Laurence watched as Anakin and Padme laughed easily together a short distance away. The three of them, as well as Darra, had hiked towards the waterfalls a little ways from the house for a picnic. Somewhere along the line Anakin and Padme had separated from the group. Laurence felt a numbing pain as he recognized that only a few weeks ago, Padme wouldn't have left him for the world. Now everything was different.

A week ago Laurence had witness his "twin" steal Padme's first kiss, and now Anakin appeared to have laid full claim to her heart. Worse, Padme had given it to him. She hadn't surrendered it entirely of course, for every politician has to face the duties of their office first, but it was only a matter of time.

Strangely enough, Laurence felt oddly detached from the whole thing. The deep, wrenching pain was still there whenever he saw Anakin and Padme together, but it was almost as if he was breaking away from it. Laurence looked down and tore at a few strands of grass. The hurt at Padme's betrayal, however unintentional, would stay with him for a long time. Perhaps it would never fully go away. Perhaps -

"Coruscant to Laurence! Come in please!" Darra's teasing voice shattered his reverie.

Laurence looked up, slightly startled, and smiled in emberrassment. "Sorry, I was thinking about something."

Darra raised an eyebrow. "Really? I never would have guessed," she said with light sarcasm.

Laurence glanced towards Anakin and Padme a moment. "Do you think it's safe for us to talk without them hearing us?" he signed.

Darra rolled her eyes. "I doubt they'd even be listening right now." She sighed and cupped her chin in her hands. "They were just discussing one of Padme's old friends. One of those with, oh, you know, dark and dreamy eyes and beautiful - "

"Please, no need to go into detail," Laurence grimaced. "How you ladies can talk about that all day is beyond me."

Darra laughed, her short blond hair swinging in the breeze. She had changed over the years. Her honey blond hair had lightened considerably, and her manner was more serious. She looked so much like Siri Tachi now, though her unusual rust colored eyes still sparkled with her old humor.

"So where's Soarra?" Laurence asked after a silent moment. "I noticed she wasn't there when - "

"Soarra's dead," Darra said shortly, her eyes filling with tears. "She was killed during a mission a year ago."

Laurence sat back, stunned by the news. "I'm so sorry, Darra," he finally said.

"I'm fine," Darra brushed the moisture from her eyes. "Jedi aren't supposed to dwell on the past."

Laurence's face hardened at the old lecture. "Jedi are human too, Darra. You can't just bottle it inside." His voice was soft. "I know how much she meant to you."

Darra put her head in her hands as a sharp sob escaped. Laurence was at her side in an instant, pulled her close as she cried her heart out.

"I miss her so much," Darra choked out.

"I know," Laurence said as he rocked her gently. "I know."

...

Padme glanced over towards the other two, and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Darra in Laurence's arms. A strange feeling of jealosy took over her and she started to stand up.

"Leave them," Anakin said quickly as he put a hand on her arm.

Padme stared at him in frustration, but from the look on his face she realized he must be sensing something she had missed.

"She lost her master a year ago," Anakin explained. "She's never said anything about it though. I've been worried for her."

Padme felt compassion wash over her as she watched the girl cry. Turning her gaze away so as not to let the two know she had been watching, she began picking up the empty dishes and leftover food.

"Laurence has always been there when someone was hurting," Padme said thoughtfully. "I've always considered that to be was one of his greatest strengths. He was always around when I needed him."

"He's a good person," Anakin agreed. His words seemed weighted though, as though he were asking her something.

Padme was confused. Could it be that Anakin was afraid of her feelings for Laurence? Were his fears justified? She had always cared so much about Laurence - even to the point that she felt she could have loved him were it not for her position as Naboo's ruler. But now... now her heart was torn between two people.

Laurence was quiet and held back, his long-suffering patience broken only by random spurts of insanity when he dashed through the hallways or drove his speeder fast enough to have Padme lecture him about Naboo traffic laws. Anakin on the other hand was daring and adventerous, never fearing to speak his mind or bend the rules when it suited his purposes.

Both young men had that fiercely devoted gaze when they looked at her. They both had that same cheeky grin and the ability to make Padme laugh, and they each had those crystal blue eyes that reflected their innermost feelings.

Comparing both of them, Padme couldn't choose. Laurence was calm, but Anakin had passion. Anakin was outgoing, but Laurence knew when to hold back. Laurence had that quiet strength of one who knew how to fight in the shadows, but Anakin had the proud bearing of a Jedi. Laurence had that silent and devoted gaze which spoke volumes, while Anakin told her openly of his feelings for her.

Then Padme realized that either way it didn't matter. She was a senator. Marriage had no place in the life of a diplomat. Ordering her heart to stop playing games with her mind, she tried to ignore the peristant feelings.

...

Half an hour later.

Laurence burst out laughing as he watched Anakin try and balance on one of the giant flea-like mammals found in Naboo's pastures. His mind whirling, he wondered how difficult it would be to drag Anakin into a competition for the "best flea rider."

"Don't." Darra narrowed her eyes in warning as she guessed his thoughts. "If both of you fall off and gets hurt I won't be the one left behind to drag you to a medic."

Laurence chuckled and grabbed another cookie, engulfing half of it in one large bite.

As if on cue to Darra's words, Anakin suddenly lost his balance, spilling to the ground and rolling as the creature trod over him.

Darra and Laurence scrambled to their feet while Padme ran over in horror.

"Ani," she cried out as she rolled him over.

To Laurence's annoyance Anakin burst into infectious giggles, his laughter ringing across the meadow. Padme lightly punched him for causing her such worry, and the two wrestled their way down the hillside.

Laurence's jaw clenched as he watched them, knowing that Padme's heart was slipping further away from him. What else could he do though? How could he tell her that her beloved Ani wasn't the Jedi she thought him to be?

Laurence looked down. He couldn't. He had to face the possibility that he had lost Padme forever.

"Hey, you okay?" Darra asked softly.

Laurence sat down again, trying to block out the sound of Anakin and Padme laughing together below. "I'm fine," he said stiffly.

Darra's eyes were compassionate as she sat down next to him. "No you're not." She gave him a brief hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "Looks like I'm not the only one who needs to stop bottling things inside."

Laurence's mouth twisted in a half smile as he sat in silence. A cool breeze picked up, playing with his hair and causing the sun beams to dance across the lake surface. For some odd reason, in that brief instant everything seemed right with the world.

...

Anakin grinned as he told Padme of his many adventures. For the first time since they had arrived on Naboo, he and the senator were alone. Laurence and Darra had disapeared somewhere, no doubt investigating the house a little ways from Padme's that had been broken into earlier. For the entire morning, Anakin had Padme all to himself.

"...And when I got there, we went into.. agressive negotiations," Anakin explained, turning to thank one of the servants as she brought a plate of fruit over.

"Aggresive negotiations? What's that?" Padme asked.

"Ah, well, negotiations with a lightsaber," Anakin explained, earning a laugh from Padme as she realized the obviousness of the statment.

Padme raised her fork and knife to cut the pear on her plate. Anakin quickly reached out a hand, bringing the pear to his own plate by use of the force. Padme smiled affectionately, watching as he sliced the fruit for her.

Anakin grinned. "If Obi-wan were to catch me doing this he'd be very grumpy," he joked. Raising his hand again, he guided the pear slice to land precisely on the end of Padme's fork.

At that moment Laurence and Darra crashed into the room, both falling as Laurence tripped and accidently knocked Darra's legs out from under her. They burst out laughing at their clumsiness, and Laurence courteously helped Darra to her feet.

"Are you all right?" Padme asked in concern.

"We're fine," Darra reassured her as she took a seat at the table.

"So what happened with the robbery?" Anakin asked, slightly miffed that his time with Padme had been interrupted.

"Oh, it was nothing," Darra shrugged. "Somebody's cat got into the pantry and created a fuss. We spent the last two hours trying to catch the furry menace."

Padme put her fork down, shock mingling with amusement on her features. "Do you mean to tell me that you left Anakin all alone to protect me just so you could go chase some idiotic cat?"

Darra and Laurence exchanged a sheepish glance. "It was a really big pantry," Laurence signed.

Darra grinned. "Yes, and Laurence managed to dump an entire bag of flour over himself."

"I thought you looked kind of funny wearing a white tunic," Anakin mentioned with dry amusement.

Laurence rolled his eyes. "Very funny. And that was no ordinary cat."

"No, we're just really stupid Jedi... that is - I am. You're just a pathetic excuse for a security guard." Darra flushed slightly at her near mistake. Anakin gave her a strange look but Padme didn't appear to have noticed. Darra quickly took a large bite of fruit while Laurence left to get changed, both managing to effectively drop the topic of conversation.

...

Laurence leaned back against the wall as he listened to Anakin and Padme. The hurt inside him had died down to a dull ache as resignation began to fill its place. It didn't hold back his jelousy though as Anakin spoke the words his own heart sang to his angel every day.

Laurence's mouth went dry though as he heard something he had never expected.

"From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you."

Laurence pressed against the wall, his breath coming faster. The imposter had met her before? But how?

Anakin sighed. "And now that I'm with you again, I'm in agony."

Laurence felt a cold fist clench around his heart. Suddenly something inside of him snapped. His eyes darkened and he clenched a fist. He didn't care how Padme felt about his lying! He was going to go right in there and tell her -

"Laurence!" Darra suddenly appeared in front of him, pulling him away from the door and bringing him back to himself. "What are you doing?"

He started to speak, but found his words disapearing into the mist as his gaze met her concerned, rust colored eyes.

Laurence realized what he had almost done. In his fury at the imposter, he had almost blown his cover and worse, damaged Padme forever. Her hurt and betrayal would have been devastating. She likely would never have recovered if he had told her the truth at that moment.

"My heart is beating, hoping that kiss will not become a scar."

Laurence felt Anakin's words pass by him like a dream. All of a sudden life was out of focus. He felt like he was looking into the wrong end of a pair of binoculars.

He didn't care about the imposter. He didn't know why he had been concerned in the first place.

All he could see were those sparkling rust colored eyes.

Suddenly Laurence knew why he had left the temple.

...

Darra stood still, wondering what was coming over her. She couldn't break away from his gaze. Suddenly his blue eyes captivated her, losing her in their fathomless depths.

"Laurence?" she said softly, her breath coming in short gasps.

His eyes questioned, reminding her of how much they reflected his every hope, love, and fear.

"Don't ever talk to me like that," she finally whispered as she heard Anakin continue in the other room.

Laurence didn't have to say anything. He tilted Darra's chin up and gently kissed her. A thousand words were wrapped in that one small gesture.

Darra felt her face grown hot and her heart began to pound. "We can't just do this," she said a moment later, her nerves still vibrating from the touch of his lips. "We can't lie to everyone."

"What would you tell the council?" Anakin asked softly, his eyes serious. "You can't just leave the Jedi order. Not for my sake." At her questioning glance, he shook his head. "Don't ask me to go back there, Darra. That life is behind me now."

Darra stepped back, her mind racing. She had known it all along. Ever since that fateful day on Korriban when Anakin had saved her life, she had known. "I don't care what they say." Her heart was made up. "I've always loved you, Anakin," she hestitated, allowing it to sink in. "But I never realized it until the day I met Laurence."

His heart overwhelmed him at her words. She didn't care about him because he was a Jedi of days long past. She loved him for himself.

"I'll tell the council I'm getting married to you," Darra promised, determination written across her features. "If they tell me to leave, then I will." Her face softened. "I won't lose you again."

His heart singing, Laurence swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply. "No more lies," he promised when he let her go. "If I have to keep my secret identity, then I must. But I will not allow anything further will come between us. I promise."

"But what about the senator?" Darra asked, her voice carrying a sharp edge.

Laurence listened to the conversation in the back room. "I think she'll be well taken care of."

Darra blinked, hope filling her eyes. "You don't care?"

Laurence grinned and tucked a strand of hair behind Darra's ear. "Who were we even talking about?" he pretended to forget.

Yes, his angel would always have a special place in his heart. But now he realized that by following her, he had almost missed someone that was even more important to him.

His Darra.

...

Ha! Total whammie! I think I can positively say that not too many people expected that. I tried to hint at it throughout the chapters, but I can tell it wasn't too obvious, (which I had hoped for).

This fic was designed to A). follow the movie, and B). satisfy both Darra/Anakin and Padme/Anakin fans (like myself). I hope you all like the sudden twist in the plot. :)

Sorry to all those who had hoped for a Padme/Laurence fic. I promise you, Anakin is not going to be an idiot. He's a little behind maturity wise (like the movie), but he's not going to be stupid. At all. (He will even have a little help along the way to make him a better Jedi.)

Also, Laurence hasn't just "abandoned" Padme like she seemed to do with him. They've both seperated onto their own different paths. It evolved over time (note the chapters with Darra), but it took a sudden realization for everything to break free.

Review and tell me what you think!