Author Note: Lots of fluff.

Skywalker Town

Lesser Mesra Plateau

150 km south of Mos Eisley

Tatooine

Noon

10 years later

Mara Jade Skywalker chuckled as she strolled out of the docking bay and into the main street of Skywalker Town. Various enormous banners floated above the street on microlifters and she read them with amusement.

"Ten Years and Counting ..."

"Rain? Imaginary or Not?"

"Parties Are Fun Even Without Mist"

"Humidity? What's That?"

"Hello, my love," Luke said, stepping up behind his wife. Mara had sensed him coming and didn't jump, instead choosing to turn around and squish her rather large bulk against her husband's slim form.

They enjoyed a long, enthusiastic kiss in spite of the public arena, then separated to stroll down the street.

"Thank you for coming, my dear. I'm always startled when the whole family willingly gathers here since Tatooine is so full of sand," Luke commented.

"I don't mind sand as much as you and your father, you know that. And I wouldn't miss this for the galaxy. I hesitated about spending the night in orbit, but I was tuckered out after arriving from Coruscant so decided to get some rest. I knew you were celebrating with old friends last night and I would have fallen over from fatigue."

"And did you sleep well?" Luke asked with concern.

"Well, not very, thanks to two small beings kicking my bladder all night. But every time I woke up, I enjoyed the view so that made it a bit easier."

"The Agricultural Haven is amazing, isn't it?"

"It's gorgeous," Mara mused, shaking her head slightly. "I strolled through the Kashyyyk section before I got on the shuttle to come down and they have real wroshyr trees growing. I mean, not big ones, but real trees! I saw quite a few insects buzzing around and they seemed quite comfortable and happy, or as much as non-sentient bugs can be happy. It's astounding what's been done in the last 9 years since the Death Star was converted into an agricultural center."

"We have four Force Sensitives working up there now," Luke said with a smile. "Father and I are training them and we'll be officially starting up a new Jedi AgriCorps soon."

"So what are the kids doing?" Mara asked suddenly, looking down the street toward a very large building where she sensed her three offspring were engaged in something active. She reminded herself that the youngest, Clarissa, was four years of age and less insane than she was even a year previously, so she probably wasn't getting into too much trouble.

"Don't worry, Chewbacca is keeping a close eye on them. They are helping Threepio and the Solo twins decorate the meeting house. Tonight is going to be a huge affair with most of the village and half of Mos Eisley here."

Mara laughed and linked her arm through her husband's as they started wandering down the street, "Well, hopefully not half of Mos Eisley. They won't fit."

Luke huffed softly, "It's going to be a lot of people. There are other Water Celebrations in Mos Eisley proper as well as Mos Espa, but this is the best place to be because this evening it might really happen. Maybe."

"It never has happened, Luke. 10 years and of course the moisture level in the atmosphere has risen so much because you and Vader keep sublimating the ice caps of the moons, but still no rain. But still, it must be amazing to commonly see clouds!"

"It sure is. There are official Cloud Tourists from all over the planet who come here because Skywalker Town is the best place to find them due to the topography of the region."

"But never any rain."

"Maybe tonight," Luke replied, his eyes soft with awe at the thought. "It's going to be a little cooler than usual on top of the perfect positioning of the suns and the moons and all that jatz. It could actually happen tonight, Mara. I'm excited."

Mara leaned on him a little more heavily, "I hope it happens tonight, Luke. Rain on Tatooine. It would be beautiful to see."

"You need to sit down," the Jedi Master responded, shifting from former moisture farmer to doting husband. "The last thing we need is the early arrival of twins tonight."

"Doesn't sound too bad to me," the former Emperor's Hand groaned. "My poor feet. But yes, they should hang in the womb for a bit longer."

He abruptly swung her into his arms, ignoring her squawk of surprise, and carried her lightly toward the town Meeting Hall, which was now only 100 meters away.

"People are staring at us," Mara stated, blushing slightly.

"Let them stare."

There were indeed many natives of Skywalker Town out and about this exciting morning, and Mara observed many looks and a few pointing fingers as Luke carried her toward the large community center. But she could sense all the curiosity was benign. Perhaps one of the reasons that both Vader and Luke spent time here was that Skywalker Town, in spite of its cringe worthy name, was a place where the former Dark Lord and his son were able to hang out without people scraping and bowing before them.

"I think that's why Leia likes it here too," Luke commented.

Mara dug a slightly pudgy elbow into his side, "Don't read my mind, Farmboy."

"Don't think so loudly, Wife," he replied in a snarky tone, even as he set her carefully down inside the open doorway of the center. Three small people waited there, alerted by the Force that their mother had arrived.

"Mom!" squealed the Skywalker children. Mara knelt slightly, adjusting for her shifted center of gravity, and hugged dark haired Owen (age 8), blond Lincon (age 6), and red haired Clarissa (age 4).

"It's so good to see you," she said, her eyes filling with tears. It had only been three days since they had been parted but that was a long time to be away from her children, especially Clarissa, who was very much a Mama's girl.

"Mommy, Chewie gave me a Wookiee doll!" the little girl stated, whacking a small Wookiee plush in her mother's face. Mara pushed it gently away from her eyes with the Force even as she smiled.

'It's beautiful, Clari. Chewie, thanks for helping watch the children."

Chewbacca roared in an encouraging way; Mara didn't speak Shyriiwook well, but she knew that Solo's companion had made the Skywalker clan part of his Honor Family. He was wonderful with her children – a protective, gentle gigantic walking carpet who had an amazing capacity to sense when her offspring were getting into trouble or just needed a hug.

"Mara, come over here and sit down!" Leia called from across the room. Mara took a step toward her sister-in-law, then stopped as Clarissa leaped forward to wrap her small arms around her right leg. Using the Force, Mara lifted her daughter into her arms and waddled over to her sister-in-law, who was sitting on a krayt dragon leather couch against one wall, and fell rather sat down beside her. Clarissa landed on her mother's babies' bump, slid off with a shriek of joy, then ran off in search of her father.

"Ergh," Mara muttered, looking at her enormous torso.

"Argh," Leia added agreeably. "You look like Jabba the Hutt."

"You're not exactly svelte yourself, my dear," Mara shot back, studying her sister-in-law's body.

Leia smirked and pointed at her own abdomen, "One."

She then pointed at Mara's burgeoning belly, "Two."

"Yes, and I can't imagine starting with twins like you did, Leia," Mara said with a shake of her head. "I found Owen to be completely overwhelming and you and Han had Breha and Shmi while running the galaxy. At least Luke and I have quite a bit of experience with babies now."

The former Empress gestured and two glasses of blue milk floated toward them.

"By the time they were born, I was more of a figurehead," Leia said, taking a sip of the liquid. "You may or may not remember but I went into hiding for three months after they were born. I suggest that you plan on dropping out of public life for at least six months post partum. Twins are an awe inspiring amount of work."

"I truly can't imagine," her sister-in-law sighed, grabbing the blue milk and taking a swallow. "One baby at a time was tough. But we'll have lots of support so it'll be Ok. If nothing else, Vader will help out with the older kids."

Leia smiled slightly, "He's amazingly good with the children, he really is. I know he regrets he wasn't around when Luke and I were babies, and he tries, in his own slightly awkward way, to make up for it. He changed more than a few of Bre and Shmi's diapers when they were babies, so don't discount his help with your newborns."

Mara grinned, "I will definitely press him into service. Speaking of my esteemed father-in-law, where is he?"

Leia glanced up, "He's on the fourth floor fussing around with his rain machine."

"Rain machine?"

"Yes, he's going to bombard the clouds above Skywalker Town at dusk using tiny particles with the hopes of precipitating rain drops heavy enough to fall."

The former Emperor's Hand frowned, "Isn't that kind of cheating?"

"There is no cheating where rain on Tatooine is concerned," Luke commented, stepping up to the couch where his wife and sister were sitting. "Any rain is good rain, and if Father can convince the clouds to rain there will be great rejoicing even if it takes some sneaky technology to make it happen."

/

Community Center

Skywalker Town

Tatooine

That Evening...

"Don't lose the kids," Leia said worriedly, staring first at her husband, then at her insane twin six year olds who were currently rolling around on the floor apparently trying to grab one another's feet.

"I won't lose the kids," Han replied. "I promise."

"Luke."

"Yes, Mara, I know – don't lose the kids."

"Seriously, there are three of them and one of you. Maybe I should come ..."

"Absolutely not, love of my life," Luke Skywalker replied firmly. "You are 32 weeks pregnant with twins and if you cavort outside you might well have them early. Don't worry, I'll keep firm tabs on them and Wedge and Father will help."

"I'm only carrying one baby," Leia commented with a frown. "Maybe I should ..."

"No, Leia, no," Solo replied, shedding his cheerful bonhomie and taking on the mien of a stubborn and devoted husband. "You know you've been contracting a lot and you still have 10 weeks to go. Sit here with Mara and take it easily. If the rain starts falling, I'm guessing you'll know it."

The two women exchanged glances and smiled simultaneously.

"Ok, have fun with the children and we'll hope for rain," Leia said.

The hordes of Skywalkers, Solos, various former Rebels, and enthusiastic denizens of Skywalker Town streamed out of the door and into the Tatooine dusk. Darth Vader was already out in the village square with his homemade Rain Machine, having just shot myriad particles into the clouds which had indeed gathered over Skywalker Town as the air temperatures decreased.

"Leia," Mara said when the great hall was mostly quiet. It had been a busy and exciting afternoon with much food and cheer, but now the only people remaining behind were the elderly and a few human and droid workers.

"Yes?"

"I walked through the Alderaan exhibit on Agricultural Haven."

Leia looked at her sister-in-law, whose eyes were sympathetic.

"It's beautiful, Leia."

The former princess of Alderaan took a deep breath and smiled, "It really is, isn't it? It will never replace what was lost, but it does my heart good to know that some of these rare animals and plants are being tenderly cared for and propagated by skilled and kind individuals."

"I saw some Manka Cats zonked out in one corner of the exhibit."

"They are a rare subspecies found only on Alderaan," Leia said with a fond smile. "Fortunately, a few were preserved because they were in a zoo on Delaya, Alderaan's sister world. The breeding program on Delaya was successful and now we hope that the Haven will prove another fertile place for breeding."

"I'm glad," Mara replied softly.

Leia nodded, "I will always grieve what was lost, Mara. But some of Alderaanian culture, fauna, and flora have been preserved, and for that I am most thankful."

To the right of the two women, there was a sudden, odd, unexpected, peculiar, bizarre sound.

Mara turned in shock and lurched to her feet, using the Force to help propel her large body toward the window. Splatting against the transparisteel ...

"Look, Leia. Rain!"

The End