Chapter Eight:
When Beru burst into the medical center waiting room, it was to find Ben seated alone in the corner. He stood when he spotted her, and Beru wasted no time in getting down to business.
"How is he?"
Ben glanced briefly over her shoulder at Owen, who merely narrowed his eyes in return.
"He was in serious shape when I got to him, but the doctor hasn't gotten back to me yet with a full diagnosis," Ben answered.
Beru blew out a frustrated breath and sank into the nearest seat while Owen remained standing.
"Where did you find him?" Owen asked.
"Actually, Luke was pretty close to Anchorhead by the time I got there," Ben replied. "He was passed out by some rocks."
"Hmm," Owen grunted, and when Beru shot him a look, he grumbled a 'thank you' and sat down as well.
Ben lifted an eyebrow, but let it be. He resumed his previous seat and waited with the Lars's for word on their nephew.
To everyone's relief, the wait wasn't much longer.
"Ben?"
The Jedi glanced up at the doctor with a worried air. "Doctor, how is Luke doing?"
"He's stable now, but it was a close call," the doctor replied grimly. "Any longer in the heat— especially without any fluids— and Luke would have died."
Beru gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Owen placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him.
The medic glanced at the couple. "Are you family?"
"We're his legal guardians," Owen answered.
With a nod, the doctor sat with them, seeing as they were the only group in the room.
"Luke suffered a severe case of heat exhaustion. He was seriously dehydrated, and his salt levels were dangerously low. His body temperature was just shy of causing brain damage, and he may have difficulty walking for a day or two until his body fully recovers. He is unconscious still, but we have him on an I.V., and his body temperature is back to normal."
"But he will be okay?" Beru asked in concern.
"Yes, I do believe he will be. When he wakes, I will do a test to see if there was any damage to the brain." The doctor informed them.
Owen frowned. "You just said there want any brain damage."
"I apologize." The man dipped his head. "Luke was unconscious when we received him, so it's too early to tell for certain, but I do not believe there to be any."
Owen thinned his lips. "How long until he wakes?"
"I am afraid that's up to Luke." The man stood. "I will take you to him now, but please do not try to wake him yourself. His… body needs the rest…"
When the man trailed off, Beru lifted her head. "What's wrong?"
The man bit his lip. "Luke is very thin for a boy of his age. Has he been getting enough to eat of late?"
Beru sighed deeply. "I try to get him to eat, but he only takes in the minimal amount."
"I see." The man made a note on his datapad. "I am going to send you home with a suggested diet to help him get the nutrition he needs."
"Thank you," Beru murmured.
00000
It was well into the night, and Owen was fast asleep in the lounge chair in Luke's room, while Beru found it much more difficult to relax. Ben stood by the small window, gazing without really seeing at the starry sky.
Owen had asked the man to leave once they were assured that Luke would be fine, but Ben had flat-out refused until he'd seen the boy awake for himself. Only Beru's intervention had caused Ben to win that battle.
She'd told Owen that Ben had earned the right to see Luke was okay since he'd been the one to rescue the boy.
Beru knew the Jedi had questions, but he seemed to be waiting for something. With a sigh, Beru tried to get more comfortable on the couch, but eventually gave up and sat upright. Ben glanced at her, offering a small smile.
"Are you alright?" Ben asked softly.
"Just restless, I guess," Beru replied.
Ben paused, and Beru sensed it coming, even without the Jedi's Force abilities.
"Beru… why was Luke in the desert?" Ben turned toward her.
She sighed, patting the sofa cushion beside her. Ben took the cue and settled down beside the woman.
"I presume you know of Luke's… predicament?" Beru asked quietly.
Ben nodded. "He and a young woman had sex."
"Yes." Beru closed her eyes in painful recollection of that day Corsair had let the nexu out of the bag. She would never forget Luke's face from then.
Opening her eyes again, Beru looked to Luke's still form on the bed. It was much easier to see that Luke had not been eating enough since all he wore were a pair of medical center trousers.
"Luke did not take the negative attention well at all when we found out; and then when his friends at school heard, things got even worse. Luke fell into a deep depression, and only came out of it when I allowed him to go with Venussia to her ultrasound. You should have seen how he glowed, Ben." Beru smiled warmly in remembrance. "He tried to hide it, but I knew he was overjoyed at seeing his child. And I knew then that Luke had always been destined to be a father… just never so soon."
Ben placed a hand on her's. "I still don't see why he would have run off like that."
She turned a suddenly bitter gaze toward her slumbering husband. "I discovered an ultrasound holo Luke had kept from two weeks prior. I showed it to Owen in the hopes that he'd see the progress Luke was making in righting his mistake, and soften toward Luke. But the opposite happened. He… got out of line, and hit Luke on the face out of anger. Luke then shouted at him, and when Owen moved closer, Luke panicked and ran away."
Beru buried her face in her hands. "Luke fears Owen now, Ben. How am I supposed to fix that?"
Ben had to work at controlling his own spike of indignation. Owen had struck Luke in anger?
Anakin's boy?
But the Jedi quickly shrugged it off. "Has this happened often?"
"Of course not." Beru sounded aghast. "Look, I know what you're thinking, but Owen does not abuse Luke. They've… just had a hard time since we found out Luke got Venussia pregnant. Owen is a hard man, and stubborn to a fault, but he does love Luke."
Ben nodded. "I know he does. But if he's not careful, he'll lose the boy."
With a sad shake of her head, Beru looked to Luke. "I know. I will not let things escalate like this again. Luke is far too precious to ever lose."
Ben smiled warmly at her. "He is very blessed to have you as his aunt."
"Thank you, Ben."
00000
He had never seen so much green in his entire life: never mind the obscene amounts of water being hurried past him first from a waterfall, and then downstream to end at the huge lake beyond the plains.
He was in complete awe, and in reverence he touched a flat palm to the ground, gazing transfixed as the blades of grass peek-a-booed through his fingers.
It felt so… lush, and so alive! Nothing at all like the coarse sand of his homeworld…
Lifting his gaze, he stared into the white foam and mist given off by the water's plunge from the cliffs above to the river below. It was almost like a living curtain, put there as if to protect the sacred joining of one body of water to another.
Something rustled in the distance, and he turned his head to see strange animals like he'd never before seen. They had tiny heads, short legs, and massively rotund bodies which made them look like teardrops, he mused.
Then a herd of tiny furry balls with a ton of scrawny legs scampered from the tall grasses to the east, and behind them came the sweet sounds of laughter.
Surprised, he looked up from the picnic he sat by and watched, enthralled, as a small girl burst forth from the same grass. She giggled at the little ball-like animals and began chasing them as they rapidly scattered, all of them chattering animatedly.
Her black hair, pulled back in pigtails that reached her shoulders, swung around as the child moved. The girl gave up the chase when all of the creatures had evaded her, and she scampered over to sit before him, plopping down with a tired chortle. As for her toothy smile, it never once faded despite the fact that she was panting slightly.
But it was when her eyes met his that he felt the breath catch in his throat. Her eyes, blue as the skies above them, were his own.
"Daddy!" the child leapt up with the enthusiasm of youth and wrapped her arms about his neck in an embrace that melted his heart. "I love you Daddy…"
00000
Light filtered down to him in varying rays, illuminating his blue gaze slowly. And as the view of the grassy plains faded away like the heat-waves on the Dune Sea, he knew he was waking up.
His ears honed in on a steady beeping noise, which gradually replaced the musical sounds of the little girl's laughter.
When he attempted to shift his arm, he discovered that something was stuck to it.
"Luke?"
Frowning, he tried opening his eyes more fully, feeling them resist some. But eventually he got them to open, and the first thing he saw was the face of his aunt Beru.
A face that rapidly went from concerned to overjoyed.
"Aunt Beru?" Luke tried to speak, but found his throat to be parched, so it came out very hoarse and barely discernible.
Her face split into a watery smile, and she touched his cheek tenderly.
"Oh, Luke!" she whispered, leaning forward to rest her head to his. "You had us so worried!"
Luke took a look around when Beru pulled away, and saw that he was in a hospital room. The beeping was a heart-rate monitor, while the object in his arm appeared to be an intravenous feed.
"Wh-what h-happened?" he tried again to speak, and Beru retrieved a cup with a straw.
"Here, take a sip," she instructed.
Luke did so, and found his throat to feel much better, though the first swallow stung.
"Better?" his aunt asked.
"Much." Luke tried to smile, but something stopped him. Instead he asked a question. "How did I get here?"
Beru took a seat, but claimed his hand in hers. "When you ran off, we tried to find you, but couldn't. We called in help from Ben Kenobi. He was able to get you here in time…"
When she broke off with a choked-back sob, Luke frowned.
"Luke, please don't ever do that to us again," Beru whispered fiercely, taking him back with the expression in her eyes.
His heart cracked, and he felt the guilt return. "Aunt Beru, I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking…"
"Luke?"
Both heads turned to the doorway to find Ben Kenobi standing there. The graying man smiled warmly, and then frowned ever-so-slightly.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt?"
"No, come in Ben." Beru waved him forward. "I need to find Owen anyway, and the doctor."
She kissed the hand that she held, and released Luke. He watched her leave, feeling strange.
When Ben entered the room after Beru had left, Luke felt a strange pull toward the man.
Was it because of the help Ben had given to Luke before? Did he feel a kindred spirit with Ben because he was the only one to have been kind to Luke in his most dire need?
Luke thought back to his dream, wondering why it had felt so real. Was it just an imagination drawn up by his heat-battered brain? Or was it possible somehow that he'd had a vision?
He snorted to himself.
Sure Luke, that's genius; you can see the future. Tell Uncle Owen that one and he'll blow his lid completely.
"Is there something on your mind, Luke?" Ben asked.
Luke lifted his gaze, only then realizing he had spaced out. He hesitated again though, not sure if he should share his… experience with anyone. Luke wanted it to be his and his alone.
Was that selfish?
Luke didn't know, but what he did know was that he had a new purpose in life: see to his daughter, whether his guardians approved or not.
That also meant that he had to start taking better care of himself. For how could he hope to be of any use to his daughter if he wasn't even able to get through the day because he wasn't eating properly?
"Luke?"
When Luke refocused— again— he grimaced to realize he had still not replied.
Shaking his head, Luke offered a small smile. "No, I'm okay. Thank you."
Whatever else would have been said between them, Luke would never know, for at that moment the doctor arrived to ask Luke a few questions as well as take his vitals.
Owen arrived shortly after the medic left and asked for privacy. Ben glanced between Luke, who was trying to stay calm, and Owen, who merely gazed at his nephew. He then nodded and made to leave, but not before giving Luke a pat on the arm.
"I am glad you're coming around, Young Luke." He smiled, and then left.
Owen closed the door and turned to Luke. He stared for long moments, and then moved to stand beside the youth.
"Luke, I am sorry for hitting you. I should not have reacted out of anger like that," Owen said softly. "And I am glad you're back with us."
Luke nodded. "Thank you."
"Your aunt and I have discussed things, and have decided to let you help Venussia." Owen continued.
When Luke smiled widely, Owen held up a warning finger.
"One condition."
"Okay…" Luke said warily.
"You do not go about spouting your knowledge of the gender. Do not ask me why, just don't do it." Owen lifted a pointed brow. "That is my condition, take it or leave it."
Luke did not understand why it was such a bad thing that he knew ahead of time, but his uncle was extending a branch, Luke knew, and he'd be a fool not to take it.
"Yes Sir," Luke murmured.
