Epilogue

Mara didn't dream like she used to. Sometimes, she would be lost in the other world again, unable to see anything but swirling white mist as she floated weightlessly through the space between worlds. Now and then she would hear voices, snatches of conversation she couldn't quite decipher. But she was always pulled back upon waking, and there was never any doubt that she would always return to the world of the living. Luke was her tether, and even when they were apart physically, she could feel him in her mind, anchoring her so that she could not slip completely into the abyss.

Luke didn't always have her confidence. She knew that he sometimes watched her sleep, and could often feel a flash of anxiety a second before she awoke, a fear that this time she would not return to him.

It hadn't been easy. They'd been married six months after her recovery, but had quickly learned that a Force bond wasn't a fix-all. It was hard adjusting to one another, despite the strong love and affection which had bound them together, and Mara in particular had chafed at his constant presence in her mind. He, too, although more open and accommodating, found it difficult to adapt to the lack of solitude. But that only made him cling to her more tightly, which in turn made her shirk away and left them at times unable to find peace with one another.

Eventually she'd snapped and pulled her presence back from his mind, blocking his from hers. She'd been careful not to break the bond between them, her goal only to give them both some breathing room and resurrect some of the barriers which had been in place before.

He'd been furious anyway; had accused her of forgetting that they were meant to be a team, now, and therefore were to make decisions like that together; of being too careless with her own life and the tenuous hold she had on it. Mara had bit back with her own accusations - not trusting her judgement and smothering her with his worry. She'd felt the rage and darkness swirl within him, even through the walls she'd built to contain herself, but had been unable to stop her retaliatory action as they argued bitterly. He'd broken first, storming out of their shared apartment to blow off steam with Han.

Mara had been thankful to finally be alone, and yet it only took a few hours for her to start to miss him, to long for the feel of him inside her mind, that whisper of his voice that brought her comfort and pleasure far more often than it did irritation and anger. Luke returned late into the night and crawled into bed beside her, alcohol on his breath and a deep regret in his eyes. She'd accepted him gratefully into her warm embrace as they made their apologies and promises to each other; she not to withdraw but to share her frustrations, and he to temper his fear and to trust in her.

In the two years since then, they'd found an equilibrium with each other, a way to navigate their constant presence so that they complemented the other. They'd found they fit together after all, and the good times far outweighed the bad.

Yet he still watched her sleep, but Mara allowed him that one indulgence. In fact, she found it comforting to awaken to his loving gaze and be enveloped by his warmth after the cold mist of the in-between world.

"Hello, my love," Luke said softly as she opened her eyes. "Are you feeling better?"

Mara had dismissed a bout of sickness as unimportant but had acquiesced to Luke's insistence that she visit Cilghal. She'd then permitted herself the indulgence of an afternoon nap in their quarters on Yavin 4, which was where Luke had found her.

Mara stretched on the bed and gave him a sleepy smile. "Much."

"What did Cilghal say?"

Mara forced herself to keep a straight face and not give anything away through their bond. "She says I have acquired a small parasite."

Luke looked confused and slightly alarmed. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Did she give you a treatment?" Luke touched her face lightly, and she could feel him try and quell his panic.

"It's nothing to worry about," Mara told him. "She says it will go away by itself after about….oh, nine months." Her face broke into a smile as she watched him take her meaning. Luke skimmed the surface of her mind in confirmation, relief quickly falling over his face. She laughed and poked him in the belly.

"You're too easy, Skywalker."

He ignored her jibe and bent down to kiss her firmly, reaching out to her through their bond and extending his exploration to her body. The child was still infinitesimal inside of her, but she could feel its lifeforce growing within and guided Luke's questing senses to the place where it resided. For a moment the three of them were in tandem, and Mara released herself to join with Luke and their child in the Force without restraint, never feeling as safe, warm and alive as she did in that moment.

When Mara opened her eyes Luke was lying next to her on the bed and they were facing one another, an aura of contentment surrounding them. Once, she had feared such a closeness to another, but now those moments were that she lived for, a wave of pure love enveloping her. She had never been so happy.

"He'll have blue eyes, just like his father," she told him, brushing the hair away from his forehead so she could see those eyes unimpeded.

"He?" Luke asked, grinning stupidly. "You can tell already?"

Mara cast her eyes downwards and bit her lip. He had never asked, never pressed her to reveal that secret, and perhaps he had even forgotten that she had it. But Mara decided that, finally, it was time to tell him.

"Do you remember when I died on Koli?" she asked, raising her gaze to his again.

"Of course," he said softly and stroked her hair. "I almost lost you, Mara. I don't know what I would have done if I had."

Mara leaned forward to give him a soft, reassuring kiss. "You remember that I had to endure cryptic conversations with your father and four other Jedi," she said as she pulled away, rolling her eyes theatrically.

"And my mother," Luke reminded her.

"Oh, she didn't need to be endured," Mara told him. "In fact I rather liked her."

Luke smiled, his thoughts lingering on the beautiful woman in white who he'd only been able to exchange a few words with, the image bleeding into Mara's mind. Mara had told him and Leia of her brief conversations with their parents, but more importantly, she had been able to give them their mother's name: Padme Naberrie. It had been enough for them to piece together their family history, find their relatives on Naboo and bring them all a sense of peace.

"There was one other person," Mara said to bring his focus back to her. "A boy."

"Your gatekeeper," Luke nodded, remembering. "You didn't want to tell me who he was."

Mara smiled and took his hand, pressing it gently to her belly. He looked down at their entwined fingers over her tunic, and then back up at her with shock and realization.

"He was our son?" Luke asked in wonder. She recalled the image of the boy at the gate of the Force, an amalgamation of both Luke and Mara's features and yet utterly unique, and sent it to him through their bond. Luke grasped the image gratefully, and she could feel him tuck it away where he stored his most cherished memories.

"That was when I stopped being afraid," Mara said softly, stroking her husband's face. "When I stopped hiding behind all those other motivations and excuses and accepted that I loved you."

Luke took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm, his eyes bright with joyous tears. "I love you, Mara," he murmured. "And I can't wait to meet him."

"His name will be Ben," she said, giving him the last secret of her heart.

"Ben Skywalker," Luke's grin lit up his face with sheer happiness as he pulled her into a fierce embrace "I like it."

In the other world, Padmé watched the swirling mists of the Force at the gateway back to the world of the living. None of them could cross the threshold, but they were able to watch if they so chose. It was how Padmé had seen her children grow; it was how she had been able to project her image into the other world when Leia was small. The Jedi could make their image corporeal, but they had all agreed not to interfere with those they had left behind unless necessary.

So Padmé contented herself with watching her Luke learn he was to become a father, a great joy settling upon her heart. Warm arms enfolded her, and Padmé leaned back into Anakin's embrace.

"It's the happiest day of his life," he murmured against her hair. "Just like it was for mine. But he will have happier days," he added. "He will have the days I stole from myself."

Padmé could hear the melancholy in his voice, although their years in this place had given Anakin the time to forgive himself, he still carried his sorrows and regrets. But there was happiness in him, too, and Padmé turned in his arms and reached up to cup his face in her hands.

"You helped give him those days, Ani," she reminded him. "Our son is happy, and you played a part in that."

Anakin smiled down at her, pulling her into his embrace. "We should go, my love," he said softly as he stroked her hair. "Let your son and his wife have their solitude."

They checked in on them from time to time, infrequently enough that they did not feel like they were invading their children's privacy. Sometimes, Padmé watched by herself, enjoying seeing the mundane aspects of their everyday lives. Leia playing with her children in the gardens of Coruscant, Luke teaching his niece and nephews how to use their Force abilities. It gladdened her heart to see Luke and Leia take their families to Naboo to visit the Naberries, who had happily enfolded the Skywalkers and Solos into their lives.

Anakin would join her in tense moments when either of them were on a mission, his hand squeezing hers tightly and reminding her that both their children were talented, capable people, and it would be a long time before they would see them in the inbetween world. Obi-Wan would often appear at unexpected times, and Padmé had found over the years that he liked to watch the mundane moments too. Obi-Wan had watched over her son for the first nineteen years of his life, after all, and Padmé found a comforting solidarity with him.

Yoda, Mace and Qui-Gon would often be present to watch important events; the birth of Ben Skywalker and his two younger sisters; the admittance of Jacen, Jaina and then Anakin to the Jedi Academy, to be followed by their cousins eventually. There were times of heartbreak and war, and Padmé watched the sufferings as well as the fiercest joys of her children, their spouses, and her grandchildren. She could not have been prouder of their fortitude and resilience in the face of danger and defeat, for they always held onto hope.

When they did not watch the other world, they all interacted regularly in habitats simulated from their memories, serious discussions taking place in the Jedi Temple, and more casual atmospheres from a variety of their memories. Obi-Wan had once recreated Dex's Diner on Coruscant for them, and they'd all laughed and joked like the old friends they were, all past wrongs and conflicts forgotten and forgiven.

Anakin and Padmé spent most of their days together in worlds of beauty and peace, although Obi-Wan often visited. They were brothers and comrades as they had been before, if not closer, and it made Padmé happy to see it. But she was always pulled back to watch the living, and wait for the day when she would be able to hold her children in her arms.

Many years passed and peace settled on the galaxy. Padmé watched with great joy as her great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren began to arrive into a world of security and a family of unity and love. One by one, their Jedi friends moved on to join the Force - first Mace Windu, then Yoda and Qui-Gon, who made the final journey together. Obi-Wan stayed for many years, but when his namesake became Grand Master of the Jedi Order, he decided it was time to him to move on as well, and they said their final goodbyes. Anakin and Padmé were left alone, although not for long.

It was with a heavy heart that Padmé went to the precipice to meet Han Solo. He had died a man of one hundred and sixty, and extraordinary age for one without Force sensitivity. It was a great shock to him to arrive in the inbetween world a young man again, but had been surprisingly accepting of Padmé's explanation of who she was and why he was there.

"I've seen a lot of strange stuff in my life, lady," he'd said with a roguish shrug. "This ain't even in the top ten."

It had been a tense moment to introduce Han to Anakin, but pointed verbal jabs soon dissolved into good-natured teasing, which Padmé suffered through for many years. Still, Han would often join her at the gateway and provide salient, amusing commentary on the events of the other world. Time moved faster for them, when they were not watching, and the years quickly slipped by.

Finally, the day arrived, and Padmé prepared herself for the moment she had waited centuries for. Luke and Leia were the children of the Chosen One; effectively the grandchildren of the Force itself which had granted them unnaturally long life. This had been extended to Mara through her bond with Luke, allowing the three of them to live well beyond the normal human lifespan. But Luke and Leia had fulfilled the destiny set down to them, stabilising the galaxy in an age of peace and prosperity and rebuilding the Jedi Order to great new heights.

It was therefore not in a blaze of glory that their lives ended, but surrounded by their children and descendents. Padmé watched anxiously, Han and Anakin beside her, as the end came. Leia lay peacefully, bracketed on either side by her beloved twins Jacen and Jaina who each held one of her hands, with Anakin perched on the end of the bed. Leia's offspring were old men and women themselves, but in that moment they were children again as their mother scolded them lightly, Han chuckling at the sight of it. Luke and Mara lay on the other bed with their arms around each other, entwined until the end.

The room was full of generations of Skywalkers and Solos who had come to say farewell, and Anakin squeezed her shoulders as they looked upon the generations of their family. Padmé fought back tears as she watched her son and his beloved prepare themselves.

"Are you ready, my love?" Luke asked as he took Mara's hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"Yes," Mara smiled at him, and squeezed his hand. "Don't let go."

"Never," Luke promised, and in tandem they closed their eyes.

It took a few long moments for them to appear in the inbetween world, and when they finally did, as young as they had been the first time they had come, Padmé couldn't hold back her tears. Luke and Mara stood before her, their hands still joined as they oriented themselves in the white expanse.

"Hello, my son," Anakin called, his voice thick with emotion.

Luke gaze turned to them, and Padmé felt her heart burst. "Father," he returned with a vibrant smile. "Mother."

"Oh, my darling..." Padmé swept forward and pulled Luke into her arms, sobbing with happiness at finally being able to hold him. She clutched him to her, her son whom she had ever been allowed to hold, her child who she had watched and cried over and who had always been just beyond her reach. Luke returned her embrace firmly, his own tears flowing as he laughed and cried and held her. She had waited so long for this moment, and it did not disappoint, her heart almost complete.

Eventually, Padmé felt Anakin's hand on her shoulder again, and she reluctantly pulled away to let her husband embrace his son, followed quickly by Han.

"Hello again, Mara," Padmé greeted her gently, cupped the woman's face in her hands and holding her gaze for a few moments, before enfolding her into an embrace. "My second daughter." Mara accepted the gesture happily, softening into Padmé's arms as she would a mother.

"Where's Leia?" Luke asked as he extracted himself from Han and Anakin.

Padmé smiled and looked over Luke's shoulder. "Right behind you, Luke," she told him. "As it was when you were born."

Her beautiful daughter appeared and was quickly swept up in Han's embrace, Padmé content to wait until after the reunion between husband and wife. Then she held out her arms as her tears began to flow again.

"Leia," she called longingly to her. "I am your mother."

Leia approached, her dark eyes wet. "I know," she whispered softly. "Mother." And then Leia threw herself into Padmé's arms, and they both cried some more. Padmé stroked her hair and whispered her love as finally her heart was full and complete.

When reunions were finished and they all had spoken and embraced and taken their fill of one another, Anakin and Padmé led them to the gateway of the Force. There was no reason to watch the living any more, for all knew that they had left behind a stable and complete family which required no guardianship.

There was no need for them to wait any longer.

At the beginning at the end of everything, the Force waited. It was everyone who had ever been born, and everyone who ever would be born. It was the stars and the blackness of space and planets therebetween. It was the entirety of time in an instant, and yet each second was made from millions of years. It was light and darkness and hope and despair, and there was no life or death because everything was unending.

And yet for a moment all was still, for the most favoured children of the Force were returning.

To the Force's most favoured son, her Chosen One, she sent the boy's other mother, Shmi Skywalker, who had endured pain and torture to wait for her child to hold her in his arms before she died. It was the Force's gift to her precious creation, to finally embrace his mother in the happiness of reunion.

To her Chosen One's beloved, she sent Sola Naberrie, the great bond of sisterhood undiminished by time or death.

To her treasured Leia, the Force sent those that had raised the child in pure love and devotion: Bail and Breha Organa.

And Han Solo, who the Force had sent to the inbetween world to wait for her treasured one so that they could join her embrace together, it sent the great companion Chewbacca.

For her cherished one, her lightbringer, the Force had difficulty choosing, for Luke Skywalker's most beloved were already with him, and those he had lost were so numerous and valued that it was not possible to send them all. Eventually, the Force chose the most humble of her children, those that taken in the boy with boundless love, and also his champion and guardian; his erstwhile watcher.

And finally, for Mara Jade, the woman who was already half-joined with the Force, she sent those Mara had not been able to see the first time. The man was tall and flame-haired, while the woman was short and petite, but both had gentle faces Mara had only seen in her earliest memories.

"Come home, daughter," the man had said, and reached out his hand as tears fell from Mara's face. She took the hand of her gatekeeper, as did her companions as they crossed the threshold into the heart of the Force.

Every star in the galaxy shone brighter in that moment, a radiance unparallelled as the Force welcomed her children back to the heart of herself, enfolding them them together in her eternal embrace.

There they would all be one, forever.