To my readers: Unfortunately, I am having major computer problems...but this does not mean I am abandoning the fic! It will just be a couple more days than usual before I update after this chapter - when I get my new computer up and running, and all files transferred. So hang in there, the fic will be finished and hope to catch you on the flipside when I have a computer that is stable! In the meantime...I present chapter 6! Enjoy!

6

"Master Jedi, are you not sure we can't have peace and adopt the technology of cloning?" Supreme Chancellor Palpatine questioned, almost begging.

"Peace yes, clones no," Yoda said emphatically. He tapped his walking stickon the floor for extra measure.

"Why are these clones so horrible? The Jedi have always protested their existence, and I have never been able to understand why. All they are is life."

"Life yes, and life no. Life that should not be are they. Allowed to be they cannot."

"But I thought that the Jedi favored all life, in all forms."

Yoda shook his head, and blinked. The Supreme Chancellor just didn't get it.

"Allow this Republic to split you cannot. Allow cloning to continue you cannot. Like war I do not, but war has come. Peace I would prefer, but peace the people do not want. On war they insist."

"Master Yoda, I would call for a peace conference if you thought it best."

Yoda just looked at him. He sensed what possibly could be mockery in the Chancellor's voice, but the feeling passed. The Chancellor could not help it if the galaxy he served persisted on being belligerent.

"Support war, I do not. Support war, the rest of the Jedi do not."

"Master Yoda, do you not realize that war is here. There is no stopping it – it's been here for the past few years now, and it will continue unless we take every measure to stop it."

Yoda merely looked at him. His face remained its constant calm.

Palpatine stepped closer to the small little green Jedi.

"I do not think you understand the severity of this problem. These Separatists are threatening to ruin the Republic. They nearly have already. Surely you remember the disaster of Nubia – and how the loss of the main gateway to the Correllian Run almost cut the Core from the rest of the galaxy."

True it was that the Separatists controlled Nubia. The loss of the system left the Republic reeling. The system was the second major gateway to the Correllian Run, after Corellia itself. By cutting the Republic off from the trade route, they also ensure that the Hydian Way was bisected; leaving the only route that spanned the galaxy broken. Republic traffic had to now skirt around the area, far into the Core and often far of its way.

The Chancellor continued to speak, "If the Separatists destroy the Republic, they will destroy you. They have no great love for the Jedi Order."

"Forget do you, Chancellor, that fight the wars of the people the Jedi do not. Sworn to protect this Republic are we. Not to fight its wars for it that only tear it apart!"

For the first time that Palpatine had heard, Yoda sounded very irritated. He mentally smiled to himself.

"Perhaps you forget, Jedi," Palpatine said, lowering his voice menacingly and leaning closer to Yoda so that only he would hear his words, "what the meaning of protecting this Republic is."

Yoda simply stared at the Chancellor. For the first time in years, Yoda felt truly angry. Furthermore, he was also speechless for the third or fourth time in his long life. He simply blinked at the politician, unsure of what to make of this masked verbal threat.

"I see…" Palpatine stood up. "Well, I must be leaving then. Thank you for your insight, Master Jedi. May the Force be with you."

Palpatine bowed and left the room. He was frustrated, the Jedi would not help him and it was their help he needed most. Walking down the hallways, he happened to come by young Anakin Skywalker.

"Master Anakin! What a surprise! How are you these days?" he called out to the young boy.

"Supreme Chancellor! I'm fine, thank you! And how bout yourself, Chancellor?" Anakin politely replied.

"I have seen better days, young Jedi. I have certainly seen better days. I was just in talking to Master Yoda about the current events…" Palpatine hoped the boy would take the bait.

"Oh, the cloning? I don't know…it all seems rather fuzzy to me. Besides, who am I to decide? I'm no master yet!" Anakin joked, blushing.

"How is your Jedi career coming along?"

"Pretty good…although I wouldn't quite call it a career."

"What would you call it? That's what it is, is it not?"

Anakin shifted his feet. "I don't see my training and service with the Order as a career, Chancellor. It's more like a way of life…a way to see that the peoples of the galaxy have someone to protect peace and justice for them."

"Yes…but it is it the right of the Jedi to step in on people's lives and issues? Shouldn't people just be allowed to solve their own problems?" Palpatine prodded.

"We don't invade lives, Chancellor. That's not how it works. Someone calls out for help and we come. We then give that help." Anakin did his best to answer the question. Truthfully, he wasn't completely sure about it himself.

"That's not what some people of the galaxy think, though. There is an awful lot of anti-Jedi sentiment out there. And it's not going away anytime soon. Did you know Master Yoda is against your fighting in the war?"

Anakin shook his head.

Palpatine sighed then changed directions. The boy just wouldn't take the leads he was giving him.

"Anakin, how long has it been since you've seen your mother?"

That got the boy's attention. His head snapped up, and he looked directly at the Chancellor.

"I know it has been quite some time for you…I just wondered when you had last heard from or seen her."

Anakin took a moment before answering. "It's been over ten years, Chancellor. The last time I saw her was when I left with Master Qui-Gon."

"I see," Palpatine said, nodding. "I was just thinking. I could probably help you go see her, if you like. You know, put in word for you with Master Obi-Wan that you need a break and should have a chance to go see your mother. He hasn't given you that yet."

"Yeah…" Anakin pondered for a moment. "Could you really help me see her, though?"

"I'd be more than happy to, Anakin."

Anakin smiled thoughtfully. "Thank you very much, Chancellor. I don't know what to say – this means a lot to me."

"Don't worry about it, Anakin. I like to help whomever I can. And if you ever…need anything in the future, you can reach me here."

Palpatine gave him a small square of flimsiplast with his name and a communications code printed on it. Anakin took it gingerly, and muttered another thank you.

It really was a shame. The boy could be so polite. Palpatine suppressed the urge to smile and made his way out of the Temple. It was time to see to other business. Anakin Skywalker would come later.

Snap-hiss.

Anakin thumbed the lightsaber on. The light blue blade shot out, casting a glow onto the white wall of his room. After looking at it for a second, he turned it off. Then he ignited it again, and then back off. Palpatine's words kept going through his head; he wondered how the Chancellor really felt about the Separatist problem.

Furthermore, he wondered just how the Chancellor could persuade the Jedi Council to let him go see his mother. After all, none of the other Jedi were allowed to take off and pay their families a surprise visit. Then again, his circumstances were different. The Council had to know that he had more of an attachment to his old home, his only family, than the others.

Anakin sighed.

Perhaps this was why they had been hesitant in training him.

Setting his lightsaber on the nightstand next to his bed, Anakin laid back. Already he was listless, and he had only been back to the Temple for a day. His thoughts wandered back to Padmé, and especially back to that hug they shared just before he left. At first, that moment had been incredibly awkward, and then after he gave in it became something that would not leave his mind. The feeling of her next to him, so close, so warm…

Let it go! You know it's forbidden! Obi-Wan would kill you if he found out, and the other Masters…do you want to just throw everything you've dreamed of away?

It was just so hard when Padmé acted first; doing the things he longed to do himself. He reasoned that she hugged him first, she initiated the contact. Was he supposed to stand there and not do anything?

Anakin doubted that even Obi-Wan could be that rude. He was merely helping a friend.

That was a lie too. Anakin knew all too well what he was doing – and only after a few days of knowing the Queen he was falling to pieces like some nerf-hearder adolescent in the holofilms.

Jedi do not form attachments. The words echoed in his head, exactly the way he knew Obi-Wan would say them.

But the attachment was there. It had been there from that very first day that she walked into his shop thirteen years ago.

Anakin rolled over, trying to force his mind to shut down so he could sleep. No one ever said that being a Jedi lead to this kind of problem. Frustrated, he punched his pillow a couple times then settled down and closed his eyes.

A few days later, having spent them wandering around the Temple and halfheartedly practicing with his lightsaber, Anakin got called to the High Council. Confused, he was rarely summoned without Obi-Wan, he made his way up the Temple. He entered the Council chamber humbly, and was comforted to see Obi-Wan already there.

"Hello, Master," Anakin said cheerfully. Obi-Wan nodded his head in acknowledgement and smiled at his Padawan. Anakin turned to Yoda and Mace Windu and bowed. "Hello, Masters."

"And hello to you, young Skywalker," Mace said gently.

"You still miss your mother, don't you?" Adi Gallia asked him.

Anakin turned to face her.

"Yes," he said nervously. This was most unusual; the Council did not generally talk of his mother.

"How would you like to see her?" the Jedi woman asked him.

The young Jedi's jaw dropped slightly.

"I'm – I'm – excuse me?" Anakin stammered. Certainly he wasn't hearing them properly. The question instantly made his heart race, the blood pounding in his ears, leaving him deaf. Just the very idea, seeing his mother…

"We know you wish to see your mother, and so we have decided that these past thirteen years have been long enough," Ki-Adi Mundi replied.

"Go to Tatooine you shall," Yoda added. "Find her and bring her back you may to find her a new home."

"What about Master Obi-Wan?"

"I'm to stay here. The Council and I feel you are ready to take this on your own. After all, this is a deeply personal matter," Obi-Wan said from behind him.

It had to be a dream. His mother…her loving smile, her joy at seeing her only son again after all these years. Once more he could hear, the blood no longer pounding in his ears. The Masters were not kidding. Afraid that they would notice his shaking hands he buried them in his robes. Finally he managed to find his voice.

"When do I leave?"

"As soon as you wish," Mace informed him.

A smile broke out on Anakin's face. His eyes sparkled; the Council did not need these clues to read his excitement. It rang through the Force, and even the Masters could not help but catch it.

"Thank you, Masters, thank you very much," he said, bowing deeply.

To bad Padmé isn't here. She'd be so happy – she knows what Mom means to me, he thought

"May the Force be with you in your journey," Mace called out as Anakin turned to leave.

"And also with you," he replied over his shoulder. He did not see the look that Yoda gave the rest of the Council – they had done well by their decision.

Later that day, Anakin hopped into a Jedi starfighter. He would have preferred to take the one he continuously labored over and customized, but the engines he had on it would not be able to make the long jump through hyperspace needed to get to Tatooine. The R4 droid accompanying him beeped at him as he punched in the coordinates. Adjusting his communicator, Anakin settled in and took off.

"That's right, R4, we're going to Tatooine. I'm off to find my mother."

After thirteen years too many.

Deftly navigating the Coruscanti atmosphere, Anakin made it to open space within a few minutes.

"R4, punch it!"

Anakin was squashed into his seat as the starfighter blasted into hyperspace. The smile on his face was stuck there from the force of gravity. When the ship had settled into hyperspace, Anakin made himself comfortable for the journey, sinking into a hibernation trance.

Several hours later, Anakin woke; something had pulled him out of the trance, something through the Force. He shook his head to clear his mind and looked at the display before him. He would soon arrive at Tatooine. Looking back out at the hyperspace tunnel, he settled back into the Force, feeling outwards for what had disturbed him.

He knew what it was – his mother.

Something was terribly wrong.

"R4?"

The droid bleeped in return.

"Can this ship go any faster? I need to get to Tatooine as fast as I can."

A second of silence passed then the droid warbled back to him.

"Blast," Anakin cursed to no one in particular. The starfighter was going as fast as it could. He let out a groan of frustration, and tried to focus back on the Force, knowing that time would pass much faster in hibernation.

Serenity and peace of mind eluded him.

Slightly frustrated, Anakin thought back to Padmé, but then decided against it. Since he had not seen her since the day they found her apartment, dwelling on her would bring no new revelations. Instead, someone unexpected drifted into his thoughts – Chancellor Palpatine. He wondered if he had anything to do with the Council's choice to let him go after his mother. It was not entirely impossible, after all.

Anakin sighed. This was a dead end road too. Anxious, he shifted in his seat.

Just then, R4 beeped at him, letting him know that it was time to come out of hyperspace.

"Thank the Force," Anakin muttered to himself. He discharged the hyperdrive booster ring cradling the starfighter and flew down to enter Tatooine's atmosphere. Flying by memory he navigated to Mos Espa, landing in one of the many empty docks.

Anakin hopped out of the starfighter, and the heat of the desert planet hit him, making him sweat instantly. He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the tension from the flight. Walking out of the spaceport, he pulled the hood of his robe over his head. Twenty minutes later, after getting lost only once, he managed to find Watto's old shop.

As he walked in, someone else stormed out – a rather angry Rodian. Watto sputtered a few curses after the green alien then turned to put the credits in his hands away.

"Hello Watto," Anakin said in Huttese. Watto turned around, wings flapping.

"What, what?" he said, expecting to see the Rodian again. When he saw the human man standing there he stopped.

"Eyy! Jedi! I did nothing, I swear! It wasn't me!" Watto exclaimed, putting his hands in the air to proclaim his innocence.

"Don't worry Watto. My business is not with you. I'm looking for my mother – Shmi Skywalker."

Watto fluttered closer to Anakin, taking a better look at him.

"Ani? Little Ani? Is it really you?" Watto stared at him for a few seconds then spoke again, "Gods, it is you! My, how you grew up! Jedi and all!"

Anakin smiled halfheartedly. "My mother, please."

"Eyy, yes of course…Unfortunately I sold her a few months back. Shady fellow came in looking for a new servant…"

"Where'd he take her?"

"Out to Jabba's Palace, I think. That was it; he was looking for a new waitress for Jabba to serve on his barge."

Not sure what to say, Anakin nodded his head. "Well, thank you anyways." With that, he left the shop. Halfway to the door, he stopped and turned back to the Toydarian.

"Do you have a speeder I could borrow?" he asked his old owner.

"Why, uh, sure…out in the back, you know where I keep it," Watto replied, confused.

"Thanks," Anakin said as he walked past Watto and out to the back of the shop. He went over to the speeder and hopped in, heading out for Jabba's Palace.

It took Anakin nearly an hour to ride out to Jabba's. Once there and having parked the speeder, he made his way into the palace. Oddly the massive front gate was open, so he walked right in. Making sure to keep his hood over his head, hiding his identity, he walked silently into the audience hall. All around him, shady beings stopped their activities to look at him. Feeling that perhaps he had gone just a little too far without thinking, Anakin swallowed. He made his way to where the Hutt sat on his throne-like bench.

Anakin bowed deeply then spoke to Jabba in Huttese. "Oh, wonderful Jabba, I come in peace. I am only looking for someone recently employed in your services."

The Hutt merely looked at him, blinking his large, golden eyes.

"Jedi! Jedi poodoo!" The Hutt spat. "You have come here to rob me of yet another one of my precious slaves! You offer nothing in return!"

"Your highness, I have come prepared to pay you if it is necessary. I merely wish to see Shmi Skywalker."

"HAHAHA!" Jabba boomed. "Shmi Skywalker! Hehehe! Can you not see that I have just regained control over my Palace; can you not see that just earlier this day there was a fight here?

"Perhaps if you, Jedi, had been here earlier you would have been able to stop it! You Jedi always claim to be keepers of the peace! But no! You do not do your duty – and so Shmi Skywalker is dead! HAHA!"

Anakin stared at Jabba, caught totally off guard.

"What – what?" he stammered.

One of the Hutt's henchmen came up next to him.

"You just missed it, Jedi. Just a couple hours ago, that slime over in the corner started a fight, and the whole place erupted in blaster fire. Jabba decided to leave him there for the time being to serve as a reminder of what not to do," the mysterious Twi'lek informed him. His white lekku twitched. "The waitress was caught in the crossfire. No small loss, she was not that pretty –"

Before the he could say anything else, Anakin whipped out his lightsaber, pointing the humming tip to the Twi'lek's throat.

"That was my mother you're talking about. I haven't seen her for thirteen years. I suggest you keep your mouth shut or suffer the wrong end of my lightsaber."

Anakin stared down the alien, his eyes narrow. The fist holding onto the lightsaber shook, making the blue blade quiver. His heart hammered.

This could not be happening. They had the wrong name, his mother was somewhere else in the Palace, she had to be alive.

Reaching out through the Force, he searched for his mother.

Nothing.

There was nothing of her at all to be found.

And that was when his control snapped. No longer thinking, Anakin brought his lightsaber back. Furious, he swung it with the intent of taking off the Twi-lek's head.

Seconds before the plasma beam connected with the alien's neck, Anakin froze. He gave the Twi'lek a steady glare, anger burning in his eyes.

No! he shouted to himself. You can't do this.

Yes I can. They killed her.

Shaking, this time from the realization of what he almost did, Anakin shut the lightsaber off. The Twi'lek made no attempt to move, afraid that the unstable Jedi would lose control again.

Looking at him again, Anakin forced himself to regain control of his anger. Horrified at the act he almost committed, taking an innocent life, he turned on his heel and disappeared from the chamber.

Outside, he dropped to the ground, letting out a wail of anguish. He was too late. The disturbance that hit him in his flight was his mother dying, he knew it now.

Sinking down into the sand, everything froze in Anakin's mind. This was just impossible. There were a thousand things he wished he could go back and do over again – anything that might get him here sooner to save his mother. After all, he was the Chosen One; he was supposed to have such power over the Force, he should be able to travel back in time…

Sobbing, Anakin gripped the side of his head with his hands. His skull felt like it was going to crack apart into two halves. The fury in his chest choked his breathing, his heart pounded so hard it was going to explode. Tears ran down his cheeks, hot and angry.

"Don't look back…"

The last words she ever said to him. The last words she ever would say to him, and yet he knew all those years that he would see her again. For the first time, the Force lied to him.

He had just missed her by mere hours, mere minutes. Someone had to have known he was on his way; they had to have wanted to kill her. Anakin knew he wanted to find them – put them through what they unleashed on him.

Everything was just going wrong.

His feelings were beginning to betray him: he was feeling things for Padmé he should not, the anger over his mother's death was threatening to consume him…Anakin looked up to find he was alone. He took a ragged breath, trying to gather himself together.

He was a Jedi.

He was the Chosen One.

He should have better control over himself than this.

Trying to hide the tears from anyone that might come along, he put his shaking hands to his face. The tears had stopped, yet he was still frozen in place. For a long time Anakin sat there on the ground, completely alone.

Yoda sat on his round meditation cushion, sensing something deeply painful in the Force. His eyes squeezed shut tighter in his meditation. He tried to focus on the source of the emotion, but it was hard to find.

Feeling further out, the sensation became stronger. Yoda sank deeper into concentration, drawing on the Force even more.

And then it hit him – pure, unadulterated pain. The strength of it almost startled the old Jedi Master.

Anakin Skywalker.

The pain rolled through the Force in waves, and Yoda knew something must have gone terribly wrong with the boy's mother. For the first time since he gained the status of Master, Yoda was unsure of what to do. Shutting down the connection, the strength of the emotion starting to make his heart break, Yoda came out of his meditation. He carefully got down from his perch, picking up his gimer stick.

Most unfortunate this is, most unfortunate indeed. A great shame for Skywalker to suffer like this so early in life…great repercussions it will bring…Yoda thought to himself.

Leaving the meditation chamber, he sought out the person who knew Anakin best: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

In the spaceport, Anakin clambered into the starfighter. His body had gone completely numb after he managed to haul himself off the ground. Mindlessly, he started up the small craft, and took off. Once he was safely in hyperspace, he vowed never to come back to Tatooine. As far as he was concerned, the Hutts could keep it.

Anakin attempted to contact Obi-Wan through the ship's communication device, but his Master did not respond.

That was odd. Usually Obi-Wan could be reached whenever he needed him, no matter where he was in the Temple. He frowned to himself. Next, he tried Yoda.

Nothing.

Anger started to well up in him again.

These are the people who are supposed to care the most about me. Where are they when I need them? Especially Obi-Wan! How could he just leave me stranded like this?

They don't care about you, a tiny part of him thought in the back of his mind.

He told himself there had to be some explanation but he did not believe it. Instead, he decided to try something else.

Anakin punched in another communication code, his heart pounding. It was the Chancellor had given it to him some time back, saying that if Anakin ever needed someone to talk to and there was no one else, he could reach him. Anakin took the code out of respect, but had never attempted to contact Palpatine. Now he couldn't think of anyone else to try.

"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine speaking. How may I help you?"

A small blue version of the Chancellor appeared on Anakin's holodisplay.

"Uh, sorry to bother you, Chancellor. This is Anakin Skywalker," Anakin nervously replied. He was starting to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Oh, hello, young Anakin! What can I do for you?"

"Well, I just – you gave me – I wanted to say thank you if you had a hand in convincing the Council to let me go find my mother," he stammered. Even from the depths of space, Palpatine made Anakin feel on edge. There was something about the man he definitely did not like.

"I hardly had a hand in it, but I appreciate your gratitude. I take it you are on your way back?" Palpatine folded his hands across his lap.

"Yeah."

"And did you find her?"

Anakin's eyebrows furrowed as he thought over how to reply. He got the distinct feeling that Palpatine knew something he did not.

"I was too late…she had just died before I got there," Anakin admitted. His eyes dropped down, and he blinked a couple times. He did not want Palpatine to think he was weak.

"I'm terribly sorry, Anakin. That must have been quite a shock."

Anakin nodded in response. "If I had gotten there, just a little sooner, even just by a mere hour or two, I may have been able to save her."

"It's okay to feel angry, young Jedi."

Anakin's head snapped to attention. "But anger is against the Code. There is nothing I can do to change things. Anger achieves nothing." He cited the rhetoric mindlessly.

"You can feel anger as long as you do not act upon it. Anger is a natural feeling. Denying your anger achieves nothing. Do not think that the Jedi Code cannot be interpreted. Many things have many meanings. You should be mindful of this."

Shifting in his seat, Anakin felt irritated that the Chancellor was giving him a lecture. He did not want a lecture, he wanted sympathy. He wanted someone to comfort him, and tell him that everything would work out. Almost as if he could sense this, Palpatine spoke again.

"Don't worry Anakin. You'll find a way to look through this. Even though the Jedi, especially Master Kenobi, are to blame I know you will come through this. You are a strong young man.

"I must go now…business, as you know. I wish you luck in returning safely. May the Force be with you."

With that, Palpatine cancelled the connection and his hologram vanished.

"…the Jedi, especially Master Kenobi, are to blame…" A few of the politician's last words bounced around Anakin's head.

He did not think this was quite correct, but there was a certain grain of truth to it. After all, it had been the Jedi that kept him from going back to his mother. If they had let him go, he might have been able to save her…

Feeling emotionally exhausted Anakin sank back into his pilot seat and fell into a troubled sleep.

R4's beeps jolted him out of his rest hours later. Anakin blinked to clear his eyes, and realized that he was staring at Coruscant. Already, the R4 droid had brought them out of hyperspace. Without a word, Anakin flew down to the city. Within a few minutes, he landed at the Temple.

As he walked through the corridors, to where the speeders were docked, he could not help but feel anger at all the Jedi around him.

It was their fault. They had kept him from going to his mother. The peers he had trained with did not understand his connection to his past; they were all taken from their homes at too young an age to recall their families clearly. Anakin envied them for it, sometimes remembering his mother was too much of a burden to bear.

Now all he had were memories.

Hiding his frustration, rather than trying to understand it, Anakin made his way to the speeder berth. Somehow he knew that there was no use in trying to find Obi-Wan. He was not at the Temple. Anakin didn't care – there was someone else he could go to that would understand the loss of family much more than Obi-Wan.

At his destination, he hopped in the nearest speeder, heading off for Padmé's. As he drove out into the city, a crack sounded above him in the sky. Anakin looked up to see heavy clouds covering the sky.

He sniffed the air.

Rain.

And of course the speeder he drove did not have a top. He cursed to himself, annoyed that he was now going to be soaking wet by the time he got to Padmé's.

As he flew, the scene of Jabba telling him his mother was dead played over and over in his mind. He shook his head, he had to keep his concentration on flying or he would crash. Then he would be of no good to anyone.

Not even the Jedi.

He was the Chosen One, he was supposed to bring balance to the Force…but not like this he couldn't. Not like this.

Anakin parked the speeder and darted inside, completely soaked. The rain was falling heavily outside now, and Anakin had spent the past ten minutes out in it. He dashed inside the turbolift that would take him up to Padmé's. His thoughts tumbled as he sped upwards. Another surge of pain threatened to make him start crying again and he fought it back. Once he was with Padmé…it wouldn't matter….she would understand.

He stepped out of the turbolift, and took the few steps across the hall to Padmé's door. He knocked lightly, his robes dripping on the floor. He gave his head a shake, to clear some of the water from his hair.

The door opened.

"Anakin!" Padmé said, startled.

"Anakin?" another voice said, and Obi-Wan stepped up behind her.

Anakin stared at them, caught completely by surprise. Sensing the awkward moment, Obi-Wan excused himself.

"I should go…I'll see you back at the Temple, Anakin."

Obi-Wan stepped past him out into the hallway and got inside the turbolift. Either he did not notice Anakin's distraught condition, or he knew it was not the time to bring it up. Regardless, Anakin felt a burst of anger at his Master.

At the time I need him most, he's here…doing the Force knows what…

"Anakin? Are you alright?" Padmé asked him, stepping aside so he could come inside.

Without a word he walked into the apartment and sank to the floor. He curled up, covering his head with his hands.

"She's dead. They let me go find her and I was too late. My mother's dead, I promised I would help her and come back for her someday, and I failed…"

Anakin let everything out and started to sob. He rocked back and forth on the floor in pain.

Padmé kneeled down next to him, putting her hand on his back to soothe him. Obi-Wan just told her that he went to search for his mother, and that the Jedi were expecting him back any time soon. She was hoping to see him again, but certainly not like this.

"They killed her, Padmé. They killed her. There was no reason to do it, but they did. She couldn't help that she was there…blast…

"How can the Jedi expect me to do anything when I can't even save my own mother? I can't even keep a simple promise to come back and save her, and they want me to balance the Force…I don't even know what that means…and then…and then…"

Anakin wailed again in aguish. Not knowing what else to do, Padmé pulled him as much into her lap as he could. It didn't bother her that he was soaking wet. She held him tight, running her fingers through his hair.

"Shh…shhh…" she whispered in his ear. A few times she reached over and gently wiped away his tears with her hands.

Finally after a few minutes, Anakin's sobs receded. He took a couple haggard breaths, and moved away from her just enough so that he could sit up on his own. Her arms were still around him, and he leaned against her.

"I didn't know where else to go," he croaked, his voice raw from crying. "I didn't know where else to go, no one else would understand. I'm so sorry for bursting in here like this, all a mess…"

"It's okay, Anakin. It's okay. I understand," Padmé said softly.

He looked at her, and knew she understood. After all, she had witnessed her entire family's assassination.

Anakin closed his eyes. Her arms felt so good around him, the only place of warmth and comfort in the entire galaxy. He inhaled. The sweet scent of her filled his senses, cooling the temper in his blood. His pounding heart slowed down, for the first time in hours he was able to breathe again.

Opening his eyes again, he noticed her hand resting on his arm. It was so small, so delicate. He looked up at her, searching her eyes.

Her eyes were sad, reflecting his pain. Deep in them, he could see the promise that he would be alright. He got lost in her eyes, understanding things about her she did not even know.

Padmé was that rare and beautiful creature whose eyes can make others dance, whose heart can warm others.

She was an angel.

Not completely understanding the emotions going through him, Anakin wrapped his arms around Padmé. She was the only one who had been there for him; she was the only one who knew what he was going through. Still looking into her eyes, he felt himself drawn closer to her.

Padmé moved closer to him.

Shifting his weight, he moved so that their faces were level. To him, it seemed as if the Force were pulling them to each other, willing them to be together. His eyes closed again and then his lips met hers.

A jolt went through Anakin.

The Force was connected to him in a way he had never imagined possible, if he had tried, he felt like could reach out and actually touch it. And in that moment, regardless of the Code, Anakin knew he had fallen in love.