A/N: Happy Tuesday everyone, :) Thank you all for the support on this story!

Summary: Padme Amidala built bridges with people, especially with her 4th grade students. When new student Ahsoka joins her class, she is ready to start building a bridge to the young girl. Anakin Skywalker doesn't trust easily, especially when his little sister is involved. But he's drawn to the 4th grade teacher and willing to trust Padme with the darker battles his family is facing.

Chapter Three

When Thursday came around, Padmé had found herself grading papers at her desk while Ahsoka was sitting on the nearest desk to her. The past few days Ahsoka had been picked up by her brother Cody, who was only late on Monday and on time the rest. However today was a little different as Ahsoka was still here twenty minutes after carpool had ended leaving the pair of them in the classroom. While Padme wouldn't describe Ahsoka as that loud, she had noticed the young girl seemed a bit more withdrawn and nervous about something that she didn't want to talk about. Today especially seemed to be the case for her as Ahsoka had barely paid attention at all in any class today, she was more than restless and much sassier than usual to the point it was almost rude. Not quite there yet.

Typically Ahsoka was well behaved as far as your average ten year old girl went and she knew everyone had their off days, but something was really off about this. It made Padme even more curious to wonder just what was going on in the young girl's life outside of these class walls. However Padme wasn't allowed to ask, she couldn't question her students about anything that went on outside this building. And of course she understood why those policies were in place, but it sometimes frustrated her because it left her powerless and unable to help.

So she did her best to ensure that her classroom was a safe place for all her students, where no matter what was going on at home, they were alright here. Ahsoka was carrying a great burden, Padme only saw it towards the end of the day in moments like these when she thought no one was watching. If others were around, Ahsoka was as bright as a star, always smirking, amusing herself, looking after her friends. But just beyond the surface, Padme knew there was something more going on.

Padme glanced at her wrist watch, twenty five minutes late. She wondered if Anakin would come and she couldn't deny that she hoped he would appear. After the disappointment from Monday, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday, she was growing more anxious about it. Guilty for giving him the wrong idea and sending the wrong signals, she hadn't meant to do that. She thought he was very attractive, a bit of a wise guy to be sure, but she was interested in him. When he caught her off guard with whatever was happening between them on the second meeting, she had shut it down and regretted that. She wanted to make it right.

A knock on the door sounded on her left, it was Obi Wan. Padme gestured for him to come in swallowing her disappointment. With a pleasant grin he came inside.

His eyes fell on his sister, "Ahsoka voluntarily working in silence? It must be a full moon."

Ahsoka lifted her head, she didn't look amused by his quip as she scowled, "It is one after all. With a wolf and everything."

"Yes, well they are bound to happen," Obi Wan told her with a sympathetic gaze.

Padme sensed there was something more to this conversation, hidden meanings. Like a big secret they were skirting around so that she wouldn't understand.

"Hurry on pack now. We've got to get moving," Obi Wan told her gently, he turned to Padme, "Thank you Ms Amidala. I apologize for these repeated tardy pickups."

Padme gave him a look of understanding, "It's quite alright. Life tends to get the upper hand sometimes."

Obi Wan agreed, "It certainly does."

When Obi Wan looked back at Ahsoka he saw she had yet to stand from her seat with a sour expression that told him all he needed to know. In all honesty, he dreaded these days, but it couldn't be helped. He knew his sister was conflicted on how to feel about these visits, on the one hand she did look forward to them despite her efforts to show her brothers otherwise. Then on the other hand she didn't like it at all considering that it reminded her of a time she should have never experienced.

"Ready to go," Obi Wan asked her, his smile more strained than before.

"Are Rex and Cody here," Ahsoka asked, her annoyance shining through.

Obi Wan nodded, "Yes. Anakin will be picking you three up after. Now, are you ready?"

Ahsoka climbed onto her feet, "I have to pee."

The young girl left the room to use the restroom leaving an exasperated Obi Wan and uncertain Padme. Again, she knew something was definitely going on and it wasn't good. Once again she wasn't allowed to ask about it.

"I do apologize again for our intrusions," Obi Wan said before she could get lost in thought.

Padme waved off his worry, "I assure you, it is no problem. I understand things are tricky at home."

Obi Wan seemed to age before her eyes at those words, "Tricky indeed. Anakin mentioned to me that Ahsoka mentioned her father while here last Friday. He didn't tell me what she had said on the matter."

"I had told her my father had taught me to play Space Chess and she informed me that her father went away," Padme told him evenly, hiding the uncertain feelings she felt.

Obi Wan tilted his head up slightly, "I see. That all?"

Padme nodded, "That was all."

Obi Wan looked in the direction Ahsoka had disappeared to, "I suppose that is one way of putting it. Anakin was very put out by it, though I imagine that had more to do with you than her saying those words."

"I-I'm sorry," Padme stuttered out, surprised.

"You've captured his interest a great deal," Obi Wan told her plainly, "He'd be mortified that I said that, but I feel it might be useful."

Padme folded her arms over her chest, "And why is that? I'm not a fan of meddling Mr. Kenobi."

Obi Wan's grin was cheeky, it was similar to Anakin's, "Good thing I'm not a meddler. Did Anakin happen to catch your interest as well then?"

"This sounds an awful lot like meddling in business not your own," Padme remarked, her gaze narrow.

"I wish it were not my business, but anything Anakin or any of my siblings get into becomes my business sooner or later. Presently I am ahead of the curb," Obi Wan said, his expression softened, "I do not mean to be cruel or to mock you of this. Only getting a reading on whatever transpired between the two of you."

"Nothing did transpire," Padme protested.

Obi Wan raised an eyebrow, "Forgive me for not believing you. I need to be thorough because whatever does or does not happen there will affect Ahsoka, it is my job to see if it is better or worse."

Padme frowned at this, now she had a better understanding why he seemed to be pushing her on this matter. It made sense to Padme that he would be concerned.

"The reason I brought this up is because he was advocating that we tell you of the more… difficult details of Ahsoka's home life," Obi Wan told her, his tone was serious and sincere, "And my brother has never been one to want strangers to know more than the very surface of his life, let alone our baby sister's. It made me curious as to why he would suggest such a thing after only meeting you twice."

Padme could only blink in response as she tried to digest what he was saying. That Anakin wanted to inform her more on the situations they had despite them only meeting twice and her shutting him out on their second meeting. It didn't make any sense to her. Why would he suggest that? Was that true or was Obi Wan merely saying that to get a rise out of her? He didn't seem the type to do that, but people were often full of surprises.

She wanted to question him about this, she wanted to ask what Anakin had said, she wanted to know more, but Ahsoka had returned then. The young girl grabbed her backpack and Padme could only muster a soft goodbye as Obi Wan guided his sister out of the room. That interaction was strange and as she sat alone in her classroom, she knew this conversation would haunt her.

SATURDAY

Padme couldn't say she hated being at school on the weekends, but it certainly was not her favorite time. The school halls just felt so empty and dark without the students mulling around, their chatter and laughs to fill the painful silence. However sometimes it was necessary that she come into the school on the weekends for either meetings among the faculty or to tidy up her classroom, if she couldn't during the week. This weekend was different. Parent/ Teacher conferences were in full swing. The students had yesterday off so that the first round of parent teacher conferences could get underway, today was the second day and last for Padme considering her class size was smaller and the meetings did not last more than an hour if she could help it.

Most parents were often indifferent about their child's progress, while they did care, it wasn't dire. Then there were the ones who were all over their child's progress, wanting to know every minute detail about why their child wasn't progressing quicker. Padme wasn't a strict grader. Of course she had grades, but she played around with them more than other teachers and considering her students set the curb every standard exam or their Milestone Exams, Padme knew she was doing something right. She cared more about how well her students were retaining the information, how they were learning and that they liked to learn. The scores took care of themselves that way. Padme leaned back in her in desk as she looked over her check list to see who she had left. Her eyes skimmed over the list.

Ms Offee-Unduli, check

Mr Syndulla, check

Mr and Mrs Kestis check and check

Mrs Dume, check

Mrs and Mr Martez, double check

Mr Skywalker

Padme blinked as she stared at the name. Skywalker, which meant Anakin would be the one to come. Initially she thought that Obi Wan would have been the one to come to this meeting considering he seemed the most invested in Ahsoka's education. Well Padme could be wrong about that since she didn't personally know him enough to make that judgement, but it was the vibe she had gotten from him. A well of anxiety filled Padme, but she forced it all down. She would not allow some man that she hardly knew to set her on edge. This would be a professional meeting where they spoke on the progress of his little sister in her class.

However even as Padme let that thought into her mind, she could not stop thinking about their last meeting or the conversation she had with Obi Wan. The last time she had seen Anakin was three weeks ago, almost exactly. He hadn't come back to pick up Ahsoka, or if he had, he was on time and Ahsoka met him at the car. Otherwise, Padme had seen Obi Wan, Rex and Cody come to get Ahsoka which had ended Ahsoka's later stays. It should have made her happy that her student was being picked up on time, but Padme was disappointed for two reasons.

The first being that those after school times were when she was able to connect with Ahsoka. It was Padme's philosophy that she connect and form a good relationship with each of her students, it had taken those late meetings to get through to Ahsoka. While Padme wouldn't call it a set back seeing as Ahsoka was doing great in class, with her peers and with Padme herself, she couldn't deny the disappointment. The second reason being that she did want to see Anakin again. Everytime she suspected that Ahsoka would be staying after school, she would become excited by the idea of seeing Anakin again. But she was let down each time.

The sound of a throat clearing jolted Padme out of her thoughts. Her eyes snapped up in the direction to see Anakin Skywalker standing in the doorway to her classroom with a kind expression and somewhat apologetic smile on his face.

"Mr Skywalker, please come in," Padme said recovering from her shock, "I wasn't expecting you- I mean I was expecting someone to come to talk about Ahsoka's progress, just not quite this moment."

Anakin quickly glanced at the wall clock, "I am scheduled for three o'clock right? Here I thought I was on time."

Padme looked down at the list despite already knowing the answer, "Yes, right here. I see you're early."

"Yeah, well I do want to show that I am invested in her education," Anakin said as he took a seat in the open chair in front of her desk, "Keeping it professional of course."

Padme brought her brown eyes to meet his own, "I did want to apologize for, for our last conversation."

Anakin scrunched his brow at that, "You have nothing to apologize for. I misread the situation and pressed forward when I shouldn't have-"

"But you didn't. Misread it I mean," Padme explained quickly, "I had just been caught off guard and shut it down, which wasn't quite my intention."

Anakin's brow quirked, his blue eyes seemed to shine a bit, "So what you're saying is, I caught you off guard with my handsome looks and great flirting enough to get you to shut down what was happening between us?"

Padme let out a huff, "And now you're mocking me."

"I wouldn't dream of it milady," Anakin told her, his grin sideways and sweet. "But I still owe you an apology for making you uncomfortable. That wasn't my intention."

Padme gave him a smile, "It wasn't your fault. Just ah, an unfortunate experience I had in the past that dictated my reaction. Regardless, thank you."

A look of understanding seemed to pass over Anakin's expression, as if he knew exactly how she felt.

Padme lightly shook her head, "Alright, getting to the professional stuff. What would you like to know about Ahsoka's progress?"

Anakin leaned back in his chair, but that did nothing to distract Padme from the heaviness that seemed to settle in him as he spoke, "How is she doing in class? Is she adjusting well with the school and the other kids? She seem happy?"

"Yes, she fits in perfectly with this group of kids. I don't think I've ever seen a new student so confident and make friends so quickly the way she had," Padme said with a kind smile, "I'd say she has adapted well to the new school and classmates."

Anakin seemed to visibly relax at those words, "Good. She's such a social butterfly, always eager to make new friends. It's been hard on her with this last move."

Padme nodded in understanding, "Obi Wan mentioned that things were a bit chaotic at home when he came to get Ahsoka two weeks ago. Was there a reason he didn't come? Not that I was disappointed to see you, just I figured it would have been him."

Anakin laughed, "No, this is definitely more of Obi Wan's place than mine, but things are still chaotic and he's needed elsewhere. Besides, I need to start getting more involved in matters like this."

"Any particular reason," Padme asked before she could stop herself, she backtracked, "If I may ask that."

Anakin nodded, his expression a bit grave, "No it's fine and I would like to tell you more, but…"

"I completely understand," Padme said, he didn't need to explain, "Would you like to see some of Ahsoka's work? There are some papers in her desk or the art projects we have in the back."

"She mentioned she was working on planes," Anakin commented with a slightly pleading look.

Padme chuckled, "I had a feeling you would say that."

The rest of their meeting went along smoothly with Anakin asking her fairly in depth questions about Ahsoka's progress and what she was working on. It surprised Padmé at first to see how serious he was about learning how well his sister was doing. Though she guessed she shouldn't be surprised considering it was obvious how much he worried for her. Padme worried often for her older sister, so she could understand being concerned. However she knew it was different for him and likely harder since he was her guardian. It made her question what had happened to their parents that he and Obi Wan were left to raise their younger sister. What of their mother? The father went away, but it didn't seem like he was dead. As far as Padmé could tell.

"And that's about everything," Padme said as they returned to sit at her desk, "Ahsoka is doing really well, I'm pleased with her progress and how she's adjusting."

Anakin nodded grinning, "Me too. She raves about you."

Padme's brow lifted in surprise, "She raves about me?"

"Oh yeah, I think you're her favorite teacher ever, besides myself," Anakin said with a light smirk.

Padme gave him a skeptical look, "You teach?"

"We did some homeschooling for a brief time, and I was her favorite because I made it exciting," Anakin told her proudly.

"Why do I get the feeling it involved something reckless and out of the ordinary," Padme asked with a smirk.

Anakin rested his hand on his chest in mock hurt and offense, "Am I that easy to read? Well where as you and Obi Wan say reckless, I say fun with a more hands on approach."

Padmé let out a scoff, "I'm sure that's what it was."

"Indeed," Anakin agreed, he grew a little serious and nervous, "So I was wondering when your next free night was."

Padmé tilted her head, "Why do you ask?"

Anakin spoke, some confidence leaked in his voice, "A beautiful hardworking woman like yourself deserves to be treated to a luxurious dinner with some excellent company. If you're interested that is."

"Let's say I was," Padmé commented with a sweet grin, "What did you have in mind?"

Anakin leaned slightly forward, voice smooth and eyes capturing her gaze, "I'd pick you up at 7:00, take you to a fine dining establishment where we enjoy a drink, a great meal and lively conversation. I would woo with my charm and you would continue to captivate me. Then I'd end the night with a moonlit walk in the nearby park and maybe get lucky enough to receive or give a goodnight kiss."

Padme grinned at that, "I wouldn't have pegged you for a romantic. But that sounds lovely."

"Is that a yes," Anakin questioned, his look knowing.

"Does this Friday work for you," Padme asked him.

Anakin's smile was blinding, "Perfect. Would it be forward if I kissed your hand?"

Padmé shook her head. Delicately, he lifted her hand with his exposed one. He bent down, brought his hand to his lips and lightly kissed the back of her hand. It sent soft sparks and electricity through her body. When he lifted his head to look at her, his blue eyes shimmering.

"I eagerly await our time together," Anakin told her, his tone sincere and genuine.

Padmé nodded, "As do I."

Anakin ran his thumb over the back of where he kissed her hand once before letting her hand go. With an all too sweet and happy smile, Anakin left the classroom. As he left, Padmé was certain she heard him cheer down the hallway which made her laugh to herself. Excitement rushed through her veins, she had a date this Friday. Suddenly she felt like a schoolgirl again, so excited over the prospect of a simple date. It had been some time since she last went out with someone, so the nerves definitely hit her. She took a steadying breath, she glanced down at her check list, she still had another conference or two left. It took all of her willpower not to smile like a madwoman the rest of the day.

WEDNESDAY

"How's it coming Ahsoka," Padme asked coming to stand beside the fourth grade student.

Ahsoka was being picked up late, for the third time this week, not that Padme was complaining considering it allowed her to get to know her student better and to see Anakin again. While on Monday the pair of them played Space Chess with Ahsoka almost winning and Tuesday they watched some music videos from Ahsoka's favorite band, today they were doing some actual work.

Padme had noticed that Ahsoka was beginning to struggle in their grammar classes. So instead of playing around today, Padmé said Ahsoka should work on her English assignment and if she had any questions, Padme would be there to help her. The young girl wasn't too happy about the idea of doing work, but she didn't really complain. Mostly groaned about child torture. This week they were learning about irregular verbs.

Ahsoka lifted the piece of paper with a frown, "It seems so obvious, but I always trip up."

Padmé came to sit beside her student, "And that's okay. Irregular verbs and their tenses can be challenging at first, it takes practice. Let's see what you have so far…. The first two look good, but let's check the third one. Read it aloud for me."

Ahsoka sighed, "The canoe must have sank during the invasion."

"So sank is the past tense, but sunk is a past participle," Padmé started to explain, "What do most past participles have in common?"

Ahsoka frowned, "I don't know. They're weird and need a lot of special attention?"

Padmé chuckled, "Not exactly. Past participles need an auxiliary word, can you see one in this sentence?"

Ahsoka stared at the sentence for a moment, brow scrunched, "Have?"

"Yes," Padmé cheered, "Good eye. So now that we have found the auxiliary word, we know it works with a past participle."

"And the correct answer is sunk," Ahsoka said, understanding in her eyes.

Padmé grinned, "You've got it."

Ahsoka erased the previous answer and changed it out, along with the others now that she knew what to look for. Moments like these reminded Padmé why she loved teaching. When a student looked up at her, when they finally understood that one thing that was messing them up, when they figured it out and light shined in their eyes. They made all struggles worthwhile. A knock sounded on the door, and Anakin walked in a moment later. His hair shined, either from sweat or gel, Padmé wasn't sure which. Not that it mattered too much considering she liked the light curl in his locks.

"Anakin look," Ahsoka said, showing the homework sheet to him, "I finally figured out past participles."

Anakin smiled, "That's great, maybe you can teach me. I know all about particles, not participles."

Padme chuckled, "Somehow that isn't surprising."

"Put me in math and science classes, I'll steal the show, but grammar and history, not so much," Anakin said with a shake of his head.

Ahsoka scoffed, "You still skipped a grade. I think you were fine."

Padme's brow lifted in her surprise, that was news to her, "Impressive."

Anakin rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed, "Just got lucky. You got all your stuff packed Snips?"

"I gotta get my project supplies first," Ahsoka said, getting out of her seat and moving to the back of the classroom.

Anakin looked at Padme in question, "You're giving them supplies for the projects? Shouldn't we get those?"

"Some students are able to afford more lucrative supplies than others, I make sure that all my students can start out with the same baseline of materials and I require them each to take at least one item," Padme explained with a soft grin, "This way none of my kids have to worry about their project not looking as nice because they couldn't afford to get nicer supplies."

"That's very thoughtful of you," Anakin commented, a little in awe.

Padme shrugged her shoulders, "It's my job to provide and care for them as best I can. Even though I can't do much for them outside the classroom, I can do my best in it. Plus it also makes the guidelines clearer."

"How so," Anakin asked, not seeing that connection.

Padmé explained, "To make sure everyone understands what the allowed materials are, it is served to put them on the rubric and to have them visible over there. This way everyone gets the memo and I don't get any 'oh I forgot'. Since they get to take the supplies here and sign their name to show that they got the supplies, there isn't an excuse. One example being the clear glue instead of glitter glue for this assignment."

"Seems like a lot of hassle for some glue," Anakin commented with a laugh.

"You have no idea," Padme said, shaking her head at the guidelines she had in place and how creative her students were at getting around them.

"I've noticed you do a lot of projects," Anakin said thoughtfully, "Any reason why?"

Padme nodded, "Students learn about a subject when they're able to put it in a form that speaks to them. Makes learning more engaging and they retain the knowledge when they have the opportunity to play around with it. Like our state's project coming up."

Anakin nodded, "Oh yeah, Ahsoka showed us the rubric that she had to find a creative way to memorize the fifty states and their capitals. Cody suggested a puzzle, Rex a game, Obi Wan said a song and I said build something, but she settled on-"

"Don't spoil my project," Ahsoka called from the back with a frown.

Anakin raised his hands in surrender, "Apologies Snips, hadn't realized it was a secret."

"Definitely classified information Skyguy," Ahsoka said pointedly before she went back to finding the right supplies.

Anakin shook his head, "She certainly loves the projects, wish I had a teacher who had us do more projects. Speaking of projects, maybe you can help me with mine."

"Is that so," Padme questioned, curious.

"Yes," Anakin answered with a smirk, "You see I've got most of it planned out and ready, but I'm missing the meeting place."

Padme had learned that this family liked to speak in hidden meanings, almost all the time. Each day Anakin would ask her about their date through these almost coded sentences. Why exactly, she didn't know, but she had a sneaking suspicion it was to keep their date secret from Ahsoka. Which made perfect sense to Padme. Likely the young girl wouldn't know how to respond to the news that her teacher was going on a date with her older brother. It was probably a bit weird to be sure, best to avoid that awkwardness.

"Well what are your options," Padme asked him, very interested to know how he would phrase this next part. Asking what restaurant he was taking her to.

"It is an international project," Anakin told her knowing, "The places I'm torn about is whether I should focus on French or Israel."

Padme thought for a moment, "I think Israel would be a good thing to focus on. The European countries get more than enough attention."

"Right you are," Anakin said, clearly happy by that answer, "I know just the place. Thank you for your help Ms Amidala."

"Of course Mr Skywalker," Padmé told him with a playful roll of her eyes, she looked to Ahsoka who came over to them grinning, "Get everything you need?"

Ahsoka nodded, "All set. Don't worry, my project is going to be sick."

"Hope not, you want it to be well," Anakin said mockingly.

Ahsoka playfully punched his arm, "You're not funny."

"On the contrary Snips, I have a great sense of humor," Anakin told her confidently, he looked to Padme, "Pleasure as always Ms Amidala. Have a good rest of your day. I'll see you again tomorrow, 3:00 o'clock was it?"

Padme rolled her eyes, "Yeah, as if you would show up on time."

"Wait. Isn't Obi Wan supposed to get me tomorrow," Ahsoka asked as they started to walk out of the room.

Padme didn't hear his response, but she was certain whatever he said would have made her laugh. Silently, she gathered her items then left to go home thoughts of Anakin filling her head the entire drive.