Anakin held Gabby in the crook of his arm as he helped Padme out of the canoe they'd taken to get to the lake country. They stopped at a beautiful gazebo where there was a lovely view of the crystal blue lake, and lots of beautiful plants and flowers.

The princess and her parents walked together onto the gazebo where they got a lovely view of the lake on which the sun was shining. It looked so beautiful and sparkly like it was made of a million crystals.

Anakin set Gabby down as she wanted to sniff the flowers and make some more grow all around as she played.

"We used to come here for school retreat," said Padme. "We would swim to that island every day. I love the water. We used to lie out on the sand and let the sun dry us and try to guess the names of the birds singing."

"I don't like sand." Anakin said. "It's course and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere."

"Like in your swimsuit. Yeck!" Gabby said, starting to scratch her shoulder as the mere thought made her itchy. "Very itchy."

That made her parents laugh.

"Now I know where she gets it from," said Padme. She recalled Gabby did like the sandbox when she played sometimes, but not so much on the beach.

In a sandbox, usually the worst case scenario, you get sand in your shoes. Easy fix, just take off your shoes and dump it out. But on the beach, get wet and sand sticks to you and can be very difficult to wash out of long hair.

"But not here," said Anakin, looking at Padme. "Here, everything is soft and smooth... and beautiful."

Anakin gently touched Padme's shoulder, making every movement very slowly as to not make her feel uncomfortable in any way, especially not in front of their daughter.

Padme and Anakin looked at each other, their eyes meeting as they began feeling things they couldn't explain. Anakin leaned forward slowly, his heart beating with anticipation. Padme, on the other hand, thought she should back up, but instead found herself wanting Anakin to continue, and she closed her eyes, waiting to feel Anakin until their lips touched.

Anakin felt his heart soaring as he felt Padme's lips against his, and so did she. They kissed passionately for a moment, but then Padme quickly pulled away with a gasp.

"No." she said. "I shouldn't have done that."

Anakin felt his cheeks turn red in that moment.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"Are you too hot, Daddy?" Gabby asked curiously. "You're turning red."

"No. No, Princess. It's just something that happens when people are nervous or embarrassed."

"Why?" Gabby asked.

"Uh... well, people sometimes do things and then they wish they hadn't because it led to something they didn't want."

"Why?"

"That's just how life works sometimes."

"Why?"

Anakin sighed.

"I wonder where you got the talkative gene from." he wondered out loud.

A little later, as the sun was shining...

Anakin, Padme, and their little girl now sat in a beautiful patch of grass near some magnificent waterfalls on a picnic together. While their daughter was busy rolling in the grass and picking wild flowers, the Jedi and senator pretty much had a date.

"I don't know," chuckled Padme.

"Sure you do. You just don't want to tell me." Anakin said.

"You gonna use one of your Jedi mind tricks on me?"

"They only work on the weak-minded."

"All right. I was 12. His name was Palo. We were both in the Legislative Youth Program. He was a few years older than I. Very cute. Dark, curly hair. Dreamy eyes."

Anakin looked at Gabby as she was playing and gave Padme a look.

"Doesn't that pretty much describe our daughter?"

Padme laughed and said, "Not exactly. I'd say her hair is more wavy than curly, for one."

"But she does have dreamy eyes."

"True, she does. And she is cute."

"Whatever happened to your friend Palo, though?"

"I went into public service; he went on to become an artist."

"Maybe he was the smart one."

Padme noted the tone in her baby daddy's voice.

"You really don't like politicians, do you?"

"I like two or three." Anakin admitted. "but I'm not really sure about one of them." He and Padme shared a chuckle. "I don't think the system works."

"How would you have it work?" Padme asked.

"We need a system where the politicians sit down and discuss the problem, agree what's in the best interest of all the people, and then do it."

"That's exactly what we do. The trouble is that people don't always agree."

"Sometimes they yell a lot." Gabby said. "And once Mommy had to cover my ears because one was saying a lot of bad words."

Anakin looked at Padme.

"Well, maybe they should be made to start agreeing a little more, and watch their mouths around children." said the older Jedi.

"By whom? Who's gonna make them? You?" Padme said.

"Of course not me," said Anakin.

"But someone."

"Someone wise."

"Sounds like an awful lot like a dictatorship to me."

"What's a dictatorship?" Gabby asked.

"It's when leaders tell people what to do too much."

"Like being really bossy? Daddy said Uncle Obi-Wan was a bossy boots once."

Padme looked at Anakin. "Hmm. Are you watching your mouth around children?"

"Usually." said Anakin.

Padme chuckled and playfully accused Anakin of making fun of her.

"Don't be silly. I'd be much too frightened to tease a senator." Anakin chuckled.

A little later, Padme was running through the grass with her daughter, while Anakin was showing off by riding on one of the creatures called shaaks. He stood on one like a stunt rider, and Gabby thought it looked like fun.

"I wanna ride too!" Gabby said, trying to run towards another until Padme grabbed her and told her no.

And that was when Anakin fell off the creature he'd been riding on and landed face-down on the ground.

"Daddy!" Gabby exclaimed.

Padme set Gabby down and immediately ran over to Anakin.

"Ani! Ani, are you alright?"

Padme rolled Anakin onto his back, and he was laughing as he'd played a joke on her, and before they knew it the two of them were hugging and laughing as they rolled in the grass. Gabby lay on the grass and started rolling too until she bumped right into her parents when they stopped rolling.

"Oof!" she grunted. "That was fun! Let's do that again!"

And she started rolling around again, making her parents laugh as they looked into each other's eyes again. There it was, that strange feeling from back at the gazebo. Padme lay on top of Anakin and got a better look into his bright blue eyes. They were as blue as a crystal clear sky, which definitely lived up to the sky in his name. And as though by some impulse, Padme was the one leaning forward this time, and she and Anakin kissed passionately, this time neither of them feeling afraid to do so. No one was around to see them do it besides their daughter, so who could stop them?

Though Padme couldn't explain it, she felt something in her heart that just told her this was right. Despite knowing that Jedi weren't allowed romantic relationships, she felt that this moment with her lips locked with Anakin's was just meant to be.