Chapter 30

Location: Johto Hotel, Imperial Center

Month 9 Day 1 Year 28 BBY

Padme is perched on the simple bed of the hotel. She stares at the holoscreen without even watching the holonews. She has no idea how to feel at this moment. She had just injured her husband which is considered assault in the eyes of the law. But he had assaulted her and threatened her life. However, this situation is tricky as the courts can rule in favor of her husband. He has diplomatic immunity in most cases of law. That is one reason she has struggled with the idea of leaving him- there's also the case of her reputation. A scandal like this would surface if brought to court. Her eyes turn to the sounds of the panel whooshing open.

Her eyes meet those concerned blue orbs. He has brought a med kit to fix her up. He had been gone for a few minutes to search for the med kit in his speeder. He kneels down beside her and begins silently cleaning the cuts on her hands from falling into the glass. He tries to keep his fury at bay. He wants to murder that son of a bitch for what he's done to her.

His eyes peer up as she stares off into nothing beyond him. Her left side of her face is cut from a piece of sharp glass, bleeding down her face. The blood has dripped down her cheek and along the blue gown she had on. He cups her face to begin cleaning the cut on her cheek. She winces and closes her eyes from the disinfectant in the cloth he uses to clean her cuts with. He murmurs trying to keep his tone calm, " What happened? I need to know what happened."

Her eyes flicker to him then. She knows if she reveals the truth- then he'll want to kill the bastard for hurting her. Hell she wants to kill that bastard for many things herself. But staying alive has to be her first priority.

She murmurs, " Rush attacked me and threatened me."

Anakin dips the cloth back in the disinfectant and questions tightly, " Why did he attack you?"

This is where she either lied to him or told him the truth. If she tells him a lie then he might not kill him. But if she reveals that he's the reason for her looking like this- he'd kill him. But then again- if he knew of how many times he's injured her- he might just kill him for that. Either way her best friend would be court marshalled and thrown into jail for murder.

She murmurs, " He attacked me because he thought I was cheating on him."

There it was- half the truth. She had just left out the part where he is involved. That was an acceptable answer.

" Are you?" He questions with all professionalism. He has to ask these questions. He is a soldier and if citizens of the Empire are involved in any sort of domestic assault situation, then all aspects and evidence must be proven for both sides. In her case, having a Senator as a husband made the situation far worse-far worse for the simple fact his immunity in the courts could lead to a mistrial. He could even have her ordered back to him. Anakin had taken holos of the injuries when he had first arrived. He'd report the incidence in the morning with her by his side.

He had called Jinn and told him of the situation, so he knew why he wasn't on duty tonight.

Padme' murmurs softly, " No, I've been faithful to my husband, except for the kiss we shared. Though I'm pretty sure he's sleeping with his secretary and my handmaiden, Corde'."

" Bastard," Anakin says tightly. He begins cleaning the wound on her neck noting how close it had come to nicking her artery. She could have died tonight. He adds, " You did the right thing -P."

She nods solemnly. He questions, " How did he threaten you?"

She murmurs, " He threatened to kill me and told me to swear I wasn't sleeping with anyone else."

He glances at the nick across her neck. He brushes it lightly with the cloth and it feels cool on her aching skin. He questions, " How long has this been going on?"

She peers up at him and states, " Since summer- we went to this gala and that was the first time he lost control."

Anakin senses the rage coming from her. She isn't saying all that has been done to her. Perhaps he doesn't want to know. He already wants to beat the living shit out of the man for what he did tonight. His fist clenched as he asked, " Why have you stayed with him? You could have told me then."

She utters weakly, " He threatened to ruin my reputation. I wouldn't be able to seek shelter from friends or family if I had."

" And what is different now?"

Anakin senses her hesitation with leaving him. He waits for her to answer. Her silence makes him want to shake some sense into her. Did she know she can never go back to him now? He might succeed in killing her next time. " You can't go back to him now, this will get reported and you can get a restraining order against him."

Padme' nods and mutters, " I know that, but what will keep him from coming after me? If his well-being is threatened, he'll do whatever it takes to come after me. If I chose to go back to him, he might apologize- he might-"

Anakin stops her rambling and cups her cheeks in his hands. " P- There's no way in hell I'm letting you go back to him after calling me for help. If I have to carry your ass kicking and screaming to your parent's home to keep you safe I will."

She chuckles imagining him having him have her pick her up kicking her legs and arms in the air and over his shoulder. She has no doubt he would try this. She touches his hand and mutters, " I'm exhausted- I just want to sleep."

He nods and gestures at his bag. He floats it to the bed and unzips it. There's a few larger black t-shirts and pants in the bag. They are training clothes, but he won't need them for the night. She eyes the bag and he gestures for her to change in the refresher. He also mutters, " I can run downstairs to order some food if you're hungry too."

She acknowledges his respect for her privacy and she heads to the refresher to change. The door hisses shut and Anakin fumbles with the black bag as he tries to get out of his mind that she's getting naked in there- alone.

You'd think I'm a sexual psychopath. His eyes glance at the muted holonews. Nothing new is playing or exciting. He had only seen a few victories made by the Empire against the raging machine of the Rebellion. He yearns to be helping the Rebellion more than training in the Jedi arts, but Ben and Qui-gon assured him that his time would come. That he needs to establish himself as a reliable Imperial and then he can help the Rebellion slowly- patience is needed. Those were the words of his mentor and hero Jinn. He tries to follow them and not fall upon the darkside, but right now it is really difficult for him. He has all this power and he can't go force choke a man that deserves it. He can't take out his personal fury on a man who hurt someone he loves. He'd hold back for now.

Padme' enters from the refresher wearing his spare black training shirt and workout pants. The pants are baggy on her short legs. She's rolled them up a few inches around her ankles. The shirt is short sleeved and it is baggy as well, but to Anakin she's the most beautiful creature who's ever worn those clothes. His eyes peer up and down admiring her beauty. Her hair is down and locked in those sharp brown curls.

She wraps her arms around her, watching him. She perches herself onto the bed and her eyes stare blankly into the blankness of the holonet. He watches her. As an Inquisitor he had picked up on things when others hid information. He knows there's more to what Rush had done to her. Padme' would want to hide the worst parts of the truth from him and her family- mainly due to her protecting her loved ones, which could only mean one thing- he could be wrong but he had to know. He runs his hands through his hair and his voice is hard. " Has he raped you?"

The sudden question in the silence makes her jump. Her eyes turn to him, large orbs of chocolate staring back at him. She swallows hard trying to figure out what to say to him. He'd kill him if he knew the truth. He didn't need to be in prison for her- no one needed to do anything for her.

He can feel her anxiety through their bond. He can feel her fears of him going after that bastard in rage. He looks away from her, confirming his suspicions. He stands up and turns on her angry now. " P- you need to report it. That bastard needs to pay for his violence on you."

Padme's eyes downcast as she murmurs, " I can't Ani-"

He lets out a low growl in rage. He has to calm down. He doesn't want to frighten her. But she can feel his rage through their bond. She knows he won't hurt her but he'd hurt his future for her.

" You have too. If he gets away with this, then he'll just do it again!" His control snaps through his voice.

Her eyes flash to his and she retorts, " It isn't that easy, don't you think I know that? I know he'll find someone else to hurt, but I can't Anakin. I can't."

He narrows his gaze and then snaps, " It is the right thing to do! So do it, it's your duty!"

She stands then and snaps back in his face. " It is not my duty. It is not something I want to talk about with anyone! Do you want to hear about how he held me down? Do you want to hear how I tried not to cry as he beat me before he finished? Tell me what you want to hear!"

His eyes turned away from her then. Images flash in his mind of a night of a gala. He can see Rush pulling her hair and slapping her face. He can see-

His brain snaps back to reality and he suggests, " No, I don't want to hear all of that, but you should report it. Any evidence against him will help your case."

She sits back on the bed and mutters, " I know that, but if it was public knowledge that he raped me- I don't think I can handle the embarrassment and the shame."

His instincts kick in and he bends beside her. He grabs her hand lightly. She murmurs, " I'm sorry."

He murmurs, " You have nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I had known things were bad between the two of you."

She grimaces and mutters, " You do now and you're here for me as you've promised. That is what you promised me."

He eyes the chrono on the bedside table. It isn't very late, but he needs a hot shower and time alone to cool down so he doesn't go do something rash. He steps away from her and says, " I'm going to get a shower. If you want to go to sleep you can."

She bobs her head and turns her eyes back on the tv. She pulls her knees underneath her and lies down watching the holonews. Anakin finds her in the same position when he returns from the shower. He places the blanket on her. Her breathing is even as he watches her sleep.

He sighs and murmurs, " I will get justice for you P. That I promise you."

To Be Continued.