This is the last chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading this! This was actually written about five years ago, so it's somewhat amusing to me to see how my writing has changed over that time. Enjoy! :)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Newborn

Nicholas walked quietly to his apartment, deep in thought. He was almost afraid to leave Mara for the night for fear that the Empire would again capture her. Luke's love for her, however, eased his concerns, and he resolved not to worry as he stepped into his apartment and closed the door behind him.

Sleep did not come easily to Nicholas that night. He tossed and turned, visions of Crystal's death constantly passing before him. One vision became so bad that Nicholas awoke with a start, sitting up abruptly and breathing heavily, his shirt soaked through with sweat. He felt someone's presence in the room, and turned his head to catch sight of someone hastily leaving. She was dressed in a black jumpsuit, her long hair down against her back.

Nicholas jumped out of bed and began to run after her, but she was fast, and just as he entered the corridor, she disappeared from sight.

"I will find who you are," Nicholas called with the force.

He didn't get a reply, and he walked quietly back into his room, heart beating wildly.

The following two days were full of discoveries and new things for Nicholas. Luke showed him the Jedi Academy, introducing him to the students and counselors. The names of some of the counselors were vaguely familiar, and it filled Nicholas with joy to realize that some of them had been Jedi padawan that he had rescued from Anakin.

Every night, however, was far different than the day. Each night the woman appeared in his room, and each night he tried as hard as he could to follow her and capture her.

Finally, on the second night, Nicholas awoke and leaped out of bed, as usual. Instead of chasing the woman down, he shouted and slammed his fist into his pillow. He had seen slight glimpses every day of that woman, Captain Gail, as he was certain she was, but she had always escaped from him.

"This is so frustrating!" Nicholas shouted, closing the apartment door with a wave of the force. "Why can't I find her?"

"Because, she's afraid of you," a familiar voice said from behind him.

Nicholas turned slowly, a cold shiver shooting through him. There, standing a short distance away from the bed, was Anakin Skywalker.

"What are you doing here? I heard you were dead!" Nicholas gasped, sitting down abruptly in a chair as Anakin approached him.

"I am dead. I was able to come back and see you, however," Anakin chuckled. "What do you think of my children?"

"They are beautiful. It amazes me every day that Mara is going to marry Luke," Nicholas said breathlessly.

"Isn't it great?"

"What are you here for, Anakin?" Nicholas asked.

"That woman that you keep seeing is afraid of you. That's why you can't catch her."

"Why is she afraid of me? What have I done to her?"

"You didn't do anything. It was something she did to herself," Anakin explained.

"Why are you telling me about her?"

"Why do you think I am?"

"Come on, Anakin. We all know Palpatine killed Crystal. There's no beating around that," Nicholas frowned.

"Did he?"

"How else would she have disappeared?"

"The same way you did on Endor."

"She made herself vanish?" Nicholas gasped, leaping up abruptly. "Why? Why did she do that?"

"You should probably ask her."

"She wouldn't tell me if she's been hiding from me. Why has Crystal been hiding from me?" Nicholas panicked.

"Go talk to her, Nicholas."

"She won't let me get near her!"

"If you go to your balcony, you will see her. Follow her wherever she goes, Nicholas," Anakin said calmly.

Nicholas grabbed his jacket and threw it over his damp shirt. He raced past Anakin and onto his balcony, Anakin following him calmly.

A short distance away from the balcony was Captain Gail. She was dressed differently than she usually was. She wore a light blue dress with sheer material covering it, the moonlight causing it to shine beautifully. Nicholas couldn't see her face, but a wave of love that had long since been gone, suddenly washed over him, and he began to climb down his balcony.

"Nicholas, remember. She's afraid of you. Just follow her," Anakin warned.

"Thanks for coming back, Anakin."

"You're welcome."

Nicholas began to follow the woman from a short distance away, Anakin's ghost disappearing behind him. Nicholas was confused and afraid. If the woman truly was Crystal, then she would have been able to feel his presence by now and she wouldn't be afraid of him.

The woman began to run a short time later, racing across the green grass and towards the waterfalls that pounded in the distance. Nicholas followed after her, stopping only when she disappeared behind the waterfall.

"She's going to the country home," he whispered, stepping cautiously towards the large falls.

A few moments later, Nicholas was standing on the other side of the falls, gazing at the country home in the distance. The grass had grown long and wild, and vines were creeping all along the house, but aside from the years of decay, it looked almost identical to the way it had been before. Nicholas closed his eyes for a few seconds and took in deep breaths of the fresh air and enjoying the breeze that whipped about him. Then, he began to walk towards the house.

The woman wasn't in the house, but Nicholas caught sight of her standing on the back balcony, watching the falls, her back turned towards him. He walked quietly and quickly towards her, afraid that she would try and get away from him again.

A few seconds later, Nicholas was standing directly behind her, and he reached out and grabbed her, preventing her from running away.

"Let go of me!" the woman screamed, struggling with him as he wrapped his arms around her. "Let go!"

She kicked at him and struggled, but Nicholas' muscles had been well tuned from years of work, and she could not loosen his hold.

"What do you want?" she cried, terrified.

"Crystal," Nicholas whispered gently in her ear.

She immediately stopped struggling and turned around to look at him. Her eyes were wide with horror as she pulled away from him, gazing into his face.

"What do you want?" she choked, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

"Crystal, it's me," Nicholas said worriedly, studying her face and reaching out to her. He put his hands on her cheeks, brushing the tears away gently. "It's me."

"I know it's you. I've been trying to avoid you ever since you came," she said, trying emotionally to pull herself away from him.

"Why? What have I done to you?" Nicholas asked.

"Nothing. You haven't done anything," she sighed, turning away from him and putting her hands on the balcony railing.

"What happened to you?" Nicholas asked, his breathing difficult as he tried to understand why she was so terrified.

"I disappeared, Nicholas. I was hit with the poison and I disappeared so that you could escape. I managed to get to a ship and leave, and I tried to find you, but you are so good at hiding that I couldn't. I searched for years, Nicholas. I went to Alderaan, finally, and met up with Talon Karrde years later. I saw Mara and decided to stay with them. I then began to work for the Alliance, and that's where I've been ever since," Crystal choked, and tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Why were you so frightened of me?" Nicholas asked, his own emotions beginning to get the better of him as he watched his beautiful wife begin to sob.

"I didn't want to be with you after a short while because I realized that I would hinder you!" Crystal cried, collapsing onto her knees on the ground.

"I don't understand," Nicholas said gently, moving to stand directly above her.

"I lost all of my force abilities! The last thing I was able to do was disappear, and after that, I could no longer use the force! Don't you see? I would hinder you! I can no longer work alongside you! I am powerless!" Crystal wailed. "I was afraid that you would hate me for it and loathe me! I couldn't face you again. Everything that ever made me the undefeatable Jedi was taken from me!"

Nicholas stood above her, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks as he looked at the love of his life sobbing on the floor.

"I didn't want to hurt you," Crystal whispered. "I took the chemicals so that you could live and remain the stronger of the two of us. I wanted you to have a chance. Now, I am worthless compared to who I once was. You can't possibly let me be with you anymore. I am so, so sorry Nicholas!"

Crystal didn't dare look up, otherwise she would have seen Nicholas kneeling slowly in front of her. He cupped her chin gently in his hands and gazed deeply into her eyes, so clouded with tears. He moved his face slowly towards hers and then kissed her, pulling her close to him and holding her tightly.

"I will never leave you, Crystal. How could I? I've hoped for so long that you were alive. It doesn't matter what powers you have. You are my wife and I will not leave you," he whispered to her. "I love you, Crystal. How could I care what power you have?"

"I will only hinder you," she cried.

"No, you will help me with the intelligence that you have. If you are not able to go with me everywhere, then I won't go. You belong to me, and I belong to you. There are new Jedi who can take care of everything else. I want only to be with you," Nicholas said comfortingly. "Let me care for you as I used to."

"The galaxy needs you, Nicholas," Crystal whispered.

"No, it needs us," Nicholas said gently, kissing her again.

Several minutes of silence passed before Nicholas turned his head, gazing at the doorway to the balcony. Standing quietly in the shadows of the house, her red hair barely visible, was Mara. She didn't say anything, but stood there observing.

"How long have you been there?" Nicholas asked, standing up and helping Crystal to her feet.

"Long enough," Mara said curtly, very shaken.

"Mara, I am sorry I never told you," Crystal said gently, her hand in Nicholas'. "I didn't want anyone to know. I was afraid."

"Does Karrde know about you?" Mara asked, stepping forward.

"Yes. He has known ever since I first came to him," Crystal nodded.

"This is going to take a long time for me to adjust to," Mara sighed. "What are you going to do now?"

"I still have to go out and find out what those spies from Sector 12 are up to," Crystal said.

"I'm going to go with her," Nicholas smiled. "Are you all right?"

"It's been a difficult few days," Mara said. "I want to believe that you are my parents, but it's going to take time. As for now, you are more than welcome to attend my wedding in a few days. Luke wants you to be there, and…I do too."

"Of course we will be," Crystal said, reaching out and hugging her daughter.

"We should get back to the academy. The guards were beginning to get suspicious," Mara said.

The wedding of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade was an elaborate affair. Shortly after it was over, Mara and Luke left on a mission, and Nicholas and Crystal left for another one.

Time passed, and over the course of several years, Nicholas and Crystal were forgotten. Mara alone often thought about them, and she knew, whenever the Alliance heard of unexpected attacks on the Empire or they received new spy information, that Nicholas and Crystal was responsible for it. She often wondered if there could ever be another undefeatable Jedi after Nicholas was gone. Gradually, she stopped pondering over it.

And then, several years later, Luke and Mara had a son…