I couldn't hear her.

She was crying out to me, she was desperate. And yet…

I could not hear.

Or did I choose not to listen?

Fear may have poisoned my mind. Becoming a father, fighting in this damned war… The frightening vision of my Padmé dying in childbirth - something I did to her. Maybe it became an obsession.. Saving her, doing whatever it took to keep her from meeting this fate, was all that I could think about. But could I have gone too far?

Perhaps it was my greed, my confusion, my passionate desire to do what my master elected me to do that shut out Padmé 's voice. And maybe it was the Dark side. Yes - perhaps it was not my fault at all. Perhaps I was simply a victim of the seductiveness of authority and power and wealth, the enticing ability to make people fear me. To have control over every aspect of my life, to easily have the wisdom that others worked hard and long to gain. Perhaps I am simply the unlucky prey of the Dark side of the force.

Perhaps… but most likely not.

It could have been my heart, willingly overcome with greed and the hunger to make things the way I want them to be. My heart's intentions could have spread, extended to my feet, my hands, my mind, and my ears, therefore keeping my beloved wife's voice of reason from entering my psyche.

That is the most probable reason. Andit haunts me more than almost anything.

I… killed her. This was my doing. This is my fault. I did this to Padmé . I injured her, I hurt her, I broke her. I killed her.

Fear may have poisoned my mind. The frightening vision of my Padmé dying in childbirth - something I did to her. Maybe it became an obsession.. Saving her, doing whatever it took to keep her from meeting this fate, was all that I could think about. But could I have gone too far?

I did go too far. I let the aspect of living the perfect life overcome living a good, moral life. Of being a good man. A good Jedi. A good husband.

I killed her anyways.

I killed my wife in a raving mission to save her from what, in the end, would probably been one of the happiest moments of her life.

I stopped her from being a mother.

I killed her.

I couldn't hear her.

I didn't want to hear her.

So I stopped listening to her.

End

Disclaimer: The only things I own are a Big & Rich CD and a Tony Stewart t-shirt. Star Wars, unfortunately, is not in my collection of possessions.

AN: Hope you liked it. Please do review, because criticism makes me happy. Critics will receive a free smiley face!