AN HEIR APPARENT
"Rey."
Luke felt the name cross his lips for the first time, marveling at the wonder before him - so tiny, so fragile, screaming at the coldness of the new world around her. His daughter. A more perfect being he could never fathom, let alone one of his own flesh and blood. She was transcendent.
He felt his voice catch as tears began to trail down his face. "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She must take after you, Mara."
His wife, with all her wild amber hair and freckles amid her rosy glow, looked even more radiant as she flashed her husband a playful grin.
"Except the crying. She gets that from you, Farmboy."
Luke couldn't help but chuckle, wiping at his damp cheeks with the back of his hand, still cradling his crying child in the other. "What a pair we are, huh, Rey?" he sniffled, placing his gentle, calming touch on her delicate, trembling body.
Even in her newness, he could feel the Force emanating from his daughter into his fingertips like static electricity. A Skywalker indeed. He closed his eyes. He allowed the Force to flow through him, reciprocating, channeling back into her. Like the warmth of the sun, golden and tender, a soothing blanket of light. A light befitting of her name.
Don't be afraid, I'm here. I've got you.
Little Rey quieted, then drifted into a deep slumber. Luke had never been so proud, so incandescently happy as he was looking down at his child. A part of him wondered if his father had felt this joy upon seeing his face without a mask for the first time, as Anakin and not Darth Vader, just moments before his passing. Or perhaps Padmé, at their birth. For their sake, he hoped they had been granted at least that much and humbly counted his own blessings.
Luke leaned over the bed to press a kiss to his wife's forehead, ever-so-gently passing the sleeping infant back into her awaiting arms. Mara smiled softly. Just then, the door flew open. A tall, gold droid shuffled in hastily.
"Forgive me, sir, for the intrusion, but Her Royal Highness and Master Sol - Oh, my! Why, Master Luke has become a father at last! Oh, I must tell everyone at once!"
"Threepio, hold on a minute!" Luke laughed, moving towards the door just as the droid hurried its way out, loudly announcing to all who could hear in the old Rebel base.
He was promptly cut off by the sudden entrance of his twin sister, followed closely by her husband and young son, Ben, who was barely more than ten years old and already came up to his father's chest.
"What's this I hear about a Master Luke having a kid, eh?" Han joked as Leia brushed past to greet her brother.
Luke embraced the pair of them eagerly,
"I can't believe you got here so fast! And, wow, has Ben grown since the last time I've seen you all."
He moved to hug his young nephew, who seemed to freeze at his approach. Luke quickly settled for a warm clasp on the shoulder instead. The boy had always been a little shy, which was a surprise considering who he had for parents. By the time Luke had looked again, his sister was already at the bedside tending to Mara.
Leia had never seen her sister-in-law so calm and peaceful in all their years. Motherhood certainly looked good on her, after all she had been through. Leia reached down and gently caressed her new niece's puffy, round face as she soundly slept. Somehow the commotion hadn't woken her.
"Oh, Luke, she's marvelous," his sister said, gazing up at her proud and nervous brother beside her. Looking back to Mara, she asked, "What's her name?"
"Rey," Mara answered, "Our little ray of light."
"Just like her father." Leia smiled.
Han squeezed his brother-in-law's shoulders.
"Welcome to parenthood, kid. Speaking of which - Ben! Come over here and see your new cousin."
From the doorway, Ben stepped with trepidation towards the bed. Never in his few years of existence had he seen an infant, and never had he considered the possibility of not being the only child in their family. The thought scared him a little more than he liked - what if this baby got to train with her Jedi Master father before him? He could feel the jealousy starting to boil.
Leia beckoned him closer and he obliged, sitting on the edge of the bed. In an act of good will, Mara held Rey out to him.
"Do you want to hold her?" she asked.
Ben was too nervous to respond, his jaw clenching with thought. His big, dark eyes looked at his aunt with worry, but she still held her child out, waiting for him. Slowly, he raised his clammy hands to accept the warm bundle.
He didn't know how to feel. The infant in his arms stirred and yawned, coughing slightly. Such a small, fragile creature. Ben felt his jealousy start to melt away into something else, realizing that in that moment he had all the power in the world to decide if she lived or died.
The edge of his lips curled into a smile,
"Hello... Rey."