"What did you say?" Jaina asked.

"Nothing," Brodey replied, shaking his head. "So, feeling any better?"

"A little. At least I don't feel so sick and dizzy anymore," She said with a sigh.

"That's good to hear. You're still not going anywhere until you can only see one of me," He quipped with a wink.

"Fair enough. So, what do you think we should do to pass the time?"

"Pin the tail on the gundark?" Brodey suggested after a long pause.

"You're quite the joker, aren't you?" Jaina laughed hoarsely as she handed the glass of water back to Brodey. "I think you should tell me secrets about yourself that I'm not going to remember in the morning!"

"All right, I'll let you in on a few of them," He said abruptly, peaking her interest. "I'm the crown prince of the entire galaxy that I came from. I've also been a male model, caused the deaths of at least as many people as Kyp, and have a hoard of bounty hunters out looking for me."

Jaina stared at him after he'd finished, looking awestruck from what she'd just heard tumble out of his mouth. Then she busted out laughing, hiccupped loudly, and then laughed and hiccupped in conjunction.

"You have a good sense of - hic - humor, Narundi. I like that."

"I aim to please," Brodey said in a dignified tone, showing her as much of a bow as he could while seated. He smiled inwardly to himself since he knew that everything he'd told her was indeed the truth. She just found it all too ridiculous to believe.

"If you don't mind too much we could talk about something more important than the sordid details of my past," He suggested, smiling wryly.

"Oh? And what – hic – could you possibly have in mind?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"How about you tell me why you found it necessary to get so wasted."

Jaina stared at him coldly, almost defiantly. He could sense the Solo stubbornness rolling off of her in waves and he imagined what looked like a durasteel wall being erected between them.

"I already told you, Narundi. Jag acted like a jerk and I got angry," Jaina said abruptly. "There's really not that much else I can say on the matter."

"All right. I understand all that," Brodey said, pursing his lips and nodding in agreement. "Why do you feel you need to beat yourself up twice over this?"

"I don't follow you," She retorted, her gaze suddenly straying away from him and in the corners of her eyes he could see new moisture beginning to pool. He instinctively reached out with his hand and gently turned her face back in his direction. Tears sparkled in her eyes and she exuded an agony that he'd never encountered before from Jaina. It hit him with an overwhelming force, causing him to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. Somewhere deep inside him was the reasoning that maybe if he smothered her with compassion he could quench the flames of pain that burned from the depths of her soul.

He held her close for what seemed like forever, feeling her sobs ebb and flow like the tide. Finally they subsided, and he thought she was asleep. Brodey looked down only to have a pair of caramel eyes snap up to look at him.

"You know, you can always come talk to Kyp or me if anything bothers you," He said softly, unconsciously stroking her hair. "I can't speak for Kyp, but I'll always be willing to listen to whatever you have to say. I know what it's like to have to hold everything in, and sometimes it's healthy to talk it all out."

"Yeah," She said, finally separating from his hug and leaning back against the wall. "I guess what I'm most upset about is how Jag broke his promise to me. He said he wasn't going away. He promised. Now he's gone, and – " Jaina sniffed, her voice cracking. She hung her head, propping it up on her knees.

"And what?" He asked as he reached out to touch her hand.

"I don't think I can trust him anymore," She whimpered quietly, tears rolling down the contour of her cheeks.

"Don't say that. You might actually come to believe it," He said seriously. "As far as I'm aware, this is Jag's first mistake in your relationship. I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to him being male."

"I wish I could just do that and everything would be fine," Jaina snorted. "But I feel so betrayed."

"I know you feel betrayed, and I fully understand. I just think you should realize that Jag still loves you and didn't mean to hurt you."

"I really want to believe you. I just can't see how the Jag I fell in love with would forget to tell me about something so important," Jaina argued.

"He made a mistake. Either that or he knew you'd follow him there if he told you about it. He understands enough about duty to know that yours is right here with Twin Suns," Brodey speculated.

"He still could have left me a note," Jaina said, sulking.

"Jaina, for the last time, he's a male. We're by no means perfect," Brodey said with a smile.

"Yeah, you're probably right," She said, slightly smiling again.

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