More Rey, More Rose

Luke's med bay

Theed Hospital

Naboo

"Aunt Mara?" Luke repeated blankly.

Rey's eyes widened, "Yes, Mara. Your, uh, your wife?"

Luke Skywalker's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

He'd forgotten about his wife!

His mind was suddenly flooded with a chaotic kaleidoscope of images, of a young woman with flowing red tresses, the same woman, older, with gray streaks in her hair. There were brief images of a flashing blue lightsaber and ...

It was too much. Luke's mind swam, then the darkness closed in ...

/

Some time later ...

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Beep.

Luke sighed softly to himself. He wanted to stop the beeping. He needed to stop the beeping. Before he lost what was left of his ... of his ...

Mind, that was the word, mind.

Wait a second. These thoughts were familiar.

It was like déjà vu all over again.

He reached out through the Force with more control this time and smashed the offending beeping droid, causing it to screech briefly, then fall silent.

There was a soft exclamation and Luke opened his eyes to see Rey on her feet, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Um, you're awake," she said after an awkward moment.

Luke sat up slightly and shot an irritable glance at the now slightly smoking medical droid, "Yes. I hate beeping."

Her face lit up with a smile now, "So I see."

He groaned and ran a hand over his face (his stupid beard was so annoying!), "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"You, er, lost consciousness. Which isn't surprising, Master Skywalker. You had an exhausting day yesterday."

The Jedi Master winced openly, "Yesterday? I was out that long?"

"You slept for 10 hours, yes. Which you needed."

He nodded and looked around, "Where is Ben?"

"He's asleep. He's been doing extra shifts with you because many things came up and ... er ... required other Force Sensitives to be elsewhere."

Luke groaned aloud, "Like my wife."

"Yes," Rey said with a smirk.

"Whom I forgot."

The girl tilted her head slightly, and now her smile was sympathetic, "You sustained a major head injury, Master Jedi. It's not surprising ..."

"Rey, please, stop calling me Master this and that," Luke interrupted wearily. "You're married to Ben. I think you can call me Uncle Luke."

She looked startled, then nodded, "Very well, Uncle Luke."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "So, my wife?"

"Is on her way," Rey replied briskly. "She was actually in hyperspace when you regained consciousness yesterday. We're not quite sure when she'll get here."

Luke nodded, then smiled. His memory was not intact, but he knew he loved Mara Jade Skywalker with a passion. He couldn't wait to see her. He also knew she would have a few things to say about him forgetting her, but he could handle being teased for the pleasure of her presence.

"So," he said deliberately, gesturing for a water glass to float its way meekly over to him, "you and Ben are married. I still find that ... surprising."

Rey laughed even as she sat back down, her lightsaber swinging at her waist, "Well, it was a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, we were progressing in our relationship and all but then there was the attack on Theed. Ben said to me that if his powerful Jedi Master Uncle could nearly get killed by an ancient, crazed Gungan, it just showed how uncertain life could be. We knew we loved each other, Ben's mother gave us her blessing, and we decided on a quick wedding."

Luke gazed at her through half opened eyes. He was so tired.

Ben and Rey. Force Bond. Crabby Ben, with the scar over his eye. Why on earth would they get married?

No, wait, that was all from the nightmare.

He heaved a sigh, "I'm sorry, Rey. Not the greatest company here. I'm still confused between what is real and what is not. So ... do you have a last name?"

Her brows raised curiously, "Yes. Solo."

He chuckled, "I mean, a ... family name, from before you were married. In my dream, you were a mysterious person with only one name and no knowledge of your parents and relations and ... and you were from Jakku, which is covered with sand, rough, coarse and irritating."

She laughed now, "Well, that part is right, I am from Jakku. But my parents still live there, don't you remember? You've met them. They attended my Knighthood Ceremony."

He shook his head, "No, I'm sorry, I don't."

She smiled, her face fond, "My parents are Rayson and Lana Atine. They run a sand skiing and sledding facility on Jakku. Ben and I and a bunch of Jedi initiates were there ... oh, 5 months ago now? We combined fun with Jedi training. You refused to come because of your long standing distaste for sand. Ring any tuning crystals?"

The Jedi Master shook his head, "No, I'm afraid not."

A look of concern crossed Rey's face, but she only said, "It's Ok, Master ... Uncle Luke. It'll come back to you."

"So are your parents Force Sensitives?" he asked curiously. In both his nightmare and in real life, it was obvious that Rey was very strong in the Force.

She stood up now and walked over to the window to stare out the window at Naboo's blue skies and distant green horizons, "No, and my sister isn't either."

She turned now to face him, and her expression was hesitant, "Ben ... figured out something while you were unconscious. I ... I hope it doesn't upset you. Your sister was Ok with it ..."

"Yes?" Luke asked curiously.

She heaved a deep sigh and sat down, "I guess it is good I know this now, but it is pretty weird. Ben is investigating Force sensitivity and how it ties into genetics, which is especially complicated because back in the days of the Old Jedi Order, Jedi weren't supposed to have children. Obviously your father and mother broke from, er, tradition in that area. Anyway, so ..."

She hesitated, then continued with determination, "My former last name, Atine, is ... is shortened from Palpatine."

She stared at Luke, and he stared back at her, even as his eyes widened, "What?"

Her mouth turned down, "I'm a third cousin thrice removed of Sheev Palpatine, our loathed and despised former Emperor."

Luke sat up and winced as a headache formed in his right frontal lobe, "That is ... that is interesting, Rey. And as for being bothered, of course not. My own father was a brutal psychopath for more than 20 years, after all."

The girl smiled a little, "That ... that is what Mother Leia said. It is still kind of creepy because he was such a loathsome person."

Luke lifted an eyebrow, "So, why is your former name Atine as opposed to Palpatine?"

Rey frowned, "Well, to be honest, we're figuring that out. I asked my parents and they didn't even realize we are distant relations of the thankfully dead former Emperor. Ben has been poking around in the Nabooian genealogical archives while helping look after you, which is where he figured out our relationship to Sheev Palpatine. It seems a few generations back, the Emperor's extended family had a falling out and the name was changed in our branch of the family to distance ourselves. Which is all to the good, because Palpatine was not a reliable person in terms of being faithful to family. Ben says he was self-centered, narcissistic, and never played well with others. As a toddler he had an annoying habit of yelling "You're cheating!" anytime someone did something he didn't like. Even as a child, he was a total jerk, manipulative and sneaky. Great relative."

Luke sighed aloud, "Well, as I said ..."

"I know, Sith Lord father. I get it. Anyway ... Ben wonders if ..."

"If the genes threw a shockball when you were conceived?"

Rey nodded, "Precisely."

Luke leaned back and considered, then smiled gently, "It doesn't really matter, but I would guess the answer is yes. Leia and I are both strong Force Sensitives, as is Ben. It seems quite likely that someone as strong as Palpatine would have ... have some genetic predisposition. That's really more Ben's purview than mine, since he is all excited about research in pursuit of the next best seller."

She chuckled, "He has threatened to write a biography of me, not that I'm interesting enough ..."

"Oh, I think my nephew finds you plenty interesting."

She blushed openly now, though she didn't meet his eyes. Luke was tempted to keep teasing her, but no doubt to her relief, the holoscreen in the corner suddenly flickered to life.

Rey looked at it, her expression morphing from excited to embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Luke," she said, gesturing with one hand and turning off the holoscreen. "This is one of my guilty pleasures. I've been watching 'As the Galaxy Collapses', a ridiculous daily holodrama. Ben is very patient with it but you'll find it annoying."

"Nonsense," Luke replied with his own wave of a hand, turning the holoscreen back on. "I'm tired and will rest, Rey. Just go ahead and watch it"

He leaned back and closed his eyes, his mind pleasantly relaxed. His horrible nightmare was just that, a nightmare. He was married, with a wonderful wife and ... and ... his brain thrashed around a bit in search of a wayward thought, but lost it. Oh well. Brain injury. It would come back to him.

"That's how we're gonna win this. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love."

Luke's eyes flew open at these words and his eyes focused incredulously on the image on the screen where a short, dark haired woman was clasping a tall, blond man who was wiggling indignantly.

"Rose Tico!" Luke exclaimed incredulously.

Rey, who was chuckling openly to herself, turned to stare at him in surprise, then gestured to turn off the audio.

"What?" she demanded.

"That's ... that's Rose Tico!" Luke continued. "Not my doctor, the woman from my dream with that name."

Rey glanced at the screen, where the woman was gazing up at the increasingly irascible man, her mouth moving soundlessly.

Ben's wife looked puzzled for a moment, and then her face broadened in an understanding smile, "Was she a fool in your dream?"

"Yes?" Luke replied uncertainly.

Rey was laughing now, even as she nodded in understanding, "I understand now. That's Cresso Nico, the character I mean. You must have heard her name on the holodrama and mixed it up with your doctor."

"But I remember her face!" Luke exclaimed. "And her voice!"

"Well ...," Rey continued carefully. "When you were still semi-comatose you would sometimes open your eyes and look around, but you never said anything. We thought ..."

"That the lights were on, but no one was home?" her uncle by marriage quipped.

"Something like that," Rey agreed, clearly relieved at his understanding. "But probably you did absorb some of it into your dream."

"But what she just said, I remember it! That's how we're gonna win this. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love."

Rey was laughing openly now, "Of course you remember it. It's her signature line."

"It's a stupid line!" Luke exclaimed indignantly. "Completely absurd! Especially in my dream! Her friend was trying to rescue the Resistance by sacrificing himself, and like a complete moron, Rose Tico crashed her speeder into him at like 200 kilometers per hour and nearly killed herself and him … should have. And then before she fainted dramatically, she spoke that absurd line. Because of course it's wrong to sacrifice yourself to save your friends, naturally. Talk about stupid ..."

He trailed off because Rey was doubled over, laughing so hysterically that he wasn't sure she could hear him anymore.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" he said rather cautiously, surprised by this reaction.

"No, you are of course totally right, Uncle Luke," Rey gasped out, struggling to control her hilarity. "That line is Cresso Nico's favorite saying and she says it every 4th or 5th episode. And everyone hates it to the point that they love it. The character started out as a noble sidekick to the main female character, but there was a writer's strike and some lowly intern wrote that line for one of the early episodes. Everyone thought it was so stupid they ended up adoring it, and the Cresso Nico character shifted to being the plucky but irritating comic relief."

She gestured at the screen now, where the tall blond man was looming over Cresso now, his face creased with exasperation, "She's always interfering when someone tries to do something heroic, and people are always trying to do heroic things in As the Galaxy Collapses. It's that kind of holodrama. The actress playing Nico seems to be enjoying herself, because she's invited to all the fanventions and she always gets up on stage and says that line, and everyone boos and throws jogan fruit. It's so fun!"

Luke stared at her in amazement, "So ... the actress doesn't mind?"

"Of course not," Rey said firmly. "Chelly Klistan is the actress playing Cresso Nico, and she knows her character probably would have been killed off two years ago if she hadn't become the idiotic sidekick. There is nothing so wonderful as having your character so hated she's loved for long term survival on a holodrama."

Luke stared at her, and then smiled mischievously, "Sounds like you know a lot about this show."

Rey's face pinked, "Like I said, guilty pleasure."

She sighed now, "I suppose not really appropriate for a Jedi ..."

"Not at all," Luke interrupted firmly. "I think the Jedi of the Old Order were prone to take themselves too seriously at times. We all need a little relief from the struggles of our days."

His new niece smiled gratefully, "It does help me to relax. And ..."

She trailed off and turned to the door, even as Luke did. A new Force presence was making itself known ...

The door slid open and Mara Jade Skywalker stepped through the door, her green eyes suspiciously bright.

"So did you miss me, Farmboy?"

Author Note: I'm sure that the actress Kelly Marie Tran is a fine woman, but oh how I hated Rose Tico. And that part where she smashes into Finn drives me insane! That should have killed them both, and the Resistance was in grave danger, and Finn was trying to heroically save his friends after being rather a coward in the previous film. He was being noble and wonderful and then Rose is an idiot and says that stupid line. ARGHGGHGHGHGHGGHGHHHHH! Thanks for the reviews and follows, and thank you dear husband for this delicious ride of bashing The Last Jedi.