I seem to be on a roll today! Ideas and inspiration are just everywhere today! Anyway, this story takes after my love of the supernatural and I decided why not try a ghost haunting type modern AU type story. So here is my take on that!

Happy reading!

-DFD

Chapter 1

He sat at the small coffee table where he had the small green and white army toys organized into two sides. Anakin sat on one side and smiled as he explained the rules to the army game he made up to Kitster. "So each turn when the screen is up, you pick five guys and place them in a line like this," he said, picking up five of his green figures and ordering them in a horizontal line in front of him. "When the screens down, the guy directly in front of it is their opponent and the strongest one wins. Got it?"

Kitster nodded, "sounds simple enough," he said, "what happens to the loser pieces?"

"Oh, that's easy the just-"

"Ani!" His head turned around and watched as his mother entered the room. She looked at him with a raised brow and asked, "Ani who are you talking to?"

Anakin looked back across the coffee table where Kitster sat, leaning back on his hands. "My friend Kitster," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing he could say.

His mother looked to where he said his friend was and gave a shrug, "Dinners almost ready. Go wash up while I set a place for your friend," she said with a smile.

"You don't have to," Anakin said as he stood up, "Kitster doesn't eat 'cause he's dead."

The sound of music jolted him from his dream. For a moment, Anakin was disoriented as his mind slowly roused from his dream. The clock on the nightstand read 6:30, which was when he normally got up to get ready for work. The door to the bathroom opened and out walked the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Wearing nothing but a towel wrapped snugly around her body, Anakin watched shamelessly as his wife dried her beautiful brown hair with a towel.

Her eyes met his and she smirked at him as she came to stand next to his side of the bed.

"Shouldn't you be getting up not?" She asked.

Anakin quickly wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her swiftly on top of him. She squealed and laughed at his playfulness. "How can I even think to leave this bed when there's an angel here?" He smiled as he leaned his head up and inhaled the scent of her shampoo as he pressed gentle kisses to her neck, nipping her in all the right places.

"Ani, stop," she whined.

"Oh, come on, Padme, you can be late once, can't you?"

She laughed and shook her head, pushing back on his chest lightly. "Not today. I have a budget meeting this morning."

Anakin groaned and let his head fall back to the pillow and closed his eyes again. He felt her finger trace along the side of his face, drawing lines from his brow to his cheek. "What did you dream about last night?" She asked.

He gave a shrug, "nothing," he said.

"It didn't sound like nothing," she said, "you said 'Kitster' a few times and you had a smile when I woke up."

He shrugged again, "Kitster was just a friend of mine when I was a kid. I haven't seen him in years." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. Padme seemed to realize this but let the subject drop for now and simply kissed him before getting off him to finish getting ready. By now the clock read 6:45 and he figured he had best get ready as well.

Anakin Skywalker was not an ordinary man. He was what some would call a sensitive. He had been plagued by dreams, visions, and spirits all his life and had suffered greatly for it as a child. Being different- the only one who could see things that weren't there- had made him an easy target as a child and made it nearly impossible for him to make friends with anyone other than the spirits who were drawn to him. And as he got older, the taunting got worse, and the bullying got physical. It didn't take long after that for him to learn that some things are better left unsaid.

Up until the day he proposed to Padme, he had cut out all but one spirit from his life- his grandfather. He never had the chance to meet the man while he lived, but he remembered him watching over him from as early as three years old. His grandfather claims he had been there from the moment he was born and Anakin never doubted that. But the moment he found Padme, he knew it was time to let his grandfather go. Anakin hasn't seen him since, and while he can still sense and see spirits, he doesn't allow them to interact with him.

Throwing on a pair of work jeans and an old white shirt, Anakin left the bedroom for the small kitchen area in the apartment where Padme was waiting for her coffee to brew while she spoke with a colleague on the phone. On the counter, a steaming cup of black coffee sat waiting for him. Taking a seat, he nursed his coffee not paying much mind to his wife's phone call. As much as he loved her, her job made little sense to him. Padme was the deputy mayor of their town and she was brilliant at it and well on her way to being mayor in the next election. Him on the other hand, owned a small mechanics shop and knew more about grease and engines than anything else and had thus resigned himself proudly to being her arm candy.

"Alright, Bail, I'll handle it, it's not a problem, really. There is nothing Mon can throw at me that I can't deflect. I'll see you soon, bye," Padme hung up her phone and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Mon Mothma on the prowl for a scandal?" He asked with a smirk. Mon was one of the most popular news reporters in the region renowned for her ability to twist the truth and her favorite targets were politicians. Padme had been at the center of one of her scandals once during the early days of their dating. Rumors that she was two-timing him with her infinitely more successful ex, the district attorney, Rush Clovis. The story had caused a rift between them for months before Padme put the woman in her place, publicly denying any interest in Clovis, and proclaiming her love for him on a live television interview, which bolstered her popularity greatly while also helping to mend the rift between them.

She shook her head as she poured her coffee, "Yes except this time she has her eye on Breha and the rumor she is barren."

Anakin raised a brow, "I thought she was," he said recalling the last time they had the Organas over and how they had asked Padme to be their surrogate. It was a surprise, and Padme had been flattered, but they hadn't even had a child of their own yet so the timing just wasn't right for them.

"She is," Padme started as she took the seat across from him, "but that doesn't mean she wants word to get out just yet. It's a very personal thing for a woman to come to terms with."

He nodded and downed the last drop of his coffee, "so you're putting yourself in the line of fire instead," he said with a smirk.

She couldn't help but to laugh, "in a matter of speaking," she said, "but what dirt do you think she could possibly have on me? We're as normal as normal comes."

Anakin shrugged, "maybe she had photos from the last fundraiser for that old school," he suggested. "After all, we were missing for about an hour," he said wagging his eyebrows at her suggestively. Padme's cheeks went red as she clearly remembered their quick romp in the custodian's closet.

"God, I hope not," she said. "If it is I promise that's the last time we do something like that."He simply shrugged casually, confident she could never keep her hands off him.

After they finished their coffee, they made their way out of their third-floor apartment and down to the street where her car was parked. Every morning Padme dropped him off at his shop on her way to work. As deputy mayor, she often stayed later than most to make sure all important matters were taken care of before she returned home. Often she left a few minutes before he would lock up so carpooling made more sense than him riding his motorcycle to work every day.

Padme slowed the car to a stop just in front of they blue and yellow neon sign that read "Skywalker Repairs" in front of the shop. Leaning across the center console they kissed before he climbed out to get to work. The shop was already open since his business partner Ben was more reliable with being punctual and handling the financial aspect of the shop.

Inside, Ben was already seated at the front counter typing information into the spreadsheets he loved so much. "Did you get the chance to look at my proposal?" Ben asked, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Anakin shook his head as he went into the back office to change into his coveralls. "Unfortunately no. Padme and I... got busy last night," he said with a smirk, watching as his partner cringed. Anakin never really understood that, it wasn't like he told the man that his wife is the most flexible woman he knows and that at one point during their romantic evening her legs had been wrapped tightly around his he had while her knees touched her chest...he shook his head, ridding himself of the exciting thoughts and instead turned his attention back to Ben. "Just summarize it for me," he said, grabbing a grease rag and stuffing it in his pocket.

Ben sighed and it looked for a moment he'd give one of his famous 'Ben Speeches' but fortunately, instead he complied. "My proposal was to buy out Watto's due mostly in part to the cheapskate's multiple payroll violations, the man can barely afford to stay open and since most of his clientele flock to us anyway. Opening up a second shop on the property will be expensive to start, but profits are expected to double if we are successful."

Anakin listened carefully and while it sounded promising, there was still much for him to worry about. Padme and he had started talking more seriously about trying to have a baby and he rightfully worried what such a financial risk could do if it failed. But at the same time, he trusted Ben's intellect, though it wouldn't hurt to get Padme's input when he got home. "I'll think about it," he said simply before going over to his cluttered desk that was littered with spare parts he was using to try and make a robot with.

As he worked, he felt the presence of two spirits who always seemed to linger around the shop. One was of his old mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn who had also been Ben's adoptive father; and the other was an older man who used to live on the property before it was converted into a garage. Neither spirit was malicious and both were well aware he knew they were there, but they rarely tried to interact with him anymore since he had made it quite clear years ago he wasn't interested in talking to them and to leave him alone.

By the time it was 9:00, Anakin was hunched over the open hood of an old truck when his young apprentice, Ashoka barreled into the shop sweating and panting as she caught her breath. "Sorry I'm late," she said, running into the back to change out of her baggy sweats into her coveralls. "I uh, I forgot to set my alarm this morning."

Anakin shook his head and tossed her a grease rag which she caught in the air and rushed to his side. "Take a look," He said stepping back so she could look down into the car. "His car has been stalling recently and has trouble getting it started. Ahsoka was quick to shine her flashlight inside and almost immediately pointed to the rusted alternator. "What makes you think it's that?" He asked. She was right that the alternator was the cause of the problems, but she was late and what better way to punish his young student than to question her on everything. It annoys her greatly but it also amuses him.

"The rust," She said simply, "The rust keeps the pieces from being able to move."

Anakin nodded his head, "And why is that bad?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "Because it stops the pieces from working properly. Because rust spreads. Because of a lot of things." Ahsoka let out a groan, "Please don't let this be one of those days, Sky Guy!"

He sighed, "Alright, fine," He said, watching as her shoulders relaxed. "You can help Ben with the spreadsheets instead." Without another word, he turned back to the car, ignoring Ahsoka's pleading for anything but desk work.

By 7:00, Anakin was alone in the shop cleaning up the garage floor which had several slick oil spots. Padme said she would probably leave by 7:30 and then after they had plans to go to Mos Eisley's Bar and drink until they could forget the problem that was Mon Mothma. Anakin had managed to watch part of the interview and was immensely proud of the way his wife managed to shut down the reporter's digging. He continued to clean and organized the tools in the two red tool chests. As he worked on the chest near the front of the shop, he felt the presence of the older man and rolled his eyes. A loud clank echoed in the room, but the sound did nothing to startle him. Looking towards the back of the shop, he saw a wrench was now lying in the center of the garage. Turning back to the chest he was working on, he decided to pick it up when he was finished. Moments later another clank echoed, this time he saw a screwdriver standing on its own by the handle right on top of the wrench. With a shake of his head, he ignored it once again. Recently, the spirits he was around often had started to act up more than usual. He didn't know why and just assumed they were lonely but he wasn't interested in talking with them. He was determined to keep his attention solely on the living. He had no interest in being labeled a freak again. Moments later, he was disturbed yet again as this time the entire chest toppled over spilling its contents on the floor.

Anakin slammed his tool chest shut and strode to the center of the garage, "What do you want from me?" He shouted, "Why can't you just move on?" Anakin paced the width of the garage, "Just leave me alone!" He shouted, gripping his hair in his hands.

"Ani?" He turned around sharply and saw Padme standing behind him, her eyes worried as she stared at the mess in the center of the garage. "Who are you talking to?" She asked.

Anakin shook his head, "Uh, no one… I just, uh… It's been a long day," He lied, trying to give her a convincing smile. He could tell she wasn't fully convinced but she said nothing and instead walked around him and bent over to right the toolbox.

"Let's get this place cleaned up then we'll go home, alright? You look like you could use an early rest."

He shook his head, "No, really, I'm fine, I promise." He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips kissing her knuckles, "Besides, you could use a drink after the day you had. My problems are nothing."

"Padme sighed, "I have a bottle of Moscato at home. We can go out another time," She argued.

He knew there was no point in arguing with her and simply nodded his head, bending over to help her pick up the tools. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the figure of Qui-Gon standing by his desk and for the first time in years, he heard the man speak to him, his words sounding like, "Beware of Sidious."