Chapter 12

Beru answered the door on the first knock. He could tell she was surprised to see him, but she invited him in and asked him to sit down, quickly moving a stuffed bantha off the sofa to clear him a space.

"Owen is in Anchorhead this morning picking up a new part for the speeder. He should be home this afternoon." She said after a few minutes of pleasant small talk.

Thank goodness! He was glad to have Beru alone since he was sure she would be more open to answering his questions.

"How is Luke?" Just then the boy in question peeked around the doorway from the hall. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and toddled towards Beru holding up his arms.

"Up!" She bent over and picked him up, resting him on her hip.

"He's doing well, aren't you Luke?" Beru smiled at him but he hid his face in her shoulder. "He just woke up from his nap. Would you like to hold him while I make us some tea?" Obi-Wan followed her into the kitchen.

"How about it young one? Shall we get better acquainted?" Luke regarded him seriously for a moment while he sucked on two fingers. Obi-Wan could sense him clumsily reaching out through the Force. He sent warm feelings of calm and reassurance back and immediately the boy reached for him.

"That's Ben, Luke. Can you say Ben?"

Luke took the fingers out of his mouth and pointed at him. "Ben." He seemed fascinated with his beard and immediately grabbed fistfuls with both hands. *OUCH* Stop that! Obi-Wan sent through the Force. He made a funny face as he untangled the boy's sticky fingers. Luke giggled and gave him an impish grin. He looked so much like Anakin it was startling.

"You're doing a wonderful job with him. I can tell he's happy."

"We love Luke. I don't know how we ever got along without him."

He sat down at the kitchen table and she put a steaming cup of tea before him.

"I suppose I should get to the point. As you know, Anakin was very powerful in the Force. He was exceptionally gifted and Luke shares those talents. He is beginning to get to an age where his Force abilities are going to start manifesting themselves in visible ways. I don't mean to alarm you, but you should be aware."

Beru looked concerned. "I haven't noticed anything unusual. What should we do if something happens?"

"Contact me immediately. He will need training to be able to control these abilities."

Beru shook her head. "Owen will never agree to that. You know his feelings on this matter. Isn't there any way to take these abilities away from him? He's so little, he'd never know the difference."

Take them away? Never know the difference?! Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment and counted backwards from 10 trying to control his temper. He reminded himself that she had no idea what she was saying.

"These abilities help make Luke who he is. You can't just turn them on and off at will like a light switch. It is impossible to take them away and it would be terribly cruel to try. That would be like cutting off his legs and denying him the chance to walk, or gouging out his eyes and never allowing him to see. He is unconsciously using them even now. I can sense him probing with his mind. He might not be showing visible signs of anything yet, but it is only a matter of time."

Beru was silent for a moment, staring at her tea. When she looked up, her eyes were glittering with unshed tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize…I don't want to change him, he's perfect as he is. I only want to keep him safe."

"I know you do. That's why training him is so important."

"I will think about it. I promise I'll let you know if anything strange happens."

"Thank you." He was very glad Beru seemed to be on his side. The tea she had made was cool enough to drink and he took a sip. Suddenly he remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot. I brought you a little something for your birthday my young friend. As long as it is alright with your Aunt, that is."

Luke watched him with interest as he pulled a small package of sweet sand cookies from his bag and handed them to Beru. She laughed. "He loves these. They are his favorite." She pulled one from the wrappings and gave it to Luke whose eyes lit up with glee.

"Really? We have something in common then." He laughed as Luke demolished the cookie as fast as he could given his limited amount of teeth.

"You like to bake? I can't quite picture you in the kitchen."

"No, actually. I'm a hopeless cook I'm afraid."

"Then who made them?"

He paused and a smiled as he thought of Luna. "I've met someone."

"You met someone? Like, a girlfriend?" Beru looked confused. "I thought Jedi wen't supposed to…"

"We aren't, or at least, we weren't. I think we may have made a mistake on that point. In any case, her name is Luna." He went on from there telling her the story of how they had met and how they had been training together.

She listened and when he was done gave him a knowing smile. "Well, she sounds very nice and I'd love to meet her someday. I'm glad for you, Ben. The desert is a lonely place and I was worried about you out there all by yourself. You deserve some happiness after all you've been through."

….

Luna couldn't wait for Obi-Wan to get home. All day long she had been uneasy. It was like something was scratching at the periphery of her senses staying just beyond her reach. She checked all around even taking the binoculars and scanning the surrounding area, but everything seemed fine. Since there appeared to be no obvious reason for the feeling she tried to distract herself.

First, she cleaned the hut from top to bottom laughing as she levitated the bed into the air in order to sweep underneath. Being Force sensitive certainly did come in handy sometimes! Before long everything sparkled. After that, she pulled out her data pad and read for a while but found she couldn't concentrate. She went back outside for another look around. Still nothing.

Obi-Wan certainly must have finished talking with the Lars's by now. Surly he was on his way back. It was midday and the heat was oppressive. She went back inside, but the restless feeling wouldn't let up. Another few hours went by and the heat increased. The light outdoors had taken on an orangish hue and a stiff wind had begun blowing in gusts. Where was he? Finally she saw him walking down the path and ran out to meet him.

"So how did it go? Did they say you could train Luke?"

"Beru was there by herself. I talked to her and she seemed open to the idea once I explained the situation. Luke is already probing things with his mind. It won't be long before his other powers start to assert themselves. She will contact me if anything else happens." He stopped for a moment and his eyes took on a far away look. "The boy is remarkable you know. He is almost as strong as his father, but there's a calmness and a serenity about him that Anakin never had. He's so much like Padme."

They had reached the hut by then and a low rumble of thunder caught their attention. The wind was getting much worse.

"I'm glad I made it back. I could tell there was a storm brewing when I left the farm. Let's secure the vaporator and get inside.

Once indoors, they closed the windows and shutters and braced the door against the wind. Lightning and thunder cracked loudly outside. The storm hit with a mighty howl, shaking the hut and startling them both.

It must have been the storm that was making me so uneasy, Luna thought to herself as her mood improved. Obi-Wan was home and they were safe and cozy inside the hut. She dismissed her previous apprehensions immediately when she felt his strong arms slide around her waist. He pulled her back against his chest and started kissing her neck.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" She tilted her head to the side granting him better access.

"Mmmm…well, I had planned to do a little work on the speeder this afternoon, but it seems I'm trapped inside."

"That's too bad." She turned and slid her arms around his neck looking up at him innocently. "Whatever shall we do to pass the time?"

His eyes were heavy with lust. "I can think of a few things."

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure you can." She playfully stepped away from him and walked to the table for a glass of water. He sat down and watched as she drank.

"You're so beautiful."

She walked around the table and sat on his lap. "I bet you say that to all the girls." she teased.

For an instant, he didn't realize she was joking and he answered without a hint of irony, "No. Just you." Her heart melted. How she loved this dear, sweet man! She kissed him then slowly and deeply building in intensity until they both broke apart gasping for breath.

Resting her forehead against his she whispered, "Don't move." Slowly she stood and began unbuttoning the front of her tunic. He watched, his blue eyes darkening. She slipped it off quickly, along with her leggings and bra leaving on only her panties as she sank to her knees before him. Their eyes met as she slid her hands up his thighs and started unbuckling his belt and slowly unzipping his trousers.

"Oh, god. Luna!" Realization of what she was about to do dawned on his face. He looked shocked, and very very turned on.

"Shh…just relax." She stoked him through his underwear feeling him twitch in her hand and then pulled him free. His breath was coming out in low moans. She slowly ran her tongue over him a few times before lowering her head and taking him into her mouth. He was trembling with excitement. She sucked and stroked him hard reveling in the feeling of knowing she was giving him such intense pleasure. "Luna! oh, Luna! he cried grasping the back of her head and finally loosing control.

When he regained his senses, he pulled her into his lap and gently kissed her. They were silent for a while just holding each other when he finally spoke.

"That was incredible. What came over you? You didn't have to…why did you do that?" He searched her face for an answer.

She gazed into his beautiful blue eyes and finally admitted what she had been feeling all along. "Because I love you."

"You love me?" He repeated quietly. He thought for a moment, nodding his head. Suddenly a brilliant smile lit his face. His eyes met hers and through the Force she felt his entire being glowing with joy.

"I love you too!"

…

They went to bed after that and made love over and over as the storm raged. Finally, exhausted, they could do no more and slept soundly for hours oblivious to the noise outside.

At some point during the night the pleasant dreams Luna was having began to change. The uneasy feeling she had experienced during the day was back, but now it had intensified into cold dread. Everything in this dream seemed vividly real. She found herself on the ridge overlooking the Lars farm. It was a beautiful sunny day, but there was a dark shadow in the distance. It drew closer to the farm growing larger and more menacing by the moment. Beru and Luke were in front of the house playing in the sand. She had to warn them, but her feet remained rooted to the ground. She couldn't move.

"Don't let him come." It was only a voice, but it was deep and loud and dreadful.

"Who?" She asked, the shadow was almost on top of the house now.

"He will take the boy. Don't let him come."

Luke and his Aunt looked up from their play just as the shadow was upon them. He screamed in terror before they were hidden in the inky blackness. No!

"Don't. Let. Him. COME!" The words echoed through her mind along with Luke's terrified screams.

She woke up with a terrified start. Obi-Wan was gently shaking her, a worried look on his face. "What is it my darling? What's wrong?"

"Someone is coming for Luke." She choked. "We have to stop it."