not for a long time. I pretty much have the rest of the Anakin/Padme story arc completely mapped out. After that, when it comes to Luke and Leia, I am still figuring those ideas out. I have lots of ideas, but they need some organizing. I'll worry about that as we get closer though.
Speaking of which... next chapter is going to be another rather action-packed chapter. There's the 'first date' and stuff happens...
JUST A FEW MORE DAYS UNTIL THE FORCE AWAKENS. I'll be waiting to see it in IMAX with my family, because the experience of watching it with them is much more important to me than seeing it on the first day. Still, I will probably only get on the internet to post a chapter until I see it. I do NOT WANT SPOILERS. I will be VERY upset if I get spoilers. Like... I don't even want to know if it's good or not until I go see it. So I'll let you know when I see it, but until then, DON'T SAY ANYTHING. I may post another chapter between now and then, but just in case I don't...just...no spoilers please.
Anyhow. Review! Your reviews brighten my day!
Love,
Sarah
