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Bail is not expecting any visitors. He’s in his Senate assigned quarters, working on something or the other - easily forgotten once he gets a glimpse at his visitor. Padmé Skywalker stands as his door, hair hastily tidied, demeanour not timid but tired and red eyes prominent. Bail should have retired last term. He was planning to but he had wanted just one more term here, just one more attempt to smooth things over to make the transition easy. But Padmé is here and he doesn’t know what to say to her. It is easy to be angry and indeed Bail is but there is also something softer in his heart. He doesn’t know whether it is pity or sympathy. Padmé Amidala was his friend. Padmé Skywalker was his enemy. Who is this Padmé? “Why? Why are you here?”. ”May I come in?”. He nods tersely. “For Ben. You’ve heard I assume?”. He has. “It is too late for me and for my children; it is too late for my grandchild.”. They have both known that for many years. ”I come in the hope that I am not too late for everyone.”. Bail understands what she is saying, what she is seeking but he cannot give that to her which she so desperately wants. ”You are too late for me.”. It is said firmly but not unkindly and for all her faults, Padmé will not press someone. She bows her head in acknowledgment and then smiles. ”Thank you.”. Padmé the grandmother makes to leave but Bail calls out to her before he realises it. “Why did you stay with him? Did he tell you about Tattoine?”. What is he hoping for? That Padmé didn’t know, that she can simply be the victim to this? Isn’t she the victim anyway? “He did. I didn’t want to believe it at first and by the time I did, it was too late. And I think I thought that by staying with him I could stop it from ever happening again. I learned that lesson quite well.”. Maybe he doesn’t like Padmé, maybe he likes her but is heartbroken. Either way, he cannot deny that that particular lesson has cost her greatly: years of her children’s lives, of her friends’ lives and now her grandson’s life. “I cannot give you what you want.”, he reminds her, apologetic. “Although I would like to give you some advice: seek out Master Yan Dooku.”. ”I didn’t come with any expectations.”, she returns. “Perhaps I will.”. It is clear that she won’t. Bail manages one last smile and then his door shuts quietly. ”All the best.”, he sends after her, unsure if it will reach her, unsure if he wants it to. Padmé is gone.