I knew who he was. Some didn't. Rumors persisted around his very presence, but I believed none of them. I knew in my heart that the only man the rumors didn't involve was the man in the caves. He was bigger than the gossips. He was even larger than the legends. He was real.

The caves were only a short speeder ride from my homestead. It wasn't difficult to get there, but coming up with a reason to be out in the middle of nowhere was near impossible. I waited many months to see if the stranger would make an appearance at Mos Espa or even Mos Eisley, but as far as anyone knew, he didn't. At the very least, no one was talking if he did. It was almost as if he had disappeared once he entered the caves. Some worried that he had. Maybe he had gone there to die. The idea wasn't something new to us.

It was then that I decided to go and see Beru. We had shared schooling for a few years and our families had always been fairly close. My father had gone with Cliegg on his journey to bring Shmi home. He hadn't returned. Since then, we had shared grief over our mutual losses. Maybe it was time to begin sharing joy together.

I gathered together a dinner, gifts for the baby, and no small amount of courage before I left. When I arrived, Owen was in the moisture fields checking the vaporators. Beru answered the door with a hesitant smile.

"Chiara!" Her voice sounded surprised but her face betrayed her joy. "It's been so long!"

"I thought you may need some more…" My words trailed off. "time. Is it alright?" I was tentative, not wanting to intrude.

"Yes. Come in. Come in. It seems like years since I've seen you!" She smiled broadly and shook her head. "I'm so glad you came. I want you to meet Luke." She stepped back and held the door open for me. Even though my arms were full of dinner and gifts, she still reached out and granted me a short quick hug. "It's been wonderful to be on our own and get to know him, but I'll admit I've missed you all. Everyone really."

As we entered the house and moved down into the cool living quarters, I smiled at the sound of a baby cooing. Luke, as she had called him, sounded happy. Beru reached back and took part of the heavy load I was carrying.

"He's just the sweetest thing Chiara. He really is." She practically beamed with delight over the child. Even from behind her, I could see a difference in her walk. In her very being.

"Marynne sent some gifts for you. I pulled together some things too. There's a lot here." I paused for a breath. "When people knew that I was coming, everyone wanted to send something." A breath. A question. "People have been worried about you."

A cloud passed over her face as she stopped and turned back to look at me. "I know." No other words came from her as she turned back to the main living area and placed the gifts and dinner on the table. "We all know."

Her words had time to settle into my heart like stones and by the time I looked back up, Luke was there. She was holding him in her arms, a brilliant smile lighting her face.

"He's beautiful!" I exclaimed. And indeed he was. Golden blond hair topped sky blue eyes and an innocent toothless grin. He reached out to touch my hands and I looked at Beru with a question in my eyes.

"Go ahead. He loves being snuggled." She beamed again as she looked at him and I held out my hands. In an instant he had dived into my open arms and was reaching for my hair.

Tiny baby hands entangled in my long brown curls, I held him tight and felt his little heart beating against me. The question hung in the air between Beru and I as much as Luke was between us now. It couldn't go without being asked.

"Is he…?" The words tumbled from my lips before I had a chance to think about them, surprising all three of us. "Does he belong to…?"

"Us. He's ours." A voice from the doorway startled me and I swung to find Owen standing behind us, arms crossed, face full of anger.

"Of course he's yours." I blurted, sorry I had mentioned anything. "I didn't mean to…"

"Yes you did. Everyone's talking about it. You're just here to spy and see what we're up to."

"Owen!" Beru's voice was shocked. "This is Chiara! Chiara!" She repeated my name again and stepped between he and I. "Her father died trying to bring Shmi back! Don't tell me you don't trust her!"

"I don't trust anyone now." His voice was hard as he looked at me. "You shouldn't even have let her in here. No one's safe Beru. No one." He came across the room in two strides and pulled Luke from my arms. "The galaxy is at war."

"I know that." Beru's voice sounded petulant now as she stood next to Owen staring at Luke with wistful eyes. "I know better than anyone." She reached to touch his soft baby cheek with a trembling finger. "Every day I live with it." Luke grabbed her finger with his chubby hand and brought it instantly to his mouth. She smiled as he chewed happily away and the tears shone in her eyes. "But I can't live alone anymore."

Owen looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "I know. It's hard. But…" his voice trailed off and I saw the fear in his eyes. "What if…?"

"Everyone thinks the man in the cave is Anakin." The words flew out of my mouth, silencing everyone in the room. Even Luke stopped gnawing on Beru's finger to stare at me with a puzzled look.

"What?" Now Owen's voice was harsh. "What did you say?"

"I said…" I gulped hard and took a step backwards. Even though he held Luke in his arms, he looked as if that wouldn't stop him from doing something…dangerous. "Everyone thinks the man in the cave is Anakin."

"Anakin's dead." His voice was an angry grating bark. "There's nothing left of Anakin Skywalker anymore."

"Except him." Beru whispered, her voice soft as she reached to take Luke from Owen's arms. "The best of him."

"Beru!" Owen's voice grated harshly again in rebuke, making Luke's lower lip quiver. In seconds the angelic looking boy was crying and holding on to Beru's tunic in fear.

She shot Owen an angry look and took Luke from the room to comfort him, leaving Owen and I alone. He sat down on the chair next to him and rubbed his hand tiredly over his face.

"I'm sorry." His voice was calm. Regretful.

"It's alright." I lifted my hand in a clumsy attempt at comfort. "Everything's going to be fine."

At that his head shot up and he stared at me with wide eyes. "Is it? Will it ever be the same again? Will we ever be just moisture farmers again? Will we ever live without fear? Without daily wondering if someone's going to come and take Luke away?" He rubbed his eyes again. "No. We'll never be fine again."

A few awkward moments passed with Owen on the chair, head in his hands. I didn't know if I should move or not. If I stayed unmoving, maybe he would stay silent. I didn't want to draw any attention to myself. Let him forget that I was there.

"Damned Jedi." The words were a mutter under his breath. "Damn the Jedi. Damn them all!" His voice stayed low enough that he couldn't be heard outside the room, but his voice was full of passion. He stood and crossed the room in three angry strides. "The Jedi have ruined my life! Everything I ever could have been was stolen by the Jedi. Did you know that?" His face was inches from my face and boiled with fury. "I could have been so much more! I could have done so much more! If only the Jedi hadn't…" He stopped quickly at the sound of footsteps outside the room. In the breath of a heartbeat he was back to the center of the room and facing Beru as she entered.

"Luke's asleep. I think you just startled him." Beru's eyes were questioning. "Are you alright?" The words were directed toward Owen, but I felt sure she was talking to me as well.

"We're fine. I apologized." Owen nodded in my direction. "Chiara." It was a short sharp word and then he was gone.

"I'm sorry." Beru came forward. "He's been through so much. Some days I wonder if…" She took my hands. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve your kindness being returned that way. Forgive him. Forgive both of us please."

I reached out and wrapped my arms around her trembling form. "Beru, we're fine. It takes much more than that to ruin a friendship doesn't it?" She held on to me tightly long after the hug was over and I realized she was fighting tears. "It's okay." I whispered into her ear. "It's going to be okay."

"Let's sit down and have some tea."

Over cups of cool sweet tea, Beru explained the story to me. Or at least what I thought was the story. It wasn't until years later that I realized how many details she had avoided.

The man in the cave, she told me, was a battered old general from the Clone Wars. He had been injured very badly and was emotionally wrecked from the battles he'd been in and only wanted to be away from people.

The baby, Luke, was indeed Anakin's son. Anakin had been betrayed and killed by someone close to him. He never saw the baby before he died. The baby's mother, Padme, had also been betrayed and killed. The same person had killed both parents. She had barely lived through the labor. Her last wishes were for her son to get back to them so they could care for him. She wanted family to raise little Luke. A network of people was able to get Luke here to Owen and Beru.

"Owen wasn't sure it was a good idea. With the way that they are searching out Jedi in the galaxy, it scared him to think of the Empire coming here. What if someone found out that Anakin had a son? It could be very dangerous for everyone." Her eyes filled with tears. "But I couldn't help it. He was so small and innocent and beautiful. I knew we needed to take him." She looked down at the table. "The emdees have told us that we'll never have our own children. I told Owen that it was the Force bringing us a son." She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "He didn't like that. He doesn't believe in the Force. He doesn't like the Jedi. He doesn't even want Luke to know that Anakin was a Jedi."

Owen, Beru shared, had planned an entirely different life. He had wanted to explore the galaxy. Other planets called to him. He looked at the twin suns and felt himself drawn far far away from Tatooine. He had planned, when Cliegg married Shmi, to stick around for only a season or two. Only long enough for the family to save money for droids. Then he was leaving and taking Beru with him. They would never return to Tatooine. He was tired of this dusty old planet.

But then Shmi had been taken. Cliegg injured. Money lost along with life and limb. With her disappearance, his dreams shattered and lay in pieces around his feet. He had only just begun to pick up the bits when Anakin returned. And with Anakin came hope. Hope that Anakin, the great and mighty Jedi might stay. Take care of his family obligations. Do what he was supposed to do as a man. After all, if Anakin had not gone to be a Jedi, he would be in the same place anyway. Helping Owen and Cliegg to run the moisture farm. Living in peace. The very least he could do now was help Owen make things better. When none of that had happened, Owen's anger at the Jedi had begun to harden into a base upon which everything in his life was later built. The Jedi were the reason for every bad thing that had happened to him. And nothing would change that.

My hand falters on the tea cup as I lift it to my lips. A small sip of the cool brew and then my eyes close again for a brief moment.

"You're tired." His voice is concerned as he reaches across the table and puts his hand over mine. "You've shared much today." He smiles a warm calming smile and my heart flutters just a bit. It's been a long time since anyone's looked at me that way. "I think we should continue this tomorrow."

I manage a very slow nod and then raise my eyes to his face. "Tomorrow I'll tell you about him."

He smiles, sweet and patient. "That would be good."