POV: Anakin Skywalker

"Ani..." a voice whispered. "Ani…" I wandered around in the darkness, searching for the tiny source. For the last week, I'd been having the same voice enter my dreams. I hadn't come close to finding its source though. "Ani…"

"What do you want?" I cried out, trying to see through the dark mass.

"Down here."

I looked down to see a little girl with light red hair and ocean blue eyes, similar to my own. "Who are you?"

"You know who I am. I'm Anima."

"I…" I raised my eyebrow. "I still don't know you."

"You might not," she giggled. "But I know you!"

I threw my hands up in frustration. "Well, that clears everything up…" I muttered.

She giggled, spinning around in circles. "Come on, Uncle Ani!"

My heart stopped. She turned around and I could see the resemblance to Obi-Wan, but this was not Airi. I screamed, bolting into an upright position on my bed. I held my head in my hands, breathing heavily as sweat streamed down my face and chest. Ahsoka jerked into a sitting position beside me, grabbing my arm as Cayden began to screech.

I moved out of her grip, getting off of the bed. I walked towards the crib. "Sh," I whispered. I picked him up and held him against my chest. I rocked him slowly, singing my mother's old song. It took two repeats of the few lines that I began to remember until he fell asleep again. I sighed, rocking him a little while longer before placing him back in the crib, tucking him in.

I turned around slowly to face Ahsoka. She stared at me worriedly as I crawled across the bed to lay beside her. I draped my arm over her waist, feeling the fabric of her nightgown. "What happened?"

"Promise me that you'll keep this to yourself."

She raised her eye markings. "I promise, love."

I sighed. "I know I'm not crazy… and I hope you know that, too, but I believe Obi-Wan and Satine's deceased, unborn child is visiting me in my dreams. She said her name was Anima."

"What… what makes you think it's their daughter? And, Ani, you know I don't think you're crazy."

"She resembled Obi-Wan and called me 'Uncle Ani.' It was so… scary…"

She scooted closer to me, hugging me. "I'm sorry, Anakin. I wonder why you're being contact by her. Why wouldn't she go see her parents?"

"I wish I understood, but I don't…"

"Try to get some rest, Ani," she whispered. "We're going to need you at your best tomorrow."

I nodded, feeling a burning sensation growing in my chest. "Soka –" I managed to gasp. The inability to breathe grew worse each time and I felt so helpless. She helped me off of the bed and we managed to get into the refresher before I began to cough blood up violently. I held myself over the sink, her hands rubbing my back and stomach.

Once my stomach stopped churning, I felt a little better. I was getting better at controlling the pain and blood, but they were still there. The breathing issue, however, was harder to control. I was restricted and there was nothing I could do about it. I wiped the blood from the corners of my mouth, running water to wash my hands and the red pool in the sink itself.

I twisted a little to face her. She smiled weakly at me, reaching her hands up to clasp them behind my neck. "At least you're getting better…" She moved her face closer to mine and I intercepted her lips for a slow kiss. She grabbed the hem of my pants, wanting to force them down. I lifted her into my arms, walking out of the refresher without ending the kiss. I plopped her onto the bed. I could feel her excitement as I began to move my lips down her face towards her lekku. "I love you," she breathed. I slowly kissed her lek, moving towards her collarbone.

"I love you," I whispered between kisses. I grabbed the hem of her nightgown, slowly lifting it until a knock on the door interrupted my thought process.

"Keep going," she whispered. The knock became impatient and I was beginning to lose my patience quickly. I growled, rolling off of her, standing to walk to the door. I allowed it to slide open a bit. "What –"

A hand gripped my neck – at least that's what it felt like – and restricted my breathing. I tried to get at least one breath in as I was lifted further into the air. Ahsoka gasped loud enough for only me to hear. "Where is your pet, Skywalker?"

I stared at Ventress, gagging. I reached my hand out, forcing her back against a wall. My feet hit the floor and I quickly spun around, pulling my lightsaber from the nightstand that was in perfect view from my position. Ahsoka and Cayden were safe and out of sight. I held my throat as I dashed forward, my blade colliding with Ventress'. I released my neck, holding the hilt in both hands. I blocked her quick and precise blows. She had improved since our last encounter…

Another blade crashed down on hers. I turned slightly to see Obi-Wan. He was still dressed in his Jedi garments, looking determined to rid the temple of her presence. Obi-Wan and I pressed her back, sensing her frustration. She ducked around me, kicking my ribs. I fell to the floor, my lightsaber falling away from me. She began to run. Obi-Wan knelt beside me and I quickly forced myself to stand, pulling my saber into my hand as I ran after her. She ran towards one of the large windows in the hall.

I watched her slice through it as we closed in on her, but we weren't fast enough… She jumped through, falling a great distance. Knowing her, she probably had an escape plan formed before entering. I was tempted to run out after her, but Obi-Wan silently told me not to, gripping my shoulder tightly. "What did she come here for? Did she say?"

I turned to him, angrily whispering. "She wanted Ahsoka." I ran past him, going back to my room. I walked right up to the door, waiting for it to slide open. The lock didn't budge. "Ahsoka, it's me."

Obi-Wan walked up behind me as the door opened. "Kaimi and Shmi stayed in my quarters after playing with Airi. They're safe and asleep."

I moved forward, latching onto Ahsoka. She was holding Cayden against her chest. I nodded gratefully to Obi-Wan. "Thank you."

"Is there anything I can do for you two?"

"If you're up to it," I chuckled, turning to face him, "you could investigate the temple to see just how our assassin got in."

He nodded. "I'll have a few others put on alert as well. You two keep each other safe."

"Sounds fine," I whispered. He turned and left the room. I focused my attention on Ahsoka, seeing her worried expression. She moved out of my arms, placing Cayden back in his crib. I could feel her composure beginning to slip. When she turned around, I immediately wrapped my arms around her. "I will protect you."

"I know you will, Ani." I rubbed her back slowly, resting my chin on the dip between her montrals. I felt bad because I should have been able to sense Ventress' presence in the temple. Obi-Wan must've sensed her along with the feelings from Ahsoka and me. Some Grand Master I am… "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Ani, you may be the Grand Master of the Jedi, but you are not the Grand Master of hiding things from your wife."

I pulled back slowly to smile at her, stroking her cheek. "I just don't want to let you down. It's one thing if I let myself down, but –"

She put a finger to my lips. "You haven't let me down nor will you ever. If anything, I've let you down several times before."

"Don't say –"

"Anakin, if I had saved you earlier, the emotional and physical scars never would have come to exist. Your back…"

"My back is a reminder that I prevented something horrible from happening to you or the children. I know you'd give your life for me in a heartbeat, but I'd never, never allow you to sacrifice yourself." I held her face in my hand, staring at her lovingly. "I would never blame you for what happened to me either, Ahsoka. I don't care about the scars. I just want our family to be strong together."

"We all need you in order for us to be strong."

"Then I'd better keep myself out of trouble," I said, smirking. I leaned down to kiss her, wrapping my arms around her tightly. She kissed me for a few moments before shoving me back.

"I'm serious."

"I know you are, Snips."

"If you ever get hurt –"

"Then it's my fault, not yours."

"But, Ani –" I kissed her quickly. I held her montrals firmly so she couldn't pull away from me and begin blaming herself again. I knew I did it, too, but I didn't want her to carry that weight on her shoulders. It was most definitely not her fault. After realizing that I wasn't going to let go, she embraced the kiss, circling her arms around my neck. We both pulled back for air, staring into each other's eyes. "Anakin…"

"Stop or I'll go sleep in Obi-Wan's quarters."

She chuckled. "I don't want you to sleep anywhere but here."

"So drop it and get back to sleep." I kissed her cheek and dashed towards the bed, hopping onto it. I flipped over onto my back as she began to crawl towards me. She crawled between my legs, her upper body resting on my chest. Her lekku hung over her shoulders, touching my chest as well. I slowly rubbed them, resulting in moans from her. "Come here, beautiful," I whispered, pulling her closer.

Later.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" I groaned, slowly opening my eyes. Shmi's face was directly in front of mine. "Come on, Daddy! We have to go now!"

"Go where?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"You said we were going to take a test today, remember? Me, Kaimi, and Airi."

Eight year olds. She expects me to remember everything. "Okay, baby. Give me a minute to get dressed, all right?" She nodded, hopping off of the bed, running out into the hall. I leaned over the bed, grabbing my pants. I pulled them on, followed by my Jedi vest. I pulled my boots up to my knees and tugged the black glove on to hide my mechanical hand, standing up.

I stretched my arms, turning around to face my sleeping wife. I leaned across the bed, kissing her neck softly. She moaned, rolling over a little. "Ani?"

"Who else?" I smiled. "I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to test the kids for Force-sensitivity."

"Can I go with you?" she asked, sitting up to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Only if you hurry," I chuckled. I could hear all three girls giggling and laughing outside of the room. She jumped off of the bed, quickly grabbing an outfit and throwing it on. She carefully grabbed Cayden and we walked into the hallway. All five of us walked towards the Council chamber. I always ended up leaving the datapad there… There was only a fifty percent chance that Airi and Shmi were Force-sensitive because their mothers were not. Kaimi was almost positively Force-sensitive because Ahsoka and I both were. I sat down in my seat, holding the datapad. "All right, who wants to go first?" Shmi jumped up and down and I smiled. "Okay, kiddo." I pressed a button and an image appeared. "Reach out and focus on the datapad. What do you see?"

She paused, thinking. "An airspeeder."

I hit the button again, flipping to another image. "And now?"

"A lightsaber."

She began to answer quicker. "A holocron. A bantha. A landspeeder."

I tossed the datapad onto the floor. "Can you lift it?" She stared at it, raising her hand slowly. The datapad rose with her motion. I smiled at her, seeing the delight in her eyes. "Now levitate it to me."

Her palm faced me as she slowly brought the datapad to me. I held my hand up for it and it fell right into my palm. "Am I a Jedi, Daddy?"

I smiled again. "You bet you are, kiddo." She jumped up and down again, clapping her hands. Two tests, several images, and several levitations later, we discovered that Kaimi and Airi were also Force-sensitive. I glanced at Ahsoka to see worry in her eyes. "Come here," I whispered into our bond. She looked at me and half smiled as she came closer. I pulled her and Cayden into my lap, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, whispering into the bond. "I'm fine. I'm just… concerned. Do you know how long it'll take for them to train? And what about Masters? Who can we really, honestly trust with our kids?"

"We can speed up their training, Ahsoka. I'm sure Obi-Wan will take Airi up. You and I could take Shmi and Kaimi."

"What about Cayden? We can't just leave him…"

"Satine or Padme would be more than willing to watch him."

She nodded thoughtfully, leaning her head on my shoulder. She kissed my jaw line while I rubbed her leg. "Why are you staring at each other like that?" I laughed as Obi-Wan reappeared. "I'm assuming you two were speaking via your bond?"

We both nodded. Ahsoka stood up, trying to stop Shmi from picking on Kaimi. Airi dashed over to her father, hugging his knees. "Daddy! Daddy! Uncle Ani says I'm going to be a Jedi!"

He looked up from his excited daughter to smile at me before looking back down to her. "That's great, Airi. Does Uncle Ani have a moment to talk to me?"

I shifted forward in my seat, resting my elbows on my knees, folding my hands, and resting my chin on my knuckles. "Of course, Obi-Wan."

He glanced around nervously. "Alone?" I whispered.

Ahsoka glanced back at us, raising her eye markings above her left eye. "Kids, how about we go see Satine?"

They all cried out excitedly, exiting the room with Ahsoka. That left Obi-Wan and me. "What's on your mind, Obi-Wan?"

"Anakin, I…" he sighed. "I don't know. I've been having disturbing dreams and I feel that I can only talk to you about them because I think you'd understand me more. If I tell Satine, she'll react badly…"

I smiled weakly. "I'm glad you came to me. You know you can always tell me anything." He glanced away from my eyes nervously. "What kind of dreams are you having?"

"I'm seeing a little girl in my dreams…" I straightened in my seat as I stared at him. "She's… She looks like Satine and me. She claims to be Anima, but I don't know anyone by that name. Satine and I picked the name Anima for a girl, but… I don't know. She seems so peaceful and happy in my dream, but she never says much. She skips around happily…" I felt my heart sink and slowly break, my expression losing its composure. He turned to face me as I lowered my eyes to the floor. "Why do I get the feeling that you're keeping something from me, Anakin?"

I bit my lip, my eyes pleading as I looked at him. "Please, don't think I'm crazy and please don't get upset…"

"What –"

"Anima is appearing in my dreams as well. She… she called me…" I put my head in my hands, knowing how much this was going to kill us both. "Obi-Wan, Anima is your daughter."

"What?"

"She called me 'Uncle Ani' in my dream. I realized the similarities between you and her. She's the de–" I stopped realizing how hurt he was now. I didn't want to finish the sentence either way… I stood up, walking quickly towards him. "Obi-Wan –"

"How is she able to contact us?"

"I don't know, but listen to –"

"This doesn't make sense!" he yelled. The only time he's ever really yelled is when he was upset with me for not listening to him or when I annoyed him. Most of those times had been when I was a Padawan…

"Obi-Wan –" He stormed out of the room, leaving me alone to stare in shock at his retreating figure. I sighed in frustration, walking back to my chair, collapsing into it. Silence is golden…