Padme's Heart

Summary

This is an alternate ending ROTS story with more emphasis on the happenings on Coruscant, and a suggestion that Padme may have had a more important part to play than was revealed in the movie. The story continues on through the birth of the twins.

Chapter 1

Senator Padme Amidala was at her desk in her Senate office; several reports relating to her home planet of Naboo, progress in the Clone war battles, and other things she didn't really care about at the moment, were in front of her awaiting her attention. Next door, her Senate aide, Lamon Ess, sat quietly in his small office, listening warily for the next angry outburst from the senator. A few minutes ago, he'd received a communication from her protocol droid, C-3PO, regarding a minor repair of the lighting system in her senatorial apartment; the droid had wanted to know if she wanted a new switch installed near the apartment entrance. Lamon pondered whether or not to approach the senator about this, and then decided against it; at the rate she was going today, she'd probably throw something at him!

At the moment, Padme was quiet and still, staring at a blank place on the wall opposite her desk. Her mind was racing, though: Where is he? Is he safe? Has he been injured? Kil—? She couldn't bring herself to finish that thought. Oh, I miss him so much. How long have they been gone...three weeks? Four? It seemed like months. Why is it always Kenobi and Skywalker that get sent on these stupid missions! She sighed deeply, closed her eyes and leaned her head back against her chair. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she continued to worry about things over which she had no control.

"Senator?"

She opened her eyes and looked toward the door to Lamon's office. Lamon was barely visible as he peered around the jamb.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "I noticed that it had gotten very quiet in here, and wondered if you were okay."

She smiled tiredly, and replied, "Yes, Lamon, I'm 'okay'. I'm just tired [tired of waiting, worrying…], that's all." She looked at him for a few moments and then said, "Lamon, I'm sorry I've been so unkind to you today. There are many things on my mind, although that's not an excuse for yelling at you. I just can't seem to concentrate on what's on this desk."

"Oh, that's all right, senator," he said, smiling with relief and moving a little further into the room. "That's what I'm here for!" His attempt at humor actually brought forth a chuckle and a small smile from her.

"Thank you, Lamon. I've been so irritable, lately, perhaps I need a vacation," she said, half-jokingly. Yes, a vacation with Anakin, she mused. If we could only go away for awhile and just be together without hiding all the time... She looked at Lamon again, and said, "Why don't you go home, now, Lamon. I'll be leaving, myself, soon. I think I'm going to go home and soak for awhile, and go to bed."

"If you're sure, senator…"

"Go! Enjoy what life you do have outside of this office!"

"Thank you, Senator Amidala, I will. 'Bye." With that he turned back to his office, gathered his personal items and walked out into the hallway.

She looked at the papers on her desk and realized that she hadn't even worked through half of them. What was with her these days, anyway? Yes, she was worried about her husband, Anakin Skywalker, the "hero with no fear", but she'd been worried about him many times before. She was so quick to anger and to tears and, lately, she found herself staring at walls; she just didn't understand. Perhaps it was because Anakin and Obi-Wan had been gone longer than usual this time. She took a deep breath and prepared to leave for the day.

"Ah! Senator Amidala! I'm so glad I ran into you." Padme had taken no more than three or four steps from the apartment complex entrance, when she was accosted by a slender, blond-haired young man. She turned to him and recognized him as Taana, a senate aide she'd spoken to before in the senate building. With his blond hair, large eyes and fussy manner, he always reminded her of Threepio. He continued speaking, "I spoke to your aide, Lamon Ess, today and I have to say he was not very pleasant at all. No, not at all! All I wanted was for him to ask you a simple question, which would have taken practically no time whatsoever, and he refused! I really don't—"

"Taana! What is it you wanted to ask me?" she inquired.

"Oh! Well. Senator Neristta wonders if you have had a chance to look over her proposed bill? That would be the one regarding appropriations for the registration of farm vehicles on several of the Middle Rim planets."

Well, that's certainly a subject of galactic importance, she thought. "I'm afraid not, Taana. Please tell Senator Neristta that I will review it soon and I will get back to her by the end of the week. Good-bye." She turned and started walking before he could see the amused look on her face.

"Thank you, Senator. I will tell her right away!" he called out to her.

Padme was still chuckling as she stepped off the private turbolift into her apartment. She closed the door behind her, removed her cloak and hung it on the coat rack. "Hello, Threepio. I'm home." Threepio appeared and said, "Hello, Mistress Padme. Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No, thank you. I'm very tired and I'm going to relax in the bedroom. Please don't bother me, unless it's very important."

"Yes, mistress," he replied. "I will tell Mistress Dorme not to bother you, as well."

She entered the bedroom and sat down at her small writing desk. Resting her chin in her left hand, she gazed out of the window and missed her husband. As the Coruscant skies darkened toward night, her sadness returned and she sighed. "Oh, Anakin, I miss you," she spoke aloud. "Please be safe..." She remained at the desk for awhile, hypnotically watching, but not really seeing the lines of traffic that were ever present above this city planet.

Eventually, she turned away from the window and her gaze moved around the room. One item caught her eye; a glass dish with a glass cover on her dresser. She brightened a bit and walked over to it. Lifting the cover, she gently took out the slender braid she had placed there about a year ago. She remembered when Anakin had proudly placed it in her hand, after he had passed the Jedi trials and become a Jedi Knight. He said it was the only thing he owned, and that was a part of him, and he wanted her to have it. Tears welled up in her eyes as she walked to the bed, clutching the braid in her hand, and she remembered that day.

After a time, the sound of Threepio's servo motors interrupted her reverie; she frowned, as she had definitely told Threepio not to bother her.

"Mistress Padme! Mistress Padme!" Threepio waited for a response outside the bedroom door.

"Yes, Threepio," she sighed. "Come in. What is it?"

Threepio entered the room and said, "I'm very sorry to bother you, but you did say that I could if it was 'very important', and I think you will agree that this is. I just heard on the holovid news that Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker are on their way home!"

She stood quickly, her eyes wide open. "Home?" she asked. "They're on their way here?"

"Why, yes, I believe this is where they live, unless something has changed."

She sat back down on the bed and stared at the floor. A great weight seemed to lift itself from her heart, and great sobs began to pour from her, releasing all of the heartache and worry she'd endured for weeks.

"Mistress?" Threepio, surprised at her reaction to the good news, hurried to get Dorme, her handmaiden. "Mistress Dorme? Mistress Dorme, please come! Mistress Padme is in great distress!"

Dorme appeared from her room and followed Threepio's direction to the bedroom. She knelt beside Padme and asked, "Milady, what is it? What's happened?"

Padme raised her hand to let Dorme know that she was all right. She looked up, her face wet with tears, and sobbed, "He's safe, he's on his way home..."

Dorme heaved a sigh of relief, and sat next to her mistress and put her arms around her. "That's wonderful, milady. Just let it all go, I know you've been under so much stress lately." She nodded at Threepio and waved him away. Padme continued to cry until there were no more tears. "Let me help you change and then you should sleep," she said, handing Padme a tissue.

Dabbing at her face, Padme replied, "Thank you, you're such a good friend to me, Dorme. I'm so glad to have someone I can talk to, who knows our secret." Dorme nodded, smiling, and began to lay out the senator's night clothes.

Padme awoke the next morning, thinking of her husband off on his mission, and began to be sad. Then she remembered the wonderful news from yesterday and was filled with great happiness. She practically leaped out of bed, opened the window coverings and looked out at the bright, sunny Coruscant morning; she laughed! She hadn't laughed outright in ages, it seemed. What a beautiful day, she said to herself. It will only be better when he's here!

She called Lamon Ess and told him she would not be working today, that she had many personal things to attend to. "Good-bye, Lamon, and have a wonderful day!" she said brightly. Lamon sat at his desk, staring at the comm\, and briefly wondered if the person he'd just spoken to was the same one who had been in the senator's office yesterday. He shrugged, pleased that she seemed to be happy, and turned back to his work.
Padme took a long shower, dressed and got to work on her plan. In two weeks, the Senate would recess for a month, and she was determined to go away with Anakin for as long as possible. She knew that Jedi Knights were able to come and go as they pleased, as long as they stayed in contact with the Council. She began to plan a secluded vacation in Naboo's Lake country...