Chapter 6

A/N: It's the highly anticipated chapter! Please be sure you read every word, and don't skip over, please. While I work hard on the next chapter of 'Without You Here', I enjoy getting the reviews back! I'm trying to get back to everybody, but if I miss you, I formally apologize. Thanks for the feedback, everybody!
Another knock rang on the door. By this time, Luke's crying had silenced, and he was now silent, and didn't speak a word. He was still in the dark lord's arms, waiting for him to say something.

Darth Vader untangles himself from holding the boy, and got up to answer the door. "Admiral Piett," he said, seeing the man's form in front of him. "Hello."

"Lord Vader," Piett greeted formally. "I've been alerted by the cockpit that we've arrived on Naboo, and have landed in Theed."

"Thank you, Admiral," Vader said, closing the door behind him, watching Piett nod and continue to his duties down the hallway.

Luke wiped away the dried tears, hoping that his face wasn't red. "What are we doing on Naboo?" He asked innocently.

Vader pulled up a chair across from Luke. "Your mother," he said simply, assertively. My wife, he told himself. He wasn't sure his Luke had fully accepted him as a friend, a kind stranger – so he held back, not showing any move to become Anakin fully again.

"My mother?" He echoed. "What – ? Is she buried here, Lord Vader?" He asked these questions quietly, soothingly. His voice rang in Vader's ears as a calling from an angel, the child of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker.

Vader nodded. She was buried here, he hoped. He hadn't been to her grave since her death, since her funeral procession, since her open casket had scarred him. He had left flowers then – he was sure no one was around. He had also carved into her headstone – something he wished he hadn't done. Ironically, the name left was 'Anakin Skywalker'.

He wasn't sure who he was now. Luke had confused him. Yes, he'd still go back the surname of 'Vader', and still go by the orders of 'Vader'. But he wouldn't be the dark lord completely anymore – Luke Skywalker was now a part of his life. He was now a father, and the only why he could be a true father was to become Anakin Skywalker once again.

He wasn't sure whether he was ready to do that.

"Can – can I meet my family? My grandmother, my aunt – the file said I had one – can I?" He asked. He seemed eager; he obviously had never seen anyone outside of his desert planet before. Maybe they could –

Vader wouldn't be able to come. They had thought of Anakin Skywalker dead, which until previously, he was – they'd no his face. They would think that he killed their daughter, which, until previously, he had thought he had done so as well. "Luke, I – I wouldn't come with you," he told the boy. "I can't face my," he searched his mind for what he had said before about Padmé, "closest friend's family. I haven't been able to for ten, almost eleven, years."

Luke's mouth formed an 'o', nevertheless, he seemed eager to meet his maternal side of the family. Who could blame him? Vader thought. Padmé's family was amazing people; they had welcome Anakin Skywalker into their home, and taken notice to his feelings for Padmé. When they returned one year later, Anakin said he was on Naboo for a mission and visiting old friends, they were equally as kind.

He was sure Sola had known about their relationship. It's more than a friendship, he remembered hearing her say. And it was.

Padmé…

Suddenly, he made up his mind. "No," he said assertively. "No. You can't see them. They'll know – they've been lied to about their daughter, Luke."

Luke nodded, taking Vader's seriousness in. He was right; he knew it. He didn't want to be the reason they were lied to about their daughter – he didn't want to cause that. "You're right, Lord Vader," he said calmly.

They stared at each other for a while. Vader thought he saw Luke notice something about the dark lord features – familiar? They were. They had to be. Blood tests proved it. Finally, ruining the moment, he said, "Shall we go?"

"Go where?"

"Off the ship," Vader said, like 'of course'.

"Oh," Luke said, getting up from his seat, following Vader out of the door.

He was immediately reminded of the cool, free air on the lush planet of Naboo as he stepped off the ship. He had once told Padmé that he thought of the palace when he was alone, afraid – he really had thought of her in flesh, but never admitted it. But it was true – the palace of Theed was grand, beautiful. The soft waterfalls echoed in the distant, and the sun shone on the marble pillars of the grand entrance.

"It's beautiful," came a voice from behind his cloak. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Yes, I know," Vader agreed, holding back so he could speak to the boy.

"The soft sound of the waterfalls could lull you to sleep," Luke said poetically.

Vader was instantly reminded of Padmé saying something along the lines of that, and cringed. He was so much like his mother, and he would never know her to know that fact. "You're mother used to say that all the time," he told Luke. "If you could see the lake country…" his voice trailed off the memories there, splashing in the water, lying out in the sun, not worrying about who would see them…

"Is that where my father and mother married?"

"Yes," he answered. "At sundown."

"Can – can we go?" He asked, seeing no harm in doing so.

Vader cringed again. He couldn't bear to go there – no. "No," he told his son rudely. "No. Not at all." It was probably a police site now… it was hard to imagine some place so perfect lined with yellow tape, blocked off. It served him right; he had killed Padmé, or the Padmé that he knew. They would never be able to enjoy it again.

Luke bit his lip. He had nothing to say for this. It was obviously an awkward subject, even thought Vader probably put his foot down about many things…

Walking through a graveyard was an eerie thing, and as it came, it was more than creepy. This graveyard was to fallen warriors or, in this case, senators/queens that had fallen during the Jedi Purge and most had giant statuettes for memorials.

Padmé had a memorial.

The statue was of her and presumable Luke's father. Padmé, stone version, sat on the bench, leaning on Anakin, smiling up at him. Anakin was smiling back, his hand around her waist. Luke decided that it was a beautiful memorial, and he was glad it was there. He wondered how the public felt about having her statuette with the man with her, for their relationship wasn't public until she appeared pregnant during the funeral procession.

He decided he would ask Vader later, when he wasn't – so… emotional.

Luke watched as Vader knelt in front of Padmé Amidala's grave, taking some gravel in his hands and letting it fall through his fingers. He repeated it, but this time, he lost it, and threw the gravel at the stone, and wiped away a fallen tear.

"It's not fair, Padmé," he thought he heard Vader murmur. "I'm sorry – I…"

Luke began to study the statuette. His mother looked so happy, so pleased that she was finally in his father's arms – it made Luke wince, it made him realize how in love they were. Her feet were bare, the shoes kicked off and lying at the end of the bench, forgotten. She had a necklace around her neck, it hung on her chest, obviously long, and handmade. He recognized it; the children on Tatooine made them from snippets of japor.

His father looked happy, as well – he had a good reason to be, too. It killed Luke to see them, obviously in love, and all that ruined… they were both dead, both deceased, never to see their son. Anakin Skywalker looked somewhat familiar. Luke had inherited his looks a bit, his childlike innocence as seen on his face. Anakin's stone hair hung just above the eyes, almost covering them, softly curling at the tips.

His gaze shifted to Vader, his escort, who had just finished speaking to his deceased mother. He got up, brushed the dirt off his knees, and flipped his hair out of his eyes…

His hair… his golden brown hair…

"No…"

Luke began to repeat that simple, negative word over and over, backing away from his escort slowly. His face dissolved; he never watched to lay eyes on this man again… he was an evil traitor, a liar…

Vader followed Luke, a little hitch in his step. "Luke?" He cooed, hoping to get a positive response from his boy. "Luke – I – "

"I hate you!!"

Luke was on his bottom now, his hand brushing the coarse dirt and turning them black. Tears were streaming, he hadn't realized, and he lifted his hand to wiped them, smearing the dirt on his face. "How could you – you left… you," his voice lowered now, and he hiccupped throughout speech, "left her… us… you…!" He turn away, his voice lowering to a shout-whisper, "You monster, Darth Vader…"

Vader knelt next to Luke, slowly touching his arm, hoping for forgiveness –

"Don't touch me!"

"Luke, you're my son," Vader said slowly. He was surprised to see that Luke let him finished his sentence. "I – I'm sorry… I…"

"You what?" Luke demanded. "Selfishly became a Sith, and left her to die?" He already knew the story – it all fit… everything.

Before, Vader didn't want to show him Anakin's file, because it was himself. He didn't want to see Padmé's parents, for they'd see that he was alive and well, as they believed Anakin to be dead. He kept asking whether Luke lived with his mother, because he had hope that she had survived, that he death was staged. He had gotten blood taken for a parentage test, to see if he was the boy's father. He didn't want to go to the Lake Country, for it would bring back too many memories, memories that he couldn't share with his dearest.

It hit him with a bang – that…

He loved her.

"You – and… my mother," Luke echoed, gulping back another set of tears. "You're my father…"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Then why don't you act like one!?" Luke screamed, his fist pounding the hard ground. "You're more of a traitor than I ever thought of you to be! You betrayed your own wife, Anakin Skywalker."

"Don't call me that," the dark lord said softly, catching Luke's hand from slapping himself in the face.

"It's your true name, Anakin," he said it again. "Anakin Skywalker, the man I'm named for. The man until now I believed was your friend. A man, until now, I believed that was great. You, Darth Vader, are anything but great."

Vader bit his lip. The child couldn't be more right…

"Goodbye, Vader," Luke said, getting up from the ground. He turned to leave the graveyard, "I'll see you back on the ship." He couldn't escape now; Vader would be too alert.

He began to walk, but didn't hear Vader come after him. Many moments later, after he'd gone a few yards or so, he heard someone yell,

"I'm a changed man, because of you, you know."

He just kept walking.