I didn't know what to do or who to call.
I knew I needed to get to a hospital, but I was in no state to drive myself there.
Due to my maternity leave, I was completely alone. The council had reassigned Anakin somewhere else for the time being, and as much as I wanted to call him, I knew I couldn't.
I decided to just call Padmé.
We had started drifting since my pregnancy began, but we were still friends and I knew she would do anything to help me.
I sent her a hologram message and hoped she would respond quickly.
By the time she replied I was about to hop into a cruiser and drive myself to the hospital.
"Verena, just hang tight, I'll be there in a few," came her rushed response through the hologram.
I sat on the couch, trying to control my breathing.
In through the nose, out through the mouth.
It only helped during the time between my contractions, but it helped nonetheless.
I could feel them increasing in pain and frequency when Padmé arrived.
She flung open my apartment door, her hair disheveled and her skirts crinkled.
"Oh Verena, ok let's go. I'll help you, don't worry," she whispered calmly as she wound her arm around my waist to support me.
She half carried, half dragged me to her cruiser, stopping occasionally when a contraction hit.
She sped all the way to the nearest hospital, nearly scaring me to death.
Padmé quickly explained my condition to a robotic doctor who then ushered in some nurses to help me onto a birthing table.
They hooked me up to various different machines and began poking me with needles to draw blood and check my vital signs.
I was oblivious to most of what they were doing, as trying not to completely loose my mind from the pain was my biggest concern.
One of the nurses injected me with something and I immediately began to feel better.
I assumed it was some sort of pain reliever and I was incredibly thankful.
The pain eventually subsided to a subtle cramping.
The nurses told me I had a few more centimeters to go before I could begin pushing, which only fed my anxiety.
I was worried about Anakin's absence the most and I feared that he would be angry that I hadn't called him.
The nurses then told me I could start pushing, so I followed their instructions.
I don't know if the pain reliever had started to wear off or if the sheer pain of giving birth was too much to be dulled by pain killers, but either way, it hurt like a bitch.
I began crying in frustration as I felt no progress being made.
The nurses encouraged me to continue to push, so I did.
Everything was blurred by my tears but I could barely make out one of the midwives tell me that the baby was crowning.
"Congratulations miss, you've successfully delivered a healthy baby girl,"