Card of Heart

Chapter 12 - Rescue

"How is she?" Anakin inquires, looking to the medical droid hovering next to Padme. He's holding Leia in his arms, and Ahsoka is holding Luke. The moment hardly even feels real.

They're his children. Ahsoka was his first child in every way, but this is... different, in some ways. But they're going to be okay, and he thinks Padme will be too, but he can't help but be worried, because she doesn't look that good.

"She will need time to recover," the droid replies, "But she will be live." Sidious had promised to save her, and he... did. She's alive, and maybe everything could be fine eventually. The moment could almost be perfect, if not for the cloud hanging over them. Padme's life has come at a cost, and it's not something either Anakin or Ahsoka will breathe a word of.

He doesn't know what's going to happen now, but the last he heard, Palpatine was turning the Republic into an Empire. Padme wasn't able to attend the Senate meeting, and he hasn't told her about it yet, either. For now, it's probably better if she doesn't know. She needs to rest, and he knows she won't take the news well. She's always been a strong supporter of the Republic, and he highly doubt that would change. She will not be happy about an Empire.

"You should rest," Anakin advises Padme finally, looking down at her.

She gives him a small smile in response.

"We can handle the babies," Ahsoka says, though the attempted cheerfulness in her voice falls flat. She doesn't have the same innocence she did only a day ago. Everything about her – about both of them – is different now, and there's nothing he can do to change that.

Padme only nods, closing her eyes.

Anakin looks down at Leia for a moment, before glancing to Ahsoka. "Can you take care of both of them for now?"

"Why?" she asks, "What are you doing?"

"I need to take care of something," he answers, vaguely. He's been thinking about it from the moment those guards dragged Obi-Wan away. He doesn't know what's going to happen to him, but if he's put on trial, Anakin already knows what the outcome will be. And he won't let that happen.

He doesn't know if this is going to work, but he has to hope.

***

Her siblings – or niece and nephew, depending – are here, and her mother is still alive. It's all Ahsoka could have asked for. She paces back and forth next the twin's crib, staring down at them. They're perfect. They're – she loves them so much already, and she doesn't even know them.

So, why can she not find a single shred of peace?

Okay, she knows why, and she wants it to stop, but it won't. She has blood on her hands that will never go away. The Dark Side flows through her, a silent whisper of power, almost a promise that what she did she had every reason to do.

But that doesn't mean way inside it feels like it.

At the time, it felt like they had no choice, like there was no better option. But now she has to wonder. The guilt that hits her when she even thinks about it is more than she can handle, though, she shies away from the thoughts, focusing on the babies in front of her.

They shine brightly in the Force, standing out distinctly against the darkness that now fills her. It helps, a little. (Maybe it just lets her tell herself that saving their lives was worth it. She could never imagine making a choice that would lead to them dying but – the cost of it was...)

Finally, Ahsoka reaches out, dialing the frequency into her comm.

Moments later, a familiar figure appears holographically in front of her. "Do you have a minute?"