Chapter 5

by Saber Girl Leia

Important Author's Note: Actually, it was probably several months between chapters 2 and 3. Sorry about any confusion, I know I originally said 1 month, but it is too hard to have Ellie be that young, and some time needs to have passed for the other stuff as well. I will go back and change that; thank you ariapaige,the other Saber Girls, and some of my friends from school for pointing some stuff out/helping me work it out.

Disclaimer: Thank you George Lucas, Timothy Zahn, etc. (that means all the actors, editors, techies, friends, fictional characters, etc., etc. and everybody else who helped!) for creating and bringing to life this universe and not shooting me for bringing my own talents to it. I am not making any money off this, just getting in some good practice for the original stuff which will hopefully get me money eventually, and most of all having fun. The characters belong to themselves. (They've fought long and hard for that freedom!)

Mara-look-a-like: Thanks for the review! Don't worry about the timing, it's fine. (Trust me, I understand about the school bit. Just finished exams myself.) I'm glad you like it. Anything in particular you (or anyone else reading this) want(s) to see happen? No promises, but I will read and consider suggestions.

A little later

By the time Leia arrived at the house, it seemed fairly peaceful. There was no distress emanating from her brother, in fact, he seemed to be... sleeping. Hopefully Threepio had El under control.

But, wait- was that Mara she sensed inside the house? Leia was not at all displeased to find the trader visiting, just surprised. The fiery-haired and fiery-tempered woman had expressed last time they had seen her that she did not expect to be stopping by again anytime soon.

Leia hoped that her two friends hadn't argued again. That could have certainly driven Luke to exhaustion. But Mara's sense, the part that was not shielded, did not seem at all angry or unhappy. Though perhaps a bit wistful.

Careful to shield her presence, Leia peered through a near window into the kitchen. To her shock, Mara appeared to be cleaning. Not cleaning of a type one would expect Mara to do, such as cleaning an old hyperdrive unit or a trade item. House cleaning. Her bright hair was tied back, she wore an apron, and she carried a wet rag. Ellanore was sitting in the middle of the floor, playing with a doll and some model speeders. She babbled, and Mara glanced over at her; smiling. Then she went back to work scrubbing the floor.

Leia did not want to embarrass the other woman when she was so obviously enjoying herself in a rare way, but felt obligated, having come this far, to check on everything. So she compromised. After walking few blocks away from the house, she unshielded herself, took out her comlink, and called home.

Mara answered. "Hello?"

"Mara? It's Leia. Glad to hear from you."

"Yeah... I found myself in the area, and Skywalker seemed to be in distress again." She gave a dry laugh, "As always."

Leia chuckled also. "Yeah, I was on my way to see if he was all right myself. He'd really be in trouble if it wasn't for us, wouldn't he?"

"That's for sure. He's all right now- just had a run in with Ellie and some flying food."

Leia giggled. To her surprise, Mara sounded as if she might have been stifling a giggle as well. She had never really imagined Mara Jade giggling before.

"So, did you want to come over and check on him yourself, or what?"

"That would be great. I'm about five minutes away, so I'll be there soon." She hoped that would give Mara enough time to get ready, and not be caught off-guard. Not that Mara was often truly off-guard.

"See you then, bye."

"Right, good bye."

As she ended the call, Mara pondered whether to switch back to her normal independent, non-house cleaning, somewhat shielded and reserved persona, or to let Leia see the inner self she so rarely let show through, which this child had brought out in her.

She must admit, she had enjoyed this little visit much more than she had expected. Even the washing dishes and scrubbing the floor. And thankfully, the droids had not returned yet, although she wouldn't have minded much if it had been only Artoo.

Mara was still trying to make a decision when she realized that her friend would be arriving at any moment. She no longer had time to change, at least not in terms of clothing. Her demeanor she could change at any moment. But she trusted Leia, at least to the extent that she trusted anyone. And letting Leia see her like this- in an apron, and playing with a child- might be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill.

Besides, it would all come out eventually. Skywalker was no fool; he certainly knew that messes like the one Ella had made in the kitchen did not clean themselves up. And Mara did not think either of those twins would prod her about it. They would be thankful, but not teasing. Nor would they thank her to ridiculous degrees; they knew that would embarrass her, and cause her to close up again. Mara was not sure that she wanted Han hearing of all this, and she definitely did not want any of it getting out to the general public, but... it was all right if Luke and Leia knew. It was all right to let them in beyond her outermost barriers. It was all right to be their friends.

She did not change. The doorcom buzzed. "Leia?" she called.

"Yes," responded the familiar voice. Mara hurried to let her in.

"Hey," Leia greeted her, not showing any adverse or startled reaction to her companion's unusual outfit. Mara, although surprised, was pleased. "So you've been making sure my brother doesn't do anything too crazy?" she queried lightheartedly.

"Yup, that's me," Mara replied, "Skywalker's personal babysitter!" The two women laughed, and Ellie wiggled herself into the kitchen doorway to see them.

She had not learned to walk yet, and probably would not for some time, judging by the average child's rate of development, but the girl had been prodigious at rolling and even the beginnings of crawling; probably due to her adult muscles.

The child gurgled. Leia nearly ran over to see her. "Hey, Ella, how's our baby doing? Have you been taking good care of Daddy for us? Yeah?"

"I don't know if good care is quite the way I would describe it," Mara said out of the side of her mouth. "She threw food all over the place. We had to send Threepio to the cleaners!"

Leia groaned. "So that's why it's so quiet around her."

"Hey, I'm not complaining."

"Me neither. Between him and my own kids, not to mention the government," she made a face, "I can't remember the last quiet moment I had."

Mara snorted. "You almost forgot Han. And with Luke bugging me about the training, I haven't had many either."

"Is he still bothering you about that?" Leia made a doll walk to Ellie. "He means well, but he can't force people into things like that."

"Yeah. I... I think I want to train, at least some, eventually, but I'm not sure I'm ready yet. And I'm afraid that if I do go to Yavin for some training, that he won't let me leave."

"He can't make you stay against your will."

"But he can make me stay against my better judgment. I can't help but worry about what I would do with power like that. I've been proven not entirely good before."

"Mara, that was a long time ago. You've changed; times have changed. I don't want to push you, or make you do anything you don't want to, but as you are torn, and not entirely against it, I'll give a little council.

"Go, try it out. I fought my training for a long time, because of the past, and now I regret it. We need more Jedi; and we need more Jedi who have no qualms about giving Luke constructive criticism on his teaching methods. And now, with El, and having lost Callista,... he needs all the help he can get. I promise I'll back you if you ever need it when he's trying to control your decisions, but please consider it."

"If only he wouldn't nag so much. Sometimes I feel like I can't say yes, just because I have to be contrary."

"The world wouldn't end if the two of you agreed just once, you know."

Mara frowned. "Thanks for being so understanding," she muttered.

"I'm sorry."

They played with their niece in silence for a while.

A few moments later, Leia spoke again. "Luke needs help with her. Listen, if Han, the kids, the droids, and I stay home with her tomorrow night, will you take him out to dinner? He just needs to relax."

"I like the idea but I have to tell you I don't think I'm a particularly relaxing person to be around. Why don't I stay here and you take him out. Special twin bonding time, or something."

Leia grinned. "I'd love too, but I must say I can't see you and Han getting along together for that long, and I do think Luke would enjoy your presence. Besides, much as I think he'd love to have dinner with me, he'd probably decide it was taking me away from the rest of the family and feel all guilty about it. If it works tomorrow, I'll take him out the next night, I promise. Okay?"

Mara nodded, thought she still had a few resignations. "Fine. Look, I want to get this apron and all off before he wakes up- which should be soon- otherwise he'll think I've been working really hard and get all apologetic." She tugged at the apron strings. Leia knew better than t give her a hand.

"I'll stick around just until he wakes up, but then I have to go back."

"Right."

It was as they waited for Luke to wake up that Mara realized they had both taken it for granted that she was staying at least another two days. And she wasn't angry about it.

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