Ten minutes later, Anakin had a set of tools, a brand new speeder, and Artoo in the garage. He popped the hood and exposed the inner workings, stepping aside for his droid. "Alright, buddy. Plug in, and let's see what we're working with."

Artoo whistled and did so, running a diagnostics check on the engine. While he was waiting for the results, Anakin pushed his sleeves up and took a look around. This was his first time getting an up-close look at this speeder, and he wanted to make sure it was good quality. Hopefully, this would last Luke and Leia a long time, but that wouldn't be the case if it broke down in a week.

The Naberrie family had a speeder that was still in good condition, but it was only supposed to seat four people, and they had been squeezing in six full-sized human beings for a few years now. Now that the twins would be getting their own, there would be a bit more room in the family speeder, and the twins could go out on their own without having to borrow the only land vehicle the family had.

After a few seconds, Artoo beeped at Anakin. The engine check came up fine, but a few tweaks would improve the energy output of the speeder in the long run. Artoo pulled out his welder and got to work, and Anakin grabbed a wrench and slid under the belly of the speeder. The two of them began their upgrades.

While taking apart one of the thrusters, Anakin felt a warm wind pass by his face. Ahsoka. "Hey, Snips," he greeted, smiling again. "It's a shame you can't help. You'd probably love this."

From the front of the speeder, Artoo overheard Anakin and got excited, asking if she was here. "Not really, buddy," he explained, suddenly feeling bad for the astromech. "She's here in the Force, but there isn't a way to see her. I'm sorry."

He whistled sadly, looking down before going back to work. Anakin felt Ahsoka's wind again and decided to interpret on her behalf. "Yeah, she misses you too."

Reaching a hand among the inner workings of the thruster, he found the bolt he was searching for and adjusted it. There we go, that would delay a lot of problems down the road. Of course, he had to do the same to the other thruster, so he started putting the first one back together.

"Artoo!"

Anakin stuck his head out from under the speeder at the sound of Ahsoka's recorded voice. When he looked, he saw that R2-D2 had stopped working and had opened an old memory file of her. Ahsoka's hologram was smiling, kneeling down and greeting the astromech while he complained about how long she had been gone.

"It's been crazy, buddy. Not everything went as I hoped it would," Ahsoka's image explained, and Anakin smiled a bit sadly. If that didn't sum up the past sixteen years, what did? This must have been taken sometime right after she returned to the surface of Coruscant.

Distant cheering arose in the recording, and Ahsoka laughed brightly at whatever had caused it. Anakin thought he heard Rex laughing too. That wasn't something he heard very often anymore. After a moment, she reached a hand to stroke Artoo. "At least I know not everything has changed, don't I?"

Yes, that was true. In fact, it was probably some sort of curse for droids. They would always stay the same while the people around them changed, grew old, and died. Anakin didn't like thinking about it.

In the recording, Artoo whistled sadly. "Yeah, I know, I've missed you too," Ahsoka told him, and the real R2-D2 stopped the recording, freezing Ahsoka's kind face in the air. He stared at the hologram silently, then looked at Anakin.

He nodded at his friend. "She still does."

Chirping hopefully, Artoo looked at the hologram one more time before shutting the projection off and returning to his work. Anakin grinned and slid back under the speeder. And some people say droids don't feel anything.

"You know, the others are going to lose their minds when they realize you've been here this whole time," Anakin told Ahsoka. "Sola's been convinced that the heating system in the house has been having issues for months."

Her wind blew again, but this time it was turbulent, not streamline like it usually was. Anakin wondered if that was her version of a laugh.

Replacing the cover on the thruster, he groaned. "Speaking of, you couldn't have clued us in any sooner? What took you so long?"

Her response was sharp, more like a slap in the face. 'Hey, that's not fair,' she was saying. Anakin grinned. He missed being able to banter with her.

"How's Ezra doing?"

A short gust, not very strong. If he had been doing well, Anakin would have expected the wind to blow up and the opposite direction if he was struggling. This one came straight on from the side of his face. "So... meh?"

Stronger this time, a more sure wind blew up around his right hand. "I'll take that as a 'yes,'" he decided before laughing at himself. "This is going to be an interesting system of communication."

Turbulent wind. Ahsoka was laughing again.

He kept working, occasionally chatting with Ahsoka and trying to understand her wind signals. The more he conversed with her, the better he became. It wasn't quite the same as actually talking to her, but Anakin knew it would likely be a long time before she learned how to become a Force Ghost, if she ever did. According to Qui-Gon, if you didn't learn how before you died, it was nearly impossible. Not that it really mattered. Ahsoka had done the impossible before.

Artoo and Anakin finished the upgrades, and Anakin closed the hood of the speeder. "Go tell the others we're ready in here," he told Artoo, who whistled and rolled away. Anakin grabbed the ignition code cylinder, slipped it in his pocket, then walked over to the wall and hit the button to the garage door. It rolled open and sunlight flooded in, hitting Anakin in the face. He shielded his eyes until they adjusted to the new light levels.

A few minutes later, Luke and Leia came out of the house with their eyes covered by Obi-Wan and Padmé. Sola was recording the two of them on a datapad, grinning widely.

"We're not going to get pied in the face, are we?" Leia asked, trying to peek through her mother's fingers, but Padmé didn't let her.

"We wouldn't do that on your birthday," Anakin assured her, stepping aside. He looked to the other parents, who nodded. Holding up his fingers, he counted down from three. On one, Padmé and Obi-Wan removed their hands, letting the twins see the speeder. "Happy sixteenth, you two."

Their eyes went wide when they saw it. "Shut up," Leia whispered, but Luke didn't hesitate. Running forward, he jumped into the pilot's seat, laughing joyfully as he examined the controls.

He looked back at his parents. "Are you serious?!?"

"Well, we don't plan on using it," Obi-Wan teased, crossing his arms and smiling. "This is from all of us, including your grandparents."

"Is that why they came over last week?" Leia asked, but she didn't wait for an answer. She climbed in next to her brother, looking around the interior. "The seats aren't worn down either!"

"If you wanted to reupholster the family speeder, you were more than welcome to," Sola reminded her, but she kept the datapad steady. "I wouldn't spill anything on those cushions if I were you."

Luke looked in the center console, then back up at the others. "Where's the cylinder?"

In response, Anakin pulled it out of his pocket and held it up so both of them could see. Now he had their attention. "Flying your own speeder is a privilege, not a right. If either one of you heads out, one of us needs to know where you're going. You two have communicators for a reason. Use them."

They nodded—anything to get that cylinder.

"This is your vehicle, which means you're taking care of it. Maintenance is your responsibility. Both of you know how to repair an engine and thrusters. You've had plenty of practice on the family speeder. You break it, you fix it."

"Isn't that a given by now?" Luke asked. "Will you just give us the cylinder already?"

"Meet us downtown for dinner at six," he continued. "Don't be late, don't break any speed limits. I want both of you to practice flying, so you get a feel for the controls. Understood?"

"Yes, Dad," Leia promised, waiting expectantly. Anakin finally tossed the cylinder at Luke, who caught it and immediately inserted it into the ignition.

Padmé smiled, watching as Luke powered up the engine. "Have fun, you two. We'll see you in two hours."

Luke grinned, shifting the speeder into gear. Beside him, Leia threw her hands up in the air as her brother took off. "FREEDOOOOOOM!!!"

All four parents laughed as the twins sped off down the driveway, cheering and hollering. Doubtless, they would go zipping around rural Lake Country, trying out their favorite stunts now that Obi-Wan wasn't there to tell them to slow down. You couldn't break speed limits if there weren't any.

Sola stopped recording and rewound the footage for a few seconds. When she found the frame she was looking for, she showed the other three. Luke and Leia's mouths were gaping open on the screen, eyes nearly bulging out of their heads. "Picture perfect," she joked, making the others laugh, "and now we have ninety minutes to ourselves."

"Is there anything that needs to be done?" Anakin asked, putting his toolbox back on the shelf.

"You think you could do a load of dishes?" she requested, tucking the tablet under her arms. "I'm going to sleep while I can before we leave."

"Consider it done," he assured her. "Go get some rest."

While Sola was walking away, Padmé smiled at him. "Anakin Skywalker. Daring rebel, brilliant strategist, strongest of the remaining Jedi... dishwasher."

"And a good one too, don't you forget it," he bragged, kissing her on the forehead. "Are you going to shower before we leave?"

Padmé nodded, following her sister back into the house. "I need to start a load of laundry too. I guess we both have chores."

Anakin held the door open for her as they walked in. "That's what we get for being away so long. It's the least we can do."

"All in a day's work," she agreed, kissing his cheek before walking off.

He headed toward the kitchen. Anakin and Padmé hated how much time they spent away from home, even if the cause was well worth it. They trusted Obi-Wan and Sola to care for their children while they were away, but they still missed them. It wasn't like they could call home very often either. Transmissions were a risk, even with safety measures in place. If the Empire ever found out that either of them had a family, much less together, they would all be in danger. Obi-Wan was a survivor of the Jedi Purge, the twins were Force-users training to be Jedi, and Sola was a co-conspirator. They would likely all be executed.

Speaking of Obi-Wan... "Company?"

"Always, if it's yours," Anakin answered, pausing while Obi-Wan caught up from behind. "I know how much you love dishes."

He groaned, rolling his eyes. Dishes were his least favorite chore around the house, actually. He would much rather do anything else. "You're hilarious."

Anakin shrugged. "That's what I'm here for. Somebody's got to make you laugh."