A NOTE: I am well aware that this is a poor conclusion to this story, and I apologize. I am currently rewriting it at the fan fiction forums at tf.n. That version is much better written and much more developed, and will have a far better conclusion. You are all invited to read it over there. It's actually a lot of fun. It's new title is "Shades of the Past," and the link to it on the Jedi Council forums is in my profile. I wanted to put it here but the freakin' link kept disappearing.

That said, this is not the conclusion to this series. There is another story that I will start writing after "Shades" is completed. Hopefully, that'll only be a month, month and a half or so.

Thank you to everyone who has read this all the way through. I appreciate your feedback, your wading through the awful writing at the beginning, your tolerance of the unresolved plot holes, the disappearance of Kirney Slane, etcetera. I hope you'll all read the rewrite (we really do have a lot of fun over on tf.n), and I hope you'll all stick around for the next installment.

Now, on with the "conclusion"….

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Chapter 35: Gone Only to Return

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Leia looked up as Wedge limped into her office. "Are you ready to tear your hair out yet?" he asked her with a grin.

"Just about." She looked around. They'd finally managed to straighten her office out – though the rest of the Palace wasn't in such good shape. "This is driving me crazy."

"I know the feeling. I have good news though."

"Oh? I don't suppose you're going to tell me you've figured out what Hekrig is doing with us?"

He shook his head ruefully. "No such luck. But it's almost as good. Winter's being released from the hospital."

"So soon?" Leia asked. It had only been…three days ago that they were attacked.

Wedge smiled broadly. "There's more."

She regarded him suspiciously. "What?"

"She's not really up to taking care of herself," he said slowly but started talking faster when Leia glowered. "Tycho's coming home with her."

"WHAT?" Leia exclaimed. "They're releasing him?"

He nodded. "He's been there for more than six months now, and Doctor Lur says he's made incredible progress over the last few weeks. She won't certify him to return to duty yet, but she says he's ready for outpatient therapy. AND she thinks that if he sees her regularly for the next month or two – every other day for a couple of hours – he'll be able to return to the squadron."

Leia was on her feet and by his side in a second. "Oh, Wedge, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "Winter must be thrilled."

"She is," he said, nodding. "She says she won't believe it until she wakes up next to him in the morning."

"I can imagine," Leia murmured. Then her smile disappeared. "Do you think he's ready, Wedge?"

"I think so. I was worried when I talked to him when we first got back, but Doctor Lur said that the way he was acting was to be expected, and that she thinks that he needs to be out and among people. She says that's the next step for him – he needs regular interaction. She told Winter to expect panic attacks from time to time, but that she – or one of us – should be all he needs to get through it."

"But what happens if he's alone?"

"He's not supposed to be left alone for very long. Besides, she says he's at a point where he might be depressed, but he won't be suicidal." He shrugged. "It all makes sense, if you think about it."

Leia nodded and retreated back to her desk. It did make sense…but living at home with his wife was a far cry from returning to a fighter squadron – and a position of command. Two months didn't seem like very long. "How do you feel about him returning to the squadron?"

That got to him. She could tell that he had his reservations, but he felt guilty in saying them. "I'm not sure," he finally admitted.

She motioned toward a chair. "Sit down. You look like you could do with talking to someone."

He nodded and sighed, but didn't sit. "I just…it's partly the job that pushed him to this point. I don't want to see him on the edge again."

"Wedge, it wasn't the job…it was his inability to cope with doing his job. He won't have that burden now, especially if he continues to talk to a therapist – if not Ishana Lur than someone else. And there's no way he'd be permitted to return to active duty without periodic visits with a psychiatrist. He'll be fine. Unless you're concerned that he can't do the job anymore."

That was it. She saw it in his face. "It's not a betrayal of him to have your debts, Wedge. He's been through a lot. A command position in a fighter squadron – especially in our current…situation – demands the ability to make difficult decisions quickly. There's no space for panic attacks or self-doubting. You know him very well, Wedge. If you think there's a chance – even in the face of what his doctor says – that he can't do the job, you should say something."

"I can't do that to him, Leia."

"It would be worse for him to be put in a position that he couldn't handle," she pointed out. "Think about it. And talk to him."

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Tycho opened the door and smiled broadly at Wedge. "Come on in."

Wedge stepped inside and walked with him into the living room. "How's it feel to be at home?" he asked after a moment.

"Terrific. I can…I mean, the last couple of weeks I was in the hospital I had a lot more freedom to do what I wanted. But it's nothing compared to this. I can leave…I can go down to the store if I want to. I can…" he trailed off and his face flushed. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling. It's just so…" he shook his head.

Wedge laughed out loud. "I can imagine. Different than after Lusankya or after Corran's trial?"

Tycho nodded. "I'm not sure how, exactly…but it is. It feels better. It's not only being out of the hospital, it's that I really do feel better. Ishana told me to expect to still have attacks, and I believe her that it might happen, but I do feel better."

He thought back to some of their conversations – specifically, the first time she'd brought up his potential return to the squadron. At the time he hadn't been sure about wanting to return. He still wasn't positive, but he was getting closer to deciding that it was what he wanted to do. "I talked to Winter about coming back to the squadron once I'm able."

Wedge shifted from foot to foot and Tycho frowned. "What is it?" When Wedge stayed silent, he asked again. "What's wrong?"

"Tycho, are you sure…I mean, really sure…that you'd be able to do it again? That you can do the job, no matter how difficult it gets?"

Tycho looked away. He'd been expecting this from someone, but not so soon. And not from Wedge. "You don't think I can do it?" he asked softly.

"It's not that. I just…I don't want you to feel like you have to if you have any doubts. No one would blame you for retiring. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. I just don't want you to make a mistake that you don't have to make. Don't push yourself too hard."

"I'm not, Wedge," Tycho replied quietly.

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Wedge stood outside Tycho and Winter's home, thinking about the conversation they'd just had. It wasn't at all how he'd intended for it to go, but as he thought about it more, he realized that what he'd said was actually what he'd meant…if that made any sense.

He walked to his speeder. He really did have faith in Tycho. He didn't think the man would put himself in danger unnecessarily – at least not now anyway. And he knew he would never put the others in danger. He just worried about him feeling like he was expected to return to the way things were before.

Sliding into the seat he leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment. There was so much going on that didn't make sense; he was starting to think it was rubbing off on his brain.

Putting the vehicle into gear, he headed home. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep next to Iella and forget about everything that was going on.

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"Jericho's been assassinated."

Iella jerked her head up from the sink where she'd been washing her face. "What did you say?"

"Jericho was assassinated. Late last night. It would seem that someone didn't like him moving into Hekrig's camp. He and three of his advisors were found dead. Looks like an inside job – not that we can get any of our people in there."

She grabbed a towel and dabbed at her face. "How's that?"

"Antoinn looks like it's headed for a Civil War."

Iella let her hair down and shook it out. "I say we let Hekrig handle it. Maybe it'll give him something else to focus on other than making our lives miserable." She headed for the kitchen, Wedge following behind her.

He glanced over his datapad as he took the cup of caf she offered. "There's more."

"Good or bad?" she asked, sipping her own as she leaned against the counter.

"I'm not sure. What you just said…about Hekrig handling it? You aren't far off. The last Karrde's heard, according to Mara, Hekrig's completely withdrawn from New Republic space."

"He'll be back."

"I know. But right now he IS paying attention to Antoinn. He's sent at least one ImpStar Deuce over, but he hasn't made any moves against the planet. Right now, the New Republic is leaving the situation to sort itself out."

Iella sipped her caf. "Not much they can do." She paused. "Any word on when we'll have a new ID?"

"Soon…Leia and Jesina have been talking to candidates…Jesina's praying it's within the next week."

"Good. She's doing a fine job, but we need a permanent person to run this, especially since it looks like this is going to be an Intel gig from here on in."

He nodded. "I talked to Ackbar last night. They're not sending Rogue out again until we have a full roster."

"How many spots do you have to fill? Just three, right?"

He shook his head. "Two."

She tilted her head to one side. "Who's the new pilot?"

"Not so new…" he hesitated. "Tycho's coming back."

Iella's eyes widened. "So soon?"

"Another month, but he will be back. He wasn't sure when I talked to him a couple of days ago, but I guess Ackbar had him come in yesterday, told him that command wants to see him return, and has faith that he'll be able to. Apparently, it made up his mind."

Iella set her mug down and hugged him across the counter. "That's a good thing, Wedge. Tycho's learned a lot from this. He won't make the same mistakes again. If he thinks he can come back, trust him on that. And be happy for him."

"I am…I'm just worried. I still feel like I missed it before…I don't want to see it happen again."

"You won't."

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Wedge stood at the front of the Rogues' briefing room. "I wanted to inform you that we have an addition to the squadron." He paused. "Actually, it's not an addition so much as a return." He glanced over at Jesina and Wes. "Tycho's returning. It'll be a few weeks, and it's pending final clearance from his doctor, but we're planning on his coming back."

"That said, there are no guarantees about anything…including his emotional stability. We would not – I repeat, WOULD NOT – allow him back into this squadron if there was any doubt about his ability to do his job. However, I realize that there is a chance that our opinions – and those of his doctor – may not be enough to assuage you of your own concerns. If any of you feel uncomfortable flying with him, we'll honor transfer requests, no questions asked."

Looking over the room, he could tell the people to whom that thought had occurred. Person, really – Ensa'dura, the man least familiar with Tycho, and with the judgment of the rest of the squadron. The rest all looked at each other in surprise, shaking their heads.

"Tycho himself asked me to tell you that," Wedge said softly. "He also asked me to tell you that if you have any concerns, you're free to approach him. You're also welcome to speak to myself, Jesina, Wes, or Tycho's doctor, Ishana Lur. Though she can't tell you anything specific about his case, she can explain why she believes him to be capable of returning to the squadron. We'll be on Coruscant for at least the next month, so you'll have plenty of time to speak to any of us before we have our next mission."

He stopped speaking when he saw Tycho enter through the back door of the briefing room, and nodded in his direction. At the slight movement from Wedge, all heads turned in Tycho's direction, and instantly everyone was out of their seats, swarming around him.

Wedge stayed at the front, joined a moment later by Wes and Jesina. "I don't think you have a whole lot to worry about," Wes said softly.

Wedge shook his head. The squadron certainly hadn't recovered from the last few months. Corran's "death," Tycho's ordeal, losing Duryll and Hobbie…each new problem had made things more difficult. But having Tycho return looked like it would do as much for the squad's morale as it would for Tycho's own confidence.

"No, I think it's gonna be okay." Until Hekrig comes back anyway, he thought.