Luke reflects on the near loss of a child’s life, his own.

  Disclaimer-all characters belong to their respective authors.
The names and coloration of the kids are mine.
Please don’t use them without my permission

Luke Skywalker walked into his apartment, keeping his
footsteps quiet. Mara had put the children to bed over two
hours ago, but Luke had been at Jedi Council meeting with
Leia. He had missed bedtime and telling his children a
story. He had come home, tired, and ready to go to sleep.
Mara was already in bed. She had an early meeting in the
morning and the children got up early as it was. As he
watched her sleep, his body pushed him toward the bed. He
stopped himself, knowing that he still had to say good night
to the children. He walked down the hall toward the nursery.

The nursery floor was cleaned of all toys; everything put in
its place. Luke smiled to himself. The children refused,
since they were old enough to clean up after themselves, to
allow their nanny, Winter Tycho, to clean their playroom. As
a result, the playroom was always been cleaned right before
bedtime. The children were fiercely independent and wanted
to do everything on their own. Like their mother.

Senator Mara Skywalker had gained a reputation for her views
and stubborn behavior. She had risen to leadership using her
experience as a Master Trader and smuggler to guide her. She
was respected for her Jedi talent and her ability to
understand the views of other alien species.

His marriage to Mara had been not been easy, full of
tragedies and triumphs. Early in their marriage, she had
fallen ill. Now they knew that she had been inflected with a
fungal infection that should have killed her. Only her
strength in the Force had allowed her to fight the infection
and save her life. Within a few months, she had become sick
again. Luke feared that Mara hadn’t been able to destroy the
infection and that it had weakened her too much for her to
continue fighting. He knew that if the infection had indeed
returned that this time he would lose the woman he loved
with all his heart. For over a month, Luke and Mara worried.
They waited for the test results, hoping against hope that
Mara had simply just had a bad case of the flu. Time passed
and with each day, their hopes began to die.

It was Leia that held the two together. After a week of
moping about, Leia forced Mara to get on with her life. Mara
perked up again and seemed to be winning against the
illness. She began to laugh again and looked healthier than
she had ever been before. Luke put his misgivings aside and
enjoyed his wife’s companionship. They had been sitting in
Leia’s apartment, talking about starting a Jedi Council when
the Med. Center called. At long last, Mara’s test results
had come back. Mara and Luke rushed down to the Med. Center
and came back in high spirits.

Mara was pregnant. Although the doctors were worried that
Mara could have complications from her infection, Mara and
Luke were happy that a child was coming into their life. It
would be months until Mara gave birth to their children.

The Chiss had started a war against the New Republic,
forcing Mara to hide her pregnancy from the sight of others.
It was hard, but the birth of the children gave Mara and
Luke new meaning to their lives.

The night that Mara had given birth had started like any
other. Mara had gone to bed early and Luke was at the
Command Center, working to make sure that nothing could
penetrate the protective barrier that the New Republic had
placed around the Capital planet. He had known that Mara had
been uncomfortable for a few days and the doctors had told
her that she should be going into labor within the next few
days. That, in itself, had worried Luke the most. Mara was
only seven months into the pregnancy. Even though he knew
that she had been pregnant with twins, Leia had had Jacen
and Jaina after nine months, at full term. Why was Mara
starting early? Had something gone terribly wrong?

Mara’s panicking presence had reached him as he was about to
end his shift. She was in full labor. He rushed to her and
managed to get her to the Med. Center just in time. Within
an hour of their arrival, Jeremy made his entrance to the
world. As Luke stared at the tiny being, seeing his blond
hair and ice blue eyes, Luke knew that his life was
complete, but he still had another son on the way. Kevin
came next, reluctant, but ready to greet his mother and
father with a loud cry. Luke laughed, knowing that his
youngest son was going to be a handful. The boy’s coloration
was darker than his fairer brother was and Luke knew that
this boy would look more like his aunt and cousins that his
mother, father, and brother.

He looked back at his wife and noticed that even though she
had just given birth to two boys, she still had another
surprise inside her. The doctors were frantic now, prepping
Mara with the slim chance that another child was still
inside her. Mara’s strength was nearly gone and Luke knew
that the life of another being was in jeopardy. His unborn
child, the one he knew nothing about, was still inside its
mother, holding on barely to its life. He began to help Mara
push the child out, using the Force. It was taking more
strength to help the child than Luke or Mara had ever used
before. Finally, the baby broke free and the room was
silent. No cries…not even a gasp for breath.

The doctors turned their attention to the infant. ‘It’s not
breathing,’ the doctor in charge told the worn-out parents.
The twins lay in their crib, silent, somehow knowing that
their sibling’s life hung in the balance. Luke held Mara
tight, trying to calm her and send thoughts of hope to their
ill baby. The minutes slipped by and Mara’s tears flowed
down her cheeks. Finally the doctor stopped the efforts. He
looked to a stricken Luke and Mara and shook his head. ‘I’m
sorry, there was nothing we could do.’ Mara screamed as loud
as she could and Luke cried against her. Their child…hadn’t
even had a chance. Luke rose, taking his wife’s arms from
around his neck and walked to the table where his child had
lost its fight.

Her hair was a soft red, like her mother’s. Luke bent down
next to her, touching her head. Slowly he pressed his lips
against the skullcap of red hair and kissed her gently.
Suddenly, a tiny movement of her chest and the child took
her first breath. The doctors pushed Luke away from his
daughter and worked to make sure that she continued to
breathe. Mara and Luke were taken from the room along with
their sons, while the doctors worked on the baby girl.

Later that night, Luke and Mara held their daughter in their
arms for the first time.

‘What do you think we should name her?’ Luke asked his
smiling wife.

‘Beru.’ Mara replied, knowing what the woman who had raised
her husband had meant to him.

‘No. She is her own person, not my aunt. I was
thinking…LeAnne.’ Luke said, recalling a name that meant
‘blessed one’.

‘Yes…her name must be LeAnne.’ His wife agreed.

Luke's mind returned to the present. His triplets were now
four years old. His oldest, Jeremy, was just like him when
he was the same age. He was stubborn like his Aunt Leia, but
softhearted and the easy going triplet. The younger boy,
Kevin, was mischievous and a trickster. He liked to hide
toys from his brother and sister. In many ways, he reminded
Luke of Anakin Solo, his sister's youngest boy. He was
talkative, but at the same time, a little mysterious. LeAnne
was a different sort of child than her brothers. She was
quiet and thoughtful, but a definite leader, like her
mother. Her red hair suggested a temper, but his daughter
showed no signs of ill temper like his wife had. Luke knew
that Mara had probably been like that as a child, raised in
the Imperial Palace by the evil Emperor.

The doctors that had been in charge of her care still had no
idea how the baby had been saved. Some had theorized that
Luke's Force presence had awaken hers and she had tapped
into that power and pulled herself back from the brink of
death. Others had strongly suggested that LeAnne had a will
to live and made it happen all by herself. Luke and Mara
preferred to believe that Luke's kiss had brought her back
to them. It didn't matter to them as long as they had their
daughter.

He crossed the room and opened the door to his daughter's
room. Luke looked in on his daughter as she slept. LeAnne’s
red-gold hair glistened from the nightlight. Her green eyes
were closed and she was dreaming childish things. She would
never understand how close she had come to death and Luke
and Mara never wanted their daughter to really know close
she had come. Luke leaned close to her and kissed her gently
like he had done the night she was born. She stirred in her
sleep and murmured a soft goodnight to her daddy. Luke
smiled as he walked out of the room and shut the door. He
knew that life still held many challenges for him and his
family, but for the night, they were all safe and sound. He
walked to his sons' room to wish them goodnight.

THE END
 

*******

This is my first official fan fic and it is the beginning of
a much larger story. Although short, it tells of parental
concerns for a child that would touch their lives and change
them forever.