Synopsis: This story is based entirely on events in my time RPing on the WOSW site in Yahoo. Gert Yonsz is a member of the Jedi Order. She is respected and loved by many and reviled and feared by almost as many more. She is unaware she is attractive and puts no stress on her personal connections with famous war heros, preferring instead to remain their loyal supporter as she dislikes the appearance of favortisim, family or otherwise. Earlier chapters may eventually be filled in but for now, this is the story of her special assignment to bring down the one enemy that has ever had the courage to try to kill her.

"Mom mom… wake up!"

Gert let out a muffled groan from under the covers. "change codes…" She grumbled in reference to so many of her family and staff just wandering in and out of she and her husband's Spartan living area simply because it was adjacent to their office. "whhhatt.." She finally whined out when Grainne dragged the covers off of her.

Grainne laughed as Gert swiped thick dark wavy hair out of her face and blinked in the morning light. She laughed because her trim step mother did not have a stitch of clothing on leaving no question how her parents had spent the night before but more because her mom had an incriminating hickey just below her left collar bone. Neither woman had any issues with the other's state of undress and never had. Gert's family was large and immodest and Grainne was simply well adjusted. Not to mention better endowed than her step mom, a fact that they occasionally laughed over. Both knew Grainne's father had simply fallen in love with the exact same sort of woman as he had before, just shorter and skinnier. Grainne was the image of her mother and they shared a certain personality that Gert herself reflected. The two women were very much alike in temperament though Gert was considerably less dramatic and much more self effacing.

"What's so funny?" Gert grumbled as she pulled the lavender rose her husband had taken to putting on the pillow next to her when he left for the morning out of her hair. She didn't care how much she had to do, she refused to keep military hours with him and slept in. None of her students were ever up at the crack of dawn and half her counseling work she had to do after hours because they had administrative jobs driving them crazy all day long. That and she liked having the bed to herself. Her husband, she had discovered, was a bed hog when he wasn't being a cuddle bug.

Gran pointed at the hickey and laughed harder when Gert looked down and blushed slightly but made no effort to cover herself back up. Years of physical labor had left her muscular and flat stomached. She also still had the firm high breasts of a teenager and her face was unlined by the years though she was in her mid thirties and her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled. It was a rare person that guessed her age correctly by her appearance. Gran secretly suspected through her step mom was barely over five feet tall and lacked her daughter's blatant sex appeal, she'd gotten the better deal in the long run as she seemed to have ceased aging somewhere around age twenty five.

"If you're done making fun of me…" Gert arched a brow and pouted. A game they often played. You're picking on me.

"Oh good, you're awake!" She plucked the rose away from Gert's hand and gave it an appreciative whiff. Only her dad would be romantic enough to keep leaving roses on his pillow for his wife to wake up to, knowing that no matter how practical and logical her mom was, it would still get to her, get under her skin, and keep her there by his side. He needn't worry, Gert was a lifer. Coming to terms with her feelings for him and not sacrificing her dedication to being a Jedi had been an up hill struggle and she wasn't about to roll back down that hill any time soon.

Gran, Gert noted, was grinning from ear to ear, still holding that lavender rose. She was dressed in a pair of boxers Gert strongly suspected belonged to Jass and a BUDs instructor shirt that by the size, could only have come out of her husband's closet. Having stolen her share of stuff from him as well she wasn't about to call the kettle black though in her defense, technically everything had come right back. "So are you going to tell me or are you just going to bounce on my bed and make fun of me for having a hickey?"

Unable to contain herself any more, Gran grabbed the other woman's long thin hand and placed it flat against her stomach under her shirt.

Gert's grey eyes went wide and then very soft. "Ooohhh… twins?" Her hand lingered for a moment and then she scooted over and folded the other woman into a warm hug. She sniffled. "My baby is going to be a mommy." She hugged her tighter.

Gran hugged her back. "You're goona be a granndddmmmaaa….." She'd started giggling, there was something a little silly about her stark naked step mom hugging her like crazy and she knew it. "Get dressed grandma, I want to go baby shopping." She said with an affectionate thump on the other woman's thigh.

"Pushy broad. I was trying to sleep." Gert however, got up and silently padded to the dresser to grab clean cloths. Civvies today she decided and pulled out a soft blue sweater that clung to her curves attractively and a well worn pair of space dock slacks.

Gran would never figure out how her mom could move as gracefully as she did sometimes as she had just now and still be such a klutz at others. "I like that one." She said, referring to the sweater. "But if I dressed like that I'd just look fat."

"More so in a few months." Gert said with a wink before she pulled the sweater over her head. "I used to make fun of my grandmother for being short and skinny when I was a kid. No one let me in on the joke until I stopped growing any after age twelve. Cosmic justice if you ask me." She ran a brush through her thick hair and pulled it up into it's familiar bun with a fall of curls in the back that brushed the nape of her neck. "You're not going dressed like that are you?" She said as she made eye contact with her in the vanity mirror.

Gran looked down at her outfit. "What's wrong with it? I'm covered up."

Gert sighed and wondered how to politely explain she was not going to be seen in public with her daughter dressed like a homeless person. Had it been Li, she'd have simply offered her a dress as the Felacatian wore the same size as her, just notable taller and annoyingly prettier. Gran however, was a couple sizes bigger and her chest wouldn't fit into most of Gert's cloths as when she did go out dressed in something other than Jedi robes she wore a fitted, classic style. Things she didn't have to replace because they had become unfashionable as they never went out of fashion. Gran still tended to consider not nude as good enough regardless of where she was going. Thanks mom, Gert thought, for making me nitpicky about her being a reflection of me if she doesn't dress right.

"Gran dear, we'll be out most of the day and it's not very warm, why don't you go put on a pair of slacks and a sweater so you don't have to bring a jacket?" Comon… take the bate kid.

Grainne gave her a suspicious look. Her step mom was a known angler. She looked a little frumpy but who cared? Then it dawned on her, Gert cared. Gert often looked disheveled around the temple but she had seldom looked anything but well put together when she left. The assortment of expensive make up on her vanity proved this. Gran also suddenly realized that no matter how far away she got from that life, her mom was, is and always would still be a princess, and would probably hate being called out on it even if she really didn't know how to slouch or dress sloppy in public. It was ok to look messy at the temple because it was home, family, you were you, not a representation of your family. Her mom had simply redefined family as the Jedi Order.

Gert grinned at the girl as she left and applied her favorite perfume. It smelled suspiciously and almost exactly like her new husband's beloved garden. A menagerie of flowers with a strong overtone of roses followed closely by her personal favorite, irises. She'd had it made when he was missing, something to make her feel closer to him like the lavender rose buds she'd kept in her pocket and his pillow that she'd swiped the morning after he'd disappeared, she'd needed the familiar smell of him near to keep her from falling apart. She then put on just enough makeup so she didn't look the same age as her daughter. Occasionally students came in that were in their late teens or older and invariably they tried hitting on her not realizing she was almost old enough to be their mom. She chuckled at the realization that she'd have grand kids older than her kids. It still stymied her just a little bit that somehow after so many years of knowing kids were a bad idea if she had ones as Force sensitive as her, now she was ready to make some with a man that would produce kids even stronger in the Force than she or her adopted daughter. The deal had been struck however unintentionally as she'd miss-worded what she'd meant and Gert was not one to back down after making a commitment even on accident.

She had, however, told her brother-in-law she'd be dropping them off at his place first chance she got and then taking off in the Eternity Rose to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Pay back, she supposed, for all the rotten students he'd talked her in to taking on. She'd failed very few of them but Gert had found over the years that some people just should not be Jedi, and those people were not going to get past her. One student in particular had learned he would never best the little Den Mother though he'd certainly tried.

Gert walked out of Pap's office and stretched in the morning sunlight. Someone had left the roof open during the night. Gert smiled up at the sun and waited for Gran to come back slightly better dressed then she had been. The compound had changed over the years. At the start it had simply been an extremely large enclosed area with a landing pad and a couple offices. Pap had a lagoon put in and a private garden, one she had doubled in size as his most recent birthday gift having had cultivars shipped from her grandfather's gardens on Coreillia, including an Eternity Rose, the namesake of her ship. Like the white rose with a blue center you only saw when it was full blown, it was a perfectly common looking YT-1300 with stealth paint and several very creative goodie packages… and attuned to respond only to herself and her husband. No one else could fly her, not even if they hot wired her. A reasonably large bungalow sat on the left side of the garden where Ithi lived, on the right side of the garden sat Nic and Kaden's home followed by Gran and Jass' still only partially built home, flanking it. Moiti's tree stood proudly at it's center. The placard was of course gone but it was still his tree, a reminder to students what happened when you did not listen to your lessons.

Gert watched Gran cut across the grass and between the shrubs skirting the launch pad. She had on jeans and a loose sweater. Much better Gert thought. "Think we should com your aunt? She's been dying to go shopping and Luke cut her off a bit ago."

"Did he really?" Gran started to laugh. "Serves her right, I was with her last time. She bought half the mall." She gives her step mother a sly look. "Aunt Mara doesn't have the funds to do that and does, you do and couldn't care less. Sometimes mom, I don't get you."

"Yah, I get that a lot. Drives my mom nuts. No, that implies she was playing with a full sabbac deck to begin with. She seems to like your dad though. Score one for him. Than again, he's rich, of course she'd like him."

"That's not very nice mom."

"Nope, but it's quite honest. Mom won't win any prizes for not having an agenda. She excels at irritating me and I her. Gran, I push people to make sure they love me enough to be honest with me and can deal with my moods but once I know I stop doing it unless it's needed. I don't play alpha games, I don't need to. Mom has to be in charge. Period. If you buck her on any point, she makes you suffer for it."

Gran laughed. "Sounds like someone I know, but as she said, she stops once the pecking order is established. Mebby your mom just doesn't like you being her equal?" She said this as they walked out of the compound and onto the grounds for the main temple which was even larger than BUDs if that was possible.

"Actually, mom doesn't like that she's not my equal. Dad has been refereeing since I was thirteen. Before that I was kind of mousy."

"Mom, I have a very active imagination and mousy doesn't describe you."

"It did twenty years ago. Com your aunt, see what her plans are today."

"What, none of your Shadows know where she is?"

"Funny. I'll tell your uncle to put you in agri-corps you know."

"Oh like that's a punishment for anyone in our family."

"Ok… you have a point. I've told your uncle that when he's threatened me with it too actually. Com your aunt."

"Yah yah… How long do you think it will take dad to tell everyone?"

"What time is it?"

Gran started to laugh. Ok, yah, it's dad. Speaking of dad's inability to keep a secret, when are you two having a public ceremony so Lighty quits asking me when you are getting married?" They were well across the temple on their way out when Mara finally answered them. "Aunt Mara will meet us there."

"Good. We can have lunch. Um… you know, I don't know if we will do that. You know I don't like a production made of things. If we do the public thing mom and dad will be invited and it will become a production. No question." Gert frowned at the memory of every one of her cousin's and her brother's overblown weddings. "Knowing him though, if he's made up his mind we'll have one. I can say no until I'm out of breath and he'll still win."

Gran started to laugh and Gert looked at her quizzically. "I didn't…" Gran gasped between fits of laughter. "didn't know you guys…" another laughing gasp "played those.. heh heh… those games." Gran now held her stomach laughing.

"You just keep making fun there. Look where those games got you." Gert grinned. "Besides, we got married the day after you. The shine isn't off the newlywed apple just yet." She gives her daughter a naughty look. "But we're working on it."

"Oh you wana play do you? You know dad's track record. You won't last a month."

"I will too. The negotiations with the Don are more important than planning a family right now. Besides I'm still not sure he and I having kids is that good of an idea. We both have responsibilities and obligations to the Order. Aside from that, Pinky likes to use me for target practice. I'm not putting a child at risk because that putz wants a piece of my shebs." She sighs. "And then there's the whole uber Jedi thing. Bad enough I am but combined with your dad, our kids will make us look like ugnauts at a gamorrean convention."

"Hey, careful with the uber Jedi stuff." Gran muttered, still hating the nick name Pappy had used to describe them both.

"Sorry, sometimes I forget that one is up there with Ithi asking me if she can kill a student." Gert frowned. "Your dad keeps bringing up my mom. I have this terrible suspicion he'll do something annoying like have her come visit."

"How does that tie in?"

"Well, you remember how hard I pushed you until you stood up for yourself because your dad was gone and Dawn was trying to tear down BUDs?"

"The surgically implanted spine by force? Yah, wasn't that the night the new Council shredded Uncle Luke while Aunt Mara was away on a mission?"

"Same night. Well, mom does the same thing, except after you push back and prove to her you aren't a weenie, she just keeps pushing some more until you want to turn to the dark side and force choke her."

"And we thought you had alpha issues."

"No dear, I establish the pecking order then stand above the game while the rest of you jockey for position, I already know mine. Mom on the other hand keeps reestablishing her position as alpha long past the point where you got the message and well into the point where you feel like you have no position."

"I'm starting to see why your always so competitive then. Always trying to prove you pass muster made you over compensate."

"By SSD fulls Gran. It was one of the reasons I wasn't real unhappy that Hal Horn told me to never come back to CorSec space."

"Makes sense. Don't you miss the rest of your family though?"

"Some but it's not like we don't talk and a few parsecs between mom and I keeps the peace. Her snide remarks are easier to ignore in small doses."

They had reached the shopping district and were now looking blissfully in windows at assorted trinkets and especially shoes. Gert, tired and distracted by her research as well as the stress of trying to convince the Galactic Goodfellows that they really didn't want to pick a messy drawn out battle with the Jedi Order was blissfully unaware that she was making a liar of herself. She was already a week pregnant. She and Pappy had not made it so much as a day let alone a month. She would not be aware of this fact for another week however though her husband was even now in the process of informing his best friend he was a married man in spite of their agreement to keep things quiet. Gert's current investigation was stalling anyways so their marriage remaining secret was starting to be a non issue. Jacen Molar had almost all the information he needed to make an arrest they had ample proof of treason meaning Gert would soon be free to do as she wished with the exception of corralling her probationary students. That was a permanent project.

"Ok, let's hit the baby store mom." Gran grinned at her step mom and linked elbows with her. The two women walked arm in arm into the local baby mega store and ooed and ahhed over tiny cloths and cute childish furniture. "So why didn't you just tell me I was pregnant when you knew three weeks ago?"

"I tried to. You didn't want to believe me." Gert looked thoughtfully at a bassinette as she said this and started mentally tallying up what it was going to run to outfit a nursery for twin boys. Identical ones, Gert had only sensed one baby when she first knew Gran was with child.

"Well I was a little bit stressed out mom. Dad was missing presumed dead and ok you knew for certain he was alive but he had me pretty convinced that was a real ghost. Jass was away on a mission plus we'd broken up just as you and dad had and you became totally withdrawn plus Dawn was trying to screw over the school."

"I know sweetie and I am sorry he put you through that. He felt he had no choice at the time."

"Yah well you weren't in the best shape either mom. I don't care if you did know he was alive and he was using that doppelganger trick to talk to you, you looked like death warmed over most of the time. You didn't think he was going to survive did you?"

Gert looked at Gran. "To be honest, no, I was scared for his life. What he was doing was stupid and crazy and somewhat suicidal." She sighed. "And out of stubbornness and fear I'd broken up with him and never got the chance to tell him how I felt about him." She smiled wryly. "He could have at least kissed me when he saw me."

"Oh yah cause you looked so happy to see him too mom…"

"I was."

"You were glaring vibro blades at him."

"I was not."

"Yes you were. You looked like you wanted to slice and dice him."

"Well he's the one that was all happy and huggy on everyone else and said oh hi Gert like I was the delivery lady not the love of his life."

"Ok, I'll give you that one but what did you expect? You broke up with him."

"But I'd talked to him the day before and told him if he didn't interfere with what I'm doing right now I'd marry him as soon as it's over with." She frowned. "That should have counted for something at least."

"True, but as far as anyone knew you guys weren't together anymore and he was just being careful."

"In BUDs? He built that security system. He knows there are no bugs. Hem, aside from that I was staring vibro blades at him because what I really wanted to do was inappropriate for public."

"I feel that way when Jass comes home from missions too. It's like you can't stop yourself isn't it?"

"Very much so. As attracted to him as I always have been, that was the first time he came home from a mission that just knowing he was ok wasn't enough. Making out in the turbo lift of the Miljolnir didn't help things any either. I didn't sleep that night and neither did your dad. That's why we took off for Naboo the morning after your wedding. We didn't have any barriers left to keep us from acting on how we felt and neither of us was getting any sleep trying not to."

"Might I remind you mom that Jass and I have been sexually active for months?"

"Gran, it's not like your dad and I are innocents and saving ourselves for marriage either of us but we wanted our physical relationship to be for the right reason. Not for being hot for each other."

"Ok.. mom.. boundaries…."

"Right. Because you observe those yourself."

"Yah, but that's different… He's my dad. Ew."

Gert laughed. "Ok, point taken. My grandmother did that to me once and I had to wash my brain out with soap for days."

"Oh, but it's ok for you to talk about doing the nasty with my dad…" Gran gave her step mom a snarky grin before turning back to perusing baby items. "Mom, how do I decide how to decorate the babies' room? I had a hard enough time picking out a color for the bedroom Jass and I could agree on."

"You ask the woman that sleeps in her husband's office dear. I don't know what to tell you other than choose what pleases you the most. It's about lunch time, why don't we get over to the café to meet your aunt so you can tell her the good news."

Gran grinned nervously. "If dad hasn't gotten to her yet."

Gert thought or me two weeks ago when I knew for sure and asked her not to speak of it until you were ready. "Yah, but you know she will pretend to be surprised for you even if she's not." Gert winked at her step daughter. "She's good at playing at gee I didn't know."

They walked together to the café, not really talking about anything particularly important, just happy to be together away from prying eyes and pretense. Neither were dressed as Jedi and their sabers were in their purses so they looked like a couple of perfectly normal women out enjoying a morning shopping. One small with dark, gold flecked haired, the other taller with a head full of red hair with purple highlights.

They reached the café and were seated by a window. Shortly Mara showed up, also dressed as a civilian though she had her saber clipped to her black pants, her green blouse offsetting her dark red hair and green eyes. Gran waved her aunt over and the three of them hugged randomly before they all sat again.

"What's the special today? I'm starved and we have Council tonight so I know I won't get dinner. Don't forget you and Pappy have to be there tonight Gert."

Gert put some serious thought into whining, asking if they had to and pleading a terrible case of food poisoning later. "Why are we being punished too?" Gert's eyes pleaded with her sister-in-law to not have to go. She had served her term on Council. Had not cared for it, and actively looked for ways to avoid doing so again for as long as possible. Realistically she knew Luke and Mara would convince her to do it again but hopefully no time in the near future.

Mara laughed. Gert and Pappy were arguably the Order's mavericks. The lived in the now, planned for every possible thing to go wrong out of a mutual sense of paranoia and infallibly had a plan when things went south that would get everyone's butts out of the fire. If you wanted to know where the trouble was, you looked for them. They could always find it.

When Luke had made noises about retraining for some of the kids in the order when it got too large for him to personally watch all of them and a couple were getting out of control, Pappy had been a first choice to found a reinstruction school. He had always been strongly paternal and like Luke and Gert, was a Rebellion veteran who didn't take any foolishness from the kids that came through the doors of the temple though he was very caring as well.

Knowing her older brother had been harboring an unspoken love for the little healer, Mara had put the idea in his head to ask Gert to teach there. Much to Mara's chagrin, Gert had simply not at all noticed her brother's feelings. Rather than teach at the school Gert took her students to the meditation gardens. Pap had a garden put in at BUDs so she'd choose there to teach and Gert didn't even notice. He started dating other women and rather than get upset or angry, Gert avoided him and stayed out of his way.

Mara truly loved her brother and sister-in-law both but found them to be slightly more bone headed than her husband. Something she really never thought she'd believe of anyone. Luke had been impressed enough with the two of them and their teaching skills that he'd decided to put all the kids through their basic course work figuring this would get Gert and his brother-in-law to work more closely. Frustrated with Gert's failure to notice his feelings he hired Quin Vos' newly graduated padawan to help teach thinking Gert would at least become territorial and fight for her job. This attempt failed as well when Gert spent her time teaching her disciplinary issue students away from the school and leaving the younglings to he and Dawn. Hurt, angry and frustrated, Mara's brother resorted to picking fights with the woman he was in love with to get any reaction at all out of her, even a negative one. Surprisingly, this had been what had finally broken through her reserve and forced her to admit she was attracted to him as well. It had been one of those spectacular fights between them in the TapCafe kitchen over a soon to be burnt gornt that led to their first and very passionate kiss and her admitting that she had feelings for him as well.

Luke had told Mara that her brother and his long time friend reminded him very much of his sister and best friend. Like Pap, it had taken Han years to get Leia to own up to being in love with him not to mention his imminent death. Gert and Leia shared a sharp temper and an overwhelming sense of duty that got in the way of personal needs. There wasn't a lot Mara could say about Gert's actions, she had fought her own feelings for Luke for a couple years before she'd realized they weren't going away.

Now as Gran excitedly shared her happy news Mara worried about the dark circles under Gert's eyes and the exhaustion on her face. Negotiations were alternating between going well and tanking and Mara suspected Gert wasn't sleeping well when she could sleep which she seemed to be doing rather frequently. It wasn't like Gert to run out of steam in the middle of the day. It wasn't like Gert to run out of steam at all unless she was ill.

"Gert, are you ok?"

"Huh? Yah, I'm all right, just over tired probably. It's been one thing after another for months now and I think I'm getting close to tapped out is all." Gert smiled wanly and picked at her salad. Her stomach had taken to bothering her from stress and now she was suffering bouts of exhaustion as well. Gert started to wonder if she was suffering from depression for some reason. The symptoms just did not add up in any other direction. The other day she'd had a few shots of scotch, nothing she wasn't accustomed to and had passed out in Pap's office for several hours shortly after negotiations. She was starting to make people worry by Mara's tone and she didn't like doing that to people. Especially not family. Especially not Mara who already had plenty to deal with as things were.

Mara continued giving her sister in law a worried and slightly suspicious look. She had her own thoughts on what was wrong with Gert. Thoughts her husband had privately expressed as well. What surprised her was that Gert, an extremely strong empathic healer hadn't thought of that first. My sister-in-law she thought in amusement, queen of denial. Doesn't want to be so refuses to consider the possibility. I'll make a bet with Farmboy tonight about how long it is before stubborn here figures it out or someone has to confirm it. My bets on her not believing anyone that suggests it she thought with a smile. Better her than me!

Mara turned her attention back to her niece but kept a watchful eye on Gert who was fading quickly. Definitely going to be taking a cab home today. Gert would be completely exhausted by the time they got back to the temple if they did not. Nine more months of this little sister she thought. Good luck with that. Pap would be thrilled though. Mara knew her older brother would like nothing more than to make a child with his wife. For the last couple years if there was a baby announcement he'd give Gert one of those looks only a man desiring children of his own looks at the woman he wants to have them with. It had been one of those looks that had clued Mara in on his feelings for Gert. Attraction was one thing, when a man looked at you like that he was in it for the long haul. Gert had been unknowingly doomed from the time she'd met him. It was a good fit. Gert forced Pap to think things all the way through instead of just rushing in to them with no thought of what happens if his plan doesn't work. He needed that Mara acknowledged. Pap in turn, helped Gert unwind and relax, something she desperately needed as well. Gert must have relaxed a lot to have accidentally gotten pregnant so quickly she thought with wry amusement.

Gert smiled at her sister-in-law and daughter as Gran giddily told Mara all about how thrilled she was to be expecting and asked about family names and then about what Mara had gone through carrying Ben, her older cousin. She ordered a caf in the hopes of it keeping her upright. She had to sit down with the Don again tomorrow. They had given Lighty the weekend to talk to the other members of the GG and come to some accord. Gert desperately hoped they could reach agreement tomorrow. Friday had been disastrous when Angie had gone on the Holonet news and expressed a personal opinion that had nothing to do with what Gert had been assured by Luke and Mara both not to mention her own diplomatic team member Ithi who was currently holding a position on the Council herself that the Council would stand behind the negotiations so long as there was forward progress no matter how slow. Nothing official was done to Angie but Gert had desperately petitioned the other woman to apologize privately to the Don and explain her words had been as an individual not a Council member. Something that left Gert chagrined as she knew once you sat on Council, you were never allowed a personal opinion again that was not seen as that of the Council as well. Gert had walked out of Lighty's office filled with definite hope until she'd received a com from him to turn on the news and there was her BUDs staff mate and newly minted Council member expressing her opinion that all members of the GG should be eradicated as they were nothing but criminals and there seemed to be no progress with negotiations at all. Gert had spent the better part of an hour reasoning with Lighty and unruffling his feathers to keep him or Prime or Jimmy from doing something rash to the woman like put a hit on her.

As things stood, Pap had purchased a planet earlier in the week and told her he was leaving, he'd had enough. He'd watched members of the order kick his wife when she was down one too many times. Several of them refused to let it go that they had failed to salvage a mission that had gone bad. A kid had died. The most brilliant strategist would have still failed because the kid involved had refused to follow directions to the point that it became a form of suicide. Many of them blatantly blamed her for the kid's death not realizing no one blamed her more than herself. Not because she caused his death but because she'd been unable to prevent it in any way in spite of great effort to.

He'd been shocked by her reaction then when told to choose between the Order that was treating her so harshly she sometimes cried herself to sleep and her husband who she loved on such a level she'd do almost anything for him, she'd been unable to choose without her heart breaking in either case. He'd not realized what asking her to run away cost her emotionally. To admit she'd failed so badly that there was no hope. When he did realize that was the reason, he'd handed the deed to the planet over to his best friend, Lighty, in a show of faith in the negotiations Gert had started and understanding that the Order would always come first. Gert strongly felt she owed them for tolerating some of her past behavior, Luke and Mara most especially and neither of them wanted her to leave at all. They both knew Gert was innocent of any crime and had both been making an effort to dissuade others from that train of thought as well.

Gert's reaction to her husband giving away his grand plan to save her was such a show of faith, love and understanding that Gert had been left completely speechless most of the rest of Friday. No one but her father had ever understood her feelings so well. Gran had very teasingly told her new mother that she was marking her calendar because it was the first time she had ever seen Gert speechless about anything. Pap had patted her hand in the private shuttle they took back to the temple and Gert had subsequently kissed the daylights out of him right in front of Ithi who was piloting and Gran who had been sitting next to Gert. She hadn't cared. Both the girls knew and they weren't in public and it was absolutely the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. Her husband had very enthusiastically kissed her back.

Their luncheon eventually wound down and Mara called them a shuttle. Gert was making a valiant attempt but Mara could see she was ready to drop whether she realized it or not. Her sister-in-law was not always easily read but Mara had known her for quite some time and knew when Gert was tapped out just as well as when she knew her husband was. She smiled in amusement when Gert dozed off almost immediately after sitting in the shuttle.

The reached the temple and Gran gently nudged her step mom awake. "Hey lazy, we're home."

Gert blinked and concealed a yawn. "I wasn't sleeping, I was thinking."

"You snore when you think mom."

Gert smiled sheepishly and helped Gran with their bags.

"I know you don't want to go Gert but please be on time for the Council meeting." Mara said with an affectionate smile.

"Will do." Gert gave herself a mental shake to clear her head as Mara walked away in the direction of her office.

Mara com'ed her husband on the way through the temple back to her office. "One hundred credits says Gert doesn't admit she's pregnant until a healer says so."

Luke's voice was amused when he com'ed her back. "You're on Red. Gert is smarter than that, she's a healer and very Force sensitive, she probably already knows and thinks Pap will be mad."

"See you in Council Farmboy." She clicked off her com and smiled as she keyed in her brother's SSD. "Hey big brother, don't forget you have to attend the Council meeting tonight. See you there. By the way Gert is acting strangely, try to get her in to see a healer if you can." That ought to do it she thought. Who says I'm above treachery for credits?