You Call It Slightly Dodgy Dialogue, I Call It A Plotbunny
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*
The doctor almost cannot bring himself to say the words, but he has to.
"I'm sorry, Senator. Your wife... the tests have come back positive."
Senator Bail Organa almost cannot believe what he is hearing. The finest doctors on Alderaan, the best treatments money can buy...
"They can't have done. She's... she's too young, too beautiful, too..."
The doctor shakes his head, a final, horrible gesture.
"It's a disease, Senator. It doesn't care how rich you are, or how beautiful, or how young."
The words sound like a death sentence.
"Can I see her?"
The doctor nods.
"Of course you can. In fact, it's probably best if you do- she's going to need all your help from now on, all your love."
Now it is the senator's turn to nod, and he rises to go, rises to go to his wife's bedside. He stops at the door, turns back to the doctor.
"Will she... we had wanted children?"
The doctor does not answer.
He doesn't need to.
*
She's crying as he walks in, and he doesn't need to ask why- he can see the hairbrush on her bed, can see the long golden strands matting its bristles.
He goes to her, and she starts to pull away, but he is gentle, and she relents to be held.
"My hair, my beautiful hair, why does it have to take my hair?"
The Senator strokes his wife's hair, marvelling at how fine it has become, marvelling at its spider-silk softness.
"Hush, hush, there's no need to cry."
She stares daggers at him, pulls away.
"There's every need to cry. How would you like it if it was you that had this nightmare thrust upon you? How would you like it if..."
He surprises her, and himself- he kisses her. She stares at him, bewildered.
"We will fight this, my darling. We will fight this, and you will win. You could be as bald as a Kitonak and as fat as a Hutt and I would still love you. I have always loved you, and no disease will ever change that."
She sees in his eyes that he is not lying.
The tears that fall this time are no longer tears of rage.
*
She dances like a child with a new toy, twirling and laughing as he remembers her doing when they first met and she was but a shy teenager.
The long brown hair of the wig looks strange on his wife's head, but the Senator thinks he will get used to it.
If it makes her this happy, he realises, a smile crossing his face for the first time in months as she dances, it will not be that hard.
*
Yoda sits before them, tiny green arms clutching an even tinier bundle.
Skywalker's baby, the Senator thinks, Amidala's daughter.
He looks at his wife, and sees the glimmer in her eyes, and knows that there can only be one answer to the Jedi master.
"We'd always talked about adopting a baby girl."
*
To lose one mother is bad enough, the Senator thinks, looking down at the baby, but to lose two, and before your first year is out?
He looks back at his wife, who manages the faintest of faint smiles.
"You... you take good care of her, Bail."
Her voice is cracked and ruined, testament to the pain tearing her apart from within, testament to the awesome force of the disease eating her alive before his very eyes. He manages the tiniest of nods- all he can manage any more.
Her eyes close, and she dies.
The Senator looks down at the baby, gurgling happily in her cradle, and his heart breaks.
For who, he's not sure.
*
"Tell me again about my mummy."
Leia's voice is tiny and sleepy, but still firm. Bail smiles- she reminds him of her in so many ways.
"She was beautiful. She was kind. She had long, golden hair, and she danced like an angel. She loved you very much, Leia- almost as much as I do."
He turns to go, to turn off the lights, but she stops him.
"Then why do I not have golden hair, Daddy?"
For a second, he considers telling her, for a second considers betraying Yoda, betraying Amidala, betraying his wife.
He cannot do it any more than he could stop the disease, than he could stop the Sith, than he could stop Palpatine.
"Do I have golden hair, Leia?"
She shakes her head. He smiles, goes back to her, kisses her forehead.
"That's why. You're like your daddy."
It is only afterwards, when he has turned the lights off and shut the door, when he is halfway down the corridor, that the shudder hits him.
*
It is one of the happiest days of his life- a new bride, and a beautiful girl- no, a beautiful young woman by now, he realises, sadly- to give him away to her.
Leia smiles at the Senator, and her new stepmother, and he melts inside.
So much like her mother, he thinks.
There are two faces dancing in his mind- one golden-haired, one darker.
Both beautiful, both brave.
Both her mother.
*
"Do you remember your mother, your real mother?"
What does he mean, her "real mother"?
She only has one mother, Leia thinks- and she died a long time ago.
Her stepmother died when Alderaan was destroyed- is that what he means?
"Just a little bit. She died when I was very young."
"What do you remember?"
This puzzles her- and to be honest, she cannot remember much. All her memories are of her father- the time she fell off the swing and broke her arm, the time he had to rescue her from the tree, the times he stood by and watched proudly at countless school awards ceremonies as she won race after race, prize after prize...
"Just images, really. Things."
But then, she remembers something- or is it something that she was told, and now remembers as being true? She can't remember any more.
"Tell me."
Leia sighs with the effort as she tries to remember.
Two faces swim before her eyes, one golden-haired, one darker.
"She was... very beautiful. Kind, but... sad. Why are you asking me this?"
His eyes melt her heart- what he says hurts even more.
"I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her."
There's something lurking behind those eyes, something more somehow, something dark and secret.
"Luke, tell me what's troubling you."
And so he tells her.
And her world will never be the same.
*
The doctor almost cannot bring himself to say the words, but he has to.
"I'm sorry, Senator. Your wife... the tests have come back positive."
Senator Bail Organa almost cannot believe what he is hearing. The finest doctors on Alderaan, the best treatments money can buy...
"They can't have done. She's... she's too young, too beautiful, too..."
The doctor shakes his head, a final, horrible gesture.
"It's a disease, Senator. It doesn't care how rich you are, or how beautiful, or how young."
The words sound like a death sentence.
"Can I see her?"
The doctor nods.
"Of course you can. In fact, it's probably best if you do- she's going to need all your help from now on, all your love."
Now it is the senator's turn to nod, and he rises to go, rises to go to his wife's bedside. He stops at the door, turns back to the doctor.
"Will she... we had wanted children?"
The doctor does not answer.
He doesn't need to.
*
She's crying as he walks in, and he doesn't need to ask why- he can see the hairbrush on her bed, can see the long golden strands matting its bristles.
He goes to her, and she starts to pull away, but he is gentle, and she relents to be held.
"My hair, my beautiful hair, why does it have to take my hair?"
The Senator strokes his wife's hair, marvelling at how fine it has become, marvelling at its spider-silk softness.
"Hush, hush, there's no need to cry."
She stares daggers at him, pulls away.
"There's every need to cry. How would you like it if it was you that had this nightmare thrust upon you? How would you like it if..."
He surprises her, and himself- he kisses her. She stares at him, bewildered.
"We will fight this, my darling. We will fight this, and you will win. You could be as bald as a Kitonak and as fat as a Hutt and I would still love you. I have always loved you, and no disease will ever change that."
She sees in his eyes that he is not lying.
The tears that fall this time are no longer tears of rage.
*
She dances like a child with a new toy, twirling and laughing as he remembers her doing when they first met and she was but a shy teenager.
The long brown hair of the wig looks strange on his wife's head, but the Senator thinks he will get used to it.
If it makes her this happy, he realises, a smile crossing his face for the first time in months as she dances, it will not be that hard.
*
Yoda sits before them, tiny green arms clutching an even tinier bundle.
Skywalker's baby, the Senator thinks, Amidala's daughter.
He looks at his wife, and sees the glimmer in her eyes, and knows that there can only be one answer to the Jedi master.
"We'd always talked about adopting a baby girl."
*
To lose one mother is bad enough, the Senator thinks, looking down at the baby, but to lose two, and before your first year is out?
He looks back at his wife, who manages the faintest of faint smiles.
"You... you take good care of her, Bail."
Her voice is cracked and ruined, testament to the pain tearing her apart from within, testament to the awesome force of the disease eating her alive before his very eyes. He manages the tiniest of nods- all he can manage any more.
Her eyes close, and she dies.
The Senator looks down at the baby, gurgling happily in her cradle, and his heart breaks.
For who, he's not sure.
*
"Tell me again about my mummy."
Leia's voice is tiny and sleepy, but still firm. Bail smiles- she reminds him of her in so many ways.
"She was beautiful. She was kind. She had long, golden hair, and she danced like an angel. She loved you very much, Leia- almost as much as I do."
He turns to go, to turn off the lights, but she stops him.
"Then why do I not have golden hair, Daddy?"
For a second, he considers telling her, for a second considers betraying Yoda, betraying Amidala, betraying his wife.
He cannot do it any more than he could stop the disease, than he could stop the Sith, than he could stop Palpatine.
"Do I have golden hair, Leia?"
She shakes her head. He smiles, goes back to her, kisses her forehead.
"That's why. You're like your daddy."
It is only afterwards, when he has turned the lights off and shut the door, when he is halfway down the corridor, that the shudder hits him.
*
It is one of the happiest days of his life- a new bride, and a beautiful girl- no, a beautiful young woman by now, he realises, sadly- to give him away to her.
Leia smiles at the Senator, and her new stepmother, and he melts inside.
So much like her mother, he thinks.
There are two faces dancing in his mind- one golden-haired, one darker.
Both beautiful, both brave.
Both her mother.
*
"Do you remember your mother, your real mother?"
What does he mean, her "real mother"?
She only has one mother, Leia thinks- and she died a long time ago.
Her stepmother died when Alderaan was destroyed- is that what he means?
"Just a little bit. She died when I was very young."
"What do you remember?"
This puzzles her- and to be honest, she cannot remember much. All her memories are of her father- the time she fell off the swing and broke her arm, the time he had to rescue her from the tree, the times he stood by and watched proudly at countless school awards ceremonies as she won race after race, prize after prize...
"Just images, really. Things."
But then, she remembers something- or is it something that she was told, and now remembers as being true? She can't remember any more.
"Tell me."
Leia sighs with the effort as she tries to remember.
Two faces swim before her eyes, one golden-haired, one darker.
"She was... very beautiful. Kind, but... sad. Why are you asking me this?"
His eyes melt her heart- what he says hurts even more.
"I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her."
There's something lurking behind those eyes, something more somehow, something dark and secret.
"Luke, tell me what's troubling you."
And so he tells her.
And her world will never be the same.