A/N: There is some dialogue used in the movies that I wrote in here. It's not mine and I don't own it. All rights belong to those who currently own Star Wars.

Roughly six long months later, Padmé Amidala is sitting in a meeting with a small group of Senators discussing ways to resolve the war and what could happen in regards to that. The Chancellor had recently been kidnapped causing all of the Senators to be a bit on edge as to who could disappear next.

Padmé sips her tea and gently wraps her small hands around the mug containing it. A sudden kick to her abdomen makes her shift her position slightly as she listens to the worries of the other Senators. She looks down into her tea but for the briefest instance shifts her eyes to her abdomen to make sure that her baby bump isn't showing.

Her rapidly enlarging baby bump.

Turning her attention back to the meeting at hand, Bail Organa is just launching into something about how the Chancellor must be very careful in how he handles the galaxy. Padmé tries her best to listen but she is so distracted.

Between the baby, rumors that Anakin had been killed, and the many questions that pummeled her every minute of every day, it could be very hard to focus in small meetings like this.

"Senator?" Bail asks her and Padmé sits up slightly straighter at the mention of her title.

"I'm sorry, Senator Organa. I was distracted by something. May you start from the beginning?" she asks gently and Bail nods.

"I was just talking about what we should do if the Separatists try to take over Coruscant through a droid army," he answers before launching into his discussion yet again. Padmé pays better attention this time and adds her own thoughts to the conversation. The rest of the Senators in the room comment about the state of events and the small committee resolves to make a decision. Jar Jar makes a comment about how the Jedi seem to play a very complex part in the war and that if they could find a Sith lord behind it, they could destroy him or her. Padmé feels her feelings suddenly swing out of control. Anakin and Obi-Wan and all of the rest of the Jedi she knows are already doing so much for this war. She plays with the edge of her navy blue sleeve as she thinks about the situation.

"I really think we should try to bring the war to as peaceful of a conclusion as possible," Bail says, "Instructing the Jedi to track down a Sith lord may prolong it."

"Besides, the Jedi are peacekeepers in the galaxy. They're not our soldiers that we can dispense of whenever we please, " Padmé continues with a diplomatic yet commanding voice.

"How else are we to win this war? The clones cannot do it alone," Orn Free Taal says, "The Separatists will refuse to listen. They must be crushed by the strength of the bond between the Jedi and the Republic."

"But that will not end in a peaceful resolution," Padmé protests.

"From where you come from, Senator Amidala, peaceful resolutions and negotiations may be in abundance. This is a war and a war that the Republic must win. The Chancellor wants it to be such," Ask Aak says, "The Separatists will not listen any other way. There will be no peaceful negotiations."

Padmé doubted that either Orn Free Taal or Ask Aak were feeling guilty at all but she knew that the best way to keep things diplomatic was to not start an argument over this at the moment. Before anything else can be said, the door to their meeting room slides open and a protocol droid enters the room.

"The Chancellor has been brought back to Corsucant," the droid says firmly and all of the Senators in the room quickly rise to their feet. Padmé worries the skirt of her dress as she runs her hands down it in nervousness.

"Where is the Chancellor now?" Orn Free Taal asks and Padmé shifts nervously, wondering if there is any news of Anakin.

"Out near a public transport terminal on the plaza. He has returned with General Kenobi and Skywalker," the droid answers, "Come, I will lead the way."

Padmé's heart leaps at the mention of Anakin being alive. She follows the rest of the Senators down, engaging in polite conversation when the droid instructs them to take a small recess and meet back at the area in a few minutes. Bail looks at Padmé and nods his head off in a different direction.

"Let's take a walk, Senator," he says softly and Padmé nods her agreement. The two walk for a moment to make sure that they are alone before they begin speaking.

"I don't like this. This is a dangerous attitude towards the war and diplomatic negotiations in general," Padmé says as soon as she feels that they are completely alone.

"I believe that there is still time to come up with a diplomatic solution. The other Senators are turning a blind eye to it," Bail says, "Padmé, I'm not sure it's wise for us to be on that committee."

"What makes you think that?" Padmé asks softly.

"Something doesn't sit right  with me about how they talk about the war like it's something that must be done for no particular reason besides a show of power," Bail says after a moment of contemplation.

"I agree," Padmé says softly, "I understand that being a part of the Loyalist Committee is about being loyal to the Chancellor but isn't it also advising him to peaceful solutions where the least amount of people die?"

"Yes. It is. The whole Senate for a matter of fact should be pursuing peaceful solutions. The debates in the Senate are bringing about actions that are anything but peaceful," Bail replies.

"Bail, I think that allowing the war to continue will bring great harm upon the galaxy. I think it could put the Republic in danger," she says softly.

"I do too. This is a crucial time for the safety of the ordinary citizens of the galaxy. It's a major turning point and I think that if the war does not end soon, we will be past the point of no return," he states and Padmé's shoulders drop in disappointment.

"It feels like we're the only ones who see it that way," she says sadly, "There's so many people in the Senate who want to help the Chancellor continue the war."

"That's not the case, Padmé. I've been speaking with some other Senators who express the same sentiments," Bail assures her but Padmé shakes her head.

"We can't go up against the Chancellor like this. There's been nothing wrong with what he's done up to this point. There's still time for him to pursue diplomatic resolutions to the war," she says and Bail nods his head in agreement.

"I agree with you and my hope is that he chooses that route over something more harmful to the people of the galaxy as a whole," Bail says, "but I also feel that we need to be careful."

"Of course," Padmé says softly, casting her gaze out to the skyscrapers towering around the plaza, almost as if protecting the two Senators as they stroll. She stops for a moment as Bail notices a group of Senators gathering around a transport holding the recently rescued Chancellor.

"I'm going to go welcome the Chancellor back. Care to join me?" he asks her. Padmé shakes her head and says,

"I have another matter to take care of. I'll see you the next time we either have a meeting in private or in the Senate."

"See you then," Bail replies before walking over to the group of Senators hovering around the Chancellor. Padmé slips further into the throng of people in the courtyard to avoid being noticed as she sees her husband step off of a transport. Obi-Wan Kenobi stands on it still, the two of them bantering about something as the Chancellor joins the group of Senators waiting. Padmé smiles at the sight of her husband and his master, her friend, discussing things. Anakin looks reluctant to leave but soon walks over to the group of Senators surrounding the Chancellor. Padmé, knowing that there is a nearby side door to the inside of the Senate building, hurries over to it. She opens it and slips inside, trying to make sure that she isn't caught. Being a part of the Loyalist Committee  and not greeting him would seem a bit suspicious and controversial to the other Senators, who would love to have the attention of the Chancellor. She moves toward a more isolated part of the building and hides behind a pillar. After a few moments of fiddling with her dress to make sure that everything is as it should be, she hears voices. Standing up a bit straighter, she notices Anakin walking with none other than Bail Organa. The two men discuss something for a few moments in what seems to Padmé, to be pleasant conversation. She hides herself further into the shadows to see Anakin's gaze meet hers. A flicker of joy crosses his features but he quickly hides it and excuses himself.

The next few seconds are ones that Padmé struggles to believe are real. She watches as her friend leaves and her husband comes running over to her. He hugs her and picks her up, swinging her around, causing her to nearly cry tears of joy. She clings to him tightly, never wanting to let him go. The two of them holding each other as tightly as possible. It had been five long months of waiting for him to come back, of hiding her news and wanting to share her secret with someone else. A secret so beautiful, dangerously beautiful but still at the very core of the matter, a treasure. Large grins grace both of their faces as Anakin puts her down. Their lips meet in a chaste kiss that leaves both of them wanting more. After a brief moment, they pull away.

"Oh, Anakin," Padmé breathes as she hugs her husband again. Her small hand rests on the back of his head and his face leans close into her shoulder and the side of her neck. She lets out a breathy sigh of relief and joy.

"I've missed you, Padmé," he whispers as he leans closer into her, his arms wrapping around her body in a hug. The two of them pull apart again and Padmé looks into his deep blue eyes with so much happiness.

"There were whispers that you'd been killed," she whispers, the fear still resonating in her voice as she tries to convince herself that her husband is indeed standing directly in front of her.

"I'm alright," Anakin reassures her, as his hand gently cradles the back of her head. His fingers gently caressing her hair. "It feels like we've been apart for a life time," he continues, his gaze flicking to her lips and a huge smile spreads across his features, making Padmé want to give up their lives right then and there to go off and have their baby somewhere more remote where they wouldn't be seen. Where they could be whoever they wanted to be and pretend that nothing in the galaxy existed but their expanding little family. "And it might have been if the Chancellor hadn't been kidnapped. I don't think they would've ever brought us back from the Outer Rim sieges," he says before leaning into kiss Padmé's cheek. He starts to kiss her but as much as Padmé wants it, she knows it's not right to do it in public. It's too dangerous for both of them.

"Wait, not here," Padmé pleads, trying to slow things down at least until they can get to the privacy of her apartment. Besides, everything could be revealed here if they do this wrong.

'Yes here," Anakin demands, "I..I'm tired of all this deception. I don't care if they know we're married." As much as she wishes for them to be able to live similar lives to those of a normal married couple, the rational and stable part of her mind pleads otherwise.

"Anakin, don't say things like that," Padmé says, trying to talk him down out of this sense of frustration she's getting from him. It doesn't always take a Force user to decode the feelings of her husband and more often than not, his feelings are very easy to decipher. Regardless, the two of them share a longing look before Anakin leans down to hug her and Padmé lets him, enjoying his presence, enjoying getting to be in his arms again, enjoying so many things that really she should never have. She sighs and just allows him to hold her tightly. Suddenly, she remembers her news and she starts to tremble at the implications that it holds.

She knew that there was absolutely no problem in being pregnant since she and Anakin were married and most ordinary couples in the galaxy had their own children at one point or another. It could be considered a growing experience for them. However, their situation is a little different. She knows he'll be happy and excited but it's going to create more complications. By having the children, their secret marriage will no longer be a secret. It would be worth it. If it happened that way, then at least they had a chance at getting the lives that they always wanted for themselves. Anakin picks up on her sudden fear, not even having to use the Force to sense the sudden change in his wife.

"Are you alright?" he asks her softly, not letting her go,  "You're trembling. What's going on?" Padmé thinks for a moment. A sudden rush of nervousness overcomes her as she considers what she's about to say. She recalls how excited she was when she found out and how much joy that could bring Anakin. If he has any chance of being joyful about it, then she has to remember her true feelings about the situation.

"Something wonderful has happened," she starts slowly, gauging his reaction, "Ani....I'm pregnant." She can see the shock on his face and fear wells up inside of her. Maybe telling him wasn't a good idea. Maybe she and Doctor Lenix can deliver this baby quietly and not have to worry about anything. She hears him gasp a bit shakily and continues waiting for his reaction, knowing that it is a lot for him to take in.

"That's..." he begins with a whisper. Padmé looks up to him nervously as he breathes out softly and continues contemplating the news. "That... that's wonderful," he finally says and Padmé lets out a sigh with the tiniest bit of relief laced on the edges. A large grin spreads across his face as the news sinks in and Padmé becomes less worried about her husband's reaction and more about the future of their little family.

"What are we gonna do?" she asks quickly, hoping he has an answer. The only answer that she has is to step down from their respective positions and live quiet lives in the galaxy. Anakin's smile stays on his face as he gently rubs Padmé's arm.

"We're not gonna worry about anything right now. Alright?" he replies, still so thrilled to hear the news, "This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life." Padmé feels a smile spread across her own face. They kiss softly and hug within the shadows of the pillar that they are hiding behind, just holding each other and reveling in their exciting news.

A/N: Oh boy....I felt like this one was kind of a filler but not in a bad way. There's just a lot of development and setup that happens in this chapter and it doesn't help that I have big plans for later on in the book. It feels slow to me but it's because I know what's coming and by comparison, these feels kinda slow but we need it because plot and character development.

Yes, there's going to be some dialogue used in the movies that will be in this book but there's also going to be a fair amount of differences since this segment of the story at least follows Padmé through the events of Revenge of the Sith instead of Anakin. The majority of the book is going to focus on her but things will change as new characters get introduced to the story.

The timeline of this movie is a bit tricky...I read something that indicates Revenge of the Sith happens over the span of about four days. I also read that TCW indicates that Anakin has been gone longer than five months which makes sense. If he had been gone for only five months, it seems kind of weird that he wouldn't have known about the baby(ies) before hand. Padmé would have been a little bit further along when he left and I feel like that's not easy to hide. Especially from your husband.

So...I'm going with the belief that Anakin was gone for the majority of the duration of Padmé's pregnancy. For the sake of my story and some Anidala development, I had him gone for six months so that Padmé and Ani would have some time to figure out that she wasn't feeling the best all the time and you know how that went from the previous chapter.

But yeah, I'm really excited for this book. The more I write for it, the more interesting it's going to be!!! Are you guys enjoying it so far? I know we're like two chapters in and this one might feel a bit slow but it's gonna get better.  I hope you all are enjoying the book!! Thanks for reading, commenting, voting or doing whatever it is you do.

See you around, friends.

-Aisling