"𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮."

If there was anything good about the war, it was the chance it gave me to see the galaxy. As a kid growing up on Tatooine, I never thought I'd make it past the hangar bays.

The war had brought me all over and now I was on Anaxes. With Separatists threatening the Republic's naval base and shipyards on Anaxes, many troops and Jedi Generals were stationed here.

Obi-Wan led the 212th in a skirmish against droids forces advancing towards Republic facilities. The attack was successful and we were headed back to base. After our gunships landed on the airfield, Obi-Wan took Cody and I into the command center to report how the mission had gone.

During the entire briefing, Anakin stared at me strangely. I tried telling him with my eyes to knock it off because Master Windu was standing right there. Unfortunately, he didn't stop.

I left the command center after the briefing and stepped out onto the runway. I found a crate on the airfield and went over to sit down. Anakin followed me out and placed himself beside me.

"Why are you acting so weird?" I asked not even turning to look at him. I was met with silence and angled my head to see Anakin staring straight ahead.

"How was the mission?" he finally asked.

"Fine..."

"Any injuries?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

Anakin sighed. "You should get yourself checked out just in case." He finally turned to look at me and sent me a smile. "I don't want you to go on another mission with an untreated injury."

"It's not like I do that," I let out a groan that sounded more like a whine.

"Yeah, you do."

"Concussions don't count."

"Yes they do." Anakin leaned in and placed a kiss on my forehead making me smile.

"Fine, I'll go see Jojo," I said hopping off the crate.

Anakin froze for a moment and then slid off as well. "No! Go see Kix," he said.

I stared at him dazed. "Why? What's wrong with my medic?"

"Nothing's wrong with him, just..." Anakin trailed off. He looked like he was going to rip his hair out. "Will you please just see Kix?"

I stared at him blankly for a moment. I decided it was best to listen to Anakin if it meant he would calm down. It's not like there was anything wrong with me anyways.

"Okay fine," I gave in. "I'll see Kix."

A look of relief washed over Anakin's face and I laughed. "Happy now?"

"Yes, very," he replied and pulled me into a warm hug. I giggled into his chest at how odd his behavior was.

We pulled away and I left to go find Kix. He was most likely in sick bay treating the guys who had just come back from the fight against the droids.

"Hey, Kix?" I said as I found him looking through his datapad. "General Skywalker wanted me to see you. He thinks I might have a concussion or something."

"Right... well, you can sit down here and I'll examine you," Kix said and offered a smile.

I nodded in response and did as he said. Kix checked for any external injuries and didn't find anything. He took out what I could guess was a medical scanning device. Kix got it working and held it in front of me looking for any wounds. The scanner's blue light ran up and down my body, making pinging noises as it searched. It was taking a long time and I grew uneasy. After a while, Kix put away the scanner and looked down, his fingers curled under his chin.

I was almost too scared to ask. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, no..." Kix answered faintly. "But this may come as a shock to you."

"What is it then?" I asked impatiently.

Kix held up his datapad once more to look over the report he just made and smiled lightly. "Sil, you're pregnant."

"I- I'm, are you serious?" I asked.

Kix tucked away his datapad and nodded at me. I could feel my heart stop for a moment. A swell of joy mixed with intense fear overcame me. I moved to sit on the edge of the bed with my elbows resting on my knees. I tapped my foot relentlessly on the floor to keep myself grounded. This was really happening.

"Well?" Kix asked slowly. "What're you thinking?"

I ran a hand feverishly through my hair as I managed to sputter out some words.

"I- I don't know what to think," I said. "A part of me is excited and the other part of terrified." I looked Kix in the eye for any sign of understanding. "I mean, I'm in the middle of a galactic war. And Anakin is-"

I froze as the realization finally hit me. And it hit me like a bullet.

Anakin was a Jedi.

I sat in silence as a tidal wave of despair slowly washed over me. My emotions reached their peak and the result was a flood of tears. My head dropped into my hands and I cried hard. Tears soaked my hair and my sleeves as I imagined what would happen to me now.

"Hey, what're you so worried about?" Kix said gently. I felt the bed sink as he sat down next to me. "It's gonna be fine."

I shook my head vigorously. It wasn't going to be fine. How could it be?

"Kix, if they find out about this, it's over," I said through sobs. "He's barely even begun his life as a Jedi and it's already screwed up."

Kix patted my shoulder as I hastily wiped my tears away.

"Don't worry, General Skywalker doesn't see it that way at all," he said.

"How do you know?"

Kix pressed his lips together before facing me with an answer. "He sorta told me beforehand that he suspected you were..." he gestured towards me.

My stomach dropped. Anakin already knew.

"But he seemed really happy about it," Kix continued and smiled. "You should go tell him now that it's confirmed."

I inhaled deeply and wiped my face one last time. I turned to look at Kix gratefully. He had really managed to make me feel better.

"Thanks, Kix." I smiled a bit.

"Of course."

Kix told me a few more things I would have to look out for now that I was pregnant. I also learned that I was about three weeks along. Now I had to tell Anakin.

I left the medbay and flinched when I saw him standing right outside.

"Anakin!" I gasped from seeing him so suddenly.

He stepped towards me raising an eyebrow. "So...?"

I bit my lip nervously as he stared into my eyes. My heart pounded mercilessly against my chest. I could hear the question he didn't dare ask out loud.

"I... I'm," I said and watched as Anakin's face softened. "We're..." I cut myself off and grabbed Anakin's hand, placing it over my stomach. His hand shook lightly as the realization set in. His gaze lifted from my stomach to my eyes and I could see the love in them.

Anakin took my hand and quickly led me behind the medbay. As soon as we were out of sight, he wrapped his arms tightly around me and I threw my arms around his neck, holding him close. He lifted me off the floor and spun me around in sheer delight. Anakin put me down and cupped my face with his hands.

"You don't know how happy you've made me, Sil," Anakin said with his eyes glistening.

I grinned back at him. "I think I have some idea."

Leaning in at the same time, our lips met in the middle. His arms kept me close and I smiled into the kiss. I don't know why I ever doubted Anakin. He continuously proved to me that he was always there for everyone he loved. He was as loyal as a person could be.

***

Another week passed on Anaxes and the threat of the Separatists grew as our effectiveness got weaker. I only learned of this through reports and briefings. Kix had told me to stay out of combat for now and the next few weeks. According to him, these days were critical in keeping my baby healthy.

"Good luck, guys," I said to the troops boarding the gunship for the Cyber Center. Cody had called in the Bad Batch for this special mission. It made me laugh seeing Rex and his guys trying to get accustomed to them.

"You're not coming?" Wrecker asked me while sitting on the edge of the gunship.

I shook my head. "I've got an internal injury, I'll mess it up even more if I go," I answered with the excuse Kix told me to use.

"Right," Cody answered slowly in a sarcastic tone. "The injury that's definitely real."

Everyone except Kix chuckled and I groaned. "Cody, if you don't come back with an injury, I'll give you one."

They guys hollered and Rex lightly elbowed Cody with amusement clear on his face. Their gunship lifted off the airfield and I sent them a small salute. Once they were out of sight, I turned away with a sigh.

"Don't worry, you'll be back in the fight again soon," Anakin's voice made my head snap up.

I shared his smile. "Still, I don't know how long I can get away with telling everyone about an internal injury." My eyebrows drew together in concern. "That excuse won't work on a Jedi."

Anakin sighed. "We'll worry about that later," he said running a hand down my arm. "Right now, I'm just excited about this." His forefinger drifted to my stomach. I smiled widely and took his hand in mine.

***

With Rex and Cody gone, there wasn't much for the rest of us to do but wait for their update. All was quiet at the base as evening fell on Anaxes. The days of sitting around doing nothing made me fidgety. Anakin took notice.

"Do you wanna go bother Obi-Wan?" he asked.

We shared a smirk and nodded. Anakin and I entered the command center and saw that Obi-Wan was busy talking with Boil and Trip. I quietly snatched his robe from a chair and Anakin used the Force to bring his master's lightsaber to his hand. We left the center and hurried behind one of the barracks.

"He won't need this, right?" I asked holding up the ridiculously long robe in my hand.

"Oh, he has plenty of those."

"Trust me, I know."

I put on the robe and laughed as the hood came way over my eyes.

"Here," Anakin said smiling and tossed me his lightsaber. "Now you've got the complete Jedi Master look."

I grinned and watched as Anakin twirled around Obi-Wan's lightsaber. I ignited the one in my hands, but I had difficulty doing anything with it.

"How do you guys see through this thing?" I tilted my head back to try and see under the hood.

"With the Force."

I threw off the hood and gave Anakin a look.

"Honestly, I never liked the hood much either," he admitted.

The corner of my mouth turned upwards in a smile. "Yeah, it hides too much of that fabulous hair, doesn't it?" I brushed my hair back the way I'd seen Anakin do it so many times recently.

Anakin's mouth parted as he watched me mock him. He stepped over to me and gripped my wrists, shaking me playfully to get me to stop. We were a giggling mess until the sound of a throat clearing broke us apart.

"Anakin, my lightsaber. Sil, my robe please," Obi-Wan said.

I pressed my lips together and slid off the robe. We handed Obi-Wan his things and stood by in silence.

"How's Rex and Cody's mission going?" Anakin casually asked Obi-Wan.

"Not that well actually," Obi-Wan responded as he hooked his lightsaber back onto his belt.

"But they have the Bad Batch," I said and grew nervous. "What could go wrong?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Their gunship went down. Luckily, no one was killed, but Cody isn't well." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and looked down. He was clearly worried about his commander.

I bit back a snicker as I remembered Cody talking about my fake injury, but I was concerned for him. "Is it bad?"

"I'm not sure." Obi-Wan ran a hand over his beard in thought. "But a team will bring him back here in a few hours with Kix. I hope he recovers soon."

***

It was getting late but I waited for the medical transport to arrive. As soon as I saw it land on the runway, I ran over to see Cody getting rolled out. They rushed over to the medbay and I spotted Kix exiting the ship.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked quickly.

"I've stabilized him for now, but he's got internal damage that needs to be looked after," Kix informed me and headed for the medbay. "I'll let you know when you can see him!"

"Thanks!" I yelled after him.

I felt absolutely terrible for what happened to Cody. I was supposed to be on that mission. I couldn't help feeling so guilty. Cody and I always had each other's backs, tossing each other our blasters if the other ran out of charges, even if it meant going empty handed.

After an agonizing wait, Kix commed me saying I could see Cody. I sped over to the medbay and entered the room he was in. Cody lay on a bed surrounded by medical equipment and bacta patches attached to his torso.

I quietly scolded myself. On Eriadu, Cody had pulled me away to safety when I got shot in the leg. I should've been the one pulling him out of the gunship.

"How are you feeling, Cody?" I asked sitting next to his bed.

"I could be better," he replied in a tired voice. "That crash really knocked me up."

I tried to suppress a smile. "I heard you got internal damage."

Cody threw his head back as he remembered calling my internal injury a fake.

"Ah, I guess that makes two of us," he said laughing lightly. "Hopefully General Kenobi won't be needing us anytime soon."

"I seriously doubt that."

"So do I," Cody agreed. "Who else is gonna keep track of his lightsaber?"

The two of us broke into laughter until his face scrunched in a wince. Cody's wounds were giving him a hard time so I told him to take a rest. He eventually fell asleep and I went to see Kix.

"How long until I can be active again?" I asked him in a low voice.

"I'd say wait for at least two more weeks," Kix said. "But even when you're back in combat, you need to be careful. Too much movement or injury can be dangerous for..." he tilted his chin at my stomach.

I nodded glumly in agreement. This would be much easier to handle if I didn't have to keep it a secret.

"Here," Kix said handing me his datapad. "I made some notes on symptoms for you to look out for. They don't teach us about this stuff, so I had to do a bit of research," he chuckled.

I smiled at his thoughtfulness and took the datapad. "Thanks, Kix."

"It's no problem," he smiled. "And Cody's report is on there too if you'd like to see."

I nodded in acknowledgement and Kix said he was headed for the barracks to rest. I sat down and read over his notes, making sure to keep in mind all of the things I should and shouldn't do. Then I scrolled to find the medical report on Cody, but I landed on something else. It was a report on Fives. I paused for a moment. I told myself it was probably an old record, but I couldn't help reading through and noticing the entries in this report spanned months. The most recent notes being from last week. I dug further and found more on Tup.

Inhibitor chip or biochip?

True purpose?

My mind raced as I took in the information sitting in front of me. What was Kix up to?