"Nothing much to report, I have." Master Yoda's voice held the slightest worry, but enough that Obi-Wan could detect it across the coded communications channel. "Some changes though, there have been. Replaced, the empty Senate positions are."
"Who filled them?" Obi-Wan asked, hoping that the information would maybe lead them to a possible suspect.
"Onaconda Farr and Ronet Corr…"
As Yoda continued, the Force swept across Obi-Wan with a sense of urgency and danger, but not danger to himself.
"Padmé." He breathed out in a gasp.
"I'm sorry, Master Yoda. I have to go." And he quickly cancelled the transmission.
Hurrying to exit the ship, Obi-Wan immediately searched along the Force to find Padmé. Her life-force was strong, but he noted with great alarm that it was getting weaker by the second.
Using Force-enhanced speed, he arrived at the swamp and glanced about in near panic.
This wasn't like him at all. He had been in countless dangerous situations before where his life or the life of whomever he had been safeguarding was being threatened. But here, at this moment, standing on the edge of the swamp, feeling Padmé's essence ebb away, his heart seized as sheer terror gripped it.
"Control." He muttered to himself, wandered out into the swamp about knee-deep and took a deep breath, called once more to the Force and reached his hand over the water.
Like a lifeline, he sent the Force through the water and discovered her near the bottom of the swamp, and then discovered in horror that something dark had taken her there. His arm began to shake with the sheer strength of the fight as the being struggled against him.
Finally, her head emerged from the dark murky surface and Obi-Wan immediately drew her to him, reached out and grasped ahold of her shoulders. He then drew his lightsaber and swept across the large serpentine limb that had wrapped itself around her body. The being's pain-filled screech could be heard from below and Obi-Wan took advantage of the distraction to haul Padmé from the water.
Once reaching a safe distance from the swamp, he lay her on her back and checked her vital signs. There weren't any.
Arching her neck, he placed two breaths into non responsive lungs, then began pumping her chest with his hands.
Two more breaths.
"Come on, Padmé."
Fifteen more chest compressions. Two more breaths.
And then he waited.
Her eyes flew open and she gasped, coughing up some of the dark swamp water before being pulled upward into Obi-Wan's embrace.
"I'm all right." Her voice was weak and quivered slightly, but it was Obi-Wan who was shaking as he held her, his face buried against her neck. "I'm all right." She repeated, wanting desperately to wrap her own hands around him for comfort, but found she was too weak to do so.
She then found herself being swept up into his arms and held firmly against a robed chest as Obi-Wan carried her back inside the hut and placed her down upon his own sleeping mat next to the fireplace.
His blue-green eyes had darkened somehow as he gazed down upon her, but the look on his face was what surprised her most. She saw fear there.
"I thought I lost you."
"I'm here." Padmé answered back, but just hearing her say the words wasn't enough to convince him.
He needed more. He needed proof that she was okay.
Too close. It had been too close. She had almost died --for the second time – and he still hadn't told her how he felt about her.
No more wasting time. Live in the moment.
His mouth immediately fell upon hers seeking that confirmation, plundering, exploring – urgent and almost demanding.
She responded in kind, her back arching off of the cot, adrenaline from her rising passion shooting through her body, as her arms quickly recovered their strength and twined about his neck.
Wet clothing was discarded and his kisses left her mouth and trailed a firey path down her, hesitating on areas that caused Padmé to squirm and moan his name.
But it was Obi-Wan who moaned when their bodies joined together in an ancient rhythm, his hands framing her face as they climaxed together, their gazes locked onto one another, providing the proof that he needed. She was all right. She was alive.
The firelight displayed a dance of shadows across her bare skin.Obi-Wan's fingers attempted to match their movements, causing Padmé to giggle due to the ticklish sensations.
He hushed her laughter with a thorough kiss before planting a series of them along her cheek, reaching up with his hand to brush the still damp hair away from her face.
A long moment of silence passed between them as their eyes met once more, searching for feelings they both knew were there, but neither one of them had spoken of yet.
"Thank you." Padmé finally said.
"What for?" Obi-Wan asked genuinely.
"For saving my life….again."
"Oh, that." He stated with a grin. "I thought you were thanking me for the great sex."
"That too." Padmé teased back as she snuggled up against his side, her head resting upon the crook of his arm, staring into the flickering flames.
"By the way, what was it that grabbed me?"
"I am going to assume it was a lordac. Yoda tried to warm me about them."
"Did you kill it?"
"I dismembered it, but no I don't think it's dead."
"Hmmm." Padmé replied as the growling of her stomachechoed in the small room. "Is it edible?"
Obi-Wan placed a peck to her cheek. "Let's find out."