Title: Love's Intervention
Rating: Mostly PG-13, but parts maybe R (the rating will go up to M if it is)
Author: Flowerlady
Timeframe: Post-Legacy
Warning: Uses canon up to and including Exile, so possible spoilers.
Characters: Ben/Jysella, Seha, Corran/Mirax, Luke/Mara, OC's and others
Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance, Short Novella (I hope it stays short anyway)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. They're George's toys, I'm just breaking them.
Summary: A very different Ben Skywalker returns after an eight year trek across the galaxy in search of himself after redemption and a failed marriage and runs head long into Jysella Horn and the fa mily that he had left behind.
A/N: Written for the Benella Index and Discussion Challenge
Challenge #4
In honor of Valentine's Day ... (Yeah, I know it's a little late…but you know what they say—"better late than never" )
Write a vignette or short story describing the events around Ben asking for Jysella's hand in marriage. How do you think Corran would respond? It can be humorous or serious, but have fun…

Requirements:
Here are some considerations that you could use or you can come up with your own:
1. Ben tried to kill Corran in a battle while under Darth Jacen's influence.
2. Jysella is pregnant.
3. Corran thinks Ben is too young.

Phrases needed:
"I never kiss and tell"
never in a million years
being a little harsh
changing sides

Words needed:
Persevere
Code
Intervene
Cold
Hot

Love's Intervention

Chapter 1

It had been a long time since Ben Skywalker had set foot on Ossus. He never liked the home of the Jedi Academy and now wasn't any exception. However, he had to come back; duty demanded it.

His father was dieing.

Taking a deep breath he made his legs move down the ramp of the Morning Star, an old Naboo yacht he'd acquired a few years back in a Sabacc game. Ben swallowed and looked toward the large Temple and the village that had sprang up around the Temple area. He had spent his childhood here; however, his childhood had never been a happy one. He had never measured up to his parents' expectations, he knew that.

First, he was fearful of the Force. He nearly laughed at that now, twenty years later. Besides, being the grandson and son of two of the most powerful Jedi who ever lived, he was now the most powerful Jedi alive, despite the fact that he no longer really belonged to the Order. But over the past eight years he had become to think of himself as a Jedi.

Later in life, he learned to trust and use the Force while under tutelage of his cousin, Jacen Solo. Eventually though, Jacen became Darth Krayt and almost destroyed the galaxy and the Jedi, all the while taking Ben with him on his wake of destructionBen became a Sith Apprentice and eventually was stopped, but not before killing three Jedi Masters and seriously wounding another. That Master would have died too if he hadn't absorbed a lot of Ben's lightsaber's energy and used it against Ben to subdue him, which allowed his mother the chance to redeem him.

Finally, the last string of disappointments stemmed from his failed marriage to a girl who he really didn't love but thought that she could make him happy and make him feel human again after his redemption. Seha Dorvald was a pretty auburn-haired, brown-eyed girl that he had known since the beginning of the Second Galactic Civil War. She had attended the Academy at the Coruscant Temple and had helped him escape to go on his mission that sent him upon the path of his destiny. After his redemption she had been the one that he had turned to, hoping to find comfort in her arms. For a while the twenty year old Ben found a lot of comfort in her more than willing arms. At three years older than him, she was an incredible lover and the confused, lonely boy easily made the mistake of confusing the physical with the metaphysical. He had been happy for a while and she had loved him. However, everyone but them could see the problems in their relationship and regardless of the warnings of his parents and hers, they eloped. Their divorce happened eight years ago after two years of strained marriage. Ben, feeling just as out of place as he always had, left the Jedi on his quest to find himself.

He wondered if he'd see Seha and their nine year old daughter. He hadn't seen Melina since she was eighteen months old. Oh, well, he thought, just one more failure to add to my long list of failures. But then I am a Skywalker, after all, and none of them ever would have won a parent of the year award.

Taking another deep breath, he began to walk toward the small house where his parents lived when they were on Ossus. They had spent most of their lives on Coruscant, since that was where the main Jedi Headquarters were, but his father preferred Ossus and Ben knew that this was where his father wanted to die. Luke Skywalker never considered the Temple that had been built over the ruins of the old one the real home of the Jedi. To him Ossus was where the Jedi belonged, away from the rot that too often affected the seat of the galactic government.

He stood at the door of his parents' home and rang the buzzer. He turned away and let the cool breeze wash over him as he waited for the door to open. Running his hand over his red hair, which was bound in a long braid, he wondered what they would think of him. He had spent the past eight years roaming the galaxy learning and coming to terms with just what and who he was. He really did find it quite ironic that his Master had done the same thing and eventually became a Sith, while he went on the same journey to become a Jedi.

Finally, the door slid open and he turned around expecting to find his mother there. Instead, there was a lovely black-haird young woman who looked vaguely fa miliar but he couldn't put a name to her face. "Yes? May I help you?" she asked.

He s miled and said, "I'm sorry. I thought this was the Skywalker apartment. I must have made a mistake."

He turned to go but her incredulous tone stopped him. "Ben? Ben Skywalker?"

He turned and met her vibrant green eyes. The greenest eyes he had ever seen. "Yes," he answered without hesitance. He may not totally enjoy who he was but he wasn't ashamed either.

"Your father has been waiting for you." She moved away from the door and beckoned him to enter. "Please, come in."

He looked at her questioningly again as he passed her upon entering. He knew he knew her but—then it hit him and he turned to face her.

S miling he said, "You're Jysella Horn."

She warmly returned his s mile and then shut the door. "Yes, I am. I guess you're wondering what I'm doing here."

He shrugged and then grinned, "Well, I suppose I am. Now that you mentioned it."

She moved toward the kitchen and threw over her shoulder at the entrance, "Master Skywalker is sleeping right now. Would you like a drink?"

Ben, his hands shoved into the pockets of the jumpsuit he wore, looked around almost nervously. He felt anything but at home here as he moved over to the kitchen entrance. His answer was deadpan, "Yeah, whisky." At her look of surprise mixed with disapproval, he flashed her a lopsided grin and leaned against the door frame. "Okay, I suppose it's still too early for that. How about an ice cold lum ale instead?"

She pursed her lips and opened the refrigeration unit and pulled out a bottle of tonic water. Handing it to him she replied dryly, "How about a water?"

He continued to s mile and reached out to take the bottle. His hand briefly touched hers; she met his gaze and quickly pulled her hand away from the bottle. After taking a long drawl from the bottle he inquired, "Well, you never did tell me why you're here."

She had turned away from him after he took the bottle and now she looked back at him. "Oh. Seha asked me to stay with Master Skywalker while she, your mother and Mellie went out for a while."

Ben was taken aback by the mention of his ex-wife and what Jysella's words implied. "Seha helps take care of Dad and Mom?"

Jys frowned as she said, "Yes. She's actually very close to your parents. They adore Mellie and she them. Your dad's illness has taken a toll on her. He's the only father she has ever known."

Ouch. I suppose I had that coming. He turned away from the kitchen and moved back out into the sparingly furnished living room. There his eyes fell onto something he missed before. On a low table beside a formflow couch sat a holocube showing a holo of a petite red-haired girl sitting on the lap of Luke Skywalker. Her slender arms were around his neck and they both were laughing.

Ben picked up the cube and took a deep breath. The next holo that cycled through was just of her. She was sitting on a couch. Big green eyes looked up at the person holding the cam and she was s miling, revealing that three of her front teeth were missing. Her long red-gold hair lay in ringlet curls around her shoulders. She was absolutely beautiful. He was so taken with her that he hadn't noticed Jysella come up beside him.

"That one was taken on Coruscant at your parents' apartment. She had just turned seven."

He looked over at her and said very quietly, "She's beautiful."

Jysella s miled, "She takes after your mom the most. In looks and in personality. Seha says that she wishes she had named her Jade."

Ben gazed back down at his daughter and murmured, "I chose Melina as her name."

If his ex-wife's life-long friend had heard him, she didn't say anything. She left him to the holocube that was dedicated to a child that was a complete stranger to him.

After several minutes he felt a stirring in the Force and he turned to see Jysella re-enter the living room from somewhere in the back of the apartment. He knew what she was about to tell him before she even said a word, "Your father is awake and would like to see you."

He sat the holocube back down on the table and moved to the hallway. "Thanks."

She s miled sadly, "Ben, he's only holding on to see you. Despite all that happened he couldn't let go without seeing you first. Remember that."

He swallowed hard at her words. He suddenly hoped that he was ready for this.

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