Do you want adventure?!  Do you want excitement?!  Do you want things 
that Jedi aren't supposed to crave?!  Huh?  Well--do ya?!  Well, I'm sorry, 
but you've come to the wrong place then.  Hehehehehe . . . okay fine, judge 
my story any way you like.  All these characters were made up by two people 
that I haven't even met, but thanks you guys for making up two of the 
coolest Star Wars characters ever!!  (except for Callista . . . ::shudders::)  
Oh, I guess I should mention the names of the men who did that...give them 
some credit...Okay, everyone--"Thank you George Lucas!!  Thank you 
Timothy Zahn!!"  Everyone happy?  I hope so...well...except for those 
Callista fans out there...ugh...but I have something special for you... >:-D  
Oh yeah, sorry, but I must give credit where it's due to Barbara Hambly . . . I 
must say that I wrote this in August of ‘99...

WARNING:  No milk!  j/k  Okay, if you are a Callista fan (which you are 
few and scattered...), then I advise you not read my story because you 
probably won't like the way I wrote her in here.  And then you'd send me 
hate mail, and I don't want that, now do I?    Form some nice way to tell me 
my story sucked if you didn't like it.  Let's all be nice to eachother okay?  I 
didn't write this to be mean to anyone!  I wrote it becuase this is the way I 
feel about a character that should never have been written (IMHO).  I can't 
help it if others agree.  If you can't guess by now, I DON'T LIKE HER.  
Who's her?  Why, the hag of course...

UPDATE!!
	For those of you who haven't read my Adventures of a Vision story 
(A Luke/Mara story  for those of you who don't know . . . please read it!  It's 
nice . . . At least that's what people tell me . . . ), then don't read the one 
posted at fanfiX.com.  The dialouge is mixed up with thoughts from other 
characters and it's hard to understand.  Not too hard, I'm sure you could 
understand it and get used to it, but I advise you to read the one I have 
posted anywhere else.  I’m sure you can find it.....  It's cleaned and fixed up 
and I think it's in "better condition".  I should have waited to post it here, but 
oh well...

IMPORTANT:  READ!!!
Email me (Mara Jade Skywalker) :  MARAJADE35@aol.com  <-----be kind 
and I will read and respond fittingly to ALL mail sent to me with a subject 
that has my storie's name written somewhere in the subject.  If not, then I 
will throw it away and probably won't read it.  You must remember that if 
you want me to reply.  Feed-back is always welcome.  Anything that makes 
my stories sound better.  :)  And please DON'T use this story or my 
ADVENTURES OF A VISION story, or any other ones I wrote, 
WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.  Okay?  Thank you . . . Now, on to the 
good stuff.


SUMMARY:

Betrayed Trust

	About 11 years after ROTJ.
 	An old "friend" comes to drop a huge surprise onto Luke . . . can he 
handle it?  Muahahaha . . . Oh yeah, Mara's in here, too.  Just for my own 
convience . . . and yours if you'd like.  (psst!  this is a Luke/Mara story . . . 
and something else . . .)



“Ha!”  Mara Jade Skywalker said triumphantly as she knocked her sister-in-
law to the floor.  The dazzling blue-white blade of Mara’s lightsaber sizzled 
angrily as she pointed it down a safe distance away at Leia’s throat.  “Beat 
you again Leia,”  Mara said with a wide grin on her face.  She shut down the 
lightsaber and walked to a bench in the training room to sit down.
	“Yeah well,”  Leia said grudgingly as she got up off of the soft mat.  
“You caught me off guard, that’s all.”
	Mara nodded her head and hid a smile behind the squirt bottle she 
was drinking out of.  “You could say that,”  she conceded as she wiped her 
forehead with a towel.  “Or we could have another go and see what you say 
then.”
	“Mara,”  Leia said with a sigh.  “We’ve been at this for hours.”
	“Afraid you’re going to lose again?”  Mara teased.  “Come on,”  she 
said getting up from the bench and unhooking her lightsaber.  “I need the 
practice.”
	“No you don’t,”  Leia said, backing away a little.  “And besides,”  she 
said a little cautiously.  “aren’t you supposed to be waiting for Luke to come 
back?”
	Mara shrugged. Luke had gone on a small, but rather long mediation 
trip to the Partoon system.  The two species of the main planet of Parta, had 
been having land disputes for quite some time now.  New Republic 
intervention hadn’t proved productive so they had sent Luke out there with 
two of his higher Jedi Knight students to try and settle the dispute.  He’d 
been gone for nearly two months and had always called her regularly telling 
her still how much work needed to be done.  The Partans had asked Luke to 
survey the different damages done to their separate continents supposedly by 
the Tirans; the other native species of Parta.  Luke had agreed if only for the 
fact that it would help him settle the problem as cleanly and as equally as he 
wanted with the utmost fairness to both sides.
	Finally, Mara had gotten the call from him telling her of his return.  
She had missed his sorely and had tried to tie up her time with regular 
lightsaber practices against Leia and small odd jobs around her home hoping 
that it would hide all the loss she was feeling.  She suspected that Leia knew 
despite Mara’s attempts to hide it. She had never confronted her outright 
about it before, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t leave her alone about it 
now.  “He won’t be back for another couple of hours,”  Mara said, feeling 
the pang of guilt near her heart at the unconcerned tone she heard in her 
voice.  Leia’s your friend, you can tell her more.  “I’ll be ready by then.”
	Leia studied Mara for a moment then walked up beside her and sat 
down.  She motioned for her to do the same, her dark eyes never leaving  
Mara’s.  “You okay?”  she asked quietly.
	Mara looked away from Leia and set her gaze on the lightsaber in her 
hand.  She fingered the cool metal of the weapon and let the warm memories 
of Luke drift into her mind.  He had given this to her so long ago . . .
	“It’s just,”  Mara began quietly.  “he’s never been gone this long 
before.  I thought if I told someone I’d seem a bit possessive.  As if I 
couldn’t handle the fact that my husband was gone for two months.  I know 
it’s not that long of a wait, but Leia, you understand, don’t you?  I mean, 
you were apart from Han longer than that more times, right?”
	Leia smiled and reached her hand up to hold Mara’s arm.  “Yes, but 
that doesn’t mean it gets any easier,”  she confessed.  “Don’t worry, I won’t 
tell anyone that Luke has  possessive wife.”
	Mara laughed.  “You’d better not,”  she said mock-seriously.  “I can 
always take you down with my lightsaber.”
	A friendly silence filled the room for a while until Mara decided to 
break it.  “Well,”  Mara said, getting to her feet and gathering her things.  “I 
should get going now to shower up some.  It wouldn’t be nice for Luke to 
come home to a dirty and sweat-streaked wife, now would it?”
	“He’ll just be happy to be with you again,”  Leia said. 
	Mara smiled and gave her a hug.  “I’ll see you later okay?”
	“At the docking port?”  Leia asked.
	Mara nodded.  “Bye Leia,”  she called over her shoulder as she 
walked towards the door.
	“Bye, Mara.”

	Mara arrived at her quarters about five minutes later and was in the 
shower five minutes after that.  Mara decided to take a long and hot shower.  
It helped ease her worries and got her a bit relaxed.  Now, she thought, I’m 
ready for Luke.
	The suite she shared with Luke had seemed so empty without him.  
The bed was now only half warm, and for comfort she’d sleep on his side 
with one of his shirts on.  She had always made hot chocolate in the morning 
and would sip at the warm and sweet liquid waiting for Luke’s next call.  
He’d be here soon, and then she wouldn’t have to miss him anymore.  Mara 
walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face and tied her robe sash a little 
tighter around her waist.  Luke’s coming home was a good thing indeed.  
She actually hadn’t realized just how much she missed him until her little talk 
with Leia earlier.  It would be good to be able to melt into Luke’s arms once 
he came home.
	Picking up a cookie, Mara munched away as she went to the living 
area to fetch her towel.  Downing the last of the cookie, she started to dry 
off her hair.  More and more she has thought of cutting it shorter.  It was 
getting to be a full exercise just trying to comb it.  Luke seemed to like it 
longer though, and a little exercise never hurt anyone.  A beep from the 
comm made Mara turn around with a frown.  Who could that be?
	Walking over to the comm, and silently promising herself that if it 
was Luke telling her his arrival would be delayed, she’d strangle him, she 
turned it on for a small full body view.  The slight static cleared and a holo of 
a tall woman appeared before Mara.  Someone who looked vaguely familiar . 
. .
	“Hello Mara Jade,”  the woman said politely with a nod.  “I was told 
I’d be able to find Luke Skywalker and his wife here.”
	And  his wife?  And how did she know Mara’s name?  Well that was 
a stupid question.  Anyone who had watched the news recently would know 
her name.  Apparently this woman had no clue who she was talking to, and 
at the moment, Mara couldn’t seem to find the right name for that face . . .  
Well it would come in time.  If the woman had no idea what relation Mara 
had to Luke, then she’d play with her a little.
	“Yes,”  Mara confirmed.  “They can both be found here.  I’m afraid 
that Luke isn’t available at the moment though.  His wife, as it happens, is.”
	A slight smile creased the woman’s face.  “Am I permitted to speak 
with Mrs. Skywalker, then if her husband isn’t available?”  she asked.
	“I don’t see why not,”  Mara answered.  “But if confirmation is what 
you want, then you should of asked me when I first answered.”
	A puzzled expression filled the woman’s face and with a jolt, the 
identity of the woman came crashing down on Mara like a thunderclap.  
Callista.  Mara held no particular grudge for her, but did have a strong 
argument towards what she’d done to Luke.  Acting on those arguments 
would only be childish, though.  The old gal must be way out of touch if she 
hadn’t heard that Mara was, in fact, the Mrs. Skywalker she seeked.
	“Evidently, you don’t know who I am,”  Mara supplied the 
dumbfounded Callista.  “Do you?”
	“I assumed,”  Callista said warily,  “that you were Mara Jade.  No 
other woman I know has hair like that.”  she said nodding up at Mara’s half-
dried hair.
	“No,”  Mara confirmed, ignoring the comment on her hair.  “You’re 
correct.  But that’s not what I meant.”  Callista, apparently, wasn’t into 
guessing games.
	“I’m sorry,”  she said carefully,  “but I don’t understand.”
	Mara smiled sweetly.  This woman was arrogant enough to not even 
think of Mara as a candidate for Luke’s wife.  Although, Mara wouldn’t 
blame her after the rather shady and untrustworthy reputation she seemed to 
have among others.  Well think away,  she thought silently towards Callista.  
It won’t do you any good.
	“It’s very simple,”  Mara told her.  “I’m sorry, I should have told you 
from the beginning.”  she paused slightly, her appearance was a bit off, but 
personally, she didn’t care what Callista thought of her apparel.  “I am Mara 
Jade--”  she paused for barely a second, just to let it what she was about to 
say sink in--“Skywalker.”  she finished.  Silently she watched the older 
woman’s face change from being polite and patient to something looked as if 
it’d been hit with an active electrical wire.  The expression lasted only a 
second, then vanished and was replaced with another smile.
	“Forgive me for not knowing,”  the woman apologized with a nod.
	“You’re forgiven,”  Mara said easily.  “You wanted to speak with 
me; here I am.  What is it I can do for you?”
	Forgetting her momentary shock, Callista straightened up a bit.  “I 
have something I need to discuss with Luke.”
	“Oh really?”  Mara questioned.  When she didn’t say anything 
further, Callista spoke again.
	“I’d rather tell Luke,”  she said a bit guardedly.  “If you don’t mind, 
that is.”
	“No,”  Mara said.  “I don’t mind.”  What she didn’t voice aloud was 
the fact that Luke would probably tell her what it was afterwards.
	“And,”  Mara asked,  “you needed to speak with me because . . . ?”
	“I wished to set up an appointment,”  Callista answered.  “If he’s not 
available, then maybe we could set up a time for me to speak with him when 
it’s convenient.”
	Mara almost laughed.  You hardly needed an appointment if you 
wanted to talk to Luke, but the less the old bat knew, the better.
	“Well he won’t be available for the next few days,”  Mara said, lying 
a bit.  Yes, he would be available, but only to Mara.  She wanted to spend 
some time alone with him for a little while.  “Could you call back in say, five 
days?”
	“That would be fine,” Callista said.  “Thank you for your time, Mrs. 
Skywalker.”  That last part sounded as if it was added as an after-thought, 
but Mara paid it no mind.
	“You’re welcome,”  Mara replied with a polite smile and with a nod, 
Callista’s face vanished.  Mara stared at the blank comm for awhile, 
wondering what in space was so important for Callista to be telling Luke.  
She had gone out of his life and was just now deciding to come back?  What 
made her want to come back now?  She already knew Luke was married, 
what else could she want?  At the moment, though, Callista was the farthest 
thing from Mara’s mind.  Finishing up drying her hair, Mara got herself ready 
for Luke’s homecoming.

	An hour later, she arrived at the docking port to find Leia already 
there waiting.
	“My, aren’t we a bit early?”  Mara asked as she walked towards her 
friend.
	Leia smiled in return.  “My, aren’t we a bit late?”  she countered.  
“Where have you been?  Luke’s ship is already in the planet’s atmosphere.  
It’ll be a matter of a few minutes before he gets here.”
	“I’m not late,”  Mara said a little defensively.  “I’m just on time.  
Besides, someone called and made it a point to not know who I was.”
	Leia raised her eyebrows slightly.  “Oh?”  she questioned.
	“Actually . . . do you remember Callista?”  she asked.
	Leia gave her a strange look.  “Yes, why?”  A soft probing of Mara’s 
feelings through the Force confirmed Leia’s belief.  “It was Callista who 
called?”  she asked calmly.
	Mara nodded.
	“Are you going to tell Luke?”
	“Of course,”  Mara told her.  “Just not now.”  
	Leia nodded and looked up towards the bright Coruscant sky.  “I 
think I see Luke’s ship,”  she said, her voice a bit unintelligible being 
projected into the sky.  “See?  Right there.”  she said pointing with her 
finger.  “It should land any minute now.”
	Mara followed the pointed finger with a hand up to shade her eyes, 
and saw the tiny ship.  Tiny from the distance, but up close it longer than an 
X-wing; being able to house about six people.
	“He’s going to want to know eventually,”  Leia reminded Mara.  
“You can’t keep something like that from him.  No matter what feelings he 
has for her now.”
	“I know,”  Mara said reluctantly.  “And I will  tell him . . . in my own 
way and time.”  
	“As long as you tell him,”  Leia said.
	“First, he’s going to spend some quality time with me though,”  Mara 
said firmly.
	Leia smiled and looked at Mara.  “She didn’t say what she wanted?”  
she asked quietly.
	Mara shook her head.  “No,”  she answered.  “She said that she could 
only tell Luke.  It’s not like he won’t tell me what it is later, though.”
	“True,”  Leia said with another smile.
	A few more minutes passed until the ship could be seen clearly 
making it’s safe way towards the docking platform.  Mara waited until then 
to feel for Luke’s presence.  He hadn’t made a try for hers, so Mara would 
surprise him.  Clearing her mind as best she could against the quiet 
excitement building up within her, she stretched out with the Force to feel for 
Luke’s warm and loving presence.  She found it almost immediately, and felt 
his mind wrap around hers like a warm and comforting blanket.  It was 
something Mara had nicknamed a Force hug, because that was what it felt 
like.  She couldn’t really describe the feeling, but a hug was as close a word 
as she had found for it yet.
	Opening her eyes, she saw that the ship had already landed and the 
hatchway was slowly opening.  Leia walked with her towards the ramp and 
waited for the first person to emerge.  To Mara’s surprise, it wasn’t Luke, 
but his two Jedi Knights.  They took measured steps down the ramp in their 
brown robes and boots.  Mara shook each of their hands as they approached 
her and gave a polite nod. Where was Luke?
	Looking into the ship from her point of view, she could barely make 
out a shadow crossing the entrance, then she saw Luke walking down the 
ramp.  He was dressed in his own, darker-colored robe, with a pair of boots 
and some earth-shaded clothing on.  Nothing she had remembered him ever 
owning; he must of bought it on Parta.  His hood, like that of his Jedi 
students, was drawn up, hiding his face from view.  He finished the small trip 
down the ramp, and gave Leia, who was closer to the ramp, a hug.  He said a 
few soft words, then walked up to Mara.
	He put his hands on her arms and held her gently.  He looked into her 
eyes, and she could finally see his face.  He smiled, the soft blue of his eyes 
wandering around the features of Mara’s face.  *I missed you*  she heard 
him say through the Force.
	*I missed you too*  she sent back.  He wrapped his arms around her 
and held her close.  Mara buried her face in his shoulder and took a deep 
breath.  She could smell his hair, and the sweet yet faint scent of his 
aftershave.  She had waited two months for Luke to come back, but it was 
worth the wait.  Mara could feel his heartbeat softly against hers, and the 
subtle strength of the muscles on his back against her arms.
	He parted away from her slightly and gave her lips a soft kiss.  *I 
love you*
	*I love you, too*  she sent back.
	Luke looked again into Mara’s eyes, then held her hand firmly in his. 
	“We don’t have to unload until later,”  he told her and Leia.  “There 
wasn’t actually too much we brought back.  Just some paper-work I want 
you to get a look at.”  he said to Leia.
	She nodded and smiled.  “It’s good to have you back, Luke.”
	He smiled at Mara and caressed her face with the side of his hand.  
“It’s good to be back,” he answered quietly.

	After Luke had given a complete description to the Council about his 
meditation trip to Parta, he came home to find Mara had prepared a small 
dinner for them.
	“Thank you, Mara,”  Luke said as he came into the kitchen.  Mara 
was getting some plates from a cupboard and setting them on a counter.  
Luke put his arms around her waist and rested his cheek on her head.  “I 
appreciate the meal a lot.   You don’t know how tired I am.”
	She smiled and turned around, her hands going around his neck.  
“Why thank you,”  she said with a smile.  “But if you’re that tired, then 
maybe I should put everything away for tomorrow.”
	Luke shook his head.  “I’m not too tired to spend some time with my 
wife,”  he said firmly.
	“Well then let’s get eating so you can rest,”  Mara said grabbing the 
plates and setting up the table.  Luke came around and sat across Mara’s seat 
at the small table.  She came around and put a plate in front of Luke with 
something that made his nose tingle.  He waited until Mara was seated and 
had her plate down in front of her to take his first bite.  The meat he was 
chewing was thick, but not as tough as he thought it would be.  The tingle in 
his nose was from a sweet nectar that had been poured on top of the meat.
	“This is tasty,”  he said around a mouthful of the tangy meat.
	Mara smiled.  “Thank you,”  she said.  “Wait until you eat the 
desert.”
	Luke smiled.  “So,”  he began.  “What did you do while I was gone?”
	“Nothing much,”  she said.  “I practiced with my lightsaber a bit 
more.  Leia was my sparing partner.”  she finished with a smile.
	“Oh really?”  Luke asked.  “Who won?”
	“Me,”  Mara said with another smile.  “Of course.”
	Luke smiled back and shook his head.  “I’m sure she’ll beat you 
eventually.”
	“Uh-huh,”  Mara said chewing on her food.  “So tell me, how was 
your trip?”
	“Well it wasn’t a trip,”  Luke said with a tired sigh.  “And it certainly 
didn’t feel like one.  Just between you and me:  I never want to do that again.  
You don’t know how time consuming that was.”  With a look from Mara, 
Luke corrected himself.  “Okay, so you do know how time consuming that 
was.  Anyway, the Partans are so hard to negotiate with.  I wish Leia had 
dealt with them.  But then she’d be the one in my position.  This is all boring, 
you sure you want to hear it?”
	Mara nodded quietly telling herself that even if he was talking, she 
could just look at him and watch the features of his face that she had grown 
to love and know so well over the years.  She let him talk while she served 
him some desert, then the meal was over and Mara put the dishes away in the 
dishwasher.  Then she and Luke went to the couch and sat down to have 
some quiet time together.
	They sat down, holding hands, watching the holovid.
	“Did anyone call for me while I was gone?”  Luke asked.
	Mara’s mind froze and her thoughts drifted automatically to Callista.  
	“Um . . . no one,”  she said, trying her best to shield the truth from 
Luke.  “Why?”
	Luke looked at Mara a little warily.  “What is it?  Who called?”
	“No one,”  she said.  “No one called.”
	“Mara,”  Luke warned.  “Who called?”
	Luke felt resignation fill Mara’s mind as she prepared to tell him who 
called.  What had bothered her so much that she didn’t want to tell him who 
had called?
	“Well,”  Mara said with a sigh.  “I was going to tell you eventually.  I 
mean, after I got to spend some time alone with you.”  She looked down 
from Luke’s face and spoke again.  “It was Callista.”  
	Almost immediately, she could feel the surprise coming from her 
husband’s mind.  She could feel it in the way his hand had froze around hers, 
and the tightness of his sense.  Other than that, though, she couldn’t feel 
anything else.  No past emotions being brought up, no mention whatsoever 
of the woman he once claimed he loved.  Nothing.
	“Luke?”  she asked quietly.  
	Mara knew better then to think that he might still have feelings for 
Callista.  She understood what had happened, why she had left him, and how 
Luke had felt about her.  But all the knowledge in the universe, wasn’t doing 
Mara any good right now.  She was scared;  scared because she didn’t know 
how Luke would respond to the news or if he would still love Callista even 
though he was now married to Mara.  Luke must of heard her private fears 
because when he spoke, he tried to calm them.
	“Mara,”  Luke said at last.  “It’s okay.”  he paused for a minute, then 
spoke again.  “What happened between Callista and me was . . . a long time 
ago.  You understand that, don’t you?”
	Mara nodded.
	“Then why are you so scared?”  he prompted quietly.
	Mara was silent a moment, thinking of the feelings and emotions that 
might of gone through Luke’s mind the minute she had spoken that woman’s 
name.  It only made her feel worse.  How could she tell Luke how she felt?  
He would only jump to the wrong conclusion and say that she was jealous.  
But she wasn’t; was she?  “I don’t know,”  she said softly.  Luke would 
definitely argue with her over her thoughts on Callista’s leaving him, so she 
would stay away from that.  Actually, during their entire relationship 
together, Mara had pretty much stayed away from any mention of the things 
she had come to call Luke’s “soft spots”.  Callista, along with a few other 
woman, she had come to know were one of those soft spots.  But Luke had 
never mentioned them either.  Maybe he was right and his feelings were only 
in the past.  But maybe he himself didn’t know what he was feeling and was 
only trying to hide the truth for Mara’s sake.  	Shaking away the 
frustration she was starting to feel at herself for jumping at things that 
weren’t even solidly there, she took a deep breath and looked into Luke’s 
eyes.  What did Callista feel when she had looked into those same eyes?  
What had Gaeriel or any of the other woman felt?  And why did Mara care 
what they felt?  Why was she getting so jealous all of a sudden?
	“I’m sorry, Luke,”  she apologized.  “I don’t know.”
	He shook his head slowly and stroke her hair with his hand.  “No 
need to be sorry,”  he said.  “I just want to know what got you so scared.  
Are you all right?”
	She nodded her head.  “I’m fine,”  she told him.  “Really; I am.”
	Luke could still feel the wisps of an emotion that was swirling 
through Mara’s mind, but if she didn’t want to talk, then he wouldn’t make 
her.
	“Okay,”  he said.  “I won’t ask you that anymore.  For now at least.  
Now, what did she say when she called?”
	“Well,”  Mara said, pushing away some nasty thoughts of Callista out 
of her mind.  “Not much.  Only that she wanted to talk with you.  Alone.”
	“Alone?”
	“That’s what she said,”  Mara confirmed.  “And it seemed to be 
something important.  I was hoping maybe you knew what it was about.”
	Luke shook his head, an oddly distant look in his eye.  Probably 
thinking of the last time he had been with that old burden of a woman.  “I 
wish I could help,”  he said.  “But I’m as much in the dark about this as you 
are.”
	“Well I told her to call back in a few days.  So whatever it is, you can 
get it out of her then.”
	“Mm-hm,”  Luke said, his eyes still with that faraway look in them.  
Then, slowly, he came back to reality.  “Come on,”  he said getting up and 
taking her hand.  “It’s getting late and like I said, I’m tired.”  
	Mara turned off the holovid and walked with Luke into their 
bedroom.
	“It feels good to be sleeping in my own bed,”  Luke commented as he 
took off his robes and put on something more suited for sleep.
	“It’s good to have you back here,”  Mara said as she got under the 
covers.  Luke joined her not long after and lay down with his elbow propped 
up on the pillow.
	“Did I tell you that I missed you?”  he asked as he let his eyes wander 
Mara’s.
	“Only once, I think,”  Mara told him, smiling.
	He leaned over and kissed her again, but this kiss was nothing like the 
one he had given her at the ship.  It was soft at first, then it became more 
passionate, and Mara found herself breathing only when Luke would let her 
come up for air.  She could feel his hand gently massaging the back of her 
neck, could feel his thoughts penetrating into hers, and the warmth that his 
body brought being so close to hers.  *I think I like this welcome better*  she 
teased.  Mara could sense the silent laughter in Luke’s mind.
	*So do I*  he responded.
	Slowly, she let herself get taken over by Luke, and hours later, she 
lay against his naked chest, breathing a bit more evenly than she had been a 
few minutes ago.  She could feel Luke’s warm breath on her forehead and 
the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.
	“I love you,”  he murmured to Mara, playing with her mop of hair.
	“I love you too,”  she answered.  “I thought you were too tired to do 
anything.” she asked him wryly. 
	He laughed quietly.  “I guess I had more energy than I thought.”
	Smiling to herself, Mara eventually fell asleep.

	About an hour later, when she should of been resting, Mara was wide 
awake.  She found herself off to one side of the bed, watching Luke’s bare 
back as he slept.  He was truly asleep; that much she could get from his 
overall sense and his breathing pattern.  What had kept Mara awake, was 
something that had just started to nag at her again:  the mysterious comm call 
from Callista.  Luke, she knew was taking it better than she was.  But what 
was it that Callista had needed to tell Luke so badly?  And not for the first 
time, Mara asked herself why she cared so much.  Maybe because she didn’t 
want Luke to get hurt again, but he couldn’t, could he?  He had married 
Mara because he loved her and cared for her.  In that way, he couldn’t be 
hurt again;  Mara wouldn’t hurt him.  There was virtually no way for him to 
get hurt by that woman--by that old bat that had left him when she was 
striped of her Jedi powers.  Why didn’t she leave him from the begging if she 
would do so anyway in the end?  Why prolong the inevitable?  Maybe it was 
because she thought she could still live with Luke, could still be around 
someone who was so in tune with the Force.  But if she thought that in the 
beginning, then it certainly faded at the end.  
	Mara sighed and closed her eyes.  She would not let herself get 
jealous over someone that was thirty years older than her, and was 
technically dead.  She had to talk to Luke about this.  At the right time, she 
would.  But she would let him bring it to a conversation, not herself. Luke 
had pledged his love for her many times in the past and had shown it as well.  
She had nothing to worry about;  nothing at all.

* * * * * * * *

	The next few days passed with Mara slowly dreading Callista’s call.  
So when that call finally came, Mara knew she still wasn’t ready.  But it 
could be nothing, remember?  she reminded herself.  Forcing herself to relax, 
she turned on the comm.  Again, Callista’s tall frame filled the small screen.  
Her clothes, Mara noticed, were much different than when she’d first called.  
The old girl had gone from rip-off senatorial-like robes to a formal yet casual 
gown.  Trying to impress Luke, are we?
	“Hello,”  Mara said politely, not quite being able to call the woman 
by name.  She had thought that this woman would evoke no harsh feelings 
from her.  Apparently, she’d been wrong.
	“Could I please speak to Luke?”  the older woman asked.
	What, no hello?  Being a little informal today Callista . . .
	“Just a moment,”  Mara said reluctantly.
	*Luke?*  Mara sent stepping away from the comm.
	*What is it?*
	*Callista.*  She felt his sense tighten a bit.  He came out of their 
bedroom and met Mara in the lounge.  Luke looked at her--a bit nervously, 
she thought--then squeezed her hand.
	*Don’t worry. I’ll tell you what it is later okay?*
	*Okay . . . I love you*
	*I love you too*

	Silently, Luke walked over to the comm . . . and into a rush of old 
memories.  The woman standing there in small holo form was indeed the 
Callista he had known.  Her features were now fully that of the woman’s 
spirit he remembered from the Eye of Palpatine.  Emotions pushed and 
shoved their way into Luke’s mind:  the way he had felt when he’d first seen 
her, the joy he’d felt when aboard the Hunter’s Luck  he’d seen her 
physically and felt the touch of his skin to hers for the first time, and the 
extreme pain he’d felt when she’d so abruptly left him.  Oddly, though, none 
of those emotions and feelings were even half as strong as they’d been when 
he’d first experienced them.  They were more like odd echoes of the past that 
he could grasp, but not completely hear.  Maybe he’d truly healed from that 
part of his past.
	Taking a deep breath, and trying hard to calm down the uneasiness he 
felt, he spoke.  “Hello, Callista,”  he said solemnly.
	She smiled warmly and seemed to relax a bit.  “Hello Luke,”  she 
responded.  “It’s been a long time.”
	“Yes it has,”  he said quietly.  Momentary silence filled the air and 
Luke, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, broke it.
	“You wanted to speak privately with me?”  he prompted.
	“Yes,”  Callista said, noticeably pushing back the past.  “I did.  But if 
you don’t mind, could we talk in a more secure place?”
	“I don’t see why not,”  Luke said carefully.  “But this is a secure 
channel.”
	“Is Mara there with you?”  she asked, and there was no mistaking the 
quiet scorn in her voice.
	“Yes,”  Luke said, purposefully ignoring the tone of her voice and 
turning his eyes to Mara.  She was seated at the kitchen table looking a bit 
troubled, but otherwise under control of any emotion she was feeling.  “But I 
can assure you, she can’t hear you.”  Abruptly, Mara’s head snapped up from 
it’s unconcerned view of the wall and those brilliant green eyes bore 
questioningly into Luke’s.  He gave her a fractional shake of his head and 
turned his attention back to Callista.
	The older woman seemed to consider that, then nodded.  “Fine,”  she 
said a bit reluctantly.
	And this was it, Luke realized.  This was when he would find out 
what Callista had wanted to tell him.
	Taking a deep breath and visibly bracing herself, Callista continued.  
She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again.
	“No,”  she said.  “No.  I’m sorry Luke, but I’d much rather tell you in 
person.  I’m sorry.”
	Suppressing the sigh that had started to creep its way to his lips, 
Luke nodded.  “All right,”  he said.  She definitely did not  trust the fact that 
he told her Mara couldn’t hear.  Or maybe she didn’t trust Mara.  “We could 
go to the palace roof if that’s okay with you.”
	“I’d like that a lot,”  she said.  “Okay, then I’ll head up to the roof 
now.”
	Luke hadn’t exactly meant now, but it’d only be for a minute.  “Okay.  
I’ll see you in a few minutes.”  He signed off and turned to Mara.  
	“Well it looks like she doesn’t trust you.”
	Mara raised her eyebrows in question.  “ I wonder why,”  she asked 
dryly.
	“What’s that supposed to mean?”  he asked suspiciously coming up 
and sitting down beside her.
	“Only that she’s jealous and doesn’t want anything to do with me,”  
Mara explained.  “That’s what makes her not trust me.”
	“That’s not true,”  Luke protested.  “Why would she do something 
like that?”
	Mara gave Luke a sarcastic look.  “What?  Get jealous?  Why do you 
think?”  she told him.  “She’s jealous because I married you.  Me--the 
woman who once wanted to kill you.  Me--the woman who was once and 
probably still is considered untrustworthy.”
	“I still don’t see why she should be jealous,”  he said.  “You’ve 
changed a lot.”
	“Luke,”  Mara began.  “She doesn’t think that a woman with my past 
is even capable of loving you.  Do you know that she had the nerve to not 
even think of me as being your wife?”
	“Maybe she’s been out of touch for awhile,”  Luke answered quietly.
	“She doesn’t think I deserve you because she still cares for you,”  
Mara said.
	“What?”  Luke asked.  “Is that it?  No,”  he said shaking his head.  “I 
moved on and she probably moved on too.  Maybe you two just got off on 
the wrong foot.”
	“Yeah, probably,”  Mara muttered looking away from Luke.  Callista, 
in her mind had caused her fair share of trouble.  But why was she making 
Mara so mad all of a sudden?
	Luke must of felt Mara’s dark mood deep further.  “Mara,”  he asked 
quietly.  “What’s wrong?  Would you please tell me?”  He gently turned her 
face towards his and held her hand with his free one.  He searched her face, 
trying to read any sense behind it.  But her emotions were all tangled up and 
it was hard for him to decipher one from the other.
	“Mara?”  he asked again.  “What bothers you about her?  She doesn’t 
have to like you for you to live the rest of your life, you know.”
	“I don’t seek approval,”  Mara snapped, the anger in her voice 
making Luke back away,  “from a woman who’s probably old enough to be 
my grandmother.”
	“What?”  Luke asked, astonishment filling his mind.
	“You know full well what I said,”  Mara bit out.  “She was probably 
too selfish to not let Cray’s body rest in peace along with her soul.”  Her 
green eyes were flashing now with fury.
	Mara didn’t even know Callista, she had probably only talked to her 
once in her entire lifetime.  “Mara, don’t,”  Luke said, trying to stay calm.  
The way she was insulting Callista . . .  “Callista never did anything to hurt 
you.  Leave her alone.”
	“Yes she did!”  Mara practically yelled.  “She left you and everyone 
knows how well off you were after that.”
	“In the first place,”  Luke said, getting up to his feet, his voice quiet 
but with an edge to it.  “It was Cray’s decision, not  Callista’s for her to be 
able to leave the Eye.  And second, I understand that she left and her reasons 
for doing so.”
	Mara opened her mouth as if to speak, but Luke cut her off.  “But 
knowing why sure didn’t help any.”
	“That’s what hurt me, Luke,”  Mara said, her voice not nearly as loud 
or uncontrolled as it had been before.  “It was extremely hard for me to 
watch a man I respected; a man I loved  go to pieces over someone he met 
on a ship and was born decades before he was.”
	Luke only looked at her; at those anger-filled green eyes.  He’d never 
known this before.  Never once had she talked to him about this.  Now he 
knew why.
	“But I loved her,”  he whispered, knowing somehow that it might 
hurt Mara.
	“That doesn’t mean you weren’t hurt,”  she said, her voice barely 
louder than his.  “And now she wants to just waltz back into your life as if 
nothing happened.”
	“That’s not true,”  Luke said, trying to reason with her.  Why hadn’t 
she talked to him about this before?  “I don’t even know why she’s back.”
	“No, you don’t,”  Mara said.  “But that’s what you’re going to find 
out, isn’t it?  She can only hurt you again, Luke.”
	“Why do you keep saying that?”  he asked.
	“Why do you keep defending her?”  Mara countered.  
	“Wouldn’t you do the same to someone you used to know?” he 
asked.
	“Only if they hadn’t hurt me as much as she did to you,”  Mara said.
	“I wish you’d stop saying that,”  Luke said.
	“And I wish you’d stop treating all this as if she’s a perfect angel that 
did nothing to you.”
	“Don’t you think I know what she did?”  Luke asked, his voice 
starting to rise.  “Don’t you think I lived every day after that for months 
thinking what I  had done wrong?  What I  could have done to make her 
stay?  But unlike you, I forgive.  And if you’d even bothered to notice,”  he 
said, his voice hot with annoyance and anger as Mara for not being able to 
understand.  “I forgave you, too after you’d vowed to kill me.  And look 
where we are now.  I forgave what Callista did to me, no matter how much it 
hurt me, so I could get on with my life.”
	The air between husband and wife was thick with tension.  Luke 
didn’t want to stay if only to fight more.  He hated arguing with Mara more 
than anything.  At least maybe now she would understand why Luke felt no 
anger towards Callista.  He was working on calming himself and his 
pounding heart down when, abruptly, Mara got up and stalked past Luke.
	“Mara,”  Luke pleaded quietly, holding her arm in his grip to try and 
stop her.	
	“Leave . . . me . . . alone,”  Mara said, her voice a whisper as she bit 
out each word.  But there was a pain in there that he’d never heard before 
coming from her.  She tugged her arm free and went to their bedroom.
	“Mara, I’m sorry,”  he called after her, knowing that he meant it.  All 
he got in response, was the sound of a door slamming shut.  Why did I yell at 
her?  he scolded himself.  Stretching out with the Force to get a feel of 
Mara’s emotions, the emotions that over the years had melded so much with 
his that is was as if they were two bodies of flesh and blood made from one 
soul.  He found it right away and once again tried to apologize.
	*Mara, I’m sorry I yelled, please forgive me*
	What she did, Luke wasn’t expecting.  It was as if a black curtain had 
fallen over Luke, concealing all of Mara’s presence from his mind.  He felt so 
empty inside; he hadn’t realized literally just how much a part of him she had 
become.  He felt so cold, so alone all of a sudden.  Luke leaned against the 
wall by his side and fought back the tears that had sprung to his eyes.  He 
closed them and took some deep, comforting breaths.  Slowly, he got up and 
walked to the door and left.  He couldn’t talk to Mara now, not matter how 
much he wanted to, and she certainly didn’t want to talk to him.  
	Why hadn’t she talked to him sooner?  She should have told him how 
she felt about Callista.  But would that have made things happen any 
differently?  Or would Mara still have shut him out?  
	Luke reached the turbolift and keyed it for nonstop toward the roof.  
He put his arms around himself and tried to bring warmth into his body from 
the coldness that he felt.  He was in no mood to talk to anyone except Mara, 
but he had given Callista his word and he would keep it.
	Strange, he had forgotten why Callista had wanted to talk to him on 
the roof.  Then he remembered--it was Callista’s lack of trust, or in Mara’s 
words, her jealousy, that had caused her to want to talk more privately.  And 
what had sprung his argument with Mara.
	All too soon, the turbolift door opened and the wind from the outside 
whipped its way into the car.  Luke got out and searched the rooftop with his 
eyes for Callista.  She was standing with her back towards him, her eyes 
watching the twinkling city far below.  Luke walked up beside her and 
waited quietly.  He had forgotten just how tall she was when compared to 
him.  Slowly, she turned towards him, her hair being blown to the side by the 
wind.  This time, though, she evoked no memories at all.  Luke only wanted 
to be with Mara, and it was because of Mara’s thoughts towards Callista that 
she wouldn’t speak to him.  Callista’s gray eyes came to rest on Luke’s and 
she spoke softly.
	“Have you ever thought of me, Luke?”  she asked.  “I mean, since 
what happened at Nam Chorios.”
	“Yes,”  Luke said a bit hesitantly.  “But not recently.”
	“I thought of you,”  she said, turning to her view of the city again.  “I 
thought about you every single day after that.  I think sometimes I still do. I 
wondered if you had ever found someone else, or if you felt like I did and 
never wanted to fall in love again.”
	“I did feel that way, at first,”  Luke admitted.  “But I wanted my life 
to continue; with or without you, I needed to begin living my life again.”
	“And you chose Mara,”  Callista said with quiet scorn in her words.
	What was with them?  They both didn’t trust or like each other.  
What could he do to make them act otherwise?  What could he tell them?
	“Yes, after awhile I fell in love with Mara,”  Luke confirmed.
	“How long after?”  she asked
	“What?”
	“I said, how long after did you fall in love with her,”  Callista 
repeated.
	“Why do you want to know?”  he asked quietly.
	“Please, just tell me,”  she said.
	Feeling uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, 
Luke answered her.  “About a year,”  he confessed.
	Callista could of nodded, but Luke couldn’t tell in the increasing 
darkness.
	“But you wanted to tell me something,”  Luke prompted, hoping they 
could stop talking about a past that he had no desire to be brought back into.
	Callista turned her attention back to Luke, and he saw a distant pain 
in her eyes.
	“It took you a year  to get over me?”  she asked.
	“Callista,”  Luke began.  “Could we please talk about the present?”  
Now he wished he hadn’t told her that.
	“I thought you loved me,”  she said.  “Don’t you still love me?”
	That made Luke a bit angry.  Didn’t she see he was married?  That he 
had found someone else?  Just because maybe she hadn’t found anyone 
didn’t mean Luke hadn’t.  He loved Mara, not Callista.
	“I did love you, Callista,”  Luke told her.  “But the point is that I 
loved you then; not now.  I love Mara now, and I’ll love her for a long time.”  
He really wanted to get talking about something else, but Callista didn’t feel 
quite the same way.
	“Why did you fall in love with her ?”  she asked.  “She wanted to kill 
you.”
	Luke sighed.  “Look, I didn’t come up here to talk about who I love 
or who I don’t, okay?”  he said with a bit of steam in his voice.  His 
argument with Mara had gotten him upset, and Callista was only feeding that 
emotion.  He hoped rather fervently that she would stop asking him these 
questions and tell him what it was that had seemed so important that he 
needed to know.  “Could you please tell me what it is that I need to know?”
	“You didn’t answer my question,”  she said.
	“And you never answered mine,”  he countered.  “What did you want 
to tell me?”
	“I had a child Luke,”  Callista said quietly.  “Shortly after I left you.”
	A cold fist grabbed at Luke’s heart, making him feel almost 
paralyzed.  No . . . Everything in him screamed out no, but there was doubt 
in there, too.  It was possible, he knew that.  There was a slim chance that 
she could have had his child, but wouldn’t he have known?  What was he 
thinking?  What would Mara do if she found out?  She’d kill him, that’s 
what.  
	“I wanted to tell you at Nam Chorios, but I didn’t,”  she said.
	I don’t even have a child with Mara . . . he thought to himself.  How 
could he tell Mara?  He was having a hard time believing it himself.  How 
could he have been made a father without knowing it?
	“Is it mine?”  he asked, his voice sounding unreal and alien to his 
ears.  Luke’s eyes were unfocused as he thought; things going through his 
mind that he never thought he would have to go through.  Mara would 
definitely be mad.
	“I don’t know,”  she confessed.  “That’s what I came here to find 
out.  I was hoping you would take a paternity test.”
	Luke’s mind was buzzing.  His knees felt weak and he wanted to 
leave.  Please don’t let it be mine, he thought.  But what if it is?  He would 
have to take the responsibility and be part of it’s life.  Something inside him 
told him that if it was his, he would be it’s father in name as well as in fact.  
He would help take care of it.  But what about Mara?  Again, he tried to feel 
for her presence, and again he felt cold wash over him.  He wanted to leave, 
to run into his bedroom, to find Mara and apologize, and make her forgive 
him.  But he knew he couldn’t do that.  Why did I come up here?  
	“Is it a boy or a girl?”  he asked quietly.
	“A boy,”  she answered.
	Luke nodded and covered his face.  He took a shuddering breath and 
tried to calm down.  If Mara had talked to him about this all sooner, maybe 
her feelings would be different now and she would be able to help him with 
all this.
	“Are you okay?”  she asked with concern in those gray eyes.
	“I’m fine,”  he said, his voice a bit shaky.  “When would you want me 
to take the test?”
	“The earliest I could set up something would be in a few weeks,”  she 
said.  “I know it’s a long time, but things are really booked over at the 
clinic.”
	Luke nodded wishing he hadn’t yelled and had understood what 
Mara was trying to tell him.  She would be a great comfort to have right 
now.  But with her as mad as she was, he would only upset her more.  She 
had to know, so even if it got her furious at him, he’d tell her as soon as he 
got home.  That is, if she let him go home.
	“I think I can wait,”  he said.  “Does he have a name?”
	Callista nodded.  “I named him Darek.”
	“Darek,”  Luke repeated softly.  “Do you have a picture?”
	Callista shook her head.  “They’re all at home.”
	“What does he look like?”  Luke asked.
	“Well,”  Callista said, her voice going a little dreamy.  He’d heard 
that tone before, in Leia’s voice when she talked about her children.  “He has 
the softest brown hair, and his eyes are the color of the sea.  He has a sweet 
little laugh that makes his eyes and face light up with happiness.”
	Luke nodded again.  It could be his.  It could be.  But he’d have to 
tell Mara first thing when he got back.  “I’m sorry, but I have to go now,”  
he told her.  “I need to tell Mara this, she’ll want to know.”
	“I understand,”  Callista said.  And in the dark, Luke thought he saw 
a smirk cross her face, but he dismissed it as a trick of the moonlight.
	“You’ll call me as soon as you need me for the test?”
	“Yes,”  she said.
	“Okay, thank you for telling me,”  he said.  “Good-bye.”  He left 
without waiting to hear Callista’s response.


	Mara sat alone on the bed she shared with Luke; in the bedroom they 
shared together thinking hard why she’d just cut off the mental bonding they 
had also shared.  Thinking hard and trying to fight back the cold blanket that 
suddenly wanted to wrap itself around her.  Was it because she’d shut out 
Luke?  Mara had never done this before or had even thought about doing it.  
She’d been with Luke for over two years now and she had just now come to 
understand just how close they’d gotten emotionally and mentally.  It was 
something that she had taken for granted.
	Pushing back her anger at Luke, she took a deep breath and tried 
again to come to the reasoning that she’d had when she’d abruptly cut off 
her husband.  But as hard as she tried, it wouldn’t come.  She’d done it out 
of anger and frustration; something Mara thought she’d learned to control.  
But all that talk about Callista only made all that effort go to waste.
	Why hadn’t Luke understood that Mara didn’t want that woman to 
hurt him again?  Why had he even agreed to talk to her?  Dimly, she 
wondered if Luke still had feelings for Callista.  But Mara would have 
known, and the most she could sense was something distant.  Something so 
far away that all hope of retrieving it was lost.  She could have followed his 
emotions up to where he met Callista on the roof, but she’d decided to be 
childish about it.  If Mara couldn’t have her way with Luke, then Luke would 
have no Mara.
	Scowling with frustration at herself, she walked over to the window.  
He’d tried to apologize, but it wasn’t his fault.  It was Mara’s.  Listen to 
myself,  she thought.  I was sitting there trying to tell Luke not to go  and 
talk to Callista because she’d hurt him and what have I just done?  If he was 
feeling half as bad as Mara was, then she would go right now to the roof and 
apologize.  Only if she did that, then it’d give Callista the chance to gloat a 
little at how much Mara was being a hypocrite.  Callista had no doubt knew 
Mara’s feeling on her.  She had probably seen it when she’d talked to her via 
the comm.  Mara had seen and heard the small, almost invisible hints as 
Callista’s dislike for her.  Then she’d tell Luke later.  He would eventually 
come down; she’d tell him then.
	Letting out a quiet breath, Mara looked out of the window she was 
facing.  Night had pretty much fallen on to the Imperial City while Mara had 
been scolding herself.  Somehow she’d never known how beautiful the city 
could get until she’d met Luke so many years back.  Thinking about the past 
made Mara wonder if she would ever take anything back about the new life 
that Luke had helped her achieve.  He’d given her so much over the years 
and what did she have to repay him?  To thank him?  She’d cut him out of 
her mind, that’s what.  Nothing.  She had given him absolutely nothing in 
return.
	Glancing down, she experimentally rubbed her flat stomach with her 
hand.  Not even a son or a daughter had Mara given him.  She’d seen the 
way Luke looked at his niece and nephews, had seen how wonderful he was 
with them.  He would make an excellent father.  Mara on the other hand 
would probably make a terrible mother.  Still looking at her stomach, a 
sudden thought struck Mara.  To all outward appearances, nothing looked 
like it could possibly be living in there, but maybe if she looked inside  
instead of just outside . . .
	It might just work.  Mara closed her eyes and cleared her mind of all 
thought, except for the patch of void that seemed to be covering just about 
everything at the moment, and stretched out with the Force toward the small 
spot she knew what she was looking for would be.  If it was even there, that 
is.  Sending out all the mental strength she could summon, Mara continued 
her search with small excitement growing inside with anticipation, only to be 
discouraged.  Whatever was there, it was too small for Mara to know about.  
If there was anything there at all to begin with.  Mara tried again, and again 
she found nothing.
	With a sad sigh, Mara brought her mind back to the world and 
opened her eyes.  It was probably that there was nothing there, but it could 
still be a bit too early.  Mara had been with Luke last only a few days ago.  
Maybe if she tried later she’d find something . . . No, she thought.  There 
probably really is nothing there.
	Walking away from the window, Mara went to the bed again and laid 
down.  Luke wouldn’t be gone too much longer, and when he did come 
back, Mara didn’t want to feel totally depressed.

	
	Luke arrived at his suite not long after he left Callista.  The 
conversation he’d just had ran through his mind all the way down from the 
roof and even now as he walked to his suite.  I shouldn’t have yelled at 
Mara, he thought to himself.  I should have tried to understand or at least 
told her that I understood.  Maybe then she wouldn’t be mad at me.  I need 
her now, more than ever . . .  Sadly, Luke keyed open his door and walked 
inside.
	He still couldn’t feel Mara, but a quick assessment of the rooms 
nearby told him she must still be in the bedroom where she had gone before 
he’d left.  Luke walked to the bedroom door and stood outside for a moment 
gathering his thoughts and deciding how in the world he was going to tell 
Mara what Callista had just told him.  She wasn’t going to like it no matter 
how he worded it, but she had to know.  Bracing himself, and hoping Mara 
would help take away the coldness around him, he knocked on the door.
	A small voice came from the inside.  “Come in,”  Mara said.
	Luke opened the door and saw Mara sitting on the bed.  Strange, he 
had never seen Mara without ever feeling  her.  It was always her mind that 
he found first, then her physical being.  But now he could only look.  He 
couldn’t feel for her warm presence, and he knew that she could feel for his 
presence either.  He’d gotten so used to her mind always being there with 
him . . . and now he was so alone.
	Luke walked over to where Mara was seated, and sat down beside 
her.  She made no attempt to push him away and that made Luke feel 
somewhat better.  He put his arms around her and held her close.
	“Mara,”  Luke said softly.  “I’m sorry.”
	He felt Mara shaking her head.  “No Luke,”  she told him.  “It was 
my fault.  I should have listened to you and let you do what you thought was 
right.  It was your  decision, not mine.  I’m sorry.”
	“No,”  Luke said firmly, pulling a little away from her and looking her 
in the eye.  “When I married you, I made the choice that whatever I do, even 
if you’re not there, I’m always thinking about what you would do.  I make 
decisions based on your say too, not just mine.  If what’s important to me 
hurts you then I’ll stop within reason okay?”
	Mara nodded and put her arms around him again, only this time, 
Luke felt a surge of emotions rushing in on him.  He could really feel  Mara 
next to him.  He held her tighter, and after a long time, he pulled away again.  
Now comes the hard part, he thought.
	Mara must have sensed his thoughts.  “What is it?”  she asked.
	Luke braced himself again.  “Mara,”  he said.  “I have to tell you 
something.”
	“What?  Is it what Callista wanted you to know?”
	Luke nodded his head. “Please, listen to me through the end okay?”
	“What is it?”  she asked again.
	“Please?”
	“Okay,”  she assured him, a bemused look on her face .  “I will.”
	“Callista had a child,”  Luke told her.  “Shortly after she left me.  She 
thinks it’s mine, but she said she can’t be sure unless I take a paternity test.”
	Mara sat there, staring at him, her face a ghostly white.  Her sense in 
the Force told him that she was indeed surprised.  But there was something 
else there too . . .
	“What do you mean she can’t be sure?”  Mara asked.  “I thought you 
were the only person she was with.”
	It did make a good point actually.  “I don’t know,”  Luke admitted.  
“But I told her I’d take the test in a few weeks.”
	She was silent for a long time, staring at the air past his shoulder.  
Luke waited, hoping that she wasn’t as mad as he thought she would be.  He 
held her hand and held his breath.  Finally, she spoke.
	“So you don’t know if it’s yours?”  she asked, her eyes still fixed past 
his shoulder.
	“No,”  he told her.
	“Did you get to see the child?”  she asked.
	“Callista didn’t have any pictures with her, but she said his name was 
Darek,”  he said.
	Mara nodded, then fell silent again.
	“You know,”  Mara began.  “She could be lying.  There could be no 
child really and all that she wants is to get you to be back into her life.”
	Luke let out a sigh.  Was she going to start again?
	“Mara, please, don’t do this again.”
	“Don’t worry, Luke,”  Mara assured him, her eyes finally coming to 
rest on his.  “I’ll keep all this to myself.  You don’t have to pay attention to 
anything I say about her if it bothers you that much, okay?”
	What an interesting change.  What changed her mind?  At least she 
wasn’t mad at him anymore . . . but from the look on her face, he could tell 
that if she wasn’t mad, she wasn’t happy either.
	“What’s wrong, Mara?”  he asked.
	“Luke,”  she said, her voice noticeably under strained control.  “You 
know what bothers me.  But I can’t do anything to change my feelings or 
yours.  You just go take that test and you tell me what happens.  I’ll leave 
you alone about it until then okay?”
	“Are you mad?”  Luke asked.
	“Not mad, Luke,”  she told him softly shaking her head.  “I’m not 
mad at you.  I don’t trust her, that’s all.  But I trust you, and I’ll back you up 
if this is important to you.  Even if I don’t totally agree with it.”
	Luke hugged Mara again.
	“Thank you,”  he murmured.
	“I know that you’re probably having a hard time with this,”  Mara 
told him.  “I know I would if it happened to me.”  she paused.  “But I also 
know how you must feel if she’s not sure that it’s yours.  Especially when 
you two were supposedly seeing only each other.”
	Luke looked into Mara’s eyes.  “You think she was with someone 
else?”  he asked quietly, and Mara knew that no matter how far behind him 
Callista and that part of his past were, it still hurt him to know that someone 
who he thought had loved him, would do such a thing.  But like Mara had 
tried to tell him, if she had hurt him once, she would do it again.  And 
apparently she might have.
	“I don’t know Luke,”  Mara said.
	“But truthfully,”  he told her.  “Do you think she was?”
	Knowing that this was dangerous ground, Mara still had to tell him.  
He had just asked her, and she couldn’t lie to him.
	“If what she says is true,”  Mara said, somewhat guiltily.  “Then, yes.  
She might have been with someone else.”
	Luke nodded and set his eyes and head down.
	“But that was a long time ago,”  she reminded him, hoping it would 
cheer him up a little.  “Even if she wanted to hurt you again, you’re far too 
much into your new life to let it upset you, right?”
	Luke nodded his head again, then looked back at Mara.  “I guess 
you’re right,”  he said, a small smile playing around his lips.  “I guess it’s too 
late to go out for dinner.  We didn’t have much chance at that earlier.”
	“No,”  Mara agreed.  “But we can go have something light before 
hitting the sack.”
	“All right,”  Luke said, getting up and offering Mara his hand.  Mara 
took it and together, they went into the kitchen for some food.


	Mara stepped inside of her home, quickly searching with her senses 
and eyes to see if Luke was home.  He said he had some errands to run for 
the afternoon so he probably was still gone.
	“He’s not home,”  Mara told the person standing at her side.
	“You sure?”  the person asked.  “You said you didn’t want him 
around when you did this.  If he’s here, you’ll have to try later.”
	“I can’t do this later,”  Mara said, leading her guest inside and turning 
on the lights.  “It’ll be too late to do this later.”  She set the small bag she 
was carrying on the kitchen table and took off her jacket.
	“What did you bring me here for anyway?”  Leia finally asked as she 
took a seat at the table.  “All you said was that it was important, that you 
didn’t want Luke to find out, and that you had to do it as soon as possible.  
But you never bothered to mention what it was.”
	“I said that I didn’t want Luke to find out right away,”  Mara 
corrected her sister-in-law.  She pushed the bag to sit in front of Leia.  
“What I’m planning to do is in there.”  She waited until Leia had stopped 
eying her strangely and finally got to opening the bag.  Leia reached her hand 
inside and pulled out a small package.  She turned it around until she found 
the label . . .
	“Mara?!”  Leia exclaimed, her eyes slightly bulging out of their 
sockets.  “You’re pregnant?!”
	“Sshh!”  Mara admonished her.  “Not so loud.  And I don’t know if I 
am.  That’s what’s inside the package is for.  Now come on, I want to get 
this over with as soon as possible.”  She started to get up, when she looked 
at Leia and saw the look on her face.
	“Why don’t you just feel down there with the Force?”  she asked.  “I 
don’t think it’s a crime.”
	Mara didn’t want to tell Leia that the reason she didn’t do anything 
like that was because she was so scared.  It had only been a little over two 
weeks ago when Luke had broke the news to her about the child Callista was 
claiming belonged to him.  Mara certainly didn’t trust her, but if Luke found 
out that the child was his, then only to find out that Mara was having another 
one of his children--Mara didn’t want to think what would go through his 
mind at having two children both belonging to him, but having different 
mothers.
	“I don’t know,”  Mara told her instead.  “I just trust this way better.”
	Leia still eyed her strangely, probably thinking that she trusted the 
Force far better than any other test, but whatever she was thinking, she 
didn’t voice it.
	“All right,”  she said.  “You want me to wait out here or do you need 
some assistance?”
	“Ha ha,”  Mara said sarcastically, grabbing the bag.  “I can do it 
myself, thank you.  You can wait out here or outside of the bathroom.  No 
matter what, you’ll find out eventually if you’re going to be an aunt or not.”
	“I’ll wait outside the bathroom then,”  Leia said, an odd glint in her 
eye.  It was probably the mention of her becoming an aunt.  
	Together they made the short walk to the bathroom and Leia waited 
outside while Mara did her part.  It seemed to take forever, but finally she 
came out.
	“Well?”  Leia asked as Mara stepped out of the bathroom.
	“I won’t know for another two hours,” Mara said shaking her head.
	“What if Luke comes back before then?”  Leia asked.
	Mara seemed to think for a minute.  “Maybe we could go 
somewhere,”  she suggested.  “Take this with us.”  She held up the small 
plastic device.
	“Actually,” Leia said.  “We could go to my apartment.  I could put it 
there with some of my things.  Han wouldn’t snoop--he’s working on the 
Falcon --and the kids wouldn’t go in there.  It won’t be too odd for you to 
be there with me.”
	“Okay,” Mara said.  “We’d better go now.”
	The two women walked to Leia’s apartment, and when they got 
there, Mara was bombarded by her niece and nephews.  When Mara greeted 
them, she saw them with new eyes.  If she did turn out to be pregnant, then 
she could easily have her own little person running around the house all the 
time.  It wouldn’t be all that bad . . .
	“Auntie Mara, Auntie Mara!”  Anakin exclaimed.  “I want to show 
you what I drew!”
	“I made a new X-wing model!”  Jaina said.
	“Only because you stole mine!”  Jacen told his sister.
	“Nuh-uh!”  Jaina said.  “You didn’t want it anymore!”
	“I did too!”
	“Did not!”
	“Did too!”
	“Did not!”
	“Did too!”
	“Did not!”
	“Did too!”
	“All right,”  Leia said, stepping in between both twins.  “You two 
stop right now.  You’re too old to be fighting, okay?”
	“But she--”
	“No,”  Leia said firmly, cutting Jacen off.  “You keep fighting like 
that and you two won’t get any desert.”  At that, both children silenced.  “I 
expect you all of you to behave, especially when we have a guest.  You 
know better than that.”
	Mara marveled at the way Leia had just quieted down both kids 
without even raising her voice.  Would I be able to do that?  Only if you had 
two kids, Mara, and you don’t even know if you’re going to have one.
	She felt a tugging at her pants and looked down to find Anakin there.
	“Auntie Mara?”  he asked.
	Mara squatted down in front of him.  “Yes?”
	“Where’s Uncle Luke?”  the little boy asked.
	“He’s busy right now,”  Mara said.  “But I’ll tell him to stop by later 
okay?  I promise.”
	Anakin nodded and Mara got up.
	“Come on,”  Leia said.  “We’ll to to my bedroom.”  She turned her 
attention to her children.  “Mommy has to do something with your Auntie 
Mara okay?  Play out here where your daddy can see you when he comes 
home.”
	She got a chorus of okays from all three children, then led Mara to 
her room.  Leia took the small package Mara held in her tunic and put it with 
her perfumes.
	“No one should think to look there,”  Leia said as she sat down on 
the bed.  “Now all we have to do is wait.”  She turned her attention to Mara 
who was still standing up, staring intensely at the small pregnancy test Leia 
had just hid away.
	“What is it?”  Leia asked.
	“What was it like Leia?”  Mara asked, her eyes still solidly fixed on 
the small test.
	“What was what like?”  Leia asked.
	“When you found out you were pregnant,”  she said, her eyes finally 
coming to rest on Leia.  “How did you tell Han?  What changed between you 
two?  What did it feel like?”
	Leia laughed lightly.  “You have a lot of questions, don’t you?”  she 
asked.  “Come here and I’ll tell you.”
	Mara sat and listened to Leia tell her an answer to everyone of her 
questions.  It was strange to know what her relationship with Luke would be 
like with a child in the middle.  Luke would make a great father.  She had 
seen the way he was around his niece and nephews; they loved him so much.  
Come to think of it, they really liked her, too.  Mara imagined holding a baby 
in her arms, watching it sleep, playing with it, and being able to be a good 
mother.  Could she pull it off?  Could she be as good a mother as Leia was?
	The time passed and before Mara knew it, her two hours were up.
	“Well, I guess this is it huh?”  Leia suggested.
	“Yeah,”  Mara said mechanically, her mind frozen with fear at what 
the little test would say.  She could be a mother . . . She’d be responsible for 
the caring and well-being of someone other than herself.  What if she did 
something wrong?
	Leia studied her friend for a moment.  “Do you want to check, or 
should I?”
	“No,”  Mara said, still thinking hard at how much her life could 
change in the next minute.  “I’ll go.”
	Slowly, Mara got up and walked to where Leia had hid the pregnancy 
test.  She found it sticking out among a bunch of colored bottles and picked 
it up.  It had turned upside-down, so Mara turned it around to see her 
results.
	She took a deep breath and held it.  Wordlessly, she handed the test 
to Leia and watched the smile spread on her face.
	“Mara,”  Leia said, her voice a mix of surprise and awe.
	“I know,”  Mara said, her eyes unfocused and staring at the floor not 
being able to say anything else through her shock.  “I’m going to be a 
mommy.”  She brought her eyes back to look at Leia, a smile on forming on 
her face.  “I’m going to be a mommy.”
	Leia smiled and hugged her sister-in-law.  “You’ll be a great mother,”  
she told Mara.
	“How do I tell Luke?”  Mara asked.  “I have to tell him, right?”
	Leia laughed as she parted from their hug.  “Relax,”  she said.  
“You’ll find a way to tell him.  But if you don’t want to, I could always do it 
for you.”
	“What about that whole Callista thing, Leia?”  Mara asked.
	“What about it?”  Leia said.
	“He’s been going through so much with just that,”  Mara said.  “How 
do I tell him this when he’s got that to worry about?”
	“Mara,” Leia said.  “You shouldn’t worry.  There’s nothing you 
should worry about.  Luke will be thrilled to hear about this.  It’s his child 
and one that’s he’s sure is his.”  She came closer to Mara and whispered in 
her ear.  “Just between you and me,”  she began.  “I don’t think Callista’s 
child is his.”
	Mara smiled.  Leia was a good friend indeed.
	“I hope it’s not,”  Mara said.  “I think I’ll go back now to wait for 
him.”
	“I don’t think you have to,”  Leia said slowly, her eyes unfocusing 
slightly.  “I think he’s coming here.”
	Frowning, Mara stretched out with the Force to feel for her 
husband’s presence.  He wasn’t in their apartment . . . no, Leia was right.  He 
might not be in the apartment, but he was coming to Leia’s suite.
	“Now he’ll be surprised,”  Leia said.
	Mara smiled.  If she told him now she could get it over with.  Plus, 
she’d have Leia here for comfort if something went wrong.  The door chime 
rang out softly from the front room, and Mara could already here Leia’s kids 
running towards it.  They apparently knew who it was, too.
	“Let’s hurry before the kids get there,”  Leia said, leading Mara out 
the room and throwing the pregnancy test away in the bathroom as they 
passed it.  “They’re not supposed to answer the door no matter who it is.”
	All three Solo children were at the door, but the door wasn’t closed.  
Luke was there, bending down to pick up Anakin.  He saw Leia and Mara 
and smiled.
	“Hi, Leia,”  he said.  “Hi, Mara.”
	Mara walked up to him and gave him a light kiss.  Anakin, who was 
in his arms gave out a little “eeewww...” which Mara smiled at.
	*I have to tell you something Luke*
	A slight frown creased Luke’s face.
	*Is everything okay?*
	*Everything’s just fine, don’t worry*
	He nodded his head slightly, and turned his attention back to the little 
one in his arms.
	“How have you been little Jedi?”  Luke asked as he bounced Anakin 
up and down gently.
	“I’m great!”  Anakin said.  “Can I show you what I drew?”
	“Sure,”  Luke said.
	Anakin crawled out of Luke’s grasp and ran into his room.  Halfway 
there, he stopped and turned around as if remembering something, and 
grabbed his uncle’s hand and pulled him in the room with him.  Luke laughed 
and followed Anakin.
	Shortly after, Luke walked out of the room with Anakin holding a 
folded piece of paper.
	“Anakin wants to show you something,”  Luke told Mara who was 
sitting on the couch next to Leia.
	“Okay,”  Mara said with a smile.  
	Luke led Anakin around the couch to stand in front of Mara and sat 
down himself next to her.
	“I drew this,”  Anakin said looking at his folded piece of paper.  “I 
wanted you and Uncle Luke to see it.”  The little boy unfolded the piece of 
paper and showed it to Mara.
	“Oh Anakin,”  Mara breathed.  “It’s beautiful.”
	The drawing (done all in crayon) was of Luke holding the hand of 
one of the two small people in between him and Mara.  The two small people 
. . .
	“Who are the two little people there in between me and your uncle?”  
Mara asked.
	“They’re my cousins,”  Anakin said.
	“Cousins?”  Mara asked a new thought creeping its way into her 
mind.  Could Anakin know that she was pregnant?  Or did he think of this up 
all on his own?  Mara turned her attention to Luke and found him staring 
intently at Anakin.
	“Yeah,”  Anakin said.  “My little cousins.  Do you like it?  I drew it 
all by myself.”  He smiled proudly.
	“Oh I love it Anakin,”  Mara said.  “This is pretty good if you ask 
me.”
	Her nephew smiled and crawled his way on to her lap.
	“You want little cousins?”  she asked him quietly.
	Anakin gave her a puzzled look, something adorable on his seven-
year-old face.  “I Already have little cousins,”  he said, his tone indicating 
that Mara should already have known that.
	Mara threw a puzzled look at Luke.  He just shook his head.  
	“I don’t know,”  he said softly.
	Mara turned back to Anakin.
	“Sweetie,”  she said.  “You don’t have any little cousins yet.”
	Anakin gave her another puzzled look, then turned to his mother.  
	“Mommy?”
	Mara stretched her senses towards Leia.  What would she say to get 
it a surprise from Luke?  Something warm suddenly snaked its way onto 
Mara’s hand.  She turned around and saw that Luke had wrapped his hand 
around hers.  She gave it a squeeze and waited for Leia to speak.
	“I think that your auntie’s right, Anakin,”  Leia told her son.
	Anakin crawled out of Mara’s lap and took Luke’s other hand in his.
	“Right here, Uncle Luke,”  Anakin said placing Luke’s free hand on 
Mara’s stomach.  “Really,  look.”
	Mara eyes flicked briefly to Leia who shrugged in return.
	*He might have overheard*  her friend sent her.
	*But we didn’t way anything to really give it away*
	Mara looked at Luke who was staring warily at his nephew.  His eyes 
turned questioningly into Mara’s.
	“Mara?”  Luke asked quietly.
	“I don’t mind,”  she said shaking her head.
	Luke nodded, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  He gave 
Mara’s hand one last squeeze, and then let himself become enveloped into 
the Force.  Mara felt his warm mind enter hers and then start to wander 
down her body.
	It was odd to have someone enter and wonder around your insides 
like this, but Luke was serious about it, and, come to think of it, so was 
Anakin.  Finally Luke’s searching reached the point where Anakin had 
wanted him to go to, but before he peeked inside, he hesitated, just a little.
	*Go on Luke*  Mara sent, hoping to encourage him.  
	As long as he found out, Mara would be fine.  She had wanted it to 
be a surprise, but this was technically a nice way to find out . . .
	Luke took her advice and continued with a little fear.  Wait--fear?  
Yes, that’s what Mara felt coming from him.  Why was Luke scared?  Or 
was it the fact that he was going to find out if he was the father of a child for 
certain?
	A flush of surprise rang out from Luke’s mind suddenly at the end of 
that last thought.  His eyes flew open and he inhaled sharply.
	“You’re,”  he sputtered.  “You’re going to have a--”  Luke smiled 
and he pulled Mara into his arms.
	“Surprise,”  Mara said.
	She could hear his unbelieving laughter as he held her tightly
	Luke pulled away and held Mara at arm’s length.  He turned to Leia 
with a smile on his face.
	“You knew about this?”  he asked.
	“I just found out,”  Leia said.  “You’re not mad?”
	“Mad?”  Luke asked.  “How could I be mad?”  His eyes turned to 
Mara.  	“I love you,”  he whispered.
	“I love you, too!”  Anakin said from Luke’s side.
	Mara laughed.  “I know you love me, Anakin.  you too, Luke,”  she 
said looking at her husband.
	“I told you I had little cousins,”  Anakin said.
	“But I only felt one little person in there, Anakin,”  Luke said a little 
confused.
	“The other one’s hiding then,”  Anakin said with a shrug and left to 
play with his brother and sister.
	Luke watched him go, then turned his attention back to Mara.  His 
eyes roamed over the familiar features of her face and he smiled.  He pulled 
her to him in another warm embrace.
	“Thank you,”  he said into her hair.
	Mara laughed.  “You  had your part in there too,”  she reminded him.
	Luke parted from Mara and smiled again.  He looked at Leia with the 
smile still on his face.
	“Congratulations, Luke,”  Leia said getting up and walking over to 
hug her brother.
	“Thank you,”  Luke said.  He turned back to Mara.  “I can’t believe 
it.  You’re serious?”
	Mara nodded.  “That or I’ve been sick a lot lately.”
	“I didn’t know,”  Luke said quietly.
	“That’s because I didn’t want you to know,”  Mara told him.  “Not 
until I was sure.  And I am now.”
	Luke smiled that wonderful smile of his again and rubbed her hand 
gently.


	“I still can’t believe it,”  Luke said from beside Mara.
	She turned her head and looked at the silhouetted form laying on the 
bed beside her.  She could make out all the features of his face from memory 
since the moon only highlighted it in shadows.
	“Neither can I,”  she said.
	“I’m going to be a father,”  Luke said, staring at the ceiling. “A 
father, you know that?”
	“Yeah,”  Mara said smiling.  But the smile faded with she realized 
that he might already be a father.  Speaking of which, it had been quite some 
time since Callista had spoken to Luke.  Did she decide not to go through 
with it?  Or was she lying in the first place and was too embarrassed to admit 
it?  Maybe Mara had been right.  Maybe all Callista wanted was to get Luke 
to love her again.  But what if the child really did belong to Luke?  What 
then?  How would they explain that to their child?
	“Mara?”  a quiet voice asked.
	Mara snapped out of her pool of thoughts and realized that Luke was 
staring at her.  “I’m sorry.  Just some stray thoughts.”
	She’d hoped that that would be enough for Luke not to ask anymore 
questions, but he wasn’t fooled.  Mara could never lie to him.
	“What kind of stray thoughts?”  he asked suspiciously.
	“Nothing serious,”  she told him.  “Really.  Now let’s get to sleep.  I 
want to get a doctor to check on this little baby first thing in the morning.”
	Mara turned over and closed her eyes, hoping Luke would be quiet 
and go to sleep.  Maybe he sensed that she didn’t want to talk about it, so he 
agreed.
	“Okay,”  Luke said strangely.
	Mara felt the slight shifting of the bed as Luke rolled into a more 
comfortable position.  For awhile, she just lay there, thinking whether or not 
she should tell Luke.  Telling him would help ease what she felt, but not 
telling him would also be keeping her promise of not mentioning Callista 
until she called.
	But she couldn’t keep this from Luke.  She wouldn’t lie to him or 
deny him information that he had every right knowing.
	“Luke?”  Mara whispered.
	“Mm?”
	At least he hadn’t dozed off.
	“Can I tell you something?”
	Mara felt his arm go over her shoulder and he rested his hand on 
hers.
	“Yes,”  he said, his breath warm on the back of her neck.
	“You know what the first thing I thought of when I found out that I 
was pregnant was?”
	“No,”  Luke said.  “Tell me.”
	“I thought about you,”  Mara said gently playing with his hand.  “I 
thought how much I didn’t want to tell you because you had so much to 
worry about.”
	“Like what?”
	“Callista’s child,”  Mara answered softly.
	Luke sighed and turned Mara around so that they were face to face.
	“Mara,”  Luke began.  “you know that I love you with all my heart 
and more.  I love what we have together and now I have something else to 
love.  Our child is our child and it will be loved by both of us.  I don’t know  
if Callista’s child is mine or not.  I have no way of knowing until she calls.  
But I do  know that the little person inside of you belongs to the two of us.”
	He reached out his hand and caressed her cheek.  “Please 
understand,”  he asked softly.  “Or pretend you do.  This is harder for me 
than it is for you.  I can’t love something unless it’s all there.  I’m not sure if 
her child is mine, so I can’t start to love it.  What is I got attached and found 
out he wasn’t mine?  What would I do then?”
	“I understand,”  Mara said softly.  “And I’m sorry.  Sorry for all I did 
to make you keep on explaining.  But I still don’t trust her.”
	“I know,”  Luke said.  “You’ve told me so many times it’s getting 
hard to forget.”
	Mara smiled.  “I love you, Luke,” she said snuggling up to him and 
hiding her face in his neck.
	“I love you too, Mara,”  Luke said.
	He wrapped his arms around her and slowly, they both fell asleep.


	The medical wing in the Imperial Palace was well furbished and 
smelled of disinfectant like any other good hospital.  Mara, was glad they had 
her in a small room that didn’t smell like it’d been sterilized a thousand times.
	She was lying on her back on a flat table/bed with the head end raised 
for comfort.  Luke was beside her with one hand on her shoulder and the 
other wrapped around her own hand.  Both were staring at a tiny black-and-
white screen while the medic ran a small machine over Mara’s abdomen.
	The tiny machine tickled and felt odd against her skin.  The odd 
sensation was also coupled with the cold feeling from a gel that had been 
rubbed on first.  At the moment, Mara wondered how many times she would 
have to come back and do this.
	“Well,”  the medic said fiddling a little with something on the screen.  
“All seems to be in place.  At least as far as I can see this early.”
	“So the baby’s healthy?”  Luke asked.
	The medic turned to look at him and smiled strangely.
	“Yes, but--”  he started,  “Well here, you’ll see.”
	He moved the tiny device a little around Mara’s abdomen until he 
gave a grunt of satisfaction.  “There.  Mr. and Mrs. Skywalker, I’d like you 
to study the screen for a moment if you will.”
	Mara craned her neck back to look at Luke who shrugged and turned 
his eyes to the screen. Mara did likewise and studied the odd picture.  For a 
few seconds, she didn’t see anything of major interest or anything worth 
pointing out, but then something moved and peeped out from behind the 
small figure centered in the screen.  And then Mara got it.  Anakin had been 
right.
	They were going to have twins.
	She felt a smile of awe spread across her face and looked back at 
Luke who was smiling proudly back at her.  Mara turned back to the medic 
with the smile still on her face.
	“Twins?”  she asked.
	“Mm-hm,”  he confirmed.  “I actually didn’t catch it until a moment 
ago.  Congratulations.”
	“Thank you,”  Mara said, still studying the screen.  “Can you tell if 
they’re boys or girls?”
	“I kind of wanted it to be a surprise,”  Luke piped up from behind.
	Mara turned her head again.  “Surprise?”  she asked.  “You don’t 
want to find out now?”
	“Not really, no”  Luke said.
	“Actually,”  the medic said.  “It’s a bit too early to see that anyway.  
You two decide what you want and at a later appointment we can look into 
that for you.”
	He pushed a button on the machine attached to the screen and then 
took back his little device.
	“Would you like a photo?”  he asked handing Mara a tissue to wipe 
the gel off herself.
	“Sure,”  Mara said wiping off the gooey gunk.  
	She pulled her shirt down and swung her legs over the side of the 
small table/bed.
	“Here you go,”  the medic said handing Mara a tiny picture.
	She took it and smiled.
	“Our first baby picture,”  she joked.
	Luke smiled and then turned his attention to the medic.
	“When can we make the next appointment?” he asked.
	“Well,”  the medic said.  “I’d like her to come in in another few 
weeks.  But I’ll make sure to call you.”
	“Okay,”  Luke said,  “Thank you.”
	“No problem,”  the medic said as Mara and Luke turned and walked 
out the door.
	Both were nearly to the turbolift, when someone not too far away 
started to call out Luke’s name.
	“Master Skywalker!”  the voice said coming closer.  “Master 
Skywalker!”
	Luke frowned and turned around to see a young security officer 
walking briskly toward him.
	“Yes?”  he asked as soon as the man was close enough to hear.
	“We have a prisoner that wishes to speak with you,”  the man said a 
little breathless.
	“Who is it?”  Luke asked taking Mara’s hand and following the 
officer back down the hall.
	“My commanding officer knows,”  the man said.  “He’s with the 
prisoner now, but he wouldn’t tell any of us until you came.”
	“Any ideas as to why?”  Mara asked.
	“No ma’am,” the officer said shaking his head.  “Only that it was 
Master Skywalker’s right to know before any of us.”
	Luke frowned down at Mara who gave him a shrug.
	“Why are they being held prisoner?”  Luke asked.
	“Again, something only my commanding officer knows,” the young 
man said.
	The rest of the walk down to security HQ was filled with silence.  All 
the time, Luke was thinking who could he know that could have been 
imprisoned?  Of course, it could be a civilian who just wanted to talk with 
the hero of the Rebellion before he was executed.  But somehow that didn’t 
feel right  to Luke.  So he waited until they got there to think any further.
	“I think it’s all right if you come in now,”  the young officer said 
unlocking a door.
	“Thank you,”  Luke said.
	The officer finished unlocking the door, then quietly swung it open 
and allowed Luke and Mara to enter first.
	Luke didn’t know who was more surprised at the sight of the 
prisoner;  him or Mara.
	He stopped mid step toward the middle of the room and held his 
breath.  His eyes went wide as he wondered why in the world they had this 
person put in prison.
	There, seated no more than two meters away, the woman sat.  Her 
hands bound together by a pair of wrist binders; the only sign that she was 
the prisoner.  She had on her own clothes, and her face seemed sad and 
distant.  Luke tried to find another name t go to the familiar face, but only 
one came.  Callista.
	He heard the sharp inhale of air from Mara and he stood there quietly 
not knowing who should speak first.
	“Why are you here?”  he asked quietly, wondering at the question 
with all his mind.
	“I think I could answer that for you, Master Skywalker,”  a man’s 
voice spoke from the side.
	Luke turned his head to see what appeared to be the young officer’s 
commanding officer.  He nodded, letting the man continue.
	“I am from the planet Kliyt, as is this woman,”  he said gesturing to 
the prisoner.  “She was not born directly there, but if you decide to become a 
citizen, you must abide by all the laws that natural born citizens must live 
by.”
	Luke nodded understanding, wondering at what Callista had done.
	“I received a tip from this woman’s confidant that she had been 
holding conversations with you about a child that might belong to you, 
correct?”
	Luke nodded again, a flush of slight embarrassment coming over him.  
To have all these people know about that . . .
	Mara squeezed his hand to help comfort him.  He looked at her and 
in her eyes, he saw that she really did understand.  All that he had been trying 
to explain, she had finally come to understand: his reasons for staying calm 
with the wild accusation of Callista’s child being his, his reasons for wanting 
to continue on with his life no matter what, and his reasons for not being 
angry with Callista.
	He turned his attention back to the officer who then continued with 
his talk.
	“Her confidant also told me that it was a lie.  And such a lie, by 
Kliytian laws can only be punished by death.”
	Luke looked sharply toward Callista.  Her eyes were focused on the 
floor, not daring to look at him. A lie?  That’s what she had told him?  He 
had trusted her, and she had betrayed that trust.  His anger rose slowly until 
he was too mad to speak.  She lied to him.  Lied  to him.
	The small room was suddenly very quiet.  Luke took a deep, slow 
breath, trying to calm himself.  Never had anyone done something like this to 
him.  Never had anyone betrayed his trust like Callista had.  Mara had told 
him that she had never trusted the woman.  Now Luke wished he had 
listened to her.  Once he had collected and calmed himself enough, he spoke.
	“Why?”  Luke asked Callista, his voice not betraying any of the 
emotion he was feeling.
	She reluctantly looked up at him, her eyes looking tired and worn.  “I 
had to Luke,”  she said softly.  “I had to get you away from her.  She’s evil.”  
	Her eyes still had a distant look to them, but there was something else 
. . . something that sent a shiver up Luke’s spine.  
	Luke looked at Mara, then using the grip he had on her hand, brought 
her closer to him.
	“You see it too, don’t you?”  Callista asked looking from Luke to 
Mara.  “Evil . . . ”
	The law on Kliyt was something he had no force over, no control.  If 
Callista had promised and vowed she would abide by them and had just 
broken them, then Luke could do nothing.  But then, he was too mad, too 
confused, too tired all of a sudden, to really want to do anything.
	“The law states that you are permitted to attend the execution,”  the 
officer said.
	Luke only nodded again.  “Thank you,”  he said.
	With a final look at Callista, he knew that one last piece of his tangled 
past was finally being buried.  He led Mara with him out the door and away 
from the woman that had hurt him so long ago forever.


EPILOGUE

	The wind howled, rustling the tree limbs and blowing into the faces 
of the small band of people gathered in the only clearing of Craven forest.  
Craven forest stirred fear into the very hearts of the people of Kliyt.  Demon 
stories of a hideous beast hidden within the shadows of the ancient trees had 
plagued the people of the small world for centuries.  Those called upon to 
enter the woods were those who had broken the laws that the people help so 
sacred.
	This night, the usually noisy and busy animals stayed uncommonly 
quiet.  A whisper of coming death seemed to hang in the air above the heads 
of those present.  All was too quiet; too eerie to seem real.
	But to one of those standing, the one who was to be executed, it 
seemed very real.  Her small execution party stood fidgeting behind her.  All 
wanting to leave the feared place and trying to watch all directions at once 
with wary eyes.
	A twig snapped and all heads turned frightened toward the sound.  
Whispers rose among the small crowd, but Callista--the prisoner--paid them 
no mind.
	She knew her end was here.  And she knew she couldn’t prevent it.  
Sure, she could try and run away, but it was a toss up as to whether the 
hidden beast would get her, or she’d get lost in the tangle of brush and trees 
and starve to death.
	Callista took a deep breath, shivering involuntarily as the cold wind 
played up her spine.  Luke was supposed to be here.  He had a right to be 
here.  But he had denied that right.  He hadn’t wanted to come.  And Callista 
didn’t blame him.  She had lied to his face.  Lied to him, betrayed the trust 
she knew he had in her, and now she was going to pay dearly for it.
	But why did she do it?  Why did she lie?  For so long, Callista’s mind 
had been bent on just taking Mara away from Luke and replacing her in 
Luke’s life.  Was that it then?  Callista no longer knew.  Now, thoughts came 
and left, she couldn’t stay in line with one thing for too long.  Memories 
came and went at their own desire.  Others, she heard whispering that she 
wasn’t sane anymore.  But if she wasn’t sane, then why did Luke still want to 
be with her?  Oh he did.  Callista knew.  Mara, that little tramp wife of his, 
had gotten in the way.  She  made Luke go away . . .
	A roar came from the distant trees in front of Callista.  She gasped, 
temporarily forgetting that she was here for a purpose.  Following shortly 
after the roar, was a rustle in the bushes from a little closer.  The rustling 
grew closer, and closer.  With each coming minute, a member from her 
execution party would leave in fear, not wanting to witness the inevitable.
	The sounds grew louder and eventually, only one person remained 
standing with Callista.  One person had to stay to tell if the prisoner had, 
indeed, died.  Callista, still not moving, but still thinking, wondered what the 
end would be like.  Wondered what would happen after she was gone . . .
	Too soon, sooner than she thought, the beast same out from the 
cover of the trees.  It’s huge, monstrous fangs glistened in the moonlight.  
The saliva dripping slowly off it’s teeth and mouth in hungry anticipation of 
the future of the lone human woman in front of it.  It’s long, lithe body came 
closer to Callista.  So close, she could smell the putrid rot and mold on its 
skin.  The creature brought about its powerful tail and wrapped its prey in it.
	For a moment, it stood there, watching Callista intently, its wide 
bloodshot eyes catching her every movement.
	Then, without warning, reached a bony claw down and grasped 
Callista.
	She did move this time, with fear.  She was scared.  Now, Callista 
wanted nothing more than to have not lied to Luke, to have stayed out of his 
life and left him alone.  But it was too late.  Now, when Callista wanted to 
run and hide, prevent her death, she was far too late.
	the creature saw her fear and took pleasure in it.  It snaked its other 
arm around and grabbed Callista’s long leg.  Casually, it pulled it off, tearing 
bone and flesh away from Callista’s body.  She screamed in agony, her cry 
being heard from the small village at the edge of the forest.
	Callista closed her eyes against the searing and unbearable pain.  She 
heard the crunch as the beast made due of her leg.  opening her eyes again, 
she looked the creature straight in the eye.  She knew she’d either faint and 
not witness her death, or she’d get eaten first.  It didn’t matter what she did 
now.  Eventually she would die.
	The creature returned her stare with an evil glint in its eye.  
Something that could almost pass as a smile spread on the monster’s face.  
And before Callista knew it, she was gone.
	The lone standing witness ran in fear, seeing what he needed to see 
and running back to his village home hoping against all hope that the monster 
wouldn’t think about having any dessert.  The only sound that was heard in 
the village far away, was the inhuman, blood curling howl the creature gave 
in satisfaction of its meal.  
	Callista never even had time to scream.

(my email’s at the top....)