Chapter 12

Jaina came into the kitchen and moved to stand by Kyp where he was creating something she was sure would be delicious; at least, it smelled delicious. She still was having a hard time believing Kyp could cook; who would ever thought that? He looked down at her and she grinned, "You do realize that when we are married I may come to expect this every morning."

"Well, we shall see, won't we?" He raised an eyebrow and went on to add, "Besides, I believe I told you that I could teach you how to cook. I am a master," he grinned lopsidedly, "you know, and the last time you were my apprentice you didn't turn out that bad."

She shook her head, "Nope, Master Durron, I see absolutely no reason for me to learn to cook. Not when you seem so good at it." She looked at the pastries he was picking up and piling into a storage container. "Um—Kyp—do you think I'm that hungry?" There must have been at least ten of the flaky creations in the container.

He rolled his eyes at her and responded in a deliberate old school teacher monotone while he lifted the storage container before her and pointed to it. "This is a vacuum storage container. One uses it to store food items in that are meant for later consumption. Items that are stored in said container can stay fresh for up to one week." He sat the container down on the counter and picked up a plate with several of the pastries and continuing in his monotone, "This is a plate. Items that are to be eaten immediately are placed on it." He grinned, "Are there any questions?"

She laughed and walked past him to the caf machine saying, "Kyp, whatever you do, don't ever let Uncle Luke assign you to teaching duties because you could put someone with insomnia to sleep."

"Hey! You were the one being dense." He carried the plate of pastries to the table while Jaina followed with two mugs of caf and two plates. They sat down and began eating the fresh, delicate pastries.

Finally, after swallowing a bite and curiosity getting the best of her she asked, "What are these? You left some for me yesterday. I've never had anything quite like this before."

"I actually don't know what they're called. The spice used in them is—"

"Cinnamon, I know that," she glared at him. "I do know some things."

"Well, yes. My mother used to make something similar to these when I was a kid. I hadn't tasted anything like them since. Then a few years back I was on Chandrila and the cook at the inn I was staying at served these for breakfast. Apparently, they are a specialty from her region. I asked for the receipt and she grudgingly gave it to me. They have become my favorite thing to eat for breakfast; so, I usually make enough to last for a few days." He flashed her crooked grin, "The reason for the storage container."

She glared at him again and said, "Will you stop with the storage container, already?"

He laughed and they eat in quiet for the next several moments. The silence was broken when Jaina asked in a gentle tone, "In all the years that I've known you, you've never told me what your family was like. I get the impression that you were very close to your mother."

Kyp looked down at the mug of caf that he held in his hands. He stared into the dark liquid as if searching for the answer to her inquiry. After several long moments, during which Jaina wondered if he would respond, he said in a quite voice, "We were very happy. My mother ran the house while my father worked at the local space port as a hyperdrive mechanic. We weren't rich—no one on Deyer was rich. But," he finally looked at her with a profound sadness in his stormy green eyes, "we were a family, we were happy."

Jaina pushed her plate away and leaned over the table resting her arms on the top. "Kyp, I don't mean to force you to talk—"

He cut her off as if he didn't hear her, "My mother was beautiful. She had dark curling hair and," he squinted as if trying to see something that was far away, "blue eyes, I believe, maybe grey. Her name was Meri. She was kind and fair when it came to Zeth and me. My father," he smiled as if just realizing something, "looked a lot like me, well, I guess, that would be the other way around. I look a lot like he did. Except he had lighter hair and darker eyes. He was a good mechanic; I know that, because people would ask for Liam Durron by name to fix their ships."

He took a breath, sat the mug down and finally looked at her. "I think Dad was Force-sensitive, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, because he never seemed to be wrong. He would get these—these hunches which always seemed to be right. He'd say that he could 'feel' if something didn't seem quite right. I've often wondered who my grandparents may have been."

"You don't know?"

"No, my mother came from Chandrila, but I never could remember her maiden name and don't know if she still has family there. I never knew anything about Dad's family or where he came from. I often wondered if Dad was the result of a secrete Jedi marriage like Luke, Leia, Kam and Corran Horn's father. I'm sure there were more than just those three that were never discovered. It definitely would explain my strength in the Force."

She could only nod but she said after a moment, "But there is no record of a Jedi with the name Durron in the Old Order."

"True, but we don't know all the Jedi from then. And Durron may not have been his real name. It may have been changed like Horn's had been." Another moment pasted then he shook his head, "It really doesn't matter, though; I never tried to track down any family."

Jaina bolstered by his candidness went on to ask, "What was Zeth like?"

She instantly regretted it because she could feel his sudden pain at remembering his only brother. The brother he inadvertently killed when he destroyed Carida. But after a moment he swallowed and quietly replied, "Zeth was six years older than me but we were close. He let me follow him wherever he went. He looked out for me and included me in his adventures with his friends. There weren't many kids in the area where we lived in Feiya. Molli and her brother Yohn Tret were our best friends. We did everything together. Until the day the Empire attacked. They were killed in the raid along with their parents." His eyes when they met hers were so full of the old hatred she nearly had to look away as he concluded, "And you know what happened to us."

"I'm sorry, Kyp. I didn't mean to cause you pain by remembering." However, she was glad he was so open with her. She suddenly felt like she knew a whole other facet of Kyp Durron.

Kyp reached across the table and rested his hand on hers. She laced her fingers through his and he said, "Don't be sorry. I've never really told anyone about my family." He forced a small smile, "But if anyone should know, it's you."

Their gazes locked and Kyp opened up to her in the Force. Jaina found herself flooded with memories from Kyp's childhood. She never expected to share such a moment of intimacy with him; it brought an entirely new aspect of trust to their relationship.

Several moments later Kyp swallowed, wiped the emotion from his eyes that the sharing of his childhood memories brought and asked in a thick voice, "Um—did you make any decisions about your parents?"

She wiped the tears away that had escaped. She never felt more certain about her decision than now. "Yes, and I want to thank you."

"For what?"

She squeezed the hand she still was holding and smiled, "First, for sharing your memories. I—," she swallowed as she gazed at him and he nodded no words were necessary. "But also for being my best friend. You're right; I need to make amends with my family. I'm going to ask if I can move in with them."

He looked relieved, "I'm glad." Then after taking a deep breath he grinned and lightened the moment by adding, "Now they may be less likely to run me through with a lightsaber or shot me if they know I'm the one who convinced you to move in with them."

Jaina rolled her eyes, "You are worried about their reaction to us, aren't you?"

"Um—Yes. I may be your father's friend but you are his only daughter." He gave her a lopsided grin and went on, his words surprising her, "I know how I'd react if it were our daughter and it wouldn't be pretty. Besides, your mother hates me."

Jaina laughed. "Our daughter? Well, then let's hope her grandfather doesn't shot her father before we have a chance to create her, huh?" She released his hand after squeezing it again and stood saying, "I guess I'd better call them now and let them know we'll be coming over later." She suddenly wondered just how her parents were going to react to her being so completely in love with Kyp Durron.