You asked for it, so you got it. UPDATE!! Sorry for the long delay, stuff happens (writer's block, school, work, life). If this chapter disappoints, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm always up to fixing it (though it may be a bit hard) AnYway, I hope you enjoy.
Obi-Wan awoke with a start. For a moment, he was confused with his whereabouts. Normally when he had to sleep in some strange place, he knew it to be strange, uncomfortable. But this place, it felt so right to be there. He couldn't explain it, he just felt at home. He sighed, not really sure what to make of the feeling. He stood up, stretched, then pulled his boots on, preparing for the day ahead.
He stepped out into the small kitchen, but soon discovered that he wasn't the only one who was awake. Kena and Clieg sat at the small table together, discussing something quietly. They fell silent when they spotted Obi-Wan, who smiled shyly and tried to flatten his hair. Kena was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Obi-Wan. Come, sit down with us. Would you like something for breakfast?"
Obi-Wan stepped closer to a window and looked out it, seeing that the two suns had not yet risen. "Yes, please. If you don't mind."
"Oh, it's no problem," Kena replied happily as she began to pull out kitchen supplies. Obi-Wan remained standing by the window until Clieg cleared his throat.
"Well, sit down will you? You make me nervous standing there like that. Like something's out there." He motioned to a chair, and Obi-Wan complied with his orders and sat in it. "Well, now that we can see eye to eye. How old are you again?"
"Sixteen," was the quiet reply. Obi-Wan seemed too busy studying things in the small home to fully pay attention to Clieg.
"You like being a Jedi?"
"Yeah, I guess so. It is a great honor to be able to have the opportunity to become a Jedi Knight." He smiled, his attention suddenly turned completely to the farmer.. "And an even greater honor to be Qui-Gon's Padawan."
"Do you miss your family?" Clieg asked, and Kena wanted to smack him for his bluntness.
Obi-Wan's gaze went down to the table. "How can you miss what you don't remember?" he asked seriously.
Clieg looked up at Kena, fearful that the young Jedi's answer might tear her apart. But she kept on with the preparation of a nice breakfast. Inside, however, her heart was being pulled in two different directions. One side wanted to gather the boy into a hug and tell him who she was, who he was. The other half remembered the pride in the boy's voice when he spoke of being a Jedi and didn't want to take that from him.
"Do you believe in fate, Obi-Wan?" she suddenly asked.
The young Jedi looked up at her for a moment. "Fate? Hmm. I'm not sure. I trust in the Force, and I know that it aids us in our lives. Well, perhaps there is fate. Some things just seem meant to happen."
"Do you ever think you'll find your real family?" Clieg asked, and once again Kena wanted to slap him. But the Jedi shook his head.
"I don't think so. I mean, I don't know anything about them and it's a big galaxy out there. How in the Force would I find them?"
"Do you want to find them?"
Obi-Wan frowned. "I don't know. I'd like to know them, but what, really, would be the point? I couldn't stay with them; my life is of the Jedi now. And what would I say to them? 'Hi, I'm the son that you gave to the Jedi when I was a year old?'" Obi-Wan shook his head. "I just don't know."
Kena nodded, her heart slowly breaking. "Yes. That would be something hard to say."
Nothing else was said as she continued to prepare the breakfast. It was a very uncomfortable silence. Clieg stared at the window, while Obi-Wan seemed intent on memorizing the grain pattern of the table. Kena had to bite her lip the whole time to keep from saying something she would regret.
Loud footsteps in the hall made them all jump, but it was only Tela. She entered the kitchen and looked around at the three nervously. "Something wrong?"
"No," Kena said. "I'm just making some breakfast. Would you like some?"
Tela shook her head, but Kena noticed how she eyed the food hungrily. She smiled and added more to the cooker. Tela found a chair in between Obi-Wan and Clieg, and occupied herself by staring at a wind chime outside of the door. Clieg raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if she had mental problems. But then he remembered that they had just crashed-landed in the desert. That would be enough to shake up any prissy aristocrat, who was accustomed to things always going their way.
Clieg turned his attention to Kena's long lost son. The boy was curiously looking around the kitchen, his keen blue eyes rapt with interest in all of the gadgets. Clieg closed his eyes and tried to pull up memories of the boy's father.
He'd known Jeran Kenobi for years. They'd grown up together until the age of thirteen in the town of Anchorhead. Jeran had always been the smart one, always thinking up pranks to get the two of them in trouble. Then Jeran's family had move to Mos Eisley, and he lost all contact until he met Kena, Jeran's widow. He'd been told about the son given up to the Jedi, but he'd never given him much thought.
Looking at Obi-Wan now, he could see just how much the son looked like the father. He smiled. Jeran would have proud to know that his son had grown to become a fine Jedi. But then he wondered, if Jeran hadn't been murdered by Tusken Raiders, would Obi-Wan still be a Jedi? Clieg shook his head slightly. He didn't think so. There was no way Jeran would have ever given up his blood to some strangers with weird powers.
Obi-Wan, almost as if he sensed Clieg's stare, looked up, and his eyes met the farmer's. Such wisdom in those eyes, Clieg thought. He's seen so much. He shook his head and turned to look at Kena. She was staring at the pot of food, lost in thought. But every now and then her eyes would flicker to Obi-Wan, who sat trying not to fidget in his seat.
"How long have you lived here?" asked a different voice suddenly. Tela, it seemed, had snapped out of her stupor.
Clieg scratched the back of his neck idly. "Well, I've been on Tatooine just about my whole life. Moved here when I was 'bout a year old. Kena's been here since she was ten. We've lived in this house together for about eleven years."
"How long have you been married?"
"Eleven years."
"This home was my first husband's, before he died," Kena added suddenly.
"What happened to him?" Obi-Wan asked, fixing his gaze on the woman.
"He was killed by Tusken Raiders a little more than fifteen years ago," Kena told him. You were only a few months old at the time. My, how you cried. You knew what was going on. She shook her head, trying to keep the tears from falling. How could he affect her this much? She'd given him up willingly, then gone on with life. So, why was it that she found herself pining over this young man she hardly knew.
Kena glanced up out the door, watching the sand as the wind gently swirled it in the air. She knew why. Obi-Wan was the only reminder, besides a few holos, of her first husband, Jeran. She'd loved Jeran with all her heart, loved him as she could not bring herself to love Clieg, as hard as she tried. After he had been murdered by the sandpeople, Obi-Wan had been all she had left. Then she'd given that up.
She looked up to see Obi-Wan staring at her with concerned eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
She nodded, the lump in her throat preventing her from speaking. She quickly finished the breakfast and handed it out to them, saving a small bit for herself and the older Jedi, if he chose to eat.
Clieg and Obi-Wan managed to get into a comfortable conversation. As Clieg spent more and more time around Kena's lost son, the more he realized that this boy truly was gifted. And in so much more than the Force. He'd gotten his father's good looks and smarts, and his mother's calm temper. He was a fine young man. Clieg had no reason to fear him, although he would never admit that he was afraid of what the boy had the potential to unknowingly do.
Clieg had just finished, last of course, and was putting his plate away when the older Jedi, Qui-Gon, walked in. The Jedi nodded politely to Clieg and Kena, then sank into a seat next to Obi-Wan. The Padawan and his Master did not share a greeting, they didn't need to.
"Once again, my Padawan and I thank you for your hospitality. It is very kind of you."
"Your very welcome. It's the least we can do. Your ship did crash, after all. And you know no one on this planet," Kena said, wiping her hands on a small towel.
Qui-Gon nodded. "True." He turned to Obi-Wan. "Come. We'll need to fix that hyperdrive if we ever hope to get off-planet."
Obi-Wan nodded and stood up. He turned to Kena. "Thanks for the breakfast. It was great." Then he turned and followed his master out of the kitchen, heading in the direction of the desert.
Kena's eyes met Clieg's, and he quickly stood up and began to follow then, shouting at Owen as he did so. He and his son quickly caught up with the Jedi, bringing with them assorted tools that might be needed. Qui-Gon and Clieg fell into a conversation about the broken ship, while Obi-Wan and Owen dropped back to allow the adults their privacy.
Young Owen glanced at Obi-Wan. "So, you like being a Jedi?"
"Yeah. I guess so. It's what I've always done."
"Does every Jedi fight?"
"No. Not every Jedi. Some heal the hurt, some prevent wars, and others farm."
"Like my dad?"
"Yeah. Just like your dad." He fell silent for a moment. "I was almost a farmer."
"Why? What happened?"
"I used to get in trouble a lot, so the Jedi Council was going to send me away to be a farmer. But Qui-Gon stopped that, and I became his apprentice."
"Is being a farmer bad?"
"No. Not for everybody. I didn't want to be a farmer, I wanted to be a Jedi Knight. Now I'm getting my chance."
"Could I be a Jedi Knight instead of a farmer?"
"No. To become a Jedi means that you are taken from your family when you are little. So the Jedi can raise you in the way you need to be to become the best Jedi you can be."
"You don't get to stay with your mom and dad?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No. You leave when you're little. You don't know your mom and dad."
Owen shook his head for a moment. "That's bad. How can you be a good person with no mom to teach you? It doesn't seem right to me."
The Padawan shrugged. "It's all I know."
They managed to reach the ship in less than an hour and set up a small camp near the wrecked ship. Clieg and Qui-Gon examined the hyperdrive as best they could, being as the hyperdrive was in a very small space. Owen and Obi-Wan, meanwhile, searched the rest of the interior for any overlooked damage.
Qui-Gon sighed as he pulled his head out of the small opening. The hyperdrive was indeed very unstable. And the design of the ship was very awkward, placing the hyperdrive in a very small compartment. He'd tried to avoid having to send his Padawan in, but now it seemed that he had no choice. Both he and Clieg were too large, and Owen didn't know a thing about hyperdrives.
He called Obi-Wan over to him as soon as the teenager passed up the door. Obi-Wan immediately stuck his head around the corner. "Yes, Master?"
"I'm going to need you to get in here and fix this for me. I can't get to it without risking further damage."
Obi-Wan nodded, not seeming concerned at all that he was about to go into a small compartment with something that could blow at any time. He grabbed a toolbelt and loaded it with everything he thought he might need, but nothing that he wouldn't. Then he surveyed the hole to the hyperdrive closely. He gave Qui-Gon one last look before slipping in, which was still a very tight fit. In the small compartment, he had barely enough room to sit on his knees, and he constantly hit his head on the low ceiling.
"What do you think?" Qui-Gon asked through the opening.
"Definitely not made for people to come into!" Obi-Wan shouted back, inching forward to the hyperdrive core. He took out a tool and began to remove the metal that protected the delicate hyperdrive systems, then slid the cover off. He turned on a small light and began inspecting it.
"We'll need to get some more wire, some of it in here is almost burnt through," he said aloud for Qui-Gon's benefit. "Probably should also scrape of some of this ash or residue, whatever it is. It's making it hard to see. Wait...what's this?" he asked, noticing a small silver box that looked much newer than the rest of the hyperdrive. He set the light on the floor and set to prying the cover of the box open so he could see what it was. It took him a good while, but he did finally manage to open the box.
His eyes widened. "Bomb!" he shouted.