Two months later...

They'd been sifting through evidence in the Industrial District warehouse for the better part of three hours when she stumbled across something disturbingly familiar: a device with a power pack that had a Sith-like sigil on it, with paddles attached by a cord. "This is a Force Detector... I think. Never seen one outside of the written word before."

Her partner sighed. "Outside of the written word? Elsie, really."

"Well, I didn't think it would be prudent to ask Master Skywalker to have a look at salvaged equipment he doesn't like to use in favor of getting thrown across a room by instinctive reactions. So no, I've never seen one of these things before for real." Elsie studied the sigil, then shook her head. "And it's Sith leftovers, too. Great."

"You're sure?" Darvis asked.

"Unless that's the seal for the Old Republic, sure." She glanced around the warehouse, noted Neesta and Chris chatting while he picked his way through assorted, hopefully non-lethal, junk, and then returned her attention to studying the device. It was giving her the heebee jeebees. "What I wouldn't give for... oh wait. We can get one of those here in a snap."

"One what?"

"An Old Republic Jedi." At his raised eyebrow, Elsie sighed again. "It's not as ludicrous as it sounds, and you know two. They're your parents."

"Wrong order."

"True." She edged closer and let her senses roll against it just slightly. "Huh... just an inert powerpack, then." She brushed against it again... and had no warning when the room filled with a bright light that knocked her into Darvis, causing him to stumble and turn around with her in his arms. As soon as the flash had appeared, it was gone, and she was left staring at his chest. "Ow." Looking up, she noticed he was frowning at something behind her. "Sorry."

"Elsie?"

"What?"

"Where did that girl come from?"

She blinked up at him, not understanding for a long, long moment. And then... "Girl?"

"Wearing a brown jumpsuit, staring at her hands?"

Elsie pushed herself out of his arms and turned to find Neesta... not translucent or glowing, and staring at her hands in shock. "Chris! Catch her!"

Chris looked away from Neesta, to stare at his wife. "What? Why?" His answer came five seconds later when Neesta screamed and passed out, and he nearly didn't manage to catch her as she fell. "Oh!"

Elsie scrambled over to the both of them, Darvis on her heels. Then she blinked and realized something was missing. Ordinarily, she'd have felt all three of them with her psy-senses... and right now, everything felt blank. Hollow. "Okay, so it wasn't inert. Damn."

Darvis frowned. "I don't understand. She wasn't here before. Where did she come from? And who is she?"

Elsie ignored him as she did a basic exam on the normally-invisible child, checked Chris over, and then gave Darvis a once-over. "If what I think just happened did, you'll probably be having a migraine later, Darvis. As for the kid here... she was here before, you just couldn't see her. This is Neesta. And she passed out due to the shock of suddenly being solid for the first time, ever. And, seriously, I'm glad she didn't have an escort today."

"Why?" Chris wondered.

"You want to explain Anakin Skywalker suddenly alive when he's dead? Or Ailee? Or Biggs? Or Master Yoda? Or that redheaded woman who Neesta calls "Great-Great Grandma" but I'm sure is older than that?"

"Good point." Chris glanced up at Darvis with a smirk. "Although... it might have been interesting to have Ailee around..."

Elsie snorted, unable to control her laughter. She looked at Darvis, knowing he was confused. "Long story."

"Oh?"

"Oh yeah."

Just then the little girl started to squirm in Chris's arms, and woke up. She blinked up at him in momentary confusion, then looked at Elsie. "This is weird. Is he really holding me?"

Elsie smiled at her. "He really is, Little Needle."

"How?"

"Don't know the how or why yet. Chris, you wouldn't by any chance also be psy-blind right now too, would you?"

Chris stared at Elsie, wondering why she'd even ask. And then he realized he was, at that. "Well... yes."

"Thought so. Weird side effect for a supposed Force Detector." She stood up, motioned for Chris to get up, and took Neesta's hand firmly. "Let's take you to Coruscant Medical, hmmm? Iris is just going to love this."

"Why not Momma?"

"I'm sure she will, too."

Iris entered the waiting area with a clipboard just in time to see Darvis and two of his three partners enter with a little girl she'd never seen before. One wearing a brown shipsuit, with red-blonde hair that reminded her of someone, but she wasn't sure who. She frowned at them as Elsie smiled. "Hello."

"We had sort of a problem," Elsie told her. "One that shouldn't be explained in a waiting room where there are prying ears."

Iris blinked, startled at that pronouncement, as Elsie wasn't exactly known for her confidentiality enforcement. Whatever was going on... "Right. This way." Iris led them through the door she'd just come out of, handed the clipboard off to another nurse, and escorted them to a room. "Now. Explain."

Elsie lifted the child, who couldn't have been more than six or seven, onto the gurney in the room. "This is Neesta Skywalker. Until 45 minutes ago, she was translucent. I want her examined... and Darvis, too, because I know Chris and I were affected by the thing overloading, and Lord only knows what it would have done to a potential Jedi if it can made a Force Ghost solid."

Darvis startled at hearing Neesta's last name. "Wait a minute. They don't have a daughter that old!" He winced when Elsie spun and whapped him on the head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Tact. You need some. And it's better I do it than let Neesta find out she likes kicking people."

Iris ignored them as she bent down and really looked at Neesta, who looked back at her with wide eyes. Eyes that were innocent but knew too much. It explained a lot, and all at once, Iris knew who this was without anyone having to say it. Her apparent age was just right for it to make sense. "Hi. I'm Iris Dellona. I took care of your Momma when she was sick."

Neesta nodded enthusiastically. "She doesn't like Jello."

"No, no she doesn't."

"Can I have some?"

Iris chuckled. "Why don't we get a doctor in here, give you your wellness exam, and then see about that, hmm?"

"Okay."

Iris stood up, turned, and looked at Elsie. "Thank you."

Elsie smiled and watched as Iris left the little room, then sat on the bed next to Neesta to wait. "You might end up having your first ever experience with Immunizations, too, kiddo."

"What are immunizations?"

"Things that are unpleasant but help keep a person healthy."

"Oh."

Right then, Darvis groaned and leaned into the nearest wall. "Elsie, I thought you were kidding about the migraine!"

Elsie smiled serenely at him. "Bad?"

"Bad enough. What was that thing and why do I have a migraine? And how did you know?"

"Simple answer is that you should get some Jedi training. That's also how I knew. And I still think it was a Force Detector." She sighed. "I probably shouldn't have tried to psychically sense what it was for, because that's when the prolonged wacky flash happened."

"It felt weird," Neesta suddenly said. "Like it was pulling at me and was more than light. Then suddenly... no glow."

Elsie frowned at that description. "Really? I'll add that to the list of oddness, then." She reached into her subpocket and pulled out a pendant, put it on, and shrugged when Chris frowned at her. "What?"

"You're asking for trouble."

"No, I'm trying-"

Chris rolled his eyes at her. "Hospital. You. Badness. Not the time to wear an enhancing pendent and experiment, no matter how frustrated you are. Put it away." He stared at her until she reluctantly complied.

"Better?"

"Much."

"You two are weird," Darvis muttered.

"And yet you wanted us to stick around," Chris reminded him teasingly. "I've got Elsie's migraine medication if you want it."

Elsie sighed. "He's never used it before and it's not prescribed to him, Chris. And what I wouldn't give to have a version of Doctor Sato here to explain this situation..."

"Doctor Sato?" Neesta asked, curious. "Didn't Iris leave to get one?"

"Not what I meant, Neesta." Elsie paused and glanced at Chris. "Come to think of it, what did I miss while I was conked out for safety reasons?"

"You're just wondering that now?"

"Was too busy with other things before now."

"Ah. Not much, other than Dawn having a reading on the Captain, and a rift alert which we didn't get to go and help with."

Darvis frowned. "Conked out for safety reasons?"

"You have a headache from a dampening effect on your Force Sensitivity wearing off," Chris explained patiently. "Now imagine you're constantly open to psychic miasma everywhere you go, and you're in a place where a bunch of people were killed and there's a rift in space and time..." He motioned to Elsie, who was watching Neesta poke at the sheet on the gurney distractedly. "And you'd just come off of a ten year vacation. Think about it."

Darvis thought about it, then nodded. "Ah." He'd have said more, but Iris bustled back into the room right then, a man in a lab coat and scrubs following her. She glared at him. "What?"

"Out. Both of you. Elsie stays."

"Why does she get to stay?"

"Because Neesta knows her and is comfortable with her," Iris told him simply. "And last I checked, you're not the father."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Right. We'll be back in twenty minutes."

"Better be. He's next." Iris watched them go, then settled her gaze on Elsie. "All right. This is the doctor who checked Mara in that night. Tell him."

And as Elsie launched into a very long story involving ghosts at wedding receptions, hinky evidence in warehouses, and the events that led to them to being there, the doctor wondered if maybe she wasn't entirely sane...

Mara opened their door to find a very pensive Elsie standing there, and Neesta at her side. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see them together... and then something caught her attention and she stared at Neesta and the child looked back at her longingly. "I must be seeing things. Elsie, explain why I can't see through her and she isn't glowing, please."

"We had a small accident with a piece of evidence in an Industrial District warehouse," Elsie calmly explained, her tone slightly bored. "One moment everything was normal, the next, there was a big flash of light and Darvis was staring over my shoulder, wondering where the kid he didn't recognize had come from. And then Neesta screamed and fainted from sensory overload." She paused and looked down at the girl. "She's been a little subdued ever since."

"Touching things is weird," Neesta blurted. "And smells! Everything smells!"

Elsie blinked, surprised. Then she smiled, reminded of a long-ago conversation had on the subject of smelling things. At least now, she got to do that for herself with her nose, rather than her eyes. "Ah. Not subdued. Distracted."

"And I want toast!"

Elsie smiled at Mara, who was still staring at them both with wide eyes. "Can we come in and introduce her to food? Iris promised Jello, back at Coruscant Medical, and gave me one, but thought it'd be better for you to be there for it..."

Mara got down on her knees and opened her arms to her child. "Come here." And right there in the doorway of her home, Mara Jade Skywalker got to hold her oldest child for the first time. She closed her eyes, enjoyed the moment, and didn't miss the sound of a barely suppressed sniffle of emotion from above. After a minute or two, she pulled back and smiled at Neesta. "You really want toast and Jello?"

"Yes, Momma!"

Mara glanced up at Elsie. "Are you sure this is my daughter?"

Elsie frowned at her. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Mara laughed at Elsie's expression, and stood up, never letting go of Neesta's hand in the process. "Of course I am. To the kitchen with both of you, and then one of you can explain why this seems so common place."

Elsie snorted in laughter. "Hardly. I've just had to explain it one too many times today, and I think Iris pranked a doctor... that, or she really didn't like him and wanted to give him the weirdest case ever on purpose."

Mara watched as Neesta ate the Iris-provided Jello with more relish than she'd ever seen from anyone. It made her wonder even more about this very sudden turn of events. "Good?"

Neesta nodded as she set the empty cup down. "Yep! Toast now?"

"Let's see how well you handle the Jello first," Elsie muttered. They both looked questioningly at her. "What? She's never eaten before."

"But I'm hungry!" Neesta whined.

"And that's a good start," Elsie told her. She looked at Mara, who was frowning in thought. "And no, I don't know if it's permanent. Won't know that until I'm not psy-blind anymore. Which I really wish was sooner rather than later."

Mara stared at her, not having expected to hear that. "Psy-blind?"

"I was right on top of the thing when it flashed, trying to figure out if it was a worthless piece of junk or not. Darvis got a migraine when the dampening effect wore off, Neesta got a case of solidness, and Chris and I... got blinded psychically. Why this couldn't have happened at least once when I was a teenager, I'll never know. As it is, the thought of my mentor with an actual body is somewhat amusing." At Mara's incredulous expression, Elsie shrugged. "It did get mentioned that I often brought ghosts to dinner with me when I was young, right? Ariel was exaggerating, and it was one ghost. The same one. A lot."

"Oh."

"Running Moon is nice, Momma," Neesta spoke up. "You'd like her. Wears a strange beaded dress and odd shoes."

Elsie chuckled. "That, she does. Hopefully, she wasn't teaching you Sioux."

"Hanwei?" Neesta offered with a grin. "And no. Not much, anyway."

Mara frowned. "Han-what?"

"Translates very roughly as 'Mooney,'" Elsie supplied with a smirk.

Just then, Luke arrived carrying a shopping bag, which he set on the counter. "Mara, I brought-" He turned around and froze when he saw Neesta sitting at the table, blinked several times. "Uh..."

"It's a girl?" Elsie offered gently. "And I'll leave you three alone now and go check on Ben and Ri-Ri." So saying, she left the kitchen. She came back momentarily. "And Luke? She wants toast." Then she was gone again.

Luke blinked again, then looked at Mara. "Toast?"

Mara smiled. "Make some?"

"Oh. Right."

Mara watched as Luke set about making some toast, knowing how floored he was. She could feel the shock echoing off of him in waves. She glanced at Neesta. "Butter or jelly?"

"Both?" Neesta suggested in confusion. "Why is he shocked?"

"It's a lot to take in, Neesta," Mara told her as she stood up and moved to where her husband was staring at the toaster. She touched his arm, nodded towards the table. "Go and give her a hug. I'll do this."

"What's the toast for?" Luke wondered in confusion, suddenly realizing how odd the request was when it was actually getting towards dinner time.

"Neesta wanted it."

"Oh."

Mara watched him go, kneel down in front of their daughter, look her in the eye for a long moment, then he pulled her into a fierce embrace and Neesta squealed in delight. Maybe eventually, the sense of touch wouldn't be weird for her... the popping up of the toaster reminded Mara of the task at hand and she smiled at an idea. Both? All right...

Neesta ended up with quartered toast and three different varieties of spreads, and enjoyed every last one.