POV: Ahsoka Tano

Anakin had immersed himself into the crowded rooms full of our guests. I couldn't even find him at this point. I, however, got caught in a circle of my aunts' gossip. I didn't actually contribute to this by saying anything that would fuel their flames. They were talking about rumors of my parents splitting because of my marriage, which I did believe because my mother was ignorant. She didn't understand why I would choose Anakin over anyone else. The fact that my mother and her siblings kept ripping on my father and on my fiancé meant that my mother was blind. She couldn't see love the way Anakin and I did.

I was getting really upset with what was being said, so I wandered off towards the kitchen in hopes of finding Anakin. He popped out of the kitchen with too many dishes for one man to handle alone. For a moment, I stared at him with widened eyes. He had gone to so much trouble to make all of this food, invite all of these guests, and everything else. "Sweetie, why don't you let me help you?"

He chuckled as I took a few dishes from the top of the pile. "Thanks, my love. Can you, please, put those in the middle of the living room?"

"Not a problem." He kissed my cheek before walking off to place the dishes around the room. I walked back into the room and overheard my aunts as I was about to set the food down.

"The little slut is such a disgrace. I mean really. Who marries a slave? Who lets one have sex with them?" They began to snicker and make snide comments. I tried to tune them out, but they just kept going. "She obviously can't keep her legs together if she's continuously popping out other men's' babies. Her mother's told me that she's such a little whore."

Immediately, the dishes slipped out of my hands and crashed down onto the floor. I closed my eyes and tried my best to keep myself from going off in front of everyone. Within moments, Anakin's comforting hands were on me. I could hear the worry in his voice as he spoke. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" he whispered.

I opened my eyes and didn't even look at him. I glared at my aunts. "So you all think that I'm using Anakin for sex and defiance?" I shouted. Anakin lightly grabbed my shoulders and I shrugged him off. I was getting tired of being insulted because I was in love with him. He was a perfectly good man and he shouldn't be put down by my snobbish family. "Look at you four! You have no kids! Your damn husbands left you for humans!"

"You little –"

"I have three beautiful children and the perfect husband to be! You can all shove that attitude and bitching up your Force damned asses!"

Everyone stared at me. I could even feel Anakin's shock. He gently touched my back as my entire face began to burn. My montrals and lekku were probably the hottest part of my body right now. I turned and slammed myself into Anakin's chest so I wouldn't have to look at anyone anymore. He wrapped his arms around me lovingly and kissed my left montral tip. I clutched the sides of his shirt tightly and I listened to his even breathing. "I would very much appreciate it if you left without another word," he whispered.

My heart was racing in my chest. I'd never gone off on anyone like that before. Anakin rubbed my back and began to plant kisses on my montrals. I was upset with myself for blowing up on my aunts after all that Anakin had gone through to get in touch with them. "Ani, I'm so sorry," I whispered, my voice muffled by his chest.

"For what?" he asked, laughing lightly. "You did what you needed to do, my love. I'm proud of you. You're proving to everyone that you've grown up and you've grown stronger."

I sighed heavily before moving back a bit to stare into his beautiful, blue eyes. "Do you really mean that? Are you really proud of me?"

"Of course." His lips curved into a smile and I couldn't help but smile back at him. It was almost as if his smile were contagious. "I'm always going to be proud of my little Padawan," he teased.

I giggled as he nudged me playfully in the ribs with his knuckles. I stared up at the man I was planning to marry soon. He had changed so much since our years together in the Jedi Order. He was… happier. He was much more attuned to his senses and a bit more skillful. I wanted to be just like him. I always wanted to be just like him. "Can… Ani, can I ask a huge favor of you?"

"Anything you want is yours," he insisted, smiling wider. I saw the light in his eyes as he stared at me. He'd always offer me anything as long as he was capable of giving it to me. "Would you be willing to… teach me how to be a bounty hunter?"

He chuckled. "Definitely. Can I ask why you're suddenly interested in learning about it?"

I bit my lip and clutched the sides of his shirt tighter. "I just want to be back on even ground with you," I whispered. "I want to be able to shoot a blaster as well as you can. I don't want to have to rely on the Force every moment of every day for the rest of my life."

He kissed my nose gently. "All right, love. I'll teach you on two conditions."

"Two?"

"One, you know what I want you to do with that bikini I bought for you not too long ago…"

"Done," I said, smiling widely at him. I knew exactly what he wanted me to do with that.

"Two, I'd like it very much if you could also help me level our playing grounds. I need… assistance in learning the Force again. I've hardly used it in years."

I smirked. "Done, but now I have a condition that I want you to follow." He gave me a look and I continued. "The ways of the Force will be taught in the bedroom on occasion." I winked at him and he burst into laughter before kissing the left side of my mouth quickly.

"I love the sound of that."

Later.

I'd finished opening all of my presents before Rain. I was sitting in Anakin's lap with his arms around me as she continued to enjoy herself. My aunts were still here and I knew that they were still talking about how much of a disgrace I am to the family because I want to marry the love of my life. Anakin kissed my neck, biting me once. "Talk to me, Ahsoka. I know something's bothering you."

I twisted a little to stare up at him. "We'll talk later. I don't want to fall apart here or cause another scene."

"I promise you that I'll make you feel so much better once everyone's gone."

"Oh, you'd better," I teased, smirking at him.

He rolled his eyes before smiling sweetly at me. "What kind of fiancé would I be if I let you suffer when I knew I could do something about it?"

I kissed his cheek quickly and he rested his chin on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his. "I love you, Anakin."

"You're going to love me more after Rain's done."

Rain had finally opened her last gift. It was an overstuffed Taun Taun. She smiled and hugged it tightly before setting it down. She knew not to act displeased when a gift was given to her. If she told me she didn't like something, I'd take her shopping in a couple days and get it refunded for something she actually wanted. She set the little Taun Taun down and stared at Anakin. "What's next, Daddy?"

Anakin gently pushed me off of his lap and pushed himself up into a standing position. I could feel his excitement as he glanced at me. "Stay right there."

I watched him quickly spin around and jog into the kitchen and I smiled. This was my first birthday with him as my boyfriend. Fiancé. I had to remember that he'd proposed to me earlier today. I stared at the ring on my finger and my heart skipped a beat.

I heard him struggle a little and I glanced back up as he returned to the room with a huge dish. My jaw literally dropped to the floor when he set it down on the table. I pushed myself up and walked over to him. I gasped when I saw how gigantic the cake was. My eyes immediately darted towards him because it did not look like he bought this. "Did you make this?" I whispered, sounding incredulous.

"You bet I did," he whispered, smiling proudly at me.

"When did you even have the time to do this?"

"Between love making sessions," he whispered, teasing me. "I took a little time when you were sleeping this morning. I wanted it to be fresh for today, so I waited." Now that I had the chance to give him a once over, I saw how tired he looked. My heart sank when I realized that he'd gone to such effort to bring my family and our friends here and bake my cake as well.

"Ani, this doesn't look like it took a little time."

"Just be happy," he pleaded.

I threw my arms around his neck and he laughed lightly, returning the partial embrace. "I'm shocked, but I love you, Ani. I love this cake. You put so much effort into my and Rain's birthday…"

"I put effort into everything involving you…"

"I'm going to give you so much of my effort tonight…"

He laughed again. "Cake first. I hope you like it."

Obi-Wan came up to us, smiling weakly. "The twins are asleep now," he whispered.

"Perfect," I breathed. "Thank you so much, Obi-Wan." I glanced up at Anakin and saw how he diverted his eyes away from Obi-Wan. It made me feel uncomfortable to be between them because the tension was so intense. I rested my hand on Anakin's chest and smiled thankfully at Obi-Wan.

Anakin stepped away and moved to find the candles. Once he found them, he placed twenty-three of them into the frosting quickly. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my shoulder and left lek. Rain was standing on a stool beside us, her eyes lit up in excitement. I took her hand and squeezed it gently as everyone gathered around us.

Shortly afterwards, Anakin began to sing 'Happy Birthday' for the two of us. Most of them slurred my name along with Rain's, but Anakin didn't. His amazing voice was the only one I heard the most clearly. I squeezed Rain's hand again and we both blew out all of the candles. She cheered and everyone began to clap with her.

I think this was the happiest I've ever seen my daughter. Anakin leaned towards her for a few moments and ran his fingers through her long hair before kissing her forehead. "Happy birthday, my little love," he whispered, smiling at her. She threw her arms up at him and he embraced her lovingly.

I couldn't help but smile at them. She darted off to find my dad and he watched her run off. It was my turn to wind my arms around his waist. I rested the side of my face against his back and smiled when he touched my hands. "You're a wonderful Daddy," I whispered to him. "And an amazing future husband."

He turned slowly, giving me time to attack him if I wanted to. I giggled when he held both of my hands in his. "I love you and our babies. Even if Rain isn't fifty percent mine, I still consider her my baby."

"I love you," I whispered, pressing myself up against him. I listened to his heart beat and smiled.

He squeezed me gently. "Happy birthday, my love."