A/N: Please feel free to leave even the briefest of comments, they're all appreciated. And enjoy!

Ch. 4

He groaned, every muscle felt tight, his head was pounding. And why the fuck was it so bright in here? He opened his eyes just to quickly close them again, stumbling to his feet. He felt his way around, his vision a little blurry as he ran into the doorframe, stubbing his toe.

"Son of a… When did that get there?" he muttered, rubbing his foot on the back of his other leg. Stretching his arms up and wandering down the hall, he yawned. "The next time I think it's a good idea to have like five Manhattans and however many shots you gave me, just shoot me instead, okay Ahsoka? It would be a faster death. And I had the weirdest fucking dreams."

A giggle. Was the response he got. That didn't sound like…

"Well, I'm not Ahsoka, but I'd be happy to tell you next time just how bad of an idea it is."

He rubbed his eyes with his fists. Clearly, he was still dreaming. He opened his eyes again, blinking a few times. When his vision finally came into focus, instead of Ahsoka, it was Padmé. Right there. Sitting at the counter, popping grapes into her mouth one by one.

"You… How? Wh—" He stammered, turning in circles, looking around. "When— Where…"

"Hey! Calm down, will you? You're at my house," she said, setting her tablet aside. She strolled over to him, grabbing his hands. The room was definitely spinning, whether it was reality breaking or just a hangover – it didn't matter.

"Shit…" he sat on the bar stool she led him to, putting his face in his hands. What did he do? What had he done? How did he end up here? He felt cool air on his legs suddenly and glanced down to see he was only in his boxers. He slipped his elbows off the counter, letting his head fall. It hit the countertop with a small thud, amplifying the pounding in his ears. "I didn't—Did we…" he said, muffled underneath the counter.

"Oh, God no. No, we did not. You just insisted you couldn't sleep if you were wearing pants and… you were really hard to persuade otherwise," Padmé said with another giggle.

"I'm so sorry…" he groaned. He was doing fantastic with this woman, truly, his best work – first, they did what they did in that bathroom, then he ran into her at that bar, and now… he had done God knows what to end up at her apartment, mostly naked, but definitely not because they hooked up (again).

He felt a hand on his back, rubbing in small circles, "Are you okay? Do you… remember… getting here at all? Or… anything else?"

'No' was the real answer, the last thing he really remembered for certain was standing with her on the street arguing about… Oh fuck.

Was that a dream? Or…not? If it was a dream and he said it out loud, that could be really, really bad. But if it wasn't a dream and he didn't say it out loud that could also be really, really bad. Either way – he was screwed, and not in the good way. The last thing he remembered, for sure, was her palm over his lips, her yelling at him to shut up because she was… pregnant. You have like ten seconds to get it together, man.

"Uh…I don't know if what I remember is a memory or a dream…" he stuttered at last, afraid to lift his head.

"Well, if you tell me, I can let you know… Because I was there. And unlike you, not drunk," she said.

Her not being drunk was not comforting, to be honest. Because it amplified the likelihood that what he thought was a dream – wasn't. He didn't know whether to regret every decision of his entire life that led him here, or to thank the stars because he had found her after all. But a baby? What the hell was he gonna do with a baby?! Well, what would they do with a baby because if that wasn't a dream, he was in it for the long haul with this woman. No doubt about it. Especially after seeing how hard it was for his mom, as a single parent trying to raise him without a father. He would do everything he could to be the best one possible. And he did want kids. One day. That day was just coming sooner than he thought. He should really figure out something to say…

"Are you pregnant?" Oh, well that's not exactly what he was going to say but it was out there now. Smooth move, Skywalker. He slowly lifted his head to see her standing beside him, her long curls tied up atop her head, chewing her lip thoughtfully.

She wondered how long it was possible for one person to sleep. She'd laid there for hours before finally deciding she could get out of his grasp and at least attempt to start her day. That was hours ago. And he still didn't get up. Then she heard him stirring. A lot of mumbling she couldn't really hear, and a few thuds before she knew the footsteps coming down the hall were his.

'Five Manhattans and who knows how many shots' – the night suddenly was making a lot more sense. His head bounced off the counter, none too gracefully, when he gave up on staying upright over wondering if they'd slept together. Curled up in the warmth of him last night, she did think about it, but not for more than a second, and definitely not since he was that wasted. One drunk night was enough for her. For the rest of her life as far as she was concerned. No matter how good she remembered it being. She thought he was going to run away when she blurted out the news to him with no restraint but all it did was inspire him to want to be with her more. This morning, though, things seemed a little different. For the both of them.

"Are you pregnant?" his words snapped her back to attention, followed by his bright blue eyes that had suddenly lifted to seek out hers.

"Y—yeah, yes. That's not… If that's what you dreamed, it wasn't. A dream." she stammered. This time he didn't look away, but she wished he did because it would've given her an excuse to do the same.

"And… And it's m—"

"Yes, it's yours. Now we're… caught up. Again." She didn't want to repeat that any more than necessary. She felt like she'd been hit by a bus already.

He nodded, finally looking away and sweeping his gaze around her apartment. What was he doing? He wasn't going to react to the news? Even if it was the second time he'd heard it…?

"Anakin? Do you… have any thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Because I have quite a few, of each," Padmé said, nudging his face back toward her.

"What are they?" He ran a hand through his tousled curls, yawning and wiping his face again. How the hell was he being so calm right now? She'd been the one sitting with the news for nearly a month, and she was still the only one freaking out. He'd said that nonsense last night about it being wonderful but now he was stone-cold sober and still seemingly unbothered.

Her eyes went a little wider, "Did you actually hear what I just said? You—I'm having a baby. That's yours. You aren't… upset at all?"

"No… Should I be upset? I… guess I don't know how we're going to make it all work, but… We don't have other options, do we? So… we'll do whatever we have to. Whatever you need. I want to be there."

He was using 'we' an awful lot now… "Well, I don't have many other options, no. But… you do. I told you last night, maybe you don't remember, but I don't expect you to want this. With me, or otherwise. You can go on your merry way if you want, no hard feelings."

He scrunched his eyebrows together, "Padmé, I'm not walking away from you and my baby. Are you crazy?"

"Our," she corrected.

"What?"

"You said 'your baby' – I'm the one actually having the baby, so… ours. If… that's what 'we're' going to do."

"Fine. Ours. I'm not walking away from you or our baby, better?" he huffed out the response, sounding a little annoyed.

The semantics of the words were probably not important right now, but she was a lawyer so…

"Yes. It is. Now, back to my other point from last night, we don't know each other. And you seem pretty certain that we're going to figure all of this out, so I'd like to know how exactly? I don't even know… anything. I don't even know how old you are."

"I'm 24," he said, confidently. "Why? How old are you?"

Padmé groaned internally. He's twenty-four? Are you kidding me? Really explains his confidence in everything working out with little to no effort. "I'm… almost 29."

He perked up, forcing her to resist rolling her eyes. "See?" He reached out, grabbing her by the hips. She let out a small squeak as he pulled her to him.

"See what?" She knitted her eyebrows together, putting her hands on his wrists.

"We're already figuring things out!" He smiled, brightly.

She couldn't help but shake her head at him. She had already assumed he had to be young last night from his stories, looking at him, and from the context of how much he'd drank. There were about three million other things to 'figure out' but the twinkle in his eyes almost made her believe they would or could. Almost.

She cupped his face in her hands, directing his attention to her so she could look him in his eyes, "I want you to really be sure about what you're saying, and that it's not your hangover, or your…hormones…talking. You're so young, you're only—"

He wrapped his larger, rougher hands around her arms near his cheeks, "Would you stop trying to talk me out of it? I know what I'm saying. I—I didn't have a dad. And I always thought about being one myself, so… here I am. I want this, or I want to at least try."

"Here you are… Okay, Anakin. We'll…try to 'figure it out,' as you keep saying." His face lit up and she wasn't able to hold back her own smile this time before she very hesitantly leaned in and kissed his cheek. He had a hell of a lot more confidence than she did about it, but one of them ought to.

She pulled away from him after a moment and resumed eating from her fruit bowl, "If you want to fix breakfast, you can since you just got up, but it's also after 3 in the afternoon…"

"Well, I am starving, and I'm also a little cold…" He ran his hands up and down his arms.

"Your clothes are in the bedroom, I folded them in the chair," she grinned. "And I don't know if you'll like anything I have so we can go out somewhere if you want," she called out as he made his way back down the hall.

"Why wouldn't I like any of the food you have?" He yelled back, putting his jeans back on and buttoning his shirt. "Hey, I didn't see another bedroom, where did you sleep last night?"

He really didn't remember much. "In there with you, again you… were hard to persuade otherwise. Sort of wrapped me up and wouldn't let go," she chuckled, "And – because you don't really strike me as a vegan…"

"To a diner we go!" He announced, storming into the living room, shoes in hand. "And again, I am so sorry I was apparently a giant idiot last night."

She shook her head, sliding on sneakers and grabbing her keys, "It's fine, really. It was… sort of cute. And I know the perfect place—no they don't only serve vegan foods." She pointed at him with his mouth open, ready to retort.

"So, what do you do for fun when you're not working those insane hours, other than hook-up at weddings?" he grinned, and she threw a couple fries at his face.

"First, I do not hook-up, at weddings or otherwise, except… with you. But, I read, mostly. Watch really bad reality tv. Spend time with my family when I can." She threw another fry as he was reaching for them, "I could ask you the exact same question, you know. Except I think yours I'd have to extend to exclude anything involving copious amounts of alcohol," she tilted her head, taking another bite of her black bean tacos.

"Hmm… If you take those things out, the only thing I've done for fun recently was visit as many coffee shops and restaurants humanly possible trying to find someone who wouldn't give me her name… Not that you'd know anything about that."

She rolled her eyes. He was pretty charming. Part of her couldn't understand why he'd been looking so hard for her, surely he had a list of women…she probably didn't even want to know how long. Looking for him. Satine had said he wasn't seeing anyone, but that was almost a month ago. He's young, handsome, a Cornell graduate, with a good job as an engineer…

"Why me, Anakin?" She cut in, interrupting his story about some luncheon disaster with a client.

He took a drink, looking at her puzzled, "'Why you' what?"

"Why were you looking for me? Because I didn't tell you my name? Like a kind of game? Because… I mean, look at you, how do you not already have someone? Or do you?" She stared at him, avoiding her at first before he snapped his attention right at her. His jaw tightened, she must've struck a nerve.

"You're not very easy to get along with, you know that? You make a lot of accusations. Guess I know why now. You must make a hell of a lawyer," he scoffed, turning his attention back to his burger. "Besides, look at you."

"What's that supposed to mean? I don't have to be easy to get along with. And avoiding a question is a really good way to convince me alright," she leaned back, folding her arms.

"Are you really unaware of how beautiful and accomplished you are? I don't believe that after listening to you talk about how smart you are." He tapped his fingers against the tabletop, "And it's not a game, Padmé. I wanted to talk to you the moment I saw you. At the wedding. I spent the whole night coming up with ways and the confidence to walk over to your table, but you waved me over instead before I got the chance. There's…nobody else. I wouldn't be here if there was someone else!"

She was taken aback by his original compliment, but this wasn't the time to get swept away. That's how she got to this place to begin with. "None of this is telling me why. Why didn't you just come over if you wanted to so badly? I was sitting there alone most of the time."

"Because…Obi-Wan told me not to…do anything foolish…at his reception," his words got quieter as he spoke until she could hardly hear him.

She tried to hold back a laugh because of the dejected look on his face after saying it, "Are you serious? Why would he do that?"

"Very… would not have told you that otherwise. And why? Isn't that obvious?"

She took a sip of her lemonade, "Do you not see the irony in that?"

He looked at her with his eyes narrowed, "What irony? That I didn't talk to you because I wasn't supposed to cause trouble but instead, we had sex in the bathroom, and now have caused the most trouble? Yeah, Padmé, I get it."

She huffed out a laugh, putting her face in her hands. After a moment, he reached across the table for her hand.

"God, what have we done?" she cautiously laid her hand in his.

"I don't know what your problem is, you're not the one that's gonna get the lecture of a lifetime if he ever finds out," he ran his thumb across her knuckles as she twined their fingers together. Every time he touched her, something about it felt electric. She didn't know yet if she liked that or not. She was in total control before and now… You're still in control! At least that's what she was telling herself.

"This is kind of my fault then, especially if you weren't even going to come talk to me. But you do realize they're going to find out, at least about this," she motioned around the table with her free hand, "And I don't think they're going to believe a timeline that's like two and a half months behind what it should be."

What were they going to tell their friends? It was kind of a funny story, in hindsight. To them. She's pretty sure Sabé and Rabé would find it hilarious once they got over whatever initial shock there was. Whether the shock came from the actual sex, or the aftereffects was a coin toss. And they were all grown, consenting, adults, anyway. But there was this looming 'best friend/big brother' situation that didn't really involve her, but she knew it somehow would in the end.

"Can't we just…say we're dating and go from there?"

She raised her eyebrows, "Is that what we're doing?"

"Well… we are on a date, sort of, right?" Anakin said, looking around.

She shook her head, "You're nothing if not persistent, aren't you?"

"Nope!" He said, shoving the last of his burger in his mouth, "But I think you kind of like it."

Padmé felt the heat rising to her cheeks as he grinned at her with a waggle of his brows, "How can you be so sure?"

"You haven't run away, and you didn't kick me out, so I'd say those are good signs?" He shrugged.

"I think those are pretty low bars for 'liking someone' but maybe I'm just a traditionalist," she said, pulling her hand away as he brought it to his lips to kiss. He frowned at her and she relented with a playful grin in return.

"Ah, yeah, such a traditionalist that you're a single, ivy league educated, woman who lives alone, is a corporate attorney, and is y'know…"

"Pregnant out of wedlock?" She cocked an eyebrow, and he hid the smirk she knew was behind his hand. "And I'm also the one paying because you lost your wallet – in case you forgot that, too. So, guess you're right. I must like you a little bit."

"I lost my—" he frantically lifted from his seat patting all of his pockets in a frenzy, making her laugh before sliding out of the booth.

"You're a disaster, Anakin Skywalker," she held his chin, turning his face toward her. "You left it at LPR, probably when you were too busy chasing me. But come on, my friend Rabé has it. And you can tell me more about your mom and growing up on the way."

She reached for his hand, and he quickly pulled her into his chest as he stood, kissing her softly. She let out an "mmph" at the contact before laying her hand against his chest and kissing him back, slower. He leaned away from her after they broke apart, smiling smugly.

"But I'm your disaster now."

2 Weeks Later:

"I can't believe you're seriously talking about forever with this woman, you don't know her!" Obi-Wan yelled, to Anakin's disgust.

"I don—Why are you acting like she's a total stranger?! 'This woman's' name is Padmé!" He yelled back. He didn't have time for Obi-Wan admonishing. He told Padmé this was going to be a bad idea, no matter when it happened. Which is why he wanted to wait as long as possible. "You know her! You like her!"

"But I'm not the one talking about nuptials! That's ludicrous!" He huffed, pacing around the office.

"Neither am I! I said, 'We might one day' not 'I think we should tomorrow,' you have to blow everything out of proportion," he groaned, throwing the stress ball at the floor hard making Obi-Wan jump.

He sighed, taking a seat, "Anakin. Listen, I do. I do like Padmé, you're right. But I just think you… You've only been seeing each other for a few days! And… Well, the two of you… are very…"

"What Obi-Wan? Spit it out, whatever reason it is you think I'm not good enough for her," he spat.

Padmé made him swear they weren't going to say anything about the baby until her next appointment, which wasn't for another week and a half. And he was supposed to be playing it casual, but when he accidentally let it slip that he had plans with her and didn't want to grab pizza with his friends… Well, the bombardment of questions hadn't stopped. Ahsoka said exactly what Padmé said she would – that she knew that night by the bar when they went home together and then she'd been nothing but supportive. Same with the rest of his friends, and all of Padmé's that he knew of. He just was running smack into the brick wall named Kenobi. And it was really hard to explain why he was thinking of their future without mentioning the one thing he couldn't.

"Anakin, she's very… different from you. Older, very… reserved, settled. And I just feel like you don't know her very well! I'm worried you'll be hurt when she's no longer on the same page as you."

In the back of his mind, he knew her age was going to have something to do with it. But Obi-Wan was acting like he was some sort of child instead of a grown man. He didn't even think his mom was going to give him this much shit as he was. 'A few days' was also ridiculous, but he didn't want to touch that one.

"You're not my dad, you do know that right? While you're always lecturing me, like I'm stupid and can't make decisions. Or the right decisions. Because they're not the ones you'd make," he rolled his eyes, spinning his chair away from the older man. "And I take it back, you don't know Padmé if you think she's really gonna do that to me."

"I see you're proving me wrong by taking the mature approach?" Obi-Wan quipped. "You need to seriously consider what Padmé will want one day, and what you'll be ready to give when she does, that's all I'll say."

"Get out of my office, whatever you need me to do just tell Ahsoka and I'll get it done. I'm not talking to you about my relationship anymore," he ran a hand through his hair.

This day was awful, and he wasn't even going to see her tonight since she had that dinner with her family. She was still concerned someone was going to notice so she'd gone through what felt like a hundred outfits last weekend with him, making him swear he didn't see a thing. And he really didn't, not yet at least.

"Alright, Anakin, thank you for handling this like the adults we are," Obi-Wan said in a huff as he slammed the door on his exit. Anakin wasn't the only one acting like a child, not that he was to begin with, but if he had been…then his friend was too.

The weekend couldn't get here soon enough. He already had his presentation for next week done to discuss the new bridge work, so he could have 48 hours with her. Just the two of them. His new favorite way to spend even an hour of his time. Her work schedule was even crazier than she had said, but luckily, he had enough of flexibility with the consulting firm to make it work.

She was still really hesitant about their 'dating', so they started back at step one, despite everything else. He was just going with the flow, whatever pace she wanted to set things at. She was a surprisingly good cook, though it took more than a little effort on her part to convince him her rice and lentils or tofu were better than a giant steak, but he was trying just the same to spend meals with her. Most of the time, they just talked, all hours of the night. If they weren't together, then on FaceTime. He hadn't scared her away talking about his shitty childhood, despite the almost perfect one she'd had. Actually, she'd taken nearly everything he said in strides, the good, bad and ugly. And despite all his flaws, the only thing he'd found wrong with her is that she had taken to forcing him to watch The Bachelor. He asked what he'd ever done to deserve such a punishment, and when she referenced her midsection, they decided on a truce.

Sitting there in his office fighting with Obi-Wan though, he couldn't wait to find out who didn't get a rose this week.

"What's up with you, Skyguy?" Ahsoka said, sliding onto the bench next to him, bagel in hand. "Bagel?"

He took it from her, biting into it. "Just Obi-Wan pissing me off over this whole thing with Padmé. Telling me I don't know what I'm doing, implying that I'm too young for her…" he huffed. "Or worst of all, that I'm just something 'fun' she's doing for now until she changes her mind."

She nudged him in the shoulder, "Yeah but what does he know? Look at how long it took him to even ask Satine to marry him."

"True… I mean, weren't they already together for years when we met him?" He chuckled, nudging Ahsoka in return.

"Something like that. Satine is some sort of saint for even sticking around. But—point is, he doesn't know anything about doing things another way. The man has only been with Satine," she said, exaggerating her words.

He turned his head, shocked, "Are you—How do you… You know what, I don't even want to think about it." He shook his head, Ahsoka laughing. "And I know you're right, I just want him to not treat me like 'the kid' sometimes. He doesn't do that to you!"

"Yeah, but, c'mon. Look at me," she motioned to herself, a cocky grin on her face.

"Whatever, Snips."

"I'm just saying, ignore him. A little. If he makes a really good point," she shrugged, "Otherwise, no one knows what's going on between the two of you better than the two of you."

"I just…want this to work so badly, and all his doubts and comments are driving me crazy… That's all. I just wish he'd lay off."

"Padmé's the girl you were chasing all over town, isn't she?"

Fuck. This day really only got better and better. "Ahsoka, I should really be getting back to work…" he stood, starting to step away when she grabbed his arm.

"You don't have to tell me, but not telling me sort of is, in a way," she cocked her head to the side when he turned his attention back to her. "Sabé and I figured it out already."

"Figured what out, exactly? When did you and Sabé talk? Or become… friends?"

"Oh, you're the only one that can hit it off with a woman you don't know, now? I stayed out with her and Rabé after the two of you…snuck away. Now we talk all the time. Also, horrible way to not make people suspicious. Sharing a cab? What is this – a rom-com?" She stood to walk with him.

He elbowed her in the arm, "I didn't say that. And shut up about the taxi, already. Now, how did Sabé know? Did Padmé say something after the wedding?"

She snickered, "Awful curious about what your girlfriend thinks, aren't you? Whipped after… a few weeks?"

He groaned, making her snickering continue. "You're not gonna tell me, are you?"

"Nope. By the way – thanks for clearing that up for us. We were trying to figure out when and where exactly the two of you met. My money was on the wedding already, though."

Padmé was gonna kill him. He'd never make it to meet his child because she would actually murder him. And then probably lawyer her way out of the charges too. All she told him to do was to shut up and not say anything about how they met. To follow her lead. And now, he'd fucked it up, all over again.

"You cannot tell Sabé I just said that! If she tells Padmé…"

She laughed, hitting the button for the elevator, "Fine, your horribly kept secret is safe with me. Nooooo problemmmmm."

He shot her a wry smile, "Thanks Ahsoka, you're a real saint."