Sooo, I finally got a day off and figured I might as well update my story. Hope you all are having a great year. As always, reviews are appreciated. Also, this chapter will be a little different. It's a backstory chapter told from Misty's kids POV about how she found them.

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I crouch holding my blaster. I turn my head, taking in my surroundings, and then nod to May: the small twi'lek next to me. May ducks under a pile of scrap just as a woman hurries past, a human. As soon as she turns a corner, I'm up and sprinting with my blaster drawn to catch her by surprise. Unfortunately, the woman simply grabs my arm turning around to see my face.

"Who are you", she demands, and then her eyes soften as she sees she's looking not at an enemy, but a hungry girl trying to feed her little sister. May chooses this moment to pop up and tug on the woman's arm.

"You're not taking Shade", she insists, "We're never going back". Her big brown eyes shimmer as though about to burst into tears. I tug desperately at the woman's arm trying to free myself.

"May, run", I call out, "Leave me". The woman catches May's arm with her free hand and smiles.

"Just wait a moment" she says, "I can't exactly leave you here". I stare at her stunned. No one's ever said that to me before. May looks suspicious.

"I'm not going back, and neither is Shade", she continues to insist, "and besides" she smiles at me, "We're in-de-pen-dent" She looks proud to have remembered the word, and I smile back at her."

The woman smiles. "What's your name little one"?

May grins up at her, "I'm May and this is my big sis Shade. What's your name?"

The woman pauses for a moment, "Call me Nine for now", she finally decides.

"So, now what", I frown. She's way too nice for someone who just nearly got robbed.

"Well", she smiles, "I can give you a choice. You can stay here and I'll give you 200 credits, or you can come live on my ship with me, and I'll adopt you." I hear May gasp. The poor thing has never had a real home before.

She looks up at me, her eyes shining "Can we"; she gives me that adorable wide-eyed look that she always makes when she really wants something, "Pleeease"

I squint at the woman, "no strings attached?" I ask her.

"None", she smiles.

I offer her my hand, "Deal".