Hours later, the ship finally entered Nabooian airspace. Anakin had double-checked the ship's identification code, making absolutely sure that no one could identify them as Jedi. By using obscure air paths down to the surface, no one bothered them on their way in.

Artoo sent a message to the Naberrie household when they exited hyperspace, so Padmé was waiting for them on the landing platform long before they touched down. When the ramp lowered, the two Jedi walked the stretcher down slowly with the droid in tow.

When she saw them, Padmé released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She hugged Anakin immediately, not really caring that Obi-Wan was right there. "You should have sent a message sooner, I thought you were dead," she reprimanded him, murmuring into his shoulder, and Anakin squeezed her tightly before setting her down on her feet. She was a lot more nimble now that she was recovering from labor.

Padmé saw Obi-Wan before she comprehended what the stretcher might mean. "I saw that both of you had been reported dead, are you al-"

And then she looked down. Then she recognized the shape of the body beneath the white sheet. Then she realized who was missing. "No, no she wasn't...how could she be...?"

There were no words that either of the Jedi could say. Obi-Wan could only lift the sheet tenderly from Ahsoka's face and fold it down so Padmé could see it really was her. Her orange skin had paled without constant blood flow, and the bones in her face were already more prominent than they had been mere hours ago. No one wanted to see what the rest of her looked like.

Padmé too began to mourn, and she leaned into Anakin for support. He didn't say anything because he knew there was nothing to say. There was nothing he could say that would bring Ahsoka back to life. It was all Obi-Wan could do to not collapse to his knees on the spot, and when he couldn't take it anymore he covered her face again. Artoo whistled sadly because he knew that there would be no more memory files with Ahsoka in them again.

Anakin held his wife a little longer, but he eventually pulled her back and held her hands. "Listen, I have to hide this shuttle. If the Republic or anyone else sees it here, no one will be safe, alright?"

She nodded and looked down, willing the tears to stop. Anakin kissed her forehead, also not caring that Obi-Wan was next to him if he was even paying attention. "I'll be right back, I promise."

He boarded the shuttle again, alone. Obi-Wan helped Padmé push the stretcher towards the house, and they handed her off to others to take care of the body. That, and they couldn't stand to look at it anymore. The occupants of the house welcomed Obi-Wan generously, and even though his heart was hardly in it, he accepted a glass of water and sat with Padmé on one of the couches in one of the common rooms while they waited for Anakin to return.

"She wasn't even a Jedi," Padmé mumbled, picking at her fingers. "Why..why was she even attacked?"

"She was attacked because Barriss Offee was behind the order," Obi-Wan answered, having no doubt in his mind now. "That, and she was protecting soldiers, ones who hadn't betrayed her."

Despite the tragedy, Padmé smiled weakly. "It sounds like something she would do," she supposed.

Obi-Wan was about to answer that yes, it was, and it wasn't the first time she had either, but Sola walked in at that moment, rubbing her eyes. "It's no use, they won't settle down. I think we should just let them be for a while and see-" and then she saw Obi-Wan.

Standing up, Padmé interceded on his behalf. It was going to get very awkward if she didn't. "This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, he's going to be staying with us. Obi-Wan, this is my sister, Sola."

"It's a pleasure," Obi-Wan greeted her, and Sola nodded in return.

"I'm glad to hear that you survived," she told him, hoping he hadn't noticed what she had been saying when she walked in. "I take it Anakin is here too?"

"He's on his way," he assured her, before turning to both of the sisters and asking, "Who won't settle down?"

The same expression crossed both of their faces and they exchanged glances, but Padmé had known that this needed to be said sooner or later and figured there was no better time than now to spill the beans. "This has been going on for some time now, but Anakin and I..."

Obi-Wan's eyes went wide, not because the news surprised him, but because they were actually admitting it, out loud. He knew, of course. "Have been seeing each other?"

"We've been married for over four years," she stated, rather bluntly, but she took her seat again, resigning to the truth. "There hasn't been a good way to tell you until now."

"I hadn't realized you made it official," he confessed, but he smiled. There was some good news still left in this world after all. "Congratulations, although it's quite late for that."

"I told you," Sola teased, nudging her sister before sitting across from them. "You two are horrible at keeping this a secret."

Padmé glared at her sister, but Obi-Wan agreed. "Yes, you were quite horrible. More Anakin than you, but nonetheless."

She would have been frustrated, but there was no point in hiding it from him anymore and there wasn't a Jedi Order to worry about either. "The point is, the ones who won't settle down are-"

"Children," he guessed, a little shocked at that particular fact, but still not very surprised. He turned to face her, and she nodded, trying not to smile. Sola, on the other hand, was grinning like a bloody fool. "How old are they?"

"One month," she replied, picking at her hands again. She had started chipping at her nail polish.

Obi-Wan nodded, remembering that around that time, Anakin had disappeared to Naboo for an 'emergency mission'. "And the other?"

She looked up, confused, because there was no other, just the two of them. Then she realized that there was more to explain, and she smiled fully that time. "They're....twins."

"Twins?" he repeated, and he looked to Sola for confirmation. She was continuing to smirk at her sister, and Padmé was blushing. He leaned back on the couch and rubbed his forehead, not expecting to hear that particular set of news. Still, though, it was about time they were honest about it. "I wish I could say I was surprised, but.."

Padmé shot him a dirty look and Sola snickered, covering up her mouth with her hand. Padmé would have liked to make some kind of smart remark in turn, but Artoo rolled in behind them, announcing Anakin's arrival.

Obi-Wan twisted around to give a look to his apprentice. "Twins?"

It was his turn to grin, and Anakin nodded as he walked over to them. Padmé sighed as he sat down next to her. "It just came up, and you weren't here, or I would have let you explain."

"It's all right," he assured her, "It was going to happen eventually. Better sooner than later."

"Sola, come with me," she told her sister, kissing Anakin briefly on the cheek before standing up. "We need to prepare a guest room. It shouldn't take too long," she reasoned, and they walked off to find clean sheets. Padmé knew there was probably a conversation that needed to happen between the Jedi, and neither she nor Sola ought to be there.

Anakin watched them go, before turning to Obi-Wan. "I wanted to tell you, we both did, but I knew what the Council would say, and I-"

Obi-Wan rested a hand on his shoulder before he could finish, and he did not lecture him when he said, "I know, Anakin. I don't blame you in the slightest."

Grateful, he released a sigh. His support meant everything, especially now. Anakin stood up slowly, motion for his master to follow him. Obi-Wan obliged, desperate to keep moving, to keep busy. The two walked to the halls where the bedrooms branched out from, and before long, Obi-Wan could hear the children crying softly from one of the rooms.

Softly, Anakin opened the door to the nursery and invited Obi-Wan in. A soft song was playing from a small device on one of the dressers, but it was only doing so much to soothe the twins. With light footsteps, Obi-Wan walked towards the cribs, which were spread out so there was one along each wall.

As he drew closer, the twins seemed to recognize him, despite having never met Obi-Wan before.  Somehow, they knew who he was, or more importantly, who he was to their father. He walked to one of the cribs at random, looking in to see a small child in a onesie, curled up on his side. One of his arms was reaching out as if he was trying to grab something. Obi-Wan reached down to brush his hand, not expecting the baby to grip his finger.

Momentarily, the boy stopped crying, and it almost looked like the child was looking up at the Jedi Master. Despite all the loss that he had been through, this innocent little boy helped him believe that maybe there was some good in this forsaken galaxy. Maybe not all was lost, not yet.

Behind him, Anakin had picked up the other twin, a girl, and walked up to him cradling the child on his chest. "I think they know," he whispered, not wanting to disturb them. "They can feel the loss like we did, they just don't understand it. They don't know what it means."

"They shouldn't have to," Obi-Wan said, brushing his thumb over the back of the boy's hand. He closed his eyes, wishing that no child would have to live with the reality that was surely upon them. No child should have to face war or persecution or fear in the way so many Younglings and Padawans had. He had seen that too late, and now these two children may be the only Force-sensitive Younglings left in the galaxy.

They stood in silence for a minute, before Obi-Wan realized the song playing in the background sounded somewhat familiar. That didn't make sense though, Obi-Wan didn't particularly pay attention to music. "What song is this?" He asked Anakin.

His face fell at the question. Silently, Anakin walked over to the device producing the music. It could play the audio recording alone, but it was paired with a video recording as well. Anakin had recognized it as soon as he heard it, but he hadn't said anything yet. With one hand, he activated the projection.

A flickering blue hologram of Anakin, Padme, the twins, and none other than Ahsoka appeared above the dresser. It was Ahsoka's lips singing the soft song in her native language, gently soothing the twins, one of which Ahsoka was holding in her own arms. The lullaby ended, and the recording looped, going back to the beginning, and Ahsoka began the song again.

It was right then that both Jedi realized that Ahsoka would never get a chance to see the twins again. This one memory, the one time she had been with the twins during their birth, was the first and last time they would ever meet her. The only remnant of her left for them was this lullaby, the one Sola had recorded from their birthday.

It was too much. Obi-Wan stood up, pulling his finger from the boy's grasp. "I should go," he told Anakin before he lost his composure completely. "Are you..."

"I'm going to stay for a bit," Anakin responded, tearing his eyes away from the hologram. "Go ahead and rest."

Obi-Wan walked out quickly, shutting the door behind him. Anakin wanted to follow him, to try and comfort him like his master had done for him so many times before, but he had nothing to say to him. There was nothing he could do. He picked Luke up from his crib, holding him against his free shoulder and sinking slowly into a soft rocking chair against the wall.

He knew the twins had connected with Ahsoka, even if it had just been the one or two times. Anakin wouldn't have been surprised if they were crying because they knew what he did: that Ahsoka was never coming back. Even if they didn't know exactly who she was, they knew she was gone. He closed his eyes and cradled his children, listening to Ahsoka sing her lullaby. One day he would tell them about her. One day, Luke and Leia would learn about the woman who had given up everything to protect him from Sideous, to give him a chance to raise them.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but when Sola came in to check on them sometime later, all three of them were asleep, and Ahsoka's lullaby was still playing on repeat.

~

As the stars began to shine over Naboo, Obi-Wan found himself looking out at them from the window of the Naberrie's guest room. He felt mocked by their beauty, by their purity. How could something so simple and bright exist in a world so chaotic and dark? Didn't they know what horror had come over the galaxy? Didn't they know that the lights of the Jedi Order, which had once been as numerous and hopeful as the stars themselves, were all burnt out?

A soft knock came at the door, startling him from his train of thought. He answered it to find Padme waiting outside of the bedroom.

"I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed," she wondered quietly, wrapping her robe tightly around her to keep away the slight chill that had come into the house that night.

Nodding, Obi-Wan stepped just outside of the room to talk to her. "It's wonderful, Senator," he told her, trying to look at grateful as he felt. "I can't thank you enough for offering us a place to hide."

Padme put on a smile, but one as weary as Obi-Wan felt. "You know, this isn't a temporary offer."

"What? No, we-I couldn't risk your life like-"

She stopped him, resting a soft hand on his and making steady eye contact with the Jedi Master. "Obi-Wan," she said, not angry or stern, but absolutely certain. He saw the look on her face, and knew there was no changing her mind. Not now, and not ever.

He yielded, closing his eyes and letting his head fall forward. Though he tried to hide it by nodding, Padme got the message anyway. She drew close and hugged him, letting him know that even if he chose to leave, this place was always going to be home for him.

Wrapping his arms around her, Obi-Wan tried to remember the day he had met her, a day when the world they lived in didn't seem as dark and lonely as it did now. Had there been a celebration, had there been victory? Did those things still exist in this world, or was that just a dream now?

It didn't matter, it's not like he could leave Naboo. He knew that Anakin was going to stay here to be with his wife and children, and he was all Obi-Wan had left. If he left Anakin, he really would be alone, and all would have been lost.

No, he had to stay. This home, and the people in it, were all that he had left.