A/N: Apologies for the delay, FFnet was not letting me submit docs for most of the day.

Tatooine was burning hot, as it always was and likely always had been, and nowhere was the heat more noticeable than out in the flatlands. There, farmers scraped at vaporators to collect what drops of water they could, hid in the relative coolness of their dugout homesteads as the suns crept to their highest point, and eked out a living as best as they could in the sand and the dust.

These were the chores that the Lars homestead might have engaged in were they not worrying over the fate of one of their missing members. In fact, many of their usual chores had been neglected for days in lieu of searching the barren deserts or making subtle contacts in town. This had become their routine, and the two remaining members were on the verge of doing it all over again, despite the sinking feeling that it was all for nothing, until an Imperial shuttle landed just feet from their doorstep.

Owen had his blaster rifle ready almost as soon as Beru did. The Empire left their planet alone for the most part, and on the rare occasions they made an appearance, it was at one of the few places deemed large enough to be considered a population center: Mos Espa, Mos Eisley, Anchorhead if it was unlucky enough to be picked out. An individual family was beneath notice, so to have a ship land on their farm was frightening indeed.

But Owen and Beru had always known the risks when they had taken in Luke. They just didn't understand why the Imperials would appear at the one time Luke was gone .

The two exchanged looks as the ship's ramp lowered. Unpicked mushrooms were sprouting on the furthest vaporators, thin stalks stretching to the sky. Rust was beginning to accumulate on the machinery nearer the homestead. Sand had blown up in drifts along the steps, unswept. A mere week of neglect was already beginning to show its effects. Owen and Beru had scoured the desert surrounding their farm for days, even daring to track the Tuskens at a distance. Still, nothing had turned up. Their nephew was a dreamer, adventurous, but he had never disappeared for more than a few hours, and never without leaving some sign of where he was. To be gone for days… if the desert had not taken him, and so far no desiccated body had been found buried beneath the sands, then there could only be one other fate. And as they heard footsteps and harsh breathing, they braced themselves for the worst.

The shadowed figure that emerged, however, was alone, unaccompanied by any battalion of troopers or flanking officers. Owen kept his rifle in full view, not aimed, but letting the figure know they were perfectly capable of, and willing to, defend themselves. He could make out the shape of him at the top of the ramp, and for a moment he thought, with a chill that should not have been possible in the hot air, that it was an Inquisitor.

Then the being emerged fully into the sunlight and Owen recognized him for who he was. He had seen him several times on the HoloNet, though he was usually on some faraway planet, standing next to the Emperor himself. But why in all the galaxy Darth Vader had come to their homestead, was beyond him.

Vader came to the bottom of the ramp and stood, regarding them for a long moment. The cycling of his respirator filled the air. It was only the start of the day but the heat was already such that the air was beginning to waver with it, and Owen briefly wondered how the man could stand it in his heavy armor and layers of robes. That was cast aside quickly in favor of assessing that thick armor. Their bolts might not be able to penetrate it, but there was surely a weak spot.

But then Vader stepped aside and a tiny figure burst out from behind him.

"Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!"

Beru dropped to her knees, eyes wide, rifle falling from her slack hand. "Luke? Oh, Luke!" She grabbed the boy in a hard hug. "Oh, we've been so worried! Luke, are you all right? What happened?"

Owen crouched beside her, but he kept his hand on his rifle and an eye on the still-silent, black-armored figure. Vader and Luke? If it was an absurdity that the second-in-command of the entire Empire would visit them, then him having their nephew bordered on the impossible. Yet there stood Vader, cloak brushing the sand, watching them, and here was Luke. Deciding not to question it for the time being, Owen knelt down and pulled Luke into his own hug - though never taking his eyes off the other man.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked Luke gruffly, ruffling the boy's head and trying to examine him at the same time. Luke looked a little thinner, a little bruised and cut up in places, and there was a look in his eyes that spoke of things no Tatooinian farm boy should have seen, but he was all in one piece and for now, that was what mattered.

At that question, though, his nephew deflated a little. "Don't be mad, okay?" he implored, which was always a bad sign. He looked between aunt and uncle - and then back at Vader, who stood silent and alert. Beru thought she saw another movement behind him and, frowning, caught sight of a second child, a little girl with dark brown hair who looked close to Luke's age. She peered out from behind Vader's dark cloak.

Her attention was distracted yet again as Luke started babbling, words pouring out of him: of wanting to go on the field trip, of running away, of finding a transport to another planet (just for one day, he insisted) - and then the terror of landing, and something to do with a mob of people wanting to eat him or tear him apart, he seemed a bit confused on that, and a girl who was sick, and special powers, and -

"My father, Uncle Owen," whispered Luke, eyes wide. "I found my father! He was there, he saved us!"

Father? But Luke's father was dead . Kenobi, that crazy old hermit, had assured them of it when he had delivered Luke to them. Moreover, they had met Anakin Skywalker before, and this armored figure coming up to them…

"Owen Lars," said the man, machine, whoever or whatever he was now.

Owen stiffened his shoulders. Recognition or not, he could see nothing of the intense, troubled young man he had met so briefly, long ago. "So you know my name, but how do I know you're who Luke says you are?"

The man tilted his head, somehow appearing amused. "We met when I came in search of my… mother." Did Beru imagine the hitch in the voice, so mechanical as to reveal almost no emotion? "You introduced me to Beru," he indicated the woman with a minute tilt of his helmet, "and your father, Cliegg Lars." A pause. "You called me your brother."

Surprise flickered across Owen's face - and something else, as he took in the mechanical body, the respirator, the blinking chest panel. "Anakin? Is it really you?" He stared at him. "Stars, what the hell happened to you?"

Vader, or Anakin, if that was who he really was, did not respond to that. Luke hung off Beru's hand, but his gaze was on his father, intense as the suns.

Owen caught their shared look, and his hand tightened on the blaster rifle. "So what now?" he asked sharply. "You going to take the boy?" That was what these crazy outlanders did. It was what the Inquisitors did - if they did not do something worse. It was all the same thing to Owen, though. Someone had come to take Anakin away; Shmi had told the story often enough, of a Jedi who had come from a faraway planet to free her son and train him to be a Jedi. Now look at what had happened to Anakin. But the Jedi were gone, the Empire was hunting down all like them, and Luke… Owen stepped in front of Beru and his nephew. Luke was his to protect and he was not letting anyone, not even Darth Vader, take him away.

But this man who was supposedly Anakin, regarded him fixedly from behind the mask. He was silent for an endless moment, breathing echoing across the space between them. "You have cared for Luke all these years."

It was not a question, but Owen nodded curtly regardless.

The man, Anakin, turned his gaze away to stare out across the sands. "The Empire has made little impact here."

"They've tried," Owen interrupted. "Doesn't mean they've succeeded."

The other inclined his head slightly. "You know, too, what kind of child Luke is."

"He's our child," said Beru firmly. She placed her other hand on Luke's. "It doesn't matter what else he is."

"It does," said the other man, voice rumbling. "He is an extraordinarily special child." Luke straightened at the words, face flushing with pleasure and embarrassment. "But there is great danger in the galaxy for children like Luke." He breathed, in and out with that mechanical sound, for a moment. "You have kept him safe." The helmet turned to face them. "You will continue to do so." He made it sound like an order - which was likely his intent.

Owen raised an eyebrow. "You're letting him stay with us?"

The mask tilted up. "Do you wish otherwise?"

"Not sure if our wishes have any bearing on your decision," was his sharp retort.

There was a staccato noise across the vocoder. "It does, whether you believe it or not, Owen Lars." There was another moment where he regarded them. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. "Watch over him. Do not let the Empire find him."

"What do you think we've been doing all these years?" said Owen.

A brief nod. "If that should change… I have considerable resources at my disposal. You could take the boy, make a new home elsewhere…"

"This is our home. We're not leaving," was Owen's terse reply. "And I think we've managed just fine 'til now without any help from you." ,But at Beru's look, he added begrudgingly, "Fine, well, if things do get very bad… maybe we'll send a message."

Vader nodded again, seemingly satisfied. He glanced at Luke one last time and held that gaze, as if unwilling or unable to pull himself away. "Look after him. Keep my son safe."

Son. If nothing else had convinced them, then that word would. So it truly was as Luke said.

The girl wriggled out from behind the man and ran to Luke before flinging herself at him. Their hug was fierce. Owen and Beru noticed, at the same time, her missing right arm, ending at the elbow joint. She did not let that hinder her, wrapping herself around Luke as tight as she could, as did he. Her face was wet, and so was Luke's as they released each other. Luke had mentioned her in his babbling - a friend, they supposed.

"Can we see each other again soon?" Luke asked his father, wiping at his eyes. He was still gripping the girl tightly and Beru did not know whether he was referring to her, his father, or both.

Did Vader hesitate? It seemed to take the space of a second for him to reply, "It would be very dangerous."

"Can we at least send messages?" the girl pleaded.

"There is too much risk," said Vader. "The Empire monitors all transmissions. Should they find out, it would place both of you in grave danger." But when both their faces fell, he added, rather quickly it seemed, "Nevertheless, I shall see if we can… arrange something."

Arranging something? Owen and Beru exchanged yet another look. What did the girl mean to Luke and Vader?

Yet it was impolite to ignore her, this friend of Luke's. Beru smiled at her, bent to her level, and asked, "And what's your name?"

"Leia," replied the girl, attempting a teary smile as she held Luke's hand with her remaining one.

"What a pretty name," Beru said. "And is Luke your friend?"

"He's my brother," said Leia, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Beru's startled stare took in Owen, Luke, and Luke's father - the children's father. "I didn't know Luke had a sister," she said, trying to recover herself. Obi-Wan had made no mention of that fact. She tried, as surreptitiously as possible, to examine the other child, looking for similarities. So close in age… she must be a twin. Did the girl share Luke's unique abilities? Who did she live with? And why had the two been kept apart?

"It's okay," said Leia, "I didn't know either until just a little while ago."

More questions. To have not only an unknown father but a sister? Who had split them up? And was the girl's family aware of Luke? But Beru only kept a smile on her face and said, "Well then, I suppose we are your aunt and uncle too. I am Beru and this is Owen."

The girl sparkled momentarily, and Beru thought she caught a glimpse of another face in those young features, the face of the beautiful young woman who had accompanied Anakin on his trip to their farm. She wanted to ask what had happened to that woman, but there was no time for more questions. The girl, Leia, released Luke's hand, her smile wilting and looking suddenly small and sad. "Goodbye, Luke. I - I hope I'll see you again. Soon."

He reached out, hugging her again. "Me too. Bye, Leia." But when he pulled back, Beru was sure something was exchanged between them, like a tiny spark flashing between them.

Vader was watching them. As they drew apart, he made a gesture, as if to touch Luke's head, only to halt almost before it had begun. Instead he turned, the gesture so abrupt that Beru knew it must have taken all his effort to do so, saying only, "Return to the ship, Leia." But Beru did not think she was imagining the subdued emotion lurking beneath his words.

The girl nodded, eyes wet as she walked back, never taking her eyes off Luke until she reached the ramp. With a last wave, she clambered back up into the ship, her father striding after her, cloak sweeping the sands.

"Wait!"

Luke saw Vader turn sharply as he dodged Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's restraining arms and ran to him, stumbling as the sands slipped beneath his feet. He grabbed Vader's hand, tugging him fully around to face him.

"I will see you again, right? Soon?" he asked hopefully.

His father stared at him for long seconds, as if seeing something that Luke could not. Finally, he said, "The Emperor's spies are everywhere." It was with the tone of trying to let Luke down gently. "I cannot risk placing you in danger."

Luke dropped his gaze. The Emperor must be very dangerous indeed if his father said he could not fight him, and he felt his hope fade away to misery. He did not want to place his father in danger either. "I know," he mumbled to the sands. "But I don't want you to go either." Had anyone ever said that to Darth Vader? Luke didn't really know or care. "Please come back? Just to visit or something." He stepped closer, Vader's breathing loud against the sands. "You said you'd stay."

Vader was still for all of a moment, the spot in Luke's head that he occupied tingling. Then he came down to his level, his hand resting gently atop Luke's head. Luke grabbed it, squeezing, feeling the hard metal beneath the leather glove, looking at the eye plates of his father's mask. He wished more than anything then that he could see the face behind it. Behind him, he was aware of his aunt and uncle and could feel, like words just below hearing level, something of what they were thinking: that they could not doubt now that he was Vader's son and that he cared for him, however that might be demonstrated.

"It cannot be often," said Vader softly, his thumb brushing back strands of Luke's hair. "It will endanger you and your sister if I am seen visiting you too much."

Luke nodded, but he felt his heart lightening. He hadn't said no. "That's okay. I just want you to come back, even if it's for a little bit." A tumult of emotions threatened to burst out that, if he could put into words, would have said, not yet, please not yet, not after eight years of daydreaming only to know you for a few days and you not saying anything until hours ago… But all he said was, "Soon?"

"I shall… try."

Vader stroked Luke's head one more time before rising. Luke trailed his hand after his, not wanting him to go. Yet along their bond, Luke heard the quietest whisper of his father's mental voice:

Be safe, my son.

And Luke smiled, releasing Vader's hand. "Goodbye… Father."

Leia was peeking out from the door, wondering what was taking so long. She gave a forlorn wave to Luke, and he held his smile bravely, waving back, connecting to her one last time before she left.

Then the ramp closed, and the ship's engines were alight, and in mere seconds, its wings had unfolded as it soared into the sky and out of sight.

With Luke gone, it was Leia's turn to occupy the co-pilot's seat, but she could not find it in herself to enjoy it. All she wanted to do was stare at the streaking lights as Vader made the jump to hyperspace, the ache of leaving Luke fresh and raw. It was so strange how one missing boy could make the ship feel so big and empty, and for a while she simply sat there, testing the bond to Luke. She could feel tendrils of his emotions, sometimes even words, though already it was getting more difficult to reach across to him. That made her chest ache with sadness, the only thing lightening being the promise of seeing him again… someday.

After a while, though, the pain seemed to fade - or rather, she noticed a new pain, more difficult to ignore and stranger, for it was all along her missing arm. It was like she had hurt it from moving around too much, a tender ache, and what she would usually do was rub it until it went away, but she didn't have an arm to rub anymore and so no way to get rid of it. So she just sat, increasingly puzzled by the phenomenon.

"The pain will fade in time."

Leia looked up as Vader spoke. His mask was facing the viewport, not looking at her, when he spoke. But when she turned a little in her chair to face him, he tilted his mask in her direction.

"Your arm," he added. "It is phantom pain. Your nerve endings are still adjusting to the loss of the limb. With time, the pain will decrease."

She gazed at him quietly. "Does it ever go away?"

A breath cycle. "No." Another moment passed as Leia dropped her eyes to her arm. It hurt much less than she'd expected a whole missing arm would - even touching the end with the medical pad only made it ache a bit more, but nothing worse than that. But it was still strange to see it gone. Doing even the simplest things, like buckling herself in, had become so much harder; it had taken her several minutes to grapple with the seatbelt, feeling stupid and clumsy the entire time over something that used to be automatic.

"Leia…" Vader's voice made her look up again. She could feel something along her bond, a wistful apology. "If… there had been any other way…"

"I know," she said, before he could finish. She did know. "It's okay." She looked at Vader's left arm, still exposed without its glove. After a moment, she scooted her chair closer to his. He'd lost an arm too. Both of them. Maybe more. She laid her hand on his right arm, the one closest to her, which was occupied with the controls of the ship. She remembered how hard each finger had felt whenever he had held her. He knew what it was like, and he'd survived that and possibly more, as she took in his suit, the chest panel, the mask.

Vader glanced down at her hand on his. Surprise, and the beginnings of awe, flowed along their open bond. She moved even closer, leaning over towards him. "How long until we get there?"

He held himself very still, not moving his arm from her hand or his body away from hers. "A couple of hours."

She nodded, feeling very tired all of a sudden. Vader would probably tell her that still needed rest, and she was beginning to think he was right. Maybe all that running around and playing pretend had worn her out. Very carefully, she sidled up towards Vader until her head was resting against his side, and wondered if she imagined the hitch in his respirator. "Father?" There was a creak of leather as he looked down at her. "Thank you."

Leia dozed the rest of the journey, coming out of sleep when she felt the familiar jolt of the shuttle exiting hyperspace. Within moments, Alderaan was rushing towards them, the lush green and blue planet so different from the one they had just left. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up. Vader had not moved, it seemed, since she had fallen asleep.

The Organas had been alerted to the arrival of the shuttle long before it landed, and were waiting for it on their private landing pad just outside their palace. Vader, observing them as he navigated the ship down, thought both looked haggard with worry - no doubt Bail Organa, with his connections in the Senate, had heard some of the rumors of what had happened on the planet of the family's vacation retreat. The return of their ship, empty of its occupants, and now an Imperial shuttle - it was likely that, similar to the Lars, he feared the worst.

But they still managed to welcome Leia back with open joy as she ran down the ramp and into their waiting arms.

"Leia! I was so worried…" Breha held her close, then pulled back to stare at her arm. "What happened?"

Leia, like her brother, began telling the story of what happened as her adoptive mother listened closely. But Bail Organa had seen Vader descending the ramp and steeled himself for what was to come.

He met Vader part way between the landing pad and the walkway towards it, inclining his head. "Lord Vader," he said, and Vader had to admire how steady his voice was even as he must have suspected what was coming, "I suppose we have you to thank for returning our daughter to us."

"Your thanks is not required," replied Vader. He allowed his gaze to rest on Leia, still talking to the queen. "Your daughter's return," and he knew Bail did not miss the emphasis on the word, "was not done for your sake."

Consummate politician that he was, Bail Organa's face did not change even if his nervousness began to rise. "What is the purpose of this, then? One last reunion before you tear her away from us?"

So he thought him that ruthless. "If I had wanted that," Vader said, very deliberately, "I would not have returned her brother to his relatives on Tatooine."

He let that statement hit Bail, saw the slight widening of his eyes. So he knows about the boy too, Vader could almost hear in his thoughts. The Lars had not known about the girl, but Bail Organa was clearly more informed than they were.

"Then what is your purpose here?" asked Bail, before adding, "I cannot believe that you would simply choose to leave her here." Your own daughter, Vader seemed to hear.

"And yet," replied Vader quietly, "that is exactly what I am doing."

Behind Bail, Leia had finished her story and was wiping at her face, distress evident. Vader found himself unable to look away from her tearstained face - until he caught Organa observing him. Then he deliberately looked away, gazing out at the peaceful serenity that was Aldera. Queen Breha pulled Leia into another hug, then took her hand gently in her own and led her to her husband. Organa rested his own hand on Leia's shoulder, then leaned towards his wife and murmured something to her. Surprise flickered across her own face before she reined it in, her queenly mask concealing her emotions.

"Might I ask the reason for such unusual generosity?" asked Bail… for the Organas knew better than most the dangers lurking around Leia.

"The Emperor," was all Vader said, and he could see their understanding. Vader regarded them for a long moment, letting the atmosphere thicken. "He must not learn of her existence." Bail raised an eyebrow. "You must keep her safe and hidden." Despite your very public lives, he was tempted to say. Lives that would surely lead to Coruscant - Imperial Center - at some point, placing Leia at the nexus point of Palpatine's attention.

"She is a princess of Alderaan," Bail Organa pointed out. "I cannot very well keep her locked up in her room her entire life."

No, and he had not; Vader was vaguely aware of seeing the Organas as a family unit, Leia waving alongside Queen Breha to crowds of Alderaanians. She had been in the public eye since before she could walk… and her real father not knowing of her existence all that time. How long might he have remained unaware had the Force led him along a different path?

"He must not learn of her potential," Vader amended. "Or of her brother's."

"Do you truly expect us to tell the Emperor?" asked Breha quietly. "We love her as our own."

They did. Vader could feel that, see it in how they hovered protectively over his daughter. That would have to be enough. He nodded. "That is all I ask. But should I hear of any danger to her…" He let the threat linger long enough to see the Organas stiffen.

Nothing else needed to be said. His shuttle was waiting, he had been gone long enough. He regarded Leia one more time, then turned to go.

He had taken perhaps two steps when he heard the patter of another coming behind him.

"Will you come back?"

It was an echo of Luke, and there was a definite sense of deja vu as Vader turned and looked down at Leia's face, tilted up to him appealingly.

She held his gaze behind the mask, tucking her arms behind her back before she remembered that part of one was missing. "Luke told me you promised him you would." He had sent it along their bond just before they left, whispering to her, He promised me he would, he'll promise it to you too. "Mother said they're going to get me a prosthetic arm." Her eyes flicked to his hand, and she wondered if he heard her thinking, just like yours. "You'll come and see it, won't you?"

He hesitated only a moment before taking and holding her left hand in his. His massive gloved hand almost swallowed hers up, but his squeeze was gentle. "We must be very careful."

"Leia," said Breha in a gentle reprimand, "I'm sure Lord Vader is very busy and has many places he must travel to."

Leia looked heartbroken.

Bail continued, "However, given our planet's key role in the Core, not to mention as an… important… supporter of the Empire, I imagine he will find a few reasons to return here."

Leia understood. She turned back to Vader and smiled, bobbing up and down on her feet hopefully.

Vader made a noise that was probably a sigh, but Leia could hear the affection beneath it. "I shall endeavor to… check on the royal family when I can."

She gave his hand a squeeze. He took her right arm, gently, where it ended, careful not to hurt her, and she remembered his words: the pain will fade in time. Vader lingered for just a moment before turning. He was at the ramp of the ship when she reached out to him impulsively.

Come back soon, Father.

And, along their bond: I will, my daughter.

She retreated back along the walkway as the shuttle started up, twining herself between her mother and father as they watched the ship leave and disappear into the sky.

Traveling through hyperspace, Vader found himself searching for the twin bonds even as he knew that they would fade with distance. Already Leia's was thinning to just the barest trace of her strongest emotions, while Luke's, which he was drawing nearer to as he returned to the Exactor , nevertheless did not have the clarity of the previous days.

It was time, he knew, to return to his duties - to continue enforcing the rule of the Empire, to put on the facade of obedience to the Emperor. There was much he would need to do to cover his tracks: erasing the coordinates of his shuttle, ensuring that no crew member had spotted the children, hiding evidence of the Alderaanian starship ever being on the Exactor. Nothing that could be traced back to either the Lars or the Organas.

He pulled out Doctor Monega's data card. It would be expected of Vader to oversee the quarantine of Agri-world-6. After that… he placed the datacard down, staring at it. His children's voices echoed in his mind, pleading with him.

The possibility of a cure was low, very low. It would likely take years of work, study that must be kept secret. He would need to find scientists away from Imperial eyes, scientists he could trust. Should Vader be discovered to be the source of the information, his punishment would be severe. And yet… for the sake of that world, and for himself and his children, he had to try.

And after all that was over, the Emperor would want to have Vader back at his side, if only temporarily, at the Imperial Center - or send him to do his bidding, wherever in the galaxy that might be. If he could take a deep breath, he would have to prepare himself for the coming trials. The Emperor must not sense the changes that had occurred in him, or have the slightest suspicion that Vader was secretly defying him. Most importantly, nothing of the children's existence must ever reach him. Vader would have to wield the Dark Side around him like a shield, concealing all conflict, all feelings, and the ever-present bond he had to the children.

It would be a difficult few days, months, likely even years. Years in which his children would grow up without him, unseen except on the rarest occasions using the cleverest subterfuges. Their future was uncertain, full of pitfalls and hidden dangers. One wrong step could spell death for all of them, and there were many missteps that he could take; whenever he tried to probe the future, he saw only cloudy uncertainty.

And yet… Vader stretched out further with his mind, finding his children. Mingled emotions traveled back to him as they sensed, even at this distance, his connection to them: hope and relief, longing and wistfulness, and most of all, love, unwavering and completely trusting in him. He let that wash over him, calming him.

As his ship leaped into hyperspace, he realized, very simply, that it was enough.

For now, it was more than enough.

A/N: It's over! *Tosses confetti and what not* Also if anyone is wondering where Obi-Wan is and why he didn't notice Vader literally coming onto Tatooine and dropping off Luke, he's (*checks notes*), uh, working at that whale meat butchering station and cutting himself off from the Force. Yeah, go with that.

As noted in the last chapter, I am hoping to come back to this with a follow-up, and in fact I've already written it, but the thing is... I kind of don't like it. I'll just have to see if editing fixes it up. But if you see this story suddenly update a year from now and the ending completely change, then you'll know that I failed at editing it and decided to give this a different conclusion. I'm also hoping to return with other stuff, but I won't say anymore on that since the last time I promised a fandom something, it did not pan out. (Shout-out to the Encanto fandom; I promised you guys an Encanto x Star Wars crossover fic but all I delivered was a Star Wars fic. At least I got it half-right?)

Finally, thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed! They were all a joy to see in my inbox and a delight to read, especially the ones going, "I don't even like zombies, how dare you make me emotionally invested in this story!" I'm thankful for all of you who gave this weird little fic a chance!