Post 20

He stopped outside Luke's door and braced himself against the doorframe. Kyp was definitely not looking forward to this. Taking a moment to compose himself, he rang the door chime and waited.

The wait wasn't long, and Kyp was surprised to find Ben the one who had opened the door.

"Hey Kyp. Dad's in his office. Go on in." Ben told him as he stepped back to let the master in. All Kyp could do was nod at the young jedi since he didn't trust his voice right now. Making his way down the hall he stopped at Luke's office door. The grandmaster had a small office in his apartment that he used only for those he knew well. He was averse to inviting just anyone into his home.

"Come on in Kyp." He heard Luke call out, and Kyp found himself following the order without thinking. Luke looked up as his friend took a chair and gave him a smile. Now Kyp was really confused.

"How are things going?" Luke asked and Kyp found himself still unable to speak, but for different reasons. "Kyp?"

"Um…do you want the long list or the short list?" He finally managed to get out. Luke laughed, but it did nothing to ease his anxiety.

"I'll put you out of your misery now." Luke finally told him. "Let's start with the fun stuff. I have two complaints."

"Just two?" Kyp snorted.

"Yes, just two. One from Commander Jake Storm and one from Iella. Let's see…gross negligence, harassment, huge ego…"

"What!"

Luke chuckled and Kyp felt that the Grandmaster was enjoying this too much. "There's some other things here too, but it's the commendations that I would like to talk about." Kyp said nothing, just sat motionless in the chair. He was too old for this.

"Let's see, I've gotten statements from Jared Obath, Jagged Fel, Iella Antilles, Wedge Antilles and Michael Storm." Luke looked up to see shock on Kyp's face. He loved being able to do that.

"So I ask again, how are things going?" Luke put the datapad down and leaned back in his chair, waiting for Kyp to recover.

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine." Kyp answered, then got a look from Luke. "Please tell me you don't want details." He added pleadingly.

"Why?" Luke's curiosity was in full gear now.

"Because it would invalidate all the good things they've said about me."

"You're not sleeping with her, are you?" Luke threw out in jest.

Kyp nearly choked. Luke was going to kill him. "No." He finally said, thankful he could say it and not be lying.

"Look," Luke said as he leaned forward. "I'm not going to sit here and lecture you if something is going on between you and the ambassador. You're an adult and I trust you enough to know you're not going to take advantage of the situation or the ambassador." Kyp nodded his thanks and Luke smiled.

"Go on. I'm done having fun at your expense. At least for now."

"Have I told you how much I hate you lately Skywalker?"

/____________________________________\

"So, you like having a roommate?" Jade asked Jared as they settled onto the couch to watch the news.

"Actually, yeah. Zekk and I are getting along pretty well." Zekk had offered for Jared to stay with him, since he was only a few doors down from Kyp. That way, all the protection was in one area and Kyp didn't have to worry about it.

She knew Jared had a small apartment in the area, but he hardly ever stayed there. With his meager salary she knew he couldn't afford much. Which brought her to something she had been thinking about the other day.

"I have a question for you." She said quietly.

"Shoot."

"What are you going to do when this is all over?" Jade looked over and found a frown on his face.

"I've been trying not to think about it. I mean, I'm going to be unemployed for sure, and I don't really want to work for any other senator after this. I'll find something though."

"I've got a proposition for you."

Jared turned his head to smirk at her. "Kyp won't be happy to hear that you're hitting on me." Jade smacked his arm and he laughed.

"I'm being serious." She told him.

"So am I."

"Jared." She admonished him and he held his hands up in surrender.

"Ok, ok. What?"

"How would you like to work for me?"

"Doing what?"

"Being my guard." She felt his shock and smiled.

"You're still going to be ambassador after this?"

"Why not? I'm not about to let my husband's stupidity interfere with my dreams. Unless they ask me to step down I don't plan on changing professions." She responded. "Plus, I'll need someone I trust for the position."

"What about Kyp?"

Jade was silent as she struggled to answer the question she had asked herself many times. What about Kyp? She wasn't even sure he was going to be in her life after this.

"Kyp's a Jedi master and has other obligations. I wouldn't dream of asking him to change that." Jade said quietly.

It was on the tip of Jared's tongue to say what he really thought, but he didn't. These two had to work it out on their own. If they two didn't end up together though, he was going to start questioning his sanity.

Jared leaned over to bump Jade's shoulder lightly with his. "Of course I'll work for you. Who else is going to pay me to talk back to them?"

/____________________________________\

"You rang boss?" Raxle asked as he and Tee'ana stepped into Iella's office. She waved them over to a small table and gave them each a datapad.

"I just received this a few hours ago."

Tee'ana's gasp was mentally echoed by Raxle. This was what they had been hoping to find all along. Now, he could finally get to work.

"Where?" He asked.

"It was delivered. No return address, no name, nothing to indicate where it came from. I've already sent the wrapping to analysis but I'm sure we won't find anything."

Raxle nodded, his brain already processing what he needed to do. Which contacts would be the most effective, how much money he might need to get the info.

"When does Bela arrive on planet?" Tee'ana asked, having been quiet since her initial gasp.

"Four days."

"Then we have four days to verify the info." Raxle mumbled, still scrolling through the data. Iella nodded an affirmative, knowing he didn't need it.

"Can you do it?" She asked.

Raxle looked up and offered her a smirk. "Of course."

/____________________________________\

Kyp made his way back to his apartment slowly. He was still in shock. Later his curiosity would get the better of him and he would want to know exactly what they had said, but right now he could care less.

The master found himself at his door and without thinking, plugged in the numbers to open it. He would need to tell Jade the numbers so she could get in. Walking into the living room he found Jade asleep on the couch, with Jared sitting next to her, watching the holo. The young man looked up and sent him a questioning look.

"Everything ok?" He asked, standing quietly so he wouldn't wake Jade. Jared walked over to where Kyp had stopped.

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Jared nodded at his answer and started to walk past him when Kyp laid a hand on his arm.

"Thanks." The master told him softly. Jared smiled and nodded again, then left.

Turning back around, he looked over to Jade on the couch. It was early, but he wasn't really surprised she was asleep again. The doctor had said this would happen and to just make sure he watched her. Any sickness or disorientation was a sign that she needed to come back. Rubbing his face with his hands, Kyp walked over and sat down on the couch next to her. Once he had settled, Jade shifted to lean into him and he wrapped an arm around her.

"I woke you up." He said quietly.

"It's ok. How was your meeting with Luke?" She asked as he rested his chin on her head.

"Better than I expected."

"So you didn't get reamed."

"No, Luke just wanted to mess with my head." Kyp said, sarcasm in his voice. Jade laughed and he chuckled himself.

"Do you feel better now?" Jade asked, but Kyp didn't answer her. She waited a moment then looked up to find him staring at her.

"Yes. I'm sitting here with you in my arms. I feel much better." He whispered before he kissed her.

/____________________________________\

0100 next morning…

"Hey."

Iella's head snapped up at her husband's voice. "Hey." She answered, then turned her attention back to what she was working on.

"You planning on coming home anytime tonight?" Wedge sat in the chair next to her and leaned back, waiting for her response. When a few minutes went by and she didn't answer, he frowned.

"Ella?"

"I'm sorry, Wedge, I don't think I'm coming home tonight."

"Why?"

She looked up and Wedge saw the pain and excitement in her eyes.

"You found something." He said, leaning forward to take the datapad from her. She was silent as he looked through the data.

"Damn."

"Yeah. Raxle and Tee'ana have gotten half of the info confirmed. They have a little less than two days to finish it."

"It's almost over." He said, his eyes still taking in the information.

"For him." Wedge looked up at the sadness he heard in her voice.

"Her entire life is going to be paraded before the media now. Every decision she's ever made as an ambassador will be questioned to see if it was made to be a benefit to him. Her critics are going to drag her through the mud Wedge." Standing, Iella walked over to the window and wrapped her arms around herself. "They're going to ask how she never knew what was going on."

"Iella, he fooled everyone, not just her."

"But they're going to say it and that's enough."

He closed his eyes and knew she was right. Wedge just hoped she was strong enough to get through this.

/____________________________________\

Jade made her way out of the bedroom the next morning and smirked.

"You're not Kyp." She told the figure sitting at the kitchen table.

"Force I hope not." Jaina choked slightly, then went back to her caf. Jade grabbed a cup herself and joined the Jedi knight.

"Do I want to know who he has to talk to now?" Jade joked, then frowned when she saw Jaina's surprise. "What?"

"You don't know where he went?" She asked and Jade shook her head in response. Jaina couldn't sense any anger at the fact Kyp had withheld his destination from the ambassador. Just concern.

"He'll tell me if I need to know. I'm not worried about it." Jade took a sip of her caf and looked over at the holonews that was on across the room. "What I am worried about, is how long it's going to take me to go crazy being cooped up in this apartment."

Jaina smiled and thought this might not be so bad after all.

/____________________________________\

The Jedi master walked down the hallway that led to Iella's office lost in his own thoughts. He had slipped out this morning before Jade had woken up and he missed her already. They'd stayed up late last night, not talking, just watching a couple of movies. She'd fallen asleep in his arms and he swore he'd never been happier. But his impending visit with Iella did not sit well on his mind. He had a feeling that there was light at the end of the tunnel but he wasn't sure that he wanted there to be.

Sighing, he came to her office and knocked. Iella's face greeted him and she offered him a small smile, but he found himself only nodding in return. Wordlessly, she walked over to the small table in her office and he followed and sat down.

"I received a package yesterday. We haven't concluded where or who it came from, but it had some interesting things in it." She handed him a datapad and sat back to wait for his reaction. Kyp didn't disappoint. His eyes widen in shock, and she saw anger flit across his features a handful of times before he finished. She had actually expected more of an outburst, but was glad it hadn't happened.

"How much has been verified?" He asked, setting the machine down on the table and meeting her gaze.

"90%." She uttered softly, and Kyp closed his eyes. "We're going to arrest him when he lands, the morning after the ball."

"I assume you don't want her to know."

Iella sighed. "As much as I don't want her to, she needs to know. When we announce his arrest the media is going to have a field day."

"And my job will get that much harder." Her only response was a nod. Kyp scratched his head and stood up to pace. "We should probably move her out of the temple. That way it won't disrupt the students. I don't want to stick her in a hotel because that's too easy for someone to get in to."

"A private apartment would be the best bet, if you can find one." Iella piped up. Kyp nodded absently and the corner of her mouth turned up. She wondered how she had ever doubted he would keep Jade safe.

"I'll see if Jared wants to let her use his. It's a small one, but I don't think anyone realizes he has it. I'll have to make sure it's secure though."

"Kyp, what are your feelings for Jade?" Iella asked quietly and smiled when Kyp abruptly stopped pacing. She could see him composing himself and hoped he didn't lie to her. Not that she would blame him if he did.

"I like her." He said quietly, not turning to face her. "Hell, sometimes I think I love her. Then I wonder if it's just the fact we've had to pretty much spend all our time together and it's just the situation pushing us together." He chanced a glance over her way and was surprised to see a sad smile on her face. Closing his eyes again he wondered if he had finally lost his sanity. He had just confessed his feelings to Iella!

"I'm not sure what to say." She said as she walked over to stand by him. "I haven't exactly handled this whole situation very well, as it pertains to you." She added. "I will tell you this." The intelligence officer told him as she met his gaze. "This is going to be the hardest thing Jade has ever had to do or go through. She feels safe around you and I will be forever indebted to you…"Iella paused, unsure of how to continue. Kyp waited patiently, knowing this had to be hard for her.

"I'm not going to let her go through this alone, Iella. Even if nothing happens between us, I'm not going anywhere until I know she's ok." He whispered when she found herself unable to complete her thoughts.

"Thank you."

/____________________________________\

"He did not!?"

"Oh yeah, he did. Jag wasn't much better."

This was what Kyp heard when he made it back to his apartment and he groaned inwardly. He was sure he didn't want to know what Jaina was telling Jade. Especially if it involved him and Jag.

"Please tell me you're not giving all my secrets away." He said as he walked into the kitchen. It had only been a couple hours since he had left this morning, but he had a feeling the two women had been sitting here the entire time talking.

"Not all of them, just the good ones." Jaina threw back as he helped himself to some caf.

"Yeah, that makes me feel better." He mumbled as he turned back around to glare at Jaina.

"Am I done warden?" She smirked and he rolled his eyes and waved her away.

"I'll talk to you later Jade." She called back over her shoulder as she left and Kyp closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of the caf.

He opened his eyes to find Jade grinning at him from her seat at the table. She stood up and walked over to the sink, dumping the rest of her drink and trying not to snicker. Kyp set his cup down on the counter and reached for her, enjoying her surprise at his actions. One of her elegant eyebrows came up and he leaned down to brush his lips against hers.

"I never knew you were such a bad boy, master Durron." She whispered, the coyness in her voice tempting him.

Kyp didn't answer, just reached over to pull her closer and pressed his lips to hers in desperation. The kiss didn't start out gentle like he had intended. Jade had apparently decided to bypass that whole stage as she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back with abandon.

"You know if I was a kid, I would be so scarred right now." Kyp ended the kiss abruptly and looked over to glare at Jared.

"If you were a kid I would beat your…"

"Boys." Jade managed to get out, her head still hazy from the kiss. She shook it slightly and stepped out of Kyp's arms. "Was their something you needed Jared?" She asked her friend.

"Ask numnut there. He wanted to see me." Jade turned to Kyp and raised an eyebrow in question. She also couldn't keep the smile off her face and Kyp just rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say right now." Kyp told the man.

"You said 'Jared, I need to see you'. No time was specified, so I inferred. If you had wanted it to be later, you should have said that." Jared responded with a smirk.

"You're lucky Jade's here." The master told him as he walked out to the living room. "Otherwise I'd kick your ass." He motioned for Jared to follow him and turned to tell Jade they would be right back, but she was already walking down the hall to his room. Well, at least he didn't have to lie to her.

Jared followed Kyp into the office he and Jag shared and waited until the door closed to speak.

"Something's going on with Bela and you don't want her to know about it."

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Kyp spat as he walked over and sat down at the desk.

"Wow. You're getting desperate if you're stealing Jade's lines." The younger man chuckled and sat in front of Kyp.

"Bela is going to be home in a few days." Jared nodded at Kyp, turning serious. "Iella got a packet that gives them evidence against him." The guard's eyes widened at Kyp's announcement.

"They have most of it verified and they're going to arrest him when he lands."

"When?"

"Afternoon following the ball."

"You ok?" Jared asked him quietly, startling him. That was not what he had expected him to ask. Kyp took a moment.

"Yeah. Just…I don't know. Conflicted."

"Makes sense. You know what you're going to do about it?"

Kyp looked up and was met with a smile from his new friend.

"No." He answered helplessly.

/____________________________________\

Later that night…

Jaina had invited Kyp, Jade and Jared over for dinner that night. Kyp was grateful that Jag was doing the cooking since Jaina had inherited her mother's talent with food; none. Two hours later, Jade couldn't fight the yawns that her body was forcing on her. It didn't help that Kyp noticed. They said good night to everyone else and made their way back down the hall.

Kyp had been unusually quiet tonight, but she hadn't asked him why. She had a feeling it had to do with his meeting this morning and she had been honest with Jaina when she said that he would tell her when he was ready. The suspense was killing her though.

She stopped when they walked into the apartment and watched him go into Jag's room, presumably to get ready for bed. His weariness was bleeding through their bond and she knew he was trying to keep it from her. Jade stood there for a minute before she went and knocked quietly on his door. He didn't answer right away and she waited patiently. Not her strong point. Finally, she looked up when the door swooshed open and smiled at him.

"You ok?"

He rolled his eyes and walked past her, going into his room. She followed and found him going through one of his drawers looking for something.

"Kyp."

He stopped and leaned against the dresser, not turning to face her. The need to walk over and touch him in reassurance was strong, but she quelled it. Jade could feel the struggle he was going through.

"They're arresting Bela in a couple of days." He said quietly. Jade couldn't fight her surprise and walked back blindly groping for a steady surface behind her. She felt the cold durasteel of the door and leaned against it, her mind working furiously. After all this time it was finally going to be over. She was going to be able to move on with her life. Joy flew threw her, then reality came crashing down around her.

Her gaze came up to find Kyp had turned around and was staring at her, his face betraying no emotion.

"Kyp…"

"That's where I was this morning. Iella's team has almost all of the evidence they received verified. It should be done by tomorrow."

She didn't know what to say. Jade's felt her chest tighten painfully and wasn't sure if it was her own or his. Kyp's jaw twitched and she finally came out of her stupor and walked over to him. He wouldn't meet her gaze, so she just leaned into him and wrapped him in her embrace. They didn't need any words since they were both feeling the same thing. The unspoken thing that was happening between them loomed even larger than before. Jade hugged him tighter and finally felt tears come to her eyes when he enfolded her in his own arms.

/____________________________________\