Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co.
Big thanks to ZabuzasGirl, Delta808th, Kelana-ti, Amaris the demon of Mortis, spikala, and Janizary for reviewing!
And the answer to last chapter's question was the Millenium Falcon, in case you were wondering. :) Kudos to spikala and Janizary.
Kenna had just put Griff to bed for the night and was listening to the message Wreck had left earlier, as she hadn't had the courage to answer. In the message he was telling her how sorry he was, both to her and their son. Wreck had sad that he didn't deserve her forgiveness. Darn right. But he'd pleaded for her to give him a second chance. Why should I? You walked out when we needed you the most, Wreck. Why should you get to 'try again'.
She was about to throw the comlink away from her when she got another incoming call from the sergeant. Kenna hesitated too long and the comlink quit ringing. It beeped a minute later, letting her know that Wreck had left another message.
She listened to it, but this time her reaction was different. The sorrow and desperation in Wreck's voice as he told her that he'd just lost his entire squad was enough to break her heart. Fidget, Cade, and Kendan. Sweethearts, all three of them. She remembered the first day she'd met them. Ken's shameless flirting with her had caused Wreck to finally make a move. He'd asked her out that very moment, shocking his brothers. They'd figured she'd pick Kendan, not their sergeant. But I've only ever had eyes for Wreck. Even now, after everything...
And now the poor man didn't have anyone left. Besides his sister, myself, and Griff. Yeah, he had his other brothers, the rest of the Cordav boys, but Skylar was the only family outside of his squad that he saw on a regular basis. And Kenna herself had been his wife. Emphasis on had.
All of this went through the Kiffar woman's mind as she listened to Wreck amble on aimlessly, trying to distract himself from his grief.
His last words in the message were what finally tore her heart out.
"Kenny, I know you're still mad at me. Force knows I messed up. And I'm sorry. You don't need to forgive me, but, please, call me back. Gedet'ye. I n-need..." he trailed off, taking a deep breath. It sounded more like a sob to her. "I just need to h-hear your voice, Kenna. Please."
She almost called him back right then. The comlink rattled in her grip, her hands shaking so hard at the thought of talking to him after a full year.
It's been too long, he needs to move on. That was her rationality speaking. But her heart told her different. Right then, it didn't matter the past. He needed her. But she wasn't sentimental enough to let things get out of hand. They'd never have what they used to, he hadn't earned the right. But she could still be there for him, and only as a friend. Nothing more. My heart can't take more than that.
Kot opened his eyes, not recognizing where he was at. He went to stretch out his left hand to flip the light on, but panicked when he found that he couldn't move the limb. He looked down to see that what was left of his arm was bound to his torso, and the sight of his injured limb brought it all back. The fact that Skylar was nestled against his uninjured side, her head on his chest and sleeping peacefully, was the only thing that kept him calm. She's okay. I hope nothing happened to the baby... Calm down, Kot. If the baby was in danger, do you really think that Fives would leave her side? F'ika must be with Wreck.
And then the rest of what happened hit him again. He winced. Poor, poor Wreck. Kot knew all too well what it felt like to be the last man.
His gaze turned back to the stub of his left arm. It was throbbing, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. They must have drugged me. He remembered all too well how painful having melted armor removed was. But he didn't remember them bandaging his arm. Or moving him to the quarters he'd once shared with Fidget and Kendan.
Skylar's comlink went off and she shifted, but he reached with his uninjured arm and plucked it off the bedside table. It wasn't a ring he recognized, but he figured there was no harm in answering anyway. Kept his mind distracted from the recent horrors they'd just been through.
"Hello?"
"Who is this?" a female's voice asked suspiciously. "Are you one of Sky's boys?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered automatically. Skylar pulled herself up and looked at him questioningly. 'Who is it?' she mouthed.
He shrugged his shoulders, wincing as his injury protested at the rough movement. Mental note: Don't do that again. He rephrased Sky's question, "How do you know Sergeant Cordav?"
The woman paused, probably caught off guard by the protective note in his voice. "Is she there? If she is, tell her that Kenna needs to talk to her." Kot mouthed the name to Sky and she motioned for him to put the comm on speaker.
"Kenna? What in the manda? I thought you made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with us?"
"Wreck called me. He told me that Fidge, Ken, and Cay are dead."
"You talked with him?" their was a note of incredulity in his sister's voice. I wonder why that is?
"Of course not. You know why. What he did to me and Griff." Kot really wanted to ask who Griff was and what Wreck did to the two of them, but decided the best thing for him to do at the moment was to keep his mouth shut. The suspicion in Kenna's voice when she'd talked with him told him that his input wouldn't be welcomed. And Sky was already stressed as it was, he didn't want to make it worse for her.
Skylar seemed frustrated with the other woman, "You gave up on him too easily. I told you that he just needed time. Wreck was scared, Kenna. He didn't know what to do."
"That's no excuse, Cordav, and you know it!" Kenna yelled back.
And Kot had had enough, "I don't care who did what, ma'am. You're upsetting my sister when she's already been through enough. If you cause her to miscarry..." he trailed off, his voice full of implications.
Skylar rolled her eyes, "Great, thanks, Kot'ika."
"Miscarry? You're pregnant, Sky?!"
Said woman glared at Kot as she answered, "Yes, but you can't breath a word to anyone. I've still got to tell General Zey. But we're not talking about me. We're talking about Wreck. If you really want to see how he is, we'll be at Corellia in two days around noon, Corellia time. The field where Wreck took you that one time."
"Okay, I'll think about it." Kenna paused, hesitating, "Don't tell him that we talked. I don't want to upset him further if I can't come."
"Sounds fair to me," Sky said gently. "Give Griff a hug from his ba'vodu, okay?"
"Alright." And the link went dead.
"S'ika, who's Kenna and Griff? And what did Wreck do?"
"Kenna is Wreck's ex-wife and Griff is his son. As to what happened, that's up to him to tell you. How's the arm, vod'ika?" she asked, her gaze turning sympathetic.
Sky watched sorrowfully as her brother turned his gaze to said limb. I wasn't prepared. I was so sure that those Siitse were already lightyears away that I didn't even consider that they might still have been on the planet. And my boys paid the price... She leaned over and kissed his temple, "I'm so sorry, this is all my-"
Kot leveled her with a glare that he could have learned only from her, "It's not your fault, ori'vod. Don't think like that, it's not good for you or the baby. Speaking of which, is it okay?"
Cordav had been about to argue with him, but she was caught of guard by his concern for her child. She'd just told him only a week ago and he was already so attached to the little one. She placed a hand on her belly, "I think so. I mean, I haven't been in pain, so I'm pretty sure I haven't miscarried. When we get to Corellia, I'll get checked out. Just to make sure."
"You do that," the commanding phrase was softened by his smile. Followed quickly by a yawn, and he laid his head back.
Sky could tell that he was having trouble keeping his eyes opened. She ruffled his hair gently, "Get some sleep, baby brother."
Kot managed to give her a withering glare which actually made her laugh out loud. Not many could achieve that when she was grieving.
"I'll be back in to check on you in a little bit, okay?" She might as well have said that to thin air, Kot was already out.
As Kot's door closed behind her, she felt a few tears run down her cheeks and her shoulders began to shake with silent sobs.
"C'mon, cyar'ika," Fives voice broke through her thoughts and he picked her up in his arms.
"I c-can't, Fives. Wreck-"
"I'm fine, S'ika," her bronze-haired brother spoke up quietly over her husband's shoulder. The tortured quality to his voice made her wince.
"Vod'ika, I'm sorry, if I had been more prepared-"
He moved to Fives' side where he could easily stroke her cheek, "And you wonder where Jinx gets it from." Wreck's expression was firm, "Ori'vod, it was their fault. Not yours. And don't worry about me, I'll be keeping Kot'ika company." He kissed her cheek, "Get some rest. For you and the baby, okay?"
Fives set Skylar on the bed and, at her direction, pulled her fatigues out of her pack. Ignoring her protests, he began removing her dusty armor plates, piling them neatly in the corner.
He'd begun to remove her flightsuit, but her hands on his wrists stopped him, "I can change my own clothes, love." Her loving gaze took his breath away. "Besides, you still need to get out of your own armor," she said softly, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his.
He didn't want to pull away. But she was right. She'll kill me if I get dust on her clean sheets. He smirked at the irony. They were far from the average family but they still managed to have almost mundane moments like this.
I can't wait until we get home. I need to see Tea again.
gedet'ye = please
manda = heaven
ba'vodu = aunt
vod'ika = little brother
Siitse = Sith (in the plural)
ori'vod = big sister
cyar'ika = sweetheart
Please R&R.
