Title: Clear As A Bell

Author: Sw (aka Jeditheskyisblue)

Rating: Teen

Summary: Mara waited too long to accept Luke's offer of marriage or did she?

Author's note: I wrote this for a challenge I believe from a yahoo group about how the Emperor got Mara Jade as a child. I have a whole outline of that but never did get around to actually putting it into the story. Perhaps one day I will.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars and am making no money off of this story. I just wrote it for fun.

Part 2

Callista looked around the room, still no Luke. She had begun to worry about him when Leia walked over towards her friend.

"Luke just sent me a message through the Force. He won't be coming back tonight. He said he ran into a friend that needed his help" Leia said, not really believing what her brother had told her. This was just another way for him to get out of his date with Callista--for the sixth time in two weeks! What made the matter worse was he wouldn't call Callista his girlfriend. He had told Leia and Callista that he was in love with someone else, and that the woman he loved just needed time to face the fact that she loved him too.

Both women believed Luke to be lying. He just didn't want take the chance of getting hurt again. But couldn't Luke see that Callista wasn't going to leave him this time?

"Which one of his friends?" Callista asked bringing Leia out of her line of thought. Now that she thought about it, Luke hadn't said who it was he was helping.

"He didn't say" Leia said as she tried to open a channel through the Force with her brother only to find he had shielded himself.

"He's shielding" Leia said as she looked at her friend. It hurt Leia to see her friend in pain over how her brother treated her. But there wasn't anything she could do about it, was there? She couldn't force Luke to marry Callista if he didn't want to, could she? Oh but she would like to.

As Luke entered Mara's apartment he smiled. He had never been allowed inside before. Mara had many rules. One of them was no men in her home. He couldn't really blame her. Most of the men Mara met were doing business with her trading company. And no one would want them in their home.

As Luke took a seat in a chair, Mara eyed him. What was the Jedi up to? She just hoped he didn't try anything with her. After all he was with Callista now.

Maybe she was dreaming but she thought she saw Luke look at her like he had that night their affair began. She had to be dreaming. Luke wasn't the kind to cheat on the woman he loved.

"You can go now Skywalker I'm fine you got me home. Now be a good Jedi and leave." Mara ordered her ex-boyfriend.

Luke looked at Mara. He still didn't believe that she had the flu. She was keeping something from him, of that he was sure. Besides, he really needed to talk to her.

"Sorry Mara but I think we need to talk." Luke said as he got more comfortable in Mara's chair.

Would this day ever end, Mara thought to herself. Was she going to have to throw Luke out? "I'm tired, Jedi, please leave. We have nothing to talk about." Mara stated as she opened her front door and pointed towards it.

Luke just shook his head. "You're not getting rid of me that easy, Jade. I'm not leaving until we talk."

Luke put his feet up on her coffee table and smiled because he knew Mara wouldn't like it.

"Well have fun sleeping on the sofa Farmboy, because I'm going to bed." With that said Mara left a very confused Luke alone in her living room.

Luke could tell that Mara didn't want him there, but he wasn't about to leave. She was hiding something from him, and he refused to leave until he knew what it was. A few seconds later Mara entered the living room again with a pillow in her hand.

"Here if you're going to stay here you're going to need this" she said as she handed him the pillow.

"Thanks," Luke said as he walked over towards her sofa it didn't look that uncomfortable. Besides, even if it was Luke couldn't leave Mara. He had finally got her back in his life and he wasn't going to let her go.

"Night, Luke" Mara said as she left him to somehow make his own bed.

"Night" he replied as he watched her head to what he guessed was her bedroom.

As Luke lay on her sofa, he tossed and turned. It was not comfortable at all. He wanted nothing more than to run into Mara's bedroom and sleep next to her. Knowing Mara she probably had a queen maybe a king size bed. She wouldn't even know he was there.

They again if she did she might kill him. He had been in her bed before and she hadn't killed him. But that had been when she had wanted him there.

She didn't want him there now. For the life of him, Luke didn't understand why?

Sure, Callista had returned but didn't Mara realize that he loved only her? Mara Jade held his heart and soul, and it was killed him that she didn't seem to know it.

As he closed his eyes and tried to let sleep take him, he couldn't help but remember the way her lips felt on his. This was going to be a long night.

Mara closed her eyes again. Why did the Jedi have to stay here? Why couldn't he just leave and go back to his girlfriend? She should have just kicked him out like she had planned to do. But when those blue eyes of his bored into her she melted and let him stay. She wondered why he wanted to stay if he was in love with Callista, and it troubled her.

Because he's worried about you, Mara thought. That had to be it because there was no way Luke would pick her over Callista the perfect Jedi.

Well there was one way. If he found out about the baby he would drop Callista in a heartbeat to be with the Mother of his unborn child. Mara wasn't going to tell him just yet. He still had to marry Callista first.

She wouldn't have her baby stand in the way of Luke having the Wife he truly loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with. "Don't worry Ami. Everything is going to work out just fine." She said as her hand moved to her stomach. She wondered if Ami would have her father's blue eyes. She hoped her daughter would. Mara opened her eyes. She could feel Luke's warm presence close by. It would be so easy to just call to ask him if he would join her. But she wouldn't no, she was stronger then that.

"Love is Pain," she heard the Emperor's voice say in her mind once again. She was surprised when she heard another voice yell. "Run, Mara Run!"

"I need sleep" Mara whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and forced herself to go to sleep. Her last thought before sleep took her was of Luke and his smiling face.

TBC….