Chapter two

The next morning the door chime woke Luke. He sat up in bed and grimaced at the pain of his hangover. He hadn't had anything to drink since Mara showed up the night before, but he was so intoxicated at that time that he wouldn't be surprised if he remained buzzed for the rest of the day. He slowly sat up and reached out with the Force to attempt to ascertain the identity of the person outside. He smiled when he realized it was Han. He got out of bed and stumbled over to the door. He was wearing a t-shirt and boxer briefs, but he was also hung over enough to not care.

He opened the door and ushered the older man into his apartment. "Come on in," he said.

"I just want to make sure you're all right." Han looked at his brother-in-law and smiled broadly. "You are looking better today. At least you are upright and mobile."

Luke gave a sad sigh. "Yeah, I guess I didn't handle my depression very well." He flopped down on his couch and gave Han a knowing look. "You let Mara into my apartment last night, didn't you?"

Han gave a lopsided grin and a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah, that's why I'm here…to see if you survived the encounter."

Luke laughed and then leaned forward and gave Han a quizzical look. "How'd you get her here?"

Han smirked. "I stunned her and dragged her unconscious body to your apartment. I'll tell ya, the Skytaxi driver that brought us over gave me some dirty looks."

Luke guffawed. "Yeah, as if you would be alive today if you did. No really, how'd you do it?"

Han's smile slipped from his face. "I told her you weren't handling what happened very well and asked her to talk to you. I'm sure she cares about you Luke, but your talk about love and marriage spooked her." Han went over and sat next to the Jedi. "How did things go with you two?"

Luke grinned. "She told me I'm not going to get a Force arranged marriage and I should grow a pair and ask her out."

"So are you?"

"What? Grow a pair or ask her out?" Luke said with a chuckle.

"Both?"

"I plan on sobering up a bit more and then go over to talk to her."

Han nodded his head. "Luke, if it still doesn't work out between you two…are you going to be okay?"

The Jedi shrugged. "I think I will always feel connected to her. My bond with her is still strong. I can feel her now, on planet, her emotions churning…" He trailed off in thought. "I would love to have her as my wife…but if that's not to be… if I can at least keep her as a friend…that would be enough, I think."

"How long is she going to be on planet?" Han asked.

Luke's tone became serious, "Twenty-eight…no, now it is twenty-seven days."

Han groaned. "That's not much time to convince a woman you are her soul mate"

Luke slouched on the couch looking defeated. "I know."

Han stood and reached out to give Luke's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "You better not waste any time then." Han gave Luke a thumbs-up and then walked to the door, but then paused and turned to Luke. "Remember, if you need any relationship advice you know who to come to."

Luke laughed, "Yeah Lando."

Han scowled. "Funny…Lando's not married and I happened to hook up with the most beautiful Princess in the Galaxy…so if you need help, just let me know."

"Thanks Han." Luke smiled. "I'll need all the help I can get."

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.

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Luke stood outside Mara Jade's apartment trying to screw up his courage to ring the door buzzer. When she left his apartment the night before he was determined to woo her like any other man…but then he remembered she wasn't any other woman!

This was Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand, and a Force strong woman. She was hard headed, stubborn and sometimes downright dangerous to be around. She wasn't going to respond to his advances. She wasn't in awe of his celebrity as a war hero and Jedi. In fact, it was almost like she abhorred those qualities in him. "What am I doing?" he whispered to himself in near panic.

At that moment Mara Jade opened up her door. She scowled at him, arms akimbo and looking annoyed. "Even without a bond with you I can feel your nervousness seeping into my apartment. What do you want?"

Luke gave her a sheepish grin. "I thought we could spend some time together. Last night you said I should take risks."

She scoffed. "I thought it would take a little longer for you to build up the courage to come over."

Luke smirked as he held up a bottle of Ruge. "I have a bottle of liquid courage and I took your advice and grew a pair." Luke tried to keep a straight face but he couldn't do it. "They are coming in quite nicely."

Mara tried not to laugh as she grabbed to bottle out of his hand. "You can come in, but no alcohol for you. I think you had enough for the rest of the year."

Luke walked into her apartment while nodding. "True, true…but I didn't want to show up empty handed. Maybe we can share the bottle the night before you leave…that is if you haven't killed me by then."

"That's a big if," she said flippantly as she put the bottle of wine in her kitchen's cooling unit. "Go ahead and sit down."

Luke sat on his couch feeling extremely nervous. Mara came back from the kitchen with two bottles of flavored water and sat across from him on an easy chair. "So," she said slowly as she handed him a bottle. "Why are you here?"

"To woo you." Luke said matter-of-factly.

"You are going to woo me," Mara repeated sounding amused.

"Sure, I know how to woo a woman."

"What woman have you successfully wooed?" Mara asked with a smirk. "Don't you usually find them trapped in a computer?"

Luke shook his head. "No, sometimes I find them tied to a tree."

Mara burst out in laughter. "Seriously, what's going on inside that Farmboy mind of yours?"

"I thought we could go dancing, dinner, a holo?"

She thought about it. "I don't know."

Luke leaned forward and stared at her intently. "Mara, it was you that suggested I ask you on a date to win your heart. Please give me a chance."

She sighed. "Okay, how about lunch tomorrow and maybe a matinee holofilm?"

Luke looked disappointed. "I thought we could do something tonight."

Mara shook her head. "I already ate and I don't feel like going out."

Luke shook his head glumly. "Okay," he stood from the couch. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He raised his bottled water. "Thanks for the drink."

"That doesn't mean we can't talk," Mara pointed out.

Luke smiled as he sat back down. "I'd love to talk."