I KNOW PLACES ➶ STAR WARS

Part VIII // Stay

To Obi-Wan's pleasure, a full month and a half passed without any noteworthy incidents. He talked frequently with Ahsoka, asking about her past few years, what a medic's life consisted of, and how she survived Order 66 with the Council. He found, though, that despite his pains, troubles, and worries, there was one person who could make it feel like nothing problematic existed. Obi-Wan suspected that he'd always loved Padmé, always admired her. But with her in Anakin's arms, he never had a chance to get close.

To Ahsoka's horror, she watched as Padmé and Obi-Wan began to fall in love. She knew that Padmé's falling in love with Anakin had been a breach of the Jedi Code, but doing it again with a Jedi Master seemed entirely too wrong. Though, with the Order in shambles, she didn't dare to say a thing to either of them. She often wished for the life she had before her Jedi training had begun.

To Padmé's dismay, she wished more and more every day that Anakin would be able to see his children, their children. She wanted so badly to return to Mustafar and rescue him from the Dark Side, from Darth Sidious, from himself. But how could a mere senator compare with Sith lords and an entire legion of stormtroopers? She couldn't, and she knew it. That was one of the only things that confined her to Coruscant. That, and the fact that she was due soon.

"Your arms have healed up nicely," Ahsoka noted, looking upon the only slightly puckered scars that laid ingrained in the senator's flesh. "There will likely be scars for a very long time, if not forever."

Padmé observed the scars carefully, but stayed silent.

"Your children will be able to see what a fighter you are," Obi-Wan commented, happiness radiating off of him like the last light of the day radiated off of Coruscant's sun.

She smiled modestly. "Are we finished here? I would like to speak to Obi-Wan privately."

Ahsoka nodded and removed herself from Padmé's bedroom without another word.

"Please, sit down," Obi-Wan requested. "You're very near-"

"Don't worry. I won't take long." She adjusted the collar on his tunic. "Look, Obi-Wan, I was thinking, and I realized these past few months have been some of my best."

"They were mine as well. You brought me a joy I never thought I could experience."

"I wanted to ask you if you would like to stay. Stay here. With me, I mean."

Obi-Wan cupped her face with his hands. "I would love that. We can raise the children together."

"You always seem to read my mind." Then, she kissed him for the first time. He seemed surprised, but didn't pull away. He kissed back, but was clearly inexperienced and innocent. She stopped and looked into his ocean-blue eyes. "I want you to have custody of them if anything ever happens to me."

"You'll have no need for that. I'm always going to protect you."

"I love the things you say."

"Wait. Let's lie down. You're hurting again."

"My back is going to hurt when I'm carrying two human beings," came her playfully snarky reply. She listened to his advice anyway, and they laid down to talk and kiss and kiss some more.

Feeling shut-out, Ahsoka watched patiently as the sky faded from blue to orange to pink and finally to dark blue. Oh, come on, Ahsoka. You're just the midwife. You're not a part of the family, she reminded herself. She tried to busy herself with readying her things for the twins' imminent birth, but found she could not focus. She felt a strange calling from somewhere deep inside of her memories, like an old friend returning for a visit, like she had forgotten some part of her past unwillingly. She could feel fire and jealousy. She didn't realize who it meant until the name formed on her lips. Anakin. What this calling could possibly mean, she didn't know. But she knew it wasn't good. Anakin.

Ahsoka shook off the feelings of evil when she heard her name being called. She hurried to the bedroom, knowing this could be the day.

"What's going on?" She looked from Obi-Wan to Padmé, getting no reasonable explanation from either. "What do you feel?" She asked the senator, resting a hand on Padmé's shoulder.

"There's this pain, right along here," Padmé explained, tracing a line across her abdomen with a shaking hand.

"Alright, I need you to stay calm." Ahsoka looked up at Obi-Wan, who was resting his chin in his hand. "I have to ask you to leave so I can make sure everything is okay. I'm sorry. I'll call you in when I have a diagnosis."

"I understand." He squeezed Padmé's hand before walking out, shutting the doors behind him.

It felt like it had been decades, but his rational side figured he had been waiting for an hour before Ahsoka came out, her face slick with perspiration.

Ahsoka began with a smile, "She's-"