And again, I come to present you with another chapter. I had some formatting issues the first time around and I hope they do not persist.

Thank you to everyone who has commented and drawn my attention to the error.

As always, I hope you enjoy the reading as much as I have enjoyed the writing and know that you are important and valuble.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Luke tried to think of anything to do while he waited for Vader's coming. Piett had left him alone, for which he was grateful and anxious. Ever since his rescue/recaptures Piett had been the only person he had felt somewhat easy around. Now, however, he had to prepare himself to meet his father. He tried to meditate, and eventually did sink into the folds of the force, but the force was agitated and excited over the coming together of Luke and Vader and his father's force presence was constantly swirling around his room as though anxious to be reunited with its body. Of a sudden, the force seemed to swell and congeal outside Luke's door, Vader had arrived.

Luke focused on his force induced meditation, breathing calmly and evenly to try and stop the panic that was rising in his chest. He stretched out tentatively in the force and tried to gauge the mood that Vader was in. First, he realized that Piett was with the Sith lord, that was somewhat of a comfort. The two seemed to conferring before coming into the room. Piett was nervous. His nerves seemed to be on fire registering everything and emotions conflicting against each other. He was loyal to Vader and friendly with Luke and did not yet know if the two were friendly with each other.

Vader was harder to read. His emotions were tightly closed off behind the shields that held his mind and the only sign that he was as anxious as Luke, was the twisting and swirling of his force tendrils that almost battered against the door, waiting to be let in. Luke quickly checked his breathing, which had begun to excelerate, and opened his eyes. He stood, wanting to be on his feet when he met his father. The com on the outside of Luke's door buzzed, causing him to jump. He had not expected his father to ring to doorbell, requesting to be let in. Luke walked over to the door and answered the com,

"Enter," he said, thanking the force that his voice was steady. The door instantly slid open revealing Piett standing in the doorway. He entered and closed the door, giving Luke only a glimpse of Vader who was standing somewhat further down the hallway.

"Luke," Piett said, "Your father is here and ready to take you on board his shuttle. I requested that he wait outside while you prepare yourself. I know that your nervse have been on edge for some time now and we are both will to wait until you are ready."

Luke nodded and looked around the medbay one last time, he was very ready to be out of here but was he ready to be in the hands of Vader. The fact that his father was willing to wait and give Luke time to collect himself gave him some hope. Hope for what? That their relationship would be something more than that of a captor and captive? Or even one of allies united against the emperor? Hope that his father was as anxious to have a son as Luke was to have a father. This was totally and utterly ridiculous, but Luke would just have to hold his breath and take the plunge.

"I was aware of his presence and have prepared myself as much as is possible. I am ready, thank you, admiral." Luke gave Piett a reassuring smile. The admiral had been nothing but kindness and respect to Luke and for that, he would always be in debt to the man. Despite still having some side effects from being captured, he owed a lot to the care and gentleness Piett had shown him over the last four days.

"I hope that we will be able to remain in contact after the transfer," he added and Piett smiled back at him.

"I hope so as well. I will get your father and he can take you to the Executor himself. Good luck Luke," Piett hesitated before adding, "and May the Force be with You."

Luke's smile was genuine and full at the familiar phrase coming from the last person who should have been uttering it.

"And to you as well, admiral," he said even as his smile faded.

Piett turned, opened the med bay door, and left without looking back at Luke. The door remained open and for a moment Luke stood indecisive on whether or not he should follow the admiral out of the bay. His question was answered a moment later as the tell-tale sign of the Dark Lord's presence hissed through the room followed closely by Vader himself.

Luke took a step back a moment, old fears and new ones causing him to be suddenly unsure of what to do or how to act.

"Luke," Vader's voice filled the room like his presence seem to, "are you ready to leave, my son?"

"Yes," Luke's throat was dry, but he stepped forward to meet his father's outstretched hand. Vader ushed him out of the room without another word, away from the medbay and away from one horror to meet another.


The shuttle was entirely too small for Luke. Vader piloted his own vessel, stoically sitting in the front of the ship, while Luke had been left sitting in one of the two passenger seats in the back. Even with the separation of the sliding doors, Luke could feel the intense closeness of his father's presence. A squirm in the pit of Luke's stomach testified to his fear but the slight shake in his hand was more than nerves to Luke. He knew that he was also anticipating being able to talk with his father without the hum of lightsabers between them.

There was a memory of kindness, an inclination to believe that there was good in the man, that Luke was struggling to remember or find logical at all. All his experience with his father had been negative up until this point, so there was no reason for Luke to expect anything better now. Hope, however, kept rising up in his chest to unsettle the determined fear that held so strongly to his heart.

A small bump and the hiss from the engines told Luke that they had arrived at the Executor. Luke took a deep breath and the door from the cockpit slid open, Vader's presence flooding into the room like a heavy, tangible cloud. The Dark Lord stood in the doorway, hesitating for a moment.

"Are you able to walk to the room I have prepared for you?" he asked, his masked trained on Luke's sitting form.

"Yes," he responded, stood, and moved towards the door.

"Luke," his father brought him to a halt but again the man hesitated as though trying to find the right words to say.

"What is it that you wanted to say, Father," Luke said with a heavy sigh and turned back to face the Dark Lord. Vader took a step forward, even though he could feel Luke beginning to become fearful.

"You have nothing to fear from me, my son," he said. Luke remained silent and turned his face towards the ground.\

"I have waited long for this moment, you proved to be most difficult to attain," Vader continued, closing the space between them again until there was very little space between them. Finally, however, Luke's nerve gave out and he back paced away from Vader.

"What do you want with me, then?" Luke raised his head and glared at the imposing figure before him, "Why am I here? I don't want to be here. This is the worst possible thing that could have happened to me and you're gloating in your victory. Please, if we are going somewhere let us go there but don't try and talk with me as though..." he stopped. He was going to say, as though we are father and son, but that hit too near home to his distress than he wanted to voice.

"You needed rescue, my son," Vader said, "I was not going to pass up an opportunity to attain you at last, even though my prerogative was to get you to safety."

"I was doing just fine," Luke yelled, his anger was beginning to rise but that was the last thing he needed to lose control of in the presence of the Dark Lord, "I did not ask for your help, I would have found a way to escape myself. I have friends that would have come to my aid without underlying motives too."

Vader stood, silent and unmoving in the wake of Luke's small storm. Luke could feel his father thinking, more connection to the man than he wanted to admit he had. They stood a moment, facing one another, each regarding the other, Luke at a loss of what to think and Vader apparently doing enough thinking for the both of them. At last, just when Luke was going to say more, Vader reached out a hand and lightly grasped Luke's arm in his grip. Luke instinctively tried to jerk away from the connection, but Vader's hold was unshakable.

"My son," he said in a voice softer than Luke had ever heard it, "you did ask for my help. You do not remember? Night after night, you would come to me through the force and plead with me to help you."

This made Luke stop pulling his arm away from Vader and look his father fully in the eyes for the first time.

"I remember..." he paused, looking down once more, but Vader moved his hand from his son's arm to slip it gently under Luke's chin raising his head once more.

"I promised that I would find and help you and so I have," Vader said watching his son's face, "but I would be lying to say that I was happy with the outcome of the whole ordeal."

Luke moved his face away and Vader let him retreat a step.

"I don't remember all of that," he confessed, "just memories of hope."

"You are tired," Vader said after yet another pause, "We will have plenty of time to talk of everything at a later time. For now, I will show you to your room."

Luke nodded, he had to admit that he was tired, not fully healed from his ordeal, and shaken by the rush of emotions that had flooded him ever since Vader's arrival. Vader stepped up beside his son and grasped Luke's arm once more before pushing the button to open the shuttle doors. As the door slowly lowered it granted Luke a view of the hanger beyond. It was an eerily familiar place, one that brought with it a new rush of emotions of fear, mourning, and loss. It was in a hanger very similar to this, if not the same that Luke had first laid eyes upon Darth Vader, and where Vader had struck down Luke's mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now he was back in the hands of his mentor's murderer. What angered Luke the most, was the fact that he did not feel much anger towards the subject at all. He should be burning with rage for the murder of Obi-Wan out of respect for the loss of the man and yet here he was walking alongside the man who had killed him almost enjoying the feeling of safety that Vader's hand upon his arm brought.

"What worries you, my son," Vader asked as they began to walk down the gangplank onto the empty hangar's floor, "I feel your conflict of emotions."

"I do not want to be here," Luke said simply.

"You have made that clear," returned his father.

"You murdered Ben in a hangar similar to this," Luke cast his eyes up to see if his words would have an effect upon the dark lord. Vader didn't hesitate in his stride or turn his head, but the grip on Luke's arm tightened enough to be uncomfortable.

"He took away what was mine and fed you lies to convince you to murder your own father. He deserved what he received and much more."

"I didn't know any of that at the time, the emotions are still there, father, whether misguided or not."

Vader did not respond, but below the initial anger, Luke felt a hint of pleasure from the man. He was confused about what could have made the Sith lord happy. Luke idly wondered if it was the use of the word father. Was it that simple a thing to make Darth Vader happy, or at least the closest thing to it that he could feel? Luke would have to test his theory out some time and see if the use of the word was what was causing it.

They walked on in silence, the constant pressure of Darth Vader's hand grounding Luke to the reality of his situation. They traveled through the bay, onto a turbo lift that seemed to dwarf Luke and make his father impossibly tall at the same time, and into a corridor that ran on for what seemed like ages. At last, they stopped in front of two doors, ignoring the one on Luke's right, Vader pressed a code into the left door's padlock, and it opened. Pushing Luke before him, Vader entered the room and waited for the doors to slid close again before releasing Luke's arm.

"Here is where you will be staying," Vader said as Luke moved to inspect the room. It was small but bigger than anything that Luke could have claimed as his own before now. In the far corner was a small bed with a sleek black nightstand pushed up against it and a large chair sat in the opposite corner. On the wall opposite the chair was a door leading to what Luke presumed was the refresher.


Sorry for the abrupt ending, I wanted to post what I had.