Summary: Both father and son have slight breakdowns in this chapter and Vader deals with his by outing his own secret in a moment of frustration and concern. Luke gets a much-needed hug.

This chapter wasn't supposed to take me so long to finish. Having no expertise in the medical arena, it was something of a struggle. But... I THINK... it came out okay.

For future reference: the topic of child sexual abuse will not advance farther than what has already been mentioned in this and previous chapters. This story is NOT about sex abuse and I will not be subjecting Luke to actually experiencing it. It is meant to be genuine fluff and adorableness between father and son and the topic of child slavery is only here to help set up the story itself. There will be one additional chapter that DOES broach the topic, but a warning will be posted when we get around to that particular storyline. Rest assured, Luke is and always will be safe from that particular evil with me as the writer.

With that said, please enjoy!

The Medical Bay Incident

The two men were some of Palpatine's spies and after ripping through their thoughts and tearing their minds to absolute shreds, Vader had seen enough to know that only one of them had had the intuition to actually follow him in here and see what it was that had stolen his attention so abruptly. The other worked in the hangar bay itself and neither of them had clearly seen Luke or knew who he was.

Both of them were dead now.

As were three other contacts that they had known of who had been placed strategically throughout the ship.

Vader had hunted each of them down and disposed of them before having their remains thrown out of an airlock and into the vast expanse of space. He spent some time searching for others but had come up dry. It was a stroke of luck that these ones had known anything about the others at all; most of the time, they knew of only one or two solid contacts on board and Vader had managed to get rid of five. He had had thoughts of going down to the detention cells and dealing with the slavers but ultimately decided against it. The interrogation had been scheduled for tomorrow and Vader was certain that if he went down there now, he would just tear everyone to pieces.

It would have to be enough that none of them were going anywhere for the time being. Let them starve and stew in their fear for a few hours. It was no less than what they deserved and the waiting before an interrogation was often just as important as the interrogation itself. There was much that he needed to know before any of them would be allowed to die.

Once Vader was finished… it had been his intention to go to the medical bay.

Luke was there and he should be present. If anything had ever been his business, it was this.

But after a few minutes, he realized that his feet had taken him to his hyperbaric chamber without him even realizing it. He felt horribly claustrophobic the second he laid eyes on it and he needed to escape the cage that was his suit and mask, even if just for a little bit. He waved his hand, activating the mechanisms that kept the pod closed before stepping in and sitting down in the well worn leather chair.

The chamber sealed itself once again after a few seconds and the air itself pressurized once again. His mask came off at last and Vader carefully avoided looking up at all the medical tools and torture instruments that kept him in working condition for the Emperor. Instead, he pressed his face into his hands and tried to focus on the air entering into his lungs.

It was a small relief - but a relief nonetheless - to breathe of his own accord and volition.

How was he supposed to do this?

For as much as Luke was biologically his son… he wasn't a father. He didn't know what to do with a child and this was not how things were supposed to go. It threw everything off - if Luke's condition were to be reported to the Emperor then it would put Vader on the defensive with Palpatine rather than the offensive the way that he had hoped. Instead of having an able partner and ally who could assist him in getting rid of his Master… he had a small child that needed to be protected.

It made him feel vulnerable in a way that he was wholly unaccustomed to... and it was forcing him to acknowledge how very high the stakes were. There was someone left for him to lose. Everyone he had ever loved had been taken from him - but despite all of his crimes, through some stroke of unbelievable luck and fortune... he had Luke.

A son.

His son.

Padme's son.

Luke was the only one that was left now and the only thing that mattered. There was no room for error in any of this.

He had kept a mental eye on Luke since leaving him in the Admiral's care, monitoring him for any drastic changes in his overall health but had stayed far enough away that he wasn't being peppered with his son's emotions or Luke with his. It gave him the opportunity to try and think. To try and figure out… something. It was suddenly exhausting, how many things he now felt that he had to deal with.

He needed to figure out how such a transformation was possible and how to return his son to his proper age.

He couldn't let Palpatine find out.

Search for the Rebellion.

He needed to run the Executor .

Protect the developing Death Star.

Keep Luke safe and out of harms way.

Vader pressed his fingers into his temples, trying to avoid the gash that ran along the back of his head and closed his eyes to think.

…

…

…

…

…

…the Kaminoans.

The cloning technology.

That could be something to look into, Vader realized after a few minutes. The Kaminoans had grown millions upon millions of clones during the Clone Wars. It had been a foul business, creating and raising men up for nothing except slaughter. An old, almost forgotten anger rose up from the ashes inside of him - it pissed him off just thinking about it. But… perhaps it was possible that the genetic technology they had created could reduce someone's age as well as it could advance it at an accelerated speed.

There was the issue of obtaining that information from them without raising any red flags, if they even had it, but… in any case, it would be somewhere for him to start if the slavers were truly a dead end. And any hint of a direction was better than nothing.

He was pulled out of his thoughts only when the commlink on his belt began to buzz. A quick glance at it revealed that it was the Admiral attempting to contact him.

Vader opened it instantly. "What is it?" he demanded. His voice was raspy and weaker without his vocoder but the Admiral had heard it before.

"Lord Vader - " Admiral Piett paused briefly as a child's high pitched wail sounded from his side of the commlink. "Your presence is being requested in the medical bay."

Vader made it to the medical bay in record time and would have left a small trail of destruction in his haste to get there had he not actively been trying to keep the whole situation with Luke from being completely known throughout the ship.

The Admiral had not elaborated on what was happening, only informed him that their "guest" was in a private med-room towards the back of the medical bay and that Vader was being requested. He stalked his way through the long corridors, a dark looming presence - every bit the frightful specter that everyone on board considered him to be. He ignored those personnel who pressed themselves up against the walls in order to get out of his path and avoid him. Their fear and wariness saturated the Force and another day it might have even been amusing.

But a different person held his attention now, one whose fear and unhappiness was making his own cold heart clench in anxious concern. The door and room number that he was looking for finally came into view and with a wave of his hand, it opened up for him.

Vader froze mid-step, the sight in front of him catching him completely off-guard.

Luke was sobbing.

Gut-wrenchingly forceful sobs - in the midst of a full blown meltdown.

He was sitting on a medical exam table, layered with one of those stupid pieces of tissue paper, surrounded by medical personnel; two doctors in white coats and a few nurses with charts and other instruments who were talking to each other over the sound of his wailing son. The noise was perhaps the only reason that everyone present did not seem to immediately acknowledge his presence. The Admiral was also in the room, standing against the wall looking tired and frustrated and perhaps a little out of his depth. He noticed Vader's presence first and stood up straighter; but the Admiral was not the subject of his ire.

"What happened?" Vader heard himself snarl.

One of the doctors looked up and immediately stood at attention, offering him a brisk salute. The others followed suit and Vader decided that they all had three seconds to drop their salute and answer his damn question before they experienced a very abrupt departure from life.

"The boy is - he is being most difficult, sir - "

"He's four," Vader snapped, finally stepping into the room at last. He hadn't actually confirmed his son's age but intuitively, he knew that it was true.

"Well, yes but - "

"He's a child and you are supposed to be a professional. Why is he crying?"

Luke looked up at him as he approached and began sobbing anew, his eyes welling with even more tears. Fear and exhaustion rolled off of him in sickening waves. He didn't reach for Vader this time although he could sense that his little son wanted to. Something inside of him twisted with guilt.

The ragged scraps of clothes that Luke had been wearing earlier were gone and had been replaced with a small medical gown that went down to his knees; it was better than what he'd had but it made Luke seem especially small and showcased the colorful bruises on his arms.

It was one of the most pathetic sights he'd seen in a long, long time.

Without thinking about it, Vader moved so that he was standing beside the exam table and placed his hand cautiously on top of Luke's head and smoothing his hair before resting his hand on his back. It was nothing - only the bare minimum of comfort but just like earlier, Luke snagged on to his arm with his one hand and sidled closer to him, turning his face into his arm for protection.

"My Lord, if - if you could just get him to stop crying," One of the male nurses said. "He won't hold still and we would rather not have to sedate him so that we can perform our tests."

"Absolutely not," Vader said instantly, causing their nervousness to grow. Unless there was no other available option, there was no way that he was going to let them sedate his child. "If you were competent in your jobs then that would not be necessary to even consider."

Why was everything chaos? Why did everything only run smoothly if he was personally there to ensure that it did?

"My Lord," Admiral Piett addressed him for the first time, seeming perfectly aware of his growing anger. "When I explained to the medical personnel who the boy is, they felt that, given the Empire's urgency in searching for him, that you would prioritize figuring out what had happened over his more, ahem, immediate needs."

The Admiral's personal feelings and his own doubtful thoughts made it clear that he did not think that they were correct in their judgment.

"We… we – we're trying our best to figure it out." Someone stuttered, also picking up on his growing anger. "And it is not out of a lack of concern for his well-being. There are certain tests and examinations which require a period of fasting before we can perform them and we felt, given the circumstances, that we would perform those ones now and protect him from enduring this over and over again later . But you have to understand - this, this is completely unprecedented -"

" - a medical mystery - "

" - revolutionary, even - "

That was quite enough of that.

"What I understand is that my son collapsed in the hangar bay after being pulled off of a slave ship less than three hours ago and that he requires medical attention." Vader interrupted dangerously, silencing them. "All of you are failing in your collective responsibility and I do not tolerate failure."

One could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. Shock, disbelief, and so many other racing emotions quickly permeated the Force; even the Admiral stood up straighter, his sharp eyes widening in uncharacteristic surprise.

"Y-your son?" Someone squeaked out.

"Commander Skywalker is my son." Vader confirmed. "Not a science project for you or anyone else to study."

Another silence followed as all present attempted to grasp and come to terms with the knowledge he'd given them.

Vader was not certain whether or not Luke understood and truthfully, it wasn't a priority for him to know at the moment either. If the situation persisted, which, Vader had an uneasy feeling that it just might - then he would do his best to explain their relationship later, privately. For now, all he wanted to know was whether or not Luke was healthy and unharmed. He wanted him fed and comfortable and safe; not weeping and frightened.

No one reacted. No one even seemed to dare move and there was only that same stunned disbelief which permeated the Force.

"Well?" Vader snapped impatiently. They were lucky he was only snapping with his tone - he'd prefer to snap a few necks at this point.

The doctor in charge - Läkare - jumped into a fumbling sort of action and his team with him, choking out apologies and scrambling to regain some semblance of control. It felt like chaos with the sound of drawers and cupboards opening and closing, people shuffling about, charts being flipped through and overlapping conversations about how best to proceed and what was more important - it was beyond irritating to witness and their uneasiness and surprise was clearing concerning Luke as well, who was too little to understand the cause.

Vader felt his tenuous patience finally snap entirely when Luke flinched and pulled back from one of the nurses as he approached and a quick, flashing image that was a strange mixture between the Togruta from the Antioch and the med staff currently present reaching for his son shot between their Force bond. The two medics from earlier hadn't evoked such a reaction. They had been quiet and professional in their duties and Luke had been calm. Not happy and not unafraid but neither of them had prompted such obvious fear from him.

It would not stand.

"I want someone else." Vader said, making a snap decision. "All of you are relieved as of right now. Doctor Läkare, summon Kix. Have him come here and take over and then get out."

There was another flurry of movement as people professionally scrambled to contact Kix and others. He tuned it all out, and refocused his attention on Luke. He was still clinging pathetically to his arm, tears still streaming down his face.

He couldn't kill anyone with Luke around. It was, unfortunately, an additional trauma his son did not need right now. That… and Vader didn't typically kill medical personnel as a general rule either. But if this team was going to be so… so damn incompetent and cause this much of a scene with a four year old, then at the very least, Vader would replace them with someone else. He barely noticed when the door to the medical room closed behind them.

He didn't know how to do this.

"Little one...? Child, what's wrong?"

The question sounded so... wrong, coming from him. He wasn't a father - he shouldn't be here, he didn't know what to do and -

"Y-ou… you said - " Luke cried, barely able to choke out the words. The faint sense of an absolute pounding headache and a miserable, aching hunger flickered in the back of his mind and his guilt surged anew, further proof that he was wrong for this. He should have been more specific in his instructions. Even if it was urgent that he figured this whole mess out… what Luke needed should have come first. A good meal, a bath, and the chance to sleep. That had been his plan before his own fears and insecurities had taken hold of him.

It was all Luke needed right now.

Luke sucked in a hiccupping breath, shaking as he tried and failed to calm down. "Y- you said t-that you would… would s-stay with me!"

Vader froze, feeling like a bantha caught in a speeder light. "I - I did say that."

He had. He'd told Luke that he'd keep him safe and then sent him off with complete strangers without so much as a goodbye or an assurance that everything would be okay.

Luke broke down again, tiredly rubbing his eyes with his fist, his chest heaving. Pictures - flashes, images and fuzzy memories of things that had scared him were flickering between them; leonely-tired-scared-hungry-Beru-home-cold-head hurt- tummy hurts- lonely-lonely-lonely

It was a lot. Too much for any child to know how to deal with alone.

Before he consciously decided to do anything, Vader picked Luke up under the armpits, holding his son out in front of him awkwardly - what was he… how was he supposed to do this…?

It had been such a long time - a lifetime even. He shouldn't be holding Luke now - the younglings he had slaughtered and his own son's missing right hand was more than enough evidence that he was a monster - and… and… and Luke was just frightened. Scared and lonely and thrown into a situation where he was surrounded by strangers and forced to seek comfort from the only family member he had available to him, even if it was one that he didn't know.

Vader wasn't practiced in any of this.

But… Luke was his and he could try. He would try.

Swallowing back his nerves and all the many reasons why he was completely wrong for this, Vader slowly brought Luke close to his chest and felt as his son quickly latched on to him, wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist, clinging to him tightly and sniffling with emotions.

Vader shifted his hold, propping Luke up with one arm and then lifting his other to slowly begin rubbing Luke's back, the same way that his mother had used to do for him, whispering wordless assurances to him through the Force.

"It's alright, little one. I have you." he promised, internally wincing at how harsh his voice sounded. "Calm down."

"I - I, I wanna go home!" Luke cried miserably, heaving those same deep shuddering breaths that seemed to wrack his whole body. "I want Beru!"

"I know," Vader said automatically. "Just breathe, Luke. In and out. Just breathe. I will not let anything happen to you."

That was a promise he felt determined to keep and moving forward, he would.

It took a few minutes before Luke's crying began to taper off - though Vader suspected it was due more to exhaustion than it was from the comfort that Vader was attempting to give. The room had been cleared entirely but Vader could sense that no one had gone very far, their presences lingering out in the hallway. There was nothing except stunned disbelief at the forefront of everyone's thoughts.

It was a chaotic jumble of Skywalker-Vader-a son-what the hell-he's human-an actual son- Skywalker-it doesn't make sense-Skywalker….

Vader closed his eyes for a few seconds.

So much for keeping that a secret. But even still, he wasn't certain how he could keep Luke a complete secret while he was on the Executor. He could contain it and have all in-coming and outgoing communications monitored. Eliminate threats. But it wasn't as if he could just lock his son in a room and hide him away.

Children needed interaction. Physical touch. Love.

For as much as Anakin had considered certain droids family to him, they were no substitute for actual human interaction. It wouldn't be fair to assign a droid to babysit a frightened child and have the only sentient interaction for him to be between a monster and medical staff. Vader had always intended to introduce Luke - the adult version, anyways - to the men under his command as his son. He had never quite figured out when the timing of that revelation would occur but as far as Vader was concerned, Luke was the heir to the Empire. Vader had created it for his family to rule.

Perhaps… perhaps….

His mind wandered down different trains of thought, rejecting and considering many different options and possibilities. But mostly, Vader was focused on Luke and how the weight of his small body felt in his arms. Slowly, his little son began to be soothed, lacking the energy to be so upset for very long. Luke clung to him all the same… his head pressed against his shoulder as if Vader could keep back everything that had ever frightened him, his sobs dwindling into tired, miserable sniffles.

A hazy thought passed between them, another flickering image from his son; not one of fear but of homesickness this time. It wasn't terribly clear but the desire was and Vader had seen the same image before many times and so it was easy enough to figure out.

Twin Suns in a sky that was ablaze with color.

Without stopping to think about it, Vader sharpened the picture for Luke to see, with the faint impression of a warm desert heat. Then he sent another; the lowing of banthas from the Dunes, and a quiet sensation of how it'd felt to race through Beggar's Canyon. Familiar things. Safe things.

Luke relaxed a little more, sniffling and "watching" the pictures with a sad, but comforted sort of longing.

The doors to the medical bay slid open only moments later as both the Admiral and Kix stepped inside together at last. They were speaking quietly to one another and Vader watched them both, whispering calm and safe to his son as he stirred somewhat from his rest. He didn't have to wait for very long.

Kix froze mid step just past the doorway, taking in the sight of Vader holding a small child with very wide eyes. A veteran of the 501st through and through, having seen more gruesome things than most, and being a loyal soldier to Vader himself, his surprise was a testament to the situation as a whole.

Fortunately for everyone, he quickly put on an air of professionality.

"Lord Vader," he greeted politely and cautiously, staring at Luke with cautious curiosity. "Who do we have here?"

"This is my son." Vader said without hesitation. He had very little patience for beating around the bush on a good day and his little son had waited for assistance long enough. "Commander Luke Skywalker."

Kix blinked and there was a stunned, uncomprehending silence before a strange sort of realization replaced it in the Force. Clearly, the Admiral knew well enough to keep this contained to whoever Vader chose to reveal it to. " Your … son?"

"Yes."

Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader. Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader.

Vader quickly tuned Kix's thoughts out, trying not to be irritated at the forcefulness of that name being directed his way, even just in thought-form.

Fortunately, Kix was a veteran of the 501st and he pushed those thoughts aside quickly.

"Alive and unharmed," Kix huffed, scrubbing his jaw in disbelief. "...I guess that answers a few questions." he licked his lips and blew out a steadying breath. "How can I be of assistance, my Lord?"

"My son was pulled off of a slave ship. The… issue… of his current age can wait until a later time but given the nature of slavers and their primary interest in children, I need to know if and how he was harmed."

Kix nodded in understanding, his eyes dark. "I can certainly arrange for that to happen. But if something like that is to be done properly, it will take about two standard hours." Vader pursed his lips, glancing down at Luke. He was still awake but he was exhausted, physically and emotionally. He had hoped for a far quicker diagnosis. As of now, he didn't know if Luke had two hours in him.

The door was pushed open again and a shiny medical droid calmly entered, with a small tray of food. It looked like a light meal, things that wouldn't upset a sensitive stomach. The droid set the food down on a side table and it briefly explained what it all was and the benefits for Luke moving forward before leaving again and Vader set Luke down so that he could eat. Something tense and irritated eased inside of him a little as he watched Luke eat a much needed meal.

Kix excused himself, disappearing for a good ten minutes before returning just as Luke was finishing up. "I spoke with the other medical staff, and as poorly as it may have been done, they did cover most of his important vitals and they took several samples already, blood and saliva included. Some lab work is being conducted now to see if it will tell us what happened, as well."

Vader was quiet, not entirely pacified towards the other medical staff but not having the time to be more annoyed than he already was and trying to decide what the best course of action for Luke was. From somewhere out in the hall, there was a sudden bang and the quiet sound of someone cursing. Luke startled at the noise, flinching slightly and then lifted his head to peer around the room anxiously.

Safe. Vader whispered soothingly. Just rest, little one. I have you.

Luke hesitated, his little brow crinkling with uncertainty. His face was pale and stained with dried tears and he reached for Vader to pick him up once more, which he did.

"Hey, kiddo." Kix offered Luke a small wave and a smile. In response, Luke quickly turned his face into Vader's chest, ignoring Kix entirely. His thoughts had grown quieter too, a sad mixture of lonely-tired-home-Beru. But there was also something else now too; something bordering on the lines of contentment for at least having Vader for company, if just for the moment.

Kix made a sympathetic expression. "Alright buddy," he said simply. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to talk to anyone either. Not after the day you've had. It would be a lot for anyone to handle, huh?"

Predictably, Luke said nothing but no one really expected him to either.

"What then would you suggest, Kix?"

There was a momentary pause.

"I honestly don't know if we'll get much out of him right now." Kix finally said with a slight shrug. "Nor do I think that subjecting him to anything more than necessary is wise." He knelt down and pulled out a medical scanner from his bag and switched it on before standing up again. "Let me just see… what this thing can tell me." he said, running the device along the length of Luke's body.

A few seconds later, it beeped, and Kix pulled it away again.

"Alright, well. He is still dehydrated and his body chemistry is nowhere near being at what constitutes normal. I'll look more into the abnormalities with a team and report back to you. But he is stable and except for missing a few meals, he seems in decent enough shape too. I can arrange for the SANE examination to take place tomorrow and we can go from there."

Luke slumped more fully against him, resting his cheek against his shoulder. Vader sensed more than saw his eyes flutter closed only seconds later and felt the shift in his breathing suggesting that he was finally asleep.

There was nothing else that needed to be done right now that couldn't be done at a later time.

"That is acceptable." Turning, Vader said, "Admiral. See to it that security measures are updated appropriately throughout the ship. For the time being, no one outside this ship can know that my son is onboard the Executor. Contain it as best as you can. Wipe the security cameras if you have not already done so and screen anyone who has seen him for questionable loyalties."

The Admiral's eyes drifted to Luke, lingering on him for several long seconds. "...yes, my Lord. I… I will see to the details."

"I expect you will. I will summon you later for a more in-depth discussion."

Vader dismissed them both with a wave of his hand and then exited the exam room behind them. He ordered for an appropriate meal to be available for when his son woke up again and then stretched out into the Force, searching briefly for somewhere quiet where they wouldn't be disturbed and then made his way deeper into the medical bay, leaving the others in his wake. The Force pointed him in the right direction and he quickly found a quiet recovery room in a more isolated area and entered, closing the door behind him.

There was a master bedroom set up and prepared for Luke on his own private floor; he had it made in the event that he ever caught up to his son and managed to convince him to join him at his side. It was elaborate and decorative and everything that a young man could want or need.

It wasn't… quite set up for a child though.

Vader could try to start fixing that tomorrow. Somehow. For now, he lowered Luke gently onto the med bed that was set up against the wall so that his head was resting on the pillow. Then he pulled the crisp, plain white sheets over on top of him and tucked them around him gently. It struck him once again how very small Luke was. Nothing but a little boy; Vader had almost forgotten that this kind of innocence even existed. His son stayed asleep the entire time, though he still shifted and turned on his side, his thumb easily finding its way into his mouth.

It was painfully adorable. Another smile - something he had done more today than he had in the last twenty years combined - twitched at his lips. After a few seconds, Vader pried it gently out again, and tucked Luke's arm underneath the sheets before smoothing his hair back gently one final time. Finally, summoning a nearby chair, Vader awkwardly sat down at the end of the bed and committed himself to all-night vigil.

A/N Thanks for reading!