I don't own Star Wars...as if you didn't all know that. Here's the latest. Please please please review and tell me what you think. Pretty please. I will love you forever if you do. It doesn't make you want to post anymore chapters when you think no one likes it...:(

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CHAPTER 12

"Leaving hyperspace," Leia said to her husband. The Falcon and the Shadow entered realspace together near the planet of Dathomir. "Where's Jaina?" Leia asked immediately, and the question was echoed by the Shadow.

"Lightning Rod's intact," Han said, trying the comm. "Jaina? Jaina?" He looked at his wife. "She's not answering."

"I feel her," Luke said over the comm. "She's in a healing trance, poor kid. It feels like she's just coming out of it."

"Will she be able to land on her own?" Leia asked.

Luke replied, "I think she'll be fine."

The twins watched the three ships land in the field beside the Rock Dragon and the few other ships.

"That's the Lightning Rod…and…the Falcon…and…the Shadow?" Nova said. Luc nodded confirmation. Since her daddy wasn't strong enough yet to bring back her memories, Nova shouldn't have remembered, but just being around her twin seemed to be bringing them back through their link.

They watched as their grandparents left the Falcon and their aunt and uncle left the Shadow, all going into the Lightning Rod. A moment later, they all emerged, supporting someone between them.

"Mommy!" the twins shouted together. Holding hands, they ran across the grass toward her, not breaking apart until they finally reached her. Jaina went to her knees, her arms outstretched, and the children gladly ran into them.

"My babies," Jaina cried, kissing them both. "Oh, my babies."

"Don't ever go away again, okay, Mommy?" Luc said.

"Never," Nova added.

"I don't ever want to leave you," Jaina told them. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I know just how you feel," Leia said. Jaina tried to stand, but couldn't do it. Reluctantly, she removed her children's hands from around her neck.

"I can't carry you guys," she said. "You're so big." Nova lifted her arms to Leia instead, and Luc turned to the man he had been named after. Mara and Han helped Jaina stand, and they resumed their journey back to the village.

"Where is everyone?" Jaina asked the children.

"Daddy's having bacta," said Nova.

"Nobody can play with us," Luc complained. "Even Maya, 'cause she hit her head. But she said as soon as she feels okay, she wants to go play outside."

"Everybody's in the med building," Nova said. "Right here." She wiggled out of Leia's arms and slid to the ground, along with her brother. They had reached the building. Luc pulled the door open, straining to get it to move.

"Jaina!" At the other end of the hallway, Miri had been standing outside one of the rooms. Now she broke into a run, reaching her sister-in-law quickly. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am," Jaina said. "You know I can take care of myself." She looked at her parents and her aunt and uncle. "…with a little help."

"That's my daughter," Han said.

"She sure is," Leia agreed, prompting a quick kiss. The mood quickly turned serious again as Leia looked to Miri and asked simply, "Anakin?"

"He's…gone." She was fighting tears, and from her red eyes, this wasn't the first time she'd wanted to cry.

"Naw, you didn't," Corrie was saying. He was the first to disbelieve Maya's story.

"I did too!" she exclaimed. "Ask them, they were there."

"Uh-huh, I saw it from the window," Ty agreed.

"Me too," said Dioni. "She said stay on the ship and she got a blaster this big—" she held her hands far apart "—and fighted the guards. Nobody ever did that and got away."

"Pretty impressive," said a voice in the doorway.

"Daddy! Mama!" Maya tried to sit up more and had to settle for a smile instead. The cluster of cousins and friends parted to let Luke and Mara through to their daughter.

"So you're a hero," Luke said, kissing the top of her head. She beamed.

"Yep! It's no fun though, because now they won't let me out of bed."

"My poor baby," Mara said sympathetically, hugging her carefully around the big cast that would come off as soon as there was enough bacta in her bones to heal them. "I know, getting hurt is the worst part of being a hero. And you never would have gotten hurt if you had stayed at home. So…you're grounded, honey."

"But, Mom!" Maya practically shouted.

"No buts," Luke said sternly. "You disobeyed us and everyone else. You might have put people in unnecessary danger trying to protect you."

"Even worse," Mara said, "You scared me. Nobody does that to me and gets away with it."

"How long?" Maya asked miserably.

"For life or until we say otherwise," Luke told her. "Oh, and one more thing…I'm proud of you."

"So am I," Mara said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Now, I'm sure everyone else has heard already, but why don't you tell us what you did, my hero?"

Tenel Ka was sitting in a big chair by Jacen's bed when Jaina came in.

"How is he?" Jaina asked.

"Jaina," Tenel Ka said, standing. "What you did was very foolish. What do you think would have happened to your children without you? What about the one who hasn't been born yet?" Jaina stopped, surprised by the outburst.

"How is my brother?" she asked pointedly.

"I'm fine," said a weak voice from the bed. "What's going on?"

"Jacen! Did we wake you up?" Jaina asked, moving to his side.

"It's okay," he said, smiling. "I feel…funny."

"You are on painkillers," Tenel Ka said. "As soon as Zekk is out of the bacta tank, you will have another treatment."

"Well, it's a good thing…" he trailed off. "I can't remember the punchline."

"Oh, Jacen. It's the drugs, right?"

"Yeah. Who are you again?" Jaina was alarmed until she saw him smile. He was about to say something else, but before he could say it, he was asleep.

"He cannot stay awake very long," Tenel Ka said. "Jaina, my friend, I did not mean to lecture you. But you must remember…not only your children would have mourned your death."

"What was I supposed to do?" Jaina asked. "There was barely enough room in the pod for Zekk and the kids, and I had to get them to safety. "I'm sorry I tricked you, but I knew you'd never leave me." She smiled weakly. "At least I know who I am now."

"You must tell me what happened," said Tenel Ka.

"Yes—" She swayed, and her friend caught her just before she fell.

"No," Tenel Ka amended. "You must rest first."

"Hey, farm girl?"

"I never lived on a farm," Tahiri murmured, not looking away from the setting sun.

"Well, whatever. What's wrong, blondie?" This drew a small smile. "You're thinking about Anakin, aren't you?"

"Of course," Tahiri sighed. "He was my best friend." Anja set down next to her.

"And…"

"And…I'd hardly seen him since he got married, and now he's dead. Gone forever. I just wish I could have been with him more."

"Why weren't you?" Anja asked.

"Well…there was Miri. She never exactly liked me. Things are different now that he's gone but…"

"But?"

"But…I don't know. If I had been a man…or if I'd had one…"

"Come on, farm girl, if she was jealous of you, that was her own fault. Besides, things are different now. If there's one thing I learned from this family, it's that the past doesn't matter unless you want it to. You've lost a friend, but that doesn't mean you can't gain a new one."

Jaina and the twins stood by the bacta tank as the techs started draining the fluid. It was Zekk's last bacta treatment.

"Daddy," the twins whispered together.

The tube opened, and Zekk stepped out. He was disoriented for a moment, leaning on the doctors for support. Then his eyes locked with Jaina's.

He moved forward beyond the objecting doctors to Jaina, wrapping his arms around her. They melted into each other.

Then the twins tackled Zekk's knees, and he hugged them too. They were like a family again.

"Daddy's okay now," Nova said with satisfaction when the three of them left.

"He sure is, kiddo," Jaina said, ruffling her hair. "Come on, you two. I want to talk to you."

"Why?" Luc asked. "Is it a surprise?"

"Something like that." She found a bench in the hallway and sat down, a twin on either side. "You already know about it, but Nova doesn't."

"Do you like Daddy again?" Nova asked with a big grin.

"Of course I like Daddy," Jaina said, "but that's not what I wanted to tell you. You two love each other very much, don't you?"

"Sure," said Nova. "He's my brother." Luc nodded agreement.

"Well," Jaina smiled. "How would you like to have another brother or sister to love?"

"No!" Nova shouted. "You can't have another kid! I already got Luc, I don't want another brother!"

"But it will be fun," Jaina said. "Just like me and Uncle Jacen and Uncle Anakin. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a little girl. Then you'd have a little sister to play with and boss around."

"I don't care! I don't want a sister or a brother! I don't want anything!" She jumped off the bench and ran down the hall, disappearing into one of the rooms. Very much surprised, Jaina turned to her son.

"How do you feel about this?" she asked. Torn between his true feelings and wanting to go along with his sister, Luc didn't answer.

Maya's room, finally, had been cleared out to give her a chance to rest. She was starting to nod off when Nova ran into the room, crying, and jumped into the bed with her.

"What?" Maya asked groggily. She had just been given a pill, which was now doing its best to knock her out.

"Mommy wants to have a baby," Nova said.

"Oh." It was something Maya would care about as soon as she woke up.

"It's not fair," Nova moaned, burying her teary face in Maya's side. Maya put her arm around the younger girl and promptly fell asleep. Although she hadn't actually taken a nap since she was two years old, Nova soon joined her.

"Don't worry, Mommy, Nova's okay," Luc said. He looked at her stomach. "Is that the baby? Corrie said you were just fat."

Corrie noticed? Jaina thought. He thinks I'm fat?

"Name him after Poppy," Luc said. "Can it be twins?"

"No, honey. It's not twins. And we're pretty sure it's going to be a girl."

"No, I want a boy." Luc slapped her stomach. "There. He's a boy now. I used the Force. Hi, baby Han. It's me, your brother." He lay down across the bench and started chattering to Jaina's stomach.

"They're so cute." Mara and Jaina stood in the doorway, watching their daughters sleep. At that moment Jaina felt closer to her aunt than ever.

"What was Maya like when the twins were born?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Well, she didn't really understand it at first, but when they were born she was so proud of herself for being a big sister. I take it you've broken the news to your little ones?" Jaina nodded.

"Luc seems okay with it, but Nova threw a little tantrum. She's always been the tantrumy one."

"Well, give her time," Mara advised. "When little Jaina Junior is born Nova won't have a bad word to say about her…You're sure it's a girl?"

"It's a girl. Luc thinks I should name her after Dad."

"Oh, come on!" Mara laughed. "We already have a Luc and Lei, and my Aurora Jade…I don't know if this family could stand a Han-ette."

"No, there should only be one of my dad," Jaina agreed, carefully closing the door so as not to wake up the girls. Down the hall, Luc was coming out of the bacta room, finally tired of watching the techs. Jaina was already having visions of her son as a doctor. She supposed she was as bad as her own mother.

"Mommy, that man said Uncle Jacen's gonna get out of the baka tank pretty soon," Luc said, wrapping his arms around her legs. "How come they only got one tank here? When Uncle Jacen comes out can we play stuff? How come Corrie's not a Jedi, Mommy? Is Daddy almost better now?"

"When did you turn into such a chatterbox?" Jaina asked, picking him up. She had to lean against the wall to be able to hold him. Luc wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a big kiss.

"You're my favorite mommy," he said.

"You're my favorite son."

Miri sat at the top of the hill, looking up at the sky. The sun had set minutes ago, and now the stars were beginning to show.

"Mom?" Miri didn't have to turn around to know Jad was standing behind her. She patted a spot on the ground beside her, and after a second a familiar little warm body was pressed against her. Miri didn't say anything, just put her arm around him and held him close.

"Do you still love us?" Jad asked after a long time of sitting.

"What?" Miri pulled him onto her lap and looked into his eyes. "Of course I still love you! Why would you think I didn't?"

"You goed away and Dad and Uncle Jacen and Mr. Zekk and Maya all got bad hurt. Was it a lot scary?"

"Yes, a lot scary," Miri agreed. She wondered what he was getting at, but she couldn't follow little-boy logic that well. "I almost thought I might not get back to my boys and my little girl…for a long time, I mean. But see, here I am, and here you are."

"Why did you go away when you might not come back?" Jad asked.

"Well," Miri said, speaking very slowly, "I had to help the others. That bad man who took you and your friends still had Nova, and we had to get her back. And, I had to stop him and make sure he never came after my family again."

"Taner said you goed away because you didn't like us anymore."

"Who's Taner?" Miri asked. Jad shrugged.

"A big kid. He said moms do that."

"Well, not this mom," Miri said, giving him a hug.

"You're brave," said Jad. She could hear in his voice that he was starting to get sleepy, so she picked him up and headed back to the village to put him to bed.

Little Lei was lying in a bed designed for children bigger than she was, nearly asleep. She blew little spit bubbles as she breathed. Tahiri watched her with a smile. She was really falling in love with that baby girl.

Lei started to fuss a little, and Tahiri put her hand on the pudgy little tummy and started to sing a lullaby she had learned from Tionne, years ago.

"In the night, Stars shine bright, And the moon is at her height, Lending us a little light, Nothing comes to give you fright, Stars shine bright. Go to sleep, go to sleep, I will watch around you keep, I don't know all of the words, so I hope you'll go to sleep…"

"You have a nice voice," someone said, startling her.

"Miri!" She blushed. "I don't sing much. I just thought maybe it would help."

"She seems pretty happy," Miri said. She carried her sleepy little boy over to the bed and laid him down beside his sister. "Be good for me?" He nodded. "Go to sleep, sweetie. And be careful of the baby." She pulled the covers up over both of them. "I love you."

"Love you, Mommy," Jad muttered. Miri and Tahiri started to leave. "Mommy?"

"Yes, Jad?"

"Daddy went away. Did he stop loving us?"

"No, Jad!" Miri said, going back to his side. "Daddy didn't stop loving you. Daddy will always love you." He yawned.

"I love…Daddy…too…"

Miri kissed his forehead as he closed his eyes. She joined Tahiri in the hallway and closed the door, sniffing back the fresh tears that threatened once again.

"Thanks for watching Lei," Miri said. She still didn't feel exactly comfortable around Tahiri, but at least it wasn't so hard to be around her anymore. At least not for the same reason.

"I'm sorry," said Tahiri.

"What?"

"Oh—I didn't mean to pick that up. It's just that you were thinking really loud."

"I…was?"

"It's the emotions," Tahiri explained. "You were thinking of him."

"Anakin…"

"You really loved him, didn't you?" The answer was obvious.

"Tell me about the Force," Miri said, changing the subject to stop herself from losing control again. Tahiri sat down on a nearby bench.

"There's a lot to tell," she said. "What do you want to know?"

"People are usually born with the Force, or it comes to them when they're young. Do you know if the Force ever comes to an adult who never had it before?"

"I've never heard of it, but I guess it's possible. Why? Do you—" Miri nodded.

"I don't understand it," she said. "It just sort of…happened. We were fighting and, well, there wasn't a whole lot I could do. Then Anakin and Jacen got hurt, and…I guess I got knocked out. Then everything started changing colours, and then everything was gone, and I was talking to…Anakin."

"And you were both unconscious?" Tahiri asked, thoughtfully. Miri felt tears coming up, and blinked them back.

"I don't think so," she whispered. "It was after he died." Tahiri frowned, lost in thought.

"A ghost, then." She tried to remember her lessons. "Sometimes it takes a while to fully leave this existence. Is he gone now?"

"I don't know…"

"Do you ever feel him?" Miri shook her head. "Then he's probably gone on. He must be what triggered your new abilities—it's usually caused by strong emotion if you're not born into it. You must have always had the potential, and seeing him hurt triggered the strongest thing you could use to protect him."

"But it didn't work," Miri said. "I didn't save him."

"You saved yourself," said Tahiri. "If you learn to use this, you'll be able to save others if the situation ever comes up again—but let's hope it doesn't."

"How do I learn?" Miri asked.

"I'll teach you."