Dear Readers,

Hiya! Remember me? I hope so! I'm soooo sorry this chapter took so long. But it took forever to get it just right! I could go on up here all day, but you're not here to hear me jabber on all day! Let's get this story cracking! But first… ((Let me thank all of you wonderful people out there who wrote in!))

Sithspawned – I'm so glad that you enjoyed it so much! And I think you're one of the only people to truly enjoy the Lando/Mara interaction. A lot of the reviews weren't so pleased! So thank you so much for being so nice, for being the first one… as usual, and I really hope you like this chapter too!

Saber Girls (Leia) – Haha! Wow, you sent a llllllllloooooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggggg review this time! Have I told you lately that you have no idea how much you're appreciated! CAUSE YOU REALLY ARE SABER GIRL LEIA! I'm so glad you liked the title! That's always the absolutely last thing I do, and I was afraid no one would like that, so thank you! And YOUR STAR WARS EXPERIENCE SOUNDS WAY COOLER THAN MINE! That was so AWESOME! THANK YOU so much for telling me about that! That was really neat! And I'm SOOO glad you enjoyed that chapter so much! YAY! I really was so afraid no one would like it! Here's more, I really hope you like it! BLESS YOU! And as always, Much Love! ((AND BIG Wookiee-bone-shattering HUG! J/K, whoops I don't know my own strength! LoL!))

Countess Jackman – OMG, your favorite Luke and Mara story… BY FAR? Wow! I am soooo honored! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it that much! When I first started writing this story I was so afraid no one would like it! SO THANK YOU for reading along, writing in, and being so nice! Bless you! He'll pop the big question very soon… extremely soon… ((Cough-this chapter-cough!)) Heehee, but you didn't hear that from me! ((Wink-wink!)) I SOOOO hope you like it and MTFBWY! Much Love!

tensixtythree – THANK YOU SO MUCH! Bless your heart; hope you like this chapie too! Much Love!

Luvinna – YES HE IS! ARTOO is the REAL hero through out the entire Star Wars saga! Heehee! They can't fool us! ((Wink-wink!)) Glad you like it, I hope you like this chapter too! Much Love!

Jedi-Lover – Yeah, could you imagine that scene… Mara arriving in that hotel suite and Luke asks her, "So where's Lando."

Mara winces and gives him this look and says, "Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllll,"

"Mara, where is he?" He demands.

"Well, I sorta… kinda… shot him."

"YOU WHAT?"

"HE ANNOYED THE HECK OUT OF ME! He wouldn't leave me alone!"

Cough… yeah, that's the way to start off a romantic get away at some cool resort on the outer rim! (LoL) I'm so glad you liked it! You're WONDERFUL! You don't know how much your reviews mean to me! Bless you and I REALLY hope YOU enjoy this chapter! Much Love!

Mara look-a-like – Aww! ME TOO SISTER! Haha! LoL! ((Does it show I'm in a good mood… cause I was really trying to be discrete! LoL!)) Uh Oh, reminds you of someone! If you mean a guy around you… FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SACRED, HOLD ON TO HIM! ((Clears throat, sorry, but sweet kind guys are very hard to hang on to! Take it from someone who heart has been broken into more pieces than Death Star! I'm still not over it yet!)) Thank you for being so sweet and I hope you enjoy ((cough–the proposal–cough)) this chapter! Bless you! Much Love! ((And by the way… that thing I coughed out… I didn't tell ya that… LoL! j/k!))

faith skywalker – WOW! Thank you so much and WELCOME! I'm so glad you're enjoying this! And I really hope you like this chapter too! Much Love!

gatermage – Nope, she's in love, give the girl a break! LoL! She'll act a little more like herself in this chapter with some of his punishments and stuff though! And as for the proposal… uh… ((Cough-this chapter-cough))… but I didn't tell you that! (wink-wink) I hope you like it! Much Love!

Lilyskywalker – DON'T GIVE UP, GIRL! We've all had our fair share of bad review! You wouldn't believe the hate-reviews I got from Calli fans for TYP! ((LoL)) And yeah, it really hurts and makes you feel bad! But you CAN'T give up or give in! You rise above it and sometimes learn from it. I remember the worse week of my life happened during MSSA… And it took me forever to get that chapter up… but I did and you now what. People like you, wrote in all excited about the story and I haven't stopped since! So even though you're in a dark spot right now… I promise it'll get better! I'm sorry to talk your ear off, but I really hope something I said was helpful… or even better made you feel better! And I hope you keep writing and believing in your story... I'm pulling for ya! And if my little monologue didn't help, maybe this chapter ((cough-and-Luke-asking-Mara-to-marry-him-will-help-some-too!-cough))… -looks around- WHO SAID THAT? I didn't hear anything, did you? LoL! I hope this brings some cheer! Much Love!

Destynii Skywalker – REALLY! WOW! Well thank you for writing in and WELCOME! I'm glad you like it so far! And a lot of people were a little taken aback by her openness with Lando. The only way I can describe it is, she was telling herself the story more so than him. She sort of forgot he was there for a few moments. And once she realized what she'd just done and he's all, "Great story!" She tried to cover it up, with "Gee, you're the first person I've ever told that story too." That was my reasoning… Anyways, glad you've enjoyed most of what you read! Thank you so much for writing in and I hope to hear more from you soon! Much Love!

Sweetdeath04 – YEAH! I wonder where he learned that! ((I was wondering for the longest time how in the heck was I gonna write that part… then I saw Episode III… AWESOME… and A light bulb came on! And it was bright too, the people behind me were so mad! LoL!)) Yeah, they're both safe, Mara didn't kill em'… yet! ((j/k, boy I really had you going! Wink-wink, you should know better than that by now!)) Yeah, Luke's so bad! He doesn't need to sunbath, HE'S FROM THE FREAKING DESERT, he's gonna have a tan for the rest of his little Jedi life! ((j/k! Does it show I'm in a good mood?)) Anyways,... Are you picking on me… LoL, I know you're not! I was a sight to see, my dad kept asking me "What? What?" And all I could do was point! And my Mom's all, "What's wrong with her?" And my Dad said, "Ah, she's just reading her reviews, must have some good ones." They're great! Glad you're still lovin it! Bless You! Much Love!

MistyRiver – YAY! Glad to hear your computer's better, and you're still lovin it! I didn't mean to have a fluff scene every chapter… But you're right that is so cool! I totally didn't mean to do that! But I like it! LoL! And shirtless Anakin is… entertaining is it! ((My best friend has to be like hosed down every time she sees that scene! LoL)) Thank you so much for writing in you're such a joy! I hope you enjoy this chapter too, Much Love!

Dedicated to all those wonderful,((WELL HIDDEN)) thoughtful guys out there who try their best to make that proposal perfect for their special lady! ((FIND ME! PLEASE! LoL!))


"A Beautiful Disaster"

Chapter 9 – Sandcastles and Sand-Buried-Jedi!


The Next Morning…

Luke lies back on the sofa comfortably, thinking to himself. The night before had been wonderful and he'd had several moments that would have been perfect to ask her… But, like an idiot, he chickened out each time. He was so disgusted with himself, he couldn't sleep, so he never went to bed, he just lie in that same spot all night, on the overstuffed sofa...


-FLASHBACK-

So after he answered all of her questions, on how he managed to pull this little trip off. She freshened up, and they were out the door. Mara said she wasn't mad really, but he would pay for his plotting and he did… boy did he pay. Mara had given him a part of his punishment that night. Torturing him in one of the worse ways she could have… She made him go shopping… SHOPPING! He loathed shopping, and she knew that. But instead of whining about it like he would have normally, he accepted his punishment gracefully.

So Master Skywalker spent a great deal of his time in and out of stores on the side of the beach. But he had to admit with Mara holding his hand, tugging him along and having a comment for every little thing, shopping wasn't half as bad as he remembered it to be. She didn't make it have as painful as she could have… and he appreciated that… but there is one thing that she helped him with.

In their travels, they had passed a teeny little clothing shop that was already closed. Mara glanced up at the window display and froze. There was a beautiful sun-dress on display that really caught her eye. A beautiful cerulean blue fabric, not too low cut, but still revealing a descent amount of skin, a good length with sheer cap-sleeved straps, and a gorgeous midnight-blue floral pattern flowing every which way. Mara wasn't obsessed with fashion like some of his former interests had been. But somehow she always managed to look fabulous and he knew she adored the occasional lovely thing to wear. He leaned over and tickled her ear by whispering, "You would look beautiful in that."

She giggled sweetly and tilted her ear toward her shoulder to try and stop him from tickling it more. "You think so?" She'd asked.

"Yeah, but then again you can make an old shirt and pants look marvelous." Luke had said sincerely, wrapping her in his arms, running two fingers up and down her arm, enjoying her feel of her cool smooth skin.

"I don't know, I think that dress looks like it could make any girl look beautiful. Who knows, maybe miracles do happen." She'd said... Like she didn't know she was the most beautiful woman Luke had ever seen.

"Will you ever believe me when I tell you that you are beautiful?" Luke asked shaking his head.

"No, because I know better." Mara grinned, before cutely sticking her tough out at him.


Back To Reality…

Luke chuckled to himself at the memory; he just had to make this perfect for her… somehow! So he'd stayed up all night wondering how he was going to do just that. Tonight would be the night! He was finally going to ask Mara Jade to marry him … And he was completely terrified, yet excited at the same time. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep… not until he asked that amazing woman to be his wife. So he decided to get up…Even though the sun wasn't even up yet, he peeked into the bedroom, to check on Mara. He was greeted by the sight of Mara facing him, smiling serenely as she slept peacefully. 'She must be having a nice dream,' Luke thought and he wouldn't disrupt that, he would let her sleep… for now.

Then a lovely little idea struck him, which had him showered, dressed and out the door in an instant. He would go out and get breakfast for them both, then surprise her with it when he returned. So Luke headed out, found a quaint little hole in the wall and order their wonderful smelling breakfast. But what he didn't expect was on the way back, the dress shop they had passed the night before was now open for business. Suddenly it all clicked and he knew exactly how he was going to do this.

He had a plan!


Back to the Hotel Room…

Mara was still sound asleep, dreaming, when Luke got back. It was still pretty early, but he just couldn't wait to start their day any longer. So he arranged Mara's breakfast beautifully on plate and tray ((which he stashed from the hotel's kitchen on the way back up)) and stuck his on the side… then he triumphantly carried the whole business into the bedroom. He set it on the dresser for a moment and sat next to the sleeping goddess. "Mara… Mara-honey… time to get up."

"Mmm, Luke?" She questioned in the middle of a yawn. "Why are you waking me up soooo early?" She asked while stretched out like a feline.

"Because it is our first whole day here together and it is a beautiful day." Luke smiled brightly down on her.

"Luke, I'm glad you're that excited to start the day… But the sun's just coming up." She said waking up a little more.

"Yes, the sun's just coming up, and there is a wonderful breakfast here for us. And you don't even have to get up for it, it's coming to you." Luke smiled, as he presented her with the tray before sitting back down beside her.

"You got us breakfast?"

"Yep," He grinned, "We've gotta start the day off right."

"Well, Thank you honey," She smiled, stealing a quick kiss, "this looks great!"

Luke kissed her a few more times, before he chuckled out, "Now that's the way to start the day!"

"I agree, did you ever come to bed last night?"

"No, I couldn't sleep, so I just stayed up."

"Luke!" Mara scolded.

"Mara!" Luke mocked her tone.

"You've have gotta start taking better care of you're self!"

"I know, and I'm sorry, I just had a lot on my mind."

"Well don't think about it, just relax and take a nap after breakfast okay." Mara said, not asking, it was more of a demand.

"No, I'm fine; this is our first full day here. I'm not going to miss this for the world."

"But part of this trip is resting!"

"Mara, you're not going to win this one! Face it! After breakfast we're hitting the beach together for some fun and that's it."

Mara glared at him for a little while and said, "Okay, we'll go to the beach and have some fun but promise me you will rest before the day is done… Okay?"

"I promise," Luke smiled, "now come on and eat, before it gets cold."

Mara smiled happily as they both dug in and thoroughly enjoyed their breakfast.


They started off their day
with a wonderful walk on the shore. Holding hands, bare-feet on the cool damp sand as the warm water lapped up every now and then. The majority of their day was just having fun. Playing in the water, and when ever they got tired they lie around and work on their tan for a little while… which was still entertaining, Luke's bare chest and Mara's skimpy bikini. Mara even tried to teach Luke the art of sand castle building. But almost the entire concept was crazy to Luke, who grew up on a planet-sized sandbox without a drop of water to make castles with! Finally Luke gave up and lie down… accidentally falling asleep.

Mara had just completed her best work and was disappointed at first to see he'd fallen asleep on her. But then she remembered he hadn't slept the night before… and he really needed to rest, but that didn't mean she couldn't get even.

A few hours later Luke was awakened by the sound of a group of children laughing. When he opened his eyes, and he could focus them, he noticed Mara, wearing his t-shirt over her skimpy bathing clothes. Helping a bunch of little children with a huge and very impressive sand castle. He smiled, she was so great, all of a sudden he discovered he couldn't move. He squirmed and really tried to sit up, but there was a great weight holding him down. Still half asleep didn't make it any easier either. He finally realized what was going on; Mara had completely buried Luke in the sand. The only part of him not covered with a good foot of sand was his head and he was now stuck there. Quickly getting irritated, he called, "Mara…MARA!"

She politely excused herself gaining hugs and kisses from many of her new little friends. Taking her time, walking in a leisurely way, she came over to him saying, "Well good afternoon sunshine, feeling any better after you're little nap?"

"Yeah, but why did you bury me in the sand like this." He half asked, half whined.

"To teach you a lesson, you're still paying for how you got me up here ya know!"

"Did you really have to remind me?"

"Of course I did!" She grinned.

"And just what was this great lesson you were teaching me by doing this?"

"Never, EVER, fall asleep on the beach. Because no matter who's with you no matter how long you're a sleep, someone will bury you like this."

"Any other lame reasons?" He asked in a playful tone, knowing that would get her.

"Lame reasons!"

"You heard me."

"Sleeping like that could give you a wicket sunburn too ya know."

"It could turn you bright red, but not me. I grew up in the desert, it's almost impossible for a weak star like this one to hurt me when I was raised in a system of binary stars." He boasted.

"Well, you didn't put on any lotion, stubbornly, so I wanted to make sure!"

Luke gave her a hard look, clearly not believing any of those excuses.

"Alright then," Mara growled in frustration. She bent down over Luke and proceeded to kiss him as passionately and long as she possibly could. When she finally let him go he was smiling serenely still bared in the sand. "Is that better!"

"Now why didn't you do that in the first place?" He grinned uncontrollably.

"And let you off that easy… where's the fun in that!"

"Well there is one thing I wish you'd considered?"

"And what is that?"

"I wish you could have dug me up at least a little before you did that. It would have been nice to wrap my arms around you."

"Oh don't worry, Skywalker, you're returned kisses were very enjoyable none the less." Luke blushed a bit at her words and on that happy note; Mara began to dig him up. As soon as his upper body was free, the first thing he did was awaken his snoozing mussels… as soon as he could move again; he wrapped his arms tight around his beloved and kissed the breath from her.

"You have to admit, that was better." Luke grinned, "Wasn't it?"

"Um… well… it was good… yeah, that's what it was." Mara said still just a little taken off guard. Luke chuckled pulling himself the rest of the way out of his sand imprisonment and brushed himself off.

"What do you say we head back and get cleaned up for tonight huh?" He suggested.

"Okay, but what do you wanna do tonight?" She asked curiously.

"We'll figure that out later, for right now, let's just wing it." Luke said kissing her forehead.

"What are you up too?"

"What?"

"You're up to something, I can tell!"

"I'm not up to something, Mara, I think I'll just go get cleaned up and then I'll let you have your turn, okay?"

Mara looked deep into his eyes and reluctantly agreed, clearly suspecting something, that clever girl of his. Luke gently kissed Mara's soft lips and started packing up the little bit of stuff they brought with them.

"I just have one more question for you, Skywalker."

"And what is that, Jade?"

"Why is it that you're the first one to get washed up!"

"Because most women, including you, take longer than men to get ready for anything… And you're the one who decided to bury me in the sand. So, I get dibs on the refresher… but I'll make it quick, I promise." Mara agreed but she just knew he was hiding, or scheming something.


An Hour Later…

Mara Jade walked out of the 'fresher, in a soft white bath robe announcing, "Okay, I'm done!"

But there was no response, "Luke… LUKE! Are you out there?" Mara walked out in to the living area and investigated. But no Luke in sight, she sighed and took down her long, wet hair, beginning to dry it with a towel. The entire suite was quiet and rather dark, so Mara gave up and walked back into the bedroom, turning on the lights. To her surprise there was a note on the bed lying next to the dress she'd seen the night before, accompanied by a gorgeous wrap to go with it, and a beautiful arrangement of flowers.

"What in the stars?" She said in pleasant shock, she picked up the dress and held it up in front of herself. Just before looking at the tag. "HE EVEN KNEW MY SIZE!" She laughed, then she draped the dress back across the bed before picking up the note and began to read it.


My Dearest Mara,

What can I say, you know me too well! I have something special planned for us tonight, but I'm not going to tell you just yet what I've cooked up. Yes, I'm going to be gone for a little while, so you go ahead and get ready. I'll be back as soon as I can. I thought you might like something to wear and I think it's the right size. See ya soon!

Love ya,

Luke


"What am I gonna do with him?" She asked the heavens that seemed to be laughing down on her. "I'm supposed to be mad at him, but he keeps doing stuff like this!" She smelled her roses and shook her head and said, "You deserve so much better, Luke… Much better than anything I could ever give you. I have no idea why you even bother with me… But I'll tell ya what, I'm gonna look my best tonight, for you."


That Night…

Luke walked back into the suite calling out, "MARA! I'M BACK!"

"Okay, just a second Luke, I'll be right there." Mara answered.

"So you're ready?"

"Nearly!"

"Great!" Luke as he sat down on the sofa. The Jedi Master couldn't remember ever being so nervous in his whole life. He folded his hands in a vain attempt to make them stop trembling!

"Are you ready to go?" Mara asked coming into the living area.

"Yeah, I was ju-" Luke tried to finish his reply, really he tried. The moment his eyes fell on Mara, wearing that dress… not only was he unable to speak, but he completely forgot what he was going to say.

"Do I look that bad?"

"No… No… Are you kidding, you're stunning!"

"It's this dress you gave me, it so beautiful! But you didn't have to-"

"I wanted to, so I did, let's leave it at that! I'm glad you like it."

"Like it, I love it." She grinned, straighten his collar, "And you look very handsome, as usual, all spiffed up… but really Luke, what is all of this?"

"You'll find out, just play along for now, alright?"

"Okay," Mara finally agreed.

"Shall we?" He asked offering his arm.

"Lets!" She replied looping her arm through his and the both slipped out of their suite.


Docking Bays…

"Luke, remind me again why we're here?"

"I told you I forgot to grab something out of my ship. Let me grab it real quick and we'll be there okay?" He assured.

"Okay, but I bet we look pretty ridiculous walking into a docking bay all spiffed up like we are."

"I'm not so sure about that." Luke said opening the doors to the bay that held his X-wing fighter, which could hardly be seen in the shadows of the dim-room. To her complete and total surprise, there in that docking bay, was a candle light dinner for two, the ceiling was open so you could still hear the ocean just outside, and see the starry skies. Luke smiled, and said, "Be right back."

As he'd said he did forget to do something, and that something was in his ship. He turned on the very small sound system in his ship and soft music began to play. Satisfied with a job well done, Luke climbed back down and joined his girlfriend.

"See, I told you."

"Luke, we're having dinner in the middle of a docking bay?"

"Not just any docking bay, green-eyes." Luke said taking Mara's hand, and tugging her over to an area slightly away from where they would be eating dinner. "Two-years ago, we were standing in this very spot, in the freezing, pouring rain, and you said… rather loudly too, three small words… Remember?"

Mara smiled, tears gathering in her eyes, "Yes, I remember, we were here the first time I told you I loved you."

"Yep, I know it sounds silly, but that was one of the best moments of my life." He admitted, "And I wanted to do something special for you, so here we are."

"Luke, I though that this trip was big enough, but you've proved me wrong. This trip and this meal are the sweetest, most romantic things anyone's ever done for me." She said just before pulling him into a long, sweet kiss of thanks.

When they finally parted Luke smiled and said, "As much as I would like to spend the evening, just standing here, kissing like that… Our dinner's getting cold."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Mara said blushing slightly, "Let's eat."

"You actually forgot?"

"Well it's not my fault what happens when you kiss me like that, you know what that does to me!" She said seductively.

"I'm sorry I can't help it if I'm a good kisser."

"Well, don't let it go to your head, Farmboy… The night is young." Mara said coolly, sitting in her seat, which Luke pulled out for her.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Luke said pushing her seat in for her, and sitting in his own seat.

The meal was wonderful, they chit-chatted about everything from business to memories good and bad, making each other laugh frequently, just enjoying themselves so much. Long after the meal was finished they sat there, reminiscing, they'd been through so much together. Then one of Mara's old favorite songs came on and she whispered, "I love this song."

"Would you like to dance?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," she grinned, "but do you want to?"

"As long as it's with you I think I can manage." Luke grinned pulling her close and slow dancing with her in the moonlight. "Why Master Skywalker! I do believe someone's been practicing."

"Well, you told me all I needed was a little more practice, I believed you."

"You listened to me?"

"Well don't look so surprised, it does happen occasionally, ya know." He chuckled.

"Yeah, just not very often." She smiled sweetly up at him.

"Well don't let it go to your head; I could still step on your feet or something. Ya never know!" After they shared a warm laugh Mara lie her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Luke laid his head against hers and they remained like that for quite sometime, just swaying in each other's embrace.

After a few melodies passed Mara whispered whiskfully, "I wish this didn't have to end, so we could stay here like this forever."

Luke took a deep breath, and whispered, "It doesn't have to, ya know."

"What do you mean?" She asked stepping away from him, so she could look into his face.

"Mara, I know we can't freeze time and stay here forever, but we can be together." Luke suggested.

"We are Luke, we're together." Mara said.

"Yes, and it's been wonderful, but can you honestly say that our living arrangements don't leave you craving more?" He asked.

"What are you getting at Luke? What are you trying to say?"

"Mara… All of those months ago when we planned this trip originally. I had an ulterior motive that you didn't know about, that I've kept hidden all of this time. And after all we've been through lately, after living with you for the past few months… it's made me want this even more than ever before." He confessed he took her hands in his and kissed one. "Mara, you are the love of my life. You're the only one for me and I'm only sorry it took me so long to see that. I know our lives won't be easy, and I know there will be risks, but… I know wanna spend the rest of my days, looking into those gorgeous eyes, I can't live another day without knowing there's a chance, so, I'm gonna ask you something I've been trying to ask you for months now." He took a deep breath and asked her just above a whisper. "Mara Jade, will you marry me?"

Mara looked deep into those enchanting eyes, mouth hanging slightly agape and wondering if she was dreaming again. "What did you just say?" Was all she finally managed to get out.

"Marry me, Mara, become my wife. I wanna be the one at you're side. Your shoulder to cry on, I want to take care of you and love you for the rest of your life. I want us to grow old to together, I want you to be the last person I see every night, and the first person I see every day." Luke clarified hope shining in those amazing eyes of his.

"You've wanted to ask me that all of this time?" Mara said slipping one of her hands from his tight grip to touch his face.

"Yes, I'm sorry if I've been acting so strange around you lately, but I just wanted to make this moment perfect for you and I'm still not sure what your answer will be-" He said fast, like a great weight has been lifted off him.

"Luke, I appreciate the though and effort you put into this. But you didn't have to go thorough all of this trouble for-"

"Yes I did! I mean it Mara; I want us to be together, permanently. I want you to be my wife." Luke said determinedly.

"Okay, okay, Let me think about it, and I'll let you know soon, okay?" She answered calmly.

"Okay, take all of the time you need." He replied with a hint of hurt in his voice.

"Alright then… ENOUGH THINKING!" She exclaimed before throwing herself into his arms and kissing the living daylights out of him. When they finally separated, Mara was pressing him to a nearby wall, out of breath Luke asked with a grin. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes," Mara giggled, "I thought you'd never ask!"

Luke grabbed her and kissed her again just before he swept her off her feet and swung her around. It was the happiest moment of both of their lives.


Well, what did you think? Like it, Love it, Hate it, Tolerate it… Let me know! I live for reviews and love all of you so much! I hope you all liked it and I hope you all didn't mind the long wait! It took me forever to get this chapter just right! More on the way, till next time, MUCH LOVE!

-SailorLeia