A/n-Happy Labor Day! So this was supposed to be updated last week.. but my little guy-aka- his name is Luke decided to be born August 29. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please read and review as always!

Chapter 51

Location: Senator Organa's Office, Senate Rotunda

Month 2 Day 22 Year 27

1400

She had returned to work and was scanning that document from her previous work. Her brain reeling with the connections between those kyber crystals and the possible project the Emperor had been working on since the year prior. She knows Rush had a connection to it, now she has to find the evidence to prove he had the specs and signed that document knowing of the intent of the Emperor. It would be a scandal larger than his attempt on her life, but if she can connect the murder of her daughter and this scandal he'd go to jail for sure. But if she did find specs, what would she do with them? The Rebels could always use these specs as a warning, but did she really want to get in bed with the Rebellion? She doesn't even have a Rebel contact as of now.

" Padme? Have you finished with Bill 2.34?" Bail questions, sending her whirling around in surprise.

She hands him the datapad and states, " Yes."

He takes the datapad from her and eyes her carefully, " And? Anything?"

" Yes, there's some key words discussing some ruins on Jedha that they're interested in. I think you shouldn't approve of the bill."

Bail eyes her in question. " Ruins? What does the Empire want with ruins on Jedha?"

Padme' shuts the door of her personal office and whispers, " Bail, I think the Empire wants to excavate the ancient Jedi mines."

Bail crosses his arms and his brown eyes are concerned. " And? What is in these mines?"

Padme' whispers eyeing the camera outside the room. " Kyber crystals. Those were used to power the Jedi's lightsabers at one time."

Bail's eyes narrow and he questions. " Padme', what else are you not saying?"

She accuses, " I think the Empire is building something destructive, unknownst to anyone in the Senate."

Bail eyes her carefully murmuring, " This is a dangerous accusation Padme', do you have other evidence?"

She gulps and states, " Yes, I found a document that a Senator signed off on a year ago to fund a special personal project of the Emperor. Bail- something isn't right."

Bail licks his lips with this knowledge. He needed to inform the rest of the Rebellion, but could not tell Padme about his association with them. It is bad enough that his own wife is aware of his association. The more people who knew of his connection to them, the more at risk his family and friends would be and he enjoyed Padme's company as a family member and a colleague.

He taps her desk and asks, " What Senator signed off on this document?"

She sighs and mutters, " My ex-husband."

His eyebrow lifts and he asks, " How did you see this document? Please tell me it was legally done and not by snooping around."

She crosses her arms and leans back in her chair. " It doesn't matter Bail, I have a copy of this file. I've been keeping tabs on Rush for a while and I have a friend who's helping me gather evidence against him."

Bail leans forward and scolds, " Padme' spying on a Senator is illegal. Besides, why would it matter now? The Senate investigated him and came up empty handed. Why take him down now?"

Padme' sighs and confesses, " I think Bail had something to do with my daughter's death. I found a receipt with the poison in my closet and this document was signed a few days before she died."

His eyes widened. His mind rolls with this information. Why would Rush kill his own flesh and blood to push a funding bill without any approval from the Senate? Rush threatened to kill his own wife, but why?

Padme answers him. " I think he was being blackmailed."

Bail tilts his head agreeing, " It is possible and Rush would never admit this publicly. But how does this connect to your daughter? I don't see how killing an unborn child is useful."

Padme's eyes downcast, trying to keep her one secret from others' knowledge. Only 3 other people in the galaxy whom she knew had known her daughter wasn't his. Bail touches her shoulder and suggests, " I want to help Padme', but I need to know all that you know."

She whispers, " If someone in the government knew that the child wasn't his, then Rush would have motive to make sure she or I didn't survive the birth."

Bail takes his hand off her shoulder, dismayed by her claim. Padme' never seemed to be the type of person who would be involved in such a scandal. She didn't seem like the type to cheat on her husband either. Bail asks, " Why would you cheat on your courtier at the time you were dating?"

Padme dismisses, " It wasn't like that- I- had a summer affair with someone. Rush offered marriage without knowing I was pregnant, but I confessed to him the truth. He accepted to still marry me. I thought he was a good man."

Bail sits down in the chair opposite of her. " Did the father know you were carrying his child?"

Padme' nods silently. Bail slides his hands down his face, trying to connect everything. He suggests, " If you continue this investigation and find enough evidence against Rush, you'll expose yourself publicly, do you understand that?"

Padme' eyes turn cold and focused. " I know he is responsible for my daughter's death. If that means causing a scandal for myself to bring her death to justice then I don't care."

Bail leans back and mutters, " And what of the father? Would you ruin his career as well?"

Padme mutters, " He wouldn't be exposed. I would never share who the father was."

Bail smiles at her confidence and gestures towards whomever this man is. He suggests, " You must love him, if you're choosing to protect him."

Padme's gaze flickers downward and she murmurs, " I care enough for him to know not to expose him as well."

He nods accepting this answer. He suggests, " You have a friend who is doing this investigating. Perhaps your 'friend' can investigate Rush's office. He will be offplanet towards the beginning of next week."

Padme narrows her eyes and asks, " And why would you know this?"

Bail confesses, " I have some friends of my own who would be interested in learning of this special project of the Emperor's."

Padme catches the meaning of " friends" and whispers, " Bail, be careful with those friends of yours."

He pats her hand and murmurs, " I am. I have been for a long time."

Padme's eyes widened with realization. She has her rebellion contact. Bail isn't confessing he was part of the Rebellion, but he had to be. It would make sense why he had so many trips to certain parts of the galaxy and why Dorme' seemed always short with info when asked about her husband's pleasure travels.

Padme surmises, " Dorme' knows this, doesn't she?"

Bail nods silently. The words don't need to be spoken. She sees the danger her cousin has put herself into, but she loves her husband very much. Padme' knew that's why she hadn't told anyone else. Padme takes Bail's hand and murmurs, " I'll contact my friend and see what she can do."

Location: Padme' Naberrie's Residence

2130

The exhaustion had overtaken Anakin as he had plopped down on his friend's soft bed. He hadn't even showered- not caring that he might smell. His eyes had stayed closed for hours and when Padme found him with her arrival at home, he had been snoring not so quietly.

He blinks back the dark shadows as the mattress sinks under someone else's weight. His eyes shift to the form of his best friend sinking into the mattress and turning herself towards him. Her hand reaches for his face, caressing his cheek. Her touch is soothing to his burning skin.

" Did you sleep well?" She quietly inquires.

His baby blues reflect the light from the hallway. He nods and whispers hoarsely, " Yes, I feel better."

She presses her lips to his and he kisses her back lightly. He pulls away and murmurs, " I'm sorry for being angry this morning. It's complicated at work and I'm trying to stay in the light, but the struggle every day is real.." He pauses trying to explain to her what he can without lying.

" Anakin, you are one of the strongest people I know. It is only human to feel both the dark and the light. I know you have always admired the Jedi from Clone Wars but their ideals are not realistic. If they truly understood the meaning of being human or an actual life form, they wouldn't have been wiped out by the Empire thirty years ago." Is her response.

His mind reaches through her words and her thoughts. She was right to some capacity. The Jedi Code was one that many Jedi had followed and some Jedi had broke. But his thoughts turn to his father and Obi-wan. They both had in some ways broke the Jedi code- fallen for women they cared about. One he was the offspring of, and the other probably someday would want children of his own. So why did he feel ashamed and angry for his behavior last night?

You gave into your desires and enjoyment of the bastard's death. The dragon inside his head says with calming fury.

Padme' notices a look of darkness across his features. She asks, " Did you have to kill someone?"

His eyes flicker to hers and there's a note of silence between them. The passing glance is enough for her to draw conclusions.

His eyes downcast and he whispers, " People die all the time under torture investigations. It isn't the guilt of knowing he deserved it- it was the fact.. I enjoyed the kill. I felt the darkness swirling around me and I relished in it."

He waits for her to recoil from his touch of hearing his confession. It felt good to get off his chest. He despised lying to her, but he expects her to recoil and tell him what a monster he has turned into.

But instead she kisses his cheek and murmurs, " You're a human being Anakin. You made a mistake. Next time, remember what that darkness felt like- and either choose to fight it or give in. It is your choice."

He tilts his head and says with a tone of shock. " Padme- that isn't like you to suggest such advice."

She bites her lip trying to keep from explaining the truth. She hated lying to Anakin, but explaining what her persona had done was nothing to the missions she'd be facing after talking to Bail. She had come to realize that the connection between her daughter's death and this project made for the Empire are connected to a larger picture and one she cannot run away from. It means putting her life on the line for something she didn't believe in- the rebellion. But she knows that finding the connection between Rush and evidence of this special project are important to the people in the galaxy including her family and the people she cares for. And she can finally make a difference in helping others that she loves.

She suggests, " I felt a bit of darkness of my own when I killed the bounty hunter after me. I know I was only defending myself, but perhaps there was a slight rush when I killed her. My point is you can choose to fight the darkness or cherish it. No one can choose that except you."

There was something he felt missing from her eyes as she explained her reasoning. But he didn't want to pry. He had learned from prying in her head that it never went his way.

He nods and responds by kissing her lips and suggests, " I could use a shower, do you want to join me?"

She nods, feeling the relief flood her body as the topic has been changed. He helps her up and lifts her in his arms. She yelps in surprise and he carries her to her shower.

To Be Continued.