Chapter Thirty Eight:

A full day passed, with Luke very slowly settling into the position he was now in: simply being the son of his parents. He had already spoken— diffidently, since he was still getting used to having their company— with his mother and sister respectively, and even a little bit with Ijon.

Now those three were at home, preparing Anakin a bag to keep at the hospital so he could stay clean and not have to leave Luke to do so. Han, Luke's previous room-buddy, wasn't in the room at the moment. Upon asking, they'd found out that Doctor Kness hadn't yet found Han a place to live.

Padmé, on the other hand, had said she'd found something that would possibly suit the boy. She had taken Han to the Skywalker home with them, both to get Anakin's things, and to talk with Han about the options he had available to him.

So right now it was only Luke and Anakin in the room, and Luke found that he was desperate to open up to his father about something that had been bothering him a lot. But Luke was hesitant to address the man by his parental title. Despite being reunited with his family, it was still alien to Luke to call his parents "Mother and Father", or "Mom and Dad."

The only title he had ever given anyone was "Master".

Luke looked to Anakin, who sat serenely in his chair. The peaceful vibe about his father soothed Luke, and he chose to brave the waters. He found that he was also becoming better at speaking, though his voice still wasn't very strong.

"Um... D-Dad?"

Anakin focused on Luke upon hearing his name called. "Yes Luke?"

Luke... the boy thought, relishing the sound of his name from the lips of another. Not worthless, runt, whelp or boy...

Realizing his father was gazing upon him expectantly, Luke shifted, bashful. "I... wanted to, uh..."

Luke broke off, uncertain if his father even wanted to hear this. Luke's chest felt tight as he tried to wade through this unknown territory. Luke's thoughts and opinions had never been worth anything...

"Luke?" Anakin sat forward, offering a small smile Luke thought was meant to be encouraging. "It's alright, you can talk to me about anything, and I mean anything. I want to hear what you have to say, Son, no matter how unimportant you may think it is."

Luke read the man's eyes without looking directly into them and discerned that his father meant what he said. Luke relaxed a hair, but struggled still to talk about his issue. This too was foreign to him: how was he to explain what he felt and thought?

"I... don't know how." Luke admitted, feeling like a toddler.

Anakin placed a hand lightly on Luke's forearm, and Luke noted that he didn't jerk or jump at the contact. That, at least, was progress.

"Just say what's on your mind, even if it may not seem to make sense." Anakin patted Luke's arm, and then pulled away. "Together we can work it out."

Luke nodded, taking a breath. "I can't stand... to have the windows open." There he'd said it. Or part of the problem at least.

Anakin tilted his head curiously. "I had noticed that the blinds were always drawn." Anakin considered the statement. "Can you try to tell me why you don't want them open?"

Luke glanced to the windows, and then tried to make eye contact with Anakin, something he wasn't entirely comfortable with. Yes he was able to read a person, but then again, making direct eye contact with people scared him. It felt to Luke like he was making a connection with them on a deeper level, almost like he could see into one's soul that way. That was what made him leery about eye-contact.

Luke quivered when Anakin's gaze held his, but Luke willed himself to be strong. "Because I... I am so used to being in my... r-room that being suddenly so open is frightening. When I was in Hazael's house I could... move about, but only because I had... a job to do. But now, I don't have that." Luke bent his head in shame, blushing deeply at his next confession. "It's... t-too much freedom."

Anakin felt his heart go out to his son, and he tenderly reached over and tipped Luke's chin back up. Luke's eyes were moist and Anakin offered the tenderest expression he could muster for his son. "Want to know something?"

Luke nodded once, curious.

"I grew up a slave too."

Luke's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

Anakin nodded, smiling sadly. "I was born into slavery. My mother was in service to Gardula the Hutt when I was born, and it wasn't until later that we went to a Toydarian named Watto. Now, I wasn't confined to a tiny cell like you, nor was I chained up, but I had very limited freedom. I worked at Watto's shop and my mother did work for him too, but usually things that she could take home. I even raced pods for Watto, though secretly I loved it, which I never told the man."

Luke was riveted, so Anakin went into great detail about his time as a slave, until he got to the part where he had been freed.

"A Jedi Master named Qui Gon Jin freed me and took me to be trained to be a Jedi. And even though I was freed, I wasn't able to have my chip removed because it had grown to be part of my body as I grew. So I still have my chip, right here." Anakin showed Luke the place.

Luke stared in awe, and a new light entered Luke's gaze to know his father understood Luke on a deeper level than the child had realized. He looked to Anakin, now having the courage to talk openly with him.

"Was Watto cruel... to you?"

Anakin pursed his lips. "Not cruel in the way you were treated, but he made certain that I knew he was the boss. And whenever I got out of line, he put me in my place immediately. But as long as I did my job, he left me mostly alone. I think... I think the man was actually fond of me, though he would never admit to that."

Luke looked down. "The only kindness I ever knew... was through Kalira."

Anakin tilted his head, interested. "Who is Kalira?"

Luke actually smiled, albeit softly. "She was a slave woman Hazael had... there to take care of me and... basically raise me. She was like a..." Luke bit his lip, wondering if he would offend his father— or worse, his mother— by admitting to it."

"Go on," Anakin urged patiently.

"Kalira was a mother to me." Luke finished, starting to weep as he recalled her... death. "Hazael m-murdered her when I was... eight... to send me... a message." Luke wiped at his wet face. "I miss her so much, and I wish... she could have been freed like me."

Anakin pondered Luke's admission to a mother-figure, knowing Padmé would be both sad someone had taken her role, and grateful that someone had been there for their son. Anakin offered his arms in a hug and Luke gingerly accepted, leaning into Anakin.

"Qui Gon tried to free my mother, but couldn't, so I had to leave her behind," Anakin said. "Later she was killed by Sand People. But after my freedom from Watto, I saw Qui Gon as a father, and so when he was killed, I took it hard."

Luke nodded against Anakin's chest. "Are you upset with me?"

Anakin shook his head. "No, and your mother won't be either. We understand, Luke."

Luke closed his eyes and let Anakin hold him a bit longer before he pulled back. He glanced at the windows. "It scares me to be so... free. I don't..." he paused. "I don't know where to go, what to do, who to be... I have nothing. I have no clothes, no home, nothing..."

Anakin shook his head fervently. "No, you do have somewhere to go: you can come home." He remembered something and retrieved his datapad, bringing up a holo. "And there's something I have wanted to show you, but I never found the chance."

Anakin turned the datapad and showed Luke the image Anakin had captured of the Luke-wall in the master bedroom back home. "I remembered you looking about the house when you were there with Hazael, and I think you were looking for evidence that we hadn't forgotten you."

Luke stared at the picture, taken aback by the little memorial to the child his parents had thought dead. There were holos, trinkets and even a short written thing Luke could not read. Luke hugged the datapad to his chest, looking to Anakin anew.

"You truly didn't... forget me." It wasn't a question.

Anakin shook his head, kissing Luke on the forehead. "We could never forget you, Luke."

Luke's joy spilled over into the Force, bringing Anakin happiness as well.

00000

Han sat on the couch, with Leia on one side and Padmé across the coffee table in her chair. Anakin's things were packed and the children had eaten lunch, so now Padmé had asked to speak with Han.

Han knew the subject, and so he waited with baited breath for what she had to tell him.

"I went to some of my contacts in the Senate, and I found a few possible options for you Han." Padmé set a few pieces of flimsi on the table between them. "Now, before you give an answer, listen to all of them, and really think about it."

Han nodded. "Yes Ma'am."

Padmé smiled softly and began, gesturing to each flimsi as she spoke about it. "First of course are a few orphanages, or boys' homes. There are some that are quite reputable for turning out fine young men. Second, you could take a job with one of the Senator's contacts and you would have both a job and a place to live. Right now, due to your age, the work would be appropriate to your age, and increase as you grow. These would also include food and such. Everything you'd need would be provided. If you choose this, you would work for this person until you come of age. At that point you may do as you wish stay on or go elsewhere."

Padmé pointed to a third page. "Lastly, you could accept foster care in a specific home. There are a few families who are looking for a boy to raise. I only selected the ones I knew would be trustworthy. Everyone on the list is someone I checked into via my personal security. They would all take good care of you."

Han looked at each document, and picked them up in turn, studying the list and trying to think of which option he'd prefer. Han knew right off the bat he didn't want anything to do with an orphanage, so he dismissed that option fairly quickly. Which left two choices.

A foster home, or work for a senator?

Han thought of the last person he'd 'worked for' and blew out a sour breath.

I guess that leaves foster care. Han mused.

"I think I will do foster care, but I would like more information on the families so I can choose the couple I think would be the best fit for me."

Padmé smiled, taking away the two unneeded documents. "Of course. Here are the pages with the information. Look them over, and let me know when you've chosen, alright? Why don't you stay here with the children and I will take Anakin's things to him."

Han agreed, sitting back on the divan and studying the information with a critical eye. He looked up when Padmé was about to leave.

"Senator Skywalker?"

Padmé turned, and Han stood, straightening his clothes self-consciously. "Look, I uh... just wanted to say thanks. I didn't expect any help... but I appreciate it."

Padmé smiled kindly. "I'm happy to do so Han. Take your time; I understand it's a big decision."

Then she was gone, and a security man entered the house to stand in the normal place by the door. Another came in and stood by the balcony door.

Han sat on the couch again and returned to studying the information.

The first choice was Anns and Asa Segub, a wealthy couple who lived on the other side of Coruscant but who were active in charity and taking care of others. Han wondered if this couple would see Han as a son or another charity case. If that was the reason they were doing this, he didn't want to be part of it. Let them 'help' someone else. Their holo showed two obviously wealthy individuals who dressed posh and yet looked nice enough. But their home— some images were included for that too— looked stark and uninviting.

His next choice was an artsy couple who actually lived a few blocks from the school Leia went to. Kemuel and Shannah Olwen were their names, and by the looks of things they had only been married five years. But they seemed real enough, and while they loved to help others, they weren't particularly rich or influential. Han studied the holo of the couple, and finding the pair to be oddly homely. Their house looked... quaint and lived in, and Han found that he rather liked it.

Option three was Dixon and Wanda Tabb. This couple was middle-class, and more wealthy than the Olwens, and their home looked nice, but it seemed to be lacking something to Han. It didn't exactly look lived in. It was clean, yes, but everything was in its place, and appeared as if it would never leave it. Han noted that the couple was unable to have children of their own, and so far adoption hadn't worked out.

The final choice was a couple named Tarron and Kristol Sach, a couple who actually lived in a nice ship and travelled extensively. That called to Han, but at the same time...

"So what do you think you'll do?" Leia asked shyly.

Han looked to her, the girl's chocolate eyes so warm and welcoming that Han found himself drawn to her in a slightly new way. He was too young to feel love, he knew, but he was not that far off from puberty, which meant it wouldn't be too long before he did start to really notice the members of the opposite sex.

But beyond that, Leia and Luke were the only friends he had. They had grown on Han in a way he'd never experienced before. And he found that he didn't want to leave them. Not entirely.

Han glanced at the last couple on the list and mentally crossed them off. Who knew how often they'd be on Coruscant? Yes, Han wanted to see the galaxy, but he knew he needed to wait until he had an education and was an adult. Things were better when one was an adult; he was sure of that.

Han also didn't want to be with the first couple, so that left numbers two and three. Go with the artists, or go with the ones with the less-welcoming house?

Han wasn't artsy himself— he had as much creative sense as a granite slug— but there was just something about the couple that called to Han. And he found that he truly did want a family of his own. Would they be a family? Han thought that of all the couples on this list, the Olwens were most likely to fit that bill.

With a smile, and trusting his gut, Han smiled at Leia. "Yeah, I think I've decided."