"Ahsoka?"

Barriss Offee peered out of the Temple doorway. The roof gardens were typically lush, situated above the Room of a Thousand Fountains, and the gentle murmur of the rushing waters poured upwards to mingle with the steady babble of the city around them. It was an insulator against the hysteria of the city. Sometimes even an insulator against the hysteria of the mind.

"I'm over here," the togruta called out from the southwestern corner. She was perched in one of the twisting trees, but looked back to give Barriss a smile, tired as it was.

"I didn't see you at dinner..."

Ahsoka grimaced. "Shaak steak and orzo, again."

"...so that's why I brought you a nutbutter sandwich instead."

A genuine smile slowly crossed over Ahsoka's face as she took the small package from the other Jedi padawan. "Thanks." The paper wrapper around the sandwich crinkled as Ahsoka pulled it back. "How long have you been looking for me? Or am I starting to get predictable already?"

"Just a lucky guess. That and you had that look on your face all day today."

"What look?"

"The one that means something's bothering you." The leaves of the tree shook a little as Barriss climbed up into the branches as well to perch beside her friend. "So what's wrong?"

Ahsoka swung her legs idly in the air. "It's not... I don't know if wrong is really the word." Nervous energy made her fingers twitch, digging into the bark of the tree. "Something might be going very right. But it's bothering me. Something... really important is happening." She dragged out a flustered sigh. "I just don't know what it is."

Barriss said nothing, merely taking out a thermos and uncorking it. The hot fruit cider's steam was spicy in a comforting way. "Things are happening all the time."

"I mean - importantthings. ...Something that I should know about."

"The Force doesn't owe us an explanation," Barriss teased.

"Someone's lyingto me," she snapped, voice momentarily hot with anger before she let it out in a sigh, escaping up into the city like steam from the sewers. "I just... I don't know."

"We can't always know, Ahsoka." Barriss took a long sip of the cider, watching Ahsoka's face out of the corner of her eye. "Plenty of gossip, if you'd like to come down to the mess hall regularly, though. Apparently the delegation of two thousand is gaining support, especially with the Jedi Council. With the last few victories, there's been a push to strip Palpatine of his emergency powers... to make things a bit more equal."

Ahsoka pulled a face. "It's a bunch of politics. Whatever's happening out there..." Her blue eyes narrowed, glaring out at the stars (dim as they were through Coruscant's city glow). "It's more important."

"More important than the entire direction of the Republic?"

"Yeah. I just... wish I knew what it was." Ahsoka chewed on her bottom lip. "Thanks for the sandwich, Barriss."

"Anytime. You know, Captain Rex told me that Tango Company is going to be stationed near Coruscant again pretty soon..."

Truthfully, it had all happened mere hours ago, and Padme couldn't believe on some level that it was finished.

Or perhaps, more accurately, it had just started. Yes, it had been painful. Padme was fairly certain that Threepio was now thoroughly traumatized about the squishy, bloody and messy nature of organics, but the medical droid had been courteous and professional. Even now the doula droid was tucked into a corner, all soothing curves and softly glowing lights, ready to help but not intruding.

Padme was tired, rather expectedly so. It had been nearly nine months - even if it seemed shorter, with everything else that had happened. Now she listened quietly not only to the soft breaths of Anakin, but to two more. Luke and Leia. The fact that they could use both prepared names made Padme smile. Perhaps the twins were a little small, a few weeks early - perhaps the labor had been painful - but now they were all here.

All of them. A family.

It was soothing enough for her to have fallen asleep, but now she was awake again, eyes sliding open. In among the steady cadences of breathing, there was the occasional hitch. Anakin was still doggedly awake, though his eyes were closed. Every so often a breath came in sharply through his clenched teeth. He had pushed himself, refusing to rest, flustered at seeing her in pain. Now she could see the consequences written all over his face - his eyebrows knit, his jaw set. If the twins hadn't been so soundly asleep, Padme was sure Anakin would have been screaming in pain.

"Ani?" He drew in another sharp breath at hearing her voice, and she gently snaked her arm across the bed. As her fingers touched his cheek, he opened his eyes. "Ani, love..."

"I'm fine. It's all right." There was a trembling roughness to his voice even as he gave her a lopsided smile. "You should rest..."

Her thumb gently traced the scar below his eye, and his eyes fluttered closed again. "How long has it been since you took any pain medicine?"

"I'm not going to miss any moment of this - of us- "

"Ani."

She could see his shoulders trembling as he took in a deep breath, but her tone was serious enough that he didn't immediately try to argue back. Instead he shifted gently on the bed, one arm hooking back into her hair to bring her a little closer, the other draped loosely over the swaddled infants. One of them (likely Leia, Padme was fairly, though not entirely, sure) gave a soft coo before drifting back to sleep. Padme reached out to gently pet Anakin's arm, watching his shoulders shake, but the touch was all that needed to be said between them.

Slowly, with each gentle press of her fingertips, she eroded his stubborn pride. He had doggedly tried to be her support for as long as possible, and now - slowly - he relaxed into letting her help him. It was something that never would have happened on Mustafar; it was a notion that Anakin would have been talked out of by Palpatine.

But now Anakin's face slowly slackened, and his breathing evened out as Padme watched. Luke gave a whining coo and nuzzled lightly towards the warmth of his father's arm. When the pre-dawn light slid in the window to cover the wide bed like a blanket, Padme was back asleep - their first night together as a family.