Okay. University life has caught up with me. So has applying to graduate school and applying to take the fifteen zillion tests I need just to get into it. Gaaaah. *shakes first* Darn you, you evil GMAT! Darn you, you evil LSAT! Darn you! Darn you! Darn you!

I've really neglected this story. This is what I hope will make up for it. It's not long, but it takes off where the cliffhanger from JULY left off. Let me know how you like it, okay?

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Part X
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"Anakin."

She murmured the words in her sleep, stirring restlessly on the hospital bed, her face matted with sweat, her hair tied tightly away.

Outside the small hospital room, two Jedi waited for Anakin Skywalker to arrive. Both were questioning his ability to see where the attack came from. And they were both wondering why Padmé was calling for Anakin to be there.

It had been nearly twelve hours since the attack. It hadn't been anything more than another assassination attempt, only it got much closer, too close this time. She was alive, but rather singed around the edges.

Her attacker, who has planted the bomb inside the assembly where she worked, was now detained with Jedi Master Mace Windu, who would take the would-be assassin back to Coruscant, as soon as he had time to confess what he'd done.

"Ani... oh..."

One Jedi glanced at the other, unable to hide the trace of uncertainty in his gaze. He knew that if Anakin didn't come and Padmé worsened, it would be bad for both of them. After all, Anakin had sworn to protect the Senator with his life.

A droid was approaching them, carrying a tray of beverages. "Sir Jedi," the droid said, it's feministic voice mechanical. "The apprentice has arrived. What shall I do?"

"Send him up immediately."

It took less than ten minutes for the sounds of rushing footsteps to draw closer. He could hear two men arguing.

"I told her I'd protect her." The voice sounded huffy, as though it were out of breath. And angry, very angry. It was Anakin's.

"Just remember your duties," came the quiet, no-nonsense tone of Obi-Wan's, gentle in the wind as the two approached from around the corner. "Patience, my young padawan."

But Anakin wasn't playing by his rules anymore. "Where is she?" he demanded.

The two Jedi exchanged a glance and stepped aside. Anakin turned to look defiantly at his master before pursuing into the room.

What he saw on the hospital bed made his heart skip a beat. "No," he whispered, rushing to her. "Padmé..."

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't cry. He could barely move. All he could do was stare at her lovely face, now with a deep red burn taking most of its' beauty. The anger inside of him bubbled up. His eyes flashed. "I won't let them take you away from me," he said in a calm voice, a voice he alone could hear. "I won't let them tell me what to do anymore. If you come back to me, I'll quit. I'll leave the Jedi Order. I'll stay with you. Forever. But first," he said gently, moving to her bedside and lifting her limp hand, "you need to wake up for me."

As he watched her uneven breathing, the first traces of tears started in his eyes. "Please, Padmé? Come home..."


One Day Ago

It had been business as usual for the Senator, as she was wrapping up a coalition with her advisors. She watched as the Governor left, always sad to see him go. He had been such a wise advisor over her term as a Queen.

But as she gathered her papers, she could feel a set of eyes on her. She turned and saw Bail Organa, the delegate of Alderaan and right-hand advisor to the Chancellor, staring at her, his quiet eyes slowly reading her experssion. "You have changed, m'lady."

Padmé shook her head. "Of all the things that have happened so far in my life, I doubt it could get any worse." She busied herself with sorting her papers, trying to blink away the tears that threatened to destroy her control. "When I was a Queen, they tried to take Naboo. Now I'm a Senator and they're trying to take my life." She turned to him. "How would you deal with such a situation?"

Bail chuckled softly. "You're doing extraordinarily well for someone who's needed Jedi protection twice now."

She sighed and stared at a point over his left shoulder. "I just wish there could be more, you know?" she asked, her voice soft and sad.

Bail's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her reaction suspiciously. "Is there something wrong my lady?"

"Yes, no..." she threw the papers across the table in frustration. "I don't know anymore! I just feel alone. I feel like I should be out there, making a difference, and I'm trapped here because Anakin said it would be safer. The only way it'd be safer is if he would be here with me!"

"He'd be expelled from the Order if he was to do such a thing," Bail reminded her gently.

Padmé closed her eyes and felt an overwhelming sense of sadness crush her. She crumpled back onto her chair and stared out the paned glass of the assembly, at the capital of her beloved Naboo. "I need him," she whispered. She turned to Bail, almost desperately. "You have been one of my highest advisors for over two years now. Can I ask of your counsel and can you guarantee it will not leave this room?"

Senator Organa looked shaken. "Yes, m'lady..."

The moment Padmé opened her mouth, it all came out. The pain, the endless sadness, the fear she would never see Anakin again. The last thing she spoke of was the forbidden bond they now shared, which caused Bail to gasp with surprise and look astounded.

"I never would have guessed you two were that close," he said in a voice of wonder.

"Please," she begged softly. "Do not say a word to the Jedi nor the Chancellor. They would have my head."

"Yours, my lady," said Bail, taking the seat next to her. "And his, as well. He has defied everything he has ever believed in. Chancellor Palpatine has said himself that he has forseen Skywalker to be the greatest of all Jedi's, the one who will bring that balance to the force."

"What balance is there without human emotion?" Padmé asked, an angry note in her voice. "Jedi's are forbidden to love, to hate, to cry... when was the last time you ever saw Master Yoda make a facial expression? There are things more powerful than anything any Jedi could ever come up with. This is one of them."

Bail Organa shook his head quickly. "I'm sorry, my lady, but it's not."

She glanced up at him in surprise as he rose and gathered his things. "What do you mean?"

"This was never the intention of anyone, for you two to find love, to find happiness, in a time where we desperately need you in solitude." He paused. "The Chancellor has a great deal planned for Skywalker, and your vows have just placed our entire future into a state of jeopardy. Padmé..."

She rose and faced him. He put his hand on her shoulder and looked earnestly into her eyes. "You need to break the bond, now. Break it, before it's too late. For your sake, as well as his." With that, he gave her one last shaky smile and left.

Later, as Padmé had finished writing out the contents of the meeting, her thoughts dwelled back to what Bail had said. Her mind refused to register what he'd said, but her heart throbbed painfully. How could he expect her to leave Anakin? How?

Yet it had been so long since she'd last seen him, since she'd been in his arms.

A strange aching overcame her and she fell onto her chair in dispair. "What am I going to do?" she murmured to her desk as she picked up the single folder remaining on it. The pages inside contained a new proposal about a treaty with the Clone Wars and a new plan to find Count Dooku. As she hastily scanned the contents, she stood up again, and grabbed her coat.

That's when she heard a single footstep outside her door.

"Hello?" she asked, clicking on another light, filling in the dark voids of her spacious office. "Is anyone there?"

She took another step when the door in front of her burst in, carrying wind and flame. Padmé screamed as the force threw across her desk and into the window, watching as the entire plane of glass shattered and fell around her as she fell forward.

"Anakin!" she cried out, before she was lost in darkness.