Lord Vader studied the medical diagnosis and decided that it would be worth the surprise to Palpatine to go through with the surgery; it would not be easy or exactly pain-free.

Lama Su and his cloners had cloned new lungs, larynx, his scars would also be removed and new atheistically pleasing legs and arm. "Would you like to remain 2.03 meters tall, milord?"

"Yes; I must maintain my disguise for as long as possible."

After the preliminary pre-operative surgery completed, Lord Vader permitted his son Luke to enter the surgical ward. "Leave us." Lord Vader ordered the cloners and the myriad of physicians. Luke cried as he came closer to his father's gurney.

"Do not be afraid, my son."

"Promise me you won't leave me, Father; you are the only one I have left."

"I promise you, son. I have much to live for now that you are by my side."

Luke gently kissed his father's scarred cheek and left the room.

"I love you." Luke sent telepathically.

"And I you, young one." Before succumbing to the anesthesia, Lord Vader went into deep meditation.

Dr. Frederickson supervised the cloners and the specialists, despite the long surgery and the complicated procedures, Dr. Frederickson very confident that once Lord Vader healed, he would be most pleased with his appearance and his overall health.

Luke remained in the reception and when Dr. Frederickson approached the young boy after an eight-hour surgery, he was asleep with a small smile on the young boy's face.

"Luke?" Dr. Frederickson knelt to the small boy, gently shaking him.

"Is my father okay?" Luke suddenly awoke.

"Yes, he is still sleeping off the anesthetic, but everything went very well."

"May I see him?"

"Just for a minute or two, then we must allow him to rest."

"Thank you." Luke leapt into Dr. Frederickson's arms, which proceeded to carry the young boy into the recovery room. Luke astonished that his father's face was relaxed and even though his left cheek and the top of his head had protective bandages to ease the swelling of scar removal, he gently planted a kiss on his father's cheek.

As Luke slowly pulled away, he felt a hand enclose around his small one and felt a warm feeling envelop him as if he were receiving a hug through the Force.

Despite being bed ridden and recovering from his major surgery, Lord Vader continued to work through his officers and especially Admiral Piett.

Luke continued to enjoy the amenities of Kamino; his most favorite room seemed to be the gardens and in particularly the trees. Anakin struggled to his feet and walked with a slight limp and a cane until he could fully heal, which was progressing rather nicely, even his hair was starting to return, although it seemed a bit gray around the edges. He rolled his eyes and sighed deeply, his blue eyes had also returned but when he became passionate or angry they would turn a sickly yellow with tinges of red. It scared his son witless when the boy back-talked him, he never saw anyone back down so fast in his life. What was sad is that he did not mean to terrify his son in such a way.

Luke the next day apologized and offered his father a smooth obsidian rock he found near the pond.

Anakin sighed as he took it from his son's hand, "Luke, I'm still very much a Sith Lord and I do feel badly when I scare you."

"I know, its just weird when your eyes turn yellow like that, I never expected to see it. I almost prefer the mask to be honest." Luke replied.

"Well, if its one thing I appreciate its honesty. I imagine that a few of my admirals in the Fleet will have a difficult time with my new appearance and will probably challenge me."

"Just flash em' your eyes, Dad and that will take care of it, trust me," Luke feigning fear by shaking a bit.

Anakin grabbed his son and started to tickle him as the young boy laughed with delight. "Milord, how are we feeling?" Dr. Frederickson asked as he approached the bed.

"Fine; I need to be cleared soon from this bed and from little trips down the hall, I must regain my physical prowess and this convalesce isn't really helping."

"I have cleared you for physical exercises and even a bit of light sparring, however, I do not want you to push it too hard too fast. Luke, will you help me with this?"

"Yes, Doctor." Luke agreed.

For the next several days, Anakin worked within the reasonable parameters set by the doctor. He also enjoyed the time he spent with Luke they were nearly inseparable.

Early one morning, Anakin awoke to see his son curled up beside him on the bed, as the young boy slept; Anakin placed his hand on Luke's forehead to see why his son was still so frightened. Luke apparently had a nightmare last night and sought the only comfort he could, the only comfort that his father could provide.

As a youngling, Anakin often struggled with nightmares and would often do just about anything to avoid having to sleep, he would either tinker with the many droid components in his room, play pranks on Obi-Wan or go to the room of a thousand fountains. Often found asleep underneath one of the large trees where Obi-Wan would wake him and ask, "Another nightmare, my padawan?" Anakin shook his head to rid himself of the memory.

Luke slowly opened his eyes to find his head laying on his father's lap and fingers working through his hair.

"Morning, father."

"Morning, my son; there is something very important we must do." Anakin pulled on his black robe and Luke followed him out of the bedroom. Anakin removed two small candles and through the Force shut off all the lights to where only the lightning would cast blue-white streaks into the darkened room. Anakin lit the candles and set them on the table.

Luke quizzically watched as his father pulled two large pillows and set them in front of each other. Anakin sat on the large black pillow and encouraged Luke to do the same. Anakin lowered his extensive shields around his heart and mind and touched Luke's psyche. His son first reacted in fear and slammed all attempts for his father to enter his mind completely off. Anakin reeled for a moment and breathed in a deep breath to try again. Luke slowly lowered his defenses and learned to trust the moments between himself and his father. His father had earned his trust by caring for him, giving him food, clothing, and shelter. He had never beat him or yelled unnecessarily.