Note 1: This is my first fanfiction work. Thank you for all the review that I have received! It's really encouraging and will ensure that this Verse is continued.

Note 2: This takes place during ROTS, right after Anakin and Obi-Wan return from rescuing Chancellor Palpatine from General Grievous.

Note 3: Star Wars and its affiliates do not belong to me, only the contents of this Verse.

Chosen: Restoration

Chapter 4: Padmé's Choice

By WrittinInStone

"Padmé?" Anakin said incredulously. He rubbed his eyes, but she didn't disappear. He stared at her in confusion a moment longer before anger surged through him, hot and heavy. "Padmé," he said, his voice belying his barely controlled rage, "What are you doing here?"

Few people had ever seen Anakin Skywalker this angry and lived to tell about it. One such group was the Sand People on Tatooine who had killed his beloved mother. They had gained death for their actions, yet Padmé stood before her furious husband without fear.

"Well, you're here, aren't you?" Padmé stated simply, as she moved to inspect the room. She had been so intent on hiding that she had not taken the time to admire it.

"Padmé." Anakin spoke slowly, "Do you realize what you have done?"

"Yes, I do." She stopped inspecting the room to turn to Anakin. "I smuggled myself aboard this jinxed cruiser to be with my husband. After all, you said that you were okay and that you would be home soon, did you not?"

Anakin immediately had to guard himself against going on the offensive. He knew what she was trying to do; she was subtlety telling him that she was not happy that he had lied to her. In the back of his mind, he had to admire her cleverness. He had known when he married her that she was a very effective politician due to her brilliance and her ability to think quickly. At any other time, he would have been just as impressed when she used her methods on him, but this time, her antics would not work. Not today, not for this; for this, he was furious.

"Padmé, I want you to leave this ship. Now." Anakin said quietly.

Padmé tried to ignore the chill that went down her spine at his words. She only remembered seeing Anakin this angry one time. People had died… Now, apparently, she had committed a crime just as severe by putting herself in danger.

"I'm not going anywhere, Anakin." She said firmly.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Padmé, I want you to leave this ship. Take an escape pod, do what you have to do, but leave, " He repeated, his voice lowering.

"I'm not going anywhere, Anakin." She repeated, her anger beginning to rise. She took a long drawn out breath to calm down. Padmé reminded herself that Anakin had good reason to be upset; he loved her and had only done what he thought was right.

But she could not be away from him, and she knew that he could not be away from her; as soon as she had made it onto Twilight's Rain, she had felt his sadness. Padmé knew that she had a bond with Anakin that surpassed understanding and she knew that she could feel things about him that no one else could, but she still could not help but wonder why no one else could feel his pain; it radiated off of him in waves.

Now, as she stood in front of her livid husband, she knew that before she could talk to him, she had to calm him down. Padmé was glad that she had thought of a plan before engaging in this rash venture. There was only one thing that would calm this brewing storm: Plan B. Well, it's not really my plan, Padmé thought, it's more like my mother's plan.

Padmé remembered when her mother had first told her about Plan B. It had been the three of them, Padmé; Jobal, her mother; and her sister, Sola, in the kitchen preparing for a family gathering. She had been twenty-two years old at the time and still completely unprepared for the talk. She remembered Sola smirking at her when Jobal first started in; obviously Sola had known what was in store for Padmé, but had not bothered to warn her younger sister of the coming awkwardness. Her mother had sat preparing potatoes when she had given her daughters the secret:

"Padmé, Sola, when you finally find the man that you want to spend the rest of your life with, you two will have arguments. It's inevitable. Some will be small, but those are the ones that you don't have to worry about as much. It's the big ones that can destroy a relationship. Now, there will be times when he will try to assert his authority over you as the husband or the man, and that will offend you down to your core. But don't let it, because we women are the ones with the real power. In order to resolve any and all issues, appeal to his masculinity and give him the one thing that no man can resist. I call it Plan B."

"Plan B?" Padmé remembered responding, "What's Plan B?"

"Plan B is the ultimate equalizer." Jobal stated with a secret smile, "Not only does it immediately stop any arguments, but it leaves both parties extremely happy. It doesn't solve the issue, but Force knows that it certainly helps to decrease the tension. Trust me, it works every time with your father." Jobal had winked at Padmé, who suddenly wished she could bleach her mind of the images that her mother had conjured up.

I hope this actually works, Padmé thought with a deep breath. With a pull of a cord on her one-piece outfit, all of her clothes fell to the floor. Padmé had commissioned to have the outfit specially made for events that required Plan B. She had been mortified when ordering it, especially when she received a knowing look from the shopkeeper. But now, at the look on her husband's face, all of the embarrassment that she had endured to have the suit made became worth it.

Anakin's mouth dropped open as Padmé stood in front of him in all her nude glory. Thoughts fled and good intentions disappeared as he surveyed the perfection that was her body.

By the Force, it works! Padmé thought in amazement as her husband stared dumbly at her, my mother is a genius!

Padmé smiled sensually at Anakin, and as she gazed upon her husband, she realized that power had indeed been shifted to her. I am really going to enjoy this, Padmé thought as she smiled enticingly at Anakin. She moved slowly toward Anakin, allowing her curves to rock his world. He gulped hard as she reached him and pressed her body into his.

"Padmé," he finally bit out, "This doesn't….doesn't change….anything…." Anakin spoke brokenly as he tried to concentrate on speaking. She rose on her tiptoes and pulled him down so she would nibble on his ear, "Y…you still have to….leave." Anakin let out a sigh as Padmé began to pull the clothes off of his body.

"I missed you so much, Ani." She whispered to him, burying her face in his now bare chest. "I thought I would die. And I know that what I've done is crazy, I know it is, but please understand. I would rather die here with you than to live anywhere else without you. I have to be with you."

Anakin closed his eyes as he absorbed her words. Padmé nuzzled his chest and slowly began to explore the skin there. "I am your wife. It is my right to be by your side. Please, let me stay," she murmured, "please."

Padmé knew that she could stay there against Anakin's wishes, but she didn't want to. She knew that he wanted her there; he just needed to admit it so that they could make the most of the time that they would have together.

"Please, Ani," she entreated once more, "Please let me stay."

Anakin let out a loud, exaggerated sigh of defeat. "Fine." He said it as though he resented it highly, but Padmé only smiled. It was hard to be angry at his theatrics when his hands were all over her body.

Anakin suddenly paused as he felt a presence approaching his room. "Padmé," he said, trying to focus "Padmé, we must stop."

"Why," she spoke against his skin.

"Because Obi-Wan is coming."

She pulled away from him so fast that she tripped over the clothes on the floor. "Obi-Wan is here? On Twilight's Rain?" she squeaked. "Why didn't you say that before I started tearing your clothes off?" As he began to dress, Anakin could only watch in amusement as she haphazardly rushed to put on her clothes.

"Force-damned one-piece suit," Padmé murmured angrily as she tried to squeeze into the tight, skimpy outfit. Clothes were the bane of her existence but because of her various public positions, she had always had someone to help her with her clothes. Hair she could handle, but clothes? She absolutely despised clothes.

"He's here." Anakin stated, walking to the door, "he probably felt your presence."

"Anakin!" She exclaimed, "What are we going to say? How are we going to explain my being here?"

"You don't have a plan? I thought you had everything figured out!"

"I didn't know Obi-Wan was going to be here!" She pointed out frantically as she patted her hair and checked her appearance in the mirror. She prayed to the Force that she did not look like she had been moments away from making love to the Jedi in front of her.

She strained her mind as she tried to think of a good reason why she was here. She bit her lip as something came to her; it was sketchy at best, but it was the only thing she had at the moment.

"Okay, he's at the door. Do you have something?" Anakin asked, his eyebrows turned up in worry.

She nodded as she mentally braced herself for what was coming. Anakin opened the door and there stood Obi-Wan at the entrance, poised to knock.

"Anakin," he said as he entered, "I felt a strange presence on board. It felt different than that of the clones. I came here to see if you felt it too…" He stopped and his eyes widened when he saw Padmé. "Senator Amidala!"

"Hello, Master Kenobi," Padmé said, putting on her persona as Senator Amidala, "It's good to see you." Falling into her role as a political giant was familiar; it gave her strength and put her at ease.

"Senator Amidala…you're here…on this ship…in Anakin's room." Obi-Wan stated as though he were having a hard time believing that she was there.

"Yes," Padmé allowed amusement to color her voice, "I'm here on a mission from Naboo. The people of Naboo have never forgotten Master Skywalker's bravery during the conflict with the Trade Federation so many years ago. His actions allowed us to win the war and retain our freedom. The Queen heard of Knight Skywalker's…predicament and bade me come to help find the cure. She thought I would be the best choice due to my history with him. The Queen also chose me because she did not want any other to make such a sacrifice when she knew that I was quite willing. She wanted this to be a covert mission, so it was necessary for me to acquire entrance without anyone's knowledge. I saw Knight Skywalker walking to his room and decided that it was as good a time as any to make my intentions known."

"Really?" Obi-Wan said, his eyebrows rising, "That is quite generous of the Queen. I shall inform the Jedi Council so that they can send a formal word of gratitude."

Only Padmé's political experience stopped her from reacting negatively to Obi-Wan's words. She steadied herself inwardly and then she calmly shook her head in disagreement, "I would advise against such. The Queen has requested that this be kept quiet from all. This is a personal favor for her and she wants no political repercussions from this act."

Obi-Wan nodded, acquiescing to her words, "Very well, Senator. It would not be my place to question your decision, or that of the Queen's since you both are clearly sure of what you are doing. Now," Obi-Wan said smiling, "unless you intend to stay in this suite with Anakin, I will call a clone to assist you in finding a suitable room."

Obi-Wan frowned slightly as both Anakin and Padmé tensed at his last statement. "It was a joke," he offered.

"Oh," They both echoed as they visibly relaxed. Obi-Wan shook his head in exasperation. "If you would come with me, Senator Amidala."

"Please," Padmé said with a smile as she followed Obi-Wan, "We've never been so formal with one another before. Call me Padmé."

Obi-Wan nodded, a smile gracing his face as well, "I will do so only if you call me Obi-Wan." Padmé nodded readily in agreement.

Obi-Wan inclined his head to Anakin as he left, Padmé in tow. After leaving the Senator in the capable hands of a clone, Obi-Wan slowly made his way to his own suite. He could not shake the feeling that he had just missed something significant involving Anakin and Padmé. In truth, Obi-Wan was more than a little disturbed by what he had witnessed, or rather, what he had not witnessed in Anakin's room.

Obi-Wan knew that Anakin had once fancied the Senator long ago as a Padawan and that presently, they were good friends. These facts made him wonder at Anakin's calm. If Anakin had been so against Obi-Wan going, he should have been furious that Senator Amidala had done something so drastic. Yet Anakin seemed perfectly at ease. How long were they together before I got there? Obi-Wan wondered, a suspicion growing in his mind.

Obi-Wan had not missed the slight easing of the Senator's shoulders as he accepted her words about her 'mission.' It was as though she was relieved that he had believed her statements at all. In addition to that, they had both been intent upon him, almost overly so, while being very careful not to look at one another. Obi-Wan felt a chill began to sweep up his spine at the possible implications of what he had seen.

"No, I will not react until I have all of the information," Obi-Wan stated aloud, and Obi-Wan knew that he would get that information.

Something was going on and Obi-Wan intended to find out what.

End of Chapter 4: If you enjoyed this, please, please review.

5th Chapter: Plots & Plans: The group set a course of action to save Anakin