14A month had passed since Luke and Mara's happy discovery. Mara had done her best not to interact with any of the other Jedi in the Academy outside of the privileged circle who was privy to their secret. She spent most of her time training by herself and catching up on work that she could do in solitude. Other than the dozen or so people who knew of Mara's pregnancy, she was able to shield the fact from everyone else.
That would all change after the Skywalker's received a com call from a certain former smuggler...
"And what did he say?"
"Mara, stop worrying. He's just going to drop by for a little visit. He's practically your-your-" Luke struggled to find a word that wouldn't get him a night on the couch.
"My what?" Her brow rose questioningly.
The Jedi Master smiled back at his wife. "Your good friend."
"That was a close one, farmboy."
Luke was currently in the process of sorting through class repertoire while Mara attempted to finish her research on Ilum's geography and history, a feat which proved to be less than titillating. The couple would soon be supervising the dispute over the sales distribution of Adegan crystals. Thanks to a small number of merchants and easy businesspeople, the crystals were now a profitable jewelry market in addition to being used for the construction of lightsabers. As the head of the Jedi order, Luke had been alerted to the dispute and was now required to participate in the legal proceedings.
He sighed in half exhaustion and half irritation, quickly running a hand through his hair. "I don't see why they can't just mine somewhere else. There are enough gems and jewels in the galaxy that they don't have to start charging us to make a lightsaber."
"Well lucky for us, that's what we get to tell them when we get there. Too bad Leia can't be involved - she would probably have them signing an order for the restriction of Adegan crystals to Force-users within the first half-hour," Mara chuckled.
"Probably," Luke swung around in his chair to face his wife, who was reclining on the couch. For the past month he'd been slipping these minute-long gazes at Mara. She tried not to notice, but in her own way she liked that he did it. It was his own way of recognizing that she was pregnant. Since the morning that she had found out, they hadn't really gone in depth about planning. There was a silent agreement that until it became noticeable, the subject was not a matter of discussion.
It wasn't as if Mara didn't enjoy the thought of having a baby - in fact, she had come to terms with preparing to be a parent. This "period of silence" was something that she had initiated in order to prepare for preparing. She needed to have her own time to think about what she wanted to say, to express, and just what this baby would mean in general. She didn't want to rush into it despite the amount of rushing that her food was doing up her digestive tract.
Through their bond, Luke understood what she needed. In his own way, he thought he may have needed it as well. He also knew that the reason Mara was fretting so much over Karrde's visit was the pressure it would bring on her. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Mara greatly valued Karrde's opinion not only as a businessman but also as a friend. During her tenure under his organization, Talon had given her respect and appreciation for her work, as well as unwarranted good advice.
He was one of the few people that Mara truly trusted. Keeping her pregnancy a secret wasn't the thing that bothered her above all - it was more so that seeing Karrde would prompt her to worry about her pregnancy in general. The silver lining to the situation was Karrde's lack of Force-sensitivity. Had Leia somehow been visiting, they would have definitely been in trouble.
Luke's dreamy gaze got interrupted when Mara unceremoniously threw her files onto the adjacent coffee table and ran towards the refresher. Seconds later, he recognized the sound of the toilet flushing. He and Clighal were still trying to figure out the proper remedy for morning sickness. Despite the many civilian medications that most non-Force-sensitives were used to taking, Jedi pregnancies seemed to be another arena.
"Okay, that's something I could really do without. Why can't humans be one of the species where both genders can get pregnant?"
"Thankfully, they're not." He grinned when Mara afforded him a smack upside the head. She used the same hand to cover her mouth in a yawn.
Luke hooked her arm around her waist in a semi-hug. "Tired?"
"Kind of. I had a class of rowdy Padawans this afternoon, teaching them how to sneak up on people. It'll be worse tomorrow when I help the remedial students. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna hit the sack."
She was going to need it. Desperately.
Stay tuned, folks...