POV: Ahsoka Skywalker

"Obi-Wan, we have to hurry," I growled, growing impatient. We were just pulling out of hyperspace now and coming up on Coruscant. Once we were at normal speed, we glanced out of the view screen to see what looked like Mustafar on Coruscant.

He began to land the ship, not speaking to me. I could tell that something was on his mind, but it wasn't entirely his worry about Anakin. We landed near the Senate building. I could feel the ocean of evil coming off of the area. Anakin had explained to me that this feeling was pure evil and neither of us had liked it. I couldn't feel Anakin's presence anywhere, but he might be masked beneath the Sith traces. At least that's what I was hoping…

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan whispered. "I can't allow you to come in there. If Anakin's been held in there for four months, who knows what's inside? Anakin wouldn't want you to risk your child for him and I'm actually agreeing with him for once. I'm taking Satine and Padme with me. You and La'shala will stay with the children."

"You can't honestly expect me –"

"Anakin would. Ahsoka, you're almost ready to have your second child. If he's alive and you lost the baby, he'd never forgive himself. You of all people know that he would blame himself for the loss, so please don't do that to him. Stay here, please."

Everything he said made sense, but that didn't mean that I liked it. I could honestly believe that Anakin would blame himself if the baby died. Once he fell into that hole, he'd never come out of it. I sighed and nodded. "I'll stay. I promise."

He spun around in his seat to face me, smiling weakly. "Thank you." We finally landed. He stood from the chair as Padme and Satine entered. "Are you ladies ready to go?"

Both nodded slowly. I turned around and began to break down. Obi-Wan and Satine were at my side, promising that they would bring Anakin back. What they didn't promise was that he would be alive when they brought him back. "Go," I mumbled, regaining myself, and wiping my eyes. I rested on my hands on my stomach and received another kick from the baby. Obi-Wan hugged me lightly, as did Satine. Padme smiled sadly, nodding before she walked out with the couple.

I picked Kaimi up and awkwardly carried her into her shared room with Airi and Shmi. "Mommy?" she whispered, opening her eyes slowly as I laid her onto the bed.

"Yes, baby?"

"Is Daddy okay?"

Her head rested against my chest. I kissed her hair. "I hope he is, baby."

POV: Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Ladies, make sure the blasters are set to stun for the moment. If Anakin is alive, we don't want to kill him. I don't even feel him in the Force, but I can definitely feel Palpatine. They must be close."

"What if he's dead, Obi?"

I frowned, glancing at my wife. "Then we'll give him a proper burial…" I trailed off. "But until then, we need to believe he's alive."

We exited the ship, heading into the Senate building. I held my lightsaber in my left hand, preparing for anything. I also had Anakin's lightsaber attached to my belt. I didn't expect him to be able to fight, but I wanted him to have it back. Several hallways into the building and no one tried to stop us. Satine and Padme held their blasters at their chests, ready to pull the trigger.

"Halt!" a voice yelled from behind us.

We all turned around to see a familiar blue armor piece on a clone. "General!" I ignited my lightsaber, pointing the tip towards him. The ladies raised their blasters. "No, wait! I've been waiting for you to arrive!"

"What do you mean?"

"I knew you'd come for General Skywalker. The Emperor is with him right now, but I can take you to the room when he leaves."

Satine stepped forward, lowering her blaster. She took the comlink off of her wrist and handed it to him. "Contact us when the time is right."

He nodded, placing the com in a compartment on his belt. "I may serve the Emperor, but I will always be loyal to General Skywalker."

"Good man," I whispered, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

He walked away from us, leaving us to our impatient wait. "What if he's lying?" Padme whispered. "He could be leading us to our own deaths if Anakin is already dead."

"I couldn't sense any deception from him."

After almost twenty minutes, my comlink began to beep. "General, I'm coming back for you now." After another few minutes, Rex appeared, and he was alone. "Follow me."

He quietly led us down several hallways until we reached a door that read 'Lab.' I felt sick just imagining what might have been done to him while he was here. We entered to smell a mass of rust and sweat.

In the center of the room, Force bonds were holding a very worn out looking lifeform. As I moved closer to the lifeform, it turned out that it was very human. It was Anakin. He looked to be in a very terrible condition, his head hanging over. His messy hair was matted down at the crown of his head, his bangs falling in front of his face.

Satine and Padme placed their blasters on their belts as I charged towards him. They stood, waiting, in front of him. I slashed furiously through the Force bonds and he slumped forward into their arms, almost lifelessly.

I dropped to the floor beside them, taking Anakin in my arms. "Anakin, please…" I whispered as I looked over him, seeing slash marks galore crisscrossing his back. I rested his head against my chest and felt his neck for a pulse.

There was barely any sign of life. It was so slow that I almost thought he'd died in my arms. Rex came back to us from the doorway. "Do you want me to help you get him back onto the ship?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice after my brief whisper. I draped one of his arms over my shoulder, Rex doing the same with the other arm. Carefully, we lifted him off of the ground and began carrying him out. The entire time we walked out, his head hung forward limply and his feet dragged.

We shuffled down each hallway, the ladies covering us with their blasters. We made it outside and began heading back to the ship. I lowered the ramp with my free hand and Ahsoka was waiting at the top, a look of horror on her face.

We walked up into the ship and quickly carried Anakin into a nearby bedroom. We laid him on the bed and I ran into the closet, seeking the medical droid that we had gotten for Ahsoka a few months ago. "Padme, go start the ship!" She ran out of the room. Satine and Ahsoka were checking Anakin. His face showed no pain and slowly began to pale. I switched the droid on, frantically ordering it to help him.

Satine removed herself from the scene, coming closer to me and wrapping her arms around my waist. I kissed the top of her head, closing my eyes. "He'll be okay, Obi. He's always been strong."

"He's never given up before, so I'm concerned. I can't lose my little brother…"

Her arms wrapped tighter around me. "He'll make it, Obi."

POV: Ahsoka Skywalker

I ran my hands through Anakin's hair, feeling all of the sweat and dried blood. I cringed each time the droid injected something like a stabilizer into him. "I have to go," Rex whispered from the doorway. He was staring at my stomach with widened eyes. He shook his head. "The Emperor will be waiting for me."

I nodded. "Thank you so much, Rex. You have no idea how grateful I am to you for returning him."

"I just wish it had been earlier when he'd actually been fighting The Emperor's words…"

My eyes met his and I nodded. "I agree." I glanced down at Anakin, kissing his forehead lightly. "I'll walk you out, Rex."

I stood from the bed, glancing at Obi-Wan for a moment. I nodded my head toward Anakin, watching him dash over to the bed and take a seat on the bedside. I could only imagine how much torment Anakin had been put through in the last few months… I walked out of the room with Rex at my side. "Commander… Tano?"

"If you're using our old ranks, it would be Commander Skywalker now. Anakin and I married two years ago."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Is this your first child?"

"No," I whispered. "It's our second."

"Ahsoka, if I may ask –"

"I'd rather not talk about this right now, Rex. My husband is in an extreme amount of pain and I want to be there for him. I'll make sure you get into the building safely, but I'm not going with you. I will not abandon him. I never will. I love him too much."

"I understand, Ahsoka, but you know –"

"I remember, but I've been with Anakin for years."

"Just let me ask you why, of all people, did you choose him?"

"I'm not going to answer your questions because I don't have to. Anakin's always been there for me and I know that he truly loves me. He doesn't force me into situations that I don't want to be put into! He's so much more understanding and caring than you ever could be!"

"I saved his life, I deserve –"

"Congratulations, Rex. I've just promoted you to Commander. Get off of the ship."

He nodded as we continued to walk back to the ramp. Once he reached the bottom, he turned back to look at me. "I'll never stop loving you, Ahsoka."

"I want you to stop. I'm happy with Anakin, more than happy actually. Move on."

He sighed and turned away, walking away. "Fire!"

I gasped as blasts began to pound into his chest right before my eyes. "Padme! Fly the ship now!"

"What's –"

"Now!" I screamed into the comlink. I turned backwards, lifting the ramp with the Force. I closed my eyes, willing it to lift faster. Once I heard it shut, the ship began to lift. I heard the engine's whining beneath me as we began to fly into the air. I covered my mouth as tears began to pour down my face. I made my way back to the bedroom, seeing Obi-Wan flip Anakin onto his side. I saw the marks on his back and began to cry harder. "Obi-Wan," I choked.

He glanced back at me and frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Rex was killed."

He stood up and came over to me, pulling me into a light embrace. "Ahsoka…"

"At least he died honorably…" I pulled away from Obi-Wan, wiping my eyes and moving to sit beside Anakin on the bed. For hours, I sat with him on the bed, watching his mouth open and close, his eyes tighten and relax, his fingers flex and curl up. I wanted to cry each time I saw some little indication that he was going through pain. The marks crisscrossing his back would definitely become scars and he would have to live with them for the remainder of his life. I rubbed his bruised muscles lightly, not wanting to cause him any more pain than he already had to face. I laid down and curled up beside him, crying into his chest. I placed my hand on his stomach and felt burn marks along with more scars. "I'm so sorry, Ani. I'm so sorry…"

We'd been alone for a few more hours and I was beginning to drift into sleep. The crying had definitely worn me out, but I couldn't even imagine how tired he would be when he came to. I closed my eyes, resting against his side.

"No… no… no!" he screamed. My eyes opened widely to see Anakin's own blue orbs staring back at me.