Saber Girl Leia - Thank you for the thoughtful review. The connections were meant to simply tie Mara's past together and possibley contribute to the feeling of being overwhelmed. Hope you like this chapter as well!
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"Mara, will you marry me?" The gentle hope in Skywalker's eyes was at odds with the deadly situation they found themselves in.
Mara Jade eyed the still rising water, her practical side putting a damper on the joy that threatened to incapacitate her. "You mean if we get out of here alive?"
Luke shook his head earnestly. "I mean regardless." Force he was serious. Then again, with death so close, they could not afford the games that people usually played. Anywhere else, with anyone else, she would have felt honor bound to make her man squirm while she "considered" his offer. But here, with Luke, she could not hesitate or be anything other than completely, terrifyingly honest.
"Yes. I will."
The vision, a gift of Knighthood bought at the price of the Jade's Fire, shifted and danced through past, present, and future weaving the weft and woof of the Force in a beautiful tapestry whose images were glimpsed only briefly.
"Mama! Mama!" a disheveled mop of strawberry blonde encroached on baby fat cheeks. Sparkling blue eyes glowed with the irrepressible joy of youth. "Did you see?" the ten year old imp with her face and Luke's eyes continued his breathless monologue while wrapping her waist in a welcoming hug. "Did you see me pilot the Falcon?" Mara's head snapped up at that to glare at her brother-in-law.
"Don't worry he was strapped in the whole way down," Han assured her. In the copilot's seat, floated across his "public" mind where he allowed the Force-sensitives that surrounded him access to his thoughts.
"That's great!" she gushed as her son – Ben? – expected her to. "A few more years and you'll be shooting down Death Stars. Why don't you go tell your father the good news?"
The little boy took off at full tilt to tackle Luke as he made an entrance. Laughing, Luke swung the child over his head, letting the small hands wrap his neck and cover his cheeks with the sticky kisses of childhood. Two sets of shining blue eyes approached her, love reaching out to engulf her in pure familial bliss.
"But that's the future," Luke's breath caressed her cheek as the vision faded into the warmth of now. "This is the present."
She quirked an eyebrow at him. "And as head of the Jedi Academy and brother of High Councilor Organa Solo you should at least put in an appearance at the ceremony?" she suggested wryly.
He grimaced, his disdain for official pomp and circumstance written all over his honest face. "Yes, that's just what I was going to say. I can see this is going to take some getting used to." She knew he was referring to their new level of intimacy. The bond they formed while fighting the battle droids had never returned to its former intensity and casual mind reading was a common occurrence now. A fact that on some level disturbed both of them.
Preparing herself for the worst, she retreated physically and mentally. "There's still time for you to back out," she offered knowing even as the words left her mouth that she was too deep in emotionally to make such a break.
Luke smiled at the offer, then wrapped her tightly in his arms and kissed her. The kiss was warm and giving, just like her farmboy. "Not a chance," he informed her. Having said his peace, Luke set his mug down, now bereft of chocolate, and prepared to once again leave her to her thoughts.
Oh no you don't, farmboy, she thought at him. You are not getting away from me that easily. Not now, not ever. "Hang on a minute," she called gratified when Luke froze mid-step to look back at her. She hesitated a moment, still savoring the lingering traces of her vision before taking his arm possessively. "I'm coming with you."
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AN: This is a short chapter, I know, but I don't think it needs anything else, do you? Review! Next chapter is the last!
