Chapter Thirty:

Luke looked to Mara as she appeared in the doorway to the cockpit on the Jade Leaf. She'd insisted on packing away all her gear before taking off. Their time on Garqi had come to an end, and it had been an amazing week.

Luke had absolutely no regrets about their time here, and the two of them had even spoken off and on about where they would live. They had at last agreed to live on Coruscant, where they would be available for the Jedi to summon when needed, and also be close to their family.

"All set?" Luke asked Mara, sitting back from the navicomputer, into which he had been inputting a set of coordinates.

"Yes, and you?" Mara asked, taking the copilot's seat since Luke had requested that he fly this time.

"I am." Luke closed the ramp to their ship and started the engines, allowing them time to warm up before he lifted the Jade Leaf from the landing pad and took to the skies. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to make one stop on the way home."

Mara was openly curious. "Where to?"

Luke glanced at her as he flew to the ship, the atmosphere giving way to starry void as they climbed ever higher. "Ansion."

Mara strapped in just before Luke took them to lightspeed, eyeing him. "What's there?"

He shifted, seeming nervous. "I found something there that I think you'd both like to see."

Mara frowned. "Okay..."

Luke hated to be evasive, but he was worried that Mara would back out if he told her too soon. Just before their wedding day the people he had contacted had returned his message:

"Luke Skywalker here," Luke said, answering the video call as it came in. An elderly couple gazed back at him from their end, and even through the holo images Luke could immediately see some resemblances he found quite familiar.

"Hello," the man said, gesturing from himself to his companion. "My name is Girvin Jade, and this is my wife, Ainsel. You left us a message to call you back, but we didn't entirely follow what it was you wanted of us."

Luke inclined his head. "Yes, thank you for getting back to me. I need to know if you are the parents of the late Siha Jade, who was married to Justus Leepon?"

At the mention of Siha, they both nodded, though when Justus' name came up, there was clear disapproval in their tones. "Yes we are. Why do you ask?"

Luke closed his eyes, thanking the Force, though he reopened them when he spoke next. "I am engaged to marry your granddaughter, and..."

They both looked utterly confused, and Girvin held up a hand. "There must be some mistake, Sir. Our granddaughter is merely a child, and far too young to even care about such things."

Luke blinked, taken aback by the interruption, and the information provided in those brief sentences. "You don't know."

They shared a confused look.

"Know what?" Ainsel asked.

Luke took a deep breath. "You have a second, older granddaughter, Mr. and Mrs. Jade."

They seemed to comprehend a bit more, but their eyes cast downward with sorrow. "We did have another. But she perished with her mother."

Luke felt a fresh stirring of anger for Justus and the increased knowledge of the damage he had done to Mara and her family. This couple had no idea that Mara was alive.

Luke shifted closer to the camera. "I am sorry that you think that, but I can assure you Mara is alive and well."

The Jades stared at him, Ainsel daring to hope, but Girvin leaning toward denial.

"Please do not give us false hopes," Girvin said warningly, "we are far too old for such heartache."

Luke shook his head, digging into his wallet to pull out a holo of Mara he kept inside. "I can show you proof that she's very much alive."

He produced said holo and showed it to the couple. Instantly Ainsel gasped, her hands flying to her mouth while Girvin only stared, his mouth unhinging a little.

"Girvin, look!" Ainsel wept, her face slick with instant tears. "She looks just like Siha!"

Girvin managed to nod, though Luke saw him wipe at tears now too. "She does..." His gaze went to Luke's. "How can she be alive? Justus told us the baby had died with Siha."

Luke managed to keep his voice soft for their sakes: they had been misled by a selfish man and it wasn't their fault that Mara had grown up alone. "Justus lied to you, I'm afraid. Siha did in fact die in childbirth, but the babe survived."

Girvin's gaze hardened and he let out a few choice words. Ainsel shook her head, also angry. "I never understood what Siha saw in that man."

Luke closed his eyes. "I wanted to bring Mara to meet you if you want that also."

"Of course we do!" Ainsel all but shouted. "We loved her form the moment Siha told us she was expecting."Ainsel paused. "You said her name is Mara?"

Luke nodded. "Mara Jade."

Ainsel smiled gently. "Such a beautiful name."

"When can we meet with you?" Girvin asked.

Luke considered. "I can bring her after our honeymoon." He allowed his gaze to harden. "But I warn you: Mara already had her heart broken by her father, and I will not allow anyone else to do that to her. Are you completely certain you want to meet Mara, and to love her?"

Ainsel and Girvin both nodded solemnly. "Please. We would love for noting more than to meet our grandchild. If we had known she was alive, we would have found her!"

Luke gauged their sincerity and then nodded, proceeding to set up the meeting.

Mara was still looking to him, and Luke smiled softly, taking her hand. "Please trust me, Mara. You won't regret this."

Mara frowned at his mannerisms, but nodded. "Alright, I do trust you."

Luke's smile widened, and he returned to his piloting. "Oh, I found an apartment that might suit us." He winked at her. "It happens to be a penthouse we tried out one evening."

Mara grinned at him, recalling where he had proposed. "We should look into that."

Luke chuckled. "When we get back, we can do that. Until we have a place, we can stay in one of our rooms at the temple."

Mara inclined her head in acceptance.

00000

Mara gazed upon the planet as Ansion drew ever closer in the viewport, noting how most of the planet was green, though the south pole area was all ocean. She was curious what the suubatar looked like in person. Mara had heard of them and knew they were supposed to be beyond fast, but she'd never seen one.

"Are we going to ride a suubatar?" Mara asked, picturing the six-legged creature that was supposed to be faster than fast.

Luke paused in his task of piloting them. "Actually, we could do that, but that's not the reason we came here."

Mara eyed him openly, trying to figure out what had him acting so out of sorts today. He sensed her scrutiny and offered a gentle smile, but Mara didn't relent until they broke the atmosphere and Luke took the ship in for a landing. They were outside a settlement that looked like it had been built generations ago.

When the ship settled and Luke began the power-down sequence, Mara noticed a pair of hooded figures nearby. Mara saw them view the ship and then start towards it, and her suspicions arose.

Facing her husband, Mara narrowed her eyes. "Alright, Luke, what's really going on?"

Luke turned to her, reaching out to take her hands in his and meeting her gaze steadily. "I have something to tell you, Mara."

Mara frowned lightly at how he was acting. "Alright..."

Luke glanced out the viewport and then returned his full attention to her. "After we returned from Keostea, I looked into any other family you might have had. With Obi Wan's help, I found some..."

Mara blinked, sitting upright. "What?"

Luke nodded once. "I found your grandparents, Mara: those on your mother's side."

Mara froze, unable to compute what he was saying for long minutes. She pulled her hands from his, her heart suddenly weighted down with fear. "I... I don't..." She stumbled over what to say.

Luke scooted a little closer. "Mara, I've been in contact with them, and they want to meet you." He shrugged a little self-consciously. "I thought you would want to meet them also."

Mara trembled, her mouth working but nothing coming from it. Finally she stood and paced about the cockpit, her arms folding while her hands rubbed her biceps in a show of vulnerability. "Luke, I don't..." Mara fumbled. "I don't know..."

Luke waited patiently, giving her time to come around. Mara tried again, her hands clenching into fists and then loosening again. "Luke, what if they don't like me? What if..." She looked down, her eyes misting. "What if they do what... my father did?" Her voice cracked on that last bit.

Luke rose to his feet, catching her gently in his arms upon her next pass by him. "Mara, look at me, please."

Mara did look to him, her eyes bright with worry.

"You know I would never bring you to them if I knew they wanted to hurt you." Luke told her with gentle firmness. "I would never put you through that again."

Mara nodded, her eyes spilling over. "I'm scared, Luke..." she whispered, stepping close to him and folding herself into his chest.

"I'll be right here with you, Love." Luke promised. "You're not alone in this."

Mara nodded against his chest, taking a few more minutes to center herself. When she felt ready, she straightened, wiping at her face and allowing Luke to take her hand. Luke squeezed it encouragingly and led Mara out of the ship. Once it was secured behind them he and Mara walked to meet the two persons who were standing at the edge of the landing field.

As they drew near, the two people lowered their hoods, and Mara stared in shock to see a woman who looked enough like Mara to be frightening. Mara's gaze locked onto the woman, who looked to Mara with unshed tears in her green eyes. Their shade was a little darker than Mara's but the hair was the exact same shade minus the thick amounts of grey in it.

Mara's heart beat faster until they were a mere few paces away, where Luke stopped with Mara. There was silence for a time, though Luke broke it with some formalities.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jade?" Luke asked.

They both nodded, though they couldn't stop staring at Mara, who shifted under their scrutiny. Despite Luke's assurances, Mara found herself subconsciously waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Finally the woman stepped forward, her hands lifted as if to touch Mara's face. She stopped just shy of doing so, but did move her finger as if she were tracing Mara's facial features.

"You look so much like your mother," she said, her eyes leaking now. "My name is Ainsel Jade. I'm your grandmother. Siha was our oldest daughter."

Mara's throat tightened at the thought that she looked like Siha, and she found it to be an unexpected comfort to know such a thing. "Why didn't I know about you before?" Mara asked quietly.

"Oh, Sweetie." Ainsel's tears fell harder. "Justus told us you were dead... we had no idea you were alive! I swear we never wanted you to grow up an orphan!"

Mara's head came up, her eyes widening with betrayal. "My father... told everyone I was dead?"

"I'm afraid so," the man said gruffly, obviously trying not to openly weep. He wiped at his blue eyes, and Mara noted that his short-cropped blond hair was streaked through with grey like his wife's. Mara thought he looked distinguished. "The damned coward lied to us." He stepped up to be with his wife. "I'm Girvin, Siha's father."

Mara looked between them. "Are you going to disown me like Justus did?"

Ainsel and Girvin both shook their heads emphatically. "No, Sweetie. We want you to be where you belong: with your family. Please, stay for a while; we would love to get to know you."

Mara's heart lightened with hope. "Really?"

Ainsel held out her arms invitingly, a request Mara instinctively accepted. She nodded and Ainsel hugged Mara warmly. Mara wept into Ainsel's shoulder while the elder woman rubbed calming circles on Mara's back. It was so soothing that Mara's fears began to melt away, and she pulled back to find Girvin stepping forward now.

Mara smiled as he too embraced her, and she laughed for joy, clinging to him now. Girvin kissed Mara's head in a fatherly manner, and her heart danced.

When they broke apart, Ainsel hugged Luke gently, and Girvin shook his hand warmly. "So I hear congratulations are in order for you both?"

Luke smiled as Mara took his hand. "Thank you."

"You will take good care of our girl, now, won't you?" Girvin asked, his gaze focused pointedly on Luke.

Luke didn't wilt, instead standing firmly. "With every breath I take, Sir."

"Girvin," the man corrected. "And I expect noting but the best for Mara."

Luke smiled. "Likewise."

"Come," Ainsel said, gesturing for the Skywalkers to follow them. "We've prepared dinner."

As they walked, Mara kissed Luke on the cheek. It warmed his soul to see her so happy.

"Thank you Luke," Mara murmured. "I love you so much."

Luke squeezed her hand lovingly. "I love you too, Mara."

THE END :)

A/N: Thank you for sticking with me, even with my long pause there a while back. I am workign to finish some of my other unfinished stories, as well as some of the sequels i had promised. God bless you all!