Chapter 15

After the incident with the lizards, Beru decided they needed to cut back on the training sessions for a while. Luke had accidentally let it slip to Owen that he had seen a Krayt dragon on one of their trips to see Luna and Owen, who was understandably concerned, had started asking a lot of questions. Thankfully he hadn't figured out exactly what was going on, but she didn't want him to get suspicious. As a result, Obi-Wan hadn't seen the boy in quite some time.

It was a happy surprise one morning, when he saw Luke skipping up the path with Beru in tow for a visit. Obi-Wan was close to being done with the addition. He had worked hard and his efforts showed. Currently he was getting ready to apply a thick coat of synstone to the frame he had built and was trying to mix the pulverized rock with the dissolvant. It was a smelly, messy business and Luna had retreated into the house to escape the unpleasant fumes.

"BEN!" Luke's eyes lit up the moment he saw him.

"Hello there my young friend!" he called to Luke. "I certainly am glad to see you!"

"I missed you!" He ran over and peered into the large tub of synstone that Obi-Wan was mixing with interest. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Making a mess, apparently." he eyed a puddle of liquid that had escaped the tub and was hardening into an unsightly blob on the sand with annoyance. No matter how careful he was, it always seemed to run over.

"Can I help?" he looked up with hopeful blue eyes.

"Of course. Hand me that spray bottle, would you?" Obi-Wan placed a funnel in the bottle's neck. "Good, now hold it steady while I pour." he slowly began dumping the mixture from the tub into the sprayer. A few moments later, Beru caught up with her nephew and came over to say hello.

"I'm helping!" Luke announced happily.

"I see that! Good job, Luke!" She looked over the roof and frame he had built appreciatively. "Hello, Ben. My! You've done a lot of work here. It looks very nice!"

"Thank you. It's actually been quite a satisfying project."

"How's Luna? Is she around?"

"She's inside resting." he nodded towards the front door.

"Ah, I see. It must be getting close to her due date. Are you ready?"

Obi-Wan couldn't contain the enormous grin that lit up his face. "Yes! Although, not as ready as she is. There's a little over a month left to go and she's becoming very uncomfortable. Hopefully we'll get this finished in time." he waved his hand in the general direction of the addition. "You can go in if you'd like. I'm sure she would love to see you."

Just as Beru turned to go into the hut, Luna appeared on the doorstep.

"I thought I heard your voice!" she called, and began slowly crossing the yard towards them. "How are things going at the farm?"

"Good, good. Owen installed a new vaporator last week so that has been keeping him busy. I just came by to see if you wanted to go into Anchorhead with me tomorrow. I need to pick up a few supplies and I thought maybe you might like to come along. We could get lunch and make a day of it. Once the new arrival gets here it will be hard to get away for a while."

"Thanks. I'd love to go into town." she put a hand on her lower back and stretched trying to find relief as the baby did somersaults.

Obi-Wan smiled. Luna insisted this baby was a Jedi already because it seemed to be performing acrobatics nonstop. Just then she noticed his pint-sized helper and smiled. "Hi, Luke."

"Hi" he answered. He had been quiet since Luna came out of the house and, Obi-Wan now noticed, was curiously staring at her. "You look different." he said, cocking his head to one side. "Did you eat too many sand cookies?" Obi-Wan stifled a laugh.

"Luke! That's not a nice thing to say. Don't stare." Beru exclaimed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry Luna. I just realized he's never seen anyone who is…you know…before."

"It's alright, Beru I don't mind." Luna responded. She giggled and ruffled the boy's hair. "No, I didn't eat too many cookies, I'm going to have a baby."

"A baby?" his eyebrows bunched together. "Like Biggs little sister?"

"Yes." Beru replied to Luke and then looked up at Obi-Wan. "He's become great friends with the Darklighter's boy. They have a baby about 8 months old."

"I see." he nodded and tucked that bit of information away. He really should learn a bit more about this boy and his family if Luke was going to be spending much time with them.

"So there's a baby in there?" he looked up at Obi-Wan and pointed to Luna's protruding belly with a skeptical look on his face. "Are you sure?"

"Indeed there is." he replied. "You can feel it through the Force Luke. Reach out with your senses."

Luke closed his eyes for a moment and reached out gingerly. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he jumped back like he'd been stung.

"Did you sense it?" Obi-Wan asked curiously.

"Yes!" he said with amazement. "That is a baby!" He stood there silent for a few moments thinking very hard about something. You could almost see the wheels turning in his little head.

"Ben?" his guileless blue eyes searched his face for answers. "How did it get in there?"

"LUKE!" Beru was mortified. Obi-Wan turned five different shades of red and Luna hid a smile behind her hand.

"What?" he asked, mystified. "What's wrong?"

"We'll talk about it later." she whispered and then turned to Obi-Wan and Luna. "I'm sorry! I think we'd better go. I should get him home before he asks anything else. It's obviously time to have a little talk with him."

"But we just got here!" Luke exclaimed and then hung his head sadly. "I never get to see Ben anymore."

Obi-Wan felt a wave of affection for the little boy wash over him. He had missed his times with Luke as well. Crouching down, he tipped Luke's chin up with his finger.

"We'll make time for another lesson just as soon as your Aunt says it's alright and I promise we'll do something really fun. Now, chin up young man! It won't be long."

Luke looked up and grinned. "Alright, Ben."

"Good lad."

"Alright, Luke let's go." Beru held out her hand and turned as he grabbed it. "I'll pick you up tomorrow Luna. See you in the morning."

As they walked down the path Luke looked up at his Aunt. "Is it later now?"

"What?"

"I want to know about the baby and you said we'd talk about it later. So is it later?"

"Yes, I suppose it's later." Beru sighed as they rounded the corner out of sight.

…

Obi-Wan got out of the shower feeling much cleaner. Turbo spraying the synstone over the frame for the new addition had left him covered from head to toe with a thick layer of dust. Luna had shooed him into the refresher the instant he tried to come inside and as he came out to retrieve a fresh set of clothes he could see why. Everywhere he had stepped there were dusty footprints and small clods of mud. He pulled on a clean pair of trousers and went to find the broom.

Luna was napping on the couch and, as he quietly swept up the mess he had made, he began thinking about Luke. His training had been going so well until they had been forced to stop. He hoped they would be able to start in again soon. It certainly would be terrible to loose the momentum they had developed. Then again, perhaps he would remember more than Obi-Wan thought. His ability to sense the baby today had been impressive. He had latched right onto it's small Force signature and, more importantly, had been able to feel it separate it from Luna's which was no easy feat for a beginner.

Stashing the broom in a closet, Obi-Wan walked over to the couch and kneeled down next to his sleeping wife. He gently placed a hand on her abdomen and carefully reached out with the Force. The presence he felt was warm and sleepy and very much alive. Briefly he wondered if it could sense him. Little one? Can you hear me? he sent. Immediately, he got a response. It wasn't words, but a raw, primitive feeling of awareness that pressed at his senses and a very firm kick right under his hand. It startled him and he gasped with suprise. Any questions he had about the child being Force sensitive were answered and he couldn't suppress the pride he felt. Closing his eyes he sent back waves of love and comfort and placed a soft kiss on Luna's belly.

"What are you doing?" Luna whispered, running her fingers through his hair.

"Spending some time with our son or daughter." He got off the floor and Luna moved to make room for him on the couch. He shook his head. "Here, don't get up." he said as he lifted her legs and sat down placing her feet in his lap.

"Are you sure you don't want to know if it's a boy or girl?"

"No." he shook his head and began massaging her feet. "I want to be surprised."

"Mmmm…." a look of complete bliss came over Luna's face. "That feels amazing." She looked around the hut at the clean floor and smiled. "And you swept up. What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful man?"

He chuckled and continued kneading her foot. "Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear. What time do you think Beru will come in the morning?"

"Early I suppose." Luna giggled and then began to laugh in earnest.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I'm just remembering the look on your face when Luke asked you about the baby. Poor Beru! It must have been an interesting walk home."

"Yes, well I must say I'm glad it's Owen and Beru's responsibility to handle that particular area of his education. Having to explain the facts of life to one Skywalker was more than enough, thank you very much!"

"You had to explain things to Anakin? Why? Didn't they have a class to cover that sort of information?"

He nodded. "Yes. When initiates reach a certain age, they are divided up into groups and taught about anatomy and reproduction according to their species. Then they split each species into subgroups of male and female and answer any questions they might have in a more private setting."

"So, sex-education Jedi style." she smiled.

"Yes."

"So why did you have to tell him anything?"

"Anakin was a special case. When we found him he was already nine years old. He was conceived by the Force, so he never had a father around to tell him anything and even though they were slaves Shmi managed to keep him fairly sheltered about certain things. Then, when he joined the Order, he immediately became my padawan so he never went through a lot of the classes the other initiates did."

"So what happened?"

Obi-Wan sighed and thought back. During those early years of Anakin's apprenticeship, they had shared an apartment. It was the same one he had lived in with Qui-Gon and after his death, he had asked to use it for himself and Anakin. He could still feel his old master's presence in the quarters and it gave him a small amount of comfort as he dealt with his loss and the adjustment to life with his own padawan.

It had been an average morning. They had returned from a mission the previous week, and had resumed the usual routine they followed while living in the Temple. Obi-Wan got up first, as he always did and meditated. After that, he took a shower and began fixing breakfast. As he stirred the scrambled eggs and threw some nuna bacon on the griddle, he looked at the chrono. If his slug-a-bed padawan didn't get up soon, he was going to be late for the special lightsaber combat seminar that Mace Windu was teaching.

"ANAKIN!" he shouted over his shoulder. "IT'S TIME TO GET UP!" Turning his attention back to breakfast he dumped a few slices of bread into the toaster and poured boiling water into the teapot to steep. There was still no sign of Anakin. When the food was ready, Obi-Wan filled his plate and took a large mouthful of eggs as he walked towards his apprentice's bedroom. Holding the dish in one hand he pounded loudly on the door with his other palm.

"ANAKIN! I know you're awake in there. I can sense it, you know. GET UP!" he called through the door. There was still no reply. Something was going on. Anakin, like all adolescents his age had a hard time getting started in the morning, but this was unusual even for him. Obi-Wan sighed. He went back to the kitchen and deposited his breakfast on the table before going back and letting himself in to Anakin's room.

His padawan was curled up in a ball with the blankets pulled up to his chin.

"Anakin, you need to get up. You're going to be late." He looked around the darkened room and frowned at the horrendous mess of dirty clothing and disassembled droid parts all over the floor. On his dresser Obi-Wan noticed his favorite tea cup filled with what appeared to be motor oil. He shook his head. How he could stand to live in this condition was beyond his understanding. "Is everything alright?"

"No." came the almost inaudible reply. "Tell Master Windu I can't come. I'm sick."

"Sick? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I was having this dream about Padme and then I woke up and…something is wrong with me." He looked utterly miserable.

"Padme? You mean Padme Amidala, the queen of Naboo?" Obi-Wan was confused. How could that possibly make someone sick? Maybe it had been a vision. Could the young monarch be in some sort of trouble? "What kind of dream?"

Anakin scrunch his eyes shut and shook his head refusing to answer. Had it been that bad? This was getting nowhere Obi-Wan decided. He quickly looked his apprentice over, and seeing no obvious outward signs of distress, he accessed their bond. He didn't feel sick. He felt agitated, hot, extremely uncomfortable, and horribly embarrassed. It almost felt as if…. Oh, good heavens! He mentally kicked himself. So that's what was wrong.

"Look, Anakin…I think I know what the problem is. Don't worry. You're not sick. Just, stay in here and it should go away in a few minutes. Release your feelings back into the Force. That usually helps." He backed out of the room and practically ran to the kitchen for a cup of tea which he drank in one go wishing it was something stronger. Why did these sort of things always seem to happen before he'd had his tea?

When Anakin finally came out of his room, they ate one of the most awkward and uncomfortable breakfasts in recorded history while Obi-Wan tried his best to explain the basic workings of the human body and reproduction. He hoped he had done the right thing. It was hard to know what Anakin was thinking sometimes, but at the very least he seemed to be relieved to know he wasn't ill. This was certainly something they didn't prepare you for when you were knighted.

Luna was listening with rapt attention. During the story she decided to sit up and was now snuggled under his arm with her head on his shoulder. "So even back then he was in love with her?"

"Yes, I suppose he was although I'm not sure love is the best description. Maybe obsession would be more accurate. In any case, I thought it was a simple infatuation that he'd get over in time. Obviously I was wrong." He sighed and looked away, wondering for the millionth time why he hadn't seen what was going on between Anakin and Padme. Looking back it was so obvious, and yet he had been totally oblivious to what was happening. Some Jedi Master he was.

Luna kissed him sweetly on the cheek. "Well, cheer up. Maybe this youngling will be a girl and I'll be the one who gets stuck making the awkward explanations when the time comes."

He would never admit it, but he had been secretly hoping that it would be a girl for quite some time now. Of course, he'd be happy either way, but the thought of having a little girl just like Luna made his heart melt.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "I can only hope so my darling."