Once at Padmé's, I threw myself onto the bed and kicked off my boots, sighing with exhaustion. Today has been quite tiring, I thought to myself, waiting for Padmé to get back from her Senate meeting. Sometimes, these meetings took all day, depending on the agenda. They had been in there for a good eight or nine hours, since just after lunchtime. I sat up and went into the bathroom. After a short shower, I felt considerably better.

I waited for about ten minutes, but I got restless. All of a sudden, a scheme popped into my head. I picked up my boots, undershirt, tunic, and cloak and put them back on. I pulled a small holo-communicator from my utility belt, set it on her nightstand, and recorded a message.

"Padmé, I'm going to be late tonight. I don't know yet how late, but I promise I will be there. Be ready."

I took the recorder chip out of the holo-comm and put it in her message box. Then I climbed out of the balcony and descended to the ground. Walking away from the building, I inhaled the crisp, scrubbed-clean air and wondered what Padmé's reaction to my scheme would be. Well, it wasn't so much a scheme as something she wouldn't expect. I smiled mischievously.

When I found the building I was looking for, I stepped inside, half-expecting it to be closed. The squat, jolly-faced old Gran looked up as I entered and beamed jovially at seeing me. He hurried from around the transparisteel display counter to grab my hand with both of his, shaking furiously.

"Anakin Skywalker! How good to see you again! How are you?"

I politely pulled my hand from his grip and answered, "I've been all right, Donick. I've taken a wife recently."

His mouth opened into a wide "O" and the orbs at the end of his trio of eyestalks widened in surprise. "Oh, Anakin, congratulations!"

"Thanks, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, if you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all. What can I do you for?"

"Well, the marriage was a bit impromptu, and I was unable, at the time, to give her the kind of ring she deserves. So, I've come to you to find one that comes as close to her beauty as possible. And if it'll help . . . "

I pulled a holo-projector from my belt and pushed the activation button. A blue cone of light popped up and a transparent image of Padmé appeared and rotated. I let Donick ponder the image a few moments and was very glad when his eyes lit up. "I have just the thing for Madam Skywalker. Come, follow me."

He led me past his public display cases, through a hidden door into a room lit only by a small blue orb hanging near the ceiling. Donick pulled a disk-like, grooved metallic object from the inner pocket of his brown sleeveless cloak and fingered it as he waddled to a small table in the furthest corner. He removed a dark, dusty piece of fabric covering a collection of boxes of varying shapes and sizes. Each of them had circular grooves on the lid. He considered them individually, eventually picking one up and putting the round key into the grooves on the box. He turned the key and there was a faint click. He opened the box and looked inside. Nodding, he led me back out into the main store and brighter light. Opening the box, he let me see the contents.

I beheld a beautiful piece of jewelry. The golden ring inside housed a sparkling, opaque white stone that glimmered with traces of different colors when moved in the light. The thin gold pieces that held the stone in place twisted and vined themselves around the white orb.

"It's beyond beautiful," I breathed.

"It's made of an ancient stone, all but gone from every corner of the galaxy. This is the last piece of it in existence, at least to my knowledge. It's called opal."

I looked up from the ring and asked, "How much? I'll pay any price."

He smiled slightly, putting a hand gently on my shoulder. "For a long-time friend, to whom I owe my life, no charge."

I shook my head adamantly. "No, I demand to pay for it. I wouldn't feel right not paying for it."

"All right then. Two Republic credits. I hope you have two beautiful children. But with the combination of you and your missus, there's no doubt that they will be beautiful." He smiled slyly.

I smiled and agreed. I knew he wouldn't take anything more, not that I had much more on my person. I handed the credits over to him as he placed the box lovingly into my hand, the key still in the top.

"The box will only open if the key is in place. It is virtually indestructible. Not even the blade of a lightsaber will open it."

I whistled quietly, truly impressed. There were few known materials that lightsabers could not penetrate.

"Take good care of it, my friend, and that lovely wife of yours. I wish you the best."

"Thanks, Donick. May the Force be with you."

I pocketed the ring box and exited the building. Hurrying through the streets back toward the apartment, I smiled despite myself. She is going to love this.

I climbed back up to the balcony and peeked over. Padmé had obviously gotten back just after I had left because the lights were out and her soft form filled the right half of the bed, facing the wall. I could tell that she was freshly showered by her still-damp hair. She breathed slowly, obviously asleep. Poor Padmé. That Senate meeting must have been a real killer. She couldn't even stay awake to wait for me. I smiled lovingly and pulled myself up over the rails and onto the balcony. The white curtains that framed the open doors billowed softly in the wind.

I walked through the doorway and stripped down to my trousers, ring box in hand. Careful not to wake her yet, I lay down beside her, putting the box temporarily on the nightstand. I leaned over her back and brushed some loose tendrils of hair back behind her ear. I bent down and kissed her cheek, putting my arm around her. She stirred, stretched a little, and turned her head around, looking sleepily at me. She smiled and positioned herself onto her right side facing me, propping her head on her hand.

"Nice of you to join me."

I caressed her cheek and leaned in for a kiss, then I propped myself up on my left elbow. "Sorry I was late, but I'm sure you won't mind at all once you see why."

I reached behind me and picked the box up off of the nightstand. Turning back to her, I placed the box in between us on the bed, gestured toward it, and said, "Go ahead, open it."

She looked at me in surprise and picked up the dark container. With the box in hand, she turned the key and opened the lid. When she saw the ring, her mouth appeared as if a whole planet could fit comfortably inside. She looked up at me, deep brown eyes shining. "Oh, Ani! How did you . . . where in the world . . . ?" She couldn't get out a full sentence.

I took the box from her hand and pulled out the ring. Removing her plain band, I gently placed the opal on her finger. I leaned down to kiss it and looked up at her. "Thank you, Padmé, for always being there for me; when I first left Tatooine and the only life I ever knew; when Qui-Gon, to whom I looked up as a father, died; when my mother died. You have always been there." I took her hands in mine, pulled her closer, and looked deeply into her eyes, a tear starting to form in my own. "Please, my lovely, lovely Padmé, never leave me."

She wiped away the solitary tear that had fallen from my eye and kissed my forehead, my cheeks, my lips. Holding my face gently, she touched her forehead to mine, saying, "Ani, for as a long as I live, I will always, always be there for you. My love for you will never change, come what may. I swear to you, Anakin, I will love you, until the end of time."

I couldn't hold in the cascade of tears any longer. She reached out her arms and held me while I cried into her nightgown. I knew in my heart that she meant every single word she said. No matter what happened, she would always love me, and I would always love her. All the suns in the galaxy could go black, fire could rain down from the skies, stars could collide, but nothing could change my love for her.

I don't know how long I cried, but by the time I could cry no longer, Padmé's shoulder and arm was saturated.

After a few minutes, I told Padmé about what had happened with Obi-Wan and about his finding out about the marriage.

"Well, I'm so glad that he knows now. I know how hard it was for you to keep something so big from him, being as close as you two are."

"Yeah," I said, situating myself underneath the covers and lying back. Padmé laid her head on my chest and sighed. I put my arm around her and closed my eyes. I could feel that she was troubled, obviously by what had happened at the Senate meeting. I knew that if she wanted to tell me, she would have already.

I tapped into the Force and sent Padmé an image of a beautiful meadow beside a waterfall, the sun shining in the cloudless blue sky. Her tension immediately started to ease. I sent her the image of a scruffy-looking, dirty-blonde haired little boy running through the meadow towards a teenage girl with long, braided brown hair, both dressed in simple pleasant clothes. When the two were almost upon each other, the boy slipped and fell on his face. When he looked up, his face was grass-stained and dirty, but he wasn't a little boy anymore; he was a young man of twenty. The girl came to help him up, but she wasn't a girl anymore; she wore a blinding white gown that flowed beautifully, a golden rope tied around her waist. Her hair shone in the sun, as did the iridescent wings that held her floating in the air. The glow of a halo floated above her head. The young man looked up at her face and said, "I knew you were an angel."

Padmé opened her eyes and looked up at me, smiling. She settled back down and fell gently to sleep, all her tension forgotten. I lay there and watched her sleep. She looked so beautiful, so fragile. I felt a fluttering in my chest and knew that I would risk everything to protect her, to keep her from ever hurting.

"Padmé," I said softly to her sleeping form, "I won't ever let you go. I won't let any pain come to you. I'll protect you with my life."