'I really think I am going to kill you Skywalker'

'Sweetheart, not in front of Ben'

Mara's only response was a growl in his direction.

What was that green slimy thing in the corner? She was sure it had just moved.

'Ugh!', Mara yelled, she had just put her hand in a bunch of soggy old Coruscanti noodles.

'Hehahaaa'

That was her son laughing with glee at her predicament. Her only child. Her life and light,

the only soul she would lay her life down for in an instant. Laughing at her.

Well, she possibly did look quite funny to a six year old, knee deep in an overfull garbage chute

bin searching for his tooth that had just fallen out that afternoon in the restaurant.

Ok, there was another soul she would lay her life down for in an instant, but right this moment

she felt more like strangling him. There he was watching her while he held onto their son, trying to not smile. And he was clean. She wasn't.

'And remind me again', she ground out through clenched teeth as she felt her way through a rather

large amount of rotting salad that stank to all the high moons of Coruscant, 'why am I in here and you are out there?'

'Because I have that meeting with the Council in about fifteen minutes, no make that ten, and I can't go in smelling of rubbish and I wouldn't have the time to...'

'Yeah, yeah', she interrupted, waving a hand covered in some sort of purple sauce vaguely in his direction.

Seriously, that green stuff had definitely just moved, she'd bet her Jedi robes on it.

'Oh, I give up', she huffed.

'If it is in here I can't see it. I told you Ben to look after it and you didn't so I'm sorry but you are

just going to have miss out on the tooth ghost's credits this time. You have a lot more teeth still to

come out, you can get some cre...'

'Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!'

'Shh Ben, Mummy didn't mean it, I'm sure if you ask really nicely she will keep looking for it, won't she?', Luke said to his now wailing son trying to calm him down.

Mara just rolled her eyes.

She started to climb out of the bin when Ben looked up at her, sniffled and said, 'Pleazze Mummy, pwettery pleazze? '.

How do you say no to that? She stopped and looked at her husband. She caught a distinct sense of mirth coming off him in the force before he quickly damped in down. Ooo he was enjoying this far too much...

She started searching again, but on the opposite side to that green stuff - had it grown since she had been in here?

'Why can't you do your Super Jedi thing husband mine and just wave your hands and poof, there it is huh?'

'Love, you know that wouldn't be a good example to set Ben.'

'Yeah, you aren't the one with your hands in, in, whatever this is', she said while trying to shake

whatever it was off. It smelled like the inside of a Rancor den.

And then suddenly she saw it under a discarded carton. A blue napkin neatly folded. Ben's tooth.

She fished it out and held it up triumphantly exclaiming as she did.

'My toooooffff!', squealed Ben.

'Say thank you to Mummy for going to such trouble Ben,' Luke said while giving her a hand as she climbed out of the bin.

'Fhank you Mummy', Ben beamed at her and hugged her legs.

She was filthy, she stank and she had bits of salad and noodle in her hair, but that smile and the joy and relief in his force sense made it worth it.

'Yeah, thank you Mummy', Luke said while kissing her on her right cheek, making sure to avoid the blue stuff that had somehow got all over her left cheek, 'now I really must go or else I'll be in even bigger trouble with your Aunt Leia than I already will be.'

'You be good for Mummy and hang on to that tooth ok son?', he said kissing his son on his head. He set off at a trot waving to them as he turned the corner out of the alley behind the restaurant.

Mara looked down at her son, still grinning a toothless smile from ear to ear, clutching his tooth.

'Come on Ben, let's go put that tooth under your pillow and see what credits you get huh?', she cooed as she took his hand in her now sticky one.

And then Mummy can have a nice long shower and come up with some suitable punishment for your father, she thought as she and her gummy son made their way home.