This is the last proper chapter of the story though there is an interlude (those of you who remember 'Birth' from EoA will recognize some of it) and an epilogue left. I hope you'll enjoy and thanks for reading! Also, a big thanks to taramidala for looking this over and correcting all my spelling mistakes!
Chapter 8
The 199th
Day 266:
Your baby is considered fully developed at this point, as you are on or very near your due-date. That means that all the development that takes place before birth has been accomplished. If born today your baby will weigh about 7 and ½ pounds...
"You're full of energy today," Luke said, shuffling into the kitchen and blearily pouring himself a cup of caf. He took a sip and seemed to perk somewhat.
He was generally a morning person, but Mara knew he had a lot on his mind of late. The Temple was due to be signed into his possession on behalf of the Jedi in just a day's time. Adding to the mental load was the nervous excitement of the baby's due date, a mere two days away. And since she had such a hard time getting comfortable in the bed now, Luke was regulated to one tiny sliver of the mattress. Late the night before she had shifted in the bed to see him hugging the side of the bed, holding on through sheer will or the power of the Force.
She smiled gently at him. "Rough night?"
"Will you kill me if I say yes?" He leaned back against the counter with a sigh. "I think my back is hurting almost as much as yours must be."
Mara glared. "That comparison might get you killed, Farmboy. At least maimed."
He raised a brow, a smile breaking over his face. "I'll risk it." He took a sip and began to look more awake, stretching his neck and rubbing at it with his hand, all the while eying her appreciatively. "You look beautiful today, Mara."
She shook her head at the compliment. She felt anything but beautiful in one of his loose tunics and her stretchy maternity pants. But she did feel accomplished. Awakening early, it was almost as if the aches and pains that had beset her last months of pregnancy were diminished. She felt active and vital in a way she hadn't for many weeks. Taking advantage of that energy, she had folded all of the impossibly tiny clothes the baby would need in her first weeks of life and had put them away. The nursery, a room Mara had never imagined needing in her home, was finally complete.
The once off-white walls were now a vibrant shade of light green. The crib and other furniture was in place and the room pulsed with a sense of peace and serenity. It was hard to imagine that in a few days a whole new little person would occupy that room. A stranger in many ways, but Mara felt she already knew the baby that grew inside of her. The baby was impatient like her father and would kick frantically to say that she was not pleased with the position in which her mother was lying. She was playful and would amuse her father, responding to his voice with jabs and kicks to Mara's abdomen. And she was Force-strong, responding to them both through the Force with a small but definite sense of presence.
The baby was partly Luke, partly Mara, but already wholly herself. That thought was enough to make Mara place her hand on her belly and sigh.
Instantly Luke was on his guard. "What is it? The baby?" He put his mug on the counter and walked to her, placing his hand over hers on her stomach.
"I was just…daydreaming," Mara admitted, embarrassed.
Luke's lips curved in a smile. He used his hold on her hand to tug her back into his arms. "I won't tell if you don't."
His whispered breath on her neck made her shiver pleasantly. She hummed and leaned back into his embrace. Luke reached for her through their ever-strengthening bond. The Force throbbed between them and their baby, binding them in its glow for long moments until Mara's thoughts shifted inward. And that's when she knew. Without a doubt she knew that this was the day. She could see it, could feel it.
This was the day their baby would be born.
She hid a secret smile as she turned to face Luke, and when she looked up into his eyes she realized that he did not know what she knew. He had not been a witness to the revelation. It was mother's intuition, maybe. She debated telling him, but only for a moment as he interrupted her before she could decide.
"Mara…when we bond together like that, I can feel that we'll be together forever." He sighed and leaned his forehead against her temple. "I've asked you this many times. Maybe too many." He laughed faintly before dipping his head and kissing her softly. His voice was husky as he continued. "But I told you that I would keep asking until you were ready…Marry me?"
Pulling back to look into his eyes, Mara knew that she could finally give him the answer he'd been waiting for. The imminent birth of their daughter brought a new perspective to her and forever was no longer an idea that brought her fear. She was ready to give him the answer he wanted to hear. The answer he deserved. The answer she wanted to give. In truth, the answer he already had.
"Yes."
.
.
Luke didn't seem to hear her affirmative response. He nodded just briefly and pulled back from her. "Okay, I'll go and start…"
Mara waited.
Luke stood still, his brow furrowing slightly. "Wait." His eyes darted to hers, searching for an answer. "Did you just… Mara. Did you say 'yes'?"
"Did I?" She couldn't control the smirk on her face. It had a life of its own.
"Mara! Did you or did you not just answer 'yes' to my proposal?"
"I don't know. Did I?" She knew she shouldn't tease him so badly. But it was fun.
"Don't mess with a man that's had to propose…Force, how many times have I proposed?" He stopped and looked as if he were trying to figure the exact number out. He shook his head. "Look, I don't know. This one might be the only important one, anyway. Did you say yes?"
The look on his face was pathetic enough to make her give. "Yes."
But Luke still didn't look quite satisfied. "Yes. You said yes."
"Yes. I said yes. Don't make me regret it!"
The smile that bloomed on his face only verified to her that she never would regret it.
He pulled her close, kissing her softly, whispering what she already knew. "You never will."
Mara smiled into his kiss before pulling back and framing his face in her hands. "I'd better not."
He grinned. "So…when should be plan the big day?
Dropping her hands to her belly, Mara pretended to think it over. "Can we plan it in the next few hours?"
"What?" Luke suddenly looked like he was having trouble keeping up. "The next few hours?"
"Yeah, I'd like to get married today, if possible."
"Today?"
"Is that a problem?" She was ready. She realized that she had spent the last few months getting ready. And now that she was, she didn't want any lapse in time to keep them from marrying.
"Not at all." His grin was somewhat devilish. He started to walk down the hall. "Just...just let me comm Leia."
Mara watched him go, absently making herself a cup of decaf. She sat down to what she realized may be one of the last truly quiet moments of her life. She released a happy breath and shook her head in wonder at all the changes the day before her would soon bring into their lives.
.
.
She didn't have to wonder long because within the hour Leia showed up at their apartment with a couple of dress bags, ready to take charge.
"You," she said to Luke, who stood with hair still wet and spiked from his shower. "Pack up the clothes we discussed and head to my place. Han will meet you there. You, he and Chewie will take the children and meet us at 1400. I've already procured the civil justice you mentioned."
Luke nodded and fell into line, walking off toward their bedroom. Mara felt as if she were seeing one of the reasons the ragtag Rebellion had won the war. Leia truly was a force of to be reckoned with.
"And you," Leia said, walking toward Mara with a narrowed gaze. She gave up the act and grinned. "It's about time!" She pulled her into a hug, awkward with Mara's large belly between them. "What changed your mind?"
Mara shook her head. "It's just—"
"Time," Leia finished. "I'm so happy for you. But we don't have time for this. We need to get you into one of these dresses and get you two married before you have another guest at the ceremony."
.
.
One of the dresses fit and was actually flattering over her huge belly. With a high, choker collar that tied in a ribbon trailing down her partially exposed back, it took the eye from her stomach and made her look almost lean again. The fabric flowed when she walked and also helped to conceal her belly. All in all it was beautiful and functional and something that she might have picked herself, but was very glad that her future sister-in-law had picked in her stead. It was surprisingly comfortable and she wore it from the apartment, en route to the wedding.
Leia drove Mara's speeder as Mara no longer fit behind the wheel, a fact that galled her. But as Leia explained the dress and proceedings and spoke of how the wedding details had been simmering in Luke's mind for months, she didn't mind the break from driving. It gave her time to imagine Luke and Leia planning a wedding that neither was completely sure was going to take place. Between the two of them they had set up a wedding in under three hours. Mara was not surprised that Luke had put so much thought into the wedding, but it touched her to realize that he had always been sure of her.
Leia turned sharply away from the government sector, and Mara grew confused, turning from her thoughts to glance at her. "Where are we going?"
Leia glanced over at her with her infamous 'give me a break' look. "Where do you think?"
"But...It's not ready yet. He doesn't even take possession until tomorrow."
"You know that he wouldn't want your wedding to be anywhere else." Leia smiled gently. "You can't have the man without the Jedi."
Mara nodded. She knew that. And she knew that he wanted their wedding to be in the Jedi Temple. He had told her so himself. She just hadn't imagined that he could pull it off with mere hours to spare. Looking through the window Mara tried to imagine the Temple set up for a wedding. With a civil justice there it wouldn't exactly be a Jedi wedding, if there was even such a thing, but it would be private and meaningful, away from prying eyes. Mara could appreciate Luke for wanting that. In the government offices they would be targets for paparazzi and the anonymity of the surroundings would not have been Luke's style.
As Leia parked the speeder, Mara became aware of Luke's presence, warm and content on the edge of her consciousness. He didn't seem to be nervous, or scared and she smiled slightly. His warmth calmed her, and the baby, quiet for most of the day, moved just slightly as if to remind her mother that she was part of the day, too.
Stepping from the speeder, Mara walked toward her future.
.
.
The walls were clean. That was Mara's first thought upon walking into the Temple. Luke had yet to take physical possession but that had not stopped him and several others from working, cleaning and restoring. He had taken her to the Temple once, almost a year before, and it had been a place of shadows, darkness palpable and clinging. But now she stood in an alcove off a large room, and could see sunlight shining in, making a path on the stone floor. She realized that Luke had been working on this room, and most probably for this purpose. And now they were moments away from marrying in the Temple that he had worked so hard to win back. He had worked hard for everything he had, she realized. Including her.
She took a deep breath and watched Luke, standing on a raised dais with the justice. He was grinning broadly as he awaited her arrival, still without a sign of nervousness or worry in his posture or sense in the Force. Mara smiled inwardly to realize that she felt the same, not awkward or annoyed in the way she might have pictured herself feeling during her own wedding ceremony.
As she waited she could feel the sense of the Temple around her. The peace that she could feel was humbling. The idea that the building could be cleansed of the atrocities that had been committed there was not lost on Mara. She and Luke both had a lot of things in their pasts that they were unable to change, but with the Jedi and their new lives together they had a blank slate, a chance to restore light to the galaxy and not just through the rebuilding of the Temple or the Jedi.
"Your father is rubbing off on me," Mara murmured, sliding a hand over her belly through a fold in her dress.
Leia's hand on her arm caused her to look up. She nodded gratefully at her future sister and stepped out with her into the sunlight flowing through muted windows.
She walked toward Luke, ignoring the knowing grin on Han's face and the twins' excited cries to their mother. All she could feel was the pull that was there between she and Luke and the knowledge that soon they would be a family.
A family of three.
His grin was bright as he took her hand to help her up to stand next to him.
And then they were married.
She didn't remember the specifics, and it was over quickly. She didn't expect to feel any differently after it was over. The love that she felt for him was as abiding as it had been on the night she had awakened him to tell him that she was pregnant. But there was a sense of togetherness that was different, new, as they kissed and then turned to face their small audience. She didn't wonder why she had put the marriage off for so long, because she suspected she needed that time to become accustomed to the idea. It finally felt right.
They were husband and wife. Soon to be mother and father. And Mara couldn't help but wonder, through the haze of joy that permeated her soul, how she came to be standing there with not only her husband, but with her family.
.
.
After a celebratory dinner at the Solos' Mara was exhausted. Her back was throbbing and her ankles were swollen. She settled gratefully down onto the sofa in her living room and noticed Luke smiling softly down at her. "What?"
"You're beautiful, Mrs. Skywalker."
"Ugh." Mara dropped her head back against the couch. "Really?"
"Really," he confirmed, coming to sit beside her. "You've looked gorgeous all day. I like this dress." He toyed with the choker collar, rubbing his thumb lightly against her neck.
Mara managed to smile through a wave of back pain. It eased consistently as it had for the past hour. Leaning over, she kissed his chin. "I'm thrilled that you still want me even when I look like an overripe melon."
"I'll always want you." He kissed her softly. "Always. Besides, I like melon."
She scoffed but leaned into his kiss, only to shift uncomfortably as her back pain returned.
This time he noticed and frowned slightly. "Are you tired? You've been on your feet too much today. Let's get this dress off and get you into bed."
Mara smirked. "You're just trying to get me undressed, Skywalker. I see through that Farmboy routine."
"You caught me." He grinned and stood, holding out both hands to help her up. "Come on."
She wanted to protest that she didn't need his help, but being overly top-heavy made it easier to take the helping hand. He helped her up and she gasped as an intense pain ripped across her back making her stomach contract. She moaned and grabbed her belly, breathing through the contraction, harder and faster than the ones that had come before.
"Mara?" Luke's eyes were huge, panicked.
Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes, trying to tamp down her own rising fear as she revealed her secret. "I think I am going to have to take this dress off."
"Why?"
The question was automatic, she knew. She could see from his face that he knew exactly why. "Because our daughter is on her way."