A/N:Thanks again for all those reviewing this story and sending me your ideas. It is appreciated.

Padmé greeted Anakin at the rented docking bay that was large enough for the Millennium Falcon to land. Anakin ran down the plank, picked her up and spun her around. "I've missed you, Angel."

"Is he always like this?" Han asked Mara.

"Yes, they still act like newlyweds, it's kind of embarrassing." Mara Jade rolled her eyes.

"Well, you and Luke would make a cute couple."

Mara Jade turned around and gave Han an evil glare; he backed up and said, "Whoa, sister. I was just kidding. Damn!"

"Maybe you and Leia could get together too, Han. But then she's probably too good for you."

"Hey!"

"Han Solo, this is my wife, Padmé Skywalker."

"Nice too meet you ma'am."

"Likewise. I hope you are hungry, we have prepared a feast, and the Naberries are coming to visit."

"Starving, Mr. Skywalker's food leaves something to be desired."

"Hey!"

"Oh, Anakin, you didn't."

"What?"

"At least it wasn't bugs or worms some such gross things." Mara stated.

"Its protein, young one and when you are fighting in the Clone Wars there are no fancy chefs with steak and potatoes."

"I think I rather go hungry." Mara stated.

"Okay, we shall see." Anakin grinned evilly.

"There are no wars going on Master!"

"You think there has to be a war to learn how to survive in the jungle? Think again, padawan."

Han Solo rolled his eyes and followed Padmé as she went towards the speeder.

"Are they always like this?" Han Solo whispered in Padmé's ear.

"Yes, they are made for each other. It's really no wonder that the Jedi Council authorized Mara Jade to be Anakin's padawan. Mara's been such a blessing, she's helped settle him down and bring him into focus."

"She's got a bad temper though."

"Yes, but at least its not as bad as it used to be."

"It was worse?" Han asked incredulously.

"Yes. She used to have force-induced temper tantrums; it's actually kind of comical now if you think about it. It wasn't then, whew it was terrifying."

"What did Mr. Skywalker do?"

"He would just look at her and she would immediately stop."

"Just a look?"

"Yes, have you seen it yet?"

"Maybe."

Padmé mimicked what Anakin would do when he gave the look. She stood straight up, she put her hand on her hip and point her right-hand index finger at Han and glared at him so that he felt three sizes too small.

"Yep that's it, I've seen it."

"Wait until you see his beautiful blue eyes go to a darker blue almost a gray in color, and then you know you have really crossed the line."

"Does he ever give you the look Mrs. Skywalker?"

"He wouldn't dare. He's tried, but I end up laughing at him then he starts laughing, but you must realize that we are equals, I can get away with a lot more." Padmé laughed.

Anakin then grabbed Padmé around her waist and said, "Get away with what, Angel? Mocking me?"

"Yes, and Anakin, get over it, you love it."

"But I love you more."

"Oh, jeez get a room will yea?" Mara replied disgustedly.

Anakin drove home, Mara and Han were silent.

"How was Luke, you weren't too hard on him I hope, Anakin."

"No, I actually did the same thing to Mace, when I was first starting my training."

"Why do you Skywalker boys pick on Jedi Master Windu so much? He's second only to Yoda; the man has no sense of humor." Mara replied.

"Actually you are wrong, padawan. Master Windu does have a sense of humor; he just doesn't show it around the temple or to younglings. I've seen it and so has Master Kenobi."

"Was that before or after he punished you for your latest prank?"

"I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me." Anakin laughed.

"Ryoo is doing well; she really enjoys her new school. She's almost out of rehab; she will still have to see a therapist for a while."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. Will she be at the house this afternoon?"

"Yes, she says that she can't wait to see you, Ani."

"Feeling is mutual."

"Sola and Darred are really appreciative of what you've done."

"It's all part of being a Jedi, Padmé. Not only that but Ryoo is family and you know how important family is to me."

"Yes, honey, I do." Even though Shmi had long since died, Padmé knew that Anakin still thought of her and when the anniversary of her death was approaching, Anakin would get moody and irritable; most of the time he would take a couple of days to go off-planet to mediate and would return the same old Anakin. Padmé never minded he always brought her back a keepsake from whatever planet he would visit; it was always a hand-carving of some type.

Han was amazed at the size of the home, it may not be a mansion, but was huge. Padmé showed him to his room and introduced Threepio and Artoo. The two droids were bickering as always.

"Artoo, settle down will you? What's got your wires in a knot anyway?" Mara scolded.

"Hey, don't talk to Artoo, like that. He has feelings, don't you Artoo?" Anakin asked.

Artoo zapped Mara in the seat of her pants with his electrical probe.

"Ouch, damn you Artoo! I'm gonna take the probe and shove it where the sun don't shine."

Artoo responded with a raspberry and whirled away.

"Mara, go change and join me in the mediation room."

"I need to check on my garden, Master."

"It can wait, Mara."

Mara sighed deeply, "Suppose I don't want it to wait." Mara mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, master, I'll see you in five minutes."

Mara stormed to her room and shut the door.

"Anakin, why is Mara upset?"

"We've had some issues this trip with her anger and her rebelliousness."

"Oh, that sounds awfully familiar." Padmé rolled her eyes.

Anakin tried to glare at Padmé but when she started to laugh, he chased her throughout the house.

Han couldn't help but to laugh, Mr. Skywalker was definitely in his environment, he seemed more relaxed and dare he think it, high-spirited? Padmé screamed as Anakin kept chasing her right out of the house. Anakin caught her easily enough and tossed her over his shoulder as she beat on his back with her small ineffectual fists.

"Put me down Anakin Skywalker!" Padmé yelled.

"You started this Padmé, and I'm going to finish it; its time for some serious aggressive negotiations." With that he laid her gently in the grass and started to tickle her mercilessly.

Sola heard her sister laughing and screaming at the same time, she ran to the backyard and saw Anakin on top of her sister he was tickling her.

"Ah, don't mean to interrupt." Sola laughed.

Anakin turned three shades of red, stood up and helped Padmé to her feet.

"Sola, so good to see you." Padmé hugged her sister.

"More aggressive negotiations, Master Jedi?"

"Yes, she instigated it."

"My sweet innocent sister, you've got to be joking." Sola sarcastically stated.

Ryoo saw her Uncle coming towards the house; she ran towards him and gave him a hug.

"Uncle Anakin."

"Well there's the girl I know." Anakin spun her around and she kissed him on the cheek. Pooja ran towards them and also gave him a big hug; he carried both girls into the house.

"If you ladies would excuse me; I didn't expect you so early." Anakin set them on the sofa and went down the hall; Mara was already waiting on him.

"Sorry to make you wait, Mara."

"It's a Skywalker trait, you guys are always late. Master Kenobi told me."

"Do you want to postpone this or do you want to go ahead with it?"

"Let's get it over with, Master. I hate waiting for the hammer to fall."

Anakin sat crossed legged on the floor and settled his mind, the room filled with a warm soft glow. For the most part, Mara enjoyed mediating with Anakin it was like wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket just fresh out of the dryer, it was a pleasant feeling; unless he was highly agitated than the room would seemingly drop twenty degrees and she would shiver. He didn't seem irritated this afternoon, but he was disappointed. She felt his emotions and she felt ashamed.

"I'm sorry, master. I didn't mean to shame you or your lessons. I will try to control my anger it's just I'm jealous."

"I know; you and I will always have a bond, Mara Jade. Nothing in this world can change that. Han Solo is not a threat, he's a bit misguided and a tad strong-willed, but he means well. Underneath that hard, tough exterior thumps a heart of solid gold, he actually tried to defend you in that office. He was frightened, but he's definitely not a coward."

"So how long will I be grounded?"

"I will not lengthen your original punishment, I think having to work with Han and I on the Falcon will be more than enough. If you ever feel that you are losing your temper, face it of course, but leave the situation if you can't physically leave then mentally go away. Do not attempt to overpower Han again, do you understand?"

"Yes, master."

"Remember, Mara. With a great power such as the Force, comes great responsibility, I don't want to lose you to the Dark Side, I very nearly succumbed myself. Fear, anger, aggression the dark side are they, Mara Jade. I want you to meditate on that for awhile then come out to join us."

Anakin hugged Mara Jade and left the room. Mara sighed, "Well that wasn't too bad, I thought for sure I'd get another month added."

Mara Jade mediated just as Anakin had instructed and she saw an alternate vision of herself as an assassin, she had a bright red lightsaber, and she was wearing all black.

"No, I will not let the dark side into my heart. I will learn to control my temper."

"Your anger will make you more powerful, Mara."

"Yes but then I will be enslaved by it, no thank you." Mara then saw another vision, she was a grown lady she was holding a baby and a young man was with her he had bright blue eyes and sandy blond hair. It was strange there was something familiar about this young man, but the vision swirled away from her and she pulled out of her meditation. She felt happy and content.

"Mara?"

"Yes, master?"

"If you are finished, dinner is almost ready."

"Coming!"

Mara entered the dining room and Anakin stood up, "We would be honored if you would join us."

"Thanks, Master." Mara rolled her eyes and the rest of the family laughed. Mara saw Ryoo she looked a lot better, it looked like she gained some weight and the healthy glow to her skin had returned. Han sat eating his dinner, but was unusually quiet. Mara saw green peas on her plate, she hated green peas. While Anakin was talking with Darred about his small enterprise she levitated green peas to Han's plate. Han didn't like green peas either, but he noticed that his small pile of them kept getting larger. He saw Mara lifting her finger and a small group of peas started levitating towards his plate.

Anakin saw what was going on, but allowed Mara to continue, Han didn't know what to do, and he just sat there dumbfounded.

Once the plate was cleared off, Mara Jade asked if she could be excused.

"Mara did you eat all of your peas?" Anakin asked innocently, expecting a lie.

Mara sighed, "No, Master. I hate peas."

"Where are your peas then?"

"I gave them to Han."

"Han, give all of your peas to Mara and choose another vegetable."
Mara grumbled as Han happily scrapped the peas onto Mara's plate. She ate her peas and drank her milk.

"May I now be excused?"

"Yes I think I hear the dishes calling your name, Mara." Anakin grinned mischievously.

"Oh, yes, Master. I hear them too, they are calling for you as well, what do you know?"

Everyone at the entire table busted out laughing. Anakin laughed as well and joined Mara in washing the dishes.

"Master?"

"Yes, young one?"

"I had a strange vision; I was grownup and I was wearing all black and had a red lightsaber, it seemed I was some sort of an assassin. Then I had another vision where I was with a young man and was holding our child."

"Always in motion is the future. It is possible you are seeing two alternate realities. Luke had one too, he saw me wearing all black with a helmet and my lightsaber was red too."

"You as a Sith?"

"I came very close, Mara. I was afraid of losing Padmé. I would do just about anything to save her life, Darth Sidious knew this and he was attempting to lure me with his dark promises. Just remember Mara the more powerful you become, the more the Dark Side will whisper to you. Can you imagine how Yoda and Master Windu feel sometimes?"

"Yea, always being tempted, that's why I should never give in to anger."

"That's right, Mara." Anakin put his arm around her and squeezed her tight.

After finishing washing dishes, Mara went outside to the gazebo and found Ryoo sitting there.

"How are you, Ryoo?"

"Better, thank you. I should be out of rehab in a few weeks, but I still have to continue to seeing the therapist."

"That's great news, Ryoo."

"Yea, but I miss my old friends, Mara."

"They weren't your friends, Ryoo. They only liked you because you were apart of their gang."

"Yea, but its still hard."

"I can imagine. I'm still your friend, though Ryoo, and will always be your friend."

"I know, Mara. You don't know how much that means to me." Mara gave Ryoo a hug and they went out towards the wooded glade and climbed the large oak.

"It's getting dark."

"Yes, but let's wait for a moment sometimes the lightning bugs come out. It's really cool then."

"So what's up with Han Solo?"

"He's a mechanic assistant that Master Skywalker hired from Corellia. He's a scoundrel and a nerf-herder."

Ryoo laughed so hard, nearly falling out of the tree.

"Leia is always teasing him, but I think she likes him."

"Leia is only five."

"Yea, I know; its weird she acts a lot older than she really is, she should grow up to be a politician or something. Luke is especially cute with his Jedi padawan braid. I'm so grateful that I don't have to have one."

"Mara time to come in, Ryoo has to leave soon."

"Master beckons, come on Ryoo."

"Mara?"

"Yea?"

"I was wondering; have you ever seen Uncle Anakin really angry?"

"Yes. It ain't pretty, his eyes become this stormy gray color and he stands so straight and gets this finger thing going oh and he gets this one hand on his hip. Sometimes he crosses his arms and glares you down. Like this." Mara demonstrated and Ryoo started laughing.

Mara soon joined in they put their arms around each other's shoulder's and laughed all the way to the house. After the Naberries left, Mara went to take a shower and get ready for bed. "Good night, Solo."

"Good night, Jade."

The next morning, Han Solo awoke to find Anakin standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, its time to awaken."

"Oh, come on, it's still dark outside." Han covered his head with the blankets and fell back to sleep. Anakin pulled the covers and Han tumbled onto the floor, crying out.

"Come on, man, give me a break."

"See you downstairs for breakfast." Anakin left the doorway and awoke Mara Jade who was already making her bed.

"Good morning, young one."

"Morning, there's not a damn thing good about it!"

"Breakfast is almost ready."

Han and Mara came out of their bedrooms mumbling about early mornings and hating to get up and just generally complaining. Anakin sipped on his morning coffee and had prepared a lunch so they wouldn't have to travel back home. Mara and Han ate breakfast and joined Anakin in the speeder. The sun was just breaking above the horizon when they arrived at the hanger. The parts that Anakin had ordered arrived, he would be installing a new hyperdrive as the old one was fixed and fiddled with way too much. Anakin assigned Han to help him while Mara worked on the navigating computer, installing new programs and cleaning up the files. Han and Anakin cursed and sweated as the hyperdrive was difficult to install. Mara let out a window shattering scream as she saw a large rat approach her. She put a force barrier around the creature and continued to scream.

Han and Anakin came running into the cockpit and saw Mara standing on a chair and the rat was just stunned.

"Mara?"

"It tried to bite me."

Anakin did a small push with the Force convincing the rat that there were better hunting grounds elsewhere and with a wave of his hand removed the barrier. The rat ambled away. Mara was helped down from the chair.

"He meant you no harm, he wasn't diseased or anything, just hungry."

"Could have fooled me, he just stared at me with his beady little eyes."

Han started to laugh; Mara glared at him menacingly stated, "It's not funny, Solo."