"How the hell is it still raining?" Atton griped as he tightened the final screw of the Ebon Hawk's downed engine with his fingers. Once it was as tight as can be, Atton stepped back, biting his nail in pain, to inspect his work. It was finally done - he had fixed the ship.
The burst of pride in himself was quickly interrupted by the sound of a twig snapping behind him. In a swift move, Atton spun around and drew his blaster, readying himself to fight whatever beast bounded out of the jungle. Boma? Cannok? Maybe a maalraas? Instead, he saw Meetra step out of the brush, a small, dark-haired boy clutching her hand.
His stomach did a backflip at the sight of her. The moment he made eye contact, he didn't care if he seemed over eager - he needed to be close to her. Running as fast as his legs and the slick muddy ground would permit, Atton sprinted toward Meetra.
Meetra wanted to run into his arms, but was restrained by Tahl. Wanting to show him just how excited she was to see him, she smiled as wide as her lips would allow - her eyes welled with tears of joy involuntarily.
Finally, their bodies connected. Atton wrapped his arms around Meetra, nearly knocking her over and held her as close as he could - Meetra hugged him back with her free arm.
Before Atton could stop himself, placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed Meetra. It was the first kiss the two had shared since their fight. Despite her shock, Meetra wanted to keep going - it felt so right - but a squeeze of her hand brought her back to reality. Gently pushing Atton back a bit, she cleared her throat. "Atton, I'd like you to meet Tahl."
The tips of Atton's ears turned red as they always did when he was embarrassed - he'd been so excited by the sight of Meetra, he'd forgotten there was even a child in their presence. After mouthing, "sorry" at Meetra, he knelt down to be eye-to-eye with the little stranger clutching her hand.
"Tahl is it?" Atton smiled. "I'm Atton. Atton Rand. Pleased to meet you," he extended his hand to the boy to shake it. Tahl looked up at Meetra for assurance who nodded before flashing a huge smile at Atton. Several of his teeth were missing - one had fallen out just that morning. The boy took Atton's hand and shook it with all his strength.
"Wow. That's quite a grip you've got there," Atton chuckled. "How old are you, little man?" Tahl put his hand near Atton's face, displaying all five fingers. "Five? You're practically an adult!"
Bursting with excitement, Tahl nodded, then pointed at Meetra with his free hand. "That's my girlfriend," he stated with pride, earning a warm smile out of Meetra and a laugh from Atton. "She's pretty, right?"
Atton looked up at Meetra who was staring back at him. "Yeah. She's very pretty," he said in a soft, sweet tone that made Meetra blush. "You better treat her right, otherwise I'll have to steal her away from you," Atton smirked at Tahl who frowned at the thought.
Ruffling Tahl's hair, Atton pushed himself off the ground to stand tall. "So, uh, what's with the kid?" he whispered.
"We rescued his family from Onderon," she whispered back.
"I can see that, sweets," Atton laughed before he lowered his voice once more so their conversation would slip past Tahl's ears. "I was kind of wondering why. We've passed lots of families we didn't pick up. Why this one?"
Instead of answering, Meetra looked over her shoulder. As if on cue, Mandalore, Astridia and Gemma emerged from the thick. Dia had stolen Mandalore's helmet and was wearing it on her own head. The Mandalorian leader held her hand, trying to hide the silly grin on his face. With his other hand, he supported Gemma, who was using crutches to carry the majority of her weight.
Meetra looked back at Atton - he was standing in complete silence, staring directly at Gemma in disbelief. After a moment, he peeled his eyes away from his sister and looked at Meetra who simply nodded, wordlessly confirming his suspicions. As he turned his eyes back to his sister, Gemma looked up.
"Jaq? Jaq is that you?!"
The pilot ran to his sister, nearly slipping on a slick patch of mud. Ignoring the crutches, he scooped her into his arms, hugging her almost as tight as he had Meetra moments before. The pain Gemma had been feeling moments before was forgotten as Atton lifted her into the air, spinning his sister as he hugged her.
"I thought you'd died," Gemma cried as he lowered her to the ground. "I can't believe it's actually you," she whispered, touching his face.
As Atton looked at his sister, he noticed the leg brace. "What happened to you? Are you ok?"
"She saved me," Gemma motioned for Meetra to come closer. Hesitant to intrude on the family moment, Meetra slowly walked over, fulfilling Gemma's request. "I would've lost a lot more than my knee if it weren't for this beautiful, incredible, amazing woman," she smiled warmly at Meetra.
With glassy eyes, Atton turned his gaze to Meetra. Barely able to speak, he mouthed, "thank you," at Meetra, who nodded in return. A crack of thunder overhead reminded Atton of the trouble looming in the skies. "We should get you inside, crip," he smiled at his sister.
"Shut up," she laughed. "Just think Jaq, now we'll both have a nasty scar on our left knees. Even though mine isn't from a wookiee," she joked.
The comment made Atton's ears and cheeks turn red. Meetra opened her mouth slightly in confusion, remembering the boy in the river from so many years ago. Could it be?
"Let's get you inside, Gem," Atton picked up his sister once more to carry her into the Ebon Hawk. Meetra grabbed the fallen crutches before following behind the reunited siblings.
oo-oo
Several hours passed. In that time, Atton had been formally introduced to his niece and nephew - although he didn't believe in love at first sight, he made an exception when it came to those two. He was also introduced to Mandalore.
Mandalore kept coming into the cockpit, asking Gemma how she was doing, asking if she needed anything, even asking if the temperature in the ship was to her liking. It would've annoyed Atton if he hadn't been so incredibly happy. Besides, Gemma didn't seem to mind and smiled each time she saw him.
As Gemma and Atton tried to catch up on the lost years, the children grew restless. The days of traveling with little to no play had gotten to them. Since Gemma was in no condition to run around, Atton jumped at the opportunity to bond with his sister's children. He helped her to the ramp of the Ebon Hawk so she could watch the three of them play.
Gemma caught sight of Meetra walking away from adjusting her lightsaber's crystal. "Meetra, come over here, will you, sweetie?"
Placing her lightsaber back on the workbench for safe keeping, Meetra smiled as she walked toward Gemma. She was glad to have Gemma and the children on board. Their presence breathed a new life into the tired crew. Visas had carried Tahl around the ship on her shoulders as he swashbuckled with Bao-Dur, who built faux lightsabers for them to play with. Mira had braided Astridia's long hair and allowed the girl to play with her short red locks. The only non-droid member of the crew who didn't seem to be in lighter spirits was Kreia. However, Meetra swore she saw the semblance of a smile cross the old woman's wrinkled lips when Tahl offered her a flower.
Meetra took a seat on the ramp near Gemma, who was seated on a stool Mandalore had found for her. The two women looked out and watched Atton play with the children.
"He's great with kids," Meetra smiled.
"He sure is," Gemma nodded. "Not a doubt in my mind he'll make a great dad one day."
"If he stays with me, that day might never come," Meetra thought as she let a soft sigh pass her lips. Hearing the sigh, Gemma looked at her savior with a smile - she had misinterpreted the sigh and felt the need to say something.
"You know, he seems to care for you quite a bit." A heat rose into Meetra's cheeks as Gemma went on. "I swear, half of our conversations came back to you. 'Meetra this' and 'Meetra that'. I've never seen Jaq - or Atton, excuse me - like this. If you're a gambling woman, I'd say it'd be a pretty safe bet to wager your credits on the fact that he loves you."
The heat on Meetra's face intensified. A knot formed in her stomach. Taking a deep breath to collect herself, she looked out once more and saw Atton lying on his belly in the mud, allowing Dia to climb on top of him. He laughed loudly as Tahl joined his sister on his back before the two began tickling their uncle. A faint smile finding its way to her face, Meetra rested her head against the wall of the Ebon Hawk.
"I think it's safe to say you feel the same," Gemma said softly. With wide eyes, Meetra turned to look at Gemma. At this point, her face must've been a shade of purple. "Meetra," she laughed. "Loving someone is nothing to be ashamed of. Especially when they love you back."
"It's just -"
"You're scared," Gemma interrupted. "Believe me, I understand. When I married Jase, I was terrified."
"How did you know you loved him?" Meetra asked quietly.
"He made me feel weak at the knees," the raven haired woman smiled. "When I looked into his eyes, I saw a future. I knew that no matter what happened, no matter how rough things got, I wanted to be with him. I wanted to be his and I wanted him to be mine. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't always perfect. We had our rough patches and fights, but if anything, it made us stronger. It showed he cared."
Meetra looked back out at Atton - he was sitting on the ground, allowing his niece to place a flower behind his ear. Atton and Meetra's eyes connected - she smiled sheepishly when he winked at her before returning his concentration to his niece.
"You should tell him how you feel," Gemma urged her after witnessing the exchange. "I haven't been around you too long, but I've never seen two people more perfect for each other."
With a half-smile on her face, Meetra stood to hug Gemma who was still seated comfortably on her stool. "Go on," she whispered to Meetra. Without a moment's hesitation, Meetra ran down the ramp and began to play with Atton and the children. Her mind was made up - she was going to tell him how she felt as soon as she could.