When I read Destiny's Way, I was disappointed. Not only was the writing not the same as all the other books, but a pivotal scene, the reunion between the twins, was done in about five lines. In this, I rewrote that scene, trying to stick as close to the original as possible. However, I did open it up a little more and tried to expand upon what had been put into the original text.
Disclaimer: I don't own Destiny's Way or Jaina or Jacen Solo, Thespar, or Danni. The book belongs to Walter Jon Williams and the characters belong to George Lucas and the Star Wars Universe.
Reunion
…but when he opened the door he saw Jaina standing in the front room, still in her pilot' s coveralls, her military duffel partly opened on the floor. He and Jaina stared at each other for a long moment of exquisitely painful joy, and then their twin bond flared with a thousand shared emotions and memories, a rich harvest of lives shared since their fist day in their mother' womb, and they rushed into an embrace. They pounded each other on the back and laughed until the tears came.
Destiny's Way, pg. 272-273, Walter Jon Williams.
Jacen walked back towards the apartment with Danni and Thespar. They had had and interesting day at the reef, despite the fact that the two obviously were more intelligent in the area of which the conversation had been centered. He'd enjoyed just listening to them though. It was comforting just to listen to topics that didn't revolve around the evils of machines, the twin sacrifice, and his place in the universe. He had missed all of this more than he would admit. But he'd grown while he was away. That would never change. He had cut off the twin bond so that Jaina wouldn't come looking for him. He'd made everybody think that he was dead, even Uncle Luke. Everybody but his mother had mourned for him when they mourned for Anakin. They had buried him without burying his body, pushed him into the back of their minds, and tried to continue. Even Jaina had.
Jaina. He'd hurt her the most. It wasn't an option to give her even the slightest notion that he was still alive. The minute she felt a thing she would go flying through Yuuzhan Vong space as fast as her X-wing would take her and hunt him down, ultimately killing herself in the fruitless journey. She had undoubtedly suffered because of him, most likely pushing people like their parents away. And it wasn't a time that they needed to be pushed either. If they had thought that they had lost two of their three children to the enemy, Han and Leia would have latched onto Jaina as hard as they could, most likely insisting that she be pulled out of military duty. But for some reason, Leia had held on. He hadn't been able to pretend in her mind; to her he had still been alive, yet captured and held somewhere where she couldn't get to him. Leia hadn't given up hope.
"And then I…" Danni trailed off as the three of them halted in front of the apartment door. Jacen pushed some buttons on the pad next to it and it slid open. The two trailed after him into the room, bumping into him as he stopped without warning. "Ow, Jacen, what was…oh."
"Jaina"
She stood across the room. She looked like she had just returned from her post, wherever that had been. She was still in her pilot's coveralls and was rummaging through her duffle bag. A split second later, Jaina looked up. She blinked several times, and then their twin bond flared. Jacen took several quick steps, meeting Jaina at the midpoint of the room. He threw his arms around her and she pulled him closer. After several seconds, both of their previous composed faces were streaked with tears.
"I thought you were dead." Jaina whispered. "I couldn't feel you. When I reached out, there was a void. Complete nothingness."
"I had to do that," Jacen answered. Jaina pulled away and looked at him. He still had a slightly rugged appearance from his captivity.
"I would have come and got you," she said. "I missed you so much. I thought you were dead."
"I know."
Sensing she wasn't going to get a further explanation, Jaina walked back over to her duffel bag and pulled out a formal looking uniform. She walked past Jacen and into the bedroom. Moments later, she emerged, dressed head to toe in full military dress. She looked more formal and older then she had a year ago. Something else about her was different too. Her presence in the force felt different. She looked almost too old and too formal. She looked like she had been through too much in the last year to even begin. She looked…dark.
"I have to go. We'll talk later, right?" Jaina asked him, pushing past Danni and Thespar. As she walked away, the twin bond started to fade. She was hiding something from him, it was obvious.
"Jaina, I'm sorry," he whispered, once he was positive she was out of earshot. He was sorry. He was sorry for leaving her alone, sorry for all her problems, yet still sorry for himself. All of the changes he had went through, all of the growing up he had done while he was gone would mean nothing to her. The time he spent with Vergere was just more time that he hadn't opened himself up to their bond. It was more time that she had thought he was dead.
She could never hide anything from him, even when they were little. Everything had always been out in the open between them. They had shared secrets and shared feelings, shared their whole lives. Nothing had ever come between them. Now something had and it was something that he had caused.
"I'm sorry, we should have left," Danni said, pushing Jacen out of his thoughts. He walked over to the refrigeration unit and pulled out some jewel-fruit.
"No, sit. Stay. She's gone," he replied. Danni and Thespar tentatively sat down at the table and took a fruit each. They began their light chatter again, this time diving into slightly more complicated subjects then they had before. Jacen felt his thoughts begin to wander. He hardly noticed that after several minutes, Danni and Thespar excused themselves and left the apartment. He was alone now. Again.
She wasn't avoiding him, Jacen thought. Not exactly. But she definitely needed some time to get her thoughts together before she could face him.
He thought he knew why.
Destiny's Way, pg. 273, Walter Jon Williams