A.N. I had some fun with this tonight, so here's two more chapters! Yay! (I was babysitting… what to do when the kids go to bed?)
Ch. 9
"Kitster?" Anakin cried. He couldn't believe it. He hadn't seen his friend in almost fifteen years. "Wow, It is great to see you… you've grown up!"
"Look at you Anakin! I always knew you'd be a great Jedi- it's what you dreamed of," said his friend, warmly, "And speak of growing up- if your face wasn't plastered all over the Holo-net I wouldn't have recognized you. The little boy I knew is certainly gone."
"So what brought you to Coruscant?" Anakin asked.
"Well, as you know better than anyone, life on Tatooine doesn't have much to offer. And to tell you the truth, I thought of Coruscant because of you. I had heard the Jedi Masters who came to get you speak of it, and I thought I might as well go. I expected of course, to see you, but this place is a lot more densely populated than Tatooine."
"You should have sought me out years ago, old friend," Anakin told him.
"You? You're impossible to reach Anakin. I'm just glad to have run into you. And I've been happy here- there were many opportunities for me here, I couldn't have asked for more," replied the now very grown up and wise looking Kitster.
"Well that's wonderful," Anakin smiled for a minute, happy just to see a friend from so long ago. Suddenly, he remembered Padme. "And this," he lowered his voice to a whisper, just in case, "this is my beautiful wife Padme."
"Yes Anakin, I met her when we were nine. Remember?" Kitster smiled, "It is good to see you again, Senator. And congratulations."
"Thank you," Padme replied, "I remember you now, with Anakin at the Pod races when you were just boys. It is good to see you again."
"Anakin had a crush on you even then," Kitster laughed.
"Kitster!" Anakin whined, his inner nine year old causing his face to turn a bright shade of pink.
Padme smiled at her husband, having trouble keeping herself from laughing. She hadn't seen Anakin so without stress in a long time- she knew it was good for him to see someone that reminded him of home.
"Listen, this time isn't great for us, as you can tell," Anakin half-joked, "but let me know where you live- we must meet again, there is a lot to catch up on."
"I understand my friend- here is my card." Said Kitster.
"A true professional," Anakin joked. "It was good to see you."
"And Anakin," Kitster continued, lowering his voice, "If you ever need a place for the two of you to, well, keep under the radar, you're welcome here, or even in the back room. Anything I can do to help."
"You don't know how refreshing it is to hear that, thank you," said Padme.
The couple turned back to the people in the bar.
"Thank you all for your understanding tonight," Padme said. "I hope that I can trust all of you not to betray us."
Anakin could sense most people feeling compassion for them, and his spirits rose. He was happy that good still existed in what was now such a twisted Universe.
"Anakin," he heard Padme whisper, "we should probably…" She nudged her shoulder towards the people with whom they had shared their most intimate secret.
"Yes," he said, absent mindedly, as he looked at the group.
They walked over to the pregnant woman, her husband, and their friends.
"Listen," Padme began, "the group of you knows even more about our… situation than anyone else in the Universe. I beg of you not to reveal anything. Please, show us compassion. We know what we have done is wrong in the eyes of the law, but you," she looked at the married couple, "of all people, you must understand that love overpowers everything. Imagine yourselves, forbidden to marry each other- would you have let rules keep you apart?"
"No," the woman answered without even having to think. "I really sympathize with your situation. I won't say anything, but this is certainly amazing to know."
"Thank you," Anakin answered.
"Hey," one of the guys started, "If we promise to keep this secret, can you tell us about some of the adventures on the Outer Rim? Hearing one of the stories first hand from Anakin Skywalker, the most famous Jedi in the galaxy, is not an experience a lot of people get to have…"
Anakin looked around at the group, and could see that all of them wanted to hear of his adventures. He was proud to be so revered by this group, and excited that someone wanted to hear his stories. He had been called the most famous Jedi! He was glad the public appreciated his powers, even if the council was still wary of him.
Padme groaned to herself, half annoyed and half amused. She knew that Anakin's pride would be seriously boosted by this experience, and had certainly heard enough of his stories herself. But she was happy that he had an outlet for the excitement he brought home with him, and she was glad that his abilities and power were recognized. Most of all, she was proud of her husband.
"We really should get back and deal with this situation," Anakin said warily, "but I suppose I can tell of one adventure, my most recent."
And with that, Anakin began. He relayed, in as much detail as he could without revealing secrets of the Jedi Order and the Republic, the tale of his journey to save Count Dooku, feeling that this was the most interesting story. They were surprised to learn that most of it had taken place right above Coruscant. Soon, almost the whole bar surrounded him, fascinated by what he had to say.
Anakin's pride rose each second, but it was a healthy pride, a pride in the Jedi Order and in their accomplishments, not just in himself. He was just happy that his wife was here, snuggled up with him, and they didn't have to hide anything.
Padme leaned against Anakin and he kept his arm around her as he told his story, and she was almost in tears with happiness that they could be together for a while without trying to hide it.
Suddenly, everyone heard shouts from outside the door.
"I saw more of them go in here!" A voice yelled.
"Quickly, and have your weapons at the ready." Yelled another.
"Oh no," cried a woman at the bar, "not more of them."
Everyone turned to Anakin, and he jumped up, light saber ready. But something was different this time. He felt no sense of foreboding in the Force, no wavering that signaled danger… In fact, he felt something rather familiar.
Another yell from outside confirmed the Jedi's suspicions.
"Sith, what is happening to the universe? I knew we couldn't trust the clones!" It yelled, all to familiarly.
'Oh Force…' Thought Anakin.
"Padme, hide!" Anakin yelled, heatedly.
"Shouldn't we all?" Asked a woman.
"No, they are not enemies. They are here to help you."
"Who is it?" Asked one of the men.
"Jedi." answered Anakin, and just as Padme could duck out of sight, the door burst open as Obi Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and several other Jedi burst in the door, light sabers raised.