Padmé Amidala - her perspective

Chapter 7 - a good friend

That day I stayed home again. All the meetings were over, the debates had ended and all the politicians rested at home. So I put on a black dress that didn't hide my belly the slightest and then I simply sat down in the salon and started to work on arguments on the Two Thousand Petition's behalf.

Elle tapped me gently on the shoulder.

"Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is here," she said.

I turned around and there he was, the familiar figure of honour watching me with kind eyes and a friendly smile. It struck me how long ago it was since we met and I felt a sting of guilt. He and Anakin had already been back a couple of days, yet I hadn't had a chance to see him or talk to him. His stay on Coruscant was in no way a certain one, he could abruptly be called back to the frontlines.

Automatically I straightened up, but made no attempt to hide my stomach. Obi-Wan knew me better than almost anyone and I could not hide anything from him. Furthermore with Anakin home and the pregnancy coming to an end the secret couldn't be kept much longer anyways. Obi-Wan being one of my oldest friends would be one of the first ones to find out when I decided to announce my pregnancy, I had no reason to hide it from him now.

Besides, it was already too late.

"Excuse me if I'm interrupting," he said gently.

He didn't acknowledge my changed appearance at all. I gratefully realised he understood what was unsaid, that he pieced together the fact that I was far along but still hadn't told anyone and therefore understood that the situation was delicate - even though he didn't know why. I decided to play along, relieved that he simply let it be. He really was a good friend.

"Not at all," I assured him. "Come in and sit down!"

I pulled away my notes and Obi-Wan sat quietly next to me. It was reassuring to know that he knew nothing about me and Anakin, that it was something I had been able to hide all this time. It helped me stay brave and upright as he was sitting right in front of me.

I noticed that he was almost unnaturally calm, as if he was hiding something.

"I guess you're not just dropping by," I said, making it sound like a question but keeping my facial expression friendly.

"That's correct," Obi-Wan nodded and mirrored my expression.

I searched his eyes for anxiety, fear or sadness - anything that could mean that Anakin did something stupid or suffered by something terrible. But I found nothing and I used the relief to build up a protective wall around my consciousness.

"How can I help you?"

Obi-Wan straightened up a little and frowned ever so slightly.

"Have you seen Anakin anything the past few days?" he wondered.

I was surprised by how flawless my acting was when I shrugged.

"A couple of times," I said casually.

I could see that Obi-Wan bought my white lie without blinking because nothing happened in his eyes when I spoke, he simply moved on to his next question.

"Then he might have told you something about Palpatine?" he said, leaning forward.

I realized that Obi-Wan tried to get something out of me that Anakin didn't want to tell him. Even though I knew he was a friend and his intentions were good, I could not do that to Anakin.

"Nothing you wouldn't know," I said.

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows.

"So you have heard about the mission he has received?"