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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends Miracle Child (L/M, AU) - Completed August 18th!

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Briannakin , Feb 19, 2014.

  1. TheChosenSolo

    TheChosenSolo Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 9, 2011
    Anything that remotely fixes the mess that is LotF is a success in my books. Looking forward to seeing more of it :)
     
    Lady_Misty and Nyota's Heart like this.
  2. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    WHY WONT THIS SEMESTER END!! *Cries* Anyways, thank you for all the replies. I’m really glad you all are enjoying this. I’m done my papers, but I have exams, but I’m being bad and working on my neglected fics. Anyways, here is a much deserved update. I can’t promise regular updates yet, but hopefully it won’t be another month. I’m doing PMs to keep people updated (since the majority of people want PMs, so Gemma, I’m adding you to the PM list. Also, hopefully I’ll be able to do individual replies in the future

    PM List: mavjade, ethereallights, Gemma, EGKenobi

    Chapter 2

    “Everyone is clear on the plan, correct?” Jaina said as her father piloted the large-speeder van towards Jacen’s apartment. Luke was hiding all of their presences. “We are just here to talk. No one pulls out a weapon until Jacen does. And if he does, Jagged and my Dad are going to get Leia and Ben out of the apartment.”

    Ben nodded and looked around the speeder-van. Everyone except for his uncle and Jagged were wearing casual Jedi robes in shades of brown, green, blue and black. Han and Jag were in casual civilian garb. They looked like a family going out for breakfast, not off to kill a close family member.

    Ben knew today was going to end in bloodshed. He had seen it in his nightmares last night, over and over again. Often it was Jacen that died, but every time it was at the hand of a different person. It had been Ben himself to swing the killing strike more than once. Other times it was him, Jaina or Leia that died. Often more than one person died.

    “It’s impossible to know the future,” Luke whispered into his son’s ear. Luke squeezed Ben’s knee. “You don’t have to come in, you know.”

    “He’ll just deny everything if I’m not there,” Ben said. “I want him stopped.”

    “Okay, but you can leave at any time,” his father assured him as Han parked the speeder-van.

    The walk to Jacen’s apartment was silent yet tense. Jaina was the one to ring the chime. Ben risked reaching out with the Force to see if Jacen was even home and there was a flash of desperateness. Ben initially mistook it for danger.

    Jaina quickly typed in the emergency code. The doors swooshed open, but it was too late to do anything. They all saw Jacen, on his couch, blaster in hand.

    “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. He looked up, dread in his eyes. Ben knew Jacen was staring directly at Leia. “You can’t know what I’ve done. Somethings - some people - must remain secret for their protection.”

    Before Ben knew what was happening, Jacen brought the blaster up to his chin and pulled the trigger.

    It was all over, just like that. No negotiating, no trial, only a verdict brought down on the accused by the accused.

    Chaos descended. Jaina and Leia were instantly in hysterics. Zekk and Jag tried to console them, to get them away from the scene. Han was frozen. Luke let out a sob. Mara simply stared.

    Ben felt nothing, yet everything. He understood why Jacen had done it. For a moment, he thought perhaps this had been the best result, but he felt guilty for the thought.

    Everything had changed in 36 hours, his entire life had been altered and it felt as if the universe was on another path. Two days ago he had been working under the tutelage of Jacen, now he was almost glad Jacen was not a factor in his life. It was a horrible thought.

    Ben finally came to his senses and helped Zekk get Leia out.

    * * *

    “How’s Aunt Leia?” Ben asked. After the morning’s events, Ben and his mother had been the ones to deal with the paperwork - it provided a welcome distraction for Ben - while his father had sat beside his twin sister.

    “She’s asleep. Han is taking care of her and Jaina.”

    “How are you?” was Ben’s next question.

    Luke shook his head. “I just don’t know where we went wrong with Jacen.”

    “You didn’t do anything,” Ben said When his father looked at him inquisitively, he cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking a lot, and I think Jacen started this mess with the right intentions, and that’s why I followed him, but things got dark because he made decisions, some of which we know about, some we will never. We can’t blame ourselves.”

    Luke sighed as he sat next to Ben. “When did you get so wise?”

    Ben shrugged. “Being wise has nothing to do with it. I’ve had to grow up pretty quickly.”

    “Well, please stop now, because you are making me feel old.”

    Ben chuckled lightly. “You are old, Dad.”

    “Thanks for continually reminding me, kid,” he replied without humour.

    * * *

    One week later Mara found herself at her nephews funeral. Jacen lay upon the funeral pyre, much like his brother Anakin did, over 10 years ago. But Anakin had died a hero, a cherished life snuffed out long before his time was up. Jacen had died… a what? Villain or monster were too strong of words. Yet he had been in the process of becoming was just that. Perhaps tormented soul was the best description. He had gotten into something way over his head. Mara knew he would have taken many lives, including her own, if he had not been stopped. She had even considered killing him, but this was not a result she had wanted or even foreseen. They could have helped him. And for him to take his own life in front of his own mother just made Mara want to puke. Leia was still a mess. Jaina was recovering, on the outside at least. She was giving the eulogy to the Jedi order. It seemed like every Jedi was here in the courtyard. Even Tenel Ka and her little girl had come. Jacen’s childhood friend was a mess, and Mara couldn’t help but wonder if there had been some forbidden relationship between Tenel Ka and Jacen. But no one would ever know now. Maybe that was what Jacen wanted.

    Jaina was shaking as she finished the eulogy.

    “…In the end, you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain,” she said with a sob. “I had a brother die a hero, and one die a villain. It can happen to the best of us. In Jacen’s case, it did. He was the best, until he wasn’t anymore.”

    It was agreed that Jacen’s end would not be covered up. He had fallen from the light side and ended his life when he realized it. It was not a fitting end to such a full and courageous life, but not something that should be covered up with lies. Everyone would know Jacen’s actions and demise.

    Mara put her arm around Ben as Luke lit the pyre. Jacen’s body began to become one with the universe. Ben was taking this in stride, with wisdom beyond his years.

    As the fire consumed Jacen and began to die down, she surveyed the scene. This easily could have been her funeral. According to Luke, this should have been her funeral. But she was alive and Jacen was dead. All was not right, but it was better than the alternative scenario, for her at least.
     
  3. TheChosenSolo

    TheChosenSolo Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 9, 2011
    How badly were you dying to throw in that Dark Knight quote? :p

    Wow. That honestly came out of left field, I never would have expected Jacen to take his own life. But the fact that you did that, and still say there's more to come, tells me there's going to be quite the interesting twist up ahead, and I'm looking forward to seeing what it is. :) Can you add me to the PM list?
     
  4. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Wow, wow! =D= Totally speechless and amazed ... I expected a big confrontation. [face_thinking] Could or would Jacen have been redeemed? Was he bringing about some form of justice? These are interesting implications. Even though the grief is agonizing, at least Jaina in particular doesn't have to feel guilt for a particular act, although many in the family doubtless feels guilt over not preventing or noticing before it was too late.
     
  5. ginchy

    ginchy Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 25, 2005
    It's so sad for Jacen, but at least he spared the galaxy from all the fallout. How strange for Mara to be standing at what should have been her funeral. Great update!!
     
  6. JediMaster_Jen

    JediMaster_Jen Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2002
    What made it sad was that Jacen, like his grandfather, made all the wrong decisions and choices for all the right reasons. He wanted to protect the people he cared about and he wanted to make the galaxy a better place.

    I sure didn't see Jacen's suicide coming. Very sad. But at least Jaina doesn't have to live with the guilt of killing her brother.

    Great work!:)
     
  7. Gemma

    Gemma Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 25, 2013
    I surely didn't see that one coming. I do wonder what happens next.
     
  8. JediMasterJessica

    JediMasterJessica Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 26, 2005
    This is really(!) good. Wish profic went this way. When/if you update this, can you add me to the PM list?
     
  9. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I am SO VERY SORRY I HAVE NOT UPDATED THIS IN LIKE FOREVER! My muse for this story just kinda died (I’m hoping it was just because the chapter I was on was just kinda awkward, so hopefully it’s better now). Thank you all for reading, and yes, Jacen’s suicide came out of left feild, but don’t many young deaths?
    And yes, I was dying to add that Dark Knight quote :p

    PM List: mavjade, ethereallights, Gemma, EGKenobi, JediMasterJessica, Anakin Solo Revanchist


    Chapter three

    Two months later…

    Mara woke to a familiar feeling: nausea. For the past few days she had been battling a light stomach flu. She closed her eyes and hope the feeling would pass.

    The past two months since Jacen’s funeral had been busy. She had formally taken over Ben’s training as they, along with Luke and the other Jedi masters cleaned up Jacen’s mess. Relations between Corellia and the GA had been repaired at a conference. Lumiya had been hunted and ultimately killed by Corran Horn and Mara. Alema Rar had been captured by Jaina and Jag, who were now a couple. Han wasn’t happy about the latter part. But he wasn’t happy about much these days. And as for Leia, she had turned back into the ‘ice princess’ according to Luke. ‘Ice princess’ referred to the fact that she was calm, cool, and emotionless both on the inside and outside, much like she had been after the destruction of Alderaan.

    The need to vomit finally overcame Mara’s iron will to stay in bed. She sprung out of bed and hurried to the refresher.

    She was on her knees, hanging over the porcelain bowl, emptying her stomach contents when Luke walked in out of their bedroom and covered her in her purple bath robe.

    “Mara,” Luke said, crouching next to her. He had been extremely overprotective, even for Luke Skywalker, since his vision of her dying. “Can you please go to Cilghal. This has been going on for almost a week now.”

    Mara rolled her eyes as she stood slowly to rinse her mouth out. “Luke, it’s just a bug.”

    “But you don’t have any other symptoms of a stomach flu or food poisoning,” he said as she took a swig of mouth wash. “I’m starting to worry that this is something really serious, like pancreatisis, or stars forbid, stomach tumonicus.”

    “Luke, you are going to extremes,” she said as she started to strip for her sanisteam.

    “Well, sorry if I’m worried about my wife. We aren’t getting younger, you know, we have to watch out for these things,” he said as he too stripped out of his night wear and followed her into the sanisteam. She glared at him as he did so. “What?”

    “Who invited you to this sanisteam?” she snapped.

    Luke took a step back. “You were just puking your guts out. You nearly fainted yesterday after doing so. You are not well.”

    “I’m fine, I just need some time, alone,” she practically yelled.

    He threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine.” He stepped out. Mara started the spray after he did and broke down in tears.

    “Luke,” she called. “I’m sorry. I want you here.”

    He stepped back into the sanisteam and wrapped her nude, shaking body in his arms.

    “I’ve lied. I’ve been sick for weeks. It has only just gotten bad.” She pressed her head against his chest.

    “Okay,” he said. “After we are done here, we’ll go see a healer. Ben is already off to the library, doing some studying for his public school exams.” Since his cousin’s death, Ben decided to finish his public school graduation equivalency. He was almost done. “You can cry all you want.”

    “Thanks,” she said.

    * * *

    Mara lay upon Cilghal’s exam table as the healer gently pressed down on Mara’s stomach. Luke nervously stood in the corner. They had already had a blood sample being tested.

    “So you’ve had no other symptoms,” the healer clarified.

    Mara shrugged, “No, nothing.”

    Cilghal’s computer pinged. “Results already?” she said, confused, pulling Mara’s green tunic down. Cilghal walked to her computer and stared at the screen for a moment before shaking her head. “This can’t be right,” she said, “I’m going take another blood sample and have it quickly tested.”

    “What is it?” Luke asked.

    “I’m pretty sure it’s just a glitch,” she said, taking more of Mara’s blood with a pod. “I’ll be right back.”

    As Cilghal left, Luke took the few strides across the room to hold Mara’s hand. “I don’t like this one bit.”

    “It’s going to be fine,” she assured him. “When did you become the pessimist and me the optimist?” she asked in hopes to lighten the suddenly heavy mood.

    He glared at her. “You’re not funny.” He turned from her.

    “Luke, please stop assuming the worst.”

    “I’m sorry. It’s just the thought of you becoming ill, again, or dying on me, kills me.”

    “Then don’t think about it until we know what we are dealing with. I don’t plan on leaving you anytime soon.”

    Luke sighed as he sat down on a stool next to the examination table. “I know, I just have this feeling that we avoided your death two months ago, and now the universe is trying to make things right.”

    Mara gave her husband a look of scepticism. “Really? Like those bad Last Destination holos?”

    “Okay, when you compare it to those movies, then it sounds stupid, but yes.”

    Mara rolled her eyes. There was a long tense moment before Cilghal came back. Her face showed nothing.

    “What is it?” Luke asked immediately.

    “Mara and Luke. I want to assure you I ran the tests three times. It’s going to seem like I’m pulling your leg, but I’m not,” Cilghal assured them.

    “Oh, stars,” Luke moaned. Mara got that sinking feeling in her stomach.

    “Mara, you are pregnant,” the healer announced.

    “What?” Luke and Mara said in unison. They were both in disbelief, but all the symptoms fit, even if they hadn’t realized Mara’s erratic and moody behaviour were symptoms.

    “That’s impossible.” Mara sputtered. “Luke has been practically sterile since we got married—”

    “Limited-fertility,” he corrected her. His condition had always been a sore spot for him.

    “Ben was a lucky shot. And my monthly cycles haven’t been regular for a few years now.”

    “But you haven’t gone a full 12 months without a cycle, and your menopause symptoms have been fairly mild thus far.”

    “I guess so, but I can’t be pregnant. I’m too old.”

    “Maybe the Force has something to do with this?” Luke suggested. Mara could tell he was hopeful, but that he knew that the odds were stacked pretty high against them. The odds were more likely that they got 3 false positives compared to the odds of her getting pregnant.

    “We can settle this with one simple scan. The tests say you are seven or eight weeks along. We should be able to see something, maybe even get a heartbeat,” Cilghal said.

    “Fine,” Mara said, “But you both need to stop acting so excited.”

    Luke looked at her as Cilghal got out the equipment. “Fine, but, if you are, I’m allowed to be excited as I want to be,” he said, lifting her shirt up, revealing her stomach. She scowled as he did.

    Cilghal started the scan and it was only a few moments heard the ba-dump of a tiny heartbeat. She zoomed in on the monitor and a tiny embryo appeared. “There’s the little Skycrawler.”

    Tears welled up in Luke’s eyes as he hugged his wife. Mara found herself crying too.

    “Let me be the first one to congratulate you two,” the healer said. She began wiping Mara’s stomach. “I’ll go grab some pre-natal vitamins and the mandatory pamphlets, but do you have any concerns before I leave?”

    “Will my age affect the baby?” Mara was desperate to know. She put her tunic down and sat up.

    Cilghal sighed. “There is a high risk of complications and conditions due to your age. We talked about them when you had Ben. But we will monitor both you and the baby closely. We will test for certain conditions once you are further along. As a medical provider, I am legally required to tell you that you can abort the pregnancy. It is your choice, not your partner’s. I’ll go grab those vitamins now.” He healer left.

    Luke took a deep breath and calmed down from his ecstasy. “You aren’t considering abortion because of your age, are you?”

    “Frack no,” she practically exploded at him. She took a breath. “Sorry. I am worried about the baby, but I’d never do that. No matter what. I didn’t know it, but I want this more than anything. You know me, all beings deserve a shot at life, even if their parents are ancient.”

    Luke rolled his eyes. “We’re not that old.”

    “Luke, we’ll be old enough to be this kid’s grandparents.”

    “Yes, but you said the same thing about Ben.”

    “Oh, Ben,” Mara sighed, “Do you think he’ll be okay with this?”

    Luke shrugged. “I don’t think he has ever seriously considered the possibility of becoming an older brother, so it’ll definitely be a surprise.”

    Mara let out a laugh. “Surprise? Talk about understatement of the year.”

    “Tell be about it. I’m surprised I didn’t faint. I keep thinking I might wake up from this.” He then paused. “You aren’t going to vape me, are you?”

    Mara stared at him like he had three heads. “What?”

    “When you were pregnant with Ben, you said if I ever got you pregnant again you would vape me where I stood.”

    “Then I guess its a good thing Cilghal doesn’t allow high-powered blaster rifles in the Halls of Healing. But I can’t make any promises for 5 months from now when I’m as big as a Hutt and as grumpy as one.”

    “Okay, but you are going to be the most beautiful Hutt ever.”

    “Keep complementing me like that Farmboy, and you’re definitely getting vaped.”

    * * *

    Mara was still shaking when they got home that evening. It had been a long, concentration-less day of classes and meetings. She knew Luke had experienced the same thing.

    They held hands as they made their way to their apartment. They had agreed that they were going to tell Ben, they didn’t want to keep any secrets from him and he deserved to know why his mom was acting odd. But they weren’t going to tell anyone else until Mara was further along, simply because the risk of miscariage was high and she didn’t want to go through that publicly if she didn’t have to. Plus, the Solos were still recovering from the shock of Jacen’s suicide.

    Luke keyed in the code and the door swooshed opened. Ben was on the couch with his data-pads and binders of flimsy. “Hey Ben,” Luke said, “How’s it going.”

    The teen grunted. “I feel like I knew everything there is to know about humanoid biology. My brain; its so big.”

    Luke chuckled. “Well, is it safe to say you have studied enough to pass your exam tomorrow?”

    “Yeah, probably.” Ben looked from his mom to his dad. “Why?”

    “Because we have some pretty big news for you,” Mara said as she sat on the couch. Luke sat on the arm of the recliner.

    “It’s not going to get me, or us, in trouble is it?”

    “No,” Luke replied. “Why would you ask that?”

    “News means we are going on some crazy mission and we, or I, always seem to get into trouble.”

    “No, Ben,” Mara said. “We’re probably not going on many missions for the foreseeable future. I’m pregnant.”

    Ben started to laugh. When Mara glared at him, he stopped. “Wait, you’re serious.”

    Luke nodded. “We found out this morning. You are the first person we’ve told. What are you thinking?”

    “Umm, I can’t say I was expecting this, like ever.”

    “We know,” Luke said. “We weren’t expecting this either. We weren’t even trying. It was a one in a billion chance. It was a miracle of the Force.”

    “Wow. So I’m really getting a baby brother or sister?” he asked with a smile.

    “Yes,” Mara said. “But there are risks, so we aren’t telling anyone yet. We aren’t even telling Aunt Leia or Uncle Han for another month or more.”

    “What kind of risks?” Ben asked, alarmed.

    “It’s nothing you need to be concerned with,” Mara assured him.

    “But you’ll tell me if there’s anything I can do?”

    “Yes, Ben.”

    * * *

    Mara was on her side in bed, reading when Luke climbed in beside her, giving her a kiss on the cheek before lying beside her. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

    “What are you reading?” he asked.

    “Just some spy novel,” she said. “I needed to take my mind off stuff.”

    “I know you’re worried. I am too. But I’m also very excited. I love pregnant you, even if you’re crazy and hormonal and I have to worry about horrible things. I love babies and I love children. And I love you, so if you ever want me to shut up and take your mind off things, just let me know.”

    “Aright,” she said, switching off the data pad and rolling over. “How about you start now?” she asked. She then began to kiss him slowly.



    AN: It bugs me so much that all writers imply Mara was infertile and that’s the reason why they only had one kid. Luke did so much weird shavit from the time he was 19, I’d like to think he was the infertile one (it does happen), to give a sort of ironic twist to LM (he’s the one that wanted kids but he was the reason why it was a miracle they only had one). It also just bugs me in general that LM only had one kid. Also, before you start arguing science with me, it is possible for a woman not to go through menopause until her 60s or even 70s (though it is extremely rare), and it has already been established that humans in the GFFA age differently than they do one earth.
     
  10. Demendora

    Demendora Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 9, 2010
    In the history there were case, when 70 something year-old woman gave a birth, so...strange things happens.
     
  11. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    :D :D Perfect L/M snarky and I love Ben's reaction. @};-
     
  12. ginchy

    ginchy Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 25, 2005
    Awww, I wish Ben did have a little brother or sister so this is great! I love his reaction. Poor guy. But he got on board pretty quickly. I wonder what everyone else will think. And I think it's a great twist to have Luke be the one with the 'limited-fertility'. I love how he clarified that. [face_laugh]
     
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  13. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    It can be the man that is infertile. One of my aunts' ex-husbands was sterile but he didn't believe it was him until a doctor said 'it's you buddy not her'. I could see Mara being at least temporarily sterile because of her work as a Emperor's Hand but if she is as powerful as we have been led to believe than Palpatine would most likely want little ones from her. It is believable that it is Luke seeing all the things he's been through and done.

    Most couples that are expecting a new addition to the family don't want the news out until usually the beginning of the fourth month. My sister RED and her husband, DJC, didn't want a lot of people to know that they might be expecting until they heard the heartbeat. They had done a test but couldn't afford a blood test. The adorable little guy will be five months tomorrow. He was a few days shy of being a Christmas Baby.

    Leia struggling is real since she is trying to cope with everything.

    I think that Mara is still at the age that she could get pregnant without medical intervention.

    I HEARD that there were plans to expand Luke and Mara's family but for whatever reason it fell through the cracks. *grumbles*
     
  14. Gemma

    Gemma Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 25, 2013
    You had me roaring with laughter on this one. I'm a Big 'Final Destination's' fan and from the first line I was pretty sure I knew where you were headed and you delivered, thank you!!! I was having a Final Destination marathon on May4th (I know 'warped puppy', but Mom and Dad love me anyway).

    Thank you so much for including this and her response. I adored this comment from the profic - about the vaping him where he stood.

    Very good update.@};-@};-

    Can't wait to hear how the Solos take the news. Ben's response was cute --- I loved that he got a glare from Mara for laughing.
     
  15. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    AN: Thank you all SO, SO much for your continued readership. I know I haven’t been updating this regularly, but with my Spring class coming to an end in just over a week (ONE MORE DUMB ESSAY!), I’ll have more time to devote to writing (or so I hope).
    PM List: mavjade, ethereallights, Gemma, EGKenobi, JediMasterJessica, Anakin Solo Revanchist

    Chapter 4

    Three months later….

    Mara moaned as she flopped down on her bed after a day of teaching. Her morning sickness had been gone for a few weeks now, she was less grumpy, and she had yet to miscarry. All her scans had been perfect, she was now 19 weeks along. Everything was going well. Too well.

    It was decided that today was the day to tell Leia and Han. No one knew yet with the exemption of Ben and Cilghal. After they told Leia and Han they were going to tell everyone else. Mara wanted to wait till she was a bit further along, but her baby bump would soon become noticeable, and people were starting to notice that she wasn’t going on missions. Corran Horn had found it extremely odd that she hadn’t jumped at the opportunity to teach the advanced hand-to-hand combat class next semester. She knew they expected she was sick. If only they knew the truth.

    Mara sighed as she wrapped the blankets around her body. They hadn’t made the bed and Mara was glad. She needed a nap before tonight’s dinner.

    * * *

    Luke came home from the Jedi Temple to find Mara fast asleep. He couldn’t help but smile at her as he stood in the doorway. Even after 20 years or marriage and 30 years of friendship, she was still as beautiful as she was the fateful day they met. If anyone would have told him he would find such happiness, he would have laughed.

    Slowly and silently, he made his way to her. He leaned down and kissed her. He hated to do this, but they needed to leave now if they were going to be on time for dinner. “Mara?” he said, rubbing her back. “We have to go to dinner.”

    “Don’t wanna,” she replied, covering her head with blankets.

    Luke chuckled. “Come on, I want to brag about the fact that I got you pregnant.” He reached under the side of the blanket to rub her belly.

    “Fine, go, brag. Just leave me to sleep. Your kid was practicing calisthenics last night.”

    “Then you should have woken me.”

    “Then we both would have been grumpy,” she said, getting up. “Come on, let’s get this over with. Leia thinks I’m getting fat. Time to set her right.”

    Luke smoothed out her hair. “Alright. I’ll go get Ben on the go.”

    * * *

    “Hey guys,” Han said, with what looked like a forced smile, as he let Luke, Mara and Ben in. They had done several these family gatherings when Han and Leia were on Coruscant since Jacen’s death. Mara believed they were good for everyone, especially Leia, though she still had bad days.

    And today was apparently one of them. When Mara walked in, Leia was sitting on a chair, staring at a blank view-screen. Jaina was beside her mom, looking fairly healthy, telling her about her date with Jag last night. Leia was not responding. She looked pale, like she hadn’t showered or eaten in a day or two.

    “Maybe this isn’t the best day for this,” Mara whispered into Luke’s ear.

    “No,” he said, “Today is the perfect day.”

    “Dinner is almost ready,” Han said, heading into the kitchen. “Luke, can you help your sister to the table?”

    Luke nodded. He went and knelt in front of his sister. “Leia?” he asked, squeezing her knee. “Han made a wonderful dinner and Mara and I have some news we would like to share. Will you sit down with us?”

    Leia seemed to stare for a moment, but then snapped with it. “Yeah, sure.”

    Luke guided her to the table, then sat between Mara and Ben.

    “Sooo…” Han said as he dished out nurf steaks, “I hear Luke has some news and by the way Ben is smirking, I’d say it was big news.”

    “Why don’t you tell them, Ben?”

    “What?” Ben blurted. “Why me? Don’t you have some speech prepared?”

    “Because it sounds so innocent coming from you,” Luke replied.

    “Really? Okay. Dad kriffed Mom and somehow she got knocked up.”

    “Ben!” Mara yelled.

    “Luke?” Han asked, laughing.

    Luke could not reply because he was blushing and stuttering.

    “What did you want me to say?” Ben asked defensively. “That I was getting a baby brother or sister? That’s a bit ambiguous - you could be adopting or something for all they know.”

    “Mara, is this true?” Leia asked, looking genuinely interested for the first time in months.

    “Yeah. I’m actually 19 weeks along,” Mara replied.

    Leia smiled broadly. “Congratulations,” she said, getting up to hug Luke, then Mara. Han and Jaina did the same.

    Leia put her hands on Mara’s stomach. “The baby is kicking.”

    “The baby is always kicking,” Mara groaned. “Can I get back to my food now?”

    The family settled back down and got back to their meal.

    “So,” Han said, “How did this exactly happen. We all know of Luke’s… problems.”

    Luke blushed.

    “Dad has… problems?” Ben made a disgusted face.

    “Yeah,” Mara replied, “The rumours about you being Wes Janson’s love child actually have some merit.”

    “I did not need to know that,” Ben grumbled.

    “No, you did not,” Luke replied, glaring at Han.

    “Anyways,” Leia said. “How did it happen? I didn’t know you guys were trying for a second one.”

    Mara shrugged. “I have no idea, we were never exactly trying, not that we were trying to prevent this either.”

    “So are you sure it’s Luke’s?” Han joked.

    Luke glared. “This was supposed to be my night to brag. I got my wife pregnant.”

    “Trust me, it is Luke’s,” Mara said. “I wasn’t trying to get pregnant, by anyone. I was done this business after Ben.”

    * * *

    After dinner, Mara, Leia and Jaina sat on the couches while the men did dishes.

    “So, have you thought of any names?” Leia asked.

    Mara had to smile, not from the attention, but from the fact that Leia was smiling. She hadn’t seen Leia this talkative for months.

    “We’ve tossed around a few for both a boy and a girl, but nothing concrete. Luke really likes Anakin if it’s a boy, but I’m not so sure a kid would want to live up to that. I really like the name Sevastyan.”

    “We are not naming the kid Sevastyan,” Luke called from the kitchen. “Sevastyan Skywalker is just a rough name!”

    “I will name this kid whatever I damn want to!” Mara yelled back.

    “Han is always a good name!” Han called.

    “I am never naming my kid Han,” Mara grumbled under her breath before taking a drink of water.

    Leia rolled her eyes. “He’s still bitter about the Han Jr. thing. He wanted Anakin to be Han Jr. so badly.”

    “There’s an idea,” Luke said, drying a pot. “Luke Jr..”

    “No.” Mara was stern. “You got to name Ben. If it would have been up to me, he would have been Benedictine.”

    “What?” Ben exclaimed. “I was almost Benedictine? That’s awesome. Dad, you suck at names.”

    “What’s wrong with Ben?” Luke asked.

    “It’s just so… one syllable. I was cheated out of an awesome name.”

    “Anyways,” Jaina said. “What about girl names?”

    “We don’t really know. Anyaka was on the table for awhile, but it never seemed right. Luke likes Jade, which I think is stupid. And I like Delina, but Luke doesn’t.”

    “It’s such an old lady name, I’m not going to call my newborn daughter Dell,” Luke said as he entered and sat beside Mara, wrapping her arm around her.

    “So are we getting a gender before he or she is born?” Leia asked.

    “We are still talking about that,” Luke replied. “Last scan was the first time we could have gotten a definite answer, but the baby wasn’t in the right position to get a good look. We would both like to know to prepare, but I’d kinda would like it to be a surprise.”

    “I’d like a gender,” Leia hinted. “It would make my job easier.”

    Mara gave Leia a knowing look. “You are not decking out my kid’s closet before they’re even born.”

    Leia grinned. “Their closet, their room… everything.”

    “Leia, no, I’m still thinking I might miscarry.”

    Luke held Mara a bit closer. “You are not going to miscarry, you are already too far along.”

    “Right, now they call it a stillborn birth,” Mara said cynically.

    “All the more reason for me to prepare,” Leia said. “Since you’re not going to.”

    “Hey, I’m preparing. Luke and I are going to look at bigger apartments next week.”

    “Good,” Han said. “Tell us if you pick a place, and we will help you move in. You know, Tendra just found out she’s pregnant.”

    “Really?” Luke shook his head. “Lando is an old dog.”

    “Yup,” Han said. “And so are you.”

    * * *

    “I’d never thought I’d be doing this again,” Luke said he rubbed cream over Mara’s stomach. The skin was becoming tight to accommodate for the swelling. They were both ready for bed.

    “Neither can I,” she mused. “Your sister seemed pretty happy about the news.”

    “She was. She’s probably creating lists of baby-clothes she wants to buy right now.”

    Mara rolled her eyes. “At least I’ll have a baby-sitter when I need one.”

    “It’s good for her. It’s a distraction, which she needs.”

    “I never said it was bad. I just don’t want her to get too excited.”

    “Mara,” Luke sighed, “Everything will go fine. Please relax. Ben turned out fine, and look what you had to go through with him. Cilghal says you are in perfect health, as is the baby.”

    “I know, I know. It’s just something does not feel right. Call it motherly instincts or something.”

    Luke put the cap on the bottle, pulled down her nightshirt and kissed her belly softly. “Okay. I don’t know how I can help, but I’m going to listen to you.” He took her hand and kissed it.

    “Thank you.”
     
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  16. Gemma

    Gemma Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 25, 2013
    When Luke is watching Mara sleep --- loved that -- thought it was adorable and then their conversation next cracked me up. But the best line was Ben's. Keep up the great writing when times permits. @};-
     
  17. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Sweet and snarky - perfect lines for all. =D= Happy that Leia is distracted and involved. Am concerned about Mara's worries. Hope they're unnecessary though.
     
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  18. Falcon

    Falcon Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Feb 7, 2002
    “Because it sounds so innocent coming from you,” Luke replied.

    “Really? Okay. Dad kriffed Mom and somehow she got knocked up.”

    “Ben!” Mara yelled.

    [face_laugh] Luke was hoping Ben to be innocent about it, but Ben didn't tell it as innocently as he could've :p

    Please put me on the pm list :)
     
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  19. JadeLotus

    JadeLotus Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2005
    Oh, interesting concept. I love the family closeness, it feels right. It also makes sense that Luke is the one with fertility issues - all that Force lightening in ROTJ probably messed him up pretty badly, and he went through so much more trauma than that.
     
  20. JediMasterJessica

    JediMasterJessica Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 26, 2005
    I really love this story, no one writes anything fluffy-ish in that time period (and I love when it "fixes" profic). I'm very excited to see where this goes!
     
  21. aleja2

    aleja2 Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2005
    oooooohhh....Mara's motherly instincts are telling her something is wrong....

    Great story! And I hope the semester ends/ended well for you!
     
  22. ginchy

    ginchy Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 25, 2005
    hahahahahaa poor Luke. No bragging rights. Oh, well. Maybe he'll win the name war. LOL
     
  23. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    AN: I SWEAR I haven’t forgotten about this, but between summer courses, bridesmaiding for a bridezilla and MOVING, life has gotten crazy! But 2/3 of those things is now done and I’m going to try to stick to some sort of writing schedule… (*looks at empty moving boxes and cries*)... maybe. Also, Luke never wins anything.
    PM List: mavjade, ethereallights, Gemma, EGKenobi, JediMasterJessica, Anakin Solo Revanchist, Falcon

    Chapter 5

    “This better be the right ‘perfect one,’” Mara grumbled to Luke as they followed their realtor, a perky twi’lek named Hrea Drella. She had shown them four places so far this morning. One was a possibility, but the other places were out. All they wanted was a nice apartment, near the Jedi Temple with three bedrooms and an office. Was that so hard to find? This was the last one they were going to look at.

    “You guys are going to love this one. It’s the perfect one,” Hrea said.

    Mara rolled her eyes. They had announced her pregnancy, officially, two days ago, after they had told all their friends. It was a media frenzy and the paparazzi had been hounding them, like they hadn’t done for years. But Mara didn’t really care, even if they were questioning the paternity and how she actually got pregnant. All she cared about was the fact that she could now wear maternity clothes. Elastic was her new best friend.

    “I do like the location,” Luke said as they entered the turbo lift. “It’s not as close as the apartment in Jeffe towers, but it’s actually closer to the temple than the place we are in now.” They still had plans to keep their chambers at the temple, but they only used that place on occasions when it was not practical to commute to their actual apartment. Still, they wanted something close-by.

    “And what is nice about this building is that every floor is only one apartment, so you get a keycard that you put in the turbo lift and it will take you to that floor. There is a small entrance area between the turbo lift and the front door that you can use, sort of like a front door step,” Hrea told them. “This apartment is right in your price range and has everything you want. Plus this apartment is right near the top of the building.”

    They reached the floor and got out. They got a moment to view the cream coloured entrance with tiled floor while Hrea entered in the code.

    “I do like this entrance area,” Luke commented. “Good for extra security.”

    Mara was about to roll her eyes, but then the door wooshed open and Mara fell in love. There was a small entrance with a large closet, but then it opened up into a large living room that led into an open dining area and kitchen. The floors were dark wood, the walls were light grey and the windows were large. The kitchen featured high end appliances and dark cabinets and counters.

    “Now, here we have the living area and the kitchen, which is all brand-new. To the left we have one bedroom, one full refresher and the office,” Hrea said, leading the way. Both rooms were quite large with neutral colour pallets.

    Once they were done in those rooms, she said, “And across the apartment is the master bedroom with another full refresher with a swirl-tub and separate sanisteam and another bedroom.”

    After looking at each of the rooms, Luke and Mara nodded. “This is the one.”

    * * *

    “We really need to find out the gender,” Luke said as they sat in his office.

    Mara looked up from her data-pad. “Are you looking at baby stuff?”

    “No,” Luke said, defensively. “I’m looking at paint colours. We only have to paint one room before we move into the new place, and that’s the baby’s room.”

    “You’re supposed to be working,” Mara rebuked him. “I’m supposed to be the dumb pregnant one.”

    “Your really enjoying using your pregnancy to get out of doing… everything you don’t want to do.”

    “Yeah,” she said like it was the most obvious things in the world. “Now that everyone knows I’m a 58 year-old pregnant woman, I can get out of whatever I want. You’re the one that suspend me from active duty and teaching. I’m sure not doing your paper-work. You told me I had to enjoy this pregnancy, so I am.”

    “Yeah, I did,” he said, shuffling through stacks of data-pads. “But you’ll be bugging me in an hour that you are bored and that you want something to do.”

    Suddenly Corran Horn burst in. “Mara, we got a problem.”

    “What?” she whined.

    “Senator Klenad of Manaan is accusing us of murdering Lumiya.”

    “What?” Luke groaned. Any accusations on the senate floor had to be addressed by the parties, meaning Mara and Corran had to go to the senate and face the charges. If deemed necessary by the senate, they would face criminal court. “You have got to be kidding me. We had the senate’s support to capture Lumiya, long before Jacen…” he couldn’t finish that sentence.

    “And we tried, but she wanted to die,” Mara said. The fight had been clear. Corran and she had went in, tried to apprehend Lumiya, but she had fought even after being defeated, and posed a danger to Mara’s and Corran’s safety.

    “Let’s make this clear now,” Corran said. “I killed her. Our report makes that clear.”

    “No, neither of us are at fault.”

    Luke was rubbing his temples. “It’s just Klenad trying to stir something up. Didn’t he accuse someone security agent of something like this last year?”

    “Yes,” Mara groaned. “He lost.”

    “He’s out of office in a month. He’s trying to go out with a bang,” Corran theorized. “The entire senate is sick of him, they aren’t going to take this seriously, but we’d better go and do our part.”

    “Fine,” Mara grumbled.

    * * *

    Mara sat in a pod beside Corran as they floated to the middle of the senate. Luke would have to bite his nails from the spectator’s gallery. At the suggestion of their public relations specialists, Corran remained in his Jedi Robes, but Mara had quickly changed into a maternity dress. Apparently it made her look like an ‘innocent, expectant mother’. They stopped beside the pod of Senator Klenad, a Selkath, which was a aquatic species. The arbitrator was a human senator from Onderon, Lilani Rone, a very serious, middle aged woman. She, liked the few senators in attendance, looked as bored as a Muun.

    Senator Rone stood. “Alright. Let’s get this over with,” she grumbled, obviously not taking the situation seriously. “Senator Rone, please state your accusations and reasonings against Jedi Masters Horn and Jade Skywalker.”

    The Selkath went on a tirade in his native tongue. His protocol droid translated. “These Jedi Masters stand before you as murderers. It is not right that the Jedi can kill who-ever and when-ever they deem it fit and I am here to start the reform. Jedi Horn and Jedi Jade Skywalker were sent to capture Lumiya, without any legal reason to detain her, and killed her because her beliefs did not align with their own.”

    Mara had to prevent herself from rolling her eyes as she stood up. “Master Horn and I will be addressing the two misconceptions in your accusation. He will be addressing the circumstances surrounding her death and I will be dealing with why we were sent, with emergency senate approval, to apprehend her.

    “Lumiya had a long history of assassinations -”

    The Selkath interrupted her. The silver droid translated. “You yourself were an assassin, in the same league as Lumiya.”

    “Indeed we were,” Mara said, frankly. “I worked with Darth Sidious as his personal assassin while Lumiya was Darth Vader’s personal assassin.” Mara felt an odd tightness in her back, which she chose to ignore.

    Klenad spoke again, then was translated, “Does that mean you should be captured and killed?”

    Mara kept her head cool. This was not worth exploding over. She was a Jedi Master, and a mom, she could handle this. “As Corran will explain in a moment, her death was not our intended goal, however, to address your question, both of us were brainwashed to serve the Sith. I stopped my assassinations once Darth Sidious died. She did not.” Again, there was pain, this time it was a stabbing pain in her lower abdomen. She gasped in shock, but pushed Corran away when he tried help her. She took a deep breath and gripped the edge of the pod. “Her most recent murders, one which was proven by civilian eye-witnesses, were the deaths of the World Brain and Jedi Trasina Lobi. Other witnesses put her at the scenes of other recent deaths.”

    Senator Rone, looked at her, concerned. “Master Skywalker? Are you okay?”

    “I’m fine,” she huffed, taking a seat. “Corran, go,” she instructed him to continue their defence. She was sure it was a pre-labour contraction. Then another one came. It hurt more than it should have.

    “No,” Senator Rone said. “Master Horn can finish. You are getting to a med-center.”

    The senate pod started moving back to the docking station where Luke was standing with medics already. He had called them a while ago. Before the pod docked, Mara had another contraction. She was ready to admit that is what they were. She grabbed Corran’s hand as she yelled. She caught a glimpse of pure terror on Luke’s face.

    * * *

    “This can’t be happening,” Mara murmured as they unloaded her out of an ambulance on an hover gurney.

    Luke remained at her side, holding her hand as he jogged beside her.

    Mara looked at the building they were heading into. All she knew was that it wasn’t the Jedi Temple. “Where are we?” She had been conscious during the ride here, but had focused on calming the baby and trying, unsuccessfully, to stop the contractions.

    “The Coruscant Woman’s and Children’s Medcenter,” Luke said as they rushed into the building to a group of doctors of varying species, who all started to attend her at once. Obviously they knew she was coming.

    One of the medics shouted over the chaos, “Human, female, 58, 20 weeks pregnant, experiencing premature labour.”

    There was a strong, deep voice above all the others. “Get her on an Tolygen drip and get her a private room.” Mara only managed to catch a glimpse at the man who said this. He was an older man with a sightly hunched back, but was still an intimidating figure at almost 2 metres tall. He looked like he did not belong at a medcenter for women and children.

    A nurse stuck her on a drip and she was rushed into a lift with one nurse and the intimidating figure. It was then that Mara noticed her husband was not with her.

    “Where’s my husband?” she demanded, trying to get off the hover gurney.

    “Please, lay back down, Master Jade Skywalker,” the man said. “Your husband is just filling out some information. I know you’re scared-”

    “I am NOT scared,” Mara yelled defensively as she tried to hold back tears.

    “We just want you in a private room as soon as possible,” he replied calmly as the doors opened. They pushed her into a room where a Wookiee porter was waiting to help Mara off the gurney and into the bed. The room was quiet and dimly lit with soft yellow lights. Then porter helped Mara position herself in the bed with her legs slightly elevated.

    “We’ll get you comfortable,” the nurse, a young human female said, getting a nightgown.

    The man walked up to her with a syringe and put it into her drip. “This is just a relaxant. It will help calm you. The Tolygen will stop the contractions. I will leave you in the capable hands of Nurse Revi.” With that, he left.

    “Who was that?” Mara asked as the nurse helped her change into the standard medcentre nightgown. They had to pause for a contraction, but this one had been less painful than the earlier ones.

    “Doctor Phyn Selkak. He’s not known for his bedside manner, but he is one of the best obstetricians on Coruscant,” she paused to cover Mara up with blankets. “Fortunately, and unfortunately, he knows both. He’s a cocky know-it-all, but he’s good and he doesn’t have much interaction with his patients; he makes his nurses do it all. Now, are you comfortable?”

    “Yes,” Mara said, already feeling a bit tired. “Can you find out where my husband is?”

    “Certainly.”

    * * *

    Luke calmly hurried through the halls of the medcentre. It was policy to separate husbands from their wives if their wives went into premature labour. It was to make sure that the husband was not causing the stress. The husbands were only allowed to see their wives if she asked for him. Thankfully, and oddly, Mara had asked for him twice already. He had quickly given some history to the doctors, and called Leia and Ben.

    When he entered the room assigned to Mara, he let out a soft sigh. She looked so pale. He hated seeing her so weak. The door quietly shut behind him. That caught her attention.

    She turned her head slowly and gave him a soft smile.

    “How are you feeling?” he asked, walking to her side and sitting in a chair put there for him.

    “D…druged,” she slurred. The doctors had warned him that the medications they gave her would make her sleepy and extremely relaxed.

    “Have you had any more contractions?”

    “N…not for a…while.”

    “Okay, good,” he said, taking her hand. He placed a hand on her belly. “I contacted Ben and Leia. They all know what is going on. Ben’s going to stay the night at Han’s and Leia’s, so you don’t need to worry about a thing, just get lots of rest.” He leaned forward and placed a soft, sensual kiss on her lips. “I love you.”
     
  24. mayo_durron_666

    mayo_durron_666 Jedi Grand Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2005
    I have just come back and found this awesome fic waiting for me.. I'm thoroughly enjoying this. :D
    I love how you've taken it from when before Mara goes off by herself after Jacen.. I really hate that book.. and sadly the rest of that series.
    Thanks for showing an alternate route of story that could have happened..
    For me this bit coined exactly how I felt about Sacrifice ...


    Btw I love that you've made Luke and Mara have another kid. I seriously wish they had in profic..
    Can't wait for next bit. Nice job!;)
     
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  25. Gemma

    Gemma Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 25, 2013
    This was my favorite part. Gee, I hope everything is going to be okay -- I always thought Ben should have had a brother or sister.