Summary: A snippet from my upcoming Day 14 Whumptober fic.

Drowned

It felt like hours but was, in reality, probably a minute or two at most before Luke finally coughed, spitting up a lungful of water. Vader quickly turned him on his side so that he wouldn't choke and a cold, miserable feeling seeped along their Force bond as Luke came back and did his best to expel the entire contents of his stomach. Pain and a bewildering sense of panic flickered freely between them as he retched miserably.

Vader felt almost weak with relief as he waited, patting his son firmly on the back a few times in some effort to try and help. Luke was breathing - not uninjured - but he was alive.

Luke clutched weakly at the cold, wet rock underneath him with one hand as if to try and hold himself still while he struggled to breathe properly.

"Steady, Luke." Vader rumbled and Luke flinched at the sound of his voice, his thoughts scattered and confused. "You are alright. Relax."

Luke groaned miserably and a few tense minutes passed before all the water seemed to finally be expelled from his stomach and his breathing evened out at last. He shifted weakly, lifting his head to look around and recognizing his presence for the first time. Luke stared at him dumbly for a long moment, wet strands of hair dangling in his eyes before recognition finally dawned.

"Oh," he croaked, shoulders slumping. There was a strange sort of relief mingled with a much stronger sense of resignation fluttering unknowingly between them. "It's you."

"Me," Vader agreed, with some small amusement.

Luke only nodded before dropping his head into the crook of his arm in exhaustion, tremors wracking his whole body - from cold and pain alike. He looked like a drowned loth cat.

Not used to seeing his son in such a sorry state, Vader patted him awkwardly on the shoulder before shifting around so that he could take a look at the rest of him and see what other kinds of damage had been done to his offspring.

A/N There's not much that I don't do to Luke in this fic, I'll be real. He's having a VERY bad day. But such is his lot in life and Whumptober demands it of me. Keep an eye out for the full thing coming soon!

Thanks for reading!