Saga Final Stand (sequel to Seeds of Resistance)

Lady_Misty: Glad you liked the name.

I'm leaving the issue with the Tarkins somewhat open for right now.

Jedi_Liz: Yeah, based on the calculations I was given during my pregnancies, Ben would have been a nine-pounder full term. (Half a pound a week the last trimester IIRC.) I've seen a lot of different fan fic explanations for the name Ben but have never found a canon one; it does seem most logical that he would have used his birth name though, unless he pulled a name out of thin air.

iceaffinity: Han speaks in ship analogies. I've known a few women who progressed too quickly to get an epidural; I thought the Force would be of some use here.

lost_lauries_grapes: I prefer proper names too, and I wanted to go completely AU on this one, especially given that none of the Solo children seem to have a very good destiny in the EU books.

Glad everyone liked the ship comment.

PadmeSkywalkerSHM: I definitely haven't forgotten; I need to re-read Vision of the Future first though, so it might be sometime in the fall.

Luna_Nightshade: Thanks. I didn't have full-blown labor with either of my kids (both C-sections) so I had to ad lib that part some.

The-Solo-Smirk: Parents of twins have all my respect, for both the labor and the newborn stage. And I think labor would even make the smooth Han Solo nervous.

Lady_Jedi93: Thanks!

DoubleEO: There hasn't been enough of Obi-Wan's dry wit lately.

I'm wrapping up this story; there will be an epilogue post after this one that ties up some loose ends (at least I hope it does). It should be up before I leave for vacation this weekend.

Thanks everyone for reading.

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?And he?s still wide awake,? Han muttered, yawning. ?How are you doing this, kid? You were up half the night.?

Anakin stroked his grandson?s cheek with the back of a finger. ?He just wants to see the election results. Don?t you, Ben??

Anakin walked slowly around the living area of Han and Leia?s apartment, holding the baby. Han leaned back against the sofa cushions; Leia had fallen asleep on the other end of the sofa several minutes earlier. The Holonet blared in the background; the election for Chancellor was taking place at the moment, as well as elections for Senator on one third of all Republic systems.

?If you get tired of walking him, I?ll take over,? Han said, yawning again.

Anakin looked at the baby again. ?Does Grandpa ever get tired of taking care of you? No, not at all.? Ben met Anakin?s blue eyes with his own rapidly darkening ones, and smiled. ?Now that?s a good smile. Don?t let anyone tell you it?s just gas. They have no idea what they?re talking about.?

Han thought of Lando?s joke from a week earlier. That kid has to be the most powerful being in the galaxy. He?s turned a Navy Admiral, the Chancellor, the Royal House of Alderaan and half the Jedi into a big puddle of mush.

Anakin looked at Han. ?I?ll handle this. I got eight straight hours of sleep last night. You didn?t.?

Han nodded his thanks and yawned again. Ben snuggled against Anakin?s chest; Anakin ran a finger over his soft hair.

?This is the way your Mommy liked to be held,? he said. ?Your Uncle Luke was different. He got mad if he couldn?t see out the window.?

?How did you manage newborn twins?? Han asked.

Anakin laughed. ?I don?t remember,? he said. ?There was so much else going on at that time. It?s all a big blur, and not just due to sleep deprivation.?

?I suppose so,? Han said, glancing at the holovid player, with a reporter standing amongst a crowd of people outside the Senate Building.

?Han,? Anakin said. ?You?re about to fall asleep sitting up. Go to bed.?

Han opened his mouth to answer when the Holonet reporter interrupted. ?This just in,? she said. ?Chancellor Padme Amidala has won re-election by an overwhelming majority. 1846 votes in her favor, 154 against. I repeat, Chancellor Amidala has been re-elected.? Cheers erupte

 

dm1: I haven't read too much on Han with Jacen and Jaina (and Anakin Solo) but I thought fatherhood would change him, mellow him out some and make him more careful. As far as the sleeping--yeah, it shouldn't take him more than another week. I didn't sleep that great when my kids were newborns either, I think I only managed it when my parents were there helping me out.

DarthCambius: I had planned to leave this in three parts but I am enjoying writing in this universe so much, so...it might.

Lady_Misty: You know Han and Leia would make a cute baby.

Luna_Nightshade: The galaxy is, regardless of the Tarkins, in much better shape than it has been. That won't stop the Tarkins from trying though.

Jedi_Liz: I've been debating whether I should have made this the epilogue, and it sort of is...for this part. The one I'm about to post is the epilogue for the entire series.

lost_lauries_grapes: Trust Lando to call it like it is.

The-Solo-Smirk: Thanks! As far as the epilogue...I'm afraid my best hope is that it will be satisfying. It ended up being less cheerful than I thought.

iceaffinity: I hadn't thought of him taking after Padme, but...yes. And thank you!


A/N: I started this series as sort of a message to Anakin (if it's not too weird to send messages to fictional characters, but you follow I hope). The message was, "This is what your life could have been like, if you had trusted the people who really loved you, if you had trusted your instincts as Qui-Gon said, if you had been able to get help overcoming your fears." I hope the epilogue, why I ended it where I did, makes sense in that context. I also wanted to show how the other characters' lives would have been better--not necessarily easier (except for the lives of Obi-Wan and Yoda) but better--if ROTS had played out differently.

I've been writing this series for a year now and I've had so much fun with it that I have mixed feelings about letting it end. There are a few points that will come up in the epilogue, which could easily be expanded upon in a future story. But, I'm going back to work full-time in about three weeks after being a stay-at-home mom for six years, so any epic-length stories will have to be on hold for awhile. I'll have vignettes and short stories though (including yours, PadmeSkywalkerSHM). And Jedi Master Muse makes a pot of dark roast coffee when I least expect it. (He also drinks a fifth of tequila and passes out on a tropical beach when I least expect it, but that's another issue.)

To all of you who have stuck with me this long--thank you so, so much. I hope this has been as fun for you to read as it has been for me to write.

And for the Mara fans, on the epilogue: don't hate me.


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Epilogue


Naboo, 30 years later



Outside the Varykino lake retreat, several men stood watch.

Inside, in one of the larger sitting areas, the Queen of Alderaan and the Fleet Admiral of the Republic Navy stood silently, morosely, waiting for their spouses. Every few minutes one of their children would enter the room and whisper, ?Any word?? So far the only response had been a sad shake of the head.

In an adjoining bedroom, Anakin Skywalker lay dying, his children on either side of him. His breathing grew slower, more labored by the minute.

?It won?t be long now,? Leia said quietly, stroking her father?s hair.

?No,? Luke said, taking Anakin?s organic hand in both of his own. ?And he?s ready.?

?He?s been ready for awhile. Ever since Mom?? Leia broke off. Anakin?s health had begun to go downhill after Obi-Wan?s death five years earlier, but when Padme died, Anakin?s decline accelerated rapidly. The man who existed in the nine months since her passing was a sad shell of his former self, a recluse, often plagued by illness.

The official diagnosis by his medical droid was a ?failing heart.? To the chagrin of his wife an