Chapter 38

"I'm sorry you were kept waiting," Padmé said as Anakin joined her in her office. "If I'd known you were here, I'd have had Rayna show you in right away."

Anakin smiled. "No worries," he said. "You've got a lot of hands to shake, I get it."

Padmé laughed. "I guess so," she said. "But I know how busy you are," she said. "I appreciate you stopping by. And I really appreciate your generous donation."

"Think nothing of it," he responded. "Anything for a good cause. I, uh, met one of your old friends while I was waiting," he told her with a smirk.

"Really?" she said in surprise. "Who?"

"Your first love," he told her. "Palo."

"Palo? Really?"

Anakin nodded. "Yeah," he said. "He's kind of a jerk," he said.

Padmé raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

Anakin related the conversation they'd had, making sure he underscored Palo's arrogance and condescension.

Padmé shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Ani," she said. "I'd heard that he was rather …smug."

"Oh yeah, smug, that's one way of saying it," he replied. "Pompous windbag is another."

She laughed again. "Well, I'm sure he'll be put in his place when he finds out what you've donated."

"I hope so," he said, standing up. "He could stand to be taken down a few notches."

Padmé stood up. "Thank you again," she said. "I hope you'll be coming to the gala next week."

"I will," Anakin told her as they walked to the door together. "Obi-Wan and Ahsoka too."

"Save me a dance," she said.

Anakin stopped and looked at her. "Dance? There will be dancing?"

"Of course!" she replied. She looked at him for a moment. "You do know how to dance, don't you Ani?"

Anakin was too embarrassed to admit that he didn't. "Of course," he lied. How hard can it be? He mused. The door slid open and Anakin noticed Palo watching. "I hope to see you tonight," he told Padmé as he took her hand. "Dinner?"

She smiled. "I'd love to," she said.

Anakin kissed her hand, and then left, giving Palo a self-satisfied smirk as he passed him on his way out.

Palo was surprised by the gesture, and stood up at once. "May I come in now?" he asked in a rather petulant tone.

"Yes, come in Palo," Padmé said, assuming a professional attitude.

Palo walked into the office, bobbing his head in Padmé's direction as he did so. "I've been waiting quite a while," he said as he sat down. "Far longer than Skywalker, and yet he was summoned before me."

Padmé simply smiled, not offering him an explanation. "I'm rather surprised to see you, Palo," she said. "Are you living on the capital now?"

"No, I'm still on Naboo," he replied. "I just thought you'd appreciate some of my work for your auction. I guarantee it will fetch a great deal of money for your charity."

Was he always this arrogant? She mused as she simply nodded in response. "I anticipate we'll raise a great deal of money," she said diplomatically.

Palo offered her a small smile in response. "Forgive my curiosity, Padmé, but how exactly to you know Anakin Skywalker?" he asked, unable to contain his nosiness. "The two of you seem rather…close."

"We are," Padmé said. "We've been friends for a long time."

Palo nodded, wishing she'd divulge more. She wasn't about to, so he decided to pry. "Seems like more than friendship from where I was sitting," he commented with a smirk.

Padmé didn't bite. "It was lovely to see you again," she said, signalling the end of their meeting. "Thank you again for your generosity."

Palo pressed his lips together in mild annoyance, and stood up. "I look forward to seeing you at the gala," he said. "I hope you'll honour me with a dance."

Padmé smiled. "Of course," she said.

Palo smiled, and left.

Padmé sat back in her desk and let out a long breath. Pompous windbag indeed, she mused.

Later that evening

Anakin had just put the twins to bed, alone, for Padmé had not shown up for dinner. Figuring that her meetings had gone far later than she'd expected, Anakin decided to start cleaning up and putting away the leftovers. He'd almost finished when the door chime sounded. He smiled, and headed to the elevator to meet her. But it wasn't Padmé who was at his door; it was Julie.

"Hi!" she said as he let her in. "I hope it's not too late to pop in," she said.

"No, it's fine," Anakin said. "Come in."

"I haven't seen you in a few days," she said as she plopped down on one of thee sofas. "So, I thought I'd drop in to see how you're doing. It's not like you ever contact me," she added with a saucy smile.

Anakin smiled as he sat across from her. "Sorry," he said. "Been pretty busy between the temple and the twins."

"I know, I'm just teasing," she said. "How's it going over there? Have you had many more Jedi show up?"

"We're up to 23 now," Anakin told her. "Hoping for more."

Julie shook her head. "23? And how many were there before the Purge?"

"I don't know the exact number," Anakin replied. "I'd estimate around ten thousand."

Julie's eyes widened. "Ten thousand? Oh my God, the clones killed so many!"

Anakin nodded. "They did," he said. "Like I said, we're hoping for more, but it won't be many more at this point. But at least it's a start, it's something to build on."

Julie nodded. "I guess that's the best you can expect now, right? Given all that's happened?"

"I suppose so, yeah," Anakin said. "Luke and Leia will be Jedi one day; they're already showing Force sensitivity."

"Cool," Julie said with a smile. "They're not here? The twins?"

"They're asleep," he said.

"Really? It's only 2100 hours," she said.

"They're babies," he said. "That's late for babies."

"Oh, I guess, so," she said. "Are you managing okay with them alone?"

Anakin nodded. "It's hectic at times, but I'm enjoying it," he said. "I love being a dad."

Julie smiled. "I know," she said. "I think that's adorable, by the way."

Anakin raised his eyebrows at her comment. "Adorable? If you say so," he said.

Julie looked at him for a moment. "There are so many things about you that are adorable, as a matter of fact," she said. She stood up and walked over to where he was sitting. "You want me to tell you what I think is adorable about you, Anakin?" she asked as she sat down right beside him.

"Uh, well…" Anakin said feeling rather uneasy with her proximity.

"You're sweet," she said. "You're funny," she continued, leaning closer to him as Anakin did his best to put distance between them. "You're kind," she went on, moving closer, "and so very, very sexy," she concluded, giving him a rather passionate kiss on the mouth.

Anakin, who had run out of sofa, took her by the shoulders in an attempt to pry her off of him. What he didn't know was that, standing in the doorway, Padmé had witnessed the entire thing.

"Julie, please stop," Anakin said, pushing her gently off of him.

"Why?" she said as she sat back. "What's wrong?"

Anakin stood up from the sofa. "I'm just not comfortable," he said.

Julie looked up at him. "This is because of her, isn't it? Your ex-wife?"

Anakin frowned. "Don't," he said simply.

Julie stood up. "Why not? It's true, isn't it?" she said. "You're still hung up on her, aren't you?"

"I will always have feelings for her," he said finally. "She's the mother of my children."

"I get that, but does that mean you're never going to have a relationship with another woman?" she asked. "You're so young, Anakin! You can't seriously intend on being celibate for the rest of your life!"

Anakin ran his hands into his hair in frustration. "I really don't want to have this conversation, okay?" he said tiredly. "I think you should leave, Julie."

Julie frowned. "Yeah, sure, whatever," she said, and left him in a huff. She turned back to him before stepping on the lift. "You have some serious problems, you know that?"

Anakin shook his head as the lift doors closed behind her. "And I thought I was adorable," he said. He sighed, and headed to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

Penthouse

Padmé stepped off of the lift, her hands shaking. She hung up her cloak and walked into the living room, sitting down on one of the large sofas. The image of Julie on top of Anakin kissing him was burned in her mind. He told me she meant nothing to him …he told me they were just friends…so why was she on top of him? Why was he holding her? Padmé couldn't reconcile what she had witnessed; just that afternoon Anakin had invited her to dinner, had told her how much he'd hoped to see her. Had Julie popped in like she had before? And how many more pop ins have there been?

"Milady? Are you okay?"

Padmé looked up to see Dormé. "Hello," she said. "Did you have dinner?" she asked, ignoring her friend's question.

"Yes," Dormé replied. "There's extra if you're hungry. I thought you were eating at Anakin's?"

"So did I," Padmé said, standing up. "He had other plans," she added, walking to the kitchen.

Dormé frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked as she followed Padmé. "Wasn't he home?"

"Oh, he was home," Padmé said as she opened the refrigerator. "But he wasn't alone."

"What do you mean? Who was there with him?" Dormé asked.

"Julie, that's who," Padmé said.

"That same girl who was there that other time?" Dormé asked, sitting down at the table with Padmé.

Padmé nodded. "They were on the sofa together," Padmé said as she picked at the meal she'd reheated. "She was on top of him," she added, her voice barely audible.

"What? What did Anakin say when you arrived?"

"He didn't see me," Padmé replied. "I left immediately."

Dormé was at a loss for words. "I…I don't know what to say," she admitted. "Surely you've misinterpreted the whole thing," she suggested. "Surely there's an explanation that isn't what you're thinking."

"Like what?"

"Well, you said that this woman is forward, and pushy," Dormé replied. "Is it possible she showed up like she did last time? That she initiated the whole thing?"

"It's entirely possible," Padmé admitted. "But Anakin didn't seem in too much of a hurry to put a stop to it."

Dormé frowned. "You're not being fair," she said. "You said yourself you left immediately. Don't assume the worst, Padmé."

Padmé sighed. "I'm trying not to," she said. "But seeing her kissing him …I can't get the image out of my mind, Dormé! And I have to wonder how often she's there. But I guess I don't have a say in it, do I? I divorced him. He can do what he wants."

"I'm sorry," Dormé said, not knowing what else to do.

Padmé pushed the food on her plate around for a few moments. "I'm not hungry," she said finally.

"I'll take care of that," Dormé said.

"Thank you," Padmé said. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Dormé," she said.

"Goodnight, milady."