Hello :)

Well, looks like I 'had' to post tonight since my fatigue dissolved just in
time for me to prepare this post ;)  Hope you'll like it :)

Type: family, drama, romance
Characters: Luke, Anakin, the Emperor, Mara, Padme, Yoda

Previously: The Skywalker threesome have landed on Dagobah and met with Yoda
who has informed them that Anakin's healing is in his own hands, that he has
to forgive himself.

Part 12/16
by SJ

__________________
Disclaimers: None of those characters belong to me. See my
front page for more details. (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702)

Note about the story's copyrights: All the rights related to the basic idea
of
Vader finding Luke as a child at his school, protecting him from any bad
things and the Emperor, as well as the Emperor's scheme concerning Luke
belong to
Jessica (MoonArtist7@aol.com). Thanks for your suggestion, my friend ; this
story wouldn't have come to be without it.
All rights on the moon gazing idea belong to AMS the Muse (my muse ;) Thanks
for your suggestion, my friend ; this part wouldn't have come to be without
you :)

Also, special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend,
Adrianne,
for her help with the final editing of my new stories. (Eh, I have no choice
but to mention you, my friend ; your secret is still safe though ;) Thanks
for
giving us some of your precious time, my friend :)
____________________

Later on, they returned to their ship, which had in fact been less than ten
minutes away from them.
Yoda had told them that they needed to rest, then promised them that they
would talk in the morning.
Luke wasn't able to sleep though.
He sat in the co-pilot's seat, pondering the master's words.
His passion could lead him to anger, and anger led to the Dark Side.
He knew that this had been his father's undoing. Could it also be his
weakness?, he wondered uneasily. He could still remember the only time that
he had let his anger loose on someone.
The poor pilots had been lucky to survive him.
He knew that he was a passionate youth. Whether it was about his father, the
Force, flying, or... Mara, he always poured all his heart into those things,
considered them seriously whenever he was involved in something related to
them.
"Almost anger it is." he told himself in the silent cockpit.
Almost anger... almost the Dark Side... almost his doom.
No, he decided adamantly, he wouldn't let this happen. He wasn't helpless in
his fight against the darkness ; he would fight it with all his love,
selflessness, and care.
He knew that those were the antithesis of his enemy, his dark self.
He gazed outside once more--- and jumped to his feet when he thought that he
saw a flash of red-gold hair disappear behind the large tree beside which
they had landed.
Mara!, he realized.
He ran out of the ship, not taking care to put on his weapon belt before
going out out.
"Mara?" he called once he was outside.
No answer.
He walked closer to the tree where he had caught a glimpse of her and
noticed the almost concealed hole that seemed to give access to a cave under
the tree. Without hesitation, he lowered himself in the dark cave.
"Mara?" he called again, careful to not let his voice carry too far away
from him while he used the Force to enhance his night vision.
Still no answer and no one. Had he dreamed of her? he began to wonder as he
walked further inside the cave.
"Mara, are you here?" he asked, feeling somewhat foolish to ask that
question.
If she wasn't here, she wouldn't answer him, now would she?
He was about to turn around and return to the ship when powerful arms
wrapped themselves around his, tightly pinning them to his sides.
"She isn't, but I am." the Emperor snarled in his ear.
Luke instantly struggled against him, but the young Emperor was a strong
man.
"I told you that there was no escaping me." the other told him as he tried
to herd him toward the far cave--- then leaned away from Luke's attempt to
head-butt him.
"I've been looking forward to this day, young man," the evil ruler whispered
harshly while he forced him to walk. "the day that you become my property,
for real this time."
Luke was downright panicking now. He had come here unarmed, and given his
pinned arms, he truly was helpless against the Emperor.
Unless...
Forcing down his fear, he reached out for the Emperor and bombarded him with
all the Light that he could gather to himself.
He had to escape him!, he fervently thought. He couldn't let him win.
The despot reeled under the assault, then suddenly disappeared as if he had
never been.
Luke, who was still running on adrenaline, gasped in disbelief as he found
himself released of the up-to-now inescapable hold. He whirled around, then
hesitantly swept a hand where the Emperor had been standing.
Nothing.
Uncomfortable with the idea that he had just dealt with a ghost, he ran out
of the cave as fast as he could.
Once he extirpated himself from its confines, he felt a heavy weight leave
his mind.
The weight of the Dark Side, he realized. That was why the Emperor had
dissolved into nothingness.
He had destroyed a vision, or an illusion, but not the real one...
Throwing a wary gaze at the huge tree that was still very close to him, he
decided to put as much distance as he could between the two of them.
Once he was on the other side of the clearing, he sat on a boulder to catch
his breath.
A vision, it had only been a vision, he reminded himself.
"But real it felt." Yoda's voice cut in his thoughts.
Luke was so shocked by his appearance that he fell down from his chosen
boulder in surprise.
When he looked up, he saw that the small Jedi master was sitting on the
trunk nearby.
"Don't scare me like that." he growled, pulling himself back onto his chosen
seat.
"Forgive me. The tree's effect I sometimes forget." the small alien
commented.
"It's effect?" Luke frowned, "What effect?"
"Hide my presence it does... because of its own darkness."
Luke turned back toward the tree, and everything suddenly snapped into
place. The tree was permeated by the Dark Side, however that had happened,
and it was why it was so twisted-looking, and why it had conjured up his
deepest fear in a terrifying vision.
His deepest fear... and Mara.
"A choice you will have to make," Yoda answered wisely, as if reading his
thoughts.
"How do you know that, Master?" he inquired seriously, mildly defiantly.
He wasn't really in the mood to be lectured.
"Told me the Force did." Yoda commented lightly, getting all his attention.
Force visions.
He didn't have that skill yet, or else he had never taken the time to
develop it.
"What else has it told you?" he queried in interest.
"The last hope you are ; knows it the Emperor does."
Luke shivered at the mention of the dark Jedi who was after him.
"Yeah, I know that he wants me." he sneered in dejection.
"Not physically only, young Skywalker." Yoda corrected warningly. "Want you
more than your father, he does."
That surprised Luke.
"Why?" he frowned.
"The Light bringer you are, but the night bringer you could also be if his
ways he has." Yoda explained seriously.
Luke felt a little lightheaded, both from following Yoda's strange dialect
and discovering that more experienced Force-users were thinking very highly
of his powers.
He knew that he was powerful, yes, but that was only because he had trained
diligently.
Nothing else, he reminded himself.
Yoda didn't agree with him.
"Complete the basic training you have," he pointed out, "but further it you
must. Otherwise, win the Emperor will."
Yes, he nodded, he knew that he and his father weren't strong enough to stop
the Emperor. They had hoped that Yoda would join them, but it seemed that
the aging Jedi wasn't interested to take part to their battle.
On the other hand, he realized, he was offering him tutelage in the advanced
ways of the Force.
He wasn't going to turn down this offer.
"When do we start?" he asked the small Jedi master.
"We already have, young Luke." he answered cryptically.
Luke furrowed his brows at that, wondering what he was supposed to have
learnt from their discussion.
Before he could ask him though, Yoda had already left him alone for the rest
of the night.
Tomorrow then, he sighed as he made his way back to their shuttle.
As he yawned, he became aware that he really needed to sleep now. His little
'vision' had finished him for the night.

******

The next morning, Luke awoke to the sight of his parents sitting in the
small lounge of the shuttle, exchanging memories of good and bad events.
"I thought that you would be with Yoda already." he told his father as he
sat down beside him with a ration bar.
His father shook his head. "I must work on some elements before I can work
with him, but he's told me that he was available for you if you were
interested."
"Master Yoda is a great Jedi, Luke." his mother rejoined warmly. "He can
teach you many things that you will never learn otherwise."
"I'll see him then." he reassured her.
He was also glad that the aged master hadn't changed his mind during the
night.
He ate his breakfast silently, listening to his parents' memories and trying
to envision how their lives had been before things had changed. He sometimes
threw in some comments, or younger memories, but he never mentioned his
experience in the cave ; it would be his and Yoda's secret for the time
being.
An hour later, Luke found the Jedi Master by a small pond near what probably
was his hut.
"Waiting for you I have, young Skywalker." he said simply.
"I know," the young Jedi nodded as he sat down on a dry patch of ground. "So
what are those things that you've mentioned last night? What can you teach
me?" he asked eagerly.
"What do you expect of me?" he first asked him.
Luke took a moment to reflect. "Well, I could always perfect my lightsaber
skills, and my focus, but..."
Yoda shook his head. "Well versed in the art of war you are, young Jedi. No
more training in that field do you require, but how about your mind? How
quiet is it?"
Luke started at that.
"Quiet?? It's not quiet." he shook his head. "I constantly think about a
thousand of things at the same time."
"And your weakness it is." the aging master answered wisely. "As long as
your focus will be tainted, overcome you the Emperor will be able to."
"Like in the cave?" he asked hesitantly, although he already knew the
answer.
In that cave, he had faced both his weakness, and discovered his true power
; to focus the Light of the Force.
"Exactly like in the cave. Ready to begin?"
Luke nodded earnestly, aware that he was accepting to be a student once
again.

And a student he became. Yoda made him run through the swamp with him on his
back, making him focus on one thing at the time, mostly a philosophical
thought that they would have discussed before beginning the run.
He also made him stand on his fingers, always making him focus his thoughts
on one thing only.
Then, he initiated him to meditation.
It was so unlike what he had learnt up to now, Luke reflected as he tiredly
made his way back toward their ship.

For the past ten days, he had grown more in the Force than he had in six
years with his father.
Not that his father had been a bad teacher, he quickly amended, but as Yoda
had told him, it had always been about his warrior skills.
This time, it was solely about his mind and his control of his mind.
He wearily walked up the ramp, then crashed onto the closest sitting bench
near the entrance.
He felt tired, yes, but he also felt more at peace than he had ever felt in
his entire life.
His thoughts were also more disciplined now, less like a jumble of ideas
thrown one over the other.
And when he had to shut them out, he could.
This was something that he had never expected to learn, let alone be able to
do.
He took off his heavy shirt, then searched for his parents. He found his
mother, but not his father.
He headed for the cockpit where she was located.
"Where's Father?" he asked her as he kissed her cheek.
"With Yoda." she smiled wistfully.
Luke gaped at her in pleasant surprise, then smiled too.
"You mean that he's been able to forgive himself?" he inquired earnestly.
"Perhaps not completely, but we have managed to work out many issues ; we're
hoping that this will be enough to help him." she commented softly.
Luke rested his hand on her shoulder.
"So do I, Mother, so do I." he told her warmly.
Now, all they had to do was wait.

******

But the wait was long, and after finishing the construction of his
lightsaber, Luke had nothing much to do.
He kept company to his mother, went for runs in the swamps, or else
exercised near their shuttle that was also their camp.
After two weeks of this routine though, he was beginning to wonder how much
longer they would have to wait.

Aware that his restlessness was setting his mother on nerves lately, he
decided to go out for a while.
Unlike all the other nights that he had spent on Dagobah, this one was not
blanketed by the fog.
Instead, he could see the stars in all their splendor. He sat on the ground
and gazed up at them, then focused on the reg-gold moon that was slightly
bigger than the stars.
For a long moment, he only gazed at it
Its beautiful color was reminding him of his best friend, whom he really
missed. Even though he had had many more things to think about since he and
his family had become fugitives, he had always taken a moment during the day
to think about her, or rather worry about her.
She was still with the Emperor, and the fiend was probably abusing her one
way or another.
Had she been punished for his escape?, he wondered for the fiftieth time
since that day. Did she still consider him as a friend? Or as a foe? Did she
still, he swallowed in nervousness, love him?
He himself knew for sure now that he loved her.
He missed her too much to not be in love with her and her witty retorts, her
professionalism, her ravishing looks.
An image of a mission during which she had had to wear a strapless, emerald
body tight gown came back to him and he smiled softly.
She had been mesmerizing with her hair pinned up on her head, her beautiful
body revealed like a fragile flower that one had to nurse daily to keep in
good state...
His rare flower, he smiled secretively.
Mara, he thought as he gazed at the moon, I love you.

******

Unbeknown to Luke, the object of his thoughts was less than three parsecs
away, debating her choice whether she had to go in the system or not.
She knew where Luke was. The Force was guiding her to him, but... she
admitted with a sigh of reluctance, she didn't want to capture him.
She didn't want to bring him back to the Emperor who would then hurt him
again.
As she gazed at the small, red-gold moon that was right in front of her, she
allowed her good memories of him to come forth.
His smile, his kindness, his annoying habit to be right all the time... and
his expression of utter disbelief when she had kissed him for real.
So endearing, she thought warmly.
Then, the cold shadows of all the times that he got hurt replaced those nice
memories.
No, she decided as she gazed one last time at Dagobah before bringing her
ship around, she wasn't going to betray his location to the Emperor.
She would obey him for anything else, but Luke... she would protect him with
her last breath.
*Love you, farmboy.* she sent through their link before she ripped it from
her mind, severing their link to protect him from their master.
She gasped at the sudden pain, then fought past it and prepared to resume
her life as the cold Emperor's Hand.

******

On Dagobah, Luke gasped in disbelief when he heard Mara's voice in his mind,
then practically screamed through the Force when he felt her disrupt their
connection.
His scream went unanswered.
"Mara..." he whispered in resignation, lowering his chin to his chest.
He knew why she had done that, agreed with her, but at the same time, he
didn't. If he could hide from the Emperor, if his father could, then she too
could.
He raised his head once again, watching the beautiful moon through a curtain
of tears.
"I'll miss you, MJ." he whispered to himself, then sighed in acceptance.
From the moment that they had been matched together, their lives had been
heading into separate directions. He had known that he himself would never
fully accept his service to the Emperor while the evil ruler had always been
and would always be her sole reason to live.
Yes, Luke admitted to himself, he had somehow known that he and Mara would
never come to be.
And yet, he reminded himself, they had much in common, so much that it was
sometimes hard to believe that they were not related in any way.
He smiled slightly as he remembered a particular moment when she had had to
masquerade as his sister ; they had bickered like two siblings would.
Or like a husband and wife would, he reflected more somberly.
"Who is the lucky woman?" his mother's voice cut in his thoughts.
He turned around, surprised that she had approached him without his being
aware of it.
"What makes you think that I am thinking about a woman?" he frowned at her
as she sat beside him.
"Just an hunch, but your gentle smile was a dead giveaway." she smiled
fondly at him. "Your father used to smile like that when he was thinking
about me." she then explained.
"How do you know this? Weren't you away from him when it happened?" Luke
inquired in confusion.
"Not all the time." his mother shrugged. "I've sometimes surprised him like
I have you. So," she asked, turning toward him. "who is occupying your
thoughts and heart?"
Luke blushed slightly ; he was still amazed by her ability to read him so
well even though they hadn't known each other for a long while.
He turned back toward the night sky.
"Her name is Mara." he answered simply. "She used to be my consort."
"Consort?"
Luke chuckled slightly upon hearing her voice. He had sounded exactly like
that when he had been introduced to Mara.
"The Emperor wanted to keep a close watch on me, so, when I was fourteen, he
assigned me a future consort. We've been together ever since."
"And? Is it a forced love, or---"
"A free one." Luke answered wistfully. "At least, now it is a free one. Back
then, it wasn't and we didn't care much about each other, but the more we
spent time together,"
"The more you grew to like, then love each other." Padme finished softly.
"Yes." Luke agreed.
A silence marked a time.
"Why isn't she here with you?" she finally asked him.
Luke sighed forlornly.
"She still serves the Emperor." he explained shortly. "She couldn't escape
with us."
At the thought of his beautiful Mara still being in the Emperor's claws, he
felt fresh tears come to his eyes.
No, he decided, he wouldn't abandon her to that fate.
Someday, he promised himself, somehow, he would free her too.
He felt his mother move, then saw her offer him comfort in her arms. He
gratefully accepted it, then let loose his sadness.
"It's okay Luke." His mother whispered, then kissed the crown of his head.
"I'm sure that she will be all right, and waiting for you."
"I love her, Mother." he sobbed against her shoulder.
"I know..." she nodded, "I know..."
She rocked him for a long, long while--- until he fell asleep in her arms.

Padme held her sleeping son, thinking that even though her son was now grown
up, he would always be her son.
Her child.
She knew that he was a trained warrior, operative, and Jedi, but underneath
it all, he was also fragile.
He needed comfort.
She was glad to be there for him, to offer him an ear to listen to him, and
a shoulder to cry on.
No matter how good a father Anakin had been while she hadn't been with them,
she had no doubts that Luke had always had to be strong, to not show his
feelings.
She knew from first-hand experience that no one could do that forever.
One eventually needed an outlet, and preferably someone else to comfort him.
She heard a slight rustle in the leaves nearby and looked around herself.
She relaxed when she spotted the small form of their Jedi friend as he
slowly walked closer to her.
Slowly, gently, she lowered Luke's head on her lap, then turned toward their
visitor.
"You have exhausted him, Master Yoda." she smiled teasingly.
Yoda gazed at his pupil, then at his mother.
"Much he has been through ; deserve his rest, he does."
"That he does." she nodded her head in agreement, then asked: "How is
Anakin?"
"In a trance he is now ; much improvement he's made."
She sighed in relief.
"You have no idea how glad I am to ear this, Master." she told him softly.
"I was worried that he wouldn't be able to completely forgive himself."
"Yes, he has... but one truth he hasn't faced yet." he then commented.
Padme scowled in confusion.
"Leia." Was Yoda's simple answer.
Her daughter, their little girl, Luke's sister...
"Told them about her you haven't." Yoda stated. "Why?"
Padme gazed down at her sleeping son, stroking his bangs out of his eyes.
"I..." she began, "I wasn't sure if I could trust them..." she admitted,
feeling somewhat shameful for thinking that way. "I didn't want to reveal
her--- and discover that I have been deceived once again." she explained
softly.
"Hmm," Yoda groaned pensively, "legitimate this is, but alone Leia is. The
Skywalker family she deserves to meet."
Padme raised her eyebrows at that.
"Sk-Skywalker?.. You think that I could tell them?" she asked hopefully.
Yoda nodded, barely hiding his smile at her.
"Good the boy is, and redeemed himself Anakin has... The enemy they are not
anymore."
The ex-queen of Naboo couldn't restrain her tears of happiness upon hearing
this. She had known it for quite a while now, almost as soon as they had
saved her from her prison in fact, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. She
hadn't wanted to be too trustee again and end up being hurt.
But how did she want to tell Anakin and Luke about Leia. She couldn't wait
to bring them to Alderaan.
"Careful you must be," the master reminded her. "Well known to her Luke
is... and her father's anger she has."
She nodded silently, indicating that she understood what he was trying to
tell her: she would have to go to Alderaan alone, and keep Luke's identity
secret until the moment would be right...
On her lap, Luke slept fitfully.
Probably dreaming about his dreamgirl, she smiled gently.

******

The next morning, Luke awoke to the sensation that he was not where he had
fallen asleep the previous night.
Worried, he sat bolt upright--- and hit his head on the bulkhead that was
right beside his bunk in the shuttle.
"Owww." he groaned, bringing his hand to his head.
Well, he thought as he gazed around, he was still in the normal surroundings
of their refugee ship. Then a whiff of roasted meat attracted his attention
; he hurried to put on his boots, then headed toward the source of the
delicious smell.
He found his mother tending to their breakfast near the entrance of the
shuttle.
He yawned, then bounded down the ramp.
"Good morning, Mother." he greeted, kissing her on the cheek.
"Good morning, Luke. Slept well?"
He nodded as he yawned again, then stretched the muscles of his back. "How
did you get me in the shuttle?" he asked her, remembering that he had fallen
asleep while crying on her shoulder.
"I haven't, Master Yoda has." she smiled at him while he sat beside her.
Luke almost missed his chosen seat upon hearing that ; he barely managed to
steady himself with his right hand on the ground.
Yoda?, he silently gaped in confusion.
"Does it mean that Father..?"
His mother shook her head. "Not yet, but he's told me that he was making
lots of progress."
"As he forgiven himself?" he inquired while he recovered a better balanced
position.
"Hmm, hmmm," she nodded, then smiled softly. "It seems that our little talks
have helped him a great deal."
Luke smiled too. "I'm so glad to hear that, Mother, I can't even begin to
tell you how happy I am for him."
"Oh, I think that I have a good idea as to how you feel, Son." she answered
wistfully. "We've both known him for an almost equal number of years." she
reminded him.
"Yes," he nodded in agreement, "and we've both gotten to know Anakin, not
Darth Vader."
"Exactly." His mother agreed. "It still amazes me how he's managed to
salvage himself from Palpatine's destruction."
The young Jedi remained pensive at that, pondering her words.
"How... how well did you know Palpatine, Mother?" he finally inquired
seriously.
She turned her head to focus on him.
"About as well as anybody who's been tricked by his deception, I'm afraid."
she answered glumly.
"Has he always been that black-hearted individual that he now is?" he asked.
His mother tightened her lips into a thin line.
"I have never known him as anything but a cold-hearted monster." she
answered. "Even when he was the senator of our home-planet, he was the
perfect image of sincere mimicry," she began, then stopped when her voice
caught in her throat.
Luke leaned closer to her, resting his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Mother, I didn't mean to bring back upsetting memories."
She shook her head, as if to shoo away his apologies, took a deep breath
then turned back to him.
"It's not your fault, Luke. Even then, I could have seen through his facade
; I could have saved us all, but I always dismissed my reading of him as
being farfetched. The way that he used me to achieve his position of supreme
chancellor, the way that he paid too much attention to Anakin, even before
he began his real training... I knew that something wrong was going on...
but I constantly dismissed those. I always had more 'important' things to
attend to." she finished with a light sneer directed at herself.
Luke, who had also fallen for the Emperor's lies, understood very well how
his strong mother felt at the moment. He drew her closer to offer her
comfort.
"I really believed that Anakin had abandoned me, Luke," she continued as she
rested her head on his shoulder, "that he had betrayed me. I never, ever
suspected that monster to be playing with your father and myself. I should
have known better."
"As we should have had all, Mother," he answered softly. "I have yet to see
someone who hasn't fallen for his lies once."
He held her a bit more tightly as she silently pondered his words, then she
returned the hug.
"I guess that the important thing is to be free from them, isn't it?" she
asked him as she straightened up--- then gaped in disbelief.
"I can only agree wholeheartedly with you, Padme." Anakin Skywalker
commented from the edge of the clearing.
It was not Anakin look-alike Vader this time, but Anakin look alike his son,
Luke thought. His father was still wearing the bulky armor that he had worn
for more years than he wanted to count, but his skin was healthy-looking
once again, his hair had grown back on his up-to-now bald and scarred scalp,
and the lights on his suit were turned-off. He also didn't wear his mask nor
respirator anymore.
Before Luke had realized that his father was completely healed and recovered
from his long-due healing trance, his mother had already bolted to her feet
and run toward him.

Anakin also ran to her meeting, then caught her as she leaped into his
outstretched arms. While he hugged her to himself, he spun happily on his
heel, then passionately kissed her, a kiss which she returned most eagerly.
Luke watched them, bemused, happy, then hastily built up barriers to block
the feelings that were coming from his father.
He had no right to feel that, he told himself. His 'father' was in love with
his mother, not himself.
He stood rooted on his spot for a long while, then finally took a few steps
forward to join them, careful to not disturb them in their kiss ; he didn't
want to interrupt this magical moment.
He was so happy for them, he thought as he exchanged a huge smile with his
Jedi teacher. As far as he was concerned, this moment could never end.
Anakin crushed his wife to himself while he buried his face in her soft
hair. Never had he thought that someday, he would be able to feel her silky
hair against his face, let alone smell their cinnamon tinge. He was so
happy, he thought, that he could die right there and then and he wouldn't
know about it.
He was back with his beloved Ami, his angel.
For a long moment, the only thing that mattered in the universe was to hold
her and never let her go ever again... then he became aware of his son who
was watching them, seemingly happy to see him back to his former health.
As if hearing his thought, Ami looked up at him, pecked his lips once again
then slightly stepped aside to allow their son to come closer.
"I'm so glad to see you well, Father." Luke smiled at him.
Anakin answered him by pulling him into his embrace while he brought Padme
back into it, then he wrapped them both in his love.
"Today," he told them softly, "my dearest dream has come true, thanks to
both of you."
"I have missed you so very much, Ani" his wife whispered in his ear.
"I always thought that it was unfair that you were trapped in your suit,
Father." Luke commented as he pulled away from him.
For a second, Anakin realized, he had forgotten that his son was a grown
man, no longer a small child who liked to cuddle against him.
"No more so than I, Luke, I assure you." he smiled at him.
"In the past it is now," Yoda commented from a seat around their small fire,
"and waiting for you the present is." he smiled slightly, indicating the
waiting breakfast.
"Right," Ani agreed. "It does smell delicious." he commented as he wrapped
his arm around his wife.
"Well, as delicious as re-arranged ration bars can be." she huffed playfully
as she leaned closer to him. "I haven't exactly had time to practice my
cooking skills throughout the past years."
"And I haven't had the opportunity to really taste food for that long either
; we're even." he reassure her.
"Not to mention that you must be hungry, Father." Luke observed, aware that
long periods of concentration in the Force ate up one's reserves.
"I am." he agreed, sitting on one of the logs.
As he let his wife serve him before she sat beside him, he reflected that he
felt as if he had been reborn.
Back in the old days, he had never taken the time to notice the smell of the
air around him, the miracle that was life in everything and everyone that
were surrounding him... of the Force that was overabundant.
He had also never paid much attention to the subtle particularities of the
weather, but right now, he rather liked the feel of the barely noticeable
wind on his cheeks and in his hair, of the soft crackle of the wood as it
was slowly consumed by the fire... of the slight humidity that was warning
them that rain would come tonight.
He was alive, not just living anymore.
He gratefully accepted his plate from his wife, and, almost hesitatingly,
took his first bite of real food in a long, long while.
It was so good that it almost brought tears to his eyes.
"Hmm, you'll have to give me your secret, Mother." Luke commented from his
seat in front of them. "Are you sure that those are average ration bars?"
"Yes, and I didn't do anything but cook them instead of eating them raw."
"Well," Anakin said, working hard to keep a tremor out of his voice, "it was
a first meal that was worth the wait."
Padme locked her brilliant brown eyes on his blue ones, silently telling him
how much she loved him and had sorely missed him.
"The previous challenges," Luke began softly, "we're also worth it since
they brought us all together today."
Since he had been gazing at his wife, Anakin noticed the slight flinch in
her eyes when Luke mentioned the whole family, but he didn't understand what
had caused it.
Probably the mention of their respective challenges, he decided.
Padme had been alone and isolated for eighteen years, so had he, although
his isolation had been mental instead of physical, and his son had faced the
Emperor in more ways then one, but despite all their 'injuries', they had
emerged victorious.
Well, as victorious as escapees could be, he reminded himself.
"Actually," his wife began hesitatingly, "the family isn't complete yet."
Both he and Luke forgot their meals to gape at her.
"What do you mean, Mother?" Luke managed to query.
"You were not my only child, Luke..." she gazed up at their son. "You had a
twin... A twin sister." she finished, locking her gaze with her husband's.
"A daughter??!" he asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.
"Yes," his wife nodded shyly. "She... lives on Alderaan... Her name is Leia
Organa."
When he heard his son draw in a sharp breath, he knew that he had heard
right.
Leia Organa, ring leader of the Rebel Alliance and youngest senator ever...
was his daughter.
Incredible.

For a long moment, Luke couldn't do anything but gaze unseeingly at the far
trees.
A twin sister. He had a twin sister, who looked and was much like their
mother, a young woman who had always intrigued him... and who happened to be
his enemy until not so long ago.
She would never want to believe that they were related, he thought glumly.
He regained focus and searched the eyes of Master Yoda.
What was he supposed to do?? he silently asked him.
Yoda remained silent, but his mother spoke.
"She too has the right to be with her rightful family." she said seriously.
His father agreed.
"We're going to Alderaan." he stated with finality.
Well, he reflected while he locked his gaze with his father, that much was
clear, but it left the question as to how they would hide their imperial
origins to their new family member until she was ready to see past that
fact.
Aware that his father had heard his thoughts, he waited for him to come up
with suggestions.
Surprisingly enough, he had quite a few... which they set in motion right
after their breakfast.

With the help of Yoda, the mechanical skills of the two Skywalker men, and
with little more than an emergency repair kit, they heavily modified their
shuttle.

By the end of the day, they were ready for lift-off.
After warm good byes and promises to come back with their whole family, the
Skywalkers quickly departed from the small foggy planet.
They were bound for Alderaan, and the future of their family.

TBC

Well, liked it?  I hope so :)  More surprises to come, I promise, and 4
chapters left ;)

SJ