Thank you so much for your thought-provoking and encouraging reviews! Passon, I thought I'd answer your question for all to read - in case anyone else was wondering the same thing. This story is mainly a character study. There will be no hair-raising plot twists, no prominent villian. The villians in this (Palpatine/Sidious & Vader) will largely remain in the background. I wanted to write this because I was so very disappointed with how Padme was portrayed in ROTS. I thought that almost everything she said and did were out of character (based on how she was in the first two movies and novels). I think the premise of Padme falling head-over-heels in love with Anakin is quite unbelievable. But for this story, I figure I'd go with everything as it was through AOTC & continue with the same timeline as ROTS, if not the same story. I wanted to think of a plot device that would give Padme a chance to learn more about the Jedi and Obi-Wan - give her a break from Anakin's cynicism and allow her to 'experience' life as a Jedi for herself. Another thing that compelled me to write this is the seemingly popular idea that the Jedi themselves are to blame for their own demise and that 'poor' Anakin was pushed to the Dark Side by them. That kind of warped thought is exactly what led Anakin to choose the wrong path! Everything dark Anakin saw about the Jedi and his experience with them was because he was looking at them through the distorted web that Sidious spun. This is my own personal antidote to that line of thinking and my own balm for Padme choosing the wrong Jedi. I'm just glad I can share it with others. Now, off the soapbox and on with the chapter!

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A couple of days later, Padme sat on the sofa reading through more senate memos. She and Obi-Wan had settled into a routine. It was a routine she rather liked. She knew she was getting a glimpse of what having a family could feel like. But would having a family with Anakin ever be this comfortable? This ordinary? This wonderful? For the first time, Padme felt like she understood what it must have been like for her parents. But that thought also made her heart ache. On her wedding day, Padme had harbored high hopes that she could experience with Anakin the kind of companionship her parents enjoyed. Those hopes had gone largely unfulfilled.

And here she was, just a few days with Obi-Wan and she finally felt like she understood. Padme put down her datapad with a sigh. These thoughts were taking her in a direction she was not willing to go. It was all too depressing. Instead, she picked up the holodisk that Obi-Wan had dug out at her insistence. She turned it on and flipped through the pictures again. She stopped on a picture of Obi-Wan with Qui-Gon. It couldn't have been taken too long before their fateful mission to Naboo.

Padme smiled at the height difference. Obi-Wan wasn't exactly short, but he always seemed to be around people who towered over him. Qui-Gon, Anakin, Mace – they were all several inches taller than Obi-Wan. The interesting thing was that it did nothing to diminish Obi-Wan's impact. You would think that impressive height would be enough to draw one's attention first. But Obi-Wan had qualities that just naturally drew attention to him. First among those being his looks. One would have to be blind to not notice his attractive features. But in addition to that, there was his…light. He just seemed to radiate goodness and even innocence.

Padme studied Obi-Wan's features. He was so young, so fresh-faced! Her eyes fell on that wonderful cleft in his chin. It had been twelve years since she'd seen him clean-shaven. She found herself intensely curious as to what he would look like clean-shaven NOW. Padme sat back on the couch, wondering about her own curiosity. She wanted to know everything she could about Obi-Wan – past, present and future. The question was why?

Again, Padme decided that she didn't want to go there. She decided to get up and start dinner. She loved this time of the day, knowing that Obi-Wan would soon be home. The two of them were planning on going over their schedules together that evening. Padme had some senate meetings coming up and they needed to work out who could watch the children when.

The children came out of their room and went into the living area. They had been reading together most of the afternoon. The children loved this time of the day as well. They eagerly anticipated Obi-Wan's arrival each evening. Kira and Devin plopped down on the sofa while James switched on the holovid. It was tuned to a news station. They heard the anchor saying, 'In some breaking news, Anakin Skywalker has already saved the day on the planet Fembrak.'

Padme heard Anakin's name and quickly walked into the living area. She saw that James was about to change the station. "No, wait. I want to hear this." She watched a reporter walking among some blasted out buildings. 'Anakin Skywalker, who only arrived here on Febrak yesterday, quickly moved in with his starfighter and knocked out Separatist bunkers on the outskirts of this capitol city of Trizon. These bunkers, which seemed by many to be impenetrable, caused heavy damage and casualties here over the last week or so. But thanks to some fancy flying and shooting by our own Anakin Skywalker, those bunkers are now history. Kip, back to you.'

"Okay, James. You can change the channel now." Padme walked back into the kitchen. Anakin is probably thrilled with the media attention he's getting. She was rather uncomfortable with his hunger for attention. The media always overdid things and this would probably be a classic case. But Anakin was probably eating it up. He loved being the center of attention. Even though she hadn't said so to Obi-Wan, her opinion of the media wasn't much better than his. Padme had the feeling Anakin would be calling her and Obi-Wan tonight, just to make sure they knew about his heroism.

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Obi-Wan put his drink on the table and went to get his daily calendar. The children were now in bed and he and Padme were about to go over their schedules together. As he set the datapad on the table, his holocom started to beep. He knew who it was before he even answered. A small image of his former padawan's face appeared. "Hello, Anakin,"

"Hello, Master. I've arrived safely."

"Yes, I've heard that you've kept yourself busy in your short time there. That was a fine job you did with those bunkers, Anakin."

Anakin's face practically glowed with pleasure. "Thank you, Master. The extra troops you diverted have arrived. The heavy equipment is still trickling in."

"It should be more than a trickle shortly. If you feel you need more, let me know." Obi-Wan turned as Padme came up next to him. "I'll let you and Padme talk. Keep up the good work, Anakin." He grabbed his sleep clothes and went into the fresher. He felt like getting comfortable and it would give Padme and Anakin some privacy.

Anakin smiled even larger as his wife came into view. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Padme, I'm sorry again for the way I behaved before I left. Do you forgive me?"

Padme took a deep breath. "Yes, I forgive you."

"I miss you so much!"

"I miss you, too," Padme replied automatically. Did she really mean it? "You're quite the media sensation right now."

"Yeah, I know. Can you believe it?" Anakin was thrilled! "This is my first truly solo mission and it's gotten off to a great start!" His dreams were coming true! The Chancellor had been right!

Padme wanted to be happy for him, but a part of her knew that a Jedi shouldn't be enjoying such acclaim. "Be careful of the media, Anakin. They can be quite fickle."

Anakin's smile quickly turned into a frown. Why couldn't Padme just let him enjoy this? "All they're doing is reporting the facts."

Yeah, right. "All I'm saying is that the media can attach themselves to one media darling one minute, and then dump that one and find another the next minute. Don't rest your joy in the media attention. Rest it in the fact that you did your duty well. You don't need the media to tell you that you're a hero. You should know that already."

Anakin's smile quickly returned. "Oh, I understand all that." But it isn't going to stop me from enjoying having ALL the media attention, rather than having to share it with Obi-Wan. "How are things going there? Are the kids driving you nuts yet?"

"The children have been quite lovely, actually. I'm enjoying my time with them."

Are you enjoying your time with Obi-Wan? That's what I really want to know. "How are you liking the Temple?"

Padme couldn't help the joyful smile that spread across her face. "I'm loving it here! I'm learning so much about the Jedi. It's really incredible!"

Anakin was taken aback at Padme's enthusiasm. He hadn't seen her this happy in…actually, he couldn't remember when he'd EVER seen her this happy. His heart clenched. Is it learning about the Jedi that is making her so happy or is it being with Obi-Wan? He felt his earlier joy melt away as the Chancellor's words to him returned. 'They just seem very comfortable with each other – for a Jedi Master and a Senator.' "I'm glad you're having a good time. I better go, Padme. I love you."

"Goodnight, Anakin. I love you, too." Padme turned off the holocom with a pensive frown. She had noticed Anakin's abrupt change in disposition. Why would her being happy about something bring about that reaction in him? Why wouldn't he enjoy seeing her so happy? Padme's thoughts were interrupted as Obi-Wan came out of the fresher. A smile found its way back onto her face. "Ah, I see you opted for comfort."

Obi-Wan grinned at her. "If I had my choice, this would be this Jedi uniform."

"Not a bad choice, at that. In fact, I think I'll join you." Padme picked up her own sleep clothes and headed for the fresher.

Obi-Wan and Padme settled themselves next to each other at the dining table. Obi-Wan had set out drinks and snacks for them, which they both dug into eagerly. Padme was glad that he was a fellow junk food junkie. Anakin was big on health food and always working out. He was very proud of his muscular physique and worked hard to keep it the way he wanted it. As with everything else, Obi-Wan was quite different. He wasn't overly muscular and didn't care to be. He was in great shape, of course. But his body was built to be slender and he was content with that. It also gave him the advantage of being able to eat whatever he wanted. And from what she could see, he had a bottomless stomach.

Obi-Wan always enjoyed the evenings. He enjoyed spending time with the children, but he enjoyed the time alone with Padme most of all. They were in sync on many levels, and that brought about a sense of comfort and genuine companionship that he hadn't felt with many people. "I have a meeting with the military ops oversight committee at the senate building tomorrow morning at 9:00."

Padme grabbed a few more chips out of the bowl. "That works perfectly. My meeting doesn't start until 1:00 tomorrow afternoon."

"Any conference calls I need to make could be done from here." Obi-Wan was thoughtful as he took a drink of juice. "You know, I could probably do a lot of my work from here. I could transfer all the data charts and maps to my computer and set up the multiple hololinks I'd need."

Padme's spirit soared. She could spend even more time with Obi-Wan if he did that! "Do you really think that would work for you?"

"At first, I didn't think so. But the children are so well-behaved and such a joy to be around, I think it would work nicely."

"That would be great! Then all we'd have to worry about covering is the occasional meetings, strategy sessions and senate debates! And if any of those overlap each other, I'm sure Yoda or Mace would be happy to watch the kids for us."

Obi-Wan was quite pleased by her obvious delight to have him around more. "I'm sure they would. So, let's see if we have any overlapping meetings, shall we?" They found that in the next week, they only had one instance where they would both be gone. They agreed to talk to Yoda and Mace about that tomorrow. Obi-Wan looked up as he felt Padme staring at him.

A wicked looking smile crept up Padme's face. "Would you do me a really big favor?"

Obi-Wan had a feeling from her smile and the sickly sweet tone of her voice that he wasn't going to like her request. "What?"

Padme knew that she would probably have to play a little dirty to get her wish, but she was willing. "Will you shave your beard?"

"What? Why?"

"Please, Obi-Wan! I just want to see what you look like underneath all that hair."

Obi-Wan was baffled. "You know what I look like."

"I haven't seen you without a beard in twelve years! I want to see what you look like NOW. Please?" Padme continued the sickly sweet tone and batted her eyelashes for effect.

"But…"

"PLEASE, Obi-Wan?" Padme could tell he was close to giving in.

"I just don't understand…"

"Please?" Padme decided to add what she hoped would be the clincher. "For me?"

Pause. "Oh, all right!" Obi-Wan laughed as she squealed in delight and hugged him. "I'm beginning to think it's impossible to say no to you."

Padme released him and looked at his ironic smile. Hmm, I'll have to remember that. "Tomorrow morning?"

"Yes." Obi-Wan unconsciously rubbed at his beard. It had become such a part of him.

"It will grow back, Obi-Wan."

He smiled sheepishly. "I know."

Padme was now very excited for the morning! She was going to make sure he got up in plenty of time to get it done.