Hello! So my updates are most likely returning to the frequency they used to be as my sister is finally home from the hospital with the cutest little baby!

I know a lot of you are asking where Anakin is and I promise I will tell you when the time is right! And yes, I completely agree he is acting like a coward and letting his grief consume him but I do understand that he is struggling with dealing with his mother's death and the part Padme played in it. Only time will tell how they both heal though.

Enjoy!

-DFD

Chapter 13

Swimsuit, makeup, cocktail dress, heels… Padme walked around her room sifting through her closet trying to choose which outfits she wants to bring with to Bespin. Knowing how upset she was, her sister had arranged to take the week off for some sister time. Padme rarely ever took a break from work, but she really needed to this time and for once she didn't argue with Sola about it. For once instead of worrying about hitting blood vessels and nerves, all she had to worry about was what she was going to wear and what to order for room service. Padme pulled out a nice purple cocktail dress that she had bought a long time ago- so long ago she didn't even remember buying it- and still had the price tag on it. Throwing it onto the pile currently lying on her bed she shuffles further back into the closet, finally able to grab the handle of the suitcase she had been looking for.

Moving it onto her bed she begins to pack. The last time she had gone on a vacation was when she was still a resident. She and Anakin had taken a couple days off to spend at her family's lake house. It hadn't been a long trip, and they had spent most of the time in bed together. This is probably the first time she is going on a real vacation and she was excited about it. Looking through the large pile of clothes on her bed she counts the number of days she is going to be gone- five; and adds three to it so she will bring extra outfits in case of weather or just for something different. She goes through the pile on her bed and picks out the clothes she wants to take before trying to stuff it all in her suitcase.

The buzzer to her door buzzed twice. With a tired sigh she goes to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hey, sis!" Sola calls through the intercom, "You ready yet?"

Padme glances back through her door at her still open suitcase, "Uh, almost," She says, "Come on up. I'll be a few minutes." She says, pressing the button to give her access the lift.

Sola walks through the door a minute later and finds Padme sitting on her suitcase while trying to zip it shut. She shakes her head at her, "Honestly, you really need more than just a carry on suitcase." She says as she walks over to Padme's bookshelf. Picking up the largest books on the shelf- most of which were medical books- she placed the pile on Padme's lap while she tried to pull the zipper closed.

"You know I don't really have a lot of time to travel, "Padme says, "If anything, I take a weekend off once in a while."

"Which means never more times than not," Sola said with a groan as she finally gets one end to close, "You have no idea how surprised I was when you said you needed a vacation. And a real vacation at that," She said as she pulled the zipper to the end, "I mean, I get why you need one now. But it is still surprising."

Padme rolled her eyes, "I know," She said, "I still can't believe you took a whole week off for me though."

Sola scoffed, "Please, this was something I couldn't miss. My baby sister, the work-obsessed neurosurgeon is finally taking a well deserved break." She smiled, "I'm not missing much at work and Darred can handle the girls for a week. I left him with a long list of what not to let them do." She let out a sigh, "The last thing I need to come home to is my two girls on a sugar high because my husband believed them when they told him I give them eight scoops of ice cream instead of three."

Padme laughed as she pulled the suitcase off of the bed, "That can't be good." She said as she took the books and returned them to the shelf before checking to make sure she had everything.

"Nope. And you know Darred; those girls have him wrapped around their fingers. Ready?"

She nods and grabs her purse and bag and links arms with her sister as they leave.

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It takes seven hours to get to Bespin by car. Padme and Sola switched drivers once on the trip and spend the whole time talking about everything they were going to do. Sola was looking forward to the cocktail bars and the spa at the resort while Padme was just looking forward to not being on her feet for twelve hours everyday. As they pulled into the resort they couldn't help but giggle like excited schoolgirls. They haven't done something like this since they were both still in school. Climbing out of the car a bellhop unloaded their luggage and loaded it on a cart while the valet took their car to the garage and a server offered them champagne.

Sola smiled, "I haven't felt this pampered walking into a hotel since the last time we went on a trip with mom and dad."

Padme returned the smile as they walked into the lobby to check in. Their family has always been fairly well off financially- due in part to the success one of their great-great grandfather's had in the stock market one year. Growing up they had lived a very privileged life and the trips they had gone on had almost always been to places like Bespin. The only time they had tried a simpler vacation had been the trip where she had met Anakin and the car broke down.

Padme watched as Sola checked in and didn't miss how she emphasized the 'Naberrie' name. "Now I know how you're paying for this." Padme said as they walked over to the lift.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about." Sola said with a smirk.

"Play dumb all you want," She said, "But I know you're using dad's card to pay for all this."

Sola rolled her eyes, "He won't mind." She said, "Besides, this isn't the first time I've done this." Padme raised a brow at her, and watched her sister shrug, "Darred and I used his card a couple times when we just needed a break from reality. A break from the girls- as horrible as that sounds." She said as they entered the lift and rode it to the 31st floor.

Padme shakes her head; "Dad said to only use that for emergencies." She said.

Sola let out a light laugh, "Trust me, sometimes it is an emergency." She said, "Do you have any idea how hard it is for us to find time to…" Sola's voice trails off and Padme understands what she is referring to.

"Oh," She said, pausing for a moment before shaking her head at Sola, "I still can't believe you sometimes."

Her sister nudges her with her elbow; "You should try it sometime." She says, "Like daddy always says 'use the gifts you've been given for a good cause.'"

She shakes her head again, "I think you're missing the point of that saying." She said as the lift came to a stop and they started down the long hall to their room.

Sola gave a shrug and brushed off what she said. Pulling out the keycard she opens the door to a wide room with floor to ceiling windows along the back of the room with a balcony. The windows gave a clear view of the entire resort overlooking the pool. Sola is the first of them to fall backwards onto one of the double beds in the room. She lets out an exaggerated sigh, "I am never leaving this bed." She declares, "Lets just get room service tonight." She says, shifting to grab the menu and reads off the long list of meal options.

[][][][]

The morning sun peeks through the curtains of the room and shines across Padme's face. With a groan she brings her hand to shield her eyes as she squints her eyes to read the time on the clock. 10:30. Her eyes shoot open and the horrible thought that she missed her alarm for work crosses her mind. Jumping from the bed she starts to think of ways she can shorten her routine so she can get there sooner before she realizes she isn't in her apartment.

Sola lets out a groan and pulls the covers from over her head, "You're noisy this morning." She says, glancing at the clock.

"Sorry," Padme says as she relaxes into her bed again, "I forgot where I was."

She shakes her head," This is why you should have taken a vacation sooner." She said, "To think, it takes your ex running off again to convince you of that." Padme's eyes drop to the floor and Sola shifts to rest on her elbow, "You haven't talked about it with me since he left." She said, "You want to talk about it?"

Padme shakes her head, "No, I just want to forget about it for now."

Sola rises from her bed and stretches, "Well, in that case lets go take a spa day." She said, "You're too tense."

The spa day worked wonders for Padme. After a mud bath and a long massage followed closely by manicures and pedicures, she felt more relaxed than she has in months. Leaning back into the lounge chair by the pool, she embraces this worry free moment. No interns. No patients. No work. No Anakin. It's exactly what she needs. Sola comes to take the seat next to her a bright smile on her face. "Is it wrong to say I sometimes wish I was single again?" She asked.

Padme rolled her eyes, "Your life is already figured out. You're married, with two kids. Why would you want to be single again?"

Sola points over to a young man leaning by the bar, "Because there is a rule of 'look but don't touch' when you're married."

The man was cute. Wearing a pair of board shorts with flip-flops, he was very fit with well-defined muscles along his arms and legs and a strong chest and abs. Padme shook her head, "I don't know about you, but I think I'd be just fine with that rule."

Sola scoffed, "You won't be saying that after you've had kids." She took a glance at the young man and noticed he was also glancing at them. Tapping Padme's shoulder she smiles, "I think he likes you," She said, "I'm going to go and get another towel. Have fun!"

Before Padme could stop her she had already run off. Cursing under her breath she glances in the direction of the man and he was making his way over to her. He smiled at her and came to stand a few feet away from her.

"Hi," He said.

"Hi," She returned.

He scratched the back of his neck, "So… I saw you and your friend looking at me over at the bar," He said. He was obviously nervous and he shifted his feet awkwardly.

Padme nodded her head, "Yeah, sorry about that."

He shook his head, "No, that's not…" He cleared his throat, "It's no problem." He said with a smile, "So… I was wondering…" Padme found the way he struggled for words very enjoyable for some reason. It was almost exciting to watch him try to ask her out or offer her a drink. He let out a light laugh and it made her smile. It was a nice laugh. "I was wondering if your friend would be interested in grabbing a drink with me." And the moment died right there.

"Oh." Padme said, trying to keep the venom out of her voice.

"It's just that, your friend is very pretty and she seems to be a lot of fun…" Padme ignores everything else he says.

Raising a finger she stops him from speaking, "First," She starts, "My 'friend' is my sister. And she's married with two kids." The man's eyes widen and he is rendered almost speechless but he opens his mouth to speak again and Padme continues. "Second, I am also very pretty- I'd say hot even. And I can be fun too. I like to go out, I like to drink. I am a very fun person to be around." She argued, "And I'm a surgeon. A neurosurgeon. A badass neurosurgeon." Her eyes shift to the side as she tries to remember the point she was trying to make- she isn't even sure if there is a point to her tirade. She shakes her head, "Anyway…" She says, folding her hands in her lap, "I'm sorry, but you're not good enough for either of us." She rises to her feet and walks away quickly to where her sister was standing pretending to look at the towels.

"So, how'd it go?" She asked when Padme came to stand next to her.

She sighs, "I think I messed up." She said, earning a weird look from her sister, "He was interested in you."

Sola's eyes widen before she breaks out laughing, "You can't be serious!"

Padme cringes, "To make matters worse, I ranted about how much fun I was."

Her sister wraps her arms around her, "Oh, Padme," She said with a smile, "You really need a boyfriend."

Sola is right. But she is also wrong. She doesn't just need a boyfriend. She needs someone who she believes when he tells her she is beautiful, amazing and fun. She needs someone who understands what she does. Someone who makes her feel safe. She needs someone who loves her completely. And there is only one person who can do that. She shakes her head, "No, I need Anakin."