Chapter 28

With eyes closed, posture and facial expressions relaxed, Xanatos sat cross-legged on the ground, just emerging from his meditation with the Force. The sand, not yet exposed to the suns, was cool beneath him as was the air that blew in gentle gusts, tossling silken ebony locks. He grimaced at the light dusting of sand carried across his face. Anakin was right. Sand was rough and coarse and it got everywhere.

It seemed dawn was the only time of peace on this desert planet, the early hours as life was just beginning to stir. Even now, he heard the distant bellow of a krayt dragon, and opened his eyes as the rays of light from the first sun peeked up over the horizon. Its twin would follow soon, intensifying the strokes of orange and purple that streaked the sky, and within hours the heat would be intolerable.

The Jedi heard footsteps behind him crunching in the sand. Apparently, moisture farmers had no need of stealth. The presence stopped, hesitating before he chose to speak.

"It's not safe to be this far from the house before first light with all the sand people and krayt dragons out there and all."

"Anakin relayed the same concerns to me last night." Stretching, Xanatos rose to his feet as he pulled his inner tunic back over his chest. "Unfortunately, as my superiors will tell you, I've never been very good with boundaries."

"You'll live a lot longer here if you respect them."

"I'll keep that in mind." Xanatos nodded his head slightly as another gust of breeze peppered his face with grit. "But I don't think my welfare is what brought you out this way."

"No, you're right. I get the feeling you could take care of yourself." The moisture farmer gave a grin, motioning to the lightsaber hilt resting gently in Xanatos' hand. "You may have noticed that we did most of the talking yesterday. The boys seemed a little quiet. I'm worried about Owen, and you probably have concerns about Anakin as well."

"It is a lot of adjustment." Xanatos fell into step next to Cliegg as they began to make their way back towards the house. "For both of them."

"Owen has only met Shmi a handful of times, but he is fond of her. I think he feels awkward around Anakin. After all, Anakin is her son."

"I understand completely." Sensing Anakin near, Xanatos stopped short of the house to continue the conversation well out of ear-shot. "What is your suggestion?"

"I know it's optimistic, but I would personally like to see them talking by mid-day. I plan to work out in the south ridge of the farm and make sure all of Owen's chores keep him near the house. If you would join me for the day, we could give them some space and see if natural curiosity takes over."

"I can manage that."

The quarters were empty and eerily silent as Obi-Wan slid from beneath his covers. It wasn't until he reached the door to his room that he heard the first signs of life from his apprentice, a scattered clicking sound he had become very familiar with over the last year. He stopped in the doorway, content to watch the figure. Ben sat, curled up on the sofa, intently focused on the box in his hands, hoping each slide of a panel would bring him closer to opening the box.

"You know, Padawan. I still have the instructions …"

"No, Master. I want to work this out on my own."

"As you wish." Obi-Wan joined him sitting on the sofa. "I was simply offering."

"I'll keep it in mind if I get desperate." Ben carefully sat the box down beside him. "Your color looks much better."

"I feel better."

"I don't think it was wise of us to travel with you so ill."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, smiling inwardly at the comfort that seemed to come every day in their relationship. The Ben he knew a year ago would never have asserted his opinion so casually.

"Ah, yes," Obi-Wan chided in a teasing tone. "When you are the master, that will be your decision." A simple retort that would have caused his apprentice to tense and begin to backtrack now only brought out a light snicker.

A slight pain and rumble in his stomach reminded Obi-Wan that he hadn't been able to get much besides fluids down for the last few days. "You know, Ben. I think I actually may be getting my appetite back. Shall we see what we can scrounge up?"

He got up and started for the small kitchenette, Ben following. Obi-Wan paused, turning to look back at his apprentice. When had the boy grown so much? He knew Ben had started experiencing the normal frustrations of adolescence, feeling his disproportioned feet were beginning to throw off his balance in saber practice. But, Ben had grown on him in height since … well, since he last remembered noticing.

"I'm afraid there's not much in here," Ben explained as Obi-Wan opened and shut various cupboards. It wasn't surprising to the Jedi master. Before becoming ill on their last mission, Ben's appetite had been that of a growing boy. He paused, suddenly remembering references Qui-Gon had made about his own apprentice's appetite at Ben's age. He smiled, shrugging off the memories. "It looks like we are going to have to go out for something decent to eat."

"Are you sure you are feeling up to it, Master?"

"I'm fine, Ben. I think I'd like to get out of our quarters for a while." He looked down a rumpled sleep clothes. "Though, I probably should get dressed before we go." He stopped in the doorway again when he heard Ben speak.

"This doesn't get you out of your predicament."

"What predicament would that be?"

Ben mischievously eyed the Shamat board sitting at the small dining table. "I still have your Padi'sha cornered."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Or so you think, Padawan." He disappeared into his room, leaving Ben to stare at the board in puzzlement.

Owen bit down on his lip as he stared blankly into the maze of circuits that composed the moisture vaporator. The problem was eluding him. It wasn't that he was miserable as a mechanic; a basic understanding was necessary as a moisture farmer and could save a lot of needless expense. It was that he was distracted.

Soon Shmi would come to be a part of their family. Owen didn't remember his own mother, though his father had told him stories and showed him holos. Shmi's soft and gentle spirit was everything he had imagined a mother should be and he knew in time he would grow to love her as his own. But, there was the matter of Anakin.

"Hi."

The boy turned quickly, nearly dropping the tool from his hand in surprise. Anakin had come out of nowhere, approaching without a sound. "Hi," he offered weakly.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to fix this moisture vaporator." Owen sat his tools down next to him, not wanting the other boy to look over his shoulder while he worked. "I thought you'd be with your teacher. You know, doing some sort of Jedi lesson."

"He's hiding from me."

"Hiding?" Owen let out a laugh. "I thought you Jedi could sense people – like a womprat smelling out its food or something."

"That's what I mean." Anakin bit down on his lip. "He's put up some really strong shields and I can't sense where he is."

Owen furrowed his brows, noting the way Anakin's eyes combed over the circuitry, finally focusing on something. "There … there's your problem." Anakin had picked up a probe and was already mending the damaged circuit."

"Thanks. That saved me a lot of time." He closed up the panel after Anakin finished the small repair. "Why do you think your teacher is hiding from you? My dad is also acting weird."

"Considering Master is shielding your father also, they are probably together and ganging up on us."

"What for?"

"I think they want us to talk." Anakin shrugged. "I mean, since we're going to be … brothers."

Owen winced. This was the last thing he wanted to talk to Anakin about. The two boys sat in awkward silence, staring at the now-fixed vaporator as the minutes seemed to slowly pass. Owen decided to finally break the silence. "Dad loves Shmi a lot. I never knew my mom, and I would like for Shmi to be my mom."

Anakin chewed on his lip for a minute. "I don't want her to forget me."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. She loves you. And, she says that you are going to come for visits. Whether you like it or not, you're part of our family. I just hope we can be part of yours." Anakin nodded. "You wouldn't want to help me with the rest of my chores would you? There are a lot more vaporators that need maintenance and you could really save me some time."

"Sure," Anakin said with a smile.