DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc, 20th Century Fox, Timothy Zahn, Barbara Hambly, YKW and the other writers of the expanded Star Wars Universe. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
The next morning, when Luke rolled over, he was surprised to find that his wife was still there. She had not gone out at the crack of dawn to meditate, as had been her usual schedule. And as odd as it struck him, even with the events of only hours ago, he was not at all displeased.
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her sleeping form closer. His lips nuzzled her cheek and slid back into her hair. It had such a scent to it, heavy and sweet. He had always loved her hair. It had been the first thing he'd ever noticed about her--even before the hold-out blaster that she was still so fond of carrying that she had pointed at his head.
He chuckled at the memory, and it stirred her. Her green eyes gazed about her unseeing, and then landed on him. "Good morning," she said, her lips still thick with sleep.
"Good morning, indeed." He kissed her cheek again, letting his love flow freely over their force-bond, so much that it aroused them both. He had not made love to her in a few months, after Mara had started to complain that everything on her felt swollen.
Perhaps she would change her mind when she saw what was really swollen. Seeing her like this, all soft and yeilding, compared to the hardness she had once displayed in spades and that had overshadowed her as of late, was too much for him to ignore. His hand roamed under the covers, and her eyes began to twinkle, echoing his mischief.
"Why, Master Skywalker," she cooed. "I didn't think all those old saying about Jedi's were true."
He frowned a little in amusement. "Like what sayings?"
"Oh, you know what they say about Jedi Masters....they like to Force it."
When he kissed her, she knew it was as much to shut her up as anything else.
An hour later, the commlink in their bedroom started to beep.
Mara groaned and lifted her head. "We fell back asleep," she stated.
Luke jerked his head up. "Oh, no." The commlink continued to beep, five, seven, twelve times. Luke was sure it was someone calling to ask where on Hoth they were, even though his brain wouldn't stop buzzing long enough for him to think if they had had to be anywhere that day. He finally reached it, his trousers barely covering his hips as the image appeared.
"Luke?" It was Leia, dressed in surprisingly completely non-formal clothing. She was frowning slightly, probably amused to find him half-dressed.
"Oh...hi, Leia." He started to reach for his shirt, only to look and see Mara holding it, dangling it quite out of his reach.
Not to mention the fact that she was completely without clothing.
Luke's face turned slightly red as he focused his attention back on Leia. "What's up?"
"Well.....Han and I were talking about where we were going to take our little vacation. You know how rarely I get to get away and relax. We were thinking of going to Endor for about a month, and I was just wondering if you two would like to stop by and pay us a visit."
The last of the sleep left his head. Han and Leia were not, amazingly enough, on Coruscant, but on some diplomatic mission to Hapes, where Isolder and his wife were being installed at King and Queen of Hapes. Leia had agreed to the trip only on the condition that she and Han be allowed to take some personal time afterwards, considering the fact that Han and Leia had gotten married not too long before Isolder had--with no small thanks to Isolder and his Dathomir-born wife. Although it wasn't really an anniversary, it was as close as the two could manage with their full political lives.
"We really haven't gotten to see much of you or Mara lately. I know she hates Ewoks," Leia was saying, her long hair swinging against her shoulders, braided in the same fashion she had worn during the days of the Emperor's defeat, "but maybe she could find some nice Jedi chant to make her a little more tolerant and come put up with some in-laws for a few days."
As Luke opened his mouth to reply, Mara came up behind him and slid her arms around his shoulder. Her teeth found his earlobe and gave it a slight nip. "We'd be glad to, Leia," she said, and her lips brushed the soft downy hairs on Luke's neck before she backed out of sight, leaving Luke to desperately try to repress a shudder as the arousing chill of that guesture passed through him.
Leia was definitely trying not to laugh from behind the hand that covered her mouth. "Wonderful. Let us know when you're coming. We'll be heading to Endor by the end of the week."
Luke nodded. "Okay. Bye." And he ungracefully ended the communication.
Mara was humming to herself as she stood before her closet, trying to find something to wear. She pulled out a long green tunic and pulled it over her head.
"What has gotten into you?" Luke said, his voice a little more controlled than he felt. "You haven't done that since we first got married."
"Well, if you don't like it, I won't do it anymore." She looked at him over her shoulder and gave him a little wink. "If you're sure, that is."
He shook his head, but he was smiling. "Sometimes I worry about you, Mara."
She turned around, the green tunic setting off her eyes. "Why? How else do you expect me to act when my husband makes love to me first thing in the morning before I'm even fully awake? You become fully conscious in time to have an orgasm and see how sweet a tune you sing afterwards. The Emperor could return now and I'd still be smiling."
Luke moved closer to her. "Well, he's already come back twice and we've taken care of it. I think he got the message." He paused. "You were still half-asleep? You didn't seem like it."
"Well, my expert wit never sleeps. I think of ways to rattle you in my dreams, didn't you know?"
"I wasn't talking about your wit." He reached her, grinning suggestively, but she put her arms out.
"Come on, Skywalker, I'm sore enough as it is. Besides, there's still some of the day left and we have to salvage it. If we're going to Endor in a week we have to get the Jaded Sky ready."
"You really want to go flying off? To Endor of all places?" His smile faded into a look of concern.
"I don't care where it is. I'm just tired to being here. You couldn't expect me to stay in one place for too long."
He shrugged. "I don't know. I was kind of getting comfortable here."
She sighed and shook her head. "Poor Luke. Still the farmboy at heart."
"You know you love me for it." He kissed her lightly on the nose.
"Maybe I do." She frowned. "You know, Luke, if you really want to stay....I just thought you'd like to see your sister and all. That you'd like to see any other human being than just me and my swelled stomach all the time."
He pulled her closer. "Why would I want to see anyone else other than you? I mean, sure, I miss having Leia around and it will be great to hang out with Han, but... Mara, you're all I need to be happy. You and our daughter."
"So you've finally decided to believe me that it's a girl?"
"I never really disbelieved you." His hand spread across her stomach. "But we don't have a name for a girl. Did you manage to think of one?"
Mara's face clouded over and Luke knew she was remembering her dream. "I don't know...something is telling me to wait. It will come. The whole thing will come together when it's time." Her eyes focused on his and he felt her mind draw nearer to his. It was so much easier this way, rather than the clumsy dance of words. And now he could see why she was so different. She was determined to be at peace with the past, whether the past wanted to wage war on her or not. "There's so much," she whispered. "I can't make sense of any of it now. When the time is right, I'll understand." She shrugged. "It's just a feeling I have."
"I know about feelings." He ran a hand absently through her hair, pushing it back away from her cheek. "I hope you can do it."
"It will just take some patience."
He grinned. "Mara Jade....patient. I think the universe is going to end."
She jerked away from him and lightly punched him in the stomach. "That's Mrs. Skywalker to you, you ewok-loving, wampa- mannered Jedi Master wannabe!"
"What do you mean, 'wanna-be?'" he cried.
"That's the last morning you take me off guard," she added, turning away from him, deliberately letting the edge of the tunic lift a little to reveal a flash of creamy skin before snatching up a pair of trousers to cover it.
"I guess it's true was they say about Traders, then," he returned.
"What?"
"They like to smuggle it in."
She threw a pillow at him as he backed out of the room, laughing.
Mara was true to her word. Luke felt her make a conscious effort to shake off her anxiety. She knew the answers were not going to come now, and she had to be prepared for when they did.
But until then, there would be little to stop Mara Skywalker from attempting to relax. Not that she could do much, anyway. Already going into her seventh month, her doctor advised her continuously to avoid heavy activity, and she obeyed, not wanting to take any chances. It was hard for her, however, to just sit around all day. She was bored with the holonet, couldn't do much of anything with the ship except give Artoo orders about what she wanted checked out, and didn't dare touch her lightsaber. Luke tried to give her lessons about lifting objects with the Force, but she had gotten pretty good at it and everything seemed redundant.
The only thing she had plenty of time for was thinking, and it was the last thing she wanted to do.
Luke did everything he could to distract her. They talked more than they ever had in the fifteen years they'd known each other. The big topic of discussion was the book of memoirs that Luke was compiling of his past in hopes that the many things he had experienced during the days of the birth of the New Republic would not go to waste. He wanted to teach other Jedi not to give in to too much power like he had---not to fall into the darkside on their own, like Mara had said. He even kicked around the idea of building a holocron, but didn't think that he should attempt such an edevor at the point of life he was in. The old Jedi Ood Bnar (see Dark Empire I & II) had been a thousand years old when he'd made his holocron. Luke knew he wouldn't even touch that many years, although the Force did extend the life of many Jedi. Perhaps it would extend his as well....
All this talk, however, got Mara thinking in a new direction. As the Emperor's Hand, she knew many things about the galaxy. Even though she had served Palpatine's evil, the abilities she had gained were neutral. It seemed a shame to let all her skills die with her. So she began to make plans for her own memoirs, although knew they were quite different from Luke's. It just seemed fitting, though, that she and Skywalker pass their knowledge down together. Historically, they had been two of the most famous and infamous figures of their day. History deserved to have a record of the truth.
So as they started their hyperspace journey toward Endor, Mara started getting herself together. It was similiar to what she had been trying to do before in her meditations--make sense of her life--but this had a different purpose, and spread out much farther than just her suspicions about the Emperor's plans for her destiny. This was every scrap of memory she could call forth. And she barely dented the surface before they landed on Endor.
Leia and Han were waiting for them on the landing platform when arrived. Leia smiled sympathetically as she gazed at Mara in her not-so-delicate condition. "Good thing you're not carrying twins," she said as she hugged her sister-in-law.
Mara let out a little groan. "Force forbid! Rancors and born-again Emperors and Superweapons we can handle....but two kids at once? We'd fall in a month."
Han played bellhop and grabbed their gear. Luke tried to get it away from him, but Han was pretty fast for a non-Force- sensitive and was down the platform and into the speeder before Luke could have even pronounced Thrawn's full name. Mara laughed as Luke shook his head at his old friend.
"Still the competetors," she murmured to Leia. Leia smiled.
"Let's just try not to encourage them. Although I wish, just once, I could get Han to blush like you make Luke do sometimes."
Mara grinned wickedly. "We'll talk. If an old hard-ass like me and give a maidenly glow every once in a while, I'm sure Han's gotta have his soft spot."
The two women walked down to the speeder, their quiet conversation inaudiable to Luke and Han, who were bantering so loud it echoed off the surrounding trees. "The only things I need to lift something heavy are my own two hands, kid," Han gloated.
"I guess if it isn't heavy it can lift all by itself," Luke grinned slyly.
"At least I don't need to Force it," Han returned.
"Mara, have you and Han been conspiring again?" Luke shouted back to her.
"Who do you think told me that one, darling?" Mara replied sweetly.
"Wonderful. Everybody is a comedian."
"You seem to be pretty cheerful lately," Leia commented to Mara as Luke and Han continued their insult-tossing.
"The glow of motherhood, I guess." Mara ran a hand through her hair and let the wind toss it about. "I guess when you were expecting you had to deal with a potential galactic war. Not exactly a time for smiles, huh?"
"Nope. And even with Anakin there was that deal with the Emperor." Leia cleared her throat. "I'm just saying that I wish I had had more time to relax. I'm glad you and Luke are here."
"It's not to late for another kid, Leia," Mara said, her face open. "I mean, you're not even forty yet."
Leia shrugged. "I know....it's just that we've had so much trouble keeping Anakin and the twins safe. I almost wish we could live like you and Luke. No one would be able to find us."
Mara's eyes narrowed slightly. "It's got its advantages and disadvantages." She paused. "I promise we'll visit more after the baby is born."
Leia started. "Oh, that isn't what I mean." She smiled. "But that would still be nice."
Mara leaned forward a bit. "So...what's really eating you up, Madame Chief of State? You know you don't have to be all diplomatic with me."
Leia's eyes grew very serious. "Okay. I've been having these dreams lately about you and Luke. I can't seem to figure them out. Luke's told me that you've been trying to sort some things out about your past, and for some reason I think all of this is connected. Tell me, when you came to Endor...did you experience a dark spot in the Force? Around where the Death Star used to be?"
"Where Palpatine died?" Mara's eyes grew distant. "Luke put in a course that took us around that spot. I didn't feel anything from around it." Then her eyes cleared. "But really, Leia, he's already come back twice. I think he's finally gone. At least, I've put him to rest."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know. It's like....Palpatine was trying to prevent something. Maybe even prevent me and Skywalker from ever meeting, or at least ever meeting on friendly terms. I used to think that him wanting me to kill Skywalker was his way of getting revenge on Vader, but I have a terrible feeling it was more than that. Like it wasn't just revenge--it was a way to hurt me as well, prevent me from fulfilling some destiny that I can't even begin to understand. And the worst of it is, it isn't just me, or even Skywalker. It has to do with our child." Mara's hand subconsciously went to her belly. "Palpatine knew something. But Palpatine wasn't all knowing or all powerful. Otherwise he would have forseen his own death." She paused. "Tell me about the dreams you've been having, Leia."
Leia opened her mouth to reply, but the speeder stopped and they were at the small resort that had been built there shortly after the Empire had fallen. Endor had become quite a tourist attraction as of late, with the twentieth anniversary of the events that had taken place there coming within the next couple of years. Leia had gone to considerable trouble to make sure that the Ewoks wouldn't be robbed of their forrest territory during the business expansion. She had even invested some of her own money in the project to make sure she would have a direct say in what went on there.
The resort was attached to a rather quaint museum, but Mara knew perfectly well that Leia and Han only slept there. Most of their time was spent, Mara was quite sure, in the Ewok village as an honored guest. She grimaced, hoping that she wouldn't have to endure too much three-foot tall, fur-covered company. Although the Ewoks had a particular brew of alcohol that she found to be rather good.
*Not while you're pregnant,* Luke reminded her. She glanced up to see him looking at her as he climbed out of the speeder. She got up to follow and exchanged a brief look with Leia that clearly said, *We'll continue this later.*
Leia shot Luke a grin. So Luke had gone from protecting the Universe to protecting Mara from herself. She wondered which one was the harder job.