Previously on The Horny Hapan Hour...

Jacen loves Tenel Ka… No, not that way!

And

Tenel Ka loves Cem… Yes, that way!

Season 1
Episode 5

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

There's nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All You Need Is Love/Lennon, McCartney

Royal Apartments,Hapan Embassy, Senate City, Coruscant
40 ABY
Ten Years After The Yuuzhan Vong War

Jacen gave up trying to fall asleep and threw back the blankets. He slipped on his house shoes, generously provided by the Hapan Embassy housekeeping staff, along with the incredibly expensive vine-silk pajamas, and made his way to the living room of Cem and Tenel Ka's suite of rooms.

He loved that they had designed their quarters on Coruscant based on their home at the Fountain Palace. A main living area with a kitchen and dining room surrounded by enough bedrooms for them, Talitha and her nanny, and a few guests. It made staying with them comforting and gave them a sense of living in a much smaller home. It was one of the many changes Cem had put into effect when he and Tenel Ka had gotten married. He felt it was ridiculous that they were separated from a kitchen, and that their friends and family stayed in rooms so far away while visiting. This layout made them feel more like normal people.

Jacen flopped down on one of the overstuffed couches and turned on the holoplayer. He channel surfed for a while, finally landing on one showing an old concert of Tahiri's, and smiled. He remembered that performance well.

His attention was drawn to the hall as he watched Tenel Ka make her way from her bedroom and into Talitha's. A moment later she returned to the hall and walked out toward Jacen.

"What are you doing up so late? Are you having trouble sleeping again?"

Jacen turned off the holo and smiled as she sat down next to him and placed her hand on his knee.

"Would you like me to make you some tea? I have that Chandrillian herb flavor you like."

He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her fingers. "No, thank you. I didn't disturb you with the holo did I?"

"No. I'm still undressing. Between removing my makeup, the crown, undoing my hair, putting away the gown… it takes forever."

Jacen took in his friend's appearance. The elaborate dress and make-up were off and she had changed into a pair of sleep pants and a tank top, but her hair was still coiled in an intricate design that was woven into and around a crown that Jacen imagined was worth more than some star systems. It was an interesting look, glamorous and casual at the same time. Somehow very Tenel Ka, the woman she had grown into anyway.

"You're the Queen Mother of Hapes. Don't you have dressers or ladies-in-waiting to do all that for you?"

"Amusing. And even if I allowed a fleet of servants to hover around to help me undress, I'd still have to be physically present while they took it all off me."

"You could have Cem do it."

"We tried that in the beginning… everything just ended up in a heap on the floor and I still had to pick it up later when I got up to wash my face and pry the headpiece out of my hair." Pointing up to her head she continued, "These things are more secure than most planetary treasuries. And he would get impatient with the fasteners on the dresses and start ripping the fabrics."

Jacen chuckled.

"Don't laugh. It was hell on my wardrobe budget. And then my seamstress would sit in the corner of my dressing room giving me these smug smiles while she mended the gowns, asking when we could expect an heir to the throne."

"Speaking of which… you're going to have another baby."

Tenel Ka beamed with happiness. "Yes… soon we will have a son." She laid her head back against the couch and smiled, her free hand immediately going to her belly and rubbing it.

"What did it take to finally convince him?"

Turning to look at Jacen, Tenel Ka grew serious. "I had to promise to give birth on Csilla."

Jacen let out a slow whistle. "How are you going to pull that off?"

"No one at court knows yet. Miraculously, the timing coincides with Jag and Noya's wedding, so we'll be on a 'family trip' before they think the baby should be born and then I'll have him delivered surgically by Chiss doctors after the ceremony."

"Ah. A controlled medical environment. I can see how that would help ease Cem's fears."

"Yes. Although I could have the same thing done at home. The truth is, even if Talitha had been born on Csilla I probably would have suffered the same fate. There was no way to predict that I would hemorrhage like that until it actually happened; all the indicators led the medics to believe that Talitha's birth would be a normal one. But this is what he asked and if it gives my husband peace of mind, how could I not agree?"

Jacen thought back to that terrible day that was supposed to have been so happy. He and Jag had arrived on Hapes to join Tenel Ka and Cem in awaiting the arrival of the princess. All had seemed perfectly normal. Even the day and a half of labor that Tenel Ka had endured did not alarm them. Then Cem had come out of the delivery room, face white with anguish, and told Jacen and Jag that for some reason Tenel Ka had begun to bleed uncontrollably right after the baby had been born. Talitha appeared fine, but the doctors were uncertain as to whether or not they could save their queen.

Before she could get herself into a healing trance Tenel Ka had slipped into a coma and then languished there for three full days. Cem, growing increasingly more despondent, held her hand, stroked her cheek, whispered to her, told her how much he loved and needed her, begged her to wake up, and at times wept. Nothing anyone said could persuade him to move; he'd insisted that he must be present at the moment she either woke up or died.

Jacen and Jag had alternated sitting in the med center nursery, rocking, feeding, and singing to Talitha. Neither man felt the baby should be left alone and quickly stepped up when Cem not only refused to see her but insisted he didn't want her in the room with him and Tenel Ka. Jag and Jacen were both sure that Cem was making a mistake he would eventually regret, but they agreed that they couldn't begin to comprehend the fear he was experiencing and they would wait until the crisis was over to take him to task for his choice. In the meantime, they saw it as their duty to fill in for the terrified father. Despite the cause, Jacen always cherished those hours with Talitha and was sure that they were the reason his bond with her was so intense.

Once his wife regained consciousness Cem had finally been persuaded to look at his daughter, and as it turned out, no one needed to berate him for neglecting the baby for the first few days of her life. His guilt was evident to all, but he had more than made up for it since by being an incredible father. Still, as much as he adored his child, the idea of risking Tenel Ka's life again had filled Cem with such horror that he had refused to even talk about another baby for years.

"Well, I'm sure that you'll be fine and like any true Corellian male he has to be thrilled by the prospect of having a son."

Tenel Ka smiled again as she gazed at her friend. "It is tempered joy, but yes, he is happy. I know that he wants this too."

Excitement suddenly filled her face, as though she had just realized something and she took Jacen's hand, still in hers and pulled it toward her abdomen. Slipping it just under the waistband of her pants, she held it right over her womb and looked at Jacen expectantly.

Realizing what she was doing, and adoring the gesture, Jacen relaxed his hand in her grasp, gently flexing his fingers over her skin as he closed his eyes and fell into the currents of the Force. It only took a moment to feel the tiny life within her and sensations of warmth and love filled him.

The small mind seemed to understand Jacen's call and tentatively opened himself up to the new presence. Jacen brushed the baby's consciousness, a small 'hello', and allowed his essence to caress the child for a few moments, amazed at the awareness and acceptance in the boy. Then Jacen felt the child reach out to him, opening himself up as much as his still developing brain would allow. It was almost like Tenel Ka's baby was happy to be meeting him and wanted him to know that. Jacen caressed him once more, the Force equivalent of a hug, before pulling away and leaving the child to nestle back into his mother's protection.

Jacen opened his eyes just as Tenel Ka opened hers and leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you."

Tenel Ka just continued to smile, the bliss evident on her face for a moment longer before a twinge of sadness marred her expression.

"I wish I could show him to Cem like that. I think it would ease a lot of his fear."

Jacen squeezed Tenel Ka's hand. There was really no other answer for what she had said.

"Now… will you please tell me what is troubling you?"

Jacen tried to feign innocence for a second and then laughed because he could tell by her scowl that she wasn't buying it. They'd been through too much together, over too many years, for him to bluff.

"No," he finally said. "But I appreciate your concern."

Just then Cem's voice could be heard from the bedroom.

"Teekahhh…"

The two on the couch chuckled then Tenel Ka answered back, "I'll be just a moment, love."

"Should I apologize for foisting him on you?"

Tenel Ka sighed contentedly before turning her attention back to Jacen. "No, but back to you; you know that if you want to talk, I am always available?"

"Yes… and again, I appreciate it, but there isn't anything to talk about. I'm just a little off cycle from the travel and couldn't fall asleep."

Tenel Ka raised an eyebrow and Jacen spoke to reassure her.

"Really… there is nothing I need advice or council on and when there is you and Cem are always the first I turn to."

Tenel Ka nodded. "Very well."

Again, from down the hall, came Cem's salacious call, "Oh, Teekahh, I have something for you." It was clear to Jacen by the tone of his friend's voice why he was anxious for his wife to come back.

Tenel Ka shook her head then stood up. She stretched her arms straight up to the ceiling and allowed her head to fall back as she yawned before saying. "Honestly, one would think that after six years of marriage twice a day would suffice."

Jacen snorted. "Thanks for that over-share."

Tenel Ka grinned as she let her hands fall back to her sides and looked down at him, her eyes alight with mischief. "But who am I to complain?"

"Man, you guys are…" Jacen hesitated, not sure what to say.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'insatiable'." Then she shrugged her shoulders. "Fact. And I should go see to my husband or I will get no sleep tonight."

"And now we've hit way more information than I needed."

"I'm certain of it. But remember this…"

Tenel Ka grew serious again and bent over Jacen, her nose only a few centimeters from his, as she placed her hands on the sides of his face to force him to look her in the eyes while she said what she wanted him to hear.

"I was once certain that I would not know true love and you were the one who insisted that I would. I will be forever grateful to you for encouraging me…well," she rolled her eyes, "more like browbeating me… into believing that, and remaining patient. Now I need you to believe that it will happen for you as well. I know it's sometimes hard for you to see Cem and me together because you wonder where your other half is, but you must have faith that she is out there and you will eventually be together. I know in my heart that you will also have the happiness that Cem and I know."

Jacen turned his face into Tenel Ka's hand and kissed her palm and then nodded his head.

"Teeeeeeeeekkkkaaahhhhh…"

They both chuckled again and Jacen said, "You know it just occurred to me, your son will be a Dathomiri, Hapan, Corellian male."

Tenel Ka leaned back tentatively, "And?"

"He'll forever be a slave to his libido."

Tenel Ka shook her head, and then raised her eyebrows again in acknowledgement. "I suppose he'll have to marry a half-Hapan, half-Dathomiri woman then. No one else will be able to keep up with him."

Jacen grinned as Tenel Ka headed into the kitchen. Coming back out a moment later with a pitcher of water and a glass, she smiled and said, "I love you, Jacen. Sweet dreams."

"I love you too, honey. Goodnight."

Jacen snuggled back into the couch as Tenel Ka disappeared into her room and flicked the remote to turn the holoplayer back on.

Tahiri's concert was still playing.

Cem Fel watched his wife slip silently into their bedroom and took the opportunity to admire her. He was the first to admit that he was obsessed, and had been since the moment he had laid eyes on her. She was without question the most beautiful and passionate woman he had ever met and he found it endlessly amusing that the public's perception of her differed so greatly from the reality.

He continued to watch her as she placed the water pitcher and glass in her hands on the table beside her wardrobe. She leaned down to retrieve the ball gown on the floor and hung it up, taking the time to redo all the tiny fasteners and smooth the delicate fabric. He had always been impressed by how self-sufficient she was and at her insistence that they live, and teach Talitha to live, as ordinary an existence as possible. Their station permitted hundreds of servants and, truth be told, the three of them really never had to do anything if they didn't want to. However, Tenel Ka was certain that her years on Dathomir and at the Jedi Academy, in which she was expected to behave like everyone else - doing her own cleaning and laundry - were as valuable as any of her other training had been and wanted their daughter to have the same experience. Truth be told, the sight of Tenel Ka, Queen of sixty-three planets and the wealthiest women in the universe, up to her elbows in soap suds doing the dinner dishes really made Cem's heart race. But then again, he acknowledged… was there anything she did that didn't excite him?

Tenel Ka turned back to the dressing table and began to unpin and uncoil her hair and after some time finally removed the crown on her head and placed it on the table. From that angle Cem could see the slight bulge of her belly, where inside his son rested and grew. His heart ached with the fear that this child, so desperately wanted by Tenel Ka, could inflict as much damage to her body, simply by being born, as Talitha had. For as long as he lived Cem would never forget the gut wrenching fear of standing by and watching his wife nearly die after giving birth. Cem and Tenel Ka had only had two fights as long as they had known each other and whether or not to have a second child had been the bigger one. But after two years he could no longer deny her and had acquiesced. He prayed he would not be sorry because he knew that there was simply no way he could live without her.

"You are fearing a possibility that may not come to pass."

Tenel Ka's voice was soft and loving, but still held a certain amount of reproach.

Cem smiled. "Were you reading my mind, Teeka?"

"No, Beloved… I was reading your face."

Cem pulled the covers back. "Come here. I promised I'd rub your neck and shoulders when you finally got that silly hat off. And for your information, I'm trying really hard not to worry."

He watched his wife settle the water on her nightstand and then crawl up onto the bed beside him. Getting up on her knees she faced Cem and cupped his face in her hands. He felt her place her lips gently against his head in a sweet kiss.

"I know you are," she whispered to him.

Cem wrapped his arms around her and nestled his head into her chest and breathed her in and sighed. He held her like that for a few moments, happy to be quiet and alone, two things that he didn't think they got nearly enough of.

He sighed deeply and pulled back far enough to be able to kiss her gently on the lips then turned her around and helped her sit between his legs. He swept her hair over one shoulder and then grabbed the bottle of oil on his own nightstand and poured some into his hands. He rubbed them together to warm the liquid then began to work out the kinks in his wife's neck.

"So how big was this one?"

It was an old game of theirs, started when Talitha was a baby. They were stunned one night to realize that some of Tenel Ka's crowns and tiaras weighed more than their child. From then on they would refer to various pieces by their comparison to their daughter's growth. The Crown of State, the biggest of all the Hapan Crown Jewels, was a monstrosity that Tenel Ka swore weighed as much as Talitha had at 13 months old. Cem was both horrified and impressed, and the fact that his wife could not only walk around with that on her head but function in a royal social setting had impressed him beyond measure. They had never actually weighed any of the headdresses to determine if they were in fact right about their estimates; somehow, without ever discussing it, they both knew that would ruin the fun.

"Hmm… I'd say about three months. Not too bad. Ahhhh…you are so good to me." She slowly moved her head from side to side, moaning in enjoyment at the renewed ability to do so thanks to Cem's efforts.

"That is because I love you so much."

Tenel Ka turned and kissed his hand and then settled back into his massage. "I thought you might have fallen asleep when you did not call a fourth time."

"Are you making fun of your horny little husband?"

"Little is not an adjective I would use to describe you, but yes I was making fun of you."

"Can I help it if I missed you?"

"And do I want to know what you did to occupy yourself in my absence?"

"Actually… I was going over your speech. I wanted to change a couple of the things you're going to say about the trade agreements within the Consortium and how the model can be used elsewhere."

"Big changes?"

"No, I just tweaked the wording some… to make you sound smarter and more literate." Cem said and laughed as his wife pinched his leg.

"Hey… you started the teasing. What were you doing out there for so long anyway?"

"Jacen was out in the sitting room. We were talking."

"How is he?"

"Troubled, but he's still refusing to say why."

"Do you think it's about a woman?"

"I don't know, but you're going to love this; he was watching an old concert of Tahiri's when I walked out."

Cem's stopped massaging; suddenly excited that they might finally be on the way to figuring out what had been bothering Jacen. "Do you think he still has a crush on her?"

"I don't know. That was so long ago and she's been living with Tarkin for years."

Cem laughed. "I love how you say his name like you just bit into a sour winj fruit." He felt the sting of Tenel Ka slapping his leg for making fun of her again and laughed before resuming his massaging. "Did you ask him about his choice of entertainment?"

"No, but I told him that I was always available and he said if and when there is something to discuss we would be the first people he turned to."

"Hmm. If he still refuses to talk then there isn't anything we can do for him. Now anyway."

Cem decided he was finished talking about Jacen and allowed his hands to slide slowly down Tenel Ka's arms and back up again. Then he bent down and began to place light kisses on the back of her neck. He was tracing a path to her shoulder when she began to talk again, though he was pleased to note that her speech was slower and had that dreamy quality that told him that she was finding it hard to concentrate on much more than what his lips and hands were doing.

"I also told him.. it was his turn... to take his own advice..."

Cem kissed his way back up to his wife's ear and whispered in between kisses; "And what… was it… that he advised you?"

"To be patient. To not allow my advisors to choose a husband for me. That one day I would find the great love of my life and I would be glad I waited for him."

"Any ideas of who he could be?"

Cem pulled Tenel Ka back just enough so he could reach the front of her neck with his mouth and was sliding his hands around from her waist to the tops of her hip bones when she panted out; "I have… a very good idea. In fact… you should probably find some clothes and make yourself scarce… I expect him any minute."

Cem sat up abruptly and pushed Tenel Ka sidewise so she rolled off his lap and ended up on her stomach beside him. His reaction to her statement was met by delighted giggles as she pushed herself up onto her elbows.

Cem looked down at his laughing wife and shook his head. "You have a wicked sense of humor."

Reaching up to run her fingers along Cem's cheek she replied; "You seem to bring that out in me."

"Do I?"

"Fact."

Wiggling down the bed, Cem maneuvered them so they were lying on their sides, facing each other and then wrapped his arm around her and brought her still closer, slipping a leg in between hers. He leaned over and kissed her mouth, allowing his lips to caress hers gently then lightly flicking her lip with his tongue before pulling back and once again running his fingers up and down her arm. "I'd like to bring out a little more of your wicked side right now."

"What about my neck massage?"

"There are other parts of your body I want to rub."

Tenel Ka smiled and reached up, pulling Cem closer to her, she whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too, Teeka."

Next time on Fear and Love…

Just how did Cem and Tenel Ka wind up together?