Ch. 6
"All right Padme, get your jacket."
"What? You can't possibly suggest we go out at this hour."
"Yes I do suggest it! We're going out to celebrate! You can drive, because you're pregnant and can't drink, and I can celebrate for the both of us." He laughed, "Just kidding… Sort of."
Well, mature Anakin was certainly gone, Padme mused. 'I guess that was a rare treat for me,' she thought to herself. But it was this Anakin, with his spirited yet boyish demeanor, that she had fallen in love with, and in a way, it was nice to have him back. She wouldn't deny that that mischievous grin he had mastered was extraordinarily attractive to her. And she knew that his excitement was genuine. It meant that he was already relaxed with the situation. She only could hope that his wiser side would come out sometimes in educating their child.
As Anakin went to get the coats, his spirits continued to rise. It wasn't that he had forgotten their worries; he knew they would have to deal with all of these complicated issues soon, but the more he thought about having a baby the happier he became. He just knew that he and Padme would be so happy together and the child would have a loving home. He hoped that the baby would share Padme's compassion and intelligence, but his love of adventure and lightheartedness. But for now, it was time to celebrate.
"Ok Padme, where should we go?" He asked excitedly.
"Well Anakin Skywalker, one of the most famous Jedi in the galaxy, there aren't exactly too many places to which you and I can go without getting recognized, so I suggest we stay put. In fact, Anakin, I'm not entirely sure that we've ever 'gone out' together at all!"
"Well tonight, we're going. We can disguise ourselves, but we're going to have a good time."
"You know we're going to have to talk about this at some point, Anakin."
He turned to her, his face turning serious again. "Yes, I know Padme. And we will, and I promise that I will be here to deal with all of that. I will make it work out, and we can talk as much as you need to… I realize there is a lot to work out. But this moment, this is a happy time, and we are going to celebrate."
Anakin smiled at his wife, and as she smiled back, her first really genuine smile in months, she shed her Senator demeanor and simply let herself be young, happy, and in love.
"Ok Mr. Skywalker," she smiled at him, "Where are we going?"
Anakin became almost giddy in his excitement. "Ok, ok I know this place, it's sort of shady, but they have a band and I promise it'll be fun. Ok, but we're going to have to wear cloaks, and not Jedi cloaks either, because you're right, if we went like this it would be a terrible idea."
"I don't want to wear a cloak!"
"It's ok Padme, you could look beautiful in anything." He kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed.
They dressed in civilian clothes and went out to explore the nightlife of Coruscant.
Padme was happier than she'd been for as long as she could remember. She and Anakin had never been able to simply go out and enjoy themselves, always too afraid of being caught. It was nice to be under the radar for once, meeting other people their age and simply having fun. She wondered to herself why they'd never considered going out late at night before. The other Senators and Jedi of Anakin's prestige were all older than they, and would certainly not be out so late. The younger Jedi did go out, and Padme knew that as a teenage Padawan Anakin had had his share of fun.
But Anakin had been unique, he had started his training so old that most of his companions were younger than he, and he found them hard to hang out with. Then, suddenly, when he had passed his Jedi trials, he had proven so skillful that he was thrust in to a crowd much older than he, and he again didn't really have friends his age. The times he had been out with other Padawans had certainly been fun, but the only person he had ever really connected with on a peer level was Padme.
Anakin was also happy to be out with his wife, unencumbered by responsibility. He was excited to be meeting new people without the context of being a Jedi. Most of the people he met he was either protecting or killing, and he never felt comfortable with either set. Now here he was, with his gorgeous wife and other people his age, and he was able to simply be a kid.
Both Padme and Anakin had missed a normal childhood, having been encumbered with responsibilities at young ages. This outing was refreshing for both of them.
"Anakin, I'm so glad you made me do this. I'm having a fabulous time," Padme told him.
"Me too, and I'm just so glad I can spend time with you openly, not worrying about getting caught!"
Anakin and Padme sat on barstools in a club, laughing as people danced in front of them. The bartender approached to them, and they smiled at the man from under their hoods.
"What can I get you two?"
"Just iced tea for us," said Anakin. Padme smiled at him, realizing that she was surprised at his restraint. "You didn't think I would actually drink without you did you Padme? I'm insulted!"
"I'm sorry Anakin, I just- and stop mind probing me, please!"
"I'm just kidding. I probably will have a drink later."
"So why aren't you drinking?" Suddenly, a group of men and women about their age were sitting next to them.
"That's a rather presumptuous question," said Padme the Senator.
"I'm pregnant too!" said one of the girls. "We're having a boy." She smiled up at a man, who was presumably her husband.
"How could you suggest that…" Suddenly, Padme realized she didn't have to cover anything up. "We don't know what it is yet. But I can't wait to find out."
The girl smiled at her. "So have you started thinking of names yet?"
"I…"
"I'm sorry, I realize I'm being kind of upfront, it's just that my friends are so sick of hearing about it."
"Yeah, seriously, we are." Said one of them.
The girl rolled her eyes at him, and Padme laughed. It was nice to talk to someone in a similar place in life as she was.
"I kind of hope it's a boy." Said Anakin, "but only because I feel like I'd have to be more responsible if it was a girl. I'd love it either way."
Padme smiled, finding herself really touched that Anakin was thinking about that. She herself hadn't even considered it yet. They chatted with the other couple and their friends, and were having a fabulous time.
"So what do you all do?" One of the guys asked.
As Anakin stuttered around ideas awkwardly, Padme was quick to cover up for him. "He's a public servant, and I work in politics." Padme was really proud of herself for keeping the truth hidden without really lying. She knew the Jedi Masters would think that was clever.
"What kind of politics?" Asked one of the girls.
Anakin was relieved that they took more of an interest in Padme than in him. Her job was easier to evade the truth about.
"She's brilliant! She should be chancellor," he said, knowing that a loving husband would say this no matter how high his wife was in the political spectrum, and thus that it gave nothing away. 'And I mean it Padme,' he told her through the Force.
Padme was touched, he had never said this to her before.
"You guys want to come over tomorrow night? We're having a party for our anniversary- it's going to be great! I realize it's sudden but you seem a lot like us, and I think it would be fun," said the pregnant girl.
"We keep inviting people because we know how hard it is to forget the war and just have fun," her husband said.
"I couldn't agree more." Anakin said whole-heartedly, and Padme agreed.
"You must deal a lot with the war, being involved in politics." One of the guys said.
Padme was growing increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation turned to the war. 'Relax, Padme,' Anakin told her through the Force.
"Stop!" Padme yelled, and everyone looked at her. "I mean, stop talking about politics, let's just have fun." She covered quickly.
"I wonder what it's like, fighting out there in the Outer Rim," one of the guys said.
"I heard that the Jedi are really struggling- apparently the Separatists have quite an army up there," said another.
Padme knew that it took all of Anakin's energy to keep from setting them straight.
"That's funny because I recently read just the opposite- I heard they killed Count Dooku and rescued the Chancellor just yesterday or something," said the first guy. "I've never met a Jedi but they certainly seem powerful to me."
Anakin smiled.
"What do you think?" One of them asked him.
Padme froze, staring at her husband. As Anakin worked out his answer, a crash and a scream from beyond the doorway startled them all.
"Oh no," one of the girls cried, "I told you we should stay home tonight. You thought it was just rumors but I told you!"
"What?" Anakin, ever the loyal Jedi, asked quickly. "What rumors?"
"I read today that the Separatist supporters in the Senate have secured access to some Storm Troopers on to Coruscant by using the cover that they hired them as personal protection, thus bringing the war to this planet. The warning was in today's paper that they might be searching the city for-"
A blaster sounded, and people came running into the nightclub.
"Searching for what?" Anakin yelled.
"How can this be?" Padme screamed. "The Chancellor promised that the armies would be kept off Coruscant! The vote was last week! And the Storm Troopers are our own troops!"
"I never trusted them," Anakin shot back.
"How do you know what's going on in the Senate, I'm telling you, it's true!" The other one yelled.
"Trust me, I know!" Padme yelled.
"Everyone try to hide!" The bartender yelled. "I'm unarmed, I can't defend you!"
Suddenly, four storm troopers burst into the bar, firing blasters in every direction.
As people in the bar began to scream, Anakin, much to the shock of the people around him, whipped out his light saber and spun to block the Storm Troopers blasts.