Disclaimer: For a squeaky helmet that makes Darth Vader's birth absolutely hilarious (not to mention anything else squeaky in the world, now) George Lucas, you're the best.
Authors' Note- Yes, yes, it's been ages. No excuses really, aside from Weissman and his stupid essays (and spiritual band-aids), dumb newspaper assignments for Colorado History, real newspaper assignments for the school paper, and of course, lazy authors. Sorry, a thousand times over, and we hope you enjoy the final chapter of An Unexpected Guest!
This chapter dedicated to, er, that guy that played Owen Lars. Not sure of his name, but you rock, and hope Heaven treats you well!
Thanks to: QueenMeep- Thanks! We love your weird ideas … absolutely wonderful! KillinBuddy- Your review made absolutely no sense and we thank you for that. MercutioArcher- It's a good thing we've gotten used to your energy or that review would've really freaked us out. Thank you so much! ShadowCaster360- Okay fine! Are your parents British? Thanks for putting up with our weirdness! Seriously, in a purely curious capacity, where are you from? Princess-Aiel- People seem to like the getting drunk idea … we'll have to consider that.Thanks always for your wonderful reviews! padmenaberrie32- Cool, more stories to come! swiftykenobi- WE LOVE YOU! Your review is so wonderful! It made our day. Well, actually it made a lot of our days considering we haven't updated in at least a month. Rono- How sweet, thank you so much for all your support. Jedi X-man Serena Kenobi- Uh, thanks, we're glad he died too! . ()- Er, thanks. Vanhooser. forceflow46- We loved the hole part too, glad to see you liked it! Course, we never knew what it was called…. cozy-rozy-etc- Thanks. I think we'll save the drunk thing for the next story. Phantom'sJediBandieGirl- Yeah, Palpatine annoys us too, but not as much anymore. We've 'rooned' him for ourselves now…. Thanks for the review!
To everyone who has ever read our story, thank you so much! It's always nice to know that people enjoy a couple of weird senses of humor….
An Unexpected Guest
Epilogue
The ship that Obi-wan and I had boarded is just a parsec away from the surface of Tatooine when he so politely informs me that I have a son. We left the Death Star earlier today after I publicly announced the end of the Empire to a galaxy that has hated me for so many long years of oppression. A few moments ago I sat gazing absentmindedly at the blurred stars of hyperspace, thinking about how proud Padme would be that the Republic she held so dear has finally been restored to freedom. Now, however, my breath is coming in rapid, harsh bursts of air, wheezing through my mask in an expression of pure, electric shock.
"W-what?" I choke.
"Calm down," Obi-wan says gently, patting my shoulder with genuine concern. "Why did you think we were going to Tatooine?"
"For the reasons you told me!" I screech. "You know, like the fact that you live there and it's the ideal place to hide out when the majority of the galaxy would still like to see me dead! You never mentioned I have a son! How – how?"
"Well Anakin, when two people love each other very much and they want to express that love -"
"I know how!" I say, annoyed. "But it just doesn't make sense. Palpatine said -"
"Search your feelings, Anakin, you know it to be true," Obi-wan says with a smile. I look deep inside myself, and somehow know he is correct, he's telling the truth. Somehow, someway, I have a son.
"I have a son," I repeat out loud, letting it all sink in. But soon my new found acceptance turns into anger. "You never told me I had a son! Why didn't you ever say anything?" In my outrage I manage to carelessly knock over Bob, whom I have brought with me in hopes that the Tatooine suns will help him grow.
Obi-wan, catching Bob before he hits the ground, responds, "You were evil! The last time I saw you your burned, flakey body was exclaiming that you hated me! Was I supposed to hand your children over to a Sith Lord? Anakin Skywalker would never have wanted that to happen."
The end of this explanation rings true and I know it, but somehow I'm still stuck on one of Obi-wan's previous sentences. "Children?" I ask, my voice breaking in such an urgent tone. "What do you mean, 'children?'"
Obi-wan pauses, looking as though he's desperately trying to recall exactly what he just said. "Well," he finally begins, "you have a daughter too. Her name is Leia and she's Luke's twin sister. She lives on Alderaan though, with Bail Organa."
A fresh stream of panic and shock pulses through the few veins I have left. How can I have children? The thought seemed impossible for so long. After Padme's death I hardly thought I would find true happiness again, not that I ever deserved it. And now, now when everything is clear in my life once more, the thought of her children is the best blessing from the Force I could have ever imagined. I might have a chance to fix what I destroyed all those years ago.
But they already have families, I argue bitterly with myself. They probably don't even know of me … and what would they think if they did? And what if they're not happy now? What if the need their father? Maybe…. Evidently Obi-wan can sense my fear, my conflicting thoughts and questions, because he lays a warm, soothing hand on my shoulder once more before offering, "Hey, she's happy, they're happy. Besides, Leia gets to be a princess!" he adds. "Now what little girl wouldn't want that?"
I stare at him numbly, still discomforted and lost. "I want to be a part of their lives, Obi-wan," I say seriously. "But what if -"
"No," Obi-wan interrupts. "No 'what if.' Concentrate on the present. We'll figure something out."
Through our ripped, shredded bond, so recently repaired, I can feel his reassurance. As the ship pulls out of hyperspace, as Tatooine draws nearer, as Obi-wan gives Bob some water before we land, I brace myself, hoping that the mistakes of my past will not become my future.
The warm Tatooine suns greet me as I walk off of the ship. Although it's been years since I last came here, it looks exactly as I remember it. As I scan my surroundings, looking for some evidence of change, I see Obi-wan out of the corner of my eye, carrying a brightly wrapped package.
"What's that?" I say, pointing at the shiny box.
"A birthday present," Obi-wan states simply.
"Really? For who?"
"For your son, duh. Today is his birthday after all."
"WHAT?" I yell. "His birthday is today and you didn't tell me?"
"You didn't get him anything?" Obi-wan asks with genuine curiosity. "Geez Anakin, your own son and you didn't get him anything?"
"I just found out I had a son ten minutes ago! How the hell was I supposed to know that it was his birthday?"
"Fatherly intuition?" he shrugs. "The Force?"
"I don't know what to do Obi-wan!" I say, starting to panic. "It's going to be hard enough for him to meet such a weird looking father as it is, much less if I didn't bring him a present on his birthday!"
Obi-wan sighs and approaches me with an air of calmness I cannot begin to fathom. "Don't worry, Anakin," he says. "Calm yourself. We can share credit for this gift, and then you can buy him something else later if you like. You'll have to get a gift for Leia anyway," he adds with a smile.
I let out a long, slow breath, trying desperately to release my fears into the Force. I'm too apprehensive, too on edge for my liking. I haven't been this nervous since the say I met Padme again when I was still a padawan … when I wasn't sure if she would ever love me.
We begin our long trudge through the scorching sand, heading, I assume, in the direction of Obi-wan's home. The heat here does not bother me – it is something that has been a part of me since I was a child. Although the sand is more irritating now as it falls in the crevices of my suit, I will always be at home in the heat of the Tatooine suns. In the distance, I can start to make out the figure of a young boy.
My son … Luke.
Obi-wan and I start walking at a faster pace to reach him sooner. He appears to notice Obi-wan and runs up to greet him. He's beautiful, more perfect than I could ever dream.
"Ben!" my son yells with joy.
"Ben?" I question. "But I thought you were just mocking me when you asked me to call you that!" Obi-wan looks at me like he's going to respond, but is interrupted by a questioning look from Luke.
"Who are you?" he asks innocently.
"Well, er, I'm, well, you see…" I stutter nervously, not quite knowing how to tell him.
"You breathe weird," he says with a serious expression.
"Uh …"
"And your helmet is really shiny!"
"Well, you see …"
"How do you eat?" I can hear Obi-wan start to laugh at my son's many comments, leading me to believe they have been spending too much time together.
"Now Luke," Obi-wan says, regaining his composure, "this is your father."
I freeze at Obi-wan's bluntness, all my fears about meeting my son rushing back to me. What if he doesn't like me? What if he never wants to see me again? What if –
"OK," he says.
"What? That's it? Just an OK?" I say.
"Well, what did you expect?" Obi-wan asks, turning to me. "He's only seven, after all, he's got the attention span of a butterfly!"
"I don't know," I begin, "maybe for you to not be so blunt about it."
"Well I had to say something or we would've been here for the next day while you desperately try to explain to him who you are. It was pathetic really. I mean, what's so hard about just saying, 'Luke, I am your father?'"
I ignore this comment and instead ask a question of my own as I watch Luke, his blue eyes still fixed on me with a gleam of curiosity. "Where is Owen … Beru?" I say slowly. "He's out here by himself. He could've been snatched by sand people or gotten lost in the desert, or -"
"Anakin, again, you need to calm down," Obi-wan breaks in with well-practiced patience. "Has it really been that long since you've last been here? His house is just over there," he says, pointing to the tiny mound of a home that blends so well with the sand around it. "I hadn't planned on coming here first, but since you've already been introduced, we might as well go in."
"Al-alright." I stumble. "You're sure they won't mind?"
I suddenly feel a small hand slip into my own.
"It's okay," Luke says, gripping my hand more tightly. The sight, the sensation, completely baffles me. How can he reach out to me with such kindness? I am a disfigured shell of a man who calls himself a father. He doesn't know me, he doesn't know where I've been or what I've done. Obi-wan urges me onward with a slight push through the Force and I grasp Luke's hand in return. His confident smile comforts me as he leads me to his home.
The Lars household was never particularly fascinating to me. My first impression of it when I visited while searching for my mother so many years ago was that it looked like just about every other home on this insufferable planet. Now, however, the structure, though small in size, looms before me dauntingly. What am I supposed to say to the two people that have raised my son for seven years of his life?
"How about, 'Hi?'" Obi-wan offers, taking me by surprise. Are my thoughts really that transparent?
We stop before the door, but even as my hesitance grows stronger, Luke pushes it open.
"Aunt Beru!" he calls in that small voice of a child. "Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen, we have visitors!"
"Visitors, huh?" I hear Beru respond, apparently amused, from the kitchen.
"Yep, Ben's here, and he's brought my father!"
A resounding crash echoes through the house, followed by quick footsteps and the appearance of a young woman covered in flour. She stutters, she stares, she grabs at her heart in fear. I decide to take Obi-wan's advice and utter the single word, "Hi."
She faints and Owen arrives just in time to catch her collapsing form. After sitting her in a chair and drawing Luke to his side, this now formidable man opens his mouth to speak.
He never gets the chance. "Listen Owen," Obi-wan begins while Beru wakes up and attempts to remain calm, "we're not here to hurt you and we would never dream of bringing harm to Luke, so you can just calm down for a moment while I explain." Owen looks like he's rather inclined to disagree with this statement (this or he's extremely constipated) but he holds his tongue and Obi-wan speaks once more.
"Anakin has fulfilled his destiny and destroyed the Sith." Owen stares at him like he's crazy, Beru looks like she's going to faint again, and Luke seems to be preoccupied with a bug on the floor. Obi-wan, noticing their utter confusion, explains in simpler terms. "He finally decided to listen to me, kill Sidious, and join the good side. The Empire is no more, as I'm sure you've heard, which leaves Anakin here jobless and homeless, so I decided to bring him back here to meet his son."
"So he's good then?" Owen asks, his voice full of suspicion.
"Yep," Obi-wan grins.
"What?" Owen starts, completely losing his cool. "No, he can't just be good all of a sudden! He can't! He joined the dark side, killed millions of innocent beings! He's Darth Vader, DARTH VADER, D-A-R-T-H – "
But he doesn't get to finish his rant because at that moment, Luke walks up to me. "Wanna come watch me open my presents?"
"Sound's like a great idea!" Obi-wan chimes as Owen stares. "Anakin and I brought you a present too, Luke."
I shoot a grateful glance at Obi-wan and follow as my son leads us to the small dining table in the next room.
"Er, you can open it first if you want," I offer, taking the shimmering package from Obi-wan and placing it into Luke's tiny, outstretched hands. His eyes shine as they fall first upon the present, and then onto me. It's the happiest I've ever been.
Owen looks as though he would quite like to knock the offending gift from his nephew's hands, but Luke has already begun to tear through the paper and into the box. I am filled with almost as much anticipation as the young boy before me, wondering what in the galaxy Obi-wan could have gotten my son.
It's a lightsaber. My lightsaber.
I can feel my face contort into an expression of shock unmistakably similar to that of Owen's. Luke lights up immediately. "Wow," he breathes in awe.
"Hey, that's my – "
"Your old lightsaber, yes," Obi-wan interrupts me. "And it was very considerate of you to pass it down to your son," he adds pointedly.
I can't say a word. I'm simply unable to believe that Obi-wan would just give away my old lightsaber! And then Luke wraps his arms around my legs in a tight embrace. "Thank you," he sighs into my cape. I return the hug tentatively as Obi-wan starts talking again.
"I – we – thought that perhaps Luke could come over to the house sometime to practice. Right now it's on the lowest setting, so it can't harm a thing," he explains.
Owen looks fit to explode. "No he absolutely cannot – "
But Beru stops him with a quiet hand on her husband's shoulder. "Luke should know his father, Owen," she says softly. Gazing at the boy in my arms, she continues, "we should give him a chance."
Although it's obvious that the man would love to disagree with her, he doesn't say anything. The tension in the room eases some, and we all settle down around the table for Beru's chocolate cake.
I turn to my son, blonde hair falling in his eyes, frosting smeared across his broadly grinning face. "Happy Birthday, Luke."
Later that night, I lay gazing through a small window of Obi-wan's home at the clear, Tatooine sky. Until we can remodel the place, I'll be forced to share Obi-wan's miniscule bed, and of course, his pillow. It's not so bad – soft anyway.
Today was one of the best days I've had for many years. For the first time in a long time I could feel Padme again, alive in my son. That small birthday party made me happier than any of the parties I'd ever attended as a Sith. I imagine it could even rival those of the Death Star, which is under control by Boba now as the party center of the galaxy.
I let my eyes wander throughout the room, taking in everything. A closet stands open to the left of the window, packed with brown cloaks. Obi-wan always said that he lost too many cloaks on missions. He's bought them in bulk ever since he was a padawan. A holograph stands on the bedside table closest to me. The person displayed looks oddly familiar….
"Hey, Obi-wan?" I ask quietly.
"Yeah?" He shifts slightly and hits my back. I wish he'd learn to move over.
"Is that Qui-gon in this holograph?"
He pauses for a moment. "Anakin?"
"Yes?"
"Shut-up."
I don't press the matter, but grin widely into my side of the pillow. Well, in my mask at any rate.
The stars are bright outside the window. I've always been drawn to them, drawn to something more. Now though, I realize that I have everything I've ever needed. My children are safe, the galaxy is free, and I am happy. I don't need to see all the stars any more. In some ways, I already have.
The End
Authors' note- Well, it took forever, but there it is. We have absolutely loved writing this story, and extend our greatest thanks to all who read, enjoyed, and reviewed. We've started another fic, so all is not lost! Forever and for always, may the Force be with you all. (Oh yeah, and Bob's fine now. Bobbette however, the tree given as a recent Christmas gift, is frying for some reason. Plant's are so confusing….) Have a nice day, always!