"Oh God, I'm getting the coffee in bed this morning too. Good morning, Padmé, I'm going to miss you for good."
"Good morning. You will survive."
"Lonely and unhappy."
"Anakin, you're flirting again."
"I just wanted to check if you were awake."
"If that's all..."
"No, it's much more."
"Anakin...stop flirting, you know I'm married. Look, there are so many women, even beautiful women, all around you. Aayla, for example, and she's very interested in you."
"But I'm not interested in her. She might look good and be a nice person at first glance, but no, she's not what I want. It's not the person, but the personality that I look for in a woman."
"Quite demanding, Dr. Skywalker."
"Yes...and now I'm going to make breakfast. What does Milady want?" He stood up, wearing only his thick, tight-fitting angora underwear, which clearly showed off his body shape.
She stared.
"Do you like what you see?"
"Damn it, Anakin !"
"Sorry, milady," and winked. "Eggs, bacon, as usual?" and quickly pulled on her pyjama bottoms.
She nodded and continued to look at him. His every movement emphasized the perfection of his well-toned body. The desire to feel that body against her own was overwhelming. But it wasn't just physical, it was longing for the man she loved.
"We have to leave as soon as it gets light. If we split the work, we'll finish faster and then we can pack up. As soon as we get back, I'll call Bill, tell him to get moving and let us know when he's at the agreed place. Then we drive off. I don't want to have to wait for him somewhere in the middle of nowhere. He can wait for us and sit in his warm truck."
Anakin was always good at frying the bacon and the eggs were just as she liked them, runny yolks.
"Five-day-old bread, sorry, Milady."
"Anakin, stop it."
"OK. The main thing is that it's not moldy yet, but in the cold..."
After breakfast, they set off straight away. The route was now the shortest. The station's old devices did not need to be replaced. All of them provided correct data, deviations compared to last year were minimal and not all of them. The temperature gauge showed deviations.
"When we get back, I'll take a closer look. Last year's temperatures are higher than the year before."
"Do you have the data from the last few years on your laptop?"
"The last five. Are you finished with everything, can we go?"
"Yeah." He put his Remington over his shoulder, "Get on."
She tapped the rifle "My lifesaver" smiled, climbed into the back seat and hugged Anakin tightly.
When they arrived at the trapper's hut, they called Bill to pick them up. They stowed all their things - there weren't that many now - in the boxes and the leftover provisions too, as they didn't want them to spoil and attract bears.
"We still have time for the early tea time." He let another Assam steep and put a few cookies on the plate. "I'm going to miss our tea time. I love tea and this ritual every day, and I need this time to sort out my thoughts; what I've done wrong and why, to avoid repeating it, or to rejoice in what I've done well, and if I can spend this time with someone, I have a lot in common with, I always want that someone in my company."
"I can't come to your office to have tea time with you... but I'll miss it too...that time with you and our conversations... um, I'm calling Aayla and Ploky now..." she laughed "..to see where they're at. We'll all get together next week and compare the data. If a continuous rise in temperature is detected, you could support us with the observations of the jet streams. I'll have to discuss all this with Dr. Windu first."
"Sure, boss."
She shook her head. "You know, when I was little, winters were real winters back then, with temperatures below zero and snow from December to March, and in summer it was warm, whole vacations long, and now it's all mixed up. I know I shouldn't say this as a meteorologist, it sounds unqualified, but we're seeing more and more extremes, all over the world. The planet is changing."
"Padmé, our planet is constantly changing. It has evolved from a ball of fire to a life-friendly place where billions of people and even more animals live. This process of change is still ongoing and life forms are forced to adapt or perish. Besides, far too little time has passed since you were a child and the present for you to use your observations as a benchmark for global warming."
"Thank you, Dr. Skywalker. You speak like a philosopher, not a meteorologist."
"There's no need to panic, that's what I was trying to say, but if you're so pessimistic about everything, maybe you shouldn't be so anxious to bring a child into the world. Maybe the Palpatines will die out, in fact many species have already died out, some that might have been more livable..."
"Damn it, Anakin !"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't. Let's not end this day arguing about nonsense
"Let's clean the cups, stow everything away and attach the boxes to the trailer."
At that moment, her satellite phone rang. It was Bill, reporting that he was waiting for them.
"Please pour water over the fire and then we'll go."
He did and she stopped at the door. He didn't know why.
"Have I forgotten something?"
"No. It was...nice with you." She came up to him, put her arm around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
He was so surprised that he almost didn't react. "What was that for?"
"For everything and saving my life included." She turned around and wanted to leave.
He grabbed her by the wrist "Wait..."
She didn't realize how quickly he closed the distance between them. He pulled her close and kissed her, at first as she kissed him, but then he licked her lower lip and asked for entrance. He deepened the kiss and they both lost themselves in the feeling of this union...like once, but this time consciously.
"And what was that for?"
"For everything and for letting me save your life" he winked. "Come on, let's go."
He locked up and put his Remington on his shoulder. They got on the snowmobile and left the trapper's cabin in the direction of Rout No. 6,
Bill was waiting, as agreed. They loaded everything onto his pickup truck, which would take them to Fairbanks International Airport, where the chartered plane was waiting to take them to Anchorage.
Padmé left the check-up to Anakin, so he checked the boxes with the equipment. There were fewer boxes, some had even found room in the larger boxes. She sat down in the plane and waited.
When the turbulence occurred after take-off, he took her hand, but she slowly pulled it back, not even looking at him. That must have been the kiss, he thought, she must have a guilty conscience, that shouldn't have happened. She was his boss and was married, and whatever the circumstances of the marriage, he had to respect that. Now that he thought about it, her kiss was only superficial...kind of naïve, but his kiss was intense and clear. She had probably understood it that way too and was afraid of the recognition.
It was 6:00 p.m. and already dark when they landed in Anchorage. Their luggage was loaded onto the right plane by the airport staff and they met up with the other members of the expedition. Until their departure to Washington D.C. they sat in Sushi On The Fly Cuisine and ate hot soup. They will have a real meal on the plane.
They talked about the work they had completed, the difficulties, their stay in the cabins and what happened to whom, but Padmé and Anakin didn't talk about the encounter with the bear. That will remain their secret.
At 8:30 p.m. they were already sitting in their seats and waiting for take-off half an hour later. It will be an almost nine-hour flight and they will land on Monday. They will have that day off.
This time Padmé sat next to Aayla Secura. They talked about the expedition, what was still to come when they returned, and a few more typical women's topics. After dinner, they both fell asleep.
Shortly before 6:00 a.m., the captain announced the landing at Dulles International Airport. In-house service was ordered to pick up all the equipment and the members of the expedition were allowed to go home. Tuesday will be the first day of the week for them.
Padmé sat at her desk and wrote the report, as did all the others. Aayla came to ask if it was worth writing the report about the little accident Kit Fisto had had.
"We have forms for that, but if he didn't need medical attention and wasn't absent from work because of it, I'll let you decide."
Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened a crack and Anakin's head was visible.
"Are you going to the canteen with us, Padmé, it's almost time?"
"No, not today, Anakin, I have to finish the report." She lied.
"OK. My report is on the server if you need it. See you later."
Aayla looked back and forth between the two of them in amazement and when Anakin closed the door again, she had to ask the question that was burning on her tongue. "Tell me, since when do you call each other by your first names? Is that where you two...got close in the wilderness? I mean, he's so damn handsome..."
"First of all, we're all on a first-name basis here, only Anakin and I were exceptions. It was time to change that. And secondly, yes, we've gotten closer, normal when you're with someone day and night, but definitely not the way you think, not physically. I'm married, Aayla."
"Well, I thought you might have forgotten at short notice."
"Do I hear something like… jealousy? You can have him, he's single. I'm not planning anything with him."
"If I had a husband like you..."
"Then you wouldn't wish Anakin."
"That was a compliment for your husband...well, I have to go, I'll meet the others in the canteen." She left.
Padmé leaned back in her chair and wondered if it was right to refuse to go to the canteen with her colleagues. If she went, her and Anakin's eyes would meet again and again, her colleagues would interpret something. If she doesn't go, they'll think they're having a fight. No matter what she does, it's wrong. So, she'll go in the future and try to act like she did before the expedition...but there was that kiss that completely threw her off her game. She was determined, she'll pull herself together, she'll get it done, just talk to Anakin and then it's done.
The next day after lunch:
"A word, Anakin."
They went into her office together. Anakin was surprised, didn't know what she wanted.
"Is there something wrong with my report?"
"No, it's OK. ...it's only...that kiss. That was wrong, we shouldn't have done that. It's best if we forget about it."
"Like what happened in the library back then?"
"I was drunk, I can't remember anything."
"I do, just fractions...but fine. I respect your wishes, Padmé, we'll do it as if it never happened."
"Nothing happened either."
"Except the kiss."
"Which we want to forget, Anakin."
"We want to pretend it never happened."
"Nothing happened."
"Except the kiss."
"OK. , we're going around in circles. Anakin, can we close this up in a way that's acceptable to both of us?"
"I know your story now and I know what's at stake for you. I would never want to put you at risk."
"Thank you."
Padmé let her emotions get the better of her, but Anakin seemed reasonable, so she hoped everything would be okay. Luckily Thanksgiving was coming up, she won't see him for four days, she'll be busy, it's the family holiday.
Anakin understood, he had to admit to himself that it was for the best. She was married and she was his boss, such a thing would not be tolerated.
He will drink tea alone in his office and enjoy tea time in the Marriott Marquis lounge every Friday.
Thanksgiving always gives four days off, so he'll fly to Toronto to celebrate with Mom and Cliegg, Owen and Beru.
….
Best regards from Germany