Anakin was more than worried by the time they reverted to realspace; Luke's breathing had been rapidly deteriorating for the last fifteen minutes.

"Luke, hold in there, don't you dare die!" he growled desperately, even as he flew into the appropriate hangar at a reckless speed and landed just as dangerously.

He popped the canopy and leapt out, ignoring his son's injuries in favor of getting the youth a breathing mask.

"Anakin, over here!" Leia called, waving him over. She was with a medic who had a hover-gurney prepped and waiting for Luke.

Anakin sprinted over and carefully laid his son out on the gurney. Leia gasped at the sight of him, and Anakin had to support her as she nearly collapsed.

"What in space happened to him?" Leia gasped.

"Imperials," was all Anakin could say. "That planet is definitely a no for a base."

Leia would have chuckled if the situation hadn't been so serious. "Let's go!"

They raced with the doctor to the medical ward, where Luke was taken into emergency surgery. Anakin and Leia were ordered to wait in the seating area, but all Anakin could do was pace a rut into the floor.

"I shouldn't have let him go alone!" he ranted almost to himself, but Leia listened in. "He has no experience...what was I thinking?"

Leia listened as Anakin explained all that had occurred in their trip, and she waited until he was finished to speak.

"Luke's right; it wasn't your fault," Leia said with a shudder. "Imperial interrogation is nothing to laugh about. And just be glad it wasn't Vader doing it to him; he's much, much worse." She rubbed her hands up her arms. "Trust me, I know."

Anakin sighed, plopping down into the seat next to her. "I know, but he needs training."

"Jedi training?" Leia asked.

"Any kind of training; something to help him be better prepared for future missions," Anakin clarified. "Once he's healed up, I plan to see him get that help."

Leia smiled. "You're a good father to him."

Anakin shrugged, blushing. "I guess."

At that moment, Han rushed around the corner, breathless. "Where is he—how is he? What happened?" Han rattled, concern for the younger man obvious despite his usually relaxed nature. He didn't seem to care though, and the Wookiee behind him roared to echo Han's questions.

Anakin looked up. "Luke was captured and tortured," he spat.

Leia pursed her lips. "Did you recognize the brand on his chest, Anakin?"

"Yes. It's the Jedi Order symbol," Anakin replied. "But I don't know what the second one was. The one on his neck is geometric and odd."

Leia put a hand to her brow. "That's the Imperial insignia."

Han sputtered for a moment, brain trying to process what he was hearing. "Tortured? Branded?" The Wookiee behind him roared furiously, causing a few people who were nearby to jump in alarm. "If I ever see one of the Imps that did this to Luke..."

He trailed off, still too angry to care Han Solo was showing his softer side once again or about the fact it was one of the few times he'd said Luke's actual name. Taking a deep breath, Han tried to calm down enough to finish a sentence. "When can we see him?"

"We're waiting on the doctors to let us know," Leia sighed, sitting back.

Anakin was still thinking over what Leia had said. "The second symbol is the Imperial logo?' He clarified. At Leia's nod, he frowned. "Why brand him as a Jedi and then as an Imperial?"

"Insult, maybe?" Leia supplied bitterly. "It would be just like them to mark Luke as their property. As an Imperial Jedi..."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Han remarked. "The Empire is led by Sith, and they hate all Jedi. So to mark him as an Imperial Jedi is the ultimate form of mockery. They want him to feel humiliated everywhere he goes."

Anakin swore under his breath. "We need to make sure Luke doesn't fall into a depression or anything."

Leia nodded. "I agree."

It was several long, intense hours before the medic finally approached them.

Anakin was on his feet instantly. "How is he?"

The man sighed, running a hand through his hair. "He is stable now, but there are a plethora of things we had to repair. Lacerations all over him and the stab wounds, both in the gut and the reopened leg injury. He was beaten heavily, and had some internal bleeding as a result.

"He also was subjected to a torture technique known as water-boarding as evidenced by traces of water and vomit in his esophagus and all of his airways. There are signs of suffocation as well." The man paused to consult a datapad. "There's obviously the brands...The one on his chest will leave a permanent scar, but the one on his neck isn't as prominent, and might fade with time."

The man looked to each of them in turn. "He will likely have emotional and psychological scars from this. He will need your patience and support while he heals."

"We understand," Leia said with a nod.

"Can we see him?" Anakin asked.

"He's in a bacta tank right now, but yes," was the only reply they received.

*************************************************************************

Three days passed before Luke was taken out of bacta, and then another four before Anakin began to wonder if he'd wake anytime soon.

He hadn't left the boy's side. Leia and Han, as well as other visitors wishing the pilot well, had come and gone. But Anakin wasn't about to let Luke out of his sight until he was assured of his son's full recovery.

Anakin waited patiently, regaling his unconscious son with tales about Padmé, himself, the both of them, Obi-Wan, the Jedi, and any other things he could think of.

Currently he was talking about the night Anakin had snuck up on Mace Windu in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.

"He was so deep in his meditation that I was able to come within three feet of him before I lost my nerve," Anakin was saying. "But it turns out he was well aware of me the entire time..."

*************************************************************************

Luke had been swimming in darkness for far too long, reliving his torture in the Imperial bunker on several occasions. However, at other times Luke found his burdens lighter, his father's voice piercing through the darkness and giving him relief in his oppression. Luke did notice that his physical pain had lessened while he was in the darkness, though it was only Anakin's stories that rescued him from the pain of his memories. He tried many times to react, to reach out to his father, but every time he tried Anakin kept talking, showing Luke that he had not moved at all outside of his darkness.

Still, Luke smiled at the story his father was currently telling, chuckling softly and shaking his head as he listened, perfectly content with where he was. He preferred listening to his father in the darkness than reliving the nightmare of before.

"I thought when he cornered me later that evening that he was going to chew me out." Anakin grimaced. "I was afraid of him when I was younger, truthfully. He was always so strict and very rarely did he smile, at least that I had ever seen." Anakin scratched his chin, then rested a hand on Luke's. "So what happened next threw me for a loop; he told me that if I wanted to sneak up on someone, I'd better learn to control my rapidly pounding heart. And then he smirked." Anakin chuckled. "He actually looked halfway friendly. And I saw the amusement in his eyes before he turned away."

Luke's smile softened, a warm comfort spreading in his chest when he felt his father lay a hand on his own. "Sometimes...you just have to give people a chance..." Luke whispered in his solitude. It was amazing that he was holding onto that ideology after everything that he'd gone through.

A sorrow started to taint the comfort in Luke's chest as he felt Anakin's hand gently stroke Luke's own in a fatherly way, wishing he could react. He wanted to take a hold of Anakin's hand and tell his father that he was here, that he could hear every word Anakin had said, and that Anakin had been helping Luke recover every step of the way.

Wanting to see if maybe something would change today, Luke reached out to the Force, stretching out towards his father's presence the same time he tried to physically grasp Anakin's hand with his own.

Anakin's breath caught when he felt a brush against his mind. It was feather-light, but he recognized it instantly.

"Luke?" Anakin breathed, and he nearly jumped when the boy's hand gave a tiny twitch.

Luke felt his heart soar and hope swelled in his chest when his father said his name. "Yes, I'm here! I can hear you!" Luke called through the darkness, trying harder this time to clutch Anakin's hand and stretching out further with his senses towards Anakin's warm presence. "I've been here, I'm listening," Luke said breathlessly. He winced a little when he started to be more aware of his remaining aches and pains in the real world, but he ignored it. He'd spent far too long in darkness; he wanted to see his father's face again.

Anakin's heart leapt into his throat when he heard Luke's thoughts.

Yes, I'm here! I can hear you... I've been here, I'm listening!

He also felt the slight tightening on his hand, and Anakin covered Luke's limb with both hands now, picking it up and waiting breathlessly as he spied Luke's eyelids flutter weakly.

Luke knew that if he wanted to, he could remain in his dark, comatose state and avoid the problems that waited for him back in the real world; but he couldn't do that to his father, or Leia, or Han and Chewbacca for that matter. So as he gradually felt heavier, weaker, but much more solid and real than he'd felt floating in pitch black nothing, he didn't fight it, allowing reality to take him back. He hadn't realized how much he still hurt, and he was horridly parched and in need of a drink. Every limb felt heavy and weak, but he could feel his father's hope shining brightly in the Force as well as feel his grip on Luke's hand. So, despite how much of a feat it was, Luke focused his efforts on opening his eyes. Lifting his eyelids was like trying to lift Chewbacca with one finger, so it took a few moments of struggle to crack them open. Even then, the assault of such blinding light after sitting in pure darkness for so long caused him to snap his eyes shut again before he cautiously tried to open them once more, a little at a time so that the light wouldn't overwhelm his obviously still worn, sensitive senses.

His vision was hazy and blurred for several seconds, and his ears had a horrible ringing in them, but he still spotted his father's blurry form before his vision had the chance to refocus itself. Luke smiled weakly.

"About Windu," he whispered in a voice ragged from disuse and the screaming from his torture. "Sometimes...you just have to give people a chance..."

Anakin laughed shakily at Luke's quip, and squeezed his hand, gazing openly into Luke's blue gaze.

"Well, you never knew Windu," He jibed in return.

Luke felt his throat clog with emotion, tightening his grip on his father's hand. "Thank you for...staying with me...and talking to me," he croaked, managing to keep his smile. "You don't know how much...I've needed that."

It was true. His father speaking to him had saved him from his horrible flashbacks—intense pain included—on multiple occasions.

Anakin didn't know how to respond to that, so he merely nodded.

"How do you feel might now?" Anakin asked.

"Horrid..." Luke replied honestly and hoarsely. He cleared his throat painfully and grimaced, coughing before he spoke again. "It wouldn't be too much...to ask for a drink, would it?"

Anakin hesitated, loath to deny that request. However, he also knew Luke hadn't eaten in far too long.

"Only a little bit," he bartered. "You've been out for a week now, so your stomach has been empty for all that time at least."

Anakin grabbed a glass and filled it about a quarter full, then carefully lifted Luke's head and placed the cup to his lips.

"Just sip it," he cautioned.

Luke was surprised to hear it had been a week, but he pushed that thought aside for later, gratefully allowing his father to assist him with the drink as he still felt too weak to do much himself. Simply waking up had been a trying feat.

The cool water had barely started to trickle down his throat when his body instinctively seized up, and for a moment Luke wasn't in the hospital room anymore, but back with the Imperials, strapped to that horrible chair as water was poured over his cloth covered face, drowning him slowly as an invisible cloth suddenly seemed to cover his face. Luke took a sharp inhale on instinct as he suddenly felt a burning need for air, inhaling the water by accident and coughing and sputtering instantly. The action immediately sent him into a full-blown panic attack, convincing him he really was back in that chair, held down and gradually drowned as he screamed. His lungs started to work overtime trying to get air, and his words from that day blazed to the front of his mind as his heart picked up speed.

I can't breathe! I need to breathe! Stop! Please, just kill me already, just let it end!

Anakin dropped the water tumbler with a shocked Huttese curse when Luke began to seize up, grabbing Luke by the shoulders to hold him down when he began thrashing.

"Luke, it's okay!" he called. "Calm down!"

But his words had no effect it seemed, so Anakin reached for his son's mind in the Force. What he did not expect was to catch vivid flashes of recall from one if the methods Luke's captors had used.

Anakin was thrown away when Luke's subconscious rejected his probe, and he snapped to awareness to find he was breathing heavily.

But he put that aside and turned back to Luke, reverting back to comforting words.

"Luke..." He spoke smoothly, softly; something he had learned from Obi Wan—a softer tone forced the intended to actually listen. "Luke, focus in my voice; forget everything else...you're safe..."

Luke's tired body tried to resist when he was held down, convinced that he was being held down so the torture could continue. His heart pounded in his chest, his lungs couldn't draw air, he couldn't breathe, water made it into his lungs through his nose and mouth...

"Luke..."

For a moment, Luke thought he was delusional, hearing his father in his desperate state before the voice continued.

"Luke, focus on my voice; forget everything else...you're safe..."

His brain was sluggish to respond, though suddenly Luke remembered...his father had rescued him from the interrogation room...he wasn't with the Imperials, he...he was in a medical bed...he'd asked for a drink of water...

Slowly, Luke's heart rate slowed back to a normal pace, and Luke was no longer desperately gasping for air. He was trembling and his breathing was still uneven, but the suffocating, smothered feeling was leaving, the imaginary water cleared from his lungs except for the small amount he'd accidentally inhaled.

His father was right...he was safe. It was over and he wasn't drowning right now. Luke let out a ragged breath, coughing slightly to clear the miniscule water from his lungs, which was done in seconds.

Anakin breathed a relieved sigh, but did not release his hold on Luke yet.

"Luke?" He asked a bit warily, ready for another possible relapse.

Luke waited until his breathing wasn't quite so erratic and he was sure that the memories were firmly buried far below the surface to reply, still trembling. "I...I'm all right..." he whispered, his previous fatigue and weakness overwhelming him once again.

Anakin theorized that wasn't entirely true, but he didn't press the boy. "I'm sorry if I triggered something," he said softly, releasing Luke.

Luke avidly shook his head. "No, no it...it wasn't you..." he whispered quietly, trying to keep the memories at bay and stop the trembling.

Anakin, sensing Luke wanted to drop the subject, did so. "Leia and Solo have both been in to see you. Many times, actually."

Luke smiled weakly at his father, grateful that the topic was being changed. "I know...I kind of...heard. I heard a little bit of it every now and then."

Anakin smirked. "Including their bickering, I'm sure."

Luke laughed weakly. "Yes, well...it's hard to miss that, you have to admit." He relaxed against the bed, wishing again for that drink but afraid that his episode would reoccur. He sighed. "They haven't been too worried, have they?"

Anakin bit his lip. "In their own ways, they have been. Leia is a politician, so she hides behind her training and her senatorial mask." Anakin paused. "As for Solo...he cares, and despite his hard exterior, he has a good heart."

Luke shook his head with his smile still in place, eyes closed as he heaved a weary sigh. "Yes, well...I know they care...and I care...that's what matters..."

Anakin patted Luke's hand. "Make sure you keep those kinds of friends, Luke. They're hard to come by otherwise."

"I plan on it...I'd die for them...I hope they know that..." Luke murmured.

Anakin couldn't help but snort. "They had better know, after all that you did for them back there."

Luke tensed a little at Anakin's words. You have no idea, Luke thought sorrowfully, but he relaxed again, suppressing the memories yet again. Exhaustion was quickly taking hold of Luke, starting to bring him back under. Still, Luke didn't quite want to go back to unconsciousness yet, fearful of what would meet him once he closed his eyes. Besides, he wanted to talk to his father a little longer, just for the sake of his sanity and to take as much comfort as possible in his father's presence.

Anakin saw Luke losing his battle to stay awake, coupled with his fear of what he'd find in his dreams. He recalled Luke saying his stories had helped.

"Luke, your body needs rest," Anakin chastised gently. "And I know why you don't want to go back to sleep, but you need to let your body heal. I can tell you more tales, if you wish."

Luke's eyelids flickered open as he peered at his father, tired and admittedly afraid, but knowing he was right. "So long as you stay...just...stay here with me..." Luke mumbled, eyelids already drooping closed.

Anakin's heart paged at his son's tone, and in that moment, Anakin saw him as the child he had once been, seeking the comfort and security sometimes only a boy's father could offer. It was both humbling and frightening.

Anakin smiled even though Luke couldn't see it now with his eyes shut. "I'll stay as long as it takes; as long as you need."

He thought over the stories he'd already recounted, wondering what was left to tell. He supposed Luke would be interested to hear what Anakin had been doing when he'd been transported, but then something tickled at him to talk more of Shmi.

So, dredging up long-buried but never forgotten memories, Anakin began to talk about his mother in great detail. He told Luke everything he knew, from their time as slaves to when he was freed by Qui Gon.

Time flew by for Anakin, who didn't mind one bit staying as he'd promised. Leia dropped by at one point and offered to bring him a meal. Anakin nodded while continuing his tale, and she'd gracefully bowed out.

*****************************************************************************

For quite some time, Luke slept peacefully, dreams of his father and the woman Anakin described to him in his stories—Luke's grandmother—floating through his mind as he finally got the rest he so desperately needed. There was a difference between unconsciousness and sleep apparently, and sleep definitely rejuvenated Luke much faster.

However, as Luke fell into the deepest recesses of sleep, far within his subconscious...a nightmare was quick to plague him; and it wasn't about his recent trial either.

Befuddled, Luke found himself standing amidst a river of fire, an unbearable heat searing his skin. That heat should have triggered a relapse, but it didn't. Instead, it sharpened Luke's focus, and he peered through billowing smoke that was suffocating in its potency towards a figure he could see approaching him. He was curious as to who it was until a sense of fear and foreboding fell over him, and he took a step back just as the towering, intimidating figure of Darth Vader approached him. He tried to retreat, but he soon found that he was on a small island of rock far from either shore of the river with no way out. Panic began to rise in his chest as he backed up as far as he could, slipping and falling to the ground. Darth Vader stood over him, and Luke's heart pounded out of his chest as the Sith Lord extended a hand towards him. Luke flinched, convinced the Sith was going to kill him.

"I'm coming for you, Skywalker," the Sith boomed, and Luke trembled in fear, finding it difficult to breathe as the Sith continued. "You will stand by my side, Luke; it is your destiny."

The Sith reached for him and Luke recoiled with a scream, the rock below him crumbling into the river. Just as his skin met the unbearable magma he was catapulted through the darkness and thrown back into reality, waking with a jolt and a scream, covered in a heavy layer of perspiration as his chest heaved with labored breaths.

Anakin hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until he was rudely awakened by Luke sitting bolt upright with a frightened scream. His son's chest heaved with exertion as he looked desperately around.

Anakin, used to abrupt awakenings thanks to the Clone Wars, was wide awake instantly.

"Luke," Anakin laid a hand on Luke's trembling arm, grimacing to find his weak body quivering from the sudden motion. "Luke, it's okay!"

Luke realized he'd been dreaming, and his shoulders heaved as a rattling gasp escaped him. He was still trembling like a cornered animal—which he'd practically been a few seconds ago—and his breathing was out of control. His heart rate was off the charts, as the heart monitor he was hooked up to testified. Panting, Luke tried in vain to calm himself down. He couldn't get Vader's words out of his head...

As his father placed a hand on his arm and spoke, Luke ran a hand through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to get rid of the dream that was right at the forefront of his mind. His father's words didn't register in his brain as Luke trembled, trying to calm himself down.

"Just a dream...Just a dream..." Luke tried to comfort himself, teeth grinding together.

Anakin realized Luke wasn't hearing him, so he settled for drawing the youth close for a hug, hoping the contact would help.

When Luke realized his father was embracing him, a strangled sound made its way past his lips and Luke clung to his father like a lifeline, burying his face in Anakin's chest and trying to erase Vader's words from his mind. Once his hyperventilating breaths had evened out a little—though he was still trembling in fear and having an internal panic attack—Luke asked a question he knew his father would not be expecting right now.

"F...Father...do you think..." Luke hesitated, struggling to get enough breath to finish his question. "Do you think Vader already knows about me?" he asked in a trembling whisper.

Anakin froze, the question taking him by surprise.

"He's a Sith Lord, so he'd be resourceful... and it's only a matter of time before they learn your name," he said honestly. "Why do you ask?"

Luke swallowed, shaking his head—and his whole body, though he couldn't help that—as he reluctantly stopped fighting the dream and allowed it to reply in his mind. "There was lava and...I was in the middle of this river of it and I couldn't go anywhere. Then h-he came out of n-nowhere, h-he cornered me." Luke's trembling increased but he kept speaking, a little faster now like speaking quickly would get the image further from him. "He called me by name, twice. He...he said he was coming for me...and..."

Luke paused, tightening his grip on his father. "He said I would stand by his side, that I was destined to...that's when I...I fell into the river and woke up...it was so real, I...I could feel the heat everywhere, I was s-suffocating from all of the ash and smoke..."

Once more Anakin stiffened. "Wait; you felt the heat? It was like you were really there?"

Luke nodded, trembling out of control by now. Please don't let it be real, his mind begged. Unfortunately, now that one thing was out the rest began to flow.

"They called him b-before they...they started on me. He was coming; they were going to hand me over to him..." he hiccupped.

Anakin heard, but his mind was still stuck on the fact that Luke had felt things in his dream. That meant it hadn't been a dream, just like when Anakin had dreamt of Shmi...

"Luke..." Anakin bit his lip. Should he tell the boy? Anakin hated to upset him further, but he had vowed to be honest with his son.

He gathered the shaking young man closer. "Luke, you didn't just have a dream. If Vader was talking to you like I am now...and you felt things as though they were real...then you had a vision. I believe Vader contacted you directly."

Luke felt fear hit home at his very core. Vader could find him in his dreams? Was there no respite, no escape?

"What does he want with me?" Luke asked, his voice cracking. "It's...it's hard enough to cope with w-what happened, w-why this, why now?"

Anakin thinned his lips, his nostrils flaring with indignation. "Because right now, whether you like it or not, you are weak, vulnerable, and unable to defend against him. He knows this and won't hesitate to use it against you. It's how the Sith operate."

Luke grit his teeth, indignation and pain flashing through him. "I don't want to be...but I...I can't help it after...after what they did..." Luke whispered, voice cracking again from emotional pain.

Anakin sighed, resting his head against Luke's. "I know. It's not your fault...but Vader isn't above using your situation to suit his needs."

Luke allowed his father to comfort him, but the stopper on Luke's suffering had been pulled, and his heart was openly bleeding now. "I can't get it out of my head, it won't..." he swallowed, trembling under the assault of violent memories. "I can still feel..."

He was torn, part of him begging to open up about the experience while the other part found it difficult to cope with the assault of memories that flooded him when the topic arose.

Anakin remained patient, understanding all too well what Luke was going through. The Jedi bit his lip, then began to open his own heart some more to Luke.

"You know all those things I shared with you about your grandmother and myself...I never told you about the haunting visions I had of her before the Clone Wars began."

He took a deep, calming breath. "When I was protecting Padmé after the assassination attempt, I began having horrid nightmares about Shmi." He choked on his emotions as the memories came back to him. "It was so real, and there was so much pain, suffering...she was s-so miserable and..." He hiccupped a sob. He hadn't spoken to anyone this deeply about this experience.

He squeezed his eyes shut. "She was all alone, and frightened...and the Sand People were so cruel to her!"

He could feel his old anger and old agony resurfacing. "And I felt it all, Luke. I felt her fear, her pain...I felt them when I had my visions, and I was still too late to save her."

Tears were rapidly wetting Luke's hair now, but Anakin couldn't help it.

Luke's heart went out to his father, and Luke clutched Anakin a little tighter—as tight as his weak limbs would allow. Seeing his father open up to him...It gave Luke the courage to attempt to open up completely to his father. Luke himself wasn't quite sure if he was talking about the vision or the interrogation anymore, but he did know that he needed his father to understand and to know what he'd gone through, what he'd felt.

"You did manage to save me..." Luke whispered quietly, voice shaking. "I...I wouldn't have been able to take it any longer if you hadn't shown up when you did..."

Slowly, Luke carefully opened himself up to his father through the Force so that—if he wanted to—Anakin would be able to see what had happened to Luke, what was haunting him, what he'd felt...There was no diagnosis, no words, no statements of what had happened that would accurately explain why Luke was haunted so, why his soul was in agony; how did you describe the overwhelming sensation of pain that drug had elicited, making each torture so much more, even for those who had experienced the pain by itself without the drug?

And if Luke could manage it, he would keep himself open long enough for his father to see his vision as well...if the memories of the interrogation didn't overwhelm him first.

Anakin hesitated when he felt Luke's unspoken invitation...or rather the plea for someone to understand.

Anakin knew that he would be hard-pressed to keep his anger at bay as he had failed to do in Shmi's case. But Luke needed him, needed Anakin, his father, to be strong. So Anakin delved into Luke's memories, and instantly he was swamped with more pain than he'd ever imagined. It was far worse than that short bout of Sith lightning from Count Dooku all those years ago.

Anakin cried out after half the memories flashed by, though he didn't realize he was squeezing Luke so hard in response until Luke whimpered. Anakin made a conscious effort to loosen his hold, and allowed the memories to continue.

When it was over, Anakin was about to let out a relieved breath, but then the vision assaulted him.

"I'm coming for you, Skywalker," the Sith boomed. "You will stand by my side, Luke; it is your destiny."

Anakin snapped back to reality with a different type of scream. Outrage swept through him and he released Luke—careful to lay him back so he didn't get hurt—and began to pace the room, his chest heaving as he fought for control.

"I should have killed them when I had the chance!" He fumed. "To hell with the consequences! No one treats my son like that!" His fists clenched and some of the equipment about the room began to quiver.

"As for this Vader character... he will have to go through me if he wants to get to you!" Anakin was deadly serious, his gaze red with fury.

Admittedly, Luke was a little afraid of his father in his rage-educed state, and the thought crossed his mind that perhaps he should have only shown Anakin a little at a time and not all at once. However, it had been the time to be open and honest, Luke had felt it was, and he'd needed his father to know so he could understand.

He was grateful for his father's statement, taking comfort in the vow of protection, but at the same time it sent a small shiver down his spine. Luke wasn't sure if that was because of the anger in his father's tone or...something else. His eyes flickered towards the equipment trembling in the room and, since Luke lacked the strength to so much as sit up without an adrenaline rush, he settled for a soft spoken word of both comfort and a plea to calm.

"Father..." he muttered softly. Right now there was nowhere for Anakin to direct his anger, and Luke wasn't entirely pleased with the idea of Anakin losing control of that temper. Who knew what would happen, who might get hurt? Anakin might just hurt himself in the process.

Still, Luke's burden felt...somewhat bearable now that Anakin knew. Someone knew how much Luke hurt, what had happened down there. Luke wasn't quite sure he'd be able to keep his sanity if he was the only one who knew what happened, and at least now if he had another relapse his father would be able to connect the trigger to the wound and help snap him out of it.

Anakin, however, was so caught up in his anger that he didn't hear Luke's plea. He simply continued to pace, unaware of when the water jug suddenly imploded, spilling water everywhere.

The Imperials hurt his son, just like the Raiders had hurt his mother! He trembled, unable to help the feelings building up inside of him.

Luke flinched when the jug shattered, but managed to keep himself together as his gaze followed his furious father, that dark edge Luke couldn't describe that worried him so clinging to the older man as he paced furiously. "Father," he repeated, a little louder this time in the hopes to get through to the older man. A bout of cold washed over Luke, and he trembled violently at the sudden, unexpected sensation.

Anakin, fists were still clenching, and he was sure he had paced a rut into the floor. In his mind he was reliving an abstract mixture of memories from his slaughter of the Tusken tribe who'd tormented his mother and the methods the Imperials had used on Luke.

Her eyes lost their light after her fingers graced his wet cheek...He knew about several things that couldn't have been told on the report, like the drug they'd given his son...He looked upon her face as his heart shattered...The electrocution Luke had been put through...

Anakin opened one fist, and a cup near the pitcher exploded.

His chest heaved even as his lower lip trembled...Luke's screams as he started to suffocate from the waterboarding...when he heard the guttural voices of the Tusken guards he snapped, though he managed to gently lower Shmi's body to the ground...And then there was Luke's seizure when he was branded the second time...

A metal pan set at the base of Luke's bed groaned as it drew in on itself.

He gave the Tusken guards the honor of seeing his face milliseconds before he cut them down...And what about that shaky, heartfelt, broken plea Luke gave when he nearly broke and gave them something at one point it was too much to bear...sapphire swung left and right, cutting a morbid swath through cloth and bone...At several points the torture, fear, and panic were all so much that Luke asked them to kill him, that he wanted them to...

There was a heavy rattling from the cabinet next to Anakin as the doors strained...

Red and blue, that's what he saw as he mowed the animal Tuskens down, red from hatred and fury, blue from his weapon of justice...Luke's desperate cries for his father, something that broke Anakin's heart...

The calm he'd managed to retain during his father's outburst finally crumbled to dust, his anxiety taking hold when things too close for comfort to Luke started to shatter and twist, and he drew into himself as much as he could, still shivering from the sudden overwhelming sensation of cold that painted the room. A seed of fear planted itself in Luke's gut as he eyed Anakin's trembling, pacing, furious form, a dark storm cloud of raging emotions swirling around the man through the Force in a potency so powerful Luke didn't even have to be paying attention to the Force with his minuscule skills to sense it. A piece of the shattered cup had grazed Luke's cheek, creating a fine cut just above where the Imperial woman had grasped his cheeks and drew blood during his interrogation.

"Father!" Luke cried out, his voice cracking yet again as he was still weak and hoarse, shaking from the intense cold.

Anakin froze midstride when Luke's panicked cry finally cut through his gaze. Only then did the older Skywalker realize what he was causing to happen.

He glanced about the room, but it was the freshly drawn blood on Luke's cheek that made him break.

"No!" He cried, grabbing at his hair and collapsing into a huddle against the wall. "Oh Luke, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

He buried his face in his arms, ashamed of himself.

"Please forgive me!" He wept. "I'm sorry ..."

Startled by the sudden switch, Luke took a moment to respond, raising his hand to his cheek to wipe the blood away. "No, don't worry about it, it's nothing; it's just a cut, really, it's nothing to worry about." Heart aching over his father's pain, Luke tried to gather enough strength to sit up, momentarily hating the fact he couldn't go to his father now and comfort him due to his weakened state. To make up for his immobility, Luke stretched out to his father through the Force the best that he could with his limited skills, trying for a gentle stroke of comfort.

Anakin shied away from Luke's touch, shaking his head.

"N-no..." he stammered. "You don't understand..." He hesitated. He'd only ever told Padmé about this...but it was trapped inside of him and dying to be released, lest it keep eating away at him.

"I..." He buried his face deeper into his arms, unable to meet Luke's innocent gaze. "I killed them all! Every single one of them!" He cringed. "I slaughtered the Sand People who killed my mother...The men, the women...and...and the ch-children..."

He began sobbing harder. "I wasn't able to control myself, and I haven't forgiven myself for that." He hiccupped through another sob. "The l-last thing my mother said to me was that she was proud of me. And if she had lived to see what I did...she'd have been so disappointed!"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "And now I've done it a-again! I couldn't control myself, and I hurt you!"

Luke cringed, unable to help the reaction upon hearing about the blood on his father's hands; he hadn't been expecting that. The...the women, and the children? He felt sick and also rather horrified...

...but this was his father. And Luke could see how much pain he was in simply remembering the event, and he could see Anakin's horror at a simple cut across Luke's cheek because of his momentary rage. Despite the darkness that lingered with Anakin, Luke knew that he was ultimately a good person. Luke had seen that already, felt the warmth of his presence, and he loved his father imperfections and all.

Though Luke did take note to be wary of Anakin's temper in the future.

Steeling himself once again, Luke tried to reach out to his father again through the Force.

"Anakin...it's all right..." Luke soothed, heart throbbing. "You're my father...and I love you...even with your past mistakes," he told the elder Skywalker softly.

Anakin heard Luke, and he felt again the hesitant, loving touch trying to connect with him again.

Finally lifting his head, Anakin forced himself to meet Luke's eyes. He was beyond humbled to find, among other things, true acceptance and love in his son's gaze...despite what Anakin had done.

And the touch from Luke, while not very strong or sure, never wavered in purpose.

Sniffling, Anakin at last allowed the touch admittance. He took it and held it tenderly, sending his love and gratitude back to Luke in turn.

The terrors of earlier with his nightmare and the interrogation momentarily forgotten, Luke felt warmth and love when he finally connected with Anakin, and he smiled. "It's all right, I'm fine," Luke reassured Anakin, swiping at his cheek again just to be sure there was no more blood. His smile turned a little sheepish. "I'd give you a hug or something, but...I'm kind of confined to this bed."

Anakin chuckled and stood up, moving back to his son and drawing him close.

"I'm sorry I lost control," Anakin murmured. "I love you Son."

Luke's lips quirked upwards towards a smile as he pulled his father as close to him the best he could with his limited strength, burying his face into Anakin's shoulder and gently grasping the hairs at the nape of Anakin's neck. "It's okay...it looked like it was something you needed to do," he whispered, allowing Anakin's presence to wash over and sooth him, erasing his fears and pains from earlier enough so that he could relax. "I love you too, Father...don't forget that."

"How could I?" Anakin quipped, pulling back and gently thumping his son's shoulder. "You won't let me."

Luke grinned unrepentant. "Of course not; I've decided to make it my job to constantly remind you. Maybe I'll even start getting creative about it," Luke said with a small waggle of his eyebrows to get his father to laugh, relaxing against the bed again.

Anakin was happy to see Luke returning somewhat to normal, and he obliged his son with a smile. "What did I do to deserve you? Huh? Now, get some sleep."

Luke's smile faded a little at the thought of going back to bed, but he covered up the action with another joke. "Maybe I'm really a curse in disguise," Luke teased, relaxing against the pillow and snuggling deeper under the blankets.

Anakin smirked. "Yeah right. Goodnight Luke."

Luke sighed, letting his eyes slide close, albeit a little reluctantly. He tried to shut out the uneasiness that would undoubtedly turn into a nightmare, focusing on getting his body to relax enough to fall back asleep. His father's presence was right there, quick to dispel the fears.

"Goodnight Father..." Luke answered softly before he once again drifted into a much more peaceful sleep.