Three days since Padme had fallen ill and finally, it seemed she would wake up. Anakin sat beside her resting body, her hand pressed to his face. He gazed at her, watching as her eyes fluttered and slowly opened. He was happy to be the face she opened her eyes to.

"Ani?" she groaned in a raspy voice.

He leaned forth and kissed her on the lips. "How do you feel?" he smiled.

"Like... a ton of bricks dropped on my head. What happened? Why am I so tired?" Padme tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness forced her to lay back down. She slipped her hand from Anakin's grip and rubbed her belly. The baby kicked and flipped. She could almost see the head rising and sinking back down through the covers.

"Wow. Somebody's happy to be awake."

"I'm hungry, Ani, please get me something to eat."

"Of course," he replied. Anakin left the bedroom in search of Threepio. The only food he ever made usually grew on trees and were eaten raw -- while on missions with Obi Wan. Otherwise, Padme either cooked, or a chef at the Temple.

Padme looked around, wondering why she was in the guest room. Unbeknownst to her, Anakin had placed her there, not wishing her to lay in the same bed that Dorme had so callously violated. Not until the sheets were burned.

A few minutes later, Anakin returned, D210 and Threepio in tow. He sat a plate of food on a tray at the foot of the bed. "I thought D210 should have a look at you. I'm not sure if there is something you shouldn't eat."

Padme smiled. "Don't make a fuss over me, Anakin. I'm fine."

"Oh you're anything but fine, Senator Amidala. You were out for a solid three days!" Threepio chided.

Anakin turned, giving the protocol droid a piercing stare. Padme looked from Threepio to Anakin.

"Three days?"

"Don't worry about it, my love. I just want you to get well."

"Get well from what?"

"You... you got sick the other night when Dorme was here. Your iron was low, your sugar was high and you collapsed," Anakin lied. He had rehearsed it many times before saying it to her just now. He couldnt' tell Padme what Dorme had done. It would break her heart.

"Oh! I must have ruined the whole dinner," Padme mumbled. "Perhaps I should invite her again."

"No!" Anakin and Threepio exclaimed in unison. Padme gave the pair a strange look.

"Your immune system is a bit low and we don't want to drag any unseemly bugs into the house. You must get well, my lady," Threepio smartly replied. Anakin gave him a smile of approval.

"If you say so..." Padme chirped. Her head was starting to clear and the bright sunlight streaming into the room was starting to bother her less.

"D210, are there any restrictions on my recovery?"

D210 and Threepio exchanged chirps.

"No restrictions at all, she says. Just eat well, take your iron supplements, and stay in bed."

Looking at Anakin, a sly grin on her face, Padme replied. "Well... that can't be too bad. Oh! Ani, what about work? They must be worried senseless."

"Already taken care of. I stopped by the Chancellor's office to report your illness."

"Excellent. He really dotes on you, Anakin. Hearing it from you should prevent him from lobbying a complaint."

Padme threw the covers back and stepped out of bed.

"What are you doing?" Anakin asked.

"I'm gonna walk around. It's not to soon is it?"

D210 chirped.

"You're completely recovered," Threepio said. The drug was out of her system now.

Anakin held Padme's hand, allowing her to stumble like a toddler as she got her bearings. He linked her elbow into his and walked her to the veranda, into bright sunlight. Padme wore hair in curls that fell to her shoulders freely with no makeup on her face. She looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. The soft curve of her belly, the way she held her hands just above it to cradle their baby. It made his heart warm, melting his recent troubles away. Anakin stood behind her, slipping his arms beneath hers, encircling her waist.

The following day, Padme was up and about and back to normal again. Nevertheless, she didn't report to her Senator's office, keeping the baby's health in mind. She decided to work from home, tending to meetings via holoscan.

Anakin left early, reporting to the Chancellor's office for his normal duties as liason to the Jedi Council. This new job seemed to put him under added pressure, of which she consoled him often. It appeared that his work between the two offices were in conflict, and his loyalty to both were in question. It pained him deeply.

Padme rested on the sofa, her feet propped high as she typed away on her datapad. The doorbell rang. She stood, and waddled toward the door, still dressed in her sleeping gown. She tied her robe, cinching it at the collar then pressed the security code Threepio had given her.

The door slid open.

"My lady!" Dorme smiled. "I'm glad to see you are well. Anakin-" she blushed, realizing she called him by his first name... "Master Skywalker told me you had taken ill."

Padme took Dorme's hands in hers, a warm smile spread across her gentle face. "Yes, about that. Sorry to have ruined our dinner. And thank you for helping me. The last thing I remember... we were talking and suddenly everything went blank."

"Glad to have been a help. And thank you for inviting me over once again." Dorme extended a linen bag, which was full of bollop fruits from her father's cart.

"Thank you, Dorme. I'll ask Threepio to slice them for us."

"Oh, none for me," Dorme smiled. "These are from my father's cart. I eat them so often I can barely stand to look at them."

Padme gestured, directing her friend to the sofa. The two women sat and chatted about sewing pillows, the travails of the Senate, and Chancellor Palpatine's rise to power. Suddenly, Dorme laid a hand on Padme's lap.

"My lady... remember that conversation we had a few days ago? When you asked if I would be godmother to yours and Master Skywalker's child?"

"Of course," Padme gasped. "I was very sincere, and happy that you accepted."

Dorme looked down, her hands tracing a pattern on Padme's sofa. "Would you do the same for me?" she asked, peering through her lashes at the senator.

"What do you mean?"

"My lady... I have just learned that I am very recently pregnant."

The surprise on Padme's face was heartfelt. But then, hadn't Dorme told her only five days before that she had no husband or plans to marry?

Dorme blushed and surpressed a giggle. She made a face that Padme remembered from their youth. A face she made when she was lying. Suddenly, Padme felt very uneasy.

"You know I would. I suppose you'll get married soon. I wish you a happy and lavish wedding. One that your friends could attend, unlike my wedding to Anakin. As beautiful as it was, I couldn't celebrate it openly, as much as I would have liked to."

"Oh, but it is to be a secret, my lady."

"Why?" Padme asked, a look of polite curiosity plastered on her face.

Dorme blushed again. "I can't say, but I will tell you in time."

"Very well, then. Let us share a celebratory drink."

"My lady!" a panicked voice called from the other side of the room. It was Threepio. Padme had a feeling he was spying on their conversation. His appearance was too timely to be a coincidence. Unbeknownst to Padme, Threepio, put himself on standby the moment Dorme walked in. "I'm afraid we have no refreshment available for your guest."

"Really? How odd, Threepio. Why not?"

"You were sick, and to be honest Master Skywalker would know little about going to the market or what drinks to bring into the house."

"You're right, Threepio. I'm sorry Dorme. I have nothing to offer you. I'm so embarrassed."

Dorme smiled. "Don't worry, my lady."

Threepio walked toward the bedrooms again, nearly stubbing his gold colored chrome foot on a coffee table. "I'll be here... nearby... my lady," Threepio said, looking over his shoulder at both Padme and Dorme.

"Your droid is very well mannered. My father recently acquired one and he's been nothing but trouble. He flitters and jumps around the house. He nearly set it ablaze once. I wonder if a droid is worth having around, when there's a baby in the house."

"You think Threepio might be dangerous?"

Dorme shrugged. "My mother would never have a droid around when there's a baby nearby. They mean well, but accidents happen."

"I should give it great thought," Padme replied.

Threepio nearly blew a fuse, hearing Dorme say such awful things. He turned the corner, quietly listening. It didn't matter anyway. Dorme would soon be gone. Master Skywalker was due back to the apartment very soon.

The women chatted and sewed pillows for the rest of the afternoon. It was such a shame. Padme really seemed to enjoy Dorme's company.

A few hours after the "drink" incident, Padme called Threepio to the room and asked him to slice some of Dorme's fruit. Upon his return to the room, he "tripped", squashing the slices with his heavy metal feet. Like Dorme said... "accidents happen."

The women were disappointed, Dorme moreso. Her plan to put his mistress to sleep again had yet been foiled.

When the sky turned purple and orange, Threepio was grateful to see the door slid open and Anakin Skywalker walk inside. Taking care of the senator was hard work. It seemed the only way to keep her safe was to stand on guard continuously.

Padme and Dorme stood, both with the pillows they decorated in hand.

"Anakin, I'm so glad you're home." Padme walked across the room and pulled him into an embrace. He looked over her shoulder at Dorme, whose hands were folded before her innocently. The pillow she had moments ago had been tossed aside.

He approached, Padme's arm encircling the back of his waist.

"Good evening, Master Skywalker." Dorme curtseyed, a thin smile across her lips.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Padme gave her friend a helpless look.

"I invited her," Padme replied. "Anakin...please, don't be rude. I'm sorry, Dorme, he's really tired."

Padme rubbed his shoulder consolingly, but Anakin pulled away.

"Perhaps I should leave."

"I'm sorry..." Padme whispered.

"It's fine. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. The little one's first appointment..."

Anakin smacked his lips derisively as Padme walked Dorme to the door. When it closed, Padme turned, hands on her hips.

"Anakin! What's gotten into you?"

"I don't want her here anymore," he griped.

"Dorme is my friend. I invited her over and it's been a good day. We have so much in common now. Dorme is recently pregnant."

"But she's lying," Anakin replied in a pleading tone.

"How do you know?"

"I sensed it. Besides... She said she didn't have a husband or any plans to marry. It's been five days and she's suddenly pregnant?"

"I agree. The story does sound a bit... forced."

"More than forced."

Anakin strode across the room and pulled Padme into his arms. "I'm sorry if I've upset you."

Padme rubbed Anakin's chest, her hand adjusting his tunic. "There's only one way to make it up to me," she whispered in a tiny voice.

Padme pulled Anakin by the hand and led him to the sofa. She sat on his lap, draping her arm behind his back casually.

"Not tonight," he said. Two nights in a row, he had turned her away. Anakin decided not to make love to Padme. Not while there were lies between them.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not, my love."

"Is it the way I look?"

Anakin smiled. "You're beautiful..."

"Then what is it?"

Anakin laid his head on her shoulder, looking away.

The Dorme saga ends next chapter... - CG