Chapter 7

After a tense walk back to the hut, Luna came in and sat down at the table. Her eyebrows were drawn together deep in thought. Obi-Wan set about making some tea. When it was ready, he brought it to the table and sat across from her.

"So let me get this straight. That boy is your best friend's son."

"Right."

"And those people he's living with are his with are his Aunt and Uncle?"

"Yes."

"Well, if that's all it is then why don't you just go over and say hello? Why are you sneaking around in the desert watching them through binoculars?" She looked at him expectantly.

Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose. This was not at all how he'd envisioned this conversation. To his regret, he had never stopped to think how suspicious his behavior might appear to someone else and now she apparently thought he was some kind of peeping Tom. Oh, dear. "It's a long story."

"I've got nothing but time."

He was silent, considering how much he should tell her. There was no doubt she was trustworthy, but sharing too much information could put her in danger. What if she were caught and questioned about him? The consequences for them both would be dire. Then again, that might never happen. There was a real possibility that all of them, Luke included, would spend the rest of their lives on Tatooine completely unnoticed by the Empire. What if he told her everything? He felt a wave of relief wash over him at the thought. How good it would be to finally tell someone the real reason he was here!

Luna spoke. "Look, Ben, there's something odd about that boy. He felt, I don't know…special somehow. You don't have to tell me what it is if you don't want to. It's really none of my business what you're doing out here." She looked sad. "You have been so kind to me, I don't know what I would have done without you. I'm starting to really care for you, but I can't stay and get involved with someone who isn't honest with me."

"Maybe I can get a job in Anchorhead. There has to be something I could do there. I'll be out of your way as soon as I can find another place to live." She started to get up from the table. His eyes widened. She was leaving? He thought back on how lonely he'd been when he first came to this place and how much she had changed his life for the better. No! She couldn't leave!

He caught her hand as she walked past him and pulled her closer. "Please don't go." He said thickly, looking up at her. "I'll tell you everything."

…

"You're right." Obi-Wan said. "Luke is special. He's the reason I'm here on Tatooine. His father was an extremely powerful Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. Anakin was like a brother to me. He was my best friend. In order to protect his son, he was sent to live in obscurity here with his Aunt and Uncle. My mission is to watch over him until he is grown and make sure nothing happens to him. He may be the galaxy's only hope for destroying the Empire."

"You knew Anakin Skywalker? The hero with no fear?" She looked surprised.

"He was my padawan. I trained him in much the same way I've been training you. You see, I was a Jedi also." He went on from there, explaining how they had met. How his own Master had begged him to train Anakin with his last breath and how he had done his level best to keep the promise he'd made to Qui-Gon all those years ago.

On and on he went, stopping only to answer her questions. Through it all, Luna sat across from him listening intently. At last they neared the end of the story. "I managed to escape the Clones after Order 66 but when I got back to the Temple…" Images of that night came back to him and he had to stop in order to collect himself. She took his hand and squeezed it. He shook his head, "When I got back to the Temple, everyone except Yoda was dead. Even the younglings. Anakin slaughtered them all." Tears welled up in his eyes.

"It's alright, Ben. You don't have to tell me the rest if you don't want to."

"No, I need to tell someone." He went on, described the fierce battle on Mustifar and how even though Anakin was horribly injured, he just couldn't bring himself to kill his former best friend. Finally he concluded the story. "After Padme died, we decided it would be best to separate the twins for their own safety. Leia was adopted by Senator Organa and his wife and I brought Luke here to Tatooine." There is was. Everything. He waited anxiously for her reaction.

Luna was quiet for a moment. When she looked up, her eyes were glassy. She stood and walked around the table before sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, Ben. I'm so sorry."

He clung to her, breathing in the clean scent of her hair, thanking the Force for sending her into his life.

…

Luna pulled the last tray of cookies out of the oven and set them to cool on the table. Ben's story had not been at all what she was expecting. How he had managed to survive such traumatic experiences without loosing his mind or his faith in the Force amazed her. After they had pulled themselves together, she decided that she wanted to do something for him that would make him happy. Looking around the house though, she realized that her options were limited. The only thing there seemed to be plenty of was sand. Then she thought of something.

"Ok, Ben. I have one more question for you."

He looked up from his data pad where he had been catching up on the news. "Yes?"

"What's your favorite dessert?"

He looked a little confused. "Why does that matter?"

"Because I'm getting ready to make you something and I want you to enjoy it."

"You don't have to do that." He shook his head and looked back down at the data pad.

"I know, but I want to! You deserve it. You've spent your entire life saving the galaxy. The least I can do is express my gratitude with baked goods." He started to smile a little. She teased him harder. "Come on, you can't tell me that as a Jedi you're not allowed to have a sweet tooth. What's it going to be? Cribblycrunch? Eopie cream pie? Puffcake? You might as well tell me because I'm not going to stop until you do." He was grinning from ear to ear. She continued. "Sticky sweetmallow squares? Rainbowberry cobbler? Jogan fruit surprise?…"

"Sand cookies." He said shyly. "I really love sweet sand cookies."

"Sand cookies it is then." She smiled at him sweetly and he blushed. Now he was sitting crosslegged on the bed watching her expectantly with a glass of blue milk in his hand.

"Are they done yet?" He asked.

"Almost." She put some of the warm cookies on a plate and joined him. He grabbed one and popped it into his mouth.

"Mmmmm….Oh, Luna. These are amazing."

She took a cookie and bit off the corner. Not too bad! "Can I have some of your milk?" He handed her the glass. The laughed and talked and ate, dunking cookies and enjoying themselves.

"What were you going to ask me this morning?" Ben said thoughtfully.

Luna remembered her fears about him being involved with someone else. She had really missed the mark there! "I wanted to know if you were in a relationship with someone."

"A relationship?" He looked perplexed.

"This is going to sound stupid, but I thought you might be married." Ben had just taken a sip of milk and began to choke which quickly turned into laughter.

"Why on earth would you think that?" he asked wiping tears from his eyes.

"I don't know! You were being very cagey about you past. Then you said there was all this stuff about you that I didn't know and that you needed to figure things out, and then i saw you watching that lady and her baby with a pair of binoculars. I just assumed that, well…maybe you were married."

Ben laughed. "I suppose that's better than some conclusions. I was afraid you thought I was some kind of pervert."

"At least we finally figured it out. Do you want any more cookies Ben?" Luna stood up and carried the dishes back to the table.

"No thank you. They were delicious though. There is one more thing I forgot to tell you."

"Oh?"

"My real name isn't Ben. It's Obi-Wan. I started calling myself Ben to hide my identity when I got here."

She stopped. "You're Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

"Yes. At least, I used to be."

"This is incredible! I can't believe it!" She exclaimed. "Do you realize you're partially responsible for me being here?"

"What do you mean?"

She ran to her bed and dug through the box where she kept her personal belongings. Grabbing what she was looking for she returned to Obi-Wan's bed. "The book! The book that got me in trouble with the inspectors. A Child's Guide to Heroes of the Republic is about you!" She held out the book to him. There he was, in cartoon form on the front cover, bravely brandishing his lightsaber.

"That's supposed to be me? Do I really look like that?" He peered at the picture suspiciously.

"Believe me, you were the hero of everyone in my class. They used to fight over who got to be you at recess. Their favorite chapter was the one about you and Anakin fighting the zombies during the second battle of Geonosis."

"They put that story in a book written for younglings?" He looked horrified.

"Don't worry. They loved it. Here look at the pictures." She snuggled next to him, his arm around her shoulders and they flipped through the pages together.

Soon the excitement of the day began to take it's toll. Luna found her head resting on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "I should go to bed." she said sleepily. The thought of getting up held no appeal.

"Stay here. You already are in bed." Obi-Wan pulled her closer and wrapped a blanket around them. He reached over and shut off the light. The last thing she remembered was a lingering kiss goodnight.