Tatooine

They trudged through the sand as the wind blew. In the distance, Anakin saw the homestead. When it had been nothing but flat for miles and miles, finally the hovel appeared in sight. Anakin never thought he would be happy to see the place. He still hoped that the information he got from the locals was still accurate.

Anakin was fortunate enough to find a dewback in Mos Espa. With some persuasion from the Force, the owner believed that they no longer needed the creature and gave it to Anakin. Grateful, Anakin thanked the man, then loaded up a bag that held necessities from him and the children. C-3PO was also attached to the dewback, although he was in pieces and deactivated. Despite Anakin having a fractured leg that was still healing, he refused to sit on the dewback's saddle. Instead, he assisted Padme up onto it, letting her rest during the trip. He elected to lead the dewback by the bridle.

Beneath Anakin's black cloak, two beings stirred as they felt their father's anxiety rising. Anakin had made a harness from some cloth he acquired and his children sat comfortably in it, shielded from the heat and wind, despite the tears and holes in the cloak. Little Luke and Leia Skywalker rested on Anakin's back and chest. Despite being infants, Anakin knew just how powerful they were. They could sense his fears as he approached the homestead.

"Anakin, are they alright?" Padme asked softly from the dewback.

Without turning his head to her, Anakin responded. "They're fine. They just sense how I... feel about this place."

"We should have taken Bail's offer. Alderaan would have been better for the children."

"Alderaan wasn't safe. It's too many people, and with the Emperor looking for not only me but our children, I'm not taking any risks!"

Anakin frowned and mentally kicked himself for snapping at his wife. Despite the last few days being absolute hell, it was no excuse to yell at her.

"I'm sorry."

"I am too. I know how difficult it is to come here. Are you sure you will be okay?"

"Yes," Anakin lied. He didn't care if Padme knew he was lying. He needed to convince himself that he could handle it. For his family. For Padme. For the two children that meant everything to him. His own struggles and feelings meant nothing to him now. All that mattered was his family's safety.

They got closer and the dewback get out a loud bellow as they did so, which alerted the two people that stood outside of the hovel's entrance. The setting of the Twin Suns blinded Anakin and he raised what was left of his mechanical hand to shield his eyes. Squinting, he saw that it was Owen and Beru that stood before him. Owen's gruff, grizzled face met Anakin's beaten and exhausted form. Anakin didn't need to use the Force to see what Owen was thinking. He was angry. He wanted to throw Anakin away.

"Owen. I-" Anakin started, but Owen crossed his arms and glared at his step-brother.

"What are you doing here, Anakin? The last time you showed up, you only came to bury my mother and take our protocol droid, one of the few things that we had to remember her by. And the last time you came to this planet, you couldn't even do so much as say hello to us. You're not welcome here. Say your goodbyes to your mother if you even have the courtesy to do so," Owen spat bitterly.

Beru looked at her husband in shock, appalled by the angry and hateful words that she just heard. She knew that Owen did not like Anakin, but this was uncalled for.

"Please. We need-" Anakin rasped out, but Owen cut him off again.

"You think you can leave my father brokenhearted and act like we never existed here, only to just show up three years later acting like-" Owen yelled, stepping towards Anakin angrily.

Seeing there was no other way, Anakin shrugged his shoulders and his cloak fell off of him. Anakin fell to his knees softly, trying not to disturb his children.

Owen stopped shock all over his face. Instinctively, Beru rushed to Anakin's side and picked up Luke, who was beginning to wiggle his way out of Anakin's makeshift harness. Anakin looked up at the Lars', tears welling up in his eyes.

"Please. Please help us," Anakin begged. Internally, Anakin scoffed at himself. Here was the Hero with No Fear, begging for housing, for protection. THe ridicule and mockery that should have followed would have been immensely damaging to the morale of the Republic during the war. But there was no more war. No more Republic.

Owen took the bridle from Anakin's hand and helped him up. "Get some rest and clean up. You look like you need it. We can talk in the morning," Owen stated, leading the dewback to a garage where it would be safe from predators. The homestead never really had a spot for a creature like a dewback, but Owen's late father always expressed interest in getting one to help with moisture farming. Now they had one.

Beru assisted Anakin down the steps of the hovel, leading him to a guest room. It was the same room that he stayed in when he last came to the homestead almost three years ago. The memories came flooding back to Anakin. About his mother, the Tuskens, his proclamation that he would stop everyone he loved and cared for from dying. Anakin mustered his strength to not only keep walking on his wounded leg but to push the memories away from his mind. Entering the room, Beru placed Luke on the bed and Anakin did the same with Leia.

"I'll come back with a medkit for you and a crib for the twins. There's a shower over there you can use," Beru said, pointing to a door across the room. Anakin nodded and thanked her, before shifting his gaze to his children. They fidgeted and moved their arms around as a baby would, making noises. Anakin let a haggard smile cross his face. He traced the backside of his real hand on the twin's faces, feeling their soft skin and warmth.

Finally alone, Anakin didn't have to put on a front anymore for his injuries. He detached his metal arm and placed it on a chair, before he threw his Jedi robes there too and entered the shower, leaving his door open so he could keep an eye on his children, in case they began squirming or needed anything. The moment the water crashed down upon Anakin, he felt the sand and dirt wash away from his hair and face. Blood that caked his forehead and chest slowly began to dissolve and drip into the drain. It had been a few days since his last shower. Wrapping up quickly, Anakin dried off and dressed in his tattered robes. They were the only clothes he had. He looked up to see Padme standing over the twins, who were resting in a crib. It was meant for one child, but it would have to do for now. It was better than nothing. Next to the crib was a cane and a medkit. Anakin grabbed the cane, observing it with curiosity.

It pained Anakin to bring his children here. They didn't deserve to be raised here, on a cold heartless dustball. They should have been raised on Naboo. Where Anakin and Padme wanted to raise them. But they couldn't go to Naboo. Not anymore. Now, they all were fugitives of the Empire.

"I think Beru left that for you. You didn't do as good of a job, hiding your wounded leg as you thought you did," Padme said she sat on the bed and opened the medkit, observing its contents and comparing them to what injuries Anakin had.

"I think this was Cliegg's cane."

"Your stepfather?"

"Yes. He must have tried using one before they decided to amputate his leg, from the injury he got trying to save my mother."

There was a soft silence as Anakin turned his back to observe the twins, trying to hide his face.

"You should visit her soon. When you're ready."

Anakin softly scoffed, earning the ire of Padme. She got up and approached her husband, fed up with his attitude. "You can't ignore her, Ani. If you plan on living here, with her right next to us the how-ever-long you plan on having the family here, you can't just ignore her!" Padme exclaimed. The children began to cry, awoken by the distress they sensed.

Anakin looked up, but Padme was already gone. Kicking himself, Anakin wrapped his ruined hand in cloth before picking up Leia and resting her on it, not wanting to harm her or distress her with the sharp, cold appendage. Luke rested in his other arm and Anakin began to soothe his children back to sleep. Eventually, the twins went back to sleep and were laid back in their crib. Feeling the lack of sleep and rest catch up to him, Anakin collapsed onto the bed.

Anakin and Mace flew out of the window, glass shattering around them as lightning danced over their bodies. Eventually, they were too far away for the lightning to reach them. With a hard thud, the two Jedi landed on the round surface of the Senate building and began sliding on the curved edge. Anakin looked and saw that Mace was unconscious. Anakin grabbed him with the Force, suspending the Jedi Master from falling further. Now he just had to stop himself from sliding. Anakin took his other hand and threw it into the building, hoping to slow himself down or stop his momentum. He felt the leather glove get shredded and sparks flew as his metal hand dug deeper into the Senate's roof. His muscles screamed in agony and Anakin thought he was going to dislocate something. Eventually, Anakin stopped. Windu was still floating near him. Anakin pulled himself up and to his feet, steadying himself. He looked at his mangled hand. The leather was shredded around his hand and he was missing a finger. The yellow metal was completely exposed and some of the wirings was exposed as well. Sighing, Anakin clipped his and Mace's sabers to his belt and hoisted the older man over his back. They had to get back to the Temple. The rest of the Order needed to know what happened. Suddenly, Anakin heard the familiar low hum of a Republic gunship. The blast door opened and-

Anakin shot up, sweat pouring down his face, breathing heavily. Anakin looked at his chrono. It was early in the morning and the suns would be rising soon. Anakin realized he couldn't go back to sleep and it was better to start the day early. Grabbing the cane, Anakin hoisted himself up and exited the room.

Beru and Owen were already awake too, having their morning meal before the day started. Realizing he needed to talk to them and figure out what to do, Anakin walked over to his step-brother and sister-in-law.

"Anakin! You're up early. Sit down, I'll get you some blue milk and bantha jerky. It's Owen's favorite," Beru said as Anakin took a seat.

"Good morning, Beru. Thank you," Anakin said as he sat down at the table, across from Owen. Owen simply drank his blue milk and picked at his food.

"I wanted to say thank you for taking us in last night," Anakin said, looking at Beru and then Owen. "I'm sorry for showing up like this. We just have nowhere to go."

"We've heard about what happened on Coruscant. The Chancellor-Emperor now I guess- said that you Jedi," Owen said roughly, pointing a fork at Anakin," were plotting to betray the Republic. Said that the clones marched on the Temple to arrest them, but were forced to gun them down when the Jedi attacked. Jedi are now enemies of the galaxy."

Anakin tensed after hearing all this. He could sense that Owen was hesitant and harboring feelings of anger. Was Owen going to betray him? Tell the new Empire where he was, give him and his family up to Sidious? Anakin gripped his cane tightly, preparing for what was coming.

"Having you here is a danger to Beru and I. There's a large bounty out there for you."

"Owen.." Beru said slowly as she came over and sat down next to her husband, also unsure of what was going to be said next.

"I don't want any trouble. I just want to keep Beru and me safe. I..." Owen trailed off before biting his lip, cursing to himself. "I'm in a bind, Anakin."

"I know. You took a great risk just by taking me in last night. We appreciate it greatly. But if you want us to leave, I can saddle the dewback and head out-"

"No. You don't have to leave, Anakin. I can't send you and the children out into the sands. My father didn't raise me like that and Shmi wouldn't want me to do that. She wouldn't want us to be apart. She always told me stories about you. Your family can stay here with us. I can use your help with farming and fixing some equipment."

"Thank you, Owen. Thank you so much. I can't ever repay you for this," Anakin said, choking on his words as relief washed over him. The two men got up and hugged, more than happy. "I'll work on repairing my protocol droid, Threepio. He can assist with anything around the homestead. I just need to go feed Luke and Leia first," Anakin said as he walked away to his room to feed his children with the formula he had left.

Owen and Beru watched Anakin leave. They knew something was wrong with him. Something happened on Coruscant that scared him horribly. He was hiding something from them and they could only hope that he could open up to them eventually. Owen sighed and went out to begin his fieldwork, while Beru went up to the dewback's makeshift stable to grab Threepio's parts and bring to them the garage, where Anakin could put him back together.

It was nighttime and Anakin stood out by himself on the ridge, holding his lightsaber in hand. He went to the other side of the ridge, avoiding his mother's grave. He wasn't ready for that. Not yet at least. He knew he would have to someday. Luke and Leia would ask questions about who Shmi was and why there was a stone slab with her name on it.

Anakin looked at his lightsaber. It was charred and scratched. It had been his weapon during the Clone Wars, crafted shortly after Geonosis. He had it with him ever since. It had saved lives and saved himself many times. It vanquished evil. Yet now it was a haunting reminder of his failures. Of who he was. Of what he had failed to stop. The rise of the Empire, the death of his friends.

Anakin activated it and the blue hue illuminated the darkness around him. Anakin reached out in the Force, hoping to sense Obi-wan, Ahsoka, Rex, or even Yoda. All he felt was the echoing darkness that dominated the galaxy. Realizing that he could not stay open to the Force for long, lest he is discovered, Anakin stopped and turned his saber off. He looked down at his shaking hands, unable to stop them from doing so. He let go of the saber, his weapon falling to the ground.

If Obi-wan and Qui-gon could see him now. The two men who risked so much, sacrificed so much to train him, let alone get him into the Order. And now Anakin was throwing it all away.

"You told me Obi-wan said that 'this weapon is your life'", Padme said from behind him. She put a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Are you really going to throw away your life like this?"

Anakin swallowed hard. Padme had a point. Anakin felt the words of his response on his tongue, but they refused to leave his mouth. He choked back a sob, collapsing to his knees. Padme fell with him, her arms around her husband. The lightsaber gingerly fell from his hands and into the sand.

"I-I-I couldn't save them. I tried so hard, I just-" Anakin breathed deeply, trying to calm down as tears began to fall from his face. It hadn't been a full day back on Tatooine and he was already breaking down. Padme shushed Anakin, speaking softly.

"I failed them. I failed you. I'm so sorry," Anakin said as he wept softly. Padme stayed by his side, her arms around Anakin. They stayed there for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Anakin closed his eyes. Using the Force for what he hoped would be the last time in his life, he parted the sand under his lightsaber. The weathered silver weapon tumbled into the dark sandy abyss until Anakin couldn't see it anymore.

He opened his eyes and stared into the horizon. The Hero of No Fear was dead. Buried into the sands. Alone. A father had taken his place. Groaning as he got to his feet, Anakin limped back inside to his room.