By JediGirl
CATAGORY: New Republic
SPOILERS: Tim Zahn's Hand of Thraw duology
RATING: R
SETTING: Those missing chapters that Mr. Zahn forgot to write in Visions
of the Future. Luke and Mara have just taken off from Nirauan and heading
out
to meet up with Leia, Han and Karrde. This is my version of what happened
between Luke and Mara during those days alone on their "borrowed" Chiss
ship. And of course how the "family" hears about the pending nuptials.
DISCLAIMER As always, these charcters do not belong to me. They belong
to wonderful people such as Mr. George Lucas and Mr. Timothy Zahn, among
others. They inspire me to make up my own tales and share them with
others....just for pure enjoyment. There is more to life than just money
:)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A huge big THANK YOU to my wonderful beta reader,
Michele. This story would never have happened without her. She
completely inspired me and helped to make it as good as it could be.
Plus, if it wasn't for her, the "challenge" would never had happened
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CHAPTER 15
To say that what Leia and Han had just witnessed between Luke and Mara
was
surprising, was the understatement of the millennium. The husband and
wife had
noticed the changes in both Luke and Mara. They both had seemed more
comfortable
with themselves and with each other. Leia had figured that they had
gotten past the
barriers that had been separating them for so many years and had finally
been able
to let their friendship flourish. But what she had just seen was far
more than just a
stronger friendship. It was well beyond that. Their reaction to each
other and the
sense she was now picking up through the Force was not that of just
close friends,
but that of lovers. The look on her brother's face when he finally
broke from his
embrace with Mara, confirmed what she felt in her heart.
Leia and Han stood hand-in-hand when Luke and Mara finally broke from
their
embrace and turned to face them. Luke wiped a hand across his eyes
to clear away his
tears. A wave of nervousness passed over him as he noticed the shocked
expressions
on the other couple's faces. He opened and closed his mouth several
times as he tried
to find the right words.
"What is it, Luke?" Leia asked in a gentle, quiet tone. Her shocked
expression softened
into one of compassion as she noted her brother's unease.
Luke looked at Mara at his side. She looked back with a reassuring smile.
It seemed to
give him strength. With a nod to her, he turned back to Han and Leia.
"Everyone," he
said with a shaky voice, though it was gaining in confidence. "We have
something to
share with you."
"It seems that you do," Leia replied with a motherly tone to her voice.
She was kind of
surprised that her husband had yet to make any comment of the situation.
He
normally didn't like beating around the bush, but preferred to get
straight to the
point. She gave him a quick glance and saw that he was sporting his
usual cocky
grin. He actually seemed to be enjoying this.
Chewbacca on the other hand was eager to know what was going on between
the Jedi
and the trader. He leaned against a wall just beyond the seating area.
He gave an
impatient howl and waved a furry arm at Luke. Artoo lent his voice
to the Wookiee's
request for Luke to continue.
Luke could not help but chuckle at the range of emotions that filled
the room. The act
of doing so cleared away the rest of his nervousness. He took hold
of Mara's hand and
held it tightly.
"Mara and I have been friends for a long time," he began. "But over
the past month
that friendship has grown into something more. It has been a very long
road,
probably longer than it should have been, but we have finally realized
that we..." he
looked at Mara again for a long moment before continuing. "That we
love each
other," he breathed out heavily.
Han and Chewbacca both let loose a joyful laugh and Leia covered her
mouth with
her hand. She looked as if she was about to cry again. Luke quickly
held up a hand
before anyone could voice a response. "There is one more thing," he
said with a wide
grin.
Everyone looked at him intently. What more could there be, they all
seemed to be
thinking.
Luke took a deep breath and held his head high. "We're getting married."
Silence hung in the air as everyone just stared at the new couple. Luke
felt his heart
start to race and he tried a quick Jedi calming technique, but it didn't
seem to work.
The longer the silence continued the faster his heart pounded. Beads
of sweat started
to appear on his forehead.
"Whoa," Han's voice finally broke the silence.
"Married?" Leia said as she dropped her hand to her chest and pressed
it against her
breast bone.
"Yes," Luke answered her. "Married."
"You're serious?"
"Completely," he replied. His jaw was starting to clench at what he
was seeing as a
negative response to his announcement.
"We love each other, Leia," Mara added from Luke's side, echoing his
words from a
few moments earlier. She released his hand and slipped her arm tightly
around his
waist.
Leia looked from Mara's face to Luke's and back again. She recalled
how he looked a
moment ago when he professed their love. He had beamed so brightly.
When was the
last time she had seen him that happy? Callista? Yes, but then when
she left...the
pain almost destroyed him. Her sisterly over-protectiveness kicked
in. Would Mara
cause him the same pain? She didn't think Luke could survive that again.
Luke could sense his sister's thoughts. He reached out and held a hand
out to her. Leia
looked at it for a moment and then slowly placed hers in his. As soon
as she made
contact she could feel Luke's emotions wash over her. He was sharing
with her his
love for Mara. The intensity of it caused her to suck in a sharp breath.
"I truly love her, Leia," he whispered to her.
A smile slowly made its way to Leia's face as the warmth of Luke's love
washed over
her. She closed her eyes and then slowly opened them again. "I know
you do," she
said softly.
"But?" Luke asked sensing there was something else she wanted to say.
Leia squeezed his hand tightly. "But," she said as sweetly as she could.
"Don't you
think it is a little quick to be talking about marriage?"
With a smile, Luke closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they
were the most
sparkling blue Leia had ever seen. "It is," he admitted. "But I'm not
getting any
younger, and we have wasted too much time as it is.
"We want this, Leia. More than we've ever wanted anything. We know it
is the right
thing for us."
"A Jedi hunch?" she asked teasingly.
"No," Luke said shaking his head. "Something all together different.
Something we
can't explain, but we know in our hearts it is what we should do."
Leia turned to the normally stern, no-nonsense, self-reliant woman who
now stood at
her brother's side. Mara's eyes were red from crying and her cheeks
were streaked
with tears, yet she seemed to be glowing from deep down inside. The
smile she wore
was not one Leia was used to seeing on this woman's face.
"You really love him?" she asked in a serious tone.
"More than I could possibly imagine," Mara answered from her heart.
"And I promise
never to do anything to hurt him. You have my word."
Leia bowed her head to Mara. "Well then," Leia said with a very sincere
smile.
"Welcome to the family."
From across the room Chewbacca happily howled his congratulations and
Artoo
spun in a circle whistling merrily.
"Oh, Artoo, settle down!" C3PO chided the little droid. "We know you've
known all
about this for at least a week.
"Master Luke, it is my pleasure to congratulate you on such a
happy event. And I
wish you and Mistress Mara all the best as you start your life together"
"Thank you Threepio," Luke responded happily to the golden droid.
"Well it is about damn time!" Han shot a hand out to his brother-in-law.
"You saw it coming," Luke stated as he grasped Han's out-stretched hand.
"As bright as daylight on Hoth, kid," Han replied. "I knew you two were
meant to be
together when you came out of that forest on Myrkr. You were such opposites
that I
knew sooner or later you would end up complimenting each other.
"And trust me, I know all about opposites," Han chuckled as he put an
arm around
Leia's shoulders. "You two have just been too stubborn to admit it
to yourselves."
"Stubbornness unfortunately," Mara said shaking her head, "is something
we both
have in common."
"That's for sure," Han draped his other arm over Mara's shoulders. "By
the way,
welcome to the family....sis!"
Mara moaned as she covered her face with a hand and leaned it against
Luke's chest.
Her reaction only made Han laugh harder.
Chewbacca joined the little group and wrapped his long arms around the
four of
them. His joyful, husky laughter drowned out the rest of their exchanges.