I finally got around to posting this chapter! It has been sitting around on my drive for awhile now and it took a bit of work to not jump straight to the next big event. I am trying to work my way through it at a good pace, I already have most of the story outlined and there are... maybe 4 big events to keep your eyes out for down the road. At this point I see this being super long by my standards so there is also that to look forward to. Hopefully the next update won't take this long.

Happy reading!

-DFD

Chapter 3

The past two days had been a mix of a surgeon's heaven and a normal person's Hell. After seven surgeries within forty-two hours, she was exhausted. The moment she walked through her door that night, the first thing she did was fall face first onto the bed. Burying her face in Anakin's pillow, she fell into such a deep sleep she hadn't heard the door open. Feeling fingers on her neck lightly move her hair to the side, she had initially thought it was a pleasant dream but feeling the warm breath on her neck followed by the suckling of the flesh of her neck, she started to stir. Shifting to lie on her back, her hand followed the sheets until she found an arm and started the climb up until it rested on a broad shoulder, "Ani?" She asked, her voice quiet and disoriented from sleep.

"Yeah." He said, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips, "Glad to see me?" He asked, climbing over her to sit on the bed beside her. Padme groaned as he shifted the bed before turning back over to face him. Her eyes were fighting to wake up, but it was turning into a pointless fight. Anakin shifted them under the covers, pulling her close to him as he settled down next to her. "I missed you." He murmured against her hair.

Padme gripped the shirt he was still wearing, snuggling her head into his chest, "Sleep now, talk later." She said and Anakin was more than happy to give in to sleep.

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"The tumor was as big as my fist." Padme said as they walked into the hospital, "It was unbelievable and the weird thing is it didn't result in any real personality shifts."

"Really?" Anakin asked. For a tumor that size not to have any effect on a person's personality was a rare case, "Must have been in the right place to grow."

Padme nodded, "It was. If she hadn't come in when she did, it would have spread to the frontal lobe and resulted in permanent damage." She said, taking a sip of her latte, "Did you have a good time with Rex?"

Anakin smiled as he remembered the result of his trip. He easily could just explain the whole thing to her now and propose. But he wanted it to be special- perfect. Admittedly, he was a romantic at heart and as far as he's concerned, Padme deserves every ounce of romance he can pull. "It was great." He said, "We went out, had a couple drinks, then he wanted to catch up on Game of Thrones. What?" He asked when he noticed her choking back a laugh.

"Nothing." She said, recovering nicely.

Anakin scoffed, "Nice try, I know when you think something is funny so just tell me, what is it?"

She shook her head, "You won't like it."

"Try me."

Walking into the attendings lounge they started to change into their scrubs, "The way you said all that made him sound like your boyfriend." She said before laughing.

For a moment he is startled, but as he thinks about it, it does sound like it. With a smile he decides to play along, "In that case I feel sorry for you." He said, coming to stand next to her, "I mean, you've slept with me and I've just been waiting for-"

"Oh shut up." Padme pushes on his chest playfully, "Or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her until she was flush against him, "If I sleep on the couch I can't show you just how much I missed you."

"You were gone for two days."

"And I thought about you every second." Leaning closer, he went in to kiss her.

"Please don't." The two of them pulled back just enough to see Ben enter and make his way over to the coffee machine.

"Ben!" Anakin greeted, "Are my patients still alive?"

"Don't you trust me?" He asked, turning to face them as he stirred his coffee.

Anakin gave a shrug as Padme pulled back from the embrace but left his arm wrapped around her. "I trust you and Ahsoka. Its the interns that have me worried."

The other two attendings nodded, "Yeah, they aren't as good as previous years." Padme agreed, "They're capable but they're-"

"Entitled, pretentious, and competitive to a fault." Ben added.

"Exactly." She said, glancing at her watch, "I have that nerve graft this morning." Leaning up she kisses Anakin's cheek, "I'll see you at lunch."

Ben waits until the door closes behind her before addressing Anakin again, "So how'd it go?"

"About what I expected." He said, "But I got it."

Ben smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Good, I'm glad. So when are you going to ask?"

He gave a shrug, "I don't know yet. I'm still planning how to do it."

"Why not just ask?" Ben suggested, "I know you're eager to get an answer, and I'm certain she is just waiting for you to ask anyway."

Anakin let out a sigh, "I know… I just… I want it to be perfect."

Ben shook his head, "Anakin, Padme loves you. So long as you're the one asking, that is perfect enough for her."

His eyes found the floor as he thought about his words. Ben was right. Padme isn't shallow enough to care how he proposes- she would say yes even if he asked while she was in the middle of surgery. He doesn't have to do anything crazy like those massive flashmob proposals. Anakin smiled, "I'll do it this weekend." He declared, "I'm trying my hand at lobster again and this time I know it will be good."

Ben raised his mug of coffee in a salute, "I wish you luck then, old friend." He said, giving him one last pat on the back before going to work.

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The OR was quieter than it normally is when Ahsoka works with him. Normally they spend the entire time talking until something happens that requires all of their focus. "Something wrong?" He asked, his eyes watching her as she used suction to clear the cavity.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" She asked.

Anakin gave a shrug as he took the pickups from the scrub nurse to apply sutures. "You're quiet. Either something is wrong or there is something on your mind. Is it Lux?"

Her eyes narrowed at him, "How many times do I have to say I'm not interested in Lux?"

"Until you realize you're in denial." Ahsoka sighed and shook her head. "So what is it then?" He asked, attempting to express his concern as best he could.

"My residency is almost over." She said, "And I got an offer." Anakin paused for a moment and looked up to meet her gaze. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't proud- he taught her everything she knows and she is no doubt a great surgeon. But now was the time where she had to decide where she was going- if she was staying to complete her fellowship here, or to go elsewhere to do it.

"That's… that's great." He said, "Where is it?"

"Mandalore." She said.

He could see she was nervous about his reaction, "It's a great program. They'd be lucky to have you." He said. Looking back down at the patient he finished applying the last suture, "You wanna close?" Ahsoka nodded and loosened the rib spreader before beginning to close. Mandalore did have a great program and in the long run having that hospital under her belt would easily open doors for bigger and better things in the field down the road. But at the same time that would mean he probably won't see her again. Anakin held his tongue from guilting her into staying. It wouldn't be fair of him to convince her to stay when this was clearly a big decision to make. Anakin remembered the last year of Padme's residency well- it had been the same year they had broken up- and he remembered how stressful it had been for her with all the neuro offers she had gotten. Instead, Anakin decides the best thing he can do for Ahsoka is to let her make her own choice.

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Padme stretches her arms over her head as she leaves the OR. Her patient's spine is now stabilized and now the only thing she can do is wait and see if there is any paralysis. Walking out into the waiting room, she immediately recognizes her patient's parents and walks over to them. The small group of people stand when they see her. Padme smiles at them and slowly goes over what she had spent the past three hours doing. "After we stabilized the spine I went in to make the necessary repairs to the spinal cord. Overall, he did great, now we just have to wait until he wakes up to see if there is any paralysis." She explained.

"And if there is?" The father asked.

"Its hard to say." She said, "What we do next depends on him and what his body can take. I can take you to see him if you'd like." The parents nod eagerly and she smiles at them before leading them up to the post-op room where their son is resting. Standing in the doorway, she waited a few minutes to see if they had any more questions. She watched as the mother took his hand and stroked his cheek with maternal affection. Padme smiled at the scene before turning and to give them some privacy.

"Hey!" She turns her head to see Dorme walking quickly to catch up with her, her hands full of boxes of latex gloves to restock the rooms with. "You seem to be in a good mood."

Padme gave a shrug, "I had a good surgery." She said, "I have every confidence he is going to walk again."

Her friend nodded, pushing the boxes away to lean closer to her. "I have a theory." She started, "About Anakin."

Padme rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, "Dorme, really? Why are you obsessing over my love life? Didn't that doctor on the third floor ask you out?"

Dorme gave a shrug, "Yeah, but he's a urologist. And do I really want to date a guy working with penises all day?" She shook her head, "Some people might be okay with it but I'm not."

"You change bedpans everyday." Padme argued, "Your job isn't much better some days."

"True," She agreed, "But honestly, my love life can wait. Yours is way more important. You are so close to having one of those 'ride off into the sunset' moments but something is definately wrong and I am determined to fix it." Padme had to bite back a retort knowing very well that there was nothing to stop Dorme once she got an idea in her head. Instead she prepared herself to hear whatever her theory is. "So, my theory…" She paused a moment and scanned the hall a moment before she continued, "He had an affair."

The moment the words left Dorme's mouth her face dropped. Is that seriously what she is thinking? "And you came to this conclusion because…?"

Dorme lowered her voice to a whisper, "Anakin is a very romantic guy, right?" Padme nodded in agreement, "And over the past few weeks he's gotten… more romantic." Again, she nodded, "And then he left for two days and came back; I think he had an affair and all the romance is his way of trying to smooth things over and the two days was his last hurrah before he dumped his secret lover-"

Padme held her hand up, "Stop." She said, her brow furrowed, "I don't want to hear this."

"You have to."

She shook her head, "No, I don't. Because your… so called theory is just you reading into things too much." She said, "Anakin would never cheat. You remember what happened when he thought I was cheating, right? He almost killed Clovis. He could never cheat."

Dorme let out a sigh, "Okay, maybe my theory is a little unlikely. But you have to admit he's been acting… strange. Something is definitely up."

"You really need to go on a date with that urologist." She said, "That way I can show you just how ridiculous your theories are."

Dorme paused a moment and looked to the side pensively, "Huh, you might have a point." She said, "But not the urologist."

Padme smiled and shook her head. Dorme was way too picky about the men she dated sometimes.

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With her laptop hooked up to the TV and the intro to Arrow starting, Padme made her way over to the couch where Anakin saw with his head reclined and his arms stretched out along the back. He hated the show but he did promise to watch it with her when he got back from his trip. Padme curled into his side, resting her head on his chest and giving his thigh an affectionate squeeze to encourage him to behave. His arm wrapped around her, as he took a slow breath as if it would take all his will power to not say anything about how he thinks the show is the same every season. She can't say he doesn't have a point, most of the time she is able to predict what is going to happen with near perfect accuracy, but she still finds it entertaining nevertheless.

Anakin doesn't watch the episode for very long. Instead finding tracing lazy patterns on her arm more interesting. She doesn't mind. In fact, she thinks it feels wonderful. She feels the love he has for her in the gentle touch and it makes her heart soar. Her thoughts inadvertently shift back to what Dorme had said earlier that day. While most of what she had said was wrong, she had been right about one thing. Anakin had been acting strange for several weeks now. While she was used to Anakin's overt affection and his tendency for small romantic gestures, it has gotten deeper. The way he looks at her these days often looks as though she is the first breath of air after drowning- as if she is his lifeline and his life is meaningless without her. And she can't help but wonder why. Padme takes a chance and glances up at him. His eyes meet hers and he smiles at her before bringing his hand to hers and twining their fingers together.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, bringing her free hand up to trace his brow.

Anakin gave a shrug, "Just wondering when this show is over." He said, rubbing his thumb over her knuckle.

"You're thinking about more than that."

She felt the rumble of his chest as he chuckled, "You really think so?"

"I know so. What is it?" Padme shifted to sit up enough so she could see his eyes better. She could tell he was hiding something.

His eyes flickered with something she couldn't place for a moment before rakish smirk, "You really want to know?" His hand came to rest on her hip as he leaned closer to her, "I was thinking about a couple things that are more… entertaining than a guy in tights." His lips brushed against her gently before he skimmed them along her jaw then down her neck.

"You're trying to distract me." She said and she could feel him smirk against her skin.

"Is it working?"

Padme wanted to push back and get him to tell her what is wrong, but as his hand gripped the underside of her thigh and shifted her to lie back on the couch, she couldn't. Whatever was wrong, it could wait. Besides, it was probably about the offer Ahsoka had gotten from Mandalore. While she was working on a neuro consult in the ER, Lux had told her about the offer and she knew that letting Ahsoka go would be hard for him.

His hands started to skim under her shirt and she sighed into the touch, letting all other thoughts fade from her mind. Giving into him, she let him distract her with sex for just this one time.