.. I want to thank everyone for reading! While there are not 200 chapters to this story, there are a lot of proposals. I hope you'll enjoy. ..
Chapter 2
The Second
Day 17
Your baby is now .04 mm long. Two or three babies the size of yours could fit into the space occupied by this printed period: . You may notice that you feel more tired now than you normally do…
Mara's head lolled back on her couch and she let her heavy eyes close with a sigh. It felt so good to rest. Luke would be home in just a few minutes, she knew, but she wouldn't fall asleep. She was just waiting for him…
After what felt like just a second, but must have been many long minutes due to the sleep taste in her mouth, Mara felt hands cooled from the outside air brush against her forehead. "Hey," Luke murmured, sitting beside her. "You were out like a light."
"You should have let me sleep." He voice was thick but contained no rebuke as she shifted to curl against him, tucking her feet up under her bottom. She absently scratched her cheek against his tunic. "It's the middle of the night." Her eyes closed again.
Luke pulled her close and caressed her arm. He chuckled low in his throat. "Not even close. It's only 1900."
Mara's eyes snapped open. "Only 1900? I could have sworn it was already past 2400…" She yawned widely, not bothering to cover her mouth. "How can I be so tired?"
"That's what I was wondering." Luke kissed her temple. "What were you doing today? Hand to hand combat with every member of the Smugglers' Alliance?"
"Cute. I don't know. Maybe I just didn't sleep well last night." Mara tried to clear her fuzzy brain. Her stomach growled as she caught a whiff of the food in the takeout containers Luke had placed on the table. His cloak was thrown over the chair and he had already hung his belt and saber on the hooks he had installed near the door. Plates and cups were also on the table. "How long have you been here?"
"Just long enough to grab the plates." He nudged her lightly with his shoulder.
She groaned and burrowed closer. "Can't you just…" She lifted her arm and waved it mockingly, pantomiming using the Force. "You know."
Luke laughed. "You really must be tired. How about I just fix you a plate?" He moved to get up, but Mara grabbed his hand.
"No, I'm not that tired," she protested. Luke gave her a dubious look but pulled her up with him. He led her to the table and started opening containers. It was too bright and she used the dial on the wall to lower the lights just slightly before taking her seat. She started to reach for her plate but Luke took her empty one and sat a full plate down in front of her. It was the kind of thing that generally made her protest, but the smell of the food as it passed her nostrils was amazing and suddenly she felt more awake and very hungry. "Thanks."
He grinned. "No problem."
They ate silently for a few minutes, and though Luke had filled the plate for someone with his appetite, she had cleared most of it in a matter of minutes. Her head felt less fuzzy now, and she was finally awake, for the first time all day, really. She had lingered in bed that morning and that was not like her. She had never been one to sleep in, and in fact couldn't think of a time that she had done so while not seriously injured. Luke hadn't stayed over the night before, having left Han and Leia's late in the evening after babysitting the children. The thought perked at her mind to ask him about his family. "How were the kids last night?"
Luke grimaced slightly. "Very loud." He grinned, though, softening the admission. There was a look of pride on his face when he thought of his young niece and nephews that Mara liked to see, even if it made her stomach churn just slightly. "The twins didn't want to go to bed. They don't like their new toddler beds very much. Baby Anakin was a dream, though. Leia said he's at an easy age, but that those don't last very long."
"They have their hands full, that's for sure." Mara finished her plate, and reached out for a box of fried vishi. It was empty. "Is there any left?"
"Here you go." He passed her another container. "I wish you could have come with me. The kids are something else. They're really growing into their personalities now."
Mara pictured the twins as they had looked as infants. Even though Luke had shown her newer holos of them it still seemed like they should be those small babies she had briefly known. As she focused back on Luke she could feel a brief sense of longing from him in the Force. A longing to allow their relationship to be out in the open, to share it with his family and other friends. The familiar knot of worry formed in her stomach and she changed the subject just slightly, hoping to distract him from those thoughts. "And how are Han and Leia? In need of that night out, I suspect."
This time Luke laughed. "Yes. Han was already out the door to the landing pad when I got there. And Leia is great. She looked like her old self last night. I realized that I had gotten used to seeing her pregnant and still expected it. Is that strange? But when I mentioned the possibility of more children to her she laughed and said she was done. No more babies. She preferred being tired or hungry all the time due to running after toddlers rather than pregnancy."
"Neither sounds like a very appealing option." She took the last bite of her dinner, and then looked longingly at the noodles on his plate.
Luke's eyes followed hers and he shook his head. "Speaking of tired and hungry…"
Mara laughed.
.
.
The rest of the evening passed quickly, but by the time they crawled into Mara's bed she felt like she had muddled through another day in the interim. Changing into her nightgown and brushing her teeth had felt like a monumental task. Her bed had never looked more inviting, the sheets cool against her skin as she slid in. Her eyes were heavy again and they closed in contentment only to be jarred open moments later by Luke scooting close and wrapping an arm around her waist. He kissed her neck and pleasant tingles shot through her body. "Night," she whispered.
But he didn't seem to get the hint. His lips traveled up her neck to her ear and he nibbled lightly at the lobe.
She stiffened in his arms. She almost felt like crying. All she wanted was to sleep. She had never turned him down before, however, and it was a bit disconcerting. Turning in his arms she caught his hand and held it to her mouth for a quick, conciliatory kiss. "Night," she said again, with a finality to the word that she knew he would understand.
Things were quiet for a moment as she settled against his chest, finding the warmth of his body heat almost luxurious. He slid his arm down her back. Then patted her bottom.
"You sure?"
So much for understanding, but maybe he was disconcerted, too. Still, Mara growled. "Don't make me send you home, Skywalker."
"Okay, okay," he said, his voice sounding so young that it almost brought a smile to her face. Almost.
He patted her bottom again and fell quiet. She listened to his breath and fell fast into a blissful sleep.
.
.
"The baby's crying." What baby? But the words made sense when Luke said them. The baby. It was crying. There was a baby and it was crying. Mara could hear the cries now that Luke had mentioned them. The baby sounded young. And the cry tugged at her heart like nothing had ever done before…
Mara sat up in the bed, gasping in air. The apartment was silent, apart from Luke's even breathing. He had turned on his side and his face was smushed against the pillow. She was surprised he hadn't woken when she did, but figured that he must be tired, too. Laying back down, she tried to calm her breath. And wondered why she would be dreaming of babies. She didn't even know any babies, not really. Her eyes closed again. Of course, Luke had told her about his niece and nephews and Leia having been tired. That must be it. She relaxed again.
Luke had said that Leia had been tired when she was pregnant.
Mara's eyes snapped open again. Pregnant? Just then Luke snorted and moved in the bed, turning his head from the pillow to lay on his back. Mara eyed him and absently counted back to her last cycle. Luke had just left to scout out new locations for his Academy should he be unable to regain the Jedi Temple and that had been…
Too many days ago.
Suddenly she felt very awake.
.
.
There was no sleep after that. She had counted and recounted the days, finally getting up and finding a calendar on her datapad to make sure. Because surely she had forgotten and it had only been 21 days ago or 26 days ago. Hell, at this moment she would take 30 days because 31 days was just…four days too many.
And after that, calendars were no longer enough. She left Luke sleeping in the bed and went in search of an all night pharmacy. She bought a couple of tests. Never having taken one before she wasn't sure what she should be looking for, but she'd be damned if she would ask any of the droids in the shop.
Now she was looking at the test. It seemed so innocent. Immediate & Accurate Results! the package promised. And as soon as six days before your missed period. Well, she was four days late, apparently, so it should work. But she didn't want to take it. Because she didn't know what she would do if it were positive. She had plenty of thoughts about what to do if—when—it was negative. She would feel a wave of happiness rush over her body and then she would go back to bed and nothing would change. Luke would never know, because she wouldn't want to get his hopes up. She would settle into his arms and sleep peacefully, pregnancy tests and babies a happily dodged blaster-bolt.
"Okay," she muttered to herself. "No more stalling. Come on 'Not Pregnant'." But she was shaking as she said it and shaking as she took the test. Her breath sounded loud in the 'fresher, and she feared she would wake Luke up with how jumbled and chaotic her thoughts were. After finishing with the test she set it down, forcing herself not to look at the results window until she had washed her hands and thoroughly dried them, shaking all the while.
Only after she was done did she allow herself to pick the stick up. It read as she suspected. As she feared.
Pregnant.
.
.
The fresher door slid open and she walked forward into the still darkened bedroom. Luke was as she had left him, oblivious and deeply asleep. She fisted her hands together and pushed out in front of her, punching the air. Her body was in full adrenaline mode, her nerve endings tingling with the same feeling she had felt before a mission. The only release would come upon completion of her duty, and…Mara recoiled from her thoughts. This was a baby, not a mission…a baby.
A baby.
Hot tears streaked down her face, but they were angry tears. She wasn't ready for this. Never this. And Luke was asleep and didn't know—
He didn't know.
Mara sat on the bed and pulled her knees to her chest. She regarded Luke in the half-light from the landing bay. His face was smooth and free of worry and she could imagine in her mind's eye how his face would contort with happiness over her news. But if she never told him, she could never take it away. She could have a procedure. Time it just right so that Luke would be off on another Jedi trip, and...damn it, she didn't want to have to have these thoughts. She didn't want to think of having a procedure. She didn't want to think of having a baby.
And as much as she could pretend that she could keep this from Luke, she couldn't. It was his baby, too. And she loved him, and hewould love their baby…
The baby that was growing more and more with each passing moment. She closed her eyes and pictured tiny cells dividing, a piece of her and Luke and realized that she could never harm that. But her fist curled up again because she was angry. Angry at herself. Angry at Luke. Angry at the makers of incompetent repress medications and bottles of Ruge that had led to her finding herself in this position in the first place.
And before she knew it, her fist had arched out and hit Luke right in the bicep.
.
.
He woke with a snort and a start. "Mara?" He blinked those big blue eyes at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"
She could feel him probing her with the Force as he sat up. Apparently the combination of a steely gaze and the chaotic thoughts rolling off her in the Force were enough to freak him out. "Mara?" He reached out a hand to brush her hair from her face. "What's wrong?"
She opened her mouth to speak, and that's when the dam broke. She flew across the bed at him, punching at his chest and shoulders, great, giant sobs breaking from her lips as she continued to strike, never really connecting in her despair.
"Woah!" Luke tried to grab her hands but only succeeded in stopping one. "Mara, what's wrong?" His voice was soft and gentle and it took the fight out of her. He hadn't retaliated. Hadn't used his immeasurable ability with the Force against her, and she just collapsed against his chest.
Her face was buried in his neck as she muttered the words that would now also change his life forever. "I'm pregnant."
She couldn't see his face, but didn't need to, because the backlash of emotion in the Force was almost enough to pry her from his arms. Shock, confusion, and love but overwhelmingly: happiness. "A baby," he whispered. "Mara, really?"
She pulled back from his embrace to look at him. "No, I just woke you up for a Fool's Day Prank. Luke…"
His eyes met hers and she nodded.
She was back in his arms before her mind could even discern the movement. He kept murmuring her name and I love yous. He pushed her back just slightly and tugged up her shirt, placing a warm hand on her belly.
Mara startled back as if shocked. "I…Luke, I…we can't have a baby!"
The words snapped him out of his own joy. His face dipped just slightly and grew concerned. "Mara, I know you're scared…I am, too."
"You're not!" Mara pulled herself from his arms and jumped out of the bed. "You're giddy. You're practically glowing in the Force, Farmboy!"
He didn't deny it. "I'm happy, yes, but scared, too. I don't know much about babies, not really. But we'll learn. Together."
"Learn together?" Mara realized she was becoming unhinged but couldn't stop herself. "Luke, no one knows we're together. You don't even live here. I wanted to kill you less than three years ago. We can't have a baby! We're…I'mnot ready for this!"
Luke got off the bed and tried to draw her into his arms, but she moved back. He reached out for her hand instead. "We'll get ready for our baby together. I'll be there with you every step of the way. And after we get married—"
"Married?" Mara screeched.
Luke got down on his knee in front of her and her eyes widened. "No! Oh no! You said … Skywalker you said you wouldn't do that until I was ready!"
Earnest eyes met hers. "I did say that, but Mara… we're having a baby. Will you—"
"You knocked me up; you haven't changed my mind!"
Apparently nothing could take the enormous grin off Luke's face, not even a botched proposal. He didn't even react to the comment, except to move across the floor on his knees to wrap his arms around her waist. He lifted her shirt again and rubbed his stubble roughened cheek against her stomach before kissing it lightly. Leaning his head back, he grinned up at her. "We're having a baby." He said it as if it were at once a precious secret and also the best, most exciting news in the galaxy.
And looking down into his face, Mara felt a fission of something else pass through her body. A different kind of tingle, similar to fear but perhaps even more frightening.
A baby.
They were having a baby. A child. A piece of both of them that would one day be its own person. And it was scary, but from Luke she could feel something wonderful…
She lifted her hands and ran her fingers through his hair and wondered where the hell they would go from here.