Author's Note: This is a little Christmas story that I just had to write. Ben Skywalker is about 16 months old in this. And, oh yeah, that whole Vong invasion and Mara's illness thing? Never happened because I didn't want it to! So, the Skywalkers and the Solos live in (relative) peace and happiness on Coruscant. I decided to make Fete Day the equivalent of our Christmas. Oh, and words in bold and italics is Force talk.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and I'm not making any money off it, either.
THE PLANET NABOO, 45 STANDARD YEARS AGO
Rhel Menaraev had worked for the royal house of the Naboo for more than forty years. In all that time, he'd served many different kings and queens. There had been monarchs that Rhel had loved and those that he'd merely tolerated. Not that his job was all that important. Rhel was merely responsible for making sure that the palace at Theed was kept spotless. But some of the kings and queens he had served understood the importance of making certain that things were clean.
Of all the rulers he'd pledged his allegiance to, none had touched his heart like Padmé Naberrie, Queen Amidala. She had been the youngest queen he'd ever worked for and certainly one of the kindest. Whenever she had seen him in the halls of the palace, she'd always had a gentle word for him and Rhel appreciated that. So many of the nobility seemed to overlook those who didn't serve in grand and glorious ways, but not Amidala. She had noticed and thanked him for his efforts.
Now that she was a Senator and no longer the monarch, she still took the time to speak to him whenever he saw her. That wasn't very frequently anymore. Padmé was heavily pregnant and due to give birth any day. Strangely, her husband was not with her and Padmé seemed far sadder than a woman about to bring new life into the world should be. Rhel didn't understand why that was, anymore than he understood the unusual dreams he had been having of late. In his dreams, he saw two children, a dark-haired girl and a blond-haired boy. They were not as happy as children should have been either, especially since next week was Fete Week, the time when all beings celebrated life and happiness by giving each other gifts of love.
His mother had once told Rhel that she thought he might be just a little Force-sensitive. Rhel had scoffed as the idea, but he did sometimes get strange feelings, and he'd sometimes had odd dreams like the ones with the two children…twins…yes, they were twins. Without pausing to dwell on it any further, Rhel reached for the piece of rutiger tree, the one that he had left from the last whistle he had carved for the chef's daughter, and his carving blade.
Padmé refused to look at Obi-Wan the entire time she fed her beautiful baby boy. She knew what had to happen, and while she understood - very grudgingly - that it was for the best, that did not mean that she had to like it. And it certainly didn't mean she had to give Obi-Wan one second of her attention that could instead be focused on her little boy, her Luke. After today, she would likely never see him again. Her heart was breaking, but she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness if it meant that Luke would have the chance to survive, that her baby would be safe from him.
No, don't think of that now, Padmé. Not now while you still have Luke in your arms. There will be time enough for tears and regrets later, but not now.
A soft knock at the door startled her into breaking her vow not to look at Anakin's Master and she couldn't contain the fright in her eyes. Obi-Wan grimly pulled his lightsaber from his belt, although he did not ignite it, and walked over to the door. He stood very still for a long moment and Padmé could imagine him stretching out with the Force to see who was calling at such a late hour.
"It's not him," he said quietly.
"Then who is it?" she asked, only a little sharply, as she pulled Luke away from her breast and settled him on her knees. Padmé glanced over to check on Leia, sleeping peacefully in the bassinet beside her chair. Luke gave a small burp and sighed in contentment. Under the protective shield of the blanket she had over her shoulder, she fixed her clothing so that she was fit for company.
Obi-Wan didn't reply to the slight bitterness in her tone as he opened the door and talked quietly with whomever was on the other side.
"Obi-Wan?" Padmé questioned insistently.
Kenobi turned back to face her with a confused expression. "It's a Rhel Menaraev, Milady. He says he knows you from the palace?"
"Well, let him in, Master Kenobi. He certainly does not work for Palpatine," Padmé said impatiently, although she was actually as confused as Obi-Wan was. Why was old Rhel here to see her now?
None of this showed in her face as she greeted the elderly servant graciously and smiled as he praised the beauty of her children. He shuffled his feet nervously and Padmé waited quietly for him to come to the reason for his unexpected visit.
"Milady, I served you for many years quite happily and I know that everything is not as you would wish it to be right now. I don't understand why that is, but I can't bear to see you so sad. So, I've brought a gift, for your babies."
"Why, Rhel, you did not have to-"
"Milady," he interrupted her. "Sometimes I have strange feelings and dreams. In one of my dreams, I saw these two lovely babies, and they were so sad because they were apart when they should be together."
Padmé paled in shock and then sent a stern glance to Obi-Wan behind Rhel, who looked as though he were about to say something, silencing him before he could say a word. "Go on," she said quietly, sensing that he had more to say.
"I made them each a gift, Milady, to take with them so that they won't feel so alone while they are apart. Someday, they will find one another again."
Padmé felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as Rhel carefully unwrapped two pieces of carved rutiger wood wrapped in crinkly paper. There in his hands were two matching Fete Tree ornaments, each one the miniature figures of a dark-haired girl and a blond-haired boy. The tiny children were smiling and they were huddled close together, their arms wrapped around each other. Each of them sprouted a tiny pair of wings on their backs.
Carefully, Padmé took the one of the ornaments in her hands, one watchful eye on Luke lying content on her knees. Her fingers lightly traced the outlines of the tiny faces, her tears threatening to fall as she touched the wings on the back. "Just like the angels of Iego," she whispered. "Oh, Anakin…"
Taking a deep breath, Padmé pulled on all the experience she'd had as a politician and buried her fragile feelings down deep. She looked up at Rhel and gave him a gentle smile.
"I thank you for your kindness and generosity, Rhel. Truly, I am blessed to count you as my friend."
"I am the one blessed, Milady," Rhel said gruffly and awkwardly bowed to her. Without another word, he laid the matching ornament down beside her, then turned and left them.
"Padmé, you cannot let-"
"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, Obi-Wan!" she shouted and then consciously softened her voice as Luke fretted. Automatically, she reached a hand out and caressed his tiny cheek, silently marveling again at the silky smoothness of his skin. "I do not ask for much…and you owe me much. Luke will have this with him. It doesn't have to be explained to him, but he will keep it with him. Is that understood?" she asked, in that moment very much the Queen of the Naboo.
Padmé and Obi-Wan stared one another down for what seemed like an eternity before he nodded his head slightly and said, "If that is what you wish, Milady."
"None of this is what I would wish, Obi-Wan. None of it."
THE PLANET CORUSCANT, PRESENT DAY
The city planet of Coruscant never totally slept, but there were times when it was quieter than others. One of those times was the night before Fete Day. This day began Fete Week, when numerous parties could be found all over the planet's surface. Perhaps Coruscant's citizens needed that one day to rest up in preparation for the weeklong celebration that followed.
In the Skywalker household, it had taken two weary parents far too long to get one excited toddler to finally fall asleep. Mara and Luke collapsed on the couch in front of their fireplace with twin sighs, then glanced at each other with matching grins.
"My first assignment for Palpy wasn't so difficult as getting that boy to admit that he's tired and needs to go to sleep," Mara groaned.
Luke chuckled softly, both at Mara's nickname for her former Master and in agreement with her assessment of Ben's stubbornness.
"I know what you mean. I think I'd rather be back on Dagobah listening to Master Yoda yell at me sometimes than try to get him to just close his eyes for two seconds."
That was the frustrating part. They knew Ben was exhausted, and if he would just close those eyes for a moment, he'd be asleep almost instantly. Unfortunately, their son had inherited the stubborn gene from both his parents.
Mara leaned over and looped her arms around Luke's neck, nuzzling his ear softly.
"So-ooo, Luke. What would you like to do now?" she whispered suggestively.
"Well, my love, I think I'd like to…"
"Yes?" Mara asked as she leaned in to softly kiss his jaw.
Luke closed his eyes as a shiver ran through him at the warmth of her touch. As much as he wanted to take her up on her not-so-subtle idea, there were other things that had to be taken care of first.
"I think I'd like to decorate the Fete tree!" he laughed as he jumped up quickly, causing Mara to fall forward onto the couch.
"You can't be serious, Farmboy! We just got Ben to sleep. We never know when he might wake up," she said impatiently.
"Exactly the reason we need to get started on this right away. He'll be very disappointed if he wakes up and finds the tree undecorated after we promised him it would be," Luke said as he walked over and began to rummage through the hall closet for the boxes with the tree decorations.
"You mean you promised him it would be. I can think of much more fun things to do while he's asleep," Mara grumbled, but she obligingly got up and walked over to help him. She knew that this holiday meant so much to Luke, as he hadn't been able to celebrate it very often in the austere environment that he'd grown up in.
As she started to bend down beside him to grab one of the storage boxes, Luke surprised her by pulling her into a tight embrace and giving her a smoldering kiss that made her knees weak. Pulling away from her, Luke smiled in satisfaction at the slightly dazed expression on her face.
"You just hold on to that thought, Mrs. Skywalker. I'll be taking you up on it a little later," he said in a husky tone that made Mara's breath quicken.
"I'll be looking forward to it, Mr. Jade," Mara said with a smirk and reached a hand around to pinch his rear end.
Luke couldn't help but laugh. She always had to have the last word. After one more lingering kiss full of promises, the two of them got to work dragging out boxes of Fete ornaments.
"How did someone who never had the chance to celebrate this holiday that much acquire so many ornaments?" Mara wondered in exasperation.
"Leia. As soon as she found out that I never got to celebrate it as a child, she started giving me ornaments as gifts. And that was before we found out we were brother and sister. Once we knew that, she just started giving me even more."
They worked quickly and efficiently placing the ornaments on the tree, laughing and talking quietly so as not to wake Ben, and every now and then sending each other heated glances in anticipation of when their task was completed. Ben's presents for Fete Day were already wrapped in festive paper and hidden away, so all they would have to do was place them under the tree when they were finished.
"Say, I don't think I've seen this one before, but it looks pretty old," Mara said as she held up a wooden ornament of a pair of little angels.
Luke's gaze softened as he reached over to take it from her hands. "I had misplaced it for a long time," he admitted. "When I stopped celebrating Fete Week for a while after Callista left me, I put a lot of these things away and forgot about them. Tionne found this one a couple of months ago in my old office at the Academy and sent it to me."
"It must be pretty special to you," Mara said softly as she looked at his face, pointedly ignoring the mention of the body-snatcher's name. There was no point in starting an argument with him the night before Fete Day and ruining the holiday.
"It is. I…I think it belonged to my mother," Luke said hesitantly.
"I thought you didn't know anything about your mother."
"Well, I don't, but Leia remembers a little. The funny thing is, she has an ornament just like this one. Hers was given to her by Bail Organa. Mine was given to me by Owen and Beru. I was lucky enough to find it when I went by the homestead on the mission to rescue Han from Jabba. Leia told me she can feel a trace of her real mother's presence when she holds her ornament, and even though I never knew her, I feel something when I hold mine, as well."
Mara stepped over behind him and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist, resting her chin on his shoulder as they both contemplated the gift in his hands.
"Is it supposed to be you and Leia?"
"I think so." He twisted his head around to look at her as she started to snicker. "What's so funny?"
"If you'd only shown these things to each other when you first met, maybe you wouldn't have had a crush on your twin sister."
Luke's face flushed in embarrassment at her teasing. He carefully hung the precious ornament on the tree before turning to take her into his arms. "Well, I know who I have a crush on now, wife. Care to follow up on what we started earlier?"
"Absolutely, husband," Mara grinned as he leaned down to kiss her soundly.
The next morning, they awakened to Ben's impatient cries to be taken out of his crib. Luke poked his head out from under the covers and squinted an eye sleepily at the chrono on the bedside table. 0600. Well, that was only about thirty minutes earlier than he normally awoke, so Luke figured he could go ahead and greet the day. Mara merely grunted and pulled her pillow over her head when he nudged her.
Luke decided to let his beloved wife sleep in. That had nothing to do with the fact that Mara would probably hurt him if he tried to make her get up; no, he was simply being nice.
You keep telling yourself that, Farmboy. Wake me in an hour.
Luke laughed - very discreetly - at her grumbling voice over their bond and simply sent back, Yes, dear.
"Da!" Ben greeted him happily as Luke walked into his son's room.
"Hey, buddy! How are you this morning?" Luke said, his face lighting up at seeing his little angel.
"Out!" Ben said imperiously as he raised his arms to Luke.
Luke obliged by picking Ben up and carrying him out to the living room. As soon as the young boy saw all the presents under the Fete tree, he squealed in delight.
"Mine, mine!" he pointed and shouted at the same time.
"No, little guy, your mommy will kill me if I let you open those without her here to watch you. How about we go fix her some breakfast instead?"
"Mama seep?"
"Yes, mommy's still asleep. Let's make her some dustcrepes with kitiri berries. Those are her favorites. What do you say?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ben shouted enthusiastically.
"Shh, not so loud, Ben. She's not ready to get up yet."
"Shhhhh," Ben said as he put his chubby little finger up to his lips in an imitation of what he'd seen his father do many times. Luke had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud.
When Mara marched into the kitchen a good two hours later, ready to bite her husband's head off for forgetting to wake her as she'd asked, she came to an abrupt halt at the sight that met her eyes.
Luke was standing at the stove, wearing a ruffled apron. He was holding a spatula in one hand and had Ben on one hip. Both of them, as well as the counters and walls of the kitchen, were splattered with flour and dustcrepe batter, but they didn't seem to mind as the two of them were laughing uproariously. Luke must have sensed her as he suddenly turned around to look at her with an abashed expression.
"Oops. Hi, mommy," he said with a grin.
"Bek-fas, mama!" Ben squealed happily.
Mara had to laugh. "Oh, Farmboy, what am I going to do with you?"
"Love me?" Luke said with a practiced endearing look.
"You're very lucky that I do. But you're cleaning this mess up, not me."
Luke suffered in relative silence as Mara related this story gleefully to the Solo clan later that afternoon. He attempted to protest a couple of times, but glares from his wife swiftly silenced him.
I'll get you back for this later, he promised, trying to ignore Han's hoots of laughter.
You're always welcome to try, Jedi, Mara sent back and he could feel her laughing even over the bond. In fact, I hope you'll do.
"All right, you two, it's not polite to whisper in the Force," Leia scolded as she walked over to admire Luke and Mara's Fete tree. She gave a gasp as she reached out to touch the wooden twin angels. "Oh, Luke, you found it!"
"Found what?" Jaina asked curiously as she joined her mother at the tree.
"This ornament. Your uncle and I are fairly certain this one and my matching one found their way to us from your grandmother somehow. We thought Luke had lost his for good."
"Really?" Jacen said as he moved in closer to take a look. The Solo children were almost as curious about their unknown grandmother as the Skywalker twins themselves were.
"Can I hold it, Uncle Luke?" Anakin asked.
Luke nodded his head and watched to see if Anakin would be able to feel what he and Leia felt whenever they held the ornaments. Of all the Solo children, Anakin seemed to have the deepest connection with the Force, and if any one of them would be able to feel it, he probably would.
Anakin pulled the trinket carefully from the tree, aware of how important it was to his mother and his uncle. His brow wrinkled in confusion and then his eyes widened as he glanced back up at his mother.
"Wow, it's…it's almost like your sense, Mom, but…different."
"Me see. Me see!" Ben clamored at Anakin's side.
Anakin sent a questioning glance at Luke, who gave a little shrug and nodded. "Just watch him and don't let him put it in his mouth."
"He's not old enough to sense anything yet," Mara said.
"Hey, he's almost one and a half. I definitely remember Aunt Beru telling stories of things I did at that age that had to have been influenced by the Force," Luke protested on behalf of his son.
"If you say so, Skywalker," Mara said with a little snort to show that she didn't really believe him.
Anakin reached down and lifted Ben into his arms, then handed him the ornament. They all watched curiously to see what the youngest Skywalker would do.
"Oooh, p-etty," Ben said. He pointed to the little boy angel and shouted, "Da!"
They all laughed as Luke blushed a little. Ben stroked the little girl angel and said "Nay-nay." He turned to beam at his Aunt Leia. They had no idea where he'd come up with his nickname for her, but she'd been Nay-nay almost as soon as he was able to speak.
Ben giggled suddenly and rubbed his forehead with one hand. "Tickews."
Luke sat up straighter, but not before giving Mara an 'I told you so' look. She just rolled her eyes at him. "What tickles, Ben?"
"Dis," he replied, holding up the ornament so his father could see it. "Tickews Ben head."
Luke laughed as he took his son from his nephew's arms, gingerly taking the ornament away as he did so and placing it back on the Fete tree.
"I think it's time we opened presents," he said. That announcement was met with whoops of joy from Ben and the supposedly more mature members of the family, including Han.
Later, as he sat on the couch amid piles of colorful paper and empty boxes, Luke's eyes strayed once again to the antique ornament that meant so much to him. The two tiny figures seemed to be smiling brighter than ever and Luke could have sworn that, just for a moment, he heard a mother's delighted laugh.