PART 23

The aliens of Polis Massa walked into the room Padme and Obi-Wan were in only to find the two of them both lying together in a spoon position on the flat table. Padme was sleeping as Obi-Wan watched over her as she slept. Once he saw the aliens come in he immediately got up and off the table. They had come in to administer more tests. As they took her away he watched in sadness and feared for her and his unborn child's life.

A few hours later they returned, Padme still unconscious. The aliens told Obi-Wan that the baby's heart had weakened considerably from her injuries. There was no way of knowing if the heart would get weaker or grow stronger, but for now, it looked like Padme would be able to carry the baby to term though they cautioned that a pre-mature birth was very likely. Obi-Wan thanked them as they walked out.

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Padme awoke in the same white room again, Obi-Wan at her side as expected. There was never a time in the last 9 months that they had been hiding that he wasn't at her side.

"What did they say?" she asked anxiously.

As he explained to her the results of the test Padme's hand rested on her abdomen. Tears of relief and sadness trailed down her face.

"I never should have gone to him, I should have waited" she said.

"I don't understand why you went in the first place; I could have protected you and the baby if you had told me what you planned to do." He didn't want to start questioning her and getting her upset, but the Jedi in Obi-Wan still made him think as a body guard and protector.

"No Obi-Wan, this was something I had to do on my own. The situation would have been so much worse if you had been there. I needed to face Anakin by myself; I needed that last moment with him."

"He tried to kill you, again! What possessed you to want to go to him in the first place?"

"Our child" she said she placed her hand on her stomach once more, "Our baby deserves a better life than one in hiding, I'm not giving up another child. I want this baby to have a loving, stable home, with two parents. We never would have gotten that if I hadn't gone to Anakin and asked him to stop searching for me."

"He almost killed the baby."

'I know, I should not have risked the baby's life, but I was sick of running, I had to face him. I was hoping he wouldn't sense the baby's presence, but he did. I think the only reason he let me live was because of the baby."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because Anakin knows how much I wanted to have a family of my own, he only ever wanted me to be happy, there is still good in him."

Obi-Wan shook his head at this. "No, there is no good in anyone who throws the person they love up against a ship."

"He could have easily killed me, he didn't. The boy I knew on Tatooine is still there, but I fear what happened at the space port may have forced the goodness inside him to stay hidden forever. His heart has been broken."

"My heart was broken, your heart was broken, we are all suffering from this."

"No, his heart is broken because he can't share his future with me."

"Do you wish your future was with him?"

She looked at him with a distraught look on her face.

"What are you really asking me Obi-Wan?"

"I'm afraid, that you love him more than me, that you only staying with me out of obligation."

"If that were true than I would not have gotten hurt in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"Anakin thought I had come back to be with him, even though he knew about the baby he gave me a choice to either be with him or die, I never once considered joining him in darkness. My place is here my future is here, with you."

"I almost lost you, again."

"I know, but my heart was telling me it was the right thing to do, I never would leave without saying goodbye, and I knew I was going to come back. My love didn't save Anakin, but it saved our future. And I think Anakin will come back to the good side, someday."

"I wish I could believe that Padme."

"He will."