All the usual disclaimers. I own none of them but I like to play. Please just leave me alone to play with my toys. George Lucas owns them but I'll put them back safe and sound.

Luke – several weeks previously

The Jedi Master cupped his chin in his hands and stared into the depths of his drink, rather than the serious grey eyes of the woman opposite him. He was trying to figure out why she had come back after all this time. It had been a difficult couple of weeks as again he became aware of himself wrestling with feelings he'd assumed were long dead. He'd decided that love was not for him and that he would watch his sister's children grow up and not his own.

The first thought he'd had when Callista's face had appeared on his HoloNet had been one of joy. She was alive. Callista was alive and she was coming back to him. She'd found her Force powers and it was all going to be all right. Then he'd paused as reality had set in. He was a different man now. He'd gone through a lot of grief and mourning not only for the loss of Callista but also for the loss of his hopes for a home and family with her, and he'd resigned himself to being alone. He also believed he was a competent Jedi and a brilliant uncle. (So Anakin had told him last week and Luke had hugged the words to himself. Maybe because he wanted to stay up a bit longer and not go to bed and Luke, being a complete softy, had charmed Leia into extending his time.)

Perhaps he wasn't meant to be a husband and father, but he'd wanted to love someone so much. Still, after the euphoria had worn off, he masked his growing resentment and had sat talking quietly to her about her travels. She'd seen a fair bit of the galaxy, places he'd yet to see, but it hadn't brought her back the Force. She hadn't yet explained the reason for her unexpected return and he hadn't asked.

They had arranged to meet for dinner once Callista had settled in her quarters, and in the meantime it had given a troubled Luke time to think. He slumped into his favourite chair and rubbed his hands through his hair, leaving it standing on end. How long was it since he had seen her? It must be seven or eight years at the very least, but why, when he'd hoped for her for so long with or without the Force, why didn't he continue to feel the happiness at her return? He pictured her face once more and the peculiar sensation remained with him. He felt nothing. Callista left him emotionally blank. He didn't yearn to be in her arms once more as he had formerly had dreamt about. He didn't want to cover her face with kisses, or cover her soft body with his own and seek a deeper joining. In simple terms – Callista left him cold.

His next thought was to contact Leia. She would know what to do. She always had some solution or other. His hand hovered ready to place the call or he could have simply reached out with the Force, but something stopped him. He supposed it might be a Force guided hunch or a long desired need for independence. Leia had liked Callista. Luke had wanted her back so much, would Leia think him fickle?

"Oh come on, Skywalker," he scoffed at himself. "She vanished for eight years and you are worried how your sister might react."

Did Callista expect them to continue as they were before? What did she want with him now because he sure hadn't been enough for her before? Luke covered his face with his hands, his mind whirling with all the possibilities.

No, he had to solve this without Leia. She was so strong minded she might sway him in a way he didn't want to go. Callista had saved Leia's life on Nam Chorios, by compelling her to face some of her fears and honing her skills with the lightsaber. Luke had taught Leia as much as she had allowed him to but Callista had persuaded the stubborn woman to finally take another step and accept that she wouldn't turn into an evil clone of her father. It had saved her life. Luke sighed. He was being unfair to his sister. Leia had liked Callista and she had thought they were good together, but she knew the importance of being in the right relationship and wouldn't judge him too harshly whatever he decided to do. Leia just wanted him to be happy.

Leia would be torn between her brother and the woman he'd once loved, and it was loved – past tense. He didn't love her any more. For the first time Luke allowed that thought to circulate in his mind.

Luke closed his eyes and reached through the Force for some answers and all he got was a image of Mara Jade. "I need to see her," he murmured to himself. The woman with the red-gold hair stood in the middle of the Grand Corridor in the Imperial Palace. All the citizens rushed past, blending into the surroundings, but Mara stood sober faced as the people blurred around her. She was the one sure and stable thing and everything else was ephemeral. He could feel her unrest clearly. She was hurting because of something or somebody, but Mara wouldn't give in to her pain. She was a fighter and she was strong, intelligent and beautiful; the latter thought slipped into his consciousness without his consent. He hadn't a clue where Mara was at the moment, hadn't seen her for months. He smiled, the action lighting his usually grave features. He wanted to see his friend very much. He usually knew exactly where he was with Mara, for the simple reason she always let him know loudly. That, or beat it into him. Luke chuckled then froze… he missed her. His expression firmed. If Mara was in pain and needed him he would have to go to her. It didn't matter what anyone else thought or said. He recognised this as clearly as he recognised a Tatooine sunrise. Mara would do the same for him. Luke frowned he had no idea if these images were what was past, or a vision of the future, there were no clues; his visualization had her on Coruscant. If she arrived here he would seek out the source of her conflict. He had learned patience after all. Rushing to find the root of Mara's troubles might not help her at all.

Over the next few weeks Callista and Luke spent most of their free time together. They regained their ability to converse about anything and everything in the galaxy. She was beautiful, intelligent and funny and he enjoyed being with her, but she didn't move his heart the way she once had. Luke could now call Callista his friend but no more than that. The first holo-picture appeared on the news nets after a week and following that they were hot news. Barely a minute went by when one of the info programmes ran an article or a series of images and vid footage about them, and barely a day without Leia calling, pumping him for information.

To the rest of the galaxy Luke seemed to just ignore it all. He wasn't ready to answer his sister's questions at all. He didn't know what his answers would be.

"Luke?" The husky voiced query brought him out of his reverie. "Luke, I've been asking you questions for the past five minutes and you haven't heard a word I've said…. have you?"

"Sorry, Callie. Things on my mind."

"Once you would have shared them with me." Her voice pierced him uncomfortably.

"That was a long time ago, Callie. Once I would have shared everything with you. You wanted the Force so you could be my equal. I loved you as you were and I never felt you were inferior. I never felt it was a competition, but you made it out to be so. In the end I wasn't enough for you and that still remains the same." He shrugged his shoulders and trailed a finger round his drinking glass. "You and I - we're different people now."

They'd kept away from the subject of their future until now and Luke sensed things would be awkward.

"Are we really?" Her hand came up and stroked tenderly down the side of his face. "Have I changed so much…?" She paused thoughtfully. "Have you?"

Luke gave a tired grin, full of regret and perhaps longing for what might have been. His hand lifted and covered Callista's as it lingered on his cheek. "You are more yourself now than you were when I first knew you and me, I'm older and I hope wiser. I wanted you to come back for so long and I searched for you. I hunted for a sight of you or a breath of your name from system to system. The last glimpse I had of you was on Nam Chorios and I learned to channel my pain - my despair - into my work as a Jedi. At times I was dangerously near the Dark Side. In the end I had to let you go. I have to move forward, Callista. I'm sorry. I can't go back."

She caught the words he hadn't said - he didn't have to say them. 'I can't go back to you.' Her mouth trembled at the passing of something infinitely precious.

Luke leant across the table and caught her soft lips in a chaste caress. He sipped at her lips and it only confirmed to him what he already understood. And then something whispered through the Force, soft on gossamer wings. Luke hesitated and then deepened the kiss, but he had been mistaken. The sensations he experienced had not come from Callie. It was only when the burst of total distress hit him that he withdrew. "Callista…" he breathed, "I felt…" But she was not the source.

"What… Luke?"

He reached out with the Force that was so much a part of him and caught the impression of great strength quickly masked, and as he gazed swiftly around the room he caught, for the second time that evening, the glittering green gaze of Mara Jade. Callista didn't know she was here, she couldn't feel the other woman's presence, but Luke could - even when she was shielding.

'Mara!'

'Stay out of my head, Skywalker.' The words and her expression were vicious and she whirled about and vanished from the room. Luke leapt to his feet and was about to give chase, until he turned to face a rather confused Callista. The hope that had begun to shine in her grey eyes died.

"Oh Sithspawn!" he swore and then had to choke back a laugh as Callista's expression changed from confusion to one of shock at his erratic behaviour.

"What was it, Luke? A vision?" Her voice became excited and a little envious.

"No… I…" He stuttered to a standstill. "I thought I saw someone I knew, but I was wrong." He dropped into his seat and took a swig of his lomin ale. 'Way to go, Skywalker. You still can't lie successfully. Callie may not have the Force, but she still knows you pretty well and she's not stupid.'

"Luke!"

"Sorry, Callie. I'm probably just tired. All this racketing round town with you has worn me out. I think I need an early night… if you don't mind?"

Callista surveyed him closely. Something had rattled Luke's cage good and proper. She hated not having the Force, not being able to sense his emotions, but she thought she knew him. After eight years of searching, she was accustomed to her loss, but she'd been in love with him before she'd left and she had spent two weeks constantly in his company. He'd been different all evening. Oh, he'd been pleasant and attentive, but just a little distracted at times – more so than usual. In fact, he'd been like this ever since they'd set eyes on Mara. Luke had said they were just friends who hadn't seen each other for months, but he'd been affected by her presence on Coruscant, he'd known she was here. Had Mara come to see Luke? There had been rumours about their relationship before.

He called for the bill, ushered Callista out of the building and escorted her to where she was staying.

Callista stood patiently at the entrance to the building and asked hesitantly. "Would you like to come in for…?"

"No," Luke declined quickly. "I must go and see Leia." He tried not to see Callista's disappointment and knew the worst thing he could do was relent. "I've not been near her since you arrived."

"Oh," Callista's voice sounded flat.

"I'll be in touch." Luke threw his hood over his head, immediately turning away and hunching into its black folds. Callista followed him with her serious grey eyes until he was swallowed up into the crowds of people milling around Coruscant's entertainment district. "First he wants an early night and then he wants to see Leia. Does Luke know what he wants?" She touched her fingertips to her lips and tried to conjure up the feeling of his kiss. There had been no passion, no wanting, no desire. It had felt like goodbye. She stifled a sob and retreated into her quarters.