Author's Note: This should've uploaded earlier. There appears to have been a glitch in the system. Please enjoy this latest update.
Vader is insistent. And Obi-Wan cannot argue with his reasoning. Even so, he hesitates as he leads Bail and the Rebel's intelligence officer, Lieutenant Jensen, into the secured recovery room.
Though he knows they are skeptical of his claiming to be able to hear Anakin's thoughts, they have followed him thus far, and he thinks they will at least give him a chance.
They get through the introductory questions, the same ones that Jensen had apparently asked to no response before, when Vader impresses upon Obi-Wan a message he wants conveyed:
I will only discuss the overthrow of the Emperor. I will not destabilize the galaxy by being part of any rebel plot to sow chaos.
Obi-Wan visibly balks, eliciting looks of concern on the faces of the other two men.
You are in no position to make demands! He snaps.
Am I not? Comes the snarky reply. Last I was briefed, your rebels had repeatedly failed in their attempts to obtain any intelligence that would even hint at the location of our Imperial armories. Whether you like it or not, I hold the cards here, Kenobi.
The anger flowing through Obi-Wan spikes as Vader spits his surname like an insult.
If I am to be part of their little plot, any change will be done slowly from within, not by simply abolishing the government and relying on the good graces of anarchy. If these fools somehow manage to assassinate the Emperor, someone must be ready to take his place, I care not who, make it yourself for all that it matters to me. Just tell them! These are my terms. They can take them or leave them.
Obi-Wan hesitates. And then relays the message to the increasingly irate Bail and the studiously note-taking Lieutenant.
"Does he take us for idiots?" Bail asks. "Of course, we have a plan of succession in place! Is this smug fool presuming to put himself upon the throne?"
"He can hear you, Bail." Obi-Wan reminds him, shooting him a warning glance. Though Vader remains outwardly unresponsive, he has no doubt that he remains capable of killing them both.
I can, indeed, hear him, Obi-Wan. I can also hear you, as well… There is a note of humor in his tone. Do not worry so, I have no intention of killing him just yet. So long as we understand each other, tell them to hurry up their questions, and I will answer until I tire…
Though the mood of the room is understandably soured, the four spend almost two hours debriefing Vader of the most highly classified Imperial intelligence one could ask for, until, at last, Obi-Wan senses his fading awareness as he teeters on the edge of unconsciousness.
"Gentlemen, I sense our friend grows weary, and I believe that is more than enough for today." Obi-Wan says cordially, rising and gesturing toward the door with all the panache that had once earned him the title of Negotiator.
Both of his companions are all too happy to oblige. It is clear that even Bail is grateful for the treasure trove information, even if still miffed by the entirety of the situation. What Vader has given them in two hours is worth more than they normally can scrape together in two years.
Obi-Wan… A tired slurring voice emanates across his mind as he walks them to the door.
Obi-Wan suppresses the small smile that tugs on his lips as he turns around, though he knows the other man cannot see him.
…stay with me.
"Of course," Obi-Wan says aloud, returning to the chair at his bedside.
When Anakin wakes, he feels stronger than he did before. Obi-Wan is gone, but, much to his confusion, there is someone else in the room with him. Someone small and feels their eyes on him, staring, curious. To have so obvious a presence in the Force, they must be Force-sensitive, but they are shielded somehow, like a lamp glowing under a blanket.
He tries to open his eyes and is at last rewarded with the ability to see at least the blazing of the lights overhead.
As he blinks back tears in his tattered retinas, a small shrill voice resounds beside him.
"Hello, there!" It says brightly.
Are the children now taking their cues from the cheek of Kenobi?! Even as he tries to turn his gaze sideways, the girl—for it was indeed a girl's voice—remains just outside of his line of vision.
"I know you probably can't talk, but I wanted to come in and say hi. They used my blood to save you, you know."
What on earth is this child going on about?
"You're from Tatooine, right? I've never been there. But one of my birth parents was from there, I'm not sure which one. But, anyway, I'm Leia. They didn't tell me your name—"
And then suddenly, the rest of the child's chattering is drowned out as his heart begins to hammer, and it all falls into place. Bail. Obi-Wan had called one of his interrogators 'Bail.' Bail Organa. Leader of the Rebel Alliance. Adoptive father of…Leia Organa!
Weakness be damned; he struggles to sit up, rolling over to look at the small child seated beside him.
"Oh, be careful you don't hurt yourself!" The girl chides as the room spins around him. His eyes are blurry and struggle to focus, but, eventually, they light upon her. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Pale skin.
Padmé's daughter!
She's here. Beside him. She's alive!
His eyes grow wet and, despite the oxygen mask strapped to his face, he cannot help but try to speak her name.
"L-Leia…was…it?" He asks, though he wonders if she understands him behind the mask.
The girl clearly has no idea who he is. But he thanks whoever had the good mercy to bring her to him. Perhaps Obi-Wan has been responsible for this kindness. Either way, he doesn't care as he drinks in the sight of her.
"Uh, huh." The girl nods. "And who are you…? Dad usually only brings in defectors who've done something really bad. Have you done something really bad?"
His heart twists as she says the word 'Dad' because he knows she isn't referring to him. He can only be all too grateful that she doesn't recognize him without the mask.
"I—I am…Anakin…" He labors, the name sounding like a lie upon his tongue. "And…yes…I suppose I have…" He trails off.
'I killed your mother,' he thinks to himself, 'along with many other people.'
"That's alright!" The little girl says brightly. "Lots of people do bad things. But then they learn not to."
Would that it were so simple.
"Well, anyway, I should leave before anyone starts looking for me."
Wait, had she broken in here? Surely this was a maximum-security holding facility?
"Oh," she says, brightly, "and don't tell my Dad I was here, okay? I kind of swiped his key-card to get in."
There is no way her breaking in was as simple as that. And he finds himself marveling at her ingenuity.
Just then, the latch clicks on the cell door, and he hears a thunder of footsteps.
"Uh, oh…" Leia says quickly, ducking down below his bedside.
"Leia!" A voice roars as Anakin swings his head around to see an outraged Bail Organa burst into the room with a breathless Obi-Wan on his heels. "What have you done with her!?" He yells upon failing to see the child's form.
"She's here…" He says as calmly as possible, lifting a trembling servo to gesture to beside the bed.
"Tattle-tale!" A little voice exclaims.
"Leia! Oh, thank the stars!" Bail cries, lunging to the floor and clutching her in his arms. Something in Anakin's heart twists, but even so, after everything, he knows better than to intervene. "That was very dangerous! How could you do something like that?!"
"It wasn't dangerous, Dad, Anakin is very nice…" The girl argues, impetuously. "And I helped to save his life so I thought I should get to meet him!"
"He is not 'nice,' Leia! Do you understand?!" Bail snaps, his fatherly worry overriding all pretenses of cordiality.
"And you!" He whirls, looking up at Anakin from where he kneels to embrace his adopted daughter. "What did you tell her, you bastard?!"
Suddenly, the Viceroy is on his feet, advancing almost menacingly on his hospital bed.
"Only what she asked…." Anakin taunts. He feels the pull of the Darkness. The desire to lash out at the man who has stolen his daughter. To make him suffer. To take back what is his.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouts in warning, his presence suddenly looming over them. Do not make me do this… The Jedi warns.
"Dad…calm down!" Leia begs, standing up between them. "I don't know what you're scared of, but he didn't tell me anything!"
You must apologize. Obi-Wan orders silently.
The two men eye one another for just a moment, Vader's fingers itching to crush the stupid aristocrat's windpipe. And then he looks at the fear in his daughter's face, and suddenly and surprisingly, he finds his anger fading to nothingness.
What right does he have to this child? She has never known him. Never met him. He has done nothing but ruin her life before she was even born. Suddenly, he wishes Obi-Wan had allowed him to die. And then he does something truly unprecedented: He listens to Obi-Wan.
"My…apologies…Viceroy." He begins, choking on the words even as he forces them out. "…if she ever pulls such a …stunt again…I will be…sure to …send her away…"
And with that, the tension breaks as Organa's face goes from angry to confused.
"You did not…?" The aristocrat begins in shock, and then stops himself as he catches his daughter's bewildered expression.
"Didn't what, Dad?" The little girl asks. "He didn't hurt me! I promise!"
Organa's eyes go wide as he looks at Anakin, not quite believing the Sith has passed up the opportunity to sink his claws into his adopted daughter.
"No…" The Viceroy says quietly. "…I suppose not."
Anakin can practically hear Obi-Wan's sigh of relief as the two Organas turn and make their way from the room. Anakin's eyes never leave the form of his daughter.
Just before leaving, Organa pauses at the door, looking carefully over his shoulder at the Jedi and the Sith behind him.
"My apologies for the intrusion." He says poignantly. "Good day, Obi-Wan."
And with that, they have gone. And all Anakin can do is stare at the door where, only a few seconds before, his daughter had been standing.
He thinks of her as his own…
There is an unfathomable sadness to Anakin's words. And Obi-Wan cannot help but feel a flash of pity for him as he realizes it is unlikely he will be able to tell Leia the truth, at least not for quite some time.
He does. Obi-Wan says through the privacy of their bond. But that doesn't mean you do not have a right to care for her.
Anakin hums in the back of his throat, sinking back into the hospital bed at last. He is hurting. For once, not from his wounds, but from the painful reminder of all that separates him from his children.
Are the Rebels ready to resume our interviews? He asks finally.
Obi-Wan nods, looking on from the foot of his bed.
I've just been in meetings with High Command. They are still verifying the intelligence you provided yesterday but want to continue interrogations this afternoon.
Anakin only grunts in absent-minded approval.
Obi-Wan knows his mind remains on other things; even so, he doesn't know if there is anything he could say that would make it better. Instead, he comes and sits beside him, even though, as with so many moments in the last fortnight, his words seem to fail.
The Emperor will almost assuredly be searching for him now. The sharp hook of their bond is now tugging almost incessantly. Even so, it feels weaker, as though something else has begun to displace it, pushing it ever further from his mind.
Though Sidious's forces are legion, without his attack dog to head them, and with the considerable resources of the Rebels to protect him, Anakin's personal safety is as assured as it is ever going to be. Though the painful reality of meeting his daughter breaks his heart, the fact that she is alive is a miracle unto itself, and the intervention of the Rebel physicians has almost assured that he will at least have a chance of returning for Luke.
He is also glad that Obi-Wan seems to, at last, be taking care of himself. His presence feels stronger. Better. Who else would he have without him? And who else could he trust to watch over his son?
Wait...His son!
At the thought, adrenaline floods his veins and he reaches out to Obi-Wan. You need to go back to protect Luke. He says forcefully, suddenly fearing what might befall the Lars homestead without their protector.
Obi-Wan only hums in acknowledgment. I will, Anakin. I will. But my presence here is necessary for the moment, and I will stay as long as that is the case.
I have no need of you.
"This is not your decision to make." Obi-Wan tells him cryptically, his eyes flashing with something quiet and thunderous.
Vader finds himself falling silent. It is the closest he will come to accepting defeat. There are no words left to say, it seems. No making up for what has been done. But, at least, there is something beyond hell.
He is tired again. And though he fights it for as long as he is able, after a few minutes, his traitorous eyelids begin to fall closed.
Ordinarily, the pain of his suit and the roar of the respirator would keep him awake. For years, he has depended on meditating to substitute for the lack of sleep, but with the improved respirator to which the Rebels have now connected him, the world has now gone blissfully quiet, and the pain in his body is nothing but a semi-distant sensation washed over in tides of morpha.
Suddenly, Obi-Wan's voice breaks the lull of his drifting mind.
…rest now, my child…
He wants to snarl at the patronizing endearment. But the sentiment is expressed so softly as to have been almost unintentional. The words are more impressions than conscious thoughts. Perhaps, just this once, he'll let Obi-Wan have the last word.
Before he knows it, he drifts off to sleep to the sound of an old Jedi lullaby.
Again, apologies folks for the false update. Hopefully, issues should have been resolved. Thanks to LordAries34 for bringing it to my attention.