Beyond - Legends Dawning (2.0) - Luke/Mara, Ben - AU repost & revamp - Completed August 12th

I wish all of that had been a nightmare for me, too. I could wake up and the EU would make sense and Mara wouldn't be dead. Yay!!

 

I have ff-induced amnesia. All the profic stuff - wham! Disappeared in a puff of smoke when I rubbed the lamp and the Genie jumped out and granted me a wish. LOL !!!

 

Chapter 3

Mara sat leaned forward in the lounger that was next to Luke's bed when the image above the holo-comm started to form. She recognized the head and shoulders of the person as Veri Kayn, a 'friend' of Ben's. She had come to the temple two years ago after completing her training at the academy. Mara knew that Ben was more than just 'friends' with the girl.

“Greetings Master Skywalker,” the girl said with a smile and a yawn. Veri was an average-looking human with a small face and shoulder length brown-black hair, tanned skin, and dark, hazel eyes. “You're smiling. Why do I get the feeling that this is a message for Ben from his mother and not a message for all of us from the grand master herself?”

“Because it is, Veri. Is Ben awake yet? It's rather important.”

“Who knows if he's awake or not? Killa, Mir'danne and I tend to avoid Ben's, Nakom's and Dillyn's rooms before midday.” Veri walked down a hallway, carrying the holo-comm unit with her. There then was banging on door. “Is Benny-boy up yet?”

The girl got a loud groan in return.

“Have it your way then,” Veri said in an exasperated tone. “Cover up anything weird 'cuz I'm coming in,” she announced as she opened the door.

Mara then heard girlish screams coming from her son's roommates.

“Veri! Get out!”

“Oh shut it, I already know you all still sleep with stuffed ewoks.”

“We do not! That's only Ben.”

“Yeah, sure. Where is Benny-boy?”

“Sanisteam. Why?”

Veri started walking again. “Because he has a call from his mommy.”

After a few seconds there was the thrumming of a sanisteam and another knock on a door. “Ben!”

“What?”

* * *

When Luke heard his boy's voice, so much was lifted off of him, even if he didn't recognize it. Ben's voice had changed, it was deeper now.

'He's turned into a man,' he stated, sadden by the fact that he missed it.

“Your mommy is on the holo-comm. She says it's important,” the girl who had answered the holo-comm said.

“Just open the door, Vere, I've unlocked it, and set it on the counter,” Ben said.

Veri muttered something Luke didn't pick up, then there was the sound of the door opening and closing again. A few moments later, the water was shut off and Ben started talking.

“Mom, what is it? I was kinda busy,” Ben said in a rush.

“What? No ‘hello mommy dearest’? If she didn’t answer the holo-comm, I’d think Veri was in the sanisteam with you,” Mara mused.

“MOOOOM! What is it that you want?” Ben mock-whined.

“I need you to come home right away.”

“Yeah, sure, but why?” He suddenly sounded concerned.

“I think your father somehow caught on to the fact that we were finally plotting to kill him and well….”

Luke heard the holo-comm being turned. When it stopped, he knew it was on him.

He huffed twice to make sure he could get the words out as loud as possible. “Hi... Ben.” He them huffed some more. Luke smiled as wide as he could.

There was a moment of silence then... “Dad? DAD!” then crying. “Mom? MOM! Can... can he hear me? Is he lucid?”

“Yes, Ben. He can hear and understand you,” Mara said, moving to sit beside Luke on the bed. “He's just tired and weak.” She held his hand.

“When did he wake up?”

“A couple hours ago,” Mara replied.

“Dad?... I... I don't know what to say.”

“There’s a first,” Mara muttered.

“Don't have to...” Luke huffed again to finish, “say anything. Just come.”

“Alright, Dad.” Luke could tell that his son was holding back tears. He was too. “Rest and get better and I'll be there in a few days. Mom, Dad, I love you, I'm leaving now.”

“We love you too, Ben,” Luke breathed.

With that, the call was disconnected.

“He's such a handsome man now. He reminds me a lot of you, only, he's much taller. I think he gets that from your father,” Mara said, rolling the comm unit back. “And those feet of his!”

“Big?”

“HUGE! For a while I thought I was going to have to buy him wookiee shoes. You definitely chose some interesting years to miss.”

“Puberty?”

“I believe Corellians have another name for it: hell. It was not fun for any of us. I'm just thankful for Han and Corran. They had to explain everything to me… and then I made them explain it to him.”
74h
“Mara, can you grab me another blanket? I think I need another nap before Cilghal comes and tortures me.”

“Good to know you are still my Tatooine farmboy; always cold.”

* * *

Mara grabbed the quilt from the back of the lounger. When Luke first went into the coma, she would often sleep in his room with the quilt they had on their bed when they first got married.

She the remembered something. She looked down at her left thumb and found his wedding band there.

When Luke was taken in for his first operation, moments after she had landed on Coruscant after rescuing him from Kaven, they had given her his wedding band and lightsaber. She had put his lightsaber on the nightstand beside his bed but had kept the ring on her thumb.

“Here. I almost forgot something.” She slipped his ring off and placed it on his ring finger on his left hand.

She could see him smile.

Mara then spread the quilt out on top of him and tucked it behind his shoulders so it would stay up.

“I want to run get ready for the day and grab some stuff, okay.”

“Okay, but kiss me again before you go.”

She closed her eyes and kissed him.

* * *

He kissed her back as much as his body would allow it. As she pulled away, it was only natural for him to open his eyes, so he tried, and his eyelids responded.

Light flooded his sight, blinding him. He instantly shut his eyes. After complete darkness for four years, he was not used to the light.

“Oh! Here Luke,” Mara said in a rush. Her voice then became commanding. “Lights: off.” She then rubbed his cheeks softly with her thumbs. “Try again, please.”

He tried again. He was able to do it this time. Luke saw his wife in the dim light of his beeping medical monitors and the sun peeking through the buildings outside. He couldn't help but smile. Her hair was as red as he remembered it to be, only it was now streaked with more grey. Her face had aged too, but gracefully. She had laugh – or worry – lines and Luke hoped it was the former. But she was still beautiful to him. Her eyes still sparkled and were the same emerald green. She was dressed in drab, dark brown robes. The sight sadden him a bit. He was supposed to be the drab, boring one, she used to wear such pretty tunics in blues and greens.

He still smiled. “Beautiful,” he gasped.

She smiled as his eyelids started to droop. Damn his body.

“Thanks deary!” she said with mock enthusiasm. This was getting too mushy for her, he could tell. “You should sleep. We'll tell the rest of the family and the galaxy that you are awake when you wake up.”

“I love you,” he whispered as he closed his eyes.

“Yeah, I got that. I love you too,” she whispered back. She then left.

As she was leaving, he opened one of his eyes to see her bottom as she walked out the door. Yup, that part of her anatomy was still downright sexy, like the rest of her body.

She spun around just before exiting. “I heard that,” she said, tapping her temple. “You dirty, dirty, old man.”

Luke grinned as he closed his eye and let sleep take him.

* * *

Ben trembled as he dressed in his light brown Jedi robes that also function as a flight suit. His dad was awake! He couldn't believe it. He had given his father up for dead long ago. People found it odd that his mother still had hope, but he didn't. Obviously she was right and he was wrong. Why was she always right?

Oh, yeah, because she was Mom.

He left the 'fresher to see his love and his interrogator, which were the same person: Veri Kayn. She was leaning up against the opposite wall, playing with her lightsaber hilt.

“So, what did Mommy want?” When he didn't answer, she looked up and saw him. “Ben?” Her voice was full of concern now. She almost never call him Ben. It was always 'Benny-boy', which she knew he hated. She called him that for the soul purpose of pissing him off. “Is everything alright?”

“Get Artoo unplugged. I have to quickly pack,” even his voice was shaky. He went to go back to his room.

She stopped him and looked up, into his eyes. “Why?”

“My... my father is awake.” He then crumpled to the floor in tears.

She knelt beside him, also in shock, and rubbed his back. She didn't know what to say. Then Killa, Mir'danne, Nakom, and Dillyn appeared.

Mir'danne, a blue skinned twi'lek, spoke, “Ben? What’s wrong with him, Veri?”

Veri looked up. “His dad is awake.”

“Master Skywalker is awake?!” Nakom exclaimed.

They all were in awe. “He has to get back to Coruscant,” Dillyn stated. “Veri, why don't you take him in the Kazismo? If anything goes wrong, we will still have our X-Wings here. He will be in no condition to see Master Skywalker after doing the trip in his X-Wing.”

Veri nodded. “Can you guys get him and me packed. I'll help him out to the ship. Come on Ben. Let's go see Daddy.”

 

Great chspter, looking forward to more.

 

That was a very sweet chapter. Do I still have reasons to hiss at Veri?

 

Yay! Ben loves his daddy...so sweet.

 

Nice chapter.

 

Hi, Bri, started this morning with Hazel's drabbles and this post. My day is set. Loved the teasing and Ben's reaction - aww! And LOL Mara is still lovely, inside and out. And I bet Luke can't wait until he can have his husbandly fun with her and romp with her and get their groove on through the Force, need ysalamiri big time then LOL !!!

 

An: Thanks for reading everyone. And yes, Hazel, you still have reasons to hiss at Veri. I'm currently on chapter 9 of the revamp. One day I'll get my butt in gear and finish it so I can update this more regularly.


Chapter Four

Even before he woke, Luke knew his wife was at his side, subconsciously. He could feel her. He opened his eyes and saw her from the corner of his eye. He was disappointed by the fact that he couldn't move his head to face her. His neck muscles still would not respond to him.

"Good morning, beautiful. It's morning, right?" He was surprised at how easy talking was and how clear and strong his voice was, compared to earlier.

"Yes, handsome, it’s oh-eight-thirty," she said, getting up and sitting on the edge of his bed to face him. She pulled down the quilt and held his left hand. "Cilghal wants me to get some food into you before we do the physical examination and contact Han, Leia, Jaina and Jag." Now she wore a green tunic and black pants. He smiled when he realized that she was wearing his favourite colours.

"How are they? Are they mad at me for killing Jacen?" Luke asked with apprehension in his voice.

"Well, Jag is Jag. He's too still pissed off at me and Corran to be mad at you for anything. We appointed him leader of the New Empire after Gilad Pellaeon died, Pellaeon died shortly after GA and the Imperial Remnant joined together."

"He doesn't like the job?"

"Oh, he likes the job. He just doesn't like the task of babysitting the council of Moffs that goes along with the job. He says you're his favourite in-law since you don't annoy him or talk back. As for Han, you know he pretty much disowned Jacen after he killed Boba Fett's daughter while she was a prisoner for no reason during an interrogation."

"Yes, I remember that."

"Han will tell anyone that asks that he lost both sons in the Yuuzhan Vong war. In his mind, Jacen never returned as his boy, so he really did lose both Jacen and Anakin in the same war. As for Jaina, she knew Jacen wasn't himself. She could tell, maybe better than all of us, that he was going to cause her great pain. She had a vision, shortly before you killed Jacen, of herself killing him. She believes that you saved her from that great pain."

"In my dream, she was the one to kill Jacen."

Mara nodded, then sighed. "As for Leia, she was a mess after she felt Jacen die. I could feel her anger, confusion and sadness. I explained to her that you only went to talk to him and that he probably attacked you first. Then I let Jaina see Jacen's body, the holos I got R6 to take of the scene when I first got to you and the holos that I took of you while you were on the Shadow. Jaina figured the same thing I did; that you took a beating from Jacen while you tried to find a peaceful end."

Luke tried to remember if that was true or not, but couldn't.

Mara obviously read his mind. "Cilghal said that you will probably never be able to remember what happened after we went to bed that night and not to be concerned about it. It's supposed to be normal. Your head took a beating, so she is surprised that you don’t have more amnesia. I, personally, think you should be thankful of that fact. You probably don't want to remember the pain."

"I would still like to be able to see those holos you took of me after the fight." He wanted to see for himself whether he could remember the fight so he could know for sure that Jacen attacked him first. Maybe the holos would trigger something in his memory.

"Alright. If you want to. They are on one of the data-pads at home. I'll get it while you are in surgery later today."

"Surgery?" he asked, confused and concerned.

She gave him a lopsided smile then poked the bed below his right arm where his right hand should have been. "No more stump. Cilghal assures me that it's something you have been through before and that it shouldn't take anymore than a few hours. I'll finally get to talk to you while you're still drowsy from anaesthesia. Leia always claims it was hilarious after Bespin, but I want to see for myself."

"Great," Luke groaned sarcastically. "Go on about Leia. Is she still upset about Jacen?"

"Well. After Jaina told her what she thought, she demanded to see it for herself. We, Jaina, Han, Ben and I, took her down to the morgue. Han and Jaina had already seen the body, so they knew what to expect. Leia was so mortified that she didn't say anything but that she wanted to see you. By that time, you had been moved out of surgery and into a bacta tank. None of us had seen you yet. When we went to see you, we all broke into tears, even me. Leia was a complete wreck and had to be carried out by Han. A few days later, she was still in bed but had called for me. She told me that seeing that her son had done that to his own uncle was worse than seeing Alderaan blown to pieces. Leia said she saw me and imagined Han in that tank and instantly understood. She forgave you and even supported your decision to kill Jacen. She felt like a failure as a mother. She blamed herself. Han, Jaina, Ben and I assured her other wise, but I think, deep down, she still blames herself."

"I want to see her."

"You can comm her, after you eat something. I'm going to go get you some food, be right back." She kissed him and left.

She came back with a tray and grinned.

He knew that they were going to start him on semi-solid foods first, to get his stomach used to eating again. He probably wouldn't be eating much, what he would be eating would be mushy and gross and he was going to have to remain on a nutrient drip for a while.

Mara set the tray on the bedside table and sat down on her usual spot on his bed. She then pulled out a pillow from a cubby behind his bed. "I'm going to use this to tilt your head forward a bit more so it's easier to eat. Tell me if you get dizzy. I don't feel like cleaning up barf today."

"Fine," he mumbled as she tilted his head forward, placed the pillow on top of the other one, and put his head back.

She then picked up the cup off the tray. "Cilghal wants to see if you can suck juice from a straw. It would make my life easier if you could," she said, holding the cup and putting the straw in his mouth. He closed his mouth and sucked loudly. He was glad that he wouldn't have to rely totally on Mara for drinking, he would take any bit of independence at this point.

"No 'sucking' jokes," he said once he was done.

"Fine," Mara pouted. She then picked up the bowl and spoon. She scooped a spoonful and held it up for him to see.

"What is it?" he asked, staring at the creamy, cream-coloured substance.

"Pablum, kinda like meal-o-oats, but soupier. Its narnar flavoured. Ben used to love this according to Tionne."

"And how old was he at the time?"

"Two."

"So, I'm eating baby-food."

"Just open up."

"No."

"Skywalker."

"No," he was being completely serious.

"It's not that bad, see?" She tasted some herself. "Yummy, yummy." She had way too much enthusiasm in her voice.

"Liar."

"Luke."

"No."

"It's like revenge for not looking after Ben when he was that age," Mara muttered, exasperated. "If you don't open up, you don't get to play with Han today."

"Mara, are you threatening me like I'm a two-year-old?"

"Yeah! You're acting like one! Now, open up or else I'm going to start calling you Skycrawler." Her eyes then narrowed. "Or worse: Lukie-Pookie."

He instantly opened his mouth and let her feed him the spoonful. He tasted it and swallowed. "It's not that bad," he said in surprise. "Give me more," he said, waiting with an open mouth.

She rolled her eyes, but laughed as she fed him more.

Once the small bowl was finished, he was full. She washed him up, got rid of the second pillow. “Full?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“Good. I’m going to go get Cilghal.”

He nodded and she left.

She returned shortly with Cilghal. Mara took a seat on a lounger beside his bed and put a hand on his shoulder while Cilghal stood at his side.

“Are you feeling any stronger Luke?” the healer asked.

“Yeah, much stronger.”

“Excellent,” Cilghal said. “Can you move anything besides your facial features?”

“No.”

Mara looked at Cilghal.

“It could be for any number of reasons. Tell me if you can feel this.”

Luke felt something poking his toes. “Yeah, I can feel that.”

“What does that mean?” Mara asked.

“It means that, despite the fact that he is paralysed, he isn't numb. He might not be able to move, but he can still feel, which is good news. It means that the dart that went into his brain stem didn't do serious harm to his spinal cord. A complete upper spinal cord break was our biggest worry four years ago, remember?”

“I remember. Will he ever be able to move again?” Luke heard the concern in Mara's voice and felt her hand move across his body to hold and slightly squeeze his hand.

“I don't know. Either his paralysis is from muscle atrophy or a less severe spinal cord injury. If it is from atrophy, there is a good chance that he will slowly regain movement as his muscles start to build up again. If it is from an incomplete spinal cord injury, the damage may be permanent. I’m not a spinal cord expert, but I know incomplete injuries vary widely, but in many cases the patient can still feel or even have some movement below the injury depending on how it was broken, but often there is a permanent disability. It could also be from the actual poison from the dart. If it is, only time will tell if he will regain movement.”

He wasn't sure how he felt about this, he was happy to be alive and completely relieved that he could feel everything, but if he could never move his body more than he could now, life as he knew it would change drastically. Would he be able to walk again, or even move his arms. Would he ever be able to spar with Ben, or hug Mara?

But he had Mara and Ben, that was all that mattered.

“Luke,” Mara explained for his benefit, “The poison that was put into your system was meant to destroy the connection from your brain to your muscles and nerves, but leave the connection from muscles and nerves to your brain intact. It was designed to make you feel your death, but unable to do anything about it.”

There were a few moments of silence as Luke took this in. Jacen had planned to make him die painfully. His nephew had wanted him to suffer as he died and not be able to do a darn thing about it. Jacen had indeed died a monster.

“We will give you the best physical therapy that we can to make sure you gain as much movement back as possible,” Cilghal said, breaking the silence. “Now, let's see if the rest of you is still in good health.

* * *

After Luke was deemed strong enough for visitors , Mara got the comm-unit. She typed in the code for Han and Leia's place but put the unit in front of him.

Luke never felt so nervous. He smiled as the call was picked up by Han, who was rubbing his eyes and not looking at who was calling.

"Mara. What do you want? It's been a late night. Leia ripped into me good when Jaina tripped over a trail of my socks while she was here visiting us while Jag was in a meeting; then Leia kept feeling of these weird feelings of happiness from Luke, which I know sounds insane but she swears something is going on with him and she wants to visit him sometime today--." At that point Han looked up.

Luke gave Han a grin. "I'd actually love it if you two could stop by today."

"Yeah, he's been asking about you two all morning," Mara called even though the image recorder wasn't picking her up.

Han was still speechless. At that point, Leia did the same thing as Mara just did.

"HAN! Is that Mara? I want to talk to her." She was speaking out of comm pickup range.

A grin then spread across Han's mouth. Not even the shock of seeing his best friend wake from a four year coma could stop him from annoying his wife. "Nope, it's the kid!" he called.

"Why does everyone treat me like a two-year-old?" Luke whined.

Mara then sat beside him on the bed. "Because you act like one, dear."

"HAN! Is it Jaina? I want to talk to her as well," Leia shouted again.

"I swear she's going deaf," Han muttered with his infamous lopsided grin. He then shouted: "No! I said: it's the kid!"

"Is it Jag?! Ask him how Jaina is!"

"LEIA! Why don't you come see who it is!"

"Han!" Luke could hear the irritation in her stomps. "Wouldn't it be easier if you told me who--" his twin sister then came into view. She gasped as she held onto Han.

"Hey Leia," Luke said with a smile.

She looked like she was going to faint when he said her name. "L-- l-- Luke?"

"Yes, Leia. I'm awake. Come on over here. I want a kiss from my favourite twin sister."

She nodded, she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"We will be there as soon as we can, Luke," Han answered when it became apparent that Leia was unable to speak.

The line went dead, but Luke knew what was going on at the Solo apartment at this point. Han was getting an earful from his tiny wife.

"Now can we call Jaina?"

Mara nodded. "I know their personal comm codes, so there will be no jumping through hoops to contact them. Jag's secretaries are so annoying." She keyed in a series of numbers, then the call connected. Jag appeared instantly.

"You have to help me Mara." The poor kid was so desperate, he didn't even notice Luke. "Jaina is losing her mind because of this pregnancy. She swears Master Skywalker is awake and wants to go see him."

Jag was then interrupted by his wife who was out of view.

"Jagged! Where the hell are you? Where are my boots? I don't give a--- WHAT THE KRIFF?" Jaina had waddled into their comm area.

Luke laughed. "I guess this is what happens when you rise from the dead."

Jag looked from his screaming wife to the comm-unit. He gulped for air.

Mara nodded. "I guess so. But these two love birds are under a lot of stress. Plus, they are sleep-deprived, so they are not exactly themselves." She then turned to the couple. "If Jaina will shut up for a moment, Luke is going in for surgery to get a new hand later today, but he would like to see you two before he does."

Jag, now red in the face, managed to get his wife breathing normally again.

"Master Skywalker, I would love to but I have a 'mofference' to attend," he looked at Mara and groaned. "Plus Han will be there, won't he?"

Mara simply smiled. "A mofference is a meeting of tiny minds from what used to be the Imperial Remnant. Jag just loves them," it was hard to miss her sarcasm when she explained
this to Luke. She then turned back to Jag. "And, yes, your in-laws are on their way here as we speak." She then turned to Luke. “Han isn’t too fond of Jag, especially when he put Jaina in her current… condition.”

"Mara, you are well aware that is an understatement. Han threatened to kill me when we announced our engagement. He actually tried to when he found out I got her pregnant. I'll drop off Jaina at the Jedi temple on my way to the former Imperial Palace. Her parents can take her back home."

Jaina was jolted out of her silence. "What? You will do no such thing. Uncle Luke, I will be right there because I will be driving myself there."

"No, Jaina. We have talked about this before --" Jag had reached down and was presumably rubbing Jaina's out of sight belly.

"Yes. And I agreed that I'd stop flying when my flight suit stopped fitting. There was nothing in there about driving speeders. Uncle Luke, I'll be there as soon as I can start up my speeder." With that, Jaina ended the call.

Luke then laughed and said to Mara, "Jagged certainly has his hands full." He was slightly annoyed by the fact he couldn't move his head to see Mara when she was next to him.

"Just imagine him in a couple months when he has two babies to deal with," Mara mused as she sat beside her husband. She knew perfectly well that he was annoyed with the fact that he could not see her. But he was going to have to learn how to ask for help when he needed it. If he didn't figure it out soon, the two of them were going to have a 'chat'.

It wasn't long before she felt the Solos nearing.

 

Great update. News I suppose is cautiously optimistic.

 

Loved everyone 's reactions to Luke. I'm happy Leia understood his actions towards Jacen.

 

I'm glad everyone knows that Luke's awake now. His healing can begin.

 

I think you two kissed enough on Hoth!

Very nice update. I like the reactions from everybody seeing Luke awake.

 

Loved this chapter

 

It's all so sweet...
Now we just need Ben to complete the family

P.S We want more! as always.

 

Thanks everyone for reading!


Chapter 5


Han Solo kept glancing over at his wife as they drove through the Coruscanti skies. The tiny woman with greying rich brown hair and chocolate eyes was wearing a lovely white top with a light brown, lacy skirt and boots and was trembling. Han knew Leia wasn't trembling from the cold, but at a stop, he shrugged off his black, nerf-hide jacket and placed it on her lap before going again.

“Put it on,” he ordered gruffly. Han knew not to order around his wife, but he also knew Leia was deep in thought, so she wouldn't pay attention to how cold her body was getting.

She looked up with tear filled eyes, tears, she refused to let fall. She complied.

The rest of the drive went in silence.

When Han parked the speeder in the Jedi temple hangar, he went around to open the door for his wife.

She didn't move to get out. Without preamble, Leia said, “Do you think he remembers?”

Han was not stupid. He knew what she was talking about. He knelt down in front of her. “If he does, he obviously does not blame you in the slightest. No one does, Leia. Why do you?” He had asked her this many times before.

“I was his mother Han, I was supposed to raise him right!“ Leia growled. She then turned away from him, suddenly subdued. “I just want to see Luke.”

Han sighed, running his fingers through his white hair. His wife was just too stubborn at times. Hopefully, the one person more stubborn than her could help her. He nodded and held out his hand. “Then let’s go see Luke.”

. . .

When Luke felt his sister and his brother-in-law near, Mara got off the bed and sat on the lounger.

“I have a feeling that Leia will need me to tell her some stuff. Would you mind leaving with Han when the time is right?”

Mara smiled. “Sure. I have to go talk to Corran soon anyways. He is the co-Grand Master along with me. I left him a message this morning, but he is going to want an actual explanation on why I'm not up there, helping him.”

Then, the doors opened and Han walked in with a trembling Leia under his arm.

“Han! Leia!” Luke said with a huge smile. He would have spread his arms and gestured for a hug, but since he couldn’t, he said, “Come here. I may not be able to reciprocate, but I need a hug. Mara sucks at comforting,” he added, hoping to get a laugh from his sister.

Mara turned to him and swatted him.

“Ouch,” Luke exclaimed. “You’re hitting a defenceless cripple.”

“Luke,” Leia breathed as she slipped out of Han’s hold and crossed the room. She leaned down, put her arms around him and held him tight. She unintentionally leaned his torso forward, causing his head to flop back.

His stiff neck cracked loudly and he moaned in pain.

“Oh, Luke. I am so sorry,” she said, flustered. She gently moved her hand to cradle his head and lift it back up. She used her other arm to lower him back. She then started crying as she turned away from him.

“Leia,” he said softly as he saw Mara and Han leave. “I’m not hurt. Please, move the lounger so I can see you, sit down and hold my hand.”

She slid the lounger and angled it so Luke could see her clearly, then sat down, still crying unable to look up at him.

“Leia,” he said softly again. “Please, hold my hand, I can‘t move it to comfort you, but I still want to hold your hand.”

“No you don’t, Luke. I was the mother of a monster.” She still had her head down. “You don’t remember how you got here, do you?”

“No, but Mara told me what happened. Leia, I know what you think and feel. I would feel absolutely horrible if Ben did something to you. But you have to understand that I do not blame you in the slightest. I know you did your best raising your children; Anakin was a great man, even if he did not live to see adulthood. And Jaina,” Luke laughed to lighten the mood. “She defied Han and married Jag, didn’t she? By the way, I want to hear that story. She is a strong, stubborn woman, much like her mother. And Jacen was a great boy, with plenty of potential, thanks to you and Han. But the ’Vong War affected us all. We sent out boys, your boys, out to fight monsters. They were not ready for it, I don’t think any of us were. One died and I still blame myself for it--”

Leia suddenly looked up at him. “What?” she said in disbelief.

“Leia. I don’t see how you’re not mad at me. I have no reason to be mad at you, Jacen did what he did and there was nothing you could have done to stop it and you did nothing wrong in upbringing him. If you figure you’re at fault because you raised him, then I’m also at fault because I trained him. But we are not at fault because we also raised and trained Anakin and Jaina. You should be the one with the grudge, I killed both of your sons.”

She then moved her hand to hold his. “Luke, how could I be mad at you? Neither death was your fault. Anakin sacrificed himself willingly. The ‘Vong were at fault for his death. And Jacen needed to be stopped, you unfortunately had to use your last option. He brought his own death upon himself.”

“Just as Jacen, and the ‘Vong, are the only ones to blame for his own descent into darkness. Leia, I love you, don’t blame yourself, please.”

“Luke. I love you too,” she said, using her free hand to dry her eyes.

“Good. Now give me that kiss I want.”

She smiled, stood up, and kissed him on the forehead.

Luke gave her a smile as Leia sat back down. She smiled back. “Are we okay now?” he asked.

“Yes, Luke, we are,” she said, squeezing his hand slightly.

“Good. I hear you’re going to be a grandma.” Luke then wondered about Allana. Did the Solos know that Jacen had a daughter with Tenel Ka? The smile and the feeling within the Force of excitement and slight apprehension that Leia gave him told him that they didn’t. The little girl would have never been in danger, so her mother probably never told them.

Was Allana even Jacen’s daughter, or had his mind made up that?

“Yes,” Leia beamed. “Our first grandbabies, Luke, I’m so excited. Han grows pale every time they are mentioned, but I know he can’t wait either.”

Luke laughed. He then found it slightly difficult to breathe, almost like he had to cough. He tried, but only managed a weak one.

“Luke? I can sense your discomfort. Do you need me to get Cilghal?”

“Yes, please.”

Leia rushed out of the room and came back, followed by Cilghal, Mara, Han and Corran Horn.

Leia, Mara and Han all looked and felt worried, Corran looked and felt like he was in shock and Cilghal looked and felt mildly annoyed with them all.

The Mon Cal was the one to approach Luke.

“Do you need to cough, Luke?”

“Yes. How do I?” he felt awkward asking someone that, especially in front of so many people he knew so well.

Cilghal turned to glare at the audience that had gathered. Luke was surprised, he didn’t know Mon Cals could glare.

She then focused on Leia. “You said he was struggling to breathe.”

Leia looked down to avoid the dirty looks. “I was worried.”

Cilghal then turned back to Luke. “I’m going to lay you down and teach Mara how to help you cough.”

Great. Now I even need Mara to help me cough, Luke thought as he was put back down. He used to be a totally independent man. People depended on him. Now he depended on others for the simplest things.

Cilghal waved Mara over and showed her where to put her hands: just underneath his ribcage. “Now, Luke, I want you to take a deep breath and cough and, Mara, I’ll show you how much pressure to apply,” she said, placing her own fin-like hands on top of Mara’s. “Whenever you are ready Luke.”

With that, he coughed and Mara pressed down, letting him get out a strong cough.

Cilghal then rose him back up again. “If you need to clear your lungs, Luke, please tell me, Mara or whoever you are with. If you don’t, you could end up with an infection and I don’t think you want to be spending more time with me than you have to.” She then turned to Mara. “Keep an eye on his breathing. I know your husband can be hard headed at times. I‘ll be back in about forty-five minutes to prep him for surgery.” With that, she left.

“I see that you told Corran,” Luke said with a smile.

It wasn’t long before Luke, Corran and Han were catching up.

“Hey, Han. Hey Corran.”

“Hey Kid,” Han said with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good,” Luke replied.

“Good. Just do me a favour and don’t do that again. I had to actually go to Lando whenever I needed a break from stress, and that’s not much of a break.”

“Yeah, Luke. Please don’t leave me to deal with your wife alone again. She is scarier than Mirax,” Corran said with a grin.

After awhile, Mara slipped from her side conversation with Leia, the two were discussing Luke’s condition. She approached the bedside to break up the male re-bonding.

“Luke,” she said softly, turning his head to the side so he could see her. “You’re exhausted, I can tell.”

He looked at her guiltily. He had been giving himself artificial energy from the Force.

Han put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, kid, you just woke up from a coma, we understand. You should rest.”

Corran nodded, “Yes, Luke. Rest and get better so that I don’t have to be Grand Master any longer than I have to be. I gotta get back to work,” he then looked from Luke to Mara, “Since I can tell somebody won’t be helping me anytime soon. Geez. We have three Grand Masters, yet I’m the one doing all the work.”

“Oh, stop your caterwauling Horn, and go send a message to all Jedi telling them that their all great and power leader is back and they can stop complaining to me about you,” Mara ordered him.

Corran made a face at her. “They complain more about you than they do me. But while I’m at it, I’ll set up a press conference for Master Solo,” he said smugly as he turned to the princess. “You can deal with the press, Leia.” He then waved as he left.

Leia let out a string of mild curses that she picked up from her husband as Corran left.

“Leia, you’re a master now?”

Leia nodded happily.

“We made Jaina a master too,” Mara said. “She isn’t on the council though.”

“Will she be here soon?” Luke asked. “I can feel her close.”

Then, as if summoned, Jaina walked through the door, looking much like her mother when Leia was pregnant with Jaina and Jacen. She looked even more like the holos of Padme, Luke’s and Leia’s mother when she was pregnant with them. She wore Jedi robes that were clearly custom made.

“Uncle Luke!” the woman said, joyfully as she made her way, lacking any sort of grace, to Luke’s side. When she got there, she looked unsure of what to do.

“You can hug me, Jaina. Or do I call you Master Solo Fel now?” he said, wryly.

She smiled, hugged him to the best of both of their abilities and the situation, then settled down in the lounger.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Tired, weak, so unlike myself.”

She nodded. Luke then realized that not only did he have to get used to this situation, but his family did as well. It was obvious that she was not accustomed to seeing him so feeble.

“I know the feeling,” she said, placing her hands atop her belly.

He gave her a grin. “Yes. I see that I’m going to be a great-uncle soon. Please tell me all about the wedding.” Luke then heard and saw Han groan and roll his eyes in the background, “And ignore your dad. I know you’re good at it. Tell me so that I won’t have to talk anymore,” he said with a yawn.

 

Wonderful getting reacquainted scenes. Enjoyed the differing moods, and candid talk blended with snark.

 

Hooray more! I always loved these scenes. But poor luke

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

This situation can't be easy for Luke, but at least hisnfamily is gathering around him.

 

A/N Sorry for the delay in the update. I'm finished this now so updates should be more frequent.


Chapter 6

After several minutes of catching up with his family, Luke felt Cilghal nearing and knew that his time with his family was almost up.

Cilghal then entered with a cuff-like device and a tube of gel. "I hate to break up the party, but I have to prep Luke for surgery now."

"Alright. Mara can stay though, right?" Luke asked, remembering how things had been done in the past. He had been allowed one person to stay by his side right until he went into the operating room. Not that he was scared or nervous, it was simply nice to have company.

The healer nodded.

"Okay." Luke looked at the Solos and their daughter. "I guess I’ll be seeing you three around?" They nodded. "Good. Don’t hesitate to stop by and we will all have to do dinner once I make my escape."

They said their goodbyes, then Cilghal went to work. She folded back Luke’s blanket just enough so she could access his right arm.

His right arm, much like his left, was abnormally thin. He had always been a buff man, but now his arms were even scrawnier than they were when he was an adolescent. Both arms bore more scars than he remembered, but his right was worse.

Cilghal opened the tube and started spreading it on the stump that his right arm ended in. The gel felt cool at first, then it started tingling. He knew the purpose of the gel was to numb the area, even though he would be put under general anaesthesia in a few minutes, and to prepare the area for the membrane that would transmit signals from his body to his hand and vice versa.

"This, Luke, will give us a good idea what is causing the paralysis," she was saying, referring to the surgery. "If you can move your cybernetic hand easily, it will most probably mean that the paralysis is from the muscle atrophy. If you can’t move the hand, then it will mean that your body is still suffering the effects of the poison or you have a spinal cord injury. We are going to do a scan while you are under to rule out a spinal cord injury."

Cilghal then attached the cuff around the stump. Its purpose was to cool the area, reducing blood flow. "I will be back in about five minutes to bring you into the operating room."

She left and Mara moved to take her place. Mara put his hand in hers. "While your in there, I’m going to go home and get some stuff. Is there anything specifically that you want besides that data-pad I mentioned?"

"Some holographs would be nice. This place is kind of dull. And maybe some pyjamas, or even a nightshirt. And your pillow."

"My pillow?"

"Yes. Your pillow will be more comfortable than this pillow, plus it will smell like you."

Mara groaned. "Ever the romantic, aren’t you Farmboy."

He grinned. "Someone has to be in this relationship."

She rolled her eyes. "Will you require anything else my dear?"

"Just you, here, mocking me in my drugged up state when I get out."

"Of course. I would never miss it."

Cilghal came back and the three made their way to the operating theatre. Once in front of the doors, they paused.

"I’ll see you when you get out, alright, Farmboy?" Mara said, taking his hand and leaning over him.

"Alright," he said with a smile, then she kissed him. "I love you," he whispered when their lips separated.

"I love you too," she replied; their mouths were still close and they were gazing deeply into each-other’s eyes. She then stood up straight and Luke watched her as they pushed him away.

The doors then closed and he just wanted to go under then and there, so the separation was more bearable. The lights were suddenly brighter and he felt colder. Sounds seemed to echo.

"Master Skywalker," one of the healers said. He was a large, muscular barabel. Krit, Luke believed his name was. "It’z good to zee you awake. Theze onez have all mizzed you. Thiz one going to lift you up and put you on the table. Tell thiz one if anything hurts."

"I will. Thank you.”

He then heard Cilghal’s voice from across the room. "Krit, make sure the blankets stay on his body and Nalla, support his head and neck."

Luke felt hands cradle his head and neck and arms lift his body up. If it took two people to transfer him from one bed to another, he wondered if Mara would be able to look after him once he got out of the med-wing and back home. Would she even want to? What if he could never move again? Would he be put in a nursing home? Oh, he certainly didn’t want that, but if she didn’t want him, he would go. He didn’t want Mara to feel like she had to look after him because she was his wife.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice the many healers adjusting his body on the table. His head and neck were positioned so that his airways would stay open. His entire body was tucked in, except for his right arm, which lay out on an arm attached to the table. Luke was snapped from his thoughts by his own name.

"Luke," Cilghal said. "I’m going to put you under anaesthesia now. Just remain calm, breathe normally and count backward." She then placed the mask over his mouth and nose and he breathed in the gas. Within a few seconds, everything went foggy, then darkness took over.

. . .

Mara returned to the Jedi Temple after quickly running to her home to get a few things for Luke. She was able to slip into the back entrance unnoticed since her sister-in-law was giving a press-conference on the front steps of the temple.

As she made her way to Luke’s room, she received many smiles from Jedi who now knew that Luke was awake. None stopped to talk to her, they knew better than to stop her when she now had a husband to take care of.

When she entered the room, she thought it was going to be empty, however, three beings were waiting for her, sitting in chairs, a third had been put out, forming a circle. One, she recognized as Tekli. The other two were female that Mara had never met, one looked like a hybrid between a human and a Lethan Twi’Lek or some other red-skinned humanoid and the other was a togruta.

"Greetings, Master Skywalker," the chandra-fan started. "Please sit."

Mara cautiously did as she was told. She didn’t like unannounced meetings.

"Your husband is still in surgery, but I wanted you to meet and talk to Mrs. Plo’a Shik, she's an occupational therapist. You and her will work together setting up how Luke is going to be looked after once he leaves here," Tekli said, introducing Mara to the hybrid human. The two shook hands.

"And this is Ms. Ashlana Tano. She will be Luke’s physical therapist." Mara was introduced to the togruta. "She is one of the best in the galaxy," Tekli finished.

Ashlana’s white markings on her face blushed. "I wouldn’t say that, but I guess it’s true. It is an honour to treat your husband. I would love to stay and talk, but unfortunately I have an appointment. I will be back tomorrow however, to give your husband an examination and to talk to you about therapy. What we do will depend on Cilghal’s finding today." She then got up, bowed respectably and left.

Mara felt something odd about the woman. Not wrong or dangerous, just odd. Plus Mara felt the Force strong in her.

"Ms. Tano has graciously cleared some of her busy schedule to treat your husband," Tekli stated. "I unfortunately have to leave as well. You know us medic and healer types; always busy." She bowed too and left.

"Let’s get down to business, shall we?" Plo’a said, getting out a data-pad. "Do you know anything about nursing homes?"

Mara looked at the woman, confused. "No, but I --"

Plo’a interrupted her. "Well then. You are probably going to want the best money can get. I recommend Orawell Lodge. Most of the high ranking veterans go there."

"Okay, but --"

"Or there is also Sunsa Homes. It is less like a hospital and more like an apartment building, but residents still get premium care."

Mara was already fuming, which didn't take a lot. "Look, lady. I’m not sending my husband to some fancy nursing home. I’m going to be the one looking after him."

Plo’a looked at her, doubtful. "You realize, Mrs. Jade, your husband is going to need round the clock care, even if he does regain movement. He is still going to need constant monitoring."

Mara glared to kill. "So? I am capable of caring for him. I did it while he was in his coma. And it’s Skywalker. Master Skywalker."

"Okay," Plo’a said, fishing in the pocket of her blazer. "Here is a data-chip. It will explain to you how to care for your husband, give you video tutorials and has order forms for all the equipment and items your husband will need." The woman handed Mara a small chip.

"Thank you," Mara said, all too sweetly.

After Plo’a left, Mara slid the extra chairs into the corner, sat down in the lounger and started reading.

Two hours later, Mara was still reading and watching tutorial videos. She already knew how to do some of the things covered in the chip. Bathing, for example, she already knew how to use a sling to put Luke in a tub and wash him. Plus it would be much easier now that he wasn’t on a ventilator. She was confident that transferring using a sling would be the same when transferring him from and to anything else.

Mara managed to muddle through the complex order form for mechanical sling so that she wouldn’t have to steal the temple’s. She also ordered, among many other things, special pillows for their bed at home so he could be comfortable in a normal bed, a bed-like table for the refresher so she could dress him after a bath, and a form-foam lounger for him to sit in when he tired of sitting in his hoverchair.

And that brought her to the order form to the hoverchair. She was pretty sure she needed a professional to help her with this order. She was pretty sure she needed a professional to help her with every order that she had done out. As she was staring at it, she felt someone coming.

Before they could knock, Mara flicked the door controls with the Force and they opened, almost glad that Luke wasn’t there to give her an earful about being a hypocrite with her unnecessary use for the Force.

On the other side of the door was Ashlana Tano.

"Umm. Hello. May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Mara said. "Pull up a chair. I thought that you weren’t going to be back until tomorrow."

"I wasn’t, but I felt so bad about leaving you with Plo’a, I’d thought I’d stop by before going home." Ashlana looked to be in her late twenties and was dressed in typical civilian clothing: white leggings and a dark red casual dress. She dragged a chair from the corner and sat with Mara.

Mara liked her instantly. "So you have worked with her before?"

Ashlana groaned. "On occasion. But don’t worry. I take over from here."

"Good," Mara then looked down at the data-pad. "I’ve done out all the other order forms; could you help me with the hoverchair one? I know that he will want to be up and around as soon as he can, so I want to order it as soon as I can."

The togruta smiled and took the data-pad from Mara. "This is actually why I came by." She then pulled a data-pad from her pocket. "Cilghal gave me all of Master Skywalker’s measurements, current and former weights and his prognosis and expected optimal prognosis for the next few months," she said typing data in at a rate Mara could have never achieved.

"I am ordering a top of the line hoverchair because I know Jedi health insurance covers all this stuff," Ashlana continued with a smile. "He will be able to control it with a finger either on his left hand or his right hand. I’m going to set the controls on the right side because I’m an optimist, despite what my grandmother said. But we can change it if need-be. You will also be able to control it from the back if the worse case is the actual case."

"So I can make him go where ever I want him to."

Ashlana laughed, which lightened the mood, "Can’t you do that anyways?"

Mara laughed as well.

"The chair will have a tilt feature that you both will be able to control, as well as a headrest. You will be able to take that off if and when he gains control of his neck muscles. One last thing: what colour will he want it to be?"

"Black," Mara answered almost without thinking. A thought then hit her and a grin crossed her face. "But I want it blue. Bright blue."

"Alright. Bright blue it is then. I’ll put it on urgent so it should come tomorrow. Do you mind if I look over the other forms that you sent?"

"Yes, please."

Ashlana quickly scrolled through the other forms. "Everything looks fine. I’d better get going; the fiancé thinks I work too much. I’ll see you tomorrow, Master Skywalker," she said, getting up and handing the data-pad back.

"Please, call me Mara. The whole Master Skywalker thing gets confusing when my husband and I are in the same room."

"Alright, Mara."

The two women then shook hands and Ashlana left, leaving Mara to wait alone.

 

Bright blue it is...my favorite part is coming up...hope you didn't change it. Luke under anesthesia is hilarious!

 

Great to see an update and I like Ashlana also. Mara is so wonderful and strong in all this. !!!! Because her world has turned inside out and upside down in less than a minute it feels like. Luke has a lot to handle too, of course. It's great they are such a superb team.

 

Is Ashalana Ahsoka's granddaughter by any chance? This is a great story, can't wait for more

More soon

 

i'm enjoying this fic

 

I can't really remember how this went in your earlier fic, but reading something like this always makes me nervous. I hope you didn't change this fic so we have a Whisper Your Weakness type of twist. Because that would make me a sad panda.