Chapter 6: Court Hearings & Shopping Encounters

The weekend ended sooner than it had started for Padme and Satine, for soon they were back at work and school runs - for Padme, she and Bail were presenting their findings they had shown to the judge in court and Satine had her first custody hearing against her ex husband. Satine was dreading seeing Vizsla again especially since the last Skype call ended with him pleading once more and shaking the papers at the screen.

She tried to let her friend Padme calm and distract her as they walked down to the classrooms that morning with the children, but her mind was not focusing. “Perhaps you should talk to Isabel’s teacher Obi Wan again” Padme teases “At the picnic, you two seem to be hitting it off” she comments. Satine shakes her head. “Obi Wan is a very charming man, but I cannot focus on any man right now, not with Vizsla harassing me” she admits

Padme shrugs “Yes, but perhaps Obi Wan is the man you should be talking to. He did assure you Isabel would be safe at school” she reminds her. Satine then looks back at Padme “Alright, fine, but you can talk to Anakin” she smirks. Padme gasps “I can’t do that!” She gasps “Luke’s been giving me trouble all weekend ever since the picnic and what you said about how perhaps he didn’t like me talking to Anakin has me thinking and Anakin’s a lovely guy, I’d hate to string him along” she explains looking down at her two twins, one hand was holding Luke’s and the other was holding Leia’s. Leia was talking with Isabel, whilst Luke was keeping quiet and it hadn’t been a happy weekend.

Saturday afternoon

Padme was working quietly in her study and Luke and Leia were playing in their play room or so she thought, when she heard a high pitch scream “Mommy!” Came Leia’s upset voice before Leia came running into the study, in tears. “Luke stole my doll and won’t give it back and then he hid it on me” she cries as Padme turns and lifts Leia onto her lap as Luke runs into the room

“She's lying mommy, she won’t play ball with me” he argues. “Did you ask your sister if she would play ball with you before taking her doll?” She asks her young son as Luke nods “I did but she ignored me” he replies as Leia, tearfully looks up at her mother “He’s lying, he ripped the doll from my hand telling me I had to play with him” she sobbed

Padme looks down at her son “Luke, we don’t just rip toys from each other, now where is Leia’s doll?” She asks as Luke then did something Padme never thought she would see him do, he rolled his eyes! “Luke!” Padme snapped “Don’t you ever roll your eyes at me, where did you learn that?” She snaps

Luke shrugs “I don’t know, but I’m bored and I want Leia to play with me!” He huffs as Leia continues to sob as Padme looks down at Luke “If you go get Leia’s doll, I’m sure she will play with you and if you roll your eyes again, you won’t be getting pizza for dinner” she warns him

“Mean mommy!” He cried racing off as Leia looks up at her mother, tears in her eyes as Padme wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Luke’s mean” she sobs as Padme holds her closer “Oh sweetie, Luke just wanted to play with you, so why don’t you go surprise him and ask him what he would like to play while I finish my work” she suggests

Leia is silently for a moment before she nods and gets down off her mother’s lap and races after her brother “Luke!" She calls out as Padme sighs before returning to her work, Luke's behaviour since the park certainly had changed and to be honest, she didn’t know what was happening

End of flashback

“Luke is really still acting up?” Satine asked after Padme explained her weekend to her as they reached the classrooms. Padme sighs “I don’t understand what’s gotten into him, he’s never made his sister cry before, well except when they were babies and they would snatch each other toys” she confesses as Satine nods “Isabel use to do that to James” she agrees before she then asks “And nothing else has made Luke change his personality?” She asks as Padme shook her head before she had a thought

“I mean maybe, on the way home, he started talking about his teacher, you don’t think?” She asks as Satine laughs “That he thought seeing you talking to casually to Anakin had him thinking maybe you would be thinking about dating again?” She asks as Padme shakes her head “What if he was acting up because he thought this time, he’d get a father?” She asks as Satine shakes her head

“You have had one conversation with Anakin, it’s a bit early and if Luke thinks that it’s okay, he’s a kid and he’s doing a family project, it’s probably making him wonder about his dad” she suggests as Padme started to help Leia and Luke take off their bags and jackets as Satine moved around to Isabel’s classroom.

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At the same time Padme and Satine were saying goodbye to their children for the day, Anakin, Obi Wan and Ahsoka were heading to the classroom and for Anakin and Obi Wan, they were still adjusting to have a fourth member in the house.

“I mean for a just friends date, Lux has been at the house for the last two days and he drank all the cola without saying anything, he watches his shows on Netflix and no one else can and this morning he took forever in the shower” Anakin scoffs as Ahsoka sheepishly grins “Sorry” she mutters as Obi Wan and Anakin look over at her

“You were in there as well!” Anakin snaps as Obi Wan sniggers “So much for having a just friends date” he adds as Ahsoka shrugs “What can I say, we had such a good time on Saturday night and we have a lot in common and when he dropped me off home, we had our first kiss” she grins. Anakin scoffs “Great” he mutters “Looks like this afternoon we’ll need to make a trip to the supermarket before Lux cleans us out of food" he tells Obi Wan as they reached the classrooms. Ahsoka laughs “Oh please, Anakin’s been cleaning us out of food since I've moved in there" she argues back however her retort fell on deaf ears for she noticed Anakin was looking for Padme and Obi Wan had headed off towards his classroom leaving her to head into the classroom herself.

Anakin spotted Padme kneeling before both her twins hugging them both after helping them with their jackets and bags. He moved over towards her “Good morning Miss Naberrie” he smiles as she looks up at him “Good morning Mr. Skywalker” she smiles standing back up “Luke and Leia are very keen to work on their projects today” she reveals. Anakin nods smiling down at them “That’s good to hear because today Obi Wan and I were thinking of merging the classes today allowing them to work and share their projects” he admits. Leia smiles, a chance to work with their best friends Isabel as Luke was curious “Are we doing anything else with the other class today Mr. Skywalker?” He asks seeing Anakin grin “You’ll just have to see” he only replies as Padme looks down at them

“Alright, you two, you go inside and wait for Mr. Skywalker” she tells them watching them head into the classroom as Padme looks back at Anakin where he noticed that she looked a little troubled “Is everything alright?” He asks as Padme sighs. “It’s just Luke has been acting up this weekend and was wondering if you had noticed anything last week?” She asks as Anakin shook his head “Aside from the detention last week, Luke’s been a good student, very into anything with making things and he gets along well with his friends” he assures her adding “Perhaps we shouldn’t have joined you all for lunch on Saturday?” He asks wondering if it had been too intrusive as Padme quickly shook her head

“Oh no, we loved having you join us, in fact Luke and Leia enjoyed your company, maybe he was missing his friends and he upset Leia, which he hasn’t done since they were three” she admits. Anakin breathes a sigh of relief - at least it wasn’t him. Anakin shook his head “I’ll look out for him and let you know if anything happens” he promises her. Padme places a hand on his arm “Thank you so much, that will make me feel better” she replies “I’ll see you this afternoon” she tells him before she hurries out towards the car park as Anakin allows a smile to cross his face. Perhaps soon, she’ll agree to a just friends date.

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If Satine realised Vizsla had been watching her for the last few days, he would blow the custody hearing but never less he was desperate and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to avoid or outrun Maul and Savage forever and soon he would have a family and his life would be saved.

He had watched Satine drive out of the school car park that morning along with the rest of the parents before he decided he would simply glimpse his daughter. Perhaps it would help in his custody hearing today twisting the judge to help him.

He snuck down into the school moving towards the classrooms having taken notice of where Satine and her friend had come from over the last few days where he could hear the laughter coming from one of the classrooms. He casually walked past one classroom filled with young children watched over by two male teachers, and he recognised them from when he had been spying on his ex wife at the park.

He knew he couldn’t just stare because he didn’t want to make it obvious and tried to look out for his little girl without being too obvious. Thinking he may have seen a little blond haired girl, he didn’t see a tall red haired young woman look over towards the windows spotting him. Staring back at him, Vizsla panicked and hurried back down the path just as Ahsoka came out of the classroom, with a curious look on her face and having an unsettling feeling about the stranger she had seen outside the classroom.

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Despite being a lawyer for seven years, Padme still found herself getting nervous when she was working in the court room even if this time she was working with one of her friends. Their client was young and was hoping they could maintain his innocence and defence that he had nothing to do with the crime.

The young man, Andrew looked up at Bail and Padme as they moved over towards the table. “I heard you have some news about the case that can help me, is it true?” He asks hopefully as Bail nods. “We have spoken with the judge and there has been some evidence that my colleague here has discovered” he explained as Padme and Bail take their seats right as they hear a smug voice speak up from behind them.

“I hardly think your evidence will save your client” he scoffs as Padme and Bail looked up to see their opposing lawyer. A tall, thin sharply dressed man with thin blond hair and dark brown eyes. Padme rolled her eyes, Nix Card. She had come fighting against him in two previous cases and knew he did not like to use and had heard he was not avoid to cheat and take bribes which saw him win cases.

Padme stares up at him “Nix Card, once again it appears you focus on witness statements and fail to do any real work and what will this make, your fifth lost this month?” She asks as Bail sniggers to himself as Nix glares down at him “Shouldn’t you be at home cleaning and looking after your children?” He scoffs as Padme shakes her head. She knew he was against women working in the workplace but she didn’t care what he thought.

Padme stood up out of her seat “Mr Card, once again you bring up the issue that I shouldn’t be working when we both know that I’ve won more cases than you. Your persistence that I should be in a more traditional role is offensive and if it were up to you, criminals would be running around free and innocents would be jail because you fail to do your job properly” she points out. Nix glared at her in annoyance

“Well, this will be your first loss” he simply replied moving over towards his table as Padme glares over at him before she takes a seat back down beside Bail. “One day, he is going to find himself fired and in need of a good lawyer to help explain all his corrupt dealings” she admits as Bail nods “And he’ll need a lot of persuasion if he wants you to be his lawyer for that” he admits as Padme scoffs “After all he has said about me working in the workplace, I would sooner see him in jail” she confesses just as the door to the chamber open and they see the judge as the guard speaks up

“All rise for Judge Taylor” he calls seeing them all stand as the judge, a short black haired man dressed in his long black robes and carrying a large folder against his chest and moved over towards his bench. “Be seated” he tells them as they all took their seats before he spoke.

“Over the weekend, our defending counsel came to me after finding some evidence which clears their client of being involved in the crime” he reveals looking over at Nix Card. “Prosecution, were you aware of this evidence?” He asks as Nix shook his head standing up “Your honour, I’m sure our defending counsel is trying anything to save their client” he points out. “The evidence and statements I’ve received from my clients proves he is guilty” he goes on. The judge looks over at him “Perhaps you should look over this evidence because it proves your witnesses have given false statements” he reveals. Nix is silent as Padme fights the urge to smirk before Bail stands to move into the middle of the room

“Your honour, as you will see from the evidence my colleague and I found, our client was no where near the scene of the crime and has been accused of murder purely because the witnesses wanted the last person who saw the victim to be the murderer which is not how the system works” he explains just as Nix stood up once more

“Objection!’ He cried “Just because they found some new evidence does not mean this trial cannot go on” he snaps just as Padme stands up “If you would bother to look at the new evidence, you will realise that you have no case against our client and you’re only giving yourself another loss” she explains. Nix glared at her before he holds up a hand in her first

“I wasn’t talking to you, I am merely stating that just because you have new evidence doesn’t mean you can just close the trial” he points out just as the judge bangs his gravel down causing all three to look over at him. “Mr Card if you refuse to listen to the defence, I will suspend this case till further notice until you can provide a stronger case and Mr Organa, Miss Naberrie, your client will be released on bail and if Mr Card fails to provide his stronger case, the trial will become a mistrial and your client will be freed” he explains.

He bangs the gravel down once more “Case dismissed for today” he informs them getting up to exit the room. Bail and Padme breathed a sigh of relief turning back to their client who was smiling “Thank you so much, I know it’s not over but perhaps soon it will be all over” he admits. Bail nods “We’ll be in touch but I’d be surprised if our opponent finds anything to come back with anything” he assures them

Nix then moves over towards them “I will, this case is not over, my clients have paid me to find justice and I will prove your client is guilty” he insists before he exits the court room leaving Bail and Padme shaking their heads. It didn’t matter what he said because to them, they would prove their client to be innocent.

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As lunchtime approached, Satine became more nervous even as she reached the court room where she halts in her steps. Standing beside another man, was a tall, blond haired man that Satine had been dreading to see and this time there was no computer screen in front of her. Attempting to head straight inside, Vizsla spotted her straight away

“Satine!” He called out moving over towards her as Satine sighed “I have nothing to say to you and you need to stay away from me” she warns as Vizsla tried once more to talk to her “Please, Satine, you need to listen to me and drop this custody hearing, I’ve been a fool!” He cried as Satine rolled her eyes “Seven years and now you realise you have been a fool” she scoffs “You broke my heart, left me alone, pregnant and forced to move in with my sister, all because you got scared!” She snapped as Viszla sighs

“I’m sorry, please!” He cried as Satine rolls her eyes “It’s too late for sorry, this is happening whether you like or not!” She snaps before she storms into the courtroom as Vizsla sighs before slowly entering the courtroom with his lawyer taking a seat at the table opposite Satine’s who sat with her lawyer, another of her friends, Mon Mothma who agreed to help her case and was one of the top family lawyers in the city.

“I appreciate you helping me Mon" Satine admits as Mon smiles back at her “It’s my pleasure and I’ve handled many of these cases before and I promise you, Vizsla has no chance of winning” she assures her. “In my years of working in family law, I can assure you he’s going to have to be very persuasive to the judge and seeing that he’s been absent for seven years, this is going to be strong in our favour” she insists.

They then all stood as the door opened seeing the judge step out into the chamber in their black robes. “All rise for Judge Bonteri” the guard spoke as they all saw a woman with relish brown hair step up onto her bench. Satine saw Mon smirk. Unknownst to Satine, Mon knew their judge Mina Bonteri was a strong, tough judge and Vizsla would really struggle with his case against her because Mina didn’t take kindly to dead beat fathers. She had been a single mom herself having raised her now grown up son by herself.

“So, we are here today to discuss the custody of Ms Kryze’s seven year old daughter Isabel due to the sudden appearance of Ms Kryze’s ex husband claiming he wants to see his daughter and be in her…….” She was suddenly cut off by Vizsla “Please! Your honour!” He cried “I want to be a father, I want to see her” he pleads as Satine rolled her eyes as Mina banged her gavel down silencing him

Mr Vizsla, that outburst in my court room is out of line and counsel, I’ll advise you to control your client, from reading about the case, I’m not impressed” she snaps seeing him silently shrink back down in his seat. Mina then looked back down at her file “And Ms Kryze, you are also looking at obtaining a protection order for you and your family” she points out ignoring Vizsla’s low scoff.

Satine nods as Mon Mothma stood up “That is correct your honour” she replies “My client would also like to point out that her ex husband has constantly been calling her insisting she take him back after having no contact all these years” she tells her. Mina nods looking over at Vizsla “And you think that just because you’ve been absent from your daughter’s life this whole time Mr. Vizsla, that she’ll be overwhelmed to have a man she barely knows?” She asks him adding “You do realise you are a complete stranger to her?” She asks as Vizsla stood up

“I understand your honour, but I and my daughter should have the chance to get to know each other” he replies. Satine rolls her eyes once more as Mina shakes her head “As long as a child has one loving parent, she doesn’t need to and so, until we convene in a week, you are to remain away from Ms Kryze and her daughter or I will drop this case and you will lose all rights” she warns him.

She bangs her gavel down on the bench “Court is adorned” she tells them getting up to exit the chamber before both parties exited the chamber, Satine, keen to get far away from her ex husband and back to her friends.

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While back over at the school, Anakin and Obi Wan were continuing their teachings together as planned. The morning had gone off with success seeing everyone mingling and talking about their projects before the bell rang for recess.

While the students hurried out to the playground, Anakin, Obi Wan and Ahsoka headed up to the playground where along the way Ahsoka filled Anakin and Obi Wan in on the mysterious figure she had seen outside the classroom. “So, this figure just walked up and down the classroom trying to look inside?” Anakin asks as Obi Wan thought for a moment. “How would you describe this person?” He asks her as Ahsoka shrugs “Tall, I think he was blond, very keen to look inside our classroom” she insists. Obi Wan exchanged a look with Anakin.

“I think I need to talk to Satine this afternoon, if this figure could be who I think it could be, she should be warned” he points out as Anakin grins cheekily “Did my ears deceive me or did you just say Satine instead of Ms Kryze?” He asks “Just how much close did you get on Saturday?” He asks as Ahsoka giggles quietly. Obi Wan only rolls his eyes

“We’re both adults and we call each other by first names, I don’t call you Mr Skywalker” he points out as Anakin wrap an arm around his friend’s shoulder as they entered the staff room “Yes, but you don’t have a crush on me” he grins right before Ahsoka spotted Lux standing by the coffee machine. Anakin goes silent as Ahsoka moves over towards Lux. “You ever get the feeling we’re going to be having a fourth roommate soon?” He asks Obi Wan referring to how friendly Lux and Ahsoka were getting. Obi Wan shrugs “I don’t mind, Ahsoka’s happy and besides I’m not the one worried about the food disappearing” he teases

Anakin then takes a seat “Well, you laugh now but this afternoon we’re doing shopping instead of going on home to relax cause we’re nearly cleared out of food" he reminds him. Obi Wan chuckles as he takes a seat beside him “It’s no different from when we first moved in together, you had me doing the grocery shopping every week because you were always hungry’ he reminds him as Anakin shrugs. “At least we had Darra and Siri helping us, Lux has offered no money” he pouts as Obi Wan sighs

“He’s been at the house for one day, Saturday didn’t count because they were out and Ahsoka’s not just going to have him stay with us without saying anything” he assures him as Anakin watches Ahsoka and Lux sharing a laugh and once more he was thinking about Padme.

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Three hours later and Padme was relived when she headed out to lunch with Satine, she could tell her friend needed to get out of the office after her morning in court, although aside from Vizsla trying once again to persuade the judge to his side. Padme and Satine headed down the street to one of their favourite cafes and had just ordered their lunches before they were left alone to talk.

“You are so lucky your ex fiance’ had the decency to know he didn’t want to be a father, had papers signed handing over all custody and hasn’t tried to reach out, Vizsla is becoming more of a pain and my fear is he’s going to do something behind my back and go after Isabel” she confesses “She’s only seven and she innocent so he could say any lie to her and she’d go with him” she adds. Padme took a sip of her drink “But didn’t you talk to her teacher about your situation and he agreed no one would pick up Isabel unless he spoke to you directly” she reminds her

Satine nods “Yes and he even said he’d speak to Anakin and Ahsoka in case they see something” she admits as Padme shrugs “And now that you’re in court, Vizsla wouldn’t try anything to jeopardise his case by going near your daughter” she explains. Satine starts to relax a bit more. “You’re a good friend Padme, always have been and I really appreciate you being there for me” she smiles as Padme nods “Of course, we’ve helped each other out since the day we met, our children are great friends, I’ll always help out” she assures her. Satine takes a sip of her drink

“You’re very kind” she insists before she then asks “You working late this afternoon?” She asks as Padme shakes her head “No, I have an easy afternoon, then I’m picking up Luke and Leia before heading to do some grocery shopping” she explains. Satine then replies “I’ll join you, I didn’t get a chance over the weekend” she confesses as Padme nods “Sounds great, I’m sure Luke and Leia will love another chance to spend time with Isabel, ever since they’ve not been in the same class, they look forward to seeing her” she points out as Satine then remembered “Oh, what did Anakin say when you told him about Luke’s behaviour?” She asks as Padme sighs just as the waiter brought their meals over to them “If you must know, he was quite surprised when I told him about Luke’s behaviour and that he’s never had a problem with Luke since the detention but he’ll keep an eye out” she tells her

Satine, starting to eat her meal, shakes her head “Very kind of him, although seems very interesting how its only been since school started, Luke’s attitude has changed and he didn’t have a male teacher last year” she hints. Padme shakes her head “Satine!” She cries “Are you trying to say that just because Luke has a male teacher, he’s now missing having a father and is acting out by being mean to his sister and friends?” She asks her as Satine shrugs “All I remember is when I was dating, Isabel would give hissy fits until I either cancelled them or had the date at home because Isabel didn’t want me to leave” she points out continuing to eat her meal as Padme went silently wondering if her friend had a point.

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As the afternoon rolled on and school ended for the day, Padme and Satine picked up Luke, Leia and Isabel and headed over to the supermarket. Satine picked up James before meeting up with Padme where upon picking up her daughter, found out that she had been right to speak with Obi Wan about her situation.

Flashback- 1/2 hour ago

“So, Ahsoka didn’t see their face, just that they were trying to look into your classroom?” She asks as Obi Wan nods “Well, it was Anakin’s classroom at the time, we had merged the classes together this morning and Ahsoka was supervising a small group by the window, when she felt someone watching and looked up to see a tall man she didn’t recognise at the window trying to look in and by the time she went out to see them they took off” he explains

Satine shakes her head - she didn’t think Vizsla would be so stupid but he was also sneaky and made his own rules when things didn’t go his way. Obi Wan looked over at her “Is everything alright?” He asks as Satine shakes her head, feeling James pulling on her hand as Satine then had a thought “No, thank you for telling me” she says “This information may help me in my case against my ex” she reveals bending down to pick up James and missing Obi Wan’s small smile to cross his face as he looked over at Anakin who was talking to Padme.

“I had no problem with Luke today” he assures her “He’s a bright, young boy and loves a chance to be constructive, unlike his sister who loves to read” he explains as Padme laughs “That sounds like Luke and Leia, Luke was always wanting to build blocks and Leia would sit with a doll and read stories” she points out

“Thank you for letting me know, it’s good to know they were behaved today” she admits as Anakin smiles looking down at the twins “They’re good kids, not many seven year olds in my class are quite intuitive” he explains seeing Luke stare back at him as Leia turned to her friend as Padme brushes her son’s hair “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before, usually it’s quiet for Luke or snapping at other students for Leia” she reveals

“Haven’t had any of that yet but their projects are coming along nicely” he reveals as Padme smiles “That’s wonderful to hear” she replies feeling the twins getting impatient “Well, we’ll see you tomorrow” she says turning to head back towards the car with Satine and her children leaving Anakin smiling as Ahsoka and Obi Wan grin “Someone’s getting chummy” she teases as Anakin shakes his head but after his pleasant conversation with Padme, he was feeling more confident with himself

End of flashback

Padme and Satine entered the supermarket and collected their trolleys before Satine sat James in the front seat of the cart as Luke, Leia and Isabel raced on ahead prompting Padme to call out “Don’t do anything that creates a mess or trouble” she warns them before she and Satine moved down the first aisle. “Hopefully this time Luke and Leia won’t try to pull any cans down and knock over any of the displays” she points out to Satine who only giggles “I just hope I don’t catch Isabel sampling too much of the fruit” she confesses “Two is fine but last time I had to pay for two bunches of grapes cause Isabel wouldn’t stop eating them” she reveals

Padme chuckles “Well, at least Isabel didn’t just open up a bag of chips and start eating them in the store. I had to pay for chips I didn’t even need because Luke got hungry” she reveals as they both continued down the aisle.

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Whilst, unaware of who else was inside the supermarket, Anakin, Obi Wan and Ahsoka entered the supermarket. Lux had a prior engagement but would see Ahsoka back at their house. “I’ll tell you one thing” Anakin points out as they grabbed a shopping cart “You and Lux can have the back TV room tonight because Friday night is my night to enjoy the races” he tells Ahsoka as Ahsoka rolls her eyes

“Actually, Lux was wondering if he could watch the races with you?” She asks “I have some study notes to do for my assignment and the races go to 10 then we’re thinking of catching a late movie” she explains. Obi Wan sniggers. He knew Anakin liked to watch the races alone so this response would be interesting. Anakin rolls his eyes “Fine, but he can’t speak the whole time only commercials and he makes his own snacks” he explains. Ahsoka shook her head

“Sounds fine to me” she replies adding “And I’m cooking dinner tonight so I’ll head off to find the ingredients and meet you both later” she informs them heading off as Obi Wan headed towards the personal grooming aisle leaving Anakin on his own.

Anakin decided to head straight for the chips and soft drinks aisle where as he entered the aisle, he froze and eyes widen, for meters ahead of him, reaching for an variety bag of chips. Anakin hung back and stared. She was still in her work clothes he saw her in when she picked up the twins but looking at her now, she was beautiful - her lean figure and blouse and skirt which hugged her figure before he found himself staring at her bottom.

Seeing that she needed some help getting another item off the shelf, Anakin moved over towards her, reaching up towards the item. “Here, let me help you” he says as Padme smiles breathing in relief “Oh thank you” she replies looking over to see Anakin standing in front of him “Oh hi, nice to see you again” she adds as he hands the item from her. She laughs taking the item from him. “Some things you wish you had extra height for” she admits as Anakin chuckles “Well, luckily I happen to be close by” he replies

Padme nods “We seem to be running into each other lately” she observes referring to the park and the supermarket. Anakin shrugs “Well, normally we don’t do our shopping after work but Ahsoka’s new friend has been trying to clear out our fridge” he confesses. Padme smiles “I usually find myself night shopping with the twins who I hope aren’t anywhere causing distraction” she admits wishing she really hadn’t said that out loud.

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Meanwhile, having not caused too much destruction, Luke, Leia and Isabel decided to play hide and seek and it was Leia’s turn to find them. She had just successfully found her brother in the produce section and now they were rushing around to find their friend Isabel. “Isabel!” Leia called out as Luke breathes “Wow, she’s a good hider” he confesses as they rush around another corner into the toy and stationary aisle coming to a halt when they found their friend in the middle of the aisle and not alone.

They watched as a dark haired man knelt before Isabel, holding Isabel’s doll in his chubby hands. “Stranger” Leia whispers to her brother before they continue towards them, they could him trying to be friend their friend. “Your doll’s very pretty, does she have a name?” He asks as Isabel remained quiet as he tries once more “Are you lost little one? You want to come with me and I’ll help you find your mother?” He asks seeing her shake her head “You’re a stranger” she whispers as he reaches for her arm.

“No, in fact, I know your mommy is looking for you” he tries to say as Luke speaks up “Leave our friend alone!” He cries. The man, seeing Luke and Leia running towards them, drops the doll, panics and runs. “Stranger danger!” Leia calls out after him as Luke picked up Isabel’s doll passing it to her and he saw that she had been crying.

“You okay?” He asks as Isabel sniffs clutching her doll close “He’s a bad man” she sniffs “He said he’ll hurt my mommy if I didn't go with him” she cries as Leia hugs her friend “You should tell your mommy” she says. Isabel quickly shakes her head

“Bad stranger said he’d hurt mommy if I told, so please don’t tell” she insists, wiping the tears from her cheeks as Leia and Luke looked to each other - they had kept secrets from their mother before but usually it was for a surprise party or tricking their mom into thinking they were in trouble or playing tricks with their cousins but this time was different - this sounded like their friend could be in danger.

“I promise” Luke eventually replied placing a hand on his friend as she only kept silent and clutched her doll tighter wondering just who the mysterious stranger was.

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Padme, meanwhile, found herself shopping alongside Anakin whilst Satine had headed off to the pasta aisle. Anakin, meanwhile, suddenly found that shopping had become more interesting with Padme. “I will say this is much better than four little hands running and grabbing things into the cart” Padme confesses “When Luke and Leia were younger, they would sit in the trolley and if they weren’t hitting each other, they were trying to pull things into the cart” she points out reaching for a box of cereal accidentally knocking a smaller box to the ground.

Padme then goes down to pick it up where Anakin then notices her cleavage showing due to the v new blouse she was wearing. Anakin keeps silent pretending like he wasn’t staring when she got back up. “So, Anakin, tell me, how long have you been here in this city?” She asks him. Anakin then answers her “Uh, two years, I moved here with my girlfriend, Obi Wan and his girlfriend but we broke up and she moved on and now I live with Ahsoka and Obi Wan” he tells her. “Idiot, why did I have to mention Darra” he thinks however it doesn’t seem to have affected the conversation, in fact he could have sworn he saw a glimmer of interest in her eye when he said they broke up.

“So, you’ve been teaching the whole time you’ve been here?” She asks him as Anakin nods “Well, the first two months till I had a teaching job, I was bartending then I became a full time teacher, usually teaching sixth graders so this year it’s my first time teaching second grade” he admits. Padme smiles “Well, from what Luke and Leia have told me is that you are doing a very good job” she assures him as they continued down the aisle.

Whilst……

Satine was busy cheekily playing with her son who was clutching into a new toy she was going to buy for him, Satine wasn't seeing where she was going when she heard the cart bump into someone “Oh, I’m so sorry” she says looking up to see Obi Wan smiling back at her “Oh hey, it’s good to see you again” she smiles as Obi Wan nods “Likewise and it’s no problem, at least it’s not a display” he points out as Satine chuckles “True and well, James can't resist making his mommy laugh” she smiles tickling her son hearing him laugh once more as Obi Wan smiles down at him.

“He’s a cute little guy” he notes “Isabel loves her little brother very much” he tells her as Satine nods “She’s always looking out for him, do you have any siblings?” She asks as he shakes his head “No, but I feel like recently Anakin and Ahsoka have definitely become like a brother and sister to me. Anakin and I have been acting like brothers since the day we met” he confesses.

“And you’re both teachers together?” She asks as he nods “Not at the start, Anakin wasn’t going to be a teacher but he changed his course half way through to decide to become a teacher. He wanted to run a night club” he tells her as Satine sniggers “Sounds like quite a dreamer but then again it’s good to have dreamers. Had my ex not given up on me, I was studying to become a doctor but then decided to become a lawyer and it led me to having one of my dear best friends” she reveals referring to Padme as Obi Wan then added

“And a strong well abled mother who loves her children” he notes smiling down at James who cheekily grins back at him making Satine laugh. “You’re very kind to say that, not many people do, other than my friends and family. Most guys who find out I have children go white and just want to run” she points out as Obi Wan chuckles.

“Something you don’t have to worry about with me” he assures her just as James drops the toy he had been holding. “Mommy, my toy!” He cried as Satine smiles “I'll get it for you” she says bending down right at the moment Obi Wan did to help, their hands touched for a brief moment startling Satine.

“Oh, I’m sorry I should get going" she quickly says picking up the toy and hurrying down the aisle leaving Obi Wan standing there, a small smile on his face. It was taking time, but he could see her start to open more to him and with her current situation with her ex, he would be there for support, getting more closer.

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A short time later, Padme, Satine, Anakin, Obi Wan and Ahsoka exited the supermarket with Leia, Luke, Isabel and James running ahead of them towards the car park when Anakin got a crazy idea. “Padme, Satine, I was wondering if you would both be up to grabbing a coffee with us before you headed home?” He asks. Obi Wan and Ahsoka exchanged playful glances with each other as Padme and Satine exchanged glances together looking over at the children playing.

Padme shrugs as Satine knowing that after her court room dramas today she could use a nice afternoon then spoke “That sounds like fun. We’ll go pack up our cars and meet you all in the corner cafe shop” she tells them. Obi Wan nods “Sounds good to us, see you in a few minutes” he says watching them move away as Ahsoka moves up along side Anakin. “Well, that was unexpected” she smirks as Anakin shrugs “Sometimes you just have to take a chance” he admits as Obi Wan rolled his eyes as they started to push the cart towards their car “You were just getting impatience” he simply replies sniggering to himself as they continued towards their car.

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The last time Bo had seen her former brother in law, was two weeks before he left her sister. It was her son’s third birthday and if she had known back then that in two weeks he would leaving her sister heartbroken and pregnant, she wouldn’t have been so nice to him so when he showed up on her doorstep that afternoon, she was thankful Korkie was hanging out with his friends at the skatepark.

“Do you really think I would want to see you after all this time, after what you did to my sister?” Bo asks him upon opening the door seeing him standing there trying to get inside. “Please Bo, you have to talk to Satine for me!” He pleads “She’s serving me with custody papers to take custody away from me. I want to see my daughter” he insists as Bo scoffs.

“Your daughter?” She asks him in horror “Satine has raised her daughter for seven years and managed a high earning career” she argues “I will not try to convince her that you are capable to helping to raise her child, a child who barely knows you” she informs him as Vizsla shakes his head.

“You don’t understand!” He cries “My daughter deserves to know her father and I need this” he argues as Bo scoffs. “Isabel is doing fine so far. She has her mother and her aunt in her life. I will not help you!” She snaps slamming the door shut in his face. The nerve of that man trying to get her to convince her sister to take him back. He’ll just have to try and win the custody hearing.

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However, Vizsla was unaware that a custody battle was soon to be the least of his problems as a black car drove up to the city line looking out towards the skyscrapers and houses. They were not pleased that for seven years Vizsla had managed to elude them and leave them dealing with the authorities over the broken deal.

Now, they had tracked him down to his home city where they would make him pay for the troubles. “According to our friend, he was last seen here where his family lives” Savage points out as Maul glares out of the windscreen “He won’t leave this city unless its with us because he will pay for double crossing us” he points out as they started up the car once more and drove into the city as the afternoon sky began to change to a light orange.

Next time: Anakin and Obi Wan’s coffee afternoon with Padme and Satine unveils some more secrets while Isabel, Luke and Leia struggle to keep the secret regarding the stranger in the supermarket while Ahsoka continues to enjoy her time with Lux, she has an encounter with Vizsla that leaves her conflicted while Maul and Savage begin their search for their former business partner uncovering pieces of his life that they never knew. Will they find out about Satine or Isabel? And Padme begins to wonder if she has deeper feelings for her children’s teacher?