Come Undone
Chapter 4
Obi-wan, feeling much calmer than he had when Anakin had left, reached the security center nearly two hours later. To his surprise, the guard offered no resistance to his request to view the security monitors and seemed quite unconcerned that the cameras in the Nubian senator's chambers were shut off…
"What happened to the security in Senator Amidala's Bedchamber?" he queried, puzzled.
"Nothing sir…" the man answered dreamily. "All is secure with Senator Amidala…"
Obi-wan sighed as he realized what had taken place. He knew the poor man would offer no resistance as he headed towards the small security office. Indeed, the guard just smiled at the Jedi and wished him a pleasant evening, although it was nearly the middle of the night.
Here, as in the security consol, the four screens depicting Senator Amidala's bedchamber were blank. Resting on one of the monitors was a note, not surprisingly, addressed to Obi-wan.
"Walk away now Obi-wan…" it read. "Leave her out of this, this doesn't concern you."
Obi-wan pursed his lips, but allowed the anger that was threatening to build slip away.
"If you wish to continue," the note concluded, "Access the monitor with a Jedi's weapon… But this is your last warning… GO AWAY, we don't need you!"
Obi-wan sighed aloud. "But you do my friend, you do."
Access the monitor with a Jedi's weapon… Surely he didn't mean for Obi-wan to physically attack the machine with his light saber... Unless…
He reached over the keyboard and typed in the word "Light Saber" and the screen went white. He turned away, so sure would catch his apprentice and his lover in the middle of an act of passion, that for a moment actually saw them involved in an amorous entanglement but to his surprise, the only thing that appeared on the screen was another message.
"As you are reading this, I will tell you that your assumptions are correct." The note read in Anakin's careful script. " However, this is not the tawdry little affair that you think it is. Padmé and I are involved in a deep and personal relationship. We love each other but there is more to it than that. Much more… If you wish to discuss this matter further, the access code that brought you here will also gain admittance to Padmé's flat but I ask that you respect her privacy and not pass the bedroom door if it is closed. You can grant me, grant her, that much…" With that terse statement, the note ended unsigned.
"Alright Anakin…" he thought. "No more secrets after tonight…"
and with a resolution born of determination, Obi-wan made his way to Padmé Amidala's privet quarters.
Anakin lay quietly with Padmé beside him, gently stroking her hair while she slept. They had enjoyed a rather passionate session of lovemaking in which Padmé, in the heat of the moment, had lost her command of Basic lapsing into her native Nubian, (whether she had been complimenting or condemning, Anakin hadn't been sure!) However, now at long last they could enjoy a last hours of peace. Obi-wan would soon be waiting for him but for now, his senses told him that the room next door was still empty. He considered everything that had transpired in the last few months. After three years of hiding, and playing a charade it had all come down to this. Soon, their lives would be forever changed and part of him relished the idea; at long last, their love would be out in the open. No more looking over their shoulders, being afraid, jumping at their own shadows. A chance to have a normal life. Yet, on the other hand... Anakin shook the thought away. Best not to dwell on such things as either way it would not matter. He and Padme' would be together. Just the two of them. No, not the two of them, he realized with a start. There was the baby now.
Anakin felt a lance of fear race through his chest, "a baby..." he whispered allowed, trying to get the feel of the word. The reality of it. Padme' rolled off to the side sighing contentedly, blissfully unaware of her husband's emotional turmoil. Anakin reflected on how she had tried, unsuccessfully, to get him to place his hands on her stomach earlier and how he had refused at the time, playfully trying to pretend that it didn't matter. Thankfully she had not pressed the issue, allowing him to escape with only a gentle teasing, but now, now with her asleep and unable to see how truly frightened he was, the idea was… tempting.
Gingerly, he reached down her side and moved his hand towards her, watching her face for any sign of wakefulness. To his relief, there was none and he bit his lower lip hard chastising himself mentally. For the love of the force, this was his wife! A woman whose body he knew almost as well as his own, why should he be afraid?
"Padmé?" he whispered; only half hoping that she would not reply. He nuzzled her ear softly, and whispered her name again. "Padmé? Angel?" His hand slowly traced down her side and came to rest on the smooth curve of her belly. She gave a soft, low moan in her sleep but did not stir. Anakin took a deep breath and held it for a moment and he lay there, heart pounding and afraid to move. He chastised himself again for his foolish behavior earlier as so far there was nothing too different, too disconcerting. Nothing to be concerned about… And then, then it happened…
At first he was too shocked to do anything, even breath! He'd felt it! A distinctive moment beneath his hand and yet before he could recover, he felt it again! In his heart, Anakin felt as if his child, their child, was trying to settle down and get comfortable after it's parent's earlier exploits. Anakin felt tears well up in his eyes as it finally really came home to him. A family, a whole family at long last. He leaned down to kiss Padmé, wanting to trail a line of kisses from her fore head down to the place where their child rested. She would awaken to... to…
A noise from the other room and a disturbance in the force interrupted his train of thought. Obi-wan. Anakin wiped the last traces of tears from his eyes and sat up straight in the bed, trying not to disturb Padmé who was still sleeping deeply.
He carefully pulled the coverlet up to her shoulders and tenderly kissed her again. "Please, let her sleep through this," Anakin prayed to himself. "Please, don't let her be upset any more than she has been. She deserves none of this."
Anakin reached through the force to get a sense of what his Master was thinking and was surprised at what he saw. Instead of the blind rage Anakin had expected, he felt only sadness, resignation and a profound sense of loss. This left him utterly confused, and honestly a little frightened. Did this mean he had misjudged Obi-Wan? That perhaps, just perhaps, he might have gone to his master in the first place...
He shook the thought away almost angrily. Obi-wan would have never understood. Master Kenobi, the wise Jedi knight, understand about LOVE? About Needing a person in your life, committing yourself to that person forever? No, Master Obi-wan would never have understood. He sighed audibly, then reluctantly pushed the button that would open the door not only to Obi-wan, but to the rest of the world as well.
A few moments later, Obi-wan Ken-obi stood in the doorway, his face an unreadable mask. Anakin stared hard back at his master and the silence became unbearably oppressive. Anakin, suddenly burst out bitterly, his voice a harsh whisper. "Is THIS what you wanted to see... Master?" He pulled Padme' closer almost instinctively. "Love is something they really don't teach at the Jedi Temple..." he trailed off, his voice losing its edge.
Obi-wan just continued to look at him sadly. At long last, he turned away,
heading back into the sitting room. "You should get dressed," he said slowly,
his voice heavy with emotion. "We can speak in here and..." here he hesitated.
"The Senator, well, I guess she can still rest Anakin." Anakin lowered his
head, all the anger draining out of him in a flood. He could not think of a
thing to say. He carefully moved over to the side of the bed, trying not to
disturb his sleeping wife, and began to dress.
