POV: Anakin Skywalker

I groaned and rolled over on the bed. It was dark out now. I reached out to touch Ahsoka, but she wasn't lying beside me. I lurched into an upright position and quickly scanned the room. "Ahsoka?"

I got off of the bed, pulling my lightsaber into my hand, and ran into the hallway. "Soka?" I whispered.

My head was pounding and I wasn't sure if it was from the drinks Satine had shared with me earlier or from the amount of worry right now. I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't feel anything either.

I slowly crept through the halls until I heard a loud crashing sound. I spun around only to receive a swift kick to the stomach. I fell to my knees, gasping.

"Anakin?"

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Don't you ever take those boots off?"

He helped me up. "Sorry. I didn't think it was you. I can't see or feel anything."

"Nor can I. Obi-Wan, is Satine safe?"

"Yes. I just left the room. I thought I heard something going on out here, so I came to check it out. As it appears, I couldn't find the source, but I did find you. Is Ahsoka all right?"

"I'm not sure."

I heard a scream. Ahsoka's scream. I held my lightsaber tighter in my hand as we raced through the hall. I ignited my blade so we'd have some light to use. Obi-Wan ignited his own, adding an extra amount of blue to the corridors.

I heard another ignition and a green light flooded out of a room. I put the Force into my step as the emerald light began to move with red light behind it. I darted into the room and immediately leapt across the room.

I slammed my blade onto her attacker and Obi-Wan was right beside me. She backed up and deactivated her saber.

"I should have known you were here!"

"Ventress," I growled. She kicked out Obi-Wan's leg, rendering him useless for the moment.

She back flipped away from me and I quickly pursued her, slashing my saber to collide with hers. "Anakin!"

Ventress pressed down on my blade, forcing me to my knees. "She's not alone!"

I looked over my shoulder. Lightning crashed against my back and I cried out. I ground my teeth and let go of my saber. I heard it clatter against the floor as I crashed down onto my knees for the second time.

I heard Ahsoka struggling behind me. Ventress must have gotten to her.

I groaned in agony for a few moments longer before spinning around, taking the lightning to the chest. I threw my mechanical hand out and began to clench my fingers. I was attempting to take Ventress out before the lightning killed me.

My throat tightened and I couldn't breathe. Dooku was using the Force to choke me like I was on Ventress.

Dark clouds began to fill my vision and I still had no ability to breathe. "Anakin!"

My eyes rolled back into my head and I was lost to the darkness.

POV: Ahsoka Tano

Six hours later.

I kept crying out for Anakin. Dooku and Ventress had knocked all three of us out and had taken us to some laboratory of some sort.

I was alone in a dark room and I was strapped to some table. My baby kicked and I felt tears brimming in my eyes. I knew that the Council wanted me back because of my child, but what if the Separatists wanted it as well?

I wondered how they had even learned about it. Anakin and I had disappeared for months.

A bright light flashed above me and I turned my head away, blinking quickly. I heard low, robotic chuckling and then cool fingers ran over my stomach. "I hear that you're going to have a powerful lifeform within a few months," the monotonous voice laughed at me. "Well, you won't have to wait months for its arrival. You'll be able to hold your child within minutes."

"No!" I screamed. "You can't do that! I don't want you to hurt my baby!"

The fingers stroked my cheek. "Relax, girl. Your baby will be born now as it would in a nine month period. I have learned to quicken the pregnancy of young women."

Tears fell down my face, trickling onto the sides of my montrals. "I want my baby right where it is," I growled.

The fingers left my cheek and a needle pricked my skin. I felt something running through my bloodstream and I screamed. I screamed as a sharp pain hit my stomach.

It felt like my baby was growing quickly inside of me. My stomach was stretching further and further until it felt like it had been nine months time.

"And now the time has come for your precious child to be born."

My pants and underwear were pulled off and I closed my eyes as I felt contractions. "Anakin," I whispered into my head. "Anakin!" I couldn't help the scream that I let loose within my own mind.

"Ahsoka? What's… what's going on?"

"The baby…" I screamed again.

I felt his fury through our bond and then I felt his pain. As the pain increased, his anger rose above it.

I screamed as the person in the room whispered, "I can see its head."

Within minutes, I felt the cool fingers press against my opening and I felt my baby moving. I instinctively began to push, crying out a little as I did so. I didn't want to let my baby go, but I had to. It couldn't survive much longer inside of me with the size it had become.

After a few more pushes, I heard the baby's screams. More tears flowed down my face. "It's a girl," the monotonous voice said, shocked.

"Anakin…" His pain stopped for a moment and I feared the worst. "Anakin!"

"I'm… still… here…" he gasped. "What's wrong with the baby?"

I watched as the man held my child and walked out of the room with it. I screamed, "No!"

I began to thrash about, wanting to break the binds on my wrists and ankles. "What's going on?" he shouted at me.

"He… took the baby…" I gasped. "My baby!"

The next few minutes consisted of my crying, Anakin's nonstop string of profanities, and his constant pain.

"I'm coming for you."

"No, don't. Get the baby!"

"Damn it! I'm coming for you! We will rescue our child!"

I had no idea how he'd gotten himself out of whatever had held him, but he'd gone through a lot of pain.

Minutes later, the door was pulled out of its hinges and into the hallway. I closed my eyes as I felt Anakin's mechanical hand snap the binders off of my ankles. He moved up to my wrists and did the same thing.

He helped me sit up and I cried against his chest. His arms wrapped tightly around me and his forehead pressed against the center of my montrals. His mechanical hand held my face against his chest.

I felt his sadness, but he was controlling it better. My body was shaking and I didn't want him to let me go. I rubbed his arm and he lifted his head. "Get my clothes," I whispered, wiping my eyes.

He nodded and quickly bent to grab them. He slid them onto me and helped me off of the table. My lower area was in pain, but I wanted to save my baby. My daughter.

"It's a girl?"

I nodded silently, sniffling. He lifted me into his arms and ran out of the room. We were met up by Obi-Wan outside of the laboratory.

I felt his eyes on my stomach and I saw his face full of shock. "I can't feel that bastard," Anakin growled. "He's gone…"

Anakin set me down and Obi-Wan quickly helped me stand up. Anakin moved to the edge of the stairway and put his hands on the side of his head, pulling at his hair. "Force damn it!" he screamed.

Obi-Wan held me in a friendly manner, rubbing my back. I watched in horror as Anakin fell to his knees and slammed his flesh hand against the concrete. I heard the sickening snap of his knuckles and I cringed against Obi-Wan.

I gently pushed myself off of Obi-Wan and stumbled as I walked over to Anakin. I fell to my knees beside him and put my hand on his back.

Obi-Wan's presence became further away. I assumed he was going to go search for a ship of some sort so we could get out of here.

I leaned against Anakin and he straightened himself up, pulling me against his side. I saw tears streaking his cheeks as he stared at me. His lips quivered and his body shook violently.

"I can't do this anymore," he whispered. "I couldn't protect you. I couldn't protect our daughter. What the frak do I have to live for if I can't protect the ones I love the most?"

His injured hand rested on my flattened stomach. "I hate… I hate what they did to you…"

I couldn't speak because my throat wouldn't let me. I threw myself at him and he held me tightly. I cried into his neck and he silently cried as well.

A large wind blew around us and we looked in the direction of a landing ship. A small ship landed a short distance away from us and the ramp lowered to reveal Obi-Wan.

Anakin helped me up and attempted to carry me again. His hand didn't let him and neither did I. I limped slightly until we reached the ship, then I crashed onto the floor against a wall. He sat beside me and wrapped his arm around me, being very aware of his hand.

Obi-Wan gave us a very sad, apologetic look before heading into the cockpit. He began to fly the ship.

I stared up at Anakin. His face was contorted in pure agony and his eyes were closed. I saw what he wished he could do to himself right now and I didn't want that. "Stop it," I pleaded. "I can't lose you, too."

He opened his eyes and looked down at me. "What are we even going to call her? We didn't think of any names."

I held his arm as I scooted closer to him. "We don't have to decide on anything specific right now. I want to do something with our names though."

"Why our names?"

"Well, I, for one, want your name to be in hers…"

"I don't."

"Why?"

"Because it'll be a reminder that I'm just a failure…"

"We're using your name and that's that. Now you just figure out some names that could work around that."

He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "Anika. Anisoka. Ahso'kin. Anaso," he whispered. "I don't know. That's all I've got right now. I'm still upset with myself, so I'd like it much better if we just used something in reference to your name, like Ahsoke or something."

He looked down at me and I kissed his shoulder. "Those are all pretty names."

"Well, we can only have one for it." He made a funny face. "Her."

I reached up and stroked his cheek. "It'll take some getting used to. We weren't supposed to have her for another five months…"

"I couldn't be there with you…" he said sadly. "I mean, I heard you screaming and I saw what you saw, but I wasn't there. I wasn't there to comfort you and tell you that everything would be okay. I didn't get to hold your hand or her…"

"Don't worry. Once we get her back, you can hold her all you want and you can always hold my hand…"

"It won't be the same," he whispered fiercely. "I wanted to be there when she was born. I wanted to tell you that everything would be just fine and I wanted to… I wanted to be there with you both because it was something I looked forward to…"

"I know it won't make you feel any better, but I didn't get to hold her either. He told me that she was a girl and then he left. I didn't get to touch her or even see her face."

"I just want her back and I want her now."