Hello! I'd like to thank my reviewers and just say I would not have continued this story had it not been for you! BTW hope you like longer chapters because this sure is! :)

Chapter 11

Coruscant 21 BBY

(Morning)

"Can I go home now?" Lubov asked the doctor soon after awaking from her sleep.

"We are going to let you go after breakfast." The doctor said with a friendly smile on his humanoid face. "After that we will have regular appointments to get you and the baby in perfect health before the birth. All right?"

"All right," Lubov said. "Now, when do I need to make the first appointment?"

"I have it set up already for you," He assured her handing her a note with the date and the time on it. "It is always nice to do something nice for others, even when it is something you would have ended up doing anyway right?"

"Of course," Lubov nodded. "Now especially it is getting rarer and rarer that we are actually trying to help each other and now just focus on the war that seems to have taken away our sense of helping."

The doctor smiled at the young woman for a moment. "I will see you at the next appointment Miss Markova."

"Thank you," She replied as the older man walked out of the room readying himself for the next patient he had to talk to.

Lubov straightened herself in bed and looked at Artier still sound asleep in his chair. Both of them waiting for her parents to arrive and take them back to her apartment. Her parents would more than likely stay with her for the next couple of days while she got readjusted. After that her parents would leave her and Artier for the next couple of months before she and Artier made the journey to Hapes to set up their new life together. The plan was in place already.

Nearly an hour later her parents had arrived both of them looking extremely happy to see their daughter shockingly happier than the night before. She was going to go home today, they knew that was the cause of part of her happiness. Even she could not hide the fact that she was happy of her recent discovery.

"Well, I will get you packed," Her mother offered seeming to forget the conversation that they had had the night before.

Her father said nothing and just moved over to wake Artier. Lubov had not had a heart to get him up yet; he was just going to nap there until they had to leave. He would wake up to find them all ready to leave while he was still trying to wake up from his nice sleep. It was humorous sight had her father not yet woken him. The boy would have to learn to wake up at random hours of the night to help with the baby. Hopefully he would get himself out of the heavy sleeping phase of life within the next eight or so months. If he did not Lubov would end up killing him out of exhaustion.

Artier awoke with a start, seeing Lubov's mother helping her daughter get dressed into something besides the hospital gown before they could leave. Her father sat beside of him reading over his daughter's papers to double check things before they got a chance to leave. From what he knew of her parents, the two seemed to care deeply for their daughter, while she couldn't care less about what they wanted for her. It seemed to be the way with most children, they rebel against their parents simply because they can. It is not because they hate them, no never that, it was because they wanted to.

"Will she be able to leave this morning?" Artier asked Lubov's father quickly.

"Yes," He replied. "Hopefully we can get her out of here within the next half hour. Then we can go out and get breakfast together."

"Sounds like a plan." Artier said with a smile on his face, returning his attention to Lubov and her mother.

Lubov sat again on the bed as her mother helped her get into a red short sleeved shirt meant for warmer weather. She would normally complain about her mother babying her, but she did not care, she was in the hospital and for once she was going to allow her to do whatever her mother wanted to do with her. As she pulled on a short black skirt her mother helped her into her shoes tying the laces for her daughter like she did when she was a little girl. The sight giving her mother the satisfaction of still being a mother towards Lubov. Her little girl still needed her.

"Well, let's run a brush through your hair." Her mother said going to her bag to pull out a hairbrush.

Lubov said nothing and allowed her mother to run the brush through her long red hair. Her mother had not brushed her hair for her since she was a teenager, no perhaps not a teenager but a child? For once she was allowing her mother to do everything for her and this was the first time in a long time that she did not care if it gave her mother the upper hand over her. It was something that her mother was willing to do and what she was too tired to do herself.

When her mother finished a nurse came in and unhooked Lubov from several machines allowing her to be free of the needles that had been placed within her arms over the past few days to regulate her blood sugar. Saying a brief thank you to the nurse as she was finally allowed to stand up freely without the fear of wires getting in the way of her walking.

"Are we going home?" Lubov asked as soon as her mother and father had gotten her bags together.

"We thought you would like to get breakfast," Her father said. "Artier says there is a nice place nearby that serves all of your favorites."

Lubov simply smiled and said, "Sounds wonderful."

She wanted to go home and get some work done. She had not been able to get anything done for the past three days and now here she was behind schedule! She had to get back on track or else she would risk getting fired! Hold on, why was she worried? She had the video, she had the video that would make up for the days that she missed! That would make up for whatever else she did over those three days! Artier grabbed her hand and led her and her parents out of the hospital and through the streets of Coruscant towards the restaurant.

(9:00 a.m)

"So where did you two meet?" Lubov's mother asked while they sat waiting for their meal to arrive.

Artier simply smiled at Lubov's mother, he could not understand why Lubov did not like her. She was a charming woman who seemed to always be ready to have a chat with anyone who was willing to listen. She had even said she would pay for their meal if she found she liked him. And of course she had already begun to like him, no woman in their right mind would dislike him. He even managed to get a lesbian to love him on top of that. Further proof that he was a lady charmer after all.

"We met at work." Lubov answered for the couple.

"Really?" Her mother asked not bothering to look at her daughter, she was too focused on the man that would become her son-in-law in a year. "Did you too just see each other and know you were in love? Or did you both just casually meet up until now?"

"Casually meet up until now," Lubov said again taking a sip of her water. "I thought he was an asshole to be honest the first time I meet him. He just kept calling me freckles, as if I were a cat."

"You have freckles," Artier stated, poorly defending himself in an argument he had no idea where it was going. "I could have called you red and you would have still be pissed off."

Lubov smiled and looked away from the table for a moment searching the large restaurant for their waiter. The sooner he got here the sooner the conversation would end. And that was always the goal when eating with her, get the food quick this way she did not have to discuss anything more about whatever topic they were discussing. She could not stand her mother's conversation topic and all she had to do next was bring up the topic of religion and she would end up back in the hospital for this time threatening to kill her mother. Those little things that her mother did to her set her off, she did not know what it was about her mother that set her off, but it was there.

She could only hope that she did not have this relationship with her own child. It would be horrible to see that happen, then again she would never push her child to make a decision that was not right for him or her. She would be lucky if the child was not a girl, but she knew if she thought that the child would end up being a girl and worse yet be just like her grandmother. Only caring about what others thought of her, and above all that her only purpose in life was to find a husband. She would never end up like that she prayed.

"Artier," Lubov said suddenly. "I think I need to tell you something."

"And that would be?" Artier asked more focused on the conversation he was having with his future in-laws than his actual fiance.

"I know it's a girl." Lubov stated.

"That's good," Artier said with a smile on his face. "If we had a boy we'd end up running each other mad. Gosh, we would be lucky if you were right."

Lubov's parent's laughed at this for a moment before her father said. "Well Lubov was a good little girl, though her teenage years were something! We caught her sneaking out of the house twice to go to girlfriend's houses on several occasions. Most of the time though she was a good girl and did as she was told."

"Good," Artier said, suddenly smiling. "Force if she ended up like me I am going to have to buy seven clone troopers just to keep the boys away from her."

The table laughed together at Artier's joke, or what they hoped was just a joke.

"To tell you the truth son," Lubov's father said. "When Lubov was born I was nearly tempted to steal a lightsaber off of a Jedi just to keep all the boys away. Thankfully though that did not happen, though if you hurt my daughter in anyway, I will steal a lightsaber and cut off yours."

Artier's face went deathly pale while Lubov bursted out laughing at her father's comment causing half the restaurant to stare at the group curiously. Her father was serious, she knew that for a fact, and all he had to do was threaten and there would be no such thing as a bad boy around her ever again.

A waiter came by a few minutes later handing them their breakfast. Artier remained pale while Lubov managed to stop her laughter to begin eating her meal. The tension that was there before was gone now, and it appeared that everything for the next several hours would go smoothly... at least she hoped it would.

(Noon)

"I like your father," Artier said as he and Lubov went into Lubov's bedroom alone. "He's exactly how I'd like to be in the future, very comedic and serious all at the same time. I hope you can put up with me like that though."

Lubov simply smiled and pulled open the curtains of her bedroom letting in the sun light. She found the bedroom the way she had left it, the bed half way made up, a few pairs of underwear lying every which way on the floor, and her data-pad sitting on her bed. Her bedroom was small, her apartment was small, but it didn't matter anymore, she was going to be getting out of here soon. Once she released the video with Artier she could afford to live in rich penthouses with views of the whole planet. The dream of being rich was nearly in her grasps, if only she could convince Artier of it.

"He is very kind." Lubov stated. "Most men on Hapes are very kind and easy going, it is not in our culture for men to be driving forces in the way the government works. Men are meant to be seen not heard. It is the nature of things, rarely do men think otherwise. And if they do we can prove them wrong."

"I have heard Hapes was like that." Artier said looking around her bedroom. "I suppose men are not allowed to do much of anything aren't they?"

"No, of course not." Lubov said as she sat down on her bed. "Men are not our equals, and when you arrive on Hapes you will understand the way things are."

"They seem backwards to me." Artier said. "I mean things are supposed to be where men are better than women not the other way around."

Artier sat down on the bed next to Lubov while she rolled over onto her back for comfort.

"It is backwards to me in your society that you see men as better." Lubov stated. "It is culture, nothing more, though if you want to debate me, then please talk to that wall over there while I get some rest."

"Are you tired?" Artier asked.

"No," Lubov sighed putting an arm over her face to block out the sunlight that was managing to travel through her bedroom windows at this time of the afternoon.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I am thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff,"

"About stuff?"

"Yes, stuff. Like the stuff that we need to start thinking about. Jobs, child care, homes, incomes, savings accounts, life insurance, and all that stuff that comes along with parenthood and marriage." Lubov said with a sigh towards the end. "So much to get done, so little time to do it in."

"Well, we have nine months." Artier said. "We don't need to worry about it now, we can worry about it later when the kid is actually here to be cared for."

"We need to get jobs before that."

"Lubov you already know I am wealthy, it doesn't much matter if we work or not, I still have two billion credits in my bank account."

"Two billion credits?" Lubov said in shock. "I knew you were rich but that rich?"

"Yes," Artier said with a smile that soon faded. "Let's just say the business is not just food."

"What do you deal in Death sticks too?" Lubov asked remembering the words of that creepy old man from nearly three weeks ago.

"If I told you I would have to kill you." Artier stated sharply.

"Wow," Was all she could manage to say.

"Just don't tell anyone!" Artier said grabbing her hand tightly. "If my grandfather finds out you know about the business you can go ahead and say good bye to me now. I would end up dead."

"So this explains why you move around so much." Lubov said with her hand still clasped in Artiers. "I figured it was something bad but death sticks?"

"Yes," Artier said lying down next to her on the rather small bed. "Don't worry I don't do drugs, it is just business."

"I would have assumed that." Lubov said with a smile on her face. "Are you going to give up this business or are you going to keep it up after the kid is born?"

"I was planning on..." Artier trailed off when there was a loud crash that came from the living room.

"What the kriff was that?" Lubov asked suddenly springing out of bed and running down the hall.

Lubov walked into her parents looking over the shelves looking for whatever had fallen. They seemed to have no idea what it was either and by the time Artier had managed to get Lubov back into her bedroom the whole living room suddenly went up in flames.

Artier wasted no time in taking Lubov by the hand and leading her out of her apartment and into the streets of Coruscant not bothering to explain to her what was going on or why they had just left her parents up there to burn in a fire. She was going to hear on the news about her parent's dying wasn't she? Her parent's were dead? No, they couldn't be dead, this was a dream. It had to be a dream... wasn't it.

Before she had another word to say Artier forced her into a speeder and drove away from the apartment as fast as he could manage.

"What the kriff is going on?" Lubov asked him frantically.

Artier said nothing and kept driving through the mid day traffic. He did not even seem to care that her parents were more than likely just murdered. Or the fact they would be questioned about their involvement in the murders and now here she was without a thought other than what the fuck had just happened? Her parents were dead, Artier was a drug lord, and here she was just a journalist. What the fuck had happened over the past few days to get her into this shape?

Wow, I wrote that in under two hours while on break from my research project. I doubt there will be another update for a while with exams coming up and projects coming in every direction. Anyway, thanks for the support see you all next time! :)