Beyond - Legends Stuffed Bantha Cubs (Post-NJO, very AU - Tahiri, Anakin) - updated 1/22 - 2008 Dear Diary Challenge

Title: Stuffed Bantha Cubs
Author: Darth Jaina Solo
Timeframe: About 10 years post Star By Star, major AU
Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama
Characters: Anakin, Tahiri
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Summary: Tahiri keeps a pregnancy journal which she intends to hand down to her unborn child.
Rating: PG (just to be safe)
Notes: This is written for the 2008 Dear Diary Challenge. I?ll try to update every Tuesday. I?m writing this in Galactic time ? which means a pregnancy would be 56 standard weeks, not forty (a week is 5 days). Hope that clears up any confusion.

The title probably won't make sense straight off the bat. It will later. Trust me.

Stuffed Bantha Cubs

Week Seven, Day 2
Entry One

Thirty-two days. I missed the first thirty-two days of my pregnancy because I was too busy worrying about whether or not my husband would come home from his latest mission to check whether or not something had changed. I knew from the start something was different. I could feel you coming to life the very moment it happened?I didn?t realize what I was feeling, of course. Not until today.

Thirty-two days ago was the last time we?kissed. Then he went away, keeping the galaxy safe for you and me. Don?t worry ? I do enough of that for the both of us. Your father is quite capable of taking care of himself. He?s a hero. I can?t wait to see his reaction when he finds out about you.

I talked to him yesterday, actually. I didn?t tell him about you, not only because I didn?t know about my pregnancy, but also because that?s the kind of news you like to spread in person. He contacted me about midday ? it was the first time I saw him in six weeks. He had a new scar on his right cheek, and I asked him about it. You know what he said?

?It?s nothing to stress yourself about.?

Insufferable man! Nothing to stress myself about? You know what he?s doing out there? He?s trying to track down a group of dark Jedi on the planet Mrlsst. I can?t even pronounce the name! (I am familiar with the planet, though. After the Yuuzhan Vong war, Anakin decided he wanted to learn more about the galaxy, so he attended an Academy there for two years before we got married.) Anyway, he?s out there, fighting dark Jedi and I?m stuck here like some invalid or something. I?d worry less if I were with him. But Master Skywalker wouldn?t have it.

?I have a feeling that you will be better off if you stayed home,? he said.

A feeling? Better off? What gave him the right to decide what was best for us? Nevermind that he happened to be correct. Nevermind the Force letting him see some parts of the future and all that.

But it really didn?t come down to Luke. Someone else had put the idea of letting me stay home in his mind. Someone it is much simpler to be angry at.

Jacen!

My brother-in-law has officially taken this unifying force business too far. Why, I think he knew about you before it even happened ? before the last night Anakin and I were together. And that?s why he must die a most horrible, gruesome death.

Don?t argue with me. I know he was just looking out for us. I?m sure you would have liked your uncle?

Oh, don?t pout.

Okay, fine. I won?t kill Jacen.

Yet.

 

I found my new dairy to follow this year


Edit: Do you offer a PM list? If so, add me please!

 

G__Anakin: Oh, thanks! I will definitely add you to the PM list.

Week Eight, Day 4
Entry Two

When I visited your grandparents a couple of days ago, I was able to sift through some of your father?s old things. He was a kid once, you know? I managed to steal an old stuffed bantha cub your Grandpa Han gave him when he was just a baby. It?s yours now.

I?ve been seeing a lot of them lately, since Anakin left. They are the closest thing I have to parents right now, and probably will be for the rest of their lives. It was?difficult to not shout the news to them at first sight. Maybe, by the time you read this, you?ll be too young to understand, or maybe you won?t, but your father really has to be the first one I tell. It?s important. I don?t even know why, just that it is.

We had a good talk over dinner. Master Sky ? er, Uncle Luke, joined us. I?m still angry at him for sending Anakin away, but he?s family. I?m sure I?ll forgive him sometime ? holding grudges is of the Dark Side.

(The Dark Side?it is unclear whether there really is a Dark Side to the Force anymore, thanks to your Uncle Jacen. When you get old enough, you?ll go off to Uncle Luke?s Jedi Academy and learn about the Force?then, you?ll be able to form your own conclusions.)

I caught up on the rest of the family. Jaina and Zekk are no longer lovers. That relationship lasted all of a week. It turns out, she?s moved on pretty quickly ? with Jagged Fel. I guess she couldn?t resist an old flame. According to Grandma Leia, Zekk isn?t too heartbroken over her. They were better friends than lovers ? his own words.

Next week is Allana?s fourth birthday. Briefly, I thought about giving away your bantha cub to her ? but that just wouldn?t be fair, would it? No, I?ll go out and buy her a present tomorrow. You deserve that stuffed bantha cub. I?m sure you?ll be much prettier than Allana, as cute as she is. (Once you?re born, she?ll be the second cutest child in the galaxy.)

Speaking of Allana, I?ve, once again, changed my mind about killing her father.

This morning I decided to go for a jog, and I ran into Jacen. We exchanged a few words. It is difficult to see him without Tenel Ka or Allana these days. He?s devoted to his family.

We said our goodbyes, and before he turned to leave, he winked at me.

Winked! What in the galaxy??

I?ve been playing that moment in my mind all day. I can only come to one conclusion. He wasn?t winking at me. He was winking at my stomach!

In his defense, I?m sure he cannot help but know when new life so close to him is created. Still, he could have just feigned ignorance?.

But I digress. Sometimes, the male mind cannot comprehend these things.

I won?t have to keep you a secret much longer, thank the Force. Your father contacted me last night. He?s taken care of the Dark Jedi cult on Mrrlst ? disbanded it. He?s on his way home right now. Which means he?ll be here in two days.

I miss him so much.

 

Great job!

 

I've really enjoyed this diary so far! May I be on your PM list?

 

G__Anakin: Thank you!

DarthBerryStraw: Thanks, and I've added you to the list!


Week Nine, Day 1
Entry Three

Your father came home today. I still haven?t told him. I?m waiting for the right moment.

Oh, who am I kidding? There will be no right moment. I?m a coward. Every time I have an opportunity, these alarms go off in my head. In a minute?Later?Tomorrow. I?m not waiting for a moment, I?m waiting for courage.

My mind hates the word ?now.?

Anakin arrived at twelve hundred and I jumped into his arms as soon as he entered the door. This wasn?t my usual way of greeting him, so it made him suspicious. I should have told him right then, but I just said, ?I?ve missed you.?

He?s accepted that answer for my odd behavior today?for now, anyway.

We ate the stew I cooked for his homecoming. Anakin pretended to like it, but his true feelings were all too apparent in the Force. I?m not a very good cook, as you?ll find out throughout your life. I rambled on and on about what I?d been doing during his absense ? my gossip sessions with his parents, my run-in with his brother?everything but you.

I can hear him coming?

***

So?that was quite a reunion.

I sent him off for more food. The stew was not appetizing ? and I?m allowed to admit it. As I was telling him what I wanted, he was just standing there, hands on his hips, grinning like his father. It annoyed me, but instead of saying anything about that, I kept changing my order.

You have peculiar tastes, my unborn child. Daughter. That?s my guess, anyway.

Now he?s gone, and I can finally finish what I was saying earlier.

I guess?I?m afraid of his reaction. Not that he?ll get angry, but that he?ll be happy. Which, of course, he will. He?ll be delighted, and I?ll feel downright foolish.

I?m happy, too.

But, the truth is: I?m also terrified.

I think he can sense it. He keeps asking me if everything all right. The right words just don?t come?. I can?t keep lying to him. Anakin Solo never gets scared ? how will he deal with a wife who is more afraid than he can ever know? Would he even understand?

I?m being downright stupid, aren?t I? You can say it ? I know you?re thinking it.

It?s just?I?ve never known my own family. I was raised by sand people ? that?s not quite the same. Anakin didn?t exactly have a normal childhood, but he knows his parents and where he comes from. I want to give that to you more than anything, but how?

Anakin will know. Who else could know?

I have to tell him.

 

Great job!

 

HOW DID I MISS THIS?!!!!
If you have a PM list please put me on it! I love it love it love it!

 

It?s just?I?ve never known my own family. I was raised by sand people ? that?s not quite the same. Anakin didn?t exactly have a normal childhood, but he knows his parents and where he comes from. I want to give that to you more than anything, but how?

Anakin will know. Who else could know?

I have to tell him.

Yes, Tahiri, you do.

Great update!

 

G__Anakin: Thank you!

star_writer24: Thanks so much! You've been added to the PM list!

DarthBerryStraw: Thanks! She probably should tell him sooner, rather than later.... Let's see what happens next!


Week Nine, Day 2
Entry Four

He knows. In your life, you may have moments in which you feel a tremendous pressure uplift from you that you didn?t know was crippling you ? maybe you didn?t even know it was there. This was one of those moments for me.

I decided to tell him over breakfast. While he was still asleep ? his trip was exhausting, so I allowed him to sleep late ? I made some bantha biscuits. That?s one of the few foods I am capable of fixing, and only because it is so simple. I brought them to our bedroom and the smell woke him up.

He sniffed deeply without opening his eyes. ?I?ll bet it?s delicious, Tahiri,? he said. Of course, he thought otherwise, but he doesn?t tease me so early in the morning. I don?t react well to that.

I set the biscuits on the bedside table and climbed into bed with him. ?Before you eat,? I said, and took a deep breath to brace myself, ?I have something to say.?

Anakin looked at me, curious. ?What is it??

It happened again ? that freezing thing. I kept opening my mouth and closing it again. How was supposed to tell him? Maybe I could come right out and say it?

Nope. Nothing.

Finally, I decided to let him figure it out for himself. I grabbed his wrist and put it up to my stomach. ?Feel,? I said.

I could pinpoint the exact second when it hit him. His eyes widened and narrowed, and he was at a loss for words. I smiled weakly and said, ?Surprise.?

His joyous laughter was music to my ears. ?That?s?wow.?

?You?re going to be a father,? I said, just to see that he had interpreted the feeling correctly. And to see how happy I could make him before he tasted my biscuits. Everything tastes better in a good mood. Then I started laughing with him ? we sounded like a couple of spice-addicted crazy people.

?When are we going to tell our family?? he asked, after all of that laughter had died down.

I shrugged. ?Dinner tomorrow??

Anakin grabbed one of the biscuits and popped it in his mouth. ?I?ll make the arrangements.? He chewed and swallowed. ?Boy or girl??

?Girl,? I said, although I don?t know.

He gave me that lopsided Solo grin and shook his head.

?Boy.?

 

Girl,? I said, although I don?t know.

He gave me that lopsided Solo grin and shook his head.

?Boy.?



...melts into a puddle of goo

 

Finally, I decided to let him figure it out for himself. I grabbed his wrist and put it up to my stomach. ?Feel,? I said.

I could pinpoint the exact second when it hit him. His eyes widened and narrowed, and he was at a loss for words. I smiled weakly and said, ?Surprise.?

His joyous laughter was music to my ears. ?That?s?wow.?

So cute!

Great update!