Reversal

A/N Hello there! This plot bunny has been nagging me for a really long time and I finally decided to get it down. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own this.

Summary: What if the Jedi didn't win the Sith Wars? What if it was the Sith that lived on Coruscant and trained thousands? What if Anakin Skywalker was raised by the Sith? What if he had to decide to abandon his way of life? What if he had to choose between the Sith Lord who raised him as his own son or the Jedi who treats him as a brother? What if he found a way to bring peace between the two groups? What if he showed them that the Jedi and the Sith weren't as different as they thought? What if he fell in love? What if someone fell in love with him? What if he changed the face of the galaxy?

Chapter 1: In the Most Unlikely of Places

It was by chance that the Zabrak had come to the planet, his ship in need of repairs. It was pure coincidence that he had heard pained cries coming from an alley. He was normally unconcerned with others. Not to say that he cruel or unkind, but if his assistance wasn't asked for, why should he give it? However, for some reason, he felt the urge to inspect the alley and find what was causing the noise. Maybe it was some long forgotten memory of similar cries emitted by another that had drawn him there, but no matter. Here he was, delivering a stranger's child in the middle of an alley on some backwater planet.

It seemed that the woman had been in labor for some time, but no one had cared enough to pay her any mind. He felt a bit awkward, but this was an emergency. Any thoughts of privacy were thrown to the wind in such situations. He gave her the small flask of water that had been on his utility belt and tried to wipe the sweat from her brow as strands of coarse brown hair clung to her forehead. He sat there with her for what felt like hours, though he knew it to be only minutes. It took one last pained push and a new life was brought into the galaxy. He carefully handed the child, a male, to the woman. She tried to clean the boy off with the hem of her tattered skirt, but it seemed to only make him dirtier. She started to cry, what from, he didn't know. He cut the umbilical cord with a hidden vibroblade and offered his cloak for her to wrap the whimpering child. She continued sobbing and some part of him felt as if he should do something, say something, try to make the tears cease.

"Is there anything else I can do?" The woman looked up at his tattooed face with her tear streaked one, and she just barely smiled.

"You've done more for me than anyone has done in the past twenty years."

"Do you need any assistance getting back to your home? Do you need to see a healer? Or do you need contact some family member? A friend? Perhaps your husband?" The last word caused her breath to hitch. He noticed that night was beginning to fall. "I believe that it would be wise to leave now. Where can I take you?" She looked up at him with slightly frightened eyes.

"I have nowhere to go that I can take him with me." He was confused at her words, but thought of another option.

"If you would like, you may stay on my ship for the night. I have more than enough room."

"Thank you. How far away is it?" her child began crying again. Both could tell that these were cries of hunger. As politely as the Zabrak could, he maneuvered the cloak from around the baby over the front of her so the babe could feed without having himself invade upon the woman's privacy. When he did that, her jaw fell open and her crying intensified, though she tried to remain calm and still so that the child would be able to drink properly. It was in that moment that he finally saw the marks and bruises on her neck and shoulders and put two and two together. He understood exactly why she was crying. In that moment, he made a decision. He knelt next to her and carefully lifted her so as not to disturb either the babe or the cloak concealing it. He walked out of the alley and toward the docking bay where his ship was stored. It was some distance, but he was more than strong to carry the slight woman, even though mere hours ago she had been heavy with child.

The ships ramp lowered as he approached it. He walked up the ramp and turned to the right, entering his sleeping chambers. Her eyes were frantic for a split second, but calmed when he set her down on the bed and then moved several feet away. They stayed like that for some time until the newborn finished his meal and fell asleep. A few moments later, she replaced her garments and slid the cloak back around the child so she could look it's sleeping face, memorizing every detail. The Zabrak almost felt as if he was intruding, but then she spoke.

"Would you like to hold him?" She smiled slightly, the tears gone, though they had left clean tracks down her muddied face. He reached his arms out to hold the child, making sure to support it's head. He couldn't remember where he had learned that, but he knew it was important. He gazed in wonder at the little person. Even though the boy wasn't even the same species as himself and he had never met the woman before, he instantly felt what he was sure were the same feelings that a new father has. He removed his gloves wanting to hold the child with his own hands. His hands ghosted over the boy's face and he marveled over how such a beautiful thing could come from so horrible a place. He also noticed that the child needed to be washed, and soon.

He heard soft breathing and realized that not only was the child asleep, but the mother also. He didn't even know her name. He would have to ask her when she awoke. He stood up and took the boy to the fresher, carefully washing the dirt and blood away with a cloth. He then returned to the bedroom, about to set the boy back in her lap so that he could return the speeder to the cargo hold. Her eyes fluttered open momentarily and her arms clutched at her son. "His name is Anakin, Anakin Skywalker." Through sleepy eyes she looked up at the Zabrak, "And mine is Shmi. Thank you...so much..." He was about to give his own when she slipped back into slumber. After locking the ship down, he returned to the sleeping quarters and sat in the chair. A short time later, exhaustion overtook him and he joined them in sleep.

He woke to the cries of the boy. No, the boy had a name. Anakin Skywalker. His eyes opened, expecting to see Shmi still lying there on the bed, her son in her arms. Instead, it was just Anakin on the bed, still wrapped in the cloak. Next to him was the necklace the woman had been wearing and a piece of flimsi covered in scribbled aurebesh.

I'm sorry that I have to leave this way, but I don't know what else I can do. I must be a horrible mother to leave her son to a complete stranger, but I know what will happen to him if he stays here. I don't want this life for him. Please, make sure that he is taken care of, even if all you do is take him to an orphanage. Tell Anakin that I love him very much and that I would have loved to keep him more than anything, but that I also wanted him to live more than just a slave's life. Tell him that I love the desert and looking at the stars. Tell him that my favorite color is blue, just like his eyes. Tell him him that his grandparents, Malakhi and Leia, would have loved him and spoiled him as all children should be. Tell him that the blood of the Tatooni and the Alderaani run through his veins. Tell him that I will miss him every single day and that I will always love him until the day I die. Thank you sir, for helping me and for giving my son the opportunity to have a better life. I am forever indebted to you.

All my love,

Shmi Skywalker

He had never thought in a hundred years that he would become a father, even if it wasn't biological. He would have to get some supplies for the child and...what is that smell...a new cloak too. He picked up Anakin and carried him into the fresher to clean him up before wrapping the boy in one of his spare tunics. He lulled the boy to sleep and secured him to the front of his chest with his obi belt. After all, he had supplies to retrieve, and he certainly couldn't leave Anakin alone on the ship. The babe wasn't even a day old. When he got back to the Temple, he knew the Master's wouldn't be happy, but he would do whatever he could for the child.

Who would have thought that a Sith Lord could be a father?