Part XVII
Three Months Later
Leyla stood close to Jaina as they waited for the various passengers to disembark from the Millennium Falcon. Kyp hovered a bit in the background, and was poorly concealing his nervousness, both physically and mentally. "Kyp," Jaina muttered, catching him fidgeting out of the corner of her eye again, "calm down. It's just family."
"Yeah, family and Wedge," he shot back quietly. "He'll kill me."
"He won't kill you, daddy."
Kyp smiled thinly down at Leyla. "Whatever you say, princess."
"Maybe he won't notice," Jaina said reasonably, grinning wryly.
He shot a skeptical look to her cloak-swathed form. "Jaina, far be it from me to say anything about your size…"
"She isn't that big," Leyla came to her mother's defense, and Jaina smiled gratefully down at her. "And daddy, I'm not a princess."
"Keep leaving me out to hang like that and maybe I'll find some nice nobleperson on Hapes to sell you to, they'd make you a princess in no time…"
Jaina gave an exaggerated shudder. "Careful, Leyla- a fate worse than death, that."
"Is that why the Queen Mother spent so much time on Dathomir when she was the princess?" Leyla had met Tenel Ka on a few assorted visits over the years, and Jaina had been beyond happy to see her old friend a month prior when she had made a discreet visit to the academy. During some of the rare chances they got to sit and talk, Tenel Ka told Leyla some assorted stories of visiting the wild world of her mother's people, and Leyla had been suitably impressed.
Kyp muttered under his breath. "She just likes scaring men with her rancors…" Jaina's mouth quirked but she fought from retorting as she saw her mother and brother descend the Falcon's landing ramp.
Smiling softly, she walked quickly forward- Kyp noticed that she purposefully let her cloak hang loose about her, masking the sizeable bulge that was a pretty instant giveaway of her pregnancy. She didn't hide it… but she didn't make it easy to spot. At eight months pregnant- about five and a half months of normal development by his calculation and efforts- the telltale signs were certainly there. "Mom," she leaned in close and let Leia draw her into a hug. She then turned to her brother who looked at her carefully for a moment before smiling and embracing her gently, as though afraid she'd break, and kissing her cheek.
Han was less subtle. He came bounding down the ramp and practically crushed his daughter to him. "Hey, kid," he murmured. "We've missed you."
"Kid?" Jaina cocked a brow, looking remarkably like her father. "Dad, I'm thirty years old."
"So you are," he released her abruptly and turned to search out Leyla. "So let's pay attention to people who appreciate my doting… hey, birthday girl! How old are you now? Sixteen? Eighteen?"
"Han, please don't get ahead of yourself there," Kyp muttered, and Jaina laughed behind her hand.
Leyla smiled widely as Jacen hugged her and swung her around. "Happy birthday, I can't believe it's been six months… you're getting big, you'll be taller than your mom soon enough…"
"Yeah, why did you get the height genes?" Jaina scowled playfully at her twin. "Ah well… dad says I'm scrappy."
"True enough," a new voice broke in, and Jaina spun to see that Wedge had finally descended the ramp, Threepio following close behind him… but it wasn't Wedge who spoke. Coming behind Threepio, cape swirling back behind him, was a familiar face, but one Jaina had not seen in some time.
"Lando!" she exclaimed.
"Surprise," the suave men ducked past Wedge and took her hand, kissing the back of it once before turning and doing the same to Leyla, who giggled while Kyp scowled. "I was around and thought I'd tag along," he shrugged, before turning somber. He leaned in close to Jaina and clasped her shoulders. "And I never got the chance to say how sorry I am, Jaina. Jag was a good man."
Kyp felt the flash of pain and saw the flicker of her eyes… but she kept herself under control and gave Lando a brave smile. "Thanks, Lando," she murmured thickly. "I'm… getting by. Being out here, away from the hustle and bustle of Coruscant… it's been therapeutic." With effort, she forced herself to turn and smile at the last person, Jag's uncle, Wedge Antilles. "Wedge," she came forward. "I'm glad you were able to make it."
He embraced her gently. "Wouldn't have missed the chance to visit for anything," he assured her. "And…" he hesitated. "Syal and Wyn send their greetings."
Jaina swallowed thickly. "How are they?"
"Syal is adapting well to life back on Corellia. I think… having Myri and my Syal to dote on has helped ease a bit of her loneliness, especially with Wyn being so far away, on Bastion."
Jaina smiled at that. "How are your girls?"
He flashed a roguish smile. "Troublesome as ever. You'd get along fabulously with Syal though, she's becoming quite the ace pilot herself, she wants to join the Fleet soon." That thought made him scowl slightly, but he sighed. "Guess I should have seen it coming though; Myri takes more after her mother in a lot of ways, so it was only a matter of time before Syal wanted to follow in my starfighter footsteps."
"Daughters," Han nodded sagely. "Tricky creatures, all of 'em."
"Hey!" Leyla exclaimed.
"Except you of course, dear," Leia assured her, grinning.
Kyp just rolled his eyes and clapped his arm around Leyla's shoulders.
X-X-X-X
The group- a fairly large one, once Luke, Mara, and Ben were added into the mix- splintered that night after dinner and dessert. Jaina joined her parents to talk quietly in their temporary quarters in the temple, Leyla and Ben ran off to see some mutual friends, Lando and Wedge retired for the night, and Jacen took the opportunity to pull Kyp aside.
The two strolled slowly around the perimeter of the temple grounds, talking seriously. "Kyp, give me a straight answer," Jacen didn't pull any punches. "How is she?"
The older man ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "She's… better than she was."
"I barely feel her in the Force anymore."
Kyp made a slight noise of frustration. "I know. I thought… I'd hoped… that she'd have gotten through this by now. But it's like she just gives everything she has into protecting the baby- from herself or from others, I can't say."
"But you can get through to her," Jacen pressed.
He shot him a look. "When I want to- when I need to," he amended, "I can extend my connection from the fetus to touch Jaina's mind directly."
Jacen's brows rose skeptically. "And just how often do you need to?"
Kyp pursed his lips and looked down at the ground for several seconds as they walked. "I won't try to deny, Jacen… she's had me worried a couple of times. It's gotten better," he assured him. "But… a few months ago, I woke up and she was just outside, walking in the rain, no cloak, shivering and cold… and for the life of me, I couldn't get a satisfactory answer about what she was doing, why she was out there. And I brought her back in, but she was just… different, confused, hurting."
He wouldn't tell Jacen about what Jaina had offered that night, had asked… but something of his thoughts much have shone through, if only slightly. "You're taking care of her, right Kyp?" Jacen tilted his head to one side and regarded the Jedi Master carefully.
"As far as she'll let me."
"And you aren't…?" Jacen went pink and looked quickly away, snapping his mouth shut.
Kyp just chuckled wryly. "Are we involved? No, Jacen, think a little better of me than that, hm?"
"Sorry. You seem to have a rhythm, is all… watching the two of you together, it just seems very… fluid, very connected, very in tune with one another."
He shrugged wearily. "We've been living in close quarters for six months, I've been constantly connected to her for seven… though I suppose it really only helps along the façade if other people think as you do."
"Hm…" they walked in companionable silence for several minutes, eventually turning and veering back towards the temple itself. "Kyp… when she has this baby… will she be able to handle it?"
He looked up sharply. "Will she be able to handle giving birth?" he demanded. "Or… afterwards?"
"Afterwards."
Kyp passed a hand across his brow and leaned heavily against the exterior temple stones. "It'll be hard. I think she shields the baby so that she doesn't have to feel it, though she'd never admit it. And months' worth of suppressed anger and depression are going to come bounding back when she has Jag's child in front of her, in her arms, when she's expected to care for it…" He looked off into the distance, eyes slightly glassy as he touched the small life to which he was constantly connected. "But as long as it takes, I will be there to help her, Jacen. I swore to her that she wouldn't be alone, that I wouldn't abandon her, and if it means that I care for her child as my own, then that will only have begun to repay the debt I've owed her and Jag for twelve years now."
"Happy birthday, Leyla," Jacen murmured in acknowledgement of the absolute truth of Kyp's words.
X-X-X-X
"I trust you've a good reason for keeping me so long in suspense…"
The image crackled a little bit, and the dark-haired figure on the other end frowned as he reached over and toggled something. The screen cleared slightly before going hazy again, and he bit back a soft curse. "I apologize, Master Skywalker," Zekk spread his hands apologetically. "As does Tahlia; but things have been… tricky here."
"You know," Luke said wryly, "when I first contacted you, I expected this to be a couple-month operation at most. You've been flitting in between Chiss and Imperial space for seven months now, Zekk… you're going to have to bring it in soon."
"Not yet," Zekk broke in quickly. "Not after all this time and effort we've expended…"
Luke sighed in frustration. "If you haven't made progress in all this time-"
"We have," Zekk said earnestly. "More than you could imagine; there's more going on beneath the surface than we suspected, there wasn't just a single family who wanted the Fels gone or dead."
Luke's brows shot up in alarm. "Zekk, you aren't there to kindle a civil war! If this is your associate's agenda, then so be it, but you've overstayed your mission and you're on the brink of disobeying orders."
The young man's eyes narrowed slightly and he glanced to the side for a moment before defiantly raising his chin and meeting Luke's eyes calmly. "Then consider them disobeyed, Master Skywalker."
"What do you think the Chiss will do when they realize they have Jedi meddling in their affairs?" Luke bit, calm veneer already left far behind. "They won't rest until you and Tahlia are dead, and then they'll go after Jaina, surely you realize that?"
Emerald eyes flickered, but his expression remained resolute. "I'm sorry, Master Skywalker. We will do what we must."
"Zekk…"
"Take care of Jaina."
"Damn it, Zekk!"
But the connection was cut. Luke groaned and leaned back in his chair, willing his nerves to calm, his emotions to level out. He knew very well that he was being undisciplined, but with everything else going on, with the effort already undertaken to protect his niece… Zekk and Tahlia's refusal to leave Chiss space incensed him, and he wondered if he should never have put them in league with Cem Fel.
When he returned to the small quarters he shared with Mara, she was sitting, chin resting in her palm, staring at him. "I haven't felt you this riled since you found me after Kyp memory-rubbed me," she commented idly, referring to the incident of more than four years ago when Kyp had obtained information from Mara on the organization that had kidnapped Leyla and then- with her permission- erased evidence of the encounter from her mind. "Has Kyp been at it again?" she asked sardonically.
"No," Luke sighed. "But I need to see him."
"Trouble?"
"I hope not."
She frowned. "Now?"
He considered and then shook his head slightly. "It can wait until the Falcon leaves this afternoon. I don't want to send Han and Leia into a panic."
"Luke, what's going on?"
Sitting heavily, he just shook his head and brooded for a minute. "I may have inadvertently started a war," he finally murmured softly.
X-X-X-X
"Next stop, Corellia," Han announced as he pulled back the hyperspace levers and watched the stars streak into lines. "Known for its fine ales, fried foods, cantina brawls, and corrupt politicians."
"Home sweet home," Wedge agreed.
Leia rolled her eyes. "Anyone want a drink? Something that's not Corellian ale," she looked at Han and Wedge pointedly. The latter pouted dramatically before grinning, unbuckling his crash-webbing, and standing.
"If there's no ale on the menu, guess I'll have to see what inferior options I have…"
Shaking her head bemusedly, Leia followed him aft after getting requests from Han, Lando, and Jacen. "Wedge, how many times have you been aboard this ship, you know what Han has programmed into the…" she trailed away as she entered the galley and found Wedge just standing there, arms crossed, staring her down. "Yes?" she cocked a brow.
"Leia, I didn't want to bring this up before, and I know it isn't my place, but… is Jaina… pregnant?"
She closed her eyes for a moment and pursed her lips as she drew the curtain over the galley area, giving them a semblance of privacy. "Don't judge her too harshly, Wedge."
"It's not her I'm judging," Wedge returned, scowling. "That sort of emotional blow, it makes people vulnerable. But it seems that Durron didn't waste any time capitalizing on that, now did he?"
Leia met his gaze steadily. "You're sure the baby is Kyp's?"
He flushed. "Isn't it?"
Steeling herself, Leia barely managed to keep her expression and voice even and controlled as she lied straight to his face. "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Come on, Wedge," Leia reproved, "Jaina is fragile, and she's probably a bit embarrassed about the whole thing, I'm not about to attack her and demand an explanation. And Kyp… they aren't a couple now, I do know that much, and he's been nothing but supportive and protective of her. And," her voice became a little harder, "if it is Kyp's child, then I have complete faith that he'll be as considerate and protective of him or her as he is of Leyla. Understood?"
Wedge nodded jerkily. "Of course, Leia. I'm sorry if I seem… crass."
"You're Corellian; it's a biological predisposition."
X-X-X-X
That night, she knew he was coming long before the door to her room slid quietly open. And the Force had nothing to do with that knowledge- she just knew Kyp too well, and knew that her own meager attempts to suppress her mood weren't nearly enough to block him out. As such, it had become something of a habit- not a frequent one, but perhaps recurring four or five times in the past three months- when he picked up on the lowest of her moods, to come silently to her room.
No words were ever exchanged. He always stayed until she fell asleep, regardless of how long it took. And when she woke the next morning, he was always gone. As though there was a fine line between snuggling her to sleep and actually spending the night in her bed.
Maybe there was; in either case, the only time she'd woken up to find him still with her was the morning after she'd kissed him. The memory of the night before had made her go red- perhaps he had mistaken her embarrassment as a result of his sleeping there, rather than her own shame over the prior night.
The bed dipped slightly from his weight as he slid under the blankets. She lifted her head up slightly- and silently- while he slid a hand beneath the pillow, under the hollow of her neck, and the other slid around her waist. It was a well-established routine- not from the past three months, but from when they had been spending most nights together some thirteen years ago now, alternating between their cabins aboard the Mon Mothma.
Except now, as the hand slid around her waist, it came to rest on her swelling middle in an almost protective gesture. Smiling a bit wistfully, she brought her own hand to rest on top of his, and their fingers interlocked almost without conscious effort on either of their parts.
She briefly pondered breaking protocol and saying something; that she was alright, she was just missing her family already… that she was grateful for his support and understanding… that he should stay, she didn't want to wake up alone anymore…
No words were ever exchanged; really, there was nothing to be said.
And the next morning, she woke alone.