THE DEPARTED

Chapter Five

Anakin sighed and ran his hand anxiously through his unruly hair. He gripped Padme's hand a little tighter, as if trying to convey the message to her: please wake up, please Padme, I love you. He waited several moments and bowed his head when he realized that it hadn't worked. Maybe the doctor had been right. Maybe Padme would wake when she was ready to. He hadn't wanted to admit it to himself. He wanted to be the one to help her wake up. But he was slowly beginning to accept that it might be awhile before he was finally able to see her beautiful eyes.

He hardly glanced up when the doctor entered the room. They had been doing this for two days now and as much as he hated it, they had easily fallen into the routine of caring for an unconscious Padme. He quickly stood as the doctor proceeded to check on Padme's condition, and after he had finished, Anakin immediately sat back down and retrieved her hand.

He sighed again and he wasn't sure if it was exhaustion or plain frustration. How much more of this was could he possibly take? He longed to see her open her eyes, even if it was just for a moment because then he would at least have something to cling to. He was snapped back to reality when he heard his comlink beeping.

Cursing under his breath, he tore himself away from Padme and retrieved his comlink. To his surprise, Obi-Wan's image appeared.

"Hello, Anakin. There is an urgent matter I need to discuss with you."

Anakin nodded quickly. "Yes. What is it?"

"Anakin…I don't really know how to tell you this but, you've been reassigned."

His mouth dropped open in shock. "What? Why? I haven't done anything…"

"No, no…of course you haven't. The Council is just trying to prevent that from happening."

Anakin's eyes narrowed slightly and felt his jaw clench up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Obi-Wan sighed and ran his hand through his hair before responding. "Anakin…do have feelings for the Senator?"

Anakin froze in disbelief. What the hell? "What? Why would the Council think that? Why would you think that, Master?"

"Our previous conversation led me to believe that you have developed feelings for someone and the logical choice is the Senator."

"The Senator? Why in Sith would I have feelings for her? Have you met her, Master?"

"Anakin…please…control yourself. I just think you would be better serving somewhere that presented no temptation for you to break the Code."

Anakin sighed and shook his head. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Anakin, just try to be reasonable, alright? Padme is perfectly capable of finishing the assignment herself and the Council can easily assign you to a different one."

He looked down sadly before responding. "She's not capable of doing anything. Padme was shot two days ago. She's been unconscious ever since."

Obi-Wan leaned forward, the shock and immediate concern clearly written on his face. "What? Is she alright?"

"The doctor said she'll live. But there's no telling when she'll wake up."

Obi-Wan nodded in understanding. "I see. I'm sure the Council will have disagreements if you stay until Padme is well enough to complete the assignment. Until then, Anakin, please…just be careful and don't do anything rash."

Anakin smiled weakly. "Of course, Master."

They said their goodbyes and Anakin returned to Padme's side immediately after. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Their time together was about to be cut short and now that he was to be reassigned, he wasn't sure when he would be able to see her again. Just that very thought brought unshed tears to his eyes and he furiously rubbed his eyes in an effort to make it all go away. Why couldn't they be together? Why couldn't they find a way?

By some miracle, he felt the bed move and immediately glanced up to see Padme staring up at him. A huge grin spread across his face and he grasped her hand a little tighter.

"Anakin? What happened? Where am I?"

He smiled reassuringly at her before answering: "You were shot, Padme. But you're going to be alright. You've been unconscious for two days now."

She looked around the room, realization dawning in her eyes. "You've…you've been here the whole time, haven't you?"

He nodded and continued to stare into her eyes, looking for something else than gratitude in them. "Yeah, I have."

She frowned and turned her gaze to their intertwined hands. "Why? What about Sabe?"

He laughed lightly and ran his free hand through his hair. "I couldn't leave you here all by yourself. Besides, Sabe's fine. There's a guard with her."

"Oh…does the Council know?"

"I just told Obi-Wan actually. He's probably telling the Council as we speak."

She nodded and looked away, her expression completely unreadable. Anakin searched her face and his concern began to deepen.

"Padme…are you alright? Is something wrong?"

She looked back up at him and for the first time in a very long time, she smiled. Anakin couldn't help but smile back at her, especially when he felt her squeeze his hand lightly.

"I'm alright, Anakin. Just a little sore, but I think that's to be expected, huh?"

"I suppose. Do you want me to find the doctor? Maybe he can give you something that will help that?"

She nodded quickly and he immediately rose to leave, desperately fighting the urge to kiss her forehead like he had come so accustomed to before she awoke. He walked briskly out of the room; despite an inner voice tell him not to leave her. He walked a little faster and couldn't look back at her, knowing that if he did, he wouldn't be able to leave her.

Once she heard the door close, she closed her eyes in deep thought. He had been there the whole time. Somehow, she had known this even if her unconscious state, she had sensed his presence and it had only comforted her and guided her back to recovery. This both disturbed and overjoyed her. She wasn't supposed to need him like that. She wasn't supposed to be attached to him like that. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't change what she felt and she couldn't change how he felt either. Just the fact that he had been there with her the whole time said how much he cared about her and showed how deeply that caring ran. Yet, there was nothing either of them could do about it. They were Jedi, bound by the Code, and they couldn't change it. They couldn't risk everything for something she didn't even know how to describe.

It was hopeless. There was nothing that could be done.