A/N: So sorry for the lag between updates, but I have a few chapters ready for posting, so they'll be up fairly quickly.

REVIEW RESPONSES: To Chimpo: yeah, all sailors – glad you like it. He's starting to, yeah. Don't expect a complete 180 though. To SWaddict1986: Glad you liked it. You'll find out more about Jacen's supportiveness later. You don't like Wyn? Why? The "care about my soul" line was a last minute stroke of genius if I do say so myself. Yes, they are actually talking… in that chapter… The Rogue Squadron video game – well, it stands to reason that the Rogues are absolutely famous and what do we with famous people? Immortalize them in video games; besides, my brother used to play the real Rogue Squadron video games, so I always think about that when I think about the Rogues. To Ishbu girl: glad I could brighten your day. To G-Anakin13: thanks.

Big, enormous thanks to JagednJaded/KillerRomance for the wonderful beta-ing!!!!!

Chapter 19:

Jaina Solo had to be the most inconsistent person in the world. They had an at least semi-good conversation in Biology, but when Jag sat with the group at lunch, Jaina was, once again, ignoring him.

Now, at practice, he could feel her staring at him. Openly staring. From the strange looks Tahiri and the rest of the team (not including Zekk, his death glares were hardly strange to Jag) were giving Jag, Jaina was not making the slightest effort to hide her calculating gaze.

It made things even more difficult for Jag who was struggling in his spar against Tahiri. He still couldn't get Jaina's smile out of his mind. The other part of his mind was worried about Danni. How could it be that she was in perfect health the day before, but was now sick? He tried to focus himself back on the gym where there was palpable pressure as the first match was approaching soon. And now she had to go and stare at him while he was trying to concentrate.

Tahiri had been racking up points against him easily, so it was no surprise at the end of the last sparring match of the day that she had won.

"Fel," Jaina called as he was on his way to the locker rooms to change. "After you get dressed, come to the aux gym, I want to talk to you." Jag frowned at the unusual request. She never asked to talk to anyone privately, or if she did, it was always a quiet affair, not shouted across the gym.

He didn't talk to anyone in the locker room and headed quickly over to the auxiliary gym. Talking to Jaina was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment, so hopefully it would be quick.

She sat on top a cabinet on the far side of the room which held various pieces of exercise equipment and stared at him. Frustrated with her staring by now, he decided to get it over and done with.

"If you want to talk, talk; I have other things to do."

"You were distracted today."

"Gee, I wonder why."

"What? My staring made you uncomfortable?" She stood as she spoke and walked over to him. Jag refused to reply. "Get used to it because at competitions, there will be a hell of a lot more people staring, especially when you're messing up. We have a match in a week and a half, and in two months, we go head to head with our biggest rival whose team generally has the same number of members at nationals as we do, which means the whole team. They will crucify you, and if you keep sparring like you did today, all the other teams will too."

"I had some things on my mind today."

"You shouldn't be thinking. You should be feeling. And if you are thinking, it should be about the move your opponent is planning on making in their strikes, so you can adequately prepare yourself for it." Her eyes blazed, getting more impassioned with every word she spoke. 'Control yourself, Fel. You like Danni. Think about Danni.'

"It won't happen again."

"It sure as hell better not," she snapped. A moment later she was calm again, though she still spoke with the same intensity, "Now, how prepared do you think you are for competition?"

"According to you, not very."

"Listen, you're new to competition on a higher than local level, so I've been pretty slack with you, but don't count on anyone else giving you that."

"I'm sorry? You've been slack with me?"

"Yeah, and as strange as that must seem to you, it's true. Anja Gallandro at Indi Boarding would have been twice as hard on you, and she wouldn't have even put you on first string."

"I'm doing the best I can; I'm not perfect."

"You're not doing the best you can. The best you can is to do anything to win."

"So what? You're telling me to cheat?"

"I'm telling you to do what you have to do. Train harder, push harder, and start remembering that I know what I'm talking about when I say something and don't just shove it off to the side."

"I don't shove it to the side," he said, immediately defensive.

"You have improved, but not as much as you would if you were to make a conscious effort to follow my advice. At the end of this week I have to turn in my team roster. If you aren't willing to do what I tell you, say so now so I can find an adequate replacement. You have what it takes to be great – I wouldn't have put you on the team if you didn't – but right now, you're performing at a local level and everyone else around you is going to be performing at a national or international level."

"I'll do what I have to."

"Good."

"Is that all?"

"Every night at exactly nine PM, I'm at the entrance of the Borelias National Park – do you know where that is?"

"It's off northeast Coruscant, but what does that have to do with me?"

"I expect you to be there at least twice a week." She walked forward and jabbed his chest with her index finger. "I will finish out with this team on top, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand."

Jag slowly walked out of the room. Jaina was determined, that much he'd always been sure of. But there was desperation in her eyes that he'd never seen before, especially for something so trivial as fencing.