41It was his first joyous night back home, back with his wife, standing cross-legged on the Coruscanti balcony, gazing at her affectionately as she brushed her hair in deep thought. He was lost in her curls, soft brown eyes, sweet pink smile and the beautiful curve of her belly, until she said in a distant tone, "Ani, I want to raise our baby back home on Naboo. We can go to the Lake country, where no one will know, where we can be safe."
She smiled, not only her mouth, but her eyes as well. They twinkled with whimsical desire and fond memories. "I can go early and prepare the baby's room."
Trying to reconnect with reality, and enjoying her reverie, Anakin replied, "You are so...beautiful."
She continued to brush her hair, saying, "It's only because I'm so in love."
It was getting to be a rather mushy running gag that they had fallen into, but it was an enjoyable separation from the grim reality. "No," Anakin chuckled, "It's because I'm so in love with you."
Padmé ceased brushing her hair and turned to him, suppressing a grin to swing the comb idly. "So love has blinded you?" she teased, releasing her laughter.
He shuffled his feet, abashed and sorry that she had won at their little game, yet grinning like the little boy from Tatooine again. "That's...not what I meant."
She nodded. "But it's probably true."
It was dark, very dark and very cold. It felt like...death. And suffering. Suffering, fear, and emotional turmoil were all he sensed in the barren wastes of an endless shadow. It was a nightmare, he thought. A nightmare he had been in before, but failed. Above the illusive barriers of shadow, he heard a cry rising.
The cry grew louder, and he recognized its origin - Padmé was in danger. Anakin reached out with the Force, searching for her frantically within the depths of that desolate nightmare land.
"Anakin, help me!" There, the wail broke through the shadow and he saw, or rather felt, the terror of her eyes. He tried to move towards her, comfort her, but he found himself immobilized and incapable of speech.
"Anakin, please!" She was screaming in pain and anguish. Her presence began to fade, her pleas echoing into the distance as another life was also screaming out in terror. The baby.
Anakin's consciousness swirled back slowly as the screams faded, taunting him. He snapped out of bed and a thin sheen of sweat made its way up his body. He glanced quickly over his shoulder; Padmé' reassuring figure was still sleeping. It had been a dream. The Jedi ran his hand through his hair and climbed back into his boots and robe. It wasn't just a dream, but a premonition of what was to come. Of that, he was sure.
Padmé had just touched the shores of peaceful rest, when she heard the rustle of blankets beside her. Trying to ignore it, she stayed in place, not bothering to look over at her husband, who was probably just finding himself a more comfortable position. But no; she felt the heat of his presence gone and she turned. To her dismay, Anakin had left the bedroom. She knew then that something was wrong, and went to the sitting area to investigate, following the rustle of his robe.
He sat there with his robe open, chest bare and gazing out the window to the lights of Coruscant, searching for something far beyond their reaches. As she loped toward the couch, the surrounding lights began to brighten. Her husband's pained expression became increasingly visible as she neared, reflecting the oppressively morose atmosphere clouding the room.
"What's bothering you?" she asked quietly, treading softly to where he sat.
A small crease formed between his brow, another indication of his tormented thoughts. Anakin sighed, "Nothing." In an attempt to change the subject, he looked at the chain around her neck and said, "I remember when I gave that to you."
It was her turn to sigh. "How long is it going to take for us to be honest with each other?"
His blue eyes flickered here and there, searching for something she did not have an answer to. If only Padmé was Force-sensitive, maybe she would have been able to help him.
With a despairing, defeated look, he answered, "It was a dream."
Padmé released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Bad?"
His lower lip trembled before he blinked at looked at the lights of Coruscant, turning his back to her. A single tear rolled down his cheek and fell onto his artificial hand. "You die in childbirth."
With an automatic mother-to-be response, she asked, "And the baby?"
Anakin shook his head and buried it in his hands. "I don't know." He inhaled sharply to prevent more tears, the echo of screams resounding in his ears. "I won't let this one come true. I won't!"
Shaken, she hugged him sympathetically while rubbing a soothing hand across his back. She felt a lot like a mother already. "It's just a dream, only a dream. I promise you, I won't leave, Ani. I love you."
No reply. They stood there, embracing each other until Anakin backed away. "I know. But I promise you. I won't let you go, Padmé. I'll do whatever it takes to save you."
It was a brave statement. Pafmé knew that it was both brave and stupid, and that she mustn't let him think that. Slowly, she took the chain of the japor snippet from her neck, and held it out for him to see. "A long time ago, you gave this to me as a symbol of our friendship, our love for each other. You said it would bring me good fortune. But the truth is, you brought me good fortune. Our life together may not be perfect, but it's nothing I could ever regret. Take it, and maybe it can work some more of its magic."
Reluctantly, he placed his hand on hers, tracing the contours of the stone. When he linked their fingers together, a tingling sensation shot up his arm. It was fiery, like a surge of electricity through the whole of his body. Apparently his wife had felt it too, because she yelped and dropped the chain. A hot white light surrounded them for the barest second, and then everything went blank.