CHAPTER FOUR

Later the next morning Mara was getting ready for Luke's arrival. She was putting on the finishing touches of her make-up and styling her hair. As promised she was going out with the Jedi to lunch and a holo afterwards. As she smoothed out the wrinkles of her silky dress she marveled at how things had changed in the last few weeks. Luke had gone from being a friend, to fiancé, back to friend and now she was going out on a date with him.

Dating Skywalker…it seemed like a foreign concept, but the more she was around him the more plausible a relationship appeared. He had said they loved each other. What was it she saw in Luke that made her cross the line from friends to something more? Maybe over the next few weeks she would find out.

The door buzzer sounded and she quickly made her way to the front door. When she opened it she smiled at the sight of Luke standing there with a nervous grin. His hair was neatly combed which looked so unnatural for him. Usually his hair was a blond wild mop of tresses that looked like it was styled by running his fingers through it. His attire was also different. Gone was his usual black outfit. Today he was wearing a dark grey polo shirt over khaki trousers. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. He looked good…really, really good.

"Come on in," she said as she ushered him inside. As he entered she gave an appraising look at his backside. The pants were casual, but she had a sneaky suspicion that he had them tailored to his body by the way they hugged his gluts and allowed her to see the play of his muscles underneath. Apparently Luke was not playing games when it came to this 'wooing' business.

He turned and gave her a broad smile as his eyes raked down her body. "You look beautiful, Mara."

She blushed slightly, cursing her body for revealing her pleasure in his comment. "Thank you. I like your outfit."

He smiled that quick boyish grin that always made her heart flutter and knees weak. "Thanks. I hoped you would like it. I know how much you dislike my all black wardrobe."

She frowned slightly. "Who told you that?" It was true, but she didn't recall ever professing her dislike of that color to him.

His face reddened and he quickly averted his eyes. "Nobody told me, it was something I picked up…you know, during our bond." He gave her an apologetic look and then held out his arm. "Shall we go?"

She knew he was changing the subject, but she didn't mind. She honestly didn't want to know exactly what memories Luke gleaned from her brain on that fateful day on Nirauan.

They hadn't gotten out the door when Luke's comlink went off. He gave a pained expression. "Shavit! I forgot to turn it off." He pulled it out to see who was calling. "It's my sister." He then put the comlink back into his pocket without answering it.

"Aren't you going to see what she wants?" Mara asked.

Luke shook his head. "I think Leia can survive a few hours without me."

Mara shook her head. "Luke it could be important. It could involve the Caamas document Artoo retrieved."

The comlink started beeping again. He pulled it out and gave a sour look. "It's her again," he groaned and then reluctantly answered the call. "Luke here."

Luke had the device on private so she couldn't hear the other side of the conversation. After a slight pause Luke responded. "How about Han?" Luke listened and grimaced. "Winter?" Another pause. "Can't they stay alone?" Luke glanced up at Mara and then turned his back to her and walked a couple steps away. He was whispering into the device but Mara could still make out his side of the conversation. "Leia, I'm on a date…yes a date…yes with a woman."

Mara suppressed a laugh.

"Yes, yes Leia…it's with Mara. Sorry, I just can't help you today."

Mara didn't know what the problem was, but she could feel Luke's distress. He wanted to help his sister, but he didn't want to break their date. "Luke, it's okay," she called out. "We can go out tomorrow."

Luke turned to her and made a face. "Leia can put you on hold for a moment." He put the device on mute before addressing Mara. "Mara, Leia was called to the senate for an emergency meeting. She needs somebody to watch the kids and her normal sitters are out of the area."

"Then go," she said while moving her hands in a shooing motion. "It's alright."

He gave her a panicked look. "I really don't want to do it, that's the problem. They are three hyperactive pre-teens—it's too much for me to handle alone."

Mara rolled her eyes. "You can face Vader and Palpatine single-handedly, but not three younglings." She heaved a sigh. "Fine, I'll go with you."

A smile blossomed across Luke's face. "Really?"

"Yes," she reassured him.

"Thank you Mara!" He turned the comlink back on. "Okay Leia I can be there in less than an hour; send me the address. Thanks! See you soon."

He turned off the communication device and gave Mara a warm smile. "I owe you one." He looked at the door. "I need to get my swimsuit. They are over at Splash Universe."

Mara's face fell. "You didn't say they were at a waterpark!"

The smile slipped from his face. "Does this mean you're not going?"

She made an exasperated sound. "No, I'll go. Let me get my suit."

.

.

.

Splash Universe was Coruscant's premiere indoor water park. There was dozens of various slides, wading pools, lap pools, a ten level treehouse water fun adventure area, a lazy river ride, shooting arcades and for the adults a hot tub and spa area. The park was full of millions of liters of flowing water and it was also full of loud, boisterous children. As Luke watched hundreds of young children jump and splash he wondered if a Jedi Master and a former Emperor's Hand were up for this mission.

"Luke!" he heard his sister's voice over the din of children's screams. He turned and saw Leia wearing street clothes walking up to him with her three children in tow. The boys were wearing baggy swim shorts and Jaina a modest one-piece swimsuit. "Luke thank you for coming," Leia said as she gave her brother a hug. She turned to Mara. "And thank you for coming Mara. I appreciate your help." Leia motioned to her children. "I've been promising to bring them here for months and I had to cancel twice because of Senate meetings. I didn't want to disappoint them a third time."

Luke smiled at his niece and nephews. "I'm glad I can help."

"The changing rooms are that way," Leia pointed in to a side hallway. She moved a step closer to Luke, "Keep an eye on them, since the existence of the Caamas Document became known there has been an increase in the security threat."

Luke gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "They'll be fine, Leia." He looked over to Mara. "Mara and I will keep them safe. Now go."

Leia gave her children a withering gaze. "Don't give your uncle Luke or Miss Jade a hard time!"

The children gave their most innocent 'who me?'look which was such a classic Han Solo expression that Luke had to laugh.

"We'll be good Mom," they said in unison.

Leia gave them a skeptical look, but then turned back to Luke and Mara. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Thanks again." With that she gave a wave and left the building.

Luke pointed to the changing room. "Mara, why don't you go and change and I'll watch the kids, then I'll change when you get back."

Mara nodded and left to go to the locker room.

Luke watched the seductive sway of her hips as she sauntered down the hall. She had changed from the dress she intended to wear for their lunch date and into casual shorts and tunic, but he had to admit she filled those shorts out perfectly. He turned back to the kids and found them grinning ear-to-ear.

"I think Uncle Luke's in love," Jaina said in a mischievous sing-song voice. "Are you dating Miss Jade?"

Jacen and Anakin smirked. "Is she going to be our new aunt?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "We're just friends."

"She's pretty, Uncle Luke." Jacen said.

"Yes, she it," Luke said softly while hoping Mara would finish dressing so his interrogation would be over.

"You should get married," Jaina said with a serious expression.

"Yeah," Anakin agreed. "Dad said it would help with your tension."

Luke looked at his nephew confused. "Tension, what tension?"

Anakin shrugged. "Don't know, but dad thought Miss Jade would help with your tension."

Luke ran a hand over his face in embarrassment. He was going to need to talk to Han about discussing personal information in front of little ears.

"You have to get married, Uncle Luke," Anakin said earnestly. "It would be neat to have cousins."

"I'll see what I can do about that." Luke said with a soft laugh.

"Mom and Dad like Miss Jade," Jaina said. "Mom said it's because she's good at saving you after you run into danger."

"Dad said you like her because you like dangerous woman," Anakin said then turned to his brother. "What did Dad say about that again? It was something about Miss Jade and Uncle Luke's lightsaber."

"Stop!" Luke said. "I don't want to hear what your dad has to say about me and Mara."

"Wow!" Jacen said suddenly. "There's Miss Jade now."

Luke turned in the direction Jacen was pointing and his jaw dropped. "Wow!" Luke agreed. Mara walked toward them wearing a teal colored, one-piece swimsuit with plunging neckline. Luke couldn't pull his eyes from her luscious figure. He sighed deeply as he realized how close he was to having this gorgeous woman as his wife. He loved her so much and he bemoaned the fact that he had only a few weeks to convince her that they were meant for each other.

"Your turn," Mara said. "I'll watch the younglings."

Luke didn't hesitate in moving to the locker room. He knew his niece and nephews probably sensed the emotions rolling off of him and he didn't need more questions.

Mara turned to the kids and gave them a small smile. "Having fun so far?"

"Yes, this place is great," Jaina said. "Are you dating Uncle Luke?"

Mara closed her eyes and struggled to maintain her calm façade. "We're friends."

"That's what Uncle Luke says, but I think he likes you more than friends," Jacen said.

"That may be, but we're still just friends." Mara walked over to a wall that had a giant poster showing the location of all the amenities of the waterpark. "What do you kids want to do first?"

"The whirlpool!" Anakin said excitedly.

Mara looked at the directory and discovered 'The Whirlpool' was a waterslide where you enter a large bowl shaped area and then spun around and around like the contents of a large 'fresher toilet before you plunged down a tube and flushed into a large wading pool. Mara grimaced, not liking the visualization. "How about the Lazy River ride?" Mara turned to find the children frowning.

"That's for babies and old people," Anakin said. "How about the surfing simulator?"

Mara looked back to the board and saw that was a place where water was shot up a small hill at a high speed. A person at the top would mount either a small body board or a surf board and ride the up rushing water like a surfer in the ocean. Mara smirked. She never had a desire to surf but she would love to see a farm boy from a desert planet try his hand at it.

They looked over the directory for a few more minutes before Jaina called out impatiently. "Finally! There's Uncle Luke."

Mara turned and her breath arrested in her lungs. She didn't realize how amazing Luke looked bare-chested and clothed only a pair of small, butt-hugging swim shorts. Her eyes gazed over his finely toned chest and abs and then drifted down to his strong muscular legs. She had seen him shirtless before during her short stay at the Academy. She was impressed then, but the fact that here he was in his late thirties and looked even better now didn't seem fair. She had to grudgingly admit that he certainly improved with age.

Luke smiled broadly. "You guys ready?"

"Yes," the children replied enthusiastically before a large chime in the distance caught their attention. Jaina grabbed her uncle's hand and Anakin grabbed hold of Mara's arm and pulled the adults to the direction of the bells. "You have to see this!" Jaina said with a laugh. "It's so cool!" They stopped in an open area where dozens of people gathered all grinning in anticipation.

"What's going on?" was all Mara could get out before a thousand liters of water dumped down on her and the rest of the patrons. Mara let out a loud shout of surprise as she heard Luke laughing. She looked up and saw a monstrous bucket tilt back into place far above her.

"The bucket fills up and when the chimes ring it means it will dump all the water out." Jacen said happily.

"You could have given me a heads up on that, Jacen," Mara said curtly.

"What's the fun in that?" Jacen said as the quickly moved toward the water slides.

"I'm glad I took the time to braid my hair," Mara said as she readjusted her suit. She turned and glared at Luke. "You knew that was going to happen! Why didn't you warn me?"

Luke tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably. "What's the fun in that?"

Mara gave him a playful smack on the shoulder as they followed after the Solo kids who had grabbed an inner tube and were climbing up a set of stairs to the entrance of the waterslides. Luke picked up a two person tube and motioned to the stairs. "Come on, we'll go together."

They made it to the top where a Splash Universe employee was instructing patrons when they could start down the slide. Luke positioned the two-person tube at the start point and let Mara climb into the front part. He then positioned himself behind her, her body cradled between his legs. He put his arms around her waist just as the employee gave them a push down the slide.

The ride was fast, wet and wild and full of twists and turns, but Mara barely registered the journey outside of the feel of Luke's strong arms around her body and the side of his legs pressing against her hips. Luke leaned forward and she could feel him press his cheek to the side of her head as he whispered into her ear. "This is fun."

She grudgingly had to admit this was fun. She couldn't believe that she had never been to a water park before. Of course, it wasn't a place a single woman would usually consider going to alone. It was a family establishment and she had no family. Of course, if Luke had his way, he would change that.

They shot out of a large tube and into a wading area. Park employees advised them to move out of the splash zone. They got to their feet and moved to the end of the pool. Luke was grinning like a little boy and seemed to enjoy the water as much as the Solo children who scrambled out of the water.

"Let's go to the surf area," they announced and then left without waiting for Luke or Mara to respond. Mara and Luke arrived to the surfing spot in time to see Jacen get on a board. To Mara's surprise he was surfing like a pro.

Luke chuckled. "He's using the Force." He motioned to a kiosk just outside the pool area. "I'm going to get a waterproof digital imager. I'd like to get some pictures."

When Luke came back Jaina was on the board and doing equally as well as her brother. Luke shot a few images while shaking his head. "She's also using the Force."

Mara turned to him with a grin. "Do you think you could do better Farmboy…without the Force?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Probably not, but part of the fun is learning a skill. It feels like cheating when you use the Force in a sport."

Mara chuckled. "They're not getting paid to surf, so I don't see any harm." She gave him an evil grin. "I would like to see you try it without using the Force."

Luke made a snort. "I bet you would."

"No really, I would love to see you try."

He smiled with a glint of amusement. "What will you give me if I do?"

She scoffed. "Nothing but a good laugh when you fall on your butt."

"How about a kiss for my efforts if I do it without the Force."

"No." She shook her head. "Anyway, how would I know if you used the Force or not?"

"You can tell when people are using the Force. Besides," he motioned to Anakin who looked like he was born and raised on a board. "If you see me that comfortable on the surfboard you'll know this desert boy is cheating."

She gave him a long hard look before deciding. "No kiss, but maybe you'll get a second date if you impress me up there."

Luke smiled brightly as he handed Mara the digital imager. "Here, you can take a few photos for your scrap book." He then climbed up the stairs and waited for a couple teenagers in front of him to wipe out before the resort employee handed Luke the mini-surf board. Luke positioned the board on the edge of the drop off and balanced himself on top. He then did what he saw the other people do, he shifted his weight to push the board over the edge. As promised he didn't use the Force and he immediately knew he was in trouble. Surfing was a lot harder than it looked. He managed to stay upright for a few seconds before the board came out from under his feet and was washed up stream. He ended up falling downhill, his head pointing down toward the upward rushing water. The fast moving stream of water hit him with such force that it actually pushed him up the hill like he was body surfing. He then felt his shorts creeping down his legs, being pulled from his body by the rushing current. He grabbed the front of his pants and held it in place and then he reached back and pulled his shorts back up over his buttocks. He hoped nobody saw that, but the sound of Mara laughing told him he wasn't that lucky. When he finally made his way to the bottom of the water ride Mara and Leia's kids were laughing so hard they were almost hyperventilating. And to Luke's horror, a small group of giggling teenage girls was also at the bottom of the ride with their smart-link devices (comlinks with photo, video and other applications) in hand.

He walked up to Mara looking mortified. "Did you get any good photos?"

Mara was still laughing. "Farmboy, I got some very revealing photos." She motioned her head to the group of girls. "I think they did also. I expect you to be plastered all over the teenage holonet social groups by the end of the day, if not already."

"Funny, Mara." Luke tightened up the draw strings in the front of his suit. When he got next to her he wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close to him. "Why don't we give them something to talk about?" He then leaned in and gave her a gentle, but quick kiss on the lips.

She looked a bit surprised by his boldness, but she recovered quickly. "I think you naked butt cheeks are probably far more interesting than you kissing me."

Luke gave her a classic Han Solo grin. "I can do both if you like." He gave her a wink. "When we get somewhere more private, that is."

"I meant to the giggling teens," she clarified.

"Can I see the photos Miss Jade," Jaina asked while reaching out to the imager.

Mara pulled the imager out of the young girls reach. "No, these images are for my eyes only…and maybe for a few close friends…like the Wild Karrde crew." She smirked at Luke. "Or Han or your sister."

"Give me that," Luke said as he made a grab for the imager.

"No way," Mara laughed as she ran off, until an employee admonished her for running around the pools.

For the next few hours the small group went on every slide and ride in the park. Mara's skin was starting to pucker up from being in the water so long, but the kids didn't appear to be slowing down at all. They finally decided to try their luck on the indoor climbing wall. Mara and Luke instead opted to watch them from the "adults only" hot tubs that lined the outer walls of the establishment.

They found an empty sauna and slid into the extremely warm water. Mara allowed Luke to sit next to her, their thighs touching, and even tolerated his arm around her shoulder. She hadn't had this much fun since…well, since never. She smiled at him warmly. "This was fun."

He nodded. "It was. We should do it again…next time I'll wear suspenders on my suit."

She laughed. "You were cute."

"Me or my butt?" Luke laughed.

She gave him a long gaze. "Both." She gave him a curious look. "Did we kiss while on Nirauan?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Yes."

"Did I like it?"

A reminiscent smile crossed his face. "Very much; we both did."

She leaned in closer to him. "I'd like to try that again. Maybe it will bring back memories?"

He moved closer to her, his lips caressing her face before his lips moved over hers, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Ooohhhhhh I see them kissing!" came Jaina's voice from high above.

Luke and Mara looked up and spied Jaina as she neared the peak of the rock wall.

"Next time we do this, let's do it minus the kids," Mara said.

Luke smiled as he pulled her close. "So does this mean I get another date?"

She nodded. "If you let me keep the digital imager I might give you two more dates."

He laughed as he leaned in for another warm, lingering kiss. "You have a deal."