The door to the underground cantina opened, and Anakin withdrew into his cloak. He looked at the door. Two drunkards stumbled inside, pushing and shoving each other. He sighed. It was no one.

The bartender who had only left him moments ago, came back, tapping him on the shoulder. Anakin shirked away, not wanting the man's hands anywhere on him. He could snap them in two if he wished.

"Jacooto will see you now."

Anakin nodded, following the bartender into a back room. The man pushed the door ajar. Inside, A humanoid woman, a wookie, and a small native man with a rough face were inside. The native sat behind the desk, leaning back, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"a putko laiti morko," the man said.

Anakin easily understood. He had been to the planet enough times over the years, to understand. Speaking the man's language, he replied, "I'm looking for work. How dangerous, doesn't matter."

"You wear a Jedi's robe," Jacooto replied, in kind.

"Looks are often deceiving."

"I wonder how able you are to fulfill this task I have..."

"Would I be here otherwise?"

"The separatist have abandoned a weapon cache on the Uguna moon. Six squadrons are stationed nearby to secure it. We want those weapons. And we are prepared to pay the one who retrieves them, handsomely."

Anakin crept into the house, a large bouquet of flowers in his hand. He had traveled long and far for those flowers, an excursion to an offworld flower planet after the completion of Jacooto's mission. Indeed, he had been paid well for having successfully completed the task. Jacooto told him that finding someone with enough skill to slip into the facility unnoticed was worth paying. Unfortunately, Anakin had gone anything but unnoticed. Cody, the leader of Obi Wan's clone Battalion was the first to notice him, and the first to be struck down. When Anakin was done decimating the rest of the clones --- all six squadron of them, only then was he able to infilitrate the facility and steal the goods.

He didn't kill Cody because he wanted to. He killed Cody because there was a chance he might tell Obi Wan that he had been seen. He killed the rest because they tried to stop him.

Anakin gave a sigh of relief. With the money Jacooto had given him, he could buy nice things for Padme and the baby. Lots of "nice things".

Anakin looked around. All was quiet in the sleepy house... and clean. Threepio had done a bang up job. Not a speck of dust to be seen, the blankets, sheets, and even the sofa were all fresh. There might have been a washer nearby. He could smell the floral scented soap in the air.

Tomorrow, he would use some of the money to furnish the house properly. To make it as comfortable for Padme as possible... speaking of Padme, where was she?

Anakin walked from room to room, settling on the largest, where Padme rested in bed, blankets pulled to her neck. With a wave of his hand, the lights flickered on.

Padme sat up, blinking sleepily. She opened her arms to greet him. Anakin sat on the side of the bed, flowers in hand as he embraced her.

"Anakin? Where have you been, I've waited hours for you. Is everything okay?"

Anakin's smile was could light up up the room. "Everything is great. Wonderful, in fact."

Padme gave him a curious look. "Really? You seemed so down earlier, I thought-"

"Things change," he said. Coming here was the best thing I've ever done. There are so many...opportunies I wish to pursue. You, I, and the baby, we're going to be alright. We'll every thing we need."

Padme's smile was effervescent. She pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly. "I was so worried."

"Worry no more my love, I'll take good care of us. In fact, tomorrow I'll prove it -- I'm taking you shopping. Buy anything you wish."

"You talk as though you walked into a wind tunnel of money."

Anakin gazed at her, eyes darkening. "Maybe I have."

Padme had seen that look before, and didn't like it. "Anakin? Did you do something?" her eyebrows pressed together with worry.

Anakin tossed the flowers across the room. "Do something? I try to make you happy, and all you can do is sit there and accuse me of doing something wrong?"

Padme shrank into the covers, pulling them to her neck again. "I'm sorry -- it's just..."

"You don't trust me," he said, standing to full height.

Padme climbed out of bed. "I trust you with my life, why would I follow you to the other side of the galaxy if I didn't trust you?"

That much was true. She had to trust him to have gone to Mygeeto with nothing but the thread in their pockets.

Anakin composed himself, pulling her close. "So... what kind of opportunities are you going to 'pursue'? Where and how are making this money?" Padme asked.

"Don't ask me about my business, Padme. Not now, not ever. Things have changed. You're not a senator anymore, and I am not a Jedi."

"You talk as though you..."

"I talk as someone who only wants to protect you. And the baby."

Anakin slipped out of his cloak. He left it on the floor as he peeled out of his shirt. Muscles tightening as he tossed it some distance away. He met her eyes, then lowered his face, bringing his lips to hers. Padme reluctantly kissed him.

He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, whispering against her lips, "Stop worrying... I promise, everything will soon be alright."

He let his hand slide down her back, caressing her softly. Meanwhile, Padme decided to do her best to free herself of worry. Anakin was right. She always thought the worse of him. He wasn't a bad man. His heart was in the right place. It was just a matter of getting him to accept that he couldn't force his way of thinking on others, nor his tactics. In time, she would teach him. If he would open his mind and listen. But that seemed more like dream than anything. The closer they were, the farther apart they seemed. The more "his", she seemed to become, the more he seemed to think he owned her. And the baby.

Padme let her hand trail down his chest, to rest at the top of his pants. She unfastened the button. Anakin smiled. "I suppose, we ought to christen our new bed."

She was in agreeance. They smiled then ripped the covers back. Anakin, ever the gentleman, gestured for her to go first. She jumped atop the cushion, knees first. And he followed, giddy as though they hadn't been fighting moments earlier. Their mouths met and they consumed each other, their tongues meshing, teeth biting each other's lips. Anakin let his fingers pry the buttons on the back of her gown apart then peeled it from her body. He then kissed her naked shoulders and let his hands slide around to cover her breast with his mechanical hand. He had learned to be gentle with the durasteel prosthetic. He found it almost amusing, how Padme never mentioned a difference between the two hands. Flesh and metal.

"Master Skywalker," a voice that sounded like Threepio called.

Anakin hung his head.

"Uh-- stay out, Threepio..."

But it was too late. The little droid wandered in, stick in his hand. "Oh my, I was recharging master, when I heard terrible grunting noise, and a bit of moaning. I was worried that Senator Amidala was not okay, so I grabbed a weapon, and came running gallantly to her rescue, only, I realized-"

"Threepio!" Anakin called. "My lady and I are busy."

Anakin huddled around Padme, shielding her from the droids prying eyes.

"And if you are not out of here in the next half second, it'll take scrap hunters a millenia to find all of your parts when I'm done with you."

The sound of Threepio's "weapon" falling to the floor was the last Anakin heard of him for the night.