A/N Thank you everyone for the reviews. General-joseph-dickson, I agree with you that the jedi would not allow the sith to live. Still, I think Obi-Wan had his reasons for responding the way he did.
He believed Ben – of course he believed Ben and yet he knew that the old jedi's words were only partly true. Ben and Yoda had planned for him to confront Vader and to kill him. He should have been shocked. And yet aside from wanting to have his family with him, how was Vader any less a monster than the rebellion had first stated? How was his father any less of a force to be reckoned with? This strange truce on Dagobah seemed a moment out of time – and even this truce couldn't stop his father from showing just how much of an antagonist he was whether to Han or to Ben. His mother clearly thought there was still good in his father. Luke agreed that there must be. And yet, did knowing that the Dark Lord of the Sith was committed to protecting his family do anything but complicate the political situation? Luke needed to talk to Leia about this and Leia had hurried Han to a private spot on the Millenium Falcon.
…
"You can't push me away, Ani."
"That's the last thing I want to do," he insisted turning to her.
"And yet you keep on moving from one spot to another giving reign to your temper and …"
"I just need to be alone for a bit. Why can't I find one spot on this cursed planet to be alone?"
"Anakin, if you think that's all you're going to say" she paused. "if I could I would slap you. Can't you see you're holding whatever it is that's bothering you to yourself and I'm worried I'm going to lose you again."
"Angel," he rasped. "You're back with me again. I thank the force for that. And I want to be near you. I do. But I just can't right now. I can't tell you my thoughts or I will lose you."
"What could possibly be so horrible now?"
"Angel, I … I love you. You know that."
…
In the end it was Captain Solo who came for him. "We're leaving Dagobah to rendezvous with the Alliance. You are planning on coming, aren't you? I mean you're not going to stay here for the next twenty years?"
"There are many who would like that to be the case. She…"
"So you really ticked her off."
"Obviously. I am surprised Captain Solo that you have managed to grasp that."
"Hey, you don't need some wacky old mumbo jumbo to figure that out."
If he weren't in such a bad mood, he might promise to remind the smuggler of his words at some future date when the cocky pilot was sure to have irritated his extremely volatile daughter. At this moment however, the possibility of trading barbs with Solo only reminded him of his old verbal games of one-upmanship with Obi-Wan and considering how far his existence was from those days, well he preferred to remain uncharacteristically silent. Because even if some days he feels older than Palpatine, he is not old enough to play father to Han Solo, even if he suspects that some day he will be the insolent Corellian's father-in-law.
Silence was not something Solo respected.
"So what was the argument about anyway?"
"A question." Vader tried to infuse his response with as much of his usual intimidation techniques as possible when really there was little to be done other than give in and follow Solo back to the ship – eventually, anyway. Yoda's shuttle was beyond even his repair skills having long been covered and eroded by the planet's flora like a brick wall invaded by vines, the way the rebel alliance had slowly insinuated itself star system after star system. As to traveling with Obi-Wan … he was reluctant to use the sentiment over his dead body but really either way it expressed his intentions. "I am ready to return, Solo." Even as he said those words, he knew they weren't completely true.
….
Padmé stared at her husband in concern. She was not used to arguing with Anakin. Not really. Or maybe it was that she was too used to not hearing what he was really saying and he was too comfortable trying to say the charming things she preferred to hear. Maybe if she had really listened to him that day on Naboo when they had discussed politics… The problem was whether as Anakin or Vader, her husband trusted few people and the few he had trusted… She didn't want to finish that thought. Didn't want to acknowledge this new iteration of her beloved who seemed reluctant to fight and who seemed to be holding old grievances to him desperately – gripping ever more tightly as life gave him greater reasons to celebrate. More troubling still was his unwillingness to share his troubles with her. She loved Anakin. She always would. And yet, not for the first time, she wondered if their love was enough. She wouldn't let herself doubt – not after this miracle of the Force that had brought her back.
….
Leia, as usual, was bent over a data pad planning. "I'll send a message to Mon Mothma as soon as we are in range."
"It will be interesting to see Mon again. We worked together quite often during the Clone Wars."
"She'll be first in line to order my execution for war crimes" Vader interjected. "Did she know, do you think? You and Mon Mothma and Bail Organa presented your petition together. Do you think she knew?"
Padmé hesitated.
"She must have known to remain silent for so long" Vader answered his own question. No jedi mind trick could have silenced the questions about Luke. And she most likely recognized Leia as your daughter too, Padmé."
Leia started at that conjecture. Perhaps she felt the undertones of anger in Vader's statement. It seemed that if he was taking pleasure in being the former Chandrillian senator's adversary if only because she knew his former self and had most likely helped to sever Vader's children from any connection with their heritage.
"Must you make this all about you?" Leia objected. "The fate of innocent star systems lies in the balance and yet you persist in making this a conflict about family."
"You were chained to Jabba in a so called innocent star system. Why should I care for the nameless more than my own blood. Palpatine used me. The Jedi used me."
"You had choices," Leia answered pitilessly. Whatever softness she had allowed herself to feel for Vader on their trip to Dagobah faded when she saw the black-clad, clack-hearted monster throwing Han against the ship's walls.
…
Obi-Wan tried to meditate but his thoughts were more chaotic than he was accustomed to – all Anakin's fault – well Vader's fault really but Luke seemed so confident that Anakin was returning. He had answered Luke's question by sidestepping the issue. He knew that if Vader didn't change someone would have to kill the menacing sith just as they would have to destroy Palpatine. But did he truly want that burden to be Luke's? The hardest thing Obi-Wan had ever done was to fight Anakin, the young man he had seen as a brother, on Mustafar. How could he wish that same pain on Luke? Yet wishes and necessities were two different things – sometimes separated by a gulf as wide as the divide between jedi and sith. So once again Obi-Wan had spoken from a certain point of view and once again he felt uneasy at his omission.
