Author's Note: Thank you so much to HarryEstel, R-Krulle, and Princess-Aiel for your comments. I'm happy you are enjoying the fic, and thank you for taking the time to read it. I should be able to update a couple more chapters now that the weekend is here - there is no excuse for no updates! O:-)

4

Anakin walked swiftly out to the Temple docking bay. Obi-Wan and Mace were due back any minute and he wanted to be at their arrival to greet his master. Squinting and looking out over the dark horizon, he thought he spied a ship that had an outline like the Lucky Star.

"Is that them, Master Yoda?" he said as he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring daylight.

Yoda only looked up at him and blinked.

I hate it when he does that…but oh well. He just wants me to trust my feelings more…

Anakin reached out with the Force to the approaching ship. Obi-Wan definitely was there, it took no time for Anakin to feel him in the Force, and Mace Windu was right nxt to him. Anakin paused for a second, feeling a third presence in the Force. Concentrating on it, no flashes of recognition came to him. He shrugged and let it go.

The ship finally landed, and the landing platform opened. Mace and Obi-Wan walked down, followed by a third person. Anakin paid her no mind at first, then did a double take.

The third person was a girl, no a woman. A very attractive woman at that. Her face was gentle, and her dark eyes took in the landing platform and its occupants all in turn. Her dark hair, Anakin could tell, was curly and pulled back into a neat bun at the base of her neck. She walked as if she were uncomfortable in her clothes, but still carried herself well.

Something about her resonated that her confidence had been shaken. Anakin had the sudden urge to go to her, wanting to –

Have I gone crazy? I don't even know who she is!

Afraid that he would draw attention from the other masters, he buried his desire to talk to the strange woman, suddenly knowing that he would have that chance in the near future.

"Hello, Master! How was your trip?" Anakin called out, walking over to Obi-Wan. He greeted Mace, and simply nodded to the woman, unsure of how to address her.

Confusion passed across her face as she looked him over, and for some reason that he could not identitfy his stomach curled into a knot so small it felt as though he were born without it. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she squinted to get a better look at him. Anakin swallowed, and with it he forced himself to focus back on the situation at hand.

Mace went over to Yoda and told him in a hushed voice briefly what had happened on Nal Hutta and Nar Shadaa. Yoda turned to them.

"Stay with me, shall Master Windu and the lady," he said, not wanting to divulge Padmé's identity to anyone else prematurely. "Go with your apprentice, you shall Obi-Wan. Find that both of you are refreshed you will."

The two Jedi Masters and the lady walked off in another direction, but not after the girl turned around and gave Anakin another glance. It made Anakin pause for a moment. He reasoned that she must have been looking at Obi-Wan, after all she had come back with him.

Obi-Wan, taking the hint from Master Yoda but feeling guilty at hiding something from his Padawan, told Anakin what occurred on their little excursion. Conveniently leaving Padmé out, Obi-Wan suggested dinner when he was done. His stomach had been nagging him for food the last couple hours of the journey home.

Later that night, Padmé rolled over from a listless doze. Tangled in the sheets, she panicked; images of the many places where her family had been held flashing in her mind. She sat straight up in her sleeping cot, trying to disentangle herself.

As she gasped for breath, memories of the Jedi Temple and meeting Yoda, along with the rest of the Jedi council, rushed through her mind. Feeling calmer, she fumbled in the dark for a minute before finding the switch to the lamp beside her bed. She turned it on and pushed the bedcovers away.

Instantly she was reminded why she'd woken up. Her stomach growled loudly. Standing up, she slipped on the slippers the Jedi had provided for her and padded across the room.

Opening her door, she recalled that Mace told her that the kitchen was down to the left when he escorted her to the room, or so she thought. Making her way left she started walking down the hallway of rooms full of sleeping younglings. She took a right at the end of the hallway, then up a level, then a left, another right, another floor up…

Soon she was hopelessly lost.

Figures. I get lost in the one building that's a kilometer high…she thought cynically after having made her way up and down so many stairs and turbolifts that it felt like she had traveled many times the height of the Temple.

Wandering around whatever floor she was on now, she'd lost count how many she'd gone up or down, she hoped she might run into a Jedi that might be able to help her.

Snap-hiss.

That sound was distinguishable anyplace in the galaxy. Wherever it was, that meant a Jedi was right there with it. Quietly, she made her way to the sound.

Reaching the spot, she saw a blue blade dancing around with a trainer. The lights were off in the room, and the Jedi inside seemed not to notice her. Padmé watched intently, having never encountered a Jedi in practice.

It was something to see.

The blue blade darted back and forth, doing a complicated dance with the trainer. Bolts were reflected back at it, absorbed. Others were deftly dodged.

This Jedi must really spend a great amount of time training…that takes some true devotion… Padmé sighed. The thought lead her to remember her time spent devoting herself to her people, which made her wonder what her life would be like if she hadn't been elected queen. I certainly wouldn't be here. I'd be back on Naboo, safe in my village with Mom and Dad…and poor little Talié…

She fought back the tears that burned her eyes and focused her attention on watching the trainer and trainee. The blue blade vanished, and the room went dark. Padmé took a sharp breath; she hoped the Jedi wouldn't mind that she had watched him.

The door opened to reveal the same young Jedi that had greeted them out on the landing platform earlier that day.

"Oh – hello!" he said. He stopped in the doorway, looking at her.

"Uh, hello," she said, blushing. "I'm sorry; I hope you don't get offended that I was watching you – I –"

"It's okay. Is there something you need?" he asked. The beginnings of a polite smile made his lips turn upwards.

"Oh, yes actually, there is. I was trying to find the kitchens and I got lost…Master Windu told me where they were, but I can't remember…" She shook her head and put her hand to her forehead.

"Well, let me show you. You managed to get several floors above them…but that's alright. I could use a midnight snack."

The smile widened.

She nodded, and he led her off down the hallway. Neither of them spoke much on the way to the kitchens, not sure of what to say. Padmé tried to figure out who he was, she knew him from somewhere. In the back of her mind, she realized that so far they had not even traded names, but she paid no mind.

Eventually they reached the kitchens, where awkwardness was driven away with the appearance of food. When Padmé had a plate of food, and he had a simple snack bar, she sat down at one of the many empty tables in the dining hall. Off in a corner another Jedi sat alone, nibbling at some concoction and ignoring them.

"You don't mind if I sit with you, do you?" the young man asked, sitting down. He set the snack bar on the table in front of him.

"No, of course not!"

"So, where are you from?"

"Huh? Oh…" she faltered and struggled to think of a different planet name so she could maintain her cover. "I'm from Nubia – you? Or do you remember?"

"Me? Oh, I'm from Tatooine…you probably haven't heard of it." He waved his hand dismissively. The snack bar continued to sit in front of him untouched.

"Actually, I have. I think I heard it mentioned somewhere on Nal – Nar Shadaa."

"If you're from Nubia, how did you manage to end up on Nal Hutta?" he asked, catching her slip up. "Wait! Nar Shadaa? But Obi-Wan and Master Windu went to Nal Hutta…"

"Oh…well, I originally went there…but then, Obi-Wan got me out of a little bit of trouble."

Padmé looked down at her food. She wasn't sure how much she could trust him. The knowledge that she knew him nagged at her and she wracked her mind to figure out who he was.

Then it hit her – he was Anakin Skywalker.

Choking, Padmé took a second look at him. He hardly looked like the boy she remembered from Tatooine. In the thirteen years since she last saw him he had…grown up. No longer was he the small eager little boy with an innocent smile. His shoulders were broad and filled out, and now he stood at nearly two meters tall. The blue eyes watching her had depth, showing he'd seen much since their parting.

Regardless, he did not recognize her, so she decided to say nothing.

"So how did you end up on Nal Hutta from Nubia?" he pressed.

Padmé shrugged, averting her eyes.

The rest of her meal passed quietly, with her asking the occasional question about the Jedi Order and its training. When she finished, she pushed her plate away and rubbed her eyes.

"I just wish I could sleep…" she mumbled.

"Hmm?" Anakin turned back to her. He still sat at the table, waiting for her to finish so he could escort her back to her room. The snack bar sat untouched on the table before him. He seemed to have forgotten it entirely.

"I just can't sleep. Too much on my mind, I suppose. There's just too much going on, really, too much to keep up with…" Padmé sighed.

Anakin turned back to her, saying, "I know what you mean sometimes. It's all just too much to keep track of – I have to go do this, I have to go do that. The only time I get to have to myself is late at night like this."

"I'm sorry if I intruded, I just–" she started to apologize.

"Don't worry about it. You just have to have time for yourself once in a while. Especially after helping refugees all day long – not that I mean you're a burdern or anything."

"Being Qu – being around my father so much taught me that. We helped the others get offworld first, staying till the last minute. Mother was pushing Father to leave, but he wouldn't, not until the last Loyalist left safely. I was behind him the whole way through it all."

He merely nodded in return.

"Can I show you something?" Anakin changed the subject after a second of silence.

"Oh! Well, sure," Padmé said, hesitation in her voice.

Leading the way out of the kitchen and navigating the upper parts of the Temple, Anakin brought her to the top balcony.

"Wow," Padmé whispered under her breath.

The view stretched for kilometers up here with nothing to obstruct it. Stars spotted the sky, thousands upon thousands of them. All around city lights twinkleds, making an uneven skyline against the dark sky. Ships wove around the buildings, their engines adding their own lights to the mix. The spattering of lights continued on forever, up, down, all around.

"I come here when I can't sleep." Anakin stepped up next to her and leaned against the balcony. He made no sound doing so, and his voice reflected the same gentle peace. "It has this way of telling your mind that no matter how bad things are, there will always be something beautiful when you come through."

"I can't imagine a Jedi not being able to sleep…"

"Trust me, it happens." The tone of his voice went dry.

"Is that why you were up tonight?"

"You could say that."

Padmé gave him a look that let him know she expected more of an explanation.

"Sort of…I'm not just a normal Jedi – you're right most Jedi do sleep peacefully, except for maybe Master Yoda – I started training late. Obi-Wan's old master found me on Tatooine when I was nine, and he fought for my training."

"What were you doing on Tatooine?" Padmé turned to look at him, taking her eyes from the city. She could tell he was thinking over how to answer. For a second the idea flashed through her mind to tell him she knew who he was to put an end to this ridiculous charade. Surely he knew who she was.

Those blue eyes studied her as his hand picked at a piece of peeling paint on the railing. Both of them stood there, and Padmé realized they were staring at each other. Her cheeks flushed as she realized how rude she was being, staring at him like this.

Despite her embarrassment she could not keep her eyes off his face. He's a handsome Jedi… she thought, allowing herself to slip in the forbidden description. Exactly. He's a Jedi. Get your eyes off him.

As if he sensed her discomfort, Anakin broke the silence. He answered her question from minutes ago.

"It's something I don't like talking about, but I was a slave." The words came out heavily, as if he were admitting to a hideous crime. "Both my mother and I. We belonged to a Toydarian named Watto, and we lived there for nearly as long as I can remember. I was a slave child, born into it."

" But…what about your dad?" Padmé furrowed her eyebrows.

"I have no dad." Anakin looked back down at his hands. Padmé didn't say anything, so he continued. "Apparently, I was just born. There's nothing to it, really. My mom just turned up pregnant one day, and I was the result."

"Oh." Padmé wasn't sure what to say. An awkward silence fell over them again, and determined not have result in her gaping at him again, she said, "But…you ended up here though. Surely you're glad to be off Tatooine?"

Anakin sighed. "I am. It's just hard because by the time I came here, I was nine. Jedi start training before they reach their first standard year. And the only reason I was accepted was because of some old prophecy."

"The Chosen One," she breathed.

"What? You know of the Prophecy?" He looked at her, eyebrows arched with surprise.

"I…" Padmé trailed off, not sure what to say. She was dangerously close to blowing her cover. "I knew a Jedi back on Nubia – she worked closely with my father. I just remember her mentioning something offhandedly one day about it."

Anakin nodded his head. "She's right…well, at least everyone believes I'm the Chosen One. The best part is that I don't even know what it means – sometimes I don't think the Masters do either. They just sit around all day and get so lost in the Force they wouldn't notice if a Sith walked right into the Temple."

"Are you serious?" Padmé asked him the question so seriously Anakin thought she mistook his joke.

"No…it was a joke."

"Oh."

"I guess you're not a joke kind of person then."

Padmé laughed.

"So you do have a sense of humor."

"Are you teasing me?"

"I wouldn't have the guts to tease a –" Anakin started but stopped short.

"What? You wouldn't have the guts to what? I thought you were a Jedi."

"Oh, I see how this works. Now you're teasing me."

"I wouldn't dare tease a Jedi Knight."

"I'm not a Knight yet."

"So you're just a Padawan still?"

"Yes," Anakin grunted, obviously he wanted to keep that little fact a secret. He made a point of putting his attention on the cityscape again.

"When will you become a Knight?"

Anakin looked at her before answering. "I don't really know…whenever the Council decides I'm ready. I should be taking the Trials soon – most of the Padawans my age already have."

"I'm sure your time will come soon enough." She smiled, trying to make her words seem more than a simple, rote excuse.

"I suppose it will." He shrugged. "The Chosen One can't remain a Padawan forever. That is if I'm even the Chosen One at all. Who knows, there's so many things about the old Prophecy that could be taken in a million ways."

"Yeah," Padmé said to fill the space, feeling sorry in the back of her mind that she brought it up.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to dump that all on your shoulders, it's not your fault," Anakin hastily apologized.

"It's alright. We've both been through some rough times, had our fair share…" Padmé trailed off. Her hand moved to pat him on the shoulder, a gesture of comfort. Halfway through the gesture she pulled her hand back and pretended that she was going to scratch her head instead.

Get a hold of yourself. You can't be falling to pieces like this right now, she admonished herself.

"So what happened to you?" Anakin asked, genuinely curious.

"Well…like I told you, my father was a Loyalist on Nubia. He worked against the Separatist movement that the government joined with. Underground work was his area, and it caught up with him. Most of the other families he worked with got away, but not ours… They found out who we were, tracked us, and jailed us. After about two months of being imprisoned, they took all of us out of the city…"

Padmé's voice cracked.

Comfort washed through her, soothing her body and easing the pain of recalling the difficult memories.

She froze, completely unsure of where the sensation came from. She certainly had no comfort left in herself. One glance at Anakin and it all made sense. He was a Jedi. Surely he could feel her pain at the memory. And here he was, an understanding smile on his gentle face, reaching out with the Force to give her the pat on the shoulder that she had not had the nerve to give him.

Her eyes lingered on him for another second, and one corner of his mouth turned up more. He made no other move.

"They botched the job. They thought they got all of us, but they didn't…I managed to crawl away…" she found the voice to continue. "Some Loyalists found me, and they helped me get offplanet, and that was it. I landed on Nal Hutta, and Master Obi-Wan found me there. Thankfully he was kind enough to help me."

Padmé finished and sighed. She twiddled her thumbs for a second then sighed again. Anakin didn't say anything, and she wasn't sure whether she liked the silence or not. Deciding that she did not she spoke again.

"With all the Loyalist work, I didn't have time for much else. And until then, even during it, I was sheltered. I guess you could say now my eyes have been opened; I always used to think the galaxy was a safe place…nothing bad ever happened near home. But now, that's not true…"

For a second she paused and glanced down at her feet. It felt so good to let out all the thoughts plaguing her for the past several days. As she spoke, the pressure choking her heart loosened. She knew Anakin would betray nothing she placed in his confidence.

"Nal Hutta was the first time I've been truly on my own. I've always had someone else there, someone else to lean on and help. Now though, all those people have been turned to rancor meat and left out to rot." A tone of bitterness took over her voice. "I got offplanet, didn't have enough money. I was nearly assaulted, and all because of those kriffing Separatists."

"We're just two lost and confused people trying to figure it all out," he said when she finished.

"Stuck somewhere completely strange, that's for sure. Although, I have to say that your situation is far better, Master Jedi."

"I don't think we're so different," said Anakin with a slight laugh in his voice. When she raised one eyebrow at him, he continued, "The Order is great but I don't fit in all that well. I feel like I'm being held back. It's like they don't want to teach me all they know because they're afraid of what I might do just because I'm the Chosen One."

Both of them fell silent again and watched the skyline. Padmé's eyes trailed a small luxury yacht as it floated across the city. Out in the east, a slight pink started to show. Coruscant's sun started to wake up, slowly bringing the rest of the city with it.

"Oh wow. I should be getting back," Padmé said, but made no move to leave.

Anakin smiled. A shrill beeping erased it so fast it seemed as if he had received a deadly blow to the head.

"My comlink!" Anakin blurted. He fumbled in his robes for the beeping thing and when he found it his master's voice came out of it.

"Wake up call!" Obi-Wan chimed. "Anakin, where are you?"

Anakin groaned. Padmé looked curiously at him.

"It's Obi-Wan…I've got breakfast duty this morning…I completely forgot!" He smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand then looked at her. "Listen, I want to talk to you again, maybe sometime later today. Take my comlink, you can pull up a map of the Temple on it. Here, like this."

He proceeded to show her the map then left the comlink with her.

"Don't worry about it, I'll come find you later and fetch it. Feel free to come down for breakfast in a little bit, if you're hungry again."

"Thanks. I might do that." Padmé fiddled with the complex comlink he had placed in her hands.

"I've got to get going before Obi-Wan skins me alive. It was nice talking to you – I hope things get better for you."

Padmé could only mutter another thank you, wishing he did not have to leave. Anakin turned and began to make his way back inside the Temple. After a few steps he looked back at her and smiled, and she smiled back. He paused in his steps.

"By the way, you're still an angel," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. Quickly he turned back around so she could not see the blush rising in his cheeks and he took off for the kitchens without looking back.

An angel…he still thinks I'm an angel…

Padmé let the thought go unfinished. She studied the comlink again; it was such a small and insignificant thing. And yet she could not help feeling that she held something personal of his.

You're so silly. It's just a comlink. Nothing more.

But he still thinks I'm an angel.

As if that resolved the matter, she finally went back inside.