They held each other on the veranda for a long time, Anakin holding Padmé as though keeping her in his arms would save her from his nightmares, she holding him to bring him comfort and peace of mind.

She rested her cheek against his chest, his heart still beating too fast from his fears. She reached under his robe and caressed his back in a way she knew always calmed him. For all of the tautness of his warrior's body and the scars he bore, he was still deep inside a ten-year-old frightened boy who needed her.

With a deep sigh, he nuzzled the top of her head, which meant her touch was working. She reached up to his shoulder blades and he started softly kissing her along her hairline.

"Come back to bed," she said. "It's late."

"All right," he whispered, looking at her intently. She wrapped an arm around his waist, he put an arm around her shoulder, and together they walked back up the stairs from the veranda to their bedroom.

Once they retreated into the darkened bedroom, Anakin still seemed far away and distracted. Padmé realized he wouldn't sleep now. He'd be consumed with thinking how he could keep his nightmare from coming true. Biting her lip, she feared his visions too, but she couldn't show him that. She needed to be strong for the both of them.

Padmé removed his robe and draped it over the bench in front of their bed. Running her hands over his chest and shoulders, she whispered huskily, "You don't have to sleep, my love. Just let me lie in your arms."

Anakin took hold of her wrists, leaned down, and kissed her deeply. She knew he wanted to do more than just hold her, but that was the idea. He needs this...I need this, she thought. After five months apart, she couldn't get enough of him. Breaking off their kiss, he effortlessly picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. He set her down on her side, then removed his low-slung sleep pants before lying beside her.

He pressed his warm body against hers and slipped his mechanical arm beneath her shoulder. Padmé felt Anakin's left hand move up and down the silken gown covering her thigh. He purred in her ear and then she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Soft, warm lips nuzzled her neck and her shoulders.

"My angel," he purred. He continued to kiss and stroke her, murmuring his love for her. Padmé turned her mouth to his, capturing his lips hungrily. Her tongue slipped inside and he gently caressed it with his own. His real hand lifted her gown all of the way up to her chest. He fondled her milk-swollen breast and she moaned.

Padmé's hand ran up and down his bare hip and thigh, grinding against her husband's body as she did so. Anakin gasped and she felt his desire against her backside. She shifted her thigh over his and then he slipped inside of her.

As he held her close, whispering his love for her and their baby, Padmé thought of their home on Naboo and of a future where she could simply be the wife and lover to the beautiful man pleasuring her now, and mother of his children. She turned her head toward him and kissed him deeply, her tongue moving inside of his mouth in time with his thrusts. His tongue met and dominated hers, eliciting a guttural sound from his throat. She knew he could feel what she felt, and perhaps because of the pregnancy, she felt more...connected...to Anakin than ever before. As they neared their climax, Padmé felt like she was floating in the air with him, sharing the same heartbeat, the same breath. Slowly, like dawn breaking over the skies, they came at the same time. Anakin threw his head back and let out a long moan, his warm seed rushing inside of her. Padmé cried out, feeling her orgasm wash all over her body again and again.

They lay against each other, breathing heavily. Anakin gently slipped her nightgown back down, then he pulled up his sleep pants. "Now rest," he whispered, holding her. "I'll think of something...we'll get through this."