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It’s not that what Ahsoka does isn’t important, but… except for those few short years of happiness, it’s a lot of waiting, a lot of hoping.
Hoping that Kaeden won’t lose her.
(Like she lost the kids.)
Not again.
Now… she’s not surprised Ahsoka didn’t choose to join in another war. It’s not fair that her wife has spent so much of her life losing and fighting.
And of course Ahsoka’s still doing good.
Of course.
But…
Kaeden’s used to waiting, to hoping.
But she’s surprised when Ahsoka returns without warning, racing from the ship to hold Kaeden close with wild eyes.
“Kaeden,” she says. ‘He’s finally free!”
Kaeden blinks in surprise?
“Anakin?” she asks. “Our baby boy?”
Ahsoka laughs, smiles, pulls her closer.
“Yes,” she says. “He calls himself Finn, now, that’s his Name, but yes .”
Finn. Finn . That’s his name, now. She rolls around in her head.
“Finn,” she says. “His name is Finn, now… Ahsoka, where is he?”
Ahsoka looks away.
“Ahsoka?”
“He’s with the Resistance, Kaeden,” she says, “they were… there’s only enough left to fit into the Millennium Falcon semi-comfortably.”
Kaeden whistles. That’s… less than 100 people. Ahsoka sighs.
“I know,” she says. “Not very many. I… they’re headed for the Droid Colony, Artoo offered them sanctuary.”
Kaeden sighs.
“So we can’t go to him?” she asks. “Those droids have their home’s location under lock and key, and I don’t blame them.”
Ahsoka sighs again, shaking her head.
“Anakin knows the way,” Ahsoka says. “It’s just that… I wasn’t there, Kaeden. Again. And it was my choice.”
The “again” goes unspoken. Kaeden knows that everything Ahsoka hadn’t done still weighs on her wife’s mind, even now, as old women.
(“I feel like I’m always gone when I’m needed,” Ahsoka had whispered to her, long ago.
A lifetime ago, it feels.
During those few short years where everything was right.
Not that it had lasted.)
“So we’re meeting them there?” Kaeden asks.
Ahsoka nods.
“That’s the plan,” she says.
They’re on their way within two hours.
Kaeden wakes up to find Ahsoka already up, judging by the Light On the other room. Quietly, she slips open the door. Ahsoka’s obviously talking to a ghost.
Actual ghosts. Not even the oddest thing Kaeden’s dealt with, anymore. The weirdest thing is definitely still that her wife’s apparently part goddess.
“So he’s alright, still,” Ahsoka says. “And Leia?”
Silence.
“She’s not as good as she looks, though, is she?”
A reply.
“I don’t blame her, one bit. She lost her brother and her husband and her wife in a manner of days, that—
“Yeah, that weighs on you.”
Louder, Kaeden opens the rest of the door, clearing her throat. Ahsoka starts.
“Ahsoka,” Kaeden says. “Good morning.”
Ahsoka sighs.
“Kaeden,” she replies, voice slightly distant. “Good morning.”
Kaeden just stares until Ahsoka breaks. She can wait.
She knows how to wait.
Ahsoka just laughs.
“I honestly expected this, you know that?” she asks. “Finn. Pulled to freedom with an adventure. And he sounds like the same one, like Rex.”
Ahsoka bursts into tears, suddenly. Kaeden immediately moves to sit next to her, remembering a time where hugs almost confused Ahsoka as Ahsoka holds her tightly.
“I miss him,” Ahsoka sobs. “And when we fought it was about the Rebellion and he couldn’t do it and I wasn’t asking him but I was and now I understand and he’s gone, and Kaeden…”
Kaeden just holds her right back.
“I know, my love,” she says. “I know. But I’m here. I’m here… and Ana—Finn’s safe.”
Ahsoka clings to her for a good moment longer, but she eventually lets go.
“Thank you,” she says.
Kaeden just smiles.
“Of course, Ahsoka,” she says. “Now, you’ve filled me in on our son’s adventures, but what about yours?”
Ahsoka smiles.
“I have a few new stories,” she says.
The rest of the trip is significantly lighter.