Chapter 4

The air inside the deserted docking bay was dusty and stale. Obi-Wan and Ashoka had arrived in Mos Espa the previous day and scoped out the place they were supposed to meet Jabba's dealers. It was a small cluttered bay set apart from the others and mainly used for storage. By the look of the dust on some of the boxes, it was obvious no ships had actually docked here in years.

The rebel buyer was a tall human male in his 20's with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He exuded confidence, and had a strong, honest aura. Ashoka introduced him only as Rob. No-one in the rebellion it seemed used last names. They arrived at the agreed upon time and found two of Jabba's lackeys lurking in the shadows inside the building. Ashoka and Obi-Wan stood to the side and watched as Rob spoke with the dealers. They tried to cheat him at every turn, first by changing the price of the weapons, and then by "accidentally" shorting him a few blasters in each box, but he was having none of it. When the transaction was finally over, he came away with exactly what had been promised for less than the agreed upon price.

Obi-Wan was impressed. He liked Rob immediately and could tell from the feelings he was picking up from Ashoka that she did too. Very much. He smiled to himself, glad that his friend had found someone who made her happy.

After the first load of weapons was safely loaded onto the rebel ship for transport, they sat down and had a drink to celebrate.

"Here's to the Empire's destruction!" Rob raised his glass and clinked it against Ashoka's. She smiled at him and took a small sip.

"One down! Now we just have to wait for two more shipments of blasters and we can get off this Sith forsaken planet." Ashoka replied.

Obi-Wan watched their easy comradery and quietly sipped his drink. "So far so good. However, we should not let our guard down for a moment. That was entirely too easy. You can be sure Jabba won't let those blasters go for such a low price willingly." He hated to be a kill-joy, but it was the truth.

"Ben's right." Ashoka said, and Rob nodded in agreement. "One of us should be on watch at all times until we can get these blasters out of here."

…

"Great job Luke!" Luna praised the boy who smiled widely at the compliment. He had just finished Force pulling a variety of items towards himself from the other side of the room. Before Obi-Wan left, he had given her instructions to have Luke keep working on the skills he had already learned. It had been great fun for her and the boy was getting some much needed practice which he sorely needed since it was out of the question for him to use his skills at home.

"Can I please go out and play now?" Luke asked politely. Luna nodded, secretly glad for the excuse to stop. He ran out the door letting it slam with a bang as she sank down on the sofa next to Beru. Her eyes closed and she rubbed her temples trying to ease the fatigue she had felt for the last few days.

"Are you alright?" Beru asked. She looked at Luna with concern.

"I think so. I've been so tired for the last few days. I guess I'm just not sleeping as well with Ben not around."

"I can imagine. It must be a little spooky being out here all by yourself."

"I don't mind. If there's a problem I can usually sense it, so I don't feel too unsafe."

"We should probably be going then and let you get some rest." Beru said "Same time next week?"

"That should be fine." Luna answered stifling a yawn.

After they left, she went back and sat on the couch intending to check the news on her data pad only to find herself waking up several hours later, just in time to go to bed.

….

The days came and went in Mos Espa as they waited for the rest of the weapons to be delivered. The rebel ship, which actually belonged to Rob, was hidden in a docking bay on a quiet back alley. During the days Ashoka and Rob would go into the city for supplies or a change of scenery. Since Obi-Wan was trying to keep a low profile, he volunteered to remain with the ship most of the time, only venturing out at night and always wearing a sand robe with the hood pulled low over his face. So far no-one had recognized him. Apparently Luna's disguise was working!

After two weeks had passed, the second shipment of blasters arrived without incident and was quietly stowed in the cargo hold of the ship. Now they only needed one more shipment and their order would be complete. Obi-Wan couldn't wait to go home. He had enjoyed getting reacquainted with Ashoka, and it felt good to be doing something to help the Rebellion, but he was concerned about Luna.

Something was wrong. He could feel it. Most of the times he had tried to contact her she was asleep, and when she wasn't he could feel a bone-deep exhaustion seeping across their bond. She assured him she was fine, but he worried anyway. A few days later they received word that the final shipment would be delivered the following week. Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief. The end was in sight.

….

Someone was knocking at the door. It had to be Beru with Luke, but surely she had a few more days before they came back again. Had it been a week already? Yes, she supposed it had. Forcing her eyes open, she sat up on the couch a little too fast and the room began spinning. She waited for the dizziness to pass before rising to open the door. As soon as she did, Luke burst into the room like small blond tornado.

"Hi Luna! Did you know a dunecat hid in our shed last night and it had gray fur and it liked me and I wanted to feed it, but Uncle Owen said not to because you can't keep a wild animal as a pet? So I drew a picture of it but I didn't have any gray crayons so I used brown instead and Aunt Beru stuck it on the refrigeration unit." He ran back to Beru who was just coming through the door with a basket on her arm. "OH, I forgot!" He grabbed something out of the basket and ran to Luna. "We made soup yesterday and I helped! Do you want some?" He held it up and jiggled the jar of soup right under her nose. It smelled revolting and she turned her head away from the noxious fumes escaping from under the lid.

Beru laughed. "Sorry, Luna. He's really excited this morning. You'd never know he loves coming here would you? Put that on the table Luke, and don't drop it please."

To Luna's great relief he obediently trotted away with the putrid smelling jar. "What was that?" she asked Beru.

"Cream of womprat soup. We made it yesterday and Luke thought you might like to try some." The words "cream of womprat" were the final straw. Luna clapped a hand over her mouth and sprinted to the refresher, barely making it in time before helplessly retched up this morning's breakfast. Luke's voice drifted into the room. He sounded upset, but Luna was too sick to care.

"Aunt Beru! Luna's sick!"

"I know, sweetheart. Don't worry. She'll be alright in a few minutes. Why don't you go out and play for a little while? I'll take care of Luna."

When it was finally over, Luna leaned back against the refresher wall too weak to stand. Beru quietly knocked at the door before opening it. She brought her a glass of water.

"Here, I think you could use this."

"Thank you." Luna gratefully took the water and rinsed out her mouth.

"Are you alright?" Beru asked.

"I don't know. I think I'm coming down with something. I'm exhausted all the time and dizzy when I get up. And then this…I'm sorry."

Beru placed a cool hand on Luna's forehead and then crossed her arms. She looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments. "You don't seem to have a fever and you haven't been around any people except us in a few weeks." She hesitated before continuing. "Maybe you're not sick."

Luna looked at her skeptically. "What else could it be?" She rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "Ugh. I feel terrible."

"You and Ben are together an awful lot. Do you think you might be…" Beru let the question hang in the air.

"Pregnant? No, I don't think so. I'm on repress meds, so that shouldn't even be a possibility."

"What kind?"

"Orthosil 28"

"Oh, dear." Beru looked dismayed.

"What?"

"Haven't you seen the news lately? There was a big recall on that last week. Apparently several batches of those pills were put into the packs in the wrong order."

Luna's heart froze. "There was a recall?"

She mentally kicked herself for not paying better attention to current events and her thoughts began racing. She had started the last row of pills several days ago. Usually menstruation would start the next day, but this time nothing had happened and she had been feeling so tired and sick she hadn't noticed. "Oh, my god." She looked up at Beru.

"I have an extra test back at the farm. Owen and I tried for a long time, but…" she didn't finish the sentence and blinked back tears. Even though she was preoccupied with her own thoughts, Luna's heart went out to her friend. Beru shook her head and continued, "Anyway, you can have it. If you'll stay here with Luke I'll go get it for you."

Luna mutely nodded and watched as Beru walked out the door. A baby! The shock had begun to subside, and an indescribable feeling of excitement began to build in it's place. More than anything she hoped it was true. How she had longed for a baby! The though that she and Obi-Wan had possibly created a life together made her heart sing. She imagined them together cuddling an adorable infant with Ben's clear blue eyes and her dark hair. It would be the most loved child in the galaxy! She pulled herself to her feet and walked to the sofa.

Before long, Luke poked his head back through the open door.

"Are you ok?" He stood in the doorway with with a concerned look on his little face as if he expected her to explode at any moment.

"I'm fine Luke, don't worry." Luna patted the cushion beside her and Luke ran over and climbed up.

"I'm sorry the soup made you sick. I thought you would like it." He looked so dejected that Luna almost giggled. She smiled put her arm around him.

"You worked hard on that didn't you? I'm sorry. It was really nice of you to bring me some, but my stomach is just too upset today to eat any. Maybe another time, alright?" He nodded and she gave him a hug. "Did you know I have a new art program on my data pad?"

"No! Can I try it?" Luke looked excited. He loved art.

"Of course. Why don't you draw me a picture of that dunecat you saw."

He happily ran to get the data pad, soup forgotten, and soon he was giving her a detailed lecture on everything he knew about dunecats complete with illustrations.

Before long, Beru returned. They sent Luke back outside again and Luna took the test into the refresher. The 10 minute wait for results seemed to last forever. A jumble of emotions washed over her. Happiness, and fear, and excitement, and apprehension all competed against each other for dominance. It was difficult to tell how she felt. She tried to tell herself that she would be happy with the results either way, but in her heart she knew that wasn't true. Finally, the time was up. With shaking hands she picked up the test hoping against hope it would give her the answer she wanted. It did. Positive. They were going to have a baby!

….

Far away in Mos Espa, Obi-Wan's uneasiness and worry intensified. He felt Luna's nausea and light headedness as if it were his own. What's wrong? Are you alright? he sent over their bond, but she didn't answer him. It was obvious that she was terribly ill and here he was, stuck miles away unable to help. If only there was something he could do! He began searching the holonet for possible diseases that she might have contracted in the Tatooine wilderness and ended up scaring himself half to death. There were endless possibilities and all of them sounded horrible. Thankfully the final shipment of blasters was due in any time and then he could go home.

Ashoka noticed how quiet he was and came to sit next to him at the table in the ship's galley.

"Credit for your thoughts." she said with a hopeful look.

He raised his eyes from the cup of tea which had grown cold in his hands. Maybe it would help to talk. Then again, he didn't want to burden anyone else with his troubles. "I don't want to bore you."

"You? Boring?" She laughed. "Never!"

"Hmm…I seem to remember a time when both you and Anakin thought otherwise." There had been many occasions in the past when he felt like the straight man to the two younger Jedi and their shenanigans.

"You're not still mad about what we did to your clothes are you, because that was Skyguy's idea and you have to admit, it actually was pretty funny."

After his undercover mission as Rako Hardeen, Anakin had been angry. Obi-Wan hoped in time he would get over it, and move on, and eventually he did. Before that happened, however, he managed to pull an elaborate prank on his former master.

About a month after Obi-Wan changed back to his original appearance, he began to notice that his clothes didn't fit anymore. First his trousers were too long. Then he began having to tighten his belt a few extra notches. Meanwhile, Anakin appeared to be getting taller all the time.

"Are you getting shorter, Master?" He'd asked one day.

"Don't be silly. Of course not. People don't get shorter." he said as he pulled up his sleeves which were dangling over his hands and noticed he was having to look up at Anakin. When had that happened?

"I don't know, I've heard that drug you took to alter your appearance can cause permanent physical side effects like shrinking. Maybe you should go see Master Che."

Permanent physical side effects indeed! Things kept getting worse though, until he eventually had to go to the temple's taylor for alterations. The taylor took his measurements and commented that he had gone down three sizes. That worried him.

Things kept getting worse, until finally, he began to wonder if something actually was wrong with him. He made an appointment to see Master Che, but on his way to the infirmary, Anakin and Ashoka stopped him and confessed to what they had done. Apparently they had gone to the taylor, who was also in on the joke, and replaced everything in his wardrobe with identical items a few sizes too large. Then Anakin started putting lifts into his shoes to make himself appear taller.

Obi-Wan shook his head at the memory and chuckled. He felt a wave of nostalgia for the past, followed quickly by terrible sadness that Anakin would never play another practical joke on anyone ever again. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and focussed on the present.

"I'm worried about Luna. I can tell that she's sick, but she won't tell me what's wrong." He had told her a little about Luna, but hadn't really elaborated much on their relationship.

"How do you know she's ill?"

"I can feel it through our bond."

Ashoka looked at him with a sympathetic expression in her eyes. "You can feel that through your bond from this distance? You must be very close."

He nodded. "She's light-headed and nauseous and exhausted all the time. I've searched the medical sites on the holonet but those are rather vague symptoms and without more information I don't know what to think."

Ashoka's eyebrows raised and an unreadable expression settled over her face. She pondered the symptoms as she looked at the distraught man before her. One of the biggest surprises about finding Obi-Wan after so long had been the revelation of his new relationship. She simply couldn't picture him with a girlfriend. It was obvious, however, that he loved this woman deeply. Of course he was far too much of a gentleman to say anything, but was it possible things weren't exactly…chaste? The old Jedi Order with all it's rules and regulations was gone after all. Suddenly a light dawned in Ashoka's mind as the pieces fit together. So that was it! That would explain everything. She quickly hid her expression and responded.

"Well, you'll be home tomorrow and she'll have to tell you then. In the meantime, try not to worry." He looked up and she gave him a reassuring smile.

Just then Rob came bounding into the gally.

"I just got word that the last pick up is in two hours. We'd better get ready."