Chapter 32

It was several weeks later when Jag decided it was time to put his pride aside and meet with Jaina again. He needed to speak with her and Kyp in order to decide what would be best for the baby, no matter who's it was.

Entering his bedroom for nearly the first time in seven months, Jag looked around. Unlike the rest of his home, this room still appeared the way it used to. His things mixed with hers, pictures of the once happy couple during various times in their early marriage. It was as if nothing bad had happened.

Sitting down on the immaculately made bed, Jag reached over and picked up the framed wedding holo off of the bedside table. As he gazed into his wife's beautiful brown eyes, a tear streamed down his cheek. He missed Jaina. More than he would ever admit, even to himself.

The sound of his comm buzzing quickly broke Jag out of his reverie. Taking a deep breath to control himself, he answered. It was his mother, calling to check up on him as usual. Ever since she learned of his struggling marriage, Syal Fel had taken extra care to be sure that she was there for her son, no matter what the cost.

"Hello Mother, how is the new home?"

"It's nice. You did a good job of picking it out. A little smaller than we're used to, but still nice. I must say, I love the weather here though. I had forgotten what it was like to not live in the middle of an ice planet."

With a small, wistful laugh, Jag rose from the bed. "Yes. If there is one thing that I definitely don't miss about Csillia, it's the cold." Walking over to his closet, he picked some clean clothes for the dreaded meeting. "How is father?"

"Your father is…adjusting. Although he's not thrilled about life here in the rebe- New Republic, things do seem to be slowly getting better. He enjoys being here with you, though."

"Well, I'm glad to have all of you near also. But listen, I've got an important meeting to get to, so can I call you back?"

"Of course." Syal paused for a moment. "Take care of yourself, Jagged."

"I will, Mother."

Once he hung up, Jag dressed and walked into the small refresher adjoining the bedroom. Staring into the mirror, it was as if he was looking at another person. This scruffy, broken man couldn't be him.

Reaching across the counter, he watched as he slowly ran his vibro-razor across his face. The stubble from the past several days began to disappear. After a moment, all that was left was the clean, sharp angles of his handsome face. That was better.

Jaina Solo Fel was seated on a cool stone bench beneath the warm Naboo sun. She was currently in the vicinity of a small park located not far from her and Jag's home. Or rather, her former home.

Basking in the early morning rays, hand placed delicately on her growing stomach, Jaina stared blankly at the man sitting across from her.

She and Kyp Durron had not spoken in months, almost as long as Jaina hadn't spoken to her husband. None of them really had anything to say to the others that hadn't already been yelled, threatened, or cursed. Today was different though. Today they had something important to discuss.

She could feel his presence growing near before she heard his footsteps. Turning her head slightly to glance behind her shoulder, Jaina watched as her husband sauntered over, hands placed precariously in his pockets.

Jag looked good, she noted to herself. Better than he had looked in weeks. Maybe even longer. It seemed that the recent bumps in their marriage had been causing him a lot of stress and pain. For that, Jaina could never forgive herself.

"Hey," she said, taking the initiative to speak first.

Jag nodded towards her but did not respond.

"I'm glad you could come today, Fel," said Kyp from his spot on the bench. "I had something I've been wanting to say."

The two others turned their attention to the older Jedi Master. The two gazes bore deeply into him. One a deep brown, filled with sadness and shame. The other a cool green, overflowing with feelings of anger and betrayal.

Taking a deep breath, Kyp forced himself to continue. "Once and for all, I just want to apologize again for what happened. I take full responsibility and blame for everything. I don't know what I was thinking that night. When Jaina came to me drunk…well, we can't change what is in the past, now can we?" His question was met with silence.

"Anyway, as it grows closer to time for the…baby…to arrive, I've been thinking. Out of the three of us, no one really knows who the father of this child is. It could be you, it could be me. And although it would only take a simple paternity test to find out, I'm not so sure if I want to. I'm almost thirty-five years old, but I'm not ready to be a father. You two on the other hand, you guys love each other, no matter what you may be thinking right now. I know that this is something the two of you wanted so badly, and I can never tell you how sorry I am that I ruined it for you. It was never my intention. Therefore, Jag, I think you should raise the baby, no matter who the true father is. That is the way it belongs."

Jaina and Jag were speechless. Neither had been too sure what to expect to hear today, but that certainly wasn't it. Jag opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Instead, Jaina spoke. "What if we find out that the baby was yours?"

"I don't think we ever should." Kyp said. "If you don't request a test, there won't be any reason for someone to perform one. No one will ever know."

"I will know!" Jag cried from his place behind Jaina. "And I will always wonder deep down if this child is really mine."

"Jag," Jaina began slowly, "maybe we can make this work. Kyp's right, you deserve to be this baby's father, no matter whether you are or not."

Jag simply shook his head in disbelief, but he didn't refuse the offer.

As the evening sun began to slowly set, Tahiri Veila and Cem Fel slowly made their way down the lakeshore outside of the Jedi Academy on Naboo. The view was breathtaking, but neither seemed to notice. They were both too absorbed in each other's presence.

Walking along barefoot, the cool water lapped against their feet, creating a stark contrast to the feel of the warm sand between their toes. Neither had said much since Cem showed up on the Skywalker doorstep several hours ago. In fact, they hadn't really talked at all in the past couple of weeks since the Fel's arrived on Naboo.

As Cem pulled his hand up to brush a piece of ebony hair out of his eyes, his palm grazed Tahiri's arm slightly. Even that small amount of contact sent an electric shock coursing through his entire body.

"Um, how's Menley?" he ad-libbed quickly.

"She's great," Tahiri said with a wistful smile. "She has started talking some."

"Really?" Cem asked, genuinely excited. He had been with Tahiri the night her daughter was born. In fact, he actually delivered the beautiful baby girl. "That's great! I've missed her so much."

"You missed Menley?"

"Of course! She's like my own kid."

"I meant, you missed only Menley."

Cem allowed his gaze to linger on the ravishing blonde gliding beside him. "Maybe some other people too."

"Really?" Tahiri said with a smile. "Who else might you have missed?"

"I don't know. Jag. Jaina, too I guess. She is a true beauty."

Tahiri slapped him playfully on the chest and feigned a look of hurt.

"Just kidding." Cem took a hold of the hand that Tahiri had just slapped him with, and laced his fingers through hers. "I might have missed you just a little bit too."

"Just a little bit?"

A grin began to grow across his face. "Maybe a lot."

They walked hand in hand for several minutes, enjoying the newness of the feeling.

"What about what happened between us?" Tahiri questioned cautiously.

Cem could hear the pain and tension in her voice. He could tell that she was truly sorry for what had happened that night. "It's all in the past. I don't see why we can't just leave it there and start a new beginning. Take things slow." He kissed the hand he was holding.

"I like slow. I'm still trying to figure all of this out, to be honest."

"Me too. And don't worry. I understand that this won't be easy for you."

As the sun continued to set, the two stopped walking. Placing his palm against her cheek, Cem smoothed Tahiri's blonde curls away from her face. Glancing into her clear green eyes, he could see the happiness there that had been missing for so long. Leaning his head down, he slowly and carefully brushed his lips against hers, sealing their evening with a kiss.

It was almost dark by the time Wyn arrived at the Jedi Academy in Jag's speeder that she borrowed. Although Cem had offered to taker her with him earlier when he was going to see Tahiri, she had refused. For the past few weeks Wyn had been debating back and forth with herself over whether or not she should go see Valin.

Not long after arriving on Naboo she had heard from her uncle that Valin and her cousin Syal were dating. Wyn wasn't surprised. She could tell back when she lived here before that the two had an attraction for each other. In fact, she was happy for them.

But still, the need to see her friend won out in the end, so Wyn ran over to her brother's apartment and begged him to let her borrow the speeder for the night. Now as she arrived at the academy, Wyn began to wonder if she was making a mistake. She didn't want to complicate things between Valin and Syal, and yet she was afraid that she would.

Pushing her doubts aside, the petite teenager hopped out of her vehicle and began walking in the direction of Valin's room. Before she got there, though, she noticed him amidst a small group out in the front commons area. Jogging closer she noticed his young sister Jysella as well as her cousins Myri and Syal.

Catching the eye of her former boyfriend, Wyn smiled. "Hey Val. I'm back."

"Wyn!" he cried as she approached. Running over, he gave the girl a big hug and a sweet kiss on the cheek. "How are you? I heard that you guys were back!"

"I'm great. Doing a lot better. Yeah, it's good to be back." Looking around at the others, she smiled and said, "Hey guys, it's nice to see all of you."

Syal Antilles stood not far behind Valin. As she watched the former couple embrace, tears began to gather in her eyes. She had come back. Somehow, Syal had always known that Wyn wasn't gone for good and that as soon as she returned, Valin would leave her and go back to someone he liked more.

Refusing to meet the gaze of her cousin, Syal turned around and began to swiftly walk away. She couldn't handle this right now. As her pace quickened, Syal could hear Jysella and her sister calling out. They were following her as she began to run off into the dark distance.

Two pairs of bright red eyes watched from the shadows as the three young girls went running off alone.

"Yes sir," one spoke into his commlink. "But the orders were to get his daughter."

"This may work out even better," replied the voice from the other line. "Take them."

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