Disclaimer: See prologue

A/N: This chapter was a bit of a sudden decision - it's just a short piece to tide you all over until we get the next chapter up! Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 3: Forgive and Forget

Mon Mothma had been forced to firmly end the meeting, but everyone knew...

... It was far from over.

Soon after Luke's revelation, the meeting had become flooded with turmoil and absolute chaos. Mon Mothma knew along with every other half sane official present that none of the fear, shock, or suspicion was helping anyone or anything. Luke had left quickly.

The last few minutes of the meeting had been excruciating. Borsk Fey'la had gone on a life threatening interrogation spree, everyone had so many questions, suspicions — The screaming whirl of emotions had been an underwater storm — violent and inescapable, fast and horrible, and yet everything had moved with the agonizing slowness of a nightmare you can't control.

Luke had wanted nothing more than to yell at the top of his lungs for it all to just STOP.

This worried him. He was a Jedi Knight now. He was supposed to be in control. He had Leia's training to eventually see to... if she would ever permit it... and only the Force knew what sort of state his father would be in when his father woke up. Not "if."

He will not die, Luke was almost sure, Not now.

The blue eyed Jedi Knight walked across the immense and empty shuttlebay, staring at the floor with his hand on his head trying to think. His destination was the small silver-grey Marital-class shuttle, one of the few left in the empty shuttlebay because of the celebration of the Endor moon below.

He shook his head in exhaustion as he stepped tiredly, one foot after the other.

Well, Luke, you were right - it didn't go over well.

He stopped suddenly.

... Leia.

He turned around to see her. She had stopped suddenly in her quiet steps as well.

"Luke?"

"Hi," he called awkwardly across the room, not entirely sure of what to say.

"I..." she trailed off, and Luke moved to meet her until they stood not three feet from each other. He felt tearing turmoil and confusion within her that now echoed only faintly of the burning shame and anger he had sensed earlier.

"I don't know what I'm doing," she finished miserably, unable to look him in the eye.

"Leia, I'm sorry..." he began.

"No." Leia cut him off. "You're not sorry..." She paused. "You shouldn't have to be. You did the right thing... Something I couldn't have done."

Luke watched his sister, a pang of sadness running through him as he tried to help her understand. "Leia, he almost died saving me."

She stared up with him, her emotions tied in a knotted hurricane inside her eyes, "But why?"

Luke smiled and looked off to the side as if trying to picture it in his mind. "Maybe someday he will know the answer to that."

Her lips tightened and she sighed, "Luke, I was so angry when you told me earlier, and I still am. I'm trying to understand...the Force and what it is and how it works, or how Vader is suddenly so different..."

A part of Luke wanted to ask Leia then and there to let him train her, so she could understand, but he didn't. She would never agree, not now. He watched her silently, patiently waiting for her to continue.

"He's Darth Vader, Luke." Her brother heard more than her words - saw the pain in her eyes. He felt the lasting pains of her torture... of the violent destruction of so much she loved and cared about.

"He was Anakin Skywalker once, Leia. I believe he can be again." This time Leia felt the pain hidden deep within Luke – of losing his aunt and uncle, his friends, his hand, along with so many other things... He had felt as much pain as she had in his lifetime... and he was still willing to forgive it all.

"You'd forgive the Emperor, I think," Leia smiled slightly up at him and muttered fondly. "If you thought he was truly sorry for the things he had done."

Luke blinked. Would he? He looked at his sister with slight amusement shadowed with horror. "I don't know about that..."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Just please don't expect anything of me, all right?"

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but Leia's expression silenced him.

"All right," he answered softly.

"I...need to go." She looked away.

"I'll see you later."

She nodded and walked away, back towards the shuttlebay doors.

Luke looked after her, wanting to say something more, some meaningful bit of Jedi wisdom that might help her understand... but he couldn't think of anything. He sighed, thankful for the way things had turned out between them, as he turnrd and walked swiftly back towards the shuttle.

"Everything's going to be all right," Luke reassured himself aloud as he exhaled slowly, sitting down heavily in the pilot's seat of the shuttle that would take him back to the Redemption.

-SOS-

The young medical assistant, Dr. Sera Tarik, standing above what was now left of Anakin Skywalker, thought very, very differently.

A/N: Short but sweet, I hope! Please review!