Author's Note: Obviously, I loved the ending of the Clone Wars, despite how sad it was. You just can't top an ending like that. I enjoy what I write, but I know I can't compete with canon. Honestly, I never expected to when I started. When I began Season 7, the real seventh season of the Clone Wars hadn't been announced yet.

One of my biggest takeaways from the last episode was when Rex and Ahsoka were talking. I know Rex stopped speaking after he said "...and take you and me along with them!", but I feel like there was another sentence that he wanted to say/was thinking some variant of: "They're going to kill me too once they realize what's happened, and you're all I have left." Despite that not being said, I think Ahsoka knew. It was two of them against the world, as far as they knew. Such an iconic duo, though. Also, Ahsoka trusting Rex with her lightsabers (this weapon is your life)???

Anyways, to heal your emotional trauma from the finale, have a couple of memes and some baby Luke and Leia content :)

The next day had been an entirely unproductive one, by usual means. Ahsoka spent most of the day relaxing and chatting with the others between Padme's contractions, which were happening more frequently now. For once, she wasn't working or running errands or something. It was nice but very different from the life she usually led in the Lower Levels. 

Anakin was practically inseparable from his wife for the entire morning. Padme didn't mind in the slightest because it was getting difficult to walk, or sometimes even stand for too long. Sola kept insisting that she should keep moving as much as possible for as long as possible, but this was less and less enticing as the labor progressed. Finally, only when the contractions started lasting for minutes and the breaks were shorter than ever, did Sola finally alert the others that it was time to move towards the medical wing. 

Unfortunately for Ahsoka, she wasn't allowed in the room. Anakin could go and Sola was allowed as well, but as the only non-family member present she was forced to wait outside. She tried to keep busy by bringing snacks every so often to the occupants of the room, but there were only so many times she could do that so she was left sitting outside the delivery room for the most part. 

She found herself wishing that Obi-Wan was there. He had known Anakin and Padme for much longer than she had, and probably would have loved to be here for their children's birth. Ahsoka knew he couldn't know about this because of the Council (although Rex had informed her that he knew something was up, Anakin was really terrible at keeping secrets), but she felt bad for him all the same. Obi-Wan would find out one day, for sure, but still. 

With nothing better to do, she meditated and focused on the twins again. It was one of the more calming things to focus on right now. Their spirits were so pure, so small and innocent, and they already reminded Ahsoka so much of Anakin. She almost wanted to keep her distance so she wouldn't corrupt them, but that was silly, she was sure she could do no such thing. 

They weren't very defined yet, though. While they could sense other presences in the Force, they themselves had no control over the Force. They couldn't manipulate it, even as strong as they were. Ahsoka wondered if all children were born this way, but only Force-users ever learned to use the Force and the ones who didn't forget what the Force felt like. It's not like the Jedi would know, or have any record of it since celibacy was (evidently unsuccessfully) enforced by the Jedi Order.

Ahsoka found herself humming her mother's lullaby again. The twins seemed to recognize it from a few months ago and their spirits began to focus on her again. She smiled and sung the lyrics in her mind, wondering if they could hear it too. She didn't know exactly how she remembered the song or if it was even her mother who had sung it to her as a child, but it was a sweet melody and it seemed to make the twins happy, or at least calm. It calmed Ahsoka too, somehow.

At least it did until Padme started screaming from the delivery room. It startled Ahsoka out of her meditation, and she gripped the edge of the bench she was sitting on. No one was giving her updates, so she had no idea if the screaming was normal or if something was wrong. Anakin wasn't panicking that much though, so she hoped that this was childbirth as usual. 

She wished someone could come out, or go in, just to give her a hint of what was happening. It made sense why Anakin had been so on edge before: there was nothing she could do to help. At least he got to be with her during all of this instead of stuck outside in the hallway. Ahsoka knew she would get a chance to go in, she knew she shouldn't be impatient. She forced herself to sit tight for the sake of her friends. 

This time, the screaming seemed to last longer. The breaks lasted shorter than the screams, but a few minutes later they stopped altogether. There was a lot of movement in the room, but everyone seemed to have calmed down. For the first time in an hour, someone came out of the room, a nurse with a tray holding something that Ahsoka didn't recognize. They went back in not long after, holding blankets instead of the tray from before. She hoped that meant the twins had been born, but they didn't bother to tell her and Ahsoka didn't want to bother her by asking. 

Her only insight was with Anakin. She tried to get a sense of his emotions without distracting him, finding exhaustion and a little bit of nervousness, but an overwhelming sense of relief and joy. Ahsoka smiled as she opened her eyes. That wasn't something that happened every day. Clearly, something had gone right.

It was a lot easier to wait now that she was confident that all was well. A few minutes later, the doctor, followed by a couple nurses, walked out of the delivery room, a little tired but very satisfied. The doctor paused long enough to talk to Ahsoka. 

"I'm sorry for the wait," they began, "but you should know that the delivery went smoothly. There were no complications during labor."

Ahsoka grinned and nodded. "Thank you," she told them, but she didn't try to press for more details. They were probably ready to take a break and they deserved it. The doctor walked on to clean themself up, and Ahsoka turned her attention back to the door. More waiting.

Finally, the door opened and Sola's head poked through. "You ready?"

"Am I ready?" Ahsoka repeated, restraining herself from jumping up. "I've been ready for hours."

Sola laughed quietly and let Ahsoka in, guiding her behind a curtain into a room with soft, warm lighting. A very tired Padme was lying down, holding two bundles of blankets up against her chest. Soft cries were coming from them, and the tiniest of movements could be seen. Anakin was seated next to her, barely able to take his eyes off of the children his wife was holding. He did wave Ahsoka over, though, and she walked around the edge of Padme's bed to stand behind him.

Wrapped up in the blankets were two tiny faces, scrunched up and eyes closed. Ahsoka wanted to squeal but didn't dare in case it disturbed them. A huge smile split her face, which she tried unsuccessfully to hide with her hands. The children didn't really have hair yet, but their skin was already starting to look less wrinkly than it had during birth, and the nurses had already bathed them. Ahsoka tried to hide the fact that she already felt tears burning at her eyes. It was real, there were actually little tiny Anakins and Padmes, right there. 

She rested a hand on Anakin's shoulder, since there were no words for the moment. Padme looked up at him, before shifting slightly. "Here," she spoke softly, and she offered one of the twins towards him. Anakin looked a little nervous about holding a newborn, but it wasn't like he was going to say no. Carefully, more so than Ahsoka had ever seen him before, he took the child closest to him while Padme shifted the other to her open shoulder. 

"They're so tiny," Ahsoka whispered in awe. Anakin could easily hold the baby with one hand, even though he wasn't taking any chances and was using two to keep them close to his chest. He was crying too, Ahsoka noticed, and he leaned over to kiss Padme softly on her forehead. In the corner, Sola was silently snapping pictures with a datapad she had kept in her pocket specifically for this moment. Ahsoka made sure to step away so she wouldn't be in the shot.

They all kind of just stood there for a moment, just watching the new parents holding the twins. Before long though, Padme looked up at Ahsoka. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked, and Ahsoka's eyes went wide. 

"Are you sure?" she asked, suddenly understanding Anakin's nerves from a moment earlier. What if she dropped her? What if she wasn't careful enough? Padme nodded though, and Ahsoka stepped forward tentatively to receive the other child, presumably the girl. She slipped her hand around the baby and wrapped the other arm around, slowly bringing the child close to her chest.

She felt even smaller now that Ahsoka was holding her. So light, so delicate, and to think that she was only a few minutes old! And yet, she was a whole person, young and pure and alive, and Ahsoka already knew that she would do anything for her, and surely for her twin brother. 

Her tiny hand poked out from underneath the blanket, and Ahsoka shifted one of her own hands to touch it. Her finger barely fit in the little girl's fist, but when Ahsoka's skin brushed hers the baby gripped her finger, tighter than Ahsoka realized she could. A moment later, one of her eyes opened, and then the other. 

"Her eyes are brown," she murmured, catching the attention of the others. Anakin carefully stood up to look, and he too saw that the girl had opened her eyes for the first time. It was only a second later that both Anakin and Ahsoka looked at the boy, in Anakin's arms, and saw that he had done the same, except his eyes were blue like his father's. 

"What are their names going to be?" Sola asked quietly from the other side of the bed, switching from taking pictures to recording a video. Anakin turned to Padme, so Ahsoka and Sola did too. 

Smiling and looking at her children, she gave her answer. "Luke and Leia Naberrie. It's the safest name we can pass on to them."

It really was. 'Skywalker' would have immediately connected them to Anakin, and 'Amidala' would have connected them to Padme, but the Naberrie household wasn't nearly as politically involved in the Republic. Even if someone found them, they might still be safe. 

Ahsoka couldn't help but smirk, just a little bit. "I might still call them Skyguy and Skygirl." 

Padme laughed, a little delirious from the painkillers she was on but joyful all the same. Anakin wanted to glare at her, but he couldn't, he really just couldn't. "Seriously Snips?"

"Don't worry, Skydad, I won't confuse you with Luke."

Now Padme was really laughing, and even Sola was stuffing her fist in her mouth to avoid losing it completely. Anakin didn't burst out, because he didn't want to startle Luke, but his face got the message across anyway. 

Ahsoka looked back at Leia, who was looking up at her father. Surely, she could sense Anakin like she could Ahsoka, but probably in a different sense. That reminded Ahsoka, and she started humming softly again as she had in the hallway. The twins looked from Anakin to Ahsoka, recognizing the tune. She looked up at Anakin, who nodded at her, and when she got to the end of the lullaby she started singing the lyrics again.

"At sunrise, the day is new/the lion roars when the light shines.

Wake, there is work to be done/I will stay by your side.

Can you hear the wind sing?/Can you hear the ocean roar?

Live your life and chase the light/I will stay by your side..."

Artist: ElfofCave on DeviantArt