Thanks to Ansketil for doing the BETA part!

Chapter 8

He lay awake in his bed afterwards. Next to him was the sleeping form of young Senator Mon Mothma cuddling in his sheets, her body pressed against his. Since his mind was stronger than that of the Senator, he had become conscious of what had happened almost immediately after the evening's activities.

Even worse than realizing what they just had done was the fact that he indeed had liked and enjoyed it. He had not been kissed that passionately for long years; he had not experienced a night so intense for decades. They had acted like any other loving couple despite the fact that they were not a couple or even friends.

He stared at the ceiling, closed his eyes, opened them again, and sighed. Their situation was now even worse than before. Having slept together again meant that something in their brains was not working the right way. As if there had been a change in their mental programming after the ball.

There are actually a few possibilities that have caused this fatal situation:

A drug.

A mental one.

A drug that burns the partner's scent into the other one's brain…to make…

Well, I suppose I do know who'd give it to us…!

They'd just accidentally been given a dose to high. They wanted us to talk without arguing and instead they made us fall for each other. And if I'm informed correctly this is not…

It is not…

It'll stay.

Forever.

I'll find her attractive, sexual attractive, for the rest of my life. The same will be true for her.

We can't do anything about it!

Another sigh left his lips. Mothma's body was warm, her skin so soft. It felt too good for him to even dare fleeing from her arms. Sidious was offended by Palpatine's lack of rebellion when faced with the prospect of upcoming feelings for an individual that would very soon stand in their way, was doing so right now in fact. While Palpatine fell exhausted into a light sleep, Sidious was making plans how to get rid of the female in the morning without hurting her feelings too much. Tonight, Palpatine and Sidious were two different beings; with probably two very different opinions.

In the morning it was him again who was awake first. Slowly and without making a sound he freed himself from her sleeping form, got up and made his way to the bathroom. While taking a long hot shower he thought about the pros and cons of inviting his night-time companion to a breakfast. It was quite early in the morning and a lot of work was waiting for him. But Mon and him also had a lot to work out. They had not made progress yesterday evening because the drug had taken over their minds and bodies. Hopefully she was not in too bad a mood after last night's activities.

Socialising might be a way for both of them to alleviate this bad situation. They urgently needed to handle their problem. It would not be solved by ignoring it again and attempting to return to normality. There was no normality! Things would never again be the normal they had been used to. Everything had changed. Someone, probably the Ambassador of Naboo or one of his allies, had put this drug into their glasses that forced their minds to change. Ambassador Ighfer had never liked him, a fact he had just learnt as Senator of his home planet a few years ago, and so it was no wonder that there was his name standing on a certain Death List he kept in his mind until the time was right.

After changing into formal clothes, he had just entered his bedroom again when Mon Mothma was looking for her gown. He noticed her shivering, her mind working fast to understand what had happened again.

"It is a drug" he whispered in her direction.

Mon looked up: "A drug?"

"Some mind-changing substance; but I suppose they've given us an overdose."

"Who'd give…?"

He sighed: "I'm not quite sure but… well… I suspect the Ambassador of Naboo. He's involved in far too many of the issues we've had differences over lately."

"Indeed. And so he'd decided to poison us to make us stop arguing? How long will this drug cloud our brains?"

"I have my suspicions about a certain drug, and if I can prove it is this one, then, well…it won't change."

Mon asked him to turn around so she could put on her dress while they went on speaking. He felt her uneasiness; she was ashamed to the core. A one-night-stand could happen. But it would happen just once and not twice!

"How to prove it?"

"I need a blood sample from you. Together with a sample of my own blood we can ask a medic to look for the leftovers of the toxin. This might not help us out of the situation but it would become clear what exactly is playing with us."

She sighed deeply, but kept still. After a quiet minute she began to speak again.

"I got several flashbacks from…, you know, in the last few days. Did you also…?"

He nodded: "Yes, I did. They mostly cause me to be taken aback in situations in which I don't need them."

Finally, he offered her breakfast and a cup of coffee or tea or whatever she would chose to drink in the morning. The young Senator accepted. "Well then, I suppose you might like to have a shower first while I arrange breakfast? You can send one of the service units to help you out with everything necessary."

"Thank you" her smile was friendly and open-hearted and forced a smile onto his thin, bloodless lips.

"You're welcome, Mon. Tea, coffee? Anything else?"

"Coffee, please."

"Very well; I'll be in my study for the time being."

"It's early in the morning, barely 0600…"

"Time doesn't bother most Senators; I get calls long after midnight and even on public holidays. Nobody cares…" he sighed, turned around, and left the bedroom.

Indeed, his Com Unit showed calls from a few dozen senators and representatives; there was also a call from the Ambassador of Naboo, the man who probably poisoned them. Mon and himself would take blood samples immediately; just before today's breakfast. He always stored a few sticks for blood samples in his medical kit since he used to go for a regular medical check up several times per year. They would learn about the toxin within a few hours. When they finally know what had messed up their brains they would also perhaps be able to find out who it was exactly made them unwillingly ingest it. Sidious knew he would ensure that the offender paid for every single second he had been under its toxic influence.

There were a few messages on several changes in today's schedule he just read over when Mon Mothma stood knocking on the door to his study; her red hair damp, her face without makeup and with the most beautiful smile on her lips he had ever seen in his life.

"I don't think we've greeted each other today, so…good morning."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry. Good morning, of course."

He asked her to come in and make herself comfortable in one of the sofas. Mon seemed to be quite interested in his private rooms, but this was quite natural to him. He kept his home as private as he kept his personal life. He lived purely for his job and barely visited any private events, so it was said behind his back. There were seldom guests at his estate at Republica 500. Rumours went on for years that he probably suffered some special social phobia, avoiding any company at all, especially after becoming Chancellor. When he was a Senator he preferred to stay home and work while his fellow senators were dancing and having fun all night long at all those parties and balls. Of course he visited a few events to socialize and connect and to form interest groups, but he did not make close friends with others.

"Is there a reason why you prefer to keep your private quarters all in red?"

"Pardon?"

"I was just wondering…all your rooms, or rather all the rooms I've seen, are all decorated in red. Your favourite colour I presume."

He was surprised; was she trying to make small talk or was she really wondering why he had gotten used to a special colour?

"Red is a bright colour, full of warmth. It is also the colour for passion."

He bit his tongue. He should not have said that last sentence, but it was too late.

"Passion, eh?" she grinned "So you are a passionate man then?"

Mon Mothma came nearer. Step by step. Very slowly.

He did absolute nothing to make her stop. Indeed, it was quite interesting watching her being driven by the toxin while he apparently was still…or was he?

"Mon, we better…"

He suddenly stopped. Was this really the poison, the toxin, in their brains? Or was there more than there should be between them? Feeling her presence so near was making him feel…weak. His heart beat started rising again, he was sweating, but instead of feeling unwell he somewhat felt comfortable.

Mon was climbing onto his lab: "What if this is the best we can do now?"

"What?"

She pressed her hot lips onto his, kissed him even more deeply and passionately than they had done while devouring each other last night. He did not dare to refuse to answer her mouth.

"Give in…" was finally her reply.