Chapter One

Padme Skywalker sat at her vanity, absentmindedly brushing her hair, her thoughts resting solely on the part of her body that wasn't visible in the mirror. She stopped brushing for a second, contemplating whether or not she should have worn a less revealing nightgown. She quickly shook her head at that thought. She wasn't expecting anyone, well…no one that really mattered. Besides, she couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of showing it off, even though it was meant for only her. The only time she could really do that when she was alone.

She sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair. Two more days. Just two more days and she'd finally be able to say what she'd been waiting seven months to say. Gods, she missed him. She had never known it was going to be that hard, the waiting, the agonizing, the worrying. It was worse than she had ever imagined. And it certainly didn't help that she'd had to do it entirely alone. There was no shoulder to cry on, no one to listen to her pain.

She had been alone her entire life before she had married Anakin. She never let anyone in, never cared enough to truly get hurt. But now that she had him, being without him, being alone, was the worst feeling imaginable. Her fingers longed to touch him; her arms longed to hold him. Just to see him would be enough after so long. Her apartment, not to mention her bed, felt cold and uncomfortably enormous. It was amazing that just his presence alone made her feel safe, relaxed, and loved.

Her hand rested protectively on her stomach as she felt a presence and before she could even register whose presence it was, her eyes flew to the mirror. There he was, smiling that incredible smile of his, and not at all looking like he had just come from a war zone. She leapt from his chair and into the arms of her husband, immediately showering him with kisses.

"I can't believe it! You said that…"

"I know what I said. Obi-Wan and I got leave earlier than I had thought and I wanted to surprise you since I missed our special day." He grinned down at her, loving having her back in his arms.

She couldn't help but smile back at him, and pressed herself closer to him. The minute her stomach touched him, her eyes flew to his face, searching for some reaction. She frowned slightly when he just kissed her forehead.

Much to Padme's dismay, her husband immediately noticed her change in mood, but nothing else. His hands cupped her face and looked at her carefully. "What's wrong? You're acting a little strange."

She laughed lightly and kissed him again. For the Chosen One, he sure was dense. "Something's happened, Anakin. Something that's going to completely change our lives."

Worry crept into his eyes and he took her hand immediately. "What's wrong? Just tell me."

She took a small step back from him and it was then that he saw it. Recognition flicked in his eyes as he took in the extremely noticeable change in her figure. With sheer amazement on his face, he reached out and placed both hands on her protruding abdomen and massaged it gently. He jumped only slightly when he felt a small kick from within then looked back at her in astonishment.

"This is incredible."

She smiled brightly and placed her hands over his. He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"This is the best news I've heard in seven months." He whispered softly.

She laughed and brought her arms behind his neck. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

He shook his head, unable to suppress the huge grin that was spreading across his face. "I'm going to be a father."

"Yes you are…I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away."

"Don't worry about it. I completely understand, besides, I'm not even supposed to be here yet."

"Oh yeah…but I'm glad you're here, though. I was getting pretty lonely here all by myself."

He smiled faintly but it faded quickly. He should have never left her, especially the last time he had left. He wasn't there when she had found out their good news, he wasn't there when she had first felt their child kick. It wasn't fair to her and it wasn't fair to him either. If only the Council…he shook his head at that. The Council was too set in its ways, it would never happen. He turned his attention back to his wife and a brilliant idea struck him.

"Well, we should do something about that loneliness, now shouldn't we?"

He didn't even let her respond because he had already swept her into his arms and engulfed her in a passionate kiss.

"Anakin?"

"Hmmm?"

She shifted in bed to lean by on her elbow and looked directly at him. "How long are you going to be here?"

"I'm not sure. Before I came here, I had to meet with the Council and they told me the Chancellor personally requested that I serve as the Council's representative for him during the upcoming Senate meetings. I'm not really sure why he wants me, but I'm grateful for the time. It'll be at least three weeks, probably a little more than that."

"Good." She snuggled closer to him and kissed his cheek lightly. His last leave had lasted only a week and a half, not nearly enough time, but it had still been better than nothing.

"So I guess I'll be seeing you at most of the Senate meetings, then."

She yawned. "Great. Now I get to be constantly distracted by you."

He laughed and kissed her again. "If anyone's doing the distracting, it's you."

She rolled her eyes but snuggled closer to him anyways. "Can we just say that we'll both distract each other so I can go to sleep?"

"Sure."

He leaned over and kissed her one more time before pulling the covers more tightly over her before finally letting sleep creep up on him. Before he slipped into sleep, he placed a hand lightly on her stomach and felt her hand cover his.

Her face. She was in pain. So much pain. She was calling out to him, asking him to…he wasn't sure what she wanted him to do but he had to do something. She was screaming, but he couldn't hear her screams. Her mouth was open, but no sound came out. So much pain. She was…she was dying. Something was killing his angel. Her face twisted again in pain and she was crying out now. Screaming his name. So much pain…he couldn't watch anymore. He had to do something to help her…she was dying…fading now…

Anakin shot up in bed. Sweat dripped down his face and he threw the covers off him before casting a quick glance at his sleeping wife. He sat on the side of the bed, contemplating what to do as his hands ran nervously through his unruly hair. He took one more look at Padme, and left the room, grabbing his robe along the way in a desperate attempt to escape the images still running through his mind.