The first thing Luke became aware of was the smell of bacta. It was a sweet smell. A too strong sweet smell. Sickly sweet. Then he realized he was laying down. His head was resting on a pillow. There was the soft weight of blankets on top of him. He opened his eyes to see a very familiar light brown ceiling that was casted in a pale light. He slowly turned his head to take in the rest of his room.
So he was back . . . Back with his father. Part of him was relieved. There was a part of him that could relax, but there also another part. A part that tensed up. There was a storm coming between father and son. A confrontation. Vader would want to know why Luke had run away. Luke wanted to know why his father had used the Death Star on Mandalore.
He turned his head to see the nightstand next to the bed. He could make out the faint scratches he had put there himself once when he was bored. His room was large and with lots of real wood detailing. His bed was large and plush and was far more comfortable than the thin mattresses or floors he had slept on the past few weeks. Someone had tidied up his room. His desk had a neat stack of books and datapads, when Luke was sure he had left them scattered about.
He felt something brush against his mind. It was huge and powerful. It was as if he was being gently brushed against by a huge muscular reptile. There was tons of potential that it could be lethal and dangerous, but towards Luke it was soft and gentle. He took in a sharp breath. The Force presence of his father had always been there all his life until recently when the Jedi put him under Force suppressants. Now he realized how cold, large, and powerful his father was. Vader was very different to how Leia felt, who was warm and bright.
But it wasn't completely unwanted. Luke leaned towards it. Welcomed it. He had missed his father. Vader leaned in toward Luke. There was a warmth there. A sense of love and happiness coming off Vader. Luke wasn't surprised when the door to his room slid open with a soft swoosh. He didn't turn his head, but he heard the soft sound of boots walking carefully toward him.
"Luke?" his father asked. His voice low and soft.
Luke turned his head to look up at his father. He looked as he always had. Dark blonde hair that was starting to gray. A strong face that often wore a stern and serious expression, but now was soft and furrowed in concern and worry. Sharp blue eyes that were a mix of relief, worry, and happiness. There was an odd almost-smile to his lips. As if he was waiting to smile.
"Dad," Luke whispered. He pushed himself to sit up. He realized his back felt better. There was a tightness to his skin and a soreness to his muscles, but the pain from the canyon was gone. Vader sat down on the edge of Luke's bed. A gloved hand gently grabbed Luke's shoulder to help him up.
Luke's eyes went down to his father's legs. He wore black pants. Slowly, with his real hand, Luke reached for the legs. He felt the warm soft skin of his father's upper legs, and as he moved down towards the knee he felt the cold hard metal. Prosthetics. His real legs were gone . . . cut off by the Jedi . . .
"Dad . . ." Luke said. "I'm . . . I'm sorry . . ." He couldn't hold back his emotions. They bubbled up and out of him. His body shook and trembled with small sobs. His eyes burnt with tears. "I'm so sorry."
Vader said nothing. Only leaned forward and pulled his son to him. He wrapped his arms around the trembling child. Luke at once buried his head into his father's shirt. His tears soaking the fine fabric his father wore. Vader gently rubbed a hand up and down Luke's back. He placed a soft kiss on the top of Luke's head.
"It's ok," Vader whispered. "Everything is ok."
"But-but your legs," Luke sobbed into the shirt.
"Are just legs."
Luke looked up at his father. "That's not-not tr-true-true," Luke mumbled. One arm unwrapped itself and Vader brought up a gloved hand to Luke's face. He gently cupped the boy's cheek.
"It is a price I would quickly pay again if it means you are alive and well," Vader said softly. "I was not going to let you fall down that canyon. I wasn't going to let you get hurt."
The tears came much stronger now. His cheeks burned with grief and embarrassment, so he pushed his head back against his father's chest. It was still his fault. He had run away. If he hadn't, his father would have never had lost his legs. Possibly Mandalore and all those innocent lives would also still be in the galaxy.
So Luke cried. He cried for the lost. For Mandalore. For his father's legs. He cried for what he had gained. A sister. He cried for his father, who only held Luke and gently stroked his hair and back. Luke wasn't sure how long he cried for, but eventually he calmed down. His father's shirt was soaked.
"It's ok, Luke," Vader said softly. "Everything is going to be fine now. I'm here."
"Will it?" Luke whispered. He hadn't meant for those words to come out. Vader flinched. How many times had Luke heard those same words from his father before? And yet . . . how many times had Luke come into danger? True life threatening danger? Three times now? Four? Despite Vader's best promises, danger always seemed to be in Luke's future.
Vader sighed. His thoughts clearly matched up with Luke's. "Luke," he said. "I can't predict everything that will happen, but I promise I will try my best to protect you. I always have. I always will. I have never wanted any pain to fall upon you."
Luke's left hand found his right wrist. He squeezed where the flesh stopped and the prosthetic started. The incident with the Jedi and Sullust could have been worse. Much worse. Like the last time three years ago when he lost his hand. He took a deep breath and released his hold on his wrist. He brought up his real hand to his face. There was no pain where he had been struck . . .
"Leia!" he shouted. She had been with him! At the hotel on Sullust! Then those people had barged in. They had stun him, but what had happened to her? They had debated on killing her!
"Your sister is safe," Vader said. His voice was even.
Luke just stared wide-eyed at his father. "What?" he asked. "You . . . you know?"
A small slightly devilish smile spread across Vader's lips. "Do you think I would not recognize my own daughter?"
Heat built up in Luke's cheeks as they flushed with embarrassment. Of course his father knew. He was incredibly strong in the Force. He probably just needed one look at her.
"She has been given her own room," Vader explained.
What had happened? How had Vader reacted to seeing his long lost daughter? And more importantly, what had Leia done? What was she doing now? How was she handling this? Handling their father?
"Can I . . . Can I see her?" Luke asked.
Vader paused. His blue eyes looked over his son. Then finally he nodded. Vader stood from the bed and walked over to the closet. He pulled out a black shirt and pair of pants. He threw them on the bed. Then he nodded and left the room to allow Luke to get dressed. He quickly did so. He paused in the refresher and splashed some cold water on his face in an attempt to hide the red puffiness. Satisfied he left his room.
Vader waited in the sitting room. It was one of the rooms of Luke's suite. Vader stood looking out a window. His arms crossed as stared out at the city planet. He turned and slowly looked at his son. He smiled and nodded. Then he walked out of the door and down the hallway. Luke followed. He wasn't surprised to see the royal red guard appear and fall in line behind the Emperor and the prince.
They didn't travel far. They were still in the royal residence. Luke spotted the red royal guard standing in front of a door. Vader waved them off with his hand and entered a code into the door panel. The door slid open softly. Vader looked at Luke, and Luke walked in first. It was a nice room with a small sitting area with a small table. Behind a closed door was the bedroom and refresher. That door slid open and Leia stormed in.
"I was wondering when you'd come-"
She stopped as soon as her eyes fell on Luke. Her brown eyes widened in surprise, but quickly a huge smile grew across her face.
"Luke!" she shouted as she ran over to him. "You're ok."
He couldn't help but blush a bit. "Yes I am. So are you."
She smiled. It was a great smile. She looked good. Her hair was in a braid that she wrapped around her head. She was wearing a simple outfit of a white long sleeved shirt and soft white pants.
"Well you look like a prince now," she said looking over his appearance as well. He couldn't help but smile at how alike they were. The sound of the door closing brought both twins' attention to Vader. Leia made a huff in disgust and crossed her arms upon seeing him. "Emperor Vader," she said in a low voice.
"Daughter," Vader replied as he stepped up and stood beside Luke. Luke noticed Leia flinched at the title. A silence fell between them.
"Dad?" Luke asked quietly as he turned to his father. "Would you mind if I spoke to Leia alone?"
Vader glanced over at Leia than back at his son. He paused clearly in thought. Then finally he slowly nodded his head. "I'll be waiting outside," he said as he turned and left back out the door. Once the door shut, Leia unfolded her arms and let out a long breath.
"How can you stand that?" she asked.
"Stand what?"
"How intense he is?"
"Oh . . . he's always like that."
"Even in the Force? All the time?"
"What do you mean?" Luke asked.
"How he just . . . is a storm of darkness. How that storm wraps around you too," Leia explained. Luke furrowed his brows. She asked, "You've never noticed? He wraps his presence around you like a cocoon. He keeps trying to do it to me too, but I keep pushing him off. It's exhausting. I woke up and had to spend an hour untangling my Force presence from him."
"I've always been able to feel him, but I'm not completely sure of what you're talking about."
"He's probably done it your whole life," she muttered. "Just never noticed it."
"Probably . . ." he said. It sounded right. It sounded like his father. Always hovering around him. Being over-protective. "What happened?" Luke asked changing the subject. "Back on Sullust?"
"Oh well your dad showed up and his little apprentice too," Leia said with an eye roll.
"Galen?"
"Yeah. That one. He's only got the one apprentice right? There isn't another little Sith running around?"
"No, just Galen and me."
"Yeah well Galen showed up first. He freed me and we got to you. Turns out our Sullust friends had flamethrowers. Since you were unconscious, we just jammed the door shut and waited until Vader came."
"And how did that go?" he asked. That was the part he wanted to know about. How did their first meeting go?
Leia frowned and looked away. Clearly it had not gone as smoothly as it could have been. "As expected, I suppose," she said.
"And since then?"
"Keeps me locked up," she said bitterly. "I can't leave unless I leave with him or the guards or those two . . . maids, servant women he has appointed to me. He keeps asking me to have dinner with him."
"What's wrong with that?" Luke asked. She just glared at him. "I thought you wanted this," he continued. "For him to love you too?" She only scowled at him. "He is trying, Leia. He isn't the most . . . welcoming person. But trust me, he is doing his best to be kind to you."
"This is his idea of kind?"
Luke only looked at her and deadpanned, "Yes."
"I wonder what the alternative looks like."
"You really don't want to know."
She eyed him and raised an eyebrow almost in a challenge. Clearly she did want to know, but Luke knew she would be horrified with the truth. Vader had never been one to shy away from educating and showing his son what needed to be done to secure the Empire. "Hopefully one day," Vader had said, "this is all be unnecessary. Hopefully by the time you rule, the galaxy will be at peace." Though now Luke wondered how much Vader kept from him. Luke had no idea about the Death Star or about the bioweapons Mandalore was supposedly producing.
"How about eating with me? I just woke up. I'm hungry," Luke offered.
"I take it that means eating with dad as well?"
"Yes."
"Very well," she said a bit reluctantly. "I think you take his edge off a bit. He seems a bit more tolerable. But tell me one thing, is he always so serious? Even when it's just the two of you?"
"No," he replied earnestly. "He can be . . . He can be great dad. When I was young, he used to play with me all the time. Spaceships, animals, bounty hunters. He would read me stories and take me on trips across the galaxy."
She was staring at him. Her brown eyes were intent on his blue. Finally she spoke up, "He can be? That means he can also be a bad father."
Luke only hesitated a breath. "Yes. Yes, he can be. But it's not like he's . . . doing it on purpose. He's just . . . a lot. Strict. Overprotective . . . possessive . . . He cares. He truly does, but it's like he cares too much. He doesn't want anything bad to happen, thus why he is so strict and protective."
"Doesn't sound too much different from Master Kenobi and Yoda," she said a bit light heartedly. Luke wondered how in the galaxy his father could be like the Jedi . . . But his father had once been a Jedi . . .
"Very well, let's have our first family meal," she said. There was a playfulness but also a note of deviousness to her voice.
He nodded and turned around. He pressed the door panel, and the door opened to reveal Vader standing in the hall with his arms crossed.
"Father," Luke said. "Leia would like to join us for dinner."
Vader's sharp blue eyes were on Luke as he talked, but then quickly focused on Leia. "Good. Come," he said. "Let's eat." He turned sharply on his heels and headed back towards the dining room. Leia shot Luke a glance. He could feel her worry in the Force. Luke couldn't help but worry as well. How was this going to go? How were the three of them going to become a family?