Bitchin' Mara Jade

Chapter Thirteen

Luke was surprised to find someone standing with a suit, holding a gun while the person who attacked him and Mara lay on the ground, dead. "I'm Special Agent Dawson." uttered the man in the suit. "I'm here to help."

*

As Mara was in surgery, his father in intensive care, his mother's body in the morgue, his child unconscious after getting stitches in her head, all he could do was was feel sick. "Luke." Leia uttered. She was always the stronger one. She knelt at him and held his hands. "Luke. You should go sit with Rey. What if she wakes up, not knowing where she is? We'll come get you..."

"Rey couldn't recognise her mother when she got out of the car. The doctor said she might have lost some of her memory. She's not going to recognise me when she wakes up."

"It doesn't matter." Leia told him. "She's your daughter. You're her father. You tell her that and you let her know she's alright. Do you hear me?"

Suddenly someone came into the waiting room. The surgeon. "Mr Skywalker..." the surgeon began.

"You were quick... I mean that's me." Luke stood up. Leia looked away. If the surgeon was quick, it probably wasn't a good sign.

"We did everything that we could do but... it wasn't enough. I'm sorry to tell you this Mr Skywalker but your wife did not survive surgery."

Luke broke down and started crying into Leia's shoulder. "Could you leave us alone?" Leia asked him and the surgeon nodded, before leaving. All Leia could do was hold her brother.

*

In the morning Luke found the courage to go see Rey. The consultant looking after Rey looked at him. "Your daughter is a very intelligent young woman. Are you sure she's only three."

"Well about three and a half." Luke replied. "Well about two months until three and a half."

"She remembers that she has parents. Remembers mathematical things, puzzles. But she can't put faces to names on who the people in her life are. Children are resilient though. Most children struggle to remember things that happened before they were five anyway."

"That's when they're older." Luke said to him. "She's not even five now. How am I supposed to tell my daughter that her mother is dead if she doesn't even know her anymore?" He let out a huge sigh. "What about her head..."

"Physically she is fine. I have no doubts that she'll be fine. There is no signs of their being any neurological problems except this. I don't know if I'd even want to call it amnesia."

"Doctor Granger?" called Rey. "Is my mummy and daddy here?"

"Go talk to her." Granger urged him. "She'll be fine. She wants to meet her parents."

"My Skywaylker?" a voice asked and he turned to see the FBI agent. "A word?"

Luke nodded. "I'm sorry." Luke apologised to the doctor. Dr Granger sighed and walked into Rey's room.

"Hey there Rey. How are you this morning?"

"I'm hungry."

"I'm sure there will be food soon. Chocolate pudding in here is the best I hear." he said.

Luke and the FBI agent watched as the doctor and Rey interacted. "We are acting on information from someone who wanted out. Just like your father Anakin did when he was part of the gang. Only instead of this man wanting out from Lenny's grasp. He wants out from Freddie's. The son's. Of course that means they're both on edge. They could be going down. This time on death row going by the information we've gotten. Might as well go down, taking you down before they go. You're all information casualties. There is still an element of danger to your family for the time begin. I'm going to assign police guards, I'll go as far as witness protection. I suggest the latter for Rey in there. Rey has lost some of her memory, doesn't remember who her parents are... it's difficult to protect kids even with police and FBI guards. But this one... doesn't understand what is going on..."