Luke's legs ached as they drug across the sand. Reaching up he rubbed at his irritated eyes for what felt like the millionth time. His adrenaline had completely run dry leaving his is body in poor condition. Taking a deep breath of the cold night air, he did his best to ignore the way it stung his lungs. His home was only a bit farther, he could make it.

Home. The word stirred up so many mixed feelings. Memories of family diners, boring days fixing vaporators, and…the terrible gut wrenching feeling he had upon seeing the burnt corpses of his aunt and uncle. The image of their bodies was enough to leave him nauseous. He remembered being crouched down vomiting when he had buried them; the sight was too disturbing not too.

This would be the first time he visited his aunt and uncle's graves since then…

Suddenly and without warning, Luke's legs gave out from under him and he would have face planted into the sand if not for his hands reflexively being thrown forward and reaching the ground first. His friends walking ahead of him stopped and turned around to see what happened. Luke tried to ignore the way his face burned in embarrassment. He heard his father step behind him and bend down to help him.

"No, I've got it," he muttered, pushing himself back onto his feet. Vader just straightened back up and waited for him to start moving again.

"You okay, back there kid? Sands not really meant for eating." Han joked.

The little Jedi had no patience for Han's comments right now. He was tired, his stomach felt queasy, and he really did not feel like talking with anyone right now. All these things blended together and manifested themselves in irritability. Perhaps that is what caused him to glare at the smuggler and storm on ahead with Artoo close behind.

"Geez what did I do?" he heard Han say from behind, but he ignored him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader watched silently as his son marched on ahead, leaving his friends starring after him.

"Geez what did I do?" the smuggler said throwing his hands in the air, "The kid was fine a few minutes ago?"

Lando just stood there shaking his head as Leia looked at him with a face of exasperation, "You really don't have any competency, do you?"

"I'm just trying to keep the mood a little lighter!" Han said defensively.

"My son's body has been pushed to its limit, Captain Solo," Vader explained none too kindly, "Not only that, but he is going back to a place that houses painful memories for him. Do you think it an appropriate time to, as you so eloquently put it, 'lighten the mood?"

Luke may have never personally told him about what happened to his home, but long before he had known the boy was his son he had received the reports. His men had tracked the stolen Death Star plans to a small farm on Tattoine. He had been informed it was owned by a Lars family who refused to give them any information. They were terminated because of it.

The Lars family, he may not have known them well, but he did know them. How could he forget the people that had rescued his mother from slavery? The small farm was also where his mother was buried…

Han turned around to look at him with a slightly surprised face, "I know that! And I don't need sympathy courses from the guy who has none!"

"If you were aware of that, Solo, then why are surprised by his sudden change in behavior?"

The man pointed a finger at him and opened his mouth, but no words came out. He seemed to struggle over what to say for a minute before settling on, "Listen, I'm just worried about Luke. Believe it or not, some people actually care about him for more than just his force stuff."

"You assume much, Solo," Vader said darkly.

"Enough," Leia said glaring at both men, "Let's just keep moving before Luke gets too far ahead."

Chewie growled in agreement, appearing to dare another person to speak.

Vader and Han continued to glare at each other until the Sith broke contact and began walking forward. There wasn't much father to go.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Luke came to a stop on a high dune, his heart stopping for a moment. There it was, the farm, appearing just the same as the day he left it. The exterior was charred black from the fire, but the building itself remained intact. A hand came to rest on his shoulder, but Luke couldn't pull his eyes away from his childhood home.

"Do you want to go in alone for a few minutes?" Leia's voice said sympathetically.

He wanted to say yes, but they all needed sleep. It would be selfish to make them wait outside for any period of time.

"No."

"Luke," Lando's voice was quieter and softer than he could ever recall hearing it, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Luke knew Lando was only concerned, but he did not want to back out now.

Slowly, he beckoned his feet to move forward. One step, then another, and another. He had to force his eyes to look away from the spot where he had found their bodies or where they were currently buried. There would be time to visit them later.

When he reached the front of the building he felt unnaturally numb. There was no trace of the door that used to block the entrance, instead he could see straight down the long flight of stairs. Taking a deep breath, Luke began to descend down them. Everyone was quiet as they followed him, the only sound being that of their feet hitting stone. It felt so surreal having his friends and father in the place that he had grown up. He had always considered his life on Tattoine and his life in the rebellion two separate things; a before and after. But now, they were blending together.

At last they reached the bottom where it led into the open, central hub. The lights in the place had probably stopped working a long time ago, but the space was lit up by the starry sky above them. Besides everything being overturned and covered with sand, the area didn't look as bad as the outside. He had honestly expected worse.

Turning around he found the others looking uncomfortable. His father's face, however, remained unreadable, but Luke saw his eyes glancing around the room appearing deep in thought. He could have reached out through the force and tried to read his emotions, but right now….he just wanted to be alone and think.

Pointing straight ahead, Luke tried to keep the strain out of his voice, "That way's the kitchen and over there is the garage," he paused for a moment before continuing, "and that was my Aunt and Uncle's room. You can use anything you find that's not broken. I'm….going to be up in my room."

Without giving the others a chance to reply, he started towards the set of stairs that led to his old room. Artoo did not follow.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader watched his son's retreating form. Only seconds after the boy disappeared around a corner, his friends began talking.

"Man, this has got to be real tough on the kid," Lando said scratching the back of his head, "This place has got to hold lots of ghosts for him."

"He's going to be fine. Let's just give him some space," Han said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself as much as the others.

"Let's just try to get a few more hours of sleep," The princess said, her weary eyes remaining cautiously on Vader, "The suns will be out soon."

Seeing no need to stand there any longer, Vader brushed past Leia who harshly flinched as if the light contact burned her. The Sith ignored the reaction. She would not be sleeping tonight, for he knew she would force herself to stay awake because of his presence.

"Where do you think you're going?" the idiotic pirate snidely asked.

"That is none of your concern, Solo."

"Oh I'm sorry, was I interrupting you from contacting your Imperial friends to rendezvous here to pick us up?"

The smuggler was grating his nerves.

"If I wanted you captured, Solo, I would already have subdued you," he replied, not even bothering to turn around. He heard the Wookie growl out something at the man, but his response was too low to be heard. Vader did not care though; he had other matters on his mind.

He continued forward in the familiar homestead until he reached the seclusion of what used to be the dining area. A table laid discarded on its side surrounded by the splintered remnants of what he assumed had once been chairs. Out of all places in the farm, this was the only one he truly remembered. He had only been nineteen; he had not seen his mother since he was a child. He had been told she would be here and had eagerly traveled to the farm only for his hopes to be dashed in this very room. Padme had held his hand underneath the table as Cliegg told him how his mother had been forcefully taken by those beasts the Tusken Raiders.

Two others had been in this room with them: the man's son and his girlfriend; he could barely recall their faces now. He did, however, remember the man's name.

Owen Lars, the man who had been tasked with raising Luke in his place. If he had known then that he would be the one to look after his future son, he would have paid him more attention. Then again, if he had known that the Lars family would never have raised the boy in the first place.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Luke stood in the entrance of what used to be his old bedroom. The bed was still attached to the wall, though the mattress halfway lay on the floor. His desk was a wreck with all the drawers pulled open and their contents scattered across the floor.

The young Jedi took a step forward towards the desk only for his foot to knock into something hard. Luke's eyes moved toward the ground to discover the object that he kicked was an old toy. He nervously bit his lip and with careful hands picked up the banged up model T-16. It was covered in scuff marks from years of being played with and loved.

Instead of continuing on towards the desk, he changed directions to the bed. Using his shoulder, he shoved the matrass back onto the frame and climbed on top. A small puff of dust rose from the old sheets which tickled his nose, but he ignored it and reclined against the wall, continuing to admire the model.

He still remembered the day he had gotten it. It had been a present from Uncle Owen on his tenth birthday. He had been shocked when his uncle had marched through the kitchen that morning and placed the toy in his lap. The man had looked uncomfortable as he told him to take care of it because toys weren't cheap and he would not be getting a replacement if it broke. Luke had placed the toy gently on the table and threw his arms around Uncle Owen's waist thanking him!

Luke's mouth curved up in a wobbly smile at the memory and he held the model closer to him, trying to ignore the way his eyes stung. His uncle always had trouble showing affection. He could even recall one time when he was small telling Aunt Beru that Uncle Owen didn't like him because of it.

His aunt had smiled at him and shook her head, "No, your uncle loves you," she had said, "He just doesn't know how to show it."

She had been right, of course. The man had a tough love mentality, but it was love none the less. There were so many things that Luke did not understand why his uncle did until now. All those times Uncle Owen had refused to let him go into town, postponed his joining the Imperial academy or shut down any conversation that dealt with his father had been to keep him safe. To keep Vader from ever finding him.

His aunt and uncle had known who his father was and still took him in despite the dangers it posed to them. It made him feel a twang of guilt for those instances he snapped back at Uncle Owen for what he considered pointless rules at the time. If only he could have apologized or thanked them for all they had done.

Luke was suddenly shivering, but it was not because he was cold.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader was not sure how long he had remained in the dining area lost in thoughts of the past, but when he exited he found the central hub empty with the exception of Senator Organa. She appeared to be sitting on the floor in front of a doorway that led to another section of the farm. Upon closer examination he realized her body was slouched against the wall, deep asleep. Her hair was coated in sand and dark circles rimmed her eyes. It appeared her attempt to stay awake had failed. Peering inside the entranceway she slept next too, Vader saw Solo lightly snoring on the opposite side of the wall from the princess. Calrissian also dozed in a chair with his now splinted arm lying on his lap; his face was twisted in slight discomfort.

The Wookie, however, was leaning against the wall on the far side of the room quite awake. The Wookie and Vader shared glances, but no words were exchanged. None needed to be for the Wookie made his point perfectly clear in stance alone: mess with anyone in here and he'd tear off his arms.

Fair enough.

With a nod, the tall man moved away from the room and towards the bottom of the stairs where Artoo waited for Luke to return. The domed head swiveled in his direction and it let out a quiet series of beeps.

Resting a hand on the little droid's head, Vader looked at the top of the stairs, "I know. He needed the time alone, though," he answered in a low voice.

Another beep.

"Do not fret," Vader nodded, "I have given him long enough. I am going check on him."

He lifted his hand away from the droid and climbed the stairs.

It was…strange seeing his son's childhood room though it was in a ransacked state. Turning his head, Vader saw his son who had passed out sitting up on his bed. Sighing, he approached the boy, careful not to step on any of the tools or other various objects that littered the floor. He needed to lay his son down so he would not wake up with neck pain.

As he got closer, he noticed Luke held a toy loosely in his grip. It was a miniature T-16 Skyhopper. Reaching forward, Vader gently removed the object from his son's hands and examined it himself.

To think…Luke had once played in here with this. It was a bizarre thought that left Vader feeling quite melancholy. He scanned the room once more. Had Luke been raised by him the child would have had a much grander room equipped with the latest technology available. He would not have had to waste his talents farming moisture. He would have been given the finest education and taught the ways of the force by him.

A sneeze forced Vader's attention back on the boy. It was only then did he realize how filthy the bed actually was. Thinking for a moment, the Sith carefully propped Luke forward and began to work the brown robe off of him. He had a vague idea why his son was wearing what looked like a Jawa's robe, but he had yet to actually ask the boy. Giving Luke a one over he realized the bed was not the only thing that was filthy; the boy's hair was matted in sweat and sand. Vader grimaced. Sand really was a terrible substance. Even now he could feel the grains aggravating the skin inside of his clothes.

Spreading the robe across the bed, he gently laid Luke down on top of it. The boy fidgeted at the change in position, but remained asleep. Vader watched the rise and fall of his son's chest; the son who was currently angry with him.

The man dragged a hand through his brown hair and inhaled deeply. He had been thinking a lot lately about his past actions on Kamino. The decision he had made about Luke had been rash, selfish even. It was a choice he consciously made that destroyed the trust the two had forged over the few weeks of traveling together. It was a decision driven by his deep desire to raise his son, but what had it gained him in the end? His son ran away and lost all trust in him.

Reaching forward he brushed a strand of hair out of Luke's face.

He had missed his son grow up and nothing could change that, not even an age regressing machine. He should have put his son's feelings into consideration. He should have looked at the bigger picture instead of ignoring all sense of reason and giving into an imbecilic fantasy.

Then stop regretting and do something about it.

His eyes widened at the whisper that ran through his head. A whisper that sounded very much like…her.

Looking down at his child -their child- he nodded to himself, a sense of determination swirling inside of him. Turning around he exited the room. Soon he would talk to his son, he just hoped the boy would be willing to listen.

AN: Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers! It's been...about three months since my last update...wow. Sorry guys, a combination of lack of inspiration and college work has kept me from writing. This chapter is kind of turned out "meh" in my opinion, but I knew I had to stop fretting about it and give you guys an update.

The next chapter will be called "A Sunrise Conversation" and involves our father and son duo having a long needed discussion in front of a few graves.

Thanks to everyone who has left reviews and continues reading! I am so thankful to have such wonderful readers! I hope I can continue to entertain you all! Not sure when I will be able to update next since I am up to my neck in homework, but hopefully it will be sooner than three months!