Luke Skywalker yawned as he walked into the kitchen and began to look through the pantry for something to eat. Today he was really considering dumping morning hot chocolate for strong coffee, black and all. He needed the boost if he was going to work with his students today.
Finding the strong coffee grounds, Luke started the coffee maker and waited patiently for it to finish. Say what you would about the horrors of parenting, but Luke had gotten a lot more patience within the past few months and he was sure he'd only benefit from this trial in his life, right? Surely so.

The coffee was just about done when Luke's ears caught the sound of silk brushing against silk softly, the sound of padded feet right with it. "Good morning." He called softly as Mara walked in, turning to see her. Mara looked awful, though Luke was smart enough not to say it. Her hair was bedridden, her eyes held dark circles under them, not to mention her eyes barely opened enough to see him as she sat down on a stool by the bar.

"Nothing good 'bout it." She muttered grumpily,

Luke smiled sympathetically, wholly knowing how she felt as he grabbed a tall mug and filled it nearly to the brim with coffee. Bringing it over to Mara, he came to her side and gently planted a kiss on her cheek, a mumbled 'thank you' being his only reward to which Luke held no hard feelings. Poor Mara was used to getting up late hours on the worst nights, but when you did it constantly, with a baby wailing for food and comfort, it could get pretty old very fast.

As Luke began to pour his own mug, every once and again glancing at his nearly asleep wife as she sipped lazily at her coffee.

"You know, I'm sure Winter would love to come over and help you with Ben." Luke said conversationally.

"No." Was the only answer Luke got.

"She helped Leia with the twins, and Anakin." Luke argued coolly. Here they went again. Back when Ben was first born Luke had thought Mara was simply overprotective of her son due to stress, hormones and the kick of maternal instinct. But Ben was four months old now. Surely Mara could trust someone other than herself and Luke to care for their tiny little treasure that just so happened to be sucking the sleep out of life.

"I said no." Mara replied, just a bit firmer and definitely snappy now as her eyes flickered to the hallway where Ben was sleeping after having woken up super early for a second feeding.

"Mara, you're tired, and I have to leave almost every morning." Luke reasoned gently while joining Mara at the bar. "What's wrong? Is something bothering you?" Luke suddenly asked on a whim. Perhaps there was more to Mara's overprotectiveness than he was acknowledging.

Mara pierced Luke with a withering gaze however and shook her head. "Nothing's bothering me, I just don't want to trouble Winter."

"No, that's not it." Luke replied calmly, knowing when Mara was lying.

"Yes it is."

"It's not."

"Luke..." came a growl.

"Mara." Came the sweet and passive response.

Mara thinned her lips, her glare becoming so bright that Luke almost considered the fact that he had pushed too hard. But all of the sudden, that ire in Mara's glare disappeared, and the young woman sagged against the bar with a fitful face.

Moving closer, Luke laid a hand on Mara's back. "What's wrong?" He asked, this time speaking softly and encouragingly. Hoping to goad out whatever Mara was having trouble dealing with.

"I just... I don't want to lose him." Mara finally said, her voice barely a whisper, hoarse with emotion. Luke bit his lip, moving even closer while his hand rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"Why are you afraid Ben will get lost?" He asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Because I was lost." Came the fearful answer as Mara finally looked to Luke again, unshed tears in fearful green eyes. "My parents lost me to the Emperor, and if that were to happen to Ben... I'd sooner die than lose him that way!" She exclaimed, anguish cutting into her voice and cracking it.

Now it made sense, and Luke got off his stool, gently pulling his wife out of her chair. Gently he led her to the couch where he sat down, folding Mara against his chest. It all made lots of sense now. How obsessive Mara was of Ben's safety, how careful she was in everything she did for him, how she never wasted a minute when the boy wailed into the night to be fed. She was scared. Scared she'd lose her baby the same way she had been lost, scared she would fail her son and allow him to be hurt. Scared that if she trusted anyone outside of Luke, bad things could happen to her child.

Mara didn't fight the gentle hold Luke now had on her as they sat cuddled up on the couch while Luke contemplated how best to comfort Mara. But words couldn't be planned to comfort, they had to be spoken from the heart.

"I should've known." Luke said softly. "I'm sorry Mara, I should have known you may face a trial and fears like this. But, there is no Emperor to take him, and I'd never allow him to be taken by anyone." He swore gently, but Mara only shook her head.

"All good fathers say that, but even you can't stop bad things from happening." She murmured back, her hands gripping his robes and balling them with her fists. "I don't want that for Ben, I don't want bad things to happen to him."

"Me neither Mara, and you're right. I cannot stop the bad things from happening." Luke conceded gently. "But, the bad things make us who we are. Ben may not ever be taken, but he will face threats, he will face trials and errors, and he will make mistakes no matter if he becomes a Jedi or not. It's human nature." Luke explained gently. "But for the here and now, you need to rest, and Ben can do without you for a few hours at least. Ask Winter over, we can trust her and you know it."

Mara sighed softly and raised her gaze to stare at Luke. Due to her silence however, Luke continued. "It doesn't make you a horrible person to take just a bit of time to rest from being a mom. If you wear yourself thin you might not be able to be the mother Ben will need later on, or that fighter I know and love." He teased gently, a hand taking hold of Mara's and beginning to massage it, silently asking her to relax.

After a few minutes of thought, Mara finally did relax and sighed softly. "I guess I could use some extra help, and we are surrounded by Jedi..." she murmured thoughtfully, earning a smile from her husband. "Oh, fine, whatever Farmboy. I'll call Winter." Mara finally agreed, sighing and burying her head against Luke's chest.

Luke smiled and gently hugged Mara close. "That's my Mara." He murmured, holding her tight.

"Thank you, Luke."

"For what?" Luke asked curiously.

"For being there for me." Mara explained softly. "And now that I think about it, it's just so irrational. Ben is safe like you said."

Luke smiled wider and kissed Mara's head. "It's not an irrational fear, it's just you being a good mother." He replied firmly. "It's going to be all right, and Ben is going to grow up to be a fine young man."

Mara smirked. "Oh, with the way he acts right now I'm sure he'll turn out a little more like me than you."

Luke returned Mara's smirk with an amused grin and shook his head, about to retort only for a wail to sound and pierce the quiet atmosphere of their apartment.

"Duty calls." Mara stated, kissing Luke on the lips before hurrying off to check up on Ben, her cooing voice and Ben's happy squeals reaching Luke's ears as he went to the holocom and keyed for Leia's address.

"Good morning Luke," came Leia's voice as her smiling hologram appeared before him. "What's going on?"

"Hey Leia, could you ask Winter to come over? Mara and I have been having bedtime blues."

The End