Padme's heart leapt. She had heard word that Anakin and Obi Wan had landed just outside the senate. She hurried outside and stood behind one of the large pillars. She didn't dare to hope.
Please be alright. She thought.
Master Windu and a dozen politicians waited for the chancellor and the Jedi who had rescued him. But Padme stayed in the shadows.
Padme watched as Master Windu stepped forward to greet the chancellor. Then she saw Anakin and her heart leapt with relief. He seemed to be looking for something, or someone.
Then Bail Organa went over to Anakin and began speaking with him. They began walking into the senate and Padme fallowed quietly from the shadows.
Anakin seemed to sense her there. He stopped talking. "Excuse me," She heard him say. Then he began walking towards her.
Anakin stepped into the shadows with her. He wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a circle. She was so happy to see him, so happy that he was safe. She felt she couldn't breath. She stepped closer to him and slipped into his arms. Anakin held her and kissed her lovingly.
Being with him made Padme feel whole again. After a long moment they broke the kiss. "Thank goodness you're back. I'm whole again." She told him.
"I've missed you Padme. I've missed you so much." He said.
She began to shake slightly, thinking that she had almost lost him. "There were whispers that you had been killed. I've been living with a terrible dread." She clung to him tighter, never wanting to let go of him.
Anakin grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. "I'm back. I'm alright."
Padme smiled and he pulled her back into his arms. Padme wished she could stay there forever.
"It seems as if we've been apart for a lifetime." He said. Padme had felt the same way, being apart from him. "And it might have been if the chancellor hadn't been kidnapped. I don't think they ever would have brought us back from the Outer Rim sieges." He started kissing her again, but she pulled away, worried that someone might be watching.
"Wait," She said. "Not here."
"No, here." He said reaching for her again. "I'm tired of all this deception. I don't care if they know we're married."
He couldn't mean that. She thought. He knows if the Jedi council finds out he'll be kicked out of the Jedi Order.
"Anakin, don't say such things." She said. "You're important to the Republic, to ending this war." She could sense his distress, so she smiled reassuringly at him. "I love you more than anything." She said, "But I won't let you give up your life as a Jedi for me."
"I've given my life to the Jedi Order." He said slowly, and she could tell that he meant every word of what he was going to say. "But I'd only give up my life for you."
Padme couldn't bear the thought of him giving up his life for her. She didn't want to live without him. "I wouldn't like that." She said thoughtfully. She didn't think that she could go on living, if Anakin gave up his life for her. But at the same time she knew that she would give up her life for him. She grinned at him. "I wouldn't like that at all."
Anakin reached for her again, but she slipped away from him gently. She took a small step backwards away from him. "Patience my handsome Jedi. Come to me later."
She stepped to the side, but not quickly to avoid his Jedi reflexes. He pulled her closer, and she hoped that he wouldn't notice her trembling. She knew she would have to tell him the truth later, but she was afraid.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"I'm just excited to see you." She said, hoping he would except her answer. But she couldn't bare to look into his eyes, knowing that she was keeping one of the most important things that would happen in his life hidden from him.
"That's not it." He said. "I sense more. What is it? Tell me what's going on!"
She held back a sigh, she could never keep anything hidden from him. She couldn't help the tears that began spilling from her eyes. She had so much on her mind. Thinking that Anakin might be dead. The dreams that haunted her each night. If only he had been there to comfort her. She always needed him, but she needed him now more than ever. And she couldn't help but worry about their baby and how Anakin might react to the news. "You've been gone for five months." She said. "It's been very hard for me. I've never felt so alone. There's ..." she was about to say that there was so much on her mind, so much that worried her. So much that she needed to tell him.
"I've never seen you like this." He interrupted, worried.
"Nothing's wrong." She said looking away from him for moment. She made up her mind, she had to tell him the truth. She looked back at him. "Something wonderful has happened." She said. Then she paused, she couldn't help but feel afraid.
She could almost hear his thoughts. "If it's something wonderful, then why are you afraid? Why are you crying? You don't have to be afraid to tell me, you can tell me anything."
She took a deep breath. She knew she could tell him anything. Why was she more afraid to tell her husband this wonderful news than to speak in front of a thousand politicians? She gathered her courage. "I'm ..." She couldn't seem to get the words out. She spoke his name to remind herself who she was talking to, and make this a more close personal conversation. "Annie, I'm pregnant." She finally told him.
She watched as Anakin's mouth fell open in surprise. She waited nervously for his response. She couldn't tell what he was feeling, and she didn't know how he would react. "That's ... wonderful." He said.
Padme was glad that he was responding well. She leaned against him for comfort. "What are we going to do?" She asked worried.
Anakin didn't reply at first, and Padme knew that he was just as worried as she was. They couldn't keep this hidden, and if the Jedi found out Anakin would be kicked out of the Jedi Order.
"It's going to be alright." She heard him say. "We're not going to worry about anything right now." She looked up at him, he was smiling. "This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life."
Padme's heart was filled with joy. This is a happy moment. She thought. She was glad that Anakin was happy too. That he thought that becoming a father was the happiest moment of his life. She knew he would make a wonderful father.
Whatever they would have to face, they would face it together.
