Ahsoka had a moment of warning from the Force before she heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting. She began to reach for her own lightsabers, but froze when she felt the burn of a 'saber blade near her neck.
"You lied to me," Anakin snarled, glaring at her with fiery yellow eyes.
Ahsoka slowly raised her arms up by her head to show that she wasn't a threat. "I didn't lie about anything."
"Did you think I wouldn't know? That I wouldn't be able to tell as soon as we got here that they aren't here?" he continued, as if she hadn't said anything.
"Anakin, calm down!" Ahsoka shouted. It was absolutely the wrong thing to say, but she was past caring. If Obi-Wan and Padmé were gone, then something bad had happened. "They should be here, and if they aren't then something's happened to them. We don't have time for your dramatics!"
"I am completely calm!" Anakin yelled back before he froze, drawing his lightsaber away from her neck. "Wait, what are you-"
That opening was all she needed. Ahsoka called her lightsabers to her hands and had both of them ignited in a defensive position before he could get another word out.
They stared at each other above the glowing blades of their lightsabers, tensed and ready to move at a second's notice. Neither of them moved. All was silent, the Force stilled in anticipation.
The sudden beeping of Ahsoka's comm broke the tension, Anakin extinguishing his lightsaber first.
"Are you going to attack me once I turn my back?" Ahsoka asked warily.
Anakin shook his head. "It might be news about them."
She didn't take her eyes off of him as she turned off both of her lightsabers and clipped them to her belt then made her way over to answer the comm.
"I flew past a yellow star on my way home," Ahsoka said, the code phrase indicating that she had company.
A spinning image of the Alliance symbol appeared. "Did it have three planets or four?" a deep voice asked.
Ahsoka couldn't keep the slight smile from edging onto her face. "Only one planet. It's good to hear from you, Ben."
"I didn't get your message until we were already off planet," Obi-Wan said. "Otherwise we would have been there to greet you."
"What happened? I thought the plan was to stay here for five years before joining back up with the rest of the Alliance?" Ahsoka asked, ignoring Anakin's questioning looks.
"We ran into a little trouble with Jabba. Apparently there's a bounty on Force sensitive children," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin growled and the Force grew cold with the strength of his anger.
"No need to worry, though," Obi-Wan continued. "River and I took care of it."
"Who's River?" Anakin asked.
Ahsoka ignored him. "Glad to hear everything's okay. Do you have a location in mind for a meet-up? I have a guest who needs to see you and River."
There was a pause, and then "We'll be on Alderaan in a week. I'll send you more details in two days."
"Alderaan in a week," Ahsoka repeated. "Fulcrum out."
She closed the connection and leaned back into the wall with a sigh.
"Thank you," Anakin said quietly, dropping his gaze to the floor.
Ahsoka sighed again, heavier this time. "Just don't attack me again."
She pushed off of the wall and walked out of her ship to go and reassure the Lars that everything was alright, almost missing the whispered "Sorry," from Anakin.
0o0o0
Padmé sat on her bed and pulled her hair back into a single braid that lay flat against her back, letting the feeling of her hair flowing through her fingers banish some of her nerves.
It was just Anakin. She was just going to see Anakin for the first time in three years.
Her brain unhelpfully reminded her that Anakin had helped bring down the Republic, killed so many Jedi, and attacked her. She lost all of the progress she'd made against her nerves by braiding her hair.
"Mama, why does your tummy hurt?" Leia asked, startling Padmé.
She pushed a smile onto her face as she leaned down to pull her daughter into her lap. "I'm nervous, sweetheart."
Leia tilted her head to the side as she thought about Padmé's response. "Why?"
Padmé bit back the urge to sigh. 'Why' had become Leia's favorite word ever since they left Tatooine. "Because I'm going to meet someone that I haven't seen in awhile very soon."
"Oh," Leia said, seeming to accept that answer. "Will you braid my hair like yours, Mama?"
"Of course, honey," Padmé replied.
It didn't take long to braid Leia's hair - she didn't have as much of it - but Padmé felt much calmer when she was done.
Obi-Wan stuck his head into the room. "We've landed."
Padmé lifted Leia off of her lap and set her on the floor. "Remember what I told you and Luke? You have to stay on the ship until either I or Obi-Wan comes to get you."
Leia nodded and scampered off, likely to find Luke.
Padmé pulled in a deep breath, wrapped her calm around herself like a cloak, and let the air escape. She was ready. She let the calmness bleed into confidence. Padmé had gone to her execution with her head held high; she could face her husband.
"Let's go," she said.
Obi-Wan nodded and stepped aside, letting her precede him.
She didn't see him when she walked out of the ship, although she did notice Ahsoka waiting for them.
"Padmé!" Ahsoka exclaimed happily, wrapping her in a tight hug before switching to Obi-Wan. "And Obi-Wan! It's so good to see you two."
"You've gotten even taller, I see," Obi-Wan noted.
Ahsoka smirked. "I'm taller than Skyguy now."
"Speaking of Anakin, where is he?" Padmé asked.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "He's still back in the ship. He claimed he needed to do some last minute checks on his arm.
"I'll go get him," Padmé offered before she could stop herself.
Obi-Wan looked like he wanted to argue, but all he said was "Be careful."
A/N: The last chapter will go up on Friday.
