After Sola had left, Padmè's abated fears returned, and she paced around her apartment, trying to decide what to do. The anticipation of what her husband would do or say made her fearful, and she blamed her pregnancy entirely on herself. Finally she decided to freshen up, changing into a new, specially tailored dress that looked beautiful, and showed off her stomach. Padmè also styled her hair; she wanted so much for Anakin to be pleased with his impending fatherhood.
Finally, after much stress and waiting, she heard the sound of her intercom, and nervously gave it permission to allow a visitor access to her apartment. As she heard the door open, she raced into the front room to greet Anakin and stopped dead at the sight of her visitor.
Obi-Wan felt every bit as shocked as Padmè felt as he stared, mouth open, at her pregnant stomach. After a few seconds of immediate shock, and complete silence from both sides, his brain finally clicked into action and he took a tentative step towards Padmè.
Panicked, Padmè turned and ran back into her apartment, a little pointless, as there was only one exit. She finally collapsed once more upon one of her couches and started crying, in painful gasping shudders that shook her body.
Obi-Wan, having followed, was at a complete loss at what to do. He knew he should be angry at what Padmè had all too obviously done with his padawan, but at the moment, the only emotion he felt was absolute pity for his previously self-controlled friend. He had been given absolutely no sign of any occurrence this huge from Anakin in the months that they had been away, and surmised that he mustn't yet know of this emotionally-charged event. Padmè hadn't told him and she obviously didn't have too long to go.
Obi-Wan broke out of his frozen position, and walked over to the couch where Padmè lay, rocking with uncontrollable sobbing, awaiting condemnation from her old friend. He sat down next to her and gingerly patted her back, not used to dealing with emotional women.
Padmè, who had frozen at his touch, sat up suddenly and started choking out a panicked apology. "I don't know what to do, you must hate me, and what am I going to tell Anakin? He doesn't know-" (she drew a ragged breath) "-and when you tell him he'll be so much more angry at me, he won't love me any more, and he won't want our baby!"
Obi-Wan, having cringed at her mention of 'love', sighed, aware that it was obviously too late for his padawan. What he'd dismissed three years earlier as puppy love now shone true as loving commitment towards the senator, and if Anakin had any hope at all for remaining true to the rest of the Jedi ideals, Obi-Wan had better make sure to offer his padawan support with his lover and his child.
He continued rubbing Padmè's quaking back, and gave her his word that he wouldn't tell his padawan, but would let her do it. He also said that he still wanted their friendship to remain intact; it must have been a hard burden for one woman to hold on to, without daring to entrust the knowledge to anyone else.
Padmè wiped the tears from her eyes, and apologised profusely. She could see how heavily this weighed on her old friend.
"For the last three years, Anakin has thought of you every day, Senator. He has been fearing for your safety and missing you constantly. Obviously," Obi-Wan started, sighing once more, "I haven't exactly been encouraging these emotions, but they show that without a doubt you needn't be worried about any change in his utter devotion to you."
Padmè was immensely grateful to Obi-Wan for his reassurance, but also disturbed at how much her husband had let on. Who else suspected the height of their relationship?
"Now, I'll admit, the reason for my unexpected visit today was to warn you about getting involved with my apprentice. Anakin's going through a testing period of his devotion to the Jedi order, and the last thing he needs is an added distraction. But," he continued, trying to reassure the stricken looking Padmè, "you're more important now. I still trust my padawan to do the right thing. I'll respect your privacy for the moment, but at some point the Jedi Council will have to know. How long exactly has this relationship been going on?"
Obi-Wan wearily accepted her answer of their marriage of three years. They talked for a while about what had been happening, and then Obi-Wan made to leave. But first he asked, with concern, how Padmè was doing, because she looked exhausted and sick.
"I'm fine," Padmè answered, though she obviously wasn't. "Don't worry about me."
She then hugged her friend, completely grateful of his support, and relieved at his lack of judgement on her behalf. Obi-Wan hugged her back, pointedly ignoring the bulge of her stomach, the physical reminder of his padawan's lack of faithfulness to the Jedi order. He then left, not wanting to be around when Anakin turned up. Their confrontation could be saved to a later stage when he'd had time to think about this turn of events.
Padmè hugged herself, aware of how untidy she must now look, and gradually stopped shaking. Why was she so afraid of what Anakin would do? She was still five years older than him; she had known him when he was a generous and innocent little boy. He had told her he would always love her, and she believed him. And, when they first met after ten years, back before their marriage, she had mentioned her desire to settle down and have kids- and he hadn't protested at all! And she had always wanted kids- her sister had reminded her of that this very morning. If Anakin took a short break from the endless work of a Jedi, they could go somewhere quiet and start a proper family.
As she sat, reassuring herself, Padmè started re-pinning her hair, this time in a more simple and understated style. She didn't need to impress her husband- he already thought she was beautiful.
She started as she heard her intercom beeping once more, remembering her previous shocking encounter. She kept sitting as she listened to the front door sliding open, and footsteps gradually making their way to where she waited. Padmè looked down, her long hair shielding any view of her stomach, and she felt, rather than saw, her husband walk in.
There was silence.
Anakin didn't say anything; he just stood, his dark cloak brushing the ground, looking upon his silent wife. Then, slowly, Padmè stood up, her arms wrapped around her obviously pregnant belly, and she walked, almost proudly, up to where Anakin was standing, and suddenly embraced him. And he, in turn, wrapped his arms around her tiny form, both of them content with remaining silent, their need for each other abated as they stood, still, together.
Then, quietly, Anakin removed a hand from Padmè's back, and placed it on her stomach, a smile beginning to grow on his face as he sensed a mixture of Force signals from the new life that they had created. And Padmè watched, all worries flying from her as she relaxed, resting her back against him.
Maybe everything would be all right.
