Grandpa
By JalendaviLady
Part 1
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Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I mean no harm or profit in my random and not-so-random fanfic experiments and adventures.
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Ben sat in his family's apartment on Coruscant, watching the holonews. His parents were off doing something 'official',
as were his uncle and aunt, and the little 10-year-old was stuck at home with
Grandpa.
Being baby-sat by Grandpa used to be fun. The Jedi Elder knew the exact kind of
story Ben liked and had gathered them from the ends of the galaxy before he'd
stopped traveling so much. Just about the only tales he'd ever wanted to hear
from Grandpa that he hadn't been told involved Grandma. Grandpa'd
gotten a strange look on his face, and Ben had never asked again. He'd never
turned down a challenge on flying sims, although he
always bemoaned their inferiority to 'adult sims'.
Ben hadn't been able to wait until he was old enough to challenge Grandpa on the
adult sims. Now, Grandpa was tired all the time. Ben
couldn't understand why
The newsreporters started talking about some treaty
that was being signed. Ben knew his parents dabbled in politics occasionally
and that Grandpa had been involved with the start of the treaty, but his jaw
dropped when they switched to a view of the Senate chamber and his father
walked up to the podium. Grandpa'll wanna see this! Ben raced down the hall toward
Grandpa's room.
"Grandpa!" Ben skidded to a halt just outside the door.
Grandpa's gray hair was barely visible above the sheets on the bed, the white
stripe running in it distinct next to dark sheets as Ben wandered into the
room. "Grandpa?"
He came closer, shaking the old man's shoulders. Ben wouldn't have normally
dared wake him, mostly because of the high respect he had for Grandpa, but he
thought that he'd want to know what was going on.
"Hruh... Ben." Grandpa graced him with a
weak smile. "What is it?"
"The treaty's about to be signed. I thought..." He saw the slightly
annoyed look in Grandpa's eyes and glanced down at his feet. "I thought
you'd wanna know."
"Ben, I'm not angry at you." Grandpa rested a hand on Ben's shoulder.
"I'm just tired. They'll be showing the signing in replays for
weeks."
"But I thought you were involved..."
"I was. I was younger then, Ben. If I could be there now I would. I would
love to be there right now. But the Maker does not always let us do what we
wish, nor does he mold all outcomes to what we would wish them to be. If you
remember nothing else I ever tell you, Ben, remember that."
Ben nodded. "I'll come back at dinnertime. Love you, Grandpa." He
kissed the Elder's forehead and rushed towards the door.
"I love you, Ben."
...
Ben whimpered in his sleep where he'd fallen asleep on the couch.
Emptiness. Something wrong with the world.
Heavy footsteps jerked him awake as his parents, aunt, and uncle raced into the
apartment and down the hall.
Something was wrong... Ben's family discouraged Force-communication when
walking and talking could serve the same purpose, but something was wrong.
Grandpa?
No response.
GRANDPA?!
A moment later, his father screamed in a voice Ben had never heard before and
hoped to never hear again, "FATHER!!!!!"