Author's Notes: Thank you for all the continued reviews. I appreciate it. I'm glad you find it interesting, MissNaye. Gizzi2113, I'm thrilled you enjoy it. There's a lot more coming, I'm very into character analysis and development so I hope I don't fail in that respect. FYI, Padme and Vader never met before the Empire took over. The compassion Vader remembered occurred earlier. naberrie, I think you won't have to wait too long. JediMan, I don't think we'll have to worry about me going 24 chapters, but it certainly has happened to me before. I think my longest was at the 40s. I was exhausted, I don't think I have the patience to try that again. Thanks darthchunky and everyone else who left comments. I appreciate it immensely.

Chapter 3

A couple of days after the incident with the Jedi, she saw Lord Vader less until one night, he ventured into her room and sat quietly down on a nearby chair, his dark armor and cloak almost shielding him from the darkness, but Padme knew better. She's lived with him long enough to know, he's always watching.

Against her own better judgment, she attempts to make conversation, perhaps then she'll learn more about what makes this masked lord tick.

"Why did you let him live?" Padme asked. It was the most obvious question that's swirled her active mind.

Like often times before, he gave no answer.

The former senator was about to try again when she finally noticed his uneven breathing. Blinking the darkness away, she focused on the figure in front of her further and realized that he was clutching onto the side of his abdomen very tightly.

The compassionate side of Padme Amidala released itself in spite of the situation and the company she was in.

"What's wrong?' She stepped out of bed and slowly approached his still figure, dimming the light on before she reached him. It felt odd for her to look down on him when often; he would tower over her.

Hisbreathing started to get worse.

Hesitantly, she touches the arm wrapped around his midsection. He flinches and she takes it back, but not until feeling the wetness the contact she made around her fingertips. She looked closely and realized what it was.

Blood.

"Oh no, you're bleeding," she kneeled before him as his condition looked to get worse. "What happened?"

Vader continued to remain unresponsive, and it was beginning to worry her. During her captivity in his hands, she forced herself not to even entertain the idea that he might have had a lot to do with how she's been treated, but now, she couldn't ignore it.

Whether she liked it or not, she's alive and well because of him.

"Mas… master was… wasn't pleased," he uttered in between breaths, and she could tell he was about to lose consciousness.

"You need a doctor."

Vader stubbornly shakes his head.

"If we don't get you professional help, you will surely die."

"It's nothing I haven't done before," he said, surprising her once more. There was a sense of sarcasm in his words that caught her off guard. It was at that moment that it also occurred to her that in her blood soaked hand; there was truly a living being beneath the horrible mask and armor.

"You're having trouble breathing; I can't help you with all these things in the way."

He raised his mechanical hand and placed it on top of hers, preventing her from removing the mask. "Don't," he pressed softly.

Padme Amidala doesn't like being told what to do, especially during a life and death situation. Quickly, she felt something like a lock behind his helmet and pressed it without another further debate. A hissing sound was released and she could feel air pressure come out from the edges.

It was obvious that Vader was too weak to stop her so she continued. Every gut told her to stop, but the humanitarian in her couldn't allow, not even a monster such as Vader to die in her hands.

She mentally prepared herself for what was to come as she slowly she lifted the black mask from his face.

What she saw shocked her beyond belief.

For a long moment, she couldn't look away.

"By the force, you can't be much older than I am," she said aloud. His short dirty blond hair and clear skin left her temporarily speechless. His eyes lids fell shut before she could look into them. The human image of him leaves her incredibly torn and confused.

How can someone who seemed so young be so cruel?

To kill and never asks why?

All in the name of Palpatine.

Why?

She didn't know how she did it, but she managed to guide a weakening Vader to the bed, laying him down on his back as he continued to grip his sides tightly. Sweat beaded down his forehead, eyes still shut.

It surprised her that he hasn't screamed yet. Even the strongest of beings were known to scream in painful agony.

To her own shock and dismay, she found herself offering comfort. "It's going to be okay," she said soothingly as he began to shake.

Padme took a deep breath and continued to remove the rest of his armor. One after another, she was left in continued surprise by the discovery that he was entirely human. There was nothing machine about him.

Why would he encase himself in something this horrendous?

Then it occurred to her the power the mere image of this suit conveyed to the public. As a politician, she knew the power of public image. She nearly cursed herself for notthinking of the possibility before.

Cleaning his wounds the best she could, she spoke to him as calmly as possible in his now sleeping state.

"I have every reason to let you die," she whispered softly, dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth. "But I am not you."

His eyes shut tighter, as if he was having a nightmare. Or maybe he heard her and he was just reacting. She didn't know for sure.

Everything's changed now.

She knew the face behind the mask, and if Palpatine and Vader went to so much length to hide the man inside, she could only imagine what they would do to her if he finds out. Or worse, Vader tells him.

Only time will tell.

Her life was truly in someone else's hands.

Vader awoke and felt the breath of fresh air fill his nostrils. He opened his eyes, the color of blue and red battled for supremacy when the light of the Coruscant day penetrated the darkness, blinding him almost. He grudgingly sat up, the pain from his sides felt almost unbearable.

One hand brushed through his hair and he felt exposed.

Where was his mask?

He looked down and saw himself undressed from his black armor, and a short wave of panic settled inside him. He barely remembered what happened the previous night and now he found himself mentally trying to piece everything together. He glanced to the window and barely recalled the last time he had allowed himself to see sunlight.

Almost immediately, the door to the room hissed open, and by reflex, he jumped half-naked out of bed, the dressing on his wound showing red, an indication that it needed to be changed. Even while facing her, he averted eye contact with the woman who shared his dark name.

"Where are my things?" he asked in a low voice that took her off guard, just as the night before had when she first witnessed his face.

Padme's mind went off on a tangent before answering. His voice was unlike what she had gotten used to.

"I set it aside, in the refresher. It's stained by all the blood." She paused, unable to fully straighten her thoughts. "How do you feel?" She tried not to look at him, but he looked so… human.

Not at all like the monster she's lived with all these months.

Finally, his eyes reached her.

If Padme had been shocked before, she was even more shocked now. His eyes… they were… red. Dark almost reddish red that made him almost inhuman.

"So you're Lord Vader."

"What happened?" he demanded.

She held her tongue from pointing out the obvious.

"You were hurt and I helped you."

"You shouldn't have."

"Would you have rather I let you bleed to death?" she returned with heavy sarcasm.

"For your sake, it would've been the wisest," he said and then demanded something else. "Leave me," he said in a tone that Padme herself has used during political meetings and public occasions.

She left the room without argument. At the moment, she didn't know quite what to make of the man that she's always assumed was just a machine. While he looked stoic and calm most of the time, he was unpredictable and short-tempered, a quality he had suppressed in her presence much to her surprise.

For the night, she slept on the couch. They had both left each other alone throughout the day. Then thedoor to the bedroom suddenly hissed open, and there he was again, without his mask and suit, Lord Vader.

He approached her slowly, and for a brief moment she felt compelled to run away, but then common sense pervaded. Where would she run to?

The refresher?

That wouldn't have helped her cause.

He stopped in front of the couch before slowly descending to take a seat next to her. A shiver ran down her spine due to the uncertainty of what was going to happen next. His eyes were filled with a dangerous red, she had no idea such eyes existed.

"Thank you," he said.

The past couple of nights have surely been full of surprises.

"I didn't do it for you," she replied a bit too bitterly. She mentally reprimanded herself for going off so quickly.

"I wouldn't dare presume you would."

Padme narrowed her eyebrows, trying to figure the man out but she was always left unsuccessful. Their conversations were little, barely uttering more than a few words, and now here he was, openly talking to her. It took her off balance.

Another shiver ran down her and she began to quiver nervously.

"Is there something you want?" she managed to ask, now avoiding eye contact.

"I will never harm you," he expressed much to Padme's shocked face. He continued. "Or force myself on you in any way. You have my word."

She laughed humorously at the declaration. What kind of game was he playing with her?

"I find that difficult to believe," she responded skeptically yet a part of her believed him. If he wanted to her hurt, surely, he would have done so already. "All you need is your master's order, and I'll be dead."

"That's true."

She swallowed hard at the simplicity of his answer.

Vader continued. "But if you were ever harmed in any way, it wouldn't be by my hands."

She relaxed, but only slightly. Vader didn't seem the type of mach… man to lie. As the right hand of the Emperor, she could imagine that any lying that was ever done was through Palpatine and no one else. He was just a follower, just like the thousands of storm troopers under his command.

"You would defy your own master?" she asked, finally facing him.

To her disappointment, he did not answer. Instead, he rose and the dressing she placed on him the previous night was now a deep burgeoning red. Regardless of the disgust and hatred she had for the man before her and everything he represented, she was still worried for his physical well-being.

She got up and held out her hand to stop him.

"Wait."

He turned to her, and for the first time, they stood in front of one another without masks or pretension. He was a man, and she was a woman. They stood there briefly before Vader broke eye contact.

"It'll heal. It always does," he said softly before heading back to the bedroom.

Padme didn't bother to turn around, she was still troubled by the moment they unexpectedly shared.

Before disappearing into the room, Vader spoke one last time.

"Goodnight, Senator."

She was left alone once again, her thoughts the only company. She's married to a man she couldn't describe. His voice, while normally static and forward, was replaced with a sadness she's never heard before. It amazed her to note the difference between the monster who wore that awful suit, to the man that stood before her and said good night.

If she continued to walk this path, there will certainly be no chance for her to go back.

Maybe that was a risk worth taking.

To be continued…