Star Wars. Suns Among Stars Trilogy, Book One: A Man Among Boys

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve:

As soon as she was certain Luke was out of earshot, Beru turned her incredulous gaze on Owen.

"You know, I am really getting fed up with you, Owen Lars! The least you could do for Luke is learn to love little Shmi," Beru reprimanded him.

But Owen wasn't listening to her, nor was he responding in the slightest, which gave her pause. In fact, Owen didn't seem to be there at all...

"Owen?" she tapped his shoulder gently, and jumped when he suddenly came out of his daze.

Watching in open awe, Beru observed her husband look toward the infant sitting happily in her carrier. Owen shifted closer to the baby and carefully brought her out of the chair, holding her up to better see.

"Beru... he was only fifteen! How could a fifteen year old female know how to seduce such a good boy?" Owen finally whispered, though his gaze never faltered from the baby's.

"He is not as much like Anakin as we'd feared, Owen," Beru whispered.

"I know." Owen was shamefaced. "And I treated him so harshly!"

At that moment, Beru saw something that only occurred rarely: Owen shed a few tears.

Then his attention turned to the baby who was now fading off into a slumber.

"Shmi," he choked out, taking Beru by surprise yet again. "She was the best mother I could have asked for... I miss her so much!"

A slow smile spread across Owen's scruffy face then, but it had enough warmth to light a fire.

"Owen?" Beru placed a hand on his arm.

"It's the perfect name," Owen said, looking up. "Beru, I know I've been closed off, but I just... I don't know how to open up to Luke. Yes he made a mistake, but I am so proud of him for all of this... and that was before Venussia's confession."

"Owen, you have to say something to Luke," Beru urged him earnestly. "He's trying so hard to get you to just look at him. For stars sake, Owen, he thinks you've stopped loving him!"

Owen's gaze widened. "Why would he think that?"

Beru gave him a look. "How could he not, after the way you've been treating the poor boy?"

Owen sighed. After looking down at Shmi once more, he passed her to Beru. "I'll speak with him."

00000

To his chagrin, Owen found Luke hiding in the shadow of a moisture vaporator, weeping inconsolably in the safety of his desert solitude. It tore at Owen's heart to know that he was the cause of Luke's grief, and he was now determined more than ever to win the boy back.

Luke had been the best son Owen could have ever asked the heavens for... so then why hadn't he been a better uncle? Approaching unnoticed, Owen stopped a few paces away.

"Luke?" Owen spoke softly, cringing inside when the young man jumped a foot and then scrambled to get up, stuttering the whole time about how he was sorry, and would get to work right away.

Owen placed a hand on Luke's forearm to stop him. "Luke, wait a moment."

His nephew did as he was asked, but did not meet Owen's gaze.

"Luke, I want you to know that your aunt and I now know what really happened in that sandstorm," Owen told him.

At this, Luke's head shot up with a wide gaze, and he back-stepped.

"W-what? How?"

"Venussia and her father came to us with both an explanation and an apology for his daughter's sham... and for her actions toward you," Owen explained. "Luke, why didn't you speak up when Venussia lied about what happened?"

Luke's face hardened some, and he looked away.

"Would you have believed me?" he asked bitterly. "Everyone knows that when a boy gets a girl pregnant, people take the girl's side."

Owen opened his mouth, ready to assure Luke he was wrong, but then stopped.

Luke did have a valid point. He would have been accused of even more lies, and there would have been even more problems had he tried to paint the girl as being at fault. Luke had simply taken his false dues and let the girl get away clean, knowing it would be easier that way.

With a sigh, Owen stepped back again. "Probably not at first, I'll admit. But I would have at least given you a chance to prove yourself." He thinned his lips. "Luke... I... I'm sorry."

He watched as Luke froze in disbelief and then finally met Owen's eyes, a glimmer of hope hiding in their cool blue depths.

"I should have thought to ask for your side of the story, and... well, to be frank; I should have thought to question the girl's account. We raised you better than that, after all, and you had never before given us any reason to not trust you, Luke."

"But I still gave in at the end..." Luke whispered, looking away again. "I screwed up, Uncle Owen, I know that."

Owen moved close and placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "You made a mistake, Luke, but you did not actively seek for what happened like Venussia did. And I wanted you to know that I have never been more proud of you than I am for you taking on the responsibility of caring for your daughter. That shows your true character, and I couldn't be more pleased." Owen drew Luke into a hug. "And... I do love you, Luke. Never doubt that. You are the son I never had, and I am sorry that I've been hurting you, my boy."

Luke's arms snaked around his uncle and squeezed him so tightly it hurt, but Owen could feel the absolute need Luke had been starving for in the gesture. Luke's tears fell once more, and Owen held him through it, letting him know he was there.

Finally.

When they separated, Owen tapped Luke's chin fondly. "By the way, I love the name you gave your daughter. Shmi is a beautiful girl."

Luke finally smiled. "Thank you. I love her... so much!"

"I know." Owen patted his arm. "Now, let's get the work done so we can get home to our ladies."

Luke's smile broadened. "Yes sir!"

"And tonight, we will celebrate our newest family member," Owen declared.

Luke's joy could have given enough wattage to supply Coruscant.

(A/N: This chapter was intentionally short, because I wanted it to stand alone. It also marks a shift in the story, so fasten your crash-webbing, because things are about to get 'interesting' {to quote my synopsis}.)