Redemption

Six - The Nightmares and the Memories

That night, Padme pulled open the glass French doors and smiled; as she viewed the bedroom she and Anakin stayed in after they were married. She walked in, opening the balcony doors and stepping onto it. She breathed the fresh, cool night air of Naboo, her home. The home she knew and loved.

Anakin had gone downstairs ten minutes prior and said he would be up in a few, but he clearly hadn't told the truth. Padme was expecting him to meet her in their old room, and she was suddenly disappointed as she remembered his promise.

The twins were asleep in their own rooms. They had been very tired after all of the recent activity over the past few days, and they had fallen asleep right away.

Padme made her way down the curved stairs, whispering Anakin's name. She found him leaning on his elbows, sitting on the couch, his face illuminated by the lit fire.

"Ani," Padme said, walking over to him. She rubbed his back as she sat down beside him. "What's wrong?"

He turned his face to look at her, the irises of his eyes filled with tiny gold flecks.

Padme gasped and pulled away, standing up. "An - Anakin! What happened to you?"

"I don't know," he mumbled, burying his face in his hands. "I had a vision. A horrible one. It was about you dying, again."

Padme's eyebrows came together in worry as she inched farther away from her husband. "What was it like?" she asked softly, with a trace of nervousness in her voice.

It took a minute for Anakin to answer, but when he did, he uncovered his face and shifted, looking in the other direction. "I hurt you."

For a moment there was silence, and then a sharp intake of a breath, coming from Anakin. "I hurt you in so many ways. I killed you! You were chained to the ground, sitting there, crying when I came in with Stormtroopers at my sides. I let them shoot you down." Anakin's eyes turned glassy, several tears falling from his cheeks and seeping into the lush carpet below him. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I can't go on like this, Padme. I'm afraid I might hurt someone, or worse -- kill them." Anakin spat the words with utter distaste.

"Anakin, you won't hurt anyone. Especially someone you love. That was just a vision," Padme said, careful to choose the right words.

"You don't understand," Anakin cried, his tear-filled gold-flecked eyes meeting hers. "You've never had these visions. They're terrible. They feel so real. And even sometimes, they are real." Anakin looked back towards the fire, swallowing hard. "That's why I'm afraid. I'm afraid you'll get hurt. That you'll die."

Padme sat beside Anakin once more, carefully, tucking a section of his mane of curls behind his ear. "Please don't worry about things like that. Listen, Anakin..," she said as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat on the couch, "Ani, look at me. Calm down," she said softly as he finally was able to look at her. But it only lasted several seconds.

"Go to sleep," Padme said softly, laying Anakin down on the couch.

As his head hit the pillow, his larynx bobbed when he shut his eyes and swallowed. He exhaled to help him relax, and in a matter of minutes he rested peacefully, his chest rising and falling slowly.

Padme smiled and leaned down, heart beating a mile a minute, and kissed his forehead quickly. She lowered her lips to his ear, whispering, "I love you."

She uttered a small smile and walked away, watching him as she stepped up the stairs. There was still no response from him, even as she made it in her room so far away from him, until a small smile formed on Anakin's own lips.

"I love you more."