A/N: Here it is folks, the final chapter. We want to sincerely thank everyone who has left such kind feedback! We have loved writing this story, which has been a labor of love nine months in the making. Thank you all and MTFBWY!

Roo and Trace

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The group assembled in the docking bay of the Errant Venture was a sorry sight indeed, Anakin mused.

The bride and groom-to-be stumbled off the lift, each sporting darkened lenses over their eyes. Mara passed him and grumbled, "Don't look at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you," he answered lightly, stifling a grin.

She stopped, swayed slightly, and rested her head against a cool ledge at his elbow, "I feel your look.

Anakin smiled and glanced innocently down at Luke, "She seems to be all right."

Luke grunted an incoherent response and leaned against the wall rubbing his temples.

Apart from the occasional groans and impromptu snores, the bay was surprisingly quiet as wedding party members staggered aboard shuttles or their respective ships for transport down to Naboo.

Just days earlier, Leia had hired wedding consultants to supplement the staff at Varikyno and made arrangements for most of their friends to have a place to sleep at the lake house or a nearby inn.

She wasn't in much better shape than Mara, but managed to see that everyone reached their assigned rooms before collapsing on the bed in her suite with Han.

Mara did not emerge from her room until the next morning and found a refreshed-looking Leia discussing wedding arrangements with the catering staff. Her future sister-in-law promptly waved her away, "Shoo! Go find something relaxing to do and enjoy your last day of freedom."

Having been informed that she wasn't allowed to see Luke until the ceremony, Mara wandered over the grounds, pausing occasionally to admire the peaceful surroundings.

Walking along the perimeter of the lake, she found Anakin seated on a hillside overlooking the water. His hood was up and the breeze blew the sides out gently. She could tell he was either deep in thought, or meditating.

She climbed the gentle slope, "May I join you?"

Anakin waved her forward and she settled on the grass beside him, "It's beautiful here." He nodded, the sleeves of his cloak fluttering in the breeze. "I saw the garden," she started hesitantly, "your wife's garden…and the holos. She was lovely."

A gentle smile crinkled the fine lines around his eyes, "Yes, she was." The sound of lake water slapping against the shore drifted toward them. "This is where she wanted to have our children..."

His voice trailed off and Mara lowered her eyes in understanding. They sat in silence broken occasionally by the sound of a native bird or forest creature. Mara still knew very little about Padmé, but the though of a woman so young losing both her husband and children at the same time…

Though they were worlds and a lifetime away from the horror of Palpatine's control, she felt the familiar cloud of darkness descending.

"Don't, Mara," Anakin's voice was gentle but firm. "Don't let even the memory of him have control over any part of you. He does not deserve it. It is in the past. You have to let it go."

"How do you do it?" she squinted up at him in the sunshine. "How do you keep the pain - the anger from coming back?"

He looked thoughtful, "Meditate. Draw on the Force. And when that doesn't work, sparring droids are nice to have around. The problem there is that it always buys me a comm from one of my Force sensitive children."

"Sounds like Luke."

Anakin smiled, "You know him well." He turned toward her, "Speaking of Luke, he never told me how the two of you met."

Mara pursed her lips remembering the bitter young woman she had been in what seemed like a different life. "I wanted to kill him."

Anakin raised his eyebrows then turned back to squint toward the water, "And he still has three natural limbs? I would have thought that I had trained you better."

Mara laughed, "I'm going to tell him you said that! And, for the record, I never actually tried to kill him." She looked down, flicking a multi-legged insect off her boot, "And it was only because I thought you were dead. Otherwise, I would have tried to kill you."

Anakin gazed out over the water, "I probably would have let you...in the beginning at least."

Mara studied him carefully. He wasn't exaggerating. She took a breath to lighten the mood, "But then I still would have had to deal with Luke, so..."

"So if you can't kill him, marry him?" he continued.

She grinned, "Something like that."

"Interesting strategy," he nodded, smiling again. Glancing over her shoulder, he indicated Leia standing at the top of the hill, pointing to her chrono. "I think you are being summoned."

Mara waved to Leia, "I guess it's about that time."

He rose and offered her his hand. She took it, brushing grass from her pants as she stood. They walked a few paces up the hill before Mara paused, "Anakin?"

He turned and she shifted her weight to look up at him. "The first dance at the reception is supposed to be for the bride and her father. We had planned to skip it, but I was wondering if you would consider…"

Anakin smiled, resting his hand on her shoulder warmly, "I would be honored."

Luke stood in front of the mirror adjusting his collar while his nephews sat on the bed behind him swinging their legs. His father and Han stood off to the side, finding the scene very humorous, but fighting the effort to laugh.

"Are you gonna have to kiss her?" Jacen asked.

"Yes," Luke grinned. "I believe that is part of the ceremony."

Jacen and his brother looked at each other, crinkling their noses, "Ewww!"

Luke shot a sideways glance at Han and his father, already dressed in their formal wedding attire.

A knock sounded at the door. "Everybody decent?" Leia called.

"Come in!" shouted Han.

Leia entered and turned to motion her daughter inside.

At the sight of his granddaughter, something caught in Anakin's throat. She stood beaming from ear to ear, with the traditional makeup of Naboo royalty on her small face.

"I wasn't sure if I did it the way it is supposed to be done, Father," Leia said hesitantly. "But I went by the pictures of Mother, and I think I got it right."

Anakin moved to kneel in front of Jaina, his face a mixture of longing and pride. He took a deep breath and spoke, "It's perfect. The first time I saw your grandmother in this make-up, I was little younger than you are now. She stole my heart even at nine and I knew I would marry her. She would be delighted that you are honoring her, sweetheart."

Anakin rubbed Jaina's arms and smiled up at Leia. "Thank you," his voice caught briefly in his throat. "Your mother would be so proud."

After they had gone, Luke was standing by the bed trying to decide whether or not to wear his lightsaber, when a familiar pair of arms circled his waist from behind.

"Hey!" he turned in Mara's embrace. "I'm not supposed to see you before the wedding."

Mara rolled her eyes. "Oh please. As if you haven't already seen me-"

"Shh!" Luke covered her mouth, grinning, "Everyone is in the next room…"

His voice trailed off and he held her at arm's length. He had never seen her look more elegant. The dropped neckline of her flowing ivory gown accented the color of her hair and perfectly framed loose curls hanging from a small, flowered headpiece.

Gently, he touched one of the fragrant flowers near her temple then ran his fingers slowly along her smooth cheek, brushing his thumb lightly over her lips. Trailing his hand slowly along the nape of her neck, he slipped it behind her shoulders and pulled her against his chest.

The sounds of wedding preparations reached a level of organized chaos outside the window. "Are you nervous?" he asked quietly.

"Are you kidding?" she grinned against his shoulder. "After all we've been through to get here? As long as there aren't any crazy dark Jedi or clones-"

"- I think we can handle it," Luke agreed.

Mara gazed out the window to the terrace below where their family and closest friends were starting to gather. "Do we have to go out there?"

Luke caressed the back of her neck, fingering the necklace he had given her that day that seemed like years ago, "And this is just the private ceremony. We still have the state affair back on Coruscant to look forward to."

She groaned, wilting somewhat in his arms. Luke turned her face up to his, adopting his best Jedi Master tone, "You must learn tolerance. And patience and resilience - all necessary qualities for a Jedi."

Mara pulled away, planting her hands firmly against his chest. "Is that so?" she challenged. Luke knew that smirk and nodded innocently.

"Well, Master Jedi," the window shutters slammed shut with a flick of her finger. "As long as we're giving lessons, you could stand to learn a few things yourself. Like the first rule of espionage."

Luke suddenly found himself flat on the bed with a set of green eyes gleaming over slender fingers pressed against his lips. "Shhhhh…." she whispered, sliding her fingers tenderly across his mouth and replacing them with her lips.

The terrace of the lake house was dotted with a sea of tea lamps that sat centered in the middle of each table. Guests had finished dinner and were mingling, looking over the balustrade at the lake, or dancing.

Other than the fact that the bride and groom had arrived late, for reasons they did not explain, the Jedi bonding ceremony had proceeded smoothly under Kam's inspired guidance.

Anakin had laughed at Mara's irreverent humor throughout their dance and the obligatory quip about carbonite during Han's toast and now stood now by the large tree, his mind light years away. His own wedding had been here. He and Padmé had stood in the very spot he was standing in and taken their vows. Unlike tonight's festivities, they were alone with only their droids to witness. He thought with a pang of regret how it could have all been so different and then shook it off. He could hear the voice of Obi-Wan drifting to his ears, telling him to move on and let it go, followed by a familiar chuckle.

There were times when he could not wait to join them in the Force. Sometimes he longed for Padmé's embrace and the friendship of Obi-Wan so much, he could feel it in his bones. But he was content to keep waiting and enjoying his family until that time came. They would have eternity.

He gazed across the crowd of smiling faces and could not help but think that the Force did guide you, if only you let it. He was so proud of his children and everything they had accomplished. His grandchildren were a blessing beyond his fondest imagination. He was interrupted from his reverie by a hand tugging at his sleeve.

"Grandpa, will you dance with me?"

He smiled down at Jaina and said, "I have been waiting all night for you to ask."

He took her hand and led her to the open dance area.

The twilight had turned the sky purple and orange with the last bits of daylight lingering just enough to lend a slight magical feeling to the reception. The faerie lights lit the balcony with a magical air, and the music wove around the guests in lilting and dreamlike melodies. Luke could swear he heard the laughter from the mythical Naboo water sprites as he watched the water dance with the last of the light from the balcony.

He was so happy he wanted this moment to last forever. His wife laughed with Han in the corner, her voice carrying over the waves of the lake like the sound of bells, clear and sweet. He turned back toward the party and leaned back on his elbows against the balcony. Leia walked up to stand beside her brother, slipping her arm through his and sipping from her champagne.

"Would you look at that? I think someone will have Father wrapped around her finger for the rest of his life."

Luke smiled and turned to his sister. "Don't worry. I think you still the have the tightest hold," he winked.

"Like you don't," she said, elbowing him lightly.

"You're right. I see him sometimes though, and I know he's thinking about Mother and Obi-Wan…and Qui-Gon and Grandmother. He won't be here with us forever," Luke said soberly.

"Oh, stop it. I think he'll be here a while longer. He's too stubborn to go out to early. Especially with the prospect of another grandchild in the future," Leia smirked.

Luke flushed and quickly changed the subject. "Look at that," he said motioning to Jaina and Anakin. "Have you ever seen anything so sweet?"

Anakin danced with Jaina's feet on top of his boots as he held her hands out to the side. She giggled uncontrollably as he moved them back and forth and tilted her head back to look into his face, her eyes a mixture of glee and unrestrained happiness.

Leia smiled, a bittersweet smile when she thought of the circumstances had kept the two of them from being able to dance together like that. She felt a pang of heartache and shook Luke's arm as she detached hers to move away. She intended to make up for it tonight, with the next song. Luke smiled as she went to catch their father when the music ended.

He watched as his sister moved into their father's embrace, and as Anakin brought his arm protectively around Leia's back and his chin to rest atop her head. He had to swallow the lump that moved up into his throat at the sight of the two them, so alike, finally accepting each other unconditionally. He blinked a tear away as he saw his sister do the same as their father gathered her closer. Yes, tonight was definitely the happiest night of his life.

Mara appeared beside him, "If you glow any brighter, Skywalker, you're going to alter the tides or offset some kind of lunar balance."

Luke wrapped his arm around her waist, smiling. "And you're practically an independent light source yourself, Mrs. Skywalker."

Guiding her onto the terrace, he led her into the swelling music of a traditional Naboo wedding dance. The delicate scent of flowers drifted from Mara's hair and he rested his cheek then lips on her forehead.

In unison, Luke and Mara turned and gazed across the terrace, arm in arm. Jaina had coaxed her father onto the dance floor and Chewie lumbered past sporting Jacen and little Anakin on his shoulders. The laughter of their friends drifted around them, echoed in the distance by the sounds of nocturnal birds.

Luke sighed, pulling his wife close. The Force had indeed smiled on his family, and they flourished in its circle of light.

THE END