Author's Thanks:

To my reviewers the SkyWolf clan, Dragonsdaughter1, and Queen Ame.

•F, L, & A SW - :D You guys must be fun to hang around... Thanks for sticking in. I enjoy your company. ;)

•Dd1 - Confusing... Sorry. Thanks for giving me that heads-up. I'm trying to figure out ways to work on that. (P.S. Sorry if my review seemed harsh. I didn't intend it that way.) :)

•QA - Ulh... You're not getting it? That would be my end... I tend to make my stories maddeningly complex. I am struggling to find methods of correcting that problem. Thank you. :)

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait, & short chapter. I'm starting to join story threads, so that might help... If you remember any story threads that I forget, remind me, please.

I haven't been on in awhile partially because I've been sick for four weeks. Still am. Lord willing, some of those doctors tests I went through today will reveal the problem. If not, there's the glucose test I'm going to have next week. School's stressing me out, & I've been so stuck on this story that I've felt guilty about showing my face...

Ne'er mind me. I want to hear your thoughts on this story, even if it's the worst you've ever read. The usual stipulations of no blaspheming or swearing apply. Thank you. :)

Enjoy! :)

TWENTY-EIGHT

A yelp awoke her.

Queen Mother Tenel Ka leapt up and reached the door to Ben's quarters as the other two escapees did so.

The pregnant blonde was scowling. The woman knocked on the boy—man's—door. "Ben?" she called.

They could hear someone dragging himself to the door.

It hissed open, its opener pale. "Sorry," Ben hoarsely apologized.

"Who is it?" The blonde, though terse, spoke softly, supporting Ben's arm.

The apparent youth distractedly shook his head. "Tiara De," he choked. "She's hurt. ...Her hip and arm, I think," he added. "She's shielding hard."

Tenel Ka frowned. "She shields, yet you sense her?"

Ben shrugged stiffly. "We've been together most our lives."

" 'Together'?" the man asked drily.

Benji rolled his eyes. "In the same place... Friends. We've been on Dathomir, for Force sakes. If she had captured a husband, it definitely wouldn't have been me."

"What makes you say that?" The woman's voice now held a sardonic tone.

"We're best friends. Why would we ruin that with marrying?"

The Queen Mother considered his words. The two fellow escapees coughed, sharing a glance.

"That wouldn't exactly ruin your relationship, Ben..." the blonde tried to explain.

"It would when she had one of her nightmares and killed me in her sleep."

"Oh. Now that's a reason."

"You are best friends?" asked Tenel Ka of the blonde and her companion.

"Could've fooled me," the man wryly commented.

The blond slapped him. "Shutup, Oafy!"

"Hush, little girl. Go take a nap."

"I don't think so—"

Ben rolled his eyes and went back to bed. Tenel Ka followed cue and headed to the cockpit, leaving the couple to their bickering.

• • •

"No."

Tenel Ka turned to the blonde. The woman was staring dully at the empty viewscreen. She'd joined the Queen Mother awhile prior, silently checking over the navicomputer.

"Siri?" Her companion ducked in, covered in circuit grease. "What's the matter?"

Siri moved a hand to her abdomen. "Obi-Wan," she whispered.

Tenel Ka raised an eyebrow. The man's name was Obi-Wan?

He hovered near the woman... his wife, she guessed. After a moment, distress emitted from him, as well.

With a frown, she probed the Force for clues to whatever bothered them.

She couldn't sense the child.

The Queen Mother left the cockpit to allow the couple privacy to mourn their son. She wondered what had happened. He had been healthy enough...

Stepping into her bunk-room, she smacked into a Force-wave of danger which drove her to her knees. She dimly heard another yelp from Benji.

The boy-man staggered in, sweating. "You... okay?" he wheezed.

She stared blankly at him.

He gulped a few times and called for "General Kenobi". A part of her recognized that was strange, but she couldn't focus enough to figure out what.

The danger wasn't hers.

Face composed the couple hurried in. "Wh—?" The blonde knelt beside her.

"It's Jacen."

"Jacen Solo? Didn't Vergere say..." The woman caught herself and blushed. "Never mind," she muttered, sending a calming pulse of Force-energy towards Tenel Ka. Her husband joined in, his Force-power muted.

"Thank you. I am fine." Now able to concentrate, she stood up and headed for the cockpit. "I must help my friend."

"Don't we all," the man, General Obi-Wan Kenobi, said grimly.

She stopped, whirling to face him, lightsaber ready. "Obi-Wan Kenobi died over thirty years ago."

"And...?"

"Vergere died too soon to have met you after leaving the Yuuzhan Vong."

The blonde grimaced. "Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't true."

"Fact." Her blunt statement caught the couple off guard. "Therefore, explain."

The other woman eyed her as if she wasn't sure if Tenel Ka was up to something. 'Kenobi' smiled slightly. "Very well. We'll explain the little we understand." He glanced at Benji. "After changing course to Naboo."

"Naboo?"

"That's where Jacen is." With the smile, he headed towards the cockpit.

"I'll do it—" his wife and Benji said simultaneously.

A scowl flashed over her face before the blonde caught herself and smiled. She waved the apparent youth on. "No mimicking your uncle, now."

"Yes, Master Tachi!" After a hasty bow, he scampered to the cockpit.

"His uncle?"

Tachi gave Kenobi an incredulous stare. "You can't tell?"

Her husband frowned. "We'll discuss this later. Now, we have the explanations to give." He paused. "Perhaps these would be better digested with some tea..."

They headed for the galley.

Grinning, Benji Naberrie darted into the cockpit and slipped into the pilot's chair. He patted the controls.

"Sweet ship," he breathed. But now, that he was away from the others, he let his grin slip, revealing a strained suppression of pain.

He tapped a few buttons, at ease. He checked their location and trajectory. A rapid mental calculation told him they'd reach Naboo faster if he waited seventeen-point-one minutes to drop out of hyperspace and alter course. There was a shortcut over by Tatooine, though no one knew of it. His aunt had found it on accident and had told no one, her bodyguard included, until...

It was hazardous, yes, but he was certain he could manage the microjumps and such well enough that the General wouldn't be able to complain. And Master Tachi could always take over. She knew it, too.

Timing himself so he'd plan it right, he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

In his mind, he gently reeled, snipped, and tightened strands, clearing out the tangle that had developed between himself and his dear friend since he—he and sis—had helped her escape.

He bit back a sob.

She'd never called her 'bro', or any brotherly term like that. She'd suspected, like everyone else.

Like he did.

He remembered his Force-granted dream from a few nights ago. He made the connection to what he feared.

He didn't let himself groan. They'd hear him. But still... It hurt. It really, really hurt.

"Mom," he whispered to nobody, wiping away a tear. "Why didn't you tell me?"