AN: I just want to apologize for the long, long wait. I had a really bad case of writer's block. I'm still not sure it is completely gone, but at least I was able to finish this chapter!
Leia paced the Medical bay, deep in thought. She didn't know what to do. Before this whole thing with Vader, she had firmly believed that anyone could come to see what the Empire was doing was wrong, even the highest ranking members of the Imperial Fleet. She would have accepted, even encouraged them to join the Alliance, no matter what they had previously done. But now, faced with the possibility that Vader had done just that… Leia shook her head, plopping down into one of the chairs lining the wall.
Could Luke be... No, Vader has proven time and time again how uncompassionate, treacherous he is. I refuse to believe that... She trailed off, her gaze locking with Anakin's, his tremendous guilt and concern for Luke clearly reflecting through his eyes.
Leia's breath caught in her throat before she slowly pulled her gaze away and toward the floor. Is there any possible chance that Darth Vader could actually be remorseful? Could Luke actually be right? Slowly pulling herself up, Leia quickly stepped out of the room.
Stopping a few feet from the door, she wrapped her arms around herself. Lowering her head and closing her eyes, Leia felt a tear run down her cheek. What am I going to do? What should I believe? Vader is such an evil person and yet Luke believes wholeheartedly that he has changed. I'm at such a loss as to what to do.
Suddenly, she felt a hand softly come to rest on her shoulder. Han, Leia thought, spinning around. She froze when she came face to face with the cause of her turmoil. Leia's eyes widened as her breath caught in her throat. I'm not ready to face him again!
"Leia," Anakin started.
"No," Leia interrupted. "I can't talk to you right now."
"But..."
"No," Leia repeated sharply. "Go."
Anakin stared at Leia's cold gaze, before spinning around, marching down the hall. How could he have possibly thought she would have accepted his comfort? What possessed him to even try? It was evident that she would have preferred that Luke left him to die onboard the Death Star.
Storming into his apartment, he sighed. It's just that she looked so much like Padmé that my heart went out to her. I couldn't just let her stand there, I had to do something to comfort her, Anakin thought, dropping into a chair. After all I have done to her, I do not blame her for her attitude toward me. It is my own fault; I just wish there was some way I could fix it.
"Patience, Anakin," Obi-wan said, shimmering into view. "Give her time."
"How much time?" Anakin quietly asked.
"As much time as she needs," Obi-wan answered.
"Master," Anakin complained.
"Padawan, these things can not be rushed," Obi-wan admonished. "Leia is still coming to terms with all this and your impatience will not help matters."
"I know," Anakin sighed. "It's just, I'm not a very patient person."
"As I'm well aware of," Obi-wan commented wryly. "You will just have to control your impulsiveness for once, no matter how much it kills you."
"I will do my best," Anakin smiled weakly.
"Don't worry, Anakin," Obi-wan placed a glowing hand on Anakin's shoulder. "She will come around eventually."
"I hope so," Anakin replied softly, gazing at Obi-wan's semi-transparent figure. The sight of his aged former master stirred up the memories of their duel onboard the Death Star.
He squeezed his eyes shut, hopelessly trying to block out the image of his blood red blade swiping through the man before him. Anakin clearly remembered his own pride in finally killing the last visage of his former life.
"Anakin, are you alright?" Obi-wan quietly asked, bending down beside him.
"No," Anakin said, his voice full of regret. "Master, I'm so sorry for everything I've done to you. You were like a father to me and I killed you!"
"Well, I always did say you would be the death of me," Obi-wan commented.
"How can you joke about this?" Anakin asked. "I murdered you."
"Anakin, I have already forgiven you," Obi-wan softly declared.
"You have? But... but how?" Anakin wondered, his face clearly showing his bafflement.
"Because it was the right thing to do," Obi-wan replied. "The Dark Side controlled your every thought and feeling. The Anakin Skywalker I had known would have never done those things."
"But I still did them, whether I was being influenced or not," Anakin sighed. "I did those things willingly and without remorse. I wish I could have known then, what I know now. The things I did were wrong, and I'm very, very sorry."
"You're not the only one who has to apologize, Anakin," Obi-wan said, remorsefully. "I'm sorry. I should have tried harder; seen that you were not fully consumed by the Dark Side. If I had, I would never have abandoned you, left you in the clutches of Darth Sidious." Obi-wan paused, looking away from Anakin. "I should have seen it. How could I have not seen it?"
"We were both blind," Anakin replied softly. "We needed Luke to open our eyes, help us see the truth."
"How right you are," Obi-wan agreed.
"It's too bad he wasn't around 20 years ago," Anakin commented.
"He was," Obi-wan corrected, a hint of a smile on his lips.
"You know what I mean," Anakin said.
Obi-wan nodded. "So all's forgiven?"
"All's forgiven," Anakin agreed. "Now if only we could get Leia to see the light."
Han stared at the door, wondering if he should follow Leia and Vader. Vader. He felt a cold shiver run through his body at that name. How could Luke and Leia be related to Darth Vader? Han turned his gaze to Luke's form, suspended in the bacta tank.
Luke, you have to get well soon. I'm really in the dark here and I need to know the whole story. I don't think Leia will be able explain any of this yet. She seems to be having enough of a problem handling it all! I don't know how to help her and I can't help her without knowing what is going on. I hate not knowing what is going on, but I am most definitely not going to ask Vader, so that just leaves you, kid.
Placing his hand on the tank, Han turned to Jay-èna. "How is he doing?"
"Well, he's stable," Jay-èna replied. "I don't know much beyond that."
"How long until he can come out of this thing?" Han asked.
"I don't know," Jay-èna sighed. "It all depends on how severely he was affected. I am running a few tests now, but it will be a little while until the results are in."
Han nodded, glancing away. Well, it looks like I won't be getting any answers anytime soon. He looked up when he heard the door slide open. Leia slowly stepped into the room. Her eyes found his before she ran over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"There is nothing else I can do right now," Jay-èna quietly announced, gathering up her medical scans and heading for the door. "I will be in my lab if you need me."
Han nodded appreciatively, turning his gaze back to Leia. "What's wrong?"
"Pretty much everything," Leia softly replied.
"That doesn't help much," Han commented, slowly leading Leia over to the chair she had vacated earlier. Once they settled down, he continued. "If you want me to help, you have to give me more information then that."
"I know, it's just that I don't know where to begin," Leia said, glancing away.
"Well, the beginning is always a good place," Han suggested.
"That's just it, I don't know the beginning!" Leia quickly stood up and began pacing the room. "Why did Vader turn to the Dark Side? Has he changed? What did he do to my mother? Why did Luke and I have to be separated? Am I letting my prejudices get in the way?"
"I don't have the answers to your questions, Leia," Han admitted. "I'm more in the dark here then you are. And I hate to say this but, it sounds like you should go talk to Vader. He is the only one who can really answer your questions."
"Talk to him? You want me to talk to him!" Leia came to a stop, looking straight at him. "I don't want to see him, let alone speak with him!"
"Look, I didn't say I wanted you to speak with him," Han replied, his voice starting to rise. "Only that if you want answers you have to go to him. They aren't going to magically appear, Your Highness. I'd prefer that you stayed as far away from him as possible, but it seems that Vader is the only person available who can explain everything to you."
Leia frowned, before her eyes widened, an idea obviously occurring to her. "You're wrong, Vader isn't the only one who can explain everything," Leia announced, heading for the door. Pausing in the open doorway, Leia turned back to Han. "Thank you for trying to help..."
"But..." Han added, catching her tone of voice.
"But, I have to do this alone," Leia replied. "If anything serious happens and you need me, I'll be down in the garden. Dr. Allstine can tell you where that is."
"Wait! Leia," Han started, but she was already out the door. Running to the doorway, Han peered down the hall, Leia was nowhere in sight. Shaking his head, he glanced at Luke and then back down the empty hall. "Why must you two insist on going off and doing things on your own?"
Leia slowly sank onto the lush grass, glancing around the garden. The countless flowers and trees swayed softly in the breeze, the setting sun bathing the garden in it's brilliant golden light.
Leia took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She thought back to Bespin, when Luke had telepathically called out to her from beneath the city. The painful memories surrounding that event sprang unbidden into her mind. She shook them away, determined to not let them dissuade her. Leia carefully examined her memories of the telepathic communication until she was sure she could duplicate the process.
I hope this works, Leia nervously thought, before she awkwardly reached out with the Force. /General Kenobi/ Leia called, trying to contact the person with the answers she needed. When he failed to respond, she tried again. /General Kenobi, please answer/
As the silence continued, Leia sighed as she leaned back, gazing up into the golden sky. "What did I do wrong?" Leia quietly asked, unsure of where to go from there.
"Nothing my dear, you did it perfectly," Obi-wan assured her, shimmering into view. "I simply had to finish up what I was doing before I could reply," Obi-wan explained, settling onto the grass in front of her. Noticing her troubled appearance, he continued, "I assume the reason you called me here has to do with your birth father?"
"I...," Leia hesitated, before simply nodding. She sighed, trying to put everything into words. "I have so many things to ask you about that I'm not sure where exactly is the best place to begin. So, I'm just going to go straight to the heart of the matter. Has Darth Vader truly changed?"
"Yes," Obi-wan replied without hesitation.
Leia paused, surprised by how quick and confident his response was. "How can you be so sure that his return from the Dark Side is real and not some convincing ruse?"
"I felt it through the Force," Obi-wan replied. Leia frowned, prompting him to explain. "Through the Force you can sense many things. Thoughts and emotions are only part of it. I could literally feel Anakin's return to the Light."
"I can't feel what you feel, see whatever it is you see. The only thing I have ever felt around him was evil and darkness!" Leia climbed to her feet and started pacing across the grass. "I want to believe it is possible for someone to radically change; I really do, but..." Leia sighed, looking over at him. "I just can't see past the horrific things Vader has done to whatever it is you obviously see."
Obi-wan nodded. "That is understandable and I must admit, had I not felt it for myself, I wouldn't have believed it possible either." Obi-wan paused, glancing away briefly, before turning to face her again.
"Tell me Leia," Obi-wan softly began, staring calmly into her eyes. "If I could teach you how to see what it is I see, would you allow me to do so?"
"You mean teach me how to use the Force?" Leia hesitantly asked.
"Some of the basics, yes." Obi-wan replied, before adding, "I should warn you, it is not an easy task. It will take time, patience, and most of all, the will to learn."
Leia paused, her brow furrowing as she gave Obi-wan's offer serious thought. Coming to a decision, she returned her gaze to Obi-wan. "You have it," Leia answered, her confusion turning into determination. She was going to see once and for all if Vader was truly what he claimed to be. If he was, she would put her all into making a place for Anakin in the Alliance. If he wasn't… well, Vader would come to regret ever crossing paths with Leia Organa and her family."