Epilogue


Later, in retrospect, Luke would look back on those first few moments 
of relief as something of a gift.  The gift of peace of mind, after 
eradicating an evil menace.  He wished he could get the thought out his 
head that both he and Leia had inadvertently channeled dark emotions in 
order to do it.  Every lesson he had ever learned about doing battle 
against Darkness spoke against the practice.  He couldn't help but 
wonder at the possible repercussions of such a transgression.

But for now, they could allow themselves to celebrate.  He grinned at 
Aura as he prepared to introduce her to his family.

Han helped his wife to her feet, then turned to Luke and Aura and 
smiled his lopsided grin, extending his right hand to Aura.

"Han Solo," he said, pumping her hand hard as she clasped it.  "Damned 
glad to meet you!"

Aura smiled that timorous little smile of hers and allowed him to 
introduce her to the family she already knew.

"My wife, Leia," Han dashed right in, gesturing at each member as he 
made the proper introductions.  "Our kids, Jacen and Jaina, the twins;
and here's Anakin and this here..." he leaned to take his infant 
daughter from Leia's arms and held her against his face, enjoying the 
softness of her cheek against his, relishing the familiar and wondrous 
touch of her Sense.  "This here is Cady," he continued, a slight quaver 
in his voice.  He kissed the baby on the forehead and his expression 
softened.  "This here's my Cady-bit," he finished against her blonde 
head.

Aura nodded acknowledgment to them all and turned her eyes to Leia.  
"You can rest easy now, Princess," she assured her heroine.  "They have 
been beaten.  They will not return."

Leia hesitated, wanting to believe, but afraid to let down her guard.  
"How can you be sure?" she asked warily, her hand idly stroking 
Anakin's dark curls as he pressed against her side.

Aura gestured toward the Tree.  "Would the Mother Tree release the Lost 
Ones were it not so?"

Leia followed Aura's sweeping hand and gasped in surprise - and pride.  
For there, emerging from the Tree, two by two, came the Children of the 
Lost Jedi, those whom time, but not the Force, had forgotten.  They 
entered a world new as well as old, Leia thought with a piercing pang 
of regret, and her Sense extended comfort to them, projecting 
reassurance and the promise of happiness.

"It's all right," she called to the children.  "The Dark Ones are gone.  
They can no longer hurt you."

The children entered the forest that had seen their birth and clustered 
around Han and Leia and their offspring, the smaller ones holding onto 
the hands of their elders.  Matteas and Illiana walked together, 
Brandyn balanced on her hip, her green eyes searching the treetops 
warily, as if reluctant to accept Leia's assurance of safety.

"Chewie!" Han suddenly remembered his partner and, putting Arcadia back 
into Leia's arms, turned in the direction the Wookiee had been thrown 
during the initial moments of the attack.  Spying the bundle of fur 
that lay unmoving beneath a colossal tree, Han sprinted to the side of 
his fallen comrade, not noticing that Aura followed closely behind.

He dropped to his knees beside Chewbacca and dug his fingers 
experimentally into the mass of chestnut hair at the Wookiee's throat, 
his eyes worriedly searching for external injuries.  Han felt someone  
come up behind him and turned to see the young blonde woman kneeling at 
Chewie's other side.  Silently, she placed a hand on the Wookiee's 
head, slowly moving down and over his eyes, along the mighty arms, 
finally coming to rest against the massive hairy chest.

Long moments passed during which Han could do nothing but wait...and 
pray for his partner's recovery, just as he had prayed for Leia's 
deliverance at the time of her illness.  The Force had prevented his 
wife from being taken from him that night.  Maybe, Han thought 
hopefully, just maybe the Force could prevent Chewie's loss as well.

An eternity later a deep grunt shook the Wookiee, and he bared his 
teeth in suspicion as he came fully awake.  His blue eyes darted 
quickly about, warily seeking the enemy, his twitching nose detecting 
in the area the scent of death.

Han laid a hand on the Wookiee's shoulder.  "It's okay, pal," he 
assured Chewbacca.  "We got 'em."  He nodded his head in the direction 
of Leia and the children.  "They won't bother this family any more," he 
predicted.  Luke joined Han and knelt to put an arm under Chewie's 
shoulder as Han grasped the other, and together they assisted the dazed 
and confused Wookiee to his feet.

Aura moved on to examine each of the wounded Ewoks that lay scattered 
about the landscape.  Strangely enough, there was no sign of the Duloks 
who had attacked earlier, nor bodies of any dead or wounded Duloks.  It 
was as if they had never been there at all, except for the fact that 
many little Ewoks had been injured in the fray, some of them dead or 
dying.  Aura moved among them, healing those who were not too far gone, 
closing the sightless eyes of those who were, and Chewbacca stayed by 
her side out of concern for his little friends, Luke keeping watch over 
them all.

Han returned to Leia and his children where they stood in a sea awash 
with excited young faces.  He put his arm around his wife, smiled down 
at her as she held Arcadia securely in her arms.  Jacen and Jaina and 
Anakin stood in a cluster around their parents, wide-eyed at the number 
of children that now filled the forest.  Playmates would no longer be 
at a premium on their new home.  The Junior Jedi were clearly delighted 
with the happy prospects.

Han looked at Leia and squeezed her shoulders.  "Well, hon, I always 
said I wanted a big family," he reminded her, then looked around him 
for a quick estimate of the size of his.  "Trust you not to do anything 
halfway."

She laughed that husky laugh of hers and Han leaned down and kissed her 
quickly, teasingly, and in the kiss was a promise of ecstasy to come, 
once they'd returned home and were ensconced within the warmth of their 
arboreal nest.

Home!  What a nice thought.  Han smiled, finally delivered from the 
oppressive foreboding that had eaten steadily at him for the better 
part of a year.  Darkness was gone, eradicated by their combined 
efforts through the Force.  They had achieved a victory of immeasurable 
proportions, a miraculous triumph against unimaginable odds.  Han 
marveled at his luck - or perhaps, he thought again, it was the Force, 
just as Luke had tried to tell him all those years ago.

He squeezed Leia's shoulders again.  "Come on, sweetheart," he urged, 
and shepherded her and the children toward the path that led to their 
treehouse haven.  "Let's get the kids home."  He looked over his 
shoulder as they lined up behind him, forming an impressive number, if 
not an intimidating one.  "Can't say as I can tell you where we're 
gonna put 'em, though!"

Chewbacca loped to catch up with the party, leaving Luke and Aura alone 
again.  The Jedi Master looked at his new love and reached for her 
hand, clasping it warmly in his own, patting it with his free one.  
"Come on, love," he whispered.  "Let's go home."

Her response was as the warmth of the sun, and together they turned to 
follow Han and Leia and the little ones down the forest trail.   They 
came upon young Anakin after only a few paces, standing by himself in 
the middle of the path.

"What is it, Anakin?" Luke asked, as he and Aura came abreast of him.  
The boy stood stock still, his head cocked slightly to one side, as if 
listening.

Luke watched quietly, searching with his Jedi senses for assistance in 
reading his young nephew.  The dominant emotion he felt within the 
child was fear, a renewed fear, and not the memory of an old, distant 
one.

"Anakin?" Luke repeated, now concerned.  He bent to take the sturdy 
shoulders between suddenly unsteady hands.  "Anakin, what's the 
matter?"

"I can hear them; I can feel them," Anakin whispered fearfully.  
"They'll be back, Uncle Luke."  He looked solemnly into his uncle's 
identical blue eyes and whispered a dire prophecy.

"They'll be back for Cady!"


[END]