Beyond Alter of Waru -(L/M Angst/Romance) 11 Oct-Expanded Version of 1st Alternate ending posted.

Wow, J_L! I'm speechless! that doesn't happen often I am so happy Luke and a long life with Ben and his family. I just hope on the "other side" the Mara he left behind was able to pick up where she left off with the mature Luke --- woohoo!! Bet she had a fun!!!! time persuading him they should be together

Holy crap! I am glad this story had a happy ending! Gosh, I am rather at a loss for words to say, other than I look forward to reading your future stories!

I have a follow up chapter...don't go away yet.

Wow! Although I wasn't expecting that ending, I loved it! I'm glad Luke went home and it was home to go back to. You depicted Luke's later years and death fantastically.

I can't wait for the final chapter! And you should post the alternate endings if you already have them written.

Waves innocently. Just trying to figure out all of the possibilities. I've read many stories like this and I want to get an idea what to expect or see if the author can do something completely unexpected.

Very good chapter though. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Rakkaus means love in finnish

This chapter was awesome!!! Not what I initially expected - but awesome!!! I love your distance to canon - and yet you go through with it and show it can, if not make sense, then at least become decent yet. Can't wait to see what happens in last chapter and epiloque!!!

Bu I think I could read all the three endings anyway!!!

That was a great and fitting end to Luke's life. Let's hope he finds Mara in the 'afterlife'.

I should not have read that inbetween lessons. I should not have read that inbetween lessons. But I did...

Well, at least there is a happy end because Luke & Mara became one in the Force again.

Don't worry! I am not leaving until I see that this is completed!

Fascinating development. Maybe she was trying to pull him out and that was the problems with him breathing that they couldn't detect. Poor guy though, if he is back with the previous Mara, he's got to live his entire life all over again! Though there are benefits - most of the problems that exist in the old Luke dimension don't seem to exist in young Luke dimension.

@Jade_eyes -- Thanks...I hope you like this ending.
@Catsmeow -- Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback.
@Briannakin -- HA! Fooled you! Not really, I just changed my mind a dozen times when it came to an ending.
@Force Smuggler -- There is this chapter and then a short epilogue.
@kataja -- Maybe this chapter is what you expected. Thanks for reading!
@Hazel -- Thanks. I am watching Lego Star Wars and Luke is being chased by a bunch of adoring Lego girls and I am laughing my butt off. They must have read some ginchy-shine. Okay, my son just asked me why the girls are all gaga over a mass murderer. Luke is a hero! Not a mass murderer! I sometimes wonder if he is my son.
@AzureAngel2 -- Hopefully this chapter will be more uplifting.
@CurtisZidaneZiraa -- I wouldn't want to live life over, but if Luke has Mara maybe it will be acceptable.

I have a short Epilogue after this for people who absolutely want an explanation as to what happened.


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CHAPTER 18

Luke became conscious of a burning sensation running down his back and legs as he was dragged across a hot surface. He could hear the wind whipping around him accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling of sand rasping against his skin. As his eyes fluttered open a harsh light temporarily blinded him. He blinked his eyes trying to regain focus, but the blurring persisted. A shadow fell over him and he could make out the silhouette of a woman blocking the intense light. “Luke, are you alright?”

He tried to answer but he began coughing and then his stomach lurched. He rolled over on his hands and knees and vomited up a stream of yellow ichor. “What the…?” he groaned as he tried to spit up a foul tasting fluid out of his mouth. He reached up and dragged his fingers over his face trying to remove the fetid gel that appeared to cover his entire body. He wondered if the Hapan medical facility had started using a different type of bacta. “Gods, that’s awful tasting.”

“Thank the Force, you’re alright,” Luke could hear a familiar voice exclaim. “Kriff Luke, you’re from Tatooine. You should know what winches will work in a desert and which ones will seize up when a little sand gets into the gearbox! Stang, I thought you were going to drown in there!”

Luke tried to focus on the speaker, but a gelatinous film covering his eyes fogged his vision. “What? Mara?”

There was a short pause before the voice continued. “Shavit! I have naïve farm boy Luke, don’t I?” There was a grunt of disgust. “I can’t believe I had to put my arm into that monstrosity to get you out. The smell is awful.”

“Mara?” He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his sight. “Am I dead?” Luke asked confused wondering if he was now in the netherworld.

“Yes, it’s Mara and no, you’re not dead…although I feel like blasting you for insisting on coming here.”

Luke’s head was spinning as he tried to piece together what was going on. “What happened? What’s going on?”

“I told you what happened. Sand got into the gearbox for the winch. I had to pull the cable in by hand.” Mara explained. “I almost had you all the way out when you snagged on something…probably Waru’s pancreas or prostate,” she made a gagging sound for emphasis. “Luckily you were within arm’s reach by then.”

“What?” Luke’s eyes finally cleared enough to see Mara Jade looking down at him. “You pulled me out of Waru?” Luke said in shock. He looked at his hands. No longer were the wrinkled fingers of a centurion, but the hands of a young man. “You’ve got to be kriff’n kidding me!” Luke muttered in disbelief as he fell over on his back and gazed dumbly at the bright blue sky of Jaguada.

“Luke, look at me.” Mara stared at him intently and he could see in her eyes she was concerned as to which Luke Skywalker came back to her.

“It’s me Mara, the Jedi Grand Master.” His hands came up and rubbed his temples. “Mara I lived over fifty years in that other reality. How long was I in Waru?”

“A few minutes. I’m sorry Luke. The hoist jammed. I got you out as soon as possible,” Mara apologized.

Luke closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. “Don’t be sorry. I’m glad it happened. I was able to see Ben grow old.” He looked up to her and smiled warmly. “It’s so good to see you again. It’s been such a very, very long time.” He reached up and grabbed her into his arms to kiss her.

Mara immediately pulled away retching. “Gods Luke, I don’t want to have the taste of Waru in my mouth. We need to get you into a shower.”

“Sorry,” Luke said with a chuckle. “I definitely don’t want you to associate me with that taste.”

She smiled as she gently removed the syrupy goo from his face. “Did you find the answers you needed?”

Luke frowned as he slowly stood up. “I thought I did, but now I can’t rule out any of the three possibilities.” He gave her a resolute look. “But I’m not going back.”

“What happened?”

“I woke up in a hospital in 44 ABY with Ben looking over me. I was told I fell into a coma. I thought you would pull me back after a week or so…but decades passed and eventually I accepted the idea that you were a dream. I watched Ben grow up to a man. He gave me grandchildren and great grandchildren.” He shook his head in confusion. “But now I have no idea as to what happened. I can never be certain that I didn’t dream up what I just experienced…or what I am experiencing now.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Luke looked back to Waru. “If I was supposed to be in that reality…my time there is done. I lived out my entire natural life. Ben doesn’t need me anymore.” Luke gave her a poignant smile. “When I was pulled out of Waru in this reality I told Cilghal that I didn’t want to do my life over. I wanted to go back to my son and watch him grow and have a family…well, I did that.”

Mara went to hug Luke, but the stench of Waru was too overwhelming. She instead settled for holding his hands. “I’m sorry that you have to start all over again.”

He smiled. “I would live a thousand lifetimes…if I could live them with you.”

Mara chuckled. “That is such a sweet sentiment that it is almost sappy.”

“It’s true, though,” Luke replied with unabashed affection.

“So what is your plan now?” she asked.

“What I plan to do now is live my life here in this reality. I am going to be the best Jedi I can and learn from my mistakes. I’m going to marry you and have a family one day.”

“Oh, really? Don’t I have any say in this?”

Luke grinned. “Sure, you can say yes or no.” Luke dropped to his knees in front of her. “Mara Jade, will you marr…”

“Stop!” Mara shouted out abruptly. “Luke if your intention is to proposed to me, I don’t want you doing it while covered by the visceral fluid of some trans-dimensional monster. I would like a more romantic story to tell our children in the future.”

Luke smiled widely as he stood up. “Children? That sounds plural…it also sounds like a yes to my uncompleted question.”

“Maybe,” she said with a grin. “Why don’t we get you into a sonic shower so we can start practicing some family making techniques.”

He leaned forward and carefully placed a kiss on her forehead. “I love that idea…and I love you.”

“I love you too Farmboy.”

Luke smiled at Mara tenderly. “Our love is timeless.”
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Chandrilla: 14.5 ABY


Luke and Mara sat in a beach cabana watching the surf and listening to the birds flying overhead.

“It was nice for Mon Mothma to lend us her beach home again as an engagement present. Did your sister have to pull some more strings?” Mara asked as she ran a hand down Luke’s bare chest.

Luke smiled. “No, I asked her myself. I explained to her that this was the site of our first caress, our first kiss and the place where we made hot passionate love for the first time.”

Mara lightly smacked his belly. “You better have not told her that.”

Luke laughed. “I didn’t, but I’m fairly sure she got a full report from her protocol droid.” Luke’s heated gaze ran down Mara’s luscious body. She was wearing the two-piece swimsuit he had bought her during their previous visit. “You are beautiful,” he whispered as he pulled her close and kissed her passionately, while projecting his intense desire for her through the Force.

“Luke, I can’t believe your endurance,” Mara chuckled. “And you accused me of being insatiable.”

Luke cocked his head to the side confused. “I did? When?”

Mara looked at him bemused. “Before we went to Jaguada.”

“You have to remember that was only a few weeks ago for you, but for me it was over five decades,” Luke explained.

“So you don’t remember our nights together,” Mara said with a slight frown.

“Oh I remember our nights together.” Luke said enthusiastically. “I just don’t remember what I may have said between the times we made love. Believe me I remember making love to you. It’s what kept me going during fifty-four years of celibacy.”

Mara looked at him skeptically. “Luke, I honestly would understand if you moved on and got romantically involved with somebody in your other reality. You don’t have to hide something like that.”

“I wouldn’t hide that from you,” Luke said adamantly. “There honestly was no one else.”

Mara’s eyes narrowed. “For fifty years? Really?”

Luke sighed. “It’s true. This X-Wing pilot was flying solo all those years. And it was hell on my flight stick.”

Mara laughed. “That’s hard to believe. Even in your old age, I’m sure you were incredibly sexy.”

“Well, that may be true, but you are my one true love. Anybody else would pale in comparison.” Luke grinned. “Not that there weren’t a number of female Jedi students who strongly hinted that they wouldn’t mind becoming the second Mrs. Skywalker.”

“Oh really,” Mara smirked. “Did they offer to polish your lightsaber?”

Luke shook his head. “No, but one obsessed young lady snuck into my living quarters one evening,” He said with a smirk. “When I returned to my apartment I found her standing in my living room wearing a Jedi cloak…which she seductively dropped off her shoulders. She then said, ‘I love you Master Skywalker’. Thankfully she was modest enough to wear lingerie.”

“Oh Force!” Mara snickered. “What happened then?”

“It was a bit of a shock for an octogenarian. I must have projected such surprise through the Force that a dozen Jedi burst into my room, lightsabers in hand, and expecting to confront a Sith instead of a nineteen-year-old girl wearing shear undergarments.”

Mara started laughing. “Even at eighty you are attracting the young ladies.”

Luke couldn’t help but chuckle. “Unfortunately for me, Corran was one of the Jedi who came to my rescue that night. He would tease me unmercifully after that. He would ask me if I wanted him to check under my bed for lovelorn Jedi nymphomaniacs.”

“That had to embarrassing for the student.” Mara guffawed. “What happened to her?”

Luke smiled. “She requested a transfer to one of our satellite Academies, which I approved. She turned out to be a great Jedi…who, even thirty years later, would turn a deep shade of red whenever she saw me.”

“My poor love starved, Luke,” Mara purred as she snuggled next to him. “Maybe we should start making up for lost time.”

He smiled and pulled her into a loving embrace. “I think so too. I did some calculations and based on the rate we made love prior to me going to Jaguada, we need to have fifteen-thousand romantic interludes to make up for fifty lost years.”

“Oh, is that all. Well, then I guess we should get started,” Mara said as she gave him a sensual kiss.
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Coruscant: 16 ABY

Location: Medbay of the newly established Jedi Temple

Mara Jade Skywalker lay prone on the examination table anxiously waiting for the technician to perform the ultrasound for her and Luke’s first child.

The young medic squirted cold gel on Mara’s bulging stomach and then gently put the ultra sound sensor on her belly. Luke was looking over the technician’s shoulder smiling broadly and his heart thumping in his chest.

An image coalesced on the screen before them. At first it just looked like an indistinct shape, but after some positioning Luke could make out a head, arms and legs. After moving the sensor around a few more minutes the technician looked to Luke and Mara. “The baby looks healthy. Do you want to know the sex?”

Mara looked over to Luke. “I don’t mind.”

Luke gave a broad grin that only a new father can manage without pulling a muscle in his face. “Yes,” he said excitedly.

“It’s a girl,” the medic informed them.

Mara’s smile dimmed slightly and she looked to Luke intently, as if she was trying to gauge his reaction.

Luke gave out a happy shout. “A girl.” He looked to Mara. “I always wanted a girl.”

Mara seemed to relax and she grinned happily. “I did too.
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Coruscant

Date: 19 ABY

Location: Medbay of the newly established Jedi Temple

It was the second time Luke and Mara had been to the clinic to get an ultrasound. This time their young daughter, Hanna, accompanied them.

Luke smiled excitedly as he bounced the young girl on his knee. He pointed up to the screen. “Look at the screen Hanna, the medic is going to take holos of the baby in Mommy’s tummy.”

The strawberry blond girl giggled and clapped her hands together.

The technician moved the sensor until he was able to get a clear view of the baby. “Everything looks normal. Do you want to know the sex?”

Luke grinned. “Sure.”

“It’s another girl,” the tech announced happily.

Mara smiled as she looked over to Luke. She knew he wanted a boy. No, that wasn’t exactly correct…he wanted Ben. She hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed. But her Farmboy was overjoyed. She could see it in his face and feel it through the Force.

“Did you hear that Hanna! You’re going to have a baby sister!” He cuddled his daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He looked over to Mara and beamed with joy. “We’re going to be parents again!”

Mara smiled, elated by his reaction, but she should have never doubted Luke. He wouldn’t let his loving memory of his son Ben affect his undying love for his daughters.
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Coruscant

Date: 25 ABY

Location: Skywalker Living Quarters Jedi Temple

Mara stumbled out of the bathroom in utter shock. She had what she thought was the flu for the last few weeks, but after three weeks of very familiar bouts of nausea she decided to check something out. She came around the corner of the hallway and entered the family room area. There Jedi Master Luke Skywalker was rolling around the ground with his two young daughters having a tickle fight. Right now he was tickling little Jessa and the redheaded six-year-old was laughing hysterically. Hanna jumped on her father’s back and started tickling under his arms. Luke howled as he used the Force to levitate his daughter off him. She floated above him, giggling riotously. “I should tickle you while you are stuck up there,” he gave the mock threat before he lowered the child into his arms.

He looked over and saw Mara watching them. “You want to join us Mommy?” he asked, then frowned, obviously sensing the turmoil in his wife. He placed Hanna on the ground and slowly stood up. The little girls chased after him wanting to play some more but Luke turned to them and told them he would play later.

He walked over to Mara. “What’s wrong?”

Mara gave a nervous laugh, “I’m over forty and on repress meds. So how did this happen?” She held up a pregnancy indicator stick with a very noticeable plus sign signifying she was expecting.

Luke looked stunned, but then a smile crept across his face. “Mara, I think this is great news.”

She sighed in relief. They had planned the other two pregnancies and Luke had expressed satisfaction with the size of his family, so she wasn’t sure how he would react to having another baby late in life.

“I’m going to be a dad again!” he said happily. “I need to tell my sister. She is going to be thrilled.”

Mara smiled. “Hopefully it will be a son to carry on the family name.”

Luke shrugged. “Boy, girl, I don’t care. In fact, I don’t want to know the sex this time. Let’s be surprised.”

Mara sidled up next to him. “I love you.”

He kissed her tenderly. “I love you too, Mara.”

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Coruscant

Date: 26.5 ABY

Location: Delivery Room, Medbay of the newly established Jedi Temple

After hours of grueling labor Luke and Mara’s third child came into the world. “It’s a boy,” the doctor announced. The physician handed off the newborn to the nurse who took the infant aside to clean and wrap him in warm sheets.

The delivery nurse turned and handed the swaddled newborn to Luke. He gazed down at his new son lovingly and then turned to Mara with tears rolling down his cheeks. “It’s him,” he whispered.

Mara immediately knew whom he was talking about. “How do you know…just from the looks?”

Luke shook his head. “No, I can feel it in the Force. I would know Ben’s Force signature anywhere.” His smiled widened and Luke laughed. “You were on repress meds, but the Force decided to give us our son…to give us Ben. This baby’s birth date is only a week off from Ben’s.” He walked over to Mara and held their redheaded son to see his mother. “Mara I’d like you to meet your son, Ben Skywalker.”

DAWWWW! I loved this. While I'm glad that Luke got closure in his 'Waru-Life' and got to see Ben 1.0 grow old, I am SOOO happy that he got another life with Mara, daughters and Ben 2.0. Though two sets of life memories must have made poor Luke crazy in his old age.

Awww, I love it, lady. Luke got home to his son but also got to be with Mara again. A win/win. And I love that Ben has two big sisters to keep him in-line here in this universe. LOL It must be hard to start all over again, but I love how Luke said he'd live a thousand lifetimes with Mara.

Yeah, that would be maddening. But as you get older you get memories mixed up with movie plots and TV shows. Half the time I think I spent my childhood driving around in a van and solving mysteries.

Squeeeeee!!!!!!

This is so wonderful!

J_L! SQUGGLES! I love!!!!!!!!! this ending. Perfect! 2 girls with pretty names and Ben and no icky repeated histories & more years together than the other time. Yay! !!!

LOL No, it wasn't - it was waaay better!!! Absolutey love that you let Luke live two lives!!! And that Ben was in both of them!!! I love your stories! Gotta read more of them!!!

I hope you weren't expecting Luke to enter Waru and find himself married to Callista!

That would be horrible. [shudders]

I really don't think it is normal for me to dislike a fictional character so much. I probably need Post Callista Traumatic Stress Syndrome therapy.

You know, I think if she was pulled out of carbonite I could stomach the relationship, but the bodysnatcher route was way too disturbing. I wish Luke went into Waru before he found the Eye of Palpatine...then I could have avoided the entire bodysnatching mess. At least 14ABY Mara doesn't have to have those memories floating around her head like Mara Jade Skywalker did. That had to be disturbing for Mara. Yuck.

No, I didn't expect that!

I can understand your feelings. I think Callista was an ok character in CotJ, too perfect but ok, but like you, I found the bodyswitch was to weird. Worse yet, I found it deeply problematic how Cray's character was just tossed aside. And in DS Callista was decidedly awful - but blame that on KJA!

Cray was disposable. Callista needed a body so Cray became suicidal. Yuck!

Thanks everybody for reading. The story ends there but I wrote a small OPTIONAL EPILOGUE. If you like it that is great, if not totally disregard. I have a bunch of people curious as to what I thought happened. So here is a stab at explaining what happened.

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OPTIONAL EPILOGUE--Bonus feature. LEGACY COMICS SPOILER ALERT. There are references to the activities that occurred in the Legacy Comic books that are supposed to take place 136 ABY.

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Netherworld of the Force

Five Jedi spirits watched the birth of Ben Skywalker from the far reaches of the netherworld. As the group came out of their deep meditative trance they turned to gaze at the most senior Jedi. They stared silently at the diminutive Grand Master all looking for verification that the galaxies were now on the right path.

The bluish-shimmering spirit of Yoda turned to the other Jedi. “Back the way it should be, everything is.”

The apparition of the elderly Obi-Wan Kenobi let out a sigh. “I never thought we would fix the mess Abeloth brought upon the universe.”

“There is a Ben Skywalker in both dimensions as it should be,” the ghost of a young Anakin Skywalker said with a smile.

“I am still confused as to why I’m now in this netherworld and not the one from my dimension,” complained the spirit of a young Luke Skywalker.

“Told you, we did,” Yoda said in an exasperated tone. “Never listens, does he.”

The spirit of Mara Jade Skywalker came up from behind Luke. “I’ll explain it to him again,” she said as her Force essence crossed through Luke’s, their Force signatures intermingling for a second before she traversed all the way through the ghostly Jedi Master. Luke gasped and shivered as she did so.

“Mara,” Luke called out in shock.

She turned around and grinned. “Come on Farmboy, we both know you love it when I’m inside you.”

“Yeah,” he whispered almost inaudibly. “But not around,” he motioned to the Jedi, “other people.”

Anakin closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you two.”

Mara chuckled. “Face it Anakin, your son prefers more mature and experienced women.”

She turned towards the young Jedi. “Luke, I know this is confusing because time really has no meaning here in the Netherworld where we can flow-walk to the past or future. But in the mortal realms, our problem started in 44ABY on Upekzar. When Abeloth set off a Force bomb that killed dozens of Jedi Knights, it also caused a rip between our two dimensions and produced a great disturbance in the Force, which altered both timelines. When some of the surviving Jedi, including my husband fell ill from a viral infection, Abeloth saw this as an opportunity to get rid of Luke Skywalker. Using the same Sith technique used by Exar Kun, Abeloth severed my husband’s soul from his body and flung his spirit into your dimension…or at least she tried. Luke’s Force essence was there but a thin Force tendril remained connecting him to his body in 44ABY. We believe his love for his son kept him anchored to this realm.” Mara paused letting that information to set in before she continued.

“Your troubles started in 14ABY when you made that sacrificial leap into Waru to save your nephew. Leia and Han were fated to save you, but because the alteration in the timelines that didn’t happen. Leia was a minute too late to rescue you. You died and your spirit passed on.”

“I understand that." Luke said somberly. "I knew I might die when I made my fatal leap. What I don’t understand is why I was pulled out of the Flow of the Force in my dimension and into yours.”

“We don’t know for sure, Luke,” Obi-Wan chimed in. “It could be nature hates a vacuum. When Luke’s connection to this dimension was finally severed in 98 ABY his spirit completely crossed over leaving a void in the Force. It could be you were pulled through the opening created by Abeloth decades ago to fill that void.”

Meanwhile, in 14 ABY the spirit of the Jedi Grand Master was either pulled into your body by the same forces that brought you here,” Mara continued, “Or perhaps, while searching for you in Waru, Leia used the Force to pull her brother towards her…and ended up with the spirit of the older Luke.”

“But the timelines don’t match,” Luke pointed out.

“Since you were in Waru, they didn’t have to," Mara explained. "Waru bends time and space. If your body wasn’t in Waru at some time in your life, this probably would never have occurred.”

"It wasn't supposed to happen that way.” Anakin said to his son. “You were supposed to live, marry and have Ben."

“We’ll never fully understand what Abeloth did and it really doesn’t matter anymore,” Mara continued. “You’re here and there’s no going back. And I’m glad you’re here, because you’re needed in the future.”

Luke looked annoyed. “I just don’t want to believe that I get to spend part of my afterlife acting as a drug interventionist counselor for your great, great grandson Cade,” he said to Mara.

“Our great, great grandson,” Mara corrected. “You and my husband are one in the same as far as I am concerned.”

He gave her a skeptical look. “Don’t you think Cade will wonder why I am showing up as a young thirty-something Force Ghost and not the aging centenarian his real great, great, grandfather would have been when he passed on?”

“He will be so high on death sticks I’d doubt he’ll notice,” Anakin commented. “Anyway look at me. I was forty-six years old when I died, but now I’m in my twenties.” The young looking spirit grinned happily.

Luke frowned. “Why is that?” He looked at Obi-Wan. “Why do you look the same way as you did when you died?”

Obi-Wan scowled. “Obviously your Force Ghost reverts to the way you looked when you were last a Jedi.” He gave Anakin a dirty look. “Apparently if you turn to the darkside at a young age and repent moments before your death decades later you luck out with a young Force spirit.”

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t blame me, I didn’t make the rules.”

Mara turned back to the younger version of her husband. “Don’t worry Luke, I’ll stay with you while we wait for Cade Skywalker to sober up.” She teased a ghostly finger down his chest. “I won’t let you get lonely.”

Luke somehow managed to blush despite the fact there was no blood to rush to his face. “I wish I had a chance to be with you while I was alive.”

She gave him a sad look. “You did, but both versions of Luke and Mara were fools at that age…but we have plenty time now.”

“Good,” he said as he brushed his hand over her face.

“A room, you two should get.” Yoda grumbled before he slowly disappeared.

Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at each other and shrugged. “I guess it’s time for us to go and give these two some privacy.” The two Jedi said as they slowly faded away.

Mara smirked, “You definitely can leave, Ani,” she said using Anakin’s nickname with a mocking tone. “I’m in good hands.”

“You had to tell her my nickname as a kid!” Anakin complained to Obi-Wan.

“I see being dead hasn’t stopped you from whining, Ani,” Obi-Wan shot back before the two Force ghosts completely faded.

Luke grinned as he moved so his ghostly body budded up against hers. “I shouldn’t complain. I was bored in my dimension’s Netherworld. I much prefer being here with you.”

Mara gave him a bittersweet smile. “If you didn’t show up I would have spent an eternity without Luke Skywalker and that would be unbearable.”

“I would be honored to spend an eternity with you,” Luke said softly.

“You do know we can flow forward and talk to Cade now, if you want.”

Luke shook his head. “No, let time flow naturally. We have a lot of catching up to do.” He smiled shyly. “I’ve always loved you Mara, I just never thought you would consider dating me.”

She shook her head ruefully. “You should have asked.”

“I know that now,” he said softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Mara she whispered back. “Now and forever.”

“Yes,” he smiled. “Forever.”

Heee! That was a great explanation, even if it is a bit confusing.

Young Luke gets cougar Mara and young Mara gets the sexy grand master!

I love this epilogue. I love those Force-ghosts, and Luke and Mara area aways a great match even from different dimensions.

Great story, Donna! Very entertaining and it leaves us feeling really well, despite the angsty start.

I can only imagine how shocked Luke was when he got to that dimension's heaven and Mara was like "Oh, baby". LOL Excellent ending to a sad but fun and loving story, gal!! I don't know how you can just write a story like this so quickly. You're a writing machine!

Very good wrap-up. Answered all of my questions in a satisfactory way. Very good. Can't wait for your next story