Week 8: Afterwards
(Luke, Tionne, Ben - AU 'what if' with references to canon events)
A Little Bit Of This
The shadows had grown long and he found her sitting on a stone bench in the garden, flexing and extending her new prosthetic hand. Luke remembered the odd sensation of having something foreign but familiar attached to your body.
"Mind if I join you?"
Tionne looked up, smiling. "Of course not."
Luke sat down across from her as she continued to inspect her fingers. "Do they ever start to feel like your own?" she asked.
"Eventually," he answered with a small shrug. "Right before they get chopped off again."
She laughed, glancing at his newest prosthetic hand. "Wanna thumb wrestle?"
Anything But That
"He's a good boy," Tionne murmured, holding a holo of Ben and Mara. "You'd be proud of him."
It had been one year since Mara's death and her friends had gathered in quiet memorial. Tionne settled on the lounger beside Luke. "Mara called me sometimes," she started hoarsely, "in the middle of the night when Ben was a toddler and couldn't sleep. Did she ever tell you that?"
Luke shook his head silently.
"Ah, she wouldn't," Tionne whispered. "I miss her. So much." Carefully, she took Luke's real hand in her own. "If you ever need to talk…"
"Thank you."
Not For Nothing
There was nothing to be said. Nothing to be done. Luke, Ben, Kyle and Corran lifted Kam's body from the ground and carried him into the shelter.
Tionne stayed, kneeling in the grass, her skirt soaked with her husband's blood. One by one, the children joined her. For some, he had been the only father they'd ever known and he had died protecting them.
Darkness fell and Ben gathered the children. Wrapping their small, shivering shoulders in blankets, he led them to their tent.
Tionne remained and Luke joined her, kneeling in the dark until the cold break of day.
Everything Else
Tionne glanced up at the soft knock on the library door. "Come in."
Luke entered, carrying a pitcher of steaming liquid. He smiled hesitantly, stopping just before reaching the desk where she was preparing the next day's lessons. "I made some hot chocolate, but I think I made too much…" He gestured with the tray.
"Oh," she stood, motioning him toward one of the oversized chairs facing the fireplace. "Thank you! Please, join me."
Curling up in the opposite chair, she sat and sipped and talked, watching the fire until she fell asleep on what would have been Kam's birthday.
What Matters Most
"Dad?"
"Yes," Luke answered, slicing the gizka steak on his plate.
"I've been thinking," Ben said, inspecting his fork, "that it would be okay if you wanted to ask Tionne over for dinner."
Luke stopped mid-slice and put his knife down. "It's not like that, son."
"I know, Dad," he answered hurriedly. "I didn't mean it was 'like that'." Ben shifted in his seat, struggling for the right words. "I just think it would be okay - I think Mom would think it was okay – if she came for dinner."
Wordlessly, Ben placed his hand over his father's in acceptance.