Ch. 8

Anakin froze. He cursed himself for having let go of his Force hold on his hood. He had worked so hard to keep himself hidden throughout the battle, and now, by a simple act of nature, he had been revealed anyway. He turned to Padme, and this time, they both knew that even for Anakin there was no thrill in this disaster. For maybe the first time in his life, Anakin was at a complete loss for how to even think about dealing with this situation. He normally used the Force to guide him, but there was no way for that to help him now.

To make matters worse, he could sense that Padme felt just as lost as he did. He had hoped that perhaps, as the brilliant politician that she was, she might have something to say to make things right- he usually relied on her for things like that. But he knew that they were both aware of the difficulty of the situation.

Padme searched her brain for the right thing to say. She knew that she should address the whole bar, say something about how she and Anakin were friends, out to catch up after he had been away on a long mission, but she knew that no one would buy it. Even if the people on the periphery of the situation would accept that explanation, she knew that at least ten people who had been near her and her husband that night could tell they were involved. And all of her energy that might have gone to coming up with an excuse was focused on the dread that filled her when she thought of the few people she had told about her pregnancy. This was the most perplexing situation the politician had faced in her entire career since being elected queen at the age of fourteen. And she was stumped.

Suddenly, Anakin turned to face everyone in the bar. He looked at the man who had said his name, smiled, and said, "Yes?"

"So you are Anakin Skywalker?"

"I am."

"Wow," was all the man could think of saying.

The whole bar was silent. Everyone was feeling just as awkward as Anakin and Padme. They all knew what big news this was, but what were they supposed to say? These people were at least sensitive enough to know that bombarding the Senator and the Jedi with questions would be really rude, and so they remained silent. There was simply nothing to say, and they simply waited for the famous couple in front of them to deal with the situation.

"Listen," Padme began. "You've all witnessed us here together tonight, there's no getting around that. You've also had to deal with clone troops, fighting for the Republic which we thought was protecting our safety, come into a civilian bar and attack all of us. I am not trying to scare you, but only to be honest with you; I want you all to know that Anakin and I know absolutely no more about this situation then you all do. As I said, the Senate voted to keep the war away from Coruscant, so bringing our own troops here is certainly nothing we could have predicted.

"The fact that they are attacking civilians is something incomprehensible to me as a Senator of the Republic, or at least what used to be the Republic. And I know that as a Jedi, Anakin is completely taken aback as well. My point here is this- ask yourselves, is it more important to go home and be with your own loved ones, and try to comprehend among your families this terrible war, and share the fact that Clone troops attacked you tonight, or is it more important to tell everyone you know that you witnessed a Jedi and a Senator together at a bar.

"We would like to be able to deal with our loved ones and our jobs, and we will be able to serve you better if we don't have to deal with any other… issues. After all, we work for you, and you would only jeopardize your own safety by introducing… complicated matters in the Jedi Order and the Senate. The truth will be out eventually, but now is not the time. I obviously can't control your thoughts, so as far as I'm concerned I'm asking you a favor of your own free will," She smiled, "but Anakin is Jedi. He can."

'Padme, I can't control fifty people's thoughts at once, much less after they leave this room,' Anakin Force spoke to her, obviously annoyed and slightly nervous about the prospect.

"They don't know that, Ani." She whispered to him.

'I love you,' he told her through the Force. He never ceased to be amazed at her brilliance. He certainly knew she would be the wise and intellectual parent of their baby. He just hoped he wouldn't appear to be too much of an idiot next to her. He laughed out loud, he couldn't help it. Then he sobered up, after receiving a look from Padme. He tried to reassure her through the Force that it would be ok, even though, he mused, it was she who had really taken care of the situation.

The events of the night had reassured Anakin. He now felt that when he and Padme were willing to let out their secret, they would be ok as long as they stood together. No matter what happened, he felt secure with her. He would certainly be angry and miss being a Jedi if he got kicked out of the order, but he knew he would be ok. What mattered was his baby and his wife, even more than the Jedi. He just hoped that Obi Wan wouldn't feel betrayed- his friendship was also of dire importance to Anakin. As he mused over these thoughts, Anakin could feel a sense of calm in the bar, and felt that most, if not all, of these patrons seemed willing to keep mum about their secret.

Padme smiled up at her husband, trying to make the smile look purely professional out of hope that some people still believed them only to be friends. 'Although,' she thought, 'my speech was sort of revealing.' She felt reassured having him there by her side, and suddenly felt like the only reason they'd worried so much before is that they were never together. Fear of being caught together kept them apart, and this only made each of them more fearful. It was like a Catch-22, and though unavoidable, she felt saddened that it had to continue.

She hoped that after the war everything could be revealed. She was willing to reveal everything already, seeing as her job seemed to no longer be serving the Republic that she had believed in. But she knew that Anakin would never abandon the order during the war, and she also knew that even if he was willing, she couldn't let it happen because the Order needed him.

Suddenly, interrupting the thoughts of everyone in the room, the bartender spoke. "You know, it's not every day I get Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker together in my bar," he looked at them emotionless, and they feared the worst, "So it is a shame," he continued, "that no one but these people right here will ever know. " He smiled at his famous customers.

"Thank you," said Padme.

"Although I am a little insulted I wasn't invited to the wedding," continued the bartender. "You probably could have used a best man, Ani."

Anakin stared at him, taken utterly off-guard. For the first time all night, he really looked at the face of the bartender, and he felt a certain warmth around him that he hadn't felt since he was a young boy. Anakin smiled in disbelief as he recognized a dear old friend.