If Anakin hated anything, it was being in the middle of things. He hated knowing things, being on the inside of anyone else's mess, but he'd managed to become entrapped in two family messes- one of which no one else was even aware of. Yet. This one secret was enough to be carrying, hoping and praying to no end that his parents would choose a wiser time to start breaking the news to the rest of their family and friends. Although, Anakin wasn't sure any good time to make the big announcement existed in this case. It would be a long, awkward moment no matter how it went, he was sure.

However, Jaina had now added to his burden, cruelly positioning him in the middle of a fresh impasse between mother and daughter. While he doubted she realized it, his mother was now following through with communicating through the intermediary and he inwardly cringed when Leia eventually asked him, "Can I ask you something, Anakin? Is your sister mad at me?"

It was unlike his mother to broach a topic with such- rashness. Leia Organa Solo was a retired politician, a former ambassador of the New Republic. She always spoke deliberately, constructively. She didn't speak impulsively or without thinking. She was always rational, clear, focused.

Well, almost always.

"Mom, Jaina isn't mad at you."

That much Anakin could say with absolute certainty, without doubting just how bad things were between mother and daughter. Anakin was well aware that the two had a less than amicable relationship. For all Leia tried, Jaina had remained bitter towards her for years, resentful of the childhood she'd never shared with her parents. Her attitude towards the subject was not something Anakin could say he understood- didn't both women want the same thing now? But he supposed that his sister was like their father in that way. Unlike Leia, she was rash and felt with her head. All her more softer emotions were translated to a tougher anger before she allowed herself to release them. Jaina didn't like to be soft; she didn't like to show weakness, but that often meant bottling up everything that she needed to show Leia. And that was why such a wall existed between the two, and the drain for what hope there was.

"You're sure about that?"

"You asked me."

Leia sighed shortly. She remained on her med-bunk, propped up by a structured arrangement of pillows and cushions that Anakin didn't doubt was courtesy of his father. She'd just completed another round of bactatherapy, a two-hour session in a bacta tank that left her skin pallid and wrinkled, lips pale, and Leia had awoken exhausted and starving. Anakin stayed with her while they waited for Han to return with lunch.

"She really isn't mad at you," Anakin tried again to reassure her, and when his mother eyed him with a doubtful gaze, ghost lips almost smirking bitterly, he repeated, "She isn't."

Something like a dull snort came from Leia, muted by her sealed lips. "Maybe not. But I don't suppose she's very- happy?"

"I don't think that's the right word for-"

"No. There aren't quite any good words for it. Are there?"

"She isn't mad at you, Mom."

"You keep saying that."

"And you still doubt it."

"Anakin, I know why she's upset with me. She has every right to be-"

"Because of what you and Dad did to protect us-?"

"No, not-" She cut herself off with another sigh. "Okay, yes, but I was thinking about what's going to happen. … You know that I hated giving you and your siblings up. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"I know, Mom," he assured her, kissing her temple softly and pulling the thin sheets over her shoulders. Just as soon, however, Leia pulled her arm out from under the blankets to reach for her son's face. "I missed so much. So much. And I don't think I can do that again."

It almost had a harsh backlash, hearing his sister's predictions confirmed. From the moment their parents had told them, he'd understood, somehow, that this wouldn't be like the childhood he'd been given. Though he hadn't guessed what that might entail ... but this was different. It was different just to hear it said aloud. Official, final, confirmed. Like the thud of a heavy book, the slam of a door closing out a room. Or opening the way to a new one …

"Your dad and I have hardly even talked about this. We haven't talked about anything for the baby. It's so much, Anakin, and I keep thinking about you! And Jaina and Jacen …"

She trailed off, no comprehensible words left to be said. She hung on to him, reaching for him, pulling him closer as if to reassure him. So, Anakin hugged her, showing her his love and support with a gentle brush of the Force, an ethereal caress.

"You don't need to worry about us," Anakin told her, insisted. "We're grown up."

His mother laughed gently, bittersweetly. "Oh, I know all three of you have."

"It's not for you to worry about how we feel about it. All you need to know is that we're all happy for you and Dad. We're all happy to be getting a baby sibling."

"Even Jaina?"

"I know she likes to play it tough, pretend like she can't stand you, but- especially Jaina."

"You think she'd ever say that to me for herself?"

"Just ask her."


Leia was walking laps around an old spa tub, legs clapped in loud, clicking braces that kept her from hardly bending her knee. Her steps were short and ungraceful, clipped stomps as she grimaced against the burning in her legs, her flamed skin burning in protest. Jacen felt it, and he grimaced for her, resentful that he couldn't help. He followed her, admitting several feet of space between himself and his mother. He watched her carefully, watched her legs work relentlessly, watched her shoulders with every heaving breath, watched to be sure she wasn't going to fall. That's what he was for. To catch her if she ever did fall, but also to teach his father something about overprotectiveness.

Jacen nearly chuckled aloud when he snatched another glimpse of Han. His father stood exactly where Jacen had left him, albeit radiating his anxiety. He shuffled his feet as he stood in place, crossing his arms and then unfolding them, cocking his head to one side and then the other as he watched his wife pace the track around the steaming bath. If it was just his parents in this room, Jacen knew with great certainty that Han would be following Leia, lagging only by a few centimeters, with arms held out at the ready. He could hardly imagine such boding well with Leia, thus Jaina had quickly suggested that Jacen help Han monitor when Leia insisted she was feeling well enough to practice walking.

While her steps were careful and slow, her gait was sure and confident. Not at all for the first time, Jacen was amazed by her strength.

The smallest wave in the Force made Jacen's gaze flick to the floor just as his mother's foot slipped slightly to the side. He heard her inhale sharply as she raised a hand to reach for balance, but before Jacen could even guide her back to equilibrium with aid of the Force, she righted herself, dropping her hand back to her side before her husband could even realize something had happened. Jacen heard her exhale in relief. Then, she took another step forward, her confidence restored.
"How are those braces feeling?" Han asked from where he stood. Leia was now only several feet away from her husband- and Han looked relieved. "Not too stiff, are they?" He bent to look at the bulky material of the boots strapped over her swollen legs and feet. "Can you even cock your ankle?"

"They're- fine," Leia winced as she took one last step before reaching for her husband and pulling his arms around her. Not for a hug, or any comfort, but for physical support just to remain steady on her feet. Jacen stopped for a moment just to watch his father embrace his mother, enfolding her in a hug whether that was what she wanted or not. He brushed her bare arm with a delicate touch, then turned her around and helped her into her repulsor chair.

"You're making a lot of progress," Han noted aloud, kissing her temple as he knelt to take off her braces. "That's the most laps you've done in as much time."

"Hm. A solid ten laps and you looked more exhausted than me."

Han shook his head. "Just couldn't believe what I was seeing. You're doing great, sweetheart." Carefully, he pulled off each bulky cuff and set them aside. "I'm going to take these back to Nimbi. Maybe he can get 'em to fit you better."

Jacen saw a flicker of amusement occupy his mother's eyes before she obligingly nodded, leaving a feather-light kiss on his grizzled cheek. "And you should take a sanisteam too. You smell like nervous sweat and dirty socks."

"And you smell like bacta."

"At least I have an excuse." She patted his chest. "Go. Clean yourself up or I'm not sharing the bunk."

Jacen waited until his father was gone before he approached Leia, brows knitted together. "He doesn't believe it, does he?"

Leia sealed her lips into a thin line, lifting her shoulders in the smallest shrug. "He has his doubts," she admitted. "You know he isn't much of a 'see by faith' person." She glanced at her flat abdomen, no sign of any anomaly other than the smallest wave in the Force, one thread of his mother's presence that didn't quite agree with the rest. "And it isn't even that he doesn't believe it. He does. He knows. It's just- it isn't real to him yet. It's still not entirely real to me." She looked back to him. "But you can feel it, can't you?"

"I can," Jacen affirmed. "If I'm really looking for it." Jacen wouldn't have caught it if he hadn't been looking for it. After his mother had told him and his sister and brother, it had taken him a few days until he'd finally found the flickering new presence. It was dim, barely there, but brightening with every new day. "Anakin found it before Jaina or I did."

Leia smiled. "Of course, he did."

"He told me that he talked to you."

There was no hesitation in Leia's reaction as she tried to bite back a sigh, turning a frown Jacen's way. "I don't think it's fair to Jaina when the two of you keep talking behind her back."

"We're trying to help her. And you, for that matter."

"I can't fault Jaina for being mad at me."

"That's exactly the problem. You have to understand that she isn't mad at you."

"No? She's only so upset that she hardly knows what to say to me, can't hardly even look at me."

"It's- complicated for her."

"Jacen, you don't have to gloss over the truth for your sister. I'm well aware of how she feels about it."

"Apparently not."

This time, Leia didn't respond. Even while turned away, Jacen could practically see her frown, how her mouth quirked as she fought back another sigh.

"She may have Dad's temperament, but Jaina is more like you than either of you two will ever admit."

"And what does that change?"

"It changes how she deals with it. She isn't mad at you; she just doesn't know how to move on."

Leia opened her mouth as if to argue the point, but she quickly closed her mouth and looked away.

Jacen approached her, came to sit beside her. "We're really happy for you and Dad. All three of us. We're going to support you."

Leia shook her head. "That isn't what I want, Jacen. I want to know that you and both of your siblings are happy for yourselves, too. If all goes well, the three of you will be big siblings all over again."

"We are," Jacen assured his mother with a genuine smile. "And Jaina's getting there."


Turning dinner with their parents into a session of Q&A was not what Jaina had had in mind for the night. She still harbored a small discomfort with discussing so openly the topic of- the baby. Yet, she also felt guilty referring to her unborn brother or sister as exactly that- the baby. For the past few days, Jaina had struggled to imagine herself a big sister, playing babysitter for Mom and Dad, cooing to a small child and bouncing the baby in her arms. She struggled to see herself as the loving, caring big sister, cooing over a baby. The baby. Now that she thought about it, had she ever held even a young child? Something told her, however, that both of her brothers were just as anxious as her.

Jacen looked up from his bowl, hopeful. "So, are you guys going back to Coruscant once Mom can leave?"

Jaina didn't bother to say what they all knew- that it was doubtful their mother would be admitted out of the medcenter anytime soon. Before she could make a look, Jaina fed herself another heaping spoon of soup, averting her gaze from Leia who remained in her medbunk. The rest of the Solo family all occupied chairs around her.

Husband and wife answered simultaneously, albeit providing different answers as Han sternly answered, "No," and Leia offered a softer, "Hopefully." They looked at each other, eyes sharp.

"What about the Holonet?" Jacen continued. "Will you be making an announcement?"

Clearly a much easier topic, Leia visibly exhaled. "No." She even smiled. "We're going to leave it be. If they notice, they notice."

"They're not going to notice," her husband murmured.

When Leia shot back, her voice was nearly stern, hints of an old argument the two had shared away from the twins' and Anakin's ears. "They might," she responded, her tone deliberate and stern.

With a rather heavy and exaggerated sigh, Han turned his attention back to the plate in his lap. The Solo kids exchanged their own prolonged looks, silently debating who would get to break the tense silence. "What about Uncle Luke and Mara?" Jaina finally offered, sure that it would reassure her brothers- until Anakin cringed, but then smirked to himself as if sharing an inside joke.

At least to Jaina's credit, her question turned the mood of the room straight around and her mother smiled, picking pointlessly at her bowl of fruit slices. "Your dad commed them last night," she beamed excitedly. "They're coming by tomorrow afternoon and we'll tell them then."

"Uncle Luke will be thrilled," Jacen laughed. "He probably won't believe you."

Leia agreed with him, "He probably won't."

"I think we need to talk." Leia wasn't going to skirt around the subject this time. She'd been trying with Jaina for so long, trying everything, saying everything, being as gentle as she could. Maybe that had been her mistake- being gentle. Neither of them were gentle women. Stars! Jaina was practically a woman.

It had struck her earlier, during the family's meal together. When Jacen had begun to inquire about his parents' near future plans, Leia had seen the fire in her daughter's eyes, the pain she was trying to smoulder. But you can't burn fire, my dear. You're only feeding the flames. But that wasn't the point. What mattered was that it had led Leia to realize something she still hadn't yet accepted about her daughter, and that was that Leia would never be able to cope with just how much Jaina had taken after her. It was then that she realized just how right her sons were, how obvious it must be for anyone watching mother and daughter from the outside. She may be daddy's girl, but, with every step she took, she was following right after her mom.

You are just like me, no matter what you think. I didn't want you to grow up to be me, but you did. You are just like me- but so much more.

"I think we've already talked too much."

"Jaina, I can't just drop this and pretend that everything is fine. I can't keep going if I know that you're still upset-"

Jaina suddenly whirled on her, spinning on her feel to face Leia with a curious smile. A smile. She asked her mother, "Who said I was upset?"

Leia blinked. "I- …"

"Look, Mom. I'm not mad at you- you never did anything wrong. I know- I'm bitter about…"

"Because I wasn't there," Leia finished for her.

"Yeah. That."

The daughter took a breath to continue, but Leia stopped her there. "I know you're still upset with me, and that's only fair-"

"Moth- Mom, if you would just listen to me!"

That shut Leia up, and she shuddered a breath. Whatever she has to say, she's been holding it for a while.

"What you chose to do, the decisions that you and Dad made for me, Jacen, and Anakin- that's all behind us. What's done is done. But I can't let that ruin our family now."