Disclaimer: Star Wars and all associated characters, plotlines, and worlds (good and bad) are property and copyright © of George Lucas (aka The Richest Man in Hollywood). This is purely for fan entertainment only.
Also a warning… this fanfic is rated MA for adult themes. It is also "Obidala"… in other words, if you're offended or otherwise do not like the pairing between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, then please don't read further to spare yourself the irritation. Otherwise, enjoy!
Chapter 10 - The Perfect Plan
Sunlight filtered in through the heavy glass, making the paint on the walls seem to glitter. The beauty of the garden beyond was reflected in as well through the ancient glass, made the handmade way long ago. This was the room she had always dreamed of using for a nursery, in her pregnancy with the twins. Sabé had already arranged for the furniture to be set up and now the two were painting the walls.
Sabé had suggested that they paint a mural, and she had been hard at work painting the base coat so that Padmé could try her hand with the details, something easier to do with her ever increasing belly. Padmé had started with flowers, a waterfall here, flowing into the ocean there, followed by a few Ewoks hidden among the trees. Sabé had giggled upon hearing the idea.
The back of her neck prickled and she was about to turn around, when she felt a kiss planted on the side of her neck. She jumped and squealed, "Obi-Wan!" she playfully smacked his arm, "Don't scare a woman with a paintbrush in her hand!"
He grinned and set the paintbrush down, drawing her back into his arms. He sighed gently into her hair, inhaling the scent of her. "I missed you." His hand went at once to her stomach, incredulous at how much had changed in the brief month he had been gone investigating on Metalorn. He reached out through the Force and felt the presence of his daughter and smiled. "She's growing strong." His eyes lit up, "Like her mother."
She smiled back, gesturing to the nursery, "I thought it would be wise to begin on it while I still could. The doctor is suggesting more bed rest in the last trimester so that she will develop well and there will be less risk of complications. Everything should go well this time, assuming that my stress level stays down."
Obi-Wan's hand trailed from her stomach to her face, "I don't intend to cause you any more worry than you already have to deal with. Although I wonder if you are adding on to your own stress." She looked at him, puzzled, and he continued. "What is that necklace that Anakin gave you?"
She frowned slightly, "It's something Anakin made me when he was little. It's somewhat of a good luck charm." She watched his face for any emotion, frowned more when he kept his face void of a response. "I had lost it on Endor. I'm assuming he was returning it."
Obi-Wan was crestfallen upon hearing the response. His heart dropped, his worst fears had seemed to be realized. Had Anakin told her of his plans to regain his body back, and she was rushing back to his arms? Did she still love him? He did not ask, but still had to wonder aloud, "Why do you still have it? I thought that was over?"
Her face hardened, "Anakin was my husband. He was the father of my first two children. While he may be dead to me, he still holds a place in my heart." Tears welled up in her eyes, "You occupy a different space in my heart, Obi-Wan, I love you. I am with you, now."
He gathered her back in his arms, soothing her, but inside could not help the seething jealousy towards Anakin, who was still lurking in the shadows. If he still was in her heart, she still loved him. And she could still choose him in the end, were Anakin to give her a reason to. He tried shoving the jealousy away, but it still set a nagging feeling in him.
She tilted her head up at him, drying tears away. "Did you find the healers you set out to find?"
He shook his head, frowning. "I did not. I did, however, find where they used to reside. The entire place was filled with droid soldier parts."
Padmé's face filled with horror, "Droid soldiers? The separatist army?"
Obi-Wan nodded, "I came to the conclusion from the parts that they were nearly the same models as the ones that we fought in the Clone Wars." He sighed. "I don't know whether they were destroyed or captured during the Clone Wars, or after. There is no clear indication. All I know is that the healers were not there, dead or alive."
She frowned, processing this information. "Do you think someone could be trying to mass an army against the Empire? But what would they want Jedi Healers for?"
Obi-Wan shrugged, his hand straying to his face out of habit. "If that were the case, they could be taking the Jedi in for protection, as the Jedi are enemy of the Empire as well. But it does not make sense, they would have attempted to find me as well, were that the case."
She shook her head, "No, if you are hiding well enough, they would not know where to look, either." Padmé chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully, running through options in her head. "Bail and Mon Mothma both know how to get in touch with you and thus with me, if they were going to organize a Rebellion. I did make sure that they knew that."
"So it is not someone that we already are working with. I have not eliminated the possibility that it is a trap." He admitted.
She knitted her brows and looked back up at him. "What do you mean, a trap? How closely are you working with Anakin?"
He paused before answering, "We met in person. And we communicate regularly. I am trying to bring him back to our side, Padmé."
A cold sensation filled her, and she started feeling the fear again. "How can we hide if you are meeting him regularly? Are you so positive of this gamble?" her eyes met his, "Obi-Wan, I saw his eyes on Mustafar, he is not the same man. He has contacted me in my dreams, but I do not trust him. He still insists that he was correct for killing the younglings. He wants our child, Obi-Wan. I know this, I can tell what he's up to."
His hand grabbed hers, and he insisted, "I know it is hard to trust him. But he has given me indication that he does not wish harm on you. He wants what is best for you, and I think he wants to overthrow the Emperor." He added silently, He wants to save you.
Padmé shook her head emphatically, the curls flying down her shoulders from the loose bun they were in. "I do not trust him, Obi-Wan. He is hell bent on his prophecy."
Obi-Wan met her eyes once more, his blue eyes icy in their determination, emotion flooding his face, "He has seen what the Force wants him to see, Padmé, visions of what could be in the future. He also knew that we were to have a daughter before we even knew."
She gasped, staring back, "But how? How do you know he is not lying?"
He closed his eyes, remembering the fight on Endor. "He told me back on Endor, told me that you would die bearing our daughter. And then, in our last conversation, he congratulated me for our daughter, yet I had not told him the sex of the baby."
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, "That's not possible. He must have spies even here on Naboo." She sat down, growing faint from the fear.
Obi-Wan shook his head, "Whether he has spies or not, he has shown me the prophetic dream of your death, Padmé." His body tensed upon remembering the dream, and all the subsequent nights of the variations of her childbirth with their child.
She looked away, "It is just paranoia, Obi-Wan. He's trying to scare you into believing what he does. Perhaps the Emperor wants you on their side as well, and they see this as the best way to achieve this end. But I will not die in childbirth!"
He shook his head, "This is of no doing of the Emperor. He is not finished with his new slave, and they only hold one Apprentice at a time. I do not think he has told his Master of our conversations." He bent down to kiss her, "And I only want what's best for you."
She stared back at him, frowning softly, "I don't want you to go down the same path, Obi-Wan. This is one reason I have always loved you- your conviction towards the path you have gone down your entire life. Your passion for democracy and your Order."
He kissed her once more, assuring her, "I will not join the Dark Path, my love. I promise you." He sighed, "But this still does not resolve where the Healers are."
Padmé leaned against him, "Perhaps they want to hide from Vader as well, and are faking their kidnapping."
It dawned on him how perfect her idea could be, "You very well could be right. And where would the last place that Darth Vader would look for a Jedi be?"
"Mustafar." She said it simply, "He would never return there, it caused him too much pain. He lost his brother and his wife and was forced into his destiny as the Dark Lord."
He squeezed her hands, thanking her. "Please promise me you won't go to that place again. Do not follow me."
She nodded, meeting his eyes. "Obi-Wan, I'm with Anakin on this one. I never want to go back to that place again." Her heart softened as she realized the significance of the planet to Obi-Wan. "Will you be alright?" she asked softly.
He halfway chuckled, "I am still a Jedi. I need to face my own demons."
As usual, let me know what you think! The holidays are a stressful time at work, I'm trying to keep pace with the story, so bear with me:D