Chapter Nine

Even though our connection kept us in contact, I nervously waited for Obi-Wan's arrival and stood just outside our new home watching for him. I wouldn't be satisfied until he was once again in my arms.

/I'm fine,/ he assured me as I held onto him fiercely in the moonlight.

If anything happened to him, I wouldn't know what to do. Or where to go. I'd be stuck on this planet all alone!

"Nothing's going to happen to me!" His hands were on either side of my face as he compassionately gazed into my eyes. "Don't forget your mantra. There is no death, only the Force."

I nodded my head meekly, disguising my thoughts that I didn't think his Jedi mantras were going to help me if I were left to survive on my own. Especially with a child on the way. I didn't even have Elda to help me if I needed it!

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly while Obi-Wan held me once more.

"Where are these troubling thoughts coming from?" he worriedly spoke into my hair.

I took a deep breath and shuddered it out. "I don't know. Maybe it's from the pregnancy?"

"I don't know much about that sort of thing, but it makes sense. Come, let's meditate for a short while."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't dare. Obi-Wan's connection to the Force is what was going to keep us alive. And I was indebted to it for our bond. However, the Force didn't respond to me as it did him and all meditation did for me was make me sleepy.

I cooperated, however, and had to admit that afterward, I did feel slightly more at peace. But then he started telling me about finding Elda and I became downright depressed.

"These mood swings can't be good for the baby," I uttered, placing my hand on my stomach, which hadn't yet revealed any signs of a life growing inside me.

"He'll be fine," Obi-Wan assured me with a smile.

"He?" I repeated with a raised brow of a pending confrontation. "Who says it's going to be a boy? What if it's a girl?"

And now I was ready to fight with him? What in the hell was wrong with me?

"Don't worry about it," he chuckled. "We'll ride this storm out together, and trust me. Boy…girl…it doesn't matter to me. I'll love it even if it looks like a womp rat."

He stood and pulled me up with him. "Speaking of, we should get started on the house or else we won't be very comfortable tonight."

Obi-Wan had been gone for a couple of hours, and during that time, I'd experienced a surge of energy. From the look on his face, he noticed the changes.

"How?" he asked in surprise while gazing about.

"I fashioned a broom of sorts from a tumbling bush I found nearby. All the rest is just refashioned from clothing items I'd packed for this very reason."

I laughed because Obi-Wan had questioned my choices of items I'd packed. At the time, I argued our future was unclear and surely, there would be a formal occasion to attend. Little did I know that one of my gowns had enough material for a bed cover, a tablecloth, rags for washing and drying, as well as a hastily tied rug for the doorway.

I smiled at my own achievements. I'd actually accomplished quite a lot in a short while.

"I'm impressed," he said with a grin. "Tomorrow, I'll look into purchasing a generator to run the moisture evaporator so we can have some fresh water."

"Good," I agreed, longing for a cool drink. All we'd had today was the water Elda had offered that had been put through a homemade filter. It had a bitter taste and was cloudy, but it was all she had and we accepted it graciously.

We slept fairly comfortably on the bed I'd fashioned, but I awoke with a sickly stomach. I lay there wondering if it would pass or if I should get up. I was getting ready to rise, but Obi-Wan beat me to it. I watched, somewhat perplexed as he ran through the hut and out the door. The sound of vomiting was unmistakable.

Maybe we shouldn't have drunk Elda's water after all.

/Are you okay? / I asked once the noise had diminished. /I guess we aren't used to the water./

It took him a moment to reply, and he walked in looking rather pale. "I'm afraid it wasn't the water. We would've gotten sick much sooner. You're nauseous right now, aren't you?"

"I was," I told him. "But it passed."

"That's good," he replied, looking rather uncomfortable as another, although a milder wave of nausea hit me.

"Oh good heavens!" I announced, once the realization hit me. "You're experiencing my morning sickness!"

"Apparently so," Obi-Wan answered before taking a seat. "I may be the only man in the galaxy who is going to actually feel what pregnancy and childbirth is like."

I couldn't hold back the smile that spread across my face and I got up to join him, choosing to sit on his lap.

"Go ahead, make fun of me. I can take it," he teased while wrapping his arm around my waist.

"I wouldn't think of it," I declared honestly. "But it is good to know I'll have someone to share this with."

"Literally," he groaned. "Let's hope your pregnancy symptoms are mild."

He could hope all he wanted, but I rushed outside as my stomach threatened to empty itself. Obi-Wan joined me and I couldn't help but laugh once I'd caught my breath.

"What a sight we must be!"

"I don't have anything else to get rid of!" he moaned before wiping his mouth and beard.

"We need to fix that. Give me a few minutes and I'll fix us something to eat."

"Food doesn't sound very appetizing right now," Obi-Wan informed me. "Perhaps meditation will help. I'll connect with the Force and see if I can manage to gain some control over this…for both our sake's."

A/N: There you go readers! For your Christmas gift, I present you with the notion that a bonded Jedi can experience pregnancy symptoms! Ha! Merry Christmas!