POV: Ahsoka Skywalker

Obi-Wan didn't even have to drag me out of the room tonight. After I'd cried against him for a few hours, I walked out beside him. Normally, I'd have him bring me something to eat, but tonight was different. We stopped by his room first and I grabbed Kaimi. I smiled down at my beautiful daughter. "Hey, honey."

"Mommy, are you okay?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"You're sad. Is it because my little sister is getting ready to be dropped off?"

I chuckled, as did Obi-Wan. The imagination of a child is a wonderful and beautiful thing. "I'm fine, baby girl. Your little sister or brother has a little more time than you expect."

"Are you sad because of Daddy?"

I frowned and my heart tightened. Kaimi understood. For being two years old, she actually understood what I was feeling and the reasoning behind it. "Just a little, baby." I clutched her tiny hand in mine and took her out of the bedroom, leading her towards the main room. This ship was big enough for several people to live in, perfect for us. We walked passed La'shala's room. I have to admit, I've been pretty jealous of her for quite some time. She and Anakin seemed to have a little bit of… chemistry. I wasn't their biggest fan because I wanted him all to myself. I guess I finally understood how he felt with the whole Kaydus situation. He'd been extremely jealous and incapable of hiding it. I shook my head as I continued. I stopped when I heard her scream. I released Kaimi and ran back into the room. "La'shala, what happened?"

"Anakin is dying," she gasped, tears falling rapidly down her face. Obi-Wan arrived just in time to hear that. He placed a hand on my shoulder as I gasped, covering my mouth and closing my eyes.

"How do you know that?"

"I was just with him, Obi-Wan. He and I… learned to connect before we separated many years ago."

Again, the jealousy returned, but it wasn't worth it. At least she could tell me what was happening to my husband. "Where is he?" I asked, opening my eyes.

"Coruscant. Palpatine has him in a cell and he's being tortured. Just looking at him made me feel sick…" she paused, glancing at me. "I'm not saying that he looks horrible, but the torment and pain he's gone through in the last few months has really worn him down. He's killing himself from the inside. He's giving up…"

Obi-Wan darted out of the room with Kaimi, most likely heading toward the pilot's area and plotting our course back to Coruscant, the world of evil now. "He can't give up. He has to believe that we'll come looking for him!"

"It's been four months, Ahsoka. Anakin can't hold onto his hope anymore. He's been put through so much. You're just lucky that you didn't hear any of the thoughts running through his mind. He wants Palpatine to kill him."

"Can you get into contact with him again?"

"If I do, he'll get severely injured. He's lucky that he was able to hold a link with me for a minute. I can't put him through that again."

"As much as it hurts me to say this, you have to get back into his mind. You need to tell him that we're coming for him! He can't just give up. I won't let him!"

"Ahsoka, he might –"

"Do it!" I cried, tears falling down my face faster. Through blurred vision, I watched her eyes close and she began to meditate. As far as I knew, she wasn't Force-sensitive, so I wondered how she was able to form a bond with Anakin's mind.

She mumbled something, her eyes tightening as she sat on the floor. She groaned in pain as she turned her head to the left violently. "Come on," she whispered. "Listen to me." I held my stomach, feeling the baby kick with a tremendous amount of strength put into it. La'shala gasped and opened her eyes, falling forward. "He won't listen to me. He thinks I'm lying to him. He thinks I'm Palpatine."

"No! We can't let him die!" I hit the comlink on my wrist, contacting Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan, how soon can we get to Coruscant?"

"It'll take a few hours. What's wrong?"

"La'shala just tried to contact Anakin again. He's not trying to keep himself alive. He doesn't believe anything she's told him about us coming for him. We need to save him quickly…"

"I'll do my best to increase the speed. Anakin's taught me a few things over the years. Let's hope I can remember some of his lessons."

I closed the connection, running out of the room. I went into the lower decks where the engines for the ship were. I walked over to a control panel, trying to increase the speed. Obi-Wan needed to stay in the pilot's room, so I decided to try to help out. Padme ran up beside me, helping me hit controls and rewire some things. "Why are you helping me?"

"I want him back just as much as you do," she whispered. "I don't want him to die."

As angry as that should have made me, I decided to keep calm and continue working. If we wanted Anakin alive, we'd have to work together. I'd chew her out later for her emotions towards my husband, but as of right now, I didn't want to fight her. I glanced at the wiring that she was moving. "Don't do that!"

"Why not?"

"You'll short circuit everything. Those two can't cross, but these two can."

She stared at the wires and nodded. "Thanks, Ahsoka."

We finished what we were working on. I hit the button on my comlink again, connecting with Obi-Wan. "Jump to lightspeed. We can get there faster now."

"Oh, Ahsoka, you are too much like Anakin…"

"He is my husband after all," I chuckled. "I know him too well."

"I know…" he trailed off.

I ran out of the engineering section and made my way upstairs. "Ahsoka?"

I turned around to face Padme. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry for all of the stress that I've put on you. I'm jealous of you. I wanted Anakin back years ago, but I never found the right timing to talk to him about it. When I found out about you having Kaimi, I thought I was slowly losing my time. Now that you're having another one and you're married, I've lost every tie that I once shared with him. I miss him, Ahsoka, because I hurt him so much. I just want him to be a bigger picture in my life. I love him."

I sighed, biting my lip, unsure of what to do. "The three of us will discuss this later after we rescue him, okay?"

She nodded and together we ran to the bridge. I was a bit upset with her for wanting to steal my husband, but she'd had him before I did. They both loved each other, even if she had loved him after they separated, but I was undecided as to whether or not I could completely sever Anakin from her. They were still tied to each other through Shmi and I didn't want to force him away from his first daughter. We reached the bridge and Obi-Wan was staring out of the view screen, holding Kaimi's hand. Once the door closed, Kaimi turned around. "Mommy!"

She released Obi-Wan and ran over to me, outstretching her arms. I knelt down and carefully pulled her against me. "Kaimi, everything is –"

"We need to help Daddy!" she cried out angrily. "He can't leave me! He told me that he'd always be here for me…"

Tears rolled down her little face. I pulled back to stroke her cheeks and trace the facial markings lining her features. She looked more like me, but she was just as much like Anakin in personality. Her face markings were exactly identical to mine. I ran my hands through her hair. "Everything's going to be okay, baby girl. We're going to help Daddy and bring him back."

"Why is Daddy trying to die?"

"You wouldn't understand, Kaimi…"

"Tell me, Mommy. I want to know."

"Daddy's just… really sad and lost right now." I sighed, closing my eyes. "He'll be okay. We can save him."

POV: Anakin Skywalker

I screamed as loud as I possibly could, my eyes closed tightly. I heard Palpatine's cackling over the sound of the electricity. His hand was pressed against my chest and sending shocks through me. "We're going to rescue you. I don't want to hurt you, Anakin. I love you. Ahsoka loves you." I shook my head, crying out again as the pain increased.

"No!" I screamed, throwing my head backwards. "No!"

The electricity stopped, but the pain continued. "What's wrong, my boy? You can't handle this anymore? Well, that's just too bad. Your life is going to get so much more complicated before I kill you. I will hunt down your family and kill them, one by one."

I opened my eyes, my vision blurred. Tears streaked my face as my voice strained to speak. "I… I won't… let… you…"

"You have no control in this matter, Anakin. I will do whatever I possibly can to destroy your happiness and strip your life away piece by insignificant piece. None of them deserve to live, including you.

"Daddy!" a voice screamed into my head. I clenched my fingers together, my wrists tightening at their bonds. "Daddy, can you hear me?"

"Kaimi?" I thought back, hoping to get through.

"Daddy!" I felt a weight being lifted from my shoulder and small hands gripping mine. I looked up to see nothing in my hand, but the feeling remained. Everything in the room grew brighter and distant. I focused on Palpatine, seeing his darkened robes becoming whiter. The bonds on my wrists seemed loose and my chest no longer heaved in pain and breathlessness. My eyes didn't sting from the tears threatening to fall after the first river finished pouring. Every feeling of pain and hopelessness had vanished. I felt stronger, but I'd seen this light before. I knew my time was finally coming and that no one would be able to rescue me. The voice of my daughter returned, screaming and pleading. "No! Daddy, no!"

"It'll all… be… okay… baby girl…" I gasped, my eyes slowly closing. "I… love… you…"

The light around me began to fade as my head began to fall forward. My eyes closed and darkness overwhelmed me.

POV: Ahsoka Skywalker

My hand was resting on the back of Obi-Wan's chair as we both continued to glance at the control panel that indicated how far from Coruscant we were, or rather, how close we were getting. "Just a few more minutes."

I sighed in relief, closing my eyes. A high-pitched scream made my eyes snap open. I turned around to see Kaimi crying uncontrollably, a hand clutching at her chest where her heart was. "Daddy!"

I ran to her, kneeling, and pulled her against me. "He's going to be okay. Don't worry."

"He's leaving! He can't, he promised!"

"How do you know this, Kaimi? Your father –"

"I was with him, Mommy! I felt his hand and I made him feel better. He didn't see me! He didn't see me!" she screamed. She kept repeating that Anakin hadn't seen her.

"Anakin," I whispered into the bond he and I shared. I felt nothing coming from his end and that worried me so much. "Anakin!" I hoped that I was getting through to him, but there was no indication that I'd gone through or that he was receiving my words. I held Kaimi tighter and felt the baby continue to kick me. I rested my hand on my stomach. "Oh, my babies…" It felt as if both children knew that something was happening to their father. It was extremely surprising. Kaimi was able to visit Anakin and this one… I couldn't even explain how this one understood anything…