A/N: Thank you so much for all the kind reviews! We're slow - sorry - but this story will be finished soon. We're guesstimating three more chapters, though the original outline for this fic only had five chapters and it has taken on a life of its own, LOL.

(About the "most fun I've ever had" line from Anakin - it's not really an inside joke, per se, but rhonderoo writes Anakin/Padme romance fics primarily, so... ;))

CHAPTER TWELVE

Anakin rubbed his shoulder and winced. He was getting too old for this. As much as it pained him to admit to himself, there were times when he thought putting the lightsaber aside for good might not be a bad idea. Then the unrealistic male pride kicked in and he knew the day he laid the lightsaber down, he might as well die.

"Is something wrong?" Mara asked, concern wrinkling her brow. She walked over to where her former master stood as he was turning to face her.

"Not at all," he replied defensively.

Mara eyed him carefully then stepped back into a ready stance, "Remember, this was your idea."

"The only way to properly test a lightsaber is to use it," he retorted. "And you should know me better than to think I would allow my grandchildren to use a faulty saber."

"Now," he brandished his blue blade in front of her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "I remember you having a rather disgraceful rear parry."

Mara grinned, falling comfortably into familiar sparring patterns as her red blade met his in a series of rapid blows.

The hum of lightsabers was a familiar sound in the Jedi temple and Luke barely noticed it as he made his way to the chamber he loosely called his office. It was a comfortable space with worn loungers and an ornate desk that had been a gift from Leia. Holos, gifts, and mementos adorned the spaces on the walls not covered with shelves of reference materials.

Kam, Tionne, Corran and he were in the middle of a discussion about the plans for Luke's honeymoon absence when his youngest nephew burst into the room, "Uncle Luke! Grandfather and Mara are fighting!"

He had an open door policy with his students and was therefore not surprised by Anakin's appearance. This however, seemed to warrant a small sense of panic.

He spun around, "What!" He looked down at his nephew, whose eyes were wide with fear.

Anakin grabbed his hand, pulling him out the door, "Come quick!"

"You guys had better come along," he said as he slowly looked to the other three Jedi Masters. Unease was snaking its way up his spine, and he found himself hoping fervently that he didn't have to break up the two most important people in his life. Not to mention the fact that he wanted his wife with all of her limbs. He shuddered and walked faster as the others quickened their pace to keep up with him.

The clash of sabers grew louder as they arrived at one of the practice rooms where a small crowd had gathered. Jacen and Jaina stood in the doorway, mouths hanging open in unabashed awe of the graceful dance that both combatants exhibited as they twisted and parried in wide elegant arcs and turns.

Luke gaped at the sight of his father and fiancé engaged in the spirited sparring match, their faces alternately lit with glowing red and blue. Were he not utterly exasperated with this turn of events, he would have admired his father's agility and the fact that Mara seemed to be holding her own against him…unless he was just trying to wear her down, in which case he hadn't pulled anything off the walls yet, so that was a good sign.

Detaching his own lightsaber from his belt, Luke stormed across the training mat and inserted himself into the duel, blocking Anakin's blade with his own which forced Mara to fall forward into a somersault to keep from decapitating Luke.

All three jumped back and exclaimed in unison, "What the hell are you doing?"

Luke glared at them, "I am ending this fight once and for all!"

Anakin started, "Luke-"

"You!" he turned to his father, green blade humming. "You may not approve of Mara, but I will thank you not to kill my wife."

Mara took a step toward him, "Luke-"

"And you!" he rounded on her. "You may not care for my father, but I would appreciate it if you would at least respect his place in this family."

Anakin and Mara looked at each other and then back at him, fighting laughter.

In one swift move, Anakin jerked the lightsaber from Luke's grasp with the Force while Mara stepped forward, pulled Luke close and clamped her hand over his mouth. "We're not fighting," she assured him with exaggerated calm. He narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Just testing my old lightsaber," she lowered her hand from his mouth. "Promise."

"Your old lightsaber?" Luke asked, a puzzled frown deepening his brow. He looked to Corran, Kam and Tionne, who had been joined by a cautious trio of young Solos.

She pulled away and held the saber up to him, "It's the one I made when I was a teenager. I found it at Bast Castle and it's too light for me now, so I thought I'd give it to the kids for practice."

"What's Bast Castle?"

"My former home," Anakin cocked his brow at Luke. "Remember? I told you about it once."

Mara continued, "Myr put this in my room along with a datapad with information about my mother, and-"

"Who's Myr?" Luke interrupted with growing confusion. "Wait a minute. Did you say your mother? And…when did you get back, anyway?"

"Last night. It was late and," she glanced up at Anakin, "we needed to talk."

Anakin handed her Luke's lightsaber hilt, "Nice low block, by the way."

"Thank you," she smiled at him before passing the saber to Luke. "Why don't we talk about it over lunch? I'm starving."

"All right…" Luke turned to Anakin.

"You two go ahead. I promised to show my grandchildren some of the secret passages around here….and the best places to hide," he said as he winked at the three confounded Jedi Masters who looked at each other and sighed in resignation - as if those three children needed more ways to get into trouble.

The spacious balcony of Luke's apartment overlooked a green habitat adjacent to his building and, on a day like today, the view from above was spectacular. Flashes of color peppered the greenery as various exotic birds and tree-dwelling creatures flitted through and around leafy branches.

A gentle breeze ruffled Luke's hair as he stared down at the old datapad. "I'm sorry about your mother," he offered carefully.

"It's all right," she reassured. "By that account, she died peacefully. And I have a few memories…hopefully more will re-surface. It's enough for now."

He had listened as Mara recounted the events of her trip to Vjun and subsequent visit with Anakin, and now regarded her quietly. "I've been thinking. Remember when you said it was a mistake? Your apprenticeship to my father, I mean."

Mara nodded. So much had changed since then.

"I don't think it was," he continued. "There was a reason that he was able to turn back from the dark side, some root of good that he never lost. Maybe something about caring for you helped him to hang on to that."

She considered the idea, "Perhaps."

"And then on Nirauan, when I asked you if there had possibly been some role model in your past? Maybe your feelings for Father inadvertently kept you from turning completely to the dark side as well."

Mara fingered the edge of her plate, "I hadn't thought of it like that, but it makes sense."

They sat for a while in companionable silence, lost in their thoughts and soaking up the afternoon sunshine. Luke finally pushed the datapad across the table to Mara, "What was her name?"

Closing down the holo and placing the datapad in her jacket pocket, she answered softly, "Miriam."

"It's beautiful," Luke squeezed her hand. "If we have a daughter-"

Mara jerked in surprise and tossed a napkin in his direction, "Cool the vaporator, farmboy. Let's at least get married before we start populating the academy with Skycrawlers."

"Yeah, about that…" Luke leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms expectantly.

"I don't know," she stood, approaching him amiably. "Considering that I blew up my ship, do you think we can hitch a ride with someone to Naboo?"

He startled, a slow smile spreading across his face, "Really?"

Mara ran her fingers affectionately through his hair, "Really. If nothing else, I need to pay my respects to the first Mrs. Skywalker."

Luke pulled her close as his gaze drifted to her hips, just centimeters from his face, and did a double take. The lightsaber hanging from her belt was not the one that she had made at the academy, but instead, the one he had given her after Wayland. She had accepted it reluctantly back then but refused to use it, claiming it was a family heirloom.

"Dusting off old equipment?" he asked knowingly, finally understanding her true reasons for not carrying his father's old saber all these years.

Mara glanced down at her waist. "It has a better balance than mine," she fingered the smooth silver hilt, "and it means a lot to me."

Luke stood and wrapped his arms around her, "And that, my future Mrs. Skywalker, means the whole galaxy to me."

to be continued…