Chapter Text
She was summoned before the Chancellor two months after returning from Black Spire.
She had also been nauseous and throwing up nearly every day for the last month.
She had, perhaps recklessly, put off having a test done in the hope that, while she wanted it to be true, it wasn’t. Not while Anakin was away for who-knew-how-long.
But she had finally had to do it, and the results pinged on her datapad while on her way to the Chancellor’s office.
She was pregnant.
Padme was fairly sure she was keeping her face neutral, but she was screaming inside. The timing of this was bad, to say the least. She wouldn’t be able to get a secure message to Anakin. She would be largely alone in this.
It was fine. She could handle this. She had her handmaidens, and at least on Naboo, single-parent pregnancies were fairly normal. Hopefully it would be assumed that that was the case here. Her heart calmed as she was able to focus on the positive facts and start a plan from there.
And then she entered Chancellor Palpatine’s office and came to a sudden halt as her jaw threatened to drop.
“... Thrawn?”
He was standing beside the Chancellor’s desk at parade rest, his face as calm as always, and Palpatine himself stood with a broad and welcoming smile.
“Senator Amidala, come in, please,” he said warmly, his Meese Caulf only a little stilted. “Of course, you and Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo have met. Please, sit.” It was Thrawn who stepped around to offer her a seat with a courteous nod. “I was fascinated by your and General Skywalker’s reports when you came back from Batuu,” Palpatine went on as Padme nodded her thanks. “I immediately sent an envoy, hoping to catch the commander’s attention, and was most fortunate when he responded. We have spent the last month in very serious conversations. Refreshments?”
“Ah - yes, please,” Padme replied faintly. She took the offered water and sipped at it. Her stomach was threatening revolution if something didn’t fill it.
“My apologies for the secrecy, but it was paramount.” Now Palpatine was frowning. “I have been shown compelling proof that there are forces in Wild Space that, while no threat to the Republic now, will become so in the future. Very serious, very concerning threats.”
“My people do not practice pre-emptive strikes, and are not convinced that these threats are large enough to warrant any. They are wrong, of course. I believe that this is a threat that could entangle the entire galaxy, if allowed to go on.”
“Why haven’t we heard of this before?”
“The enemy is currently too far out for reports to make it back to your Republic.”
Padme wanted to say a lot of things. A lot of things. But the only thing that came out of her mouth ---
“You said you wouldn’t return to the Republic with us.”
“And I did not,” Thrawn told her calmly. “I returned to my people, made my report, and was ordered to present myself as an ally to your Republic.”
His voice and presence were steady. Padme nodded and leaned into them, letting them calm her once more. When she could think clearly again, she looked between him and Palpatine.
“What’s the plan?” she asked. “Are we allying with Thrawn’s people? If the rest of them are half as talented as you with tactics and warfare,” she started, turning to the man, “then ---”
“They are not.” It was a calm fact, with no arrogance behind it. “And for the time being, I am the only one of my people to be directly involved with this mission. The situation at home is … delicate.”
He might have come without authorization, and was hoping that initiating an alliance with the Republic would encourage his people to follow suit. It was a daring risk, if that was what had happened.
“So, you stay here as an ambassador of sorts, and pass on information about whatever threat is out there?”
Something flickered across his face as he looked at the Chancellor. “It is … more complicated than that.”
“It was not my first desire, of course,” Palpatine told her with sorrow in his voice. “And I do apologize for the suddenness of this. However, I feel that this is the best solution.” Padme did not like the sound of that. She nodded as her stomach roiled, and hoped she would throw up and have an excuse to leave and not have to deal with this. “Marriage alliances are very common in the commander’s ---”
“What.”
Lips pursing, the corners of his eyes tightening, Palpatine heaved a sigh and looked down at his desk. Thrawn was watching her closely. Padme was too shocked to do more than stare and repeat the word and vaguely hope she didn’t pass out as her head suddenly swam.
“It is, I fear, the only way to ensure that the Chiss - Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s people - will actually consider allying with us. They have been watching us closely, and ---”
“I don’t want to get married.” She was already married. To Anakin. And pregnant. With his child. She could not - she would not - marry Thrawn.
She and Palpatine were still arguing half an hour later when Thrawn spoke up.
“If I may speak with Ambassador Amidala in private?”
“There is nothing to speak about,” Padme told him sharply.
“I believe that there is.”
He knew about her relationship with Anakin. There was no way he would go along with this plan. There were other ways of approaching an alliance with the Chiss, and another half hour later, the three of them were still arguing. Padme’s voice had long since gone quiet and intense with her anger.
“Again,” Thrawn said with clearly-strained patience, “I would speak with you in private, Ambassador.”
“And I would not,” Padme snapped. “This is ridiculous and I will be no part of it. Find someone else, someone with better knowledge of the Outer Regions.”
“At least hear him out.” Palpatine coughed and took a drink of water to wet his throat. They all took a moment to refresh themselves. “Please, Padme.”
She narrowed her eyes and stood up abruptly. “Fine. But this is not me agreeing to this.”
“Of course,” Palpatine told her with a tired smile. He gestured to a doorway. “That is a private office. You may speak there.”
It took all her strength to not stomp into the office. Thrawn followed her, and held up one hand as the door shut. He examined the office thoroughly as Padme waited.
Finally, she had enough. He clearly wasn’t going to start the conversation. “Well?”
The suddenness with which he turned to her didn’t startle her. This intensity on his face did.
“Our peoples are in grave danger.”
“Our peoples?”
“There is evil in this galaxy that no one power may stop. A united force is all that may do that. The Chiss will not permit any aggressive act that is not in clear self-defense, and will suffer for that - but your Republic holds no such views when a threat is apparent. My duty is to my people, and I will not let them suffer due to their own refusal to adapt to new circumstances. They will have my help whether they agree to it or not, and this is the most direct way to begin to prepare to combat these threats.”
He was pacing, occasionally tapping some bit of art and studying it. Padme sat down in an overstuffed chair and ran through every calming exercise she knew.
“So what is this great danger?” she finally asked.
Thrawn ran a hand over his hair, and grimaced a bit when that made it stand up stiffly in parts. He busied himself with smoothing it all down again - he clearly used a lot of product to keep it under control - while looking off into the side.
“A species that will not be stopped until they overrun the galaxy or are eliminated.”
“That’s genocide.” Padme leaned back in the chair as she whispered it, as if trying to get away from the concept itself.
“So is what they will do to any species that opposes them, unless they are first neutralized by a joint, overwhelming force.” He finally turned and strode over to her, kneeling in front of her. “Please believe me that what your chancellor has proposed was not my first plan of action. It was not a plan I was willing to consider on my own at all. I have presented many other suggestions to Chancellor Palpatine, but he is insistent that this is the best way.” He glanced around the room as Padme scoffed. “And now, I agree with him. And I need you to trust me.”
“How is this the best way?” Padme asked bluntly. His lips tightened. They couldn’t speak of her and Anakin’s relationship, not here, but it was clearly on his mind.
“I need you to trust me. I do not take any alliance or promise lightly, Ambassador. If it helps, I have no sexual interest in you.” Padme choked in shock. Thrawn’s lips twitched a bit. “Sexual relations are a part of most unions, even ones entered into for political purposes. I wish you to understand that that will not be a concern in ours. My word is my guarantee.”
“You’re talking like I’ve already agreed to this.” Padme hadn’t even considered the possibility of them having sex. And even if they didn’t consummate the relationship, her pregnancy was not something that she was going to be able to hide for long. And that would cause a scandal, and more attention to the child’s father - who would very clearly not be Thrawn - than she wanted. She didn’t know what sort of trouble Anakin would be in with the Jedi Order if they found out about the relationship. Her mind jumped to the worst possible outcomes, and she looked around the room frantically, desperate to change the subject. “Why are you on your knees?” she finally managed.
“Because I am tall, and you are not, and I wish to approach this matter as equals.”
That was … considerate. And wasn’t condescending, as it could have easily been. Thrawn was nearly seven feet tall, she guessed, and would probably need to constantly bend over to hear her. Or she would need a step stool.
The ridiculousness made her start to laugh, and she covered her mouth with one hand as she tried to get control over herself. Thrawn raised an eyebrow.
“I just … how do you hear people without bending over?” she managed.
“My hearing is superior to that of a human’s.” He was smiling very slightly. “Perhaps a step stool would be in order.”
That had Padme nearly shrieking with laughter, which very quickly turned to tears. She covered her face and sobbed and cursed the awful timing of this all. Thrawn made no move to comfort her; he simply stayed kneeling, hands resting on his thighs, waiting.
“I don’t want this,” she whispered. “I don’t want this.”
“Neither do I.” His response was calm and measured as he handed her a handkerchief from … somewhere. Padme took it and dabbed at her eyes, then burst into fresh tears. “Perhaps we can speak further at a later time. If I am not mistaken, there is an art gallery not far from ---”
“Are you asking me on a date?”
Thrawn blinked at her. “... Date?”
“A date. Going out together. Romance.”
“Ah,” he said as he understood. “Courtship. I am not. I merely ---”
“You want to take me out somewhere and talk with me with the purpose of convincing me to marry you.” Padme wagged one finger in his face. “That’s a date.”
“The gallery focuses on the art of the ---”
“Admit it. It’s a date. Are you going to bring me flowers, too? Do you want to kiss me at the end of the night?”
She was being snippy, but she felt she deserved to be.
“I want to see the art gallery,” Thrawn snapped back. “And I do not know enough of this language you claim is so universal and basic that I would be able to fully understand the descriptions that will undoubtedly be part of the displays. You and I share a language; you would be most helpful in translating for me. It will be most informative. You see, the Chaktaroo create an art that is seemingly senseless at first, but when viewed as they intended it to be viewed - in the flickering of firelight rather than direct, unchanging artificial light - it creates stunning three dimensional portraits that appear to move, which throws doubt on the assumption that ---”
He was an absolute nerd. Padme stared at him as he continued on, his face lighting up and his hands gliding through the air as he talked. There was a passion in him that she hadn’t seen two months previously, and it was fascinating.
“You got all of this from their artwork?” she finally interrupted.
Thrawn stopped, his face quickly going back to neutral, and put his hands back on his thighs. His gaze slid to the side.
“There is much one can learn about a person, a culture, even an entire species, through their art.” His voice was quiet. “There are … patterns … that can be discerned from art.”
Padme cocked her head to the side. “Patterns?”
“Yes.” He said it shortly as he stood up. “I would like to see the gallery tonight - I will see the gallery tonight - and I am sure that Chancellor Palpatine will insist on you coming with me, both as a translator and a chance for us to get to know one another better. There may still be time yet to convince him that this is not the most viable course of action.”
Padme wiped at her face as she sighed. She wasn’t going to get out of at least talking with him more. It might as well start with a subject he clearly loved. “Fine. We’ll go on a field trip.”
“Field trip?”
“An outing that schools take younglings on for learning.”
She had hoped for him to take offense, but Thrawn merely nodded. “In this, I am very much a student. Very well. I thank you for agreeing to this field trip.” He held his arm partially out, a gesture that she could either take as an invitation to help her stand or not, and Padme debated not taking it, but she was tired and exhausted and her feet were aching. She was tense as he helped her up - almost lifting her straight up into the air and off her feet, in fact - but then again, he was tense beneath his uniform, too.
It served him right.
Chancellor Palpatine looked up hopefully as they left the room. Padme had let Thrawn go as soon as she’d been steady on her feet, and if the fact that they weren't touching - Thrawn was being very careful not to touch her, in fact - disappointed him, he didn’t show it.
“Have you reached an agreement?”
Padme held her head up high. “We want to get to know each other better before I make a decision. This isn’t something to enter into lightly.”
Palpatine nodded. He seemed relieved. “Of course. If there are any arrangements I might make for you, dinner reservations or whatnot, please do let me know.”
“I believe that I can arrange that on my own, but thank you. And now, gentlemen, I must get back to my senatorial duties. I should be finished around nine.” She raised an eyebrow at Thrawn, who nodded with a murmured thanks.
“Excellent.” Palpatine was beaming. “I would not ask this of you if I saw any better way, Padme. Thank you for considering it.” He stood up to see her out. “I will, of course, have language courses for the commander set up. Regardless of your final decision, I would consider it a personal favor if you would tutor him. You are an excellent teacher.”
Padme shrugged. “We’ll see. Good day, gentlemen.”
She didn’t go back to her office. She could work from her apartments just as easily. What she couldn’t do in her office was throw up in peace, then drag herself into the refresher to sob yet again. She knew, logically, that it was the pregnancy hormones. But it was also a good stress-reliever, and as she huddled in the spray of hot water, strands of slick hair covering her face in a sort of protective shield, she could start to think more clearly about this entire mess.
Hopefully, she could get out of this. Hopefully, Anakin would return soon.
Hopefully.