Little Snips

Part one

Anakin breathed hardly, when rushed over to the place, the hostages were held.

It was only then, that he realised what exactly he had felt before.

He was to late.

Corpses laid on the ground, children's as well as adults, some still wrapped their arms around their parents.

Their murderer stood in the middle. His blaster pointed at the only survivor.

The woman had her arms clenched around her stomach, tears running down her cheeks.

A blue blaster bolt shot through the air, piercing into the flesh of the terrorist.

But it was to late.

His red bolt came in contact with the woman's skin, making her scream, as pain flooded over her body.

The Woman clutched one of her hands over the wound on her shoulder, the other still over her stomach.

At first Anakin thought she might be hurt there as well, ordering Kix to help her, then it stroke him like a lighting.

He felt the young, incredible bright, signature.

So innocent and curios.

He turned around, looking back at the pregnant woman, who was screaming again.

This time not from a blaster bolt.

Kix was trying to figure out what was going on.

"She's getting her child" Anakin got out, running over to them.

He sat down, taking the hand of the woman, who looked up to him through brilliant blue eyes.

The blaster wound in her shoulder was to near to vital organs, and her life force was already floating away.

She wouldn't make it, Anakin knew.

And she knew as well.

"Save my little girl" she said, her voice hoarse from the lack of water, her eyes filled with pain and hope.

"Look out for my little Ahsoka" she pleaded.

Anakin nodded, not knowing what else to do.

What do you say to a woman, that was dying and giving birth at the same time?

"I will" he promised.

The woman screamed in pain.

"Kix?" Anakin asked, worried.

"I can save the child. But not her. There is no chance to save both." he replied.

Anakin looked back to the woman, while Kix was trying everything to save the unborn child.

Her signature kept on fading away, while those of the child grew stronger.

Kix handed Anakin some painkillers.

"Give her that." he said and Anakin finally understood, what he meant with he could save the child or her.

He was literally cutting the child out.

Anakin nearly threw up imagining this, but he trusted Kix.

And he saw himself, that the woman had neither the time, nor the strength left to give birth normally, or to survive the surgery Kix was planning here.

It's not like any of them had helped a woman give birth before.

Anakin injected the painkiller into the womans bloodstream.

Immediately her eyes seemed to get a bit more dull.

"It's okay. Your child will be safe." he tried to soothe her.

"Ahsoka was her name, wasn't it?"

The sound of her child's name seemed to call the mother.

"Ahsoka Tano" she choked out.

"That's a beautiful name"

The woman smiled weakly. She closed her eyes, while breath became lighter.

Suddenly a scream echoed around, but this time it was none of pain.

Kix held up the little baby, that was trashing around and screaming.

The woman's eyes flew open one last time.

She smiled.

Kix laid the newborn in her arms and forced them all to back up a bit, giving the mother one first and last bittersweet moment alone with her child.

Weakly the woman lifted up an arm, stroking the girls cheek.

"Follow the river and follow the stars..."

Anakin needed a moment, to realise, that the mother tried to sing a lullaby, to calm the child.

The child went silent immediately.

Big blue eyes stared in big blue eyes, when mother and daughter looked at each other.

"I'll be there, no matter what was..."

The mothers voice became quieter, as she forced herself to go on.

The girl raised her arms to the Hand of the woman, grabbing one of her fingers.

"Follow the river and follow the sun..."

Anakin expected a lot, bit definitely not the mother to sing a lullaby.

But then again. It seemed just so ironically fitting.

The mother was drifting off to endless sleep, yet she was singing a lullaby to her daughter, who woke up for the first time.

The little girl listened, as if she would know, that it was the last time, she would hear her mother.

"I'll be there ... my little... one..."

The mothers voice broke with the last word and if there was more of the lullaby, she didn't got the chance to sing it.

Her Hand went limp, in the grasp of her little daughter and her eyes closed, while her last breath carried out this word.

Anakin didn't move.

None of the 501. did.

Rex was the first one, when he took of his helmet and dropped it on the ground.

The child moved her head, looking over to the noise.

Her eyes were as blue as her mothers, and as bright as her innocent signature. Anakin slowly moved over, lifting the small body off of the ground.

Almost afraid to hurt her with it.

She was just so tiny and small.

The soldiers assembled around Anakin and Rex slowly stroked the child's cheek with one Finger.

The girl grabbed the finger with both her tiny hands and pulled it towards her, smiling brightly.

That smile spread over to Rex, to Kix, to Fives and so on.

Until everyone standing there, had a smile on his face.