Luke Skywalker Didn't Know She Was His Sister (jedifarmboy) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2015-03-04 17:35:00 |
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Luke felt bad that he hadn’t been in touch with Inara recently. Things had been busy at work and then there had been Carol and before he knew it, it had been a couple of weeks since they’d talked. He was glad when she messaged him since he’d been wanting to talk to her anyway especially after reading River’s latest post and recognizing it as a dream of Anakin’s. Their friendship might seem a little unconventional to some but Luke had come to value it and not just for the obvious reason. Inara was a wonderful woman and he knew that she’d be honest with him when it came to whether or not he could help River. He got to Sam’s a bit before the time they’d set and found a table. He’d ordered a simple glass of iced tea, not feeling like drinking anything alcoholic at the moment. This conversation would require a clear head because even Luke wasn’t sure if he knew what River needed but he knew that he wanted to try. Inara had several weeks ago when River first began posting dreams to the network, mentioned to Simon the idea of possibly exploring the skills - even the psychic skills - of some who were on the Network. While Inara's knowledge of their individual worlds and abilities varied greatly, she knew that there were many here in the Tower who had abilities that were such that they might be able to help River. And it was entirely possible that Luke Skywalker might be one of those men. As she stepped up to the table she took a look at him, pleased to see that he looked more settled than when she had spoken with him last. He had not really said, but she hoped that perhaps some of the family things had calmed a bit. She had found him pleasant, and honourable, the sort of man she would easily spend more time with, and the sort that deserved good things in his life. "Good evening, Luke," She smiled warmly in introduction. “Hi,” he said, standing to pull out her chair for her. “thank you for coming. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. There has been a lot going on but that isn’t anything unusual around here it seems,” Luke smiled at her. He liked her and had enjoyed spending time with her even though some things in their friendship were about to change. Right now though that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. “Can I get you something to drink? I’m having iced tea, it’s not as good as the tea you make so I didn’t even bother asking for it hot. It wouldn’t be the same.” Inara couldn't help but laugh at him and took a seat and looked across at him. "Perhaps do they have a strawberry lemonade here? I've never been able to do iced tea very easily. It always feels a bit wrong to me." She leaned slightly and her laugh shifted into a smile which she kept while she watched him. It did seem that things had been quite busy on the Network and their relationship was not such that she expected to be notified of events in their lives. She had helped him a bit and they had spent some time touching on challenges that he had, and connecting to this place, and she had been happy to do so. There were times she truly enjoyed teaching, and there were times she wished she could return to school and become an accredited counselor - or life therapist. The physical aspects of her work at home were illegal here, but someone to help people through tough situations was not, and she enjoyed that part the most. "How have you been?" He called over the waitress who informed him that they did indeed have strawberry lemonade and ordered a glass for Inara before he answered her. “I’m doing better,” he replied. “My nephews seem to have found a way to coexist which I’m grateful for and Jacen is starting to relax more. That of course makes things at home much more comfortable for all of us.” It had taken time but Jacen was starting to come out of his shell, he was still quiet but there was more of a sense of peace about him than there had been. “What about you? I saw that your friend Mulan is gone. I’m sorry to hear that. I never met her but I know the two of you were close.” He hadn’t lost anyone to the Tesseract yet but no doubt that day would come. It seemed to come for everyone at least once. "She is yes," Inara let a breath out. Mulan was the other person she had grown close to outside of those from her own universe, besides Luke, and now she had disappeared. It had been the first person outside of those from home, that had been taken as well and there was the chance that she would come back, of course, but it would require getting to know her all the same. And it might be during a different time in her life… the things that had been a challenge for her here and now would likely not be in the future were she to come back, and there was no way of knowing if the bond would redevelop. "I was very sad to see her go. She was a dear friend, and a lovely woman. But I hope she is going back to good things at home." She looked over at him and smiled. "I am glad to hear that your nephews are doing better, and Jacen is relaxing more, and I hope this means you are as well." “I hope the same for her,” Luke said. He only knew of Mulan through the network but she did seem like a nice person and he hoped that she had a bright future to go back to. “Actually yes, it does. Things are much better, I’m beginning to see my path here. I’m still not entirely sure what that is but it’s beginning to make more sense.” He paused and took a sip of his tea. “I’ve been meaning to call you, I wanted to thank you.” Luke put down his glass and reached across the table and rested his hand on hers. “You are a beautiful person, Inara, inside and out. I had lost a great deal of confidence in myself but you helped me to find it again and I’m grateful for that. I was feeling very lost when we first talked and now I’m slowly finding my way.” he smiled at her. “and I think it’s a shame that people don’t understand that what you do is far more than just physical. I mean that part was amazing, I don’t mean that, I mean it’s so much more than just that. You listened, you helped me find the answers that I realize now I already had, I just didn’t see them. You have a real gift, you care about people and that’s rare in this world it seems. I’m very grateful for your friendship and I wanted to tell you that.” Inara offered Luke a smile and turned her hand over to squeeze his gently before releasing it. She was grateful that he had found some answers and some confidence. She had felt that he was an individual of integrity and worth, but even the strongest of people could have weak moments and it was her particular delight to help people through those moments whenever she could. "You are very welcome, Luke Skywalker, and I will be happy to count you among my friends in this bizarre place that slowly seems to become a little bit more like home for all of us. I am so very glad to hear that from you and I have no doubt whatever path you build here, will be the right one for you and a good one for you - even if it does not look like it does at home." She stopped to offer the waitress a smile as she woman set down her lemonade and then she leaned forward to take a sip while she considered the man in front of her once more. Kaylee had thought he might be able to help - and perhaps he would at that. "You had, I believe, wished to talk about River though… I have been worried for her." Luke nodded. “Yes, I did. I don’t know her at all but I’ve seen her posts on the network and the last one was actually a dream of my nephew’s so naturally it caught my attention. She mentioned a force or the force which you and I have talked about. It’s a concept from my world and while it exists for everyone, not everyone is sensitive to it or can tap into it,” he stopped to take a sip of tea. “I believe that if River can catch bits and pieces of people’s dreams, she might possibly be sensitive to it. I realize we’re not from the same galaxy as far as we know but I’ve always believed that the Force is everywhere and there are people who are attune with it but don’t know. If I’m wrong, she’s at the very least some kind of telepath. Not everyone who’s sensitive to the Force has that ability, I have it but it’s stronger with people I’m bonded to, like family or close friends. With most people I can sense their emotions but River seems to be able to do that and get pictures from others as well. There are things you can do, ways to exercise your mind, so that you can block some of that. If you don’t, it can be very overwhelming.” Luke knew of people who had been driven mad by such things. “I know her brother is a doctor and that he’s been searching for a medical cure. I’m not saying that’s bad but I think it’s more than a physical thing.” He was actually certain of it and he knew that Anakin and Jacen was well believed the same thing. “I’d like to talk to him at least, tell him what I think. If he’s not comfortable with me, my nephew Anakin has said he’d be willing to help. They’re closer in age, perhaps Simon would prefer that. All I know about him is the things Kaylee has told me...it was a very long journey on the Ascension,” Luke grinned. “and we spent a lot of it trying to fix the ship so we had a lot of chances to talk. She’s a very sweet person and she cares a lot about Simon and River, about all of you from her world.” Inara nodded and sipped her lemonade as Luke spoke. She didn't know very much about the Force except what Luke had said in previous conversations so some of what Luke was saying she didn't know if it could be true. But she had felt for sometime that there was the possibility that even if Simon was correct about not being able to find a treatment for her, there might be some way that he could help her simply not have the dreams so frequently. She tilted her head as she considered what Luke has said. "Simon, loves River very much. But he is very much of the notion that her problem is medical, and that it was from their world, and thus the only cure is going to be medical." She hesitated wondering how much of her own view or opinion she wanted to say. "I think that I believe that the cure may be precisely as Simon believes, but that there are many things here that just because we may not be able to quantify them in the way that science does, does not make them less valuable, and that perhaps something could be done to help even if it does not provide a cure. I could speak with Simon… I just don't know how willing he will be to the possibility." “There are many things that I have seen here that I’ve never encountered before,” Luke said. “the existence of magic for one. Some believe that the Force is magic but it isn’t yet there are people here who are wizards. I’m friends with Sam Winchester who hunts demons in his world and I helped him when his brother was possessed by a demon here. I can understand how someone who is so based in scientific thinking might not believe any of that though. I sometimes can’t believe the things I’ve seen myself.” He shook his head. “and it may well be that whatever is causing this is something medical that he can figure out. I hope it’s that simple because it’s hard to watch someone you care about suffer and know that you can’t help them. But I’d like to try, see if there is something I can do no matter how small.” "It's easier for me perhaps, because while my religious beliefs do not include miracles or demons or the Force, I am used to the idea of the mystical around us and I do believe in it. I am not so scientific as Simon, and it is not a bad thing, but perhaps it is not everything either." Inara took another sip of her drink and decided that considering the conversations she had recently had with both Luke and Kaylee, and with Simon himself, the events on the network - it was worth asking the question. "I will talk with Simon, perhaps I can arrange a dinner at our apartment and we can sit down together to see if he is willing to try something different?" “I think that would be a good idea. It might be easier to talk to him if there were people that he knows there. And he’d be more likely to trust me if he knew people that he cared about did.” Luke wasn’t sure if this would work but he wanted to try. He wanted to see if there was some way he could help an innocent young girl live without the pain she was so obviously in. "Then I will ask and set something up if he is willing to try it," Inara said. "Perhaps next weekend or the one after. I don't know how long it will take so perhaps I should just contact you when I have spoken with him. I will do my best to convince him to listen at least. I cannot promise much beyond that." “That sounds good,” he replied. “Just let me know and we’ll see what happens. All we can do is try.” |