We haven't even gotten to dinner time, and a small crisis just burst!

Arlana, bless her heart, just spouted out loud for everyone to hear, and quote: "Your boyfriend's cute, uncle Wes!" - Then she proceeded to say that her mom was always so worried that Wes would end up alone, and how nice it was she was getting a new uncle!

I know you'd tell me: "Well, that's easy to solve...All he needs to do is deny his niece's notion and tell her they're just friends!"

Right?

Wrong!

While Wes was caught by surprise, Tycho was blushing, and me and the the rest of the guys were trying to not laugh, (Hobbie almost choked, trying to keep his composure…) Lady Serina, with the widest, happiest smile on her face, came into the living room and almost teary eyed, threw herself onto her son's arms and then Tycho's…

Talk about awkward!

She went on about how happy she was the trip to the valley had brought the two of them together, and how much she liked Tycho and that she believed him to be the right person for Wes.

The poor boy paled, at the sight of his mom's exhilarated ways… How was he going to tell her the truth without breaking her heart?

And that was what stopped everyone in their tracks too.

All of us exchanged looks, and that's when, though unspoken, we agreed that for the last two days they had in Taanab, it wouldn't hurt to let her believe Wes and Tycho were a couple…

Not that Tycho would mind!

With the excuse of having to speak about duty related issues with his squadmates, Wes took them outside. I was going to try and find something useful to do, when Luke turned to me.

"We would like a word with you too, if you don't mind."

Curiosity spiking me, I followed the Rogues into the backyard.

You know when you imagine something, but you can't quite describe it accurately, or draw it, so you resign yourself to the thought that your vision will forever be trapped in your mind?

Yeah…

i'm a sucker for gardens… I really am! And what I'd always imagined for the Janson Homestead's garden, was a lavish garden, full of colour. Bushes in intricate designs, just like you'd see in any 18th century palace. I pictured a wrought iron white swing, and a wrought iron fence encircling the entirety of the property.

I also wanted a small pond, flowers resembling some exotic cross between lilies and orchids, small roses of weird colours, wisteria like flowers wrapped around wooden arches, throughout a path of stepping stones.

And a gazebo…

How I love gazebos!

And there it was… Right in front of me, with more beauty than the idea inside my head!

And the smells… Oh, god, the smells of the flowers and the trees… I could live here! No, seriously! I could live on a fucking tent in this garden! It would be enough for me!

"Come on, Lady Dreamer…" Luke sniggered at me. "You have plenty of time to drool over the garden later."

I followed him into the gazebo, where we sat around the table at the center. Wes and Tycho kept exchanging uncomfortable looks and Wedge was pinching his nose, trying his best to keep his cool.

"Ok." He said, looking around and turning his palms outwards. "This has been hands down, the most awkward day I've ever seen…"

Nods of agreement turned to him.

"We have a problem here!" Wes blurted out, visibly nervous. "Did you see the way my mom acted in there? What am I going to do now?" He leaned back in his chair, looking positively miserable, running his hands through his hair. "Listen… The thing is, my mom has a degenerative disease that has been pretty much dormant over the years. She's had Bacta infusions and access to the best treatments available… but there's no cure. She told me the other day that on her last visit to the doctor, he'd found out on her exams, that the illness started to progress…"

The boys turned to him, looks of dismay and shock on their faces.

"Your mother is…" Wedge asked him, his voice betraying his emotions. In that short amount of time, all of them had grown very fondly of Lady Serina.

"She's dying Wedge." Wes told him with a defeated sigh. "Worst case scenario one year… he doubts she'll last much more over that. This might be the last time I ever see my mom…" The last sentence carried an immense sadness to it. He got up and faced the window. No one said a word, or got up to comfort him. But that wasn't out of callousness, it merely showed they knew him well enough to allow him the time to let the tears flow, without letting himself be seen crying.

After a couple of minutes, Wes cleaned his eyes with his sleeve and turned back to his chair. The rest of them just stretched out to him, to give him a slight squeeze on his shoulder. A silent 'we're here for you…'

"You want to let her believe you and Tycho are really together, don't you?" Hobbie asked deadpan, but with an understanding tone. "Let her have a last happiness, before…"

"Yes…" Wes confirmed, turning to Tycho. "If… you don't mind, or feel uncomfortable with it, that is."

Tycho sighed quite audibly, and I knew the turmoil going inside of him at that moment. The next words coming from his mouth could eventually change everything.

"I'm not going be the one who breaks your mother's heart, Wes!" He said, with a sad lopsided grin. "Besides, it's only for two days."

"She's gonna make tons of questions." Wes reminded him. "I'm expecting her to ask you deadpan what happened and how we got together. So, we need to give her the same version, or else she'll spot it's a lie!"

"Well, I don't know!" Tycho shrugged. "Tell her I kissed you on the pool or something…"

"Too obvious." Wes shook his head. "I know! We'll tell her the wine mix blew up your inhibitions and you declared your feelings for me at the restaurant…" The boyish smile returned to his face, while he turned a mischievous smile to Tycho. "...and then we kissed!"

"Wait! What pool? And did you get drunk for real?" Wedge asked, clearly amused.

"We went for a swim before lunch, "Wes explained, nonchalantly. "And yes, blondie here did get drunk."

"Just a bit!" Tycho complained.

Wes snorted. "Yeah, right… You couldn't even walk straight!"

"I never did." Tycho threw at him, while I was trying very hard not laugh. That was a pun that I would have definitely written!

Wes looked at him sideways, with an accusatory look. the other three just broke out in laughter, as I shook my head at Wes.

"What?" He asked me.

"Oh, nothing...don't mind me!" I told him, holding my hands up.

"Hey!" Wes turned to his friends. "Stop that! Do we have an agreement?" He asked them, keeping his eyes fixed on Tycho.

"No problem for me." Tycho said

The others nodded in a silent agreement.

"Which brings us to you!" Luke said, turning to me. "You might not have noticed, but Wedge was already outside when you and your sons just...popped out from nowhere! He saw it!"

"And you wanna know what happened, and where did I come from?"

"Pretty much!" He answered

"Well, that's where it gets complicated… and weird… and downright unbelievable!" I told him, trying to decide where to start. "I guess you can say I came from another reality."

"Come again?" Wes asked.

"How can I come again, if I haven't even left?" I smiled at him. I remembered I had written that line in one of my previous fics, though it escaped me just in which one…

Wes opened his mouth, but closed it again, throwing me a dirty look.

"Listen guys… I don't even know where to start!" I told them. "But imagine you're reading a book...well, a holobook in your cases. No, better yet: Imagine you're writing a story! Now imagine a freaking blackhole in your living room, that drags you into said story!"

As predicted, they stared at me like I was a raving lunatic! Of course… Wouldn't any of us do the same in the same conditions?

"Sorry to tell you, Lady…" Hobbie scoffed. "But I'm pretty sure I'm as real as it gets!"

"I know you are...Derek!"

Hobbie sit up straight, his mouth open. "I never told you my name! Did any of you…?"

They all shook their heads at him.

"And yet I know. But of course, now you're thinking that would be an easy information to get my hands on, right?" I smiled at him. "Let's do it like this. All of you have some secret that you never EVER told anyone! Bet you a hundred credits I know what it is! Let's start with you Wes…"

"Wait!" He gaped at me. "You're not going to spout things out in front of them?"

"I thought you didn't believe me, and actually thought I was nuts or something?"

"Well…" He murmured

I smiled at him and signalled him to come closer. Then I whispered in his ear. "Tyll kissed you when you were twelve...and you kissed him back."

Wes fell back heavily into his chair, a shocked, confused look on his face, his mouth opened wide.

"Well?" Wedge asked him.

"She's telling the truth… I don't understand how, but… she is." He whispered softly. I almost felt sorry for having chosen that particular secret out of the thousands I have headcanoned for him, but taking in account the whole deal with him pretending to be Tycho's boyfriend, maybe… just maybe, it had been the right one.

"I could have told you that!" Luke added. "I'm still a bit lost when it comes to Jedi training, but I can tell there's no dishonesty in what she just said. No matter how kriffing weird it all sounded!"

"So, what? You wrote us, or some bullshit?" Hobbie belted out.

"No need to be rude!" Tycho admonished him.

"No! Because I would really like to know, if... you know...I'm a real person or some fictitious bag of energy, going around pretending to be a man, and also I'd like to thank you," He turned to me again. "For my shitty Imperialistic family!"

"I don't know how this works. But none of you were my creations, if that's what you're wondering. You were created by other people, real writers...and...You know? None of them were aware that each time they put the pen to the paper, that somewhere a new reality was being created by...whatever!" I tried explaining them. Maybe I should have kept my big mouth shut! "Me? I write something called fanfiction. Basically, you pick up an existing story, and you either write your version of events, or you you write a continuation of said events. But mainly, we keep many things that were preexisting, and put them in our stories… liker your past, Hobbie, and yours too." I pointed at Luke, Wedge and Tycho. "Mostly!"

"What about me?" Wes asked me.

"There wasn't much about your background, Wes. I just took some inspiration on some other fanfics, and wrote my version."

"So, all I've been trough? It's all on you?" He got up, looking angrily at me. "All I suffered, it's your fault!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Oh, you are? Are you?" He clenched his fists, looking away.

"It was only words on a computer. A background to explain your ways, besides, some of it had already came from another writer." I got up and walked to where he was. "look at me. Do you believe that if I knew all I was writing was becoming a whole alternate reality somewhere, that I would have written all of that? Besides, believe me, my stories are pretty much...harmless… there are some other things that are a bit heavy, out there! There are many other writers putting stories out where their characters are going through much worse shit than you!"

"Can you change anything?" Tycho asked.

"I'm not sure anymore…" I told him. To be honest, I had no idea of how much control I kept over this story, now that i was an integral part of it. "Let me explain this a bit more. The big picture of the story, comes the original creator. He's a man called George Lucas, and he was the one of created this entire galaxy you live in. The Jedi, the Sith, the Empire, the Rebel Alliance… All that happened right until Luke blew up the Death Star was all his creation."

"So, Alderaan..?" Tycho asked.

"His creation. Part of his story." I explained him. "What is 'mine', so to speak is this version of Taanab, Wes' entire background and family, though like I explained your childhood was inspired in someone else's story. I just tweaked it a bit, made up a whole family and gave you…" I looked straight at Wes, that was still watching me strangely. "a whole story, one that hasn't quite unraveled completely yet."

"And me?" Luke raised his hand, leaning on his chair.

"You're all Mr. Lucas creation! Nothing in your background was made up by me. Nothing whatsoever, except…" I pointed to Wedge and then Luke again.

"Basically you threw me in as his boyfriend." Wedge smirked

"Hey!" Luke poked him.

"Basically!" I confirmed. "Though it was not my own original idea. I just liked the concept. And you Hobbs, are pretty much freeform...for now!"

"Ah! Much better." He snorted.

"What about my mother?!" Wes belted out.

"Wes!" Tycho yelled at him.

"What?" He bit back at the Alderaanian, still fuming.

"Quick question, hotshot. Do you like holodramas?" Tycho asked him.

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Answer...My...Question!"

"Yeah, I do…" He muttered.

"What if anytime anyone wrote one, a different reality was created in some alternate Universe?"

"That's absurd!"

Rolling his eyes, Tycho pointed at me, then made a circle in the air, englobing all of them.

"She was writing a story… You know, entertainment, harmless fun! Or so she thought!" Tycho reminded him. "When you write things on screen, you're not exactly thinking 'What if this shavit comes to life?', now do you? Neither did she! And yet, here we are!" He glared at Wes. "You might as well be a bit more polite, and ask her with some manners, if she can try and change your mother's destiny… knucklehead!"

Wes seemed to ponder on Tycho's word, though his expression was still a hard one. Then he turned to me and I waited for his reaction.

"I was out of line. I'm sorry." He reached his hand my way, and I took it. I held it, just like I would have done to any of my sons. I looked into his eyes giving him an understanding smile.

"I know." I spoke gently. "I don't know if there's any way to change anything, and prevent some things from happening, but I'll do my best." I promised him.

He opened his mouth, like he was about to ask me something, but he wavered in his decision.

"You have a question. Tell me." I demanded.

"Well, it's just that you said that you had a whole story on me. I was curious…"

"Missions wise, I have no input whatsoever, because I suck at writing battle scenes and tactical stuff...which is quite odd for an ex-military, but that's we got!" I began relaying to him. "If you want spoilers, you can forget it! Life is all about surprises, that's what makes it worth! But, and I want you all to remember this, no matter what life throws at you, it will all be fine in the end…" I smiled at them. "For what I can see, even random ideas that I wrote as comments that never went into real stories, are happening. So, that makes a bit more relieved about what's to come."

"Do I get a question too?" Wedge asked me, getting chuckles from his friends.

"Shoot…"

"First, you were a military? Aren't you a little short for that? And second, how much had you written?"

"First, 1,57 is enough to fix F-16's engines, that's a jet plane if you're wondering, atmosphere only… Second, If we count random ideas I had written as templates, I had gone as far as sixty years from now!"

"Oh, look! We got ourselves a new mechanic!" Hobbie joked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"X-Wings and F-16's are as close mechanically speaking, as a Nerf is from a Rancor…" I squinted at him.

Luke whistled, hopefully impressed…

"Sixty years… that's a lot!" He stated, running his hands through his hair.

"I'm dedicated to the story...even when I'm not writing." I told him.

Tycho looked at me, with what I could only describe as a hopeful expression.

"Don't sweat it, kiddo!" I said to him, with a little wink. "Things will come at the right time."

He smiled widely, looking quickly in Wes' direction.

"Now that we cleared things," Luke announced rising from his chair. "Let's go back inside, because I'm kind of hungry."

"You're always kind of hungry." Wedge threw him a naughty look.

"Shut up, you…" He admonished him, throwing his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders.

They all proceeded to leave the gazebo, but I stopped Wes, grabbing his arm.

"Listen. I was serious about trying to change things." I told him. He gave a little smile and shook his head slightly.

"Call it a hunch, I don't think you can anymore…" He whispered, the tension all gone from his demeanour. "I think you're as stuck here as we are. My guess? You just became a character too. This is, now, your story too…" His gaze became distant for a while, like he was lost in his thoughts. "Maybe you've always been! Maybe, someone else is writing this…" And he left, leaving me to wonder about what he said.

Maybe that's all we are…

An infinity of people writing wild stories about other's writing stories, and creating inumerous Universes…

Maybe that's what God is!

The Ultimate Fiction Writer!

I laugh at my own wild ideas and follow them inside.