A/N: More dialogue from Revenge of the Sith is included in this chapter. I don't own it so please don't sue. Also Zaja Mar is mine. :)

After a brief meeting of the Loyalist Committee to ensure that the Chancellor was alright, Padmé hurries down to where her escort is waiting for her. He drives her back to her small apartment. When she arrives, C3P0 greets her as she enters the door.

"Mistress Padmé, there is a dear friend here to see you," he says excitedly to her as she hurries into the safety of the apartment.

"Thank you, 3P0. Who's here to visit? I haven't been expecting anyone," she says curiously. A voice interrupts her conversation with the droid,

"Not even me, milady?" Padmé whirls around and a huge smile grows on her face as she recognizes her dear friend.

"Zaja Mar!!! I never thought you would be back this soon," Padmé exclaims excitedly and moves in to hug her friend without really thinking twice about it. The other young woman leans in to hug her. A questioning look comes over the younger woman's face at Padmé's hesitancy to hug her back.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" she asks as Padmé's eyes go wide with fear.

"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Only the handmaidens and my doctor know," she says seriously. Zaja Mar nods her head in agreement. "I'm seven months pregnant," Padmé finishes.

"Congratulations!! That's so exciting," Zaja Mar says excitedly, "I finally get to be an aunt since I wouldn't get to be one any other way." Padmé laughs at that remark. Sabé, Padmé's most trusted handmaiden who had served her ever since she was queen, enters the apartment a few minutes later to see the friends visiting.

"Zaja Mar, it's a pleasure to see you. This is a wonderful surprise," she says.

"Isn't it?" Padmé says, "I thought she would be gone as long as Obi-Wan and Anakin if not longer."

"I actually was able to catch up with them about a month ago. We've been running around the galaxy trying to hunt down General Grievous and then the Chancellor ever since," Zaja Mar replies, "It was good to see them again. They're always a joy to work with..when they're not fighting with each other that is." Sabé and Padmé both laugh, knowing how true the statement is.

"They've been all the holos will talk about for the last few months," Sabé says as Padmé invites her to come and join them with a simple smile.

"So, how come you weren't among the Jedi to greet the Chancellor when he returned?" Padmé asks out of curiosity. She and Sabé notice Zaja Mar tense up a bit at the question. Not even the Jedi were completely capable of hiding their true feelings.

"I helped them take out the Invisible Hand but then I took a detour of my own. I had someone to see before I came back," Zaja Mar replies after a moment.

"Is it anything serious?" Padmé asks her friend trying to show her how deeply she cares about her and her well being.

"It doesn't concern the Jedi Order or the Republic if that's what you're worried about," Zaja Mar replies, "It was a personal trip to Tatoonie." 

"Tatoonie is a rough planet. It must have been a special person for you to go there willingly," Sabé says and Zaja Mar busies herself by looking out the window.

"It is someone dear to me, yes," she says, almost as if the statement is more of an afterthought than is meant to add anything to the conversation. Her gaze soon flicks to the floor before looking back out the window.

"Did you get to see them and speak with them?" Padmé asks, knowing that the Jedi didn't get any free time and were encouraged to stay away from relationships such as the one she and Anakin had created.

"I did and it was good. I'm glad I made the trip," Zaja Mar says, her eyes lighting up in a way that Padmé has never seen before on her face, "So how goes the war effort?"

"Things get worse everyday and it feels like we can accomplish nothing in the Senate," Padmé replies, "No one agrees with anyone else about what should be done. I feel like this war is going to go on long after my child is born."

"I'm sure Anakin will be a wonderful father and protect your baby no matter what, Padmé," Zaja Mar soothes and Padmé's eyebrows shoot up.

"How did you know?" she asks in complete shock, exchanging a nervous look with Sabé.

"Anakin told me during a moment when we had some alone time," Zaja Mar answers, "Not that you were pregnant of course, but that he had married you about three years ago. I'm surprised you've been able to hide it from the Senate and the Jedi Council for as long as you have. Anakin can be read like a book most of the time."

"It's always entertaining to come watch him 'visit'," Sabé replies cheekily.

"You're not going to tell, are you?" Padmé asks nervously, "We're going to have to make an exit here shortly because of the baby but I'd rather not make it sooner than it has to be."

"If I agreed that the entirety of the Jedi Code was perfect in every way possible, then yes, I would tell. But I think that there are flaws within the Code and I struggle with following it more than I should. Anakin and I have had many conversations about this and I could tell my Master thought similarly to me," Zaja Mar replies, "I think the Jedi Code should be rewritten."

"Thank you. I honestly don't know what Anakin would do if we were found out. He absolutely loves being on the battlefield and being with Obi-Wan," she says, "I'm scared of what having this baby will do to him. I know he will happy but it's going to break his heart to make him leave the war and the battles."

"I think it'll be good for him," Zaja Mar says, "No one's going to be expecting him to do anything for them or really follow any rules. It'll just be your little family which is what he needs right now." Padmé nods her head in agreement.

"Besides," Sabé starts, "while your service to the galaxy in the Senate is wonderful, you and your husband deserve some time to raise your children."

"Of course. Being involved in politics prevents you from living any kind of life outside of it. I've longed to be an ordinary citizen of the galaxy for a long time now," Padmé says softly, "And this baby is my ticket to that."

"I'm afraid you and Anakin are too well known for the two of you to truly have any sort of normal life together," Zaja Mar says sadly, "But I hope that you're able to escape from some of the more pressing matters of the galaxy."

"I think we will. Some other politician or Jedi will do some wonderful or heinous act and Anakin and I will all but fade into the shadows," Padmé reassures herself. Sabé and Zaja Mar exchange looks when Padmé isn't looking that shows that her statement will most likely be far from the truth.

"The Council still believes Anakin to be The Chosen One. They won't want to let him or your child, assuming your child is Force sensitive, out of their sights until they are trained to their satisfaction," Zaja Mar says, "They don't understand attachments, love, a need to be someone normal and nameless for a time. It's what they want but oftentimes, it's something they can't have." Padmé looks down sadly and sinks to the couch.

"You're right but it still would be wonderful to have it. To just be ourselves and pretend nothing else in the galaxy matters. Anakin and I could have a real marriage, real children, a real family instead of what everyone thinks we should have," she says as she plays with the end of her dress, "This war isn't doing any good in that way."

"Yes, but did you get to see him when he returned?" Zaja Mar asks, "He was at the Senate Tower."

"I did and I told him about the baby. Zaja, he was so excited. It was good to see him that happy. I get the feeling he hasn't felt that way in quite a long time," Padmé reminisces, "He's going to be such a good father."

"I'm sure he will be," Zaja replies, a wisp of a smile flitting across her own face for a brief instant before she moves to sit down next to her friend on the couch, "I have something that I need to tell you that I told Anakin about."

"Of course," Padmé acknowledges, "I don't have anywhere to be for the next while so I would be happy to hear."

"I'm...a bit worried about Anakin," she says lightly, "Did he seem....different to you at all?"

"What do you mean?" Padmé asks and quietly folds her hands in her lap. 

"I think he feels really conflicted right now. He just doesn't seem quite like himself," Zaja says as she gazes deeply at the Senator's face to gauge her reaction. Padmé looks down at her folded hands in her lap for a long moment, sadness scrawling itself all over her face as she thinks.

"I just wish this war would end," Padmé says, "It's taken so much from Ani and I and so much from the rest of the galaxy." Both of the other women in the room nod their heads in agreement.

"You're the one in the Senate, can't you do something?" Zaja Mar asks a bit more pointedly than Padmé would like.

"There's only so much I can do but I've been trying and I'll stop at nothing to make sure it happens," she says softly, "but with the baby, I can't put my life on the line all the time on other systems and if I'm captured, someone's bound to find out I'm pregnant. I've asked the Chancellor to only give me matters that I may attend to here on Coruscant."

"And believe you me," Sabé says, "it's been difficult keeping her system bound. She's wanted to travel to other systems so badly." Zaja laughs at the statement.

"I'm sure it has. Padmé Amidala has never been one to go down without a fight," she remarks. Her eyes flick down to Padmé's stomach as she adds, "With the way she and Anakin do things, it's bound to run in the family." Sabé chuckles at Zaja's remark and Padmé laughs and rolls her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Oh, Zaja," she says as she looks out the window again. At that moment, C3P0 enters the room.

"Mistress Padmé, Master Anakin wishes me to inform you that he will be arriving home soon," he says and takes one glance around the room before giving a robotic gasp, "Oh dear me! I forgot about the company. Oh, Mistress Padmé, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to spill the secret. Please don't turn me off permanently although I wouldn't blame you in the slightest if you did."

"She knows, 3P0. Relax. She's someone Anakin told," Padmé reassures the worrisome droid with a slight chuckle in her voice.

"Oh thank goodness," 3P0 replies before muttering on and on about something. At that moment, Zaja Mar stands up to leave.

"Wait, don't you want to stay for a little bit longer? I'm sure Anakin really won't mind," Padmé calls out to her friend.

"First of all, you and I both know that Anakin will very much mind and second, I have other business to attend to with the Jedi but I'll be sure to drop by again at some point or at least to say goodbye if I'm being sent away again," Zaja says sadly.

"Milady, would you like me to stay until Anakin gets here?" Sabé asks gently.

"If you would like to help me get ready for this evening, I would appreciate it," Padmé answers before turning to Zaja, "You have to see this nightgown I have." She then rushes off to go get it and Zaja Mar sits back down again before gazing around the lovely apartment. She absolutely loves it in this little apartment and wishes that the Jedi would allow her to own something like this. Sadly, she knows this can never be the case with the Jedi and their minimalist ways. Padmé returns holding a periwinkle nightgown with beads and a cape like backing. A huge smile spreads across her face and Zaja instantly stands up to look at it.

"Padmé, it's beautiful. Has Anakin seen you wear it yet?" she asks with a sly grin.

"Not yet. Dormé purchased this for me as one of my maternity outfits," Padmé replies.

"I think he's going to love it," she says, "Although, he struggles to keep his eyes off of you when the two of you are in the same room. He always has." Padmé laughs at the remark as 3P0 rushes back in again.

"Well...couldn't we say that about you and that young man who was at that pod race on Tatooine?" Padmé laughs and Zaja joins in.

"You know the Jedi aren't supposed to have attachments," she says after a moment.

"I know but the way you two were looking at each other," Padmé replies.

"Oh...we were both teenagers and you know how that happens sometimes," Zaja says trying to shoo her friend away.

"Anakin and I were," Padmé trails off as the commlink on Zaja's belt interrupts her.

"Probably someone on the Council giving me a friendly reminder that I have yet to debrief them on what happened from my perspective," Zaja mutters impatiently, "I really must be going now."

"Of course. Thank you for stopping by. It's always a pleasure to see you," Padmé says as she moves forward to hug her friend.

"You as well, Senator," Zaja says and the two women hug.

"First you call me Queen and now you're calling me Senator," Padmé mutters rolling her eyes, "Even though you know the real Padmé better than most people."

"Well, I wouldn't be a Jedi if I wasn't telling you goodbye with some formality, now would I?" Zaja replies as she moves to the door. She gives Sabé a nod which the young handmaiden returns.

"Goodbye, Zaja. I hope to see you soon," Padmé calls out.

"Goodbye, Padmé," Zaja calls out in return as she walks out the door.

The next couple of hours are spent getting Padmé ready for the evening, preparing the meal and cleaning up the small apartment.  Padmé's other handmaidens eventually arrive to help with everything. Padmé chooses to leave on her senatorial dress from earlier for the dinner's sake.

"Are you sure, milady? You can always change into something more comfortable now and be able to relax with your husband," Dormé, another handmaiden of Padmé's, persuades, trying to present the Senator with a more comfortable option. Sabé, who is passing by, shares a knowing look with Padmé. 

"I'm going to change into something more comfortable later because it's too early to change now," Padmé replies before standing up and walking into the kitchen. Dormé's eyebrows furrow as she follows Padmé.

"Milady, you normally like to change out of your Senate clothes the moment you come in for the day," she persists and Padmé resists the urge to sigh. Sabé, sensing her friend's exasperation, steps in.

"Dormé, don't you really think we ought to go help with the dinner? I think Padmé would like some time to herself," Sabé says gently but persuasively. Padmé smiles her thanks to Sabé and slowly moves to help prepare the dinner.

Anakin pulls up in his speeder just as they finish preparing the meal.

"Ladies, you're dismissed for the evening," Padmé says, "Please don't inquire about me until you hear from me first."

The handmaidens bid Padmé farewell and hurry out moments before Anakin enters the apartment.

"Padmé," Anakin calls out before hurrying over to her and hugging her tightly. His arms hold her  much tighter than before, pulling her into his chest. She leans her head into his embrace and closes her eyes.

He's home. They're reunited at last.

Anakin gently presses a kiss to the top of her head. In response, she lifts her head up to face him. Her hand gently runs through his dirty blonde locks and he smiles at her as they just stand there and hold each other.

"I'm so happy you're finally home," she says softly.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else except with you and the baby," Anakin says before pressing another gentle kiss to her forehead, "I want to be here for every moment of this pregnancy that I've missed."

"I'm just glad you get to be here for part of it," she says softly as she leans her head  back on his chest and closes her eyes, "Being a Senator while being pregnant is no easy task."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here to help you," Anakin says to her gently, "You know I would have loved to, had I had the chance..."

"We're in the middle of a war, Ani. They need you and there was nothing you could do. Now come on. Let's go find some dinner and enjoy the time that we get to spend together," she responds, trying to dismiss any notion of guilt from him. They pull apart and she takes his hand to lead him towards the quaint dining space she has that is currently set up for a romantic dinner. They sit down and eat in comfortable silence for a moment before Anakin cuts in.

"It's not right that this is how it has to be," he says with the slightest bit of anger in his voice.

"It won't be for much longer," Padmé says with a small grin on her face, "We can go somewhere else to have the baby and live quiet lives. Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala can vanish from the galaxy's public eye. Ani, doesn't that sound wonderful?"

"I don't think they'll want me after they've found out what I've done," Anakin says sadly but Padmé smiles with hope.

"Anakin, there's a lot of things that could happen that you may not expect," she says reassuringly, "Zaja Mar stopped by earlier today." 

"She did?" Anakin asks before sitting up a little bit straighter at the name of their dear friend, "What did she want?"

"To see me before she left for Tatooine. Do you have any idea why she would be going there?" Padmé asks as she starts to get up to get herself some more water but Anakin stops her and does it for her.

"You're very pregnant. You're not moving anymore than you need to until the baby is born," Anakin says, clearly avoiding Padmé's question. Padmé gives out a frustrated sigh as he does this.

"I'm not going to break, Anakin," she says with a note of irritation in her voice.

"I know that, but I want to help you," Anakin replies as he places the water glass down in front of her and gives her a gentle kiss on the cheek, "I've hardly gotten to do that." Padmé stays quiet as the two of them go back to eating their meal, deciding to leave the topic of their friend alone.

After the meal, Padmé decides to change out of the dress that she wore to the Senate earlier that day and into something a bit more comfortable.  Spotting the light blue nightgown she had shown off earlier, she quickly takes it and sneaks off into the fresher with a small smirk on her face. Anakin, who she has made wait outside, drums his fingers in impatience against the door.

"Padmé, what's taking so long?" he asks her as he leans against their bedroom wall.

Now in her under dress, Padmé hides the nightdress before opening the door a crack, her hair still up in it's two tight buns.

"I'll be out in a moment. Just relax," she says, chuckling at her restless husband before closing the door again causing Anakin to groan moodily. He closes his eyes and leans back up against the door, pretending to wait patiently before calling out again,

"It's been a minute."

He hears a slightly frustrated huff from the fresher and smiles softly at her frustration. 

Another moment passes before she reenters the room, wearing the lovely nightgown with the japor snippet he made for her around her neck. Anakin's eyes flash open when the fresher door opens and he smiles at her outfit. She smiles shyly and gently places a hand over her now very visible baby bump. Anakin steps closer and reaches his one true human hand out to touch Padmé's abdomen. He smiles as he gently rubs his hand over her belly. In response, the baby kicks Padmé...hard. Padmé jolts a bit at the impact and Anakin looks up in concern.

"This is normal, right?" he asks concerned but with the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. Padmé nods in response and moves her hand next to his over her belly. With both of their palms lying flat, they interlace their fingers, both feeling their child kick Padmé. Padmé looks up to meet Anakin's grinning expression as he chuckles at the kick.

"It's a wonderful feeling...until it's two in the morning and the baby doesn't want to sleep," she says and Anakin's chuckles grow a bit louder. Padmé slowly moves away to undo her hair and Anakin stands to the side as her chocolate tresses come tumbling down, draping over the high back of her lovely nightgown. She takes her hairbrush and gently brushes a segment of her hair up into a small ponytail at the top of her head.  She ties it with a blue hair tie before moving to brush out the rest of her hair. The pearls on the nightgown above the bodice and the ones wrapped around her upper arms shimmer in the low lighting as she moves out towards the balcony. Anakin follows her as she gently brushes out her hair and looks out over the city. He slowly comes up behind her and pulls her into his chest, his arms circling her with his hands coming to rest on her baby belly. Padmé closes her eyes and sighs happily.

"This is how it should be," Anakin says softly, kissing the top of her head, "Just you and me." The baby soon kicks Padmé as if to remind them of who they're missing. "And yes, you too, Little Miss Skywalker," he says and Padmé whirls around, with her hairbrush in hand.

"Miss?" she asks, "I think Mister."

"Have you felt this baby kick? Kicks that strong come from baby girls," Anakin replies and Padmé chuckles at his antics.

"It could be a strong kick from a happy healthy little boy," she counters. Anakin just laughs and gently rubs her belly.

"You can think whatever you want, Padmé. But until our little girl is born..."he says as Padmé interrupts him,

"You mean our little boy..."

"Once again, you can think what you want," Anakin starts, not wanting to give in to the playful argument. The two of them stay quiet as Anakin gently resumes rubbing her belly. The baby excitedly kicks at feeling Anakin rub his hands on Padmé's stomach. Anakin smiles as he feels a Force bond flowing in between himself and the baby.

"The baby's strong with the Force," Anakin says after a moment of reveling in the small bond building between himself and his child.

"That's not surprising," Padmé says with a chuckle as she slowly takes her hairbrush and moves a bit farther out to look at the city, "You're not using the Force to tell the gender of the baby, are you?"

"No no. Of course not. What would make you think that?" Anakin asks as he slowly starts to keep the Force bond from revealing that tidbit of information about the baby.

"Because you want to be right," Padmé replies, turning around to face him in his arms. Her one hand still clutches her hairbrush as she moves back into the apartment.

"Where are you going?" he asks her as she moves with purpose throughout the apartment.

"The fresher," Padmé replies nonchalantly as she walks back into their bedroom.

"Again? You were just in there," Anakin says moodily as he starts to follow her.

"Babies can make it harder for you to stay away from the fresher for long periods of time," Padmé chuckles before closing the door on him. Anakin moves back towards the balcony and leans against the exterior wall facing the balcony and the city. He watches the speeders zoom by and listens to the thrum of the city around him. A moment later, Padmé reemerges out onto the balcony with her hairbrush in hand. She walks past Anakin, looks out over the city and starts to gently brush out her hair. The moonlight catches her, making her pregnancy glow that much more apparent to Anakin. He smiles at her beauty and is enchanted by her brushing out her long locks, her hands gently playing with the hair as she brushes it. He can see her deep in contemplation as she gently brushes out the tangles.

"What's on your mind?" he asks her gently and he can see her pause at his inquiry.

"Ani, I want to have our baby back home on Naboo," she says as she looks back over the city, brushing out her hair, "We can go to the lake country where no one will know...where we can be safe." She turns to face him, playing with the ends of a strand of hair, "I can go early and fix up the baby's room," she continues excitedly. She gazes lovingly at him as he smiles at the thought.

"It would be better than Tatoonie," he says slowly, "Naboo...has many...happier memories."

Padmé smiles at him widely, remembering their wedding and other fond memories since then on Naboo on the rare occasion that they would actually be able to escape their lives.

"It does..." she says softly, "for both of us. And besides, I know the perfect spot. Right by the gardens." She turns back towards the city as she says this while continuing to brush out her hair. Thinking Anakin to be considering her suggestions, she hears him say,

"You're so....beautiful." She turns around to smile at him while a slight blush rushes to her cheeks. Looking down at the floor shyly, she gently bites her lip and twists one of her curls around her right index finger. When she looks up and notices Anakin's intense loving gaze, she shifts her posture.

 "It's only because I'm so in love," she says softly after a brief moment. His responses make her wonder if he even heard what she was talking about earlier. Not that she doesn't appreciate the compliment but she thought Anakin might want to be a bit more involved in the future of their child.

"No," he replies with a small laugh, "no. You're this beautiful all the time and it's because I'm so in love with you." Padmé shifts her posture a bit and asks,

"So love has blinded you?" Concern rippling through her voice. She isn't any different than when before she was pregnant and she doesn't understand why Anakin is evading the topic of the baby in favor of romancing her, not that she isn't enjoying it but there's a situation that they need to figure out. Being pregnant does not always make her beautiful even with the pregnancy glow. Sometimes she lays in bed feeling more like a Bantha than a human.

Anakin's chuckle interrupts her thoughts and he sobers before saying, "Well, that's not exactly what I meant."

"But it's probably true," Padmé says softly with a smile on her face, now fully facing him again. She moves towards him and gently wraps her arms around the back of his neck, realizing that this time, tonight, can belong to them. They can plan out the details of their child's birth in the morning.

"Love will never blind me," Anakin replies before leaning down to kiss her lips. He starts off gently but deepens the kisses which continue long into the night.

A/N: And in the words of my sister, we end on passion.

This scene was fun and simultaneously hard to write for because of some of the dialogue.

Zaja Mar is also my OC character.

I'm trying to write some better Anidala scenes that maybe run a bit deeper. I hope that they're not distracting from the story.

And oh my word, I love her nightgown that I discuss and that's in this scene in the movie. Like it's just so gorgeous and fits her personality perfectly.

And Across the Stars just came on while I'm writing this. That's appropriate. Lol.

Also, I'm sorry if these kind of seem fillers like....they have a purpose I promise...it's just gonna take a minute for the action to kick in because Padmé's a very diplomatic individual. And she's pregnant...not that that would really stop her from doing anything but...ya know what I mean.

I also really hope I'm doing the character of Padmé justice. There really aren't that many books on here that are solely about her so I wanted to give her some more love because she needs it. :)

I hope you all are enjoying this book. Feel free to do whatever it is you do to show your appreciation. Thanks for doing it!!

-Aisling