Over the next few days, Ben and Aubrie worked on gaining Rain's trust. Ben couldn't help but notice have careful Rain was to keep her gloves on. Even when their farming shift ended for the day, she would swap her work gloves for another pair on their way out.

"I've got eczema", Rain said, when she noticed Ben gazing at her swap her gloves out at the end of their third shift together. "It means the skin on my hands cracks easily because of the moisture in the air. Far less painful for me to just wear gloves."

If Ben hadn't known she was lying, he would have been convinced by her explanation. The lie seemed to come so easily to her, but then again, that was hardly a surprise. Rain had been living a lie for so long, she may have even started to believe it herself. Ben decided to not pursue it. He didn't want to upset her, so he changed the subject.

"I've been meaning to ask, is Andy… um…"

"He's a synthetic droid", Rain explained. "My dad found him in one of Alderaan's trash heaps when I was little. I think he meant for Andy to take care of me when he was gone, but… well, Andy is an older model, so I've ended up taking care of him. He's kind of like a younger brother to me now."

"Oh. Well, good for you. Andy seems like a nice enough guy."

Ben didn't really have a lot of experience with synthetic droids. They were much, much rarer than their metallic counterparts, not to mention far more expensive to maintain, so they would typically be found amongst the ruling class of various systems across the galaxy. Ben wasn't sure a synthetic droid had ever set foot inside the Jedi Temple. Having such a droid in your home was typically a sure sign of your power and influence, but that didn't seem to be the case with Rain's family.

Ben could sense Rain's surprise at his response, as they walked out the doors of their workplace.

"When most people realise Andy's a droid, they walk as fast as they can in the opposite direction," she stated.

"Really? Why? Is he… dangerous?" Ben asked.

"No," Rain's face darkened, and Ben feared he'd overstepped. "He's harmless, but everybody, even my boyfriend's family- they're just so prejudiced against synthetics around here, you'd think he was a battle droid."

"Well, he'sdefinitely not a battle droid, I saw my share of them during the-"

Ben caught himself, but it was too late. Rain's eyes widened.

"Did the Separatists come to Alderaan during the war? I didn't know that."

"Uh, no. No." Ben stammered, trying to think of an excuse. "I helped take part in the war effort, delivering my family's crops to the Republic lines. Not especially hard to come across battle droids then."

"Oh." Rain seemed to relax, and Ben had to restrain himself from breathing a sigh of relief. Yet as they were joined by Andy and Aubrie, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at lying to her. He hoped that, when the truth came out, she would be able to forgive him.

That night, after dinner, Ben updated Aubrie on this new twist in their story.

"So, we both think Rain has eczema, and you delivered our non-existent crops from our non-existent family's farm to Republic lines during the war? This is already getting complicated." Aubrie rubbed her temples. "Why can't we just tell her the truth, and take her off-world? The Empire iseverywhere on this planet. The longer we stay, the greater our chances of getting caught."

Ben knew she was right. They had been at Jackson's Star for less than a week, and they had already noticed the heavy Imperial presence- most noticeably the presence of Imperial stormtroopers, the successors of the clones. If things went bad, could he and Aubrie fight off every trooper on the planet? Even if they could, supposing the Empire called in the Jedi-hunting Inquisitors he and Aubrie had heard about?

Ben mulled it over. "We knew it was going to be harder getting out than getting in", he stated. "If we suddenly rush off-world so soon after getting here, the Empire might get suspicious. We need to gain Rain's trust before we tell her anything, and that will take time."

"How much time?"

"A month, perhaps. Two at the most."

Aubrie groaned and laid down on her bed. "Senator Organa may not be happy with that. Remember, if he doesn't know what's going on, he can't help us."

Before leaving for LV-410, Ben and Aubrie had decided the sheer Imperial presence on the planet made any outside communication a risk not worth their discovery. When they did leave, with or without Rain, it would have to be the same way they arrived- quietly, on a cargo ship, changing transport more than once to throw off any suspicion on Alderaan.

As Ben settled down to sleep, he silently prayed that Rain would be coming with them. He had already started to enjoy the young woman's company, and though he struggled to admit it to himself, he hoped she felt the same about him as well.

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Rain wanted to trust the Felian siblings with her secret. She really did. But she had endured far too much heartbreak and disappointment and downright alienation since her teenage years to tell them about her visions. She hadn't had an attack in almost two years now, since her parents had passed away, and she wanted to keep it that way.

As she had been cleaning out her parents' belongings, her bare fingers had brushed over her father's toothbrush – atoothbrush, of all things- and Rain had quickly been overwhelmed by her father's memories and collapsed to the floor. She had been rushed off to the sickbay and written off as simply suffering from grief, but Rain knew better. To be more accurate, sheshouldhave known better. Still, that hadn't made it any easier lying to the Felians.

Over the next few weeks, Rain found herself becoming more and more relaxed in the presence of her fellow Alderaanians. Though she didn't want to admit it, she missed home desperately, and found herself eagerly engaging in conversations with Max and Amara about their home planet. Especially Max. Although Rain was already in a relationship with Tyler, a scavenger who lived with his family in a trailer park nearby, she was now waking up every work morning happy at the thought that she would be seeing Max at the farming station. It was starting to make the days a little more bearable now.

She couldn't quite put it into words, but when she saw Max, with his soft hazel eyes, scruffy brown hair and gentle demeanour, it put her in a relaxed mood for the rest of the day. Well, maybe she could put it into words- she liked him. But Tyler had always been kind to her, and Rain was not the sort of girl to cheat on her boyfriend. Her parents had raised her better than that.

Though it was most unlike her to do so, only two months after meeting the Felians, Rain found herself discussing her mother and father with Max one day after work, as they sat together to eat dinner. The supervising job her father had taken at the mines had quickly become a labouring job with the onset of the Clone Wars, and Rain's mother had been forced to take the same job just to make ends meet.

When the Empire had emerged, there had been a brief expectation that things would improve- only to be met with increased work hours and far more negligent treatment of its workers. Within a year of the Empire's birth, the lung damage Rain's mother and father sustained from the mines became too much, and the last time she had seen them alive-

"-they were both coughing their lungs out in the colony's hospital", Rain finished. She hadn't meant to ramble, but she'd never really spoken about this to anyone, not even Tyler. They were sitting alone at their table, Amara and Andy having long since gone to rest, and there was barely anyone left in the cafeteria.

Rain didn't think they had been overheard, but she could feel the tears behind her eyes, and she looked down at the table. Max reached over and took one of her hands, giving it a gentle squeeze. Rain swallowed hard. She probably shouldn't let any man who wasn't her brother or her boyfriend touch her like this, but Rain felt her gloved fingers curling around Max's.

"I'm not going to say I understand what you're going through, because I don't."

"Oh, are your parents still on Alderaan?"

Max's face twisted. "Never knew them, really. They left me with my… adopted family when I was little. The same happened to Amara."

Rain was confused. They had been left behind… separately? But then Max explained. "In truth, we are not actually related by blood. But we grew up adopted together, so we just prefer to tell everyone we are brother and sister. It's easier that way."

Rain nodded. It made sense, and wasn't completely different to her own relationship with Andy.

Max leaned in a little bit closer.

"If I could give you some advice… and please feel free to punch me in the face for saying it," he began, making Rain smile, "but I've learned that when dealing with lost loved ones… it can help to focus on how they lived, not how they died."

"Well, I might take you up on that advice", Rain stated matter-of-factly, "but please don't be surprised if I punch you anyway".

Max laughed, and Rain heard herself giggle in response. Later on, as she laid awake in her bed that night, she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

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What was hedoing? Ben laid awake, staring at the ceiling as Aubrie slept in the bed next to him. She wouldn't be happy with these further additions to the web of lies Ben was spinning around Rain. Not that he could blame her- he was having a hard time keeping track of them all himself. But Ben hadn't been able to help it- Rain was clearly still grieving the death of her family, and it had been all he could do to not walk around the table and envelop the beautiful girl in his arms-

Ben suddenly caught himself. His heart was pounding. Was this what it meant to have feelings for a person? The overwhelming desire to see somebody, to laugh and smile and joke with them? The even more overwhelming feeling to protect them, to the point where nothing else seemed to matter? Was this the kind of attachment which had been strictly forbidden for Jedi, lest it lead them to the dark side? Oddly enough, Ben found himself thinking of Anakin Skywalker. He had been in a relationship with Senator Amidala, had even had children with her- was this what had led him down the path he had taken? Or had Skywalker been led down it because he feared the persecution he would surely have faced, had his relationship with the Senator ever come to light?

Ben's head ached at his situation. Rain was already in a relationship, he knew that, but Ben could no longer lie to himself- he had feelings for her. What on earth was he supposed to do?

Come the next morning, Aubrie was indeed unhappy with the further lies Ben had told Rain.

"By the Light", Aubrie groaned, her head in her hands. "Why? Why do you have to complicate it further? You're just making it worse, you know that?"

"I know. But I couldn't stop myself. She's inso muchpain, Aubrie. I had to saysomething-"

"What do you see in this girl?" Aubrie suddenly boiled over. "What could she possibly have done to you to make you feel-"

Ben felt, more than saw, the realisation hit his apprentice. When you eat, sleep and breathe next to a person for years on end, it didn't take a Jedi to see what the other person was feeling. But Aubrie was a Jedi, and a damn good one besides. When she spoke, her tone was gentle.

"Ben, youknowromantic attachment is forbidden for us. The Order always said so-"

"And look where that got us", Ben replied. "All but destroyed at the hands of somebody who feared what he would go through if his marriage was ever discovered."

Aubrie's eyes widened. "You cannotpossiblythink that justifies what Skywalker did-"

"Of course not", Ben snapped. "But maybe… the Order was wrong about attachments. Surely notallof them could lead to the dark side."

Aubrie looked at Ben as though he had grown an extra head. "I will see you at breakfast", she finally replied, with a hard edge in her voice, and walked out of their room.

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"Is everything alright?" Rain asked, as she and Andy sat with the Felians. She could sense that something had shifted between the siblings, as they shot angry glances at each other.

"Fine", Amara said, with a slight quaver. "But I think it would be best if I had my own room by now. I think my brother and I need some… space."

A strained look passed across Max's face, and he looked down at his plate. Rain was sympathetic, but she tried to break it to Amara as best as she could.

"I'm sorry, but single rooms are very expensive to pay for around here", Rain said. "Certainly much more expensive than anything farm workers can afford-"

"That's alright", Amara said, with a slight smile. "I'll manage."

The next day, Rain was surprised to learn that both siblings had been moved into single rooms, courtesy of the notoriously stingy accommodations supervisor, who had once refused Rain new bedsheets after she'd found rats chewing on her old ones- which she was still using.

"How on earth did you get the money to pay for that?" Rain asked in bewilderment.

"Who said anything about money?" Amara smirked, ignoring the glare her brother sent her way.

Rain was beyond sick of sleeping in the communal area, filled with the smells and snores of dozens of miners and farm workers, and tried to swallow the jealousy she felt building up in her throat, without much luck. She tried to feel happy for her new friends, but was stuck in a bad mood for the rest of the day. This was replaced by euphoria when Max came into her sleeping area after dinner and asked her to follow him to her new -single- sleeping quarters.

Rain was so happy she almost cried at the sight of the double bed and personal bathroom which was her own to use, and before she knew it she had flung her arms around Max.

"Oh thank you, thank you,thank you-," was all she managed to get out before choking up, burying her face in Max's neck.

"It's no problem", Max said, wrapping his arms around her in response. Eventually Rain pulled away, taking a proper look at him. His kind hazel eyes glimmered on his handsome face, and if it weren't for Rain's relationship with Tyler, she would have kissed Maxir Felian right then and there as passionately as she could.

She settled for kissing him on the cheek, which caused Max to smile shyly at her as he bid her goodnight. Rain simply couldn't stop herself from smiling as she lay in her new bed. She was no fool, and she figured it was a pretty good guess that Max had feelings for her as well. Rain felt her heart ache with guilt and happiness at the same time. Tyler wasn't a bad guy, but he was always ranting about the Empire and how unfair life was, and it had honestly gotten quite tiring for Rain. Max, though… she had known him for only a couple of months now, but it was hard to imagine him dark and brooding about anything. She knew he hadn't had an easy life, yet he had somehow managed to remain upbeat and friendly… and had managed to make Rain laugh out loud more times in the two months she had known him than Tyler had in the full year they had been together.

Maxknewshe had a boyfriend, she had told him herself, yet he had helped her move into quarters about ten times better than her previous ones. Was it to win her over? If it was any other guy, Rain would have thought so, but with Max… somehow, there was no doubt in her mind he had done it out of the kindness of his heart. Nevertheless, there was no doubt in Rain's mind now- she had feelings for Max Felian.

What on earth was she going to do about them?

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In the end, a potential solution presented itself to Rain the next time she visited Tyler on her weekend break. As she moved on top of her boyfriend in his bed, rolling her hips as Tyler huffed and puffed below her, Rain tried to keep Max out of her thoughts, but failed miserably as her mind drifted towards what it might be like to do the same with the handsome Felian boy. As they finished- or to be more specific, asTylerfinished- Rain leant down to kiss her boyfriend, more out of obligation than anything else, then rolled off him and began to dress herself.

"That was… wow…", Tyler laughed, then changed his tune as he saw Rain put her shirt back on. "Wait, are you leaving?"

"No, just… cold", Rain lied, feeling so guilty for her drifting thoughts she could barely look him in the eye.

"Well, I can fix that", Tyler laughed, pulling her back down quickly and attempting to snuggle Rain against his bare chest. There was a time when this would have made Rain squeal with delight, but now she just felt aggravated, and even more guilty for not enjoying it.

Tyler's not a bad guy, she thought to herself, but even if Max wasn't in the picture, she'd be lying if she said she still felt the same way she had about her boyfriend a year ago. But Maxwasin the picture, and Rain was fighting a losing battle trying to keep him out of her head.

Tyler might have sensed that Rain wasn't in the mood, because he tried to change the subject. "You know, Empire Day's coming up soon", he offered. "It should be pretty good. We get the day off, my Dad will be cooking barbecue, everyone gets to hang out with each other."

Not everyone, Rain almost snarled. One of the strains on Rain and Tyler's relationship, which had been present long before the Felian siblings arrived, had been the general attitude of Tyler's family towards Andy. Tyler's father, his loudmouthed cousin Bjorn, Bjorn's longtime friend Navarro, who'd been taken in by his family, even Bjorn's own mother- they had always been antagonistic at best with Andy. Though Tyler himself had always been polite to her brother, Rain had long suspected that was done more as a kindness to her than to Andy himself.

In contrast, both Max and Amara had treated Andy with nothing but kindness and respect since they had sat together that first day- and yet again, Rain realised she was thinking about another man while in the physical presence of her boyfriend. She suppressed a groan- then an extremely mischievous thought crossed her mind.No. She couldn't. Could she?

"Is it alright if I bring a couple of my friends from work?", she asked, keeping her tone as innocent as she could, while she turned her head towards Tyler. "They're Alderaanian, they just got here recently- they don't really know anyone else."

She felt Tyler stiffen in surprise, but then he recovered himself.

"Sure, that sounds fine."

"And… Andy?" Rain asked. She hoped he would say yes, she really did- but then she saw his face fall.

"I'm sorry, Rain, but… you know how it is with my family…"

Ha, the more selfish part of Rain whispered.I knew it. Max and Amara would never-

She caught herself, and tried to look crestfallen, while feeling secretly vindicated at the same time.

"You can bring your friends though, that should be okay", Tyler pressed, probably sensing the tension that was starting to develop.

"Yeah, sure", Rain said, disentangling herself from her boyfriend and putting her trousers and coat back on, then her gloves as she started to walk out. Mercifully, her visions had never been triggered when she was touching another person's bare skin.

Let's see how he and Max match up when they meet. Let's see if Max really is the mature, perfect gentleman I've come to see him as. And let's see if Tyler and his family really are as disappointing as I've come to see them.

Rain walked out the door of Tyler's trailer and set off for home, with nothing more on her mind than the thought of seeing Max the next day at work.