Chapter 2: The Day from Hell

The members of the Jedi Council had been patiently waiting for Anakin to arrive, and were thus surprised to see Padmé striding into the chambers uninvited and wearing a brown tunic. An awkward silence ensued that was only broken when Mace Windu cleared his throat. "Is something wrong?" he asked, obviously thinking that a sudden crisis had caused her intrusion.

It was then that Padmé became aware of the fact that everyone was staring at her, but years of such reactions caused her to merely shrug and proceed to the only empty seat- obviously Anakin's.

Well, if she was going to take her husband's place, she was going to have his attitude to go along with it.

After scuffing her way to the seat, Padmé was about to sit down when a contained voice asked, "And what do you think you are doing, Lady Skywalker?"

Padmé was mentally laughing at the scene she knew that was being made, but she kept a solemnly straight face. "My husband decided to not come to the Temple today, so I am here in his stead."

"Have the maturity to be a Master, he does not," Yoda said darkly, everyone nodding in agreement.

"I quite agree with you," Padmé said.

"What has he done this time?" Obi-Wan groaned, for he was quite familiar with his former padawan's antics.

"Since my job is so easy, he is going to do it for me."

Laughter rung through the chamber.

"Funny to see, that would be," Yoda chortled. "Complicated for him, we should make this."

This time, Padmé allowed a smile.

Everything was going according to her plan.

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Same Time, Padmé's Senatorial Suite, the Kitchen (Still)

"Come on, let go of my hair," Anakin moaned as Leia insisted upon trying to rip his blond locks out. He was afraid of hurting her little hands, but nothing he could do loosened her grip.

Luke was still crying.

Then Leia started crying and stuck her hands in her mouth, much to Anakin's relief.

That is, until her sobs turned to a tantrum and she held her breath so long that her face went blue. She eventually ran out of air and, with a loud gasp, shrieked shrilly.

"Master Sywalker?" a female voice asked.

Groaning, Anakin turned around to find one of Padmé's handmaidens (which one?) watching him quizzically with a big smirk on her face. "What?" he snapped as he struggled to remove Luke from his highchair, partially due to the fact that Leia was now pinching his face.

"You need to get ready- you are late for your meeting with Senator Organa."

The Jedi muttered a string of oaths that made the twins suck in their breaths and then wail even louder.

"Cancel it!" Anakin hollered over the noise.

"What?"

"Cancel the whole darn thing- I can't go and watch over the twins." By then, the meeting sounded much more appealing than babysitting, and Anakin was inclined to com Obi-Wan and make him watch the twins.

Padmé would never let me hear the end of that he thought grimly, changing his mind.

"You can't cancel- they are signing the final paperwork for a new piece of legislation," the woman protested, inordinately sassy to her mistress' husband.

Anakin sighed worriedly and regarded the young woman. "Could you watch over the twins for me?" he asked slowly, not positive that this was a good decision- after all, the young woman was close friends with his wife and would certainly tell Padmé of his weakness.

"But of course," she smiled, but Anakin saw a malicious purpose beneath it. She took the twins from his arms who both immediately stopped crying.

I swear Padmé put the twins up to that he gaped at the sudden reversal of their behavior, becoming even more agitated as his children grinned at him.

"Come on," the handmaiden ordered, "we have to get you ready."

"But I am ready," Anakin protested, gesturing at his Jedi accoutrement.

"You can't wear that!" the handmaiden gasped in an appalled sort of way. "Don't worry- we'll take good care of you."
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Coming Next: Anakin survives the horrors of his 'makeover' and Padmé goes undercover to make his life even more miserable.