Chapter 2: Oasis

Owen recovered quickly, and over the next few weeks he and his father, Cliegg, came to the Whitesun household many times to help Tam, Beru's father, make much needed repairs on the roof of their home… the hole in the roof over the refresher being one of them. Cliegg Lars and Tam Whitesun had been friends since childhood until Cliegg left Tatooine two decades previously. The two happened to run into each other when Tam and the Lars men both happened to go into Bestine to get supplies they could not find in the small towns near their residences.

Owen, though usually a hard worker who focused on the task at hand, found himself pausing in his work whenever Beru came out into the courtyard. He could not stop himself from staring down at her from the rooftop. Yet, whenever he tried to speak to her, he found himself stuttering and blushing. The trouble was, whenever they were close and he looked into her eyes, his mind kept showing him iother/i parts of her anatomy… parts he had seen when he first laid eyes upon her. What made it worse, he felt embarrassed, not to mention nervous, looking at her when her father was so close by.

For her part, Beru thought Owen was just shy when he looked away from her as he spoke. She found him refreshing in comparison to other boys she knew who were obnoxious flirts, and took it upon herself to try to draw him out. She often poured cold refreshing drinks and brought them up to the roof for the men to drink several times a day. She would smile sweetly at Owen as she spoke, even while answering questions from her father. She tried not to be discouraged when Owen would barely smile then look away from her as he drank the drink she brought then went straight back to work.

When the work was finished, Beru felt sad when Owen left with his father. Owen felt much the same way. The looks they gave each other did not go unnoticed.

Beru's older sister, Coolie, and her fiancé, Mik, observed the two, and decided to do something about the situation. A couple days later, they decided to invite Owen and Beru out on a double date… without telling them who their date would be.

Beru was reluctant to go out on a date with her sister. She knew the type of guys Mik tended to hang out with and had a feeling she would not like any of them.

"Come on, Beru," Coolie laughed. "I promise you, you'll like this one."

"Oh, OK." Beru rolled her eyes.

Even though she was unenthusiastic at first, when it came time to get ready for the date, Beru anxiously prepared her hair several different ways, and tried on seven different outfits only to settle for the first dress and hairstyle she had modeled the first time.

"You look really nice." Coolie assured her as they took the landspeeder out to rendezvous with the boys at the agreed upon location, The Last Oasis, a bar in Anchorhead which had a small dance floor.

They went inside and Coolie waved to Mik when she spotted him. Beru tried to see who was with Mik, but the man had his back turned to her. She thought there was something familiar in the young man's build and the cut of his hair around his neck and ears. Her belly kept rolling in her nervousness as they walked over. Then as they neared, she gasped when he turned to look at her.

"Owen!" She could not keep the pleased smile from her face.

"B-beru, h-hello!" He stammered. "You look b-b-beautiful tonight. Not that you aren't always beautiful, b-b-but, um, you look… beautiful." He blushed and looked away.

"Thank you." Beru felt a pleasant warmth in her cheeks and knew she was blushing. "It's nice to see you."

"Why don't we get seated?" Mik suggested with an amused tone as he pulled a chair out for Coolie.

"Oh, yeah." Owen quickly moved to do the same for his date, hoping she did not notice his hands shaking. He swallowed as he admired Beru's graceful sway as she moved to sit in the proffered seat.

Several minutes later, the two couples watched the other patrons dance as they sipped their drinks and nibbled on some appetizers. An upbeat song was playing when Mik rose from his chair and took Coolie's hand.

"Come on, let's show them how it's done!" Mik's grin was full of merriment and mischief.

Coolie laughed as Mik swung her around on the dance floor, heedless of the other dancers who had to dodge to avoid colliding with the crazily whirling duo. They were not as impressed by Mik's prowess on the dance floor as Mik himself obviously was.

Owen and Beru laughed as they watched Mik's antics. Owen glanced over at Beru, enjoying the sound of her laughter. iShe is so beautiful/i he thought. However, when she turned to smile at him, he cleared his throat and turned away. The vision of the first time he saw her once again had imposed itself in his mind's eye.

Beru frowned with a sigh. She had hoped Owen would ask her to dance.

"Hey, Beru!"

A deep voice made her jump suddenly as a man stepped up to their table. "Oh, hi, Daral!"

"What are you doing just sitting here?"

"Just watching Mik and Coolie having fun." Beru looked pointedly at Owen who had looked up at the stranger. "Daral, this is Owen. Owen, Daral."

Owen only nodded at the intruder with his lips set in a tight line.

"Nice to meet you, Owen." Daral politely held out a hand and Owen shook it perfunctorily. "Mind if I borrow Beru for a turn on the dance floor?"

Owen glanced at Beru and saw her looking at him with a hopeful expression. He shrugged and looked back at the other man. "Sure go ahead."

Beru glared at Owen before taking Daral's arm, but Owen did not see her expression because he was looking out on the dance floor, trying to convince himself he did not care that she was going off to dance with another man.

Damn it, I want to dance with Owen not Daral! She smiled at Daral as they approached the dance floor, however, and decided to try to make Owen jealous. Perhaps he just needs a nudge to get over his shyness. Giving momentary glances Owen's way now and again, she acted as though she was having the time of her life as she danced. Other men came to dance with her as well, and she smiled in apparent delight at each of them, throwing back her head and laughing at their lame jokes.

Meanwhile, Owen fumed quietly in his seat as he watched Beru enjoying herself with every man besides himself. He was unsure whether he was angrier with her or himself. I don't know how to dance and I didn't ask, so what right do I have to hold her back?/i He took a sip of his Tatooine Sunrise as he glared an imagined hole in the back of Beru's latest dance partner. iDamn it, though, she's my date!

Beru smiled after looking once more at Owen. It's working she thought. She gasped when the man she was dancing with pulled her to him during a slow song. His breath reeked with sour whiskey, and she tried to pull away, but he held her too tightly.

"Stop it!" She exclaimed as he touched her in a spot that should only be handled in private, and only with permission. She placed both hands on the man's chest and pushed, but could not dislodge herself from his unyielding clutch. Panic gripped her heart when she could not pull away. "Please, let go of…"

Suddenly a hand was on the man's shoulder and a fist collided with his jaw, and the man let go of Beru. She almost fell to the floor when she was finally released.

"The lady said stop!" Owen glared at the larger man before him, fists clenched in rage.

The towering brute snarled as he rushed Owen with a roar and tackled him. Owen grunted in pain when air was expelled from him as he fell backwards onto a nearby table with his assailant on top of him. Most of the table's occupants quickly got up as it collapsed, plates and mugs crashing and breaking.

"Oomph, help me," cried the helpless Rodian who had not reacted fast enough, thus was pinned under the table and the two combatants. He sighed with relief after the two rolled off the broken table, pummeling each other and vying for top position. His reprieve was short-lived, however when the two rolled back on top of him, still pounding each other. A stray fist hit the scaly alien square in the snout. The Rodian's eyes crossed then rolled around rather like the googily eyes of a child's squeeze toy before he passed out cold.

Beru stood with eyes wide as she watched the two fighting, then was dismayed as others started to fight around her. She screamed when someone grabbed her arm.

"It's alright, it's me!" Coolie said from beside her, "hurry, lets get out of the way!" She led Beru towards the exit as expletives and fists flew all about them.

Beru kept craning her head around to see how Owen was faring. When she caught sight him, Owen was being squeezed around the middle by the inebriated bully, his feet dangling a couple feet off the floor. Owen was elbowing the man repeatedly to the ears and where his thick neck met his muscular shoulders. She lost sight of them as other combatants blocked her view.

She suddenly covered her ears in pain as she heard a loud metallic screeching sound. All around her, those who had been fighting had stopped to shield their auditory receptors as well. Beru looked around to see Juz Andbar, the Whiphid bouncer stood on top of the bar holding a blaster in one hand and what looked like a bantha horn in the other.

"Now that I have your attention," Juz bellowed, "you should all know, the authorities have been contacted, and whoever is still here when they come will be arrested, no exceptions!"

Mik dropped the chair with which he had just clobbered Owen's assailant opponent, and put an arm around the other's shoulders conspiratorially. "Let's go, champ, while the gettin's good!"

The two hurried to the exit, while others scurried out. The Rodian was carried out by one of his friends. The only people left in the bar by the time the authorities came were the employees and the unconscious ruffian who had last danced with Beru.

"Are you ladies alright?" Mik asked as he and Owen rejoined them outside the bar.

Coolie hugged Mik as she and Beru confirmed they were unharmed.

Relieved to see Owen, Beru hugged him briefly, then looked up to see his battered face. "Owen…" she took her scarf from around her neck to dab at his bloodied nose.

Owen winced when Beru hugged him, as his ribs felt rather tender. He pulled away from her when she dabbed at his nose and pushed her hand away. "I'm fine, thanks." He spoke more gruffly than he meant. At her hurt look, he turned to look at Mik. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem, buddy." Mik grinned as he slapped Owen on the back, "let's head over to the Weary Traveler."

"Um, I think I've had enough for today." Owen answered wearily.

"Aw, come on, the day is still young!" Mik cajoled.

"I'd like to go home." Beru said quietly as she tried not to cry. She felt really bad about her behavior in the bar, and not a little guilty about how it snowballed into a nasty brawl.

As Coolie and Mik both protested, Owen stepped in. "I'll take Beru home, and the two of you can go on to the Weary Traveler together.

"Are you sure, buddy?" Mik asked.

"Yeah, I'll make sure she gets home alright, then bring the landspeeder back so Coolie can get home later."

"Ah, don't bother coming back, I'll drop Coolie off later and pick you up."

As the two men spoke, Coolie looked at her little sister and asked quietly. "Are you alright?"

Beru only nodded, not trusting her voice.

Coolie frowned as she gave Beru a hug. "I'll take you home if you want."

"No, you go ahead and have fun with Mik. I'm fine."

A few minutes later, Beru sat beside Owen as they left Anchorhead. She looked off to her right at the meandering desert plain, feeling as desolate as the scenery.

"Are you alright?" Owen glanced at her briefly as he drove.

She looked over at him and smiled shakily. "I… I'm sorry for how I acted… before the fight."

"You mean for dancing with every man in the bar, leaving me sitting by myself?"

Though that was what she felt bad about, having him word it that way made her defensive. "Well, you could have asked me to dance, you know!"

"Well, you could have said no to those men, too!"

"And just sit around with someone who hardly says a word to me?"

Hurt and anger seemed to swallow Owen's tongue, and he stared ahead in silence. About an hour later, they arrived at the Whitesun homestead, and Owen just sat in the driver's seat after powering down the landspeeder as Beru hopped out and ran inside without a word.