Jaina glanced around the table one more time as her father and uncle reminisced over the past. Her eyes locked on her twin's and they both grinned, happy to be away from the everyday demands of the war. Grabbing another piece of Corellian wheat bread, Jaina leaned back in her chair and alternated between sipping her sweet Ganessa juice and munching on the wheat bread. She really missed being able to have a family meal and although two of the family was gone, never to be replaced, her family felt whole once more.
A hand on her right forearm jolted her back to the conversation at hand. Looking to her right, she met Tahiri's green-eyed gaze and smiled; she knew her longtime friend was thinking along the same lines. When Leia addressed Jaina she broke the eye contact. "You've been quiet this morning, Jaina," she said, running a concerned eye over her daughter. "Are you feeling okay?"
Smiling at her mother's concern, she brushed it off with a shrug and said, "I'm feeling fine, I'm a bit tired but that's to be expected. I guess I really need this time off."
"I know what you mean," Mara commented. "Blackmoon has kept me busy and now with Ben here I'm on the brink of exhaustion."
Jaina grinned at her small cousin who had diverted his attention from his food at the mention of his name. "I could help you out Aunt Mara," Jaina offered, stifling a giggle as Ben used the Force to unsuccessfully bring his juice to his syrup caked hand. The juice floated into the air shakily and caught the pitcher of juice and dumped it onto his unsuspecting father's lap. Her uncle, startled out of his fighter conversation with Han, jumped up in surprise and nearly knocked the open syrup container onto Han's lap. Her father's pilot reflexes were the only thing that saved him from looking like his brother-in-law, who had a purple juice stain covering his beige pants.
Unable to control the urge after seeing the look of disbelief on her uncle's face, Jaina burst into laughter, soon joined by everyone except her unfortunate uncle. Clutching her sides aching sides, Mara answered, "I'm sure Luke would appreciate the help."
After Ben's little accident the meal continued without any more mishaps. The family soon retired to the sitting room for some cookies, and Jaina expectantly looked at her brother and her sister-in-law, who were seated opposite her on a red plush chair. Danni was sitting on the chair and Jacen was perched on the arm with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Tahiri was sitting on the couch next to Jaina and doggedly putting up with Ben's antics; at the moment he was trying to steal some more cookies and his undeveloped Force control was shaky at best. Tahiri glanced over at Jaina and rolled her eyes at the smile on her face. A loud cough from Jacen brought everyone's gaze to him, most of them questioning, excluding Jaina, Tahiri, and, of course, Danni.
"What is it, brother dear?" Jaina prompted, though she knew exactly why he wanted their attention. She sat forward in anticipation and sent her support through their twin bond. He gratefully accepted it and turned towards the other couch that held four expectant faces.
Taking a deep breath, he squeezed Danni's arm and said, "Danni and I have some unexpected, but wonderful, news." Pausing in dramatic effect, he glanced at Jaina and Tahiri and smiled at the thumbs-up he received. Turning back to the four who didn't know, he said, "Mom, Dad, I hope you two wouldn't mind being known as grandparents." Han's mouth dropped open in surprise and Leia's grip on her husband's hands tightened, making her knuckles white. Her face then broke into a large grin and a laugh escaped her mouth.
"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed, standing up from the couch and dragging her still shocked husband behind her as she reached the arm chair that Jacen and Danni were situated on. Luke and Mara weren't very far behind them, both with huge grins upon their faces. Danni was pulled from Jacen's hold and into a hug from Leia. Jacen, who was grinning from ear-to-ear, was patted on the back by Luke and was given an uncharacteristic hug by Han.
Ben, knowing that he shouldn't interrupt the moment, clapped and bounced up and down on the couch while saying, "Jasa gonna hafa watch mes more!" Jaina giggled at Ben's pronouncement and pulled Ben into arms as she stood up to congratulate her twin. Tahiri hung back for a moment and then was at Jaina's side as they joined the well-wishers.
When Jacen had gotten married, Jaina had been a little upset. She'd always thought that she'd be the first Solo kid to tie the knot. She always liked being first, and it had taken a few days to accept that Jacen deserved that happiness. Now that they were having a baby, she felt happy for them. No, it was more than that, she felt ecstatic for them and at the prospect of becoming an aunt for the first time (and hopefully not the last). She wouldn't deny that she was jealous though; when Ben was born she had realized how much she wanted a family. Now that she was seeing her twin have one she wanted a family so much more, but she wouldn't let her jealousy over that fact ruin her twin's chance at happiness.
Before Jaina could do anything but stand there, Jacen wrapped her and Ben in a tight hug, with Ben protesting in the middle. Laughing at Ben's complaints, she got on her tiptoes to kiss her twins cheek. She was the shorter of the two so she had to strain to reach his cheek, making Jacen laugh. "You deserve this, you know," she whispered. Blinking back a few tears as she recalled her younger brother. iIf only he could be here too/i she thought sadly.
"He is here, Jaya," Jacen said, using her old childhood nickname.
"I know," she murmured, a small bittersweet smile finding its way onto her features. "But it's not the same." Jacen couldn't argue with that, so he responded with another hug and then he released her so he could hug Tahiri.
Their tender moment was broken all of a sudden by the wailing of an alarm, alerting the people on the iDream/i of Vong in the area. "They're gettin' bolder an' bolder," Jaina commented as she dumped Ben off on her aunt and raced to General Antilles' office, her mind set on getting Twins into the skirmish.
