A/N: sry this took longer than usual ((I usually try to update every day))…I had writers block. And drivers ed. Which totally sucks…but w/e. By the way, italics are people's thoughts, and bold italics are Vader's memories. And now…back to the story! mwah

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Leia awoke before dawn that morning. She tried to tell herself that she was being ridiculous. She'd just had to reserve her emotions for so long; she didn't know what to do. Han wouldn't be 'showing up' for at least three more hours, but she found sleep impossible, so she set to cleaning the house, and oiling all of the droids.

She stopped when she got to Threepio. He wasn't in too bad a shape, except for missing his arms and head. She'd heard of the brutality of the Tuskens, and she thought the droid had gotten off easy. She sat down with her tools in the garage and started working vigorously, until she'd managed to attach both of his arms. She gave a small smile. At least her father had let her learn technical skills, and not just forced her into the Dark side. She started in on the head, being careful not to singe any of the circuits.

All of a sudden, the droid sputtered to life. He screamed a couple of things that she couldn't understand, then sputtered, "No, no, don't!"

"It's okay. You're safe."

"Oh my. What happened? I must have taken a bad step." The droid stood up. "I am See-Threepio, human cyborg relations. And this is my counterbot…where is little Artoo?"

"I…I don't know." Leia said. "There was just one of you."

The droid began to wail. "Oh Artoo! My dear little Artoo! Curse my metal body, what am I without Artoo?"

He continued like this for some time, until Uncle Owen, yawning, walked into the garage. "What the hell is going on?"

"Master Owen! It's so good to see you! My facilities are still at your…"

"Alright, alright, save it." He turned to Leia. "Hutt slime, I'd forgotten how annoying that droid can be."

She smiled softly. "Where is his 'counterbot'?"

Owen shrugged. "I don't know. We only found him. Most likely the Tuskens took him away or beat at him until there was nothing left."

Threepio let out a new, anguished wail. "Alright, save it. I need you on the eastern ridge in an hour." Owen snapped.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Luke landed on Tatooine in the middle of a desert. Good thing those rebels move a lot…otherwise they'd have their radar set up and probably would have shot me down!

He hopped out of the fighter, and took a look at his surroundings. He couldn't see anything beyond dunes and dunes of sand. He sighed, and turned back to his fighter, and saw something that made his Sith heart stop. A homing beacon! I've been tracked! He angrily ignited his lightsaber and sliced the beacon off of his fighter. He screamed in anger and hacked at the beacon until there was nothing left but a few bits of metal.

His anger now spent, he had to decide on how he was going to either find the rebel base, or his sister. He had to hurry now, because Palpatine and Vader were surely coming after him.

Luke pulled his hood up, and closed the cockpit of his TIE fighter. He reached out to the Force, searching for Leia.

There! He found her! Grinning, he turned to the north, and began to walk.

Oooooooooooooooooo

"So anyways, I was wondering if you could give us work for a week or two." Han said.

"And what do you want in exchange?" Owen asked.

Leia sat tensely between her aunt and uncle in the main room, and opposite of Han Solo and Chewbacca. Owen was not giving him an easy time. Han had told them that they were refugees from a war on Gamorr, and that they'd been dropped off on Tatooine, and that he was trying to find a ship to take him to his home planet of Corellia.

"Just meals and a roof over our head." Han said calmly. "Kind of like a hired hand thing. And only temporarily, until we can find a transport to take us to Corellia."

Owen looked at Beru. "What do you think?"

Beru knew, of course, that this was the man Leia had been talking about the night before, but she'd kept her silence, to keep Owen from suspecting anything. But now, she smiled. "I think it's a fine idea. He seems like an honest young man."

Honest like a smuggler. Han thought, slightly amused. But he kept his gambler face. Owen sighed. "Then I suppose it's alright."

"Oh thank you, Master Owen!" Threepio exclaimed. "It will be so good to have someone helping me." He turned to Han. "Hello, I do not believe we have been properly introduced. I am See-Threepio, human cyborg relations…"

"Ah, save it, goldenrod." Han said. Then he smiled sheepishly.

Leia breathed a sigh of relief, and laughed.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Darth Vader, in his own TIE fighter, sped as fast as he could towards the desert planet of Tatooine. The Death Star loomed behind him like an omen of death. He felt alive like he hadn't in years, rejecting the Emperor like that. He felt like for once he was doing something right in his life, and maybe he could make up for some of the wrong he had done over the years.

"Anakin, becoming a Jedi is not always easy, and even if you succeed, it's a hard life."

Qui-Gon Jinn's voice floated into his mind. Qui-Gon…who died when Anakin was only eight years old, fighting that Sith Lord, Darth Maul. A Sith Lord, he realized, who was not too different from what he'd become. Qui-Gon had believed in Anakin so much, was this how Vader repaid him? By becoming like that which had killed him?

"I haven't seen you this nervous…since we fell into that nest of gundarks!"

Anakin laughed. "You fell into that nightmare, master. And I rescued you, remember?"

Obi-Wan, his mentor, the only father figure he'd ever known. Ultimately he'd lost trust in Anakin, refusing to appeal to the Jedi Council when they denied Anakin the rank of Master. But Anakin had saved Obi-Wan's life…and then he'd taken it.

Damn! Why am I thinking all of these things now? Vader fumed. I am not Anakin Skywalker, I am Darth Vader.

"I've been dying a little bit every day since you came back into my life." She whispered.


"What?"

"I…I love you." Padme whispered.

Padme!

An ache that Vader had long since pushed away now crept back inside him. He'd loved Padme so much, the only goodness in his life. When she'd been taken from him…Anakin felt like he'd lost everything. No…not everything. His daughter Leia was so much like Padme, and he'd pushed her away. He'd sent her away. The light in his life was truly gone. What had he been thinking?

And in that moment, Darth Vader ceased to exist. He was Anakin Skywalker.

A/N: I know, I know. Not much happened in this chapter but I thought it might be good to just have a chapter devoted to what the characters are thinking and feeling. The next chapter will be more fun…with maybe a little Han/Leia romance! mwah I love all of you…please review!