R and R: Rest and Realization
a/n: Last chapter guys! There will be a short(ish) epilogue to follow too!


~Chapter 7~

Checking out of the Zarista resort proved to be as trying an experience as checking in. Kyp's cheeks began to ache with the effort to keep the smile on his face as Mr. Reyspachii shook his hand for the fifth time. The portly man implored them to return soon, offering to reserve any room they wished with little notice. Kyp thanked the man several times, promising to return soon, before quickly ushering his family out of the lobby. They piled into the spaceport shuttle and bid the Zarista Resort a final farewell.

The trip to the spaceport took nearly thirty minutes, the walk to the landing platform less than half that time. Their ship was waiting there, dormant for the last four days, which was exactly what the family had been expecting. The young man loitering around the perimeter of the platform was a surprise.

"Keno?"

The boy's head popped up and his pacing halted. Immediately his body became rigid, his back straight, shoulders squared."Hi Kaylin," he smiled. His dark eyes met Kyp's dead on before he nodded in greeting. "Master Durron. I came here to apologize."

"There's nothing to apologize—"

"Now, now," Kyp silenced his daughter. "Let's hear what the boy has to say." He turned his attention back to Nikeno, a look of stony resilience on his face. He fought back a smirk when the boy paled slightly; Kyp would never tire of intimidating young men who had the gall to interact with—let alone touch—his daughters.

"I take responsibility for what happened the other night. I should have never asked Kaylin to come out with my friends and I. If I had known she was doing so without your permission, I…well I don't approve, sir. And I promise that nothing happened between Kaylin and I other than…well other than what you saw. I-I just want you to know that."

Kyp stepped forward, pausing a few moments for dramatic effect, before clasping a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know. I'm glad you came to here, it shows real character. As for the other night," he threw a glance over his shoulder to find his daughters averting their eyes, "it's been taken care of. No need to worry."

Keno nodded. "Thank you, sir. Have a good flight home." He stepped aside and allowed the family to board their shuttle, nodding to each of the Durrons as they passed, save for the one girl that lingered behind.

"You didn't have to come here, you know," Kaylin smiled.

"I know, but I needed to apologize. It's my fault."

"No it's not. I'm the one that snuck out and dragged my sisters along." Kaylin shuffled awkwardly on her feet. She spared a glance over her shoulder when she heard the engine startup sequence begin. "I should probably go."

"Yeah, don't want to be left behind," he joked. Keno offered her his hand, "If you ever find yourself on Zeltros again, feel free to look me up. I'll have some Camby berries waiting."

Kaylin smiled sweetly, leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Nikeno's cheek. "I will. Bye, Keno."

Once the Redemption had cleared the atmosphere of Zeltros, Gennevi piloted the ship toward its exit vector and sat back in the pilot's chair. "Coordinates ready to go?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kyp reported from the copilot's chair. He reached over and laid his hand over his wife's. "Some vacation wasn't it?"

Gennevi laughed. "Lots of drama, a little romance," she smirked, "and some time spent in police custody. I wouldn't expect anything less from this family."

Kyp laughed softly before sobering. "Still, I had hoped for some quality time with the girls. When we drop them off at the Academy we won't see them again for at least a few months."

"I know," Gennevi said. "But we did get a few good memories out of the last few days."

"Such as?"

"Well, there was the trip to the nature reserve."

"Which involved a quick side trip to the first aid station," Kyp pointed out.

"And the girls learned a valuable lesson out of that," she said. "And it didn't ruin the day, so I will consider that a good memory."

He nodded his agreement before throwing a glance at the navicomputer.

"We've still got another minute until we're ready for hyperspace," Gennevi commented offhandedly.

Kyp shook his head in amusement. It would always amaze him how she knew these sorts of things without even looking at the data. I guess a quarter of a century spent piloting will do that for you.

"There was the dinner show too. That was interesting and at least somewhat educational."

"After which, our girls snuck out of the hotel, went to a bar, and got arrested." The words were barely out of his mouth when her fist connected with his bicep. "What was that for?"

"Stop being such a sour puss," his wife chastised. "You're starting to sound like a gungan."

Kyp's eyebrows knitted together. "Have you ever met a gungan?"

"Have you?" Kyp's hands lifted in resignation, earning a cheeky grin from Gennevi. "The point is you're focusing on the bad when you should be looking at the good. It was a fun vacation. We had some good times, and some bad, but overall it was a very enjoyable time."

"I suppose you're right," he lamented.

Gennevi took Kyp's hand in her own and kissed his knuckles. "It's about time you realize that. Now let's get this shuttle into hyperspace. I want to give the captain's quarters another inspection before we hit Ossus."

Kyp pulled her forward until their lips met in a hungry kiss. "You are insatiable."

"You love it."

"I really do," he laughed. Kyp manned the navicomputer while Gennevi piloted the ship into position for their first hyperspace jump. When the computer chimed, she pushed the hyperspace levers forward and closed her eyes against the brightness of the starlines. Even now, nearly twenty years after the accident that ended her military career, Gennevi's eyes were still particularly sensitive to changing light levels.

"We're set for the next three hours," she announced. "Care to join me in our quarters?" Their projected course would take them on a short hop to Tanaab before recalculating their jump along the Parlemian Trade Route back to Ossus.

"Perhaps later, my love. I'm going to spend some time with the girls before you lock me in our room for the duration of the trip," he said with a quick kiss to her temple. Exiting the cockpit, Kyp wandered back through the ship and found his daughters in the lounge gathered around the table, talking in hushed voices.

"What are you three plotting now?" he asked, sliding into the padded seats surrounding the table.

"No plotting," Layni said. "Just talking about the last few days."

Kaylin nodded. "We're really sorry about sneaking out, dad. We just wanted to have a little fun, but we should have just asked you and mom if we could go first."

"Even if we would have said no?"

After a slight pause, she nodded. "Yeah. I would have pitched a fit, but…well I would have listened."

Kyp nodded slowly. "I know you would have." He bit back a chuckle at the mirrored looks of shock on their faces. "Believe it or not, girls, I do know how you think. If your mother and I would have said no, Kaylin would have argued until she was blue in the face before going back to your room. Then she would have tried to talk the two of you into doing something stupid, like sneaking out." He paused to savor the awkward tension before looking to his oldest. "Layni would have immediately pointed out the amount of trouble you would be getting into if you did sneak out. You two," he nodded to Cora and Kaylin sitting across the table from him, "would have argued your case valiantly, but eventually you would have seen the logic of her arguments and given up. Does that sound about right?"

The girls looked at each other sheepishly. "Probably," Cora admitted.

"I have to tell you that Layni was the first to agree though," Kaylin pointed out.

Their father's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

The girl in question blushed and dropped her eyes. "Yeah. I…well I wanted to go out and hang out with people our own age."

Kyp shook his head and chuckled. "And I thought you were the good one. Your sisters have corrupted you far too much."

"Hey!" Cora cried indignantly.

"Thanks," Kaylin smirked.

"I should be used to it by now," Kyp sat back in his seat and smiled. "You guys are always disobeying me."

"How so?" Layni asked.

"I told you girls once that you were never allowed to grow up."

"You did?" Layni asked.

Kyp nodded. "You weren't even a year old yet and your mother had to go to Kuat for a few days so she left me in charge."

"Seriously? And we all lived through it? Shocking."

Kyp reached over and smacked his youngest upside the head. "Yes, smart alec. I had a little help, but I did most of the heavy lifting."

Cora nodded, a smirk spreading across her face. "You pawned us off on someone didn't you?"

"No—"

"More than likely several someones," Kaylin added. "So who did you get to babysit us when mom left you in charge?"

"That's not important. The point is that I strictly forbade you guys from ever growing up past the age of eleven and once again you defied me."

"Are we going to be punished for that one too?" Layni asked. Try as she might, the oldest triplet was unable to keep the smile off her face.

"Of course. Your punishment will be to make lunch while your mother and I sit and relax."

The girls grumbled as they climbed to their feet and headed toward the galley. He could hear them talking amongst themselves, debating what to cook , and laughing. The sound was music to Kyp's ears and sent his mind reeling. He wasn't normally a nostalgic guy, mostly because he didn't have that many fond memories to look back on, but his girls tended to bring out that side of him. He could remember even the smallest of moments of their lives, and while each of those memories held a special place in his heart none was more exceptional than the time he learned that his life was going to change dramatically…

They lay there basking in quiet post-coital bliss when Gennevi started laughing. Kyp looked down at the blonde head resting against his chest.

"Is something funny to you, Colonel Lassiter?"

Gennevi raised her head and pressed a kiss to his chin. "I was just thinking."

"About something funny?"

"Sort of. I was just imagining everyone's reactions."

If possible Kyp was even more confused. "Reactions to what?"

"When I tell them I'm retiring. I'm sure at least a few people will be saddened by the news."

Kyp tightened his hold on her, pulling her body closer to his own beneath the covers of her bed. "Luckily you still have a year before that happens. Start dropping hints, it'll lessen the blow."

"I don't think I'm going to wait a whole year."

Kyp lifted his head and looked down at her. Her teeth were gnawing into her bottom lip, a quirk that he knew meant she was nervous about something. "Gennevi? Why aren't you taking the whole year?"

"Well I don't want to be on this cruiser with a newborn."

Kyp's entire body, which had previously been limp with sated exhaustion, now tensed. "Why uh…why would there be a baby on the Trucemaker?"

Leaning up on her elbow, Gennevi pierced her lover with an intent gaze. "Because, Kyp Durron, in a matter of twenty-seven weeks—give or take—I will be having a baby. We will be having a baby."

Kyp's eyes became the size of saucers. "Baby? A baby…you're having…w-we're having a baby?" His heart began to race. "I think I need to lie down."

"Kyp, you are laying down."

He blinked a few times and looked around as if just realizing that he was in fact horizontal. "Oh. Right, I knew that." The moment stretched well beyond its limits with only the white noise of the ship filling the silence.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just…I need a moment." His head dropped back against the pillow. "How did this happen?"

This time Gennevi's laugh was loud and heartfelt. "They didn't teach you that at the Jedi Academy?"

"That's not what I meant. I just never thought we would—or could—get pregnant."

She shrugged, laying her head back onto his chest. The sound of his heart beating wildly in her ear was one of the most soothing sounds Gennevi could think of. "Sometimes this galaxy works in mysterious ways."

"Why are you so calm?"

Gennevi shrugged. "I've had six weeks to get used to the idea."

"You've known for six weeks and you're just telling me now?"

She smacked his arm playfully. "I didn't think this was something that should be divulged via holonet transmission. I was really hoping we would be able to see each other before I, you know, started to show."

"That probably would have killed me."

"I know, which is why I was relieved to hear you would be visiting. I thought this way was better."

"Much better." He placed a kiss to the top of her head. "So we're having a baby, huh?"

Kyp shook his head remembering how shocked he had been that night; though it paled in comparison to the shock they received the following day when, during an impromptu sickbay visit, the Emdee droid informed them that there was not one heartbeat but three. Triplets. After that his life had been a whirlwind of craziness; Gennevi's retirement from the GA military, a quickly put together wedding, apartment hunting on Coruscant, and readying for their bundles of joy. Then nearly six months after receiving the surprise of their lives, Kyp and Gennevi welcomed their girls to the galaxy. And they'd never looked back.

"You look like you're a thousand light years away."

Kyp snapped out of his reverie as his wife slid onto the couch next to him and leaned against his body. He threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"About how incredibly lucky I am and wondering what I did to deserve such an amazing life."

Gennevi tilted her head up and kissed him softly. "You are you. That's more than enough."