Ahhhhh...chapter 8...I've been eager to get to this part, mwahahaha

Luke's out of the Halls of Healing! Yay!

And we've got more reunions coming :D

Don't forget the Facebook Page: AngelDesaray of Fanfiction I've got a sketch of Luke's lightsaber in the photo album Sketches on there, if you want to see. I might do more sketches, but I don't know what I want to sketch yet...also, I have some fanart from this series on there.

Back to the Story! Please Review!

Enjoy!

The day Luke was cleared was a very refreshing day for everyone, especially Luke. The day signaled freedom for him; he was free to go home to his family, free to roam the galaxy and do as he so pleased, free to make amends with those he'd wronged, free of the Halls of Healing, and free to see Jeza on his own time. Luke had been rather restless in the speeder on the way to the apartment, but his father had not said a word about it, letting Luke shift a million times in his seat to peer around at Coruscant eagerly. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed civilization, and he'd been unconscious when he'd been brought to the Jedi Temple. Once 500 Republica came into view, though, Luke's full attention was on that sole building; home. Luke wasn't entirely on a light activity restriction, but Saani hadn't advised rushing into any battles anytime soon either. He was absolutely sure that for at least the next week he would be waving off the hands of everyone that was trying to help, but he had missed them all so much he was sure he would hardly mind.

Anakin brought the speeder to a smooth landing on the landing pad, and his father had hardly even started to shut the vehicle off before Luke jumped out of the speeder without even using the door, feet hitting the landing pad with a sound that was music to Luke's ears. He was really home.

His mother and Jeza were waiting for him, and beside them stood C-3PO and R2D2, two droids Luke didn't think he could be any happier to see. R2 wheeled ahead of everyone else, bumping into Luke's leg affectionately and whirring in excitement. Luke laughed, kneeling down to gently rub the droid's domed head.

"I missed you too R2," he said with a big grin. 3PO was hobbling towards them, talking in his usual 3PO manner.

"Master Luke, you're home! I've kept your room in perfect condition at Master Ani's request, and I do hope that everything is just to your liking. Oh, it is good to see you home again," 3PO chattered. Luke grinned, placing a hand on 3PO's shoulder.

"3PO, how many times do I have to tell you; it's just Luke," he said earnestly. At that moment, Jeza reached them, pulling Luke into a proper, full-fledged hug.

"I'm glad you're better Father," Jeza murmured into his chest while Luke gently rubbed her back.

"I am to, Jeza," Luke responded, resting his chin on her head right in between her two lekkus. He pulled away to reach over and wrap his mother into a tight hug, though he noticed that Jeza stayed practically attached to his side all the same. "Mother...it's good to see you again," he murmured into her shoulder.

"It's great to have you home again," she replied. Her hand ran down the front of Luke's shirt—the one he'd been wearing on the cruiser—and she frowned. "Why don't you go on and get out of those old things and put something clean on? I'll wash these and fix them up," she said gently. Luke rolled his eyes.

"I'm not even home three minutes and you're already babying me again," he teased gently. Padme chuckled.

"Go get changed; we won't go anywhere," she assured him.

"All right, all right, I'm going," Luke said in surrender, shuffling away from the happy reunion and following the halls by memory to his room. He paused just outside of the door, hand hovering over the control panel as a strong memory rushed back to him.

I just don't want you thinking that all of it was a lie, because it wasn't...

...Mara?

Luke closed his eyes at the memory of that brief kiss, letting it wash over him for a few moments before his hand came down on the control panel and the door slid back to reveal his bedroom. Just as his father had assured him, everything was just as he'd left it. Of course it had been tidied up, so his blankets were pulled neatly over his bed and there was nothing strewn across the floor. There was a thin layer of dust showing that the room had been regularly cleaned, but not recently. Luke smiled just slightly to himself, crossing the room towards his desk. He dug the holo of his father and his younger self out of his pocket, relieved that the small device had survived through everything. He settled it onto the desk, activating the device so that the image appeared, back in its rightful place on his desk. Slowly, he looked around the room, taking it all in from the soft blue carpet to the podracer models on his dresser. His heart ached and he closed his eyes, breathing it all in.

He'd missed being home.

Slowly, Luke peeled off his current clothes, rifling through the clothes in his dresser. After so much black and brown, it was nice to be able to pull out white trousers and a white tank top. Once he was dressed and his dirty clothes were lying on the bed in wait of his mother, he silently padded barefoot to the bathroom where he could hopefully find something to shave and give himself a quick haircut; he was in a serious need for both.

After about half an hour, Luke finally emerged, freshly shaven and running his hand through his newly tamed hair. He made his way back towards the living room, noticing that Jeza was talking easily with his parents on the couches. He smiled to himself; at least she was getting along with his parents. Luke approached them, still smiling as he listened to Jeza describe some of the hand-to-hand training Luke had given her. When the conversation hit a break, Luke cleared his throat. When Anakin looked up, he caught his son's eye and seemed to know what Luke was about to say before he even got the chance to talk.

"I believed you promised me an explanation of this war whenever I got better," Luke said pointedly as Anakin stood up.

"I did, didn't I?" Anakin said wearily. He sighed, running his hand down his face. "Where to start..."

"You said that when I went into exile there were Jedi that were upset that believed I should have received a harsher punishment, and that Judro had stirred them up to his cause," Luke supplied helpfully, walking with him towards the water fountain.

"I did, didn't I? Well, Judro claims that the Republic had become as corrupt as in the days of the Clone Wars, and that it should be purged and replaced with something stronger and less likely to be corrupted," Anakin explained.

"An Empire?" Luke offered quietly.

"Most likely," Anakin agreed grimly. "He's been gathering a mixture of all sorts of allies; anyone that will agree with him really. That's why his army is so mixed, and he'll use anything he can get his hands on from Pre-Republic technology to modern technology like the Nexu. He's been planning strategic blows to the Republic, taking key planets out from under us by stirring up rebellions and then adding fuel to the fire. The Dark Jedi he's recruited to his cause have acted as Generals or will go undercover and start those rebellions. He still has yet to really show a goal...it's caused some of the other Council Members to wonder if Judro is even the mastermind behind everything or if it's someone else."

"Like with Sidious," Luke muttered seriously.

Anakin sighed. "Yes, like with Sidious. So far we haven't seen any evidence to show there's a puppeteer for this whole ordeal, but..."

"It's best to remain open, just in case," Luke finished for him. "When I was up there...Judro sort of conflicted himself. He tried to convert me, and he was pretty determined to do it. At the same time, he seemed like he really wanted to kill me; he would have if I hadn't wiggled away the few times he came close. If he wanted to turn me, why would he try so hard to kill me?"

Anakin turned to face him, studying him very closely. "You think there is someone else."

Luke nodded. "I think it's a good possibility. That or Judro has some severe personality disorder or he can't decide whether he wants me dead or with him."

"All possible," Anakin said with a humorous smile. "There are skirmishes all over the Galaxy, and the best we can do is try and figure out where they'll attack before they get the chance to strike."

"You're telling me predicting their moves is like trying to see into a madman's mind?"

"Pretty much, yes. We've been able to predict some of their targets, but most of our battles are responding to attacks, quelling rebellions, or freeing planets. It tends to feel like we're one step behind."

"You need someone on the inside," Luke said quietly, staring off into the distance.

"No," Anakin said, so firmly that Luke flinched. "I won't accept your offer. If we do get spies in there, it won't be you; end of story."

"I think that's my choice," Luke said softly.

"It may be your choice, but I can still stop you. Besides, you've spent enough time trapped in darkness, I won't send you someplace like that, especially when you're still recovering from the last time."

"You can tell?" Luke asked, startled.

"You're much brighter in the Force than when you left, but I can tell you're still recovering," Anakin informed him gently, putting his arm around Luke's shoulders. "I understand. I struggle with my inner demons still, too. The recovery after redemption takes time it seems."

"It's harder when you're alone," Luke said suddenly. "I'm sure if I hadn't had Jeza around, I would have progressed backwards instead of forwards."

"Well you're back around family now Luke, and we'll help you in any way that we can," Anakin told him gently. Luke nodded, staring at the water fountain as the small streams of water trickled down happily.

"I just..." he started, huffing in frustration before he started again. "I just wish—"

Luke cut off as he sensed a tremor in the Force, looking up at the horizon in the direction he was sure he'd sensed it from. "Did you feel that?"

"What?" Anakin asked with a frown. He stared off in the direction Luke was facing, obviously stretching out with his Force senses to try and pick up on what Luke had picked up. A slight frown tugged at his lips. "I don't—"

"There, the ship on the horizon," Luke said, pointing at the black dot that was growing rapidly larger, coming straight in their direction. Luke moved away from his father to the other side of the fountain, staring at the dot that was rapidly taking the shape of a space transport ship that looked heavily modified even from this distance. Luke instinctively drew closer, opening up his force senses to see what he could pick up from the ship. Just as he did, Anakin finally seemed to recognize it.

"They got the message," Anakin said simply.

Luke sucked in a sharp breath, going absolutely rigid whenever he felt the familiar presences on the ship. The first one reached out in an eager welcome, while the other flung itself at him with such raw emotion Luke gasped. The ship now had a definite shape; it was sleek, black, and fast, as well as heavily equipped. It wasn't familiar to Luke, yet it was apparently unmistakable to his father who had recognized the ship even at such a distance. Within the next few moments, the ship had reached the apartment and was already landing on the small landing pad at the edge of the veranda. Luke stood frozen with shock, watching the ship as it lowered to touch down on the landing pad. The ramp started to lower before the ship was even on the platform, and the lowering ramp was what jarred Luke out of his stunned state.

Without even thinking, Luke found himself already crossing the veranda to meet the ramp's lone figure, who had jumped off the ramp before it touched the platform. When he took in the shock of red, Luke subconsciously broke out into a run, and the two crashed into each other right in between the veranda and the landing platform. Luke felt like he was in a dream, threading his fingers through the flaming red hair that was currently being dampened from the tears in his eyes while the nimble, strong figure in his arms sobbed into his chest in equal ecstasy. The scent of everlilies and cambylictus berries was overwhelming, but he didn't pull away. In fact, he buried his face in the wild red hair, breathing the scent in like a starving man smelling the feast before him.

"Mara..." he whispered gruffly, pulling the woman in closer and placing his hand gently in the small of her back to do so.

"Luke," Mara sobbed into his chest. "You're really back. I didn't believe it at first when I heard it—are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm safe now," Luke murmured. He breathed her in again, closing his eyes to savor the moment. "Force, I missed you..."

Is this even real, Luke couldn't help but wonder. The pair simply stood there for a moment, holding each other close before they reluctantly separated. Mara promptly punched his arm, her eyes now dry of any signs of tears.

"Don't you ever, ever do that to me again Farmboy, got it?" she scolded, though she had a slight shake to her voice when she said Farmboy. Luke smiled at the nickname.

"Understood," he said in a serious tone of voice, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the cheek. The ship had finally shut down, and its other two occupants were now descending the ramp. Luke kept his arms around Mara, but his smile was still infectiously large when he caught sight of Galen Marek and Juno Eclipse. Behind them a droid descended the ramp as well, just a few paces behind Galen.

When Galen reached Luke he clasped Luke's shoulder firmly, grinning. "Over five years scouring the galaxy for you with two very opinionated women, just for you to appear back in civilization on your own. You own me buddy," Galen scolded before he suddenly pulled Luke into a strong, brotherly hug. "It's great to see you back, Luke."

Luke chuckled slightly before he sobered. "Thank you for keeping your promise, Galen."

"Don't mention it; you would have done the same for me." Luke turned his attention from Galen to the droid that was standing off to the side patiently. "Why don't you introduce me to your new companion?"

"Ah, Luke, this is PROXY, your father built him for me a few years back. PROXY, this is—"

"Luke Skywalker," the droid said in an enthusiastic voice, reaching out to shake his hand. The minute skin connected with metal, the droid changed into a perfect replica of Luke over five years ago, complete with black Second Death Star outfit. Luke was so startled he actually jumped and dropped the droids hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person Sir."

Galen grinned at Luke's reaction. "I forgot to mention; he's a holodroid."

"I can see that," Luke retorted, shaking his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you too PROXY."

"And, ah, I'm sure you've already eyed my new ship a few times. The Rouge Shadow," Galen informed him proudly.

"She is a beauty," Luke complimented him. "Looks like a heavily modified Imperial transport."

"It is...per say," Galen said with a small smile. "Since the Empire never existed, it's not an Imperial transport, but...I understand what you mean."

Luke inclined his head to Juno, who had been standing off to the side. "Always a pleasure to see you again Captain," he said respectfully, not wanting to leave her out of the happy reunion.

"You too Skywalker," Juno replied. Luke cast his eyes over all of them again, pulling Mara and Galen in together for another tight hug.

"It's good to be home," he murmured. A thought struck him, and he released the pair. "Oh! There's someone you two have to meet," he said eagerly, turning back to the three that were gathered in the living room to give Luke and the others some privacy. Luke held out a hand, and smiled encouragingly towards the gray skinned twi'lek that was standing shyly beside his mother.

"Jeza, I want you to come and meet some close friends of mine," he called. Jeza hesitated only a moment before she slowly approached Luke, allowing him to wrap an arm protectively around the girl's shoulders. "Jeza, this is Galen Marek, Juno Eclipse, and Mara Jade," he said, introducing each person in turn.

"And the relationship between you two would be...?" Galen asked as he shook Jeza's hand.

"I'm his daughter; adoptive daughter," she added at the look of shock on all three of their faces. "But his daughter none-the-less."

Luke shifted uncomfortably at the statement, but said nothing. He felt a stir of curiosity from Mara, and knew that his movement had not gone unnoticed. It would have to wait for later though.

"Well, don't just stand there all day," he said cheerily with a bright smile. "Come on inside; I'm sure we have plenty to catch up on..."

Instead of nighttime finding Luke comfortably asleep in bed, he was wide awake, fresh from another nightmare. This one had been especially vivid, full of gruesome deaths from his past and blazing golden eyes that looked too...right on his face. He felt rather sick as he made his way barefoot and shirtless through the halls of the apartment as quietly as he could, hoping not to wake anyone up while he got some fresh air on the veranda.

As he made his way to the middle of the veranda, Luke couldn't help but think of another Skywalker's similar trip in the middle of the night, smiling bitterly at the irony of it all.

It was a dream.

Bad?

Like the ones I used to have about my mother, just before she died...

But these dreams aren't like that, Luke said, doing his best to console himself as he assumed a spot on the couch's arm, staring into the softly bubbling water fountain in front of him. These are nightmares of things that have already happened, things I can't change and still need to let go of...if I ever can.

Luke interlaced his fingers, propped his elbows up on his knees, and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. Thoughts swirled around in his head, most of them unpleasant memories that had decided to haunt him tonight and mar the heartwarming reunion he'd had earlier. Mara's betrayal had been in his nightmares as well, and it was hard for him to shake the image of her holding a blaster to his head out of his mind. Tears slipped past his defenses, trailing down his cheeks despite his efforts to keep it all in.

So distracted was he by his inner musings he hardly realized there was another presence approaching him. A gentle hand on his back caused Luke to jump, turning to see Mara slowly come to a stop beside him with a look of genuine concern. Immediately, Luke cast his eyes away, ashamed that she had caught him crying.

Mara came around to his other side, sitting down on the couch beside him. She didn't ask if he was all right, and she didn't take her hand off of his back. "Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked quietly. Luke hesitated for a moment.

Go ahead and shoot; you'd be doing me a favor.

He shook his head, not trusting his voice not to shake if he tried to speak. Mara's face fell slightly and she nodded in acceptance. "Will you at least let me keep you company?"

Luke risked a glance in her direction before he sighed in defeat, moving to slide off of the couch arm. Mara moved further down the couch, giving the two of them enough room for Luke to stretch out on the couch, his head resting in her lap at Mara's hesitant offer. Luke kept his eyes closed, fighting to dispel the memories from the nightmare while Mara started to gently brush her fingers through Luke's hair. It was completely silent in the room, the only sound the bubbling fountain and Luke's deep, somewhat uneven breathing. Eventually, Mara decided to try and distract him.

"How did you come across Jeza?" she asked quietly. Luke snorted.

"Points for trying to distract me, but that topic's not much better," Luke informed her gently.

"Best to get it off your chest sooner rather than later," Mara suggested. Luke frowned at her words.

You need to let your guilt go, or it will destroy you, please Luke; let it go.

Luke swallowed, praying that this time when he stepped off of the proverbial cliff she would be there to catch him. "She's the only survivor of a massacre on the planet I was isolated to; the other woman was older and died the day I arrived. Denna—the other survivor, had me promise to take care of her to..."

Luke trailed off, reluctant to say much more. He did manage to push on though; he just had to try and not think about what he was saying. "To cleanse myself. I was the one who wiped out her entire village. I'm the one who killed her friends, her relatives, the one who killed her parents right in front of her, and would have killed her too had I known she was there at the time." Now that it was coming out, Luke couldn't stop. "I'm the reason she's an orphan, but yet she looks up to me and calls me Father. I could have killed her, yet she trusts me with her life. I'm the reason for everything bad in her life, yet she tells me she loves me and calls me Father. It hurts every time she calls me her father and I just can't see how she could possibly forgive me after everything, and care for me so much!"

Tears were streaming out of his eyes again by the time he'd finished, and his breathing was uneven and strained by his emotions. Mara threaded her fingers through his hair. "Oh Luke..."

He wasn't done. "Every time I start thinking about what I did to her, to her village, I'm brought back to what I did to all these people around the Galaxy, of all the pain and suffering that I caused, of all the lives I ripped apart, and I can't even begin to forgive myself for it; I still don't understand how others can forgive me for it. Then I get so angry with myself. I didn't know how much I could lose; why didn't I see that I had everything? Why did I forget it all so easily? Why did I let myself fall so far? Why didn't I fight harder, or try to break free—?"

Luke was cut off from his rant of self-hatred when Mara suddenly crashed her lips against his, silencing him quickly and efficiently. Luke was frozen for several long moments before he finally managed to respond, letting his lips work in time to hers. He'd long ago forgiven her for what had happened. It still hurt, but it was behind them, and he wanted her back with him; especially after being away from her for so long.

Mara pulled away after several long moments, tipping his head back so he would look her in the eyes. "Enough," she said firmly. "I knew a man that I hurt in one of the worst ways possible. Yet despite what I'd done to him, what I left him to suffer through, he forgave me and never showed any sign of doubt in his decision. He's the most pure hearted, honest, amazing person I know, and I can't fathom how he found it in himself to forgive me and put it all behind him in the past. To lay eyes on me and not run in the opposite direction, to hold me without being forced, to speak my name without any contempt, and to willingly trust me even though I threw that trust in his face the first time. Tell me Luke; does a man who so readily forgives those who have wronged him, no matter how horrid their crime against him was, deserve to wallow in misery for the rest of his life and receive no forgiveness for his crimes? Or should he receive the same grace that he has shown others and finally learn to forgive himself and let go of his guilt, perhaps helped along by all those whom he has forgiven in the past?"

"Mara—" he started, ready to argue, but she shushed him, putting a finger to his lips.

"No, I don't want to hear it. "You're a wonderful person—the best that I know Farmboy...and I've missed you," she said, her tone turning soft near the end. Luke stared up at her for a few moments, tears leaking out of his eyes still.

Let your guilt go...

Luke shifted on the couch, sitting upright once more and turning around to fully face Mara, cupping her cheek in his hand. "I've missed you so much," he whispered. "I never forgot you. You stayed with me the entire time I was on Xenon, even in my dreams. Even with so many light-years between us, you still were there to help me get through the years, and now you're here again...and I can't tell you how much I needed to hear you say that to me."

As soon as he was done speaking he kissed her as hard as he could, pulling her close with a desperate need for her to heal him like she'd done on Byss. Now, of course, it was a different kind of healing that he needed, but that hardly mattered because Mara could still provide it, and she was willing to give him that healing. Her arms snaked around his neck, allowing him to deepen the moment between them. Her hands grasped tufts of his hair, bringing him in even closer in the passionate moment. Slowly, he laid her back down on the couch...

"Not on my couch, please?"

The two broke apart, looking up in surprise to see Anakin making his way towards the veranda. The sight immediately caused both of them to blush, though who was more embarrassed was harder to tell. They both sat back almost immediately, smoothing down the unruly hair and putting a parentally respectable distance between the two of them on pure instinct. Anakin came to a stop at the fountain in front of them, thankfully avoiding fixing the two with a fatherly stare and choosing instead to inspect a less lively part of the fountain that probably needed fixing.

"You know...I've already talked to Luke about this sort of thing, so I feel I don't have to go there, but I will say this; if you're going to do something like what I just saw, at least do it somewhere private and not somewhere the family gathers on a daily basis? And make sure it doesn't cross that line I've already pre-established, Luke, okay?"

Luke coughed awkwardly. He had never, ever thought that he would wind up in a situation like this, and his father seemed to have worse timing now than he had several years ago. "Got it," Luke said, still bright red.

Anakin looked like he was suppressing a chuckle as he turned to leave the room, pausing to grip Luke's arm comfortingly. "Get some sleep you two."

As his father left the room, Luke leaned over and gave Mara another kiss, much gentler and purer than the fiery kiss they'd just shared. "I'll see you in the morning," he murmured.

"Aren't you almost thirty by now, Farmboy?" Mara teased him lightly, reaching out to kiss him again.

"Hey; it's him. I'm not about to argue with my father. Besides...we do need to get some rest," he admitted sheepishly, kissing her one last time before he pulled away, hanging onto her fingers for a few moments before he finally made himself let go. "Goodnight Mara."

Mara's eyes followed him all the way towards the hall. "Goodnight Luke...I hope you feel better," she whispered after him.

Needless to say, Luke slept much better.