Week 13: No Day But Today

(Luke, Mara, Ben)

Hold Back the Darkness

"To the next Skycrawler. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Glasses are lofted around the room in a toast and Mara warms with Luke at her side and Ben in her lap.

"Better take advantage of that perch, Ben," Leia says, grinning down at him. "Your mommy's tummy will be too big for you to sit there, soon."

Ben smiles back. "That's okay, Aunt Leia. I'll share with my baby brother."

"A brother? Are you sure?"

"Oh yes," Luke answers. "Ben is quite certain that it's a boy. He even has a name picked out for him: Kol."

"A toast to baby Kol, then."

Take A Stand

"Stop fighting, Mara!" The fetal monitor crashes to the floor and Cilghal calls into the next room. "Luke!"

Luke runs in, faltering with only a hitch in his step at the sight of his wife bleeding on the bed.

"Hold her down," Cilghal commands.

"Mara," he takes her wrists and presses them firmly to the bed. "You've got to stop fighting and let Cilghal help."

"She can't," Mara gasps. "I can do this...like with Ben...I can save him..."

"Mara..."

"Oh gods, Luke. It hurts..."

Luke wipes her forehead with a cloth and holds her. She's never lost a fight before.

When You're Lost

Ben curls up in Leia's lap in the waiting area and she strokes his hair soothingly. It has been hours with no news and Han and Jaina take turns pacing the floor.

"Your mommy said that you helped pick out the clothes for baby Kol," Leia says quietly.

Ben nods, looking toward the door. "Yes," he answers distantly. "But he can't wear them."

"Of course he can -"

"No." Ben shakes his head. "He's gone with grandpa."

"Grandpa...?" Fear pierces her gut and Jaina clutches her chest, trembling.

The door opens and Cilghal enters with a bowed head. "I'm sorry."

No Solid Ground

They tell her that it wasn't her fault. Mara clasps her hands limply over the crisp sheets. They tell her that there wasn't anything she could have done differently. The sun streams in the window, warming her face. They tell her that something was wrong with the baby and that he would not have survived. She reaches for a drink of water and knocks the cup off the table with a splash. They tell her that she will not be able to have any more children. She looks full into the light where her future will wait...and remembers to breathe.

There's Only Us

A rose bush enters the room, attached to a small child.

"He picked them out himself," Greer says, carefully guiding Ben, who is balancing the giant arrangement in both hands.

"Woah, there, big guy!" Luke jumps up from his seat beside Mara's bed and takes the flowers, laughing. Greer nods to Mara and slips out of the room.

Ben climbs up on the bed and faces Mara with earnest sincerity. "Are you okay, Mommy?"

Tucking Ben under one arm and holding Luke's hand with the other, she smiles. "I am, sweetie. As long as I have you two, I'm perfect."

A/N: The final prompt reminded me of the song "No Day But Today" from the musical RENT:

There's only us,
There's only this,
Forget regret - or life is yours to miss.
No other road,
No other way,
No day but today.