A/N-Thank you for new follows and reviews the past to chapters. This one is a bit angsty- and goes with the song Wishing you the best by Lewis Capaldi as the chapter title suggests. Please follow or review if you have thoughts, questions or general feedback!

-GP


Chapter 15- Wishing You the Best

Summary: Alternate World: The Empire Prevails and the Jedi have all been in hiding for thirty years. Emperor Palpatine searches for a way to live long past his dying body through cloning technology and his attempts at descendants. One of his " experiments" escapes and comes to live a slave's life on Naboo. He will meet and forever his destiny changed by the fateful meeting with none other than one young Naberrie girl…

Location: Sabe's Apartment, Coruscant

Month 3 Day 30 Year 28

Sabe' leans into the sofa, snuggling up to the warm body squished next to her under the plush violet blanket. She lays her head against the aqua colored sofa's back, watching the holo in front of her. Obi-wan slides his hand onto her knee and squeezes it tightly. A soft grin escapes her expression as she tries to keep her gaze on the holo playing.

The holo is some sort of dramatic telling of the Jedi purges, with a bit of flare. In this version a Jedi Knight is captured by an Inquisitor and falls helpless in love with him. The story line isn't terrible, but Sabe's mind is full and waiting to be able to call. She has been waiting all day to be able to call her sister. Out of the corner of her eye she notices the chrono. 7:30 pm- she should be home from university by now.

Being that Coruscant is several hours ahead of Naboo's time, Sabe' had determined it best to call Padme' after she returns from University for the day. Sabe' hasn't spoken to her in a week or so, but she is aware of her plans with Palo tonight. Palo had special dinner reservations at a more upscale restaurant than even Katrina is used to. Katrina had been very dead set on that Palo will propose to her sister tonight. It is tradition to propose at the upscale places on the planet. Yet, they have only been dating a few months, has he fallen in love with her? Sabe' thinks so. But she isn't so sure about Padme'.

Padme' had told her of Palo expressing his love back at the beginning of the new year. She had been excited about this " first" for her, but when asked if she told him she loved him back- well Padme' had been silent on this fact which meant she hadn't told him. And this pure fact made Sabe question her sister's relationship with her current boyfriend. It isn't that she doesn't seem happy with him- but she is downright hiding her feelings about an issue. Namely a person she avoids speaking about, asking about or speaking to. Sabe isn't sure what occurred the night of Dorme's reception, but something occurred. Palo had all but disappeared for a few days, and then Anakin had come back with a dislocated shoulder and bloody mouth. He had appeared to be in a scuffle- perhaps even in a scuffle with Palo himself. Sabe' never questioned any of them- she figured if Padme' or Anakin wanted to discuss the matter, they'd speak to her or Obi-wan for that matter. But neither of them ever did. But the event had to be affecting their relationship- because Padme' hadn't asked once about Anakin- she also hadn't discussed any details about events that had occurred at the Imperial Academy- ones Sabe is aware of because she sees Anakin every week. He has asked about her well-being, but never mentions her or their holos as he had done prior to the wedding. Moreover, Anakin has been in an awful state since the wedding. He is very melancholy, angry and brooding. Anakin and Padme' have had some sort of split on their friendship that is obvious to her and Obi-wan , how severe neither are sure about.

Obi-wan pauses the holo, sensing the her eagerness through the force. He chuckles, wishing he could tell her how much he senses from her. She is not an easy mind to read. But he is crazy about her. Since she moved to Coruscant, they have been inseparable. Obi-wan had asked to court her before leaving back for Coruscant. Their first date had been a splendor. The warmth in his heart swallows him whole sometimes. He hadn't desired to fall for the woman beside him, especially being a traitor to the Empire. He knows he's in love with her and wants to marry her. He hadn't determined when a good time would be to decide to ask her and proclaim his love for her. A part of him is afraid of asking her because she might think he's a bit crazy after only being together since the beginning of the new year.

She turns to him, eyes sparkling with merriment. He brushes back the dark curls out of her eyes and he murmurs, " Just call her, the patience you had is gone."

Her grin is so wide, she feels as if it will swallow her entire body in one gulp. She walks to the comm. station and dials the familiar numbers of her sister's personal comm. station. She'd memorized the number by heart after she had left for Coruscant. She had never realized which of her sisters she's closer to until she'd been away this long.

Sola had always been like hers and Padme's mother rather than an older sister. Their mother had died 18 years ago to the day, so the only one of the three of them to have any memories of her is Sola and those are far and few between. Sola had been five when she died and Sabe' had been two.

Padme' being the younger of the three of them, had to always prove herself. As the baby, she felt the attention was lost when it came to her. But the truth is that their father favored her. When Padme' almost died and Anakin had saved her, it had been the hardest night of his life. Padme' had no idea that he had broken down in tears in the gardens after she had almost drowned. Sabe' had found him alone, and she had wrapped her arms around him like she had been the one comforting him. She had been eleven at the time. But the truth is she is closer to Padme'.

The buzzing on the other end begins and she waits for her sister's image to appear. It takes a few buzzes for her to answer. Her blue form appears and her smile is bright, noticing her older sister calling. Sabe' notices she seems to be in a disarray. She notices her room in the background as her bed is covered with outfits and Sabe cannot help but laugh at the irony of seeing her younger sister in disarray over a date.

She seems more at ease seeing Sabe's bright happy face. She sighs and says, " I cannot decide what to wear. Sola's busy tonight with Ryoo's dance recital and there is no way in seven hells I'll ask Katrina for clothing advice. Can you make a suggestion?"

Sabe eyes the light pink dress laying on her bed. She points to it and says, " Is that new?"

Padme's smile is encouraging and she expresses, " I- bought it for tonight, but it's a bit scandalous. I don't know if I'd want to wear it to an upper scale restaurant. It might be too provocative."

Sabe gestures for her to try it on. " Go try it on and I'll be the judge of that."

Padme' leaves the view screen and Sabe' turns back to Obi-wan propped up on the sofa, listening into their conversation. He can care less what they are talking about, but he just adores watching Sabe' smile. Her happiness is infectious and needed in his dreary day. Before Padme' returns to the screen and in view the doorbell rings. Sabe' gestures for him to get it. He gets up from the sofa as the doorbell rings once more. Sabe' eyes the doorway and watches as Anakin enters and waves at her, " Hey Sabs, I hope I'm not intruding on your date, but I need to ask Obi-wan a favor real quick."

Sabe' gestures to the living room and mentions, " No worries. I was on a comm. call with my sister."

Anakin's eyes soften, but glimmer in hesitation. He peeks at the empty comm. screen and questions, " I think Sola- must have-"

His breath catches in his throat. His eyes soak into the blue holo of his former best friend. Her hair is in some fancy updo. She has applied light makeup for the day it seems. The dress makes him suck air into his lungs and his heart hammer against his chest.

Damn- she's beautiful.

The dress is short and does not reach her knees, just below the style which is considered any sort of modest in length. The color is a pale pink with off the shoulder sleeves. The v-neck plunges to a very low portion of her cleavage, leaving some parts of her body to his imagination. Her hips hug the dress, and her legs go on for miles.

Brown eyes meet the mixture of sky blue across the holo. Her heart thuds against her own chest, noticing his agape mouth and presence. It's been since the wedding that she's seen him even on a holo. She takes in his handsome form. He's wearing the black workout standard clothes provided to them at the Imperial Academy. She's seen him in a pair before, but damn she forgot how handsome he looked. His hair is a bit longer now, a bit more unruly with the waves behind his ears. His golden hair is damp from a shower she's sure he had taken recently. But she can tell that he's been working out. His arms are more full and muscular, even his chest area has become more muscular in the three months they've been apart.

What sort of exercises has he been doing? Lifting small speeders?

She is grateful that he cannot sense her desire through the holo, it would be mortifying.

She straightens and turns her attention to her sister. Her focus needs to be on her date which would be arriving in a short hour. She finds her voice a bit weaker than before. " So Sabe' is this too scandalous for a restaurant uptown?"

Sabe' notices the exchange between the two of them and smirks. Well the force works in mysterious ways. Maybe I'll win the bet after all.

Sabe comments, " No, I think it looks beautiful on you. You should wear it.

" Anakin, what do you think?"

Sabe' turns the noticeable smirk back on her family friend. His mouth is still agape in shock and it turns slightly into a firm expression. He says softly, " Sabs is correct. You should wear it. You are stunning P."

Padme' gulps hard and tries to find her voice, her eyes staring back into his. When the hell had it become so hard to talk to Anakin? He had been the one she talked to about everything- her dreams, secrets and fears. There were even some secrets she had not shared with her sisters that he knew.

" Thanks, It's good to see you, Ani." She replies quietly, trying to keep her casual conversation light.

He nods with a small smile. " You too P. Happy Birthday."

The familiarity of their friendship returns. Her lips form a huge grin. " Thanks! I wish you all we're here."

Sabe' chimes in. " I wish you were here! Have you heard back from any of the Senators' offices about your applications?"

Padme' shrugs and sighs. " I've only applied in the last two weeks. It takes some time for them to reply."

Anakin joins in the conversation, questioning, " So you are still considering coming to Coruscant? What does Palo think of this?"

Padme' bites her lip in hesitation. " He doesn't know about my applications to Coruscant. I've only recently applied to them as I was questioning whether or not I wanted to work for someone not from Naboo."

Sabe's brow furrows. She asks, " Why not? You've wanted to be a Senator for as long as I can remember."

She pauses and there's a mixture of sadness in her eyes. Sabe doesn't notice it, but Anakin does. He can see the sadness and hesitation. It hits him like a ton of Dural steel.

She's hesitating to come here because of me.

That realization makes his heart ache. She would rather give up her dreams instead of being closer to him. He swallows and waits for her to lie to Sabe.

" I- I'm not sure about my career path. Maybe it would be better if I stayed closer to home, working for the Queen or the governor's office." She says in a quiet voice.

Sabe' shakes her head determinedly. " Padme', what would you want to give up your dreams-" She stops herself when she sees the knowing look between her and Anakin.

What in force's hell happened between them?

Anakin senses his friend's thoughts and says quietly, " Obi-wan? Do you think we can chat? I have a shift at the Inquisitor building in an hour."

Padme's ears perk up at hearing those words. She asks pointedly, " Inquisitors? Anakin, when did you choose the Inquisitor's specialty? I thought you wanted to be a pilot."

Anakin's lips are tight as his body becomes rigid at remembering that she wouldn't know about his change in career move since they hadn't spoken in months. He missed knowing how she's thinking and hearing about her week. His heart's hole grows larger.

" I didn't exactly have a choice. They tested my midichlorian count and my count was well above average."

Padme' accepts that answer. She knew it could be a possibility they would test him for force sensitivity, why wouldn't they? His knack for piloting and engineering showed even prior to him joining the Navy. But the Inquisitors aren't known to live quiet lives- their lives are consumed by interrogations and torture of others, including using the dark side.

Well he certainly knows how to tap into that.

Padme' replies, " I see. Are you enjoying the work?"

In other words she's asking him if he enjoys torturing people. He grits his teeth at her mentioning this in her own way. His mind flashes back to their argument and he says, " Who enjoys interrogating people? "

Her jaw sets, hearing his tone. Instead of arguing back, she says tightly to her sister. " Well I must be getting off soon. Palo will be here soon and I want to look perfect for my date."

Sabe rolls her eyes at the comment. It is very clearly a brush off of Anakin's anger. She will deal with Anakin after their call is over. She smiles wide for her sister and says, " Have a good time, maybe Katrina is right about the big event tonight."

Padme' blushes red under the thought of what she means. She shakes her head murmuring, " I doubt it-"

Sabe' adds, cutting her off- " Oh I think she is right. It's only natural to take the next step and try him out in bed."

Padme' catches Anakin's eyes narrow and turn a frosty blue. His fists are clenched across his chest and she can see the furious expression on his face. He is silent. Her heart shatters watching his expression. His eyes express his fury, but behind the frosty tips, there's a deep hurt there- one she's never seen on his face. It's almost as if his own heart is breaking hearing Sabe' mention of the possibility of her giving up her virginity to a man she's been dating for three months.

She swallows and does not make the snide comment she wants to make. She says, " I have to go, I miss you." She pauses and addresses Anakin. " It's good to see you, Ani."

" You too- P." He says tightly, though there's a light tone of hurt.

Padme' disconnects her end of the line and Sabe' crosses her arms and taps her foot. She turns on Anakin, demanding, " I want to know what in the force was that! Please explain to me why you two aren't speaking now."

Anakin sighs and runs his hands through his hair. " Sabs, it's nothing-"

She points back at the dead holo screen and dismisses his excuses. " Do not tell me that was nothing. She made it clear she might dismiss her dreams of coming to Coruscant over being near you, so what in the hell happened?"

He plops himself down on her couch and knows she's not going to relent. She never did. He begins, " The night of Dorme's wedding, I caught Padme' and Palo making out in the back of my speeder."

She shrugs and dismisses, " So? That isn't enough for her to completely stop talking to you."

He nods in agreement. " Yes- I was getting to that part. I- saw red and choked Palo."

Obi-wan's voice crawls through his mind. You force choked him, didn't you?

Yes

Anakin-

Don't lecture me. I'm in no mood for one.

Sabe doesn't notice the tension rising within between the two friends. Obi-wan and Anakin have had this argument in the past; there are lines one should not cross. As a Jedi harming others unless it is for self-defense is considered selfish and crossing over to the dark side. Using the force to choke someone slid dab smack on the dark side's powers.

" You choked him… Anakin that isn't overreacting, that's premeditated murder." Sabe accuses. Her eyes shine in disappointment, those golden irises mixed with even a bit of fear.

He rubs his hands again through his curls. He swallows and murmurs, " I was not trying to kill him. I- was angry that he was practially fucking her on my speeder when she doesn't really know him well enough to think of giving up her innocence. She deserves better and he's not it."

She can hear the remorse in his tone. His hands are clasped together as she questions, " Who dislocated your shoulder?"

He replies, " It does not matter how it happened, she made it clear that our friendship is over because I hurt someone she cares about."

Sabe' nods, listening to his side of the story and says thoughtfully, " You've screwed up- and now you have to fix this."

Anakin shakes his head helplessly. " She wants nothing to do with me. I've lost her."

Sabe shakes her head and kneels down to clasp her friend's hands. His blue orbs stare down at the floor in shame. She reassures, " From my perspective what I saw were two people who are hurting because of a misunderstanding and who care deeply for each other. That isn't nothing."

His eyes stay planted on the floor. His tone is dismissive. " I have to respect her wishes, Sabs, even if it hurts."

She tightens her squeeze on his hands and comments, " She's lost without you Ani. She's considering staying put on Naboo because she's too afraid to face you, so you have to be the one to make things right. She can't lose her dreams over this, especially if Katrina is correct about her assumptions."

Anakin's eyes flicker to hers. His head stays low but he questions, " What does Katrina assume will happen tonight?"

" She mentioned that Palo might have asked permission for Padme's hand in marriage."

Anakin's blue orbs reflect the hurt he feels in his chest, upon hearing those words. Palo wants to marry her. Palo has Ruwee's blessing to marry his daughter. Palo is proposing to her- tonight. The color drains from his face as he settles with that piece of information. Palo doesn't know Padme' at all.

" Is she in love with him?" His words slip from his lips without thinking.

Sabe shrugs. " Honestly I don't know. She seems happy sometimes-"

He cuts her off. " Then that's all that matters."

Sabe squeezes his clasped hands and she comments, " True, but she's miserable without you."

" Sabs- you just said she's happy-"

She laughs softly and mutters, " Anakin Skywalker, you're her best friend- not Palo and it's obvious that you're in love with her too."

He smiles regretfully. " If it was so obvious you'd think I would have figured it out before I tried to choke her boyfriend over touching her."

Obi-wan nods behind them and mutters. " You might have thought about killing him."

Anakin shrugs and admits, " I might have. It doesn't fix our friendship either."

Sabe pats his knee and assures, " I think we have to give Padme' some credit, she's not ready to get married and I think she'll be around sooner than you think- I'll try to talk her into coming here for Spring Fete."

Anakin suggests, " If she comes I'll try to fix our friendship if she's willing to. If not, I'll respect her wishes and stay away."

Sabe nods in understanding and says, " Fine, but give her a chance before you throw your chance at salvaging your friendship with her."

Anakin nods. " I'll try."

Her words give him some hope, it isn't an entire city of hope, but it's better than none. Neither of them knew what to expect next.

To Be Continued.