I just wanted to thank you for reading. It's so encouraging to read your comments and see that what I am enjoying as a writer is also being enjoyed by you readers. So, I'll dedicate this chapter to you!

Chapter 10—

My mind was wandering again.

I was supposed to be devising a plan of action for apprehending Dif Scaur once Jaina and I reached Nar Shaddaa. In front of me on the table were the beginnings of said plan, but it was nowhere near finished. Instead I found my mind recalling what I had somehow missed over the past hour or so… Jaina and I had kissed.

Not only had she kissed me when I first awoke on her ship, the Jedi Sabre, but we had kissed again later, too. Amazingly, when she and I argued, that fact had seemed to slip from my memory. And how that happened I'll never know. Having the time to ruminate on the actual events, my body began to remember just how enjoyable it was to have my lips on hers. I think I had even slid my hands around her waist, in her hair, and Force only knows where else. My lips tingled and my fingers itched to touch her again.

What was wrong with me? Was I really fool enough to have those kinds of feelings for Jaina again?

Then I remembered the part of our discussion when I told her she was spoiled and selfish. The look on her face when I told her all those things Li'andra said made me feel like an instant heel. But I didn't let her know that. And then when she told me I wasn't the man she thought I was, well, let's just say that I'm sure the look on my face matched the one on hers. That hurt! And I have tough skin, after surviving all of the public scrutiny over the years. However, hearing something like that from Jaina…it was like the worldship incident all over again. Out of all the people in the galaxy, she was the one person whose opinion of me mattered most.

And now I had ruined it all with my stupid mouth.

With a disgusted snort, I pushed away the printouts in front of me and slumped back in my chair. I wasn't going to accomplish anything until I made things right with Jaina. Losing her was not an option. Having her in my life… it was… necessary…absolutely necessary.

Hopefully, it wasn't too late to make amends and still be friends. Although part of me was secretly starting to want more, especially after those kisses. What exactly did they mean to her? And what about me? What did I really think of them? I wasn't ready to write them off as mistakes any more. She had initiated them, told me I was the one she wanted. Wanted to what? And how? And when? Where? Here? Now?

I really had to talk to her again. If she told me to get out of her cockpit this time, she was in for a fight. I braced myself and headed back to the cockpit.

When I reached the door, I paused to listen. Was she…laughing? I keyed the open panel and poked my head inside. "Jaina?" I said, announcing my return.

She stopped laughing, more or less, when she turned to look at me, wiping the tears from her eyes. What was so funny? I wanted in on the joke, too, but I doubted she would share anything with me right now.

She cleared her throat and tried to straighten up. "Kyp," she stated simply. "May I help you?" she asked facetiously. Surprisingly, she seemed to be in a good mood.

I narrowed my gaze and studied her as I made my way further inside. "Um, yes, you can. I, uh, think we should talk…about what happened earlier," I explained, trying to sound confident.

Now it was her turn to study me, and her stare made me uncomfortable. After a few seconds, she finally spoke. "Talk, eh? You mean we haven't done enough of that already? What more could you possibly have to say to me? Did you forget something else that little Li'andra poisoned your mind with?"

Ouch. Touché. "Okay. I deserved that," I admitted. "Jaina, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Oh, really," she muttered, crossing her arms across her chest, and cocking an eyebrow indignantly.

"Yes, really," I replied. "I shouldn't have said all those things. It was stupid of me." A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, encouraging me to continue. "You know how I sometimes act before I think, and it was just the heat of the moment. I don't believe what Li'andra said. I was just confused, you know. I mean, you trick me and then shoot me and then you kissed me and I---"

"Kyp?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you trying to say you're sorry?" she clarified taking a few steps closer. There went that itching in my hands again. I wanted to reach out and touch her…pull her close and plant my lips on top of hers again. I wondered what she would do this time?

"Um, yeah. I am," I answered, my heart speeding up as she drew nearer. Finally, she was only a few inches away, so close I could see all of the flecks of color that melded together to create her incredible, brown eyes.

She looked up at me from underneath those gorgeous lashes, ran her finger down my chest, and whispered, "Then just say it."

I swallowed hard. "Jaina, I'm sorry," I said, suddenly feeling very warm.

"Good!" she exclaimed. Then she balled her fist and punched me hard in the stomach. "You should be!"

"Ow! That hurt, Jaina!" I managed to eek out trying to get my breath back.

"It was supposed to!" she yelled. "Now we're even."

"Hey," I said standing up straight again, "I didn't punch you!"

"No, but you really hurt me, Kyp. How could you believe those things about me? Especially coming from her? Can't you see that she hates me? She's jealous of what we have and is just evil enough to do anything to keep us apart."

"Keep us apart? What do you mean? Nothing could keep us apart, Jaina," I said.

That quieted her down. The frown left her face and was replaced by a softer, more hopeful expression. "Do you really mean that, Kyp?" she asked with a blush.

I reached out and took her hand. "Of course I mean it. You and me, we're like this," I explained, holding up the crossed fingers of my other hand.

"Good," she exclaimed with a relieved sigh. "Then you'll trust me to do the right thing for us, right?"

The right thing? What was she talking about?

"Please, Kyp," she pleaded. "Trust me." She looked right into my eyes and I couldn't look away. Right then I would have promised her anything.

"All right," I agreed. "I'll trust you."

"Great! Because we're here!"

My gaze turned to follow hers as we both looked out the viewport at the bustling, aerial capital of Bespin.

"Cloud City?" I asked, befuddled.

"Yep. Cloud City," she repeated. And when she turned to look at me again, the expression on her face was strangely frightening.

"You'd better sit down and strap in. We're about to land," she said with a grin and then moved to begin landing procedures.

I did as she said, still confused about why she was taking me here of all places. It was a bit out of the way from most other locales of importance and a long way from Nar Shaddaa. We would have to make quick time if we were to reach the Smuggler's Moon early enough to find Dif Scaur's contact.

"This is where you were taking me?" I asked. She nodded without looking away from her navigation instruments. "May I ask why?" I ventured. I was extremely curious about her plans for me…and us.

"Nope," was all she said. Just then a voice from Cloud City's landing dock crackled over the comm and her attention was diverted. I would have to wait to get my answers, it appeared.

Within twenty minutes, she had skillfully landed the Jedi Sabre in the crowded hangar bay. It was filled with star carriers being loaded with precious Tibanna gas, ready to be transported off-world to waiting consumers. Normally, we would have had to circle around for an hour or so before landing. How she had convinced them she could fit her ship right down in the middle of all of this was still a mystery to me. All I knew was she could be dangerously persuasive when she set her mind to it.

I checked the chrono and mentally calculated how much time it would take us to get to Nar Shaddaa from here. We would barely make it as long as we got refueled and out of here within a couple of hours. This was going to have to be a hasty visit.

Once I felt the mild thump of the landing repulsors, I unfastened my safety restraints and moved to exit the cockpit. Glancing over at Jaina, I noticed a nervous and almost expectant glint in her eyes.

"Everything okay?" I asked. "You know, if you're worried about making Nar Shaddaa on time, let me handle these fuel guys. Maybe a little mental persuasion will hurry them up a bit," I suggested, partly teasing to lighten the mood. My expertise in the art of mind control was legendary.

"I'm, uh, fine," she said unconvincingly. I frowned at her knowing she was lying, but we didn't have time to waste. I gestured for her to exit first out of the cockpit. On her way past me, she smiled briefly, took a deep breath and paused to say, "Just trust me." Then she walked out.

I followed her down the short corridor to the landing ramp. She was fidgeting with her fingers by her sides as we waited for the ramp to descend, and she refused to look at me. Before the ramp even touched the floor of the hangar bay, she was on her way down to greet a pair of droids. I saw her whisper something to one of them but only caught snatches of the conversation.

"…change of plans…won't need the room after all…"

She caught me listening and abruptly stopped, plastering a huge grin on her face.

"Everything okay?" I asked suspiciously. She nodded yes vigorously. Strange…

"Are you ready to begin?" one of the droids asked. It was a protocol droid similar to C3PO, only a much newer version, and it was gleaming in brilliant silver casings. An unfamiliar medallion was hanging around its neck, which probably denoted some type of rank, but I wasn't certain. The other was oval in shape, no legs or arms, and hovered beside the speaker. I assumed it was an assistant, if droids had assistants. It wouldn't surprise me. Not much did any more.

"Yeah," I replied. "We're in a bit of a hurry, so the quicker you can do this, the better."

"Of course, sir," the protocol droid responded in that same prissy accent all of them seemed to possess. "I understand your anticipation to complete this process as rapidly as possible. Let us begin. State your names, please."

"Jaina Solo," Jaina chimed in immediately, then looked to me as if urging me to hurry.

"Kyp Durron."

I noticed a small light shining from the smaller droid and decided it must be a holo-recorder, although I couldn't figure out why making refueling arrangements needed to be recorded. Must be some new security procedure.

"Birthdates and homeworlds, please," the droid prompted. I wrinkled my brow in confusion. This wasn't typical protocol, but before I could protest, Jaina piped up with her information. Force, she was still so young! Did I even remember my twenties? Did I want to?

Again I surrendered the requested information, quickly growing impatient. Time was wasting and we had a would-be criminal to apprehend.

"Now then," the droid continued, "do you, Kyp Durron, agree to—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I interrupted. My patience was gone. "Look, could we skip all of this formality and just do what is absolutely necessary to get this done? We are in a very dire hurry to get some place else. Just give us the economy version, okay, buddy? Bare minimum. Got it?"

The protocol droid seemed befuddled for a moment. He glanced at Jaina, who looked just as surprised as the droid. Then she seemed to recover. "You heard the man. Make it short and sweet," she drawled, and when I saw that Solo grin, something inside me twitched in fear.

"Of course," the droid replied. "May I assume, sir, that your response was an acceptance of the terms?"

I nodded, which appeared to appease Mr. Protocol, so then he turned to Jaina.

"Do you, Jaina Solo---" he began.

"Yes!" she exclaimed forcefully. "I do."

Finally! Maybe now we would get the fuel we needed so we could get out of here and down to business.

"Then, by the power vested in me by the governing body of Cloud City of the world of Bespin…"

Good grief! Could he be any more formal? All of this for some gas!

"…I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Time froze. All sound and motion stopped as my puny mind tried to wrap itself around the words I had just heard. Was I in an alternate universe?

"What—what did you just say?" I stuttered in disbelief. "I could swear you just said Jaina and I were man and wife." Then I chuckled.

"That is correct, sir," the droid replied.

I wasn't laughing any more.

"What—what are saying? That we're really married?" I glanced at Jaina who was standing there looking totally innocent.

"Yes, sir. You and Miss Solo are now legally married." As if on cue, the smaller, hovering droid whirred and beeped and a sheet of flimsiplast shot out from a slot in its body. The protocol droid took the sheet and gave it to me. "Here is your official marriage document. A copy has already been sent to our city's main computer." Next a small data disk protruded from another slit on the small droid, which the larger one extracted and handed to Jaina. "This is your holorecording of the ceremony to keep for your own records. May you both experience many, many years of blessed matrimony and thank you for visiting Cloud City."

With that, the droid bowed reverently, then pivoted around on his heel and began walking away, the other one following closely behind. I glanced down at the paper in my hand, skimming over the words printed on it. Sure looked official.

Then I looked at Jaina. She hadn't said a word since, "I do." Oh, sith! She simply grinned and shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"This is a joke, right?" I asked uncertainly. I called after the departing droids. "You're kidding, right? I'm not…we're not really…." I mumbled glancing back to Jaina. "Are we?"

She nodded an affirmative.

"Aren't you going to kiss the bride?"