Disclaimer: I'm tired of writing these things, see the previous chapters.
Author's note: Jedimaster-jaina-solo: Sorry it took me so long to post this. I got behind on all of my fics.
Lady Leila: Thanks, I hope this next part isn't too confusing.
Sticks: Thank you.
BlackWings or Master Solo: I'll try to keep writing, but the next update will probably take longer because I don't have it all written out yet.
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Jagged Fel paced irritably as he waited for his superior to arrive. He let out a angry laugh as he realized the irony of his situation. Years ago when he was fresh out of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet service he would have been content to wait patiently. It seemed that Jaina's impatience had rubbed off on him sometime during their years together. Of course, that was part of the problem. The absence of Jaina, the young women who he had at first sought after as a friend, but had become the person he loved the most and his entire world.
He would be the first to admit that he hadn't exactly handled the news that Jaina was pregnant, well. It was shocking and unexpected, but once he stopped to consider it, it was not an unwelcome discovery. In fact, the more he thought about it the more the idea of a family appealed to him. No, it wasn't a fear of commitment or responsibility that was currently upsetting him. It was fear for Jaina and the well being of their unborn child that gripped him and drew him into an impatient fervor.
It wasn't simply the upcoming missions that worried him, though, it was their shared career. Both Jaina and Jag were among the best pilots the galaxy had ever see, ranking up their with Darth Vader, Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker and Baron Fel. But the chance that they could be seriously injured or even killed was all too real. The life of an orphan or constant worry over his or her parents wasn't what Jag wanted for his child. He wasn't suggesting that Jaina simply abandon her career for her child, unless of course she wanted to. What Jag wanted, what he had secretly been thinking about for quite a while now, was a new beginning.
He had first stepped into the Vong conflict at the age of eighteen. The last ten years of his life had been spent fighting, either the Vong or forces working for the Vong. He'd never really thought about taking another path with his life, especially after he and Jaina had become close, but now he was starting to consider other options.
Flying was still what he did best and was one of the things he enjoyed the most, but the killing and endless death, he could really do without. He wasn't getting burnt out, he was still as focused as ever, but now he was starting to seek something else. He was twenty-eight now, and he wanted his new something else to included Jaina and their child. If,-no, when, he corrected himself, they won this battle against the Vong, he wanted to make the Galactic Alliance's new beginning a more personal one where he and Jaina weren't responsible for the fate of the galaxy and where their child would be safe, cared for and loved, with his or her well being foremost in his or her parent's minds, not the galaxy.
However, he wasn't sure, at least not yet, about what Jaina wanted. They had been forced to part ways so quickly after Jaina had told him, that he hadn't had time to discuss all of this with her. He needed to find out soon, though, like with everything else Jaina was sure to have a strong opinion about this.
As if trying to purposefully annoy him, his superior, Lieutenant General Votun, walked quickly into the office, drawing Jag out of his thoughts.
"Colonel Fel," he rasped, "Our objectives for this mission have been completed. According to the orders I have just received, your squadron is to be given any maintenance or supplies that you need. By the time we reach our destination, your squadron needs to be in top condition and fully prepared. We have received our new orders. We're meeting the rest of the Fleet in two and a half standard days.'
"Have you received tactical plans for the battle yet?" Jag questioned.
"No," Votun, shook his huge smooth head, "I was told that they would be issued at a flesh-and -blood, conference or delivered by hand. Command didn't want to risk them being intercepted."
Jag nodded, "Thank you, sir," he added.
He would have preferred more details ahead of time, but it was just as well such tight security was being observed. If only he would have a chance to talk to Jaina before the battle began, if only to tell her he loved her one last time, because Jag had a feeling one of them wasn't coming out of this alive. He only hoped it was him, and not Jaina who died.
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Jaina Solo looked around the room, she was standing in, taking in the feel of it. It felt as much like home as any other place her parents had lived in around the galaxy. Jag still wasn't back yet, although, she had just found out he was on his way. She came here when he was gone especially to spend time with her parents. It was probably just hormones, but she remembered being a young child, secure in the knowledge that she was safe with her mother and father. She longed to recreate that feeling of total safety; it had been gone for a long tim.
Besides there was change in the force, great change and Jaina didn't want to waste any time she could spend with her parents and Elvere. Her sister was still an infant, but she already had a full measure of the Solo charm and charisma. Her parents were a sucker for their youngest child, lavishing her with attention that seemed to only improve her sister's cheerful, easygoing nature.
Jaina would admit that at times she envied the attention her parents gave Elvere, but truthfully, she held no animosity towards her sister. Instead she like to spend time with her sister and her parents, Leia especially. It seemed as if whenever Elvere was in the room, the ever-present tension between Jaina and Leia simply disappeared. At a month old, Elvere had already begun to master the art of sitting up with considerable help and had started experimenting with rolling herself across the floor, but at the moment she was curled in Jaina's lap, as Jaina sat sprawled on the floor.
Stroking her sister's thin silky hair, Jaina looked up at her mother who was casually sitting in the easy chair in front of her, watching her daughters interact.
"You're very good with her, you know," Leia remarked.
Jaina froze for a fraction of a moment, for a swift internal debate. 'Could Leia know she was pregnant?' 'Or was she just being motherly?' 'Better just to take the comment at face value,' she decided.
"Thanks," Jaina said taking it as a compliment.
"Have you and Jag ever thought about having children," Leia asked.
Jaina felt her stomach wriggling like it was full of Sarlacc tentacles. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with her mother, even if she hadn't been pregnant. "Of course not, Mom," Jaina forced herself to sound light and playful, not guarded and serious, "We're not even married, yet."
Leia shot her daughter a knowing look. "We all know that's just a formality. You two have been living together for years, now."
"It's nothing you and Dad didn't do," Jaina shot back almost hoping her mother would stay on this subject. Leia had nagged at her to get married for years, but it was a much less sensitive topic for Jaina than children.
They watched in silence as Elvere began struggling to sit up and rollout of Jaina's lap. Both women had to stifle laughs at her struggle. After a few moments, she managed to end up on her back and she stuck her arms out pleadingly to her mother.
Smiling Leia picked her up lifting Elvere up above her head and watched her shriek with laughter as Leia baby talked to her before bringing her back down to her lap. Handing Elvere a small toy, Leia watched her play for a moment, before looking back up at her eldest child. Jaina looked so relaxed, so innocent, that if it weren't for the few scars she carried or the look in her eyes, it would almost be possible to believe that she had never seen violence and death or fought in a war.
However, unfortunately, Leia knew that wasn't true. She sighed, her cheerful mod draining away. "When I first married your father, I didn't want children, you know," she said almost casually to Jaina. Leia felt the surprise ripple off of her daughter, who sat frozen for a second and then opened her eyes.
"Why," Jaina asked, monosyllabically, cautiously, almost as if she didn't want to know the answer.
"I was afraid of passing on my genes, Darth Vader's genes, to my children. The potential for Darkness and my fears about being a good parent. " Leid shrugged unable to explain it further, but curiously she saw Jaina nod as if she understood.
"Did something change your mind," Jaina asked with calm if slightly intense interest.
It was a far cry from the angry, resentful outburst that Leia had been expecting and it made her wonder what was going in Jaina's head at that moment. Of course, that had been something she was never good at. Only Han, her brothers and Jag seemed to have that gift and even their talents in that area were hit or miss at best.
Nevertheless she answered Jaina as honestly as she could. It had been so many years now, it was almost hard to remember. "Han and I had been married for less than a year, when I changed my mind. Han had almost died," she frowned at the memory, even several decades later, it wasn't a pleasant thought, "and I was afraid to loose him, but it was more than that. It was hope for the future and as your father put it, a desire for rugrats under foot."
"Sounds like Dad," Jaina said with a laugh, but her eyes also showed serious concentration. Jaina was more of a mystery and paradox than ever. Both turned or in Jaina's case tried to turn as Elvere grabbed her sister's her and used it to pull herself into a sitting position.
Jaina let out a startled "oww," and laughed helplessly as she sat still while Leia gently coaxed the little girl to release her painful grip.
Once she had let go, Jaina sat there ruefully rubbing her head and looking balefully at her sister. Laughing Leia held up her daughter, carefully away from her hair of course, and cooed. "That's my girl. You can already take you big sister."
"Ha, ha," said Jaina sarcastically, but Leia could see her amusement. "No such luck next time, kid, I'm prepared now." She added a wink that was pure Solo and Leia had to laugh. They were interrupted as the holophone in the other room started buzzing.
"Here," said Jaina, "I've got her." Elvere started floating gently out of Leia's hands, secure in Jaina's force grip.
As Leia walked away, Elvere shrieked in delight as she began orbiting the room. Catching Elvere in her arms a few orbits later, Jaina looked down into the little girl's blue gray eyes. "Hey there," she said softly. She sent the girl a soothing wave of force energy as she began crying. Then said, "Don't worry Elvere, I promise I'll always be here when you need me."
As if she understood, Elvere began to quiet, so Jaina continued murmuring to her tired little sister, until she drifted to sleep in her arms. Standing up carefully in an effort not to wake up her sister, Jaina carried her into her room and laid her down gently in the crib. Brushing a stray hair out of the tiny, innocent face, Jaina laid a protective hand over her own stomach and said, "I will protect you, Elvere, no matter what happens I won't let you down, not like I failed Anakin." She kissed the sleeping infant on the forehead and walked out of the room.
Leia walked into the main room of the suite at the same time as she did. Jaina quickly explained her sister's absence. Silence reigned for a moment, and then abruptly Jaina looked up at Leia. "I have to go," she said gesturing at her chronometer, "Goddesshood calls."
Leia smiled and laughed, even happier when her daughter stepped closer to embrace her for a moment. "I won't have a chance to se you or Dad before the battle," Jaina said quietly, "I love you, both of you," she added quickly. Surprising Leia even more, she kissed her on the cheek before heading to the door. She paused for a moment as the doors whooshed open and turned back around for a split second, throwing Leia a trademark Solo smile. "Thanks Mom," she added and the she had disappeared back into the corridor.
Sinking back into the conformable chair, Leia stared at the spot where her daughter had been. Slightly bewildered she said dryly, "Well that was odd."
Author's note: Jedimaster-jaina-solo: Sorry it took me so long to post this. I got behind on all of my fics.
Lady Leila: Thanks, I hope this next part isn't too confusing.
Sticks: Thank you.
BlackWings or Master Solo: I'll try to keep writing, but the next update will probably take longer because I don't have it all written out yet.
________________________________________________________________
Jagged Fel paced irritably as he waited for his superior to arrive. He let out a angry laugh as he realized the irony of his situation. Years ago when he was fresh out of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet service he would have been content to wait patiently. It seemed that Jaina's impatience had rubbed off on him sometime during their years together. Of course, that was part of the problem. The absence of Jaina, the young women who he had at first sought after as a friend, but had become the person he loved the most and his entire world.
He would be the first to admit that he hadn't exactly handled the news that Jaina was pregnant, well. It was shocking and unexpected, but once he stopped to consider it, it was not an unwelcome discovery. In fact, the more he thought about it the more the idea of a family appealed to him. No, it wasn't a fear of commitment or responsibility that was currently upsetting him. It was fear for Jaina and the well being of their unborn child that gripped him and drew him into an impatient fervor.
It wasn't simply the upcoming missions that worried him, though, it was their shared career. Both Jaina and Jag were among the best pilots the galaxy had ever see, ranking up their with Darth Vader, Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker and Baron Fel. But the chance that they could be seriously injured or even killed was all too real. The life of an orphan or constant worry over his or her parents wasn't what Jag wanted for his child. He wasn't suggesting that Jaina simply abandon her career for her child, unless of course she wanted to. What Jag wanted, what he had secretly been thinking about for quite a while now, was a new beginning.
He had first stepped into the Vong conflict at the age of eighteen. The last ten years of his life had been spent fighting, either the Vong or forces working for the Vong. He'd never really thought about taking another path with his life, especially after he and Jaina had become close, but now he was starting to consider other options.
Flying was still what he did best and was one of the things he enjoyed the most, but the killing and endless death, he could really do without. He wasn't getting burnt out, he was still as focused as ever, but now he was starting to seek something else. He was twenty-eight now, and he wanted his new something else to included Jaina and their child. If,-no, when, he corrected himself, they won this battle against the Vong, he wanted to make the Galactic Alliance's new beginning a more personal one where he and Jaina weren't responsible for the fate of the galaxy and where their child would be safe, cared for and loved, with his or her well being foremost in his or her parent's minds, not the galaxy.
However, he wasn't sure, at least not yet, about what Jaina wanted. They had been forced to part ways so quickly after Jaina had told him, that he hadn't had time to discuss all of this with her. He needed to find out soon, though, like with everything else Jaina was sure to have a strong opinion about this.
As if trying to purposefully annoy him, his superior, Lieutenant General Votun, walked quickly into the office, drawing Jag out of his thoughts.
"Colonel Fel," he rasped, "Our objectives for this mission have been completed. According to the orders I have just received, your squadron is to be given any maintenance or supplies that you need. By the time we reach our destination, your squadron needs to be in top condition and fully prepared. We have received our new orders. We're meeting the rest of the Fleet in two and a half standard days.'
"Have you received tactical plans for the battle yet?" Jag questioned.
"No," Votun, shook his huge smooth head, "I was told that they would be issued at a flesh-and -blood, conference or delivered by hand. Command didn't want to risk them being intercepted."
Jag nodded, "Thank you, sir," he added.
He would have preferred more details ahead of time, but it was just as well such tight security was being observed. If only he would have a chance to talk to Jaina before the battle began, if only to tell her he loved her one last time, because Jag had a feeling one of them wasn't coming out of this alive. He only hoped it was him, and not Jaina who died.
________________________________________________________________
Jaina Solo looked around the room, she was standing in, taking in the feel of it. It felt as much like home as any other place her parents had lived in around the galaxy. Jag still wasn't back yet, although, she had just found out he was on his way. She came here when he was gone especially to spend time with her parents. It was probably just hormones, but she remembered being a young child, secure in the knowledge that she was safe with her mother and father. She longed to recreate that feeling of total safety; it had been gone for a long tim.
Besides there was change in the force, great change and Jaina didn't want to waste any time she could spend with her parents and Elvere. Her sister was still an infant, but she already had a full measure of the Solo charm and charisma. Her parents were a sucker for their youngest child, lavishing her with attention that seemed to only improve her sister's cheerful, easygoing nature.
Jaina would admit that at times she envied the attention her parents gave Elvere, but truthfully, she held no animosity towards her sister. Instead she like to spend time with her sister and her parents, Leia especially. It seemed as if whenever Elvere was in the room, the ever-present tension between Jaina and Leia simply disappeared. At a month old, Elvere had already begun to master the art of sitting up with considerable help and had started experimenting with rolling herself across the floor, but at the moment she was curled in Jaina's lap, as Jaina sat sprawled on the floor.
Stroking her sister's thin silky hair, Jaina looked up at her mother who was casually sitting in the easy chair in front of her, watching her daughters interact.
"You're very good with her, you know," Leia remarked.
Jaina froze for a fraction of a moment, for a swift internal debate. 'Could Leia know she was pregnant?' 'Or was she just being motherly?' 'Better just to take the comment at face value,' she decided.
"Thanks," Jaina said taking it as a compliment.
"Have you and Jag ever thought about having children," Leia asked.
Jaina felt her stomach wriggling like it was full of Sarlacc tentacles. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with her mother, even if she hadn't been pregnant. "Of course not, Mom," Jaina forced herself to sound light and playful, not guarded and serious, "We're not even married, yet."
Leia shot her daughter a knowing look. "We all know that's just a formality. You two have been living together for years, now."
"It's nothing you and Dad didn't do," Jaina shot back almost hoping her mother would stay on this subject. Leia had nagged at her to get married for years, but it was a much less sensitive topic for Jaina than children.
They watched in silence as Elvere began struggling to sit up and rollout of Jaina's lap. Both women had to stifle laughs at her struggle. After a few moments, she managed to end up on her back and she stuck her arms out pleadingly to her mother.
Smiling Leia picked her up lifting Elvere up above her head and watched her shriek with laughter as Leia baby talked to her before bringing her back down to her lap. Handing Elvere a small toy, Leia watched her play for a moment, before looking back up at her eldest child. Jaina looked so relaxed, so innocent, that if it weren't for the few scars she carried or the look in her eyes, it would almost be possible to believe that she had never seen violence and death or fought in a war.
However, unfortunately, Leia knew that wasn't true. She sighed, her cheerful mod draining away. "When I first married your father, I didn't want children, you know," she said almost casually to Jaina. Leia felt the surprise ripple off of her daughter, who sat frozen for a second and then opened her eyes.
"Why," Jaina asked, monosyllabically, cautiously, almost as if she didn't want to know the answer.
"I was afraid of passing on my genes, Darth Vader's genes, to my children. The potential for Darkness and my fears about being a good parent. " Leid shrugged unable to explain it further, but curiously she saw Jaina nod as if she understood.
"Did something change your mind," Jaina asked with calm if slightly intense interest.
It was a far cry from the angry, resentful outburst that Leia had been expecting and it made her wonder what was going in Jaina's head at that moment. Of course, that had been something she was never good at. Only Han, her brothers and Jag seemed to have that gift and even their talents in that area were hit or miss at best.
Nevertheless she answered Jaina as honestly as she could. It had been so many years now, it was almost hard to remember. "Han and I had been married for less than a year, when I changed my mind. Han had almost died," she frowned at the memory, even several decades later, it wasn't a pleasant thought, "and I was afraid to loose him, but it was more than that. It was hope for the future and as your father put it, a desire for rugrats under foot."
"Sounds like Dad," Jaina said with a laugh, but her eyes also showed serious concentration. Jaina was more of a mystery and paradox than ever. Both turned or in Jaina's case tried to turn as Elvere grabbed her sister's her and used it to pull herself into a sitting position.
Jaina let out a startled "oww," and laughed helplessly as she sat still while Leia gently coaxed the little girl to release her painful grip.
Once she had let go, Jaina sat there ruefully rubbing her head and looking balefully at her sister. Laughing Leia held up her daughter, carefully away from her hair of course, and cooed. "That's my girl. You can already take you big sister."
"Ha, ha," said Jaina sarcastically, but Leia could see her amusement. "No such luck next time, kid, I'm prepared now." She added a wink that was pure Solo and Leia had to laugh. They were interrupted as the holophone in the other room started buzzing.
"Here," said Jaina, "I've got her." Elvere started floating gently out of Leia's hands, secure in Jaina's force grip.
As Leia walked away, Elvere shrieked in delight as she began orbiting the room. Catching Elvere in her arms a few orbits later, Jaina looked down into the little girl's blue gray eyes. "Hey there," she said softly. She sent the girl a soothing wave of force energy as she began crying. Then said, "Don't worry Elvere, I promise I'll always be here when you need me."
As if she understood, Elvere began to quiet, so Jaina continued murmuring to her tired little sister, until she drifted to sleep in her arms. Standing up carefully in an effort not to wake up her sister, Jaina carried her into her room and laid her down gently in the crib. Brushing a stray hair out of the tiny, innocent face, Jaina laid a protective hand over her own stomach and said, "I will protect you, Elvere, no matter what happens I won't let you down, not like I failed Anakin." She kissed the sleeping infant on the forehead and walked out of the room.
Leia walked into the main room of the suite at the same time as she did. Jaina quickly explained her sister's absence. Silence reigned for a moment, and then abruptly Jaina looked up at Leia. "I have to go," she said gesturing at her chronometer, "Goddesshood calls."
Leia smiled and laughed, even happier when her daughter stepped closer to embrace her for a moment. "I won't have a chance to se you or Dad before the battle," Jaina said quietly, "I love you, both of you," she added quickly. Surprising Leia even more, she kissed her on the cheek before heading to the door. She paused for a moment as the doors whooshed open and turned back around for a split second, throwing Leia a trademark Solo smile. "Thanks Mom," she added and the she had disappeared back into the corridor.
Sinking back into the conformable chair, Leia stared at the spot where her daughter had been. Slightly bewildered she said dryly, "Well that was odd."