It's been a long time, but update is posted. Enjoy
Kia walked to her appointment with Dr. Ozzin, ignoring the looks she got from people around her. She was far enough along in her pregnancy for her condition to be obvious, regardless of what she wore. At first, she felt slightly uncomfortable by the looks and feelings of those around her, but now she barely registered them at all.
Yes, she was a Jedi, but she was doing nothing wrong, so there was no need to feel uncomfortable. She and Jace had stopped trying to hide their relationship, but they were still being discreet, so it wasn't common knowledge they were together and that he was the father of her child. They only got subtle looks when they were out together. You simply didn't gawk as much when the supreme commander was present.
Jace had upheld his promise to attend all her appointments, but this one was an exception. He had a meeting with the chancellor and Kia had told him not to try to reschedule the meeting. She felt comfortable enough about Jace's commitment to the baby that one missed appointment was fine.
Besides, Kia was hoping to learn the gender of the baby, so she could tell Jace herself. His meeting couldn't have been better timed.
Dr. Ozzin was overly excited when Kia walked into her office. She was just as excited as Kia to learn the gender of the baby.
"Kia, come in, come in. Exciting day today." She said. "Hopefully, the baby will be in a good position."
Kia couldn't help but laugh. "I really hope so."
They walked to the back room and Kia took her place on the examination table. She knew the routine.
"I see you're missing your burlier half today." Ozzin commented, preparing her scanner.
Kia nodded. "He had a meeting with the chancellor. I insisted he didn't need to reschedule. I kinda want to surprise him with the gender of the baby myself, anyway."
"Sneaky, very sneaky, Master Jedi." Ozzin said.
Kia could tell the doctor was holding something back. Not necessarily a bad something, but she was definitely not saying everything she was thinking. Kia had an idea what the doctor was holding back, but she didn't say anything. Chances were, her suspicions would be confirmed shortly, anyway.
Ozzin started the scan and then returned to her control terminal to read the results.
"Hmm." She said quietly after a few minutes.
"Hmm good or hmm bad." Kia asked.
"Good, definitely good." Ozzin stood and walked over to address Kia properly. "It looks like you have more than one baby in there. You're having twins. To be honest, I had my suspicions two weeks ago, but I wanted to wait until I was totally sure before telling you. I'm picking up two very distinct, very strong heartbeats now. I'm sorry for the deception."
Kia smiled. "Not to worry, doc. I had my suspicions as well. I've started to sense the baby more clearly through the Force. I thought I was sensing more than one presence, but I didn't want to skew any of your conclusions."
"Congratulations, Kia."
Kia couldn't help her smile. She was happy to finally have confirmation for what she was sensing and an explanation for why she was bigger than she should have been this far into the pregnancy. "Thanks, Doc. Can you determine genders?"
Ozzin returned to her terminal. "That all depends on their positions today. Let me move the image around and see if I can tell."
Kia waited quietly as the doctor took her time and examined her screen closely. She jotted down several notes, then turned and smiled. "You're kids are being cooperative today. I can tell the sex of both babies. It looks like you're getting one of each. A boy and a girl." She returned to the exam table and lifted Kia's shirt to examine her stomach. "You'll have lots of news to tell the commander. I'll be standing by to resuscitate him, if he has some type of heart attack when he hears the news."
Kia laughed at her joke. "Jace has a sturdy heart, but I'll keep that in mind."
"Your scars look good, too. They're stretching nicely and there is no sign of tearing. Unfortunately, with twins, you'll get bigger than I was originally anticipating, so we might need to do some topical treatments as preventative measures, but I doubt you'll find anything I prescribe too horrible. Besides, it'll give the commander a reason to rub your belly. I've found the process helps fathers bond with their unborn child." Ozzin pulled Kia's shirt back down. "You can sit up now."
Kia sat, placing a protective hand on her stomach. She'd been doing the motion quite a bit more, since her belly had begun to become prominent.
"I do want to start seeing you every week, though. Just when I thought your pregnancy was complicated enough, you go throwing a new wrinkle into it. There is absolutely no way of telling when you'll deliver, now."
"Face it, doc, you haven't had a case this interesting in years."
Ozzin thought about it for a minute. "You're right. Just for my own curiosity, you can actually sense your unborn children?"
"Yes. Not so much before, but over the last couple of weeks, their presence in the Force has become more prominent. I'm not sure how normal all of this is, since I've never actually met any pregnant Jedi to answer my questions." Kia thought about Master Satele and how she'd have answers to her questions, but Kia figured the whole conversation would be more awkward than it was worth, considering they had been impregnated by the same man.
"Actually sensing your child while it's still in the womb...amazing. It must be a very humbling experience."
Kia sighed. "It is. I can't even describe it adequately to someone who hasn't experienced it."
Ozzin helped Kia get down from the table. "Well, keep doing what you're doing. So far, so good. I'm assuming your headaches are still under control?"
"Indeed they are and Jace is more than happy to be a part of the solution for that particular problem, though we've had to adjust a bit for my increased size." It turned out her new treatment for her headaches would last almost three full days, but she usually didn't need to wait until her headache returned, since they were making up for lost time since getting truly back together.
"I bet he is." She laughed. "Good luck with sharing the news with him and I'll see you next week. I'll have a lotion for the stomach sent over, once I have it formulated."
"Sounds good." Kia replied. She left the office and just stood outside the door for a few moments. She had a feeling she was carrying twins, but it was good to get confirmation. Now she just needed to tell Jace.
Jace sat quietly in the chancellor's office along with Director Trant, waiting for the chancellor to stop talking. The meeting had been to discuss upcoming missions for both the SIS and special forces, considering the war with the Empire was doomed to start all over again. Ultimately, the meeting was being used for the chancellor to feel more powerful. It turned out, without Saresh to hold his reins, Madon was a terrible politician and an even worse chancellor.
This meeting was Madon's last ditch effort to keep control. There was already legislation in the works to get him replaced, so anything he did was pretty much pointless. Everyone in the room knew this, but Madon was still the chancellor, so both Malcom and Trant felt obligated to sit through his meeting.
Thirty minutes after the meeting was supposed to end, Jace was getting impatient. He had missed Kia's doctors appointment for this garbage and was not in the mood to be held longer than necessary. Jace was supposed to go to lunch with Kia and was surprised she hadn't called to see what was keeping him. Pregnancy was making her lose quite a bit of her natural Jedi patience. With time, she was acting more and more like a woman and less like a Jedi.
"Everything looks good, but I want to go over the last three items again." Madon said, looking at a datapad on his desk.
Jace's holo began to chime and he answered it, regardless of the glare the chancellor gave him.
"Meeting running long, I see." Kia said calmly. If she was irritated, it was impossible to tell.
"Are you at my office?" Jace asked.
Kia nodded. "Lillian and I are discussing names."
This made Jace smile. They were supposed to find out the sex of the baby today, so names would probably be a topic of discussion over lunch, if indeed, she learned the gender. They could have learned on the previous appointment, but the baby was in a bad position. "I'll only be a few more minutes."
"Good. I'm starving."
The call ended and Jace turned back to the chancellor. Madon didn't look happy over the blatant interruption. "Let's wrap this up. I have other commitments."
"I think our future objectives are far more important than a lunch date." Madon replied snidely.
"Now you listen here." Jace said angrily, standing. "My other commitments are none of your concern. We've discussed everything happening on the horizon in sufficient enough detail. Any further questions or comments can be addressed at a later date." He wasn't asking.
"I could fire you." Madon threatened, tough his treat sounded weak.
Jace almost laughed.
"Actually, you can't." Chimed in Trant. "To remove a director level position or above requires not just the approval of the supreme chancellor, but also a majority vote from the senate."
Jace leaned in towards Madon, his hands on the chancellor's desk. "You think you have enough support in the senate to get me voted out?"
Madon tried to hold his ground, but the attitude lasted for only a few seconds. He knew full well the attitude of the senate and that he wasn't long for his position. Trying to fire Supreme Commander Malcom would only speed up his termination from office. Even after everything that had happened to the Republic, Malcom was still wildly popular and well liked, even by the senate.
Madon nodded. "Very well, but expect to have a long list of questions delivered to you."
"Fine by me. Are we dismissed?" Jace crossed his arms over his chest.
Madon nodded. The two men quietly left the room.
They were only a few steps outside the office when Trant chuckled. "That was well handled, Commander."
"I have no patience for men like him. Hopefully, in a few weeks we can vote someone into power who knows what they're doing and actually cares about the Republic." Jace said.
The two men walked quietly towards the lift. Once on the lift and alone, Trant turned to Malcom.
"So, the holo from Kia pretty much confirms my suspicions. You're romantically involved, correct?"
Jace smiled and nodded. "Yes. We've been together for over ten years, though we had to keep it quiet, for obvious reasons. After Ki was nearly killed during the attack by the Eternal Fleet, the council figured it out from my actions in the medcenter and my refusal to leave her side, but they've given their consent. We've only recently started making it public."
"I must be getting rusty." Trant said, sounding disappointed. "I've only suspected for just over a year."
Jace laughed and clapped a hand on the smaller man's shoulder. "No worries, Marcus. Jedi are good at keeping secrets. Don't be too hard on yourself." The turbolist stopped and the doors opened. "Why don't you stop by my office with me and say hi to Kia. I'm sure she'd love to see you."
"I have a few minutes." Trant said as they exited the elevator.
Halfway down the hall, Jace stopped and turned to Marcus. "Just so you're not shocked when we get there, Kia is pregnant. She's far enough along that she can't really hide it anymore."
Trant's eyes widened. "Pregnant? Not planned, I'm guessing?"
"No, it was definitely not planned. I don't think any Jedi ever plans to have kids. We're happy and Kia has the full support of the council. The Jedi can't really afford to shun members of their order anymore, with there being so few of them now." They continued to walk towards Jace's office. "It's just odd to think I'll be a new father at 65. Theron's my son, as you know, but I didn't have a hand in raising him. Satele never gave me an option. Kia wants me in the baby's life and her life."
"That's all good news. Congratulations."
"Thank-you, Marcus. This pregnancy is another reason I was so annoyed by Madon's meeting today. I missed a doctor's appointment for that nonsense. We were supposed to learn the sex of the baby."
They walked into Jace's office and found Kia seated in a chair that had been pulled over to Lillian's desk. They were chatting away when the men walked in.
"Finally." Kia said, standing. She walked up the Jace and gave him a quick peek on the lips. "It's not wise to make a pregnant woman wait for lunch, ya know."
Jace laughed, accepting the kiss Kia offered. "Sorry, couldn't be helped."
Kia turned to Trant. "It's good to see you, Marcus. It's been a while."
"You've been away from your duties for some time. Now I know why. Congratulations." He said, getting a hug from Kia. He marveled at how she was acting. There was really no sign of Kia the Jedi Master anywhere. She was simply a pregnant young woman.
"Thank-you."
"So, how was your appointment? Did you learn the baby's gender?" Jace asked. He wasn't one to openly show his emotions, but everyone in the room could tell he was excited.
"I did. Are you sure you want to know? You don't want to be surprised?" She joked, knowing full well they both wanted to know the sex before the birth.
Jace gave her a look she knew well.
Kia chuckled, raising her hands in the air, as if surrendering. "Okay, I'll tell you." She paused and smiled sweetly at him. "We're having a girl…" She said.
"Congratulations, Sir." Lillian said to her boss. She almost squealed. "That's wonderful news."
"...and a boy." Kia finished.
Jace was stunned into silence for a few seconds. The room was totally quiet.
"A girl... and a boy? Twins?" Jace asked after at least a full minute.
Kia nodded. "I thought I might be carrying twins by what I've been sensing through the Force, but I wanted to be sure before I said anything. Dr. Ozzin confirmed it."
Jace looked like he might need to sit down, but after a few seconds, he was able to compose himself. Marcus looked truly amused by the development. It wasn't often you got to see Jace Malcom thrown off his game.
"This is wonderful news." Marcus said, just as his holo started to beep. "If you'll excuse me, that is probably the person who's meeting I'm late for, thanks to the chancellor. Congratulations, both of you." He said as he left the room.
"Lillian, cancel everything for the rest of the day." Jace said.
"Of course, Sir." Lillian replied, pulling out a datapad. "I'm very happy for both of you. Enjoy your lunch."
Jace and Kia left the room, but once out in the hallway, he pulled her into a hug. "I can't believe it. Twins." He looked down at her, not caring whether they were being watched by everyone in the hall. "Are you ready for this."
Kia thought about the question for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, definitely."
"So am I." He said, releasing her. "Let's go get some lunch and celebrate."
Thanks for reading. To Be Continued...