Chapter 23

Florrum

Anakin sat alone in the kitchen for a long time after Padmé had left. Seeing her again had been unsettling, confusing even. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, or even how he felt about her. The months that they'd been apart had served to harden Anakin; he'd built a thick wall around his heart. Her kiss had come close to compromising it. He wasn't certain he could allow that to happen, not now, not after all she'd put him through.

Avoiding the bar, where he'd undoubtedly need to entertain his drinking buddies' personal and inappropriate questions, Anakin headed to his cabin.

Obi-Wan was asleep when Anakin entered the small room, which didn't surprise him. However, Anakin wished that he was awake; he needed to talk to his best friend. Even though Obi-Wan had never been married, he had been in love, and was a good sounding board.

Sitting on the edge of his bunk, Anakin kicked off his boots and ran his hands wearily over his face. As tired as he was, Anakin wasn't sure he'd be able to fall asleep for quite some time. He lay back on his bunk, staring up at the celling as he did his best to calm his mind.

Coruscant

"Milady, I didn't expect you back until tomorrow!" Dormé said as Padmé arrived home.

"I didn't stay," Padmé said. "I…it didn't go well, Dormé. Not at all."

"I'm so sorry," Dormé said.

"What happened?" Jobal asked. "What did Anakin say?"
Padmé sighed, not really wanting to get into it. She was tired, sad, and utterly disappointed. "I need to see the twins first," she said.

"They're having their nap," Jobal her. "Come and sit down, Dormé just made some tea."

Padmé let her mother lead her into the living room and she sat down, setting her bag down at her feet. Jobal sat across from her, regarding her daughter as she did so. Clearly things had gone very badly, judging by Padmé's demeanour. Jobal frowned. "Tell me what happened," she said.

"Thank you," Padmé said as Dormé handed her a cup of tea. "Anakin was angry," she said. "He was quite cold…I suppose I should have expected this," she said shaking her head sadly. "He's depressed, he's defensive…what was I thinking?" she cried, looking at her mother. "Did I really think it would be as easy as just showing up and he'd forget the past six months?"

"No, you didn't think that," Dormé reminded her. "You went there to tell him you still love him, and that the divorce was a mistake. He needed to hear that."

Padmé nodded. "I know," she said. "And I did tell him. But hearing it didn't really made much of an impact." Tears filled her eyes. "He didn't even tell me that he loved me!"

Jobal came to her at once, and wrapped her arms around her. "You know he loves you, Padmé," she said gently. "You're everything to him!"

Padmé wasn't so sure. "I was," she agreed. "I don't know if that's true anymore. I think I may have ruined everything with Anakin, Mom. I'm so afraid that I've lost him for good!"

Jobal didn't know how to respond, and said nothing, and simply hugged her daughter as she cried.

Florrum

"Good morning, Anakin," Obi-Wan said as he sat down.

"Morning," Anakin said with a yawn.

Ahsoka smirked. "Rough night?" It certainly wasn't the first time Anakin had spent the night drinking with his new mates only to feel like bantha poodoo in the morning. Ahsoka had no pity for him.

Anakin frowned. "You could say so," he said. He looked at each of his friends. "Padmé was here."

Obi-Wan nearly choked on his coffee.

"What?" Ahsoka said. "Why? Why was she here?"

"She wanted to tell me that she made a mistake when she divorced me," Anakin said. "She wants me back."

"What did I tell you?" Obi-Wan said with a smile. "That's wonderful!"

Anakin said nothing as a droid set down a metal dish of breakfast in front of him.

"It is wonderful, isn't it?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know," Anakin said. "I don't know how I feel, actually."

"Aren't you happy?" Ahsoka asked. "I don't understand."

Anakin looked up at her. "I'm…confused," he said. "I don't know what to believe. I guess I don't trust her anymore."

"Are you serious?" Obi-Wan asked. "Padmé? You don't trust Padmé?"

Anakin frowned. "Yeah, can you blame me?" he asked.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan exchanged a confused look.

"You don't understand," Anakin said. "Neither of you. You can't possibly understand being in my position."

"But you love her, right?" Ahsoka asked. "You want to be with her, raise your children with her, right?"

"I don't know what I want," Anakin sighed. "Do I love her? Yes, I probably always will. Do I want to raise my children? Of course! But …" he stopped, groping to find the words.

"You're afraid of getting hurt," Ahsoka said.

Anakin nodded, as he picked at his food with a fork. "Stupid, right?"

"Not stupid, not at all," Ahsoka said, her heart aching for her beloved master. "She hurt you deeply. That's bound to make you defensive. Anyone would feel the same way."

"Agreed," Obi-Wan said. "But perhaps you need to take a leap of faith, Anakin. You have to believe that she is genuine in her desire to reconcile."

"I suppose so," Anakin said doubtfully. "That is, if we're ever free to leave this rock," he grumbled.

"Rex will be reporting in soon," Obi-Wan said. "You heard what Hondo told us."

Anakin nodded. "We'll see."

Obi-Wan saw how despondent his friend was; he felt the same way himself. Like Anakin, his world had been shattered by the Purges; countless friends had been slaughtered, his entire way of life destroyed. He had known many a sleepless night in the past several months. But for Anakin, there was another layer to his pain. Was it any wonder the young man was depressed?

"Have faith, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "This will end soon, I'm sure of it. And you and Padmé will have time to sort things out."

Anakin didn't reply, and simply ate his breakfast in brooding silence.

Corscant

Bail Organa stood up from his desk and stretched with a yawn. It had been a long day. He walked over to look out at the darkening sky, his eyes moving to the Jedi temple. He frowned, thinking to the last time he'd been in the temple, shortly after the Purges. The bodies of the slain Jedi had been removed, but the evidence of the carnage was still present in the form of smashed statues, windows, scorch marks on walls and floors...Bail was not force sensitive, but he could feel death in the very stonework of the hallowed building. How could this have happened? How did we not see this coming?

Of course, the damages had been repaired, and the building was now as it once was, except for one major thing: the Jedi. The temple was empty, save for the droids who'd once served the Jedi, droids that had been shut down weeks and weeks earlier. And yet, there was hope that the Order would be revived, rebuilt, like a great phoenix emerging from the flames. A handful of Jedi survived, among them the greatest of them all, the Chosen One, the Hero with no Fear: Anakin Skywalker.

Hondo had reported to Bail in their most recent communication that Anakin was deeply depressed. Bail wasn't surprised given all that had happened. And then he'd learned that Skywalker's wife had divorced him. That did surprise him. He'd known Padmé for years, and still had trouble believing that she'd married a Jedi in secret. But she had, and such an uncharacteristically reckless move bespoke of the deep love she surely must have for Skywalker. So why had she divorced him? He mused. He'd never asked her, not feeling it was his business. Still, it was a mystery he'd love to unravel.

"Nice view."

Bail was startled, and turned around to see who'd entered his office unannounced. He was shocked to see Darth Maul standing there.

"How did you get in here?" he asked, looking around frantically for a weapon of any kind.

Maul shrugged. "Hardly relevant, is it?" he asked with a smile that made Bail's skin crawl.

"What do you want?" Bail asked.

"A great deal, actually," Maul said, walking in and making himself comfortable on a large leather chairs. He rubbed the smooth leather on the armrests for a moment. "I came here to strike a deal with you, Chancellor."
Bail frowned. "I'm not in the habit of striking deals with criminals," he said.

Maul chuckled. "No, I'm sure you're not," he said. "But the way I see it, you don't have any choice. You don't have the Jedi to protect you and this body anymore, do you?"

"The Jedi are not extinct," he said. "So if your asinine plan is predicated on that, then I'll spare you the trouble of explaining it."

"Oh I know there are a few left," Maul said. "For now, anyway. But they are too cowardly to come out of hiding," he sneered.

Bail frowned. Maul was right; the Jedi were in hiding. "I don't think they'd sit by idly and allow you to take this democratic body hostage," he said stiffly.

"No? Shall we see?" Maul said.

Bail saw madness in Maul's eyes, and grew fearful. "What do you mean?"

Maul stood up and unclipped his lightsaber. "Let's see what happens if the Chancellor is held prisoner," he mused, igniting his saber and walking towards Organa. "I say they can't stay away. I say they come, and when they do, I'll slaughter every last one until the galaxy is truly rid of them, like it should have been in the first place."

Organa's eyes widened as he looked at the tip of the crimson blade that was now mere centimetres from his chest. "You're mad," he said.

"Perhaps, but you have to admit it's a damn good plan," he said with a smile.

"Bail? Are you in here?"

Both men looked at the door as Padmé appeared. She froze when she saw what was happening.

"Run Padmé!" Bail cried.

"Run and he's dead!" Maul countered.

Padmé's eyes moved from Bail to Maul, then finally to the lightsaber that Maul was holding to Bail's chest.

"Now, come in and lock the door," Maul ordered her. "Do it!"

Padmé did as she was instructed, knowing Maul well enough to know he would kill Bail if she didn't.

"Very good, now come here," Maul said. "You, pretty lady, are going to be the one to send out a message, one that no Jedi in the galaxy will be able to ignore."