(Star Wars) ~ Alice

XII

The Skywalker family had been on Naboo for about three days now. Anakin and Padme took turns juggling their children; luckily, Dak was there to lend an extra pair of hands. The gangster himself was sitting out on the patio, watching his brother and his three oldest children play in the water. Padme stepped out onto the patio, holding her baby boy in her arms while watching the others play. She looked over at Dak and bit her lip; she had been wanting to say something to him for the past three days but couldn't find the time, or the right way to do it. Now, it was starting to get on her nerves. "Something on your mind, Mé?" Dak didn't even turn to look at her; the woman's force presence giving her away.

"More than one thing actually." She answered, hoisting Little Ani up to rest his head against her shoulder. "Sit down then; tell me what's on your mind." He waved his hand at another chair, pulling it out for her since she didn't have a free hand. "Dak, I love you to death but you have to be the most stubborn, sorry excuse for a pushover of a man I've ever seen at this moment." Padme answered, sitting down, all her words coming out in a single rush. "Excuse me?" He turned his head to look at her, shock and confusion swirling in his yellow gaze. "This whole mess with Alice! You keep saying you can't be without her and yet, you're not doing anything about it!" She answered, her tone a little sharp.

"Padme... I can't do anything because of your father-in-law. I feel empty without her but there's nothing I can that doesn't involve going against the Clan." He turned his gaze back to the water, trying to stay level headed for her sake. The last thing he wanted to do was snap at her. "Since when has that ever stopped you? Didn't you go against the Clan when you let Anakin take me back home the second time?" She countered, already seeing her way in. "That was different; besides, I joined forces with him. I didn't just let you go." He shut her down, knowing that wasn't a good road for them to take. "Do you love her?" Padme demanded, her tone rising just a little. "I don't know, damn it!" He stood up, abruptly knocking his chair back. "I'm not doing this with you right now..."

"Why not? Because you know I'm right? You made her love you back Dak then you went and abandoned her. You're no man... At least, not the man I remember." She shot back, also standing up. Padme would have said more but Little Ani begun to cry, apparently not liking the obvious, growing tension between them. She bounced her baby up and down in her arms, scowling at Dak as she walked away. He hissed under his breath; if Padme knew how to do one thing perfectly, it was push all the right buttons. Dak began to replay her words in his head, more than anything her question; did he love her? He'd only known Alice for less than a month, barely half of one, in which they'd gotten close. Normally, he was one to take things slow; just let things play out naturally. However, with Alice, he fell hard and fell fast for her; that little blond really did grow on him. Was it really love though?

Dak sighed and ran a hand down the side of his face. At any rate, the small brown haired woman's words were begining to nestle in his mind, deep enough to where he couldn't just forget the conversation happened. It had, and it had left a mark. Did he love her? The question still mind boggled him; he'd never loved anyone quite like this before, if this was love. She had said that he had made Alice love him.. Was that true as well? Yet another thing he hadn't really given any thought to, just took it as a normal of life. "I love her..." He tested it out on his tongue, the foreignness clear in his tone. He didn't feel weird saying it; it didn't sound odd. Then he thought back to their time together, her tendency to curl up against him when something startled, her. The way her nose scrunched up when she laughed. Her newfound love of the water, and her laugh that sounded, to him at least, like little bells chiming. "I love her..." His eyes widened, finally realizing his true feelings. "I love her." He started walking inside, trying to find Padme. He found her in the small kitchen, warming a bottle for the still fussing baby boy cradled in her left arm. Without any warning, he walked up to them and embraced both tightly. "Thank you." He whispered, seeing the baby stare up at him with wide brown eyes. "I love her... I have to get her back, Padme." He could feel her smiling softly as she turned her head to look back at him. "We'll help any way we can Dak, you know that."