Here's the latest. Thank you all for continuing to read and review! I appreciate your words so much!

ooooo

Padme walked into the living area with two steaming mugs. The children had been put to bed and Obi-Wan was on the sofa reading a datapad. "I brought you some tea."

"Oh, thank you." Obi-Wan laid the datapad on the coffee table as Padme took a seat beside him. He angled himself on the sofa so he could face her. He watched her as she stared into her mug. "Are you okay, Padme?"

Padme gave him a ghost of a smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Really." She didn't want to talk about Anakin right now. What she needed was to get her mind off of him. "How did your meeting with the Chancellor go?"

"It was…interesting. He…" Obi-Wan suddenly got a faraway look on his face.

"What is it?"

Obi-Wan smiled as he got off the sofa. "Mace is coming."

As soon as Obi-Wan opened the door, Mace asked with eagerness, "Did you tell him?"

Obi-Wan chuckled as he moved aside and gestured for Mace to enter. He had mentioned to his friend his intended words for the Chancellor.

Mace bowed to Padme. "Good evening, Senator."

Padme smiled at the Councilor. "Please call me Padme, Master Windu."

"As you wish, Padme."

"Would you like some tea?" Padme got up and headed towards the kitchen.

"Yes, thank you." Mace sat down on the chair near the sofa. He lowered his voice. "Is it okay to talk about this in front of her?"

Obi-Wan reclaimed his place on the sofa. "Yes. She's not exactly a fan of the Chancellor either."

Padme reentered the room with another steaming mug and handed it to Mace. "Now, did Obi-Wan tell who what?"

"Did Obi-Wan tell the Chancellor what he was planning on telling the Chancellor?" Mace grinned over at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan chuckled again. "Yes, I told him."

Padme sat down next to Obi-Wan and tucked her legs underneath her. She sat close to Obi-Wan without even really thinking about it. She drew comfort from his presence. "Can we please back up? I'm obviously missing something here."

Mace raised his eyebrow slightly, noting that Padme chose to sit right next to Obi-Wan when she had the whole rest of the sofa available to her. Interesting.

"Yes, of course." Obi-Wan took a sip of his tea. "Did you hear about the near disaster on Kataan?"

Padme's eyebrows hitched up in concern. "No."

"An esteemed member of our media wrote an anonymous op-ed piece that gave details about our strategy where Kataan was concerned. The Separatists know that the Chancellor has had the media in on strategy meetings in trying to win the PR war." A bit of anger showed in Obi-Wan's eyes. "The Separatists took a gamble that the journalist was right and were thus prepared for us."

Mace nodded thoughtfully. "It took some quick thinking on Obi-Wan's part to salvage the operation."

"The Force was with us." Obi-Wan frowned at the remembrance. "But a lot of lives could have been lost needlessly. I decided then and there that I would not allow that to happen again. So, I informed the Chancellor this morning that I will not be allowing the media to be present at any more strategy sessions."

"Oooh." Padme leaned forward, now understanding Mace's eagerness. "I bet he didn't like that!" She noticed that Mace was also leaning forward in anticipation. Padme's troubles were now completely forgotten. She wished that she could have been a fly on the wall during that exchange!

Obi-Wan gave her an ironic smile. "No, he didn't. He especially didn't like it when I informed him that if he wanted to keep the media intimately involved, he could find himself another strategist."

Mace wished he could have been a secret witness to that conversation. "And what did he say to THAT?"

"He asked if I was threatening him. I told him that I was merely informing him of my decision." Obi-Wan shrugged. "Then he acquiesced. I was frankly expecting more of a fight."

Padme was thrilled that there was someone willing to stand up to the Chancellor and tell him what was what! But she was a little surprised by Mace's enjoyment of the whole thing.

Mace noticed the look Padme was giving him. "I'm glad to see that man knocked down a peg or two. In fact, I enjoy seeing any arrogant person knocked down a peg or two. Arrogance is one of my biggest pet peeves – mainly because it can lead to so much trouble."

Suddenly, the tension between Master Windu and her husband made some sense. "I must admit that I feel the same way. I used to admire Palpatine so much. But now I'm seeing him in a whole new light. Ever since we gave him those emergency powers, he's been taking more and more power away from the senate and onto himself." Padme looked at Mace with a grave expression. "It almost seems to me that the path the Chancellor is taking is leading us to a dictatorship."

Obi-Wan started in surprise. "You really believe his motives are that dark?"

Mace nodded his head in agreement. "I agree with Padme. I used to trust him as well, but my opinion has changed rather drastically since this war began. You've been gone a lot of this time, Obi-Wan. You haven't seen him whittle away, slowly but surely, all the things that make the Republic great."

Padme sighed heavily. "I've started dreading the memos I get daily regarding senate business. I keep wondering what power he's going to take away from us next."

Obi-Wan was quiet for a while, just trying to take in the gravity of what they were saying. He knew that the Chancellor had taken more authority upon himself than any previous person in that office, but he didn't realize the extent. He didn't really like or trust the man, but his worries about Anakin's association with him had now increased exponentially. "Why is the senate allowing this to happen?"

Padme laughed bitterly. "Being on Palpatine's side has its benefits. And being openly against him can mean being black-balled. Most have chosen the easy path."

"Typical." Obi-Wan's opinion of politicians wasn't any better than his opinion of the media. "They're elected by their people to represent them and their planet, but all they care about is themselves."

"That's the way of politics, my friend. It's a nasty business." Mace smiled sheepishly at Padme. "No offense."

"None taken. In fact, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I sometimes wonder why I even bother. I feel like I'm constantly trying to swim upstream."

Obi-Wan looked at Padme with respect in his eyes. "I for one am glad that there are at least SOME politicians like you in the senate. Those who are willing to go against the tide are the ones who can really be effective."

The respect she read in Obi-Wan's eyes and the sincerity of his words meant the world to Padme. "Thank you."

"And like the saying goes, if it isn't worth fighting for, it probably isn't worth having."

Mace spoke with passion in his voice. "I agree with that saying. The Jedi Order is here to uphold peace and justice in the galaxy, but those things have to exist together. When there is no justice, often the 'peace' is in the form of tyranny. And I do believe the Republic is worth fighting for."

"I also agree." Padme leaned towards Mace. "But is the Republic we're fighting for the Republic we love or the Chancellor's version of it?"

Mace's eyes grew stormy. "That's a question I can't answer anymore."

Obi-Wan stared at his two friends. "You sure know how to put a guy in a good mood."

Padme smiled at him. "You're right, this is a depressing topic. Master Windu, how would you and Master Yoda like to join us for dinner tomorrow evening?"

"That would be nice. I'm sure Yoda will be delighted to come." Mace got up and took the empty cups into the kitchen. "I better get going. It's getting rather late. Thank you for the tea." He headed for the door, but turned back to Obi-Wan with a wicked grin. "Anytime you need some cheering up, just call on me."

Obi-Wan laughed. "Yeah, I'll do that, Mace."

Padme watched the Councilor leave. "That's a very different Master Windu than the one I've heard about."

Obi-Wan started going around the room straightening and cleaning. "He only shows that side of himself with his closest friends. When he's on duty, he's all duty. But he's not nearly as cold as people think. It says a lot about you that he was comfortable enough to be that way around you."

Padme sat down on the arm of the sofa. "I like him." There's ANOTHER area where I disagree with Anakin.

"He's a wonderful Jedi and a good friend."

Padme watched Obi-Wan work with a growing smile.

"What?"

"Anakin was right." About one thing, anyway. "You ARE a neat freak!" Padme laughed as he seemed to realize what he was doing.

"Yes, I like to have things in their proper place. Yes, I like things to be clean. And yes, I find good personal hygiene to be very important."

"Anakin described it as being near obsessive."

Obi-Wan snorted. "He would! His idea of clean is all clutter being thrown into one unceremonious pile in the corner of a room!"

"Yeah, that sounds like Anakin." Padme looked around the room. "Where are we going to sleep?"

"The kids have my room, so you can have the sofa. And I'll sleep here on the floor."

"That's not exactly fair. This is your apartment. You should take the sofa and I'll take the floor."

Obi-Wan looked at her like she'd grown another head. "I sleep on the sofa while a lady sleeps on the floor? I think not!" He went to a storage closet and pulled out a pillow and a blanket. When he brought it back to her, he found her studying him with peculiar expression.

"Obi-Wan, you're a throwback."

"Pardon me?"

"You're a throwback to a time gone by. And I mean that as a compliment. There aren't too many men anymore who are gentlemen."

"Oh, um, thank you."

Padme shook her head as his typical blush appeared. Obi-Wan had to be about the most humble person she'd ever met. "I think I'll go get ready for bed." She pulled her nightclothes out of her suitcase and headed for the fresher. As she got undressed, Padme went over the day's events. It had been a nice first day – minus the fight with Anakin. She found that she was really looking forward to what lay ahead for her here. She changed into her modest top and pants.

When Padme came back out into the living area, she found that Obi-Wan had made up her bed as well as his own. Can he really be this thoughtful, or is he just trying to make a good impression? But even as she asked herself the question, she knew the answer. Since becoming friends with Obi-Wan, she had learned that he hated pretense and anything that smacked of being disingenuous. He really WAS that thoughtful.

Padme got comfortable in her bed on the sofa and waited for Obi-Wan to reemerge from the fresher. When he did, her heart skipped a beat. He was wearing a dark blue top and pants that made his eyes look even bluer. The button-down shirt was open at the top, revealing some of that marvelous chest hair. She swallowed hard and hoped her reaction wasn't obvious. Padme waited for him to get settled in. "Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan turned his head in her direction. "Hmm?"

"Will you tell me more about your childhood?"

Obi-Wan turned onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. "You really want to know?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes, very much." Padme tried to keep her eyes focused on Obi-Wan's face. The position he was in now had opened up his shirt even more. Blast! Why only now did she have to discover her fetish for chest hair? She shook herself mentally as he began to talk. She truly was interested to know more about his past and didn't want to miss a word.