Beyond - Legends "Eurydice" (Luke, Mara) Updated 12 October, Complete!

Part VII: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning



In the small medbay of the Millennium Falcon, Leia kept vigil over the lifeless bodies of her brother and Mara Jade. She lay prone in the medcot, cold and pale, her hand clutched in both of Luke’s, who sat in the chair beside her. He was also alarmingly pale, although Leia knew that he was still in his trance and not lost yet.

It had been hours, but Leia refused to leave or respond to the repeated hails from the Republic fleet. She wouldn’t allow Han to pull them out of orbit around the planet Koli, because Luke had been so sure he could save Mara, and what if he needed proximity to where she had died to succeed?

There was no room for another chair in the medbay, so Leia stood in the small space afforded to her and had not moved. The room was cold and her muscles were starting to ache from standing for so long, but Leia didn’t care.

She felt strong hands on her shoulders, and leant back gratefully into her husband’s chest. His lips gently brushed against her temple and she took his comfort gratefully.

“No change,” Leia told him, her eyes flickering to the medical equipment the pair had both been hooked up to. It recorded Luke’s infrequent heartbeat and minimal brain function, but there were no life signs present for Mara at all.

“Luke said he knew what he was doing,” Han told her softly. “So I’m sure he does.”

Leia trusted her brother implicitly, and knew there was no one who understood the Force better. And yet she could not wave away her doubts like Han could his. Luke had said he could do something, and so Han had faith that it would be done. He never doubted Luke, especially when it came to the Force. But Leia was Luke’s twin, and she knew better his fears and insecurities. She understood that sometimes conviction and certainty covered recklessness and bold daring.

“I hope so,” was all she could say. Leia desperately wanted to reach out to him through the Force, to reassure herself that he was not too far gone, but she feared disrupting him. Luke had almost broken when Mara had died, and Leia wondered how much of his determination to bring her back was guilt that she had sacrificed herself, and how much was his unaddressed feelings for her.

Han had privately joked about it many times, and Leia had a sneaking suspicion he was running a betting pool with Lando and Rogue Squadron. It was obvious to anyone that Luke and Mara had a connection, but anything more was pure speculation. Except to Leia. She had sensed the depth of feeling her brother experienced towards Mara Jade, although she suspected he had not even acknowledged it himself. Mara herself was impossible to read, and so Leia had never broached the issue, laughing off Han’s jokes as exactly that.

Leia’s thoughts were interrupted by an increased frequency of beeps emitted from the monitor hooked up to Luke. Han was there in an instant, studying the screen, and Leia was flooded with relief to see that his heartbeat was quickening and brainwaves jumping to life. She put a shaking hand on Luke’s shoulder, but his eyes were still closed.

“Luke?” She took his free hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. “Luke, please come back,” he whispered hoarsely, unable to stop her tears from falling. As if at the sound of her voice, Luke took a deep breath and his eyes snapped open.

Leia threw her arms around him in relief and happiness, kissing the side of his head and holding him tightly.

“It’s alright, Leia,” she heard Luke whisper as he leaned into her embrace. “I’m alright.”

“What happened?” Leia asked as she straightened herself, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I saw…” Luke looked up at her, and Leis was struck by the depth to his eyes, as if the entire universe was now held within them. “Mara…” He turned back to the woman on the bed. He had not let go of her hand, and now he leant closer to her, desperate concern clear on his face.

Mara was as pale and unmoving as she had been before. And yet she heard renewed sounds from the monitor indicating a second heartbeat. Leia looked over at Han, examining the screen, and he met her gaze with shock and confusion.

“I don’t believe it,” he whispered.

“I told you I could do it,” Luke said, his eyes still fixed on Mara’s prone form. And yet, now Leia could see her chest moving ever so slightly. It was shallow, but she was breathing.

“Luke,” Leia tried to reason with him, stroking his hair softly. “Even if she is alive, her brain was without oxygen for too long…”

“Have faith, Leia,” Luke breathed. “Through the Force, anything is possible.” He squeezed Mara’s hand. “Mara,” he called to her gently, as if he was awaking her from a long sleep rather than calling her back from the brink of death.

Leia glanced over at Han again, who looked stricken yet hopeful. Mara shifted in the medcot and her lips moved slightly, as if trying to form words. Luke kept stroking her hand, and eventually her eyelids fluttered, although they did not open.

“Lu-” she muttered.

Han swallowed heavily, staring at the health monitor. “Brain function is normal.”

“How can this be?” Leia asked no one in particular.

“I found her,” Luke said, his eyes still on Mara as he stroked her hand gently, still held in his own. “I saw so many things, Leia, it was amazing.” He turned to her, eyes alight. “I saw father,” he added, visibly overcome. “And…our mother.”

“Our mother?” Leia repeated, taken aback. But before Luke could speak further, a loud angry noise emitted from the health monitor. Han took the screen in both hands and studied it.

“She’s flagging,” Han said. Leia moved to his side to look at the equipment herself, and saw Mara’s brain activity start to dip.

“She looked back,” Luke said with slight desperation. “I tried to keep hold of her, but she kept slipping away.” He touched her face gently, a tremor clearly visible in his hand. Leia sent a plea to whatever was out there in the Force that had sent Luke back to her to save Mara, too. She felt Han’s hand close around hers, and she grasped it comfortingly.

Luke leaned closer to Mara and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers gently. Then he spoke her name in a clear and even voice.

There was a tense moment, and Leia squeezed Han’s fingers so tightly she was almost sure she’d broken one of them. She felt a glimmer in the Force, as if the universe itself was converging on then, in this room, in this moment.

Mara’s eyes fluttered open and Leia let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Han let out of whoop of shock and delight. Mara blinked several times as if trying to focus, her gaze darting to take in her surroundings. Only Luke did not seem surprised.

“Mara,” Luke breathed her name reverently.

Mara licked her lips and swallowed heavily. “Luke,” she said hoarsely, and swallowed again. Han fumbled through the medcabinet and quickly located a hydrating pouch, pulled the straw out and handed it to Mara. She reached for it somewhat clumsily with her free hand, and Luke helped guide it to her lips so she could suck down the liquid gratefully.

“Are you alright, Mara?” Leia asked, still anxious.

Mara’s gaze slid over to Leia, and she was gratified to see that her green eyes were as vibrant and sharp as they had ever been. “I think so,” Mara answered.

“I’ll set course for Coruscant,” Han said, heading towards the door. “So you get checked out properly.”

Leia wanted to linger, to hear more about what Luke had seen in his trance, but saw by the way his gaze was fixated on Mara that she wouldn’t get any straight answers out of him yet. And she could feel a shifting in the Force around the both of them – something had happened, and Leia thought it best to make herself scarce.

“You don’t know how good it is to see you, Mara,” Leia said softly, putting her hand gently on Luke’s shoulder and giving him a sisterly kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll go help Han with the navigation,” she told him, to indicate that they would be left alone for a while.

It was with relief and newfound happiness that Leia went to join Han in the Falcon’s cockpit. She smiled to herself, and wondered if it was too late to get in on the betting pool.


**********************


Mara Jade quickly oriented herself, surmising that she was in the Falcon’s medbay. Her gaze flittered to the machinery beside the cot, which appeared to be monitoring her life signs as well as Luke’s. She noted that their brain activity seemed to be moving in tandem.

Then Mara turned her gaze towards Luke himself, seated beside her cot. He was pale and beads of sweat dotted his brow, but he was looking at her with such wonder and relief he seemed to glow with it. Mara looked at where her hand was clutched tightly in Luke’s, as it had been since she’d awoken.

“I think you can let go of that now,” she said softly.

“Right.” Luke withdrew his hand and smiled sheepishly. Mara flexed her fingers which had been held in his tight grip, wondering at the sensation of movement. She was alive.

“Thank you,” she told him, unsure of how she could ever display her gratitude. And yet, somehow she could tell that he knew – or rather, he felt it. Mara thought back where she had been lost in the mists of the other world, flailing about helplessly and in danger of being drawn back into the Force. But then Luke had found her, had tethered her to him and dragged her back. They had connected on a level she had never experienced, and Mara could still feel that bond in the corner of her mind.

Luke was eyeing her nervously, but Mara found she didn’t care. In fact, his presence was warm inside of her, and rather surprisingly Mara didn’t feel the need to expel him, or resurrect the walls he had broken down in order to keep his hold on her and pull her back from the other world.

“I’m just glad you’re alright, Mara,” he said softly.

“Well, I’m grateful,” Mara answered with a smile. “But it was still a stupidly reckless thing to do, Skywalker,” she chided him. “I didn’t save your life just so you could immediately risk on some folly.”

“Hardly a folly, Mara,” he countered. “We’re both alive – I wouldn’t call that anything other than a success.”

“Hmmm.” Mara shifted in the cot restlessly, attempting to raise herself up on her elbows. But Luke pressed one hand against her shoulder easily pushing her back down again.

“You need to rest, Mara,” he told her seriously.

“Fine.” Mara pawed at her temple where wires from the machinery were attached by small suction cups. “At least get these things off me.”

Luke removed them gently and cast them aside, then detached his own. Silence fell in the medbay as the monitors which had been charting their heartbeats and brain activity lost their connection.

“If I can ask, Mara,” Luke said, looking at her keenly. “Who did you see?”

Mara arched one eyebrow at him. “The same people you saw I would imagine,” she replied, and gave him a wry smile. “I don’t think your Master Yoda approves of me.”

Luke smiled in return. “He didn’t approve of me at first, either.”

“He said I was rude and disrespectful.”

Luke laughed. “Were you?”

Mara shrugged. “He also said I was irresponsible and indecisive.”

“He thought I was reckless and lacked faith.”

“You are reckless,” she laughed, and wondered when it had become so easy between them. Perhaps it was a newfound understanding through the connection they now shared, or perhaps it was Mara allowing herself to see him properly for the first time. She thought back to the child Ben, his ginger hair which would not doubt darken to auburn as he grew older, the freckles which dotted his nose, of his clear blue eyes and the cleft in his chin.

Mara reached for Luke’s hand. “Why did you come after me?” she asked seriously. “And no shavit about it being the right thing to do. The truth please.”

It took him a long time to answer, as if he was weighing up the options. He stared down at their joined hands, his fingers intertwining with hers. With his free hand he traced soft patterns on her knuckles while Mara waited patiently.

“I couldn’t let go of you,” he said eventually, his voice thick. “Because I need you, Mara,” he said plaintively, gazing into her eyes. “I need you in my life.”

The words were fortified by his presence in the back of her mind, and she felt him reach out to her through the Force. This time, she did not push away or reinforce her barriers, as she had done so many times before. This time, she let him in, and his Force sense flooded her with soft waves of relief and affection.
Mara squeezed his hand gently. “Your father said that I was afraid of being a Jedi,” she told him, no longer reluctant to share herself with him. “Afraid that I would fail. Afraid that…I wasn’t worthy to be one.”

“Is that true?” he questioned, clearly surprised.

“Partly,” Mara admitted. “I wasn’t sure that I could make the commitment, because then I would be bound by it, and after serving Palpatine for so long I didn’t want to be bound to anything…or anyone.”

“And now?” he asked, the hope clear in his voice.

“Now I have touched the Force itself,” she told him. “And it felt like freedom – to live, not to just get by.”

Luke was visibly moved, and ran the backs of his knuckles gently down her cheek. “So why did you save me?” he asked.

“You know why.”

Luke’s grinned, his face radiant. “Yes, I do.”

Another time, before this ordeal, she would have been angry at his presumption, or embarrassed of her own, obvious feelings. But she had been inside his mind, and felt acceptance and reciprocation; he had been inside hers, and felt understanding and promise. She finally understood what Anakin had been trying to tell her, finding the true explanation for her actions deep within her own heart.

Mara cupped the side of his face with one hand and pulled his lips gently down to hers. He kissed her with gentle fervor and tentatively touched her again with the Force, seeking to reestablish their connection. She opened herself up to him fully, no longer afraid, and felt herself surrounded and cocooned by his presence. Mara felt his mind and heart and soul, and held them gently in her embrace as they reached true understanding on a level previously unknown to them.

When she opened her eyes he was lying next to her on the medcot, their foreheads pressed together and legs entwined. They were both breathing heavily as they came back to themselves, Force senses retreating back into their own bodies. And yet, the connection was still there, solidified now, unbreakable and enduring.

“I love you, Mara,” he whispered and kissed her gently. “I think I always have.”

She touched his face, running the tips of her fingers reverently along his cheekbones and down his jawline. “I love you, too,” she told him wondrously, surprised at the ease of the words.

They lay together peacefully for a long time and Mara almost drifted off to sleep before he spoke again.
“Mara, can I ask?” he cupped her chin turned her face towards him. “Father told me that the person at the gate to the Force is different for everyone. Yours was a child – did you know him?”

“Did you?” she asked, curious.

Luke shook his head. “I didn’t really get a good look at him.”

Mara smiled to herself. She wouldn’t tell him, at least not yet. She wanted to keep that secret for herself. And she didn’t ever want him to think that she only loved him for the sake of the child she was sure would be born to them, or the will of the Force. Mara knew that the connection between them would have happened anyway. Her experience in the other world had only forced her to face her feelings sooner.

Luke kissed the corner of her smiling mouth when she did not reply. “Okay, keep your secrets,” he muttered good-naturedly.

“Well I don’t have many of them left,” she pointed out.

He looked concerned for a moment, and gently brushed the hair back from her forehead. “Are you okay with that?” Mara could feel his anxiety through their new bond.

“It may take some getting used to,” she admitted. “But I like it,” she added. “It feels…warm.”

“Good.” Luke took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. “So now that you know everything about me,” he smiled at her. “You must know that I’m going to ask you to marry me. Might as well do it now.”

Mara laughed and sent a teasing poke through their bond. “You move fast, Skywalker.”

“Is that a no?” he asked, confused.

“No.” Mara said with a teasing smile. “Let me get some sleep first, Luke.” She rested her head against his chest again, gratified when his arms enclosed around her. “It’s been kind of a long day.”


*********

Mara sat in the medcentre on Yavin 4, watching Cilghal go over her test results. She had been examined on Coruscant first, and the meddroids had proclaimed her healthy with no apparent ill effects from her ordeal. However Luke had wanted to be sure, so Mara had agreed to let the Jedi healer examine her. Luke was anxiously pacing the room beside her, and she sent a calming wave through their new bond.

Cilghal looked up from her datapad and blinked her eyes. “You are in perfect health, Mara.”

“But?” Mara could see the disquiet in the healer’s face.

“I cannot be sure,” Cilghal told them, looking between her and Luke. “But your Force patterns appear to be in tandem with Master Skywalker’s.”

“So?” Mara shrugged. She had seen that much from the Falcon’s monitoring equipment, but had dismissed it as unimportant. “That could be attributed to the Force bond.”

“Yes,” Cilghal agreed. “But my concern is the extent to which you are now bonded. And the consequences of that.”

“What do you mean?” Mara asked.

“It appears to me that your minds are now so entwined that they cannot be separated,” Cilgal showed them the scans on the datapad. “It seems they are far more in sync than one would expect, even accounting for a bond in the Force.”

“She looked back,” Luke said, troubled. “At the gateway, Mara,” he turned to her. “You looked back – my father said if that happened there was nothing that could save you.”

“But you did,” Mara insisted. “You pulled me back with you.”

“Maybe not completely.”

His meaning dawned on Mara. She remembered how she had slipped from his hold, and that it was only when he had completely enfolded her within himself that she had been brought back.

“I will of course run more tests,” Cilghal told them. “My initial analysis is that you will have a completely functional life, Mara. But Luke, and the bond through the Force you now share with him is tethering you here. If that bond were to break…”

“That won’t happen,” Luke said resolutely. “Never.” He reached to take her hand, lifting it to his lips and pressing a firm kiss to her palm.

“Maybe not deliberately,” Cilghal said gently. “But Luke, if you were to die...”

“I would die too,” Mara nodded. Luke looked stricken, so she squeezed his hand reassuringly. “It’s okay, Luke, I was dead anyway.” However he did not look comforted.

“I’ll leave you to talk,” Cilghal said gently, and Mara nodded to her gratefully as she left the room.

“Well, Skywalker,” she said softly, tugging on his arm until he stood facing her. “Looks like I’m stuck with you.”

“I’m sorry.” Luke looked anguished, his warm hands resting on her knees and squeezing gently.

“Don’t be,” she told him, cupping his face in her hands and lifting to meet her gaze. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She kissed him lightly. “I love you, Luke.” The words still felt strange on her tongue, but every time she said them Mara felt more gratified.

Luke smiled against her lips as he picked up on her thoughts, gently trailing his hands down her back in the way he now knew she liked.

“I guess you’ll have to marry me now,” Luke goaded her when he pulled away. “You know, for your own wellbeing.”

Mara laughed and pulled him close again, her arms winding around his neck. “Alright,” she agreed. “But we’ll have to re-write the wedding vows – till death do us part doesn’t seem appropriate now.”

“What about to the end of time?” Luke murmured as he left a trail of kisses down her neck.

“You’re a sap, Skywalker,” she told him, ruffling his hair affectionately.

“Yeah, and you’re stuck with me,” he reminded her, smiling against her skin. “Just think,” he continued, pushing aside the hem of her tunic so he could kiss her collarbone. “You’ll have to put up with me not only in this life, but in the next, and we can stay there for an eternity if we like.”

Mara pulled him back up, putting her hands on either side of his face and gazing deeply into his eyes. “Promise?”

He enfolded her into his embrace as their Force senses once more mingled into one. “I promise.” They held each other close, and for a moment Mara felt her heart lighten and the whisper of something familiar though the Force.

Almost as if someone was watching them, and smiling.

 

Sweet! I love it!

 

Beautiful! Wonderful! Now tell us there's a bit more.

 

Yay! I loved this part. Love seeing the sibling relationship with Han and Leia. Loved Luke and Mara discussing what had happened, and coming to terms with their new relationship. Very reminiscent of Vision of the Future, and "any other time she'd be obligated to make him sweat, just a little." And I liked that she didn't tell Luke about Ben. She's right, that'd probably complicate things a bit more. But he's a smart guy and will probably figure it out on his own.

I had to smile at them talking about changing the traditional wedding vows. We didn't use "til death do us part" either, we used "for time and all eternity." But just because we liked it better, not because I'm force bonded to my husband and will die if he does.

Excellent job!

 

I just loved this so much!

 

This was my favorite part and the fact they will be together forever -- nice.

But, please let there be just a little bit more to the story, please.

 

SQUEE! Magnificent. Beautiful descriptions and terrific meltyness. Thanks for sharing this delicacy of delightful L/M-ness.

 

“What about to the end of time?” Luke murmured as he left a trail of kisses down her neck.

“You’re a sap, Skywalker,” she told him, ruffling his hair affectionately.

“Yeah, and you’re stuck with me,” he reminded her, smiling against her skin. “Just think,” he continued, pushing aside the hem of her tunic so he could kiss her collarbone. “You’ll have to put up with me not only in this life, but in the next, and we can stay there for an eternity if we like.”


I love Luke being a sap and reckless. Bur with Mara he does not lack faith at all.

 

Wonderful. I love this so so much.

 

Lovely, just absolutely lovely!

 

Thank you!

Ha, one track mind! There will be an epilogue, though.

I like "for all time and eternity" - very sweet! I didn't want Mara to tell Luke about Ben just yet - it will be a nice surprise for him

Thanks!

Thank you! There will be a short epilogue, which I hope to post these weekend

Thank you!

He is a sap, but I like him being a sap I was a bit concerned that they got to this stage so quickly, but they pretty much did the same in VoTF, so...

Thank you!

I was more inspired by the myth than directed by it - I always wanted them to have the happy ending that Orpheus and Eurydice never had They certainly were changed by it - Mara spent the whole fic denying her reasons for sacrificing himself but then it's like flipping a switch when she finally accepts it. I hope to post the epilogue soon.

Thank you!

 

I didn't mean that kind of more.

 

Well you and ginchy have now convinced me to add bonus content to Chasing Dreams, so one at a time!

 

^^^^

As to the fic, girl. You KNOW I adore this. I love the eternal connection there between L/M. I love how he knew he could save her, and he did. I love how the bond is what tethers them together and what allowed Mara to follow him back to life. And I love how Leia stood in vigil over them. I love the bit about her keeping her secret about Ben. The romance and love between them is so concrete I almost feel like I can touch it. You write them both so well, lady. Beautiful, beautiful and I can't wait for the epilogue!!!!!

 

Have you considered "re-writing" other Greek myths?

 

Thanks gal! You know, originally the ending to this fic was going to just imply that Luke and Mara got together and not actually show it, but I decided to throw a bit more romance in there And thanks for your help on ideas for the epilogue, I think I got what we discussed in there!

I haven't had any ideas, and to be honest I have so many WiPs or ideas on the go I'm not sure I want to think too hard about it! I might though, there's lots of great myths to choose from.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this fic, it is finally finished! I hope you enjoy the epilogue, I have done something a bit...different from the rest of the fic, but I think it wraps up this AU nicely.

Thanks for reading!


________



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 they’d 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 and 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 bitterly of forgetting that they were meant to be a team, now, and therefore 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. 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 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 lightly 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, taking 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.”

“Where’s Leia?” Luke asked.

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, it 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 together, it sent the great companion Chewbacca.

For her cherished one, her lightsword, 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 in her embrace, enfolding them them together in her arms.

They would all be one, forever.

 

Ohhhhhhh....



This was perfect.

 

Aw man, that was beautiful.

I don't know what it says about me that the part that made me well up was Chewie being Han's gatekeeper, but it was.

 

Enjoyed very much the details on achieving a balance in their relationship between closeness and keeping their own "space." Sweet way Mara told Luke about Ben. Awww.

The final scenes: Stunned by sheer breathtaking brilliance. Gave me happy chills JadeLotus - touching and magnificent and epic close there. Thanks for sharing this gem with us.

 

Just..perfect.Amazing finish for amazing story.Thank you so much for that. Now maybe you'll think about continuation of "Lift Not The Painted Veil".I am begging. Pleeeaaase!

 

This was a lovely end to a lovely story. I particularly liked the fairy-tale style of the epilogue (and like JediMara77 I thought that Chewbacca was a nice touch )

 

Gorgeously written, poetic in its lyricism. This is a truly beautiful work, JadeLotus. Thank you for this.

 

This was an absolutely beautiful ending. I hope this is truly how it will be in the beyond 'inbetween'.

 

What a beautiful ending!