Note 1: Thank you for all the review/alerts/favorites that I have received, you guys are truly awesome and I know each and every one of you.

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.

Note 4: Thank you to my betas; TACAitsH and Young at guys are the ones who read and re-read these chapters over and over until they are right. Unless you're a writer or a beta, you will not understand how time-consuming and difficult this process really is. You guys are amazing.

Note 5: I REALLY DO APOLOGIZE for taking so long to update. As everyone knows, life often gets in the way of doing so. I will try my hardest not to allow such a lengthy period of time between updates. That being said, enjoy.

Chosen: Restoration

Chapter 12: Confessions of a Contrite Jedi

By WrittinInStone

The proverbial doghouse.

In common tongue, the term referred to relationships, specifically, the precarious position of one of the members of the partnership, usually the male. Anakin had never quite understood the mechanics of the word.

But now I do, he thought gloomily as he took another swig of his drink. Now I know exactly why they call it a doghouse.

He sighed as he nursed his drink. With everything that had been going wrong lately, he shouldn't be surprised that things had only gotten worse. Murphy's Law and all that, he thought, staring forlornly at his cup. Well, fuck Murphy and his Force-damned Law. If he had kept his stupid theories to himself, I wouldn't be in this mess.

Anakin knew that he was being irrational, but after everything that had happened the last few hours, he thought that he had the right to be.

"Will you stop your mental complaining," A voice next to him said icily, "You're broadcasting so loudly, it's amazing that those who aren't Force sensitive can't hear you." Obi-Wan glared at his old Padawan, no longer attempting to conceal his agitation.

Obi-Wan sat next to him, nursing a drink of his own. They both sighed in unison as each took another sip of their drinks.

"How did everything go so wrong, Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked finally. "All I wanted to do was to talk to her. I just wanted to make things right. How did I end up being forced to share your room?"

"Because Padmé kicked you out of your own suite." The older man answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Yeah." Anakin murmured. "Right." Both men sighed again as they thought back to the events that had occurred just three hours ago.

#*#*#*#*#

Three hours ago…

Anakin Skywalker quickly walked down the halls of Twilight's Rain, his mind whirling at the events that had just taken place. How had Obi-Wan known? How had he figured out the truth simply by the ambiguous facts that Padmé had told him? There were a plethora of emotions ripping through him; elation that Padmé loved him so deeply, regret for doubting her, anger at Obi-Wan for figuring things out.

Anakin shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. Obi-Wan had found out; that couldn't be changed. But that wasn't his concern right now. The only thing he was concerned about was Padmé. He had to make things right with his wife; he was going to come clean and admit that he had doubted her as she doubted him. It was easier to do then he wanted to admit.

So, where is she, now? Anakin thought. He paused for a moment to think. She was looking for him, so it was more than likely that she would go…

"To my bedroom," Anakin said aloud, finishing the thought.

Several minutes later, he was in front of the door of his suite.

"Okay," He said grimly, "Here goes something." He pressed the button on the door, and walked into the room.

"Padmé," He called as he stepped inside. "Are you here?"

"Ani?" Anakin turned around, and there stood Padmé.

"Padmé." He said quietly, "I've been looking for you."

"Really?" Padmé smiled nervously at him. "I've been…busy."

"Oh?" Anakin said, moving closer to her. "Busy doing what?"

"I was visiting Obi-Wan," She said, biting her lip. She couldn't help but wonder why her husband was approaching her so slowly, so sensually; it was sexy as hell.

"That's odd." Anakin said, pausing in his stride, "I just came from Obi-Wan's."

Padmé paused at the words. "That's impossible," She said shakily, "I was just there, I didn't see you."

"I know." He said, beginning to circle her slowly. He stopped when he got to the front of her and looked down at her belly critically. Anakin's eyes widened; he did indeed see a bump. And now that he was finally paying attention to it, it was quite pronounced. He frowned; the bump obviously wasn't the result of gaining weight, it was clearly a pregnancy bump. How had he missed that?

"It makes you wonder how we all missed this, huh?" Padmé said ruefully, echoing his thought as she followed his gaze. "I'm as big as a house and I never thought to check to see whether I was pregnant or not."

"Hmm…" Anakin said. He dropped slowly to his knees in front of her. Padmé felt happiness burst through her as he leaned forward and attached his hands to her waist while pressing his cheek to her belly.

Anakin closed his eyes, and using the Force, he searched for some spark within his wife that indicated life.

His eyes widened when he felt it. It felt warm and vibrant; it felt alive.

"Sweet Force," he breathed, "I can feel them, Padmé. I can feel their life energy."

Padmé's eyes widened as tears of joy sprang to her eyes. "You can?" She asked breathlessly. "You can feel our babies?"

Anakin nodded against her stomach, amazed. "They're so small, so tiny. But they're strong, I can feel it." Nuzzling her belly with her cheek one more time, he moved away, feeling aglow with the knowledge that he had helped to create new life.

"My babies," Padmé crooned. "I love you both." She rubbed her stomach tenderly, hoping that her babies could feel that they were already loved.

She looked up to look at her husband. Anakin stood there staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

She took a deep breath; she was Padmé, she was brave. She could and would clear the air with her husband. She could do this.

"Anakin," She said tentatively, her voice breaking and tears beginning to roll down her face. "I…I'm soo sorry that I doubted you! I'm so sorry that I said those horrible things! Please forgive me! I love you so much, I—" Her litany was stopped abruptly when Anakin gently took her face into his large hands. They were warm and comforting. She closed her eyes and pressed her face into his hands.

"It's okay, Padmé." He said, moving to gently nuzzle her cheek. "I know that you're sorry. I heard everything that you said to Obi-Wan. When you said those things, I felt so loved…so cherished that I couldn't be angry anymore."

"Really?" Padmé said, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Yes," Anakin said smiling at her. Padmé breathed a sigh of relief as her husband gathered her into his arms. She sighed into his chest, loving the feel of his arms around her. It had been much too long since she had felt them.

She was in a nearly hypnotic state when she heard Anakin speak again.

"Besides," He said jokingly, "While I was there, I realized how easy it was to doubt. When I saw you show up at Obi-Wan's so early in the morning, for a minute I thought that you were cheating on me. For a split second I even wondered if the children were mine."

Padmé froze as the words washed over her psyche. "You. What?" She said incredulously, pulling away from him to look into his face. "What the hell did you just say to me?"

"I…uh…" Anakin eyes had widened at her tone. Maybe I should not have been so honest, he thought as he saw pain and then fury flash across her face.

"Please repeat what you just said," She said with dangerous sweetness.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Anakin said, backing away from her.

"You thought," Padmé said, her vision starting to blur from rage as she followed him "That I was cheating on you with Obi-Wan? Do you really trust me so little? How dare you!" She was so furious that she was sputtering.

"Padmé!" He said, his temper starting to rise as well, "I was just trying to tell you that I realize now how easy it was to jump to the wrong conclusions."

"Wrong conclusions, yes, but to think that our babies weren't yours, that I was unfaithful to you?" She said, beginning to shriek at him, "That goes a little beyond thinking that you're going to leave us! You're basically saying that I'm a hussy!"

"I don't think you're a hussy, Padmé." He said desperately, "For a moment, I just thought—"

"Get the hell out." She said quietly.

"What?" Anakin said incredulously, after a long moment of silence. "This is my suite."

"I said," She repeated dangerously, her eyes stormy with violence, "Get the fuck out."

His mouth opened to argue then closed when he saw the look in her eyes. With a clenched jaw and fire in his own eyes, Anakin turned on his heel and left.

#*#*#*#*#

Now sitting in Obi-Wan's rooms, Anakin thought hard. How could he make Padmé understand how sorry he was?

He knew that he had been way off base in what he had said to her. And in some relationships, what he said would have effectively ended things.

Anakin sighed and buried his head in his hands. Things are spiraling out of control, Anakin thought, groaning inwardly, how am I going to make things right? How am I going to apologize to my wife? There must be something that I'm missing. There's no way I should have thought that way about Padmé. Nothing she has done has warranted such thoughts. So if it's not her, then I am the problem.

Anakin paused a moment in his reflection. He felt as though he was on the edge of a precipice and was moments from being pushed over, from discovering something.

What is it about me, Anakin thought slowly, that makes me act this way? He bit his lips as he mentally ran through everything that had been said. I'm not secure in our relationship, he realized. We have to hide, duck and sneak so much that I'm afraid that she will fall in love with someone else; with someone who will be able to give her a family that she can claim.

So how do I control my insecurities? Anakin thought desperately, how do I make myself okay with this situation?

I have to man up. He suddenly realized. I cannot continue to allow everything to control me. I have to…be in charge of the things that I can control, and the only thing that I can truly control is myself. Well, myself and how I treat my wife. I have to start…acting better than this. I have to do better than this. And I can do this by talking to my wife and making things right. What I did, what I thought, was unforgiveable, but hopefully she will forgive me.

"Okay," Anakin said abruptly, standing to his feet, "I'm going to go and find Padmé. Wish me luck, Master."

"I wish you more than luck, Anakin." Obi-Wan said with a small smile, "I wish you protection as well."

The young man smiled wryly before leaving the room. He made his way back to his suite. He knew that she would still be there.

He quickly punched in the codes to his room and entered. There she lay in bed, curled as tight as her pregnant body would allow.

He saw her body flinch when the door opened, but she did not move. He entered silently, kicking off his shoes as he did.

Taking a deep breath, he gently sat on the bed and folded his body around hers. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, burying his nose into her hair. It smelled of wildflowers, like she had just finished taking a shower.

"Padmé." He said quietly, "I know that you're awake." He took a deep breath and began to speak. " I know that I hurt your feelings. No, I know that the things I was thinking crushed you. What I was thinking was wrong and horrible and beneath me. It was definitely beneath you."

Anakin paused as he felt his voice crack, "But you must understand…I feel the same way about you as you feel about me. I love you more than anything, Padmé; I cherish you. You are my weakness and not just to my heart, but to my common sense. When it comes to you, all intelligence, all good sense, everything that makes me a smart man flees."

"I don't want you to be angry with me, Padmé. Actually," He said, amending his statement, "You can be angry with me, because I do deserve it. But I don't ever want you to send me away again. I'm your husband and it is my right to be by your side. I want to be with you, even when you're furious with me. You can rage at me, you can curse at me, you can even hit me, but don't ever send me away again."

Silence reigned again as he fell silent. She was so still that Anakin thought that she had fallen asleep.

Then suddenly, in the stillness of the room, her quiet voice said. "You are sexy as hell when you take control like that."

Anakin smiled against her hair, "If you liked that," He murmured sensually, happy that she was responding to him, "Just wait until you see what I'm going to do to you next. I have to make up for all the horrible things I said to you."

He felt a shiver of desire go through her body. Gently he turned her over until she was facing him. She was smiling and her eyes alight with a different type of fire.

"Are you still angry with me, Padmé?" He asked softly, staring intently at her.

She thought about it. "A little," She admitted, "But we'll see what you do next. That might go a long way in relieving my anger." She said, grinning at him.

Well, Obi-Wan, Anakin thought as his wife began to strip off his clothes, It looks like I won't be needing to bunk in your suite tonight after all.

His thoughts quickly faded to black as his wife's ministrations dominated the working recesses of his mind.

End of Chapter 12: If you loved it, review it.

Chapter 13: Hell To Pay: Obi-Wan has a 'talk' with Anakin and Padmé.

((***If you simply LOVED this, please check out my other story: Soul's Scars.))