Being pregnant wasn't an easy thing in the first place, but being pregnant with twins on a desert planet was one the hardest things in the galaxy. From being an orphan child on the low levels of Corsucant's city, to becoming a Jedi Master, Sol had overcome some difficult tasks and situations. But when her belly began to grow, and the weight of two children began to weigh on her back, knees and legs, Sol was sure that she was undergoing the most challenging time that she would ever experience in her life.

The place that Obi-wan and Sol called home was suitable and better than what most lived in on Tatooine. After locating a place in the Jundland Wastelands, which was a few miles out of Mos Eisley, the two Jedi settled into their exile. 

A majority of the house was underground to avoid the frequent sandstorms that hit the desert, and it kept the interior cool during the hot days. It wasn't big in any sense, but it held a small seating area that surrounded a tiny coffee table and a kitchen that ran along the side of the house. Obi-wan was able to create two bedrooms out of the singular room that was up some staris from the living room. With one bathroom, Sol and Obi-wan lived together, relied on each other, and kept each other company.

But living in such a secluded, small house in the middle of Tatooine's desert had its disadvantages. They needed food and water, but to get to Mos Eisley was a struggle in the beating heat. When Sol's stomach grew, it was too much for her to travel to the city on foot. Thankfully, Obi-wan was able to acquire an Eopie, which were animals used for transport for those who couldn't afford speeders. They had trunks and could carry a substantial amount of weight on their backs. When Sol asked Obi-wan how he was able to afford an Eopie, he had revealed that he still held a handful of credits from Coruscant.

'But the Outer-Rim don't accept imperial credits,' Sol had said and Obi-wan looked away nervously.

'They do when they're weak minded.'

Sol had groaned. Obi-wan knew that a scolding was coming from the pregnant women, and when it came, it was thunderous.

'We're going to get caught, Obi! If someone saw you, we would have the Empire knocking on our door! Or burning it, for that matter! No more mind tricks! We need to find another way to make money.'

So, Obi-wan set off to look for work. After her rant, Sol felt guilty for making the Kenobi find work while she was unable to even pick something up off of the floor. It was frustrating to even roll out of bed, as Sol would lift her head from the pillow and see the bulbous bump instead of her feet. She would have to grab the handle that Obi-wan had installed into the wall beside her bed and heave her heavy body upright. Then there would be the challenge of moving her legs to the edge and pushing herself up from the flimpsy mattress.

'Any luck?' Sol would say when Obi-wan would arrive back at the house in the evenings. The shake of his head would disappoint her every day, but Sol never held it against him. The Outer-Rim was tough and there was no place for the skills of Jedi. She wondered how people lived their whole lives in such a desolate place.

'I sensed you before I came in,' Obi-wan said one day. He sat on the sofa that was rounded against the wall after a day of job hunting, while Sol was in the kitchen cooking a meat stew.

'Yesterday, I could only sense you in the next room. You're growing weak, Sol.'

'I know... it's getting harder to concentrate,' Sol sighed and glanced down at her bulging belly.

'There's no telling how strong your signature will be in three months' time. Perhaps I'll try and expand to cover your presence as well.'

Sol grimaced over the steaming stew. The ache in her back was a sign of the weakening of her body and the draining of her energy. She hated to hear Obi-wan's suggestion while also finding work to support the two of them. Sol never thought that she would have to rely on someone else to provide for her and to use the Force in a way to protect her. She had lived on the streets of Coruscant while stealing from stalls, and had been Grand Master Yoda's Padawan for years. But now, Sol couldn't even suppress her Force signature to be undetectable by the man she knew was searching the galaxy for her. The act used to be child's play for her.

'Sol.'

She turned her head from the stew and looked to the doorway of the kitchen. With heavy eyelids and sweating skin, it pained Sol to stand in front of Obi-wan. His hair had grown past his ears and his facial hair was no longer as trimmed and kept as it used to be. The eyes that had once held light and kindness were tired and mundane, and the skin beside them were deeply imbedded with wrinkles.

Obi-wan was exhausted, yet he pushed on, while Sol was tired, and spent every moment wanting to lie down and sleep away the long days. 

'If he senses you, or your children, he will come looking,' Obi-wan stepped further into the kitchen and looked down at Sol with concern. 'Even if he fears this place more than anywhere else, there's no telling what he'll do if he finds you here in this condition.'

Obi-wan watched Sol lift the pot from the open fire and heaved it onto the counter. With a loud sigh, Sol wiped the back of her hand across her glistening forehead. The kitchen was hot, and Obi-wan couldn't imagine how uncomfortable Sol felt.

He wanted to help, but he feared that if he offered, she would snap or breakdown at the thought of being deemed completely useless. The arch in her back to hold the weight of her stomach looked painful, and the beige dress, although light and airy, looked retraining on her waist. Gone were the Jedi robes and utility belt that held her lightsaber, as there was no extension long enough to fit around her stomach. With her ever-growing hair wrapped in a bun at the base of her neck, Sol looked like nothing more than a struggling civilian that was months from giving birth. You wouldn't know that she was once a great Jedi who was known across the galaxy alongside her two, equally as infamous, best friends

But only Obi-wan knew the extremity of her circumstances. 

'Should I contact Padme?' Sol asked after a short while of silence. She started serving up the meat stew in grey bowls in attempt to avoid the original conversation.

'I know she said to at thirty weeks, but I still think it's too risky. Transmissions off-world can be tapped,' Obi-wan said, accepting the bowl Sol handed to him.

'Even if it was encrypted?'

'Encryptions can be broken.'

Sol remembered when Master Yoda gave her the same excuse when Ahsoka was arrested. Back then, she couldn't see the logic behind the excuse and never forgave the Jedi Council for keeping her in the dark. It cost her a goodbye from the Torgruta, and Sol never saw the snippy Padawan again. But now, Sol knew that Obi-wan had only good intentions, and that the reasoning was sensible in light of their situation.

'What about Revan?' Sol asked, feeling like a child compromising for a treat before dinner. 'He said he would send an encrypted transmission.'

'And have we received one?' 

A sense of helplessness fell over the two. It had become apparent that the plan Obi-wan and Sol had before they arrived on Tatooine was heavily flawed.

In the months that had passed since the establishment of the Galactic Empire, a totalitarian galaxy had become the normality. Even in Mos Eisley, there was an unnerving presence of the Empire through the presence of storm troopers. Like the clones, they walked around in white armour and with blasters in hand. But unlike the justice and peace that the clones once represented, storm troopers were imposing and frightening. They checked identification and had even been seen shooting people in the streets when they didn't comply. This was just one sign of the Empire that created fear throughout the galaxy, and with their monstrous star destroyers, they had surveillance on almost every planet for signs of rebellion, hiding Jedi, and for a purple-eyed woman with a bearded man.  

They couldn't contact Padme and they hadn't received anything from Revan. Their plan for support when Sol gave birth was gone, and they were alone in the desert with a dwindling hope.

'If you can hold on for a little while longer, I'll find a job, and mask our signatures until you're strong enough again,' Obi-wan said, but there was no sign of exhaustion or annoyance in his voice. With his strew, Obi-wan gave Sol the smallest of smiles and Sol felt like she didn't deserve such sincerity.

'Thank you, Obi... I couldn't have asked anyone better to be in this situation with...'

'I know you won't agree, but I think the same.'

---

It wouldn't be long until Sol became unable to leave the house completely, so in the final days of her mobility, Sol wanted to make them productive. And it wasn't until Obi-wan burst through the door with a civilised excitement that Sol realised why she needed to make the most of her moving days.

'Whale meat harvesting!' Obi-wan grinned with his arms out wide. 'It's not in the city, so it's away from storm troopers, and they're offering five credits an hour, thirty hours a week.'

'That's wonderful, Obi!' 

Sol twisted to give the man a light embrace while minding her imposing stomach. With relief, the two hugged at the opportunity for an income and a somewhat comfortable living. There was now the security that when the twins were born, they could be fed and be given the resources they needed for the most vulnerable stages of their lives.

'Can you get there by Eopie?' Sol asked and Obi-wan nodded. 'That's great! But... But what happens if you're at work and I go into labour?' 

Obi-wan's smile dropped and the realisation settled over the home. With a glance down to Sol's stomach that protruded through her beige dress, Obi-wan put a hand to his beard; a classic sign that showed he was in deep thought. While Obi-wan appeared to contemplate Sol's statement, the woman shrunk into the sofa with a relieved sigh. The ache in her knees was particularly exhausting today, and she knew that she was merely days from being unable to stand for more than twenty minutes at a time. 

'I have thought about a solution for this, but I assumed that it could also be too risky,' Sol spoke up once she was settled in her seat. Obi-wan turned to look down at the woman and saw the way she fiddled with her fingers on top of her belly. It was safe to assume that another flawed suggestion was about come out of Sol's mouth, but at this point, they were getting too close to her due date for them to have no options.

'I'm sure that you remember Shmi Skywalker... and how she ended up with the Sand People?' Sol started and hoped that she wouldn't have to spell out the history of the new leader of the Empire's descent to the dark side.

'Yes. She was captured from her husband who was a moisture farmer. Lars, was it?' Obi-wan nodded. 

'Well, his moisture farm would be somewhere over the dunes in the wastes. If we look on the ship's map, I'm sure we could locate him and see if he would help us.'

Obi-wan looked reluctant. By bringing more people into secret of their identities and Sol's pregnancy, they were further risking being discovered by the Empire. And not only were they revealing their Jedi status to strangers that Sol claimed to know, but they were also revealing themselves to someone who knew their relation to the new leader of the Empire. If they were Empire sympathizers, all the secrecy they had worked to keep would be revealed and would all have been for nothing. 

But at the same time, Sol could not give birth alone. It was unlikely that Obi-wan would be allowed to leave his work when there was no sympathy in the workforce on the Outer-Rim. If Sol went into labour and Obi-wan was far from the house, her Force signature would be at its most prominent and the new signatures of the twins would enter the galaxy to all those who were powerful enough to sense them. If Sol was with someone when she went into labour, perhaps she could hold on until Obi-wan was able to get there and smother their presence and be Sol's support. Afterall, Sol was continuing their father's name, and Obi-wan owed it to their father who was lost to the dark side. These children would be good because Obi-wan would make sure that they were loved from the moment of their birth. He wouldn't fail them like he had failed him. 

'Please, Obi,' Sol pulled him from his thoughts. With a shift of his eyes, Obi-wan looked down at Sol and saw the worry in her eyes. She was scared to give birth, and even more fearful to be alone when it happened.

'Lars had a son. There was also a woman... Beru, I think? At least she would have some idea about childbirth,' Sol said in a plea. 'I think we can trust them, because we don't have a choice.' 

Obi-wan exhaled loudly. Sol was right. They didn't have a choice.

--- 

The ride on the Eopie was uncomfortable and the shawl Sol wrapped around her head and shoulders did little. With Obi-wan on the reigns, Sol spent the four hour journey staring at the horizon where the orange sand met the blue sky. The two blaring suns beat down on the planet's inhabitants and Sol was no exception. She continuously drank from the water pouch that hung from the saddle of the Eopie, and took long breaths to keep herself from overheating. It also didn't help that one of the twins had decided to kick at her insides; perhaps they also sensed the heat and were begging for some shade.

Obi-wan never complained about the heat. He remembered Tatooine's fierce suns and dry air from when he came with Master Qui-Gonn and Queen Amidala of Naboo. It was where he first faced Darth Maul, the ruthless apprentice who killed Master Qui-Gonn in front of him. Tatooine held many memories for many people, but Obi-wan never complained, not when Sol was in earshot. She was carrying children for Maker's sake, and she was already fearful of being discovered by their father.

When the moisture farm came into sight, Sol wanted to cry out in joy. The Eopie slowly stopped in front of the lowered dome that had a speeder parked on the right and an antenna planted in the ground. An open cavern sat behind the home which revealed the innards of the farm that laid underground. Nothing had changed and Sol even remembered where she stood when her lover returned from slaughtering the Tusken Raiders who kidnapped his mother.

Obi-wan dismounted the Eopie and untied the folded box from the saddle. Pushing out its corners, Obi-wan placed the box into the sand and held his hand out for Sol to slowly dismount. As her foot fell onto the box and she used Obi-wan offered hand to balance, one of the moisture farm's inhabitants appeared from the lowered dome.

'Can I help you two?' the man said, squinting from the harsh suns. He was wary at the sight of the strangers that stepped away from their Eopie, but noticed the lack of the Empire symbols on their clothing. They appeared to be normal civilians with their beige wraps and sun-kissed skin, but at the sight of Sol's pregnant belly, the man was sure that these people weren't part of the Galactic Empire. 

'Hello, there,' Obi-wan greeted as he slowed for Sol to meet his pace. He made sure that her hobble was stable through the soft sand before he looked up at the moisture farmer. But to his surprise, the man was much younger than he had expected, making Obi-wan remember what Sol had said before they embarked on their four-hour journey.

'Lars had a son. There was also a woman... Beru, I think?'

'Sorry to disturb you, but is this the Lars' farm?' Obi-wan asked, feigning innocence. When the man's head lowered into a nod, Obi-wan smiled invitingly. 

'We're looking for Cleigg Lars.'

The young man's head dropped at the name, and he struggled to reply for a moment. Obi-wan waited patiently, sensing the sadness in the man's Force signature. Even though he knew that Sol was dying to be away from the suns and in the shade, Obi-wan didn't rush the man who could be their saviour.

'Cleigg... Cleigg passed away about a year ago,' he eventually admitted and Obi-wan lowered his gaze in respect.

'I'm sorry to hear that. Are you a relative of his?'

'I'm Owen,' he stepped forward and held his hand out for Obi-wan to shake. 'Cleigg was my father.' 

'Ah, I see. My name's Ben.'

Obi-wan had been using a different name while on Tatooine. Due to his reputation as a Jedi Master, the name Obi-wan was too well-known to use even on the Outer-Rim. The Sand Whale meat company only knew him as Ben Kenobi, and he intended to keep it that way.

Owen Lars smiled as Obi-wan shook his hand, before his gaze shifted to the pregnant woman beside him. He went to ask who he assumed Obi-wan's wife was, when he caught sight of the purple irises through her squinting eyes. 

Owen remembered his stepmother's abduction and his father's attempts to try and find her. He also remembered the Jedi Knights and the Republican senator who turned up on their doorstep, one claiming to be Shmi's son. Their quick departure was sudden and even more of a surprise when Owen found that they had left with the Lars' protocol droid. That had been years ago, but Owen never forgot the Jedis' visit, and now, one of them had returned. 

'You're that Jedi! The one that came with Shmi's son!' Owen said while hinting a smile as his eyes took in her new appearance. 'You're pregnant! That's... that's really something!' 

Sol awkwardly glanced at Obi-wan beside her. Even though the journey to the farm had been long and boring, Sol hadn't spent the time deliberating what to say when they finally arrived. She didn't know how to explain what had brought them to the Lars farm since the last time she had been there. And as she looked up at Owen Lars, the stepbrother of the man who had forced them into exile, Sol realised that she was stumped on how to approach the situation.

'Good to see you again, Owen...' she cringed at her awkwardness.

'It's Sol, right?' Owen remembered before he looked back to Obi-wan with realisation. 'Does that mean you're Obi-wan? Obi-wan Kenobi?' 

'May we come inside?' Obi-wan said, feeling the heat beating down on the top of his scalp. 'It's rather hot.'

'Yes, yes, of course! I'll get Beru to bring some ardees-'

'None for me, thank you,' Sol deadpanned.

'Oh, right! Silly me.'