Jaina-Elessar: thanks! Han would definitely not agree, lol. His blaster, even less so, -g-. I'm glad you're enjoying the Jaina/Zekk :)

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Chapter Four: Reunions With a Ghost

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Garik waited impatiently as the Hapan officer hailed a ship. Come on; it won't take long, he groused.

"Of – of course, Miss Solo," he heard the short man stutter. "Docking bay A183, please. Enjoy your stay at Hapes."

The diplomat frowned; wasn't Mrs. Organa Solo on planet already? Why…

He froze. The officer had said "Miss" Solo. Miss Solo. As in unmarried. As in young.

Jaina!

He grabbed the officer's arm. "Which landing bay did you direct them to?" he demanded.

The portly man blinked. "Uh – docking bay A183 – "

Garik barely remembered to thank the man before dashing to the front area reserved for important guests. His mind swirled. Jaina – here? It wasn't possible – was it? But Aarie…!

He didn't recognize the ship, but he knew Jaina well enough to expect she had made an escape with the enemy's ship.

If it was Jaina.

But no – there she was, jumping down the flight of stairs like she always did, a huge (albeit somewhat anxious) grin on her face. He saw her raise a hand to shade her eyes from the sun; she spotted him and ran over. "Rik!" she almost cried.

Garik didn't dare believe it; it was a trick…a cruel, ruthlessly intelligent trick, hatched by the Empire…

She flew into his stunned arms. When he didn't respond, she stepped back, searching his eyes. "Rik, it's me," she whispered, quiet desperation in her eyes. "Rik?"

He forced himself to blink. "They felt you die."

Jaina faltered, and when she next spoke, her voice was more subdued. "Who did?"

"Aarylia. Tiran. The other Jedi. We had your funeral."

She swallowed. "They were right; the Force never lies." She was apprehensive now; her hands fidgeted. "I can't – I can't explain right now, but it's me. I'm alive."

I'm alive. Tentatively, he reached out and stroked her cheek.

She felt real; her skin wasn't like Kip's – it wasn't too dry and inhuman. Could it…?

But he trusted his eyes. Solo – his best friend for years – was right there, when she was supposed to be dead. Was that a Jedi thing? He hadn't seen it before.

Pushing aside his doubts, Garik swept her into as tight a hug as he could manage. He felt her melt into the embrace, and he noticed, dimly, that his eyes were welling up. He willed the tears back. When he was in control of himself again, he used his sternest voice to say, "Kriff it, Solo, if you ever get it in your crazy head to do that again I'll – "

She laughed, sounding caught between hysteria and joy. "I know. Trust me, I know."

He released her, but stayed close, still unable to believe that she wasn't a mirage. "Your family is in the palace." He laughed, as close to giddy as he came. "I'm surprised your mother isn't here yet."

Jaina's smile flickered a little at the mention of her mother. "I'm not. But just wait – there's someone else with me…"

Garik followed her gaze, but did not in any way copy her smile.

Onyx.

Why the kriff did I think I wouldn't need a blaster!

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Jaina realized immediately that she had made a mistake in not warning Garik. He would be the last to try to throttle Zekk, but the war had cost him, just like everyone else. Vuthar Klamath – Garik's father – had been killed for openly resisting the New Empire within the Senate. Meanwhile, his sister was on a secret planet, hoping no one would find her and try to use her against her diplomatically powerful brother.

Zekk approached them hesitantly, his eyes skittering every which way. She wanted to fly into his arms and reassure him it would be okay; they had to understand, didn't they? Jaina hadn't died so that Zekk would be hurt for Onyx's crimes.

Garik's grip on her arm tightened, and he tensed. "Solo," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "Jaina Solo."

She winced. "Yes?"

"What is Onyx doing here?"

She didn't have to look at him to know his jaw was working furiously, and that he was giving Zekk The Look that melted 99.9999 of the galaxy into a puddle of guilt. She drew on the Force and felt it wrap around her in a way it never had before her death. "Zekk is here as a refugee of life," she replied as calmly as she could.

Deliberately, Garik released her arm. When she glanced up, she saw his face smooth into his "Senate" expression – while still incorporating a glare, of course.

Suddenly, Jaina was very grateful that Garik had been the first one to see Zekk. As a diplomat, Garik's only weapon was his razor-sharp brain – not that his mind was anything to relax around, when he wanted to wound. But Garik would not attack; he was a mediator, not a fighter. At least, he had been, when she last saw him. But war changed so many…

No, he was not reaching for a blaster, merely continuing to give Zekk The Eye that more than just insinuated the recipient was lower than a politician, in Garik's eyes. It was comforting.

Better not say anything, she suggested to Zekk through their bond. You can trust Garik for the most part, but you don't want to get on his bad side.

She could hear his responding, anxious chuckle. Jay, I grew up with you guys, remember? I saw what he did to that gang when they tried to attack us.

That, she thought with a wince, was exactly why she was worried about her parents' reaction.

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Leia Organa Solo looked into the mirror and realized that she was old. That really was grey – and even some white – in her hair; sometime, when she hadn't been looking, creases had become wrinkles and crow eyes.

Sometime, she had lost three children.

It was not a pleasant epiphany, but one she could not refute, despite the young life that grew in her belly. Feeling Luke disappear in the Force with all the subtlety of a supernova had turned her face into a prune. Losing Anakin – that had brought her grey hair. Jacen's death was the one that had reversed the growth process. And Jaina's end, before Leia could reconcile with her…

She sighed. When had she become prone to such melancholy? Perhaps it was from being pregnant again; her hormones had always gone insane before birth. But five months in used to be the calm before the storm.

I'm old, she thought again. Too many wars and too many losses… When did my strength begin to fail?

She straightened precisely two seconds before the knock sounded in the Solo quarters. Luke would have been proud of her. Leia's melancholy retreated, leaving only the princess that had refused to cry when she saw her planet destroyed.

Exiting the bedroom, she glided across the plush carpet. She only had time to wonder if it was another summons from the Hapan court for advice before her universe rearranged itself.

Before her universe became one with a daughter again.

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Please R&R!

.Tjz