First of all, I'm sorry for the huge gap between updates. As a fan fiction reader, I always hated it when authors did that! I have much more sympathy now, as I'm attempting my first lengthy work. I'm sorry and I hope you all won't hate me. All I have to offer is the old excuse: real life got busy and fan fiction went on the back burner. I'm hoping to get back on track now! Much love and many thanks to those reviewers who encouraged me to post during my hiatus. Choc me1, hbarienr, and sodorland - you guys are the best. :) And thanks also to everyone who has put this story on alert! Leave me a review?

Oh, and a heads up... In this chapter, stuff goes DOWN. So buckle up...

CHAPTER TEN

Padme stopped suddenly in the corridor outside Senator Organa's office, sighing in exasperation. She could never seem to leave the office without leaving at least one vital item behind. She had barely been out of the office for a minute, and she was forced to return. She spun on her heel, shifting her load of data pads to one arm so she could enter the security key. The doors slid open and she hurried in, her eyes scanning her desk for the missing items.

She had just snatched up her forgotten bag and turned back to the door, when she suddenly realized that something was terribly wrong. Instead of finding Bail seated quietly at his desk, preparing for the next day's meetings, she found a violent tableau frozen before her eyes. Three black-clad men, masked and armed - and humanoid as far as she could tell - surrounded her mentor and employer. One had twisted his arms behind his back, and another was pointing a wicked looking blaster rifle at his head. The third had his weapon trained on Padme's head. All four of the men were staring at her. Bail looked horrified at her reappearance, and the masked figures seemed a little panicky by the introduction of a wrench into their plans.

Padme's fingers tightened around the handle of her bag and she was just beginning to wonder if she should chance making a run for it when one of the masked figures spoke.

"You," said the one with his gun pointed at her. "Drop the junk. And put your hands above your head. Now."

Padme realized too late that her only chance of escape had been the milliseconds when she first entered the room. Now she was trapped. She glanced at Bail and mentally corrected herself. They were both trapped. She let her armload of objects slide from her arms onto her desk and she raised her hands.

As their attackers bound first Bail and then Padme to their chairs, keeping at least one blaster barrel trained on them at all times, Padme's mind raced as she tried to unravel who might be responsible for this. Political enemies… personal enemies… Bail had made a few of both during his life. But this - she couldn't understand or explain it. She studied Bail's face at they both had silencing circuits strapped to their throats. He looked fearful, but not surprised. If anything he wore the expression of a man whose long-awaited doom had finally fallen upon him. Padme didn't know of any activities on his part that would bring on such repercussions, so she gravitated to the only logical conclusion. Bail was involved in something that she knew nothing about. Padme closed her eyes for a moment, trying to find the steady center of calm that she had retreated to in some of the darkest days of the occupation of Naboo. She quieted her mind, mentally slipping away from the chaos and fear that threatened to choke her. She heard their captors withdraw to a far corner of the large office and whisper urgently amongst themselves. She tuned out the whispers - she couldn't make them out anyway - and calmly forced herself to think. There must be some way out of this. Unbidden, an image of Lord Vader appeared in her mind's eye. His smile… she opened her eyes and the image vanished. She felt a distant stab of fear as she held onto her calm with a deathgrip. There must be a way out of this.

There had to be.

Lord Vader was attempting to read an interrogation report for the third time when he finally gave up. He was much too exhausted. Passing a gloved hand over his eyes, he sighed and cleared the offending data pad from his line of sight with a slight nudge of the Force. He stared at the chrono on his desk, trying to decide whether it was too late to think up an excuse to pass by Senator Organa's office and accidentally meet Padme on her way out. He felt hope springing up inside his chest, much to his irritation. Another glance at his chrono, however, and he was all but sure that she would have left by now. He sighed again, more forcefully this time and stood. He needed meditation time. And possibly some sleep. He grimaced involuntarily and tried not to think about the fact that he would most likely be facing insomnia and nightmares. Like he almost always did.

He switched off his desk consoles and swept all the day's clutter of flimsiplast and data pads to one side of the desk, leaving the interrogation report on top. He would return to it in the morning. He was moving for the door, eager as always to leave the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Senate and simultaneously fighting the irrational urge to pass by Organa's office on his way to the landing pads, when he felt it. A tiny disturbance in the Force. It was almost like a barely-perceived voice whispering softly at him to wait. He obeyed, having learned many times over that ignoring the Force never ended well. It was almost nothing - just the tiniest tug. He ought to ignore it and return to his abode for some much needed rest. But he suddenly felt that he must not ignore this. He quieted his mind and waded into the currents of the Force, searching for the source of this tiny ripple.

He drifted and searched. His brows contracted and he waited.

Padme's eyes flew open. An answer had occurred to her - an odd answer and one that she was not at all certain would work.

Her eyes found the three men talking and gesturing tensely. She could sense that whatever the source of their indecision, it would not last much longer.

"You mean that you can communicate with Palpatine's mind? That's… scary."

"You have no idea."

"How exactly does it work?"

"A little like a commlink, I suppose, although that's a crude way of describing it. It only works between Force Sensitives in theory… but I personally believe that a strong attachment between a Force User and a non-Force User could make it possible for them to communicate in that way. Not that I've ever tried it."

"Hm. So they'd have to be… kindred spirits?"

"Something like that."

Vader's words echoed distantly in her mind. She glanced again at their captors, feeling the time slipping away with ever increasing rapidity. There was nothing for it.

She shut her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. Anakin! she pushed her thoughts out with every scrap of mental energy she possessed. She wasn't sure what it meant to yell mentally, but she couldn't think of any other ways to describe it. Anakin - help!

Padme felt like an idiot for even attempting something that was most likely impossible. But helplessness was capable of inspiring great perseverance, she found. After encountering nothing but silence in response to her mental cries, Padme tried a different strategy. She conjured up every memory of Vader that she could, trying to see him in her mind, to visualize him and what he was like… and to imagine him hearing her. Only then did she throw out her mental pleas once again.

The ripples had become more pronounced. He could almost make them out…

Anakin! The voice exploded inside his thoughts, shocking him. At first he wondered why that name would enter his mind, then he realized that it wasn't his own mind that he was hearing. Anakin - help! He recognized her. Not her voice, for there was no sound of course, but her. She was all there - her essence. He knew that for the first time, he was in contact with the mind of Padme Naberrie. He latched on to the connection like a drowning man clinging to a lifeline. As he drew nearer to her mental presence, he was able to distinguish a few more thoughts and emotions. She was still in Organa's office - and she was afraid.

Tightening his grip on their sudden connection, he rushed from the room, his face grim and his hand firmly settled on his lightsaber. He would find out precisely what was going on. And then someone was going to pay.

Suddenly, he was there. It was as though a door had been thrown open and he came rushing in. It was like he was in the room - his presence was definitely there. It was just a more concentrated form. She had reached him! She felt him understand her and through the sudden link, she knew that he was coming.

She could have laughed in relief, but the silence of the room suddenly intruded upon her senses. She opened her eyes, all the while maintained her feeble grip on the connection with Vader. The masked men were staring at her, and she swallowed hard. Her stomach twisted painfully and she screamed mentally for Vader to hurry!

She saw death in their eyes.

Pounding through the hallways at Force-enhanced speed, Vader cleared himself a path with rough Force shoves when necessary. Several unfortunate janitors had already been unceremoniously pushed into walls, but Vader thought nothing of it. A moment ago he had felt Padme's situation - whatever it was - change. She was in mortal danger. He was sure of it.

He raced forward, focusing his mind on her presence. It was growing nearer by the moment, and her feelings were becoming clearer with the closer proximity. Vader's face grew darker and he used his anger to draw the Dark Side of the Force around himself like a hurricane. He couldn't wait to unleash this impending storm on whatever fools had caused Padme - his Padme - to be so afraid.

He finally reached the corridor that led to Organa's office, and with a final burst of speed, he found himself at the doors.

"Wrong place, wrong time, sweetheart." The tallest of the three figures dragged Padme, chair and all, over to a corner. The other two weren't looking at her. Bail's eyes had gone wide with horror and his face was deathly pale. Padme could only imagine what her own expression looked like.

She threw all her energy into chanting hurry, hurry, hurry in her mind. The masked man raised his weapon and aimed between her eyes. She felt a scream building in her throat and the silencing circuit began to burn her and constrict the muscles. She was going to die and she couldn't even scream. She felt Vader's presence still, and it calmed her somehow. At least she wouldn't die alone. She had always known that she would die all alone, ever since her family's death, but now, just as he had so many times before, Vader surprised her. She could feel his desperation to get to her. She would be safe if he was here… Her eyes came back to the blaster barrel that was just inches from her face. But he would be too late. Still, she was grateful that he was with her in some way. She shut her eyes and tried to send him one last thought.

It's alright, Anakin. Thank you… for everything.

She almost didn't form the next thought, but at the point of death, what did it matter? For the first time in a very long while, Padme allowed herself to be entirely honest with herself - and with him.

I love you.

She waited for the shot.

She imagined that she heard the trigger squeak slightly as it was pulled, but no shot ever came. A sudden, thunderously loud crash shattered her thoughts and filled the room with smoke. The blaster disappeared in the sudden fog and Padme struggled to see as wracking coughs seized her throat. The silencing circuit was hurting her again and causing her throat to convulse even further.

The fog swirled around her and frightening sounds issued from within the cloud. Unintelligible shouting was followed by several bursts of blaster fire which cut blood red trails through the smoke. Suddenly the shouting was replaced by an unpleasant gurgling. Padme peered through the haze and tried desperately to make out something - anything. She struggled against the silencing circuit for breath and succumbed to coughing again.

Another round of blaster fire started up and a strange burst of blue energy exploded in the dusty cloud. The firing stopped.

A beam of red light about a meter long suddenly appeared, humming loudly as it moved methodically across the room. Suddenly, Padme's jarred mind understood.

A muffled shriek came from across the room, until it was abruptly silenced by a vicious sideways swipe of the beam. Padme was finding it harder and harder to draw breath between the swirling dust and the convulsing effect of the silencing circuit. The room had fallen silent aside from her rasping cough.

Just as she began to feel lightheaded from the lack of oxygen, he appeared at her side.

"Padme," he breathed, searching her for any sign of injury. He plucked the silencing circuit from her throat, and made short work of her bonds with his lightsaber. In one motion, he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the hallway.

Padme rubbed her throat and concentrated on breathing in and out steadily. She was also trying to resist the oncoming effects of going into shock. She felt very shaky and was glad when Lord Vader left a supportive arm around her when he set her on her feet. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to stand otherwise.

"You," she rasped out after a few shaky breaths, "You heard me."

"I did." He smiled at her, still examining her, watching for any sign of injury or weakness. Satisfied, he continued. "I heard everything."

She blushed at this, her last thought returning to her with painful clarity. She cleared her throat, avoiding his probing gaze. "Padme-"

Suddenly a horrible thought struck her, and she interrupted him. "Bail!" she shouted frantically. "Is he alright?"

Vader paused, his eyes returning to the smoky doorway, which, Padme now noticed, appeared to have been half sliced and half pushed with brute force. A smoking, sparking tangle of wires hung out of the wall. That must have been the source of the explosion. Padme shook off her distraction, forcing her rattled brain to focus. "Is he-"

"I forgot about him," Vader began. "I'll get him."

He disappeared into the dense cloud and returned a few moments later with a barely conscious Bail slung over one shoulder. He settled his package on the corridor floor and Padme removed the silencing circuit as quickly and gently as she could. She crouched beside him, quietly fretting and wishing he would wake up.

"Padme, who were those-"

"We need a medical droid," she said suddenly, deciding as she spoke.

He studied her in silence, but reached for his commlink. A few minutes later a medical droid trundled into view with a team of Senate medics in tow. After a preliminary scan, the droid issued a positive prognosis, but directed the medics to transport the unconscious senator to the Senate infirmary for monitoring. The droid turned to examine Padme next, but she waved it off. It accompanied the medical procession around Bail.

After Bail had been taken away by medics with a gurney, Padme finally allowed herself to relax. But only a little. Vader was still there, studying her with his unswervingly intense gaze.

"No, I have no idea who they were," she said, answering his thoughts.

She wandered back into the office, staring blankly at the debris. Vader followed her. "You shouldn't work for Organa any longer."

"Why?" she asked wearily.

"Because he is obviously involved in something that's worth a kidnapping… maybe even an assassination."

"Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind."

"I'm quite serious… you could have been killed today."

"So what?" she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Vader asked sharply, startling her out of her haze she had fallen into. She blinked at him and lowered her eyes when she saw fury building in his eyes.

"I didn't mean that. I just-" she struggled for clarity, for focus, and failed. Her shaking was intensifying and she realized that she might need a medic herself. "Maybe I'm having a reaction - going into shock-" she dropped her forehead into her palms and turned away from the smoky office to focus on breathing the clean air of the hall. Adrenaline was still coursing through her veins and her heart hadn't slowed down. She felt increasingly dizzy and swayed a little. Vader was at her side in an instant. He was already reaching for his commlink, but Padme shook her head.

"Wait. I think… just give me a minute. I don't want to go to a hospital if I don't have to." Vader looked as though he might argue, but his hand drifted back to his side. He was studying her face intensely, and Padme's nausea increased. She groaned lightly, rubbing her temples and dragging in breath after breath. She felt Vader's hands on her wrists.

He gently lowered her hands and then lifted his to rest on each side of her head. "Let me try something," he said by way of explanation. Padme stared, but nodded. Vader's eyes slipped shut and she recognized his vacant expression; he was immersing himself in the Force. The air around her tingled like it always did when he was drawing on the reservoir of power available to him. So far, the sensation was familiar. But then, a change. The energy focused itself and Padme felt it swirl around her, into her, warm and soothing. This was different from the energy that normally surrounded Vader - this felt… good. The energy loosened every tensed muscle, soothed every aching bruise, and banished every trace of the fear and pain she had been feeling in her body and in her mind. She sighed in contentment.

And then, suddenly, the feeling faded. Reality rushed back in, and the chill of the air along with the aches from a dozen scrapes and bruises. But the edge was gone and the pain was dull and magnificently far away. Vader's hands fell back to his sides.

"Wow," said Padme after a moment. "That's quite a trick. I didn't know that the Force could be used that way." She flexed her arms experimentally and rubbed at her throat. She felt almost normal again. "You should have been a medic. Thank you." She smiled at him and he shrugged.

"I haven't used the Force in that way for a very long time. I thought my days of healing were over." He suddenly smiled mischievously at her. "I came out of retirement just for you…"

She laughed. "Thank you." Her smile faded when her eyes fell again on the gaping hole in the wall. Smoke was streaming into the hallway and she thought she could hear the approach of security droids, fire droids and who knew what else. It sounded like a small droid army. Vader heard them too.

He took her hand wordlessly and led her out of the ruined corridor and back to his office. After seeing that she was settled into a chair, he assumed a position at the window-wall and studied the traffic patterns for a few moments. Padme stared at his back, somehow aware that he was building up to something. Gathering his wits before launching an assault.

"Padme," he began quietly. He turned around, hands clasped behind his back, and regarded her for a moment. "We need to talk about what you said to me."

"What-"

"I think you know what I mean. Right before I made it into the room, your thoughts…"

"Oh." Padme swallowed.

So much for your last thoughts never coming back to bite you.

They had a lot to talk about.