Title: A Christmas Wish
Author: Anaika Skywalker
Author's Email: lindsay30@austarnet.com.au
Rating: PG 13
Summery: Luke Skywalker decides to help a young mother and her son, the only problem is the young woman is more then she seems. And her need to find a cure for her son will come before her duty to her planet. Through the Force though she finds the strength to save her son and find the courage to love again.
Disclaimer: It's all owned by George Lucas, I just like to play in his universe once and a while.
Authors' note: I submitted this story on another site and got a few emails concerning it. So I thought I'd upload it on here and see what happens, I also went back over and found a few corrections that needed to be done. So please review and let me know what you think.
Author's Note: I went back over this story and made some more corrections and changed the format so it's easier read. I hope you enjoy it.
A Christmas WishChapter One: The meeting.
"Master Skywalker? Master Skywalker?"
Luke heard the voice calling his name, turning he saw a young woman hurrying towards him. He'd been at the Medical Center visiting Mara and their newborn son, Ben. He hadn't expected to be recognized this late in the evening.
The young woman didn't seem much older then his nephew Jacen. Her dark brown hair was braided back. Tiredness laced her dark eyes. He could sense the Force in her. Untrained as she was, she had a lot of control.
"How may I help you, Miss?"
"My name is Coren Zhan," she introduced herself. "My son is two rooms down from your wife," she ignored his surprise at the mention of a son. "He's grown up hearing stories of you and your family. I realize it's late but could you stop in for a moment and see him?"
"Of course," Luke agreed. "What's your son's name?"
"Jolie," she answered as he followed her. "We're from Naboo. I was here on business. On this trip I brought Jolie, he became sick during our stay."
"What's wrong with Jolie?" Luke asked gently.
"He has Caven's Syndrome," she answered. Then pushed open the door to her son's room going in.
Luke followed her. Caven's Syndrome was a childhood disease, which only one out of ten children who contracted it, managed to survive to their teens. Jolie was a cute little boy about four. With thick sandy brown hair and dark hazel eyes. He was a skinny little thing, a little pale.
"Honey," his mother perched on his bed. "This is Master Skywalker."
His eyes widened with surprise. "Really?"
"Really," Luke said with a grin. He shook Jolie's hand. "How are you Jolie?"
"You know my name. Mum, Luke Skywalker knows my name," he said excitedly.
"I know, honey," she got up and moved away, letting Luke sit where she had.
Standing near the door, watching them talk made her realize Luke Skywalker was going to make a great dad. It also made her realize how much she missed her own father; he'd always been supportive towards Jolie. Losing him had been hard. When the tears started to fall, she slipped out of the room. Running directly into a young man, also in Jedi attire. "I'm sorry."
He smiled warmly. "It's alright. I was looking for my Uncle," he saw the tears. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. If your Uncle is Luke Skywalker, he's in with my son," she said wiping her eyes. Seeing the look on his face. He was surprised too. "You two are definitely related."
That warm smile turned lopsided. "Why?"
"Because your eyes say a thousand things, mostly they're saying, 'she's too young to have a son.' Very clearly I might add. Just as your Uncle's did," she commented lightly, pushing her fear away.
He was a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he held out his hand. "I'm Jacen Solo."
"Coren Zhan," she shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you Jacen."
"Is your son going to be all right?" He inquired gently, guiding her to a near by bench, where they sat.
"He has Caven's Syndrome," Coren told him.
"I've heard of it. Is there anything they can do?"
"They've started treatment, but he's so young and not very strong," she put her hand over her mouth as the tears fell again. Her son, her baby was slipping throw her fingers and she couldn't help him.
Jacen wrapped his arms around her, wishing he knew the right thing to say. He didn't, so he held her instead.
With Jolie fast asleep, Luke came out of the room. He saw his nephew comforting Coren. He wondered if he should suggest taking Jolie to Yavin 4 to the Force healers there. It was a risk, but both mother and son were Force-sensitive.
Coren pulled away, wiping her eyes. She saw Luke standing near by. "Thank you Master Skywalker."
"My pleasure and its Luke," he insisted.
Jacen stood, addressing his Uncle. "Mum and dad were wondering if you were coming home for dinner?"
"Tell them yes and we're bring a guest," he stated and looked to Coren. "You need to eat and my sister and brother-in-law won't mind."
"I couldn't," she began.
"You can," Luke said interrupting gently and sent his nephew off to make the call then sat beside Coren. "Jolie is asleep so there's no need to run yourself ragged. I doubt you've had a decent meal in a while."
"It's been a few days," she admitted.
"Then I'm taking no for an answer."
"Alright," she yielded, smiling shyly.
Jacen returned. "All set Uncle Luke."
"Good, lets go then."
Coren wasn't expecting the former Imperial Palace, just being there made her a little nervous. This was a bad idea, she decided to herself.
"You'll be fine," Luke reassured her, reading her wrong.
When they entered the apartment, Leia Solo welcomed her son, brother and their guest.
Luke left Jacen to introduced Coren to the rest of their family while he put in a call to Yavin 4, and a few others.
"So how did you meet Jacen and Luke?" Han Solo asked her as they all sat in the living room.
"Luke's wife is two doors down from my son at the medical center," Coren answered and saw he wasn't surprised at the mention of her son. Being silently amused. She like Han, he reminded her of her father.
"How old is your son, Coren?" Leia inquired.
"Jolie's four. He has Caven's Syndrome."
Leia wasn't going to say she was sorry, that would be the last thing Coren wanted to hear. "Are you from Coruscant?"
"No, Naboo. I was here on business. Jolie became sick on the way," she explained carefully.
Han sat forward in his seat. "So what do you do, Coren?"
"I run Adventure Cruises, it belonged to my grandfather. When he died I inherited the company," she revealed, seeing admiration in Han's eyes and excitement in his youngest son's eyes. "My regular pilot's wife had a baby before we left, so I took over and flew the Adventure Wild here, bringing Jolie with me."
"You're a pilot?" Anakin Solo exclaimed.
She laughed. "I could fly before I could walk."
"So could he," his sister Jaina teased and he frowned.
Luke returned, sitting with them. Having over heard the comment. "Where are you staying Coren while you're here?"
"Until this morning, I was staying on the Adventure Wild, it left on its return trip. The medical center offered me a room there until tomorrow," she told them.
"Uncle Luke has a spare room," Jaina put forth.
"I don't want to be a bother."
"You won't be," Luke assured. "Mara want mind."
"Don't argue with him, Coren," Han advised. "You won't win."
She found herself actually being relieved. "All right."
They had dinner while Coren's bag was delivered to the apartment. Luke watched her discreetly. He'd done a quick background check on Coren Zhan. What he found out was, she was hiding from something or someone. There was no such person as Coren Zhan; there was a Caylin Zhan, who was a handmaiden to the Queen of Naboo. Caylin Zhan's grandfather had owned Adventure Cruisers until his death; it now belonged to Caylin's father. There was also no four-year-old with the name Jolie Zhan. Whatever or whoever Coren was running from, she was scared enough to changed her identity and fabricate an entire life.
The other thing he noticed was his oldest nephew was captivated with her. The two seemed to find an instant connection, especially through the Force.
Leia got him alone after dinner, quizzing her brother. "What's going on Luke? You don't usually invite strangers into my home or yours."
"Coren is Force-sensitive, as is her son. I think maybe Cilghal can help Jolie," he answered, not mentioning anything about Coren's deception, not until he had a change to talk to her.
"He's that bad?" His sister queried.
"After I spoke to Cilghal, I spoke with the doctor handling Jolie's case. He'll be lucky to survive to Christmas."
"Oh Luke."
"I want to help them, Leia. I'm just not sure how to approach it," he admitted truthfully. "I'm not sure she'll except my help."
"Then explain the Force to her. How she and Jolie have it within them. Then give her time to make the decision," Leia advised.
He nodded. "What would I do without you?"
"Get into trouble," she jeered.
Luke laughed. "You're right."
"Of course I am," she insisted.
Han came into the kitchenette to them. "Jacen is walking Coren to your apartment. She's just about asleep on her feet."
"I'd better go then," he decided.
They both saw him out. "Take it easy, Luke," Leia told her brother.
"I will," he hugged her. "I'll talk with you tomorrow."
"You'd better talk to Mara, first," Han noted. "Isn't she and Ben coming home tomorrow?"
Luke nodded. "I will," he patted his shoulder. "I'll se you all later," he hurried out, heading for his apartment.
Coren and Jacen were waiting for him, her bag still being carried by Jacen.
She took it from him. "Thank you, Jacen."
"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."
"All right."
He gave her one of those famous lopsided smiles, before saying goodbye to her and his Uncle, leaving.
Luke couldn't help but smile. He opened the door and they went in.
Coren noticed as soon as she walked in, she knew Luke Skywalker by his apartment. He was a private man. Whose wife had decorated after she'd moved in, not too much but she had added her own style with his.
"The spare room is this way," he showed her, opening the door to the bedroom. "The refresher is to your left."
"Thank you," she told him. "You and your family have done more then anyone else would have. Especially for a stranger."
Luke smiled warmly. "But you're not a stranger, go put your bag down and I'll explain."
"All right," she did so, and then sat in the living room with him. Concerned by his statement.
"Do you know what the Force is?" He asked her.
Coren arched an eyebrow. "It's an energy field generated by all living things. It surrounds, penetrates and binds the galaxy together."
Luke was more then surprised. "How did you know that?"
"I ready your biography," she admitted sheepishly. "And Jedi Knight's have played a large part in Naboo's history."
"I'd like to hear it," he said, but saw her yawn. "But tomorrow. You need some sleep."
"But you didn't tell me why I'm not a stranger," Coren protested.
She had him there. "Because Coren, you're strong in the Force, so is Jolie," he saw the realization cross her face. Watching as she reached out her hand and a datapad flew across the sitting room table into it. "My grandfather said I was just lucky, being able to do what I could. I suppose that's why I started reading about the Jedi, subconsciously I knew."
"At my Academy on Yavin 4, you could be taught to use the Force, to be a Jedi."
Coren gave the datapad to him, and then stood. "I'm sorry Luke, right now I need to concentrate on Jolie."
He also got to his feet. "The Jedi Healers at the Academy might be able to help Jolie. Heal him thought the Force."
"I don't know," she hesitated. "I'll think about it," she assured him. "Good night Luke."
"Good night, Coren."
She returned to her room. Grabbing some clothes, she made use of the fresher and then went to bed. In the dark, she laid there thinking about what Luke had said. Her son was her life, everything she'd done was for him and so far the doctors at the Medical Center weren't doing much to help him at all.
Around midnight, unable to sleep, Luke went into the living room. Seeing Coren, she was looking at a datapad. "I thought you were getting some sleep."
Startled by his voice, she dropped the pad. "I didn't realize you were there."
He sat across from her, picking up the pad. Seeing the Royal Crest on it. "You're not Coren Zhan, I did a back ground check on you. There is no such person."
She closed her eyes, sighing before she opened them again. "No there isn't, it's a name I use when I don't want anyone to know who I am."
He handed back the datapad. "So who are you, the truth this time?"
She chewed on her bottom lip before answering. "My real name is Amelia Coren Naberrie, I am from Naboo," she accessed the data on the pad, and then showed it to him. "For the past six years I've been Queen Amelia of Naboo."
Luke looked at the datapad; on it was the holograph of a beautiful young woman, in an elaborate gown, headdress and make-up. Traditional make-up, a red dot on each check and a red blood strip on her bottom lip. The woman in front of him and the one in the holograph were the same person. "So why stay here with your son, why didn't you go back to Naboo?"
"He became sick while we were here, the doctors told me I needed to get him treatment. So I remained and sent my decoy back to Naboo in my place. I get regular update's uploaded to my datapad, so we keep in contact," she explained. "I'm sorry Master Jedi, I didn't mean to deceive you or your family. If it were known I was still on Coruscant, it would course trouble. My son is everything to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him."
Luke sat next to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders. "You're young to have a four year old son."
"You could say I didn't have a chose in the matter," she declared dryly. "Surely you've heard of the Harps incident concerning Naboo?" She saw him shake his head, explaining. "I was on Harps at the request of the Queen Mother to discuss trade between our planets. One night there was an attempt on my life, we got word of it and the switch was made. So my decoy stood in my place. Except something went wrong, instead of the decoy Queen being snatched, I was," she shivered. "I spent two days in the hands of a rival family member of the Harps Queen. He wanted one thing before he gave me back, which was what he got."
Luke held her close. "He raped you."
She nodded. "I managed to escape and made my way back to the palace but the damage was done. I couldn't forgive my rapist, but I couldn't condemn my child. It wasn't his fault, he didn't plan the way he was conceived," she continued. "So I went against advise and had Jolie. It was thought if I did, my people would call for me to step down. Instead it coursed my people to stand behind me. So much that I was elected to a second term."
"You're a strong young woman, Amelia," the Jedi Master praised her.
"Sometimes I wonder how strong, Master Jedi," she declared. "What are you going to do now?"
"Nothing," Luke remarked getting up. "I meant what I said though, the Jedi healers can help Jolie. The decision is yours though to make."
"I will think about it Master Jedi," she assured.
"I'll see you in the morning, then," he informed and returned to his room.
To be continued…
