A/N: Marsk- *guilty shrug* 0:-)

Part VII

"Well… you've still got it."

Jaina forced a grin on her face as she leapt down from the StealthX fighter, but she was exhausted and disquieted. "I wish I didn't have to have it at all," she remarked ruefully. "Why do they always have to fight? Why do they never believe that the only way they'll survive is to surrender?"

"Because it isn't you going after them most times?" Jacen grinned, but his expression sobered as he carefully watched her. "You okay?"

Nodding, she pulled her lengthening brown hair out of the collar of her flight suit and let it hang down her shoulders. "Just tired."

"You haven't been feeling too well," Jacen remarked shrewdly.

"Haven't flown in a while."

He stared. "Jaina," his voice was painfully offended. "Flying is in your blood; you were born to be in Rogue Squadron, you joined when you were sixteen- and you expect me to believe that zipping around in a StealthX, going after a few old, washed-up smugglers and pirates is enough to put you off just because you haven't flown a fighter in a few years?"

Heavily annoyed, she pursed her lips and began walking from the hangar where they had settled their fighters on the planet Reecee for a short rest and refreshing stopover, prior to heading back to Coruscant. The resting and refreshing, it would seem, would have to wait for later though, as an awkwardly tall and angled man stepped forward to greet them, eyes slightly wide.

"Jedi Solo," he nodded to both of them in turn, "Jedi Solo-Fel… it is our honor to accommodate you tonight here in Tor Buhat tonight. My name is Vyltyrn, I am an assistant to the mayor…"

"Thank you," Jacen held up a hand, smiling easily to dispel some of the man's obvious nerves. "My sister and I appreciate the hospitality."

"Can I direct you to one of our best dining establishments, here in the capital?" Vyltyrn was eager. "We have fine dining options from more than a dozen star systems, including Coruscant, Hapes, Corellia, Ryloth…" the list continued, but Jacen was looking at Jaina as she closed her eyes and pressed her mouth into a thin line, and he sensed a certain annoyance in her mind, as well as… something else.

For a moment, the poor assistant stared hopefully at the famous Jedi twins, but Jacen finally wrenched his gaze from his sister and smiled again at the man. "Thank you, sir," he half-bowed graciously. "Perhaps we will investigate one of those fine choices later this evening. For now though, we are tired and shall be retiring to the inn to freshen up."

The inn was actually quite nice, and was just across the way from the government spaceport, catering to visiting dignitaries, politicians, the like… or Jedi Knights, fending off the scoundrels and villains plaguing the imports and exports of Reecee. Jacen didn't bother to take in the niceties though; acquiring the entry-codes to their neighboring rooms from an over-exuberant clerk, he took Jaina's upper arm in hand and pulled her along down the hallway, ignoring her outraged splutterings at being manhandled in such a way.

When he reached the first room, he keyed it open and stepped back, motioning her forward. She entered stiffly, and he followed, shutting and locking the door quickly behind him and then whirling on her, eyes hard and mouth set. "I don't believe you."

"What?"

"How could you be so irresponsible? Jag runs off and you just have to get in on the fun too…" her mouth was working in outrage but she couldn't quite seem to formulate words. "So you come to me and appeal to old-time's sake…"

"Jacen…"

"…and conveniently fail to mention that you're pregnant?"

She closed her eyes and held up a hand to ward off his angered tirade. "Stop, please," her voice was weary. "And don't be absurd- I didn't know. And even if I had realized when I asked to come out here with you, it still would have been my decision to make."

He blinked. "You didn't know?"

Eyes still closed, she shook her head. "No- I only started to suspect about three days ago, and now, I'm almost positive. I'll need to see Cilghal, but… I think I'm only two or three weeks along."

"So Jag doesn't know."

"Obviously."

Ire forgotten, Jacen grinned, losing years from his face in his excitement. "But when are you going to tell him?" he asked excitedly. "Aren't you expecting him to comm tonight?"

"No," Jaina said quickly. "I mean… yes, I'm expecting him to comm, but…" she smiled softly, "it's the sort of thing I think I'd prefer to tell him in person, you know?" Jacen nodded, eyes wide. "So you keep your big mouth shut," she insisted. "His two weeks are up in just a few days, so one way or another, I'll be seeing him soon."

X-X-X-X

She was excited and ready for the call when her comlink beeped that evening, so it only took her a minute to make her way to the communications center off of the inn lobby, near where they had entered several hours earlier. Jacen's excitement for her had helped bolster her own spirits- which had been nervous at best, given the current situation with Jag- and she was happy just to be able to see her husband, and to discuss what was to happen, now that his two weeks were up. Either way, she would be seeing him within another week or two, and could give him the good news in person, and four years of frustration between them would be ended…

A blinking red light signaled the waiting call, and Jaina braced herself a moment before pressing the corresponding button and flipping a switch to activate her end of the call, turning slightly in her chair to check that she had properly sealed the room for privacy. When she turned back, the image was resolving itself on the screen, and she smiled broadly as Jag's face materialized before her.

He smiled back softly, but it didn't fully extend to his eyes; she frowned lightly. "Jaina," he murmured. "You are well?"

"I'm wonderful, Jag," she smiled again, but hesitated when his face seemed to grow more somber. "What… what's wrong?"

"Jaina…" he closed his eyes, and they looked pained when he forced them open to meet her gaze once more. "For the first time in over a decade… I have to break a promise to you."

Unlike when he told her that he had to leave in the first place, this was more numbing than painful. For a moment, she stared, wanting to ask, but there was only one thing he could be talking about… "You aren't coming home."

"Not yet," he sighed. "And you can't come to Csilla."

"Says who?" she demanded sharply.

The guilt in his eyes said it all. "Me."

"You."

He ran a hand through his hair and looked away, a bitter shadow crossing his features. "Sweetheart… the way that things are here right now… my father has suggested that your presence will negatively impact the situation and… I agree with him."

It almost seemed he was steeling himself for her to explode, but the numbness continued to pervade her body as she tried to process his words. "Negatively impact," she repeated dully. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He winced. "Politicians will be politicians, and they will use whatever means are available to them to get their way; and with the future of the Ascendancy at stake, there are those who will use asinine but effective arguments to gather support against the Galactic Alliance and… against the Jedi."

"Jag, this is me," she appealed. "I've spent plenty of time on Csilla, we lived there for months before and after Leyla was born…"

"This isn't about you, and this isn't about Leyla," Jag sighed wearily.

She stared. "What does that…? You just said that the Jedi…" she stiffened and looked away, thinking quickly and shrewdly. "It's about Kyp, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Kyp Durron, Destroyer of Worlds… the Chiss are mad because you never revealed your connection to him? That they found out through rumor over the past four years?"

"And that they expended resources on Leyla's behalf- even if indirectly- without knowing that she wasn't technically my child."

She closed her eyes and laughed bitterly. "And that's an important distinction for the Chiss, isn't it?"

"Bloodlines are important, yes." They were quiet for a minute. "Jaina, none of this is really about us, or even about Kyp… it's just a means to an end for those who have nothing better they can be doing… they want my family out of the Ascendancy, and discrediting me is a way to achieve that; they want the Ascendancy to withdraw from the Alliance, and being able to hold up a Jedi Master as a prime example of what we stand against…" he grimaced and looked apologetic.

"It also probably doesn't help your family's case to tie the two together, now does it?" she bit coolly, bitterly. "Not only do the Fels support a galactic-oriented Ascendancy, but their son married a Jedi whore."

"Jaina!" he cried, aghast, losing all composure at her tone and her words. "No one would ever say such a thing-"

"To your face," she cut him off smoothly. "What must they think though, Jag?"

His voice emerged almost as a snarl. "I don't give a damn what they think."

Smiling sadly, she sat back and stared carefully into his eyes. "Clearly you do- else you wouldn't tell me that I can't be with you, and you wouldn't be so determined to exercise your appointed duties to the painful and bitter end."

His eyes were pained. "I can't walk away now, Jaina, surely you understand… but I won't be retaining my position once this crisis is settled, I'll resign if they don't relieve me first."

"You'll do what you must," Jaina sighed. "And I'd expect no more from you, nor anything less."

"I'm sorry."

Eyes closed, she just shook her head quietly. "Don't be; it isn't fair for me to be this frustrated, it's just… one more thing."

He frowned heavily. "One more thing?" he repeated. "What do you mean, what's going on?"

She bit her lip and looked away. There was so much she wanted to tell him… about Kyp and Leyla's conversation, about Kyp's determination that they soon needed to fully explain the circumstances in which Leyla had been conceived and born, about the discovery made by Cilghal regarding why Jaina hadn't been able to conceive another child, about the fact that she had… right at the wrong moment. She hadn't given it a second thought, in that time before Jag left for Csilla, once the initial awkwardness with Kyp had passed…

A large part of her wanted so badly to blurt out that she was pregnant, but… her fear of being wrong made her hesitant to say so without first speaking to Cilghal and having her run the usual tests, and she honestly wanted to be able to see him, to be held in his arms when she gave him the news about the child he had wanted…

"Nothing," she sighed. "I just miss you."

A look in his eyes suggested that he saw through the lie, but he did not press the point. "I miss you too," he replied softly. "And I'm so sorry, I truly am. I can't give you a timeframe in which I'll be home, but… my patience is wearing thin, duty or no."

"Do what you have to," she responded dully, a cold ache starting in her gut as she met his eyes and saw the regret there. She wondered what he saw in hers. "And then come home to me."

"As soon as I can," he vowed.

She took a deep breath and let it out heavily. "Jacen and I head back to Coruscant tomorrow, we'll be back in-system in three days. Can I call you then?"

He glanced over at something, checking a schedule, she guessed. "Maybe," he allowed. "I may be unreachable for some periods of time, my father and I are accompanying one of our Aristocras on a tour of one of the outer sectors of our territories. If you can't get through though, leave a message in one of the usual places, Ashik will get it to me within a day or two."

She supposed that was the best she was going to get- for some time now. "Thank you," her words came out stiffer than she'd intended, and she winced inwardly. "I'll be in touch then, Jag. Take care of yourself."

"Do you have to go already?"

Shrugging, she sighed. "I… it's late here, I'm tired."

The sad flicker of his eyes told her that he saw the real reason behind her words, but he chose not to comment. "Get some rest then, sweetheart; and I'll talk to you again before the week is out, one way or another."

With another few farewells- sweet words mumbled through terse lips- she signed off and severed the connection. Standing on numb legs, she quietly made her way out of the communications center and traversed the corridors back to her room… where Jacen was already waiting, standing outside the door and watching for her, a knowing and sad look on his face.

She let him fold her into a hug, and then pulled away to open the door. "Problems in Csilla?" he asked softly as he followed her inside.

"Nothing unexpected." He was silent for a long time, waiting for her to open up, explain the cold sadness emanating from her. "I… Jag isn't coming home yet; and he won't let me come there. Too much going on, too much hostility towards the Galactic Alliance, towards the Jedi…" Towards Kyp… and by proxy, towards me and Leyla…

"I'm sorry." He sat beside her on the bed and hugged her sideways. She slumped against him and breathed deeply, unwilling to let herself become too frustrated or saddened by this. She was a Jedi; she could handle anything.