disclaimer: I do not own Star wars, or any of the related characters. The Star Wars series is created by George Lucas and owned by Disney. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Star Wars story belong to DISNEY.

CHAPTER 2

Padmé had had a shitty week, and this was just the cherry on top. Her friend who she considered to be one of the closest lately, didn't want her to go on a stupid trip to Las Vegas, she coudn't really figure out why. When she got the call from Ashoka, she was upset but thought he would probably have a good excuse, so when she confronted him, she wasn't actually mad, she was just pretending to be as she was sure he would have a reasonable explanation as to why he hadn't told her about it. But when she saw him stutter, she realized he hadn't, he actually had no reason other than he didn't want her to go. It couldn't be because his friends didn't want her there, she had a great relationship with Obi-wan and she and Ashoka had become very close in the last 2 years, also if they didn't want her to go Ashoka wouldn't have called.

She went into the bathroom after confronting Anakin and cried a little, she was really hurt, also she was in the second day of her period, so the hormones certainly didn't help with her emotions. She knew she was probably overreacting; So what if he didn't want her there, that didn't mean anything, maybe he just wanted a trip with his closest friends and she wasn't one of them, and yes of course that hurt her a little but that didn't gave her the right to get mad at him, she would have to apologize to him later. She was usually so put together and didn't tend to overreact but the fact that she was on her period, and she had received the worst news of her life last week made it impossible for her to react appropriately, everything made her cry since she received the news... Padme was getting deported and had two weeks and a half to either get out of the country or find a solution, she hadn't told anyone, not even her parents.

The idea of getting deported was still something she couldn't wrap her head around; it's not like she was actually there illegally, she had a work permit. Padme and Sola were born in Canada and lived there until they moved to the US when they were 18 and 22 respectively under a student visa, their parents (who were from Greece) had started a successful business in Canada which allowed them to pay for a top tier education in the US. Once Sola finished her master's she got married and moved to Canada with her husband, but Padmé decided to stay and apply for a work visa. After working for the firm for 3 years her boss Mr. Organa told her they would help her apply for a green card, she was excited about the idea of finally being a permanent resident, she loved her life there, her friends, her job, her routine, her independence, everything she had worked so hard to get. But she made a terrible mistake, Padmé had to admit that she could be sometimes a bit of a workaholic, a few months back there was a business trip that she was not supposed to attend because she couldn't fly outside of the US while her application was being processed.
Her co-worker Lena could not attend last minute so if she didn't go they were going to lose a deal that was pretty big for the company, so she decided to go against her attorneys recommendation, she filed a travel authorization (but filed it late) she didn't actually think that would affect her application, after all she did file for the authorization and she had travel outside the US before and had been living there for more than 6 years, her record was perfect with the exception of that little mistake. The stupid mistake that cost her the green card. Mr. Organa had told her the news, he was just as upset as she was, she was a very valued employee and they had developed an amicable relationship, he wanted to help her as much as possible, but this was out of his hands, she tried to find a solution but there wasn't a real one, she had to go back to her country for at least a year before she could reapply. A year? She thought to herself, what was she supposed to do a year abroad, she would have to either work for her parents company or find a job on her own, she looked for jobs but the majority were offering half of what she was currently earning and positions where lower that what she currently had, she would have to start from scratch.

She had worked very hard to be independent from her parents, she loved them, but they were controlling and suffocating, she wanted nothing more than to be able to live her life the way she wanted and when she got out of college, she finally freed herself from them. She had achieved a lifestyle that was comfortable, more than comfortable really, she liked spending money on luxury items and going out to expensive restaurants with her friends, travel with whoever she wanted whenever she wanted to, her time was hers, her money was hers, her life was hers and now it was all being taken away. It was her worst nightmare. She was 27 and she was not married (by choice really) but she had a life she was proud of but now she felt like her career was going backwards, she didn't really know Canada law so that was a whole thing and she would have to start working jobs that she already had worked when she was in her early twenties, earning like when she was in her early twenties, also she had no friends there, she lost contact with most of her friends from back in the day and the ones she kept in touch with where married and with children. She was back to square one at 27 years old, it's not like she regrets not accepting the marriage proposal she got from her ex-boyfriend 3 years ago but it would be nice to feel like you have something when everything else is falling apart.

She could already hear her parents, "had you only married the nice doctor", nice doctor my ass, he cheated on her with a Russian model and when she found out she ended things, he begged her to forgive him and got on one knee with a tiffany blue box and asked her to marry her, sure it was tempting, the ring was really nice but she couldn't get back together with him, so she ended things for good. 6 months later he got married to the Russian model, as if break-ups weren't hard enough. She was glad she didn't end up with someone like that, I'm sure the Russian model is not getting deported though. There it was, the only solution to her problem was marriage, if her parents knew they would have the biggest laugh, they wanted her to get married as soon as possible, they could be very traditional and sometimes did not agree with her lifestyle. It's like God is playing a bad joke at her, the solution to her problem is marriage, ironic, isn't it? My parents were right all along, how could she find someone to marry her in two and a half weeks? Sure, she could open her tinder page and say it upfront, I'm looking for a serious relationship, actually, looking to get married in the next 90 days to avoid deportation, only creeps would swipe right to that.

Padme decided to go back to her office, dwelling about it wouldn't make it better, she was still in denial, she hadn't packed, and she had applied to some jobs but did not follow through, next week would be her last working here so she wanted to leave everything ready to whoever was going to take her place. She hadn't even told her friends, only Sabe knew about her situation, and she made her swear not to tell anything to anyone yet, she would do it in her own time. So, a last-minute trip to Las Vegas sounded perfect, just what she needed to get distracted, she had never been there so it would be nice to visit it before she gets kicked out of the country, especially with friends. She heard a knock in her door. "Come in"

Anaking walked in the office and closed the door behind him, he had an apologetic look, it made Padmé feel terrible, she knew he would never purposely hurt her, he was the nicest guy she had ever met, he was so sweet, well at least not when he wasn't getting on her nerves. She knew she overreacted, and it wasn't his fault, he was not aware of her situation. "Padmé, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset" "I know I acted like an asshole"

"Ani, is fine, I overreacted really" "I'm just going through some stuff, so please forgive me if I was childish"

"No it wasn't-" Padme interrupted him before he could finish "Anakin it's really ok, I get that you might not want me there, you want a trip with you friends, Ashoka is really sweet to invite me but it's really a plan for the 3 of you"

"Do you think I don't want you there?"

"Why else would you not want to tell me?" "And don't say you were going to tell me but didn't get a chance because that is a load of bullshit" she said sternly

"Padme, you are one of my closest friends, I would love for you to join us, and I was going to ask but if I'm being honest..." he struggled to find the right words, he sat down in front of Padme and she patiently waited for him to continue "I'm just … this is going to contradict my previous statement, Ok so I wasn't sure if I was going to ask you to go because I want to get really drunk on this trip"

Padme looked confused, she started to get angry again but tried to compose herself this time. "And how is that relevant Anakin?"

"I just don't want you to see me drunk and act stupid" he blurted out "I've seen you drunk before" Padme responded.

"No you haven't" "You think you have seen me drunk with a few beers on me but that's just me controlling myself, I want to really get wasted and do stupid shit and I'm just embarrassed, I didn't want you to see me that way, I know it's stupid" he said "it is, it really is" she replied "I know, but I don't know why thought it would be embarrassing for you to see me that way but I realized now that is so fucking stupid and I'm really sorry, and I would love for you to join us on this trip"

"well, I don't want to if it would make you feel uncomfortable" she said. "Or if it would make you want to limit yourself, which it really shouldn't"

"It won't, I swear, I will act so stupid and wasted, no limits whatsoever, you will be so annoyed by me that you will actually want to thank me for trying to not invite you in the first place" she chuckled. "Please Padmé, forgive me, and come with us, Ashoka really wants you to come, I really want you to come"

She stared at him for a while, her hands crossed, pretending to be thinking about it when in reality she had already decided to go. "Fine, I'll go, just because you asked really nicely"

"Great!" "But don't say I didn't warn you" he smiled, he was actually happy to have her join the trip, after he realized his fear of Padme seeing him act stupid was, well, stupid, he thought spending time with her would actually be nice, she always enjoyed her company, his friends really liked her and if he was really ok with the idea of only being friends with Padme he had to stop treating her like she was more than a friend. "Also, I don't know if Ashoka told you but feel free to invite a friend or two"

They talked about the details of the trip, they were leaving Friday morning, so she had to ask for the day off, she only needed to buy the tickets. They had booked 2 double bed hotel rooms; she could stay in Ashoka's room. She invited her friends Satine and Sabe, both of them actually knew Ashoka and were friendly. Ashoka was excited once Padme had confirmed she was going to Las Vegas. It turned out to be the perfect way Padme could enjoy a trip with her closest friends before they left the country, but she would still not say anything, she did not want to ruin the mood, she was going to enjoy it to the fullest.