I'd Miss You Still
Chapter 8
by obi's girl
Chapter 8, Post 1
"What?" Jag echoed, staring at Jaina in disbelief. He wasn't sure if she said that because he wanted to hear those words or if she really did feel a connection between them. He stopped stroking her back and became serious, "You love still me? Do you mean that?"
"Of course, I do," Jaina cried and turned to him fully, "How can I not love you Jag? If my love weren't so deep, I would still be dead and I wouldn't be here with you. I came back because it didn't feel right to leave you the way I did. We were just starting a life together...It wasn't fair to you, and I hated seeing you in pain. I love you, Jag. I can never deny that,"
Jag nodded, brushing his hand against her cheek softly, "But you still won't share a bed with me."
Jaina shrugged, "I won't because I'm not ready to but that doesn't mean I don't love you. You know I do and find you very attractive.." She was cut off as Jag suddenly bent down and kissed her.
"Please, don't say anything else. If you're not ready to take that step, that's fine. We still have four days to ourselves."
"You don't mind?" Jaina smiled wishfully.
He smiled, "I don't want to push you. If you don't feel comfortable moving that fast, I won't push you."
Jaina blushed, her still lingering, "Even after what I put you through on Borealis before we left?" she questioned, "You're still willing to wait for me?"
Jag shrugged, "From that experience, I have learned that I cannot push things with you," he smiled again, brushing her cheek, "I'll wait for you, Jaina Solo because I am so deeply in love with you. I'll wait for you." As Jaina was about to tiptoe up to kiss him, she backed away and gasped. "Jaina, what is it?"
"Three days from now is Tyria's funeral! I was going to give her eulogy and arrange the proceedings...And no one knows I'm gone," she rambled.
"That's not entirely true. My conspirators will take care of things," he reasoned and smiled cockeyed, "If you want on our third day here, we'll have a little ceremony for Tyria."
Jaina still wasn't comfortable with the idea but she knew, she couldn't break her promise to Jag on leave early and return to Borealis. They needed this time together to reconnect and especially, they were so much closer. Still lost in thought, Jag bent down and kissed Jaina, pulling her towards him again. She smiled at him as they parted and turned to the water, watching the sun set.
~~
"Valin," Cherith cried, waving him over. The boy smiled and rushed up to her as they both sat down in the booth, "Hope you don't mind, I was hungry and ordered some food for us but it's to go. Glad you could make it,"
Valin blushed, looking away from Cherith, "Me, too. So, how did practice go?"
She shrugged, "Okay, I guess. Don't be mad with me but I beat your father in a sparring match. But, if you want to be mad with someone, you can be mad at Kyp. I'd never handled a lightsaber before but it felt so natural in my hands, ya know? I was worried I'd get all the moves wrong and fall over myself, but I was really good. Did you see?"
"I did, you were awesome," he smiled, "And I saw my father before coming over here. He has no hard feelings or anything,"
Cherith smiled, fingering her glass of water, "That's good. So, what do you want to do?"
"Do?" Valin echoed.
"Yes, we're both teenagers Valin and as teenagers, it's impossible for us to stay put for more than 15 minutes and do nothing. So, what do you want to do after we eat? To be honest, I really haven't explored the base too much since I got here,"
Valin laughed, "Explore the base? Wouldn't you rather do more than explore? I mean, if we're gonna be normal teenagers and roam a military base unsupervised, we mine as well have some fun, right?"
Cherith giggled as their food arrived and raised her mug, "And fun we will have, friend." Valin smiled and clicked his mug with hers.
Tbc
Chapter 8, Post 2
Jaina squinted her eyes as she sat across from Jag in the field. This was day two of their little excursion, and now they were on a picnic for the afternoon and all around them, Jaina could feel the rich life of Naboo. She glanced at Jag before taking a bite of her food, which were small sandwiches Larissa and the other handmaiden's prepared for them.
"Do you think anyone's realized we're gone?" Jag asked, interrupting her thoughts. Jaina blushed and shrugged, looking at him.
She really hadn't thought about anyone noticing they were gone, or even realizing they weren't there but she supposed at some point, someone would. "I'm sure whoever you were planning our little getaway with, would blab we were gone if someone noticed we weren't there...You still won't tell me, will you?"
Jag nodded and smirked, "No, I won't," Jaina rolled her eyes and tried to search his mind using the Force for a name but he was blocking her. "And you can't even do that either,"
"You felt that?" she questioned.
"It's hard not to," he reasoned, "It's hard to ignore you, Jaina."
Jaina blushed again and put down her sandwich, playing with the grass instead, "Speaking of home, do you know our daughter asked Kyp Durron to be her Master?"
Jag looked at her incredulously before laughing, but Jaina only frowned and he stopped laughing, "Oh, you were serious!"
"It's not a joke, Jag. After I came back from our date, Kyp was there in the apartment with Cherith and they told me. I was originally against it because of Kyp's past, but I relented. She has a crush on him, ya know? I think it's because he was the first Jedi she met while we were in the hospital."
"I'm going to kill Kyp," Jag mused and shrugged, "But that was a day ago, and I didn't see Cherith at all before we left with the exception of breakfast at Uncle Wedge's."
Jaina frowned, picking at a piece of grass, "I'm not too worried but I thought I'd tell you because she's our daughter."
Jag smiled, lost in thought. One phrase, 'our daughter'.
What would their lives be like if Cherith didn't exist? They would probably still be close regardless but would they be lovers again? Jag huffed and picked up her hand, stroking her palm. Jaina flinched and looked down, pulling her hand away slightly.
"Sorry, Jaina," he muttered and looked away.
"No Jag," Jaina started, "Don't be sorry for wanting to be closer to me," She rested her hand on his again and smiled.
~~
Cherith couldn't stop giggling as she and Valin sat behind the crates in the bay, watching many of the Wraith Squadron members. The two of them had decided since the Wraith and Rogues were in a ongoing prank war, and were now at a stalemate, it was the perfect time to start the war up again. Actually, Valin filled her in on the rivalry between the two squadrons. Cherith smiled, looking at her partner in crime.
Finally, she stopped laughing as she concentrated as Valin pulled out a can of blue paint. Cherith glanced at Valin as he opened up the can. She smiled and raised the can, using the Force and moved it over the squadron members. Valin couldn't believe they were doing this but didn't do anything to stop her. Once the can was over the pilots' heads, Cherith pulled her hand back and the can dropped, covering the pilots in blue paint.
Valin couldn't contain his laughter as Wes Janson's hair filled with blue paint. He shook his head, mumbling a curse and then immediately left the bay, running back to his quarters.
"Oh, this is going to be too much fun," Cherith muttered as Valin pulled her from the bay.
~~
Jaina smiled as she walked beside Jag in the main marketplace, looking at the many trinkets. They'd returned to the villa briefly to check in with the handmaidens and give them their left over food from the picnic. Larissa wanted to change her into a different outfit for her trip to the market place but Jaina quickly left the room before she could grab another dress. Jaina knew she was just being helpful but she wasn't used to changing outfits every minute of the day.
"Oh wow," Jaina cried, catching sight of some jewelry. She held the necklace in her hand. It looked so native, well, not native but unlike anything else she'd seen. In fact, it didn't even seem like the jewelry was from Naboo but somewhere else. "This is beautiful. Where did it come from?"
"Oh, that one. No one really knows, it's just floated around a lot," the merchant said and shrugged, "Would you like to buy it, m'lady?" Before Jaina could say anything, Jag moved beside her and Jaina showed him the necklace.
"You said this necklace has moved around a lot?" Jag asked, "Ever meet the original owner?"
The merchant shrugged, "No," and smiled, "Would you like to buy it for your beautiful wife?"
Jag was about to object but Jaina smiled wishfully, and he grabbed some credits from his pocket, "Do you accept Republic credits?"
"This isn't the Outer Rim, friend," the man smiled. Jag smiled and handed him 9 credits. "Thank you, sir. Have a nice day."
Jaina thanked the merchant as she pulled up her hair and set the necklace around her neck. She set it backwards first and clipped it together, and then moved it around. She looked at Jag and smiled, "How do I look?"
"Just beautiful, m'lady," Jag mused, "Come on, let's see what else we can find."
Jaina dragged Jag every which way, stopping at about nine booths before they decided to take a rest and sit at the water fountain in the middle of the market place. Jaina sat against the wall, looking at the necklace Jag had bought her. It really didn't look like it was from Naboo. "Jag, come here," she said and he scooted over to her. "What type of material is this?"
He shrugged and took the necklace in his hands, "Jade?" he questioned.
"No, I don't think it's jade but it looks like it, doesn't it?"
"I wouldn't worry about it, Jaina," Jag said and glanced at the sun. It was about noon as far as he could tell. "You hungry? We could have a little something to eat?"
Jaina sighed and put the necklace back around her neck and looked at Jag, "I can't believe after that picnic we had earlier this morning, you're still hungry,"
Jag shrugged, "We don't have to have anything big, just a snack,"
She grumbled and stood up, looking around the market for a little restaurant, "All right, we'll grab a little something to eat and then we can go back to the villa,"
As she started in a direction, Jag pulled her back into his arms. He smiled devilishly, "We don't have to go back to the villa right away,"
"Jag, it's late already." she pleaded and blushed, looking at him, "We can go for a walk, wander around the country side some more,"
"A walk's nice," he mused, smiling.
Jaina laughed and rolled her eyes, "Are you still hungry?"
Jag shrugged and reasoned, "Not so much anymore."
Tbc
Chapter 8, Post 3
"Wes, what are you doing?" Wedge asked him, half terrified of the answer. Wes looked at him and grinned, still pouring the remainding blue paint into the squirt gun.
"Just taking care of some things," he mused, "Did you hear about what happened in the bay this morning? Someone dumped a pail of blue paint all over us! It was outrageous, Wedge. The Rogues must pay," he grinned and aimed the gun at a practice target. "Hmm, needs more water in the mixture,"
Wedge rolled his eyes and stood up, "You ever think about, I don't know, giving up on this prank war and focus on what you're supposed to be doing?"
He shrugged, not really paying attention to him, "I am focused," Wes stopped pouring some extra water into the gun and tried it out again, "Oh, perfect!"
"Wes, get out of my sight," Wedge mumbled, waving him away as the pilot darted from his office.
"That's it," Cherith clarified as she watched Wes leave Wedge's office and turned to Valin, "The war has officially started,"
Valin smiled, "Now that's over, what else are we going to do?"
Cherith shrugged, "I don't know. We could just hang out and talk." Before she could suggest anything else, Valin leaned in and kissed her. Cherith's eyes wandered, not exactly sure how to react. As she pulled away, she stood up and ran for the apartment, leaving Valin alone in the hall.
~~
Jaina bit her lip, looking up at angry clouds above them. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to stay out late, especially since it looked like it was going to rain any minute. Jaina frowned and stuck closer to Jag as they both walked back to the retreat. Jag looked up and noticed the clouds as well, and quickened his pace, not wanting to get wet either.
A moment later, they both rushed back to the retreat as the rain poured all over them. Jag removed his jacket and placed it over both their heads as Jaina removed her slippers and held them. The ground was wet and dirty, an odd feeling against her feet but Jaina didn't really care.
~~
"M'lady, it is good you came back before the rain started to get serious," Larissa started, taking Jag's wet jacket. Several more handmaidens appeared, ushering both of them off to their rooms to be cleaned up. Jaina smiled and shrugged helplessly at Jag as Larissa hurriedly rushed her off.
Larissa called two extra handmaidens to her side as they scurried Jaina to her room and locked the door. She directed one handmaiden to get a hot bath ready and another to grab clean clothes and some towels.
Jaina smiled, sitting on the bed. "You take your job seriously, don't you?"
She looked at Jaina, smiled and nodded, "I'm sorry, m'lady. I thought you already knew, I'm the head handmaiden. I'm in charge of everything around the retreat,"
"I didn't know that," Jaina whispered and sighed, hearing the warm water run in the next room. She looked at Larissa again, "Does it rain on Naboo often?"
Larissa shrugged as she took the clean towels and handed one to Jaina, "No, it doesn't. But it's soothing when it rains," she paused and looked at Jaina, "How was your day, m'lady?"
"It was.." Jaina thought a minute. She wanted to say it was nice but it was so much more than that. "It was wonderful, Larissa." Jaina fingered her necklace, "We went to the market place and Jag bought me this,"
The handmaiden stopped what she was doing and walked over, looking at the necklace. Larissa smiled, "You have luck," Jaina looked at her curiously as she continued, "The necklace is made out of japer snippet. It's good luck,"
"Do you know where it's from?" Jaina asked, "I asked the merchant but he said he didn't know.How do you know what it means?"
Larissa sighed, "I know because my great grandmother was a handmaiden at this same retreat, and when she was putting out a new dress, she saw this japer snippet on milady's dresser."
Jaina didn't say anything and just sat there, until her bath was ready.
~~
"Cherith?" Valin questioned, relieved he found her, though not in the apartment, where he thought she would be. She was alone in the empty gym, crouched in the corner, holding her legs to her chest.
Cherith looked up at him. She was about to say something but shut her mouth, and then opened it again, "Why did you that?" she finally asked. Valin shrugged, sitting beside her but not too close. He didn't want to frighten her. "Why did you kiss me?"
Valin shrugged, "I don't know. I like you, Cherith. I like you a lot. I know we barely know each other, we've only been friends a day, but I like you a lot."
"You have a crush on me?" she asked, "Valin, I like you too but isn't a kiss and asking for a relationship with someone you hardly know, rushing things a bit?"
"You're right," he mused, "I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm sorry. It was stupid of me."
Cherith frowned, feeling sorry for her friend. Valin was so sweet and she had a lot of fun with him today, and she was flattered he had a crush on her after only meeting her. "The kiss wasn't stupid. It was sweet but the timing was all wrong. That's it."
Valin looked at her again and smiled, "You're too honest."
"One day at a time, Valin. Let's take things one day at a time. Can't we just be friends for now? We're still young and have a lot of time for a deeper relationship." Cherith stopped herself and held out her hand to him, "If some day we end up being more than friends, it'll happen but for now, we can wait."
He smiled and took her hand, "Friends, best friends." Cherith smiled and flung her arms around him, hugging her friend.
Tbc
Chapter 8, Post 4
Jaina Solo sighed, sitting in front of the fire place while she dried her wet hair. She glanced at her dresser and at the japer snippet. Jaina put down her brush, stood up and to it, fingering the snippet. She wasn't sure what it was that attracted her to it, but she felt there was something about the necklace that was connected to her.
"Now, that's crazy," she reasoned and sat down again on her bed, brushing her hair again as someone entered the room. Jaina didn't turn, not really paying attention to whoever it was and just assumed it was Larissa again or one of the other handmaidens. "I'm fine, Larissa."
"Jaina?" the voice asked.
She frowned and turned to the voice, and was taken aback to see Jag's face instead. Jaina instinctively covered her shoulders, "Jag, I wasn't expecting you. What is it?"
He shrugged, "I wanted to check up on you,"
Jaina smiled and blushed, "Oh," she whispered and turned again, brushing her hair, "I'm fine.It's really pouring out there, isn't it?" she asked, referring to the loud rain drops.
"It should clear by morning," Jag reasoned, "I passed Larissa and she said dinner will be ready in awhile,"
"That's good. I'm hungry," Jaina mused and looked at Jag. There was only a small distance between them. She noticed for the first time Jag was wearing a thin black shirt that showed off his masculine body very nicely. Months before she died, Jaina remembered snuggling close to that masculine body in bed. She was at peace then when she was with Jag. Jaina found herself blushing and turned around, brushing her hair again, trying not to think about Jag.
Jag moved back, sensing she was uncomfortable with the closeness, "Well, I'll leave you alone now."
Jaina didn't even look at him, but she felt his green eyes on her and breathed, "I'll see you at dinner," She heard Jag say and then turn, leaving the room completely.
A moment later, Larissa appeared with her dinner dress. Jaina looked at the dress Larissa had prepared and then went to the dresser, looking for something else. "No offense, Larissa, but there was another dress earlier that I liked and I want to wear it for tonight's dinner,"
"That's wonderful, m'lady," she said and set the other dress aside. Jaina pulled a backless blue dress from the dresser. She rested it on the bed and looked at Larissa. Larissa smiled and nodded, "Good choice, m'lady."
~~
Jag huffed, waiting for Jaina to join him for dinner. He glanced over his shoulder, it was still pouring rain outside and didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon. A few more handmaidens entered the hall and set some dishes aside. One of them looked at Jag and smiled, "M'lady will be out shortly," she said and left.
He saw Jaina before in her room, draped in only a bathrobe and her hair wet, the water dripping on her skin.Jag raked a hand through his hair, feeling restless. Their second day was almost over, which meant he only had three more days with her but that was too short a time.
What if they never reconnected? What if at the end of the week, she'd reject him? All these questions floated around in his head before he decided he needed to stop worrying. He straightened his shirt, taking a drink of water as he heard someone enter the room. Jag raised his gaze from the table, staring at Jaina's beautiful slim figure.
"I thought you didn't like dresses?" he managed as she sat down across from him.
Jaina shrugged and looked at him, "I changed my mind."
Jag fidgeted and now it was his turn to blush, a sight Jaina caught but didn't say anything. "You look.I don't think even think beautiful is the word,"
"You look nice, too," she mused as Larissa came into the room and set some more food on the table.
Larissa looked at Jaina and then at Jag, "Will that be all, m'lady?"
"Yes, thank you, Larissa," Jaina mused as she disappeared again.
As Larissa left, Jaina noticed the adjoining room and looked at Jag. Before they were going to move, Jaina needed to check the food first. It wasn't too much. Jag watched Jaina as she stood up and grabbed some plates, and nodded to the other room.
~~
"I don't think the storm will let up," Jaina mused as she fingered the japer snippet, listening to the thunder and harsh rain outside. Jag lightly touched her hand, brushing it softly and then moved his hand to her back. Jaina finally turned to him, staring into his deep green eyes until she pulled his tunic towards her and kissed him. Jag breathed hard, bracing Jaina's hips as he kissed her back.
Jaina nodded, "Jag, this is going to fast."
He shrugged, smiling mischievously, "Jaina please, I need to kiss you.It's been too long. You've been denying your feelings ever since we left Borealis. Now, it's time to let go. How can we move forward if every time we're this close, you push me away?
"I don't want to push you away."
"Then don't," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her again. "Don't push me away." As he was about to kiss her again, Jaina stood up and walked to the fireplace. "What is it?" he asked.
Jaina looked down and huffed, "When you came to see me in my room, I remembered something. It was before I died, before we went to the engagement party. We talked about names for our child, but more than that, I felt safe. I felt at peace for the first time. Now we're here, I feel that security again. I don't want to push you away anymore, Jag."
"Us reconnecting, it isn't just about Cherith and the love we both have for her. It's about us, Jag. I know you brought me here because you felt there wasn't anything else you could do to get through to me."
"Wait a minute, what are you saying?" Jag interrupted.
She shrugged, "I'm saying, I want you so badly to love me. I want to feel that security again, the way we used to be." Jaina paused and looked at Jag, "I've fallen in love with you, Jag. I can try to deny it to myself but it's pointless."
Jag looked down and sighed, "Where do we go from here?"
Jaina crossed the room and sat down beside him again, smiling as she leaned up, bracing Jag's shoulder and kissing him again. Outside, the storm grew louder and more fierce but neither of them seemed to notice.
~~
Jag felt his breath quicken as he waited patiently in his room for Jaina. Dinner had been cut short, but he didn't care. He didn't even feel hungry, but he felt a different type of hunger. Jag did feel his body yearn for Jaina and wanting to be close to her again. He could have stayed with Jaina in the study until morning but she felt it would be better if they were more alone. Jag glanced at the chrono beside the bed and then at the door.
The time he stared at the door, it seemed time ran faster but in reality, only a second had passed. He smirked, hearing Jaina's footsteps in the hall and grow louder as she reached his door. Jag gulped, staring as the suite door swung open and Jaina walked in. She paced around the room, as if thinking about something and then walked over to his dresser and discarded her blue robe.
Jag had always found Jaina very attractive, but until that moment, had never realized how lucky he was to have found someone like her.
Jaina turned to Jag, staring at him for a moment. Her eyes trekked over Jag's body, from his face down to his waist. She suddenly became curious about what was beyond but knew it wouldn't be long until she rediscovered all of him.
As he started to sit up anxiously, Jaina walked over to the bed and slipped under the blanket and forced him to rest. She snuggled his waist, wrapping her arms around him. Jag thought she was going to fall asleep on top of him, and then Jaina started to kiss his chest.
Jag bent down, kissing her softly as Jaina raised her leg, snaking it around Jag's right. They parted for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Jag was about to say something, then he closed his mouth and then decided it couldn't wait. He had to ask her.
"Will you marry me?"
Jaina stared at Jag, unsure what to say and for a moment, he thought she would say no. But after all they had been through and reuniting as a family, why not make things more permanent?
"Jaina.?" Jag started.
"Yes," she whispered, "Of course, yes," Jaina cried, "I would be crazy not to marry you."
Jag smiled and bent down, kissing her passionately.
Tbc
by obi's girl
Chapter 8, Post 1
"What?" Jag echoed, staring at Jaina in disbelief. He wasn't sure if she said that because he wanted to hear those words or if she really did feel a connection between them. He stopped stroking her back and became serious, "You love still me? Do you mean that?"
"Of course, I do," Jaina cried and turned to him fully, "How can I not love you Jag? If my love weren't so deep, I would still be dead and I wouldn't be here with you. I came back because it didn't feel right to leave you the way I did. We were just starting a life together...It wasn't fair to you, and I hated seeing you in pain. I love you, Jag. I can never deny that,"
Jag nodded, brushing his hand against her cheek softly, "But you still won't share a bed with me."
Jaina shrugged, "I won't because I'm not ready to but that doesn't mean I don't love you. You know I do and find you very attractive.." She was cut off as Jag suddenly bent down and kissed her.
"Please, don't say anything else. If you're not ready to take that step, that's fine. We still have four days to ourselves."
"You don't mind?" Jaina smiled wishfully.
He smiled, "I don't want to push you. If you don't feel comfortable moving that fast, I won't push you."
Jaina blushed, her still lingering, "Even after what I put you through on Borealis before we left?" she questioned, "You're still willing to wait for me?"
Jag shrugged, "From that experience, I have learned that I cannot push things with you," he smiled again, brushing her cheek, "I'll wait for you, Jaina Solo because I am so deeply in love with you. I'll wait for you." As Jaina was about to tiptoe up to kiss him, she backed away and gasped. "Jaina, what is it?"
"Three days from now is Tyria's funeral! I was going to give her eulogy and arrange the proceedings...And no one knows I'm gone," she rambled.
"That's not entirely true. My conspirators will take care of things," he reasoned and smiled cockeyed, "If you want on our third day here, we'll have a little ceremony for Tyria."
Jaina still wasn't comfortable with the idea but she knew, she couldn't break her promise to Jag on leave early and return to Borealis. They needed this time together to reconnect and especially, they were so much closer. Still lost in thought, Jag bent down and kissed Jaina, pulling her towards him again. She smiled at him as they parted and turned to the water, watching the sun set.
~~
"Valin," Cherith cried, waving him over. The boy smiled and rushed up to her as they both sat down in the booth, "Hope you don't mind, I was hungry and ordered some food for us but it's to go. Glad you could make it,"
Valin blushed, looking away from Cherith, "Me, too. So, how did practice go?"
She shrugged, "Okay, I guess. Don't be mad with me but I beat your father in a sparring match. But, if you want to be mad with someone, you can be mad at Kyp. I'd never handled a lightsaber before but it felt so natural in my hands, ya know? I was worried I'd get all the moves wrong and fall over myself, but I was really good. Did you see?"
"I did, you were awesome," he smiled, "And I saw my father before coming over here. He has no hard feelings or anything,"
Cherith smiled, fingering her glass of water, "That's good. So, what do you want to do?"
"Do?" Valin echoed.
"Yes, we're both teenagers Valin and as teenagers, it's impossible for us to stay put for more than 15 minutes and do nothing. So, what do you want to do after we eat? To be honest, I really haven't explored the base too much since I got here,"
Valin laughed, "Explore the base? Wouldn't you rather do more than explore? I mean, if we're gonna be normal teenagers and roam a military base unsupervised, we mine as well have some fun, right?"
Cherith giggled as their food arrived and raised her mug, "And fun we will have, friend." Valin smiled and clicked his mug with hers.
Tbc
Chapter 8, Post 2
Jaina squinted her eyes as she sat across from Jag in the field. This was day two of their little excursion, and now they were on a picnic for the afternoon and all around them, Jaina could feel the rich life of Naboo. She glanced at Jag before taking a bite of her food, which were small sandwiches Larissa and the other handmaiden's prepared for them.
"Do you think anyone's realized we're gone?" Jag asked, interrupting her thoughts. Jaina blushed and shrugged, looking at him.
She really hadn't thought about anyone noticing they were gone, or even realizing they weren't there but she supposed at some point, someone would. "I'm sure whoever you were planning our little getaway with, would blab we were gone if someone noticed we weren't there...You still won't tell me, will you?"
Jag nodded and smirked, "No, I won't," Jaina rolled her eyes and tried to search his mind using the Force for a name but he was blocking her. "And you can't even do that either,"
"You felt that?" she questioned.
"It's hard not to," he reasoned, "It's hard to ignore you, Jaina."
Jaina blushed again and put down her sandwich, playing with the grass instead, "Speaking of home, do you know our daughter asked Kyp Durron to be her Master?"
Jag looked at her incredulously before laughing, but Jaina only frowned and he stopped laughing, "Oh, you were serious!"
"It's not a joke, Jag. After I came back from our date, Kyp was there in the apartment with Cherith and they told me. I was originally against it because of Kyp's past, but I relented. She has a crush on him, ya know? I think it's because he was the first Jedi she met while we were in the hospital."
"I'm going to kill Kyp," Jag mused and shrugged, "But that was a day ago, and I didn't see Cherith at all before we left with the exception of breakfast at Uncle Wedge's."
Jaina frowned, picking at a piece of grass, "I'm not too worried but I thought I'd tell you because she's our daughter."
Jag smiled, lost in thought. One phrase, 'our daughter'.
What would their lives be like if Cherith didn't exist? They would probably still be close regardless but would they be lovers again? Jag huffed and picked up her hand, stroking her palm. Jaina flinched and looked down, pulling her hand away slightly.
"Sorry, Jaina," he muttered and looked away.
"No Jag," Jaina started, "Don't be sorry for wanting to be closer to me," She rested her hand on his again and smiled.
~~
Cherith couldn't stop giggling as she and Valin sat behind the crates in the bay, watching many of the Wraith Squadron members. The two of them had decided since the Wraith and Rogues were in a ongoing prank war, and were now at a stalemate, it was the perfect time to start the war up again. Actually, Valin filled her in on the rivalry between the two squadrons. Cherith smiled, looking at her partner in crime.
Finally, she stopped laughing as she concentrated as Valin pulled out a can of blue paint. Cherith glanced at Valin as he opened up the can. She smiled and raised the can, using the Force and moved it over the squadron members. Valin couldn't believe they were doing this but didn't do anything to stop her. Once the can was over the pilots' heads, Cherith pulled her hand back and the can dropped, covering the pilots in blue paint.
Valin couldn't contain his laughter as Wes Janson's hair filled with blue paint. He shook his head, mumbling a curse and then immediately left the bay, running back to his quarters.
"Oh, this is going to be too much fun," Cherith muttered as Valin pulled her from the bay.
~~
Jaina smiled as she walked beside Jag in the main marketplace, looking at the many trinkets. They'd returned to the villa briefly to check in with the handmaidens and give them their left over food from the picnic. Larissa wanted to change her into a different outfit for her trip to the market place but Jaina quickly left the room before she could grab another dress. Jaina knew she was just being helpful but she wasn't used to changing outfits every minute of the day.
"Oh wow," Jaina cried, catching sight of some jewelry. She held the necklace in her hand. It looked so native, well, not native but unlike anything else she'd seen. In fact, it didn't even seem like the jewelry was from Naboo but somewhere else. "This is beautiful. Where did it come from?"
"Oh, that one. No one really knows, it's just floated around a lot," the merchant said and shrugged, "Would you like to buy it, m'lady?" Before Jaina could say anything, Jag moved beside her and Jaina showed him the necklace.
"You said this necklace has moved around a lot?" Jag asked, "Ever meet the original owner?"
The merchant shrugged, "No," and smiled, "Would you like to buy it for your beautiful wife?"
Jag was about to object but Jaina smiled wishfully, and he grabbed some credits from his pocket, "Do you accept Republic credits?"
"This isn't the Outer Rim, friend," the man smiled. Jag smiled and handed him 9 credits. "Thank you, sir. Have a nice day."
Jaina thanked the merchant as she pulled up her hair and set the necklace around her neck. She set it backwards first and clipped it together, and then moved it around. She looked at Jag and smiled, "How do I look?"
"Just beautiful, m'lady," Jag mused, "Come on, let's see what else we can find."
Jaina dragged Jag every which way, stopping at about nine booths before they decided to take a rest and sit at the water fountain in the middle of the market place. Jaina sat against the wall, looking at the necklace Jag had bought her. It really didn't look like it was from Naboo. "Jag, come here," she said and he scooted over to her. "What type of material is this?"
He shrugged and took the necklace in his hands, "Jade?" he questioned.
"No, I don't think it's jade but it looks like it, doesn't it?"
"I wouldn't worry about it, Jaina," Jag said and glanced at the sun. It was about noon as far as he could tell. "You hungry? We could have a little something to eat?"
Jaina sighed and put the necklace back around her neck and looked at Jag, "I can't believe after that picnic we had earlier this morning, you're still hungry,"
Jag shrugged, "We don't have to have anything big, just a snack,"
She grumbled and stood up, looking around the market for a little restaurant, "All right, we'll grab a little something to eat and then we can go back to the villa,"
As she started in a direction, Jag pulled her back into his arms. He smiled devilishly, "We don't have to go back to the villa right away,"
"Jag, it's late already." she pleaded and blushed, looking at him, "We can go for a walk, wander around the country side some more,"
"A walk's nice," he mused, smiling.
Jaina laughed and rolled her eyes, "Are you still hungry?"
Jag shrugged and reasoned, "Not so much anymore."
Tbc
Chapter 8, Post 3
"Wes, what are you doing?" Wedge asked him, half terrified of the answer. Wes looked at him and grinned, still pouring the remainding blue paint into the squirt gun.
"Just taking care of some things," he mused, "Did you hear about what happened in the bay this morning? Someone dumped a pail of blue paint all over us! It was outrageous, Wedge. The Rogues must pay," he grinned and aimed the gun at a practice target. "Hmm, needs more water in the mixture,"
Wedge rolled his eyes and stood up, "You ever think about, I don't know, giving up on this prank war and focus on what you're supposed to be doing?"
He shrugged, not really paying attention to him, "I am focused," Wes stopped pouring some extra water into the gun and tried it out again, "Oh, perfect!"
"Wes, get out of my sight," Wedge mumbled, waving him away as the pilot darted from his office.
"That's it," Cherith clarified as she watched Wes leave Wedge's office and turned to Valin, "The war has officially started,"
Valin smiled, "Now that's over, what else are we going to do?"
Cherith shrugged, "I don't know. We could just hang out and talk." Before she could suggest anything else, Valin leaned in and kissed her. Cherith's eyes wandered, not exactly sure how to react. As she pulled away, she stood up and ran for the apartment, leaving Valin alone in the hall.
~~
Jaina bit her lip, looking up at angry clouds above them. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to stay out late, especially since it looked like it was going to rain any minute. Jaina frowned and stuck closer to Jag as they both walked back to the retreat. Jag looked up and noticed the clouds as well, and quickened his pace, not wanting to get wet either.
A moment later, they both rushed back to the retreat as the rain poured all over them. Jag removed his jacket and placed it over both their heads as Jaina removed her slippers and held them. The ground was wet and dirty, an odd feeling against her feet but Jaina didn't really care.
~~
"M'lady, it is good you came back before the rain started to get serious," Larissa started, taking Jag's wet jacket. Several more handmaidens appeared, ushering both of them off to their rooms to be cleaned up. Jaina smiled and shrugged helplessly at Jag as Larissa hurriedly rushed her off.
Larissa called two extra handmaidens to her side as they scurried Jaina to her room and locked the door. She directed one handmaiden to get a hot bath ready and another to grab clean clothes and some towels.
Jaina smiled, sitting on the bed. "You take your job seriously, don't you?"
She looked at Jaina, smiled and nodded, "I'm sorry, m'lady. I thought you already knew, I'm the head handmaiden. I'm in charge of everything around the retreat,"
"I didn't know that," Jaina whispered and sighed, hearing the warm water run in the next room. She looked at Larissa again, "Does it rain on Naboo often?"
Larissa shrugged as she took the clean towels and handed one to Jaina, "No, it doesn't. But it's soothing when it rains," she paused and looked at Jaina, "How was your day, m'lady?"
"It was.." Jaina thought a minute. She wanted to say it was nice but it was so much more than that. "It was wonderful, Larissa." Jaina fingered her necklace, "We went to the market place and Jag bought me this,"
The handmaiden stopped what she was doing and walked over, looking at the necklace. Larissa smiled, "You have luck," Jaina looked at her curiously as she continued, "The necklace is made out of japer snippet. It's good luck,"
"Do you know where it's from?" Jaina asked, "I asked the merchant but he said he didn't know.How do you know what it means?"
Larissa sighed, "I know because my great grandmother was a handmaiden at this same retreat, and when she was putting out a new dress, she saw this japer snippet on milady's dresser."
Jaina didn't say anything and just sat there, until her bath was ready.
~~
"Cherith?" Valin questioned, relieved he found her, though not in the apartment, where he thought she would be. She was alone in the empty gym, crouched in the corner, holding her legs to her chest.
Cherith looked up at him. She was about to say something but shut her mouth, and then opened it again, "Why did you that?" she finally asked. Valin shrugged, sitting beside her but not too close. He didn't want to frighten her. "Why did you kiss me?"
Valin shrugged, "I don't know. I like you, Cherith. I like you a lot. I know we barely know each other, we've only been friends a day, but I like you a lot."
"You have a crush on me?" she asked, "Valin, I like you too but isn't a kiss and asking for a relationship with someone you hardly know, rushing things a bit?"
"You're right," he mused, "I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm sorry. It was stupid of me."
Cherith frowned, feeling sorry for her friend. Valin was so sweet and she had a lot of fun with him today, and she was flattered he had a crush on her after only meeting her. "The kiss wasn't stupid. It was sweet but the timing was all wrong. That's it."
Valin looked at her again and smiled, "You're too honest."
"One day at a time, Valin. Let's take things one day at a time. Can't we just be friends for now? We're still young and have a lot of time for a deeper relationship." Cherith stopped herself and held out her hand to him, "If some day we end up being more than friends, it'll happen but for now, we can wait."
He smiled and took her hand, "Friends, best friends." Cherith smiled and flung her arms around him, hugging her friend.
Tbc
Chapter 8, Post 4
Jaina Solo sighed, sitting in front of the fire place while she dried her wet hair. She glanced at her dresser and at the japer snippet. Jaina put down her brush, stood up and to it, fingering the snippet. She wasn't sure what it was that attracted her to it, but she felt there was something about the necklace that was connected to her.
"Now, that's crazy," she reasoned and sat down again on her bed, brushing her hair again as someone entered the room. Jaina didn't turn, not really paying attention to whoever it was and just assumed it was Larissa again or one of the other handmaidens. "I'm fine, Larissa."
"Jaina?" the voice asked.
She frowned and turned to the voice, and was taken aback to see Jag's face instead. Jaina instinctively covered her shoulders, "Jag, I wasn't expecting you. What is it?"
He shrugged, "I wanted to check up on you,"
Jaina smiled and blushed, "Oh," she whispered and turned again, brushing her hair, "I'm fine.It's really pouring out there, isn't it?" she asked, referring to the loud rain drops.
"It should clear by morning," Jag reasoned, "I passed Larissa and she said dinner will be ready in awhile,"
"That's good. I'm hungry," Jaina mused and looked at Jag. There was only a small distance between them. She noticed for the first time Jag was wearing a thin black shirt that showed off his masculine body very nicely. Months before she died, Jaina remembered snuggling close to that masculine body in bed. She was at peace then when she was with Jag. Jaina found herself blushing and turned around, brushing her hair again, trying not to think about Jag.
Jag moved back, sensing she was uncomfortable with the closeness, "Well, I'll leave you alone now."
Jaina didn't even look at him, but she felt his green eyes on her and breathed, "I'll see you at dinner," She heard Jag say and then turn, leaving the room completely.
A moment later, Larissa appeared with her dinner dress. Jaina looked at the dress Larissa had prepared and then went to the dresser, looking for something else. "No offense, Larissa, but there was another dress earlier that I liked and I want to wear it for tonight's dinner,"
"That's wonderful, m'lady," she said and set the other dress aside. Jaina pulled a backless blue dress from the dresser. She rested it on the bed and looked at Larissa. Larissa smiled and nodded, "Good choice, m'lady."
~~
Jag huffed, waiting for Jaina to join him for dinner. He glanced over his shoulder, it was still pouring rain outside and didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon. A few more handmaidens entered the hall and set some dishes aside. One of them looked at Jag and smiled, "M'lady will be out shortly," she said and left.
He saw Jaina before in her room, draped in only a bathrobe and her hair wet, the water dripping on her skin.Jag raked a hand through his hair, feeling restless. Their second day was almost over, which meant he only had three more days with her but that was too short a time.
What if they never reconnected? What if at the end of the week, she'd reject him? All these questions floated around in his head before he decided he needed to stop worrying. He straightened his shirt, taking a drink of water as he heard someone enter the room. Jag raised his gaze from the table, staring at Jaina's beautiful slim figure.
"I thought you didn't like dresses?" he managed as she sat down across from him.
Jaina shrugged and looked at him, "I changed my mind."
Jag fidgeted and now it was his turn to blush, a sight Jaina caught but didn't say anything. "You look.I don't think even think beautiful is the word,"
"You look nice, too," she mused as Larissa came into the room and set some more food on the table.
Larissa looked at Jaina and then at Jag, "Will that be all, m'lady?"
"Yes, thank you, Larissa," Jaina mused as she disappeared again.
As Larissa left, Jaina noticed the adjoining room and looked at Jag. Before they were going to move, Jaina needed to check the food first. It wasn't too much. Jag watched Jaina as she stood up and grabbed some plates, and nodded to the other room.
~~
"I don't think the storm will let up," Jaina mused as she fingered the japer snippet, listening to the thunder and harsh rain outside. Jag lightly touched her hand, brushing it softly and then moved his hand to her back. Jaina finally turned to him, staring into his deep green eyes until she pulled his tunic towards her and kissed him. Jag breathed hard, bracing Jaina's hips as he kissed her back.
Jaina nodded, "Jag, this is going to fast."
He shrugged, smiling mischievously, "Jaina please, I need to kiss you.It's been too long. You've been denying your feelings ever since we left Borealis. Now, it's time to let go. How can we move forward if every time we're this close, you push me away?
"I don't want to push you away."
"Then don't," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her again. "Don't push me away." As he was about to kiss her again, Jaina stood up and walked to the fireplace. "What is it?" he asked.
Jaina looked down and huffed, "When you came to see me in my room, I remembered something. It was before I died, before we went to the engagement party. We talked about names for our child, but more than that, I felt safe. I felt at peace for the first time. Now we're here, I feel that security again. I don't want to push you away anymore, Jag."
"Us reconnecting, it isn't just about Cherith and the love we both have for her. It's about us, Jag. I know you brought me here because you felt there wasn't anything else you could do to get through to me."
"Wait a minute, what are you saying?" Jag interrupted.
She shrugged, "I'm saying, I want you so badly to love me. I want to feel that security again, the way we used to be." Jaina paused and looked at Jag, "I've fallen in love with you, Jag. I can try to deny it to myself but it's pointless."
Jag looked down and sighed, "Where do we go from here?"
Jaina crossed the room and sat down beside him again, smiling as she leaned up, bracing Jag's shoulder and kissing him again. Outside, the storm grew louder and more fierce but neither of them seemed to notice.
~~
Jag felt his breath quicken as he waited patiently in his room for Jaina. Dinner had been cut short, but he didn't care. He didn't even feel hungry, but he felt a different type of hunger. Jag did feel his body yearn for Jaina and wanting to be close to her again. He could have stayed with Jaina in the study until morning but she felt it would be better if they were more alone. Jag glanced at the chrono beside the bed and then at the door.
The time he stared at the door, it seemed time ran faster but in reality, only a second had passed. He smirked, hearing Jaina's footsteps in the hall and grow louder as she reached his door. Jag gulped, staring as the suite door swung open and Jaina walked in. She paced around the room, as if thinking about something and then walked over to his dresser and discarded her blue robe.
Jag had always found Jaina very attractive, but until that moment, had never realized how lucky he was to have found someone like her.
Jaina turned to Jag, staring at him for a moment. Her eyes trekked over Jag's body, from his face down to his waist. She suddenly became curious about what was beyond but knew it wouldn't be long until she rediscovered all of him.
As he started to sit up anxiously, Jaina walked over to the bed and slipped under the blanket and forced him to rest. She snuggled his waist, wrapping her arms around him. Jag thought she was going to fall asleep on top of him, and then Jaina started to kiss his chest.
Jag bent down, kissing her softly as Jaina raised her leg, snaking it around Jag's right. They parted for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Jag was about to say something, then he closed his mouth and then decided it couldn't wait. He had to ask her.
"Will you marry me?"
Jaina stared at Jag, unsure what to say and for a moment, he thought she would say no. But after all they had been through and reuniting as a family, why not make things more permanent?
"Jaina.?" Jag started.
"Yes," she whispered, "Of course, yes," Jaina cried, "I would be crazy not to marry you."
Jag smiled and bent down, kissing her passionately.
Tbc
