Luke smiled at Darik's comment about Mara loving him. He held his arms out to his children. Darik stood and hugged Luke. "Come here Ben," Luke said as he motioned to his other son. Ben smiled as he embraced his father.

Luke held them both tightly then gradually released them giving each boy a kiss on their foreheads. "I love you two very much." He looked up at Mara. "And I love you too."

Mara blushed and looked away.

Luke stood and looked at the two boys lovingly. "You guys may want to have time alone to think or talk about what's happened." He opened the door to his cabin. "Why don't you two go to your rooms or play in the cargo hold for a while. I would like to talk to Darik's mom privately."

The two boys gave each other knowing looks. "I think they are going to kiss." Darik said with his face scrunched up in disgust.

"Gross," Ben agreed as he exited.

"And you better not ride on Sturm's back again," Mara called out.

The two boys glanced to each other. "I told you she could hear really well." Darik whispered to his brother.

Luke closed the door and then turned towards Mara with a self-satisfied grin.

"Darik makes some interesting observations."

She rolled her eyes and sat on his bed with her back to the bulkhead. "He's just like his father. He doesn't censor his thoughts. He just blurts out whatever pops into his head." She raised an eyebrow in his direction. "That's probably why your sister is the politician and not you."

Luke sat down next to her. "So are you saying what he said isn't true."

She gazed at him in irritation. "There's truth to it. You are the father of my son." She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. "Every time I look at him I am reminded of you. I love him more than anything in the world and I realize I wouldn't have him without you. How can I not have feelings for the father of my son? You gave me my greatest gift…my greatest joy."

Luke sat for a moment deep in thought. There was so much he wanted for the boys but he wasn't sure if Mara felt the same way.

"Mara, is there a way that the boys can be raised together?" Luke asked.

"You could join the Wild Karrde crew," she said halfheartedly.

"Or you and Darik can join me at the Academy," Luke ventured. "Darik should train as a Jedi. He's very powerful in the Force." He paused for a moment. "You could finish your training."

He could see her stiffen at the very suggestion. "Why does it always come back to that? The training. I tried the training...I didn't like the training." She gave him a hard look. "Have you ever considered that Darik might not want to be a Jedi? He may dream about becoming an engineer or a veterinarian…and not a Jedi engineer or Jedi veterinarian. And did you ever once consider that perhaps I don't want my son's life always in danger?"

Luke was stunned momentarily. He never once considered the possibility that Darik would not train as a Jedi. He rubbed his temple trying to work out some of the stress. "Why can't anything be easy?"

Mara turned to Luke. "Darik has to forge his own destiny. It's not preordained that he will follow your footsteps." She gestured in a sad way. "If Darik wants to train as a Jedi, I won't stop him. Force knows he idolizes the Jedi and if he's anything like you he will always run into harms way to save the day."

She got up off his bunk. "I told you this will take time. Give it time." She opened the door to his room. "We should be at Coruscant in a few hours. You might want to get packed."

Luke just nodded. He hoped things went well with his sister.

~Coruscant~

Mara, Luke and the two boys took the shuttle down from the Wild Karrde. Talon said he needed to do a quick run and would be back in about three weeks. Mara knew he probably signed up for any cargo mission available in order to avoid any awkward conversations with the Solos.

When they arrived at the Solo apartment Leia met them at the door. Ben ran forward and gave her a big hug. "I missed you Aunt Leia."

The former princess of Alderaan kneeled down and kissed the boy on the cheek and hugged him back. "Anakin and the twins are in the back recreation room if you want to go there."

Ben turned towards Darik. "Can Darik go with me?"

Leia looked where Ben was pointing and saw a small boy hiding shyly behind Mara. "Darik, do you want to join Ben?" Leia said softly.

Darik came out behind Mara and gave a shy smile to Leia. "Thank you," he said before he ran down the hall after Ben.

Mara could feel shock coming off of Leia who looked at the small boy disappearing down the hall. Leia turned back to Mara and then stared at her brother.

"Luke?" was all she said.

Luke nodded. "He's Mara and my child."

Leia blinked a few times. Mara could see she was trying to do the math.

"Leia, Mara and I got together when Callista walked out on me the first time. By the time Mara knew she was pregnant I was already married." Luke explained.

Han entered the room. "Aren't you going to invite them in, or are you all going to stand in the doorway?"

Leia turned to Han. "Can you get me a glass of water?" Leia went to the couch to sit down. "Too much has happened this week." She turned to glare at her brother. "When were you going to tell me about your second son?" Her voice was tinged with annoyance and disappointment.

Han came up to Leia with her glass of water. "Give him a break sweetheart, he only found out a couple months ago."

Leia turned to Han in disbelief. "You knew about this?"

Han cringed. "Only for a few weeks Leia. Karrde asked me to keep it a secret."

She took a deep breath and then let it out. She took a sip of water and then stood up and walked to the dining table. "Luke, since you weren't at the Academy some documentation was delivered here." She picked up a datapad and handed it to her brother. "I don't know if it is happy or sad news to you."

Luke scrolled down the document. It was the final divorce decree. His marriage was over and he was now a free man. He sighed with relief.

"Before you celebrate you need to look at the second document." Leia's voice choked up a bit; it was obviously something that deeply distressed her.

Luke punched up the second document and Mara could see the blood drain from his face. He shook his head and gave a caustic laugh. "Callista is always full of surprises…but this time she is doing me a favor."

"What is it?" Mara asked.

Luke handed her the datapad. "It's from her divorce lawyer. Callista is willing to severe her parental rights if I agree not to seek child support."

Leia shook her head. "What kind of mother abandons her son?"

"A really bad mother," Luke remarked sadly as he reached for the datapad. "It looks like I can do a digital signature by having my thumbprint scanned." He touched his thumb to the box outlined on the screen. He then sent the document back to Callista's lawyer and then turned to his family. "It's over. I'm divorced and Ben is mine alone."

.

Leia hugged her brother and pulled him down on the couch with her. She motioned for Mara to sit down in the chair across from her. "Can I please get the full story?"

"Yes," Luke said as he detailed to his sister how Darik came to be, why his existence was hidden from him, and how he found out he had another son.

Mara gave Leia an abashed look. "You are probably angry at me. And I don't blame you."

Leia squeezed her eyes shut and took a calming breath. "I wish I could have known Darik in his first five years, but I can understand your thinking." She looked up at Luke. "Do the boys know?"

"Ben knows I am Darik's father. I am not going to discuss Ben's paternity…ever. Ben is my son and the boys are brothers. It's as simple as that."

Leia nodded as she looked at her brother sadly. "You don't look like you slept soundly for months." She stood and went to her office and returned with an entry card. "We still maintain your small apartment downstairs. We'll watch the kids if you want to unwind and get some sleep. Take as long as you need."

Luke took the keycard and smiled. "Thanks Leia." He turned to leave, but then glanced back to Mara. "Are you coming?"

Mara blanched at the awkward situation. She looked from Luke to Han and then Leia.

"Go on ahead," Han said impatiently. "It's not like we don't know you two had sex before."

Mara laughed and followed Luke to his apartment.

.

Mara entered Luke's small apartment. It was the same apartment where Darik was conceived.

"Does it bring back memories?" Luke asked fondly.

"Yes," was all she could think of saying.

"You said when I was a free man we can continue our conversation we started on the Wild Karrde."

"I don't even remember what we were talking about." Mara confessed.

Luke gently pulled her into his embrace. "I think we were talking about this." He leaned down and kissed her softly, almost like he was asking for permission to continue.

Without even thinking, Mara found herself responding and running her fingers through Luke's hair, deepening the kiss.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Mara thoughts ran rampant. Was this going too fast? Was it the right move? She had been hurt before, even if she didn't care to admit it to anyone.

But gods, it felt so good! So right!

As if sensing her thoughts, or maybe because he had run out of air, Luke broke the kiss but did not let go. Instead, he held her even tighter and rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you so much, Mara! Please forgive me for not being there for you and Darik. I wish I could—"

"Shhh!" She interrupted, placing her fingers against his lips. "You didn't know."

The cool touch of her fingers against skin ignited more fires inside Luke and he captured her lips once again.

Running his hands down her body, Luke lifted Mara up into his arms and walked to the bedroom. He placed her on the bed. Both quickly divested themselves of their clothing and climbed in under the covers.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time," he murmured as he kissed a line down her neck.

"So have I," Mara said her voice deep with passion.

But now the waiting was over. Over the course of the next few hours they reconnected with each other picking up where they left off six years before. Only this time, they knew it was forever. No one would ever stand between them again.

.
The next morning Luke woke up unhurriedly. It had been a long time since he slept soundly. He was amazed at the feeling of tranquility he experienced when Mara was in his arms. He turned on his side and was alarmed to see the other side of the bed empty. "Oh no, no." He looked around his bedroom in panic. "Mara!"

The tension melted from his body when he saw his beautiful companion walking out of the 'fresher wearing his bathrobe.

"Gods Mara, I thought you were gone."

She smiled as she dropped the robe to the ground revealing her nude form and crawled back into bed with him. "I was an idiot when I left after our first night together. I should have stayed." She nuzzled up to him. Luke smiled and put an arm around her.

"We should get married." Luke blurted out matter-of-factly.

"See, there goes that inability to censor your thoughts…just like your son." She shook her head. "Skywalker," Mara scoffed "we haven't even been on an official date yet. What woman would agree to marry a man she's never dated?"

"Okay," Luke said slowly. "Lets go see a holo and then get married on the way home."

She laughed. "You like to jump into marriage right away." She gave him and inquisitive look. "Did your sister ever forgive you for eloping?"

Luke groaned. "No, she was not happy at all."

She kissed him gently. "Luke, I know you're scared of losing me, but rushing into things is not the answer." She ran a hand down his chest and past his navel. "I think we should get to know each other better first."

"Your right," Luke moaned as Mara pressed her body against his, " we need to get to know each other much better."

.
The three weeks went quickly. The entire Skywalker/Solo/Jade family spent much of the time bonding as a family. They went to museums, amusement parks; they even went hiking in the Manarai Mountains.

Because the Solo's apartment had multiple guest rooms, the kids stayed there and Luke and Mara would retreat to his small apartment for privacy at night.

Luke was currently in his apartment, resting from a long round of love making when he felt a spike of emotion coming from Mara. "Dammit Skywalker!" She screamed as she walked out of the bathroom in her underwear and waving something in her hand. "I'm pregnant again! How do you do it! I'm on repress meds. I was on repress meds when Darik was conceived also! Are your swimmers doing some Jedi Mind Trick on my reproductive system?"

Despite the shock of this new development he couldn't help but laugh. "I guess my swimmers have a mind of their own." He jumped out of bed and scooped her in his arms, kissing her passionately. "Marry me. We've been on plenty of dates. Marry me so we can be a family."

Mara looked at him in silent contemplation.

"Mara, I promise I won't pressure Darik into Jedi training and I will never nag you to train. If you ever decide to train just ask."

She flopped down into bed looking at the pregnancy indicator. "My life is getting way too complicated."

Luke slid into bed next to her. "Then uncomplicated your life by getting married and we'll raise the children together. We can be a family."

Mara had to smile. A family, she liked the sound of that. The boys should be raised together. And she was sure Karrde, no matter how much he loved Darik, would not appreciate another nine months of Mara's pregnancy crankiness aboard his ship.

Luke nibbled at her ear. "You know you want to spend the rest of your life with your sexy farmboy." He said referencing the nickname Mara had bestowed on him one night in the heat of the moment. He kissed the side of her neck. "Didn't you say I must have been a great moisture farmer because I could really get you..."

"Skywalker!" Mara screamed as his hands found a ticklish part of her body.

She stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. "I am not doing a big wedding." Mara said.

Luke grabbed her up tightly in his arms and kissed her again. "That's a yes, I assume?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "I promise I will love you forever."

Mara nodded in agreement, "Forever."