Chapter 4

Settling In

Sabé stared blankly at the tiny hut, realizing for the first time that maybe her decision to follow Obi-Wan and then accept his invitation to stay with him on Tatooine was a bad idea. Obi-Wan gathered the last of his bags from the Eopie and then met Sabé. He shrugged, shifting his weight as he stared at the hut with her.

"It looks small on the outside, but its much bigger inside," he said, but Sabé only blinked, looking incredulously at him.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat and then went inside the hut; Sabé sighed and followed him.

Obi-Wan dropped off his bags in the living room, and then proceeded down the hall to Sabé's room. He needed to talk her about their living arrangements. Most of all, she needed to know that they weren't going to be totally alone with each other. The trouble was, he didn't know exactly how he going to tell her that spirit of old Master would occasionally pop in. He stopped at her door and gently knocked on it. She didn't answer at first, so Obi-Wan shrugged and opened the door as a shocked partially naked Sabé screamed at him. Obi-Wan averted his from her direction, quickly shutting the door tight.

"Um, I just wanted to talk to you about the living conditions. If you're going to be staying here with me, I think we need to set some ground rules," Obi-Wan started. "You cannot leave the hut unaccompanied and second, you cannot have contact with anyone besides me..."

"When you told me that you were going into exile, you really meant it..." Sabé said back. "Anything else?"

"I can't think of anything right now, but I'm sure we'll think of more rules as we go along," he called back as Sabé exited the room fully clothed, confronting him. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Obi-Wan continued, "Oh, there is one more matter that needs to be discussed. You and I, we're not the only ones that are going to be living here..."

Sabé's eyes widened, confused about what he was talking about.

"I mean, well, my Master, my former Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, might appear from time to time to instruct me," he said, averting his eyes from Sabé. Even though he was looking away from her, he could sense her confusion and he knew that she had become more confused about the situation. "So, there's going to be three of us, so to speak," he said quickly and then started down the hall, leaving a dumbfounded Sabé alone.

Qui-Gon couldn't help but laugh as he listened to his former Padawan tell him about talking to Sabé about his presence. Sabé hadn't left her room since Obi-Wan talked to her – probably because she was scared to run into a ghost. Or maybe she thought the heat was already affecting Obi-Wan's physical condition. Either way, both were plausible.

"This isn't the way I imagined spending my exile," Obi-Wan said, sitting at the table in the kitchen as his Master sat on the stool opposite him. "Women are so stubborn! I told her to stay on Naboo, but she decided to follow me instead, and now I have a roommate I wasn't even prepared for."

Qui-Gon laughed again. / I'm sure that in time, you two will grow to tolerate each other. /

"She isn't bad company," he admitted with a smile, and then Qui-Gon directed his attention to the hallway as Sabé entered the kitchen. She gasped slightly, seeing the former Jedi Master, and then regained her composure and walked over to the counter. She took the third stool and sat down. "Find everything to your liking, m'lady?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes," she said and briefly made eye contact with Qui-Gon. "You're really here, aren't you?"

/ I am. It's a pleasure to see you again, m'lady. /

Sabé smiled and then looked at Obi-Wan. "Um, I was thinking of going into town to get supplies…I know what you said to me before, but I don't think anyone will recognize me. I was only here that one time, and even then I was in disguise."

"Alright, but be quick; don't linger around," he advised, and then searched around his robes for money. "Republic credits don't work out there, but if they don't –" he looked at Qui-Gon. "Do you think you could go with her?"

"I hardly think Qui-Gon can help, unless you want him to scare the locals…"

Qui-Gon laughed then quieted down as Obi-Wan continued. "No, I didn't mean that. He can watch you as you walk around."

Sabé glanced at the ghost and the hopped off the stool. "I need to change first, and then we can go," she said and went back to her room.

Tbc