A/N: Alright another chapter! This one is a bit longer, and the chapters will keep getting longer as the story progresses. This is sort of a filler chapter but still serves to reveal an important part of the plot. Read and Enjoy! and Don't forget to review!

The wind tousled Anakin's sandy, blonde hair as he raced through the dusky sky. Anxiousness flooded his veins at the thought of seeing his beloved again. It had been too long since he had feasted his eyes upon her beauty.

Thoughts of her invaded his mind and chased away the nervousness that had gripped him since the word 'trial' had been mentioned. His wife was his salvation no matter the situation.

As he flew Anakin anticipated that Padme would jump for joy at his news. She is the only one, aside from his master, whose faith in him had never been shaken.

There were no lights on, save for the ones illuminating the fountain and landing platform, as he landed his speeder and leapt from the cockpit. Heavy, black boots hits softly and silently as he hit the button on the glove of his right arm, activating his latest cloaking device.

His speeder was completely invisible as he stepped down into the living room her shared with his secret wife of two years. He expected to find her lying asleep in their bed as he crept into the master suite, removing his boots and dropping his cloak by the door, but the bed was empty. The sheets were crumpled still, as if someone had just recently been in between them; so he knew she could not have gone far.

Reaching deeply into the force, he sensed his wife's presence closer by than he originally thought it would be. This is when he noticed the doors to the private balcony were open, the sheer white curtains billowing softly in the breeze.

He kept his footsteps quiet as he moved to the open doorway. Peering around the corner, he saw her. His heartbeat thudded harder in his chest, rejoicing at the sight of his beloved, whom he had not seen for so long.

Twelve weeks felt like a lifetime to him now as he gazed at her leaning over the balcony rail in nothing but a sheer nightgown and light robe. Her back was to him, but he could tell that her face was turned up towards the stars, no doubt wondering where among the galaxy he was.

Anakin was correct. Padme Skywalker's thoughts focused on her husband as she gazed up at the night sky, her hand grasping tightly the carved japor snippet he had given her so long ago. Time had done nothing to make her affections for him wane. The time spent apart served to strengthen their bond, and each day spent away from each other made them burn deeper for the other.

And now the news she had discovered today made her love him even more, if it was at all possible. He would be so much more than her husband and lover now. Now she had been given a gift that made her heart soar and burst with love and joy, but she worried such happiness could easily be taken away. The more she gained in her life to love, the more she had to fear losing.

Her mind wandered alone, but suddenly the loneliness was gone as she felt warm, strong arms wrap around her front tightly, a chin resting on her shoulder. She sighed in relief at the feeling of finally being whole again. Lips caressed her neck lovingly as her hand reached back to tangle in his hair.

"I missed you my love," he whispered in her ear, reveling in the feel of her in his arms at last.

She twisted in his embrace to face him at his words, replying while looking up at him, "You have no idea how much I have longed for you Ani".

He pulled her tighter against his chest before leaning down and brushing his lips lightly against hers. She sighed into his kiss as he slowly pulled away, but she would have none of it, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. Their lips slid across each other's tortuously, enticingly, grasping for completion.

Soon she was in his arms, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he carried her to their bed, their kiss becoming fiery with passion. He pulled his lips away as he laid her down, his body hovering closely over hers.

"I love you," he whispered to her, even as her fingers were working furiously to free him of his belt and leather jerkin. She stopped upon hearing his words and stared into his cobalt eyes that were so alight with his love for her that they burned with an icy fire, glowing in the moonlit darkness.

"I don't know how I could have ever tried to live without you. I can hardly breathe when you are away." A tear slid down her cheek; she was so happy to be having him hold her again. Even still, she just wanted to be closer. Once she had removed his belt she parted his tunic and slid it over his shoulders. It thumped as it hit the floor, but the sound was of no consequence to her. She let her hands glide across his chest and down his back and everywhere she could, searching for new scars and injuries, checking to make sure that he was really there and still whole.

"What is it love? Why are you crying?" he asked her when he noticed her tears.

"Because I am so happy you're home."

He laughed lightly, leaning down to kiss her again. "I am happy to be home."

"I can tell," she said coyly, forgetting her news completely and flipping them over. She straddled his waist, feeling something else that had woken up between them. "How about a welcome home present?" she asked, a light smile on her lips, and her eyebrow raised.

"How can I say no to that?" he smiled.

"You can't."

Then she was on her back, Anakin pressed tightly between her thighs. They both scrambled to remove the other's clothing completely before giving in to their deepest desires.

Padme awoke early, before the dawn had even begun to break. The arm that rested over her waist gripped tightly, staunchly refusing to let her go, but she needed to get to the fresher quick. She had spent every morning for the past month or so paying homage to the porcelain force, but her mind had been so consumed lately with thoughts of the war and her absent husband that she failed to see the reason behind her sickness; a sickness that was rearing its head quite forcefully this morning.

She would have had no problem escaping confinement if the arm that grasped her waist had been flesh, but the prosthetic arm literally was as tight and as heavy as steel.

Twisting as best she could, she tried to wake Anakin up. "Ani? Wake up!" He wasn't listening, instead letting out a soft snore and grumbling under his breath. Drastic measures were needed, she thought, as she shoved her elbow into his shoulder.

"Ow! What?" he said startled, shooting straight to a sitting position.

"Nothing. I just need to use the fresher and your arm ways like a hundred pounds," she snickered as she slid out of bed and glided to the fresher door, clad in nothing but a sheet.

Anakin smiled at the sight of his beautiful wife, content to just finally be in her presence again, but excitement started bubbling in his chest as he thought of the news he had to tell her when she returned. His time as nothing but a padawan was coming to an end, and soon he would be commanding his own troops on the battlefield, instead of following Obi-Wan.

The sounds of violent retching echoing from underneath the closed door of the fresher ripped him from his reverie however, and Anakin went vaulting out of the bed towards noise. When he hit the keypad to open the door, nothing happened. Much to his frustration, Padme had locked him out.

"Padme what's wrong? Please open the door," he pled from the outside.

Inside, Padme gagged before glancing in horror at the closed door. "No Ani! Don't come in here! You don't need to see this."

"Baby, open the door please. Don't make me open it for you."

Padme sighed and hit the unlock button on the keypad, realizing that there was no way she could possibly keep him out. His large figure blocked out the light from above as she turned back to the porcelain bowl and heaved once more. She felt Anakin's finger slide through her long curls and hold them away from her face in a caring gesture. She knew he would always take care of her.

Anakin felt sickened himself as he watched his wife suffer. When she eventually was done and slid down to the floor, he begged her to tell him what was wrong.

"Angel please, tell me what's wrong. Are you sick? Do you need to go to a healer?"

"No Ani. I am not sick. I actually had something to tell you." She looked down at her hands in her lap as she wrung her fingers together. Padme was suddenly afraid of his reaction, nervous that this wasn't what he wanted; after all, they had always been so careful. "I found something out yesterday, something wonderful I think, and I hope you think so too. If you don't feel that way I would understand, but there's really nothing we can do about it at this point. So please, be happy about it so I can continue to be happy or at least as happy as I can be, what with the war raging on and the fact that you will be expelled from the order if the council ever found out about this…" Padme suddenly couldn't control herself and a different sort of vomit came spewing forth from her mouth.

Anakin stared in shock as she continued to ramble on until he finally covered her mouth with his large hand. Her talking abruptly ceased when she realized where Anakin's hand was situated. She half smiled in embarrassment when she realized that she had been talking aimlessly for quite some time now.

Encouragingly, and maybe with a bit of sarcasm and humor, Anakin moved his hand to her cheek and cupped her delicate face between both palms and calmly said, "Padme? Focus! Everything is alright now, love. Just tell me what's going on."

"I'm pregnant."

"…"

Silence.

Anakin stared at his wife in silence.

An immeasurable amount of time passed before either of them moved, but Padme was the first. She reached up to cover his hands on her cheeks with her own.

"Say something," she said.

Anakin shook his head roughly for a moment, as if trying to shake himself out of a dream. "Am I dreaming?" he asked.

"No baby, this is real."

He stared for a moment longer before the corners of his lips slowly turned upwards into a crooked grin.

Padme smiled back.

Then she was being pushed back against the wall as Anakin's lips collided with her own, desperately and roughly moving together. His teeth were tugging on her bottom lip, pleading for entrance. She granted it to him and their kiss increased in temperature, tongues twisting and tangling together. Her arms slipped around his neck and crushed him to her chest where he could feel her pulse and the heavy heaving of her body.

"There are no words to describe what I am feeling right now," he whispered before whisking her into his arms and carrying her back to their, letting his body settle atop hers. He was much more self-aware in this round of lovemaking however, and was careful not let his weight crush her. He already loved the life growing inside of his wife and would let no harm befall wither of them.

"I love you so much Ani," she answered as he made her body climb to new, unreached heights. Nothing could be heard but the sound of their bodies sliding against each other and the echoes of their heavy breathing, even after they reached the top of their climax and dove over the edge together.

In the moments after, when they were gliding down from their high, Anakin noticed the sun was starting to peek over the high-rise buildings the surrounded theirs and knew that it would soon be time for him to leave. His own exciting news suddenly came flooding back to his mind, but before he could speak, Padme spoke first.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, her head lying against his chest, their legs entwined together within the sheets.

He sighed, "We aren't going to worry about it right now. Everything will work out. I promise."

Satisfied for the moment that her husband would protect her and their unborn child at all costs, she closed her eyes hoping to get some more rest before having to endure another grueling day in the senate.

Seeing the sun inching higher and higher, Anakin decided that his news couldn't wait any longer.

"Padme?" he asked.

"Yes my love?"

"I have something I need to tell you."

Alarmed now, Padme sat up on her elbows so she could look Anakin in the face.

Noticing her panicked expression, Anakin sat up and took her in his arms to reassure before she could voice her fears.

"Don't worry Angel. It's nothing bad. In fact, I think it's great, wonderful even."

"Well what is it?"

He smiled at her. Everything was going right in the galaxy, he thought, excluding the war of course, but even that couldn't dampen his mood. "The council has decided that I am ready to face the trials. Today! I'm not going to be an apprentice anymore. I am going to be a knight."

Her face broke out into glorious exultation at his excitement. "I am so proud of you Ani! That is wonderful news! But shouldn't you be going then?"

"Yes. I have to go, but you're more important to me. Don't worry about anything alright?"

She nodded in compliance, but she would always worry about him. He was everything to her, and unless he was right in front of her, her heart yearned and worried for him all at the same time.

She watched as he slid out of bed went to their closet, slipping on his black pants and dark robes. He was so handsome in his robes to her, the black accenting his skin making him look like an avenging angel. The silver weapon hanging at his hip served as a stark reminder of the power that he wielded and of the oath to the order that kept him from her.

Yes, his impending knighthood was something to be happy about, but it was also an advancement that would give him more responsibility in the order and in the war, responsibilities that would take him further away from her than ever before and for longer than ever before, she feared. Now that they were expecting a child together, she wanted him with her at all times, but she wondered, even if he was given the opportunity, how long he would be able to sit idle with her before his longing for adventure ripped him from her again.

"I love you," he told her as he kissed her lips lightly. "I'll be back before you know it."

She watched him as he turned and walked out the door, hoping that his words would be held true and that he would return to her soon, permanently.

A/N: Review! Please!