Test of Time Book 1: A Father's Son

Chapter 24: Anakin & Luke, Father & Son

It was a while before Luke was finally able to gather himself enough to speak.

"So...n-now you know."

He said it more as a statement then a question.

Anakin nodded solemnly and the two shifted so that they were sitting side by side on Luke's bed. "Yes...Qui-Gon came to me and showed me...enough."

"What did you see?" Luke asked softly.

Anakin gave a heavy sigh, looking away. After a few moments he returned his gaze to Luke, though he wasn't looking him in the eyes. Instead, he was gazing at Luke's mechanical hand. Wordlessly, he took the hand, examining it with a distant, sad look in his eyes. "I'm the one who did this to you," he said in quiet mourning. Luke drew his hand back with a shake of his head.

"No, not you; Vader, from my time...a time that can still be changed," Luke told him softly but firmly. "What did you see?"

Anakin sighed, propping his elbows on his knees as he stared off into space, his mind floating back to the vision. "I saw...what happened to Owen and his wife...I saw...what happened to...Obi-Wan." Anakin paused for a moment, obviously having to regain himself. "I saw your training on Dagobah, and the fight...on Bespin." Anakin winced as he thought of the harsh beating Luke had taken, how he'd lost his hand, and the emotional agony it had caused him when he had discovered that his father was still alive and was in fact Darth Vader.

Anakin shook his head to dispel the dark thoughts before he continued. "And I also saw your surrender, the fight on the space station, the...my redemption...and my death." Anakin tensed a little and looked back at Luke, a fire in his eyes. "I can assure you I never would have stood by and watched that. Never would I have threatened or attacked you like that..." Anakin trailed off, voice breaking.

Luke put a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "It's fine; I know you wouldn't. I've come to know my father very well in the time that's passed."

Anakin felt a warm feeling spread through his chest, and he managed to give Luke a tiny smile. "I'm glad." However, the smile gradually slipped away from his face as his thoughts wandered. "Qui-Gon told me you were having your own vision about...my fall. I'd ask but...I don't think I want to know."

Luke looked away at that, suddenly much quieter. Anakin sensed what Luke had just seen coming back to haunt him in memory, so Anakin put a hand on the other Skywalker's knee. "Try not to think about it if it's that bad."

Luke nodded. "I-I know, I just...I never knew how or why...I just knew that it happened."

"So we both got answers tonight; it wasn't just me."

Luke nodded again. "I'm glad you know now. I've wanted to tell you...quite often. But of course..."

Anakin sighed. "Yes, I get it; the Force had a plan it seems. I won't complain anymore."

Luke smiled timidly. "Yes, the complaining about not being able to know didn't help matters at all."

A few moments of silence persisted between them, and Anakin ran a hand down his face. "So am I the only one that knows?"

Luke shook his head. "No. Yoda figured it out when he saw me for the first time in the Council Room, and Obi-Wan...you remember how Obi-Wan saw something he wasn't supposed to that day when we meditated together, the one we wouldn't tell you about? Well, I guess I told you a little, since I told you about the Empire...but he saw my memory of Bespin, and considering Vader called me Skywalker twice, it wasn't that hard for him to figure out."

"Obi-Wan knows?" Anakin asked, shocked.

Luke smiled sheepishly as Anakin sat back in shock. "It was purely accidental that he found out; I didn't tell him. He just figured it out when he saw something I didn't plan on him seeing."