Hello darkness my old friend!

Good news is this chapter is the longest one I've written so far. Bad news is it gets dark again. I apologize in advance for the cliff hanger.

Enjoy!

-DFD

Chapter 14

The two sisters sat on their respective beds staring across at the other. They have been like this ever since the incident with the boy by the pool. Sola had tried to be gentle with her sister in regards to Anakin and how easy it was for her to fall under his spell, but it wasn't working. Padme didn't seem to care that he had already broken her heart once and was in the process of doing it again. Clutching a pillow to her chest, Sola let out a heavy sigh, "I don't understand." She said, "I don't understand how someone as smart as you are, can be so… dense."

Padme shifted to hug one of her knees to her chest, "I'm not asking you to understand, Sola. I just want you to respect what I want."

She scoffed, "What you want is a broken heart if he is what you want." She said, "I just don't want to see him hurt you again."

"And you won't."

"He's hurting you right now," Sola argued, "He left and-"

"I know!" Padme shouted, "I know he's gone. You don't have to keep reminding me of that." She said.

Sola shook her head, "Why couldn't you have just stayed with Clovis?"

Padme scowled at the name, "Rush Clovis is a pompous arrogant ass." She sneered.

"And a world class neurosurgeon like you."

She shook her head, "He is nothing like me." She argued, "Clovis cares more about results for his studies than improving the lives of his patients. To him, they're just numbers… But Anakin…" Padme smiled, "He cares. He cares so much it is like nothing I've ever seen. Before this whole mess, he lost a baby during a surgery he has done so many times it should have been easy. I found him going over the file trying to figure out what went wrong."

Sola reached across the gap between their beds and gripped her hand, "I'm just trying to look out for you," She said, giving her hand a squeeze, "You and I both know Anakin is far from perfect. He's jealous, quick to anger, impulsive-"

"I know," Padme interrupted, "But I'm not looking for someone who's perfect. I'm looking for someone who is real."

Sola just didn't understand. She already has a husband and children- she has everything that Padme wants. So how can she possibly understand how Anakin makes her feel? They go back and forth on the topic several times until it becomes obvious neither is willing to give any ground on it. Rather than spend the remainder of their trip arguing, they drop the matter for the time being, though it is obvious Sola is worried by Padme's refusal to see reason. None of that matters though. Padme has never been one to let the opinions of others deter her. Even as a teenager when she decided she wanted to be a surgeon she never let anyone tell her she couldn't handle the pressure or the sacrifices she would have to make to be successful. No. She always proved them wrong with her determination and her ambition. This time would be no different. She knew what she wanted and no one, not even Sola was going to change that.

By the time it was time to go back to the city, Padme was more than ready to go back to work. She spent dinner at Sola's where she helped keep the girls entertained for a couple hours before hugging them all and heading back to her apartment. Halfway home, it starts to rain and the wind picks up. The rain quickly escalates to a downpour and it is nearly impossible to see where she is going. Maintaining a slow drive she has her hazard lights flashing and leans forward to try to see better. It does little good and as she pulls up to a traffic light she can barely tell what color it is before managing to stop as it turns yellow then red.

It took her twice as long to reach her apartment but she dreads the fact that her apartment building is separate from the garage she parks in. Standing at the entrance to the garage she eyes the entrance to her apartment but she can barely see it through the rain. The only thing she can see is the light above the large arch into the building. Looking both ways she starts to run to the entrance. Her eye catches the headlight of a car that suddenly pulled into the complex and she stumbles slightly as the driver slams on his breaks. She manages to get out of the way before he hits her and when she reaches the entrance she leans her back against the wall of the arch and catches her breath a moment before wringing out her hair and walking into the building and making her way up to her apartment.

She was dripping as she walked into her room. Making her way to the bathroom she stripped herself of her soaked clothes and wrapped herself in a towel to dry off before dragging her equally soaked bag to the bedroom where she started to unpack her things. As she walked around the room returning her clothes to their proper locations, she heard her phone vibrate. Reaching for her purse on the bed she pulls it out and furrows her brow as she realizes it isn't her phone ringing. Her eyes widen as she realizes where it was coming from. Anakin's phone. She nearly trips over her feet as she grabs the phone on the nightstand. She doesn't recognize the number that pops up on the screen but it doesn't matter. She answers the phone, "Hello?" she says, waiting several moments for a response. Silence is on the other end, "Hello?" She tries again, "Anakin?" The other end remains silent but she is sure it is him. It has to be, anyone else would have said something by now or hung up. "Ani, please," She takes a breath, "Come back. I'm worried. I miss you. Please come back." The call ends and Padme stares at the blank screen hoping he calls back. He doesn't and Padme finishes unpacking and gets dressed for bed before climbing in and pulling the covers over her with Anakin's phone held firmly in her hand.

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It had rained the entire night. The storm worsening as the hours passed and lightning streaked across the sky accompanied by the loud roar of thunder. With the weather this bad, Padme was waiting for her pager to go off in the middle of the night calling her in because of a terrible accident or a fire. By the time her alarm went off she was groggy from how dark it still was. If her clock didn't read 5:30 in bright red numbers, she would swear it was still midnight. She went about her morning routine slowly, not looking forward to the drive to work.

Making sure she has her umbrella she pauses at the door before going back into her bedroom and grabs Anakin's phone before going to work. After the strange call last night, she isn't about to take a chance this time. Ever since he left the phone, there have been no calls to it at all. Not one. So for it to go off like it did, it only made sense that it was Anakin. Maybe he was testing to see if she still had it, or maybe he was testing her reaction before he comes back. She hopes he is coming back. Or she at least hopes he tries to call again and maybe this time he will say something.

After running through the rain once more to get to her car, and battling the storm to reach the hospital, she gets there a little later than she likes but with the rain as bad as it is no one can really blame her for it. She quickly changes into her scrubs and ties her hair back before dawning her white coat and walking down the hall to check her patients for the day. Dorme sat at the nurse's station talking to Ben who looked like he could use a break from her. Making her way over to them she picks up a tablet and sifts through the patients and lab work that has been done since her break. She picked up enough of Dorme's conversation with Ben to know what they were talking about.

"Padme," Dorme started, "Please just tell Ben to ask Satine out." She said.

"No Padme, don't." Ben said, "Dorme clearly does not know what she's talking about."

Dorme rolled her eyes, "I know that she likes you but you lack the courage to ask her out."

Ben scowled at her and Padme rolled her eyes, "Dorme why can't you stay out of everyone's love lives?" She asked, "It's bad enough you ask about mine."

She smiled at her, "Probably because romance around here is either nonexistent or extremely sad like yours." She held her hands up in surrender, "No offence, but seeing you all moppy faced is getting really, really sad."

Padme glared at her, "I swear if I had a scalpel-"

"And that threat is losing effect." Dorme said with a smile that only made the knit in Padme's brow deepen.

Shaking her head, Padme turned to Ben, "I need a consult on a patient." She said and started to walk away quickly.

Ben wasn't foolish enough to stay and quickly fell into step next to her. "What can I help you with?" He asked; his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Nothing. I just thought you needed to get away from her."

He smiled, "I am in your debt." He said, "I can't tell you how horrible my week has been. Satine had a child with kawasaki disease and I helped fix it but then she…" Ben scratched his beard and visibly swallowed, "She complemented my work and said my beard hid too much of my face…"

Padme smiled, "Maybe Dorme is right." She said, "She must really like you."

He shook his head, "No, no. I think it was just a casual statement."

She shook her head, "You like her and she likes you." Padme turned her head and met his eye, "Take a chance. Ask her out. Or maybe Dorme will call you the moppy one." The two of them walk along in silence a few moments before Ben raises a brow at her. Padme lets out a sigh, "I think Anakin called." She said.

He blinks several times, "And?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. He didn't say anything."

"But he called so that's… good. It's a step in the right direction."

Padme smiled, "Yeah, I just wish he had said something- anything. It would have just been nice to know that he is alright."

Ben nodded before glancing down at his watch, "I have to go and check on my interns," He said, "Last week they hooked up a patient's O2 to their IV. I'm not about to let them out of my sight like that again."

She nodded her head and gestured for him to go. They would catch up later.

[][][][]

Padme stood over the scrub sink and sighed as she watched the nurses wheel her patient out of the OR and back up to his room. She smiled- her bad streak was over and she couldn't be happier about it. Leaving the OR and standing by the station just outside the room, she fills out her chart. Ahsoka left the OR next to hers with Ben. He gave Ahsoka instructions and left quickly as the young resident came to stand by her and grabbed a tablet and worked on a chart.

"Hey," Padme greeted.

Ahsoka smiled, "Dr. Amidala," She said.

"Padme, please." She corrected, "You're a resident now. I don't really need to be as hard on you anymore."

She smiled, "That's good to know," She said.

"How are your interns?"

Ahsoka groaned, "I'm starting to see why you guys were so hard on us." She said, "Makes me wonder what Skyguy saw in me to actually let me in on a surgery."

Padme laughed, "Trust me, when you're an attending, you'll know what to look for." The beeping of pagers started and everyone looked down to check. The page called for everyone to meet in the ER. Without another word, they followed the crowd as they made their way there.

Besides the nurses and doctors currently working on patients, all the staff was congregating there. There where whispers of why they were going there that ranged from a minor dispute with staff to a massive accident that required everyone to be ready for the worst. With how bad it has been raining, she wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter scenario. As they reached the ER at the very front by the doors stood the chief of surgery Yoda. He was a short elderly man and it was hard to see him from where she stood but his distinct vernacular could not be mistaken for anyone else. "An accident there was." He said, "Terrible, the weather is. Caused a massive landslide, it did." Most people found the way he spoke to be unusual but supposedly it is because he emigrated from some country far away. No one knows which country and it varies depending on who is asked. But all agree it is a little odd. "Expect mass casualties, we should. Prepare for the worst, we must." He said, urging everyone to be ready with triage stations and to push all elective operations to later times.

With Yoda done speaking, Dr. Koon took over and began ordering everyone to prepare the ER and the ORs and to overstock on blood and medication. Padme took her tablet and started going through her patients and checking which ones are ready for discharge and which ones need to stay. The interns in the room waited patiently for the attendings and residents to give them orders and Padme was quick to snag one and gave them the list of her patients she needs discharged before sending them off to see to it.

The sound of sirens grew louder as the first ambulance pulled up and unloaded a man soaking wet and covered in mud. Ben was quick to take the man as his patient and immediately noticed he was struggling to breath. Padme watched as he started to intubate him before going to wait by the door for the next ambulance that started to pull up. Rushing forward to meet them she listens as the paramedic gives the basic information on the patient. The eighteen-year-old girl lived in one of the homes that fell and had been buried under the rubble. Immediately Padme knows she has to intubate her because of how shallow her breath is and how she is clearly coughing up mud. Getting her to the triage station she takes a breathing tube and lines it up to go down her windpipe. With the airway secure, Padme inspects her other injuries, which mostly consist of broken bones.

Padme worked to set the bones and had an OR booked to repair a liver laceration and the fractured him. She and Dr. Windu started to wheel her up to the OR when Dr. Koon called her over and had Lux take over for her.

He was standing by the ER entrance where she could see the rain was starting to let up and the sun was peaking through the dark clouds. "We have more patients coming from a sinkhole that formed ten miles out." He said, "I'm sending you with Tano and Organa to do damage control." Padme nodded her head and left to join Bail and Ahsoka who were gathering materials to take to the field.

Climbing into one of the ambulances that was returning to the scene, the three of them listened intently to what the paramedic told them what they knew so far about the place. The sinkhole was massive and stretched from one side of the street to the other. Several cars have fallen in and the hole penetrates into the subway system leaving several people trapped inside. Structural damage is on all the buildings and there is a risk of at least five falling.

As the ambulance slowed to a stop and the doors opened, they all climbed out and took a moment to analyze the area. Paramedics have already set up several zones for people and the rescue squads are doing what they can to get people out but it was obvious the task is more daunting than anyone wants to admit.

"Alright," Bail starts, "We know the protocol, lets go," He said as he started to walk towards the carnage. Padme was quick to follow suit. She didn't even think to see where Ahsoka was going, knowing she would quickly learn how to navigate the situation. The protocol was rather simple- assess the injured and apply what treatment was possible at the moment before tagging them and getting them on an ambulance as fast as possible. The trick was managing all the emotions, all the injuries they can't immediately see and to organize the incoming patients search and rescue finds. In the field there are more things that can go wrong than anywhere else. There are fewer tools to work with and a finite amount of supplies to work with. If there are no more gauges, it means waiting until an ambulance comes back with supplies and in that time the patient could bleed out before they arrive.

Padme found a man lying near the rubble holding his leg. The blood was seeping through his pant leg and Padme hurried to help him She quickly inspects his wound after cleaning away the blood and starts to suture it closed before covering it with gauges. The man's injuries are not life threatening so when she is sure he is all right, he tags him to go to the hospital taking the non-emergent patients. She goes through this process several more times helping who she can and getting the critical patients on their way to the hospital.

As she sat with a patient with a head laceration she ran a quick neurological test to see if there was any damage. Flashing a light in her eyes she finds the woman is responding well and tags her as a non-emergent and covers her wound. Behind the woman Padme sees two paramedics running over with a stretcher to help carry someone to the ambulance. Padme gets up to see what is going on and to offer her help but stops in her tracks.

Anakin is leaning over a woman who was visibly struggling to breathe. Taking a pair of scissors he cuts away part of the side of her shirt enough so he has access to the area around her ribs. With a scalpel he cuts deep into her skin, ignoring how she screams before putting a tube inside her lung to help her breathe. As the paramedic arrives with the backboard he has them put the neck brace on and helps them put her on the board before realigning the bones in her legs and putting both of them in braces to hold them still. With her safely on the board and being taken to an ambulance he looks up and his eyes widen.

Padme meets his eyes and the two of them are frozen where they stand for several moments. She notices the faint scratch on his forehead that was covered by a bandage and how his hair is slightly shorter than it had been but more disheveled than usual. She sees how his grey shirt is stained brown from blood and how the right sleeve of the shirt is missing having been torn off at the seam.

She wanted to run to him. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and feel the heat that radiates from his body and never let him go. And she would have if there weren't people all around them screaming for help. In the space between them a rescue squad member carries a young boy who was bleeding profusely from his side and she watches as Anakin falls into step with them and gets to work helping stop the bleeding.

Turning away Padme is confident she will find him after and looks around for someone who needs help. "We need a doctor over here!" Her head turns sharply to the right and sees a group of rescue squad men huddled around the opening of a building. Picking up her pack she walks over to them.

"What do you need?" she asks.

"Ten people are trapped." He said, "We can't get to them and they say one of them is loosing a lot of blood, and another is struggling to breathe with another who can't walk."

Padme peeks into the narrow hole that must have been a hallway before the sinkhole. The building was not particularly very tall- only about five stories. She could make out three of the trapped people and one of them was a child. The hole itself was not very big and for the large men trying to get in they couldn't fit.

"It'll take hours before we can get in there," One of the men said, "I don't think we can help them."

"I can." Padme said, "I can crawl into the building and do what I can to keep them alive until you can cut us out." She said. A hand on her shoulder pulled her back and she saw Bail staring down at her.

"No you're not." He said, "The building could fall any moment. You're not going in there."

Padme pulled away, "If I don't all those people are going to die. They will get us out soon and I'll be alright."

Bail paused a moment and thought about it before nodding his head, "Fine. But the moment you think it's going down, you get out."

She nodded her head let the rescue squad men help her climb into the hole. Hunched over she ducks under broken pieces of metal and wires as she squeezes past the wreckage into the space where the people are trapped. She takes a moment to inspect the space and pulls a flashlight out of her pack and turns it on so she can see better. She immediately takes note of the man holding his blood stained shirt to his neck and gets to work on him.

Every once in a while the sound of shifting debris echoes in the space where she was working to try and keep these people alive while the rescue squad worked to create a bigger opening to get them out. Of the ten people trapped, only four of them were in good enough shape to try and help. The man who was struggling to breathe had a broken rib that was pressing down on the lung so she quickly toughed a young man how to use a breathing bag so she could help the others. As she worked she had him verbally count to ensure he kept pace.

The man with the neck injury could not be sutured since the cut penetrated an artery and the only reason he was still alive was because of the shard of glass blocking it. Padme instructed a young girl to keep pressure on the wound to reduce blood loss. As she worked to secure a broken leg, the building shook violently halting her progress, "What's going on?" She called to the squad.

"Pipe burst." A man called back, "Don't worry, it's under control."

The building shook again and Padme could tell the people were frightened. "How much longer do you think we'll be here?" She asked, trying to take their minds off the shaking and to give them the strength to hold on just a little longer.

"Not long. Maybe an hour."

Padme smiled, "Okay guys, you heard him," She said to the group, "Just one more hour. Then we'll get you to a hospital. So hang in there, alright?"

The people in the space nodded and Padme turned back to the leg she was working on. Another shake more violent than the last dislodged a metal rod from the ceiling of the space and it clattered to the ground, startling them. "It's okay," Padme said to reassure them, "Everything is fine." The space shook again and a piece of plaster fell, followed by a pipe, them a beam. The shaking grew worse and it became clear this time it wasn't from the burst pipe.

The shaking dislodged what debris was supporting the weight of the pocket they sat in and as if in slow motion it started to collapse around them. Padme was frozen to the spot as a cloud of dust and debris swallowed the space before darkness fell around her.