Delicious smells waft up to greet us as Luke and I descend the staircase. The dining room table is laden with an assortment of delicacies, arranged artistically in fine stone ware platters.

"Wow," says Luke as his eyes widen at the sight. "Looks like a feast fit for kings! You didn't tell me my mother could cook like this!"

"She can't," I tell him bluntly, but with a smile. "She can't boil an egg."

Luke laughs. "No? After everything you've told me about her I just expected her to be perfect at everything."

"Not quite," I tell him. "Cooking was never a skill she could master, as much as she tried. I remember one time when…" I stop as I sense someone standing behind us. Uh oh…

"Telling tales about me, Anakin?"

Luke and I turn around to see Padmé standing behind us, hands on her hips.

I smile sheepishly. "Just answering the boy's question," I reply.

Padmé tries not to smile, unsuccessfully. "Don't forget, Anakin, that there are more than a few stories about you I could share."

"Really?" puts In Luke, rubbing his hands together. "I like the sound of that!"

"Now wait a minute…" I begin, but Padmé just laughs as she walks past us. The sound of her laughter is like music to my ears.

"Relax, Ani," she says. "I'm not about to embarrass you." She turns to look at Luke and I. "Besides, I doubt there's much I can say to remove the hero worship in Luke's eyes."

I look at Luke, and smile, glad that the closeness between Luke and me has not gone unnoticed by her.

"Milady," I say as I pull out a chair for her. She glances over her shoulder at me, and takes her seat. "Thank you," she says, somewhat surprised by my gallant gesture.

"You're welcome," I tell her. I take a seat across from her, beside Luke. "Where is Leia?"

"Right here!"

We turn to see Leia enter the room, her face looking flushed as though she has run all the way up to the house. "Sorry to keep you waiting." She comes up behind my chair, puts her arms around my neck and gives me a kiss on the cheek. She then moves to the other side of the table and gives her mother a hug.

"You haven't," replies Padmé with a smile. "We just sat down."

"This looks amazing!" exclaims Leia as she sits beside her mother. "Please don't tell me you did all this. I can't cook to save my soul, and I'd hate to think I missed out on this incredible skill in the gene pool."

Padmé laughs. "No, I did not do this," she assures our daughter. "I'm afraid your cooking inadequacies are indeed genetic, Leia; as your father can tell you, I'm a woefully bad cook."

"Now, I didn't exactly say that," I say in self defense.

"'Can't boil an egg' were the exact words, weren't they?" she asks Luke.

"Yep, that's what he said," Luke concurs with a nod. I look from my son back to my wife, sensing that they are ganging up on me.

"I sense a conspiracy," I say at last, which earns laughter from all three of them.

"Don't be so suspicious, Father," Luke tells me affably.

Padmé and I look at one another, both of us relishing the brief sense of unity that the humor of the moment has created. For an instant, the past is not an issue, we are a family, enjoying one another's company; I've missed you so much...I tell her, hoping she is still able to read me as she once did. I can see in her eyes that she is, that she has heard me. But suddenly she realizes that she has left her guard down and immediately raises it again. Disappointed, I try not to lose hope, however. We have shared a connection, one made possible by our two blessed children; will they be the means by which we will reconnect? Will the strength of their love for us and one another mend the brokenness of our past?

"So Han and Chewie are heading back to Coruscant?" asks Luke.

Leia nods as she helps herself to the eggs. "Yes," she replies. "He said he'd be back tomorrow."

I watch my daughter, sensing that she is not telling us something. "Is everything alright, Leia?" I ask her.

She looks up at me with a smile. "Yes, everything is just fine, Father. In fact, everything is wonderful."

I raise an eyebrow and glance at Padmé.

"Oh?" I ask. "And why is that? Or need I ask?"

Leia blushes, looking down at her plate for a moment before looking up at us.

"Han asked me to marry him," she tells us, the joy emanating from her in great waves.

"That's fantastic!" exclaims Luke as he smiles broadly.

"Congratulations, Leia," Padmé says, leaning over and kissing our daughter. "He seems like a fine young man."

"He is," I concur. "I like him a great deal." I look at Leia. "I wish you every happiness, Leia," I tell her with a smile.

"Thank you, Father," she says, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness.

"So why did he take off after asking you to marry him?" asks Luke.

Leia shrugs. "You know Han," she says. "He's kind of uncomfortable with the whole family thing, never having had one himself."

"Yes, that's probably part of it," I concur. "Still, I hope he will come to feel as though he is a part of this family."

Leia smiles. "Yes, I hope so to."

"May I propose a toast?" asks Luke as he holds a glass of orange juice aloft.

"Yes of course," replies Padmé, raising her glass as well.

Luke looks at each of us, and I can feel the depth of his emotions as he does so. "To us, the Skywalker family, and new beginnings."

I look at Padmé as I raise my glass. "To new beginnings," I say. She says nothing, but touches her glass to each of ours, returning the toast. It is a good sign, I decide; a sign that she is at least open to the possibility that we can start again. And that is enough to give me hope.