Forever In My Heart
By RocketFAN
Chapter 11: Lost and Found
"Wait… didn't we come from that way?" Ahsoka asked while pointing to the North. She and her Master had been walking for hours hoping to find anyone who could help them get in contact with the Republic. So far, they had found no one, and it was starting to get dark. To make matters worse, they had no idea how to get back to the safety of their ship, as Ahsoka had accidently lost the transmitter that Anakin had given her to keep safe, much to his discontent.
"No, we came from the western edge where the sun rises," Anakin replied with a hint of panic in his voice.
"Admit it, Skyguy; we're lost, aren't we?" Ahsoka sneered as she sat down on a large rock and clutched her very pregnant belly with a soft groan.
"Of course we're not lost! I'm just… not entirely sure where we are," Anakin said while unsuccessfully looking in every direction for something familiar.
"Yup, we're lost," Ahsoka sighed heavily as Anakin approached the rock and sat down next to her.
"Uh…I knew this was a bad idea," Anakin groaned as he placed his hands behind his head and laid back.
"That's real reassuring, Master," Ahsoka said sarcastically as she shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, if you hadn't lost the transmitter, we would at least be able to get back to the ship!" Anakin snapped at her out of frustration.
"Oh, don't try and pin this one on me, Skyguy! You were the one who crash landed us on this god-forsaken planet!" Ahsoka spat back angrily. The deadly combination of her naturally aggressive Togruta attitude mixed with her raging hormones truly made her a force to be reckoned with.
They both sat in an uncomfortable silence as several large drops fell on them from above.
"Oh, great… it's raining. Just when things couldn't get any better," Ahsoka scoffed irritably.
"Come on, we have to find shelter," Anakin suggested as he jumped down from the rock and led them to higher ground.
"Master! Slow down!" Ahsoka yelled from a few yards below as Anakin had left her in his dust as they made their way up a steep and now slippery rock face.
"Keep up, Snips!" Anakin replied, deliberately pushing her buttons.
"For star's sake, I'm pregnant, wait for me! What is wrong with you?!" Ahsoka growled angrily as she caught up to her Master, refusing to let the rain or her belly slow her down.
"Just getting even with you for that stunt you pulled earlier," Anakin said sharply, referring to the incident that led to the loss of the transmitter.
"Verd ori'shya beskar'gam," Ahsoka replied spitefully in Togruti, her native language that she had learned from fellow Togruta Jedi, Shaak Ti, who was a senior member of the Jedi Council.
"We're saved! Look, a cavern!" Anakin shouted suddenly as he spotted a small cavern on the overhang of the rock face.
"Oh, thank you!" Ahsoka sighed gleefully while nearly knocking Anakin off the side of the cliff as she raced to the entrance of the warm, dry cavern.
"Geez, don't let me get in your way!" Anakin muttered to himself as he approached the very back of the cavern where Ahsoka had quickly settled in.
"Oh…my feet hurt," Ahsoka groaned while pulling off her boots and rubbing her swollen, aching feet.
"Here… allow me," Anakin offered kindly as he took over, gently massaging her feet and allowing her to relax back into him.
"Thanks," she mumbled into his robe as she buried her face in his chest.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Snips," Anakin said ruefully after a few quiet moments.
"For what?" Ahsoka asked while pulling back and looking her Master in the eye.
"You know… for snapping at you earlier… I didn't mean it," he apologized while pulling her closer and wrapping the excess of his heavy cloak around her shoulders.
"Its okay, Skyguy… I suppose I haven't been a ray of sunshine myself lately," Ahsoka chuckled softly as she snuggled into her Master's warm embrace.
"Well… that's not entirely your fault," Anakin said with a small smile while placing his hand on her swollen belly.
"Isn't that right?" He asked her unborn baby.
"I'm tired," Ahsoka yawned wearily and rested her head against Anakin's chest.
"Get some rest, Snips… we're safe in here," Anakin said as he gently pulled her into his lap and lovingly stroked her face until she fell asleep. As his Padawan slept soundly in his arms, Anakin listened to her gentle breathing along with the sound of the heavy rainfall outside, which was actually quite calming. After an hour or so, he carefully lifted her off his lap and laid her down next to him before he too, succumbed to his fatigue and fell asleep.
***FIVE HOURS LATER***
As Anakin slept soundly, Ahsoka was suddenly awoken by the feeling of something warm and wet running down her legs.
"Oh, no!" She gasped softly as she felt between them and realized that her water had broken!
"Snips? What's wrong?" Anakin asked her groggily, sensing her distress.
"I-I think…I think my water just broke!" Ahsoka replied in a panic as she saw how much of the clear discharge had actually come out of her.
"It's okay, you can have some of mine," Anakin yawned while blindly handing her his water bottle.
"Not that water, Master!" Ahsoka shouted frantically as Anakin realized what she had meant and sprung to his feet.
"Okay…d-don't panic! L-let's just s-stay calm and not panic!" Anakin stammered frantically as Ahsoka started breathing heavily.
"It's okay, Snips… we can get through this," Anakin said encouragingly.
"Ugh!" Ahsoka cried out as a stabbing pain ripped through her abdomen.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Anakin said quietly.
***THREE HOURS LATER***
"AH! It hurts!" Ahsoka screamed as another bolt of excruciating pain shot through her abdomen. She had been in labor for almost four hours and had never been in so much pain in her life!
"Just breathe, Snips," Anakin tried to calm his Padawan as she screamed in pain. There was no doubt in his mind now… she was having the baby, ready or not!
"Oh Force, this can't be happening! Not here, not now!" Ahsoka sobbed helplessly as Anakin removed his cloak and draped it over her waist and legs.
"Ahsoka, I'm going to check and see if the baby is actually starting to emerge, okay?" Anakin said while quickly pulling her leggings and panties down to her ankles.
"What?! You're gonna look… down there?" Ahsoka replied in horror while locking her legs together.
"Ahsoka, this is no time for modesty, now spread'em!" Anakin insisted as he placed a hand on each of her knees and pried her legs apart.
"Oh, crap…," Anakin said softly when he saw that the baby was indeed starting to crown.
"What? What's wrong?!" Ahsoka asked alarmingly when she saw the look on her Master's face.
"It looks like your almost there, Snips," Anakin said calmly.
"What?! Already?!" Ahsoka cried as panic started to set in.
"Its okay, Snips… I'm going to help you, okay?" Anakin explained as Ahsoka laid back and nodded, leaving her pride at the door and granting him permission to do what he needed to do.
"Okay," she said softly as Anakin rubbed his hands together to warm them up.
"Just relax… I'll be gentle, I promise," Anakin reassured his Padawan as he gently slipped his hands a few inches inside her and carefully took hold of the baby's head to help guide it out.
"Ah!" Ahsoka gasped sharply as Anakin slowly eased the baby's head out.
"Come on, Snips, you gotta help me out here! Push!" Anakin urged her to push as the baby's head fully emerged.
"I can't…," Ahsoka said tearfully as she screamed in pain.
"Yes, you can! Come on Snips, PUSH!" Anakin demanded her in frustration as she refused to help out and push.
"AHH!" Ahsoka screamed with one fierce, final push as a new sound filled the cavern: the strong cry of a healthy baby.
"He's out!" Anakin announced as Ahsoka breathlessly collapsed against the wall.
"Is-is he okay?" She asked weakly as Anakin cleaned the screaming newborn off and wrapped him in his warm outer shirt that he had removed to wrap the baby in.
"He's perfect," Anakin said with a smile as he handed her the relatively clean and very healthy baby boy.
"And he's not as funny looking as you thought he would be," he added as the adorable baby continued to scream his head off.
"Oh… hi baby," Ahsoka said softly, beaming down at her beautiful newborn.
"He looks more Togruta than human, don't you think?" Anakin observed as he sat down next to his Padawan and gently stroked the baby's light crimson face, which was several shades lighter than Ahsoka's.
"Yeah… he looks like me," Ahsoka smiled as she studied her baby's unusual Togruta markings, which were very similar to her own, though the white pigmentation on his face was more concentrated around his striking blue eyes.
"Well?" Anakin asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"Well what?" Ahsoka replied in a bit of a daze.
"Well… what are you going to name him?" Anakin asked more anxiously.
"Oh…I don't know," Ahsoka said while biting her lip.
"Why don't you do the honor?" She said after a few minutes of deep thought.
"Me?! Oh, no, no…no. He's your baby, you name him," Anakin stammered timidly as he backed away with his hands up.
"Come on, Master…you did deliver him. Who better to name him than you?" Ahsoka urged her Master while gently handing the baby back to him.
"Ok," Anakin agreed softly as he looked down at the now calmer baby, studying him closely.
"Cayden," he finally said after several minutes.
"I like "Cayden"," Ahsoka said with a smile as Anakin handed her baby, who was now asleep back to her.
"Hi, Cayden. I can't believe your finally here," Ahsoka said softly as tears of joy ran down her face as she held her son tight, gently rocking him in her arms.
"Hey, little guy," Anakin said while trying to suppress a sob. The sheer pride and joy in Ahsoka's eyes as she cradled her newborn baby touched his heart so deeply, it brought tears to his own eyes.
"Oh, Master… thank you," Ahsoka said softly as she held her baby in one arm and wrapped the other around Anakin's neck, pulling him close to her and kissing him on the cheek.
A/N: Yay! Ahsoka is a mommy! Does that make Anakin a Grandpa? He he, there will be one more chapter after this to tie up loose ends and get them back to Coruscant safely. In addition, we will see what happens to little Cayden once the Council gets the news that he has arrived.