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the fifth chapter.
Christmas Reunion Chapter 5
After Anakin, Leia, and Han had returned to the apartment next door, Luke went to check on his guardians. They were in one of the bedrooms (his own, actually), and his aunt was drying her eyes while his uncle stood nearby with his arm around her.
Luke paused in the doorway, "Can I come in?"
Beru smiled a little shakily. "Of course, honey."
He came over to hug her. "Don't cry, Aunt Beru. I didn't mean to upset you, or Uncle Owen. I want us all to be happy."
"I know," she nodded. "It's just that it's hard to for us to realize that you've suffered so much, and that we couldn't protect you."
"But everything's all right now. That's what I wanted you to know," Luke tried to reassure them. "And the last few years haven't been all bad. I met Leia and Han and Chewie, and we've always been there for each other. I can't wait for you guys to get to know them better. You'll see how wonderful they are."
Beru simply nodded again, and for a moment they were quiet. Then Luke added, a little hesitantly. "I think I owe you both an apology."
They looked startled.
"For what?" Owen asked.
"For expecting you to accept Father right away." Luke noticed how his uncle's face seemed to tighten at the mention of Anakin, and how Beru's eyes filled with tears again, but he took a deep breath and went on.
"I guess it must be hard to understand how I could forgive him and love him, after the way things started out between us. And I know that the reason you're upset and angry with him is because you love me." Luke reached out to take their hands before continuing.
"I may not say this well, I don't know if I can find the right words, but I want you both to know how much you mean to me. Even though I hope you'll change your minds about Father, some day, I do appreciate that you care about me so much. I appreciate everything you did for me. And I love you, too, both of you, with all my heart."
Beru pulled him close, and then all three of them were holding each other again. Beru and Luke wept again, briefly, and when they stepped apart, Luke thought he saw the glimmer of tears in his uncle's eyes as well.
"Luke, we made some mistakes when you were growing up. Well, I should say I made some mistakes," Owen glanced over at his wife and smiled. "Your aunt was better with you than I was. But I'm proud of you. You made good choices, even when it was dangerous and could have cost you your life."
He shook his head slightly. "I'm not happy about-your father-being here. I don't think I ever will be. But I am proud of you."
Beru spoke softly, "That goes for me, too, Luke. And this evening has been a miracle. Just knowing that you're alive, and being with you again, it's what I've prayed for every day since we were parted."
Luke squeezed their hands in wordless reply. He wanted to tell them again how much he loved them, that being reunited with them was more than he'd ever hoped for, but he couldn't speak past the lump in his throat.
They smiled at him, and then Owen couldn't suppress a huge yawn. And then Beru was covering her mouth to yawn as well.
"Why don't I take you to the guest room and you can get some sleep?" Luke offered. "We'll talk more in the morning."
"Good idea," his uncle admitted. "I haven't been so tired since that last harvest, when the big sandstorm was coming and we had to work day and night for a week to get finished before it hit."
"Don't remind me," Luke groaned. "I think that was harder than anything I did in the Rebellion."
He led them down the hall to the spacious guest bedroom and bid them good night before heading back to his own room. He was feeling drained by this point himself. Drained, but happy. His earlier disappointment had faded, and his natural optimism was reasserting itself. It wouldn't be easy for his guardians to accept his father, but perhaps, in time, they could. After all, greater miracles had happened.
He had changed into sleepclothes and was slipping into bed when he paused. Maybe he'd already received his share of miracles. His aunt and uncle were both strong-willed people. More than that, their love and protectiveness for him was very strong. Maybe he was hoping for too much, to think that they could be one united family.
Still, if Leia and Han could forgive Anakin, surely his aunt and uncle could, too. But it would do no good to dwell on it any more tonight, Luke decided. He would take his father's advice and just be grateful for the chance to be with his guardians again. He settled into bed and was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.
The next couple of days were fairly quiet for the Skywalker/Solo clan. Luke, Beru, and Owen spent every waking moment together, continuing to share memories from the years they had had together and memories from the years they had lost.
Luke learned a little about the prison camp, how Owen and Beru were separated during the day, Owen to work in the fields and Beru in the prison medcenter, but allowed to be together in the evenings. He gathered that rations had been poor, but that at least, the prison guards had not been particularly cruel and that his aunt and uncle had never been mistreated. Except, of course, for the fact that they'd been imprisoned unfairly and without a trial. He learned about some of the other prisoners they had befriended.
He'd told them about the main events in his own life that first evening, but he shared memories of the more lighthearted times with his friends now, the sabacc games, the jokes, their relatively harmless adventures.
Leia and Han came over several times, too, to visit and get to know his guardians better. Luke was relieved to see that Owen and Beru accepted them gladly, although after they'd left once, Owen did remark, "I get the feeling that Solo's a pretty sharp one, but he seems like a good fellow now."
"He's the best friend anyone could ask for," Luke told him. "He tries to hide it, but he really cares a lot about people." He grinned at his uncle. "Like someone else I know."
"Hmmm," was Owen's only response.
Leia and Beru hit it off especially well, perhaps because they both enjoyed having some female companionship. On the second day after they'd found the Lars, Leia took Beru out for an afternoon of shopping and visiting the salon. Truthfully, those weren't the type of activities Leia particularly enjoyed. She'd had enough of being fussed over and dolled up in her growing up years on Alderaan, and she normally preferred to dress simply and to fix her own hair and make-up at home. But she been wanting an opportunity to be alone with Beru ever since Luke had asked her to speak with his guardians, and she thought Beru might enjoy being pampered a bit
And the older woman did look as she were having a good time, though she was rather awed by the great shopping complexes of Coruscant, as well as the extravagant boutiques they visited.
"Oh, no, Leia," she protested as Leia tried to convince her to buy a dark red gown with gold beaded designs on the skirt. "I could never afford a dress like that. Besides, there would never be any occasion for me to wear something so lovely on Tatooine."
Leia patted her arm. "Beru," she said gently, "Your life has changed. Your nephew is one of the greatest heroes in the galaxy, even if he does try to deny it, and I'm Vice-Chancellor. We're invited to formal events all the time. And you never know, you and Owen might go with us sometimes."
"But that's way too much money for me to spend on one dress," Beru said, even as she eyed the gown longingly.
Leia shook her head. "I guess Luke didn't happen to mention it to you yet, but money is not really a concern anymore. See, Father was one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy when Luke saved him. After his redemption, he gave the majority of his money to charities and to help establish the New Republic, but he did save some of it for me and for Luke. Enough that we can live very comfortably for the rest of our lives."
She thought she saw reluctance in Beru's eyes and added, "And if you don't like the thought of using money from Father, Luke has some money from me, too. The Organa family was also very wealthy, and fortunately, a good part of that money was invested in off-world accounts. I didn't have accesss to it during the Rebellion, but once the war was over, I was able to claim it, and I insisted on sharing half of it with Luke."
She smiled at the memory. "He didn't want to take it. I think that was the closest to a real fight that we ever had. But it just didn't seem fair to me that I should have so much more than he did, when it was just luck that I inherited it, so I made him take some of the money. Anyway, Beru, there's plenty of money to buy this dress. Don't worry about that."
Beru shook her head. "I just can't believe that everything has changed so much," she murmured. "I'm happy for Luke, but it's his money. I can't spend that."
Leia put her hands on her hips and said sternly, "Now, Beru, are you saying that you don't think Luke would be willing for you to have some nice clothes for once in your life? Because you would have to know him better than that. In fact, I'm quite sure that he'll want to share the wealth with you and Owen. If he hasn't said anything about it yet, it's only because money means nothing to Luke."
"Yes, I know," Beru laughed a little. "If Luke has a place to live, food to eat, and a ship to fly, then he's happy." She grew serious as she said, "And he is the most unselfish person. He's always been generous. Even when he was little, he was always eager to share whatever he had. I used to pick him up from school in the afternoons and he always had a gift to give me when I came. Just little things, of course. A shiny pebble, or a drawing he did at school. I remember one afternoon he forgot to find me something, and he was so upset about it. I told him it was all right, but he wasn't happy until we got home and he ran outside and found a lizard to give to me."
"Of course, I couldn't say that I really didn't want a pet lizard so we put it in a glass jar and kept it until evening when I convinced him that it would be kinder to let the lizard go. I said that it was a wild animal and it was made to be free. The next afternoon Owen told Luke to go clean his room, and Luke was playing and didn't want to quit so he looked up and said, 'Uncle Owen, I was made to be free.' The look on Owen's face was just priceless."
They laughed together and then Leia said, "So you know Luke would want you to have this gown. Why don't you try it on and make sure it fits?" She grinned. "And then we'll see what else we can find."
By the time they headed home, Beru had an entirely new wardrobe. She wouldn't buy another formal dress, but there were pantsuits, skirts, and sweaters galore, along with matching shoes and boots. She'd had her hair trimmed to shoulder-length, and dyed its original honey-blonde color. There were still lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth, but she had a case of ointments and lotions guaranteed to erase them in time.
She looked at all the boxes piled in the back of the speeder and said in amazement, "I've never gone on a shopping spree like this in my entire life. I only hope Luke doesn't mind my spending so much of his money on all these frivolous things."
"I think Luke will mind if he knows that you've worried for even one second about it," Leia replied. "We've already discussed how generous he is." She saw the opening she'd been waiting for all afternoon and said, "Remember how I said that I had to force him to take some of my money? I said it was the closest we'd ever come to really being upset with one another. But actually, that's not true. The only time we really disagreed about something was when Luke brought Father back with him after the Battle of Endor."
Beru turned her head to look out the speeder window without responding. It wasn't an encouraging sign, but Leia went on, "I was so furious with Luke at first. After everything Father had done to all of us, I couldn't believe that Luke would think we'd ever forgive him. I never wanted to lay eyes on him again. Father, I mean, not Luke."
She hesitated and then said in such a quiet voice that Beru could barely hear her. "I've never told anyone this, except for Han, and I'm ashamed of it now, but for a little while, right after Father came, I wished that he had died on board the Death Star. I wished that we never had to deal with him again. Learning to forgive and accept him is the hardest thing I've ever done."
"Why did you?" Beru asked in an equally soft voice.
"For Luke's sake, at least in the beginning. I could see that Luke loved Father, and that it would tear him apart if we made him chose between us. Han and I had a long talk about it a few days after Father came, and we decided that we loved Luke more than we hated Father. So we said we'd try to give Father a chance."
"And it was very difficult for both of us, and it took a long time, but as we got to know Father, we began to understand him. We began to understand the reasons why he turned to the dark side in the first place, and even though that was wrong, of course, we could sympathize because some terrible things did happen to Father."
"And he's so remorseful. However much we blamed him and hated him, he blamed and hated himself more. He would give anything to change the past and not hurt us."
Beru sighed. "But he can't."
"No, he can't," Leia agreed.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, but as Leia parked the speeder and serving droids hurried to gather the packages and take them inside, Beru said. "Luke wants us to accept Anakin, but Leia, I just don't know if we can."
Leia laid her hand on Beru's arm and answered. "I didn't think I could, either, but I'm glad now that I did. Father is a very special person. I'm not excusing any of things he did while he was Vader, but he is sorry and he's a loving, compassionate person, too. I mean, there has to be a reason why Luke loves him so much, you know. And I like myself better now, too, than I did when I was angry and resentful of him. If you and Owen could just try to forgive Father, I don't think you'd regret it."
"Well, I'll think about it," Beru finally said. "but it may take us a long time, too."
Leia smiled and suddenly leaned over to hug Beru. "I've had fun this afternoon. I don't think I realized how much I missed having someone to do 'girl' things with.
Beru returned the hug. "I used to wonder about you sometimes when you and Luke were growing up. I wondered what it would have been like if we could have raised you, along with Luke." She laughed a little. "I'm sure you're eternally grateful that you ended up on Alderaan instead, but sometimes I missed having a little girl to mother." She quickly added, "It has nothing to do with how much I loved Luke, of course."
Leia nodded. "I know. And I was very happy on Alderaan, but I think Luke was pretty lucky to have you, too. Now, come on, I can't wait for Owen to see you, and we'll find out what the guys have been up today."
As they went inside, Leia wondered if Han had been able to speak with Owen, and if so, how successful he'd been. She felt that perhaps Beru might be growing accustomed to the idea of Anakin being part of their lives. And they had had fun getting to know one another better. All in all, Leia was feeling optimistic. Now they just had to convince Owen.
TBC
Christmas Reunion Chapter 5
After Anakin, Leia, and Han had returned to the apartment next door, Luke went to check on his guardians. They were in one of the bedrooms (his own, actually), and his aunt was drying her eyes while his uncle stood nearby with his arm around her.
Luke paused in the doorway, "Can I come in?"
Beru smiled a little shakily. "Of course, honey."
He came over to hug her. "Don't cry, Aunt Beru. I didn't mean to upset you, or Uncle Owen. I want us all to be happy."
"I know," she nodded. "It's just that it's hard to for us to realize that you've suffered so much, and that we couldn't protect you."
"But everything's all right now. That's what I wanted you to know," Luke tried to reassure them. "And the last few years haven't been all bad. I met Leia and Han and Chewie, and we've always been there for each other. I can't wait for you guys to get to know them better. You'll see how wonderful they are."
Beru simply nodded again, and for a moment they were quiet. Then Luke added, a little hesitantly. "I think I owe you both an apology."
They looked startled.
"For what?" Owen asked.
"For expecting you to accept Father right away." Luke noticed how his uncle's face seemed to tighten at the mention of Anakin, and how Beru's eyes filled with tears again, but he took a deep breath and went on.
"I guess it must be hard to understand how I could forgive him and love him, after the way things started out between us. And I know that the reason you're upset and angry with him is because you love me." Luke reached out to take their hands before continuing.
"I may not say this well, I don't know if I can find the right words, but I want you both to know how much you mean to me. Even though I hope you'll change your minds about Father, some day, I do appreciate that you care about me so much. I appreciate everything you did for me. And I love you, too, both of you, with all my heart."
Beru pulled him close, and then all three of them were holding each other again. Beru and Luke wept again, briefly, and when they stepped apart, Luke thought he saw the glimmer of tears in his uncle's eyes as well.
"Luke, we made some mistakes when you were growing up. Well, I should say I made some mistakes," Owen glanced over at his wife and smiled. "Your aunt was better with you than I was. But I'm proud of you. You made good choices, even when it was dangerous and could have cost you your life."
He shook his head slightly. "I'm not happy about-your father-being here. I don't think I ever will be. But I am proud of you."
Beru spoke softly, "That goes for me, too, Luke. And this evening has been a miracle. Just knowing that you're alive, and being with you again, it's what I've prayed for every day since we were parted."
Luke squeezed their hands in wordless reply. He wanted to tell them again how much he loved them, that being reunited with them was more than he'd ever hoped for, but he couldn't speak past the lump in his throat.
They smiled at him, and then Owen couldn't suppress a huge yawn. And then Beru was covering her mouth to yawn as well.
"Why don't I take you to the guest room and you can get some sleep?" Luke offered. "We'll talk more in the morning."
"Good idea," his uncle admitted. "I haven't been so tired since that last harvest, when the big sandstorm was coming and we had to work day and night for a week to get finished before it hit."
"Don't remind me," Luke groaned. "I think that was harder than anything I did in the Rebellion."
He led them down the hall to the spacious guest bedroom and bid them good night before heading back to his own room. He was feeling drained by this point himself. Drained, but happy. His earlier disappointment had faded, and his natural optimism was reasserting itself. It wouldn't be easy for his guardians to accept his father, but perhaps, in time, they could. After all, greater miracles had happened.
He had changed into sleepclothes and was slipping into bed when he paused. Maybe he'd already received his share of miracles. His aunt and uncle were both strong-willed people. More than that, their love and protectiveness for him was very strong. Maybe he was hoping for too much, to think that they could be one united family.
Still, if Leia and Han could forgive Anakin, surely his aunt and uncle could, too. But it would do no good to dwell on it any more tonight, Luke decided. He would take his father's advice and just be grateful for the chance to be with his guardians again. He settled into bed and was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.
The next couple of days were fairly quiet for the Skywalker/Solo clan. Luke, Beru, and Owen spent every waking moment together, continuing to share memories from the years they had had together and memories from the years they had lost.
Luke learned a little about the prison camp, how Owen and Beru were separated during the day, Owen to work in the fields and Beru in the prison medcenter, but allowed to be together in the evenings. He gathered that rations had been poor, but that at least, the prison guards had not been particularly cruel and that his aunt and uncle had never been mistreated. Except, of course, for the fact that they'd been imprisoned unfairly and without a trial. He learned about some of the other prisoners they had befriended.
He'd told them about the main events in his own life that first evening, but he shared memories of the more lighthearted times with his friends now, the sabacc games, the jokes, their relatively harmless adventures.
Leia and Han came over several times, too, to visit and get to know his guardians better. Luke was relieved to see that Owen and Beru accepted them gladly, although after they'd left once, Owen did remark, "I get the feeling that Solo's a pretty sharp one, but he seems like a good fellow now."
"He's the best friend anyone could ask for," Luke told him. "He tries to hide it, but he really cares a lot about people." He grinned at his uncle. "Like someone else I know."
"Hmmm," was Owen's only response.
Leia and Beru hit it off especially well, perhaps because they both enjoyed having some female companionship. On the second day after they'd found the Lars, Leia took Beru out for an afternoon of shopping and visiting the salon. Truthfully, those weren't the type of activities Leia particularly enjoyed. She'd had enough of being fussed over and dolled up in her growing up years on Alderaan, and she normally preferred to dress simply and to fix her own hair and make-up at home. But she been wanting an opportunity to be alone with Beru ever since Luke had asked her to speak with his guardians, and she thought Beru might enjoy being pampered a bit
And the older woman did look as she were having a good time, though she was rather awed by the great shopping complexes of Coruscant, as well as the extravagant boutiques they visited.
"Oh, no, Leia," she protested as Leia tried to convince her to buy a dark red gown with gold beaded designs on the skirt. "I could never afford a dress like that. Besides, there would never be any occasion for me to wear something so lovely on Tatooine."
Leia patted her arm. "Beru," she said gently, "Your life has changed. Your nephew is one of the greatest heroes in the galaxy, even if he does try to deny it, and I'm Vice-Chancellor. We're invited to formal events all the time. And you never know, you and Owen might go with us sometimes."
"But that's way too much money for me to spend on one dress," Beru said, even as she eyed the gown longingly.
Leia shook her head. "I guess Luke didn't happen to mention it to you yet, but money is not really a concern anymore. See, Father was one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy when Luke saved him. After his redemption, he gave the majority of his money to charities and to help establish the New Republic, but he did save some of it for me and for Luke. Enough that we can live very comfortably for the rest of our lives."
She thought she saw reluctance in Beru's eyes and added, "And if you don't like the thought of using money from Father, Luke has some money from me, too. The Organa family was also very wealthy, and fortunately, a good part of that money was invested in off-world accounts. I didn't have accesss to it during the Rebellion, but once the war was over, I was able to claim it, and I insisted on sharing half of it with Luke."
She smiled at the memory. "He didn't want to take it. I think that was the closest to a real fight that we ever had. But it just didn't seem fair to me that I should have so much more than he did, when it was just luck that I inherited it, so I made him take some of the money. Anyway, Beru, there's plenty of money to buy this dress. Don't worry about that."
Beru shook her head. "I just can't believe that everything has changed so much," she murmured. "I'm happy for Luke, but it's his money. I can't spend that."
Leia put her hands on her hips and said sternly, "Now, Beru, are you saying that you don't think Luke would be willing for you to have some nice clothes for once in your life? Because you would have to know him better than that. In fact, I'm quite sure that he'll want to share the wealth with you and Owen. If he hasn't said anything about it yet, it's only because money means nothing to Luke."
"Yes, I know," Beru laughed a little. "If Luke has a place to live, food to eat, and a ship to fly, then he's happy." She grew serious as she said, "And he is the most unselfish person. He's always been generous. Even when he was little, he was always eager to share whatever he had. I used to pick him up from school in the afternoons and he always had a gift to give me when I came. Just little things, of course. A shiny pebble, or a drawing he did at school. I remember one afternoon he forgot to find me something, and he was so upset about it. I told him it was all right, but he wasn't happy until we got home and he ran outside and found a lizard to give to me."
"Of course, I couldn't say that I really didn't want a pet lizard so we put it in a glass jar and kept it until evening when I convinced him that it would be kinder to let the lizard go. I said that it was a wild animal and it was made to be free. The next afternoon Owen told Luke to go clean his room, and Luke was playing and didn't want to quit so he looked up and said, 'Uncle Owen, I was made to be free.' The look on Owen's face was just priceless."
They laughed together and then Leia said, "So you know Luke would want you to have this gown. Why don't you try it on and make sure it fits?" She grinned. "And then we'll see what else we can find."
By the time they headed home, Beru had an entirely new wardrobe. She wouldn't buy another formal dress, but there were pantsuits, skirts, and sweaters galore, along with matching shoes and boots. She'd had her hair trimmed to shoulder-length, and dyed its original honey-blonde color. There were still lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth, but she had a case of ointments and lotions guaranteed to erase them in time.
She looked at all the boxes piled in the back of the speeder and said in amazement, "I've never gone on a shopping spree like this in my entire life. I only hope Luke doesn't mind my spending so much of his money on all these frivolous things."
"I think Luke will mind if he knows that you've worried for even one second about it," Leia replied. "We've already discussed how generous he is." She saw the opening she'd been waiting for all afternoon and said, "Remember how I said that I had to force him to take some of my money? I said it was the closest we'd ever come to really being upset with one another. But actually, that's not true. The only time we really disagreed about something was when Luke brought Father back with him after the Battle of Endor."
Beru turned her head to look out the speeder window without responding. It wasn't an encouraging sign, but Leia went on, "I was so furious with Luke at first. After everything Father had done to all of us, I couldn't believe that Luke would think we'd ever forgive him. I never wanted to lay eyes on him again. Father, I mean, not Luke."
She hesitated and then said in such a quiet voice that Beru could barely hear her. "I've never told anyone this, except for Han, and I'm ashamed of it now, but for a little while, right after Father came, I wished that he had died on board the Death Star. I wished that we never had to deal with him again. Learning to forgive and accept him is the hardest thing I've ever done."
"Why did you?" Beru asked in an equally soft voice.
"For Luke's sake, at least in the beginning. I could see that Luke loved Father, and that it would tear him apart if we made him chose between us. Han and I had a long talk about it a few days after Father came, and we decided that we loved Luke more than we hated Father. So we said we'd try to give Father a chance."
"And it was very difficult for both of us, and it took a long time, but as we got to know Father, we began to understand him. We began to understand the reasons why he turned to the dark side in the first place, and even though that was wrong, of course, we could sympathize because some terrible things did happen to Father."
"And he's so remorseful. However much we blamed him and hated him, he blamed and hated himself more. He would give anything to change the past and not hurt us."
Beru sighed. "But he can't."
"No, he can't," Leia agreed.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, but as Leia parked the speeder and serving droids hurried to gather the packages and take them inside, Beru said. "Luke wants us to accept Anakin, but Leia, I just don't know if we can."
Leia laid her hand on Beru's arm and answered. "I didn't think I could, either, but I'm glad now that I did. Father is a very special person. I'm not excusing any of things he did while he was Vader, but he is sorry and he's a loving, compassionate person, too. I mean, there has to be a reason why Luke loves him so much, you know. And I like myself better now, too, than I did when I was angry and resentful of him. If you and Owen could just try to forgive Father, I don't think you'd regret it."
"Well, I'll think about it," Beru finally said. "but it may take us a long time, too."
Leia smiled and suddenly leaned over to hug Beru. "I've had fun this afternoon. I don't think I realized how much I missed having someone to do 'girl' things with.
Beru returned the hug. "I used to wonder about you sometimes when you and Luke were growing up. I wondered what it would have been like if we could have raised you, along with Luke." She laughed a little. "I'm sure you're eternally grateful that you ended up on Alderaan instead, but sometimes I missed having a little girl to mother." She quickly added, "It has nothing to do with how much I loved Luke, of course."
Leia nodded. "I know. And I was very happy on Alderaan, but I think Luke was pretty lucky to have you, too. Now, come on, I can't wait for Owen to see you, and we'll find out what the guys have been up today."
As they went inside, Leia wondered if Han had been able to speak with Owen, and if so, how successful he'd been. She felt that perhaps Beru might be growing accustomed to the idea of Anakin being part of their lives. And they had had fun getting to know one another better. All in all, Leia was feeling optimistic. Now they just had to convince Owen.
TBC