Six months later

Ben Skywalker was meditating on the roof of the Jedi Academy. It wasn't the best place to do it, but no one else knew he was there, or so he thought. So wrapped up in letting his thoughts go, he failed to notice when his girlfriend, Vestara Khai sat down next to him until she groaned. He jumped, then, realizing who it was, smiled.

"How was Jedi History Class?" He asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

She stuck out her tongue at him. "Boring. Master Lyaru just talks on and on. I mean, who cares what Jedi defeated which Sith five million years ago? Plus, every time she says the word 'Sith' she glares at me."

"Ah. I'm so glad I never had to attend any classes here." He said, smirking at her.

"Yeah? Well now you don't know anything about Jedi history."

"Sure I do."

"Okay then, what Sith was defeated by which Jedi five million years ago?"

He pretended to think for a minute. "I don't know his last name, but I bet his first name was Darth. Ow! What was that for?"

She just rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go get lunch. I'm starving."

He stood up. "I guess I'm starting to rub off on you."

She was puzzled, "What makes you say that?"

"You just said you were starving."

She grinned. "So I did. And so I am. Let's go."

~O~

Jaina Solo Fel sat on the gel-form couch in her apartment, watching the news with her husband, when suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Shooting upright in her seat, she gasped, then said to Jag,

"I really don't want to say what everyone else says, but Jag? It's time!"

Jag twisted in his seat to look at her shrewdly. "This isn't like the other three, is it? Because I'm fairly sure the doctor is getting tired of seeing us."

The pain shot through her abdomen again and she groaned. "No! It's really, really time!"

Jag practically leaped from the couch, grabbing the bag he had packed for just this occasion, and helped Jaina from the apartment, out the building, and into an air-taxi. Once they were on their way, Jag pulled out his comlink, and made the call.

"Doctor? This is Jag. We're on our way." He hung up, but not before he could hear the the man groan, "Again?"

~O~

Leia Solo sat in the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon which was in hyperspace, traveling from Kashyyyk to Corellia. Now that there was peace in most parts of the galaxy, Han and Leia had taken some well-earned vacation time, and were traveling around the galaxy, visiting their friends and family. They had just finished visiting the family of Han's former copilot, and were on their way to the Transitory Mists, to visit Luke and Ben. Leia suddenly felt a jolt of pain from their daughter, so awful that Leia gasped.

Han immediately spun his chair to look at her. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asked.

"J-Jaina," was all that Leia could manage to say. The color drained from Han's face, leaving him looking like a ghost. Just then, Jaina seemed to realize she was causing Leia pain, and shut off from her completely. Han had already dropped them from hyperspace and was plotting a route to Coruscant. He looked at Leia with uncertainty and asked,

"She's not, you know, dead, is she?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong with her?" He asked, punching them back into hyperspace in a different direction.

"Han, relax. She's fine. Ready to become a grandfather again?"

Han let out the air he had been holding in. "Is that all? Are you trying to kill me? I'm not as young as I used to be."

Just then a voice sounded from behind them, coming from the other human passenger, who had just entered the cabin. "Grampa?" said Allana, "Why'd we leave hyperspace? Threepio says we're not heading to Hapes anymore, and you said I was going to go home after we visit Ben and Uncle Luke."

"Do you want to go home, sweetie?" Han asked, surprised.

"No, not at all! But I thought that was the plan."

Leia laughed. "When has your grandpa ever listened to plans?"

Allana considered this for a moment. "Never. So where are we going?"

"We're going to see Jaina."

"Yay! Is she having her baby?"

"She sure is," said Han. "And we're going to miss it."

"But, Grampa, this is the fastest ship in the galaxy!"

Han looked at Leia in resignation. "I've taught her too well."

~O~

Ben and Vestara were just finishing their lunch when Ben felt... something from his cousin. He let his food drop to his plate as he reached out, trying to figure out what was wrong. Communicating over such long distances was hard, even with the Force, but Jaina was reassuring him that everything was okay, at least that's what he thought. He couldn't quite tell. Jaina must have sensed his confusion, because she she sent him a blurry image through the Force, of a small baby, which must've been himself.

"Are you okay?" Vestara asked, since Ben was just sitting there with a pained look on his face.

"I think Jaina's in labor. I'm not sure, though."

Vestara nodded, "Should we go tell your dad?"

Ben looked at her quizzically. "Tell who?"

Vestara looked at him with exasperation. "Come on, Ben! This isn't exactly a great time!"

Ben looked sage and said, "Always you must refer to people properly, hmm, yes," in his imitation of Yoda.

Vestara sighed. "Fine. Should we go tell Master Skywalker?"

"Hmm. Already knows he does. Probably," Ben said, still in his Yoda voice.

Vestara looked at her chrono. "All right then. You can walk me to my next class, Master Yoda, but I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to be kissing any green lips. Period."

Ben gulped. "Why would you want to do that?" He replied in his normal voice. He stood and held his arm out to her. "Shall we walk?"

Vestara stood, trying to ignore the looks that she knew were directed at her. Since arriving six months ago, the Jedi and trainees in the academy had gradually become less afraid of her, but she doubted any of them trusted her, and there were still a few people who took every opportunity to torment her. At least when neither Ben nor his dad were around. She hadn't told anyone, but one girl had made it her personal goal to torment Vestara in numerous ways. Hailee Talcyon was her name, and although she was human, Vestara secretly suspected that one of her parents was a Wookie,because she was big, hairy, and loud. She could imagine Hailee swinging from big wroshyr tree branches on Kashyyyk. She smiled at the thought.

"Hey, Ves." Ben whispered, "Are you coming? 'Cause you're going to be late for class, and people are staring."

Vestara had been so lost in her thoughts, she had forgotten about where she was standing. "Uh, yeah." She stooped down and grabbed her bag, now conscious of the whispers that were spreading their way through the eating area. "Let's go."

As soon as they were out of the caf, Vestara smacked herself in the forehead and said something in Keshiri, which Ben assumed meant 'idiot' because she was always saying it to him. He was about to say something comforting, when he felt his father touch him through the Force.

"Ves? I know I was supposed to walk you to your class and all, but my dad wants me."

"Well, we wouldn't want to ignore Master Skywalker, would we? I'll be fine, it's only a short walk."

"Thanks. See you later!" He shouted as he was already running towards his father's quarters.

She watched him go, and then, as she was turning, she bumped into someone.

She started to apologize, but then, seeing who it was, stopped. "Oh. It's you." She said to Hailee. "Look, I'm gonna be late for class, so if you could taunt me quickly, then punch me, I could maybe make it on time. I am on a schedule, you know."

"Maybe I want you to be late," Hailee grunted, pounding her right hand into her left in a gesture that was probably meant to be intimidating, but Vestara just laughed, thinking about Hailee swinging from vine to vine with her big meaty hands.

Of course, she'd have a hard time finding a vine strong enough to support her extensive weight.

That just made Vestara laugh harder, until Hailee dragged her behind the nearest building where no one could see them. for a moment, Vestara considered fighting back, but she knew she would just get in trouble. The masters wouldn't believe that Hailee had started do that, they would have to trust Vestara, which they were probably incapable of. Her thoughts were ended as the air shot out of her lungs, thanks to Hailee's fist. Vestara fell down gasping and lay on the ground, trying to regain her breath. She made sure to shut herself off from Ben, so he wouldn't feel her pain and come running. She didn't blame Hailee for hating her, and she certainly wouldn't want to make Ben mad at the apprentice.

That would be bad for everyone involved. For a moment, though, she imagined Ben running towards them, taking the situation in at a glance,and-

Stop it! Now she was angry with herself. Those weren't the thoughts of a Jedi. The air she had almost managed to regain was abruptly cut off as Hailee grabbed her throat and lifted her by it.

"What's the matter, Sith?" She sneered. "Aren't you going to call Prince Charming to come and save you?"

Vestara had to struggle to speak with the hands clamped around her throat like a vise. "I-I wouldn't want him to be sick." She croaked.

Hailee looked puzzled. "Seeing people get beat up makes him sick? How can he call himself a Jedi?"

Vestara tried to shake her head, but couldn't, so she just said, "N-no, I-i just d-don't want him to have t-to look at you."

Hailee's face, which right now, reminded Vestara of a Gamorrean, went bright red with anger, and she threw Vestara to the ground. Vestara gasped, trying to suck in air, but she had succeeded in making Hailee drop her, and now she could fill her lungs. At least, she could, before Hailee started kicking her. Deciding she had had enough, Vestara rolled towards Hailee's legs, tripping her, and then sprung upright and started running down the narrow alley between the buildings, Hailee's shouts ringing in her ears,

"That's right, Sith! Run back to your little boyfriend! If he loved you, don't you think he'd try to help you? No? Maybe because he doesn't love you? That's right! He doesn't, so run back to him, but eventually he'll get sick of your lies!"

Vestara ran as fast as she could, shooting past a Master and knocking his datapad onto the ground, but she didn't even stop. He probably thought she had done it on purpose, but for once, Vestara didn't care. She didn't care what anyone thought, all she wanted was to get away from here. She ran until she could run no more, and then she collapsed, sobbing, behind one of the dormitories. She used a breathing exercise to regain her air and stop crying, but she still felt miserable.

She's right, Vestara thought. I don't belong here. I'm just pretending to. Maybe I should just leave now. Her thoughts were interrupted when someone slid down the wall and sat next to her. She started to turn away, not wanting anyone to see her crying, but was stopped by a hand. "It's all right. I'm not that scary." Said a joking voice. Vestara looked up at its owner, and found herself staring into a pair of dark green eyes. Backing up slightly, she saw a man, about her own age, with spiky black hair and a kind smile. She was astonished to see a scar, almost exactly like her own, on the corner of his mouth.

"So," he said, "Had a rough day?"

She nodded, wiping her still-dripping nose, and realizing how immature she probably looked. "Yeah. Little bit. I don't think I've seen you around here before."

He nodded. "It's about to get a whole lot worse."

"What is?"

"Your day," He said, holding up a cloth to her face. She was overwhelmed by the sickening smell, and felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. Through the haze, she saw the boy smile at her, and just before slipping into darkness, she heard him say, "The name's Karick, in case you were wondering."