Waiting
Jacen sat in calm silence, not a muscle moving save his eyes which tracked his father pacing the length of the waiting area. His mother sat next to him, her pose mimicking his, but he could feel the tension radiating from her.
"She'll be fine," he reassured them.
"I'm sure of that," Han retorted, running a hand through his hair. "But that's my little girl…having a little girl and a little boy of her own. A man can't help but be a little nervous about that. And I gotta say, you Skywalkers sure like your twins."
Leia laughed at that. "It does seem to be a family trend. Be glad that you're a man and unable to bear children, Jacen. Giving birth to one child is difficult, but giving birth to twins is something else entirely. I should know; I've done both."
A heavy weight settled in the room as they remembered Anakin. Jacen didn't have to seek out his parents in the Force to know that they were still grieving. It had been nearly five years since Anakin's death, yet…
"Did Jaina and Jag say what they were going to name the twins?" Han asked quietly.
"Without a doubt, the name Anakin was tossed around," Jacen said. "But somehow, I don't think they'll name their son that. The name is too heavy now with history, marked by two men that the boy will never know. It doesn't seem fair."
"No," Leia agreed. "No, it doesn't."
They lapsed into silence, lost in their own thoughts.
"How long has it been?" Han inquired.
"She's been in labor for nearly six hours," Leia answered. "Why? Are you hungry?"
"No, just curious. You called Luke and Mara, right?"
"Yes. They should be here right about…" Leia paused then smiled. "They're actually here now."
Ten minutes later, Mara burst through the doors, her eyes scanning the room as if she'd see Jaina there.
"How is she?" she asked.
"Hello to you too," Han teased. "And she's doing as well as can be expected from a woman in labor."
Luke sauntered in after his wife, Ben's hand in his. The six year old skipped alongside his father, his red hair tousled and his blue eyes bright.
"Hi!" he greeted cheerfully.
The adults couldn't help but smile at his greeting, at his naturally cheerful disposition. Despite having been born at a time of war, Ben was a normal kid with a seemingly limitless amount of energy and an endless well of mischief. And like his parents and cousins, he was very strong in the Force.
"He refused to be left behind," Luke said with a shrug. "He felt what Jaina was going through and wanted to make sure she was alright."
"She is alright, isn't she, Jacey?" Ben asked, pointing an earnest and trusting gaze at his cousin.
Jacen got down on his haunches in order to look the boy in the eye. "She's just in a little pain right now, but she'll be fine, Ben. Are you hungry?"
"A little."
Jacen picked him up. "We're going to go get some food. Does anyone else want anything?"
"Caf would probably be nice," Leia said, smiling gratefully at her son.
"Got it."
They left as Ben started to tell Jacen about his newest toy. Luke sat down next to his sister, while Mara paced in the opposite direction as Han. Luke reached out for his niece and felt her still going strong—but frustration leaked out of her. "Jaina doesn't seem to be waning."
"Always good to hear," Han said. "I wish Jag would come out here…"
As if on cue, Jag walked in, exhaustion etched on his face. "She wants you, Leia."
Leia leapt to her feet and ran out of the room. Jag took her place, but he refused to relax, instead leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees.
"I'm glad you came, Luke, Mara. Does that mean Ben's around somewhere?"
"Jacen took him to get some food…and get us some caf," Mara said. She smiled. "So how are you holding up…Dad."
A corner of Jag's mouth twitched upwards and he shook his head in disbelief. "There's something I'm going to have to get used to hearing addressed to me."
"I dunno, Jag. I was thinking maybe you'd be more comfortable with 'Father'," Han teased.
Jag chuckled. At first, Han Solo's irrepressible teasing had made him feel a little uncomfortable, Leia's reserved approach to life more suited to his liking, but even she rose to the challenge when one of Han's humorous comments were directed towards her. Verbal sparring with Jaina hadn't quite prepared Jag for her father but nowadays he was holding his own.
"Don't you think I've relaxed enough to get a 'Dad'?"
Han grinned and clapped his son-in-law on the shoulder. "We'll see. When you've got a kid on your back, another tugging at your leg, and dirt smeared on that nice clean flightsuit of yours, I might even consider 'Daddy' a possibility."
"Don't forget the Force-aided temper tantrums that are in his future," Luke piped in, having gone threw a few with Ben.
Jag grimaced. "I have heard the stories."
"Take it from me, just leave that stuff to the Jedi," Han said, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he remembered. "The one time I tried to help, I got a concussion." Han sighed, but he smiled contentedly. "It'll be hard and you're gonna have your hands full for the rest of your life, but it'll be worth it. Just think that every time you think that you're gonna knock their heads together."
"You can always count on Han for good tips," Mara said dryly.
"Don't knock it, Red."
Ben and Jacen returned with four cups of caf. Ben jumped on his father's lap, earning a grunt from Luke, and he grinned a chocolate smeared grin at Jag. Jag grinned back, amused. Luke's flightsuit now had some small chocolate handprints on it, but the older man didn't seem to notice, his attention on his son. The fear dissipated in Jag's heart and he felt a small drop of excitement at having his own child sitting on his lap one day, having small handprints on his clothes.
"Want some, Jaggie?" he asked, holding out a chocolate bar.
"No thanks, Ben. You enjoy it."
"'Kay. Where's Jaina?"
"She's in another room having our babies."
"Babies? How many?"
"Two."
"Two boys?"
Jag smiled. Everyone else knew the gender of the babies, but he didn't want to know. They had respected his decision, but not without a great deal of teasing and baiting, and Jag had almost given in a number of times. "I don't know," he answered.
"Jacen, I can't believe you got him chocolate," Mara scolded. "You're going to have to peel him off the walls when he finishes with that bar."
Jacen smiled guiltily and handed her a cup of caf. "It's just a little treat, Aunt Mara. He'll be fine."
"I'm a good boy!" Ben said.
Then, as if to prove his mother's point, Ben jumped down from Luke's lap, dropped his chocolate bar on Jag's boot, and knelt at his feet. Jag picked up the chocolate bar, making a face as he got melted chocolate all over his hand, and looked down curiously at Ben. Straightening, Ben held up a silver chair with a ring on it.
"What's this?" he asked.
Jag's eyes widened and with his clean hand, he took it from Ben. "It's Jaina's wedding ring. It must have fallen out of my pocket."
"I always thought it was a beautiful ring," Mara said, coming up to Jag and taking the ring in the palm of her hand. "It's a very original design."
"Jaina likes it," Jag said simply.
"And it is an original design," Jacen said, catching his brother-in-law's eye.
Mara let the ring fall from her hand and Jag looked away from Jacen to watch it swing in the air, glinting as it caught the light, remembering.
* * *