Anakin and Padme Naberrie Skywalker did as much as they could possibly do in the time they spent on Naboo. The first day was spent frolicking near the lake by Padme's villa. The second was spent doing idle things, like eating breakfast in bed and sleeping. The third day, Padme suggested they go to the opera...
Anakin watched with a frown on his face as she stood before a mirror clipping an earring into her ear. It wasn't that he hated the opera, or didn't want to go with her... it was that he was forced to go in disguise, and in doing so, he couldn't fully enjoy time out with his wife.
Padme bent her neck allowing Anakin to fasten a necklace around it. When she was done she turned and adjusted Anakin's robe, mumbling quietly to herself. They soon left the house, their hands clasped together as they walked. Anakin wore his hood and kept his face down whenever they were in full view of the public. Padme being the former queen didn't help matters any, and soon they couldn't hold hands at all. Senators, colleagues, and even some Jedi where there on the planet. Padme could only explain her husband away, claiming that he was overseeing her security detail. Nevermind, her entire security team was on Coruscant since she and Anakin had left alone, taking only Threepio and Artoo with them. On the plus side of things, they did manage to steal a kiss or two when the lights in the theatre dimmed and all were seemingly distracted by the performance before them.
The night ended when Anakin's comlink rang. Obi Wan was on the other end. Tomorrow, he would go back to Coruscant and both would leave for a tour in the Outer Rim. For how long, they couldn't be certain.
That night, Anakin and Padme laid in bed, whispering and simply doing their best to enjoy whatever time they might have left to spend together.
"You never told me why the council decided you were ready to become a knight."
Anakin lowered his eyes, grinning. "Well... I was sent to Praestlyn and apparently news reached council about my activities there..."
"That wasn't the only news that reached Coruscant. There were rumors that you died in an explosion. I was so sad, Anakin, waiting to hear from you. But I knew you were still alive. Somehow, I still felt as though you were."
"What about my letters? You never wrote back," he replied, somewhat solemnly.
Padme gave him a confused look. "I never got them," she replied. "Is that why you didn't come back?"
"I was certain our marriage was over. As much as I didn't want it to be... as much as it nearly killed me."
"Oh Ani..." Padme said, wrapping her arms around him. "Strange that I didn't get the letters. Where did you send them?"
"To your office. I didn't want to draw suspicion."
Padme clapped a hand across her face. "No no no! Anakin..." she droned. "I do hope they weren't "detained" by the Chancellor. I understand that his office now oversees all incoming and outgoing mail. The 'hunt' for spies and corrupt senators."
"I'm sure the Chancellor means well."
"You only say that because he's your friend."
"Don't talk like that, Padme. You may not trust him, but I do."
"More than you trust me?"
Yes, he wanted to answer... but thought better of it.
"There are things I can tell the chancellor that I can't tell you."
Padme brought her voice to a whisper... "You told me about the sand people and I forgave you, I understood..."
"That was different," Anakin said, climbing out of bed.
"Where are you going?" Padme asked.
"Back to Coruscant."
Padme was out of bed behind him in an instant. She caught him by the back of his pants and pulled him toward her. His resistance was minimal.
Padme clung to his arm, meeting his glare with a comforting smile. "Remember what you told me a few nights ago?"
Anakin drew his breath.
"...about, making love as much as you possibly can because of the slight chance that you might not return? Would you want harsh words to be the last that passed between us."
Anakin pulled her into an embrace. "Of course not... I just- I don't want to talk about what happened to my mother again. Or about the sand people."
Padme rubbed his arm. "I won't speak of it ever again," she said. "Now please, Ani... come back to bed."
The following day, as planned, Anakin met Obi Wan Kenobi at the top of the Jedi Temple, on the docking bay. The Jedi Master watched as Anakin strode toward him, his cape billowing in the wind. There seemed to be a noticeable jump in his step... apparently, he had been to see Senator Amidala again, Obi Wan thought with a wry twist of his mouth.
"There's trouble in the Outer Rim. A few Jedi have engaged General Grievous, and all but one lost their lives."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Anakin said with needed confidence. "We'll dismantle him piece by piece, Master. And that will be the end of Grievious and the war. We can only hope Count Dooku is with him. Perhaps we'll end him too."
Obi Wan sighed. "Go in with an open mind, Anakin. Overconfidence can be a weakness."
Always with the lessons... Anakin thought. "Of course, Master."
Obi Wan opened the hatch to his starfighter and climbed inside, as did Anakin in his. The two ships rose to the sky, and in a blink, they were gone.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Coruscant, Padme was already at her apartment sifting through packages that had come in. Suddenly, she paused... There was one particular arrival of what appeared to be video footage on a small microdisk. Her stomach sank. Somehow, she had a bad feeling about it. There was no reply address.
Padme walked across the room and slipped the microdisk into the holoview. She sat on the sofa and watched as a dimly lit stranger approached her apartment... the stranger who after a few moments, appeared to be her husband. She clapped a hand over her mouth, a tiny whimper escaping her lips. The footage rolled to Padme and Anakin on the veranda in an embrace... then later, to Padme and Anakin in bed.
Padme's heart began to race. Video clip after video clip of the two of them together. Padme leapt out of her seat and raced to the box the video footage arrived in. There was a small handwritten note:
"Let's talk, - Cobra", it said.