Ch. 4

Anakin landed the ship hastily, grabbing Leia and taking Padme's hand as she carried Luke to get them off the ship quickly. Anakin was infuriated that someone had jeopardized the life of his family, and all of his energy was focused on finding and confronting whomever had shot at them. He was seething, he hadn't felt this angry and defensive since… well he didn't want to think about that now, he couldn't show that side of himself to his own children. He rushed to his starfighter, uncovering it with a gasp from Leia and Luke, who had never seen a real starfighter before.

Just as Anakin was preparing to call Obi Wan, his former Master came rushing into the hangar, with a very disturbed look on his face.

"Anakin, what's wrong, your Force presence is so disturbed I felt it the second you re-entered Coruscant's atmosphere, calm down old friend."

"Somebody shot at us, Obi Wan," Anakin said, wasting no time in finding an old R2-Unit, upset that he didn't have R2-D2 but knowing he had no time to go and get it. "And I'm going to find them, are you going to help me?"
"Someone shot at you, just now?" Obi Wan asked, in disbelief.

"Yes, with my wife and children in the ship," Anakin said, his anger now growing more and more apparent.

"Anakin if you didn't get them right away there is no way we'll find them now," Obi Wan said, trying to calm him down. "We will have to investigate it certainly, shots being fired during this time of peace, but there is nothing we can do- Anakin, we will not find them ourselves."

"Yes we will," yelled Anakin, and nearby Jedi began to approach them, sneaking glances at the scene taking place in the hangar. "I'm going no matter what, are you helping me or not?"

"I will, but you have to calm down first. You know what happens when you get like this."

"These people deserve to be caught," Anakin shouted.

"What if it was an accident, Anakin? You don't know that they shot at you on purpose."

"I don't care," Anakin yelled. "They put my children's lives in danger." All the while, Padme held Luke and Leia, not wanting them to see their father like this.

"Anakin listen to yourself, you've gotten so much more mature, so much wiser, don't let your anger get a hold of you again."
"I just want to find whoever did this," Anakin said through gritted teeth. Obi Wan opened his mouth to speak, but Anakin cut him off. "I'm fine, Obi Wan." He stormed towards his starfighter, his eyes blazing with anger, and was about to get in when he saw Obi Wan in front of him with his light saber raised.

"I can't let you go until you calm down," Obi Wan said, looking in to Anakin's eyes seriously.

Anakin ignited his own light saber. "Get out of my way," he screamed. Obi Wan didn't move, and soon the two were fighting as they did so often, except that this time it was for real. Now everyone was watching, wondering what could possibly be going on.

"Anakin, look at yourself. You are fighting me, is that what you want?" Obi Wan asked as they whipped around dangerously close to Anakin's ship. "Don't do this, Anakin. I want to help you, just calm down. You can't make assumptions before you know what really happened. I can't let you go and start shooting at every ship you see… I know you too well, Anakin. Look at your children- Do you want them to see you like this?" Finally, Anakin looked toward Luke and Leia and Padme, and took a deep breath. He put his light saber away, and looked at Obi Wan.

"I'm sorry, Master," he said humbly, feeling again as if he were Obi Wan's rebellious Padawan. "I just don't want to see them hurt. Please…"

"All right, let's go," Obi Wan said, knowing that his friend was now fine. Anakin was much better at controlling himself now, but he still occasionally let his emotions take hold of him. They jumped into their star fighters.

"Luke, Leia, stay here with your mother," Anakin said. "We'll be back soon."

Padme and the twins, as well as all the Jedi surrounding the scene, watched in awe as the famous Jedi Masters took off quickly in their star fighters, a sight no one had seen since the end of the Clone Wars.

"Yay daddy!" Leia yelled, and she and Luke, still not understanding the situation, jumped up and down as the starfighters rose into space.

Once they were in space, Obi Wan and Anakin could finally talk alone.

"Someone actually shot at you?" Obi Wan asked, still in disbelief.

"Yes, I haven't been shot at in four years and now this," Anakin answered. "Why?"

"I don't know Anakin," Obi Wan replied. "Did you see the ship?"

"No, all I could see anywhere near us was a transport."
"But no ship could be cloaked that close to the atmosphere."

"That's what I said," Anakin answered. "Something is very wrong here."
"There is a possibility it was just a stray shot…" Obi Wan mused.

"But why was anyone shooting in the first place? This is a free flying zone, it's unacceptable."

"I agree, but Anakin, as much as I know you feel the need to protect your family, I don't think that we can do anything up here," Obi Wan said cautiously.

Anakin sighed. "You're probably right, I Just felt that I…Obi Wan, why does that happen to me?"

Obi Wan knew exactly to what he was referring. "What I think, Anakin, and what I have always thought, is that… well, because it seems that the Force brought you life, I believe that your emotions are so tied to it that you effect it in a way that none of us do- the Force feels with you. But you have learned to control yourself, and that is why you have been much more able to think rationally about these situations as you grow older and learn more about the Force… So I don't blame you, my friend," Obi Wan smiled, but of course Anakin couldn't see it.

"I hope that's all," Anakin replied. "I don't want to be like that, it scares me, Obi Wan."

"That is why you learn to control it."

"Thank you, Obi Wan. What would I do without you?"

"Sometimes I really don't know," Obi Wan laughed. "Now Anakin, I think that we should land and report this to the council."

"All right," Anakin sighed. "I don't understand it…I just wish I could find something to lead me in the right direction…"

"I know you do, but there is nothing here that will help you."

"I know."

"All right then," Obi Wan replied, and began to head back into Coruscant's atmosphere.

"Wait," Anakin said. "Before you go, you still have to tell me about your girlfriend."

"Not on your life, Anakin Skywalker," Obi Wan replied, and landed before Anakin had a chance to say anything. Frustrated, Anakin landed as well.

As soon as his ship was on the ground, Anakin rushed to hug Padme and his children.

"Did you find anything?" Padme asked worriedly.

"No," Anakin said, feeling slightly defeated. "We're going to have to report this to the council and deal with it the 'proper' way…" He walked over to the ship that had been shot, and Obi Wan joined him, immediately understanding that inspecting the damage might give them a clue.

"Sith!" Anakin yelled, and Padme covered the children's ears.

"Anakin, language!"

"Sorry…It's just that…I can't repair this, this part that was damaged needs replacing," Anakin said, with more anger in his voice then one would expect in such a situation.

"Well that should be easy enough shouldn't it?" Padme asked hopefully.

"No," Anakin replied, and suddenly he looked very sad.

"What is it?" Padme asked, rushing to his side.

"There's only one place I can get this part, and it's the last place I ever wanted to go again." Padme looked slightly confused, but Obi Wan knew immediately what he was talking about.

"You don't have to Anakin. I will do it for you, if you would like," he offered, patting Anakin's back.

"No, I should. I should bring them," Anakin answered.

"You don't have to," Obi Wan replied.

"I would like them to know where I grew up," Anakin said, still looking sad.

"Oh," Padme gasped, suddenly understanding. "Anakin, let Obi Wan go."

"No, I should go back. I can't avoid it forever." Padme just hugged him, Luke and Leia already having run off to play in the gardens. He smiled at Padme, trying to pretend that he didn't dread going back to face his difficult childhood. It might not have been so bad, but the last time he had been on Tatooine had been the worst experience of his life, and seeing his childhood home would not only bring back memories of being a slave, but memories of his mother. But he tried to shake it off, for the sake of those around him. "It will be nice, Padme. Luke and Leia don't even know where I grew up- they should, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," Padme answered, still unsure. "Maybe it will show them not to complain so much, seeing how badly you had it at their age."

"No, I don't want them to know," Anakin said stubbornly.

"They won't even understand," Padme said.

"I don't want them to know."
"Well then we won't tell them," Padme smiled, and hugged Anakin.

"We'll leave tomorrow. Obi Wan, care if I steal your Padawan for a few days?"

"Care if I steal your son for the next fifteen years?"

"Yeah, let's call it even."

Obi Wan smiled and gave Anakin a hug. "If you need anything," Obi Wan said warmly, "You know where I am."

"Oh, I think you'll keep yourself busy," Anakin said, smirking at his former Master. Obi Wan rolled his eyes and left the hangar.

"Are you going to be ok?" Padme asked, her heart breaking over the look of childish fear in her husband's eyes. When he was on Tatooine, she knew, he always was the frightened boy that she had met there- no matter how powerful and confident Master Skywalker became, Ani was always the little slave who had lost his mother. This sensitive side of him made her love him even more, but her heart wept for him whenever she saw it in his eyes.

"I will be fine," Anakin answered. "I have you." He kissed her, and they went to find their children and begin the trip back to Watoo's shop on Tatooine.