Chapter One

It seems in your anger...you killed her...

No...she was alive...I felt her...NO!

Darth Vader awoke at this point, as he always did, reliving the nightmare that had been the watershed moment of his young life. There had scarcely been a night in the past 2 years that he hadn't dreamed of that moment, the moment his life ceased to have meaning. You killed her...you killed them... Losing both his wife and his child had served to drive Vader into the darkest recesses of the Dark Side, something which pleased his master no end. The fact that the young Sith Lord still suffered physically from the ill-fitting prosthetics was an added bonus. Pain was a way of life now for Vader, physical, emotional, psychological...to him it seemed a proper punishment for what he had done to his family. To Palpatine, it was insurance that kept Vader subservient and forever indebted to him. The irony was not lost on Vader: he knew he was a slave. He'd spent most of his 24 years as a slave to his mind; and yet the torment of his lost love was far more excruciating than any beating he'd suffered at the hands of his numerous masters.

"Report," Vader barked as he arrived at the bridge. He felt the tension level of each and every man and officer skyrocket as each sat up a little straighter in his chair, stood a little taller at his post.

"We've reached the Alderaan System," a young officer, Captain Aron informed him. "Shall I send word to the Viceroy?"

"No," Vader replied. "Let's surprise him," he added dryly.

The officers never knew how to take Vader's rare and acerbic wit, and simply looked at one another nervously. "Prepare my shuttle," Vader said. "I want to leave as soon as we enter orbit."

"Very good sir," Aron replied. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "May I ask what our mission is here, sir?" he asked.

Vader said nothing for a moment, and then turned to look at the officer. "The emperor suspects that the viceroy is involved in a growing insurgence movement," he replied. "And is hoping that we can find something to ...implicate him with."

Aron nodded in understanding. "The Viceroy will be rather surprised to see you, sir," he remarked with a smile.

Vader said nothing in response, reflecting back to the last time he'd seen Bail Organa. It was a different life time, on the very day that he'd learned that his wife was carrying his child, a day that was at once full of joy and full of terror, a day that had changed his life forever.

"You have the bridge, Captain," Vader said, and turned to leave. Aron watched him leave, certain that the Dark Lord would not fail in his mission.

The royal household of Alderaan was in an uproar as Imperial storm troopers flooded through the palace, followed by their commander, the infamous Dark Lord. Bail Organa was at dinner with his wife when his assistant had informed him that Darth Vader had entered the royal residence.

"What does he want?" Queen Breha asked her husband, panic-stricken. "You don't think he knows do you Bail?"

"How could he know?" Organa replied, trying his best to remain calm for the sake of his wife. "We've done everything we can possibly do to shield Leia from him."

Breha nodded, looking at the two year old child as she played with the veggies on the tray of her highchair. "I know we have," she replied, "but still..."

"Don't worry," Bail told his wife. "We can't let him know we're worried or he'll sense it," he reminded her.

"I'm not sure I can hide it," Breha admitted, standing up to take Leia out of her chair. "What if he sees her? What if he knows who she is?"

Organa frowned. "He won't," he replied, though not entirely certain that this was true. "Take her up to her room," he told his wife. "I'll meet with Vader in my study."

Breha nodded and headed towards the exit. Leia, though only a baby, could sense the tension in the room and started to cry. Breha did her best to comfort her, to calm her down, but the child was too upset to stop.

"Take her upstairs!" Organa repeated, growing anxious. What if Vader heard? What if...

"Good evening your majesty. I trust you won't mind if I speak to your husband."

Vader stood in the doorway as Breha reached it, the still crying child in her arms. He looked at the child, who had stopped crying and was looking up at him with curiosity. It seemed like an eternity before Vader spoke again. "I wasn't aware you had a child," he commented, not taking his eyes from Leia.

"I...I was just taking her to bed," Breha stammered, her heart hammering within her breast.

Vader remained in the doorway, however, preventing Breha's exit. He couldn't tear his eyes from the child, and decided that there was something very significant about her. The Force is very strong with her, he reflected as Leia continued to examine him. Is that why they are so anxious? Are they trying to hide her from me because she's force sensitive?

"She is Force sensitive," Vader declared at last. He looked up at Breha, whose face betrayed the panic she felt. "You are not her parents, are you?"

Breha didn't know how to respond, for there was no doubt that Vader would know if she lied. And yet would the truth be any more damning?

"Leia is an orphan," Organa finally spoke up. "She was an orphan, that is, until we adopted her," he went on.

Vader returned his eyes to the child, his original reasons for being here forgotten. Leia ...that's what we were going to name our daughter... "What do you know of her parentage?" he asked.

"Nothing," Organa spoke up.

"Nothing?" Vader replied, looking back at Organa. "Why don't I believe you?" he asked.

Neither Organa nor his wife knew what to say, and a heavy silence hung over them for a moment. And then something happened that no one would have ever imagined: Leia reached her arms out to Vader. Breha was horrified, and reacted immediately. "No Leia," she said. "It's time for bed," she added, growing flustered.

Vader was stunned that the child would reach for him, and an idea began to blossom in his mind. He said nothing, but reached out and took Leia from Breha, who stood helpless to stop him. As soon as Leia was in his arms, Vader felt an overwhelming connection to her, the strength of it rendering him speechless for a moment as he and Leia simply regarded one another. Leia reached up and touched his mask, and in that moment he knew.

"This is my child," he said, looking back at Organa and Breha. "This is my daughter. Isn't she?"

"Your child died when you killed her mother," Organa responded coldly.

Vader grew angry at this. "You lie!" he retorted hotly. "I know she is mine," he added, looking back at Leia. "And she knows it too," he added, taking Leia's tiny hand. "I can take her on board and have a blood test done..."
"No please," Breha interjected. "Please don't take her from us!"

"She is mine, isn't she?" Vader asked once again. He knew the answer already, but wanted to hear it from them. When they both nodded, a flood of emotions filled him. My child, my sweet daughter...the child Padmé gave me, the child she was carrying when...he frowned as he realized that Palpatine had lied. He had told Vader that Padmé had died on Mustafar, at his hand; but clearly she had not. Clearly she had lived to give birth to Leia.

"Her mother?" he asked simply, looking up at Organa.

"Padmé died moments after Leia was born," he replied. "She died of a broken heart," he felt compelled to add.

Vader didn't reply, the grief he still felt over Padmé's death too great to speak of.

"She would have wanted Leia to be raised in a loving family," Breha spoke up. "We love Leia as if she were our own child," she went on. "Surely you can see that."

"She is my child," Vader said simply.

"What kind of a life can you give her, Vader?" Organa asked. "She's a baby, she belongs in a home, not on a star destroyer," he went on. "Besides, what will your emperor do if he learns that she's alive?"

The thought of Palpatine knowing that the child of Anakin Skywalker lived sent a cold chill straight to Vader's heart. He knew exactly what would happen, and there was no way he could allow that to happen.

"He must never know," he said finally.

Breha looked with relief at her husband. "So you'll let her stay here with us then?" she asked hopefully.

"So long as the emperor lives," Vader replied. "She must remain hidden. But I want to see her, I want to be a part of her life," he went on, looking back at Leia. "I want her to know who I am."

"I think she already does," Breha commented.

Vader smiled, for the first time in a very long time. "I think so too," he agreed.

Organa was surprised by Vader's equanimity, and decided that all was not lost. "Then visit her," he spoke up. "Come whenever you wish," he added for good measure.

"I can't," Vader replied. "I would rouse the emperor's suspicions if I were here too frequently," added. "But perhaps once each month I could manage," he added. If the emperor suspected that Organa was a traitor, then frequent, regular visits to Alderaan could probably be explained and justified.

"That sounds reasonable," Organa replied. Breha nodded enthusiastically, overwhelmed with relief that Leia wouldn't be taken away.

Vader looked back down at Leia, who had fallen asleep in his arms. The sight of her small face released a tidal wave of repressed emotions inside of him, and for a moment he could simply stand there as he fought to master his emotions. Bail and Breha exchanged a look, unsure what to say, both sensing that Vader was torn at the thought of leaving his daughter.

"Would you mind putting her in her crib?" Breha finally asked. "Looks like she's down for the count," she added with a smile.

Vader looked up at her. "Show me the way," he said.

Breha lead Vader down the corridor and up a winding staircase to the second floor. Leia's room was the second room on the left side.

"Right in here," Breha said as they entered the nursery.

Vader took a moment to look around at his daughter's room, sensing her force signature in every corner. I want to go to Naboo early and get the baby's room ready...I know the perfect spot for it...in the corner overlooking the garden... Vader pushed the thoughts of that night from his mind, the memories of Padmé too painful to bear. He walked over to the crib and gently lay Leia down. He watched her for a moment, still hardly able to believe that he'd found her, and then pulled up the quilt to cover her. Sleep well my princess, he told her silently as he placed his hand on her sleeping form. We shall be together again soon.

Bail Organa escorted Vader as he left the palace, gushing with gratitude that Vader had not taken his baby daughter with him. Vader let him prattle on, all the while working on a plan within his own mind. You may have custody of her now, he thought, ignoring what Organa was saying completely, but the day will come when I will claim my child, Organa. Make no mistake about it.

"I will send word to you when I'm returning," Vader told Organa as they reached Vader's shuttle. "And tell no one," he warned. "The emperor must not know that she lives."

Organa was surprised to hear that Vader was willing to deceive his master, but it gave him a modicum of hope. "I won't tell a soul, I promise you," he assured Vader. "It's...it's the right thing that you're doing, Vader," he found himself saying. "Leia is too young to live on a battle ship."

"That isn't the reason I'm letting her stay here, but you're probably right," Vader replied. "Until I can deal with the emperor, she must remain hidden. I'm counting on you to keep her safe and anonymous."
"You have my word that she will remain so," Organa replied. "Have no fear. Breha and I couldn't love her more if she were our own flesh and blood," he assured Vader.

Vader nodded. But she isn't, he reflected as he boarded his shuttle. She is mine.