A/N: And here's the next part...

Still not quite to the smut, I'm afraid, LOL.

Part Eight

The moment Luke opened his eyes, he had to immediately close them again to try and push away the fierce headache that was pounding through his skull. The second time he opened his eyes, he stared in wide-eyed wonder at Mara Jade lying asleep on his chest. For a brief second, he panicked, not recalling a single detail as to how he'd ended up here, in her apartment, he realized after taking a quick look around.

And then, to his horror, memories of the last week began trickling back into his brain, and he closed his eyes once again as he let out a groan.

"Oh, I am so dead," he whispered.

"Nah, if I didn't kill you when Palpy ordered me to, I'm hardly gonna do it now, Jedi," Mara said sleepily, and looked up at him with a smirk.

Luke's eyes jerked open once more and he gasped at the realization that she was awake, and there went his opportunity to somehow get the hell out of here without her knowing.

"Um…good morning?" he said hesitantly.

"Hmm, yeah, pretty good morning so far. At least you're not trying to sing anymore."

"What?" he asked in confusion and then that memory came back, too. "Oh, please kill me now."

"Hey, why would I want to get rid of you now when I've finally got some really good blackmail material on the oh-so-perfect Jedi Master?"

"You're…ah…being awfully understanding about all of this…" he said, and then cautiously continued. "And…er…how exactly did…this…" Luke gestured with one hand to the two of them lying so intimately on her sofa. "…happen?"

Mara gave a throaty little laugh, and Luke tried to hide his whimper, while he also tried to hide the effect the sound had on his traitorous body. Maybe if he shifted carefully, she wouldn't notice.

"Well, let's just say that you wanted to explore a side of our relationship that we've never explored before, Skywalker." She gave a sultry smile and Luke's breathing and heartbeat shot through the stratosphere.

"I…we…I mean…did we?" he asked and glanced down quickly. They both still seemed to be fully dressed. He was half-disappointed, half-relieved, because if that had happened, he definitely wanted to remember it.

Then Mara laughed at him for real, and Luke gave her a startled glance before relaxing. She was teasing him, then. All right, at least that was a little closer to their normal relationship.

"Don't worry, Skywalker, nothing happened. You went comatose before I could take full advantage of you."

"Ad-advantage?" he mumbled, and then squeezed his eyes shut as more memories flooded into his brain, causing his head to pound once more. "Oh, stars! My sister and Han saw me naked!!" he shrieked in horror.

"Hmm, lucky them," Mara murmured, so quietly that he almost didn't catch it.

"Wait, what? What do you mean by that, 'lucky them'?" he asked as he opened his eyes to peer questioningly at her. To his surprise, she ducked her head in what almost seemed like a shy move. 'Shy' and 'Mara' were not two words that he often connected in his mind.

"Mara?" he asked softly.

She raised her head and looked at him. He nearly went breathless at the determined intensity of her gaze. "When you weren't yourself, there was a moment. A moment when we…well, we connected. Very intimately. And it was only cut short because you passed out on me."

Luke winced. "I'm sorry," he said, not sure if he was apologizing for passing out or for not passing out sooner.

"It's not as though you had much choice in the situation. Which is kind of why I'm glad that it didn't go any further…"

Luke dropped his gaze quickly, not wanting her to see the pain in his eyes at the starkness of her words. His desire for Mara Jade was something he'd kept carefully hidden, even from himself most of the time. It hurt that she was saying she didn't want him.

"…because I definitely want to explore it while you're fully yourself, Jedi," she continued softly.

Luke looked back up at her, certain his surprise showing on his face. "I'm not sure I understand," he whispered, unable to fully believe what she seemed to be trying to tell him. He didn't want to get his hopes up, like they'd been fruitlessly raised too many times before in his life.

"Skywalker…" she began, then paused for a second, when she smiled at him, the warmest smile he'd ever seen from Mara Jade in all the years he'd known her. "Luke. There's always been something between us. It was something that I fought tooth and nail for many years, but I'm tired of fighting. Both my feelings and you. Do you feel it, too? Or am I completely embarrassing myself here?" she said, a sliver of doubt showing through the confidence she'd just been displaying.

"I do feel it, Mara, I think I always have. I just never thought…I mean, I never dreamed that you might feel the same way," he said in wonder.

"I denied it for a long time, Luke, but I do. I truly do."

He found himself in awe at her courage. He'd often been impressed by many aspects of her personality over the years: her strength, both mental and physical; her determination; her integrity; the ferocity with which she attacked everything in her life. Luke had always thought that she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever met, and it wasn't just her physical form that attracted him.

Here, in this moment, he thought she might have been the bravest person he'd ever known. It was sometimes so easy to put your physical self out there in a confrontation or battle, or at least Luke had always found it to be so. But to put your heart in front of someone else? Especially when you weren't one hundred per cent certain that they returned your feelings? Luke thought that Mara was far more courageous than he could ever be.

He realized that he'd been quiet a bit too long when she shifted uncomfortably on top of him, her face going a bit tense. Luke smiled at her and raised his hands to gently cup her face. Mara stilled and just stared at him, her eyes going wide.

"You are so amazing," he whispered. He lifted his head off the sofa just a little bit, hesitantly making the first move. To his immense relief, she responded, tilting her face down towards his, her eyes sliding closed as their lips came so close to touching. It was absolutely the most perfect moment Luke had ever experienced in his life thus far.

Which, of course, meant that it was bound to be ruined.

"Luke, are you here?" his sister's voice called out worriedly, as he heard the front door of Mara's apartment open. This was followed quickly by a startled shriek, as not only Leia, but his brother-in-law came around the corner as well. That bastard started laughing his ass off, naturally. Luke and Mara scrambled to get off the sofa as quickly as they could, although Luke was hoping that Mara was just as disappointed as he was at the intrusion.

It took several minutes for the chaos that followed to be contained. The four of them ended up in an awkward circle in the middle of Mara's living room. Luke was embarrassed to have such an intimate moment be interrupted by his sister; Leia was chastising him for causing her to worry about him; Mara was incensed that the Solos had somehow gotten into her apartment without her permission or her passcode; and Han just couldn't stop laughing.

"Solo, if you don't quit that cackling, I'll explain to your wife exactly how Luke came to be in my apartment," Mara threatened, which got the attention of both Skywalkers immediately.

"What would Han have to do with that?" Leia asked, while giving her husband a suspicious glare.

"We don't need to mention anything about a certain bar, Mara…and I mean ever when I say that," Luke said, a little desperately.

"What? What bar? What do you mean by that?" Leia asked, turning her glare to her twin.

"It wouldn't exactly be good blackmail material if I gave it up that easily, now would it?" Mara said, a wicked gleam in her eye.

Luke just chuckled a little weakly, not sure if she was joking or not.

"Luke, you've just been through a very rough week. We don't know what other effects the shrooms might have had on your system. I think you need to be checked out by a doctor right now," Leia said insistently.

"I'm feeling fine now, just a little tired," Luke replied.

"Still, I think it would be best if we made sure of that-"

"Leia," Luke interrupted her. "I'm fine. I'm just a little tired and extremely embarrassed at some of the memories about the last week that keep coming back to me. I just need to rest, that's all."

"Yeah, I just wish I'd thought of using a holocam for the week, Kid. You were hilarious!" Han snickered.

"Thanks, Han. I knew I could count on you to find humor in my perilous situation," Luke said dryly.

"Bah! It was never perilous, Kid! Leia and I had everything well in hand the whole time."

"Until you lost him," Mara said with a sarcastic tilt of her head.

"Yes, how did that happen, Han?" Leia said, as she turned to glare at her husband. "I seem to recall you telling me that everything was under control and I woke up from my nap, Luke was gone!"

"Hey, it's not my fault! Luke's a freaking Jedi Master, okay? He got away from me, but that's why I sent Jade after him. I figured with the Force mumbo-jumbo causing this mess, she'd be able to find him the quickest," he said.

He looked quite pleased with himself at this rationalization, until he realized that now all three Force-sensitive people in the room were giving him nasty looks. Obviously, a diversion was called for immediately.

"Anyway, I think the question should be, what were Jade and the kid doing when we walked in the room?" he asked slyly.

"That is an interesting question," Leia said coolly, turning her attention back to her brother.

"And one that is none of your business," Luke answered back just as calmly.

Leia gasped, hurt showing just a little on her face. Luke sighed and rubbed a hand wearily on the back of his neck.

"Look…Leia…you know I love you very much, but honestly, what happens between Mara and myself is between Mara and myself," he said gently, while sneaking a quick glance at the redhead in question to see what she thought of the direction of the conversation. To his relief, she wasn't running for the door.

But then, this is her apartment, Luke thought to himself. Well, at least she wasn't physically throwing all of them out. He hoped that was a positive sign.

"I'm just worried about you, Luke," Leia said faintly, a glimmer of hurt still shining in her eyes.

"I know you are, but I am a big boy now. I can take care of myself." He grimaced at the pointed glance she gave him, reminding him without words of the fiasco the last week had been. "Well, most of the time I can. And I'm fine now, I promise."

"I still think you need to see a doctor, just to be safe."

"All he'd tell me is to get some rest, Leia. I can manage that on my own."

"Well, if you're sure…" Leia said. When Luke gave her a firm nod, she then added, "Han and I can walk you back up to your apartment."

Luke closed his eyes and quickly counted to ten in his head. Force, but his sister was stubborn! "Mara and I have some things to discuss-"

"Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?" Han said sarcastically.

"-so I'm not leaving at the moment," Luke continued, giving Han a quick glare and sneaking a hopeful look in Jade's direction. To his immense relief, she gave a barely noticeable nod.

TBC...

(sorry this one ends kind of abruptly, but I couldn't think of a better place to cut it off)