Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or the New Jedi Order.

Author's Note: Here's another lovely chapter for you to read and enjoy! This chapter would had been up sooner, but I just got the graphic novel and the novel version of Episode Three. SPOILERS WARNING there are some things in here that happen in the movie. Sorry, but it's the only way because of what happens later in the story. Well enjoy and please please please review!

Chapter 21: Journey Home

While most children at age seven spend their days being with their friends and family, Caylee Skywalker was separated from hers. And while most children her age had never experienced death first hand, Caylee had experienced its several times.

Caylee sighed deeply as she starred out the window on the Gungan Bongo on the way to the underwater Gungan city. Here she was on her way to yet another funeral. As soon as she and Kandra had arrived on Naboo, they had been approached by some waiting Gungans. Leia had informed them ahead of time that they were returning home for a while and to watch their backs. And the Gungans happily agreed to the request of the daughter of the former Queen of Naboo.

But what they told Caylee and Kandra was the Jar Jar Binks had passed away and that Tara wanted Caylee there, since now Tara was an orphan. Her parents had both been killed when she was very young. That was one reason she and Caylee were so close – they both had parents that had been killed.

"Send a pregnant body to Naboo we will. Must seem that she was still pregnant when she died." Master Yoda said.

"What about the children?" Bail Organa asked. "My wife and I will be more then willing to take Leia and raise her as our own. We have talked about adopting a daughter for sometime now."

"Agree with you I do." Yoda said.

"And I will take Luke to the Lars on Tatooine. And I will stay there and watch over him." Obi-Wan said.

"What about Padmé? She needs protection." Bail asked.

"Protected she is. Taken far away from all of this." Yoda replied.

"By who?" Obi-Wan asked.

"A child of light and hope."

Obi-Wan and Bail looked at each other then looked at Yoda. The wise Jedi Master said no more.

An old woman sat up breathing hard, awaken from her sleep by a dream of the past. It seemed so long ago that she was saved from the terror all around her. She remember that day like it was yesterday. But for the life of her she could not remember the name of the young couple that had protected her for a while until they felt it was safe to leave her alone. The only name she could remember was their last name.

Hendrix.

The funeral was much like any funeral that Caylee had been to. Afterwards she and Tara sat off to the side, staying out of everyone else's way while they visited and shared memories. There were several humans in the mix of Gungans. But none of them Caylee knew. But one seemed to be interested in her.

"Excuse me, but who is that with Jar Jar's granddaughter?" an older woman softly asked the Gungan she was talking with.

"Thatsa Caylee. Her daddio is a Jedi Master. She and Tara the bestest friends."

"I wonder…" the old woman thought to herself at she starred at the strawberry blonde haired, blue eyed little girl. She quickly excused herself from the Gungan she was talking with and made her way towards the young child. There was something drawing her towards this child.

But as she got closer, she was abruptly stopped by two hideous looking beings. These beings looked like they were going to attack her.

"Kad'lka! Taraka! It's ok. I doubt that she will do anything bad to me." Caylee said standing up and coming towards the group.

Nadia watched as the beings backed away, but still kept an eye on her. They seemed to be suspicious beings to her.

"I'm sorry about them. They are Noghri and they are a bit overprotective of me. My daddy and aunt told them to be," Caylee said smiling up at the older woman.

"Ohsa! Thisa is Nadia! She is a friend of misa grandpa," Tara said joining the little group. "Nadia, thisa Caylee! Nadia is going to take care of me now!"

"Very nice to meet you Caylee."

Caylee said the same in return.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question Caylee?" Nadia asked as she sat down on a nearby chair.

"Sure go ahead."

"Why does someone as young as you have two very dedicated bodyguards?"

"My daddy and his friends think that the monsters are going to come after me and kill me. That's why he sent me home instead of sending me with the other Jedi students to the new hidden place."

"So your daddy is a Jedi?" Nadia asked.

Caylee nodded yes. "He's the head of the Jedi. But someday I'm going to take his place."

Nadia smiled. "You're smart for such a young girl. How old are you?"

"I'm seven but almost eight I think. Ever since the war started, I really don't celebrate my birthday. My daddy is too busy fighting the monsters."

Nadia saw Caylee's lower lip quiver. "You miss your daddy don't you?" she gently asked.

Caylee looked down at the floor and nodded yes as she wiped tears away from her eyes. "I'm scared that my daddy isn't going to come home from his mission that he is on right now. I feel darkness."

Nadia tilted Caylee's face up so she could see it and gently wiped the rest of her tears away. "I'm sure that he will come back. Just never loose hope."

"Thank you," Caylee said turning towards a woman who was calling her. "That's my nanny Kandra. We have to leave now. It was nice talking to you."

"You too my dear."

Caylee smiled once again, and then ran off towards her nanny.

"So much like him…but still there is something about her…"

Over the next few weeks, Caylee would see Nadia here and there around Theed. So once every few days, Nadia invited Caylee over for tea. And Caylee always was happy to go, since she also got to spend time with Tara. Kandra let her as long as she followed the rules set by her father – always keep Kad'lka by her side.

"Tell me about your parents, Caylee. You always talk about your daddy a lot. What about your mother?" Nadia asked one afternoon.

"My mommy died when I was three. A bad Jedi killed her and took my twin brother away. I miss them both a lot."

"I'm sorry Caylee."

"It's ok. I have lots of honor parents and there is my grandpa, Aunt Leia, Uncle Han, Jacen and Jaina too! Oh and then there is Threepio, Artoo, and Artie. I did have a cousin named Anakin, but he died."

Nadia just about choked on the tea she was drinking. But she covered it up well enough that Caylee didn't notice. "Caylee what is your last name?"

"Skywalker."

That was when Nadia knew it. Caylee was exactly who Nadia thought she was.

Kyto Fouste slowly made his way in the darkness that surrounded him. He had been chosen, after much convincing, to go after the Skywalker girl instead of the Yuuzhan Vong. He had convinced Namon Trekk that he could find her and kill her in a much less noticeable way then the Yuuzhan Vong could. But then Trekk had changed his mind. Instead of killing the girl, he wanted her brought back to Galena and trained in Sith ways. And Fouste agreed to that.

"This shouldn't be too hard. Just a little girl and her nanny. I'll wait for just the right time to strike," he thought to himself as he watched the house where Caylee and Kandra were.

After a few weeks on Naboo, Caylee received word that her father and grandfather were alive and back from their mission to Courscant.

"Caylee I promise that as soon as things are settled on Mon Calamari, I'll send for you. I hope that you are being good. I love you. And your grandfather sends his love."

Caylee smiled and wiped the tears away as the image of her father disappeared and she set the holopad down. Kandra hugged her tightly and Caylee hugged her back. "See I told you that your daddy and grandpa would be alright. It won't be long until you'll be back with him." Kandra gently said. "Now you know we have to destroy this holopad."

"I know to protect everyone. But can I show it to Nadia first? I want to show her a picture of daddy."

"Sure. But come right home."

Caylee said she would and ran out the door.

As Nadia watched the image of Caylee's father, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart. She was so close yet so far from her family. All she wanted was to tell this little girl the truth. The truth about everything.

"I have to go now Nadia. Kandra said I had to bring this home so it can be destroyed. There are too many people in danger if it gets stolen."

That's quite alright Caylee," she said smiling.

Caylee said thank you and hugged Nadia goodbye.

Nadia stood out on her porch and watched Caylee run down the street towards her house. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm your grandmother," Nadia whispered to the wind.

"They're what!" Jacen screamed.

"They are going after her. They want to kill her." Vergere quietly said.

"We're going to save her. I won't let anymore of my family die!" Jacen said turning the controls of the ship.

"Caylee I'm coming for you. Don't worry."

Jacen? Was it really Jacen?

Caylee wasn't sure, but it felt like her cousin was reaching out to her. Caylee closed her eyes and let the Force surround her.

Jacen is that you?

All she got back was a brotherly nudge that she would often get from Jacen and Anakin, when they were all on Yavin 4 together. She smiled to herself as she sent his nudge back to him.

"Caylee! Caylee! Wake up!" Kandra said frantically as she shook Caylee awake.

"Hun?" Caylee asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What is it?"

"We have to go now," Kandra said forcing Caylee out of the bed. "They are coming for you!"

Once Caylee was out of bed, Kandra practically picked her up and ran from the house towards the woods. As usual, the Noghri were right behind them.

"What is it?" Caylee asked, when Kandra finally sat her down.

"A dark Jedi was going to attack us tonight and kill us both. Jacen made it here just in time. He is going to fight the Jedi."

"Jacen's here!"

"Yes. But keep still and wait for Jacen to return to get us."

Caylee nodded yes as she watched and waited.

Fouste quietly made his way through the dark house. He felt several different presences in the house. But the one he wanted was in the back bedroom.

The door to the Skywalker girl's bedroom slid opened. Fouste lit his lightsaber and was about to strike the sleeping object in the bed, when something caught his eye.

"You're too late. I've saved her."

Fouste turned around and was face to face with a young man that was about his height and age.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Does that matter? So why not make this an even match. Fight me for the girl," Jacen said powering on his lightsaber.

"Very well then." Fouste said making the first move. Jacen quickly blocked his blow. And it began.

Caylee waited patiently and watched her home. She could see the flashes of red and blue volley back and forth. Suddenly she felt a sense of urgency through the Force. Urgency to get out of the way. She knew something was about to happen. And that something was going to be huge.

And just as the house exploded, Caylee had managed to put up a Force bubble large enough to surround herself, Kandra, Kad'lka and Taraka. It had been the largest one she had every made.

"Jacen!" Caylee cried as she let the bubble down and broke into a run back towards the burning house. She couldn't feel her cousin's presence anywhere.

"Caylee stop!" Kandra yelled running after her.

But Caylee didn't listen. At the moment, Caylee didn't care if she lived or died. All she wanted right now was to find her cousin. She absolutely couldn't bear to loose anymore of her family members.

'JACEN ANWSER ME! ' Caylee cried into the Force.

"Over here Caylee," Jacen weakly called out loud to her.

Caylee found him partly covered with debris. She began to frantically move the debris from on top of him. Once enough had been moved from him, she collapsed into his arms and cried. She knew that Jacen didn't look like the Jacen she had always known, but she knew and understood what he had been through. The Yuuzhan Vong had held him, just like she had been. But in his case, he had been held for much longer.

"Come on Caylee. We have to get you off planet." Jacen said struggling to get up off the ground. She helped him up.

The small group slowly made its way towards Theed. By then most of the city had heard or found out about the explosion. And that included both Tara and Nadia.

"Yousa ok Caylee?" Tara asked running towards her through the crowd that had begun to form.

Caylee shook her head yes.

By then Nadia had made her way forward as well. "Where are you going to go?" she asked.

"She needs to be with her father or at least near to him. I can't take her on the ship I came on; it's just too dangerous. Do you know of any pilots that can take her to Mon Calamari?" Jacen asked Nadia.

Nadia smiled and nodded yes.

Jacen knelt in front of Caylee. "Don't worry Caylee, I promise that everything is going to be alrght. The Yuuzhan Vong are fast approaching here. But I'm going to lure them away for long enough to get you away from here. I will then catch up with you. Just make sure to leave yourself open to the Force."

"I will," she said hugging her cousin tightly.

Jacen stood up and broke into a run in one directions, while everyone else went in the other. And deep in her heart, Caylee hoped that nothing else bad would happen.