Enjoy!

Anakin felt so tired. When he tried to move it was almost as if he had ten-kilogram weights tied to every limb. He had been in bed for Force knew how long; he lost count after a week and a half. At least now he knew what had happened and where he was.

Obi-Wan shifted slightly, taking a deep breath before continuing to sleep. He had fallen asleep—again—while visiting last night. Anakin wished he could at least get a pillow for the poor Jedi but he could barely move. He knew Obi-Wan would be sore when he woke up.

Padmé had visited yesterday along with Luke and Leia. Everyone took shifts so someone was constantly there. Anakin didn't know what to think of it; many a time he was touched and surprised by their actions, but there were also a number of times where he just wanted to be alone or at least to be moving. He could never sit still.

Getting impatient, Anakin closed his eyes and focused all of his energy on sitting up. He had had some gruesome injuries before and still survived; he could walk just a few hours after his duel on Mustafar! Lying in bed for about two weeks was not something he enjoyed.

Continuing to focus, he slowly began to shift his arms until he pushed himself into a sitting position. The movement startled Obi-Wan, who awoke with a jolt.

"Anakin!" he gasped when he noticed Anakin staring at him at eye level. "You're—are you alright?"

Anakin hadn't spoken through the entire duration in the Halls of Healing. Sighing, he supposed he might as well try now. "Y-yes… Master,"

Immediately after speaking, he looked away and focused on getting out of bed. He tried to ignore the honorific he just used… he hadn't used it consciously since the end of the Clone Wars… twenty-four years ago…

Anakin felt a soft and gentle hand touch his shoulder. He turned around to see Obi-Wan smiling. "What are you smiling at?"

Obi-Wan's shoulders began to shake as giggles escaped. He then simply began laughing. Anakin stared, completely dumbfounded. "What is wrong with you?"

"You—you never cease to amuse me!" Obi-Wan laughed. "This is just like you, you know. One minute you're sleeping peacefully and then the next you're trying to leap out of bed and hurl any insult that comes to mind."

"But—but you're s-supposed to be mad at me!" Anakin replied. "I mean—I was a backstabbing traitor before and then I b-became a jerk and—"

"You're forgetting something, my old friend,"

"What?"

"You understand you were wrong and you are sorry for it. For that, Anakin Skywalker, I will forgive you."

Anakin stared as silence took over the room. He was stunned speechless. After all the pain he had put Obi-Wan through, he could just—just forgive him? He had destroyed everything Obi-Wan held dear and he could just forgive him?

Feeling the familiar sense of water swishing around one's mind, Anakin quickly put his mental shields up. "Stop reading my mind!"

Obi-Wan laughed. "I don't have to try; you wear your heart on your sleeve."

"Well not anymore," Anakin snapped. "I've learned from that,"

"Yes, it is a good idea to conceal one's emotions," Obi-Wan nodded. "But not to ignore them or hide from them. Anakin, all of these years, the only emotions you've fed on have been fear and hatred, completely ignoring everything else. It's about time you let go."

Anakin shook his head, finally letting the first genuine smile in years peek out. "I'll never understand you, Master. Five minutes ago you were sleeping and now you're giving me a lecture."

The two looked at each other before they both began to laugh and embraced for the first time in twenty-four years.

The door opened to reveal Padmé, Luke, and Leia, who had apparently been coming for their shift. They stood in shock for a moment before Luke and Leia rushed ahead and joined in the hug. Padmé watched the scene until Anakin stood up.

"Ani, you're going to hurt yourself!" she protested, running over. When she reached him, though, she paused. The two looked into the other's eyes silently.

Obi-Wan smiled and led the twins out of the room before Anakin and Padmé finally shared a passionate kiss.

Luke laughed with Obi-Wan as Leia walked off into the distance. She entered one of the Jedi Temple's cavernous hallways and began to take a stroll.

The feeling of hugging her father had been so odd and yet… comforting. It had also been amazing, like a rush of emotions that she hadn't experienced since Alderaan had been destroyed. She had felt angry at herself for forgiving him but that quickly passed and then surprise took over. She had been surprised that such powerful arms could be so gentle. Then his tenderness had surprised her. Even though he had been laughing, he hugged her like a loving and protective father would hug his little girl. It had scared Leia and yet she had loved it at the same time. She supposed this would take some getting used to… but she was definitely willing to get used to it.

Noticing Yoda and Aaliza walking towards her, she saw Yoda's eyes sparkle knowingly. She knew better than to tell him that her father had finally managed to get out of bed; he knew already.

"Hi Princess Organa," Aaliza said politely.

Leia paused. "No, Aaliza, it's not Princess Organa. My name is Leia Skywalker."

The sun set over Coruscant two days later as the Skywalker family and friends stood outside of the Jedi Temple, enjoying the breeze the city provided.

"So, Palpatine's dead, the Empire's practically been defeated," Han took a deep breath. "All in all, I say it's been a good couple of months."

Anakin laughed. "Yeah, for you maybe; I liked some of those Imperials."

"Then maybe they'll be smart enough to join the New Republic."

"Give me a break," Anakin rolled his eyes. "As if the New Republic's going to be any better than the Old Republic; you just wait and see, this government's going to turn ugly just like the old one did."

"What, and the Empire's better?" Han shot back.

"I'd say so, yes,"

"That's only because you would have been the heir!"

"There's nothing wrong with that,"

"Besides galactic domination?"

"What's wrong with galactic domination?"

"What?! You little son of a Gamorrean!"

"I can't help it if you're an idiot, Solo,"

The two continued to bicker as everyone else laughed or rolled their eyes, sighing in resignation and exasperation.

"Will they ever stop?" Luke asked jokingly.

"Ah, no," Obi-Wan replied.

Chewbacca's growl interrupted the feud between the two. They both turned on the Wookiee. "What?"

Chewie made some sort of comment, snorting and grunting before suddenly laughing. Anakin and Han looked livid. "You—get back here!"

Han took off after Chewbacca while Anakin watched the two of them go before cocking his head to the side. A pipe came out of nowhere and tripped the two ex-smugglers, causing a string of curses that would make a pilot blush to emit from Han. Anakin merely laughed. "I rest my case,"

Dooku rolled his eyes. "Bickering with such low-lives, Skywalker? Honestly,"

"I'd rather bicker with low-lives than deal with your ego," Anakin replied. "You always complained about me, but I can't breathe in the same room as you."

"Rooms cannot even fit your ego, I'm afraid," Dooku said. "You just make the ceilings cave in,"

Anakin growled, remembering when that actually did happen during the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan began snickering.

Padmé sighed. "You men are impossible,"

"Nothing's impossible, Padmé," Anakin smiled, wrapping a loving arm around her. "Merely difficult,"

Fin

I'M FINISHED! HURRAY!! Whew, wow, it took me two years to finish this story! THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME!!!!!

So, what did you think of the story? :-)

Special thank you to:

ILDV who has been reviewing since chapter 1!!

FireChildSlytherin who always left a good review!

twisterblake for being there in the beginning!

general-joseph-dickson for giving great and original reviews the whole way through!

Lady Cathy for being supportive and giving nice long reviews!

ilovenat1995 for enjoying the story and constantly reviewing!

jesi ki kage for always being fun and reviewing often!

Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay for always reviewing and giving great input!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

And thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed!!!! I would also like to apologize for some of my insanely short chapters. This was my second SW fanfic and I apparently thought that a long chapter consisted of about 500 words. *shudders*

Again, thanks for reading & reviewing! I love my reviewers!! :-D