A/N: Here's the next chapter! And thanks to everyone who takes the time to review. It's really great of you!

Chapter Seven: Double Trouble

Anakin had rather enjoyed the past couple of days. As it turned out, entertaining a thirteen year-old boy wasn't nearly as hard as entertaining Leia. His son was relatively low maintenance or at least he when he wasn't bored. Not only was Luke fine with just laying around the apartment all day, he also shared many of the same interests with Anakin. This made it easy for the two of them to get along, making everything since the fight with Jack smooth sailing.

In Anakin's opinion, Luke was adjusting well, considering. Of course, he didn't know the big news yet, but for a boy who believed he was a captive, he was doing just fine. Luke became very sociable, even engaging Anakin in conversation and asking him questions about his past adventures in the Clone Wars. It hadn't taken Luke long to become the bright, enthusiastic boy Anakin had once been.

However fun these days with Luke were, the Council wasn't exactly giving Anakin this time off. Jedi, being the busy type of people they were, had little time for record keeping. The databases had been out of date for decades, and since Anakin couldn't go on missions while watching Luke, the Council put him on the task of cleaning up the records. Though it wasn't a hard task, it was time consuming and extremely boring. It definitely wasn't the kind of work Anakin thought he'd be doing as a Jedi Master.

Anakin broke up his work in shifts. He would quietly retreat into the office room, knock some of the work out, and return to the living room to enjoy time with his son. After awhile of doing this, Luke caught on to Anakin's routine, and became accustomed to following him into the office. Anakin didn't mind. It made the endless work go by quickly.

"Master Skywalker?" Luke asked, getting Anakin's attention. Luke sat in an armchair so that one of the arm rests could be used as a pillow, and his legs hang off the sides.

"I told you, Luke," said Anakin, without looking up from his work. He wouldn't have his own child calling him master. It was too weird, even if Luke didn't know who his father was. "You only have to call me that in the Temple. Here, it's Anakin."

"Sorry," Luke bit his lip, nervously. "I forgot."

"So, what did you want to know?" Anakin asked. He doubted Luke really forgot, but let it go.

"Right," Luke said, "I was just wondering, what's going to happen to me once the Council sees me? Where will I go, then?" Anakin had known this subject was bothering him for awhile, and he also knew it was just a matter of time before Luke's pride was no longer a match for his worry.

"I can't imagine them sending you anywhere else," Anakin said, truthfully. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, hoping that Luke would not press the topic any further.

"Then do they have to see me?"

"They just want to check on your progress."

"So, if I'm good, they'll let me go?" Luke asked excitedly.

"Sure," Anakin said, "in eight standard years."

"Eight years!"

"Luke, you're a minor." Anakin flipped his datapad shut as he felt his hope of avoiding the subject diminished. This conversation was work enough for the day, or at least for the hour. "You can't expect them to release you to the streets."

"Then where will they send me?" Frustration dripped from Luke's voice. Anakin felt bad for leading Luke into conversational circles, but he really couldn't help it. He'd promised Padme that they'd tell Luke about his parents together.

"Nowhere," admitted Anakin. He had no other choice but to lie, and Anakin would never do that to his son, no matter what. "You'll stay here; go to school, and a life like a normal kid."

"What do you mean I'll stay here?" Luke's presence went from content to distressed in a matter of seconds. "Why do you even want me here? You're trying to convert me, aren't you!"

Anakin couldn't help but to smile at this passion filled accusation. It seemed that Luke had inherited more than just his interests, looks, and talent. Luke had the same extreme emotions Anakin did at that age. The boy might as well have been Anakin's younger clone.

"No, mood swings like these are the reason you should never become a Jedi."

"Whatever," Luke said, darkly. He took his focus off of the Jedi Master, and onto one of Anakin's model spacecrafts. Anakin should have known that the days of peace called for troubled waters. That was just how it was with Skywalkers in general.

Taking a moment to observe his son, Anakin concluded that Luke was most decidedly angry with him. Though having Leia as a daughter made Anakin no stranger to feeling, he couldn't help but to feel guilty in this situation. Luke legitimately thought Anakin was his enemy. The poor kid had been brainwashed against Jedi his whole life, and now one was suddenly being kind to him. If Anakin was thrown into Luke's shoes, he'd be suspicious and angry too.

"Luke, listen," Anakin started. He couldn't believe he was about to tell Luke the truth, but he saw no other option. Luke needed to hear why, and then maybe he could understand. "I have to tell you something."

Luke put his full attention back on Anakin, waiting for the older man to give him answers. Anakin's mouth opened, but his words were cut off by the sound of the apartment's front door. Someone had entered the Skywalker apartment. Immediately, Anakin shot up from his chair and moved quickly to the door.

"Don't move," Anakin ordered Luke.

Cautiously, Anakin moved into the hallway. There was something strange about the presence he was sensing. It was familiar, very familiar. He searched the Force further and by the time he entered the living, he didn't even need to see the dark brown haired teenage girl with his eyes to know his daughter was home early from whatever summer camp she had attended.

"Daddy!" Leia greeted, a little too loudly for Anakin's nerves. She ran up to her father and threw her arms around him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he said in a hushed tone. "Uh, how is it you're back so soon, exactly?"

"Geez dad, great to see you, too," Leia said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I meant." Anakin tried to sound as sincere as possible. It was hard to do while trying to think up a plot to keep the teens apart until Padme got back from the Senate. "I just thought you weren't due back for a week."

"Nope," Leia said. "I misread the schedule, so I'm back early. Isn't that great?"

Once again, Anakin was too slow to respond. Leia's big brown eyes were already set on something behind Anakin, and whatever it was, it had Leia curious.

"Dad, who is that?" Leia asked, pointing past Anakin's head. Anakin turned around, though he knew it was Luke who stood in the hallway. This situation was so not what Anakin needed. It was only a matter of time before Leia pieced the puzzle together. He had to get that girl away from Luke as soon as possible.

Anakin glanced at a confused Leia, and then at his son who looked equally baffled. He couldn't think of anything to say to them. His eyes finally settled on Luke.

"I thought I told you to stay put," Anakin told him. For the moment, he ignored his daughter.

"Yeah, but I…"

Anakin merely pointed back to his office door, too frustrated to speak properly. Luke groaned, and started off to the office letting Anakin know he wasn't happy about it the whole way there. After the harsh sound of a slamming door, Anakin put his focus back on his daughter.

"Was that who I think it was?" She snapped at him. Leia got more like her mother every day.

"That depends on who you're thinking of," said Anakin.

"Dad!"

"Okay, fine," Anakin said, lowering his voice. He couldn't afford to have Luke to over hear him. "That was Luke. He's your brother."

Without so as much as a warning, his daughter gave him a hard smack on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me you found Luke?"

"Keep it down," Anakin shot another look down the hall. He wouldn't put it past his boy to sneak back into the living room; it's exactly what he would have done.

"Why?" Leia demanded.

Anakin paused, leaving Leia to figure out the answer of her own question. It didn't take long.

"You haven't told him yet?" Leia was quite worked up. "How can he not know?"

"He's only been here for four days, Leia. He has had a hard life, and we didn't think he could take the news right away."

Leia took a moment to calm down, which Anakin understood completely. It took Anakin a full twenty-four hours to get used to the idea that Luke was back into the picture, and it had to be worse with Leia. Her brother had been sprung on her as soon as she returned home after two months away.

"Dad, you have to tell him, and soon." Her voice remained surprisingly steady. It was the very same voice Anakin imagined Padme used when addressing the Senate. "The longer you wait now, the more mad he's going to be."

"I know," said Anakin. "But the situation is complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"I'll explain later," Anakin promised. "I'm going to get Luke now, but you can't say anything about what we just talked about, okay?"

Leia nodded, dully, while her father hoped she could keep a secret as big as this one.

Sighing, Anakin made his way down the hall. The last hour had been quite difficult, and he wondered if having twins would always be this exhausting.

Leia could hardly believe she wasn't dreaming. After all, she had dreamt about meeting her lost brother since she could remember. However, the way she found out couldn't count as dream-like, and the idea of Luke not knowing about the two of them being twins, well that was just torture. How could her father expect her to keep this a secret? Not only did Leia want Luke to know the truth for herself, she strongly believed things would go more smoothly for Luke if he knew who his parents were. How complicated could Luke's past be, anyway?

As she watched her father and brother play hologames together, she concluded that Luke was a normal teenage boy. Her parents had a way of over complicating things, and she planned to un-complicate them. Leia was told not to tell him directly; her father didn't say anything about Luke finding out on his own.

It was too easy. All she needed was the right visuals.

Though Luke was still angry, he couldn't refuse Anakin's hologame challenge. Luke was finally getting good enough to actually put on a fight against the older Jedi, who, after years of playing alone, had become a professional in most the games. He was determined to beat Anakin at it. Even if it was only a hologame, it was still a victory.

"Better luck next time," the Jedi Master told him arrogantly as Luke's game character's head was blown off. Anakin powered the game down. "I'm going to get back to work. You two should get to know each other." Anakin threw what appeared to be a warning glance at his daughter before disappearing down the hallway once again.

As soon as Anakin had left, Luke felt the air in the atmosphere change. He stared up at Leia, not knowing exactly what to say. He figured he shouldn't mention his shock that a Jedi had a kid, or the fact he was a Darkside user with a hatred for Jedi. What was Anakin playing at, leaving them alone together? Did he expect the two of them to hit it off and eventually like each other? Was he trying to make Luke his son-in-law?

Luke shuddered at the thought. Leia wasn't ugly, but he thought of kissing her was somewhat creepy. Maybe it was because she was the daughter of a Jedi, or because Luke was a little too young to develop any real feeling towards girls. Then there was Anakin. He had to be up to something. Ever since Leia had appeared, the man insisted that he get to know her. Luke still didn't know what to think about that man.

Anakin proved to be the opposite of what his father told him a typical Jedi would be, but despite his father being discredited in every way, Luke couldn't get himself to believe Anakin's kindness was sincere. Everyone had an agenda. The discovery of Leia made Luke's theory of Anakin harder to believe. Normally, heartless people were heartless parents, and while Luke didn't have the best opinion of the man, Anakin acted lovingly towards his daughter.

"I'm sorry you've been stuck with my father," Leia's voice interrupted his thoughts. "He can get annoying."

"He's okay," Luke admitted, quietly. He had the distinct feeling Leia had only wanted to start a conversation.

"Just wait," Leia told him as she walked through living room. As she crossed by Luke, she something drifted from her hands and landed right on top of Luke's foot.

"Oh, you dropped this," Luke bent down to pick up the item which he discovered was a thin holo album with a holo of two babies, one in Anakin's arms and one is Padme's arms, fixed on the screen. He didn't have much time to examine it further before Leia took it from his hands.

"Does Anakin have more children?" Luke asked her, curiously. He hadn't seen any babies around, but then, Anakin kept Leia's existence a secret.

"No," Leia said, "that was me and my brother, Luke, a long time ago. We were twins, you know."

"Brother? What happened to him?"

"He was kidnapped. No one knows where he is," Leia said sadly.

"Oh, he has my name," Luke stated. He didn't see anything weird about this; Luke was a very common name.

"No, you have his name," Leia stressed. "He'd be older than you."

"Doubt it, you were twins, and you don't look much older than me."

"Thirteen."

"What?"

"We're thirteen."

Luke took a deep breath. What exactly was Leia trying to tell him? He thought he knew, but the idea was crazy. It was impossible!

"What's your birth day?"

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

A/N: … so what'd you think?

VAD

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

So give us clean hands, give us pure hearts, let us not lift our souls to another.