You know what?  I’m *way* too lazy to put in the disclaimer again, so I 
didn’t make some of these characters.  If you want the list of mine look at 
the first part of this story.


Summary:

ADVENTURES OF A VISION 
PART TWO:	VISION OF PAIN

	The next day...
	Luke and Mara's relationship has gotten to a comfortable position 
(how comfortable can you get after a day?  But it's my story . . .) until Luke 
has a horrifying dream...or is it a Jedi Vision?


ADVENTURES OF A VISION
Part 2: VISION OF PAIN


	Mara woke up and tried to remember where she was.  
It didn’t really work.  Her body felt strange.  She 
opened her eyes and saw she was in a formal evening 
gown.  That’s why I feel so weird, she thought.  No 
pajamas.  She tried to stretch, but the dress wouldn’t 
let her.  Blast it, where am I?  She turned her head to 
the right and noticed a clear doorway leading to a small 
balcony...
	Funny, she thought, doesn’t Luke have one just like 
that?  Uh-oh...Mara turned her head to the left...and 
almost laughed with relief.  She felt herself wilting 
with thanks that she hadn’t been kidnapped by someone 
last night.  
	Luke was to her left.  His back was towards her 
with a T-shirt pulled up halfway by tosses and turns of 
the night.  She smiled.  Wait a minute-why aren’t I in 
my own room?  Forget it, Mara.  At least you fell asleep 
in this thing.  But surprisingly she was very 
comfortable.  Maybe I’ll ask Luke if he wants to sell 
his bed...mattress and all.  She smiled again and 
reached out a hand to play with Luke’s messed up hair.  
She took a few strands in her fingers and twirled it a 
bit.  At least he’s not awake...that way I can admire 
him without him looking at me strangely...but only if he 
would turn around so I could see his face...
	Luke seemed to mumble something then turned onto 
his back.  The T-shirt was half pulled up here too.  She 
smiled and continued to look at him.  Just being here 
made Mara feel special.  She lowered her eyes and they 
grew wide when she saw just how muscle worked his 
abdomen and chest were.  Looks like the all mighty Jedi 
Master keeps in excellent condition.  Not too shabby, 
she thought.
	Luke again turned, but to face Mara’s direction.  
This is a good change...she reached out her hand again 
and ran her index finger along his forehead, down the 
side of his face, then along his lips.  Did I dream it, 
or did someone give me a kiss good night?  Must of been 
a dream.  
	She pulled her hand back and turned around to get a 
little more comfortable.  She closed her eyes for a 
moment’s rest and took a deep breath.  When she opened 
her eyes again, she found Luke’s much more sleepier ones 
staring at her.
	Wasn’t this something she had been dying to do 
yesterday?  Wake up and see Luke’s eyes staring right 
into hers?  Well you got your wish, Mara.  He smiled 
sleepily at her, his eyes blinking slowly open and 
closed.
	“How you feeling this morning?”  Luke said almost 
unintelligibly.  
	Mara smiled and laughed a little.
	“You should get back to sleep,”  she told him.  
“I’m fine.  How’d I end up in here by the way?”  
	Luke stretched and his shirt went up a little more.  
Realizing that it had, he looked down and pulled it 
back.  Embarrassed, Luke looked at her.
	“Sorry,”  he said blushing.  “It wasn’t supposed 
to do that.”  
	“It’s all right,”  Mara said.  “I don’t mind.”  
	She smiled up at Luke, then looked at him 
expectantly.
	“What?”  he asked.  “Oh.  How’d you get here?  
Long story.  I’ll tell you over some breakfast okay?”
	“Okay,”  she said.  “By the way, why do you get 
the comfier bed.?”  
	That made Luke laugh.
	“How would you know which one’s comfier if you’ve 
only slept in one?”
	“I’m guessing.”
	“Okay, I can accept that,” Luke said.  “Sorry 
you’re still in those clothes, but I don’t think you 
would have liked it if I had taken the liberty myself to 
put you in something more appropriate for sleep.”  
	At least he thinks about the other person...but you 
should of known that Mara.
	“Thank you for respecting my privacy,”  Mara 
said.  “I’m sure I would of done the same for you.  
Would I have been able to carry you that is.”  
	Luke laughed.
	“I’m not that heavy,”  he said.  “Well for a male 
I think.  Oh well.  It’s too early in the morning to be 
thinking so hard.”  	He reached a hand over and stroked 
her cheek.
	“Do you remember what I told you yesterday that 
got you choking?”  
	This is when I tell him, Mara thought.
	Mara nodded her head, her eyes never leaving 
Luke’s.  “I want to tell you something.  She has found 
you.  She found you a long time ago.  She was just too 
stubborn to tell you.”  
	Luke looked at Mara with misty blue eyes.
	“You’re serious aren’t you?”  Luke asked Mara.  
	She nodded her head and the next thing she knew was 
that she was in Luke’s arms, holding him and letting him 
cry silently with relief.  She felt his strong arms 
wrapped around her, filling her with a warmth she'd 
never known before.  For Luke it had been a long and 
hard road in getting here.  It must be a wonderful 
feeling for him to finally be with someone after a long 
time.  	Luke was the only person Mara had ever truly 
loved.  At least she thought it was love.  She hoped 
they would stay together for as long as they had a life 
to live.  Luke nudged away a little from Mara and held 
her at a distance.  He smiled and wiped at the quiet 
tears on his face.
	“Let’s go tell Leia okay?"  he asked as he 
caressed the side of her cheek with the back of his 
hand.  "This’ll mean a lot to her.”
	Mara nodded.
	“I think she deserves this,”  Mara said.  “But 
first...can I get changed?”  
	Luke laughed.  “Sure thing.”


	Mara went to her room and got into some work pants 
that looked fine for walking around.  She put on a tight 
fitting shirt with a small jacket and combed all the 
tangles out of her hair.  She left it down because she 
noticed that whenever she did, Luke always watched her a 
bit more.  She got a question from Luke and answered 
back.  *Almost ready*  She shoved on her boots and left 
her room.  Luke was waiting by the door holding a piece 
of fruit for Mara and one for himself.
	“Breakfast?”  he asked holding out the colored 
fruit.  “Sorry, but there wasn’t a lot of time to make 
something more suitable.”  
	He handed her the fruit and she took a big bite.
	“Tastes good enough,”  she said munching on her 
breakfast.  Come on.”  
	Satisfied with her fruit, Mara followed Luke out to 
the hall.  The sat outside in a nearby lounge and 
finished their ‘breakfast’ then went to Leia’s door.  
Luke knocked and then waited.
	“We should of called first, Luke,”  Mara pointed 
out.  
	*too late for that isn’t it?*  
	She smiled.
	“Yeah I guess huh?”  she answered back.  
	The door opened and Han Solo smiled.
	“Hey guys!”  han said brightly.  “Wasn’t 
expecting to find you at the door.”  
	Luke looked at Mara then reached out and held her 
hand.  Mara gave his hand a  gentle squeeze.
	“We’re here to tell you and Leia something,”  
Luke said.  “Is she here?”  
	Han eyed the two curiously.
	“Sorry kid,”  he said shaking his head.  “She’s 
not here.  Didn’t she tell you?  The council wanted her 
to reinstate some new senator from Niori.  But are you 
willing to at least tell half of us?”  He looked back 
and forth between his brother-in-law to Mara.  	“I 
think I know what it is anyway...”  he said witha sly 
smile.  “Congratulations you two.  Leia would love to 
hear this...had she been here.”  
	Luke looked over at Mara again, and smiled.
	“Thanks Han,”  Luke said.  “Do you know when 
she’ll be back?”
	“Well...we could call her when this meeting’s over 
to see.  But probably not until dinner time.”
	“We could spend the day with the kids if you 
wanted.” Luke suggested.  
	Han seemed to think about it.
	“Okay,”  Han said.  “I’m going to stay here with 
you guys.  They’ve gotten a bit used to their old dad 
and I’ve gotten a bit used to them.  Oh-sorry.  You guys 
wanna come in?”  
	Han stepped to the side and let Luke and Mara in.  
The new couple came in hand by hand and sat over on the 
couch.  They sat down, still holding hands.  It seemed 
like if they’d let go, then they’d lose each other.  Han 
stepped into the kitchen and finished eating his 
breakfast.
	“Sorry you guys,” he said inbetween mouthfuls of 
pastry.  “But the kids are still asleep.  Knowing how 
good they know when you’re around though Luke, they’ll 
be awake soon.”
	“Could I go take a peek?”  Mara asked Han.  
	He looked up from the glass that had appeared in 
his hand.
	“Sure,”  he said.  “I don’t see why not.  Just go 
down the hall and it’s the one next to the bathroom.  
But be quiet.  The longer they’re asleep, the longer I 
have to put off making them breakfast,”  he finished 
with a smile.
	Mara got up and went down the hall, leaving Luke 
with Han.
	“So, kid...”  Han asked.  “How long have you had 
a thing for Mara?”  
	Luke got up and sat across from Han at the table.
	“Awhile I guess,”  he said with a shrug.  “I 
never really remembered when it actually started.”
	“Well I’m happy for you Luke.”  Han said with a 
smile on his face.  “At least when you guys sit down and 
decide to have a family we can go visit them.”    
	Luke laughed quietly.
	“Yeah,”  Luke agreed.  “I think Jaina’s going to 
love having a little cousin around.  But Han, we’ve only 
gone on one date.  It’s a little early to be talking 
about having children don’t you think? ”
	“You’d better watch it,”  Han warned.  “If Jaina 
treats that baby like she treats her dolls you’re in 
trouble.  And hey, it’s never too late to be talking 
about kids.  You two seem to really hit it off together.  
Who knows?  Maybe she’ll be the first Mrs. Luke 
Skywalker.”  
	Luke laughed.  After a moment of silence, Han spoke 
up again.
	“How did your dinner go?”
	“Well...not too good,”  Luke admitted.  “Mara 
almost choked to death so we left.”
	“Ouch,” Han said with a face.  “How’d that come 
about?”
	“I kind of decided that was the time to tell Mara 
how I felt about her.”
	“Well you almost killed her,” Han said.  “You 
should be proud.”  
	Luke looked at his friend and shook his head.  Then 
Han spoke again.
	“Wait-did you two leave together or did she go 
back to her ship?”  Han asked.  “I thought Leia said 
something, but it was too late and I was half asleep.”  
	Luke looked down at the table when he told Han what 
had happened.
	“Um...she’s not staying in her ship...”  Luke 
said quietly.
	Han’s eyes went a little wide as he downed the rest 
of his drink.
	“Oh really now?”  he asked.  “And just where 
might she be staying?  With you?”  
	Luke looked up at Han a little embarrassed.
	“Well...yeah...”
	“And she spent the night there yesterday?”  Han 
asked, a smile playing around the corner of his lips.
	Luke, just realizing where Han was going with this, 
tried to smooth things out.
	“Wait-Han it’s not what you think-”  
	Han smiled then laughed.
	“I never thought you had it in you kid,”  he said 
shaking his head in amazement.  “Try and make up a 
dinner gone wrong that way, and I’m sure she’d want to 
live with you.”
	“Han, that’s not what happened,”  Luke said.  “We 
decided she’d stay after we left your apartment 
yesterday.  I’ve got an extra room so I set it up for 
her.”
	“And did she sleep in that room last night?”  Han 
asked.
	“No she didn’t-”  
	That only made Han laugh even harder.
	“I mean she was already asleep so I just took her 
to my room,”  Luke said, glad the truth was out.  “I’m 
not like that Han.”  
	Han’s laughter had toned down a bit.
	“Yeah I know kid,”  his friend said starting on 
another pastry.  “I just like teasing you.”  
	Luke looked down the hall for a second.
	“I think I’ll go join Mara with your kids, all 
right?”  
	Han nodded and Luke was walking down the hall in a 
few seconds.


	Mara entered the children’s room on tip-toe being 
careful not to wake them.  It was a children’s room so 
it was filled with toys.  Mara crept over to the twin’s 
beds and knelt down by Jaina’s bed.  She looked so 
peaceful lying there.  Her small mouth opened and closed 
with each mighty breath she took.  Mara poked up her 
head and looked over at Jacen.  They looked so much like 
Han and Leia.  
	Where’s Anakin?  Ah.  She found the smallest 
child’s bed and went over to it.  Anakin was the one 
that seemed less like his parents.  His hair wasn’t as 
dark as his older brother and sister’s hair.  
	His eyes suddenly opened and he looked up at Mara 
with some confusion, then decided all was well.  His 
eyes were what caught Mara’s attention.  They were a 
chilling icy blue.  Nothing like Leia, Han, or any of 
his siblings.  More like Luke.
	“Hi auntie Mara,”  the child said sleepily.  
	Did he just call me auntie ?  Then before she could 
say hello back, Anakin closed his eyes and went back to 
sleep.  Why are his eyes blue?  The twin’s looked so 
much like little versions of their parents, but Anakin 
reminded Mara a little of Luke.  He was in his own 
world, apart from the rest.  Much like Luke was in real 
life.  Mara wondered just how many people really 
understood Luke...or Anakin, for that matter.
	A soft hand fell on her shoulder and she turned 
around to see Luke looking quietly at Anakin.
	“Found a favorite?” he whispered.  
	Mara smiled and stroked Anakin’s cheek with her 
hand.
	“He just called me auntie,”  Mara said quietly.  
	
	“And you didn’t like it?”
	“No,”  Mara said slowly.  “I actually liked the 
sound of it.”
	“Well,”  Luke said coming around Anakin’s bed and 
kneeling down beside it.  “I don’t blame him for wanting 
one.  He’s probably mad at his Uncle Luke for never 
giving him more of a family to relate to.”  
	That made Mara feel so sad.  Luke really did want a 
family didn’t he?
	“I wouldn’t blame his uncle,”  she said softly.  
“Only those who have left him and those who don’t want 
to be with him.  I think he watches out for you, Luke.”  
	Luke continued to look at Anakin and Mara watched.  
She’d seen the way he was around the kids.  He would 
make a great father.
	“You really think so?” he whispered back to Mara.  
	*You weren’t supposed to hear that.*
	“I also think,” Mara spoke up quietly.  “That 
Anakin looks a lot like his Uncle.  His brother and 
sister look more like their parents.”  
	Luke smiled.
	“I want to ask you a question,”  Luke asked.  
	Mara nodded her approval and Luke continued.  “Are 
you opposed to having kids of your own?”
	“No...”  she said.  “I just need to find the 
right person to be their father.  I never thought I’d be 
good with kids anyway.”
	“Well Anakin seems to think you’d make a perfect 
aunt,” Luke said looking at Anakin.  “And besides, I 
think it’s something you can grow into.”
	“Sure about that Luke?”
	“Mm-hm.”  
	Mara walked and knelt down besides Luke.
	“You know what else I think?” she whispered.  She 
waited until Luke’s eyes were on her to continue.
	“I think that I might of found the man who can 
help me be a good mother to my children.”  
	Luke looked at Mara then down at Anakin and smiled.  
Then he looked at Mara.  Luke really did know what Mara 
was like.  He knew everything about her that made him 
love her so much.  Did he love her?  Did she love him?  
Luke’s hand slowly went up and gently cupped her face.  
His lips came to hers and they shared their first kiss 
together.
	It made Mara feel whole inside.  She did love this 
man.  He made her feel complete.  She wanted to stay 
like this with Luke forever, but knew it couldn’t be 
good if the kids saw them like this.  
	*Let them wake up* she heard Luke’s voice through 
her head.  	He reached up with his other hand and used it 
to hold the other side of her face.  Luke’s kiss was 
wonderful.  It was warm, tender, and loving.  His mind 
completely filled hers until all she could perceive were 
Luke’s soft thoughts, and his lips gently moving against 
hers.  He picked up one of his hands and slowly caressed 
her hair, then moved it down to her neck.  His hands 
were so warm and soft...She kissed Luke back, and could 
feel him smiling.
	A small little giggle from the bed beside them made 
them part a bit early and look down.  Mara and Luke saw 
little Anakin sitting on his bed giggling quietly so as 
not to wake his siblings.
	“Are you two married now?”  He said with wide and 
excited eyes.  
	Luke smiled and tousled Anakin’s hair.
	“No we’re not little one.”
	“At least not yet,” Mara added.  
	Luke looked over at Mara with nothing but farm boy 
excitement in his eyes.  He moved his hand and have hers 
a gentle squeeze.  	*Thank you* he sent her. 
	Mara squeezed back.  Anakin looked up at them then 
started to get out of bed.	“I’m going to tell daddy 
that I’m going to have an aunt!”
	“Wait Anakin,”  Luke whispered.  “Can we keep it 
a surprise?  Maybe our little secret?  I don’t want your 
mother to get too overworked about this okay?”  
	Anakin came back to his only uncle.  
	“Okay Lukie,”  Anakin said.
	“Thank you,”  Luke said with a sigh of relief.  
	If Leia made arrangements for a wedding Luke wasn’t 
ready for, no matter how much he cared for Mara, he’d 
make sure Leia got what was coming to her.  Anakin left 
for the kitchen anyway and Mara and Luke were left 
alone.  Well not really.  Jacen and Jaina were still 
there.  Luke turned to Mara again.  
	“Not yet?”  He smiled and bent down to kiss Mara 
again.  Her whole body seemed to melt.  I could do this 
forever...
	Jacen and Jaina woke up and saw their uncle kissing 
the lady they’d known as Mara Jade.  
	They giggled and Jaina told her brother, “I told 
you they liked each other!”  
	They left quickly for the kitchen to join their 
brother.
	Mara and Luke knew the twins had waken up, but Luke 
didn’t let anything disturb them this time.  Mara could 
feel Luke’s warm breath on her every time he came up for 
some air.  He looked into her eyes for a moment, 
studying the features he knew so well.  Her own eyes 
studied his face.  The scars from the wampa attack he’d 
described to her one time, and she loved to look into 
his intense eyes.  They were so blue...Luke smiled at 
her and rested his forehead against hers.
	“I know this’ll sound a bit weird, seeing as how 
we’ve only been on one date...”  Luke said quietly.  
“But I’ve felt like this forever and I can’t keep it in 
anymore.”  
	He looked into Mara’s eyes and looked down to hold 
both of her hands in his.
	“Mara...”  he began.  “I want you to know...that 
I love you with all my heart and soul.  I never want to 
leave you again.”  	How ironic.  didn’t I say I loved 
him too?
	“It’s not so weird Luke...”  Mara said softly.  
“I love you too.”  
	He smiled and started to laugh off some of the 
tension.  He kissed her lightly on the lips one last 
time before they left.
	“Come on,”  Luke said getting up and offering 
Mara his hand.  “Who knows what those kids are telling 
Han by now.”  
	They got up and walked to the kitchen.  Han was on 
the floor playing with the kids and letting them climb 
all over him.  He looked up and Luke and Mara.
	“I was wondering where you guys went,” Han said 
as he sat Anakin on his lap.  “Oh I called Leia.  She 
should be back around the time I told you.  Unless you 
want to go now to see if they’ll let you see her.”  
	Luke thought for a minute.  They could go now.  Or 
they could just call her and tell her themselves...
	“Maybe we’ll call her instead,”  he said.
	“Whatever you say kid,”  Han said.  “You can use 
our communit over there.”  
	Luke walked quietly to the unit and dialed in 
Leia’s private office number.  A tone came and he waited 
until the call went through.
	“Luke!”  Leia said.  “I didn’t expect you to call 
me here.”
	“Hi Leia,”  Luke said witha smile.  “We just 
couldn’t wait until you got home to tell you.”  
	Leia looked at Luke then tried to see who else he 
was talking about.  Luke stepped to the side and Mara 
slipped in next to him.
	“Oh you two?”  Leia said while looking back and 
forth between them.  “You’re a?  Then you might get?  Oh 
Luke, I’m so happy for you!  We can talk more when I get 
there.  I have another meeting in about half an hour.”
	“Okay Leia,”  Luke said.  “Good-bye.”  Leia 
nodded then she was gone.


	The wait for Leia took up the entire afternoon.  
Luke and Mara helped Han watch over the kids.  When Leia 
did come, she was ecstatic.  She couldn’t stop smiling.  
Luke told her about Mara living with him, but she took 
the news well.  Much later, after the kids had fallen 
asleep, Luke and Mara slipped out and went home.  Then 
they decided to get some rest in themselves.
	“Good night, Mara,”  Luke said with a kiss on her 
lips.  But Mara didn’t want to leave.  She kept holding 
him, gently pressing her lips to his.  He put his arms 
around her and smiled.	“Mara...we have to get to sleep 
okay?  We can continue this tomorrow.”
	Mara still continued on, but finally stopped.
	“Night Luke,”  Mara said at last.  
	He left for his room and Mara shortly after went to 
hers.  She got into something more comfortable for 
sleeping in and turned out her lights.  She stretched 
out with the Force and found Luke already fast asleep.  
Mara yawned and then settled in for the night.  She 
tossed and turned, but couldn’t find a comfortable 
enough spot.  
	She looked over at the chrono by her bed and saw 
that it had been three hours since she’d first laid her 
head down.  It’s been that long?  Fed up, she left her 
room and started to walk around hoping it would make her 
tired enough that she’d be able to fall asleep.  After 
about 15 minutes, Mara went back into her room and 
looked out the window.  Looking at Coruscant at night 
made her feel so small.  The huge taxis and long lines 
made her wonder just how many people worked late at 
night.  The moon was bright, but the city didn’t need 
the moon.  It had enough illumination coming from the 
street lights and from the buildings.  The stars also 
shone brightly against the deep blue of the sky.
	She went back to her small bed and tried once more 
to fall asleep.  She couldn’t.  Frustrated, she took to 
looking at the things in her room.  Her clothes were in 
their drawers, but her jacket hung on the floor.  She 
looked at her shelf with a few things she’d put up.  
Then she noticed that something was there that she 
hadn’t seen earlier.
	Curious, she walked up to it and saw it was a small 
picture with a note by it.  The picture was of her and 
Luke at Yavin.  She was looking at something and Luke 
looked like he was talking to her.  Then she remembered.  
He was teaching her how to pick up the animal.  Looks 
like there is a picture of me, she thought.  But who put 
it here?  Luke?  She opened the note and read away:
	My dear Mara,
		I found this for you.  I’ll bet you thought 
there 
	wasn’t one with you and me.  But no camera can 
capture 
	the beauty you radiate when you look up.  I had a 
student 
	take this, and I thought you’d like to keep it.  
You meant 
	so much to me then as you do now.  You’ll always be 
in
	my heart no matter what you decide to do.

								Love,
								 Luke

	Mara smiled.  I wonder...she put the picture back 
and put the note in a pocket, then quietly walked to 
Luke’s room.  She opened the door and saw him curled up 
facing away from the balcony.  Luke had no shirt on, and 
looked cold without the covers.  So Mara put them back 
on him.  Mara went to the other side of the bed and 
crept inside.  It was so warm even with Luke all the way 
on the other side.  And it was much softer than hers 
was.  At least now she knew he defintely got the comfier 
bed.
	She pulled the blankets over her and went to Luke’s 
back.  She put her arms around him and kissed his neck.  
	He turned around with his eyes still closed and 
kissed her forehead as if dreaming.  After a long time 
he finally opened his eyes.
	“Mara?”  he asked, his sense coming fully awake.  
“What are you doing here?”
	“I couldn’t fall asleep in my bed,”  Mara said. 
	“It’s 2 0’clock in the morning!”
	“I’m sorry,” Mara said pitifully.  
	Luke sighed.
	“And you thought you could fall asleep in my 
bed?”  he asked.
	“Well it’s much nicer than mine is,”  she told 
him.  “And it’s a lot warmer.”
	“Well yours might be warm too if you slept in it a 
little.”  Luke sighed.  “I’m sorry.”  
	Mara frowned.
	“I’m invading your space aren’t I?”  Mara asked.  
“I’ll go back.”  
	Mara got up out of the bed, but was stopped by 
Luke’s strong yet gentle grip.
	“No, it’s okay,”  he said.  “I enjoy you being 
here with me.  It’ll take some getting used to, but I 
don’t mind.”  
	Mara smiled and sank back into the covers.
	Luke yawned and looked at Mara.  “Comfy?”  
	She nodded and Luke got settled in again.  He 
pulled the sheets up waist high and closed his eyes.  
Mara scooted in closer and put her head on Luke’s warm 
chest.  She put her arm around him and closed her eyes.


	Luke felt for Mara’s presence, but she was already 
asleep.  She felt so small sleeping on his side, but 
Luke didn’t mind.  He put his arm around her small frame 
and closed his eyes...
	<i>The shadow of a woman lay in a bed holding two 
babies.  A man--was it Luke?--walked up to her and took 
one of the small children in his arms.  The child looked 
up with wonder in his big blue eyes.  Luke smiled back 
at him and returned him to his mother.  He picked up his 
other child.  His little girl.  Suddenly Luke’s mind was 
filled with fear, but he quickly pushed it back with 
ease and tried to concentrate on what had caused his 
unease.  The babies started to cry and their mother 
desperately tried to calm them down.
	  He shouted something to the woman  and he put the 
child back in her arms.  He ran to the desk to try to 
grab for his lightsaber...there was an explosion...a 
door blew open...someone on the other side, an evil one 
wanted his babies...the lightsaber came too late...and 
his mind went black.  He awoke...and couldn’t feel the 
woman or the little ones he knew were his children 
anywhere...</i>
	Luke woke up with a gasp.  He had sweat all over 
his body and felt as if he’d just run a marathon.
	“Luke?  What’s wrong?”  Mara asked, her voice 
thick with concern.  
	Luke turned his head to the side and was glad to 
see Mara there.  He pulled her towards him and gave her 
a hug.
	“Mara, you’re all right.”
	“Of course I am,”  she said sounding confused.  
“I just had a little insomnia that’s all.  You’re all 
wet.  You screamed in your sleep, too.  What’s wrong?”  
	Luke let go of Mara and put a hand to his face.  He 
was shaking badly.
	“Luke, tell me what’s wrong,”  Mara sounded a 
little mad now.
	“I’m sorry,”  he said.  “I’ll be right back.”  
	Luke got up and ran to the bathroom.  There he got 
sick in the toilet and sat up against the wall, still 
shaking.  He could feel his heart pounding, and it only 
made things worse.  What’s happening to you, Luke?  
Don’t let that scare you so much.  You’re frightening 
Mara half out of her mind.  He tried to calm down, but 
the fear from his dream (was it a dream?) kept 
returning.
	Mara came running to the bathroom.  
	“Luke?”  she asked, the concern gone now replaced 
with fear.  “What’s wrong with you?” 
	She came up to the counter and got a little towel 
wet with cold water.  She came up to Luke and felt his 
forehead.
	“You’re burning up,”  she asked as she applied 
the cool towel.  “Did you eat something bad?”    
	He tried to shake his head no, but he couldn’t 
move.  The cold towel felt so good against his skin.  He 
could feel the worry seeping out of Mara even without 
the Force.  Her concern for him made him feel better.  
It was almost as good as the cool towel against his hot 
head.  He started to breath slower and started to gain 
better control of himself.
	“Better?”  Mara said as she tried to use the Jedi 
techniques Luke himself had taught her to calm Luke 
down.  
	He finally was able to nodd his head.  She took the 
wet cloth, wrung it out, and put some more cold water on 
it.  Then she started to cool down the rest of his body.
	“You wanna take a cold shower or something?”  
Mara asked.
	But Luke never answered.  He fell slumped against 
the wall and fainted.
	“Luke!”  Mara yelled.  “Don’t even tell me what’s 
wrong with you and you decide to faint on me?”  
	She tried to get to Leia, but wasn’t sure if her 
mind call had gotten through.  


	Leia thought someone was calling her name.  It 
wasn’t one of the twins, but she was awake still.  
	*Who is it?*  She immediately felt Mara’s relief 
that she’d heard her.  
	*What’s wrong Mara?*
	
	
	*What’s wrong Mara?*  
	Well it worked.   
	*I need help, please.  The door’s open.  Please 
come.*  
	Mara tried to wake Luke up, but he was knocked out 
cold.  
	*Come one farm boy, don’t leave me now.  Wake up.  
Wake up!  You can at least tell me what’s wrong.*  
	She got nothing in return, so she tried to at least 
get Luke into a more comfortable position.  Had he been 
awake it would of been comfortable, but he kept slumping 
over.  She heard the front door open up.  Boy Leia must 
have ran.  
	*Over here Leia.*  
	She felt Leia’s rushed okay and in less than three 
seconds, Leia was beside Mara.
	“What happened to him?”  Leia asked running a 
critical eye over her brother.
	“Leia?”  Mara heard Han’s voice call out from the 
front door.
	“I told him to stay with the kids,”  Leia said 
while trying to help Mara get Luke up.  He’d slumped 
down again.
	“We were asleep and then he just woke up,”  Mara 
tried to explain.  “He had screamed during his sleep.  I 
thought he’d just had a bad dream, but then he came 
here.  He never told me what was wrong with him.  He was 
so hot though, Leia.”
	“Whatever got him so sick isn’t going to leave him 
alone anytime soon,”  Leia said glancing quickly at the 
toilet.  “I’ll go call a  medic to come see what’s wrong 
with him.”  
	Leia left Mara alone.  Han soon came and told 
someone to stay away from the bathroom.  
	“What happened to him?”  Han asked.  
	He looked over at the toilet and made a face.  “On 
second thought, I don’t think I wanna know.”
	“Well we were asleep,”  Mara said.  “And he 
screamed and woke up all scared.  Then he ran in here.”  
	Han looked at Mara.  She looked miserable.  Her 
hair was a mess, and her clothes were all damp from the 
sweat on Luke’s body.  He wasn’t wearing a shirt so it 
stuck to her pretty fast.	
	“Here let me help,”  Han said as he got Luke up.  
	He put Luke’s arm around his neck and started to 
walk out of the bathroom.
	“Mara, can you tell the kids not to come in 
here?”  Han asked.  “I don’t think they’d like to see 
their uncle like this.  Take them to your room okay?”
	“Okay.”  Mara said.  
	She went out and led the kids to her room.
	“Mara, what’s wrong with my uncle?”  Jacen asked.  
	They might have been asleep, but they were wide 
awake now.
	“I don’t know honey,”  Mara admitted.  “But don’t 
worry.  Any of you, okay?  I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”  
	Anakin walked to Mara with a worried expression on 
his little face.
	“How come you’re shaking auntie Mara?”  Anakin 
asked.
	“I just got a little scared that’s all,”  Mara 
told him.  “We don’t know what’s wrong with your uncle 
yet.  I’m fine now.”  	“Did Uncle Luke have a bad 
dream?”  Jaina spoke from her corner on Mara’s bed.  “I 
always go to my mommy when I have a bad dream.”  
	Mara smiled.
	“Come here, all of you.”  
	Mara took the Solo children to the window and sat 
on the carpet.
	“You all understand that your uncle is a little 
sick right now?”  
	She got a nod from all three heads.  
	“Well, the doctor is coming to help him get 
better.  I don’t know if a bad dream made your uncle get 
real sick like he did, but I don’t want you to worry.  
You let me and the doctors do all the worrying okay?”  
	They nodded their heads again.
	“You like our uncle?”  Jacen asked.  
	Mara looked at him, but she could tell it was 
something all three kids wanted to know.
	“Yes, I care for your uncle very much,”  Mara 
said.
	“Is that why you’re living with him now?”  Jaina 
asked.  
	Mara smiled.
	“Yes,”  she said.  “That’s why I’m here.”  She 
heard the door open once more.  
	“That’s the doctor.  I want you all to stay right 
here understand?  I’m going to see what’s wrong and I’ll 
come back and tell you okay?  Everything’s going to be 
just fine.”  
	She got up, turned on the light and closed the door 
behind her.
	Down the hall she saw the medic speaking quietly 
with Leia.  Leia noticed Mara and interrupted the medic 
for a moment.
	“How are the kids?”  she asked with concern.
	“Oh they’re okay,”  Mara said.  “I told them to 
stay in my room.  You think they’ll listen?”  
	Leia smiled, but she was too tired to convince 
Mara.
	“They’ll listen,”  Leia said.  “They know when 
something’s gone wrong.  Oh-this is the medic who 
checked up on Luke.”  She turned to the medic.  Roommate 
wouldn’t sound to good, so Leia tried a different 
approach.
	“This is Luke’s fiancee,”  Leia told the medic.  
“She’s the one who found Luke.”  
	The medic nodded his head solemnly to Mara.
	“Hello miss,”  he said.  “We’ve checked up on 
Master Skywalker, and we’ve decided to take him in for 
at least the rest of the night.  He seems to just of 
suffered from a good scare, but we’ll go and check up on 
him at the clinic anyway.”  
	Mara nodded, to confused to say anything else.  Her 
eyes started to well up with tears as the impact of what 
had happened just hit her.  What had scared Luke so 
much?  It was starting to rub off on her.
	“Can I come with you?”  Mara asked.  
	The medic nodded his approval and left to help the 
stretcher-bound Luke get boarded on a repulsor bed.  Two 
other assistants helped and one led Mara down after the 
floating repulsor bed to the medical wing of the 
Imperial Palace.
	Leia went into Mara’s small room and found her 
three children sitting quietly under a window.  They 
didn’t look scared.  Only sleepy.  Jaina was the oldest 
so she felt obliged to speak first.
	“Mama, where’s auntie Mara?”  she asked.  “She 
said she’d be right back.”
	“Honey,”  Leia said.  “Mara went with Uncle Luke 
to see a doctor who can tell what’s wrong with him and 
help him...but Mara’s not your aunt sweetie.”
	“Yes she is!  She’s gonna be!!”  claimed little 
Anakin.  
	Leia looked at her littlest son, but didn’t 
question it.  He’d done weirder things.
	“Come on,”  Leia said gathering up her children.  
“We’re going to go get some sleep so we can go see your 
uncle first thing in the morning.  He should come home 
tomorrow and we want to be with him when he does.  
Okay?”
	“But we wanna go now!”  Jacen protested.  “Can’t 
we go with Auntie Mara?  Why’d they let her go and not 
us?  We wanna go!”  	Leia was tired and not ready to 
argue.
	“We’ll see what we can arrange for tonight then,”  
Leia sad tiredly.  “Come on.”  
	They followed her out of Mara’s room and then went 
to Han outside.  He took them out of Luke’s apartment 
and down the hall.  The trip to the medical wing was a 
quiet one.  No one spoke, but perhaps they were just too 
tired.  Leia had to stop halfway to pick up Anakin who 
was falling asleep.  
	When they reached the front office to the small 
hospital, Leia asked if they could at least go and see 
Luke through a window.  But the nurse let them go 
directly to his room.  When they got to Luke’s room, 
they found Mara sitting in a chair besides Luke’s bed 
holding his hand.
	“How is he?” Leia asked while she took another 
seat on the opposite side of Luke.
	“He’s fine,”  Mara said tiredly.  “They said that 
he needs to wake up before they can really do anything 
else.”  
	She looked like a mess.
	“Mara, if you want to go home and rest, we’ll stay 
here,”  Leia offered.  “Or at least one of us will.  An 
adult has to go back to at least watch the kids.”
	“No Leia,”  Mara said.  “It’s all right.  I want 
to stay.  They’re going to bring me in a bed or 
something so I can stay the night.”  
	The Solo children came up and tried to sit at least 
besides Mara.  Anakin was already asleep, so he stayed 
with his mommy.  Jaina came up and crawled into Mara’s 
lap.  Mara smiled down at her and played with her hair.  
Jaina laid her head down against Mara’s chest and soon 
fell asleep.  Jacen went to his daddy to do the same.
	At least half an hour went by before someone came 
in to check on Luke.  He still wasn’t awake, so they 
left.  A few minutes later a doctor came in wanting to 
see Mara.  She got up quietly still holding Jaina and 
went outside to see what he wanted.  She soon came back 
and sat down again.  A few minutes after that, they 
heard a cough coming from the bed.  Mara’s head snapped 
up and Leia and Han looked over at Luke’s still form.  
He coughed again and Mara reached out, held his hand and 
squeezed it, trying to fill him with hope to wake up.
	Luke’s eyes slowly opened and his eyes took in 
where he was.  He saw Mara first, then Leia, then Han.
	“Luke, what happened to you?”  Mara asked.  
	Luke tried to find his voice.  Was he still scared?  
No, he’d calmed down considerably.
	“Don’t laugh,”  Luke said.  “But I think I just 
had a bad dream.  You brought me to the hospital?!”  
	Mara laughed.
	“When you wouldn’t wake up Luke,”  Han said from 
his corner of the room.  “We didn’t know what to do, so 
Leia called the medic.”  
	“I would of waken up...eventually,”  Luke said.  
	The medic walked in shortly after.
	“I thought I heard voices in here,”  he said 
smiling.  “How are you feeling Master Skywalker?  I hear 
you got a little sick at home.”  
	Luke sighed in slight annoyance at having been 
brought all the way here for what was just a bad dream.  
Or what he desperately hoped was just a bad dream and 
not a Jedi vision.
	“Nothing happened,”  Luke said.  “I probably just 
ate something bad.”
	“Oh well we thought it might of been that,”  the 
medic said.  “So we scanned you for food poisoning when 
you were first brought in.”
	“See then?”  Luke said.  “It was just something I 
ate.”  
	The medic cleared his throat.
	“We checked,”  he began.  “But it came up 
negative.  You were not food poisoned Master Skywalker.”  
	The room was silent.  Luke turned his face away.  
He didn’t want to tell them what had happened.  He would 
just worry them.  Especially Mara.
	“Luke,”  Mara’s voice spoke softly from the seat 
beside him.  “Please tell me what happened.”  
	She sounded worried.  Well he wasn’t going to tell 
her only to worry her more.  He’d just make things 
worse.
	“It was nothing,”  Luke said still not staring at 
Mara.  “I don’t know why I got sick.”  
	“But Luke, you screamed in your sleep, and-”
	“I said it was NOTHING!”  Luke growled.  “Now can 
you please take me home?”
	Mara felt like she’d just been shocked by an 
electrical wire.  Luke had never yelled at her before.  
He had never been so harsh with anyone before.  She 
couldn’t take her eyes off of him from pure shock.  
	Seeing her eyes on him, Luke turned away again.  
Leia looked at her brother then at Han.  Han shrugged in 
return.  Thank the stars the children didn’t hear that, 
Leia thought.  After a long silence, Leia spoke.
	“I think we’ll take him home,”  Leia said quietly 
to the medic.  If he was shocked at the appaling 
behavior of the Jedi Master he kept silent about it.  
“We can bring him back in for a check-up tomorrow can’t 
we?”  
	The medic nodded.
	“Sure,”  he said.  “Just call before you do so we 
can be ready.”
	“Sorry for the trouble,”  Han apologized.
	“No trouble at all.  I’ll get the paperwork so 
Master Skywalker can leave.”  
	He left and Leia turned her head to look at Mara.  
She was still staring at Luke, but she might of been 
staring at the far wall.  From Leia’s angle she couldn’t 
really tell.  Jaina stirred a little in Mara’s arms and 
it helped bring Mara back to reality.  Startled, she 
looked down and then decided to get up.  She walked over 
to Leia.
	“I’ll go put Jaina in bed and wait for you two to 
get back,”  she said.  
	Leia looked to Luke, but he had closed his eyes and 
had his head rested on the headboard.
	“No I’d rather not wait for him,”  Mara said 
quietly.  “Excuse me.”  
	Mara walked slowly away with Jaina sleeping in her 
arms.


	Mara got to Jaina’s room that night without 
remembering it.  She put Jaina in her bed and tucked in 
the covers then sat down against a wall next to Jaina’s 
bed.  There she just went over the night’s activities, 
until the tears that she feared finally came.  She cried 
silently, sniffing and wiping at the tears that just 
wouldn’t go away.  After what seemed like a lifetime, 
Leia and Han came in each carrying their own child.  
They didn’t notice Mara until they’d put the small ones 
to bed.
	Mara herself had fallen asleep against the wall 
next to Jaina’s bed.
	“What do we do now?”  Han asked.  “Shouldn’t we 
take her to Luke’s room?”
	“After what he did to her?”  Leia asked 
incredulously.   “Certainly not.  Can’t you tell?  She’s 
been crying.  I’ll pull out the bed from the sofa and 
she’ll stay there for the night.”  	Leia left to make 
Mara’s bed and Han carried her there when Leia was done.
	“Shouldn’t we tell Luke she’s here?”  Han asked.
	“He doesn’t deserve it,”  Leia said.  “Whatever 
made him get so sick wasn’t at fault for him yelling at 
Mara when she did nothing to him.  Let him spend the 
night thinking about what he did.  He’ll find out in the 
morning where she is.”  
	Han nodded and made no attempt to argue with his 
wife.
	“I’m going to go get some things for Mara for when 
she gets up,”  Leia said walking to the door.  “She’ll 
want some clothes and mine are too small.  I’ll be back.  
You go ahead and get to bed.”  
	Han nodded and walked down the hall.


	Luke sat in his bed alone that night.  It’s not 
like I’m not used to it, Luke thought.  What did I do?  
She didn’t deserve that.  But it was for the best, he 
reminded himself.  She probably doesn’t want to talk to 
me right now.  Maybe I’ll tell her what happened...No, I 
won’t.  Luke wouldn’t have Mara worried.  Being a bit 
afraid to fall asleep again, Luke got up and walked out 
to his balcony.  The cool night breeze played up his 
bare chest.  Should of put on a shirt, he thought.  He 
put his elbows on the railing and burried his face in 
his hands.
	He thought he heard his front door opening up.  
Must be Mara.  Then Mara’s door opened up.  I’ll go 
apologize tomorrow morning.  Maybe then she’ll be ready 
to talk to me.


	The next morning, Mara woke up and rubbed her eyes.  
They felt so heavy and sticky.  Then she remembered.  
And when she did, she immediately wished she hadn’t.  
She tried to close her eyes and make the memory go away, 
but it only made it worse.  She could still hear Luke’s 
voice telling her, no yelling at her that nothing 
happened.
	But she would not cry again.  She sat up and 
noticed she was in Leia’s apartment.  Mara turned her 
head and saw some clothes and a few shower supplies on a 
low table.  Not really feeling up to anything else, Mara 
gathered the things and left for a nice shower.
	She got in the bathroom and closed the door.  She 
turned on the shower head and let the water run cold.  
She let the water fall down her hair, face, and body.  
Luke was not going to ruin her life.  She finished and 
came out dressed drying her hair off.  There was a small 
note on Mara’s “bed”.  She picked it up and read it.  
It was from Leia telling her she’d left for work and 
that she left something on the table for Mara to eat for 
breakfast.  How long was I in the shower?
	Mara helped herself to some food, then tidied up 
her “bed”.  She found an old piece of paper so she 
wrote her own note.  But this was not for Leia, it was 
for Luke.
	Luke,
		I’ve gone and collected my things.  I’m 
leaving 
	as soon as they’ll give me clearance.  Thank you 
for 
	the room, but I didn’t really need it, now did I?  
	Say good-bye to Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin for me.  
	I’ll miss them. Good-bye.

									Mara
	She folded up the note and stuck it in her pocket.  
Gathering the small supply of things Leia left her, she 
went out of the Solo residence and walked down to Luke’s 
apartment.
	Once there, she took all of her things off the 
shelves and out of their drawers.  When all was packed, 
she put it beside the picture Luke had given her.  Mara 
then walked out of Luke’s apartment and begun the walk 
down to her ship.


	Luke woke up and went straight to Mara’s room.  The 
door was open so he walked inside.  But Mara and her 
things were no where in sight.  Everything besides the 
furniture was gone.  Where’d she go?  He looked 
desperately around for anything she might of left, and 
saw the small picture he’d given her lying beside a 
piece of folded paper.  The only thing she’d left.  The 
only thing she didn’t take.  Well I don’t blame her.  He 
opened up the piece of small paper and was deeply 
saddened by what he read.  All was in Mara’s handwriting 
saying she’d gone.  No, he thought.  Please no...I’m so 
sorry Mara...I’m so sorry...Please don’t leave 
me...Please...
	He went to his room and got dressed faster than he 
had in his entire life.  Maybe I’m not too late... He 
left Mara’s note and took the picture with him in his 
jacket pocket and walked down to the hangar bay.


	Mara was just getting the last minute preparations 
ready before she sealed up the hatch and took off.  Her 
droid beeped in that the ship was ready for take off.  
With a sad sigh, Mara closed and sealed the hatch.


	Luke walked as fast as he could to the hangar bay.  
Using a high clearance code he got in and started 
searching with his eyes for Mara’s ship, the Jade’s 
Fire.  He saw it and heard the first sounds of the ship 
getting ready for take off.  Wait...Please wait... 
Giving up looking civilized, he started off at a dead 
run towards Mara’s ship.

	
	Mara turned in her pilot’s seat to the droid 
sitting next to her.  “All things green?”  She got her 
acknowledgement.  “Okay.  Let’s go.”  Before she could 
reach out to pull the ship away, she heard a banging on 
her ship’s hull.


	Luke reached Mara’s ship, not caring if anyone saw.  
His only care was of the woman inside.  I can’t lose 
her, Luke thought.  I can’t let that happen.  I won’t 
let that happen.  He started to pound on the outer hull 
of the hatchway.
	*Stop it Skywalker, you’re damaging my hull.*  
	At least she didn’t just take off and burn Luke to 
a crisp.
	*Please Mara, let me in*
	*Why should I let you?  I told you to stop, you’ll 
have to pay for whatever damages you make*
	*Please Mara.  I love you and I’m sorry, please let 
me come in*
	*After what you did?*
	*Fine, don’t come out.  But at least remember me 
the way I was before I yelled at you.*  
	Luke, disappointed with a heavy heart, started to 
walk away from Mara’s ship...and perhaps out of her 
life...
	*Wait Luke...I’ll stay...but you have to tell me 
what happened to you last night*  
	Luke’s first reaction was to deny her that 
information.  He couldn’t worry her like that.
	*Look, don’t do that to me, Luke.  I can protect 
myself*  	With a sigh of resignation Luke answered 
back.
	*It’s not about protecting just yourself*
	*What?*
	*If you let me on board, I’ll tell you*


	Settled into the lounge of Mara’s ship, Luke took a 
breath.  Mara was seated several feet away from Luke.  
More than a little polite space, but he deserved it.
	“Mara, would you come a little closer than that?”  
he asked.  	She made no move to speak, and she didn’t 
budge.  Luke continued.
	“I guess I’ll start from the beginning,”  he 
said.  “After you fell asleep, I fell asleep not long 
after.”  He sighed and tried not to freak out at the 
memory.  “I saw the shadow of a woman lying down in a 
bed holding two infants.  A little boy and a little 
girl.”  He looked at Mara, but she remained unmoved so 
he looked down at his hands and continued speaking.  “I 
held each child and gave them both back.  I knew they 
were both mine, but I don't know how I knew.  I guess 
because they had my features, but they felt like mine.  
But anyway--then I had this feeling of fear totally 
envelope me and I yelled something to the woman.”
	He took a deep breath and closed his eyes against 
the memory.  He hoped it was a dream.  Just a dream.  
Did Mara see how painful this was to him?  “I heard an 
explosion,” Luke said continuing. “then a door opened, 
and I tried to reach for my lightsaber, but I was too 
late.  Something behind the door was seething with hate 
and wanted the infants in the room.  They seemed so 
small...so vulnerable...” He paused to take another 
breath, but he didn’t look up at Mara.  Not yet.
	“I think I blacked out, then when I woke up, I 
couldn’t feel my children or the woman that was lying in 
the bed.  They weren’t there.  They were gone.”  He 
waited silently until Mara would have a response.  He 
would not look up until she spoke.
	“Who was the woman?” Mara asked quietly after a 
long silence.  	Luke picked up his face and opened his 
eyes.  He took a shuddering breath and looked into 
Mara’s faraway eyes.  He didn’t realize it, but to Mara 
his eyes were filled with fear and pain.  A fear and 
pain of the unknown and a deep worry.
	“I think that the woman lying there...was you.”



TO BE CONTINUED...