As soon as Obi-Wan Kenobi got the hologram from Mace Windu, (R4 had diligently copied it into the ship's harddrive) he stood by his starfighter anxiously. Dust swirled around them as Commander Cody walked up to him, his white and orange armor dusty already, his helmet slightly cocked to the side.

"What's happened, General?" Cody asked.

Obi-Wan turned and smiled briefly at his friend. "Ah, Cody. It seems that Master Windu and Anakin Skywalker have defeated the Sith Lord, who had a double identity as Chancellor Palpatine."

"Well, that was unexpected," said Cody curiously.

Kenobi nodded. "Indeed! I always had suspected Palpatine of having a secret agenda. And now it seems that it was turning Anakin to the Dark Side as a new apprentice! I knew I never liked that man."

"Good thing he was apprehended, then, General," said Cody comfortably. "Are you awaiting a conference via hologram then?"

"Yes," said Obi-Wan.

"Very good, Sir," said Cody, striding away to give orders to nearby Clone troopers.

One trooper, named Wooley, asked, "Commander, what are our orders?"

"Stand down, but remain alert. Our job is to keep General Kenobi protected while he has a hologram conference with the Jedi Council," said Cody, and he dispatched a few troopers to stand on the edge of the platform to keep watch.

Obi-Wan leaned against his starfighter, rubbing his short beard thoughtfully. He felt very strongly that he needed to talk with Anakin right away. For a long while, since the Clone Wars began, he had always felt a slight uneasiness around Anakin, as though he was hiding something. It worried him that his former padawan was so secretive. He had to find out what was happening, and if he could help the young Jedi Knight. He was still so passionate and impulsive and . . . well, young.

He had to leave Utapu as soon as possible, and in the meanwhile, he would see if he could try to share at least one holoprojected comm with his former padawan. Right after the Jedi Council meeting if he could.

. . .

Anakin rushed down the halls of the Jedi Temple, his robes sweeping behind him as his boots click-clack-ed on the marble flooring. The majestic columns gleamed respectfully as he walked past. He needed to see Padme. His emotions were ready to flood over, and he was just keeping them at bay with the Force, trying to calm himself. He just needed to see Padme and know she was all right.

He nearly ran into Shaak Ti, who moved quickly out of his way. She shook her head at him, an action which drew observing eyes to the black-tipped montrals in the air, hollow horns that rose above her head several centimenters. She felt a little flustered that her passive echolocation had not alerted her sooner to the swift moving Skywalker, and her cheeks caused the skin on her cheekbones to turn even more red than the natural rusty-red they were.

"Be careful Jedi Skywalker! Calm yourself! I can feel your anxiety through the Force and it's very disconcerting!"

Anakin stopped to bow, nearly breathless with the anxiousness in his heart. "I'm deeply sorry Master. Forgive me." He made himself slow the pace he took through the Temple, not wishing to disturb or trouble any other Jedi, or make himself suspicious.

He took a speeder with an open cockpit and a crimson red color to Padme's Apartment, deftly moving in and out of the oncoming traffic, across lanes, between buildings, and miraculously through a construction site. It seemed like it took forever for him to travel there. Time seemed to freeze when he finally stood before the door that opened into her tiny corner of Coruscant.

When the door hissed open, he barely had time to step in when Padme rushed into his arms, weeping. He held her closely, tears of his own surfacing and tracing down his cheeks quietly.

"What's wrong?" he whispered into her hair, stroking it.

"Oh Ani, I was so worried. I felt—I can't explain it—I felt like something horrible was going to happen and that you were involved—"

"Master Windu and I were attacked and yes, I was injured. But don't worry!" he said swiftly. "I can get it taken care of. I just need a little time to heal it myself and then I can get a different prosthetic—"

Padme gasped. "Ani, what happened?"

He led her further into the apartment and the door hissed shut behind him as he led her down two steps to the lowered living area. He gently helped her sit on the couch and joined her, their knees touching, their hands clasped.

"I'll tell you anything, everything," he promised, "just tell me this—how are you feeling? Are you all right? Is the baby all right?"

Wiping her eyes with her hands Padme nodded. "Yes, I'm—I'm fine. Other than worried sick, I'm fine. And the baby is fine too. Still kicking and healthy and—oh Ani! Please. Please tell me what happened," she pleaded, her brown eyes searching his face. He smiled tenderly at her, cupping her cheek in his good hand.

Hesitantly, he started his story of the traumatic events of that day. It took a few moments for Anakin to explain his discovery of Chancellor Palpatine's true identity and the events that quickly followed afterwards. Padme's eyes grew bigger and bigger as his story progressed, and she gasped when he showed her his arm without the prosthetic. She reached out and touched it gently. The skin was still a white-pink color like a new scar, still healing.

"I'm sure I can get a new, and even better prosthetic arm," he said softly, trying to make a joke out of it, smiling gently at his wife.

"It's all so . . . so unbelievable. I just . . . how on earth could Palpatine have hidden that he was a Sith Lord, after all this time?" said Padme, her eyes unfocused as she gazed down at Anakin's lap.

Anakin's face darkened. "The Force can be used to create great power. I'm sure that he could hide his feelings and dark emotions from all of us. Maybe he could even erase those feelings and powerful emotions around all of us to seem innocent. It seems the only explanation as to how he carried on for so long." He thought for a few moments, his brows furrowed. His eyes looked clouded.

"I can't believe we sacrificed so much to save him from General Grievous!" he said in disgust. "We wasted so many lives . . . for a Sith!"

Padme looked up, focusing again on her husband with his outburst. "We were all fooled, Ani," she said calmly, looking at his blue eyes, which reflected a deep agitation in the moment. He was staring down at the metallic-marbleoid flooring, glaring at it as though he was staring at Palpatine again. Padme touched his cheek and he looked at her, his tense facial muscles calming.

Anakin felt like her response wasn't enough to explain his naivety. "Well," he said, "I should have known. I felt it somehow all along. That he was luring me toward something I wanted . . ." he shuddered. "I wanted greater power, and he wanted to give it to me . . . and make me his apprentice."

Padme gasped, and Anakin's eyes met her own. He nodded glumly.

"He promised me . . . he promised that he would teach me how to keep you from dying." He felt near the verge of tears even now. Now he would never know how to save her. He wouldn't be able to keep her with him.

"He—he said that?"

"With the Dark Side of the Force he was able to correctly guess that I was worried about your death," Anakin admitted. "And he nearly had me convinced that I should learn the Dark Side so that I could save you."

Padme placed her hands on Anakin's face, forcing his eyes to meet hers.

"Ani, I love you deeply. But I would never, ever want you to sacrifice the Light to go to the Dark just to save my life. It would consume you, change you, turn you into someone else. Then I would have been lost to you anyway."

Anakin looked down, his cheeks flushing as he felt heat gather behind his eyes. That same heat rose up in his throat as he silenced a sob.

"I can't lose you, Padme. I love you too much. You're everything to me." He swallowed very hard and looked into her eyes. She was crying with him. She pulled him close.

"We will always be together, Ani. Always."

. . .