POV: Anakin Skywalker

I woke up before Kylar as I normally did when I was here. I slid out from under him and made my way to the kitchen. I was hungry as hell and I could only bet that he was, too. By the time he woke up, Ahsoka would more than likely be here, so I should cook for the three of us.

I glanced at the time and was thrilled that Ahsoka could show up at any given time. She'd more than likely be here within the hour and that made me happy beyond words. I missed her in ways that I couldn't describe. The beauty of her eyes, of her smile… they captivated me and I needed that captivation. I needed her presence.

I sat at the small bar in the kitchen and rested my head on my arms, sighing heavily. Ahsoka and I have been together for two years as a couple, but we've known each other for seven years. I've never touched her in ways that she didn't like and I've never done things to her that would make her uncomfortable. I love her more than I've ever loved anyone and I wanted to treat her the way she deserved, the way that made her love me as much as I loved her. She told me how her montrals and lekku gave her sexual feelings and I was careful about how I touched her there.

I didn't like giving out the wrong impression and she was the one I didn't want to leave a bad impression on. I stroked her montrals or lekku when I wanted to comfort her or while I kissed her and she never complained. I didn't want her to think I was in it all for sex because I certainly wasn't. I wanted her for her and all I wanted from her was her love.

Ahsoka was an amazing life form and I wanted to treat her as such. She treated me with respect and I owed her the same. She's touched me in ways that I never thought she'd do for her age, but she did it because she didn't want to lose me. Once I assured her that I wasn't going anywhere, things got calmer and easier between us.

I lifted my head up and pulled my holocom out of my pack that was sitting on the bar. I switched it on and selected the beautiful holo I had of Ahsoka in her sleep. The peace in her smile warmed my heart and made me think about her more than I was just moments earlier.

I smiled at her holo, at least until my chest had a burst of pain. I cringed and growled under my breath, clutching my chest. I held onto the bar counter with my free hand and shut my eyes tightly. Unfortunately for me, the holo crashed to the floor. Luckily, I knew it wasn't broken. It just… shut off. I began to breathe heavily as the pain shot further down my body.

I slid out of the bar seat and fell to the floor, gasping for breath. I was trying to be quiet, hoping not to wake Ky. The last thing I wanted him to see was his father coming closer and closer to death. I laid my head on the floor and clenched my teeth as the pain worsened.

The pain reached down to my stomach and up to my collarbone before it finally stopped. I sighed in relief. I couldn't wait for this pain to stop, but I also knew that when it did, nothing would be the same. "Daddy?" Ky's small voice called out from the bedroom. I pushed myself up, holding tightly onto the barstool. I forced myself to walk back into the bedroom and I saw my son with tears streaking his face.

"What's wrong, Ky?" I asked, panicking. I forced myself to quickly cross the room and take a seat beside him. My heart was pounding, but he was more important to me than my own pain. I brushed his dirty blonde hair back and stared at his face, concerned.

"I had a bad dream." He was breathing heavily and sweating quite profusely. He threw himself at me and closed his eyes against my chest. I rubbed his back and rested my chin on the crown of his head. I felt his fear and I wondered what had really happened, so I asked him to talk to me and he did. "You got hurt, daddy. I saw you protecting me and some lady came out of nowhere and… and…"

He didn't need to finish because I could see the image in his head. The fact that he was my son allowed me to see into his mind if he was to let me and he didn't realize that he was letting me. Maybe, just maybe, he wanted me to see what he'd seen. He saw Ventress killing me by shoving her blades through my chest. The thing was, I was much more powerful than Ventress could ever imagine and we hadn't seen nor heard much of her since the end of the Clone War.

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Ky. It was just a dream. Don't you worry, okay? Daddy's going to be just fine. I'm right here with you and I'm not going anywhere." He nodded and pulled back to rub his eyes. "Do you want to go back to bed, kiddo? I can make you some breakfast if you'd like."

"Don't leave me, daddy," he pleaded, staring at me. I nodded and laid down on the pillows as he curled up against me. He was shaking terribly and I hated when he was scared. The worst moment of his life had been when he'd first met me. He was just planted on my doorstep, or rather Padme's doorstep, out of the blue and information was then handed out about him being my biological son. Padme loathed me with every part of her being and I couldn't blame her. She didn't respect me after learning that I'd spent the night with another woman, but she lost every ounce of anything she felt for me once she saw my three year old son. That resulted in my being kicked out forever as well as receiving threats that she'd go to the Council about me.

Kylar snuggled up to me and held my hand between us similar to how Ahsoka and I slept beside each other. It was kind of cute, in an odd way. He eventually relaxed and fell asleep, thank the Force. Moments after I made sure he was sleeping peacefully, my com began to beep. My heart leapt out of my chest excitedly and I moved to the best of my ability to quickly get to the com.

I tapped the button and leaned against the counter as my sweet Ahsoka's voice spoke. "Hi, sweetheart. I'm on Alderaan. I just wanted to let you know that I got here safely."

"I'm glad you're safe, my love. Do you want me to come get you? Ky is sleeping and Threepio is around to make sure nothing happens to him. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing you again…"

She laughed lightly. "As long as Kylar is safe on his own, you can. Your son comes first. I'll be looking for a taxi if I need to."

I grabbed my com and peeked into the bedroom. "He'll be fine without me for a few minutes and Threepio and Artoo are here. I'm on my way over to you."

I hopped into my airspeeder and flew down to the landing port. As I docked, I skimmed through the crowd. There were many alien species here and yet I couldn't seem to find the only one that would stand out in comparison. I scanned quickly until I saw her beautiful, brilliant face gleaming at me from the distance. My heart stopped and my jaw dropped. She was wearing her robe over her outfit and I assumed she'd left without acknowledging the rest of the Jedi.

She came closer and I hopped over the side of the speeder before breaking into a run towards her. As much as it hurt my chest to do so, I didn't care. As soon as I reached her, her arms flew out and I wrapped mine around her waist and lifted her in the air, spinning her happily. She laughed, her hands on my shoulders, a bright smile on her face. After a few spins, I set her down and kissed her lips lovingly. "Ani."

"My Soka," I whispered, holding the sides of her face in my hands, rubbing her skin gently with my gloved thumbs. "I've missed you… so much."

"I've been waiting on Coruscant for you," she breathed. "Ani, are you okay? I heard you were injured. They wouldn't let me visit you and then I heard from Obi-Wan that you'd left without breathing a word to anyone about it. I was afraid something happened to you…"

"I'm all right, Ahsoka. I didn't know you knew about Kylar or I would've asked you to come along with me." She rubbed my shoulders and stared at my face. She didn't know where I'd gotten injured and I knew she'd find out one way or another.

"Well, I'm here now, Ani." I took her hand and intertwined our fingers. She smiled up at me and I led her back to the airspeeder, helping her into it. I got in beside her and stared at her for a few moments, wishing I could use something more than just words to show her I appreciated her coming here with me to meet a son that didn't even belong to her.

"Thank you for coming here, Soka. It means a lot to me. My son… You and my son mean everything to me. To have you both finally meet would be…"

She smiled, rubbing my leg. "Anakin, you mean everything to me. I want to get to know your son if we're going to be together."

I sighed. "He's not your son though."

"Anakin, he may not be my biological son, but I want us to be family." My lips parted as I let the shock sink in. I knew Ahsoka loved me, but I never would've imagined that she'd be willing to join me and my son like this.

We made it to my secret home and I took her hand, helping her out of the airspeeder. She intertwined our fingers as I led her into the living room, the central room of the home. She gazed around in awe and I smiled at her. "Welcome home, my love," I whispered, watching her face as she took in the scenery before looking back at me.

"Ani, this is beautiful. This… I've dreamed about having a home like this."

I kissed her cheek, closing my eyes and my lips lingered on her warm, delicate skin. I rested my forehead against the side of her face and breathed against her. "It's your home, my Soka."

I opened my eyes and she smiled widely at me, thrilled that I'd taken her in like this. Unfortunately, she didn't know how serious I was about this place being her home. In a few weeks, I'd more than likely be in my grave. My heart was damaged and there wasn't much that could be done for me. I hoped Ahsoka and Ky would get along because he'd need her to take care of him until he was able to care for himself.

I slowly led her towards my bedroom where my son laid on the bed and she smiled in silent awe at my little boy. She leaned against me, rubbing my chest gently. "Anakin, he's beautiful. He looks just like you."

I kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you came, Ahsoka. I've wanted you two to meet for a while now. He's the only other person I love aside from you."

I led her back to the couch in the living room and sat down on it, pulling her into my lap. Her legs slid over mine and she nuzzled her face into my neck, wrapping her arms around me. "I'm going to love him just as much as I love you, Anakin."

That warmed my heart. Even with having a few weeks tops to live, I knew I could trust her with my son. I knew she would love my son. I knew my son would love her. In fact, Ahsoka was almost exactly like his own mother… Ahsoka reminded me of her a little, but Ahsoka was special in her own way and I wanted to show her that before I died.