A/N: Apologies if this story seems really slow-paced right now. It's kind of necessary at the moment, but don't worry, it will pick up soon enough.

"Too far apart to
Bridge the distance
But something keeps us
Hanging on and on..."
-Mariah Carey "I Don't Wanna Cry"

Chapter Two

The children had been around today. Jaina's brandy eyes swept over the apartment, amazed, as always, at how clean they left it, and turned back to the window.

It wasn't as thickly frosted as most days. The icy frost had thinned out over the transparisteel, allowing Jaina a blurry view. But it was a change all the same, and it relieved Jaina to know the world was still out there.

A strange thought, she knew. But after spending all her time in the small apartment, cowering from the intense cold beneath a blanket, sometimes she felt as though the galaxy had come to a stop.

In a way, it had, though. At least her galaxy had. It had ended the moment she had first stepped through the door to the apartment, unaware that it would become like a prison.

Prison. Jaina's brandy eyes widened at the word. How could she think of this place- her home- as a prison? A small, surprised sound escaped from her parted lips as she realized that the apartment had become a prison for her, in a way. She resented it, hated every inch of durasteel wall the held her inside.

She turned sharply away from the window. How could she be thinking this? What kind of a person was she? Surely a wife wasn't supposed to consider the home that she and her husband shared a prison…
Her slender fingers held the blanket close as she shifted in the chair. Her brandy eyes scanned the room once more, marveling at its cleanliness.

Having the children come seemed to be good for at least one thing. The apartment was always much cleaner afterwards. But they only came about once every four or five months, when there was nowhere else for them to go. Jaina got the feeling not many Chiss trusted Jaina with their children for an entire day- they'd probably heard the tales of her domestic abilities from Syal and Baron Fel…or even more likely, Wyn.

A humorless smirk curved onto Jaina's lips as she thought of Jag's family. His mother, Syal was the only reason the children ever came, after all. Jaina supposed it was her rather clever, yet not-so-subtle way of hinting for Jaina to learn a thing or two about childcare.

Once, Jaina would have snorted at this, would have had a thing or two to say to the woman. But now was different. She hadn't even mustered up enough of her old fire to object to the children coming, although she loathed the idea of being a baby-sitter.

Luckily, she and the children had been able to come to a deal. It was an unspoken agreement that as long as they let her alone and didn't get into trouble, she'd do the same and let them alone.

The Chiss children were odd, anyway. Strangely enough, they intimidated her. A wry smile formed on her lips as she thought. She'd never been one to let someone intimidate her, never in her life had she stood for anything like that, and now, here she was, intimidated by mere children. It repulsed her, sometimes, what she had become.

With a joyless smile, Jaina thought of the irony that had become her life. Most young girls dreamed of their wedding night with fervor and stars in their wide, innocent eyes. Jaina could truthfully say she had never been one of them; she'd wanted to live her life, to be out there, doing something in the galaxy before she even thought of marriage as a possibility. And yet here she was, that chapter of her life closed already.

She jumped suddenly, surprised as the front door slid open. Jag was home.

Once, she might have sensed his arrival through the Force. But now, she normally avoided opening up to it. Sensing everyone, friends and family, regardless of the distances between them, only made her days a bit bleaker.

"Hello." Jag said as he stepped inside, the door sliding to a shut behind him.

"Hi."

"How were they today?" He asked as he removed his thermal jacket. She didn't need an explanation to know who he meant.

"Alright." As far as she was concerned, no one, not even Jag, needed to know that the kids really took care of themselves when they were around. It was how their arrangement worked…leaving each other alone.

"You're really good with them you know." He commented, grinning as he placed his flight helmet on a shelf and moved to take a seat in a high-backed chair next to hers.

Jaina didn't respond. Again, Jag didn't need to know what really happened when the children were around. It wasn't of any real importance.

"I ah, actually wanted to talk to you about that." He murmured, eyeing her as he wrung his hands together.

"Wait…talk to me about what?" Jaina asked, her brow furrowing above puzzled brandy eyes. She had no idea where this conversation was going, but she got the distinct feeling that she didn't want to be in it.

"Well, I was thinking. We have been married for a few years now- a little over four- and it's about time we think about starting a family." He was eyeing her carefully, obviously expecting her to erupt at him at any given moment. Once, she might have. But he was lucky; she hadn't been that volatile in ages.

Instead, she just stared at him.

"Jaina?" He asked tentatively. "What do you think?"

She still didn't respond. Instead, she rose to her feet, clutching her blanket tightly around her. Without a single word, she retreated to their small bedroom.

Thoughts whirled within her mind, but all they did for her was make her more confused. Some Sword of the Jedi, she thought bitterly.