Late Night Escapade
By Serena Kenobi
Rating: K+
Summary: Padme awakens one night to find Anakin missing from the apartment. When he returns, his reasons for leaving are not what she has expected.
Author's note: This is actually an updated version of this oneshot. Just a missing ROTS scene. Very sweet and fluffy. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars.
Padmé yawned, rolled over on her other side, and placed a small hand where she thought her husband was lying next to her.
The hand patted down on cool, smooth sheets.
Padmé groaned and opened her eyes, only to see that her husband was not there. Again. It was getting to be a regular habit for the brooding young Jedi Knight.
She sat up, brushed away some rebellious curls from her face, and unconsciously placed a hand on her quickly growing abdomen. Looking down, she softly rubbed the place where her baby – their baby – was forming. It was amazing. Padmé had always wanted to be a mother someday, but now that motherhood was fast approaching, she felt extremely nervous. She wasn't very well trained with babies, and unfortunately, there was nobody else to help her.
Except Anakin.
Padmé grinned at the thought of the grim Jedi Knight changing diapers and cleaning up baby spit, which was much different from hacking down droids with a lightsaber. She wondered if he could handle such a tedious job of caring for a newborn baby.
Speaking of her husband… where was he?
Padmé slowly slipped out of bed and picked up her robe, pulling it on over herself. She softly trotted down the steps and out onto the veranda which overlooked Coruscant. Though she had been hoping to find her wayward husband, he was not there either.
Strange. He was usually there, staring out into the city. He had said that it calmed him – the repetitive traffic noises, the lights… but not tonight.
Padmé was a bit frustrated. She knew he was overly stressed, mostly about the Jedi and their hidden marriage, but couldn't he just relax for one moment? He had assured her that everything would be all right, but now he was the one who was worrying constantly.
She decided to stay up until Anakin decided to come back from wherever he had gone. As Padmé searched the rest of the apartment, she noticed that the speeder was gone. He must have left.
Padmé, shaking her head, poured herself a cup of warm tea and went back down to the veranda. She sat down and sipped her drink quietly, hundreds of thoughts running through her mind. What if the Jedi Order found out about their marriage? Would Anakin be in trouble? Would they make her resign from the Senate?
Stop it, Padmé, she chastised herself. It won't do yourself any good to worry about things that aren't in your control. You're going to have this baby, and you and Anakin are going to love it with all your hearts. That's what really matters.
The baby. Padmé smiled, forgetting about everything else. She pictured herself back on Naboo, feeding it, playing with it, loving it. Would it be a son or a daughter? She honestly didn't care which, and she knew that Anakin didn't either.
Padmé frowned. She wasn't too happy with Anakin at the present. If he wanted to run off in the middle of the night, let him. He would be the tired one in the morning.
"Padmé!"
Padmé let out a small shriek and choked on her tea, spilling a bit on her robe. She quickly turned to see Anakin standing there, looking at her with concern.
"Don't do that, Anakin," Padmé scolded, "you scared me half to death!"
Anakin's mood seemed to darken. "I'm sorry, Padmé," he apologized, "you know I would never do anything to hurt you." He walked over to her and took a seat in an armchair next to her.
Padmé sighed and replied, "Anakin, I didn't mean that literally. I was just startled, that's all." She placed a hand on his gloved one.
"I know," Anakin smiled faintly, "but I'm still sorry. What are you doing up at this hour, anyways?"
Padmé raised an eyebrow. "I could ask the same of you, Anakin. Sneaking off places without me knowing. Where'd you go?"
Anakin seemed embarrassed, and he put his head down. "I didn't mean to sneak off, Padmé. I was just… uh…"
"Just what?" Padmé suddenly noticed a package in his other hand. "Wait a second. What's that?"
Her husband didn't reply.
Padmé rolled her eyes and said, "Anakin, would you just answer me? Why are you acting so strangely? First, you leave in the dead of night without telling me where you're going, and now you come back and won't tell me where you went, or what the package is!"
Anakin glanced up at his extremely annoyed wife, feeling guilty and a bit foolish. "You're right," he admitted. "I owe you an explanation."
Padmé leaned forward expectantly.
"I couldn't sleep because of the baby," he blurted out.
"Oh, Anakin," Padmé began apprehensively.
"No, no! It's not that! I just… well," he straightened up and cleared his throat. "We never chose a name for the baby, and I couldn't think of any good ones. I spent all night wondering what would be a good name." He slowly opened the package and pulled out…
Padmé's jaw opened in surprise. "A naming book?"
Anakin sheepishly nodded. "Yes. I thought it could help us choose the perfect name for our child."
"But," Padmé started, confused, "why go and get this in the middle of the night?" She took the book from her husband's hands and opened it, flipping through the pages.
Anakin shrugged. "I don't know. I felt I had to. Nothing was coming to me, so why not get some help?"
"Anakin, that's so sweet," Padmé beamed, "thank you."
He smiled. "I guess this means you're not mad at me for leaving you?"
"No," Padmé laughed, "you're off the hook. This time, anyways." She gave him a pointed look, and they both broke out into laughter.
"I'm glad you like it," Anakin answered. "We both knew that sooner or later we'd have to name the baby!"
Padmé resisted rolling her eyes at her husband's ill attempt at humor. "But how do we know what to call her? Or him?"
He shrugged. "Easy. Look through the book with your eyes closed, put your finger on a random name, and there you go. Job done."
"Obviously your Jedi training hasn't taught you anything about raising a child," Padmé said dryly.
Anakin shook his head with mock regret. "No, I don't think they had a 'Taking Care of Babies 101' course in the Temple."
"Force, there are so many names to choose from," Padmé remarked, continuing to flip through the pages lined with hundreds of names.
Anakin stood up and plopped down next to his wife. "Well, I suggest we start with the boy names. Then we'll do the girls. Fair enough?"
"Why not?" Padmé said, turning back to the beginning of the book.
"I never knew finding a few names would be so difficult," Anakin groaned, leaning back to rest his head on the couch.
"I know," Padmé sighed, "there are too many to choose from. Did you have any favorites?"
He thought about it for a second and nodded. "Yes. I like Luke."
"Luke?"
"Mmm-hmm." His eyes closed, and he brought his arms up, stretching them behind his head. "I think it's a good, strong name." When Padmé didn't answer, his eyes flew open and he hurriedly added, "But if you don't like it…"
Padmé smiled at her husband's thoughtfulness. "Anakin, I love it. I think it's a wonderful name for a boy. Good choice."
He flashed a relieved smile and let out a breath. "Thank the Force; for a moment there you had me worried. What about for a girl? You can choose. But if it's something like Ponda or Wuher, I'll go running for the hills."
"And leave me to take care of little Ponda by myself?" Padmé teased, "how dare you, Master Jedi!"
Anakin smirked. "Well, it wouldn't be my fault for your choosing one of the worst names in the galaxy."
"I was actually thinking of Leia," Padmé returned, "so don't worry."
Anakin rubbed his chin, which had a little bit of stubble growing on it. "Leia… Leia Amidala Skywalker. I think it's beautiful."
"Luke or Leia Skywalker," Padmé said wistfully, putting her hand on her stomach and leaning against her husband's chest. "The Skywalker family. It just sounds so right." She curled up into Anakin's strong arms as they wrapped around her small body. The familiar feel and smell of him never ceased to warm her right to her core.
Anakin rubbed her back as she began to fall back asleep. The artificial sun was slowly beginning to show itself, and he knew that soon he would have to leave. It pained him to leave his growing family, but it had to be done.
"Oh, Anakin?"
Anakin glanced down as Padmé's sleepy voice interrupted his disheartening thoughts. "Yes, angel?"
"Next time you leave to get a book on baby names, make sure it's not in the middle of the night."
Anakin smiled, beginning to feel the effects of staying up so late. "I agree."
The End
Hope you liked it. Let me know!