Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, Kotor, Kotor 2, or the song Every Thug Needs A Lady. This author is supported by the Star Wars Unlimited Fan Club. Why? Because they love me. This chapter also has a lot of going back and forth between the characters. I wrote this over the course of a few particularly bad storms to get in the mood.
You know it starts here
Outside waiting in the cold
Kiss me once in the snow
I swear it never gets old
And I will promise you
I can make it warmer next year
Every Thug Needs a Lady, Alkaline Trio
Dantooine
Brianna Kae sat outside of the Jedi Enclave. Dark clouds were moving and the wind was blowing gently for the time being. She sat beside a statue of a short female Jedi. Its commanding yet calm presence was familiar to Brianna, even though she could barely remember. Caleb was right though, there was a statue of her mother there. She had lost track of time as she sat on a stone bench staring at the statue of her mother. The sky was steadily growing darker and the wind blowing even stronger every so often. "There you are," said Caleb coming up from behind her. He had to meet with the council along with Revan so she had decided to take a walk. It had led her to the statue of her mother outside the enclave. "I've been looking all over for you. It looks like it's going to storm soon."
"I've never seen a thunder storm," she whispered, looking away. "Telos never had them in the polar regions and I can't remember them from when I was with my mother." Caleb moved to sit next to her on the bench. The sound of thunder rumbled on in the background of the normally quiet plains. The tall grass began to bend in the wind and from a distance looked like an ocean of yellow. The air smelt of the rain that threatened to fall. The wind brought a slight chill with it.
"Do you want to watch this one with me?" he asked her as they sat close together. Caleb brought his hand up to her soft, white hair and gently stroked it.
"Okay," she said softly, looking into his eyes. The lightning that flashed behind them reflected in her blue eyes as Caleb gazed back into them.
"We better move under the awning so we don't get struck," he said as he stood up and held out his hand for hers to help her up. They both walked over to a roofed over area near the entrance to the Enclave as the rain began to pour down soaking them both.
Other side of the Jedi EnclaveBastila Shan stared out onto the plains at the storm that was fast approaching. She hated storms, ever since she was little. And as she got older, she found that they only reminded her of her father. He loved storms and she used to sit with him and watch them come in. She could remember sitting on his lap hiding her face in his chest because the noise of thunder frightened her. The only time she could even remotely feel comfortable in them now was with Revan at her side. As the rain began to fall she felt two warm hands snake around her waist. "It's about time, what took you so long, Revan?" he dropped his mind barrier and unblocked his force presence. "You can't scare me like that anymore, I got used to it," she added.
"The council took forever, as usual. Sitting there for two hours listening to them babble on how nice it is to have me back and making me explain where I've been for the past five years wasn't exactly what I call fun," he pulled her closer to him. "Now standing here with you, that's enjoyable." Lightning flashed in the distance and Bastila jumped slightly in Revan's warm embrace. "You still don't like storms do you? We can go inside if you want."
"No… no it's okay. As long as I have you here with me, I'll be fine, just like all the other times," she said as she placed her hands on his at her hips and rested her head on his chest. "I never liked the rain, not until I found you." Revan planted a light kiss on her head as the thunder rumbled louder with each lightning strike. Revan had finally shaved off the wild beard he had grown over the course of nearly five years and his normally short black hair was cut slightly longer than it once was, but at least it was an improvement from beingway past his shoulders. The rain began to pour a little harder. They were both standing under a small awning on the west side of the Enclave. The wind whipped through their hair and blew some rain at them. "Why did you have to go," Bastila whispered, breaking the comfortable silence between them.
Revan sighed; he had been waiting for her to ask this. "I had horrible visions of the future, a future filled with death and destruction, a future with no functioning government ruled by the Sith, but worst of all a future without you," Revan held her tighter as lightning struck nearby. "My memories came back to me, I remembered what I found during the Mandalorian Wars. The true Sith are after me. They won't stop until they kill the both of us. They will kill all I hold dear and then kill me and destroy the Republic. They plan to wage war against the Republic. One of my old masters, Kreia, told me I had to go alone to face them. She was wrong and I was wrong, sending me alone was my death sentence. You saved me Bastila, but now we have to stop the Sith and I don't know how," he looked like he was ready to break down so Bastila turned in his arms and held him. "I want to protect you, but I can't. Bastila what are we going to do? Whenever we finally have time to ourselves, it is taken away from us. Five years ago I wanted to marry you but even that was taken from me."
Bastila stood in shock; she didn't know what to say to that. She wore his ring on her finger after all these years waiting for him to come back to her to finish the job. She couldn't bear to have him taken from her again, it would break her heart so far this time there could be no return or light left in her life. "I missed you so much, I didn't think I would ever see you again."
"I love you Bastila, and I missed you too. So much that you were all that kept me going," at that moment she turned in his arms and held desperately onto him. Revan held her with the same intensity as the storm raged around them. "What would you say if I asked you if you wanted to get married tomorrow?" he asked after a few minutes.
"I would say 'Sure, why not, I don't want to wait any longer'."
"Good, want to get married tomorrow?"
"Sure, why not, I don't want to wait any longer," they both laughed and shared a passionate kiss.
Meanwhile…Caleb Veers held Brianna to him as they watched the storm together. They were both soaking wet and starting to get cold, but it didn't matter to either of them. All that mattered was that they had each other. Brianna watched a bolt of white-hot lightning strike nearby and jumped slightly as did Caleb. "A bit close for comfort don't you think?" he asked her.
"Yes, just a little," she replied, moving closer to him.
"You're so beautiful when you're wet," he said, not knowing how to break the silence.
Brianna laughed at this and said, "Well you are not so bad yourself, my handsome Exile."
He smiled and moved to kiss her. Their lips touched lightly and the kiss slowly deepened. Lightning again struck close to where they were standing causing Brianna to jump into Caleb's arms. He chuckled at this and hugged her close. When her breathing had slowed, he placed her back on the ground. "I love you," she whispered to him as her warm hands rested against his chest, he could feel her warmth through his soaked robes.
Now was the time, thought Caleb. This is perfect. Caleb began to smile and Brianna just looked at him. "I love you so much, I would stop armies just to be by your side. I would move a planet for you. There have been many times when I have just wanted to run to a mountaintop and scream out 'I love Brianna Kae!' at the top of my lungs until I can scream no longer."
"I wouldn't do that now if I were you, lightning just struck the top of that mountain," she said seriously, her eyes widening slightly as she cocked her head to the side.
"Then I'll have to get to it latter. The fact is I can't bear to think of a life without you. You are my life. Without you, I would have turned to the dark side when it came for me. When I thought I'd lost you, I felt so empty inside. Like I would never be happy again. And now to have you with me, I've never been happier."
"When Kreia told me you haddied, it nearly threw me over the edge, Caleb, I love you so much."
"Then answer me this," he dropped down to his knees and took her hands in his as he pulled the ring from his robes. Brianna looked as if she was about to soil herself when she realized what he wanted. "Brianna Kae, will you allow me the honor of being the person who gets to wake up beside you every day, the one who loves you more than any other person in this galaxy, the person who fathers your children some day? Will you marry me?"
The huge smile on her face betrayed her as she allowed herself to make a smart assed comment, "I need to think about it for a moment… hmmm… yes I will marry you." She helped him up and hugged him as tight as she could. Caleb couldn't have been happier as he slipped the ring on to her finger. Neither of them could be as they kissed in the rain. Caleb began to spin her around in his arms and they both laughed and kissed again.
On the other side of the enclaveRevan decided to go inside rather than to stand outside in the storm and get wet, as well as perturb his fiancé. "So how is Mother doing these days?" he asked her as they walked down the corridor. Helena Shan was like a mother to Revan over the year he had with Bastila before he left to find the true Sith. And she certainly loved him like one. Sometimes the two even got along better than Bastila and she did. Someone has to get along with her, Bastila had told them both jokingly on several occasions.
"She is well, I'm just glad that the two of us could put the past behind us and move forward. In fact, she is coming to Dantooine to see us at that ceremony. She is supposed to arrive in a few hours," she stopped by a window that out looked the other half of the enclave. Looking at him she asked, "Would you care if I said I wanted her to be at our wedding?"
"Not at all, in fact, I was hoping you would invite your Mother."
"I swear, you get along better with her than I do at times."
"Someone has to," they both laughed at Revan's comment. Bastila turned and looked out the window. Outside standing in the rain was Caleb and Brianna. They were kissing then he spun her in his arms. "Heh, somebody's happy," said Revan to Bastila as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Phft, I'll say," she said making a snorting noise of laughter. They continued walking to the spaceport where Helena Shan would be arriving soon.
Meanwhile…Neither of them wanted to let go. It was cold, raining, and they had been standing there for all to see for nearly an hour, but neither of them cared. Brianna couldn't remember ever being this happy. And Caleb was just as happy. The sharply cold wind that bit into them reminded him of how she kissed him on Telos. It was cold and snowing with the wind whipping into them. But he had her to keep him warm.
:Flashback:
She stood by a large funeral pyre. The heat from the flames licked her face and the smoke made her eyes burn. She couldn't tell what hurt more, the loss she felt or the two extremes of the environment to her front and back: in front was the heat of the inferno and to her back was the bitter arctic night. They had to burn the dead before they began to rot and that way at least her sisters could have a proper funeral. Most of the crew had left to escape the cold and all that remained was Brianna. She stood unmoving watching the flames climb high into the night.
You know it starts here outside waiting in the cold.
Caleb Veers walked up behind her and stood close to her side. Brianna moved closer to him and rested her head against his chest, shutting her eyes and placing a hand on his chest near her head. Caleb wrapped his arms around her and held her close for a long time. After a while he moved to kiss her head as he moved his hands across her back warming her slightly. She lifted her head and looked into Caleb's eyes. His warm brown eyes showed nothing but love and understanding as she moved in to kiss him lightly.
Kiss me once in the snow I swear it never gets old.
Caleb kissed her back and held her closer to him. As he gently slipped his tongue into her mouth, she let out a soft groan. They soon broke away and continued to watch the fire die in each other's arms.
And I promise you; I can make it warmer next year.
Once they were both nearly frostbitten and exhausted, they decided to walk back to the Ebon Hawk with Caleb supporting a limping Brianna, still sore and injured from her attack from Atris. Once inside they walked to the Caleb's quarters. He helped her to sit on the bed and then sat next to her. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked.
"I will be," she said, placing some emphasis on will. He noticed that she shifted her position often and couldn't stay still.
"Are you hurting again?" he asked, remembering the pain she was in for the past few days.
"Just a little, my back is really stiff from having to sit and stand up straight all the time with these injuries."
"Want me to give you a massage?" he asked her seriously.
"If you want to." She lay down on her stomach and soon felt his large, warm hands push gently into her tense muscles. He seemed to know exactly where it hurt and how to make it feel better. And soon she felt completely relaxed and fell asleep as Caleb lay down beside her.
"Good night, my Ice Princess."
:End Flashback:
As she stood in the rain with Caleb, soaked to the bone and beginning to get very cold, Brianna let her love for him flow freely over their bond. The powerful emotions where beginning to overwhelm both of them. Caleb found himself not wanting the storm to end. He could feel the calm Brianna was radiating through their bond. After weeks of being unnerved and hiding it, she had recently been able to let go of her guilt. Brianna knew she couldn't feel safer anywhere else but his arms right now. This is where she wanted to be for the rest of her life.
He felt her begin to shiver in his arms. "Want to go inside?" he asked.
Brianna nodded and they walked off towards the enclave, Caleb's arm draped over her shoulder and her arm around his waist.
Dantooine SpaceportBastila ran to her mother and gave her a hug. Helena Shan hugged her daughter desperately and noticed the man with her as she looked up. "Bastila, you're okay," she said. "Revan?" she asked as she pulled away and moved over to the young man standing next to her daughter. He nodded and she moved to hug him too. "Thank the force you came home safe."
"Mother, I'm glad you made it here safe," said Bastila. Helena had spent nearly a year in the hospital recovering from her illness. With proper treatment from the Jedi Healers she could now live to see so much more in her daughters life.
"I'm glad that both of you came home safe and sound," she said to her daughter and her daughter's fiancé, Revan.
"Mom, we finalized the wedding date, we cannot wait any longer. We want to get married tomorrow. Will you come?"
"What kind of mother would miss her child's wedding? Of course I'll come!"
Bastila hugged her mother again then they took her back to the Enclave to discuss the next day.
Jedi Enclave, Caleb Veers and Brianna Kae's quartersCaleb helped her out of her wet Jedirobes and in turn she helped him. Finally free from the cold, damp robes she went to lie down in their warm bed. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be back shortly," he told her as he walked towards the refresher. Brianna pulled the warm covers around her body and relaxed in their bed. Thunder could still be heard rumbling through the Dantooine plains. As she lay in bed, she listened to the storm raging outside and watched the lightning and rain through the bedroom window. The Jedi Enclave had been rebuilt to look very much like the older one did before its destruction at the hands of Darth Malak. Except that it had a few improvements and safety features installed. Now all the rooms had their own refreshers and were more spacious depending on how many beds were in them or how many people were staying in them. Some of the rooms even had separate bedrooms with living quarters. Caleb came out of the refresher in a towel and jumped on the bed scaring the crap out of her.
"Hello love," he said with a smug look.
Brianna resisted the urge to slap him and then, realized his towel had fallen off when he had jumped and began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Don't you feel a nice, lofting breeze?" she asked.
"No, the storms outside."
"Well isn't it getting a bit cold in here?"
"I don't think so, but if you're cold I can put the heat on or get more blankets, but it would help if you actually wore clothes to bed."
"You never wear them, speaking of not wearing clothes…"
Caleb finally looked down and then quickly moved to cover himself with his hands. His face turned bright red as Brianna began laughing again. "Don't try to look unimpressed," he said attempting to change the subject to his favor.
"Its not the size, it's how you use it," she said still laughing.
"How would you know?" he asked her.
"I don't know," she said with a shrug. Suddenly, lightning struck close by outside the window casting a bright, eerie purple glow into the room causing Brianna to jump into Caleb's arms. She noticed he was breathing just as quickly as she was. After a few moments she was breathing quickly for a different reason.
"Well, this is awkward," stated Caleb, still holding her tightly.
"I don't see you complaining," she said.
"No, I'm not," he said, moving her into a position in his arms that was more comfortable for the both of them. "I love you, so much."
"You made that clear earlier," she whispered looking into his eyes. She kissed his cheek lightly and moved out of his arms to lie down. He lay down next to her and pulled the covers up around them.
"You don't seem bothered by the fact that I'm not wearing anything."
"There," she said as she took off her undergarments, "now we're equal." She moved closer to him and let him hug her from behind.
"When do you want to get married?" he asked her as they lay in the dark, listening to the storm and each other's heart beats.
"I have no family, and the only friends I have are the Ebon Hawk crew, so whenever you want to is okay with me."
"I want to before we leave this planet and go to war. It would be easier that way. No matter what happens, we'll at least have each other."
"So how about in three days, that way we have time to spend together before we go."
"Good idea." Caleb kissed the back of her head and closed his eyes. He could feel her heart beating through her back, strong and steady. She had fallen asleep. He could feel sleep tugging at his eyes and took one last look at her sleeping figure and hugged her closer before shutting his eyes again and falling asleep to the sound of rumbling thunder.
TBC...