The Love Commander Collection: Love and Alarm Clocks- A Star Wars Story

Scene 3

Surely, somewhere in Padme's enormous suite there was a place where a Jedi and a Senator could be alone. Somewhere, there had to be a spot with no Clones and no Padawans. The suite had to have a little romantic hiding place that he hadn't found yet.

Somewhere.

Glumly, Anakin dropped down onto the coffee table, next to the pizza boxes.

"Master, may I have another piece of pizza, please?" Cocooned in a nest of blankets on the couch, Ahsoka held up her empty plate.

"Sure, Snips." He was a good, kind master, no matter what anyone said. Taking Ahsoka's plate, he slid a large piece of three-meat pizza from the box. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Master." Ahsoka took a big bite, then settled back into her blankets. "Can we play some games later?"

"Um, I don't know." Anakin glanced around, seeking Rex. "We'll have to check with Kix."

Where is Rex? If he couldn't get Rex to watch Ahsoka, he would never get a chance to be alone with Padme.

A thud brought him to his feet. Muffled voices came through the wall and he thought he heard a scream. He had a suspicion he knew where to find Rex.

"I think I'd better go see what that was."

Padme entered with a glass of chocolate milk for Ahsoka. "I think so, too."

Ahsoka nodded, her mouth full of pizza. Anakin followed the sounds into his suite. In the entry hall, he found Rex, Kix, Tup and Echo staring at the coat closet. The thuds were coming from inside the closet.

Anakin crossed his arms and looked at the assembly Clones.

"Care to explain?" he asked.

"Well, sir...you see," Rex rubbed the back of head. "It's Fives and Jesse."

"In the coat closet?" Anakin raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"They were insisting that it was 'bigger on the inside,' then they managed to lock themselves in there," Kix continued the explanation.

"It locks from the inside?" Anakin frowned. "That makes no sense."

"Actually, there's no lock." Echo carefully inspected the handle.

"There's no lock- but they're locked inside?" Anakin shook his head as the Clones nodded. "Good thing I'm good at fixing things."

He reached into his pocket for his repair kit and knelt down to join Echo. For several minutes, he tinkered with the handle, then turned it. It opened and Jesse and Fives tumbled out, yelling.

"Thanks, General," Fives gasped. "I thought I was going to be stuck in there with Jesse all night."

Anakin put his tool kit back in his pocket. "You're welcome. I guess it wouldn't be much fun to be locked in a closet all night with Jesse."

His fingers brushed the alarm clock parts that he still carried. He jumped up, a grin spreading over his face. "No- being locked in a closet with Jesse would be no fun at all. Hey, why don't you boys come play games with Ahsoka? I need to take care of something."

He hurried the Clones back through the connecting door to Padme's suite, with Jesse loudly protesting that he would be lots of fun in a closet all night.

"Being locked in a closet with Fives, now that would be bad," he added.

Anakin ignored the offended Clone and instead addressed Ahsoka. "I brought you some playmates, Snips."

"No active games," Kix cautioned.

"Rex and Kix are in charge," Anakin called over his shoulder, half sprinting down a nearby hallway.

"I want to play Space Twister!" Ahsoka insisted.

"Absolutely not." Kix sat down and helped himself to a piece of pizza.

Ahsoka started to pout and Rex quickly intervened.

"How about Togruta Checkers?"

"I'm no good at Togruta Checkers!" Her lower lip slid out further.

Rex walked to the suite's game cabinet. "Let's see. What about Loth Apples to Loth Apples? Or Yoda Pictionary?"

Ahsoka sat up and peered at the stack of games. "Let's do Clone Blitz."

Rex got out the cards and gathered his brothers.

"Echo, deal the cards. I'm going to check on the General."

Rex shared a glance with Padme. She shrugged. Apparently, she didn't know what her husband was up to either. He slipped down the hall and peeked into the kitchenette, the 'fresher and the bedrooms. He found the General in the main bedroom, staring intently at the door of a walk-in closet. An odd assortment of small parts lay spread on the floor beside him.

"Um, General?"

"Hey, Rex, do you think I should use this big, blue wire or this little, white one?"

Rex leaned over Anakin's shoulder. A small piece of the wall paneling hung loose, exposing a dozen or more wires.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to rig the door to lock from the inside." He gestured to the pieces on the floor. "I kind of took Padme's alarm clock apart with the Force, so I plenty of spare parts."

"That's a lot of wires," Rex observed. "I hope you know what you're doing." A vain hope, most likely.

"I'm good at fixing things, remember? I think I'll swap the little white one for this purple one and then hook that little round thing on the big wire."

Fifteen minutes and several tries later, Anakin successfully locked himself inside. When Rex tried the handle, the voices of the Naboo Royal Choir filled the room. The door slip open to reveal a beaming Anakin.

"The lock and the alarm both work!"

"Well done, General," Rex chuckled. "Should I get the Senator?"

Anakin's grin grew wider and Rex hurried back to the parlor. The Clones, Padme and Ahsoka were finishing a round of Clone Blitz, with shouts and laughter.

"My Captain Rex card goes there and I win!" Ahsoka whooped.

Rex slipped in between Padme and Ahsoka, casting a quick but thorough glance over her swollen montrals. The swelling seemed to be decreasing.

"I won, Rex," Ahsoka grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the couch beside her.

"That's great, Little U'n." He patted her hand. "Senator, the General would like to see you. He's, um, down the hall."

"Oh?" Padme arched an eyebrow. "Well, I'd better go see what trouble he's made now."

She rose and glided away, leaving Rex to wonder if he would soon find himself in the middle of Anakin's trouble.

"Come on, Rexter!" Ahsoka poked him, bring him out of his reverie. "Let's play again. I'm the 501st. You can be the 212th."