Title: Love, Hope, and Dreams
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters: Shmi, Anakin, Ahsoka
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Star Wars. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Shmi lives and builds her own life for herself.
A/N: Written for [community profile] remixrevival for engmaresh. A remix of Her Own Way.


Love, Hope, and Dreams:

~ Home is the starting place of love, hopes, and dreams. ~

“I’m taking you home, Mom.”

Home. For a moment Shmi doesn’t understand what Anakin is telling her. She pauses over the bag she’s packing. She doesn’t have many belongings, but she’s been looking forward to leaving the medical center and exploring Theed.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he continues, clarifies, “but I think Tatooine is one of the safest places to be right now.”

She stills. She very carefully doesn’t remind him that she nearly died on Tatooine. Several moisturizer farms did die trying to rescue her. Her husband lost his legs, then died from the subsequent infection while she’s been recovering on Naboo. No. Cleigg, Owen, and Beru are a part of a life Anakin will never know. Being a moisture farmer isn’t a life he’ll ever need to know. Her son is a Jedi. His duty is to the universe as a whole and he has a home within the Jedi Order. They are his family now. She’s still working out how much that extends to her, but this isn’t something he needs to hear. Does she tell him that Owen and Beru feel it’s safer for her to stay away from Tatooine, that the Hutts are currently finding loopholes to re-enslave those who’ve been freed? No, Anakin is finding his footing: helping to lead during a war that is dividing the entire Republic. He doesn’t need the extra strain, not when Beru and the other farmers already have plans to disrupt the Hutts. If she tells him that her being on Naboo helps Beru and the others have a place to smuggle newly freed slaves off Tatooine it’ll only cause him more unneeded stress. She’s not sure her heart is strong enough to handle him if he discourages her. She’s not sure what it says about either of them that she fears this. So she pauses. She takes a breath. She carefully weighs what to tell him in the hope of causing him the least amount of strain.

“I’m free now. I can go where I want, do what I want. For the first time in years,” she tells him with a smile on her face as she squeezes his hands and studies his face.

And he doesn’t argue with that, can’t argue with that, but he does impress upon her his need for her to be safe.

“You nearly died,” he reminds. It hurts him to say the words. It leaves her with an ache. She hugs him close. She holds her tall, strong boy and marvels at the fact that he’s still full so of conviction, still trying to do the right thing. He’s seen how vast the universe is and started life in the horrors of it, and he’s still so full of hope. “I can’t almost lose you, again.”
She cups his face and frowns at him. He knows as much as she does that all life eventually dies and to not hold on too tightly to bits of the past or the present will not be lived in. No, he doesn’t need lessons she knows she already taught, lessons she suspect his friend with the sad eyes already taught him as well. Her son is heading into war. He needs reassurances.

“I’m always with you.”

He leaves for his mission and she settles into life in Theed. There’s still physical therapy and the doctors worry about her mental health as well. She keeps in touch with Beru and Owen. She visits museums and art galleries. Naboo prides itself on its art. She volunteers at the medical center. She discovers that she understands fixing people as much as she understands fixing machines. On some level she can just see what’s wrong and knows what’s needed. There’s training, but eventually she joins the Naboo Relief Corps.

She helps deliver aid to nearby planets. She learns how to help resettle refugees. No one questions that some of those refugees started life as she did on Tatooine, started life as her son did, and now they’re all looking for a future where they aren’t beholden to anyone but themselves.

The war rages one. The need for help isn't always on Naboo or even close to Naboo. She didn’t even know her son would be on the ship she’s on when she encounters him in the hallway. He is jogging down the hall, but stops when he sees her.

“Mom! What are you doing here?”

She points to her medics badge. “Helping.”

He starts to protest. She holds her hand out to the Troguta girl that’s trailing him. She takes Shimi’s hand enthusiastically. “Skyguy’s mom! I’m Ahsoka! His Padawan!”
Shmi smiles. A grandchild. She has a grandchild. Beru can’t get pregnant. Anakin loves Padme and Shmi is relatively sure that they’re married, but she figures that their lives, their duties, will keep them from having children. Why did a padawan never occur to her?

“You can’t be here,” Anakin cuts in, protests. “It’s not safe!”

Shmi touches his arm. “Anakin. I’m where I need to be. Just like you are.”

She sends him back on his way with promises to catch up once his mission is complete. They’re both too busy to have this conversation, especially in a hallway. The battle is eventually won. The people Shmi and her team were sent to help are eventually settling in, safe.

Ahsoka comes to see her. Anakin is in a meeting, but will be by afterwards. Shmi digs in her bag. “Good, I won’t have to send these to Obi-Wan. You’ll probably see him or it’ll be easier for you to send them to him.”

She hands Ahsoka the bag of candy. Ahsoka peers into the bag.

“You can have some,” she encourages.

“You know about Master Kenobi’s sweet tooth?” she asks instead.

“I send him candy when I can.”

Ahsoka tries one cautiously and then wrinkles her nose. Shmi laughs.

“It’s too sweet,” Ahsoka apologies.

“I prefer more savory treats myself,” Shmi agrees.

“Exactly! Treats should be filling!”

Shmi can understand that need. It also makes sense that a Trogruta’s palate would be different than a humans’.

“Is it safe to comm out?” Shmi asks. “I’d like to introduce my daughter-in-law.”

Ahsoka grins. Shmi can’t wait to introduce her to Beru and Owen.
.

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