Zelina used her first two days of leeway before she had to teach to focus on her investigation into the bombing. She was working with limited resources, since the Coruscant Authorities had brutally shot her down when she went with the request to give a statement to give them a chance to reopen the investigation and do it right. The brisk and almost heated conversation boiled down to an excuse that the case was already closed and they didn't need to be digging into it, even though Zelina told them she'd been right behind the transport and had seen something entirely different than an accident occur. Without the backing of the Jedi or the Coruscant Authorities, Zelina was forced to go back to the crime scene and try to find anything the authorities might have missed. She didn't have access to anything the authorities had found, either—or anything they might have taken to bury or destroy, as Zelina was ready to suspect at this point. She could interview witnesses, but there were billions of beings on Coruscant, and she wasn't sure the hospitals would willingly give out patient information so she could find anyone injured in the bombing to unofficially ask questions.

At least she had Padmé and Satine talking to their Senatorial contacts. Padmé had suggested that they try to make Senators aware of the reality of the situation, and try and garner enough support that another investigation would have to be opened. Zelina hadn't heard how that plan was going, yet, but she was hoping there were enough good Senators Padmé knew to tip the scales a little more in Zelina's favor.

Satine, meanwhile, was using her contacts to try and see if she could dig up any rumors about someone taking a bombing job. Zelina didn't know where the woman got her sources, but Satine knew how to use them, and if it worked and she did find a lead, Zelina would be quite pleased.

Now, however, she had to spend her time elsewhere. She had a friend to help, and now a class to teach. Which meant she was going back to the archives to see what other information she could dig up that might be helpful for Anakin and Padmé, and she needed to figure out what she wanted to impress upon the young minds of the Jedi Council.

She'd also have to be careful about that. She had...shifted, on her stance regarding the Jedi Order, and while she felt her recent change had not yet been noticed, she would like to keep it that way. Even going gray was enough to get someone kicked out of the Order, if there was enough of that darker pigment in your choices. She also needed to stay, because there was still stuff she could learn in the archives, and people she needed and wanted to protect and support.

So her lesson plan would need more care put into it than most Jedi so she could avoid drawing attention. Best to play it safe with her lesson plans then . . .

Zelina stopped halfway down the aisle she was in—history, passing through on her way towards the meditation section.

Curious . . .

Zelina let her hand move of its own accord, letting the whispers of the Force currently tickling her senses guide her hand.

Old Republic history . . . a good couple millennia before present day Republic . . .

Grandmaster Satele Shan.

Okay . . .

Not about to question the Force, despite the fact she couldn't see how Grandmaster Shan would possibly pertain to either of her current needs, Zelina took what information was available about Grandmaster Shan, or anything she'd dictated.

At this rate, she was going to need a bag for all the holos she was going to be taking. Did she even have time for this much reading and research?

She'd take them, like she was prompted to, but she couldn't guarantee she'd get around to reading much about Satele for now.

Her priorities were elsewhere.

**************************************

It had been months not only since Obi-Wan had seen Zelina, but even longer since he had the chance to really speak with her. After all that had happened in that space of time—Ahsoka, Fives, Ruusan, Anakin being put on the Council—it was about time they sat down and really talked to one another.

He knocked gently on the door to Zelina's apartment, waiting until he heard her call of, "Come in," before he tried the now unlocked door. As he stepped inside, Obi-Wan spotted Zelina sitting on her living room couch, the coffee table pulled close to her with holos and datapads spread across the table. As he came closer, he could make out the subject of some of the mass of materials—lightsaber techniques, Grandmaster Satele Shan, and the holo she was shutting off was one over healing techniques somewhere between the beginning and intermediate level.

"Busy day?" he asked.

"You could say that," Zelina murmured, her attention only partially on Obi-Wan as she tidied up her mess and set most of it aside. "What do you need?"

Obi-Wan settled himself into the seat next to the couch, watching Zelina carefully. "I wanted to check on you. It's been a while since the two of us talked, and I know there's a lot going on with you right now. Especially after what happened with the Ruusanians."

A dark look flickered across Zelina's face, snuffed out before it could fully settle into her expression and gain a more defining emotion...like anger. Yet despite the brief flash, she remained overall calm and composed. It only served as more evidence for the suspicion that Obi-Wan had been nursing since Ahsoka left the Order.

"Yes, well...it's just another example of how far to an extreme the Republic has gone," Zelina murmured, leaning back in her seat.

He wasn't entirely sure he liked the sound of that. He knew there was corruption in the Republic, it was hard to miss. But with Zelina talking about the Republic shifting to an extreme...she had to be careful with that kind of talk. Rumors might fly, and people might start pointing threatening fingers.

"And what extreme are you referring to?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Just look at what's going on right now. The Coruscant Authorities are fixated on not re-opening the case and won't even let me give a statement on what I saw, the Council won't grant permission to investigate because it doesn't want to step on Republic toes, and no one cares that a transport full of civilians and troops was bombed. There was a child on that transport, a little boy, not to mention the families the others had, and no one cares. They all want to sweep the matter under the rug, some even add on a 'good riddance' for good measure." Zelina sighed once she was done with her small rant, running a hand through her hair and watching idle strands fall into her face. "The sad part is, it's not the fact that it's happening that surprises and bothers me—it's how blatant it's become, and how little everyone seems to care. Not counting the rare few that agree with me."

"It's the way of the galaxy, little one," Obi-Wan said gently.

"Not to this extent. And normally this much effort isn't put into burying this kind of an incident without reason. Normally I'd at least be humored, and then the case would get lost in the system as larger priorities came and the investigation was given to someone who didn't care until it had to be set aside for another. Any inquiry or suggestion or new evidence is shut down on the spot. It's like the incident is taboo."

"You're not going to leave this alone, are you?" Obi-Wan observed. He wanted to advise her against doing so, simply because if this issue was being covered up with so much effort, she might find herself stepping in more than she bargained for, and he didn't want to see her get hurt. At the same time, he didn't want to lend himself to the problem.

"I'll spare you the answer to that, since you're on the council. What's the saying, again? What you don't know won't kill you?"

"Yes, that seems to be a proverb that's applied quite often between Anakin and myself," Obi-Wan mused.

Zelina shot him a pointed look, eyebrows raised. She didn't say anything, but there had been much communicated between the Jedi (Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Zelina specifically, sometimes with Satine and Padmé as well) that couldn't be said in words, or could only been acknowledged in looks. There was a glaring issue in the application of that proverb between Anakin and Obi-Wan, one that both Zelina and Obi-Wan were aware of, though Anakin most likely wasn't (Considering how much he tended to miss, despite being a smart man).

The problem with that saying was that Obi-Wan already knew. He just chose to ignore and look the other way, in more than one instance.

"Speaking of Anakin," Zelina suddenly said, Obi-Wan noting the fact that she subtly shifted the topic of the conversation away from herself. "He told me about the Chancellor—both the appointment and the mission from the Council."

Obi-Wan couldn't keep the flash of displeasure off of his face, though Zelina didn't appear phased by the disapproving look that was meant more for an Anakin that wasn't even in the room than for Zelina herself. "That was supposed to be a secret, off the record assignment," Obi-Wan chided while Zelina rolled her eyes.

"Please, you've known us long enough to know that if you tell Anakin, you tell me, too."

"One would think there would be some secrets between you two."

"To my knowledge, Anakin doesn't keep secrets from me."

"And you?" Obi-Wan said, giving her a pointed look of his own. Zelina immediately went on the defensive.

"I don't keep secrets. He just...fails to notice or pick up on some things."

"Well, he's been failing to notice things since you were teenagers, if that's the case."

Zelina turned indignant. "I am not that obvious!"

I beg to differ, Obi-Wan couldn't help but think, and from the look she gave him, his thoughts were clearly displayed on his face. "It's hard to miss. Unless you're Anakin, of course."

"Yes, well, his attention tends to be elsewhere, so I stopped being surprised a long time ago." For a moment, she looked like she was going to sulk, but she shook off whatever feeling was plaguing her before she could be dragged down too much by her mood. "But that's beside the point. I want to know why the Council is putting him in this situation in the first place."

"You're starting to sound like Anakin."

"Why, did he point out that him and Palpatine are close—despite how much the rest of us don't like the two of them being close—and his relationship with the Council is strained, and Palpatine always digs his little barbs in and causes rifts and doubts and issues?" Zelina asked almost bitingly.

"He pointed out that it's against the Jedi Code to commit treason and spy on the Chancellor, who is a mentor and a friend to him. But he doesn't view the Chancellor in the same light as you, so his point was a little different."

"As much as I...strongly dislike Palpatine, and I never think he's up to anything good, I don't think it was smart of the Council to put Anakin in this position. It's just asking for something bad to happen, and it's hurting him. He'll do it because the Council asked him to, but he's not going to like it. He may even admit to Palpatine he's playing double agent, reporting on the Council to him and reporting on him to the Council."

"He's never let me down before, he won't do so now," Obi-Wan said firmly, echoing what he'd told Yoda and Windu when Yoda departed for Kashyyyk.

"Anakin also has a tendency to do the exact opposite of what's expected of him," Zelina pointed out. "But I'm not the one you should be telling that to. Anakin's in a tough position right now, and he was already under...stress, before the Council put this position on him. He needs a friend from you more than he needs the Teacher Obi-Wan. It might help knowing he has you in his corner considering his sense of betrayal has been put through the wringer repeatedly recently...and you might want to stress your support is unconditional."

There was a lot to unpack from that statement, but Obi-Wan went with the part that caught his attention first. "What stress? Besides the war, I mean."

Zelina hesitated, looking like she regretted saying something. "It's...not for me to say."

Something personal, then. Most likely regarding Senator Amidala.

"Zelina, you can't make a statement like that and then refuse to give me something more to work with," Obi-Wan said with a frown.

"Yes, well, you know how much I care about having Anakin's confidence, and considering we already got into a bit of a spat over Palpatine, I'm not about to tread on his toes. Go ask him if something other than the Council and the war and Palpatine has been on his mind...and other than me, too, since I'd like to think he's been reflecting on our argument with some regret as well."

"You two always make up after a fight, I wouldn't get too stressed out about it," Obi-Wan said in an almost flippant tone of voice. He didn't want to come across as insensitive to her worry, but it was the truth—the rare times Zelina and Anakin got into a true argument, they tended to be quick to make up. Either because they realized the fight had been petty or they hated getting into a fight with one another more than they disagreed over whatever had caused the argument. He wasn't too concerned about this time being any different.

"Yeah but we also usually avoid the topic of Palpatine because it's one we've never agreed on," Zelina murmured.

Deciding he didn't want to lower her spirits with the current topic choice, Obi-Wan switched tracks once again.

"I'm assuming you're preparing for your first youngling lesson," he remarked nodding to the mess on her coffee table.

"Some of it is, yes. The rest is for me."

"You're picking up healing?" Obi-Wan asked curiously. Surprisingly, Zelina's expression turned grim.

"Yes...I'm finding it might come in handy some day soon." Obi-Wan wasn't oblivious to the fact that there was a lot hiding behind that statement, but she asked him another question before he could inquire what she meant. "The Council is trying to push me into taking on a Padawan again, aren't they? With having me teach the younglings."

Obi-Wan gave her a semi-apologetic look. "They are, yes. It's about time, though. You're ready to take on a Padawan—like I told Anakin, it's an important step in your growth as a Jedi."

"Yes, but I already know who I'm going to train."

"This Luke you keep seeing, so I've heard. But you don't know when he'll find his way into your path, and if you start teaching the younglings, your far more likely to find him. If you keep resisting actively looking for a Padawan learning, you may never find him."

Obi-Wan could tell she was holding back on saying more, choosing to instead look at the coffee table instead of him.

"I still don't appreciate being shoved into this position. It's my decision to make, and I'm all too aware that when a couple years have gone by and I still haven't chosen a padawan yet, the Council is going to start to get...impatient."

"You'll figure that out when you get there," Obi-Wan assured her. "Maybe by then you'll have seen him, and you'll be able to point him out and say that one even if he's just barely entering the Order."

"Careful, or I might be plucking a boy out of the crowd on his first day and claiming him," Zelina chuckled, trying not to fall apart laughing at the mental image of claiming Luke as her future student as soon as he passed the threshold of the Temple.

"At least you'll finally have someone officially claimed as your Padawan learner," Obi-Wan said with a shrug. A pillow zipped off of the couch and into his face, causing a disgruntled but muffled sound to escape him. "Now, Zelina, you know better than to abuse the Force for petty reasons," he scolded as he placed the pillow behind him.

"Maybe so, but I'm a Knight now, and if I wish to pettily throw a pillow at a misbehaving Master with the Force, then I'll do so," she returned with a smirk. The smile faded slightly from her face. "But in all seriousness...do go see Anakin. He needs the support right now, and it might help if he heard you say out loud that he has yours."

"He knows he does."

"It helps if you say it out loud every now and then. For those times when Anakin worries and inevitably starts to doubt."

Obi-Wan nodded. "I'll talk to him."

"Thank you."

"Though you should know the same support applies to you, too."

Zelina's gaze flickered back up to Obi-Wan, the surprised look on her face fleeting, but enough to sadden Obi-Wan, though he hid it well.

Zelina spent so much of her time worrying over others, she tended to forget that others worried for her. Or that her problems were just as valid. Selflessness to a fault. It was likely what had cost her Anakin's more...personal attentions.

It was not lost on Obi-Wan that part of the reason she supported a relationship between himself and Duchess Satine was her own missed opportunity with Anakin. She didn't want Obi-Wan making the same perceived mistake she had made.

Though Obi-Wan was a stricter follower of the Code than Anakin and Zelina...but her pleas after she'd nearly given her life to rescue said Duchess had made an impression he had not forgotten, nor had they been ignored.

And though it had not progressed to their degree, Obi-Wan was far better at hiding it than Anakin, the Senator, and Zelina.

*********************************************

"Form Three."

"Soresu."

"Form Five."

"Shien. Djem So."

"Two."

"Makashi."

"Seven."

"Juyo. Vaapad."

"Four."

"Ataru."

"Six."

"Niman."

"One."

"Shii-Cho."

"Again, and this time with their nicknames. Form Five."

"Shien. Djem So. Way of the Krayt Dragon."

"Form Two..."

Zelina paced the front of the room slowly, her gaze roaming over the younglings currently under her tutelage and answering her randomized calls of lightsaber Forms with their descriptions. They had been studying the textual information of the forms, but not to any serious depth yet. For now, Zelina wanted them to be able to name the seven forms and recount if it was meant as offensive or defensive, focused on blasters or lightsaber combat, or even combinations of both.

She felt they had already grasped this basic by now, which meant that she'd be able to move on to more detailed studies of each of the forms in her next classes.

On the far side of the room, the door opened, though the initiates didn't turn their attention away from Zelina at the front, even as her gaze flickered over to see who had entered the room. Anakin stood in the shadows three paces behind the Tholothian Naa'mada, whose face was too scrunched up with concentration to even notice his entrance. He had a small smirk on his face as he watched Zelina give her brief orders to the initiates, almost immediately met with an accurate response. She wasn't entirely sure if she liked the smirk he wore, unsure if it was meant to be teasing or something akin to pride.

Once they had finished running through their current verbal exercise, Zelina finally came to a stop in the center front, nodding to show her approval of her students' progress.

"That will be all for today. I want you all to study the seven different forms between now and our next class. Be ready to describe a characteristic of one of the forms at the start of the class. And don't simply choose one characteristic and ignore the rest, because I will not be accepting repeat characteristics, you have to give one different from someone else, so know your forms in case someone says your chosen characteristic first."

Zelina spoke over the shuffle of little feet as the younglings all filed out of the room, some of them visibly startled to turn and see Anakin lingering in the doorway. Zelina had to stifle a smile at the sight, moving to gather the holo materials she'd used during her lecture as Anakin made his way towards Zelina.

"Lightsaber forms? Interesting first lesson choice," Anakin commented. She turned to face him, ignoring his proximity as she moved around him to put her stuff away.

"I figured it's a nice...neutral place to start. It doesn't get into any tricky politics and spares me having to go into Jedi rules I may not necessarily agree with. It saves me from running into any conflicts of interest with the Council."

"You have a point," Anakin admitted. "But it only makes me wonder even more why you agreed to teach in the first place."

There it was. She knew there was a reason he'd come to see her, a point he'd cut right to without much beating around the bush. Part of her had hoped they'd be making up for their fight...

"I agreed to get them off my back. I still have every intention of waiting for Luke. I just figured if they think I'm at least looking, I won't have to worry about being hounded by the Council in the meantime," Zelina said pointedly. "Why, did you really think I was going back on training Luke?"

Anakin had the decency to look somewhere between embarrassed and ashamed. "No, I just...well, I wasn't expecting it. I assumed you'd just say no to everything until Luke came, so when you said yes...it just made me wonder..."

"You should know me better than that, Ani. I keep my promises," Zelina said softly. "I know sometimes our...viewpoints clash, but you know I'm always going to have your back. You always have my support, and I'll also do what I can to help whenever I can."

Anakin's eyebrows rose slightly at her statement. "You've been talking to Obi-Wan, haven't you?"

Now it was Zelina's turn to look slightly startled. "Perhaps, but before I agree with whatever you two talked about, what did he say?"

Anakin's eyes narrowed. "He came by with a strong reminder of his support. No context or anything, just a short, 'I believe in you and support you,' speech that I was not expecting."

"Hmm, yeah, I might have prompted him that it doesn't hurt for him to not only occasionally show, but tell as well, sometimes. I'll admit to some nudging on my part, but that doesn't make what he said any less genuine."

"What did you say to him?"

The demand that resonated in the question sent an alarm bell off somewhere in Zelina's brain, but she ignored it in favor of retaining her composure and looking Anakin in the eyes. "Nothing compromising. I'm not stupid, Anakin, but neither is Obi-Wan. We're your friends—we know when something's wrong, and Obi-Wan sees far more than you think he does. Sometimes you don't give him enough credit."

She had started to walk past him, but paused, laying a hand on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better to hear it, though, I didn't run off telling him about you and Padmé. That's never going to be for me to tell. Though he is well-aware that you two care deeply for each other, and it won't be that much of a leap for him to realize you're under some stress regarding Padmé right now, on top of everything else."

Zelina let her hand drop away as Anakin turned to face her. "It's not your business to even hint about what's going on between Padmé and me to Obi-Wan."

"Which I didn't," Zelina returned sharply. She didn't like him questioning whether he could tell her things in confidence, even a little—it made her uneasy. "We were talking about recent events, your appointment as the Chancellor's representative being one of those things, and I mentioned you were under stress already before the spying assignment. I didn't say anything about that stress being about Padmé. I'm just saying Obi-Wan is smart and will probably be able to eventually come to the conclusion that stress has to do with Padmé. Again, Anakin, you give him too little credit. You act like he'd turn you in to the Council in a heartbeat—"

"He would!"

"He wouldn't," Zelina corrected flatly. She studied Anakin for a moment, a sad twist downwards curving her lips. "Do you really think so little of him?"

"Do you really think so little of how highly he holds the Order and the Code?" Anakin returned just as bluntly as before.

"He's overlooked a lot when it comes to us already. I like to think we're an exception when it comes to Obi-Wan."

"I don't let myself entertain the luxury. Zelina—" Anakin placed his arm out in front of her to halt her from walking out of the classroom. "I trust Obi-Wan, I do. But not with this. I can't afford to be wrong, because if he wouldn't overlook me and Padmé, and I told him, it would mean the end of everything. Don't tell him. Don't even hint at it."

Zelina let Anakin's plea hang in the air for a moment, holding his gaze for the entire stretch of silence. "I already said it would never be my secret to tell...I didn't realize you thought so little of me."

She moved to leave, but Anakin grabbed her wrist before she could.

"Zee, wait, wait, it's not—it's not that I don't trust you, I do. You know I do. It's not you I'm worried about, it's Obi-Wan. I know I can trust you—"

"It doesn't sound like that, considering you're so worried about me exposing your marriage to him."

"Not intentionally. I just...I know how highly you regard him and I just...I don't want you to...to accidentally place the wrong trust with the wrong person."

THAT'S RICH!

The thought roared to the forefront of her mind so quickly she was surprised she didn't say it out loud. Thankfully she didn't, considering that would have only sparked another argument.

"I won't if you won't," she settled for saying instead, skipping past the accusatory part of her thoughts.

Anakin, however, was well aware of who she was inadvertently suggesting to be careful of putting too much trust in, since he stiffened slightly. "That seems fair enough," he said, releasing his grip on her wrist.

If he was going to tell her to be mindful of someone she deeply trusted, she could tell him to do the same for someone he trusted.

Though personally, Zelina felt like Obi-Wan wasn't the one to be worried about and subsequently distrusted.

Zelina made her way out of the room, Anakin following close behind.

"Have you found anything? To help?" Anakin asked, gaze flickering towards a passerby as he spoke.

"I spend a few hours studying healing every day, now, and I've been cross-referencing my studies with...her condition," Zelina said carefully, being far less conspicuous than Anakin as she ignored anyone they walked by as their conversation continued.

"Yes, but do you have something to save her," Anakin said in a low, terse voice. Zelina's gaze flickered towards him.

"Ani, we don't even know what specifically is possibly going to go wrong. The best I can do is prepare for anything, which is what I'm doing. Besides, that's how I'd prefer it—to prepare for a variety of instances rather than one and end up caught off guard."

"I need a guarantee she'll be all right."

"I can't give you that, Ani, not without knowing more. I'm sorry. For what we know, this is the best I can do."

Anakin stopped her, pulling her to the side in the shadows of the temple where they could be unobserved.

"Zee, my dreams are getting worse," he said, voice serious and eyes pleading. Zelina softened under his gaze, heart panging with sympathy for his plight.

"I promise I'm going to do everything I can to help, Ani. I'm not about to stand idly by and let something bad happen to Padmé," she said gently, putting a hand on his arm. "In the meantime, you do your part by making sure Padmé's staying healthy right now—prenatal care and all that, doctor checkups with someone she trusts. We'll get through this, okay? You just need to put a little more faith in us, and remember the future isn't as certain as you're treating it right now."

"I can't lose her, Zee," Anakin said softly.

"And you won't. Trust me."

"It's not you I don't trust."

Zelina gave him a weak smile, squeezing his arm in a gesture of comfort and reassurance. "I actually have to go talk to Padmé now. I'll talk to her about being more careful, at the very least for the sake of your sanity."

"Thank you...for doing all this for us," Anakin said, stepping away so that she could continue her path and get to Padmé's.

"Of course, Ani. It's what I do," she said with a small smile before making her way to her apartment on her own.

*******************************************

"Mistress Amidala has company at the moment, but you are welcome to wait for her."

Zelina stepped off the turbolift and into Padmé's apartment at Threepio's request, drawing her cloak around herself as she stood off to the side. "I can do that, Threepio, I don't mind waiting," she said softly, knowing that voices carried between the lobby and the main sitting room of Padmé's apartment.

She could hear the distinct voices of both Padmé and Bail Organa inside, perhaps even Mon Mothma, but she made it a point not to pay much attention to what was being said, wanting to give Padmé her privacy. Threepio made his way back to the sitting room to announce Zelina's arrival, and Zelina turned her attention to the lobby's décor while she waited.

Once Padmé was aware of Zelina's presence, Zelina didn't have to wait long for whatever meeting she'd stumbled across to come to a swift end. Bail Organa and Mon Mothma appeared around the corner with Padmé following them into the lobby. Upon seeing the other two senators, Zelina gave a respectful half-bow and a nod.

"We'll see you at the meeting, then?" Bail asked Padmé, turning just shy of the turbolift to address her.

"You will. Until then, Senators," Padmé said politely, and the two promptly left without another word. Zelina turned to Padmé, eyebrows raised slightly.

"Important Senatorial business, then?" she asked, falling into step beside Padmé as the woman started back towards the living room.

"Of a sort," Padmé returned evasively.

Secret important Senatorial business, then. "I'm sorry to have interrupted."

"It's all right. I assumed you came about the investigation Satine and I have been conducting for you."

"Among other things," Zelina admitted, taking a seat on the couch. "Though by all means, I'd like to hear what the two of you have been up to while I've been youngling teaching and doing some personal study."

"I'm afraid we've only found resistance, mostly," Padmé said grimly as she sat across from Zelina. "Some I would ask for their support, but they have...other matters weighing on them regarding the Senate and the Republic. The rest either don't want to get involved, or they seem to be actively trying to halt any investigations."

"Let me guess, some have gone so far as to say let the Separatist scum dissolve into the background, forgotten?"

"Some were a little more colorful with their words, but yes. Before you ask, none of them seemed to be the mastermind behind the incident. Though when we looked into submitting a formal request...there was a lot of red tape keeping us from doing what we needed to and the forms were piling up more than normal."

"You think someone high up in the Senate is involved, then?"

Honestly, Zelina's mind immediately jumped to Palpatine. She could see the serpent sacrificing the Separatist innocents to appease his increasingly disgruntled Republic.

"I can't say anything for sure, but its starting to look like it. There's also something else..."

Zelina didn't like how uncomfortable Padmé suddenly looked. Whatever this other thing was, it had to be bad. "What is it?"

"Our investigations have garnered notice, including your own actions with the Coruscant Authorities. They know that you're pushing to open an investigation, and they're not reacting well, to say the least. There's starting to be whispers that you might be a Separatist sympathizer."

Cold flushed through Zelina, a flash of panic flickering through her systems. Separatist sympathizer. That was a dangerous thing to be branded as these days—it could quickly turn into charges of treason. And considering she wasn't on the best of terms with Palpatine, he could possibly jump at the opportunity. Normally she could be reassured by being in the jurisdiction of the Jedi Council, not the Senate, but after what happened to Ahsoka, she had next to no confidence with that. She had people who knew her who would stand by her, but that wouldn't necessarily be enough against rampant accusations if somebody fanned the flame.

Calm. Center yourself. Don't panic yet. Padmé said they're just whispers right now, not yet rumors, only in the Senate, there's not people in the Order whispering that so you have Order protection now. And it's unfounded. Just watch your step, be careful moving forward, and you can avoid this.

"That is worrisome...but I'm not going to panic over it, either," Zelina said carefully. "I appreciate the help you've given me so far, but if kicking up dust is starting to attract that kind of attention, I'd rather you and Satine not get involved in this as well."

Padmé's eyes flashed, a look of indignation crossing her face. "If you think I'll just stand by while you're pressing further into this mess—"

"You have enough to worry about between what's happening now in the Senate and the future of you and Anakin. I can handle this. If I end up in a bad spot, then I'll ask for help again, but until then, I'll continue on my own. We don't need one of the few good Senators left in the Senate being labeled as a Separatist sympathizer."

She had a point, though Zelina also had the sneaking suspicion she'd still end up hearing about Padmé continue to look into the explosion and the politicians that might be involved. Before the woman could have the chance to argue, Zelina continued by bringing the conversation into an entirely different area.

"Speaking of you and Anakin, how's the little one doing?" Zelina asked, nodding towards Padmé's well concealed middle.

Padmé's hand fluttered over her abdomen. "He's moving around quite a bit—he's definitely a feisty one."

"Like his parents," Zelina commented with a smirk. "He?"

"Anakin seems quite adamant that it's going to be a boy for some reason."

Zelina muffled a laugh, giving a slight nod before she sobered. "Anakin's still worried. From what he told me, his nightmares are only getting worse."

Padmé's expression grew worried as well, the hand on her abdomen turning protective. "You think it's truly something to worry about, then?"

"I think that Anakin is getting premonitions, but I'm also worried that it may be self-fulfilling, one that could come true if he hyper-fixates on it. And considering it's Anakin, he will, even with the warning that doing so could bring it to pass. I told him to leave the precautions to me. After talking to him, I've been doing a lot of studying with healing and pregnancies, just so if something does go wrong, we're prepared. I'm hoping that if he feels we're adequately prepared for the worst-case, he won't fixate on his dreams, and it won't ever happen. Though it would put his mind at ease more to know you were in peak condition. Doing all your prenatal care, regular checkups with a doctor you trust and such. At least to put his mind at rest."

Padmé sighed. "I told him not to worry—"

"And when has that ever worked on Anakin? He needs this, Padmé."

Padmé nodded. "I'll do what I can to help ease his mind."

"Thank you. I'm worried about the stress he's under, and if we can ease that burden just a little..."

Padmé rose to her feet, coming over to stand beside Zelina and putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He's lucky to have you, Zelina."

If only he'd listen to me a little more.