Chapter Two

She looked deceptively peaceful in sleep.

This wasn't a new discovery, he'd noticed it during their shared captivity.

Of course, she hadn't slept much those first few days, angrily declaring that she wasn't stupid enough to let herself fall asleep in the presence of a Sith, and her attempts to resist sleep had amused him.

Eventually, the need for rest had overpowered her stubbornness.

But she'd still slept on the opposite side of their small cell for some time, as far away from his as possible.

He'd watched her then, on occasion when he was unable to sleep himself, and marveled at how appearances could be so deceiving, that she looked for all the world like a gentle, delicate young woman in her sleep, when he knew her to be neither gentle nor delicate.

Jaina Solo was the kind of Jedi he liked best, fierce and passionate and reckless.

The kind that every Sith wanted to fight.

And Kyp Durron had acquired plenty of practice, and refined skill, at the art of pushing Jaina Solo into a fight.

There hadn't been much else to do during their long months of captivity, after all.

She was unconscious now, he'd needed her to be in order to steal her away from the Maw without drawing the attention of the Jedi based there, but she'd seen him right before she collapsed.

A spark of recognition, and burning outrage, had flared in her dark eyes.

When she came to, things were going to be explosive.

But he'd known that from the start.

Slipping into the Jedi base in the Maw had been the easy part of his plan.

There weren't many defenses, secrecy and the difficult navigation of the blackhole field had apparently been deemed sufficient protection by Skywalker and those fools.

And, he was willing to admit, against the Yuuzhan Vong it probably was.

But Kyp knew the Maw like no one else.

Once, many years ago, he'd been forced to fly through it with mines in the wake of his ship, as one Exar Kun's numerous tests.

He'd memorized the feel of the Maw, the specific pattern in the Force.

Even years later, he could navigate it blind.

Masking his presence in the Force, he'd done just that and managed to sneak into Jaina Solo's quarters just in time to catch her emerging from the adjoining room belonging to Skywalker's son.

For all of two seconds, he'd considered snatching the boy, too.

Exar Kun would certainly had been thrilled if he'd delivered the only son of Luke Skywalker, and it would have been amusing to show Brakiss the correct way to go about successfully kidnapping a grandchild of Darth Vader, but in the end he'd decided against it.

The last thing he needed was Mara Jade Skywalker on his trail.

Besides, he had a feeling dealing with one Skywalker brat was going to be difficult enough, even if she was debilitated by pregnancy.

Or perhaps pregnancy has only made her more difficult, Kyp thought wryly.

Across the cabin, the subject of his scrutiny stirred faintly, but did not regain consciousness.

Getting out of the Maw with an unconscious, and very pregnant, Jaina in his arms had been a tad more difficult than getting in alone, but he'd managed it well enough. He'd carried her straight into one of the cabins on his ship, and deposited her on the sleeping pallet, careful not to jar her in her delicate state.

That was his child in there, after all.

Once they'd made the jump into hyperspace, Kyp had put the ship on autopilot and ventured back to check on his sleeping guest.

He wanted to be there when she came to.

Confrontations with young Jaina Solo had always done him good, they were never dull.

It was taking a little longer than expected for her to awaken from the mist he'd doused her with, but that was just as well- this way he had a chance to study her in peace and quiet.

She'd changed considerably since their captivity.

But it was more than just the extended belly, swollen with his child, or the roundness of her cheeks.

The last time he'd seen Jaina Solo, she had been thin, too thin, with straggly hair plastered to her face and a sickly shade to her skin. She'd been sporting bruises and various cuts and scrapes inflicted by the Yuuzhan Vong, her mouth drooping and her eyes flat and hollow.

She'd healed in many ways since then.

Her skin was flushed again, healthy and radiant, and she'd clearly put on enough weight to counteract the painful malnutrition from captivity.

That dark, luxurious hair that he'd always admired had its shine back, and it fell across her face as she slept, a face that was free of bruises or any other form of blemish.

She was strong again, he could feel it.

And, in truth, he was glad.

Jaina in the shape she'd been in when he last laid eyes on her would not have been in the proper shape to carry a healthy child.

And as for the child itself...

Staring at the swell of Jaina's stomach, Kyp slowly extended his perceptions outward in her direction, homing in on the tiny flicker of life within her, on that small flame burning in the Force.

The child was strong, too, as he'd known it would be.

Reacting to his touch in the Force, the baby stirred, and Kyp licked his lips before quietly rising to his feet, brushing his cape behind him, and crossing the cabin to stand over the sleeping Jedi. He moved his hand over her stomach, splaying his palm against her tunic and almost smiled as the baby kicked his fingers.

That tiny baby was his, his flesh and blood.

A boy, he realized in awe.

He'd been hoping it would be, he'd been dreaming of a son ever since learning Jaina was pregnant.

The future heir to the Empire, Kyp mused proudly. He'll have the entire galaxy at his feet.

His reverie was broken by a rather sharp burst of awareness in the Force, and he realized that it was not coming from his son just before Jaina wrenched away from his hand violently.

"You," she snarled, dark eyes blazing.

She tried to lunge at him but her belly, and the restraints he'd been wise enough to outfit her with while she was still unconscious, prevented her from reaching him. In the end, she was caught in an awkward, and assumably painful, position, laying on her side with her arms twisted behind her and tethered to the wall of the cabin.

Chuckling, Kyp rocked back on his heels. "Hello, Jaina," he said lowly, with a smirk. "Did you miss me?"

For a moment, he thought she might spit at him, she was so angry.

"Take me back," she demanded coldly.

Kyp laughed, amused at the request. "When I went through all the trouble to get you in the first place?" he retorted with an easy grin. "I don't think so."

"Take me back," Jaina repeated, with a dangerous undercurrent. "Or so help me I will open your throat on my lightsaber, Durron."

"You mean this lightsaber?" Kyp asked, his grin broadening, and gestured to his belt.

Jaina glared at the hilt of her weapon, which he'd commandeered from her while she was unconscious, and he felt her concentrating on it with the Force, so he gave her an irritated flick back, eliciting a scowl.

"None of that, now," he warned seriously. "I have ysalamari, I'd just prefer not to use it. It's so unpleasant, after all, as I'm sure you remember."

From the hateful look she gave him, she remembered all too well.

"You really should have taken greater care to hide yourself, Jaina," Kyp advised, the corner of his mouth lifting in a mocking smirk. "Hiding out with all the little Jedi brats might have fooled the Yuuzhan Vong, but did you really think I wouldn't be able to find you? You must have hoped I was still their captive."

"No," Jaina said with a low growl. "I'd hoped you were dead."

"So sorry to disappoint you," Kyp sneered. "But it really is for the best that I'm here, Jaina, you know how a boy needs his father."

She stiffened, and for an instant he saw fear in her eyes, before the fury descended once more.

"You won't ever lay a hand on him," Jaina snarled, like a mother rancor protecting its young. "I swear it, Durron, you won't ever get anywhere near my son."

"Our son," he spat. "I was there when he was conceived, or have you forgotten that?"

"Force knows I've tried," she threw back in disgust.

"Oh, I'm sure you have," Kyp said huskily. "But I'm in your system, aren't I, Jaina? You can't forget what it felt like to have my hands on you." To prove his point, he reached out a hand to touch her stomach, and he laughed when she struggled futilely against her restraints. "I know every inch of you, Jaina, and you can't stand it, but this is a constant reminder that you gave yourself to me."

"Not by choice."

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart," he chuckled maliciously, letting his fingers trace lazy patterns over her swollen stomach and watching her flinch. "I know better."

"I hate you," Jaina whispered fiercely, dark eyes wet with anger.

"You've been saying that since you were fifteen," Kyp pointed out softly. "That song is getting old."

"And I've meant it every single time."

Kyp let his hand still, pressed against her stomach as his gaze bore into hers. She was positively trembling with fury, eyes wide and several shades darker than the usual brandy brown, nostrils flaring. It was a look he knew all too well, having been on the receiving end of it many a time over the years.

He'd seen it almost daily during the early days of their captivity.

And it had accompanied the slap she'd given him at Borleias several years back, when they were forced to set aside their differences and fly together against the Vong.

That was a day burned into his memory.

"I want my son," he said flatly, staring her down with his hand still on her stomach, which she was acutely aware of, he was certain. "Unfortunately, he doesn't seem quite ready to come out yet, so I'll have to endure the pleasure of your company a bit longer. That means you're going to have to sit tight until he's born, I'm afraid, at which time I will be more than happy to jettison you out of the nearest airlock."

Her lip curled into a snarl, which he ignored.

"All I want," Kyp murmured, warning underlacing the light tone of his voice. "Is what is rightfully mine, my son."

Jaina smiled a smile that showed all of her teeth, looking like a Tusken wildcat.

"You can have him," she replied in kind, ferocity barely contained behind her smile. "Over my dead body."

"That would certainly make my life easier," Kyp sneered.

He let his hand fall from her stomach as he rose to his feet to tower over her on the sleeping pallet, and she had to turn her head to glare up at him, causing a strand of hair to fall across her nose, which made her glare decidedly less effective.

"It's going to be a long trip, so I'd advise you to get comfortable," Kyp told her coldly. "We wouldn't want you going into premature labor, now would we?"

Jaina cursed him in Huttesse, violently trying to break free of her restraints.

"I'd save your energy," Kyp called back to her as he slapped his hand on the touchpad by the door. "I hear that childbirth is positively exhausting and excruciating. And just think, without a med-droid or a healer on board, you might die in the process."

He paused in the doorway, smirking back at her.

"Not to worry, though, I'll take good care of our little boy."

The Force flexed with her rage, and as the door slid shut behind him, he felt a powerful surge hit the durasteel door, leaving a dent in the frame.

Kyp chuckled, shaking his head as he made his way back to the cockpit.

It was a shame that she'd been brought up a Jedi, he'd thought that from the moment her. With a temper like hers, she would have made a magnificent Sith.