A Moment in Time

An Anakin Proposal Vignette

Obi-Wan and Yoda stood outside the medics lab as the transplant team worked to assemble and attach the new mechanical arm for Anakin. Obi-Wan unconsciously touched his deeply scored arm from his battle with Dooku on Geonosis. The medics confirmed that his nerve cells successfully begun the regeneration process. And thankfully his recovery should be successful with no permanent damage.

"Do you think he'll be the same with the new arm"? Obi-Wan asked, worry inching into his usual calm voice.

"No difference it should make, to young Skywalker. Highly skilled the medics are. Anakin will need time to retrain, but with his recovery I see not any great difficulties," Yoda replied. Obi-Wan nodded and looked down the hall. Senator Amidala lay sleeping, finally overcome from exhaustion, on a visitor's couch. It had taken much coaxing to get her to see any medics to tend to her own wounds she received while on Geonosis. She nearly refused to leave Anakin's side.

Obi-Wan lowered his voice. "I am worried about his growing attachment to Senator Amidala. It is obvious that her attachment is nearly as strong as his."

Yoda nodded remembering the Padawan and the Senators embrace in the hanger on Geonosis.

"The price Skywalker knows of Jedi forming personal attachments. Worried I am not. Trust we must, that he will make the right decisions," Yoda replied. "When healed he is, let him escort the Senator home and allow him to say his goodbyes to her."

Obi-Wan saw the logic in Yoda's plan and bowed to his master. He still felt a slight twinge of doubt.

**************************************** **

"We have sent your skin grafts to Kamino to be grown, they should be ready to create a more natural covering for your cybernetic arm in a couple weeks."

"Thank you 21B," Anakin said as he lifted his right shoulder, experimenting with the weight of his new arm. He sat on the bed of his recovery room wearing only leggings. He rubbed his left hand down his bare right shoulder to where the new mechanical arm began and felt nothing.

"Let us know if you have any problems, sir."

"I will, and thank you." The droid walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Anakin brushed his left-hand fingers over the plastic coating of his new arm. The plastic felt unnatural. The mechanisms inside whirled and buzzed whenever he wanted to move a finger, or lift his arm.

Anakin spent the last couple days trying to determine with whom he was angrier with, Dooku or himself. Had he listened to Obi-Wan and not charged Dooku, together they might have taken Dooku down. However Dooku seemed to realize Anakin was besting him in the duel and found an easy way out. Anakin felt a flash of anger surge through him, as he balled his mechanical fingers into a fist.

"Someday, you will pay Dooku. Someday, you will pay for what you did to me," Anakin said through a clenched jaw. He cleared his mind and focused on flexing his new fingers, and exercising the new arm. He would need to master his new implant if he would ever successfully take down the Dark Lord. His door chimed.

"Come in, Master," Anakin said, his heart flipped, sensing Obi-Wan and Padme outside. They came in.

"You look well, my young apprentice."

"I'm as well as I can be I suppose. How are you doing Master? Have your wounds healed?" Anakin asked, honestly concerned.

"Yes, they are healing well, thank you. The medics around here seem to think you should be ready to leave by the morning. Master Yoda has granted you permission to finish your assignment and escort Senator Amidala home to Naboo." Anakin looked at Padme. Dressed in a simple red jumpsuit, she radiated love with the smile she flashed him.

"I am most grateful to complete my assignment, Master," he said.

Obi-Wan felt a flash of concern cross his face at Anakin's response. He was still unsure of how wise it was of the Council to allow the two young people to spend much more time together. Anakin needed to be fully focused with the looming war ahead. He did not need additional distractions. "You'll have a total of six days, and then you will need to return to Coruscant. Master Yoda will need to spend some extra time with you relearning your saber techniques with your new arm."

"Six days. I will be back by then. Thank you Master," Anakin bowed his head slightly.

"Here, you will need this," Obi-Wan said with a smile. Out of the folds of his robe he produced a lightsaber.

"Thank you Master, I will not lose it. And when I come back, I will construct a new one of my own. It will be good project to master dexterity with my new hand," Anakin said, grateful to have a lightsaber again. He moved his mechanical arm out of range and ignited the saber. The bright green saber flared to life. Anakin swirled and moved it around a bit, feeling out his new arm. He reached over with his left finger and turned the saber off.

"I'm not worried, I think Geonosis taught you the importance of keeping your saber close. Well I'll leave you two to discuss your travel arrangements. Again Anakin I am glad you are healed. May the Force be with you."

"Thank you, Master, and May the Force be with you" Anakin said returning the smile.

Obi-Wan bowed to Padme, "M'lady, I am glad to see you are now out of danger, I hope your trip home is safe, and uneventful. May the Force be with you."

"Thank you Master Kenobi for your assistance," Padme said. Obi-Wan left the room. Anakin put a finger up in the air towards her, looking vacantly off into space.

"What is it?"

"Hold on, I just want to make sure." Anakin sensed the doors of the turbolift close as Obi-Wan descended out of the building. "OK, he's gone." He flung his legs off of his bed and rushed over to Padme. He reached his right mechanical arm around her slim waist and pulled her close to him. His left hand gently caressed her cheek as he tilted her face towards his. The two shared a long, tender kiss.

"I've missed you," Anakin said, breathlessly. "I was able to endure the operations because I could feel your presence just outside the doors. Your love calmed me."

"I felt so helpless out there waiting and waiting for them to finish with you. Not being by your side, and having you so close, was agonizing," Padme said. She rested her head on his strong chest. Anakin smiled at her choice of words, he'd only expressed his feelings the same way a couple of days ago. "How does it feel?"

"It's strange you know, they've got everything connected so if I tell my fingers to move, my new fingers move. But unlike before I don't really feel them moving." Padme pulled away from him, reached around and took his new hand into hers. She lifted it gently up to her face and kissed the palm of his mechanical hand. Anakin's lip trembled, "I didn't really feel that." Padme picked up his other hand and kissed it. Anakin smiled through his growing tears, "That I felt."

She reached down and held both of his hands, "I love you Anakin, all of you."

"I love you too Padme. There are many uncertainties in this universe, but that is not one of them. I will always love you and do everything in my power to protect you." Smiling she reached up and kissed him again. Anakin lead her over to his bed, where they both held each other, and gazed out the large window as the unending Coruscant traffic whizzed by.

"What do we do now?" She asked in a small voice. "The galaxy is headed into a full scale Civil War. You will be heading off to fight. Chancellor Palpatine has already declared that the Jedi Order will be leading the troops into battle. And I will be back here trying to assure your success through legislation."

"Wartime will be very difficult. We will be spending a lot of time apart. If I'm off on covert missions, I won't even be able to get word to you about my safety."

"I've always been able to keep a kind of impersonal view on politics, now I'll have to make decisions that could effect the man I love."

Anakin smiled, "Well I couldn't ask for anyone better to be in the Senate to protect the interests for me and the Jedi."

"Yes, but I also can't make it too obvious. If word were to get out that I was in love with a Jedi, the scandal that could come from it could be astronomical!"

Anakin slightly trembled, and looked at her with all seriousness, "If you do not think you can hide your feelings, or if you think our love will somehow...compromise things for you, let me know now Padme."

Padme looked at him, "Anakin, I couldn't stop loving you, even if I wanted to. I will hide my feelings. I will keep our secret."

Anakin removed himself from her warm embrace and stepped off of the bed. He towered over her, "Are you certain?"

Padme looked puzzled, "I just said?"

"I know," he said softly, tilting his head, he gave her a small smile as he reached out and caressed her hair. He wet his lips and narrowed his eyes, "Just think about it for a moment, OK? I need to use the refresher, I'll be right back."

Confused, Padme watched him walk across the room and go into the adjoining refresher. "Love and duty, the two things could be handled simultaneously, right? Normal people do it all the time, why should it be any different for me and Anakin?" Padme thought. She knew one thing for sure, she wanted to reap as many moments of personal happiness that she could in life.

Padme knew with absolute clarity that Anakin could fulfill the emptiness inside her. He consumed her thoughts, knowing they loved each other, made her feel complete. Padme's mind fell back on them rolling and playing together on Naboo. Never before had she felt so carefree, full of joy, and love. Anakin's smile, the love in his eyes whenever he looked at her, made her heart flip and pound. She couldn't, wouldn't live without him. She had seen what happened to Anakin's eyes when he thought he'd lost her love, the light in them extinguished. She knew that she could never deny her love to him and risk that light going out again. He needed her as much as she needed him.

Anakin came out of the refresher. He stood in the doorway looking at Padme's back. He etched her image into his brain, burning the memory of her beauty there for eternity. She turned around and looked back at him. His new arm glittered and twinkled in the light, and looked slightly out of place next to his broad, tanned, bare chest. Padme didn't care. The new arm completed Anakin, and she loved him unconditionally.

He walked over and squatted in front of her, his serious expression masked the anxiety behind it, "So, what did you decide? Or do you need more time to think about it?"

Padme placed a warm hand on his face, "I love you. I can't live without your love. You complete me Anakin."

Anakin let out a long breath of relief, "You know this won't be easy? I will also have to shield things from the Jedi."

"Will you be able to do that?"

Anakin bowed his head slightly, "For you, I will do anything. You are worth the risk. You are my soul mate, my angel. I knew that the moment I laid eyes on you all those years ago in Watto's shop. The Force created you for me, I am certain of that. I only hope that I am worthy of your love."

"Oh Anakin. You are my soul mate as well, the thought of not being with you is more than I can bear."

Anakin gave her one of his wide happy lopsided grins. He then took a deep breath, then he turned serious again, "Padme, I have another question I would like to ask you."

"What?"

"Hold on, I want to do this properly. My Mom always said a gentleman should bend upon one knee," he said as he shifted his weight around. He bent down on one knee and took her hands in his. "Padme, my love, the light of my life? Will you marry me?" From out of his hand he produced a tiny metal ring. He held it up to her.

She looked at it quizzically and then smiled, "Is this from C3PO?"

Anakin blushed, "Sorry, Jedi are forbidden to possess anything, so I cannot afford a proper ring. And I have nothing valuable to give you."

Padme laughed, "You know that bobbles and trinkets mean nothing to me." She then realized Anakin had started to sweat and turn white. She flashed him a huge smile, "Oh my stars, YES! YES! I will marry you!"

Anakin smiled with dizzying delight, and gently took her hand and placed 3PO's circuit breaker ring on her finger. Padme stared at it with a mingled expression of happiness and fear. Anakin stood up, reached down and cradled her up off of the bed. Padme threw her head back and shouted out with joy. Anakin did not notice that one arm holding her up was cybernetic, he only noticed its added strength. Anakin laughed heartily for the first time since Naboo. Anakin twirled Padme around the room and she giggled, giddy. Padme threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Together, their souls mingled and shot a wave of joy into the Force, shutting out the clouding darkness, with the imprint of pure light that only true love can produce.