Anakin pulled the skull like mask over his head as Fress and Jess watched him with concern. He knew if this went wrong, they could lose Brice forever. If he had it his way, they'll get their son back. Brien and Chewie returned with the spice late last night. At least that part of the plan went off without a hitch. He stood up to his full height and he could see fear in Fress's eyes as she fought to contain her instant reaction. "Well?"

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," Fress answered honestly as she glanced at Jess with a worried expression. She turned her attention back to Anakin. "Just bring him home safe."

"That's the plan," Anakin promised as he walked out of the room. The medic checked his blood again and so far it came back normal and negative for any other infections. That gave him some piece of mind as he headed for the speeder. Fress and Jess planned to take a separate speeder into town so it would look like they were on the run from him. He smiled tightly to himself as he settled into the driver's side. Luke and Rex climbed into the speeder dressed in storm trooper armor as he brought the engines off standby.

Anakin listened to Fress and Jess give an explanation to the shop owner for coming up with a fifth of the payment. As predicted the shop owner refused the deal as he nodded to Luke and Rex. He stepped into the shop as fear crossed Jess and Fress's face as he nodded to the storm troopers. "I have caught up with you at last, Colias. You two, take them into custody."

Fress glared at Anakin causing him to grimace as Rex grabbed her arms. "You've changed, Vader. It's true that Palpatine has you on a leash these days. Do you think for yourself anymore?"

"Palpatine is a wise man," Anakin nearly bit on his tongue for that comment. If Palpatine didn't fill his head with ideas, he wouldn't be in this armor in the first place.

"Don't make me laugh, Snarky," Fress spat with distaste in her tone as Rex tugged on her arms placing her into stun cuffs. "He's got you fooled," she snapped as Rex pulled her out of the shop.

Anakin agreed silently as he watched Luke escort Jess out of the shop. It was best they weren't here for what he planned to do. He turned his attention to the owner with a tight smile. "Are you the owner?"

"I am, mi lord. I was getting ready to call you as soon as I realized I had a Jedi child on my hands," Grentan explained causing disbelief to rush through Anakin. "It's still five hundred thousand in spice, right?" He questioned in a hopeful tone.

"Slaver scum," Anakin snapped causing Grentan to pause as he raised a hand and started to Force choke Grentan. "Tell the truth, did you take this boy into slavery?"

"I…" Grentan struggled to form words. "I knew and wanted to…" He struggled to breathe as he grasped at his throat as Anakin released his hold on Grentan who collapsed to the floor gulping in air as Brice walked in and froze. "Give the parents a chance, first to buy him back."

"I see," Anakin turned his attention to Brice noting he shone brightly through the Force. "You will release the boy immediately to me," he said as he sized up Brice who shook his head no. "You will make a fine apprentice, I can sense that much. Your parents are strong in the Force as well and I will deal with them soon enough."

"Don't let him take me," Brice begged desperately through tears as Anakin raised an eyebrow. Hopefully this was just for show. Fress warned Brice a head of time who would be making the deal in the end.

Grentan walked to the office and returned with the remote a couple of minutes later and pointed it at Brice and pushed a button as he heard two beeps indicating the bomb had been deactivated. "Business is business is Brice. It's nothing personal." He turned his attention to Vader handing the remote over. "He's free to go now."

Anakin accepted the remote from Grentan, by then Luke had returned to the shop with the brief case in hand. He nodded to Luke who stepped forward with the brief case. "I decided to be generous today. Five hundred thousand in spice."

"Thank you mi lord," Grentan accepted the brief case. Anakin waved Luke away as his son left the shop. They had planned to take Fress and Jess back to Obi-Wan's and he planned to meet them back there with Brice. He turned his attention to Brice who was now bawling. "Shut up brat. You've been nothing but trouble since day one," Grentan growled angrily which in turn Anakin started to Force choke the owner again.

"Apologize," Anakin commanded in a stern tone as Grentan grasped at his throat again.

"I'm..." Grentan struggled to form words again as Anakin refused to let go. "Sorry... I called... you... a... brat..."

"That's better," Anakin released his grip as Grentan gulped in air as he leaned against the wall for a minute. He shook his head making a hasty retreat into his office with spice in hand. Anakin motioned for Brice to follow him. With the remote in hand Anakin walked to the speeder noting that Rex and the others had already taken off as planned. "Get in Brice. Let's go home."

Brice had quieted down since they left the small shop as he quickly climbed into the passengers' side. Anakin took the engines off standby and lifted the speeder towards Obi-Wan's homestead.

As they neared the homestead Brice saw Fress and Jess waiting outside the dwelling. He glanced at Anakin who was silent the whole way home. "There they are," he exclaimed excitedly as Anakin pulled the speeder to a stop. Brice quickly climbed out and ran to Fress and Jess.

They both dropped to their knees with wide-open arms as Brice rushed into them. Fress wrapped her arms around Brice protectively. "We're so sorry, baby."

"Not your fault," Brice whispered. "You're not the one who sold me," he felt Jess wrap his arms around both him and Fress as Fress continued to hold him. He felt safe and warm in their arms like nothing in this galaxy could ever hurt him again.

Brice watched as Anakin headed into the dwelling as he broke away from Fress. He knew Anakin had choked Grentan a couple of times but didn't kill him. He really wasn't Vader anymore. "Can we go inside?"

"Lets head inside," Fress agreed as she stood up to her full height and placed a hand gently onto his shoulder.

Anakin had taken the time to strip out of what armor he could. Bren had gotten him a portable oxygen tank to carry around so he didn't have to be in the armor all the time. He walked into the kitchen as Fress and Jess answered Brice's questions. He hadn't said much to Brice since he freed him from the slaver scum. He thought it was best if the story came from Fress and Jess. He sat down on a kitchen chair as Fress smiled warmly at him. She may not be so smiling once she finds out he choked the owner in front of Brice.

"Don't worry, Anakin," Fress said with a small smile causing Anakin to groan. She was always able to read him like a book. "We suspected you would Force choke Grentan to make it look good."

"That's a relief," Anakin said as he felt relief flood him. "I choked him twice."

"We can't completely expect you to change your habits that fast. You didn't kill him so," Fress pointed out as Jess nodded in agreement. "Don't worry."

Anakin smiled in appreciation as Fress explained how her and Anakin met for the first time and how that friendship grew over time. That's until she told Brice about chasing Dooku into a Gundark nest, getting trapped and Ahsoka and Fress barely arrived in time to rescue him and Obi-Wan.

"Did you really have to tell him that story?" Anakin questioned causing Fress to smirk. "We had everything under control, Fress."

"After all these years and your still in denial?" Fress questioned in a teasing tone. "I forget, what did you have under control again? The blocked entrance, the poisonous gas or the Gundark rushing up behind you? Or do you plan to defend your stubborn nature?"

Anakin crossed his arms causing Brice to giggle a bit as Fress rolled her eyes. "Fine," he muttered under his breath. "Thank you."

"What was that? Can you speak up a little louder," Fress questioned as Ahsoka walked in with a frown. "Didn't quite understand you. It almost sounded like a thank you."

"You heard me just fine," Anakin pointed out as Ahsoka smirked. "The twins wouldn't have been born if you and Ahsoka weren't there."

"You're welcome, Sky Guy," Ahsoka hugged Anakin from the back then walked around the table and settled in beside Brice. "You know, your mother ended up in more tight situations and she has trouble admitting to the situation being out of control. She's just as stubborn as Anakin ever was," Anakin heard Fress groan a bit causing him to smirk.

"My parents always wondered why I was so stubborn," Brice smirked as Fress gave a small smile. "Now it makes sense."

"I am not stubborn," Fress defended her stubborn nature. "Brice gets it from his father."

Anakin heard Ahsoka chuckle causing him to smirk. "You're not going to admit to it, are you?"

"Like you admit to yours?" Fress challenged causing Anakin to roll his eyes in turn. "No."

"Jess isn't as stubborn as you are," Ahsoka pointed out with a grin causing Fress to roll her eyes. "It's okay to admit to it. We all know what you're like. I'm stubborn. See it's not too hard to admit to it."

Fress glared at Ahsoka as Anakin shook his head with a smirk. "We already knew that," he smirked causing Ahsoka to roll her eyes. "Fine, I'm stubborn, happy?" He questioned as Fress raised an eyebrow. "Your turn."

Fress released a frustrated sigh and Anakin knew they had cornered her into admitting to it. "I'm stubborn," she whispered causing Anakin to smirk.

"What was that?" Anakin questioned with a small grin. "Must be old age. I didn't hear you right, can you speak up?"

"You heard me just fine, snarky," Fress snipped as they heard Rex chuckling from behind them.

"What is this? A meeting to admit to being stubborn?" Rex questioned as he walked into the room. "You don't need to admit to it, I've known that for ages."

"Shut up CT-7567," Anakin snipped a little too harshly as Rex raised an eyebrow in his direction. He knew they didn't like to be addressed as such, but it just came out almost a little too easily. "Sorry Rex."

"Forget it, I can't completely expect you to change that easily," Rex sat down at the table as Fress stood up and hugged Rex. "We love you, Rex."

"I know you do," Rex said with a smile as he turned his attention to Brice. "You must be Brice. You look like your father, except for the eyes. I'm Rex, I served with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Fress during the Clone Wars. I've met Jess a couple of times during the time on the war front. Only when he came to visit Fress though."

"You're a clone?" Brice questioned with a raised brow as Rex nodded.

"That's right," Rex answered. "I learned so much from everyone around this table. They taught me so much, that even I started to break the rules myself. You have amazing parents, Brice. Wait until you get to know them better."

Brice grinned as Rex started relaying some old war stories leaving Anakin and Fress's face red with embarrassment. It was going to be a long afternoon.

Anakin walked to the small cot they bought for Brice to sleep on. He noticed the boy was tossing and turning in his sleep, much the way Obi-Wan described shortly after he left his mother's side. He placed the small oxygen tank on the ground and knelt down beside the bed.

"Don't sell me," Brice begged to who might be listening. He noticed the boy was thrashing around on the cot. "Please, I'll be good. I promise."

"Brice, wake up," Anakin whispered gently as he shook the boy's shoulder. "Brice, wake up, child," Brice's eyes opened as he sat up with a gasp as Anakin restrained him. "You're safe now. That was some nightmare. Did you want to talk about it?"

"I can't believe they did that to me," Brice whispered as he lay back down. "Mom and dad trusted them and they…"

"Betrayed them?" Anakin questioned with a concerned expression as Brice nodded. "Much the same way my mother was betrayed," he explained as he showed Brice the slave mark on his arm.

"They forced me to swallow that silver ball," Brice explained as he rubbed his side.

"I know," Anakin agreed. "I had to have it surgically removed. We'll make an appointment to have it removed, okay?" Brice nodded as he watched him with concern. "With your permission I can push you into a deep sleep where nightmares and dreams won't haunt you. You'll sleep the rest of the night. I need your permission first. It's up to you."

"Anakin?" Brice said with uncertainty in his tone. "Do Fress and Jess really want me back?"

Anakin was taken back by the question. It appeared Brice was showing signs of insecurity due to what his Aunt and Uncle did to him. "Of course they do. They gave you away because of me. What I did to everyone around me. I missed my children growing up. Brice, they loved you so much they didn't want to see anything bad happen to you. I deserve the death penalty for what I've done over the years."

Brice reached for Anakin's hand and smiled. "Living is worse."

"You're wise beyond your years, Brice," Anakin whispered as he silently agreed. Living with his actions was far worse then the death penalty. The death penalty would be seen as the quick way out.

"Anakin, can you stay with me until I fall asleep again? You have my permission to push me into a deeper sleep." Brice requested with a smile.

"Sure," Anakin agreed with a smile. "I'll stay," he waited until Brice nodded back off to sleep as he gently pushed the child into a deeper sleep. Anakin stood up and picked up the tank as he walked to the couch and sat down. After a while he slowly nodded off to sleep.

Fress walked into the kitchen as she wrapped her robes about her. She didn't see Anakin or Leia and Anakin's armor was missing. Ahsoka greeted her with a smile as she gave a weary one in return. "Where is Anakin this morning? I heard how he helped Brice last night and I wanted to thank him."

"The Executor is defecting, so they headed up to try and sort things out with the Alliance," Ahsoka explained as she turned the meat over. "What happened last night?"

"Brice had a nightmare from how his Aunt and Uncle treated him," Fress explained with concern in her tone. "Brice told me Anakin stayed with him until he fell back to sleep. They talked for a bit."

"He really is back, isn't he?" Ahsoka questioned with a relieved smile as Fress nodded in agreement. "Its good to have Anakin back. It makes me wonder when Vader's persona will start showing in him again."

"Given time I'm sure we'll start catching glimpses of Vader again. At the moment, he's most likely keeping it low key since he's rekindled his bond with Luke and Leia. Give him time, it'll come," Fress answered honestly as Ahsoka nodded in agreement.

Brice ran in and sat down at the table with a grin. "I'm starving, when is breakfast?"

"In a few minutes, Brice," Ahsoka answered with a toothy grin. "Why don't you set the table in the mean time, plates are in the cupboard here and the silver ware is there, and glasses are there," she pointed to the cupboards as Brice stood up. "Can you handle that?"

"Sure can," Brice answered in a happy tone as he went about his tasks. He set the table and sat down again. "Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"Help clean up after?" Ahsoka suggested with a smile.

"By myself?" Brice questioned sounding unsure.

"No, not by yourself, we all pitch in," Fress explained patiently. "Since Ahsoka is doing the cooking, we help with clean up."

"All right," Brice agreed with a smile as Fress placed her hand onto his shoulder. "Fress, do you and Jess really want me back?"

Fress hugged Brice knowing this was insecurity he was showing. "Of course we do, sweetheart. Never think like that. We love you so much, we didn't want to see anything bad happen to you."

"That's what Anakin said last night," Brice whispered as Fress tightened her grip around him as Ahsoka started putting the food platters down. "I feel safe in your arms."

"Shhh," Fress whispered gently. "You'll be fine. We'll take care of you," she promised. Brice was her little treasure. She was happy to have him back in her life. Jess walked in and sat down on Brice's other side and wrapped his arms around their son.