To Lose a Gamble

Chapter 2 - My Only Hope

Anakin leaves for the Temple as soon as Padme is awake, promising to be back by evening when she returns from the Senate. He desperately wants to get some research done in the Archives before he has to attend the Council meeting – which is a pain, and he really shouldn't have agreed to accept the seat, because now that he finally has an idea of what to do, he's being burdened with yet more duties and ugh. Shrugging his frustrations aside, he sends Obi-Wan a message asking him to meet him in the Archives. They have a few things to discuss, not least of which is Anakin's secret marriage.

While waiting, he sits down at a terminal and does a search for the name Darth Plagueis. It pulls up no matches, and after several minutes of fruitless searching, he pulls up a list of the names of all known Sith Lords in history and reads through it. The name appears nowhere. A perusal of the underground networks also proves fruitless, and Anakin slumps back in the chair, glowering at the screen.

How can the Chancellor have heard the legend which doesn't even seem to exist, at least not according to all the investigating which Anakin has just done? That doesn't make sense, and he's definitely missing something huge, because nothing is adding up. He's grateful for the lesson, even it was a little vague, which is strange now that he thinks about it. Palpatine has never been one to give cryptic advice. That's always been Yoda's forte. Great. Another mystery.

"I never thought I'd see the day you willingly spent time in the Archives," teases Obi-Wan as he approaches, and Anakin starts, having not heard the approach.

"Times change, priorities change," Anakin replies, swiveling to look at him. He's suddenly feeling inexplicably nervous, and he's not sure why, except that Obi-Wan isn't going to be happy, and Anakin should have said something sooner, but he didn't want his former master to be disappointed.

"What's wrong?" Leave it to Obi-Wan to see right through Anakin's carefully blanked expression. "And don't say nothing, because I seem to remember getting a message asking me to come here."

"I don't even know," Anakin states flatly, eyes flicking towards the terminal where he'd done the pointless research. The fear gnaws at him, and he's beginning to doubt everything he'd thought last night. He refuses to consider that the only possibility is to find the Sith Master and ask for help, because he really, really doesn't want to do that. "I've been having nightmares, visions..." Thankfully, he'd been spared last night, which is also odd. Maybe it's because he was having a hard time sleeping at all, and he didn't sleep enough for the visions to start.

"You'll have to be more specific," Obi-Wan prompts gently, sitting down on a chair next to Anakin. "What exactly are you seeing?"

Anakin can't bring himself to meet Obi-Wan's gaze. "They're about... Padme," he confesses, clenching his fists. "I – she – we – we kinda married," he blurts out so fast that he's not sure if Obi-Wan even heard.

There's a second of silence which seems longer than anything Anakin has ever experienced before. Then, he feels a distinct amusement from Obi-Wan. "Yes, Anakin, I'm not blind," his former master answers dryly. "You're terrible at being discrete, and I've known from the beginning that you two have feelings for one another. It's a miracle the whole Order doesn't know. Or maybe they do. It's not as though I've asked."

Anakin had expected many reactions, but teasing was definitely not one of them. "You're not mad?" he ventures cautiously.

"I'm positively broken hearted that you didn't invite me to the wedding," Obi-Wan deadpans, and Anakin can't help it. He grins, looking up to meet the mirth dancing in Obi-Wan's eyes. "Now, tell me more about the visions."

And he does. He explains how he's seen Padme dying in childbirth, and that they're expecting a child, and how he's so incredibly terrified that they're going to happen like the ones about his mother did. "I don't know what to do," he moans, "Because she thinks that if I can't figure something out, I should take her to the healers here, but then everyone will know!"