Chapter 55

The Pinnacle Restaurant

Anakin and Padmé sat at a window table enjoying lunch together. Anakin had not told Padmé about his visit to the detention centre, and was wondering if he ought to. His anger had got the better of him, and he knew he had let things go too far.

"I was thinking we should get married on Naboo," Padmé said. "I don't want anything big, Ani, do you?"

"Not at all," Anakin said. "That sounds perfect to me. When should we do this?"

Padmé considered this for a moment. "I don't want to wait too long," she said. "I mean, it's still early, but I don't want to start showing before we're married."

Anakin smiled. "I understand," he said. "I thought you'd want to wait until after Julie's trial."

She shook her head. "No, we don't even know when that is," she said. "And we don't know how long the trial will take."

Anakin nodded. "Okay, then let's do this," he said. "Who do you want there? Your parents, your sister and her family…anyone else?"

"Well, Dormé," Padmé said. "And you? I'm sure you want to have Obi-Wan and Ahsoka there," she said.

"Absolutely," Anakin said. He smiled. "Luke and Leia can be our attendants," she said.

Padmé laughed. "That will be adorable," she said. She thought for a moment. "What are you doing at the end of this week?"

"Nothing much," Anakin said. "You mean…you want to get married this week's end?"

"Why not?" she said. "We can contact everyone tonight, and put it all together by then. What do you think?"

Anakin smiled. "I think it's a great idea," he said. "Let's do it."

Anakin returned to the temple after lunch. He found Ahsoka and Obi-Wan in the refectory.

"That looks appetizing," Anakin commented when he saw the bland meals they were eating.

"Some of us don't mind plain fare," Obi-Wan said. "Where have you been?"

"I took Padmé to lunch at the Pinnacle," Anakin replied.

"What's the occasion?" Ahsoka asked, knowing that the Pinnacle one of Coruscant's more exclusive restaurants.

"We got engaged," Anakin said with a smile.

"That's wonderful!" Ahsoka declared with a smile. "When did this happen?"

"Only last night," Anakin said. "We're getting married at the end of the week on Naboo, and hope you'll both be there."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Of course, we will," he said. "This is delightful news, Anakin. Congratulations."

"That's really soon," Ahsoka said. "What's the hurry?"

Anakin smiled rather sheepishly. "Well, we kind of …need to."

"Oh, well, congratulations again, in that case," Obi-Wan said with a smile.

Ahsoka laughed. "Well, I think that's amazing," she said. "Another Skywalker to join the Order."

"No one can accuse you of not doing your part to repopulate the Order, Anakin," Obi-Wan quipped.

Anakin chuckled. "I live to serve."

Detention Centre

Dane Mendicino waited in the small visitors' room. He had spoken to his sister, Julie's mother, the previous night, and had assured her that he would do everything he could to help Julie. In truth, Dane didn't believe there was much to be done, for it seemed a rather simple matter. Julie had admitted to the allegations brought against her, and there were also witnesses who could verify the entire incident. Her claim not to know what she was saying because of the drugs in her system was the only tenuous thread on which Dane's case hung, and it was a mighty flimsy one. Still, he had promised his sister that he would try, so try he would.

"Ten minutes," the clone announced once Julie had been shackled to the chair facing her uncle.

"I spoke to your parents last night," Dane told his niece.

Julie nodded. "I can only imagine what they had to say," she replied.

Dane nodded. "I'm sure you can," he said.

"I know I'm a huge disappointment to them," Julie said bitterly. "You don't need to tell me."

Dane frowned, but said nothing in reply. "Your trial date has been set," he said. "It's next week, on Zhellday."

"That's so soon!" Julie whined.

"It is," Dane agreed. "But given that the litigant is the Chancellor herself, it's not that surprising."

Julie frowned at the mention of the Chancellor, and remembered that she needed to tell her uncle about Anakin's visit.

"Anakin came to see me the other day," she told Dane.

"Really? Why?" Dane asked.

"He came to threaten me, Uncle Dane," she said.

"What did he say?"

"He told me that if he had been here when this happened that I would be dead now," she said.

Dane's eyes widened in surprise. "Anakin said that?"

Julie nodded. "Then he told me that if I ever get out, he'd kill me if I came near the Chancellor."

"Julie, this doesn't sound like the Anakin Skywalker I know," he remarked, starting to grow skeptical.

Julie frowned. "I'm not lying!" she retorted. "He said all that and then choked me!"

Dane knew his niece quite well, and was quite accustomed to her penchant for lying. But something told him that she wasn't lying now.

"He choked you?" he asked. "He put his hands around your neck? Do you have marks?"

"He didn't touch me," she told him. "But I know it was him. He must have used his Jedi powers or something. I'm not lying, Uncle Dane! You have to believe me!"

Dane nodded. "I do believe you," he said. "I'm utterly shocked that he would do such a thing."

"So was I," she replied sadly. "I really thought he cared about me."

Dane had his own opinion about that, but didn't say so. He was too busy contemplating how he could use this information in his case.

"What do you think, Uncle Dane?" Julie asked as she saw how pensive her uncle had become. "Do you think this could help my case?"

Dane nodded. "I think so, yes," he said. "At the very least, it can't hurt it."

Julie smiled, knowing that if there was a way to exploit Anakin's treatment of her, he would find it.

"Time's up."

Julie and her uncle looked up at the clone.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Dane said. "Your parents want to see you," he added as they stood up.

"Oh God, really?" she whined as the clone bound her hands.

"Don't be like that," Dane admonished. "They're worried."

Julie frowned, but said nothing as the clone escorted her out of the room and back to her cell.

Naboo – later in the week

Anakin and Padmé sat on the terrace of the lake house, each with a twin on their lap. Their wedding had been reminiscent of their first wedding, only this time they'd had friends and family there to celebrate with them.

"Look at this little man," Ruwee said as he held out his arms to Luke. "Come to Grandpa," he said as Luke put his arms out to him. Ruwee picked him up with a smile.

"He likes to walk now," Anakin told his father-in-law. "Just hold onto his hands and watch him go."

Ruwee laughed. "Okay champ, let's go."

"Nearly a year already," Jobal said as she watched Luke toddle along with the help of his grandfather.

Padmé looked at her mother with a smile. "Yes, only 2 weeks away," she said. "We'll have a big party in our new house."

"Sounds lovely," Jobal said. She looked at Leia who was seated on her mother's lap. "Do you want to walk too, Leia?" she asked.

Leia smiled, and even though she didn't totally understand what her grandmother had asked her, held her arms out to her.

Anakin reached over and took Padmé's hand. "A little different from our first wedding," he said with a smile.

Padmé nodded. "That was lovely too, but it's so nice having our friends and family here," she said.

"Not to mention Luke and Leia," Anakin said, watching them toddle along with their grandparents. "Look at them go!"

Padmé laughed. "Just wait until they're doing that on their own," she said.

"I can imagine," Anakin said. "Dormé will need a raise."

Padmé smiled. "Speaking of her, have you noticed her and Obi-Wan sitting together?"

Anakin looked around to fid them, and smiled when he did. "Well well well," he said. "Interesting."

"You think there's something going on?" she asked.

"You never know," Anakin said. "I know he's open to the idea of a relationship," he said. "The Order has decided that the few Jedi we have right now need to have families."

"Well, I think he'd make an excellent father," Padmé commented.

Anakin nodded. "I agree," he said.

"Care to dance, Ani?" Padmé said.

"Dance?" he said. "Well…"

She frowned. "You don't know how to dance, do you?"

Anakin shook his head. "Not exactly part of my Jedi training," he said.

Padmé laughed. "Come on," she said. "I'll show you how. It's easy."

Anakin, Padmé and their twins stayed on Naboo for 3 days before returning to the Capital. Having learned that the trial of Julie Banks was imminent, they wanted to be sure they were back in time to attend. The prosecutor trying the case had all but assured Padmé that the trial would be a short one, as she had ample evidence to convict Julie. Padmé hoped that she was right.

The day that Anakin and Padmé had been waiting for had finally arrived. There was excitement in the air as they made their way to their new home. Luke and Leia were too young to understand what was going on, but they sensed their parents' excitement, and felt it too.

"I just hope we don't have any unpacking to do," Anakin said as they made their approach to the estate's landing platform. "I paid that company a lot of money; it should be good to go."

"Let's hope so," Padmé said.

The house was completely furnished when they arrived, much to their relief. They walked through the enormous estate carrying the twins, who were wide eyed with excitement as they checked out their new home.

"Okay, furniture's here," Anakin said. "Item number two: is there food in the kitchen?"

"Only one way to find out," Padmé said as they headed into the kitchen. There were two large refrigerators standing side by side, so each of them pulled one open. They were both full.

"Fantastic," Anakin said.

Padmé nodded. "Last thing, linens. Are there linens on the beds and in the bathrooms?"

"Let's check," Anakin said. As they made their way through the bedrooms that they would be using, they were relieved to see that they were all made up with the brand-new linens that Padmé had picked out. However, both master suites were made up.

"I guess when we bought the place, we weren't planning on sharing a bed," Anakin said. "I guess that can be a guest room."

"Yes, let's decide which one we want to use," she said. "I know which one I like better."

Anakin smiled. "I like whichever one you Iike," he told her with a kiss.

"You're so sweet," she said. "The one at the east end, that's the one I like."

"It's a lot closer to the kids' room," Anakin pointed out.

"Why do you think I like it better?" she asked with a smile.

"Gotcha," Anakin said. "Let's bring the kids outside. They're going to love the garden."

Later that night

Anakin and Padmé lay in bed together, talking.

"Listen," Anakin said.

Padmé listened. "I don't hear anything," she said.

"Exactly," he said. "It's so quiet out here, no traffic noise, just…peace and quiet."

She smiled. "I think we're going to like it out here," she said.

Anakin nodded. "I already like it out here," he said. "I really hope that trial is over quickly," he said. "I guess we'll need to hold off on the party for the kids' birthday until it's done."

Padmé frowned. "Yet another reason to dislike that girl," she said.

Anakin nodded. He hadn't told her about how he had gone to confront Julie, nor was he sure he ought to. His anger had spiralled out of control while he was there, and he regretted having choked her. But he had choked her, and wishing it hadn't happened wouldn't change anything. He only hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt them.

"I don't want to talk about her," Anakin said, gathering Padmé into his arms. "We're technically still on our honeymoon, remember?"

Padmé smiled. "You're right," she said. "No more Julie talk."

Anakin nodded as he pulled her closer. "Agreed, no more talk," he said, and kissed her.

Detention Centre – The next morning

Julie had been dreading facing her parents, but when she saw them in the visitor room, she couldn't help but break down in tears.

Julie's mother, Tessa, went to her daughter at once and hugged her briefly before the clone guarding Julie asked her to step aside. Tessa sat down, her heart aching as she watched her youngest child being manacled to the chair she sat in like a common criminal.

"Ten minutes," the clone said as he left them alone.

"Julie, oh my God, how did you get yourself into this?" Tessa cried while her husband, Marcus, sat in silence.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Julie cried, wiping the tears from her face with her free hand. "I didn't mean it! I didn't know what I was saying, Mom!"

"Because you were stoned," her father said. "Right? You were high on those blasted death sticks, weren't you?"

Julie lowered her eyes to the table, giving her father his answer without saying a word.

"Oh Julie, why?" Tessa said. "Why would you use those things?"

Julie shrugged. "They help me relax," she said. "I have a lot of stress you know; Uncle Dane is very demanding."

Marcus shook his head. "You're lucky to have a job," he said. "Now look at the mess you're in! You think Uncle Dane will be able to bail you out again?"

Julie looked at her father. "I think he has a plan," she said.

"Really?" Tessa asked hopefully. "What is it?"

"I'm not supposed to talk about it," Julie said. "But you know how determined he can be."

Tessa nodded, knowing her brother was nothing if not tenacious. "I hope whatever it is it works," she said. "We'll be at the trial," Tessa said. "Uncle Dane told us it's soon."

Julie nodded. "Yup," she said.

"Time's up."

Julie and her parents looked up at the clone, and then stood up.

"Thanks for coming Mom, Dad," Julie said. "I'll see you at the trial."

Tessa nodded, holding back her tears. Once her daughter had been escorted out of the room she turned to her husband. "She'll be all right, won't she Marcus?"

Marcus put an arm around her shoulders. "If anyone can help her, it's Dane," he said.

Tessa nodded, and then they left the room together.