Title: Voices
Author: mavjade
Rating: PG
Characters: Ben, Luke, some Mara
Genre: Angst, father and son relationships.
Summary: Father and son share a story throughout their lives.
Notes: This was written for a prompt table I'm doing over on LJ. The prompt was "Tell me a story. Do all the voices."
~*~*~*~
Luke awoke to a sound he was becoming very familiar with. Screaming.
"Just let him cry, he'll stop in a few minutes," Mara said.
"Are you sure? Maybe I should just go get him," Luke responded as he started to get out of the bed.
"Luke," Mara said as she grabbed his arm, "I promise he will be okay. He's getting old enough to learn to sooth himself. Just let him cry for a little while."
Laying back down, Luke sighed, "Okay. How do you know so much about this anyway?"
"What, you think my upbringing didn't teach me child rearing?" Mara asked with an incredulous stare.
Luke laughed, "No, somehow I don't think it included such skills."
"It's called research, farmboy. Heard of it?"
Luke smiled at his wife but did not comment. He slid out of the bed and started walking toward his son's room. "But he still hasn't stopped. I think I'll just go check on him."
Mara laughed and sat up to look her husband in the eyes, "He'll have to learn some time."
"I know."
"And so will you," she said under her breath, and she flopped back into the bed.
Luke tiptoed into his son's room intending to just check on him, to see with his own eyes that his son was alright, but as soon as he looked into the crib Ben's blue eyes locked on to his own and the crying ceased.
"Were you just lonely, Ben? Or were you scared?" Luke wanted to pick up his son to comfort him but he knew if he did, the chances of him going back to bed were pretty slim. So instead he pulled up a chair and sat down beside the crib and began to speak.
"How about I tell you a story until you fall asleep?" Luke asked Ben who was content to hear his father's voice. "Once upon a time..."
~*~*~
Luke awoke to the sound of a scream. Reaching out in the Force as a reflex he could tell no one was in the apartment other than himself, Mara and Ben. He looked over to his wife who had an exasperated look on her face. She had clearly already determined on her own that there was no danger but was just too tired to deal with the drama tonight.
"I'll go," Luke said with a sigh. "I guess it's my turn anyway."
"Mm hm.." was his wife's sleepy reply.
Luke tried to keep calm. He had known frustration and sleepless nights were part of the deal when he and Mara became parents but it was starting to wear both of them down.
He entered the room and sat down on the bed beside Ben. "What's wrong, Ben?"
"Bad dweam," replied the child as he climbed into his father's lap.
Luke pulled his son close and simply healed him for a few minutes. After the boy had calmed down Luke asked what the dream had been about.
"Bad men takin' me away from you and momma. I don't wanna go, Daddy," Ben began to cry again.
The first few times Ben had this dream, Luke and Mara wondered if this was actually a dream or something more sinister. Ben had already shown remarkable talent and sensitivity in the Force and they worried that it could be a vision. After several months and several checks of their security system they both determined that it was just the typical dream of a young child.
"Ben, there are no bad men that are going to get you. Momma and I would never let that happen."
"But..."
"No but, son. How about we go check the doors and the security system so you can see that nothing can get in?"
"Okay," came the still frightened voice.
After successfully proving that the security system would keep the bad men out Luke took Ben back to his bed. "How about I tell you a story?"
Ben nodded his head and he cuddled his stuffed bantha closer to his chest.
"Once upon a time there was a young boy who wanted more than anything to live on a different planet..."
~*~*~
"Mom? Dad?" Ben asked as he woke from a deep sleep.
"Ben," Mara sighed, happy to see her son's baby blue eyes open and looking at her.
Ben looked around not quite sure where he was. He could not get his eyes to focus and his head felt as though it were splitting in two. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" Luke asked trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
"Kral and I were playing in the woods, I saw a tugi fruit on a branch and wanted to get to it. I... climbed the tree?"
"Yes, you did Ben. What else do you remember?" Mara asked her voice shaking just the slightest bit.
"I was climbing and.... my head really hurts."
"I'll go get Cilgal," Mara said as she kissed Ben gently on the head.
Luke sat down in Mara's chair beside the bed, smiling at this son.
"Am I in trouble?" Ben asked sounding like the eight year old they sometimes forgot he was.
"No son, you aren't in trouble. Your mother is just worried and you know how she hates to worry."
"Yeah..."
"How about you try and get some sleep, that will help your head. I'll tell you a story."
"Daaad..." Ben protested. He felt like he was too old to be told a story while he was going to sleep.
"Humor your old father, son. It will make me feel better."
Ben sighed, "I guess."
"Once upon a time there was a young man who wanted more than anything to live on a different planet. He begged and begged to be allowed to leave but his uncle would not let him. One day the boy ran into a strange old man..."
"Hey Dad," Ben's sleepy voice interrupted the story.
"Yes Ben?"
"Don't forget the voices this time, okay?"
Luke chuckled to himself, "I won't."
~*~*~
Luke was startled awake by one of the most dreadful sounds he had ever heard. It was the sound of a terrified Ben screaming in his sleep. Luke sprang out of bed and ran to his son's room hoping to be able to pull him out of the nightmare before it became worse.
"Ben," Luke called as he gently shook his son. "Ben, it's alright. It's over."
The young boy continued to thrash about in his sleep, whimpers and yells escaping from his mouth.
"Ben!" Luke called louder. "Ben, wake up for me! It's over, there is nothing to be scared of anymore."
With another scream, Ben sat straight up in the bed.
Luke stoked his son's back, "It's okay Ben, it's okay."
Tears began to roll down Ben's face but he said nothing. Luke knew better than to try and get his teenage son to talk. Luke knew what the dreams were about anyhow. After Ben and been tortured by his cousin and his mother killed, there had been too much to do, too much to accomplish for him to dwell on the things that had happened. But after Caedus' death and the galaxy had begun to mend, it was too much for a boy of 15 to handle.
He began having nightmares, flashbacks, and the occasional fits of rage soon after things had begun to calm down. He had originally wanted to stay in the dorms with the other Jedi Knights but he was so disruptive in his sleep that Luke thought it would be better for him to live with his father for a little while.
After sitting with his son for a while, rubbing his back and whispering words of encouragement Luke felt like Ben was calming down. "You alright now?"
Ben simply nodded his head.
"I'll let you try and go back to sleep. You know you can always come get me if you need me, right?"
Ben laid back down, nodding at his father's question.
Luke stood up and began walking back to his own room when a quiet voice stopped him.
"Will you tell me a story?" Ben asked, sounding younger than his years.
"Of course," Luke said walking back to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Voices?"
"Always. Once upon a time there was a young man who wanted more than anything to live on a different planet. He begged and begged to be allowed to leave but his uncle would not let him. One day the boy ran into a strange old man who told him of a different kind of life he could lead, a life of magic and princesses, swords made of light and travels to far off lands... "
~*~*~
Ben could feel it would not be long. His father's presence in the Force was growing weaker by the minute. He had lived a long life, and done more things than hundreds of men could claim they had done; he had saved lives, taken a few, taught hundreds, if not thousands of would be Jedi. Ben did not want his father to leave but he knew that was a selfish thought. It had been a long time since his mother had died and he knew that his father missed her everyday.
"Dad?" Ben whispered to see if his father was still with him enough to interact.
"Ben..." came his father's weak reply.
"I love you, dad. It's okay, we'll be okay. I'm sure mom is waiting."
"She is."
Tears began to fall from Ben's eyes and he held his father's hand and he watched as he could almost see the life, the Force leaving his father's body.
"Tell me a story," his father whispered almost inaudibly.
"Yeah, dad. Okay."
"Voices..."
Ben could not reply immediately because he knew if he did he would begin to sob. Taking a deep breath and clearing his throat he began.
"Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a boy..."
~Fin