Author's Note: This story was written before I read the New Jedi Order series so none of those events or characters are reflected here. Looking back on its last attempted revision in 2003 I decided I wanted to finally bring this to a close. What you now see is the final revision to this story. My style of writing has changed considerably over the last decade and some change, it's a reflection of the changes I myself have gone through.
Please let me know what you think of this story, thank you in advance. Enjoy.
Lost Hopes and Dream:Revised Edition
By: X-wing Day
The medical facility, located in the palace district of Coruscant, was deceptively calm at this hour. No visitors were present, nor emergence vehicles incoming, and the hospital staff was at a minimum. Normal for three in the morning, really. The only place where things were not completely normal was the waiting room outside delivery room A-5. This nondescript waiting room held five occupants at this unusual hour of the morning. It was quiet, even in this room with its two small couches and scattered empty chairs.
On one of the couches slept a twenty-one-year-old human male, his medium brown hair and peaceful face bore a striking resemblance to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Cuddled against him, fast asleep, was a nineteen-year-old blonde, female human. The couch opposite to theirs was occupied by a young married couple. The twenty-two-year old man, his brown hair mussed but his brandy colored eyes sharp, held his wife gently as she rested against his shoulder. He played absent mindedly with one golden-red warrior braid as he watched their other companion pace uneasily.
Zekk strode back and forth across the small waiting room, heedless of his brother-in-law watching him with a slightly amused smile. He paused, reaching back with shaking hands to nervously fix the thong holding his black ponytail. Jacen had watched him repeat that motion too many times to count. Emerald eyes flicked again to the wall chronometer, checking the time as if it held some great answer for him.
"Zekk." Jacen called quietly, drawing the nervous twenty-five-year-old's attention from the device. Emerald eyes regarded the young man but still seemed far away somehow. "Try to relax, if you keep that up you'll warp the floor."
"I just can't shake the feeling that something is wrong, Jacen." Zekk's concern and anxiety bled strongly into the Force. Honestly, it was amazing that Anakin and Tahari could sleep in such close proximity to the man. As he spoke, Zekk began to pace the floor again as if it were his mission in life to warp the floor. "It's been over two hours since Anakin brought me here, and you two were here before that. . . Isn't that a bad sign? Show it take this long?"
"I don't know, but I do know they will tell us if something goes wrong. Try not to burrow trouble where there is none." Jacen shot his brother-in-law that lopsided Solo grin. "You're probably just nervous because you're about to become a father."
"You better bet I am!" Zekk exclaimed quietly and pointed a finger at Jacen. "Just wait until Tenel Ka goes into labor, you'll be just as bad as me."
"Worse." Jacen stated as he looked down at his sleeping wife and smiled fondly. "I promised to be in the delivery room with her for the whole time."
LHaDREd
In the delivery room, Jaina Solo stared up at the ceiling as sweat poured down her forehead. Each time the MD droid and the doctor told her to push it was accompanied by the most sever pain she'd ever experienced. Jaina's throat was raw from screaming, unable to hold back as the pain washed through her. Each time a push ended the pain would ebb into a throbbing, until she pushed again and it flared back ten fold. She panted as the MD droid coached her on her breathing, her mind turning to her emerald eyed husband. Force knew she loved the man, but she was never letting him so much as sleep in the same room again!
Thoughts of Zekk brought a sense of restless to her, an urge to pace which she was certainly not about to do in her condition. She reached out to the Force, seeking the Force signature of her husband. She found it not far away, in another room. His worry and nervousness washed through her mind in a wave of intense emotion.
'Zekk, I'm fine.' She projected this thought to him with as much reassurance as she could manage. 'You are never going to touch me again, but I am fine.'
LHaDREd
When Zekk suddenly stopped pacing, seemingly listening to something no one else heard, Jacen worried for a moment. He soon felt his sister's Force signature though and realized she must have had a hand in his friend's sudden pause. Jacen felt her presence wash over him, touching his mind in the way only his twin could. He could feel her pain, more of it than he would have expected, but she felt strong and healthy.
'Jacen, try to keep him calm.' Her voice plead in his mind, as clear as if she'd been standing before him.
'I'll try, though I'm not sure that's possible.' Jacen sent back as he eyed his friend. Zekk finally slumped into a chair, though his knee bounced quickly as he eyed the chronometer again.
LHaDREd
An hour later Jaina slumped back as the cries of her twins filled the room. She felt exhausted and every part of her body hurt, but as the MD droid showed her the twins for first time she managed a smile. Her vision started to go dark around the edges, and she felt so tired. An alarm sounded, the MD droid hurried away as Jaina gave into the darkness trying to engulf her vision. Voices shouted but she was simply too tired to understand what they were saying. She just needed . . .
LHaDREd
Zekk had managed to doze fitfully in a hospital chair when something wrenched him from his sleep. He felt a wave of joy, followed swiftly by fear and exhaustion crash through his mind. He looked to Jacen to find he'd also snapped awake, looking pale and ill. Zekk reached out for Jaina, feeling her presence slipping as he did so. His emerald eyes slipped shut again as he focused on his wife, feeling her slipping away.
"Jaina!" Zekk yelled out, waking the other three occupants of the room. He felt Jacen's presence in the Force as he reached out to his sister as well. It was as if the two of them were reaching out, trying to catch her as she fell toward a deep black abyss. Her Force signature was weak, and getting weaker by the moment.
For long moments the two were blind and deaf to all around them as they tried to save Jaina. Tenel Ka's cool presence joined her husband's, lending him strength without knowing what was happening. The three seemingly fell into a trance, unaware of the time which passed or the presence of another person in the room. Slowly, though she felt distinctly far, Jaina's presence seemed to stop falling. Jacen opened his eyes, blinking against the and taking in his surroundings. Zekk had slipped from his chair, landing on the floor on his knees with his head cradled between his hands.
"Jacen?" Tenel Ka looked worriedly up at her husband, his eyes slowly came to meet hers. "What has happened, my love?"
"Jaina. . ." He paused, unsure how to describe what happened. "Slipped. She's alive, but very far away."
"Jaya slipped where?" Anakin asked from where he and Tahari were trying to coax Zekk back into his chair. Jacen looked over to his little brother and gave a lost shake of his head. They were interrupted by the clearing of someone's throat. All eyes, except for Zekk who was yet to move, turned a man standing in the doorway.
"I'm Doctor Stevens." The man provided, eyeing Zekk on the floor before turning to Jacen. He remembered meeting the kind doctor before, when he'd gone with Jaina to one of her appointments. "You're Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo's twin brother?"
"Yeah," Jacen said still far away in voice. "And these are my wife Tenel Ka, younger brother Anakin, his girl friend Tahiri, and you know Zekk." He gestured to each in turn as he tried to focus on the doctor.
"Yes." Jacen confirmed cautiously, dreading whatever news brought Jaina's doctor to them at that moment.
"I have some hard news, I'm afraid." Doctor Steven again glanced toward Zekk, who still had not moved, before looking toward Jacen again. "The babies are well; in fact, they should be able to go home in a day or two. . . But your sister suffered complications. We reacted as quickly as we could, and she is alive, but she's slipped into a coma. We've transferred her to the ICU until we can be sure she is stable."
"Babies?" Anakin asked as Zekk twitched slightly.
"Yes, Jaina delivered a healthy baby boy and a healthy if slightly small baby girl." Stevens offered a weak smile toward Zekk, who finally looked up at the mention of his children. "You, sir, are the proud father of twins. It's rare that we miss a fetus on the scans in this age, but it does happen from time to time."
Zekk felt tears prick his eyes, and at that moment he couldn't say if they were of joy or sorrow. He could barely feel Jaina in the Force, she was so far away. But their children, twins, were healthy. Had Jaina seen them before she slipped into the coma? Had she even had the time to hold them? He rubbed his hands across his face, feeling Anakin give him a one-armed hug. He was aware the others were talking, but he had no awareness of what was being said.
LHaDREd
After a few hours of consoling Zekk the others had slowly slipped off, leaving Zekk in the ICU holding his wife's hand. Jacen had promised to return soon, and reminded his distraught brother-in-law that he had yet to name his newborn children. Zekk kissed Jaina's hand, taking a minor comfort in the fact that he could still feel her if only weakly. He forced a smile and moved so that he could lean his head against her, speaking softly to her. She looked as if she slept, but she was too pale and a machine was helping her breathe.
"Do you remember the day I asked you to marry me?" He whispered to her, a weak smile tugging at his lips. "You got so quiet, I was afraid you'd say no. I was afraid I'd lose you then." His voice broke for a moment, and he took a slow breath. "When you said yes, I didn't think I could ever be happier than I was right then." He kissed her brow before he murmured his next words. "Until the day you told me you were pregnant. Our children are so amazing, sweetheart. They need you, I need you. We love you. Please, please come back to us."
LHaDREd
"Jaina what?!" Han exclaimed over the holonet call. Were this any other time Jacen might have found the tiny image of his father yelling from the holoprojector amusing, in fact he'd inspired such outbursts a number of times with his jokes, but he seemed to have lost his sense of humor at the moment. The little image of his mother placed her hand on his father's shoulder and eyed their sons with quiet concern. They were away on business and even in the Falcon it would take a week for them to return.
"She's in a coma." Anakin repeated for his older brother who seemed to have gotten choked up again. "There was a lot of information, and we're all reeling, but there were complications with the labor. The babies are fine, but Jaina was transferred to the ICU. They don't know when or if she'll wake up."
"Babies?" Leia asked carefully and watched her sons both nod. "Twins?"
"A boy and a girl." Jacen confirmed.
"Where is Zekk?" Han asked and Jacen wasn't sure if the former smuggler was concerned or angry.
"He's with Jaina, dad." Anakin told their parents. "He went to see the babies, but after that he hasn't left Jaina's side."
"You'll need to watch out for him." Leia told them. "This must be tearing him apart; he shouldn't be alone."
"We'll keep an eye on him, we're going to take turns helping him." Jacen assured them.
LHaDREd