"So your sister was adopted by the Organas?"

The three Skywalkers still sat at the table, though dinner had been finished long ago. So far, Luke had been the main topic all throughout dinner. He felt obliged to stay honest with his mother, so he had spent most of dinner explaining as much as he could to her, with Anakin filling in the few things he knew here and there as well. Inevitably, the time for questions had come, although Luke ended up declining some of them since he couldn't talk about those taboo subjects yet.

At Padmé's statement, he nodded and gave her a small smile.

"That's really nice. I know that they've wanted a baby girl for a very long time," Padmé said, returning the smile.

"Yeah, Leia enjoyed growing up with them. I just wish we could have grown up together, though I do understand why we were kept apart as well," Luke told her.

"Why do you think the two of you were kept apart?" Padmé inquired. The curiosity was dripping not only in her tone, but from Anakin's Force presence as well.

"For our own safety; because of who we are," he explained vaguely. "I can't say much else."

"I understand. It must be frustrating, not being able to talk about some of the things you know," Padmé said sympathetically.

"It is, although I'm sure the right time will come for me to talk about all of it."

"And I can't wait for that moment, because I feel there's a lot that you and I will have to discuss," Anakin told Luke, leaning forward as he spoke.

Luke smiled a little. Quite a lot, he thought to himself.

Padmé sighed. "Well, I think that's enough for tonight. We have plenty of time ahead of us to talk and get to know each other more. However, right now it's late, and I'm ready for bed," she declared as she stood up and made her way towards the bedroom. She gently placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder before she left the room. "I'll see you whenever you're done."

Anakin nodded, squeezing her hand affectionately before she pulled away, his eyes glued to her figure until she disappeared around the corner. He sighed softly and then turned his attention back to Luke. "We'll go back to the Temple tomorrow to start on your training, although I'm going to try and get Obi-Wan to teach you any meditation-related skills. It's not my strong point to say the least," Anakin said with a shake of his head.

Luke shrugged. "That's fine with me. If you feel I'll learn something better with someone else, just point the way," he chuckled.

Anakin rolled his eyes and they both stood, making their way back to the living room. "Why don't you get some sleep Luke? There's a spare room down that hallway, third door on the left." He gestured to the hallway on their right before jabbing a thumb to his left. "Padmé and I are in that room if you need anything," he said evenly.

Luke smiled and folded his arms over his chest. "All right." His gaze slid over to a balcony off to the side of the living room where his mother stood looking out over the city, and his smile softened. "Good night, Anakin. I'll see you in the morning," he told him as his gaze returned to his father.

Anakin nodded. "Good night, Luke." With that, Anakin turned and went to stand in the balcony door, watching his wife with admiration. Luke's smile grew at the sight of his parents once again before he silently slipped away, deciding to give his parents some privacy. He found his room with ease, and gladly slipped into the bed. It was the most comfortable bed he had slept in in a long time, which made sense seeing as most of the beds he slept on were cots, rigid bunk beds, or whatever he could find. He chuckled a little at the thought before he finally managed to drift to sleep.

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

Once more, he found himself alone in a world of white, squinting his eyes as they adjusted to the blinding quality of the light around him.

Eventually, the light adjusted and Luke turned to see a familiar figure standing just a little ways behind him. "Qui-Gon; you're back."

The man nodded, walking up to Luke with a solemn expression on his face and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, Luke; I came with another message of sorts."

"What do you need to tell me this time?" Luke asked curiously

"Your father is going to have a nightmare tonight, a vision from the Force; and to better help you understand his struggle at this time...I'm here to show you what he will see tonight," Qui-Gon said seriously.

"Master, if I may say something...well, I guess ask would be the appropriate term; how did my father become Darth Vader? I mean...from what I've seen, Anakin: he's nothing like Vader! Well, he has a temper, that's for sure, but it just doesn't make any sense; I can't see how he changed so drastically!" Luke exclaimed forlornly.

Qui-Gon stared at Luke with sympathy in his eyes. "Desperation can do things to a person, Luke. Genuine, good people can find themselves a long ways down dark paths when they're as desperate as your father was. Like I said, Luke: your father's intentions were pure, but Sidious took advantage of Anakin's desperation to twist your father into the Sith he wanted."

Luke pondered Qui-Gon's words for several long moments before he spoke again. "What did my father see?"

Qui-Gon sighed, turning Luke around. "That is what I'm about to show you. First, you must understand why this dream shakes your father the way it does. When he was nineteen—still a Padawan—he had nightmares of his mother dying and calling for his help for several months. Eventually he decided to act on those dreams and went back to Tatooine to find her. I will show you what happened before I show you the vision."

"Master, is what happened there what Sidious spoke of earlier?"

Qui-Gon nodded, a grim expression on his face. "He was so distraught and in so much pain at what happened that he flew into a terrible rage and killed the entire Tusken Settlement. It's one of his biggest regrets."

Luke nodded slowly in understanding. "Alright, Master Jinn."

Qui-Gon smiled. "Just call me Qui-Gon, Luke; there's no need for formalities. You will wake up after the vision at the same time that your father does, all right?"

"Okay, Qui-Gon."

As he spoke, the white of the room dimmed, fading into blackness. Through the dark haze, a grim picture gradually came into view.

A younger Anakin—Padawan braid and all—crept through a Tusken Raider settlement, slipping quietly into a tent through a hole he cut with his lightsaber. Luke followed close behind him and immediately paused to absorb the scene of his grandmother bound and horribly beaten in the small tent. Anakin, struggling to keep some degree of control, rushed to her side, undoing her bonds and holding her tightly in his arms. Their words rang clearly in Luke's ears.

"Ani? Is it you?" his grandmother whispered.

"I'm here, Mom, your safe," Anakin replied in a weak voice.

"Ani? Ani? Oh, you look so handsome. My son. Oh, my grown-up son. I'm so proud of you, Ani," she rasped, her hand raising to clasp Anakin's face in her hand.

"I missed you," Anakin whispered back.

"Now I am complete. I love y..."

"Stay with me, Mom!" Anakin begged as she trailed off.

"I love..."

"Everything..." Anakin's voice choked out from the tears he was holding back.

"I...I love..." before his grandmother could finish, her hand fell away from Anakin's face, the light left her eyes, and her head fell back, eyes staring lifelessly at the roof.

Anakin sat in shock for a moment, looking sharply away from Luke's grandmother as he was unable to bear the sight for a few moments before he managed to turn his head back to her, very slowly closing her eyes. His head hung in mourning, and he tenderly stoked the side of her face. Suddenly, Anakin raised his head, and Luke saw his father's emotional agony was melting into rage and hate of the one's responsible for his mother's death. He stood up, making his way over to the doorway and immediately beheading the guards with his lightsaber before plowing ahead through the rest of the settlement in a blind fury.

Luke found himself turning away from the sight, unable to watch. He knew what the outcome was because of what Qui-Gon had told him; he didn't need to see the senseless killing, too. The question still remained; what did this have to do with the vision his father was going to have tonight?

Luke heard the sounds of the massacre fading, and opened his eyes to darkness once again. Suddenly his mother's face came into view. A baby could be heard crying in the background, and his mother's expression was twisted in pain, sweat and tears soaking her face. She cried out in agony.

"Anakin, help me! Please!"

She let out a strangled scream, and suddenly the dream rapidly disappeared below him. He felt himself flung back into reality, letting out a strangled cry himself and gasping for air as he wildly looked around his room. Slowly, Luke came back to his senses; he was in his parents' apartment on Coruscant in the spare room. Hastily, Luke reached out with his senses, sensing that his father was wide awake in the other room, having just woke up from the nightmare. Feelings of panic, fear, and raw distress came off of Anakin in droves.

Throwing off the blankets he'd been under, Luke slipped to the floor, silently padding barefoot down the hall to the living room.

Anakin was already halfway across the room when Luke arrived, his tunic haphazardly shrugged on, pants low on his hips. He was covered in a sheen of sweat as he collapsed onto the arm of one of the couches, his gaze overlooking the city.

Padmé soon followed him in, and Luke pulled back into the shadows, letting them have some degree of privacy. "What's bothering you?" she asked as she gently rubbed Anakin's shoulder for a moment.

Anakin tried to play it off. "Nothing..." he murmured as he gently took the necklace that hung around her neck into his hands, a smile creeping onto his face as he tried to cover up his unease and worry. "I remember when I gave this to you."

"How long is it going to take for us to be honest with each other?" Padmé chided him, her hand falling from his shoulder.

Anakin's jaw tightened and he looked away. "It was a dream."

Luke raised his eyebrows, surprised by his tone and the fact Anakin wasn't telling her.

"Bad?" Padmé asked.

"Like the ones I used to have about my mother, just before she died." He shifted uncomfortably, keeping his eyes anywhere but on Padmé.

"And?" Padmé prompted him.

He glanced at her, his expression darkening and full of some deep emotion Luke couldn't quite put a name to. "And...it was about...you." His tone shook slightly, his voice pausing throughout the sentence as he struggled to get the words out.

He looked away again, and Padmé resumed rubbing his shoulder. "Tell me..."

He sighed and pulled away, walking towards the window that overlooked the city. "It was only a dream."

After a few moments, his breathing became a little heavier and faster than normal, like he was trying to control himself before he finally turned back to Padmé. "You die in childbirth."

Luke's eyes burned with tears for a moment, but he managed to get ahold of himself. The pain was so evident in his father's eyes, even from Luke's spot in the shadows.

Padmé's hands instinctively went to her abdomen. "Will the baby—?"

Luke shook his head avidly. "No, the babies won't," he whispered to himself.

"I don't know..." Anakin replied sorrowfully instead.

Padmé shook her head, moving to hug him. "It was only a dream..."

"I won't let this one become real," Anakin said firmly, gently clasping her arms and halting her attempt to hug him to get her to look him in the eyes.

"This baby will change our lives," Padme responded seriously. "I doubt the Queen will continue to allow me to serve in the Senate; and if the Council discovers that you're the father you'll be expelled—"

Anakin quickly shushed her, holding up his robotic hand and making 'slow down' gestures. "Yeah I-I know, I know," he muttered sadly, looking away again, lost in his thoughts as he heaved a sigh.

"Do you think...Obi-Wan might be able to help us?" Padmé asked him carefully.

A muscle clenched in Anakin's jaw and he looked at her sharply. "I don't need his help," he said firmly, currents of aggravation and anger in his voice as he held her gaze.

Luke was startled and frowned. Why was his father so against going to Obi-Wan for help? Luke turned his attention away from his thoughts and focused on the conversation again, not wanting to miss any of the conversation.

Anakin sighed again, rubbing Padmé's arms as he slowly relaxed once more. "Our baby...is a blessing," he said slowly, and Luke had to fight the emotions the statement awakened in him, struggling to remain calm. As Anakin pulled his wife into a calming hug, his eyes strayed towards the hallway and Luke stepped forward out of the shadows and into the light so that he could be seen.

Anakin seemed at least a little startled as he tenderly pulled away from Padmé. "Luke...what are you doing up?" he asked.

"Bad dream," Luke replied simply. It was true.

Anakin turned to Padmé, giving her a lingering kiss on the forehead. "Go back to bed; I'll be there in a moment," he told her softly before walking up to Luke. "How much did you hear?" he asked quietly, concern thick in his tone.

Luke hesitated, but decided to stay honest with him. "All of it, actually; I woke up about the same time you did. I could sense your distress and such all the way in my room," he told Anakin softly, his tone slightly sheepish.

Anakin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I see..."

"Are you going to be all right?" Luke asked him, concern tugging the corners of his mouth downwards.

Anakin scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not me I'm worried about."

Luke sighed. Maybe he should say something about it. "Perhaps the Force is trying to warn you of the consequences of a wrong choice you could make in your future."

Anakin's eyes narrowed as he evaluated Luke from head to toe. His eyes seemed to spark dangerously for a moment and Luke briefly thought back to what he had just seen in his own vision, the part of his father killing the entire settlement. "Luke, what do you know? I know you know something, and I need you to tell me right now."

Anakin's voice was firm and demanding, but Luke didn't back down. He'd dealt with his father as Vader; he could handle him right now. "I'm giving you advice from personal experience. My mother died because of the wrong choice my father made. And I'm also listening carefully to what the Force is telling me."

The only reason Luke said that was because he felt safe behind the feeling Anakin wouldn't think Luke's parents were Anakin and Padmé. It was already hard enough of a pill to swallow that Luke was from the future; it would be even harder for him to comprehend that Luke was his son. In fact, Anakin probably wouldn't even realize it until he was told by Luke himself. Even if Anakin put some of the clues together and started to come to that conclusion, he might not see the truth because he didn't necessarily want to see it. Realizing Anakin was Luke's father would also mean accepting that he became a Sith Lord that committed horrible deeds in the future; something this Anakin would never do.

Anakin scowled darkly as he sensed the lie as well as the truth. Luke sighed, placing a steady hand on Anakin's shoulder. "I promise you will learn when the time's right, Anakin, and I promise that it will not come too late. Until then...just be careful. Please?"

Anakin deflated, glancing at Luke with a gloomy look fixed in his eyes. "All right..."

"She'll be fine, Anakin, all right?" Luke was just about to leave, but felt impressed to say something more, so he reached out to the Force just a little more so he would know exactly what he needed to say. "Though...if you go trying to find a way to...protect her from your dream...be careful where you look."

Qui-Gon's words came back to him and Luke had a brief epiphany. "You don't want to end up on a dark path when you only had the purest of intentions," Luke informed him softly.

Anakin eyed him, obviously trying to see the real reason behind Luke's words before he slowly nodded. "Okay...go to bed, Luke. You'll need your rest tomorrow."

Luke sighed. "You get some rest as well, all right, Anakin?"

"I will," Anakin mumbled, turning to look out over the city again.

Luke sighed, feeling he'd done what he could for tonight, quietly retiring to his room once again.

Well this was an interesting night.