It was a month before Leia returned. She knew the kids would be safe with Boba, and it would give him time to bond. She also knew that he would take bounties in the meantime, but wasn't worried about the kids. The farmhands would make sure they were cared for in their absence. There was also something new, but she was very apprehensive about telling him about it.

Fett was sitting outside, on a seat crafted of stone in the garden. Jaina was at his feet, and Jacen was sitting a few feet away. The hunter was reading them a story from a holobook. One his father once read to him, when he was little. Both children were fascinated.

Leia stood nearby for a time, behind the bounty hunter, just listening. It was a tale of the Mandalorians, written by a man soon after the fall of Jango as Mand'alor. It wasn't exactly a children's novel. But the kids liked it, and Boba's voice was almost soft while reading it.

Jacen caught sight of her, though, and jumped to his feet. "Mommy!" He ran over, followed soon by Jaina, to hug her legs. "Mommy's back!"

Boba looked over his shoulder with a little smile. "And how did you enjoy the story?"

He'd known she was there the whole time. Leia set her hands on her hips and gave him a playful little glare. Even without his armor, he seemed far too attentive to his surroundings. "I don't think it's something you should be telling five-year-olds, Boba."

His thumb gently slid over the switch to the holobook, turning it off, and he stood, turning towards her. "I was told the story when I was their age."

"They aren't you, love." She smiled, and hugged the kids.

"Boba wants us to learn as much as we can. He say the more we know, the better." Jaina grinned up at her mom.

Jacen snorted. "It was real violent. Like the one daddy told us 'bout the war."

"Your father told you stories about the war?"

"Told us 'bout how he saved you an' unca Luke. Lotsa shootin' in that too. Told us all 'bout bad man an' how he took daddy to Jabba." The child crossed his arms. "Bad man is evil. Hate bad man. Bad man sold daddy."

Jaina frowned. "Boba just doin' busy, bro."

Jacen hugged his mother's leg more tightly. "Dun call him that. Bad man dun deserve a name."

Leia frowned. "You'll need to get over that, Jacen. It's almost time to send you to the temple for training, you know. You can't be a Jedi if you hate anyone."

Boba moved over to them, sliding the holobook into his belt so he could hug Leia. "They take them young."

"Yeah. They found it's easier to train them if there's less that they have to un-learn first. Since they both tested Force-sensitive, the temple will take custody when they turn six."

Both the twins frowned, but Jacen was the one who spoke. "Dun wanna go. Wanna stay with mommy."

Leia frowned. "Oh, I know, honey. But you can't. Okay? You have to be trained. Don't you wanna be a Jedi like mommy and uncle Luke?"

Jaina frowned. "Boba says we have a 'sponsibility to do what's 'quired of us. I go. Dun wanna.. but… is what's right." She looked up at the hunter, looking for approval.

Boba smiled down at her and gave a nod. "That's right, little one."

Jacen huffed. "Why you listenin' to the bad man? Daddy wouldn' wan' us to."

"'Cuz he's right. Daddy wan' us to have own minds. Boba said I carry daddy with me 'slong as I do wha's right." She nodded once, sternly.

Leia had to laugh. She looked up at Fett. "You're already trying to give my kids a code of honor?"

"It will stand them in good stead in the future."

She couldn't argue. It was good that Jaina would do what she was asked to. She thought it was too soon to be giving the kids responsibility, but Fett was right. They could do with a code of ethics to follow. They would be taught the Jedi Code soon enough, after all. May as well get them used to it.

Jacen huffed and stormed off. "Never listen to bad man!" He went into his room, and both the adults frowned.

"He's as stubborn as his father.." Leia sighed, and ran a hand through her hair.

"Solo should not have taught them to hate. But I am certain the Jedi will break him of that."

Leia agreed with a simple nod, even as Jaina ran off after her brother.

"What is it?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The look on your face says you're hiding something from me. It is not a practice you generally adhere to." He smirked a little. "So what is it?"

She frowned up at him. "I hate that you can tell things like that, Boba." She sighed, and rubbed at her side a bit. "I.. I'm pregnant. I didn't know if you would like to hear that, after what happened with Ailyn."

Fett quirked a brow. "Leia, that's wonderful news." He chuckled a bit. "Oh, love. You worry far too much." He gave a light kiss to the top of her head. "Why would I not want to hear that I'm getting a second chance?"

"What if something happens, though? What if I lose the child?" She hugged at him and sighed. "You've been through enough as it is."

"Why don't we worry about that if it does happen, instead of worrying about it now? You'll just cause yourself undue stress." He gently held her chin, and pet her cheek with his thumb. "I'm happy with this news, Leia."

Leia smiled up at him, and nodded gently. He always knew what to say. "Did you take a job while I was gone?"

"Just one. I was only gone a few days."

"We should think of what to name this child." It was a Hell of a nonsequitor.

Boba quirked a brow at her. "So soon?"

"Why not?"

He gave a light shrug. "If you insist. I've no idea what to name a girl, though."

"Why not Padmé, after my mother?"

He gave a nod. "Sure. And a boy.. perhaps Anakin, after your father?"

"Hey, let's be fair. Name him Jango after your dad. Girl after my family.. boy after yours?"

Fett frowned a little. "Anakin was my friend, Leia. I think it would suit a boy."

Leia glared at him a bit. "Jango was a man of honor. My dad fell to the dark side."

"He got better. Anakin should be made to be a name of honor."

"..Jango."

"Anakin."

"Jango."

"Anakin."

"Jango-Anakin?" Leia grinned up at him.

"Anakin-Jango." Fett grinned back.

She gave a humph. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Yes."

"Fine.. Anakin-Jango it is. If it's a boy. A girl will be Padmé. But don't blame me when he gets mad by being called 'Ani.'"

"He'll be used to it, since I'll call him An'ika." Fett smiled at her playfully.

"An'ika?"

"'Ika means 'little,' and is an affectionate additive."

"Your father teach you that?"

"Yes. He called me Bob'ika." A soft chuckle emitted from the hunter. "In private times."

"Aw.. that's adorable. I like it. An'ika. And Pad'ika, then, hm?"

"Yes."

Leia gave a giggle. "Alright, Boba. At least we have the names already picked out." She leaned on him gently, just enjoying this for now.

"We should go inside. I'm sure the children will want dinner."

"You haven't fed them yet? You're mad." She grinned, and walked into the small home.

"I have a very specific meal time set for them. They will be made to follow a very strict curriculum when they arrive at the Jedi temple. May as well get them used to a schedule now." He smirked a little. "And it's always valuable to have a set plan for some things. Peace is found in certainty, after all."

"You have a strange view on the galaxy, you know that?"

"You are not the first to say so."

Leia rolled her eyes and went inside to help him make dinner for them all.

"Boba, I do think you've grown a soft spot for them." Jango's voice sounded amused.

Boba gently tucked a very worn-out Jaina into bed. Jacen had been far too stubborn to play her game, since she'd made Boba play with them. Leia had just laughed the whole time. "Probably." He gently moved the girl's hair from her face, then went out to the main room, followed by his father's spirit.

"Are you not worried?"

"I am. But I will be here for them this time." He sat down on his sofa, and leaned back, staring up at his father. "Like you were for me."

Jango looked down at him, one brow quirked. "In one fell swoop, you got yourself a bit larger of a family than we had, Boba."

He grinned back at his elder. "Yes. I don't mind."

"Oh?"

"They'll be off to the temple soon enough. I certainly don't have to worry about them among the Jedi. Adopted Fetts or not."

Jango chuckled. "There is that." He sat beside his son. "I wish I could be here with you to watch them all grow up."

"You will always be with us, father."

"I meant in a more.. physical sense, Boba."

Boba took this in for a moment, then nodded once, frowning. "I wish that also." He nestled further into the cushion, staring at the wall. "There are many days I wish you would not have died. That I could grow to adulthood under your wing. That I did not have to forge my path on my own."

Jango frowned deeply. "You survived everything that's been thrown at you, Boba. Including losing me. I can't begin to imagine how difficult that must have been. I was taken in by Jaster when I lost my parents. But you.. you had no one. For that, I am sorry."

"It made me who I am, I suppose."

"Yes, I suppose it did. Your reputation is even grander than mine."

Boba smirked. "Indeed."

Jango faded away as Leia entered the room. "I hope you aren't talking with yourself, dear. Are you coming to bed?"

Boba smirked a little at his wife. "And what if I was?" He got to his feet gracefully, despite a bit of complaint from his knees. Bounty hunting wasn't easy on the body, no matter how in-shape one believed they were in. His was no different. Old wounds nagged at almost every inch. The knees were just the worst of it all. Running, crawling, rolling, and landing on them many times over hadn't helped.

"I'd say you were crazy, but I think we've covered that already." She sighed. "You can't be sane and be a bounty hunter, I think."

"Sanity is a matter of opinion, dear." He wrapped an arm around her, and gave a tight squeeze. Not too long, so he wouldn't hurt her. It was hard to resist a grin when she gave an 'oof.'

"Is it, now?"

"I do not see myself as crazy. No more than a Jedi believes themselves crazy, though many would argue that fact. In many corners of the galaxy, beings see the Jedi as idealistic, and that they run readily into battle to protect such ideals as completely insane." He shrugged a bit. "In my opinion, the definition of insanity is the inability to accept the reality around you. If anything, I am a realist."

Leia peered up at him with a studying gaze for several moments. "Realist, hm?"

"Yes."

She shook her head up at him, and pulled him towards the bedroom. "I think reality has left you a bit scarred."

Boba allowed her to pull him along. He could keep his ground, if he so chose. But even a man like Boba Fett knew better than to argue with the wife. Even if he won, he would lose. "How so?"

"I barely see you laugh, Boba. Your face is always so flat and stoic. Sure, you smile and show a bit more emotion when you're around us. But outside this home, you're the same man I met. Cold. Closed off. Even when you're here, you only speak as much as you think is necessary. You find so very little in life amusing."

He quirked a brow at her as he took a sitting position on the bed, still gently holding onto her hand. "I suppose when your life is like mine, you grow a little cold to everything outside yourself. Trust is a commodity I cannot often afford to give."

"You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

She slid into his lap, smirking up at him. "Then why don't I see that smile of yours more?"

He gave a soft chuckle. "I'm afraid the answer is 'because it's me,' love. It's simply how I am. Life has been hard to me, so I hardened myself against it. Revealing emotion in my expression is.. difficult."

She frowned up at him. "Hardened like your armor, Boba.. but you don't need to be like that around your family. Around us."

"You see more of what emotions I have left than anyone else, Leia."

"What do you mean?" Leia frowned up at him.

"When my father died, my entire world came crashing down around me. He was all I had. The only safety and surety there ever was. When he died, I had to steel myself to survive. And this is simply what I am now. It has been better, since I could speak with his spirit." He shrugged lightly. "But.. when we wear a mask for too long, sometimes we forget who we were beneath it."

"Did you forget who you were?"

"Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that I forgot what true happiness feels like, or how to show people what I feel. After all, revealing emotion in my line of work can be dangerous."

"I guess I can understand that. I love you, Boba Fett. Stoic expression and all." She laid a soft kiss onto his chin. "I just wish you could be more open when you're not on the job."

"I am."

"I mean more than you are, dear."

Fett gave this some thought, his dark brows drawing together. "I will try."

Leia seemed a bit shocked. "You will?"

"Yes. I have no intention of repeating my mistake with Sintas. If it hurts you that I have difficulty revealing my emotions, then I will try to rectify the problem. But I cannot assure success. I have had to close off my emotions for so long.. I'm not sure I can be any different than I have become."

"Boba.. I'm not going to force you to change just for me. That would be wrong." She sighed. "It would just be nice. I like your smile."

He quirked a brow, and gave her forehead a gentle kiss. "I know."

Concord Dawn. She remembered this hovel, this home she had shared once with her mother. It belonged now to her father, she knew. That man who had left her and her mother behind. Who had forgotten all about them, and built himself an empire of death and money. She watched now, through her macrobinoculars, scowling at the armor-clad figure kissing his new wife goodbye. That woman, she had learned, was a Republic senator. Killing her or the children would hurt her father more, but it would bring a great deal of attention to herself. Attention she didn't need. But she wanted revenge on that man more than anything, and she would have it.

Ailyn Vel would kill her father. She would kill Boba Fett, and he would know her face as he lie bleeding.

She watched him slide that familiar helmet over his head, and went back to her ship. She would follow Slave I at a discreet distance. She knew the scanners on that ship would pick her up if she wasn't careful. Even with her jamming devices, she knew Fett had his ways of telling when he was being followed. She could only hope he didn't expect what she had in mind.

Ailyn had arranged the bounty he was on. It was a trap, and she would easily be able to spring it on him. She would see him dead by the end of the week.

The thought brought an evil smirk to her caramel-tinted features. She was much smoother-skinned than her father, taking more after her mother. But still, she could see him in her reflection, and it disgusted her. Those sharpened-angle brows, a certain power to her chin, the dark brown of her eyes, and that small tint of his skin in hers. How she hated him, and hated seeing his features in her face. Soon, it would be over. Soon, she would be free of his shadow.

Boba Fett's ship landed on Rinn without detection, as requested. He took his swoop out to the remote outcropping where his information told him his target was hiding. This certainly wasn't his first visit to Rinn, but he had rarely come here to fulfill a contract. It seemed a little strange, also, just how easy it was to find this target of his. This all set the hunter on edge.

Watch out for things that go too well. Boba remembered that part of his father's code the most. It was, by far, one of the most useful of the precepts. A wise lesson. He knew to be cautious. To approach this all as a trap, which it probably was. The Force, it seemed, agreed with his initial assessment. The vibration of warning came to him just in time to avoid a blaster bolt, veering his swoop to the right, and leaping from it while returning fire.

Sparks fell, telling him it was only a drone. There were probably more. He had the sudden feeling that the entire thing was a setup, and that the target did not even exist. It was likely the Force telling him this, and he'd learned to trust it. But why? Who would drag him all the way out here just to taunt him with a simple drone?

It wasn't long before he found out.

Three assassin droids closed in on him from three directions, and a black-clad female, face hidden by a sleek wide-visor helmet, approaching from the fourth. It was, as he'd suspected, a trap. But they obviously had no idea of his capabilities.

"One girl, and three droids? Is that all?"

"There are thirty more droids waiting just beyond the range of your helmet's scanners. You're surrounded, Fett. Right into my trap. Predictable."

This girl had no idea who she was dealing with, obviously. Thirty-three droids wasn't enough to stop him from escaping such a crude trap. He raised his rifle, and quickly shot the three droids in the immediate vicinity.

The black-clad female screamed an order for the others to close in and attack, but they were too far away. Fett's scanners were far too sensitive to have them too close. She'd only been able to afford jammers for the three with her. So she wasn't surprised when Fett jumped back on the swoop, and fled.

Better to drop his losses, she supposed. But she had a trap for that, too. She'd expected him to do this much. One hand rose up to activate her trap. Simple, but effective. Just a small shield wall, high enough to take out the swoop. She then ambled over to Fett, who was flung from the swoop, but somehow landed on his feet after a quick tuck-and-roll. But such a maneuver, she knew, would also disable his jetpack.

Fett glared through his visor. Systems were down all over his armor. Some were rebooting, but others would require repairs. The connection to his pack had been all but severed. Activating it would be impossible. He raised his rifle to take out four approaching droids, then shot at the female. She expertly avoided his shots, and hid behind a tree.

The other droids closed in, and Fett prepared himself. He aimed his blaster at the droids, and began to take each approaching form out in quick succession. Other droids started returning fire, along with the girl, and he had to leap out of the way. He rolled, and perched on his knees as he fired into another set of incoming droids.

Everything turned to chaos. Blaster fire sprang up all around him quickly, and even with his new Jedi reflexes, it was difficult to avoid all of the incoming fire. He took a shot to his left shoulder, and another to the side of his right leg. Yet another ricocheted off his stomach plate, leaving another score mark for the records.

All of the droids were scrap after a while, and Fett's blaster was now held at the visor of his opponent. Hers was shoved against his left chest plate, just over his heart.

"At this range, my blaster will pierce your armor, Fett."

"Likewise."

"Yeah. But one of us doesn't-" She was cut off by a dull sound from below, and a sharp pain in her shin. "D—dart….?" She fell to the ground, unconscious before she could pull the trigger.

"One of us knows how to fire first." Fett said with a dull tone, and slung the blaster back over his shoulder. He kicked the girl's blaster away from her, and knelt down to inspect the one trying to kill him. He wondered who it was. He had many enemies, but not many of them were female. It was a curiosity. And one he could afford. The toxin in his knee-pad dart would keep even himself unconscious for a few hours.

He knelt down to the body of the girl, and removed all of her weaponry before proceeding to slide her helmet off. What he saw left him in somewhat of a shock. The resemblance.. not of him, no. He barely noticed his own features in the girl. But Sintas…

"..Ailyn…" His voice held the edge of sadness, but he was mostly just amazed and somewhat startled. He had been told of the incident at the hovel. There had been many repairs he'd had to make to it before it had been livable again. Ailyn and Sintas were supposed to be dead. But there was no mistaking that face. She seemed so peaceful. But a few scars told him she'd seen her share of hardship.

Fett didn't know why Ailyn had chosen to hunt him down, but he planned to ask when she awoke. He took her back to the Slave, along with her gear. For now, he would set her in one of the holding cages. For all he knew, this girl could be a fake. His father had been friends with a changeling, and he'd heard about Obi-Wan Kenobi posing as an inmate in the very prison he'd been in when he was younger. Face-shifting was not unheard of.

For now, he would wait, patiently watching her from behind his visor.

Ailyn woke, and the first thing she saw was that overly-familiar helmet. Then the bars of the cage. She hissed, realizing she was a captive of her father. This was certainly not how she'd envisioned her revenge.

"I will give you one chance to tell me who you are, and why you tried to kill me. If I believe for a moment that I'm getting a false answer, I will kill you." Fett's voice was flat and calm.

"Can't even recognize your own flesh and blood now? Figures. You didn't exactly win Father of the Year." Ailyn spat at him, her dark eyes narrowing.

Boba slid his helmet off, and moved in closer to the cage. "It's really you."

It was the first time she'd seen his face since she was very little. There were scars over it, and she remarked on how much older he looked. More refined, yet also crueler. There was little emotion spread over that caramel skin of his. Of course, Boba had been a much younger man the last time she'd seen him. Barely out of being a teenager himself. A little younger than she was now, in fact. She only glared at him. "You sound surprised."

"Indeed I am. I heard you and your mother died in the explosion."

"We almost did. No thanks to you. Did you even come looking for us? Did you care enough to see if the rumor was true? No. You just forgot about us. Left us to rot. Mother is dead because of you!"

Boba frowned, his helmet set off to the side as he deactivated the electric field on the cage, and slid his gloved hands around the bars so he could lean down to look her straight in the eye. "I thought you were dead, Ailyn. What was I supposed to do?"

"Come see if we really were dead, dad. Why didn't you?"

"Who says I didn't?"

Ailyn stared right back into his eyes. There was something there. Remorse? Something sad. Painful. Good. At least she could tear his heart out figuratively, if not literally. She was at a disadvantage, and she knew it. "We waited a few days to see if you'd come. When you didn't, we had to sneak aboard a transport. We were captured by some bad people. Mom died so I could escape. So I took on a few jobs, and I grew to hate you. I hated every time I heard your name. I hated your helmet, hated what I remembered of your face. I hated you. So I became a hunter so I could kill you. And it's no less than scum like you deserves!"

Fett listened to her rant with a gentle frown, and slowly sat on the floor across from her cage. "I waited a week, in case the ones who tried for you were still there. When I found no trace, I tracked down the ones who'd done it, and I slaughtered them. But all I knew was that you were gone, Ailyn. You and Sintas were dead. I figured you'd both been disintegrated in the blast."

"You were sorely mistaken."

"Obviously."

She glared daggers at the man in green armor across from her. "If I ever get out of this cage, I'll kill you. I'll kill you for what you did to us. I'll kill you for making my mom suffer like that!"

He sighed, and leaned back against the wall a bit. He was without the jetpack. It needed repairs anyway, so wearing it was pointless. "I understand your anger, Ailyn. But I cannot help what happened. You and your mother were in the crosshairs because of me. For that, I am sorry. Sintas asked me to leave. I left. And that cannot be changed now."

"Mom did?"

"Yes."

"Why would she do that?"

"She did not like that I killed the man who raped her. She said that a killer was no father, and told me to leave you both. I did what she said. That is all."

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you will. It's the truth."

"Why did you just leave, then? Why didn't you fight to stay?"

Fett frowned, looking away at the reflection of that particular memory. "I thought it was the right thing to do. I was young. Naïve. I loved you and your mother dearly. I didn't want to hurt her. But I knew I couldn't live the life she wanted for me. For us. So, I left. To save you both the pain that would have inevitably separated us anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"If I had stayed against her wished, Sintas would have come to hate me. Hate me for what I did, and what I do. Hate me for apparently not caring about her feelings. Hate me for hurting you the way I hurt her. I wanted to be there for you. But.. I didn't know how."

Ailyn frowned a bit. Fett seemed so soft now. The harsh face she'd seen at first had faded away to the pain he felt. Even Boba Fett could not keep such a mask forever, with emotions threatening to bring tears to his hardened eyes. "She's dead because of you, dad. I'll never forgive you. Never."

That hurt him more than anything else she could have said. His daughter was alive, after all this time. And she hated him. She wanted him dead. And perhaps he deserved that death. He struggled to reign in his emotions, and it took effort to stand, and to take his helmet in his hand. "That is your choice. I will drop you off on Coruscant."

"If you let me go, I swear to the spirits I'll hunt you down again. I will end that life of yours, father, for what you've done. You'll regret leaving us behind so casually!"

He turned a glare on her. "Do not mistake my actions for apathy, Ailyn. I do regret what has transpired. It pains me, knowing that you hate me so. But I cannot allow you to end my life, any more than I could allow any adversary to do so. My blood or not. If you come for me again, or my family, I will not be so merciful."

"You call this mercy?! You have me locked up like a common animal!"

"Anyone else would be dead." He spoke matter-of-factly, sliding his helmet back over his head. Ailyn could hate him, if she chose. He could not stop that now. But he had a new family. He had failed her, he knew this. He should have come sooner. Should have sought them out, just in case they were alive. But he'd assumed them as dead. Now she hated him. She wanted him dead. But death would not come so easily for him. Deserving or not, he had his family, and he had his pride. He would not fall to this child.

As he climbed into the cockpit, he felt himself slip into some strange feeling of complete cold towards his daughter. She wanted to harm him. She hated him. It saddened him at first, but now.. he didn't even care. He would kill her if she tried again. To protect his new family, he would destroy the old. His hand slid around the control of his ship. Whether it was right or wrong, he couldn't dwell on it.

Ailyn needed to get to Coruscant. He would give her a chance to calm down. To not come after him or his family again. She was his blood, but she was also his enemy.