Chapter 70
Anakin made his way to the bridge, where he was informed that the Alliance had made contact with them.
"It seems that General Kenobi and Master Yoda arrived at the command ship several hours ago," Piett informed him.
"Good," Anakin replied, relieved to hear that Obi-Wan had arrived safely. "ETA to the rendezvous?" he asked.
"Another twelve hours sir," Piett replied. "Enough time for you to get some sleep," he added with a smile.
"How observant of you to notice I need some," Anakin remarked wryly. "Alert me when the Alliance makes contact again."
"Of course sir," Piett replied. He stopped as a thought occurred to him. "Uh, sir?"
Anakin turned around to face him. "Yes?"
"I know this question may sound a little…unusual," Piett began, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "But I'm just wondering – how do you wish the men to address you?" he asked.
Anakin frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Piett began tentatively, "if you are planning on acting the part of Darth Vader in order to gain the trust of the emperor, then should we use that name?"
I hadn't thought of that, Anakin reflected. The thought of using that hated name again made his blood run cold. But if he were to make Palpatine believe that he was truly Vader, then part of that persona included the Sith name Palpatine had given him twenty years earlier.
"I suppose so," Anakin replied at last. "As much as I hate the thought of it," he added. "But there can't be any chance of the emperor discovering our plan, so Vader I must be for all intents and purposes."
"I'd have to agree," Piett responded. "It would be prudent not to use the name Skywalker at least until you have dealt with the emperor."
Dealt with him…that's quite a euphemism, Anakin reflected. "Perhaps it is time we began our little charade," he said. "No doubt the emperor is anxious to find a new apprentice," he added.
Piett nodded. "Yes, no doubt. Will you contact him soon, then?"
"Once I learn where things stand with the Alliance," Anakin replied. "Then I will contact him. I only hope they have decided to join forces, or else this plan of ours will be rather difficult to put into effect."
"Difficult, but not impossible," Piett replied. "After all, this is the mightiest vessel in the fleet, sir."
"Yes, it is," Anakin replied. "But I would feel better knowing I had the support of the Rebel fleet behind us."
"Yes, of course," Piett concurred.
A wave of fatigue washed over Anakin and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I'm going to my quarters," he said. And will hopefully sleep, he thought to himself. "The bridge is yours, Piett."
"Yes sir," Piett replied. "Sleep well."
Anakin returned to his quarters, where the rest of his family had already retired. Despite his most vehement protestations, Han had been kept over night in the infirmary to ensure that his ribs were healing properly.
Padmé was sleeping when Anakin entered their bedroom. He watched her for a moment as he got undressed, and then saw her smile in her sleep, making him wonder what she was dreaming. Sometimes her dreams were so vivid that they invaded his. He focused his mind on hers, trying to see what it was that was making her smile. But before he could determine what it was, Padmé awoke, and opened her eyes, as though she sensed that he was watching her.
"Did I wake you?" he asked as he climbed into bed beside her.
Padmé turned on her side to look at him. "No," she said.
"What were you dreaming just now?" he asked, running a finger down the side of her face. "You were smiling in your sleep."
"Was I?" she asked.
Anakin nodded. "Do you remember what you were dreaming?"
"Yes I do," she said. "I dreamed we had another baby."
Anakin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" he asked. "Is that something you think about?"
"Sometimes," she said. "Sometimes I think it might be nice to have another child, one that we could raise ourselves."
Anakin nodded. "It would be," he said. He smiled as a thought struck him. "Padmé, are you trying to tell me something?"
Padmé shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm not pregnant, Ani," she said quietly. "I thought I might be, but I'm not."
"I'm actually surprised it hasn't happened," Anakin replied with a smile.
A frown creased Padmé's brow. "I just hope those meds I took for all those years hasn't made it impossible for me to conceive again," she said.
That thought hadn't occurred to Anakin. Doctor Deese's report had not mentioned anything about infertility; but that did not mean it wasn't a possibility. After all, at that point they were mostly concerned about her memory loss. "Well, if that's something you're concerned about, perhaps we can find out for sure," he suggested at last. "The doctor I contacted on Polis Massa may be able to tell us. She has read your entire medical file."
"I'm almost afraid to know," she said, "but I suppose if we want to have another child, we need to."
"I will contact her as soon as we've straightened things out with the Alliance," Anakin said.
"Okay," she said through a yawn. She snuggled up close to him as he drew her into his embrace. "Good night, Ani," she said as she kissed his chin.
"Goodnight Angel," he replied as he kissed the top of her head. "Sleep well."
Executor Infirmary
Han Solo tried to get comfortable in the narrow cot, but it wasn't easy. Still, it beats the hell out of the stink hole I was in on Tatooine…he reasoned as he turned onto his side.
Having had his ribs attended to, and a hot shower, which Leia had told him he most definitely needed, Han felt like a new man. Still, something was bothering him, and he hated to admit what it was: his conscience.
A conscience had always been an inconvenience for men like Han; but being at heart a decent person, he could not deny its existence or its insistence on occasion. This was such an occasion.
Leia had told him that she had loved him more than a week earlier; and he had never responded in kind to her. He had even gone to lengths to make her think otherwise, with his cool, dispassionate attitude. He knew that Leia had gone to great lengths to convince her father to go to Tatooine to rescue him and Chewie; there was certainly no love lost between him and Anakin Skywalker, and no doubt Leia had pulled out all the stops to get him to help Han. She must really love me, Han thought. And how have I repaid her love? By being a class one jackass…
Han closed his eyes as the meds he'd been given earlier started to kick in. He was almost asleep when the door to the infirmary slid open, letting bright light from the corridor flood into the dimly lit recovery room. Han opened his eyes, squinting against the sudden assault of light, and was surprised to see none other than Leia approaching his bed. She wore a dressing gown over her nightgown, and her long hair was loose, hanging down past her waist.
"Hey good looking," he murmured sleepily. "Come here often?"
Leia smiled at his cheekiness and pulled up a chair beside his bed. "Not if I can help it," she replied. "You?"
"Only under duress," he replied with a weak smile. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"I just wanted to check on you," she said, averting her eyes from his and straightening his blanket. "I know how much you hate medi-droids."
"Yeah, I sure do," he said, suddenly feeling awkward with her. He knew what he wanted to say to her, what he needed to say; so why were the words so hard to utter? "Listen, Leia," he began, propping himself up on one elbow. "I want to apologize for the way I talked to you back on Bespin," he said. "I was a real jackass, a real jerk…and I'm sorry."
"We already had this conversation, Han," Leia reminded him. "Remember?"
"Uh, yeah….you're right," he said nervously. He hesitated before continuing, trying to work up the courage to say what he needed to say. "I had a lot of time to think when I was a guest at Jabba's pleasure palace," he said at last with a wry smile.
Leia raised her eyebrows. "Oh?" she said. "What about?"
"You," he said.
"Me? What about me?"
She's not going to make this easy for me, is she?
"Well, uh, I guess I'm trying to say that I came to realize how important you are to me," he said at last, surprising himself with the depth of the emotion behind his words. "I was afraid I was never going to see you again, and never get the chance to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago."
"And what is that?" Leia prodded, trying not to smile.
"Come on, Leia," he replied awkwardly. "You need me to spell it out?"
"Yes I do," she retorted, not giving an inch. "Say it."
"Okay, okay," he relented at last. "I love you, Leia. There, I said it. I love you."
"Wow, twice!" she said with a grin. "I'm impressed!"
Han was about to offer a curt reply when he saw that she was teasing him, and simply laughed along with her. "Well, when your life is on the line, you come up with some crazy notions," he said.
"So loving me is crazy?" she said. "I'm a pretty lovable person," she added, remembering his response to her declaration of love.
Han laughed again. "Yeah, you sure as hell are," he said, reaching out and taking her hand. "Come here," he said, pulling her closer. "I've wanted to do this for a long time."