"No, absolutely not," declared an enraged Owen when he heard the reason for Anakin's appearance. "I've done my best with this boy, to keep him from knowing of…of him, of the evil. To keep him off the same foolish path that his father went on."
Anakin's eyes darkened and opened his mouth to speak, only to have Obi Wan hold up a hand in protest to silence him. He knew that angering Owen would get them no where. It was obvious why Owen wouldn't want Anakin near Luke – after all that had happened. Anakin had been believed to have turned his back on good, and to raise a child with the knowledge of their father being the reason for the fall of the republic was not an easy thing for the kid to deal with. To the child, Anakin was dead and not only that – but he was a mere worker on some little task so ridiculous Anakin couldn't have been bothered to remember it.
"Circumstances have changed, Owen," Obi Wan informed quietly.
Owen didn't seem to be too convinced, glaring at the taller man that stood behind Obi Wan. Luke had been brought to Owen for protection, to grow up a regular life without being dragged into a battle of good and evil with a father he'd known to be alive.
"You gave him to be to protect him, Ben. That's what I have been doing and what I'll continue doing." Owen's voice was firm; his mind had been made up on the topic.
Anakin was fed up, he couldn't stay quiet any longer. "You can't keep my son from me," he declared firmly, his voice low. "He was given to you under different conditions. Those conditions are no longer. He is my son, Owen. Not yours." Anakin made a move to head past Owen, wanting to enter the house where his son had disappeared to. Owen moved in front of him and Obi Wan grabbed his arm to keep him from doing so.
"That is not the way, Anakin," Obi Wan spoke quietly to his former apprentice before he looked back at Owen.
"What's going on, Owen," came a female voice as Owen's wife walked up behind them. She fell silent upon laying her eyes upon Anakin and stood to Owen's side, slightly behind and holding onto her husband's hand. "Ben," she greeted with a nod, then turned to the third male standing there. "Anakin." Her voice had softened on that greeting, unsure of what to think.
"I want my son," Anakin spoke again, his eyes never leaving Owen's. He wanted to see his son, to meet his son and to raise his son further of age.
"He is NOT your son," bellowed Owen, who was only being restrained by his wife's gentle grip. "You gave up that right when you turned, when you turned on your wife and in turn your children. He is not your son, Anakin. You have not been here for the past nine years. You're a stranger to him – a figment of his imagination. He doesn't even know you exist."
"Because of you," shot back the former Jedi, his tone cold and his eyes narrowed.
It was only Obi Wan who remained silent, not saying anything to quiet the two men. There was no point now. His gaze was past Owen, past his wife and on the blonde head of hair that stood at the entrance way to the home. Seeing Obi Wan's gaze, Luke's aunt turned as well and gasped in horror. It was that sound that grabbed the attention of the bitter, feuding step brothers and caused them both to follow the gaze of the other two unofficial peacekeepers. Anakin's expression softened, Owen took a deep breath as Luke looked from one to the other. The man he knew as his uncle and the father he thought was dead.
"Luke…" Owen started softly, but it was too late. The young boy turned around and ran off in the opposite direction. Away from the home, away from the people who were fighting over him…away from all that he had known to be true that had now been contradicted and proven false.
He sped through the hills of sand, his heart racing as he controlled the steered the small speeder he'd taken. Anakin was panicking – there was no doubt about that. Something felt wrong and he was damned if he was going to stand there and partake in another yelling match with Owen. After Luke had run off, Anakin had moved to follow but Owen wouldn't have it. Another bickering match started until Anakin had went silent – feeling that something was wrong. This feeling had shut him up and all four adults standing there knew that Anakin would be more useful in any situation than Owen. There was danger. He could feel it. He just had to get to his son in time.
Finding himself between the cliffs, he slowed as he looked around at the surroundings. He was careful, quiet, searching for his son. He could feel him near. Stopping the speeder, he jumped out of it, his cloak falling around his frame as he made his way through the boulders and rocks that created an idle hiding place. It was too quiet. One hand reached inside his cloak, gripping the returned lightsaber Obi Wan had insisted he'd take upon his search for Luke. His eyes narrowed as he turned around, looking at his surroundings. It was when his back was turned that the uneasy feeling returned.
He swung around, lightsaber igniting as he found himself face to face with a rather tall create. Sand people. His eyes widened and he dodged a swinging fist, taking a few steps back from the angry creature before it took another whack at him. Anakin retaliated this time, the lightsaber swinging across to slice through the large arm that had been swung towards him. The creature yowled in both pain and shock, heading backwards and away from the man. There was only one? His eyes searched their surroundings as he made his way through the boulders. He'd been right about one thing – they were great places for hiding. Behind a series of rocks lay the unconscious body of his son.
The lightsaber was off, shoved into his cloak as Anakin ran to the body and fell onto his knees. He reached his hand out and gently turned the boy onto his back. He was alive. He was breathing. Anakin had never felt so relieved in his life. He was alive – but he wasn't sure if the boy was injured or not. Now wasn't the time. No one would take to having their arm sliced off. In fear of the return, his arms slipped beneath the unconscious boy, lifting him easily and walking back to the speeder. After situating the boy in the seat beside him, he went around and hopped inside. The sooner they were out of there, the better.
The terrain was bare, nothing but sand as Anakin unconsciously made his way back towards the house – Luke beside him and unconscious for most of the trip. He paid no mind to his surroundings, there didn't seem to be anything around that would cause them any immediate danger. Every once in a while, he stole a glance at the boy out of the corner of his eye – almost as though to confirm that he was there, that he was all right – alive at least. He was. His chest would move with each breath he took, his head tilted to the side against the side of the speeder so all that one would see from the outside was a small blonde head of hair.
The body shifted. Anakin slowed the speeder down to a stop, his body turning to face the young boy as he stirred into consciousness. Watching intently as the blurred gaze rested on him, Anakin waited for Luke to blink his vision straight, his hand rising to rub his eyes almost as if waking from a deep sleep. He didn't know what to say. What does one say to the son they just met? Waiting quietly, he watched the young boy sit up, look around to study his surroundings before returning Anakin's gaze. Luke's hand went to the back of his head, rubbing it with a frown. It was the wince that snapped Anakin into action.
"Are you all right?" he questioned softly, his hand moving to the back of the boys head, fingers brushing along his scalp till he felt a bump.
Luke, who seemed unable to figure out what to say, simply nodded. He never broke his gaze from Anakin, watching in an awed manner. Then again, Anakin couldn't blame him. He wasn't sure what to say to a nine year old boy. This wasn't exactly old news to him – only two days ago had he found out he had a son. Many first meetings had run through his head…this certainly wasn't one of them. He hadn't had a chance to think of all possible outcomes, so he was currently left in thought. What to say? What to do? The only thing he felt was the instinctive need to protect him from any more harm.
To his surprise, Luke did make a move. Anakin almost reared back in surprise as a hand brushed along his right eye. He managed to control himself, simply closing his eyes as he felt his son's touch for the first time. Holding his breath, he waited slowly until Luke's hand fell. It was then that he realized what his son had done. He'd simply traced his hand along the scar resting over his father's right eye.
"Where did you get that?" spoke the small child for the first time, his hands falling clasped into his lap as he stared up intently at his father.
Anakin's hand subconsciously rose to his face, resting against his eye for a moment as he looked down at his son. The question wasn't so much curiosity about the scar as it was about the man who had it. Taking a deep breath, he leaned back against his seat in the speeder. A faint smile tugged at his features as he looked down affectionately at his son.
"A long story…and there will be plenty of time for you to hear about all of it," Anakin replied softly, his hand moving to rest affectionately against his son's cheek.
Even at nine years old, Luke was aware of what that meant. His eyes seemed to light up as the child rose onto his knees, confusing Anakin. Luke moved closer, his small arms wrapping around Anakin's neck and his went fell against his father. Anakin's arms moved around the smaller body, his head tilting back to rest his chin on Luke's shoulder as he held his son tightly against him.
"I didn't know," he whispered softly. "I didn't know of you…I wouldn't have abandoned you," he found himself admitting without even being ask.
The only response Luke gave was that he hugged Anakin tighter, his small hands gripping onto the material of his father's robes.