All Along ~ Chapter Two


There were a multitude of possibilities I'd already mulled over. Negligence was one. Or perhaps his temper had gotten the best of him. I had witnessed it before. But Padme sitting here telling me that Anakin had been unfaithful was the last thing on my mind! That isn't entirely accurate. The thought had never even entered my mind!

"Are you sure?" I asked, her expression revealing concern over my question. "I'm sorry. It's my nature to investigate," I quickly explained. There was no point in agitating her any further. "I know you wouldn't be upset for nothing. I just need to know if you've actually seen something yourself."

"Of course I have! Or else, I wouldn't have told you anything!"

And yet I'd annoyed her anyway. I hadn't worded that exactly as I'd intended and needed to recover quickly. "What did you see?" It seemed like the logical next question, although she still look bothered.

Instead of answering me right away, she took a drink. And then another, before refilling her glass and emptying it completely.

"Okay," she said before a small burp escaped, which she must've thought was rather funny because she giggled for a few seconds. It was at that point, I'd decided the wine I'd brought wasn't the only alcohol she'd consumed today. "Excuse me. A couple of weeks ago, Anakin was invited to this outlandish party thrown by one of the elite families in Galactic City. You know the ones. The Ivubeq's?"

"I've heard of them," I told her, although nothing good. "That young one is into some rather bawdy diversions, or so I've been told."

"Fron's taken a liking to Ani. I don't like him and I told Ani so. We argued about it and he ended up going to the party without me. A couple of hours later, I felt guilty about making him go alone and decided to surprise him. But when I got there, I saw him getting into a speeder with some other woman!"

"Maybe he was giving her a ride home?" I suggested, which caused one of her brows to arch with suspicion.

"She was nearly in his lap and he had his arm around her, Obi-Wan! I'm no fool."

"I never said you were," I assured her. "Did you confront him about it?"

"I did," she said before taking another gulp of wine before I removed the glass from her hand and placed it back onto the table.

"You've had enough. Focus, Padme. What did he say?"

A few tears fell from her lashes which she swatted angrily away. "He denied it! He told me I must've seen someone else, because he never left the party. But when he got home later that night, I promise you I could smell her perfume on his tunics. I know he's cheating on me!"

I leaned forward and thoughtfully scrubbed my beard. I hated to hear something like this. It wasn't right. Ever since they'd first met, my padawan had done nothing but talk about Padme's kindness and beauty. He was madly in love with her and I would've wagered they were destined to live happily ever after. Apparently, that wasn't the case.

"And there's one more thing," Padme interrupted my thoughts. She was beginning to sway and I figured it was a matter of minutes before she succumbed to the alcohol she'd consumed.

"I'm pregnant."

She was looking straight at me when she'd delivered the news and I was dumbfounded.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I don't know what to say," I told her. "Congratulations. Does Anakin know?"

"Yes, of course he does," she explained while reaching for her glass.

"No," I firmly stated before standing to remove the glasses and the rest of the wine out of her reach. If I had known, I would've never had brought it in the first place. "You shouldn't be imbibing in your condition."

"I know that," Padme told me glumly before leaning forward.

At first, I thought she was going to be sick, but instead, she started to cry again. All I could think of to do was to put my arm around her. But before I realized what was happening, she had turned in my arms and was fiercely holding onto me while sobbing into my shoulder.

"What am I going to do?"

"Nothing," I said into her hair.

My bold statement caused her to pull away and look at me curiously. "What do you mean? I can't let him get away with this! I won't!"

"That's not what I meant," I assured her. Her confession was stirring most unwelcome emotions within me. Anger, for one. I would need to purge those into the Force before I spoke with the boy. "I'll speak with him and find out what's going on. Perhaps he'll realize what a big mistake he's making."

"Do you think that's possible?" she sniffed.

I'd seen other women from a variety of species cry and most of them lost their attractiveness during such an emotional outburst. Not Padme. She was still a beauty even with tears rolling down her face. My padawan was making a grave error and I had every intention and making that fact clear to him.

I wasn't so certain about the answer to her question, though. The boy was arrogant and his new popularity had made him egotistical as well. To be honest, I didn't know how he was going to react.

"I'll do what I can," I told her.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan. I don't feel so good," she suddenly told me, placing a palm to her forehead.

I had a bad feeling that was going to be the case.

"I'm sorry about all of this. I'm not very good company. If you wouldn't mind letting yourself out, I'm going to go to bed."

She stood to do just that but stumbled. I realized there was no way she was going to make it to the next room. I did what any gentleman would do under such circumstances, and I lifted her in my arms and carried her there.

"Obi-Wan! You don't have to do this!" she complained.

I didn't reply until I had placed her comfortably in her own bed and pulled a blanket over her.

"Whatever happens, Padme," I told her softly, "remember there is another life now that's depending on you. You need to take better care of yourself. Think of the baby."

She was a sensible and intelligent woman. Surely, she would understand my meaning. Even if things didn't work out between her and Anakin, she had a child to think about and take care of. That had to become her priority.

The gravity of my statement seemed to wash over her and she smiled up at me. "You're right. I'm sorry for burdening you with this. You're a good friend, Obi-Wan. Would you stay a little while with me, please? I really don't want to be alone."

There was no doubt what my answer would be. Padme Amidala was a good friend of mine.

"Of course," I told her before glancing about for a chair. I found one in the corner of her room; a comfortable, padded one and carried it over to her bedside.

By the time I'd settled in it, I discovered she was already asleep. Or passed out. Either way, it would be some time before I would feel comfortable enough to leave her alone with herself and her troubling thoughts.

In the morning, though; first thing – I would go find my padawan and convince him what a fool he was.