Mother of the Rebellion- A Star Wars Story

Nightmares Of Reality

A/N: More dialogue taken directly from Revenge of the Sith. I don't own it so please don't sue.

Several hours later, Padmé wakes up to find Anakin gone from her side.

"Anakin?" she murmurs softly as she sits up to look for him. Sitting up a little more, she notices him walking into one of the other rooms, his robe leaning off of him like a dark shadow.

Padmé blinks her eyes to try and wake herself up a bit more so that she can think clearly. If he's awake then that means something is wrong. Every night that he's spent with her in her apartment have been peaceful ones.

Apparently, tonight is an exception.

Padmé slowly pulls herself up out of her bed and carefully walks down to where Anakin is sitting in her sitting room with direct access to a balcony overlooking the city. She turns the lights on as she approaches him, watching him gaze out over Coruscant. He remains still and continues watching the nightlife fly by as she approaches. Concern and worry etch themselves all over her beautiful features as she takes in her husband's troubled expression. She gently runs her fingers through the ends of his hair to gain his attention and to try to calm him down.

"What's bothering you?" she asks softly, knowing that anything keeping her husband up at this hour cannot be good. Her husband looks her in the eyes and sighs in a defeated manner before moving his gaze downward.

"Nothing," he replies, sliding a gentle smile onto his face and reaching for the japor snippet that she is wearing as a necklace. He carefully takes it in between his thumb and index finger as he gazes at it. "I remember when I gave this to you," he says softly as he holds it and looks up to his wife's gaze. Frustration rolls over Padmé as he ignores her question, her care, and love just to avoid something that is clearly bothering him. Why won't he just tell her what's wrong? She can't take any more of this.

"How long is it gonna take for us to be honest with each other?" she asks him in a frustrated tone. He looks away from her and her frustration raises to a new level at the thought that he might still be ignoring her.

"It was a dream," he answers after a long pause. Concern immediately replaces the frustration Padmé had been previously experiencing towards her husband.

"Bad?" she asks gently. He still doesn't look her in the eyes as he answers.

"Like the ones I used to have about my mother just before she died," he answers, fidgeting nervously as he says this and Padmé immediately worries for him. The nightmares about his mother nearly destroyed him...especially when they came true. The consequences of those nightmares coming true led him to perform some dark acts that, had the situation been different he probably wouldn't have carried them out. That is the sole reason Padmé chooses every day to stay with him. Yes, his brutal murder of the Tusken Raiders is something that throws a red flag to Padmé but she knows that people can change and that it was one mistake. She wants to believe the best in her husband and hopes that this situation will be different.

Because she is a large part of the reason that Anakin did not turn to the Dark Side after the death of his mother. Their love for each other has kept them safe.

"And?" she prompts when he doesn't continue.

"And it was about you," he finishes, looking at her as he says this and then looking away. Padmé feels the tiniest knots of worry growing in her stomach. Forget the fact that they're about her, she remembers his brutal reaction to the loss of his mother. Fear creeps its way into her heart at the thought of every good part of her husband that makes him the wonderful man that he is dying because of her own death. He looks away, clearly troubled by all of this and Padmé reaches out to rub his shoulder in a comforting gesture. She wants to help him. They are married and his burdens must become hers. Even if the dreams are about her, she knows that if they face it together, they may stop them from ever coming true.