Star Wars: Ben and... (AU)

Early morning was Ben Skywalker's favorite time of the day. The sun was just beginning its ascent and the sound of the waves hitting the shore brought with them a special brand of calm. Everything seemed new just before the day began. Anything was possible.

"Stop daydreaming," came the soft, sleepy voice of his wife. Ben's eyes shifted from the sunrise down to the bed where his wife had just opened her eyes.

"Good morning," he said as he leaned down and took her lips in a passionate kiss.

"It is now," she quipped as he pulled back from the kiss.

Smiling down at her, both love and devotion shone from his eyes with equal fervor. He rested his hand against her swollen belly. His eyes filled with amazement when he felt their son move beneath his hand.

"He's active this morning."

She smiled. "He knows his daddy is here with us," she told him.

"My parents are coming today," he suddenly blurted out. "They'll be here in a few hours."

Syal Antilles-Skywalker, the oldest daughter of former Rogue Squadron commander Wedge Antilles gaped at her husband.

"How long have you known they were coming?" she demanded as she rose from their bed and began getting dressed, her nerves suddenly on edge.

Ben sighed. "A few days," he said quietly.

Syal could hear the resignation in his voice. She knew that his tempestuous relationship with his parents had begun six years before when Ben was only eighteen. She'd just suffered the death of her husband and was still grieving. Ben was in the midst of coming to terms with the death of his cousin Jacen. Syal and Ben had known one another for quite some time. She'd even babysat him on a few occasions when he was a child.

The relationship had progressed quickly, despite the ten year age difference. Dinners out at fancy restaurants quickly turned into romantic meals alone together at her home or his.

"Mommy!" called out a small voice, breaking Syal from her thoughts.

Ben smiled from his position on the bed. "He's awake early today."

Syal nodded her agreement. "A dubious achievement, to be certain."

Ben laughed as he rose from the bed and joined her in going to their son. Jaden Skywalker came along exactly eleven months after their first date. To say that Ben's parents and hers had been angry when they were informed of her pregnancy was an understatement. They'd been livid. The conversation had ended with everyone involved yelling and screaming at one another. She and Ben had only recently begun speaking with their parents again.

/

"What's wrong, honey?" Syal asked her five year-old son when she and Ben reached the small boy.

Unruly dark blonde hair flopped into the boys blue eyes as he shook his head. "Don't know. Bad dream."

Ben sat next to his son and pulled the little boy into his lap.

"What kind of bad dream?" he asked, hoping against hope that young Jaden wasn't suddenly developing the Skywalker trait of being able to see the future through the Force.

The little boy just shrugged.

Ben stood with his son in his arms and smiled at the small boy. "You know what Jaden; you're going to have visitors today."

As Ben and Syal expected, Jaden's eyes lit up.

"Who?" the five-year-old questioned.

Syal smiled at her son as she took him from his father.

"Grandma Mara and Papa Luke."

Jaden wiggled from her arms and set off for the front room, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the grandparents he'd only recently met but already adored beyond imagination.

Ben smiled and pulled Syal into his arms. He gently kissed her forehead before he softly spoke. "My parents love him the same what they loved me; unconditionally."

"They love you that way still," she reminded him.

Ben nodded against her head. "I know. It's just been so hard to accept the way they treated us when they learned of our relationship. They had no right to react the way they did."

Syal held her husband tighter. "I know, but it's in the past. Your parents, and my own, still make me nervous, but we have to learn to deal with them. If for no one else but Jaden and this new baby, we have to try."

Ben leaned down and connected their lips in a deep kiss. Their hearts sped faster, their love shined brightly between them.

"I love you Ben Owen Skywalker," Syal whispered breathlessly against his lips once they finally pulled back.

Ben's brilliant smile crossed his face. "I love you too."

They joined hands and were about to make their way out of Jaden's room when Syal noticed a few toy speeder components gathered in the corner of the room.

"What is all that?" she asked.

Ben laughed when he saw the parts. "Well, when Myri was here visiting a few weeks ago and she had all those artifacts from the archeological dig on Algora Prime with her, and she was explaining to Jaden the assemblage process. He tried the same thing with his toys since he wasn't fond of the dirt-covered artifacts she had with her."

Syal laughed. "He is certainly your son; playing with ships and speeders rather than ancient artifacts."

Ben smiled proudly. "Yep, he's a Skywalker alright."

Syal leaned up and kissed his cheek before leading him out of the room. "Come on, we have to be ready for your parents."

Ben's groan sounded throughout the apartment.