Cries

By toocissy4yew

He wouldn’t stop crying. It had been – what – three standard hours since he had arrived? They had tried everything: pacing, patting… the normal ‘baby’ procedures. But that didn’t work.

“Beru, did you try – “ Owen stammered, his voice hardly towering over the baby’s cry.

“Yes, Owen!” She screamed. Her face was red, and she was past the point of tears. “I’ve tried… everything,” her voice lowered to a small whisper, but an angry whisper. “I’m as new at this as you are.”

Owen pursed his lips and proceeded to move closer to Beru. He took the squealing child from her arms and held him differently than his new wife. That didn’t help, either. “C’mon, Luke,” he whispered in the baby’s ear. “Please…”

Beru crossed her arms, looking peeved. “You know, Owen,” she said sternly. “That isn’t going to help.”

Owen tried not to raise his voice. The baby’s cry was overwhelming – they didn’t need another booming voice to trigger yet another straight cry. “Then what will, Beru? What will?” He placed Luke on his shoulder, letting him cry even more. “How about you tell me.”

Beru gulped. She was speechless – and could only think of one thought that popped into her head. “We could phone Master Obi-Wan Kenobi…”

“No,” came Owen’s immediate answer. “You know why we can’t do that, Beru.” He shook his head slowly, and stepped closer to Beru, meeting her gaze. “He’s an outlaw now.”

“Outlaw…” she echoed.

“I’ve seen the HoloNet reports. Oh, excuse me – Imperial Reports,” he said sarcastically. Luke’s cries still overpowered them, but somehow, they were able to communicate. “All Jedi out outlawed. They… they did terrible things to the Chancellor.”

“Emperor,” Beru corrected him.

“Does it matter?” He snapped. Everyone hated the new ‘Empire’.

Beru shook her head. “No,” she whispered, he irked expression turning loomed. “That’s precisely why we should contact Kenobi. Maybe he knows how to stop the baby from crying.”

“He’s going to know how to calm a child? Beru, he’s a Jedi. Jedi aren’t allowed to love – nor are they allowed to have attachments. So why would he have any experience with babies?”

“He wouldn’t,” she admitted. “But Luke seemed pretty calm when Kenobi dropped him here. And, didn’t Anakin break that ‘code’? This baby’s here with us, isn’t he? I’m just saying… Kenobi…”

“Jedi Trick?”

“We need that Jedi Trick,” Beru said. “You know we do.”

Owen sighed. “Do you want to end up like Luke’s parents did?”

Dead.

That was all Kenobi had told them when Luke was put into the hands of the only guardians that were still alive – so he had said. There was more behind the story that met the eye, Beru knew, but she wasn’t about to get ‘blown up’ by the Emperor for trying to find out. It was, obviously, secret information. Kenobi had only left them with “Keep him safe. I will be watching.” For Gods sake, why wasn’t he ‘watching’ now?

Beru shook her head.

“Then, no. We won’t talk to Kenobi.”

Caitlin forced the spoon into Princess Leia’s tiny mouth as she tried to force it away. She spit it up, obviously, like she had been for the past hour. “Please, Leia,” she begged. “Do it for me.”

The young Princess pouted and slammed her chubby fists on the highchair table. She squealed with delight to see her caretaker in pain.

Caitlin frowned, and cursed under her breath. She took another spoonful and made speeder noises to direct it into Leia’s mouth. She happily took the spoonful, only because of the lovely sounds, but did not swallow. Finally, she spit up again, spilling the contents on her bib yet again.

She sighed and pressed her hands to her temples. Why had she taken this job? All the other caretakers had left after two days with this kid…

This was obviously a mistake.

“Okay, you know what, Leia?” She began to talk to the baby. “Do you have any alcohol in this house?”

Leia squealed again. She had to admit, this baby was incredibly cute. Why had the other caretakers left the job? Just because she wouldn’t eat – that’s ridiculous!

But, then again, she was asking the baby if there was any booze to control the pain of frustration.

She searched the cabinets, and finally found a bottle of Jawa Juice behind the mixing bowls and cookie pans. “A ha!” She declared.

She placed the bottle on the counter, and moved the bowls back to there original places.

When she got up, the bottle was gone.

Caitlin looked around, puzzled. Then, she looked up.

The bottle was levitating through the air, making its way to the one solid wall that guarded the next room from the loud noises of the kitchen. “What the…” she breathed.

She made a run for Leia, to salvage her from her high chair, so they could get away from the menace that was making the bottle float through the air.

But, little did she know – Leia was making the bottle fly.

She clapped her hands together, and the bottle through itself against the wall, shattering with a thousand pieces, making the contents spill over the blue walls.

Luke lifted the lid off the box that was marked ‘Luke Skywalker’. He knew it was for him. Uncle had never gotten Luke any presents other than the basic holidays – e.g., Life Day. The package was simply wrapped, only with a tiny blue bow in the corner. Other than that, the box was a bent up, old white clothes carrier.

He ruffled through the tissue paper and found his present: a small model starfighter. He knew it when he saw it – he was obsessed with those things, but never actually saw one, except for the on Holo feeds.

He whizzed it through the air, making the ship’s noises with his mouth.

“So, you like it, Luke?” Owen asked him, patting the five-year old on the back.

“Oh, yes!” Luke exclaimed. “Thank you!”

Owen could never quite figure out why Luke was so interested in thing that was loud, and airborne. He never liked them as a kid – maybe Anakin did, but they never spoke for the Jedi who had fallen with the purge… Luke’s father – maybe today they would finally discuss him, and Luke would finally ask about him.

“Is it the right model?” Owen asked.

Luke nodded his head, looking like a metal patient. Every model was the right model!

He put the toy down and found himself in Owen’s lap. “Thank you, Daddy,” he said.

Owen flustered. He hadn’t expected him to say that – he never expected him to say that. It had always been ‘Uncle’ and ‘Auntie’. Never ‘Daddy’. Had given a child a toy promoted him to Father?

No.

“Luke, you know I’m not your Daddy,” he said as kindly as possible.

Luke looked up at him with sad eyes. “Then, who is? Biggs and Tank both had Daddies… they both work up at the plant. Where does my Daddy work, then, if your not my Daddy?”

“I’m your Uncle, Luke,” he said. “Your dad was… a spice freighter. He died when you were very young.”

“So I don’t have a Daddy?”

Owen shook his head. “Not anymore.”

Owen thought he saw small tears form in Luke’s eyes, then. “Does this mean Auntie isn’t my Mommy?”

“You know, Dad – I don’t think I’d ever want to be adopted,” she said to her father, placing her schoolbooks on her bed and falling down on the pillow. “See, Maria is adopted and she doesn’t know anything about her parents. I don’t think I’d like that – would you like that?”

Bail gulped. Leia was in the stage where everything that happened in her day she was tell her father – her only guardian since she was two – everything. He knew that would change once she reached the teenage years, but this was a little excruciating.

And cruel.

“Did you hear me, Daddy?” Leia snapped. “Would you like it?”

Bail cleared his throat. “Uh, Leia – I think we need to talk.”

Leia’s eyes suddenly bugged out, and her head went flying up.

“Come sit by me, Leia. We’ll talk,” he told her, patting the seat next to him.

Without thinking, without getting mad like usual, she followed orders and mechanically took her place by her father (right?). “W – why… do… we need to… talk?”

Bail cracked his knuckles. He hardly ever did that, except for when he was extremely nervous. “Leia, you are adopted.”

There were so many mixed emotions coming from Leia then. She moved herself away from Bail, and coughed. “What – what happened to my… real… parents?”

“They died, Leia,” he told her, and softly as possible. “They died when you were very young.”

Leia searched herself for words. “So all the memories I have from when I was a baby – “

“They weren’t from your adoptive mother, Leia,” he told her.

“She was beautiful, but sad…”