Chapter XIX
"How…? What…?"
"Our paths have always been interestingly intertwined," Jag ignored his stammering queries and quickly released the older man's hand, retreating to a safe distance from which to stare narrow-eyed at Kyp. "But this beats all, Durron."
"Wait… Jag…"
He held up a hand for silence, and Kyp immediately complied, snapping his mouth shut with an audible clack.
"Once we realized what had happened," Jag explained smoothly, "that the Ruling Families, parliament, the Jedi had been informed of our 'deaths'… well, I sort of began to suspect that, if we didn't escape, as time went on, you and Jaina might reconnect, that you would be the logical person in whom she would find comfort after she grieved for, oh… a reasonable period…" Kyp closed his eyes and opened his mouth, but Jag cut him off. "But this," he hissed. "You couldn't be satisfied with that, could you?" he demanded. "You had to take everything…"
"Jag, please… let me explain."
"Explain?" he choked. "Explain? My wife… is pregnant… about seven, eight months along, I'd guess?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I've been gone for ten, Kyp, believed dead for nine… which means that you really just couldn't wait to draw her back in with you, could you?" His eyes were red. "Do you have any idea how long Jaina and I tried to have another child, Kyp?"
"Yes," he jumped in. "And if you'll just calm down a moment-"
A comlink beeped and Jag growled, tearing it off of his belt and snarling into it. "What?"
"It's Jaina. Something's wrong."
Jag's face went white. "What?" the ire left his voice and was replaced by poorly-veiled panic. "What's the matter?"
"I don't know; I've sent Leyla to fetch Master Skywalker. She just kept saying that she couldn't sense Kyp anymore, and then she collapsed…" Kyp winced as pain flashed over Jag's face as those words… and then the import of them caught up with him.
He tore the comlink from Jag's hand and started for the door. "Zekk, it's Kyp; don't wait for Luke, take her to Tekli down in the med center immediately. It has to be Tekli, do you hear me?"
"Yes," Zekk replied faintly. "What should I tell her?" He passed out of the Force-void bubble created by the ysalamiri left beside the cabin, and instantly reached out, desperately searching… "Kyp?"
He found the faint pocket of Jaina's wavering Force-awareness and he latched on to it, searching deeper, trying to push past layers of defenses… and he was repelled at every turn. Cursing softly, he broke out into a jog, Jag beside him, and raised the comlink to his mouth. "You tell her I've lost the connection; and tell her six weeks."
"I… don't understand…"
"You don't have to understand!" Kyp snarled. "Just get her there and tell Tekli."
There was no response, so he assumed that Zekk was transporting her. "What's wrong with her?" Jag demanded, not even out of breath as they ran full out across the clearing. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," Kyp gasped. "What the hell were you thinking, bringing an ysalamiri here…?"
"Have you ever tried sneaking around a bunch of Jedi? We needed to go unnoticed, though I guess that's shot," he bit. "And I didn't much fancy you killing me the moment I showed up…"
They skidded to a halt as they approached the entrance to the temple. "Normal people comm ahead." He turned sharply and hurried along a side corridor to a turbolift.
"Normal people haven't been believed dead for almost a year; normal people aren't trying to bypass the awareness of Luke Skywalker; normal people aren't expecting a confrontation with their pregnant wife's lover."
Kyp groaned inwardly as they received a couple of scandalous looks from random passerby, sparing precious bits of concentration in order to nudge them to ignore the two arguing men. "In here," he bit, leading them into a turbolift and depressing a button for one of the lower levels dug into the rock bed. Once the doors were closed, he whirled on Jag. "There is so much you don't understand right now, Jag, and I don't have time to explain it to you in a way that you'll even believe what I'm saying." As though to make his point for him, the doors opened onto the med center level, and two students stood politely waiting to enter the lift car. "But if you so much as point an accusing finger at Jaina, you will shatter her completely, so I suggest you be civil or you get out."
Jag nodded curtly but Kyp didn't even see as he darted down a side corridor and veered into the room where he sensed Jaina's muted presence. Luke was there too, and Kyp hurried to his side where he stood by the bed and reached out a hand and pressed it to Jaina's pale cheek and another to touch the swelling of her belly through her robe.
"What happened?" Luke murmured quietly, focusing his own awareness on Jaina, trying to get a sense of the problem.
"We made a major miscalculation," Kyp muttered distractedly.
"What?" Luke opened his eyes, alarmed. "No, the timing was worked out by Cilghal…"
"Not timing," Kyp said grimly. "We sort of failed to make an allowance for the possibility that the baby's father wasn't really dead." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and Luke spun in shock to see a wide-eyed and pale Jag Fel staring blankly at his comatose wife's pallid face. "Didn't Zekk tell you?"
"I sent him away," Tekli murmured as she perched on a high stool and studied monitors. "I believe your daughter is with him in a private waiting room down the hall."
Luke jerked his head in a shaky confirmation of her words, still staring, stricken, at Jag.
"Shavit," Kyp growled, drawing everyone's attention. "I can't get through. Her shields are too strong, she's blocking me out… we need to wake her up." He half-turned towards Jag. "Jag, you need to leave."
"Like hell I'm going anywhere, Kyp…"
"In her current state, the shock could make her miscarry, Jag," Luke murmured softly. "Please, go down the hall, third door on your right; Leyla is there, she'll explain everything."
Nodding mutely, Jag turned heel and walked stiffly from the room, vaguely registering the concerned exchanges happening as he left. Barely cognizant of what was happening, he stopped at the third door and tapped softly. It slid open moments later, and Zekk looked up from where he had an arm around a red-eyed Leyla, who stiffened in surprise and stared.
"See?" Zekk murmured softly. "I told you I had a surprise that would make you feel better…"
"Dad?" she asked, voice trembling as she wiped at a wet cheek. Jag felt a true smile cross his face for the first time in months as Leyla got shakily to her feet. He absently slapped the control to close the door again behind him, and moments later Leyla was clinging to him and crying. "Dad," she gasped. "You're here… it's really you…"
"I'm here, sweetheart," he murmured, holding her close for a long moment while Zekk looked on unobtrusively with a light smile playing across his features. "I'm so sorry, Leyla, I'm sorry."
Words were impossible for a long minute while she clung to him, but eventually she pulled back slightly and met his pale green eyes with soft brown ones, rimmed red from crying and nearly breaking his heart. "Why?" she asked brokenly. "Why did they say you were dead?"
"A lot of reasons, honey," he murmured, still taking in her appearance, slightly amazed at the changes wrought in almost a year. "Don't worry about that now, I'm here, I'm okay… your grandfather is alright too, he's going to help reveal the whole thing so the Chiss can arrest the conspirators…"
"But you'll stay here, right?" she sniffed. His guilt must have shown in his eyes, because she took a step back and looked confused and accusing. "Dad… you can't leave again! Mom needs you. What… what if you don't make it back in time to see the baby be born?"
He closed his eyes and fought the bitter pain he felt at her words. "Kyp will be here for her," he answered softly. Leyla opened her mouth, a mildly outraged expression crossing her face, but Jag pressed on. "Sweetheart, what's wrong with her? Do you know?"
She shook her head, eyes welling up again. "Uncle Luke made me come here to wait with Zekk."
Jag's eyes rose over her head to look at the all-but-forgotten young Jedi. "I think," Zekk murmured hesitantly, "that something happened with the ysalamiri…"
"Jaina was nowhere near it," Jag insisted angrily.
"Why do you have ysalamiri?" Leyla asked, wide-eyed.
Jag flushed guiltily. "We wanted to be able to slip in and out quietly, honey, I'm sorry. I just needed to see your mom first."
Leyla frowned. "Then why didn't you come with Zekk to see her?"
"I needed to talk with Kyp beforehand," Jag met her eyes evenly, almost daring her to argue, to not understand that he was trying to say. "And I wasn't sure how he'd react to my sudden reappearance."
She blinked once, brow furrowed in confusion. Then her expression cleared and her eyes widened. "They… they didn't tell you!" she exclaimed. "Dad, Kyp is just protecting the baby, he isn't… him and mom aren't…"
Jag smiled sadly at her. "Be that as it may- or not- your mom is pregnant," he said wryly.
"But the baby isn't Kyp's!"
He stared and saw Zekk start in surprise out of the corner of his eye. "I… see…" he frowned. "Then… Leyla, whose is it, might I ask?"
"Dad, you're being ridiculous, it's your baby."
"Sweetheart, you know that can't be true. Now why don't you calm down and start from the beginning…?"
She huffed in frustration and crossed her arms, staring pointedly at Jag. "Uncle Luke made sure that everyone knew that I'm Kyp's daughter, because he was worried that, if any of the Chiss didn't think so, they might come after me like they went after you and your father."
"That was very smart thinking," Jag said slowly, but not understanding the connection.
"And then after that, he found out that mom was pregnant, and he knew that… if someone did want to completely eliminate your family line," her lip trembled, "that they'd go after mom and the baby."
Jag just continued staring at her, uncomprehending. "Leyla, it's been too long, it's impossible…"
"Kyp's been using the Force to slow things down, hasn't he?" Zekk asked, emerald eyes going wide. "Jaina couldn't sense him anymore… and when Kyp said he lost the connection…
She nodded gravely. "Uncle Luke and Cilghal found an idea about making it take longer, so that the baby would be born in a year instead of nine months, and Cilghal tried to teach mom how to do it, but she couldn't. It hurt her too much," she sniffed. "So Kyp's been doing it instead, which is why they're living together and…" she flushed slightly. "Mom knew that everyone would assume that Kyp was the baby's father. I guess she was right," she finished quietly.
Jag put a horrified hand to his mouth. "What… what did I do?" he whispered.
"You couldn't have known," Zekk murmured, trying to reassure him.
"The ysalamiri," Jag muttered, "it broke that connection… and with Tekli just now, Kyp said he couldn't reestablish it…" he turned abruptly and reached for the control panel of the door and pressed it… and nothing happened.
He whirled around and saw a confused Zekk… and then he looked at Leyla, who looked flushed and guilty, but defiant. "You can't go to her yet, dad," she said softly. "Uncle Luke wants you to stay here." She saw his confused look and tapped the side of her head with two fingers. "I have been learning," she said wryly.
X-X-X-X
"You should go, Jag," she muttered, knowing that the façade wouldn't hold for long.
He shrugged innocently. "That would be dereliction of duty."
She stared. "Excuse me?"
"This is now my duty station."
Her mouth worked silently for a minute while she seethed. "How did that happen? What about the rest of Twin Suns Squadron?"
"They have remained under General Antilles' command, and Lowbacca and Tesar have assumed roles as co-squadron leaders." She continued just staring at him blankly, annoyance and frustration getting the better of her and showing on her face. "Jaina," he leaned close to her, "now that you know I'm not about to high-tail it out of here… do you want to do this somewhere else?"
Nodding jerkily, she turned heel and led the way back to her private cabin.
X-X-X-X
"Jaina," Kyp brushed his hand against her cheek softly. "Come on, wake up. I need you to let me back in, I need to make sure your baby is going to be alright…" She stirred and her lips parted slightly, but she said nothing, didn't open her eyes. "Tekli?" Kyp asked tersely.
The diminutive healer pursed her lips. "I can't give her any more, Master Durron. The stimulant could hurt the baby."
"And if you don't wake her up, the baby could die. Which will it be?"
Luke touched a hand to his shoulder. "Kyp…"
"She's got shields stronger than a Star Destroyer's around that child!" Kyp insisted. "You can give her a little more."
Tekli sighed in resignation and fetched a small injection vial, checking the dosage carefully before pressing it to Jaina's upper arm. That earned a little more response, and Kyp leaned forward and spoke quietly to her. "Jaina," he murmured, "come on. You're stronger than this…"
"I'm tired of being strong," she whispered, eyes still closed.
He gripped her hand tightly. "Then you don't have to be much longer, but you have to let me back in, Jaina, I can't feel the baby anymore…"
"I can't… feel it either…"
"That's fine, you don't have to," he urged. "But you need to lower your defenses around it, and I know that it'll hurt you, but just for a moment, just long enough to let me back in." She shook her head and opened her eyes, looking vulnerable and hurt. "Jaina, our connection was severed, and your body is fighting the pregnancy without me telling it not to. It doesn't understand how you can still be carrying a child, for ten months…"
"It's only been seven…"
Kyp pressed a hand to his forehead and looked wildly around at Luke, who looked lost and guilty- probably for suggesting this idea in the first place, but how could he and Cilghal have known, foreseen about the ysalamiri…?
"Jaina, stop and think; you remember what we're doing here, why I've been connected to you all this time? To protect you, to protect your baby… Jag's baby…" She just continued shaking her head back and forth, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Jaina, if you'll just calm down and relax, let me back in, I promise, everything will be okay."
"You can't promise." She curled on her side, away from him, and he bit back a curse.
"Jaina, your baby will die!"
His words went unheeded, and a great despair wrenched at his heart. "Master Durron," Tekli spoke quietly, seriously, "in your honest opinion… if we were to deliver the baby today- now - could it survive?"
"It… it's too early," he muttered.
"You said six weeks," she reminded him. "That isn't unheard of, women with multiple fetuses often give birth as much as two months early with few problems."
"I don't know…"
"You're the only one who can know," Luke pointed out softly. "You've been controlling the development, Kyp- could the baby survive, outside the womb?"
Kyp eyed Jaina sadly and closed his eyes, trying desperately, one last time, to reach the little life. "He," he choked out. "It's a boy. And yes, he could make it- but I'm not sure that she could."
Tekli shook her head. "She'd never be able to deliver like this," she acknowledged. "I don't even want to try. We're… going to have to operate."
Part of him had known that already, he supposed, but it still wrenched at something inside of him. The idea of tearing the baby from her body like that… "Do what you have to," he said in stilted tones, releasing Jaina's limp hand and turning for the door.
"Kyp, where are you going?"
"To be with my daughter," he muttered, not turning. "And to tell Jag that, if he's lucky, he could be having a son today.
"And if he's not, he could lose both his child and his wife."