Second Chance

Warm, golden sunlight peered through a window and bathed Jordana's face, forcing her eyes to open. But they didn't stay open. She rolled over, savoring the feeling of the satin sheets shifting against her skin, and how her body melted into the soft mattress. Just then, her mind registered the sensations she was feeling, and she jolted upright. The bedroom was enormous with handcrafted wood paneling, golden chandeliers dangling from sky-high ceilings, sunlight pouring through glass doors that lead to a stone balcony. Her breath quivered with fear and wonder. She jumped down from the bed, dressed in her pans and black undershirt, and ventured out her bedroom door. The hallway lead to a large staircase, and the walk there seemed to take and eternity. Descending the stairs, she thought she heard Anakin talking and laughing with another man. She followed the sound of his voice to a study where Anakin sat talking with a man who was maybe around Tahira's age.
"Anakin?" she asked quietly.
"Well, look who finally woke up." he greeted cheerfully.
The ability to form a single coherent sentence completely escaped her."Who-what-where-" she began.
"Jordana, this is Dax Marlow."
Dax was a handsome man of medium height with chocolate hair and chiseled features.
"Um...hi?"
"I was just explaining to your friend here how I found you two. My hunting party and I were returning from our latest trip when we found you two sleeping under a tree. It took me a moment, but I soon recognized Anakin here, so I loaded you two into my vehicle." he began to chuckle, "Well, halfway back here, Anakin wakes up, and boy we thought he was going to kill us all."
Both him and Anakin continued shared an uproarious laugh, mimicking Anakin's facial expressions upon awakening in the back of Dax's vehicle. Jordana giggled nervously, not entirely sure if what she was witnessing was real or a dream.
"Jordana, Dax has agreed to help us." Anakin stated once they'd both calmed down.
"Help us?"
"I'll give you anything you want; homes, cars, jobs, money, booze, food, you name it you got it."
"While we're grateful for all of that," she sat down next to Anakin, "Why are you doing all of this? Why would you help us?"
"One has to wonder when they find the legendary Anakin Skywalker lying with a beautiful woman beneath a tree in the woods, and neither one of them look particularly well. Anakin told me everything, and I'm sympathetic to your situation."
"Jordana, the Temple never released a statement about us. Palpatine might when he's informed, but that's doubtful still. Either way, we're still in danger. If the Jedi find out we're still alive, we're screwed. Then everything Tahira risked will be in vain. Here, we'll be safe."
Jordana thought about it for a moment. He was right, there was really no where else for them to go without getting caught.
She turned to Dax, "So what is it exactly that you do?"
"I own several businesses, including restaurants, garages, and of course my night club."
"So your name is pretty much plastered all over this end of town?"
"No, everything has a different name. But the money all comes back to me. So what do you say, would you like a job?"
"As what?"
"Anything." He noticed that Jordana and Anakin glanced over at each other and he rose. "I'll give you two a little longer to talk about it." And he walked out of the study, leaving the two of them alone.
"So what are we going to do?" she asked.
"Well, what do you think?"
"I think we can trust him." she paused, "I guess I'm just nervous. I've never been anything but a Jedi, it's all I know how to be."
"Then we'll find something." he said, taking her hand in his. "This is our chance to start over."
Another chance to be with you. she thought.
"A second chance." she whispered
"Exactly! A fresh start, a clean slate, no rules and no Jedi Code, we can live as we please." he said enthusiastically.
His broad smile and boyish enthusiasm was contagious, and she soon found herself smiling and growing more excited than she was ten minutes ago.
"Let's go talk to him about a job then."