THIRTY

Leia felt her stomach twisting in a hundred knots as she paced four steps to the left, then four steps to the right, then repeated the procedure.

The operation had been a success. Darth Vader was free of his suit. Luke had gone in to see the man calling himself Anakin some twenty minutes ago. While Leia refused to go with him, she didn't want to seem like an uncaring sister. So she waited outside in the hall, Han at her side.

It seemed like forever. Despite Luke's assurances that Anakin was different now, she couldn't help but worry. Don't hurt him...please...I swear if he lays one hand on Luke-

Han's hand on her arm made Leia flinch. "Hey. Sit down."

Leia bit her lip. "I swore that Vader would never be able to hurt Luke again...but he's in there right now. I shouldn't have let him go."

Han shrugged, grimacing. "Don't think you coulda' held him back anyway. Nothin' you can do 'bout it now. 'Sides, Luke's fine. He's got about half a dozen guys watchin' his back. And without that suit, didn't Too-One-be say Vader won't be half as strong as he was? Without all that machinery, he's just an old man."

Leia pursed her lips. "That's what people said about the Emperor. They thought he was a harmless old man...until they saw what he could do."

Han sighed and gave Leia's wrist a light tug. "Well, you're not gonna do Luke any good if ya wear a hole in the floor. C'mon. Sit down."

With a loud sigh of her own, Leia finally obliged, welcoming Han's arm around her. No sooner had she settled than the door slid open, and she jumped back to her feet. "Luke?"

Luke had a look of quiet contentment on his face. He blinked at the moisture in his eyes, found his sister, and smiled, bringing her into a quick hug. "I finally saw him. I saw my father...my real father."

Leia squirmed, but took Luke's hand. "How is he?" she asked, more for Luke's benefit than hers. She didn't give two credits about how Darth Vader was feeling.

Luke cringed. "He's very weak. The operation took a lot out of him. I didn't know how bad his injuries were before. That suit and helmet took over almost everything. Too-One-be said with the burns he had years ago and without the protection of the suit, his immune system in going to be compromised for a long time...maybe the rest of his life, but...he's alive. For the first time I was able to see him."

Han awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. "What, uh...'ya mind me askin' what...what he looks like?" It was probably the wrong question to ask, but he couldn't contain his curiosity.

Thankfully Luke didn't seem to mind. "His burns were bad enough that the scars are never going to go away...and being stuck in that suit away from any sunlight didn't help. His face...apart from being a little pale, it doesn't look that different from anyone else his age." He found Leia's eyes. "You should see him. He looks completely different from Vader."

Disturbed, Leia bit her lip. No. I don't ever want to see him. "I...not...not yet," she stuttered, trying to focus on how relieved her brother was. "I'm...I'm glad you were able to see him." That wasn't strictly true, but sometimes a thoughtful lie went over better. "Were you able to communicate at all?"

Luke nodded, though the sadness returned to his eyes. "A little. He couldn't hear me, but he was able to understand. He said to thank the Alliance for this...it means so much to him to be free of the suit and helmet." After a brief hesitation he found Leia's eyes. "I told him about you."

Already Leia was regretting this, and felt the anger and hate rising again. "Oh. How did he react?"

Luke shook his head sadly. "I can't say it made him happy. Leia...the guilt he feels over everything he's done...it's overwhelming. He doesn't expect any forgiveness and understands why you didn't go in and see him. But he gave me a message for you."

Leia felt her arms tremble as she tied them into a knot. "Nothing he could say can undo all the wrong he's done...and whatever it was, it doesn't matter."

Luke winced. "But Leia, it does. He's so sorry; more than you could ever know. He told me that, while he knows he can never make up for all he's done, he swore to do whatever was in his power to help the Rebellion." Again he reached for Leia's hand. "And he said that he loves you."

Leia scoffed and ripped her hand away. "He doesn't even know me. That man spent twenty years of his life exterminating millions. How could someone like that even feel love?"

"Leia..."

"You can call him what you want, but that man will never be my father. I had a father, and he's dead." Leia knew she was starting to lose control, but at the moment, she didn't care. With a final shake of her head, Leia hurried away down the corridor.

"Wait-"

"No! Luke, you can't fix this. Stop trying to!"

"I'm not-"

"Enough! Just...just..." Unaccustomed tears stung Leia's eyes as she backed up. Finally, letting out a load groan, she wheeled about and broke into a jog, heading for her room. The galaxy was spinning out of control, and it was all she could do just to keep sane.

Luke started after her but was held back by Han. "Han, don't. Not now."

Han firmly shook his head. "You're pushin', kid. Leave her alone."

Luke bit his lip. "But I'm the one who upset her in the first place. She's my sister. At least let me apologize."

Han pursed his lips. "Then do it later. We both know if ya' go after her now, she's just gonna get mad at 'ya. And she's right; sometimes there's things 'ya can't fix."

Luke frowned, but felt his shoulders fall. Slowly he hung his hand and nodded. "You're right. I'd only make things worse." Tears returned as he shook his head. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have told him."

Han shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. Can't change it now."

Luke sank into the chair in the hall. He's got a point. He had a habit of turning into a mediator when people were upset, but smoothing the waters when Leia didn't want anything to do with their father wouldn't do any good. He was going to have to build a relationship with Anakin on his own. So much for his fantasy of having a real, cohesive family. "I know. You're right. So, now what?"

Han sank into the chair next to his friend. "Well...I ain't any kinda expert...but I'd give it some time. Don't push or bring it up 'less she does. If she doesn't, well...ya better drop it."

He understands her better than I do, realized Luke with a nod. "All right. I'll do that."

"Atta boy." Han gave Luke's back a couple of encouraging slaps before rising to his feet. "Look, kid, I gotta get back to work on the Falcon. Wanna come along?"

"I'd better check in with Wedge. We were going to start training a new recruit tomorrow and he wants to put in a new simulator run," explained Luke, pushing back to his feet.

"See 'ya round, then," said Han.

"Han?" said Luke after a pause.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

A bare shadow of Han's usual lopsided smile tugged at his mouth, and he shrugged. "Ah...don't mention it."

-TO BE CONTINUED-

-Stay tuned for the next installment, "Shot in the Dark", coming soon!-