By JediGirl

CATAGORY: New Republic

SPOILERS: Tim Zahn's Hand of Thraw duology

RATING: R

SETTING: Those missing chapters that Mr. Zahn forgot to write in Visions of the Future. Luke and Mara have just taken off from Nirauan and heading out to meet up with Leia,
Han and Karrde. This is my version of what happened between Luke and Mara during those days alone on their "borrowed" Chiss ship. And of course how the "family" hears about
the pending nuptials.

DISCLAIMER As always, these charcters do not belong to me. They belong to wonderful people such as Mr. George Lucas and Mr. Timothy Zahn, among others. They inspire me
to make up my own tales and share them with others....just for pure enjoyment. There is more to life than just money :)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A huge big THANK YOU to my wonderful beta reader, Michele. This story would never have happened without her. She completely inspired me and
helped to make it as good as it could be. Plus, if it wasn't for her, the "challenge" would never had happened

Chapter 1
--------------------------------------------

Flying quickly away from the Nirauan system the tiny ship sped silently through hyperspace. Its
occupants were just as silent.

Luke Skywalker sat at the controls of their stolen ship in the co-pilots chair. Mara sat quietly beside him
in the pilot's seat. R2D2 was located behind them in a small alcove humming sing-songy to himself. His
humming and that of the ship's engines were the only sounds within the small cockpit.

They had been in hyperspace for 2 hours and were many light-years away from Thrawn's fortress and his
people who inhabited it. As far as they could tell they were not being followed. They were safe, at least for
now.

Truthfully, Luke wasn't worried about being followed. He and Mara had created enough havoc and
destruction for the Chiss to deal with. They wouldn't be able to get a ship off the ground for hours, if not
days. He wasn't even worried about the pending threat of outsiders that the Baron Fel and Voss Parck had
told Mara about. There was plenty of time to worry about that in the future, it was senseless to do it now.

But Luke was worried at the moment, very worried. He was worried about the woman next to him and
what she could possibly be thinking about. What was going in her mind?

Mara Jade sat beside him, eyes glued to the data pad she held in her hand. She had been that way since
they decided to head for the planet Carva III, where Talon Karrde had a small outpost. Mara thought it best
to make a quick stop there because the planet was sparsely populated and they wouldn't draw too much
attention to themselves and their stolen "strange" ship. Luke agreed, punched in the coordinates and
engaged the hyperdrive engines, and that was the last time they had spoken.

That was almost two hours ago and there was still nine hours left of their journey. Would the situation
remain the same for the whole trip, Luke asked himself. Was she waiting for him to start a conversation?

Luke had been contemplating the situation for the last hour. Mara had been spending her time studying
the data pad that contained the little amount of information that R2 had managed to download from
Thrawn's files. Never once did she look up or making a sound. Luke wondered what she was thinking
about. Could the data she was reading be that interesting? He was sure it was, but he didn't believe she
was actually reading it. The dead giveaway was the lack of finger movement. Mara hit the pad's keys very
infrequently. He was sure she was a much faster reader than that. It wouldn't take very long for her to take
in what was visible on the screen and then move on to the next page. At the rate she was going, she would
have to be rereading each page four or five times.

No, her thoughts were not on the data, they were on something else entirely, and that made Luke very
nervous. He worried that her thoughts were on him, and the commitment she made to him while they were
in the depths of Thrawn's fortress, up to their necks in trouble. He worried she was having second thoughts
about agreeing to marry him.

And why shouldn't she? Luke thought to himself. It definitely was the most inappropriate time to ask
someone to marry you. They were about to die, and she knew it. What harm was it to agree to something
you thought would never happen anyway? But they didn't die-they survived! So, was she still going to
stick to her promise or was she trying to find a way out of the mess she got herself into?

Luke continued to ponder all these questions, leaning back in the co-pilot's chair, trying to look relaxed.
He stared out the view port, keeping his eyes off Mara and glanced at the control panels every once in a
while, as if it was normal for him to do so.

It was useless, he finally declared to himself in his mind. There was no way he could pretend to be relaxed
and he knew he wasn't fooling Mara either. He let go of the breath he had just realized he was holding and
shifted slightly in his seat. The motion made him realize he hadn't moved in over an hour. This is
ridiculous, he reprimanded himself.

"What's on your mind?" Mara asked in a causal tone, her eyes still on the data pad.

The sound of her voice actually made him jump slightly. His face flushed pink in embarrassment.
"Nothing," he responded quickly, and just as quickly realized it was completely the wrong thing to say.

"Sure," Mara replied sarcastically.

Luke sighed as he admitted defeat.

"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind now?" she asked again.

Luke turned slightly to look at her; she still wasn't looking at him. Honesty is the best policy, he
reminded himself. "Actually, I've been wondering what was on your mind?" he responded in his most
confident voice.

"Really?" she asked as she lifted her eyes from the data pad to look out the front view port, but still not at
Luke. "All this time? For the past two hours?"

"No," he replied, "just for the second hour."

Mara let a quick smile cross her face. "Why didn't you just look into my mind and find out for yourself?"
she asked, still keeping her eyes forward.

"I would never do that," Luke responded, swiveling his seat to face directly at her. He was hurt she would
even suggest it, after all they had been through over the past few weeks. Did she still not trust him?

"I know," she replied, dropping her eyes back to the data pad in her lap. She turned her own seat just a bit
in Luke's direction and glanced at him though the corner of her eyes. "I was just testing you."

Luke was slightly shocked by the comment, but quickly pushed the feeling away and settled back into his
seat. "I see," he answered, crossing his arms over his chest, and letting a small smile creep across his face.
"So, what were you thinking about?"

"It would have saved you alot of worrying if you had asked that question an hour ago," Mara said, turning
her chair all the way around to face him. For the first time in two hours she looked into his eyes. They
were as mesmerizing as always. She noticed the slight glimmer of annoyance that appeared in them in
response to her comment. She quickly wished she could take it back.

"Mara," he said, a tinge of annoyance also in his voice. "I'm really not in the mood for games."

"Sorry," she replied, dropping her eyes from him again. "You."

"Me?" he asked. "What about me?" He could feel agitation rising inside him and tried to quell it.

Mara raised her eyes to meet his once again. "I was think about you," she answered him. "You sitting there
thinking about me. Thinking about how long we were going to sit in this alien bucket of
bolts...alone...quiet. How long was it going to take you to get up enough guts to KISS ME!"

Mara snapped her mouth closed at the last statement. She was completely taken aback by what came out of
her mouth. She didn't mean to tell him all that. Sure it was what she had been thinking about for the past
two hours, but she didn't want to tell him that. Did she?

Mara's heart pounded in her chest. She tried to calm herself, but nothing seemed to help. Everything
within her body seemed to be flying with the ship at the speed of light. And it was all because of HIM-the
man in front of her-Luke Skywalker-Jedi Master-farm boy from Tatooine-the man she was going to marry.
The last thought bought a smile to her face.

Luke was again taken aback by her comments. Mara never ceased to surprise him. He could feel the energy
flowing through her. He felt her try to control it, her defeat in doing so and then that same energy reached
out to him. He accepted it whole heartedly and let it warm every fiber of his being. As her smiled
broadened, so did his.

"You wanted me to kiss you?" he asked calmly. "For two whole hours? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Mara gave a little shrug. "I wanted to see how long it would take."

"How long were you willing to wait?"

She glanced at the chrono on her wrist and said, "Another 19 minutes, and 27 seconds."

Luke let out a small chuckle, raised from his seat, leaned over Mara and pressed his lips to hers.

His lips were soft and gentle, but the energy that flowed through them was not. The sensation streaming
though them was like that of enormous ocean waves crashing upon a rocky shore. Mara's heart quickened,
though she didn't think it was possible for it to pound any faster than it already was.

Luke was the first to pull away. He dropped heavily into his chair. He felt slightly winded and a bit dizzy.
With a good amount of effort he tried to bring both his breath and heart rate under control. "Was it worth
the wait?" he asked, with the most arrogant voice he could muster.

Mara leaned back into her own chair. With her eyes on Luke, she tried to bring her own emotions under
control. This was the third kiss they had shared and each one seemed to have more impact on her than the
last. Maybe he is just getting better at it, she joked to herself. The joke seemed to calm her a bit and she
opened her mouth to respond. "Ummmmm..." She couldn't think of any reply, the kiss affected her more
than she realized.

Luke picked up on it quickly and basked in the glory of rendering Mara Jade speechless for the first time in
her life.

They sat looking at one another, neither saying a word. Luke started to wonder if they would stay this way
for another two hours, but then Mara rose from her seat. She stood there, looking down at him in the flight
chair.

Luke looked up at her, trying to figure out what was going through her mind. He was starting to think she
was going to slap him because of the cocky atitude he was presently displaying, but he misjudged her once
again. Mara leaned down, placed her hands on the chair's armrest on either side of him and looked directly
into his eyes. The look in her green eyes was intense, and Luke prepared himself for the reprimand she was
most certain to deliver. But it never came. Instead Mara's eyes softened, her eyelids dropped to close half
way and she leaned into him softly pressing her lips to his. She let her whole body relax into the kiss.

Luke was taken off guard at first by the kiss. Mara seemed to have that effect on him, but that only lasted
but a moment. He felt Mara relax and he allowed himself the same luxury. All the tension that had built
up by the events of the past few weeks seeped away. His hands found her slender hips and he gently pulled
her closer. She didn't resist, and let her body fall into his. She settled herself on his lap and her arms
wrapped about his shoulders and neck. In return, he brought his arms tightly around her waist. pulling her
even closer.

Their kiss lasted for what felt like an eternity, but when Mara pulled slowly away, Luke felt it had been
much too short. She had only pulled away a mear inch, but it was to far for Luke. He leaned in and
brushed her lips with his. She returned the kiss softly and but pulled away again.

"What is it?" Luke asked softly, his hands gently caressing her lower back.

Mara let her fingers play along his hair line on the back of his neck. She smiled warmly at him. He
returned it in kind.

"What?" he asked again. "Why did you stop?" His body was calling out to hers. All he wanted was to be
close to her. To feel the warmth of her touch. He needed it.

"You were really worried I was having second thoughts, weren't you?" she asked with a slight hint of a
laugh in her voice.

"You were looking into my mind?" he retorted, a bit hurt.

"No I wasn't," she replied, letting out a little giggle. "I'm just very good at reading a person's body
language, and you, my dear Jedi Master are an open book." She kissed him playfully on the tip of his
nose.

Luke dropped his gaze from Mara. "I'm really that obvious?"

Mara placed a delicate finger under his chin and pulled it up to meet her eyes once again. She noticed the
touch of pink on his cheeks, revealing the embarrassment he was feeling. He fluster easily, she thought to
herself. Who would have thought the Mighty Jedi Master Luke Skywalker would embarrass so easily? The
thought made her smile broaden. "Only to me," she whispered.

Luke took hold of the hand that touched his chin. He caressed it gently. "Well, you have to admit," he said
quietly, "it wasn't the most appropriate place to make such a proposal. Or for you to have accepted it." He
let out a nervous sigh, "I would completely understand if you changed your mind."

"After the way we just kissed, you truly believe I would be having second thoughts?" She shook her head
in disbelief. He really needed to improve his self-confidence.

"Luke," she said in a quiet but strong voice, " I admit, it was the last place I'd expect to be asked that
question, but if you take a look back at what our relationship has been like up until that moment, it makes
complete sense. For us, it was the perfect setting for a marriage proposal."

She smiled warmly at him. Her eyes sparkled with joy. Luke was amazed by the strength of happiness that
flowed though her. No one would ever describe Mara Jade as a "happy" person. He realized that in the ten
years he had known her, he had never seen her smile as much as she had in the past several minutes. She
was truly happy. Happy with him. Happy with the decision she made. Happy with the turn her life had
just taken and she wanted to share that happiness with him. Luke opened himself to her emotions and let
them engulf him. The sensation warmed him to his sole. He felt so close to her, but he yearned to be even
closer.

"You're right," he said wrapping his arms around her once again, "It was very us, wasn't it?'

"Yup," she replied simply.

He pulled her close to him once again and whispered "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered back and once again they locked into a passionate kiss.

Luke hands roam her well-toned body. He could only imagine the feel of her skin beneath the garments she
wore. He found himself longing to do more than just imagine.

Mara's hands also started to explore the body that was entangled with her own. As her hands glided over
his shoulders and down his back she could feel the well formed muscle under his flight suit. She briefly
wondered why she had never noticed how well-defined he was.

Slowly her kisses moved across the contours of his face. Her lips brushed along his jaw line, sending a
shiver up his spine. His hands gripped her tightly in response.

The passion between them became more and more intense with each passing moment. Their fingers began
to find fasteners on each others clothing, and the garments started to come loose. The desire to have flesh
against flesh had taken over.

Mara sensually kissed Luke's neck, her fingers caressing the muscles along his back. She tried to let the
world around her slip away. All she wanted was to immerse herself in the love and affections of this man,
the man she was going to marry...but, then she caught something out of the corner of her half closed eyes.
The playfully blinking lights of an astromech droid. She opened her eyes fully and stared at R2D2, who
sat quietly in an alcove at the back of the cockpit. Well, actually not so quietly. As she became more aware
of the little droid's presence, the soft sing-song sound of a droid at work reached her ears. She let go a
small sigh and moved gently away from Luke's kisses.

"What is it this time?" he asked in a defeated tone. He had felt the change in her body. Had he done
something wrong? Did she not feel as comfortable with him as he did with her?

Mara let out a quiet giggle at Luke's frustration. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just...it's just..." she paused for
a moment trying to find the appropriate words.

"It's just what, Mara?"

She smiled sweetly at him. "Do you ever shut Artoo down?"

Luke glanced over Mara's shoulder and noticed Artoo beeping quietly to himself at the back of the flight
deck. The droid seemed completely unaware of the two lovers only a few meters away from him.

Probably having a very interesting conversation with the ship's computer, Luke thought to himself. But
then again, Artoo was very good at doing multiple tasks too. Was he watching the two of them? Maybe he
was sitting there gossiping about the two silly humans.

"I've never really had a reason to," he told her with a smile. "Mara, he is only a droid. I am sure he is not
at all interested in what we are doing, " he whispered to her.

Mara raised an eyebrow and gave him a knowing look. "If that's so," she asked, "then why are you
whispering?"

Luke's smile widen. "Artoo?" Luke said out loud, but keeping his eyes on Mara.

Artoo beeped in reply to his master's call.

"Could you shut down for a little while?"

Artoo gave him a sad questioning beep.

Luke felt a twinge of guilt. He would never ask Artoo to shut down unless it was absolutely necessary,
which this situation technically was not. He softly brushed Mara's cheek with the back of his hand.

"I would just like a little private time," he replied, not letting any of his guilt come though in his voice.

Artoo's dome spun around to look at the two humans sitting in one chair. Gave what sound like a droid's
equivalent of a laugh and powered down.

"Better?" Luke asked.

"Thank you," Mara whispered and kissed his forehead.

"I didn't know you were shy."

"There's alot you don't know about me, Skywalker," Mara quipped teasingly.

"Well I am eager to start discovering," and he pulled his wife-to-be into him and kissed her passionately.
Mara let herself fall into their passion once more. This time there wasn't going to be any interruptions.

Luke's fingers quickly found the fasteners on Mara's flight suit and moved to undo them. His hands
slipped around her waist beneath the fabric. The warmth of her body made his own temperature rise.

Mara could taste the salt of his sweat as she gently nibbled along the curves of his neck. "A bit hot in here.
don't you think?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Luke replied breathlessly.

She moved her hands across his shoulders and down his chest, undoing each snap in turn down the front of
his top. All the while delivering sensual kisses along his neck and jaw line. A groan of pleasure escaped
Luke's throat as Mara's fingers undid the last fastener and pushed the top of the flight suit open. Her hands
ran along his chest muscles. They flexed at her touch.

She pushed the fabric over his shoulders and down his arms. Luke slipped his arms free. Mara shrugged
out of the top of her flight suit as well. Beneath their garments they both wore tight fitting sleeveless
undershirts. Mara couldn't help but notice Luke's well formed body. The cut of his muscles were clearly
visible through his shirt. Why had she never noticed his physique before? she wondered to herself. Maybe
subconsciously she didn't want to. But that was all in the past. All that mattered this very moment was
the here and now.

Luke's hand gently glided along Mara's shoulder and the tattered fabric of her undershirt where she had
caught a shot from a Chiss blaster. He thanked the stars that she hadn't been injured more seriously. His
hand continued down her arm, and his eyes followed its movement as he admired the curves of her body.
Once again he grabbed her tightly and pulled her into him.

As Mara leaned in, her hands grabbed hold of his shirt. She pulled to free it from the waist of his pants
and without hesitation she continued to pull it up his chest and over his head. Luke didn't object, though
there seemed to be a tinge of nervousness in his eyes as Mara pulled back to admire him. Gently she ran
the tips of her fingers from his shoulder to his navel. Tiny bumps appeared on his smooth skin where she
had touched him. He sank a bit deeper into the chair and let out a shaky breath.

"You really are in good shape, aren't you," she said, running her fingers across his chest again.

"It's a requirement for the job," Luke responded, grabbing hold of her hand and bringing it to his lips to
gently kiss it.

"Kind of pale though," she teased, tilting her head to the side and smiling, her eyes looking him up and
down.

"Well, I haven't seen the sun much in the last few weeks," he said as he caressed her hand that he was still
holding. "Rescuing a damsel in distress in the bowels of the evil ruler's dark dungeon and all..." He
smiled broadly at her and pulled the hand to his lips to kiss it once again.

"Ha, ha!" Mara retorted pulling her hand away and crossing both of her arms across her chest. "I am not a
"damsel" and I was not in "distress". I was just stuck for a little while, but given time I would have
figured a way out of there."

"You're probably right." Luke said lowering his eyes and played with the seam on the armrest of the chair.
"But it wouldn't have been as much fun." He raised his eyes to see Mara's reaction. A grin tugged at the
corners of his mouth.

Mara tried desperately to hold onto the frown that creased her face, but dropped her arms from across her
chest and rested them on the armrests. She leaned her face in closer to Luke's. "You have spent WAY too
much time with Solo," she growled.

Luke couldn't help but laugh at the comment and the act she was trying so desperately to hold on to. Mara
leaned in and planted a powerful kiss on his lips, bringing his laughter to an abrupt halt. Luke entwined
his arms around her once again, as Mara's ran along his naked shoulders.

Their passion rose once again. Hands slipping beneath garments, making new discoveries about one
another. Lips finding places that brought shivers and groans to the other. Mara pressed her lips against
Luke's and slipped the tip of her tongue through his lips to find his. Luke held her tighter as their tongues
entwined.

Mara entangled her fingers in his sandy blond hair and pushed her body closer to his. The shift made the
bottom of her thigh push up against a hardness beneath the fabric of Luke's pants. Luke broke away
suddenly at the contact and took in a quick nervous breath. His eyes snapped wide open.

Mara shifted again, making Luke exhale the breath he had just taken in. She smiled and kissed him lightly
on the forehead. "I think this chair is a little confining," she whispered into his hair.

"Mmmm..." was Luke's only reply as he lowered his head beneath Mara's chin, trying to control the waves
of emotion that were crashing through his body.

"We can stop if you want," she replied kissing the top of his head. Luke shook his head in response and
took in a deep breath.

Mara let her kisses trail across the top of his head and down behind his ear and across to his lips once
more. "You sure?" she whispered. Luke nodded and kissed her in return.

"I'll be right back," she said and raised from his lap. "Don't loose that thought." She smiled and headed to
the back of the small ship.

Luke closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, his chest rising and falling with quick short breaths. A
knot of nervousness was twisting within his stomach. He couldn't believe how fast things were moving.
Maybe there were moving to fast. Maybe he should suggest that they wait, he thought to himself. But his
heart didn't agree. They had waited to long as it was. It wasn't technically the most appropriate place, but
it definitely was the appropriate time. He needed her, and she him. Tonight they would strengthen the
bond they've been building for over 10 years. He and Mara would become one, in body and in soul.

A few minutes later he opened his eyes as Mara entered the cockpit holding a bundle of blankets in her
arms and wearing nothing but her underclothes, which left very little to Luke's imagination. Luke gripped
the arms of the chair tightly and took a long slow deep breath, releasing it just as slowly.

Mara smiled and held out the blankets. "I found these in the supply cabinet back there." She proceeded to
arrange them on the floor behind the two chairs.

She walked over to Luke who still sat in the chair. Standing before him in her undergarment she looked
down at him. "I thought we could use a bit more room. It's not much, but better than the chair."

Luke glanced at the blankets on the floor and back at Mara and nodded.

He's completely speechless, Mara thought to herself. She knelt down in front of him and took hold of the
bottom of his right boot and gave it it tug. She slipped it off, put it aside and proceeded to do the same
with the left. Luke continued to grip the armrests. Mara smiled up at him, stood and extended a hand
towards him.

Luke looked blankly at her hand for a few moments. He had made up his mind to go through with this,
but the knot in his stomach didn't want to release. He took a deep breath and pushed his anxiety as far
away as possible. He could do this. He wanted to do this.

Finally, he raised his gaze up to meet Mara's and gently grasped her hand. He rose out of his seat and
wrapped his arms around her, bringing his lips to meet hers. He was surprised to feel the remaining fringes
of nerves float away as his body made contact with hers. Somehow being with Mara just seemed to make
everything right in the universe.

With in minutes they had shed the remainder of their clothes which now laid scattered about the cockpit.
The two lovers were now twisted among the blankets that Mara had arranged on the floor. Hands and lips
roamed each other's bodies, discovering new sensations in themselves and the other at every passing
moment. Their hearts pounded, their breath quickened and the bond that they now shared seemed to
intensify beyond their imaginations. As when they were in Thrawn's hidden chamber they were once again
bound together so tightly it was as if they were no longer two pieces, but one whole. What one felt, so did
the other. What one wanted, the other knew instantly and delivered. The world around them did not seem
to exist. It was as if they themselves, together "were" the universe. They were all that mattered. The love
that they shared was all that they needed.