Beyond - Legends ~~Paternal Instinct~~ 20 ABY, L/M, some H/L/Solo kids, OCs *DONE! EPILOGUE 12/14*

Aww! How cute!

 

SO CUTE!

Adorable!!!

 

That is such a cute drawing!

 

~16~

?Are you ready, Ami??

Ami chewed her lip and nodded. Taking Luke?s hand, she walked with him into the Medical
Center.

It had been a full week since Ami?s operation. In that time she had made the most drastic
change of all. Despite being plagued by a persistent ache in the repaired limb when movement
was attempted, she was eager to regain freedom of motion and wiggled her fingers so much
that Luke had to tell her to take it easy for fear of overdoing. Her overall strength and activity
was almost back up to the norm for a child her age, and she showed it. When she wasn?t
coloring, she took to imitating Luke as he did his calisthenics routine. She wisely didn?t attempt
the push-ups or sit-ups, but was more than willing to try a couple of easy jumps and jogging in
place. Luke enjoyed the company and was happy to see her strong and healthy. She also
popped into his conversations with Tionne and Kam back at the Academy; not actually bouncing
up and down, but poking her head around the corner and giving a little wave and ?Hi!?, much to
the amusement of Luke?s former students.

Leia made it a point to drop by every four or five days to check on them, bringing the children
over occasionally, and Ami alternated playing with them for a few minutes and running back to
Luke for a quick hug before resuming her activities. Luke told Leia of his plans to adopt Ami but
asked her to be careful not to tell Jacen, Jaina, Anakin, or anyone else until the paperwork was
finalized. Luke wasn?t even going to tell Ami until he was certain everything would go through.

Regarding Ami?s adoption, Luke continued to run into dead-ends when trying to contact Fereen.
The closest he came was speaking to a secretary who said Mynce?s communication system
was getting a complete overhaul and would likely be down for an interminable amount of time,
but encouraged him to check back periodically. It was frustrating, but Luke kept his spirits high
and made it a point to enjoy every minute he had with Ami.

The only thing about Ami?s personality only now beginning to show itself was Ami?s
receptiveness to Luke?s thoughts. Thoughts of calm made her calm, and thoughts of frustration
made her frustrated. Luke briefly wondered if little Ami was sensitive to the Force, but she had
shown no other signs of such ability. He was reluctant to test her; the ?mind-push? test he had
used on Corran Horn and Leia had some rather strong results, and he didn?t want to risk hurting
the girl.

In the meantime, Ami?s wrist had healed well, and the day had finally come to take the cast off
and begin physical therapy.

Ami had been unusually talkative during the ride, speaking of wanting to move her wrist again
and wanting to see what it looked like now. She grew quiet as they pulled into the speeders?
parking area and walked toward the entrance. She was nervous but knew Luke would keep her
safe. He squeezed her left hand while they signed in at the front desk and went directly to a
small exam room. Once inside Ami recognized the medic who had examined her before; the
young woman had introduced herself as Eryn Lirata.

Eryn smiled. ?Hi, Ami. How are you??

Ami shrugged. ?Fine,? she said her shy little voice.

?Ready to see how your wrist has healed up?? asked Eryn.

?Uh-huh,? said Ami.

?Okay, then!? Eryn turned to Luke. ?Could you put her up on the table, please??

Luke nodded and crouched behind the girl, readying to lift her up. ?One, two, three. Up you go!?
He picked her up and set her on the exam table.

Ami swung her legs as Eryn retrieved the 3-dimensional X-ray panel and set it on the table. She
chewed her lip nervously as the stiff bone-knitting cast was removed, then she gasped.

The last thing she remembered was a thin, weak, crooked wrist. Under the cast was a wrist that
was still weak, but straight. It looked just like the other healthy wrist, just with underdeveloped
muscles.

Eryn caught Ami?s shocked expression. ?See? It?s straight now. Let?s see what it lo

 

Aww!

Someone should tell Luke about the old Jedi way of finding Force Sensitives: blood scans.

NO!

 

Poor Luke. Our family has adopted and I know all about the frustrations that come with it. But the Ambassdor's message... oh poor Luke and Ami! Please make it better!

 

Oh, no!

But not all is lost, Luke just needs to talk to the Ambassador.


It's great that Ami's recovering so well.


More soon, please!

 

Wonderful progress on recovery and start of therapy and Ami's opening up

Oh dear! Why has the Ambassador been so unavailable until this cryptic message? !!!

If Ami has to go back now, it would be very devastating... she's just now starting to come back and be a happy bundle of sweetness and energy

 

Lady_Misty: Well with the Jedi extinct until Luke was trained, I think Ben and Yoda had more important things on thier minds than midichlorians. Y'know, like defeating the Sith, teaching his sister, that kind of thing. Besides, where's the fun in that?

Book-Geek: We went through a ton of legal issues with my nephew and the final resolution took three years. So foster care, adoption, and too much red tape are personal issues with me. Make it better? You'll have to wait to find out, muwahahahaha!

Hazel: Hang in there!

Jade_Eyes: Glad you like the progress! Fereen has just been unavailible...the reason why shall be revealed in due time.

I'd love to say the next chapter will be posted shortly, but I can't. I haven't written a word in Chapter 17 yet.

 

Just a shorty today. Hope you like!

~17~

There was much to do in only two short days. First of all Luke had to inform the Medical Center
that Ami would not be able to attend the next physical therapy session. Then he had to start
packing for her. Then there were people to talk to, plans to make?

Ami, of course, didn?t know what was going on. She looked on worriedly from the doorway as
Luke packed a bag for her. ?What?th happenin??? she asked in her tiny voice.

Luke glanced up and forced a smile for her. ?We?re going on a little trip, Ami.?

?Where?? asked Ami.

?Do you remember the planet you?re from? Mynce?? Ami nodded. ?We?re going there.?

Ami?s face went from cautious interest to one of complete dread. She bit her lip, blue eyes full of
hurt. ?Y?mean I have to go back??

Luke closed his eyes and winced, bracing himself for the tears that were certain to come.

Sure enough Ami?s eyes were filling with tears as she shook her head and backed out of the
doorway. ?But I don?t wanna go back! I wanna thtay here wif you!?

The Jedi master heaved out a heavy sigh. He wasn?t going to tell Ami about his plan to adopt
her, but in that instant he changed his mind. Luke got to his feet, walked over to Ami, and
gathered her in his arms, sitting on the bed. ?I know, Ami. I don?t want you to go back, either.?

Ami sniffled and lifted her head hopefully. ?Really??

Luke nodded. ?Ami, I love you. I don?t want you to go away. As a matter of fact?I want to adopt
you.?

Ami?s eyes widened for a second before she tilted her head in confusion. ?What?th ?dopt? mean??

?Adopting means when an adult- or two people -bring a child home to live with them. The
parents ? or parent ? takes care of the child and loves them. They become a family.? Luke had
never given the explanation of adoption to anyone, especially a child, and he hoped that Ami
understood.

?Dey do?? A look of hope was once again dawning on Ami?s face as she grasped the meaning.
When Luke nodded her eyes sparkled. ?You wanna ?dopt me??

Luke smiled. ?Yes I do.?

Ami smiled briefly, then bit her lip. ?Den how come we have to go back??

Luke shrugged. ?I tried to tell the people there, but I haven?t heard back from them. So we?re
going back to tell them.?

Ami seemed to accept this. She gave a little bounce and enfolded Luke in a nearly crushing
embrace. After the hug she pulled back and gave the half-packed bag a confused glance. ?But if
you?re gonna ?dopt me, how come we?re packing??

Luke brushed the hair out of Ami?s eyes and regarded her with a gentle look. ?Sometimes
adoption takes a long time. We might have to stay there for a while.?

Ami made a face at the prospect, but after a while seemed to reluctantly accept it. ?Long ath I?m
wif you,? she said, nuzzling into his neck.

Luke didn?t even bother fighting the warmth in his heart. He hugged the little girl back, sending
thoughts of love and peace to her. At the same time, however, the feeling of foreboding was still
there, nagging in the far corner of his mind. He wished he knew what it was so he could get rid
of it, but still it lingered. He did have a guess at what the feeling was.

The adoption might not go through. He couldn?t imagine why.

* * * * * *

The end of the week had come. It was time for Luke to take Ami back to Mynce.

Ami had waved to the Solo clan, which had turned up on the landing platform to see her off.
Jacen promised to show her his pets when she got back. Jaina promised to teach her to play a
game called ?Jump the Gungan?. Anakin said nothing but gave Ami a quick hug before running
back to his parents. Leia wished her well and Han gave her a wink and a thumbs-up.

As Luke took Ami by the hand and led her up the ramp, a distinct presence made itself known in
the Force. He looked up to see Mara leaning against the hand railing, arms crossed, expression
caught somewhere between disapproval and resignation. She didn?t like that Luke had to ta

 

Heart melted there! I'm glad Luke is finally tired of calls not going through and going to Mynce to make everything official!

 

Aw! Ami is so cute.

 

I too wish Mara could go for moral support and to -- knock some heads together

Ami is the best child and to be an OC I think I've ever read -- she's certainly the most lovable!





I hope the adoption goes through!

 

Awwwww! That was adorable.

I hope Luke is able to work things out.

Looks like Mara is still hesitant about taking that extra step.

 

Book-Geek: Hee-hee, my sister melted too. She's been reading it and keeps bugging me to write more.

Lady_Misty:

Jade_Eyes: Yeah, no one can knock heads together better than our Mara, right? Aw, thank you!

Hazel: I can't tell you if things will work out or not. You're going to have to wait! Yeah, Mara's still kind of reluctant. She's afraid of getting too attached to Ami in case things don't work out.

Book-Geek, if you want to be added to the PM list just ask!

Updates are going to take longer for an undetermined amount of time because I'm really busy working on a Fan Film. If I can't finish this before November, I could conceivably take as long as a month or two to post updates because I'll be spending every minute of spare time on the film.

 

Best of luck with the film

 

Yes, best of luck!

But, pleeeaaaseeee don't forget about Ami (and you readers who are dying to know more).

 

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to post an update! I'll try and post the next one sooner, but there are no gaurentees, as we start shooting for the fanfilm in under three weeks.

~18~

Nestled right on the edge between Mid and Outer Rim, Mynce was undoubtably one of the most
far-flung planets in the galaxy. As such a hyperspace jump from the Core, where Coruscant was
located, was difficult at best. With the asteroid belt it became all but impossible. Only the best
pilots, best navicomputers, or a combination of both could hope to make it to the planet
unscathed. All others relied on their shields or avoided the planet altogether. As a result Mynce
was unused to visitors.

Once Luke and Ami had made the jump to hyperspace, Luke knew they would have some four
hours to kill. Since Ami had brought a ball with her, he had a makeshift physical therapy session
with her to help strengthen her wrist and hand. Ami kept dropping the ball but was determined
not to give up. She then exercised her hand by squeezing Luke?s thumb and making fists. After
the session was over her wrist and hand were sore, but she was smiling.

After this ended, Luke told her three stories and then watched as she spun around in circles,
holding Tarfful by his arms.

The reversion alarm suddenly went off, making Luke look up at the blinking console and Ami
lose concentration and fall. After helping the dizzy youngster back into her crash webbing, Luke
sat down and tapped a couple of buttons. Sure enough, they had arrived at Mynce.

Luke sighed and pushed back the feeling of regret. ?Okay, Artoo. Get ready to bring her out of
hyperspace.? He rested his hand on the throttle as Artoo beeped an affirmative. ?Three, two,
one.? The throttle was eased back. Starlines reverted back to stars. Mynce and its? asteroid field
was directly ahead.

Ami flinched and clutched her toy. ?How come dere?th rockth in thpathe??

Luke took a moment to fine-tune the sublights to be more responsive. ?Those are called
asteroids. They?re a little like leftovers.?

Ami?s eyes widened. ?Are we gonna hit ?em?? she asked fearfully.

Luke shook his head. ?No. But I?m going to have to do some fancy flying so we won?t hit them.
The ship?s going to be moving around a lot, so stay in your crash-webbing, OK??

?OK.? Ami swallowed and hugged the Wookiee toy a little closer.

Luke took a deep breath and watched the asteroid carefully, waiting for the perfect moment to
throttle forward. Suddenly there was an opening. ?Here we go.? He throttled forward.

They flight was smooth, but understandably erratic. They dodged asteroids and weaved in and
out of the hurling space debris. Ami watched with wide eyes but said nothing. Using his sheer
piloting skill and the Force, Luke was easily able to navigate the asteroid field without much
trouble. Just as they were exiting the outer space obstacle course, Luke was surprised by a pair
of asteroids that came out of nowhere, forcing him to execute a barrel roll. Ami didn?t so much
as shriek, which Luke was puzzled about. Ami had been ever more vocal in the past four weeks,
never failing to let him know if something bothered her. He shrugged it off as nerves.

They landed in the Northern Hemisphere without a problem. Luke realized he could have been
imagining things, but the orbital traffic controllers seemed to be a bit less suspicious. They
actually went so far as to say ?Welcome to Mynce? and ?Have a nice day.? Luke told himself if
the people were more cheerful it couldn?t be that bad.

Mynce was still the same discouraging half-and-half color, but Luke knew it would be years
before any green could return to the South. The land was too badly scarred.

After the landing Luke unbuckled Ami from her crash webbing with a sigh. ?We?re here,? he
announced.

Ami nodded but said nothing. Her silence continued as they locked up poor Artoo (who was
none too happy about it), picked up her bags, and walked down the loading ramp. Upon seeing
the different landscap

 

SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMI'S GETTING ADOPTED!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

YAY! Luke gets to adopt Ami.

Should I be worried about those teenagers?

 

Yay for the adoption !!

I have an oopsy feeling about those thugs in the alley

 

Yeah, should we be worried about the teenagers?

It's good that Luke got green-lighted to adopt Ami.

 

Book-Geek: Yay! I made someone squee!

Hazel, Jade_Eyes, and Lady_Misty: Glad everyone approves!

As to whether or not you should worry about the teenage thugs, all I'll say is this...as an author I try not to bring up something unless it affects the story.

Post-production on the FanFilm is almost over, so there's precious little time left. I lucked out with a quiet day today. After filming begins it's going to be nearly impossible to have any free time until June. I don't want to drag it out that long, but it may be next summer before this story is finished.

Hang in there, everyone!

 

Teenagers are a problem unto themselves without extra issues. Of course they're going to be trouble. Hey, is there a PM list for this? Or do I just need to check in more often?

 

Yes, there's a PM list for this. Want to be added?