Finnegan Stormchaser watched his niece and nephew-in-law head back to their house. He shook his head again. "Like father, like daughter. Why am I cursed with such stubborn relatives?" He took off his lab coat, and headed toward his speeder. Wedge Antilles had told him an interesting rumor about who was staying at the local hotel in Desperanda. The second of the blue suns was finally reaching zenith in the violet sky. It was already noon, and Finn knew it was a good thirty minutes just to reach the outskirts of the space port city. If his plan was going to work, he had to leave now. This person he was hoping to meet was more stubborn than his niece.

The drive to Desperanda was uneventful, and soon he could see the two story hotel looming in front of him. Despite being the space port city of the planet, it was still a very small city, barely larger than towns on other planets. The two story hotel was all it needed for the travelers that passed through on their way to bigger and more populous planets. Parking his speeder, Finn stepped out and headed inside.

The atmosphere inside reminded him of most Cantinas he had been in; smoky and dark. Taking a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the lower light, he began to scan the area for the general. He didn't take long to find him. Firions were rare in the galaxy, so they tended to stick out in a crowd. The dark blue alien was bent over the bar, as if trying to hide how tall and muscular he really was. Finn walked over, and tweaked the dreadlock-like head tentacles as he slid into the seat next to general. "You know, it's barely noon, General, perhaps you could hold off on the drinking till after five. Might make you less conspicuous."

"Finny, why do you still insist on calling me general?" The Firion asked him, setting his drink aside, and grabbing a handful of beer nuts.

"Because you still insist on being a stubborn idiot, sir. And the brother I know is stubborn, but not an idiot." Finn ordered a glass of water, and took a handful of nuts himself. "Honestly," he said around the nuts in his mouth, "I'm surprised you actually came. When Wedge told me you were here, well, I had to see it for myself."

"Why were you surprised, Finny? You're the one who invited me out here, and frankly, I'm curious as to why." He took another drink, ignoring the glare from his older brother. "As you still insist on calling me everything other than Drogo, it's obviously not a social visit. So what's this about, i Doctor /i ?"

"I think you know." Finn took a drink from his water, giving a sidelong glance at his brother.

"Well, I'm an idiot, remember? Perhaps you could enlighten me."

Finn slammed his glass down. "It's been four years, Drogo. She misses you."

"Really? She hasn't exactly been breaking down my door to try and patch things up. As I recall, she was the one who told me that she didn't have a father anymore."

"And as I recall, she only said that after you called her fiancée a low life scoundrel, and would have nothing to do with her until she broke up with him." He turned to face his brother. "What do you have against the boy, anyways? Before he started seriously dating Rona, you had nothing against him. In fact, as I remember, you once called him a better man than you were. After all, he stayed with Rona during the hardest time in her life when you couldn't take it anymore."

"I have my reasons." He threw another handful of nuts in his mouth, and washed them down with his Correlian whiskey.

"You know she cried at her wedding?"

Drogo shrugged. "Don't most 'blushing brides' cry at their weddings?"

"Yes, but she cried because you weren't there to walk her down that isle. Devona showed up to her wedding, and Rona can't stand her! But the man who raised her couldn't be bothered to even show up."

"I was there," he muttered.

"I mean, she was hoping up to the last minute—wait, what? You were there!" Finn grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at him. "You were there, and you didn't say anything! You're daughter's day was pretty much ruined because all she could think was that her father wanted nothing to do with her, and you were there! I was wrong. You're not an idiot, you're an incorrigible bastard! How could you show up and not say anything?"

"I didn't think she would want to see me. I thought I would ruin her day if I did let her know she was there." He turned and ordered another whiskey. "She looked beautiful, didn't she? I think I realized then she wasn't my little girl anymore." He shook his head, and took his drink in his hand. "Not mine, not anymore." Finn couldn't be sure, but he swore he saw a tear form in Drogo's eye as he downed the whiskey.

"What are your reasons for hating Darren? You have told me everything before, why is this any different?" Finn said, letting go of his brother. "Has he done something that has led to this belief that he's not good enough for Ronnie?"

Drogo sighed. He set his glass down. "No, he hasn't done anything. It's just…look, you have to promise not to judge, okay?"

"Have I ever, i ever /i judged you before? I think you're an idiot, and you really screwed things up with you and Ronnie, but you are still my kid brother, and no matter what you've done, nothing will change that."

Drogo took a deep breath. "It's a feeling. A strong feeling that Darren is going to break Ronnie's heart. I don't want to see her get hurt, that's all."

"A feeling?"

"You said you wouldn't judge."

"I'm not judging. I'm just wondering…how reliable are your feelings? I mean, have they ever been wrong?"

"Well, yes, once."

"And this one couldn't be wrong? There's not a chance that this one is wrong too?" Drogo Shrugged. Finn nodded. "But you're willing to ruin your relationship with Rona on the off chance that this one isn't wrong?"

"I said it was wrong once, Finny. Most of the time they are right on the mark. But," he reluctantly added, "I suppose I shouldn't judge too harshly until I've seen them really together. I really fucked things up, didn't I?"

Finny nodded. "Yeah, you did. And it's time you fixed this up." Grabbing his younger brother by the arm, Finnegan began to drag Drogo out of the hotel bar.

"Hey, wait, you're not….please tell me you're not dragging me to the homestead!" He downed his drink, and used his free hand to toss a few credits at the bartender. He hoped that would be enough to cover his tab.

"Of course I am. Why do you think I brought you here?" Finny said, opening the door, and stepping into the brighter daylight. He squinted as his eyes adjusted once again to a different light setting. "I'm sick and tired of you two moping about this four year feud. Both of you want it over, but both of you are too stubborn to do anything about it. You're waiting for the other to make the first move." He flung Drogo onto the speeder. "Well, I'm tired of waiting, so I'm making the first move for you. I deliberately told her not to leave for Coruscant till tomorrow. You are going to set things right, and you're going to do it today. Now, get in the speeder." He waited until his brother climbed in. then he too hoped into the speeder, and gunned the engine.

"What makes you think I'm wrong?" Drogo said after ten minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Remember Mom and Dad?"

"A little."

"Well, I remember more. I remember how much they were in love with each other. They acted like newlyweds, even though they had been married for years."

"Yeah, and…"

"Darren and Rona are the same way. They've been seriously dating for seven years, and married for four of those years, and they still act like they're on their first real date."

"Okay, I get it. They are right for each other. I was acting the Nerf's ass." Drogo watched the woods pass by. Had it really been almost five years ago that he and Rona were chasing Devona through them, trying to rescue Kaala and Nicca? Back then they were such a team. Now, they hadn't spoken since the she had gotten engaged. Was it really that he thought Darren would hurt her, or was it that he wasn't ready to let her go? "Wait, what did you mean you ordered her to stay at home today? You couldn't tell a superior what to do unless…unless she came to you medically." He turned to Finnegan, his eyes full of concern. "What's wrong? What happened to her?"

"It's nothing that I can tell you. Patient confidentiality, you know. But you shouldn't be concerned. She's not seriously hurt or anything."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Look, if it was something serious, don't you think I would tell you as her father? Just trust me, Dro. You don't need to worry."

"Okay, I'll trust you, but I've had way too many secrets to deal with since Kaala's call earlier."