Rebels of The Void (Book Six)

by Rebel Rue

Tragedy has struck, and the Rebellion is in shambles and in desperate need of leadership. Determined to succeed for the fate of his family, Ash sets out on a quest to locate and rescue Rebel, but the journey is perilous and takes longer than he expected. How will the time apart change his relationship with Rue, the children, Rebel, the Rebellion, and reality itself?

13. Chapter 13, Rue POV

If I thought it had hurt when Ash had suggested we break up, I couldn't have begun to fathom what it would feel like to have Ria shriek and squirm away from me and finally admit her utter disdain of me as we watched Ash gather up his belongings to leave for his home planet. "No, I don't want to stay here with you!" She screamed, her voice at such a shrill pitch it made me want to cover my ears, but my hands were occupied with trying to pin her shoulders back against the fronts of my legs as she struggled to free herself to run towards her father, seeming to neglect the memory of him hitting her just a few hours ago. "I want to go with Appa and see Grammy and Grampy!" We hadn't told her that her grandmother had passed away yet. No one in her life had died so far, so we thought it would be too difficult for her to grasp the concept of death just yet. It hurt that she would rather go visit her grandparents, who she didn't even remember ever meeting in person and had only had brief virtual conversations with once a week over the past three years, than stay with me, her mother, who'd given birth to her and cared for her everyday of her life. Withholding the explanation as to why she was being forced to remain here with me, I squeezed her shoulders tighter, simply denied her request and reiterated what I'd already told her before. "No, baby," I addressed her mildly, diminishing the sting of the rejection of her request and adding to the appeasing manner in which I rejected. "You have to stay here." I lowered myself slightly, crouching down so that my mouth was nearer to her ear for me to speak softly and be heard at the same time, but as I bent down, I lessened the grip I had on her so that the pressure of the entire weight of my body wouldn't lean on her shoulders. That action caused her to seize the opportunity and liberate herself from my grasp completely and whip around to face me, screaming in my face and propelling her clenched and indignant fists down at her sides. "I hate you!" She panted with rage through her clenched teeth as she stared at me murderously in a way I'd seen Kai look at me on numerous occasions when I hadn't brought him his food fast enough, but for Ria this look was not ordinary nor humorous, it was unorthodox and terrifying. I wondered if she'd picked it up from her cousin or if this glare was sourced from true contempt for me. Either way, the fury in her eyes and the harshness in her tone of voice, along with the brutal words themselves, made me jump back in alarm. "Hey," Ash said sternly, his voice clipped as he dropped his suitcase and knelt down in front of our daughter, grabbing her shoulders and turning her towards him. My maternal instincts urged me to protect her from him in his disturbed mental state, but I was still frozen from the slap Ria's words had given me. "You cannot talk to your mother like that." He thrust a disapproving finger in her face and shook it back and forth as she refused to look him in the eye and instead pouted, watching the ground next to his knee and squeezing her forearm with her hand fiercely. "Do you understand?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side to infiltrate her line of sight. She nodded reluctantly, a nod barely perceptible to the human eye. "Apologize, now." He spun her in my direction and pointed to me as soon as she faced me. "Sorry, Mama," she grumbled unwillingly without looking up at me and raised one shoulder in an indifferent shrug as if she wasn't certain on whether or not she was genuinely remorseful. "Go be with your brother and sisters," Ash instructed as he pointed towards the base while rising to his feet. "I'll be back soon," he promised her as she ran off to join her adopted siblings in the playroom. I was grateful for his intervention because I wasn't sure how I could've pacified Ria on my own. "Thank you," I said, suddenly recovering from my daze and standing up straight, wrapping my arms around myself and avoiding his gaze embarrassedly. Out of the corner of my eye though, I could see him nod and prop his hands up on his hips. He sighed loudly through the uncomfortable silence and looked off to the side awkwardly, scratching his neck. "Bye," he said abruptly, deciding to depart and leaned forward to kiss me on impulse as I rose up on my tiptoes to meet his lips. He hesitated, however, and hovered over my mouth, contemplating for a few moments, his warm breath against mine while I waited, before turning his head and kissing my cheek instead. It was a quick, loveless peck and it caught me so off guard that I only reacted as he was pulling away from me, so my lips just barely grazed his cheek in response. It ripped me in two and split my heart to think of the possibility of us ending and the lack of passion in the kiss was in stark contrast to the way he kissed me with such intensity on the night of his return last week. That reminded me of the probable result of that night and how I'd still yet to inform Ash of the news and that I was convinced this baby was his, that his procedure had failed in some way. "Ash, wait!" I called after him as he had his back towards me and was walking towards the lowered ramp of the ship, suitcase in hand. I jogged up to him and grabbed his arm gently to urge him to turn around and face me. He did so slowly and with a pained look on his face as if he dreaded seeing my face again before he left. His lips were locked tightly together as if he was afraid to let me see them tremble if he relaxed them even slightly and his eyes appeared glazed over with tiredness. I was almost reluctant to burden him with the fact that he was going to be the father of five now when he was so exhausted already, but I couldn't allow any more time to pass or he might find out by some means other than me. I let go of his cold, muscled arm and looked down at my hands as I intertwined my fingers shyly. "I have something I need to tell you before you leave." I figured he could have guessed that because why else would I be halting his departure? It was easier though to introduce my confession rather than come right out and say it. "I'm pregnant," I admitted, looking up at him, desiring to see his reaction, but his expression did not falter at all, instead his lips seemed to tighten even more. I thought perhaps my conviction that this baby belonged to him might aid in transforming his facial features somewhat. "With YOUR child." I pressed my palm up against his chest, emphasizing the possessive word and he looked down at my hand apathetically as if it had been a hallucination once I removed it from over his heart. "That's impossible," he denied, shaking his head, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I shrugged, I had no evidence to convince him of the truth, but I had my assurance that I hoped I could influence him with. "I don't know what to tell you, but it's true," I said adamantly, crossing my arms. He sighed and glanced up at the sky thoughtfully as if internally trying to explain to himself how it could be possible. "And you're sure you didn't cheat on me?" He asked, looking down at me skeptically with one eyebrow raised. The audacity of his question greatly offended me, I felt like gasping at the outrageous accusation and slapping my hand against my chest. The very suggestion that I could possibly have been unfaithful to Ash repulsed me, but I realized with humiliation that the question was valid and if I didn't answer honestly, I would appear even more guilty. "Yes, of course," I answered earnestly. "You know I find that very difficult to believe," he said in a fatherly tone, the muscles in his jaw tight as he set his luggage back down on the ground and crossed his arms. I was so hurt that his trust in me had been lowered to the point of actually suspecting I could be capable of such treachery, but I understood how it looked from his perspective. "I know," I said ashamedly and looked down at the grassy terrain beneath us and pawed at it with my foot. "But I trust you," he said, coming closer to me, his hands dropping at his sides. I looked up, those words warming and invigorating my heart. As long as he still had faith in me, there was hope for us. "And I'll take care of you," he reached forward and rubbed my shoulders up and down compassionately. I almost flinched at his touch, involuntarily remembering the way he'd told me he'd treated Ria and the way he'd attacked Jacen, but he didn't seem to notice my unease, too absorbed in what he was about to say next. "And I'll raise this baby with you, even if it isn't mine," he said with a straight, blank expression on his face, still refusing to take custody of the child and as if he was motivated only by obligation to care for the baby, not because he wanted to. "Ash," I whined exasperatedly. "It's yours. I don't know how many times I have to-" I began in a complaining tone, but I was cut off when he suddenly hugged me, his palms pressing against my back, holding me against his chest. My hands hovered above his back in shock, stunned by the suddenness of the action, not quite sure if they wanted to reciprocate yet or not. "Just because I trust you," he squeezed me tighter, nearly suffocating me. "Doesn't mean I believe you," he said as he crushed me with his words and his embrace. He leaned out of the hug before I had the opportunity to return the action and grabbed my shoulders tightly. "I'll see you later," he mumbled reluctantly, not holding eye contact with me for a prolonged amount of time, and turned and left me there alone. That was the first time he'd left without giving me a proper goodbye kiss.

Later, when I went back inside, I decided to check the top drawer he'd swept his pills and cigarettes into to see if he'd brought them with him and was planning on using them while he was away. I peeked in, afraid of what I might find, and assumed that his medication had spilled when he brushed the bottle inside since I'd startled him before he had the time to reseal the container and also because I discovered one single abandoned capsule in the corner of the drawer, meaning he'd packed the remainder with him and was continuing to use them behind my back even though my distress made it clear I didn't appreciate his old habit resurfacing. I wanted to know how much these pills were affecting him, and I figured the one who would know the most about this medicine would be 2-B. I picked up the capsule and carried it to the medbay between my index finger and thumb, holding it out at arms length, wanting to keep it as far away from me as possible. I stepped inside the medbay, spotting the droid unoccupied at the moment and slammed the pill down on his tray. "2-B," I centered his attention on the capsule, pointing down at it. "I need this analyzed," I demanded, taking a step back and crossing my arms, waiting as he pinched it in his claw shaped hand and brought it close to his face, squinting at it with his yellow photoreceptors. "It's a severe narcotic composed of opium and other highly addictive substances." He tried to hand it back to me, but I held up my palm facing him and grimaced, showing I preferred him to dispose of it. Well, I could've told 2-B it was a narcotic, I already knew that much, all he'd done for me was describe it in more technical terms. Although I was grateful to have confirmation that they were addictive, making sense of why Ash was so attached to them, what I had really meant when I requested an analysis was for him to reveal to me the detailed outcome of usage. As if on cue, he offered more unwanted features. "In fact, it has such a wide variety of substances, it doesn't even have a name," he continued informatively as he walked towards a garbage receptacle and gently released the capsule from his grasp above the disposal. "It certainly isn't sold anywhere legally." It shook its head as it returned to me. This baffled me. I assumed a medical droid, such as 2-B, had supplied Ash with the nullifying agent, but now I knew he was getting his pills privately sourced, illegally no less. I wondered who could possibly be providing him with such prohibited items and if it was someone from his past I wondered if even more from his former lifestyle had reemerged than I had discovered. "A concoction like this could have dangerous effects on a person's health, mood, and personality," 2-B said factually and that caught my interest, finally a lead on what I was searching for. I wondered if he had additional information on the symptoms. "Such as what?" I asked, stepping forward curiously. "What are some of the side effects?" I asked, leaning towards him attentively and swinging my arm in a circle, gesturing for him to proceed. "Well, it could range anywhere from memory loss to induced bipolar disorder." That correlated with what had happened earlier with how easily his anger had flared up at my question that had sparked our first ever argument. "Thank you, 2-B. '' I nodded and looked down at the ground, zoning out wondering how soon the effects would wear off if Ash quit taking them now and if he would run out while on Ord Mantell, or worse, overdose.

I sat up on my bed, alone, my back against the wall, fully clothed in my armor, hoping to regain some of my old self. Since Ash had left, I hadn't been feeling extremely productive. I thought by dressing in my uniform, I might start to remind myself of who I used to be, but so far, it wasn't succeeding. I was tinkering with a ship part that I actually didn't know how to fix, or what it was for that matter, all I knew was that it was broken, just like me, and I couldn't break it any further and my hands needed something to fiddle with, so I tested out Ash's most common method of fidgeting. My helmet rested beside me on the mattress and I looked over at it, becoming bored with my current task and searching for something else to occupy myself with. I saw my reflection in the visor and cringed. I hadn't done anything with my hair in days, I had bags under my eyes from being unable to sleep, and my posture was slouched. I didn't particularly care about my appearance when Ash wasn't around so I didn't look in the mirror often, but when I did catch a glimpse of my reflection, I had the natural reaction, not one strong enough to motivate me to alter it though. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," I said boredly, expecting one of the children, but Rex creaked the door open instead. "Hey, kid," he greeted me inferiorly, even though I outranked him, was only two and a half years younger, and far past the age of being considered a child. The pet name was a comfort to me though, a way to inform me subtly that he was here to protect me and that I didn't need to take responsibility for everything on my own, which was especially reassuring during my current unproductive state. He leaned against the doorframe, not entering any farther, his arms crossed, squinting at me in the level of darkness I maintained in my room. "Are you alright?" He asked tentatively, his tone questioning. "You've been sort of cranky these past few days since Ash left," he immediately explained the reason behind his wondering. I annoyedly rolled my eyes and slid my helmet over my head dissociatively, embarrassed I actually thought he was being comforting. He didn't care about my wellbeing, he cared about my manners and how they were affecting him negatively. He only wanted me to return to my normal, cheery attitude that appeared whenever Ash was around. He probably assumed I was just being an emotional, irrational female that could only be fixed when her husband showed back up. I hadn't even told Rex I was pregnant yet. If he knew, he would most likely pin even more of my irritability on my hormones being off balance. I was tired of people assuming my mood depended solely on Ash. I was capable of experiencing my own feelings, I was my own person still, even though I sometimes felt as though I lived for everyone else, my husband, my children, my troops, the whole galaxy for that matter. I never had time to process my own emotions. Although Ash's absence contributed to my laziness, it wasn't the only reason for it or my grouchiness. My responsibilities to the rebellion and to my kids were constantly divided, it had gotten to the point where I was forced to choose priority between the best interests of the rebellion and the best interests of Ria, Armani, Kai, and Kali. My family always took precedence, but sometimes that put the rebellion at a disadvantage and if that were the case, I'd need to be replaced as leader, and that was what was making me cranky. The sound of an unfamiliar ship roaring overhead broke the silence ensued by my failure to answer. Both Rex and I looked up at the opaque ceiling in sync and looked back down at each other with uncertainty in our eyes before rushing outside to meet the unknown and probably unwelcome guest. Once we made it to the landing field, a ship, most likely the one we'd heard, was landing roughly, as if in a hurry to land or perhaps being flown by an inexperienced pilot. The empire's ships always landed meticulously, never in a rushed manner, hoping to intimidate us by never appearing flustered in their attempts to trap us, and wanting to threaten us with a showy display of their skillful and superiorly trained pilots. That wasn't the only aspect that indicated this wasn't the empire, the ship model also implied whoever was on board hadn't been sent by the empire. It was a rainhawk-class transport, such vessels had been discontinued since the beginning of the clone wars, the empire wouldn't use such outdated vehicles. Still, the visitor remained unidentified and their arrival was unscheduled, so it was best to remain cautious. I raised my blaster, which I had taken from its rightfully restored place in my holster since Ash hadn't been around to take into consideration, and I pointed it at the ramp that was to be lowered and would reveal a doorway. The hand that held the blaster was propped up on the wrist of my other hand that I held out flat horizontally across the span of my chest to keep my hand from shaking due to my unpreparedness. The empire hadn't located us in over three years, I was worried that was all about to change. I was worried I wouldn't remember how to relocate and if there were any rebellion sympathetic planets left for us to inhabit, but most of all I worried about how to transport the four kids who were past the infant stage and would be far more difficult to travel with. The ramp hissed and puffed white smoke out of six exhausts, three on each side, that concealed the identity of the intruder, except for a silhouette, and interrupted my thoughts. My grip on my pistol tightened and my trembling intensified as I cringed and squinted to make out the figure strutting down the ramp. "Friendly!" They called out loudly to be heard over the sound of the ship's engine sputtering and I saw the figure raise their arms in a symbol of surrender. I instinctually lowered my weapon and cocked my head at the familiar code word used by non-hostiles to convey that they were friend not foe, but in my life so far I had only noticed it being used by clones whereas any normal sentient would use the term 'don't shoot', since it was more widely recognized and could be comprehended by just about anyone. As clones though, we weren't accustomed to giving orders, more adapted to receiving them, so we had developed our own saying. "Only clones would use that…" Rex had come to my same realization as he took a step towards me, now even more curious as to who our guest could be. I removed my helmet to enable myself for further inspection as I discerned that the only surviving clone that we knew of that wasn't here with us at the rebellion was…"Hey, Sis." Rebel herself emerged from the fog and held out her arms to us, presenting to us her existence. I gasped and she giggled, her shoulders bouncing as she did so and she held her fingers up to her mouth politely to hide her smile as she laughed. I dropped my helmet and bolted towards her, colliding straight into her and giving her a hug, one that I had saved up for three years, a hug that contained three years worth of unsaid I love you's, one that made up for three years worth of not seeing her everyday, of telling her good morning, of laughing with her, of meaningful glances, of not just sisterhood, but pure friendship. This was where she belonged, right here in my arms, with us, with family. I felt tears of happiness, yet also injustice and grief over our lost time together, spill down my cheeks the longer I held her. "You're home," I whimpered in disbelief, stating the fact out loud after repeating it to myself in my head over and over, trying to solidify the information in my brain. I grabbed her shoulders as I leaned back to examine her face and saw that she was not crying yet, but her eyes were moist and her bottom lip pouted as it trembled. It was then that I noticed she hadn't been hugging me back, that her arms were straight down at her sides, uncomfortably rigid. I couldn't understand why, but my theory was that perhaps she was unaccustomed to being treated with such compassion back where, well, wherever she had come from. "I am home," she nodded, closing her eyes tightly to confine the tears and balled up her fists in hatefulness at her vulnerability. "Only for a week, but I'm home." Her voice cracked as she choked on the words and I didn't blame her. A week was such a short period of time compared to how long we've been separated. I wrapped my arms around her again, squeezing her as tight as I could. I planned to savor her every moment here with us, no matter how long that may be. "Okay," Rex paused as he laid his hand over my shoulder, interrupting our reunion. "Hug time is done." He patted my shoulder and stood between us as he pushed against the front of my shoulder and Rebel's shoulder to pry us apart. I flashed him an offended look, wondering what could've possibly possessed him to do that, unless he was jealous. Envy wasn't an emotion that came easily to Rex though and he had to have known that I would be more attached to her if she ever returned than him because I had been around her less. I wasn't aware of how much time had passed while I'd been hugging her though, perhaps it had been awhile. There wasn't anything pressing I needed to address today though, I could hug her all day if I wanted to. She stepped back away from me, ascending up the ramp backwards, slightly retreating into her ship again as she closed her arms around herself tightly and her entire body shuddered. She was staring at the ground with wide eyes, full of terror, her lips slightly parted, revealing clenched teeth behind them. I couldn't comprehend what was frightening her in this moment when, for once, everything was calm and peaceful, everything was right in the universe in this one instance with all of us being here together, well, almost everyone. "What's wrong?" I asked, shuffling towards her and extending my hand to gently place on her shoulder, but Rex impeded me by holding up the back of his hand to my face without even looking at me. I sincerely hoped he had an explanation for how rude he was being as I side-eyed him and dropped my hand back to my side. "Nothing," she chuckled nervously, her shoulders displaying obvious tension as her gaze shifted, her eyes roving about the ground, begging to be occupied. "Just, you know," she shrugged, twisting her mouth into an uncomfortable grimace. "Being married to a pervert," she said casually as if it was something ordinary. She looked up slowly when we didn't respond and saw our looks of realization no doubt. With the way her reaction to merely being hugged was so severe, it was difficult to imagine her treatment by he who shall not be named being anywhere near pleasant, especially with none of us there to defend her. I wondered if she even had a single ally where she was being detained. I didn't have so much as an inkling as to his conduct towards her during the span of these past three years. "I'm fine," she assured us, her hands unmoving from their grip on her arms and her face unchanging, only her gaze had been lifted to meet ours and she looked so weak and small. I hated seeing her like that, it was too unnatural of an expression for her to wear. "Just not a fan of touch anymore," she said disappointedly as if she wished it wasn't the case. My brother took a step towards her with a sympathetic frown on his face and held out his hand to touch her shoulder compassionately, but she flinched painfully and clenched her fists around her arms even more, causing him to back away quickly and past his original spot even to give her additional space. "Sorry," he apologized hastily as he held his hands up on either side of his head with his palms facing her to show that he meant no harm. "You're probably still on edge," he assumed, displaying his understanding that her flinch was not a reaction towards him per say, but to her trauma. "I didn't mean to scare you," he proclaimed his innocence. Rebel's tense muscles relaxed minorly as she nodded, returning her gaze that now appeared guilty and embarrassed to the ground, still seeming to hold her breath, prepared to bolt at any given moment. It was at this time that I heard rustling coming from within her ship and I realized that she was not alone. Then, it dawned on me that Rebel had been pregnant the last time I saw her, just barely pregnant, as the wedding had only been a few weeks ago when she made the announcement, and with that wicked monster's child no less, but Rebel would be a good mother, no doubt. She wouldn't leave her child behind with that wretched man when she had the opportunity to escape, even if it was only for a week. I still wondered how she'd been allowed to escape and why only for a week and how she'd found us. There were still so many questions I wanted to ask her and just not near enough time to ask them all. I leaned to the side to peer past her in order to get a glimpse of the interior of the ship and saw, not one, but two heads resting on the pillow of the ledge bed. One with Rebel's thick, voluminous hair, only with a more blueish tint like the father's. The hair was long and flowed off the edge of the bed and dangled on the floor. I assumed it belonged to a girl, Rebel's daughter, while the other's was short and a lighter shade of blue, it must be a boy. How exciting for Kai to finally have a brother! Even though he probably wouldn't interact with him very much or perhaps ever see him again, I was determined to make this week as joyous as possible and not think about it ending until that time arrived. We were going to enjoy their company for as long as it hung around, which would hopefully be longer than Rebel had initially promised us. "Aren't those…?" I asked, trailing off, not wanting to mention their other parent's name, as I pointed at the bed with the two children, who would be a little over two years old, on it side by side. Rebel flashed a glance at where I was pointing over her shoulder and nodded disinterestedly as she looked back at us. "Me and Mas-" she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head violently. "I mean," she banged the side of her fist up against her forehead. "Thrawn's kids," she corrected herself. I thought for a moment, trying to decipher what she was originally going to say. "Were you about to call him Master?" I asked tentatively, assuming that couldn't be the case and that I'd simply misheard or made a wrong conclusion because no one could be Rebel's master. She was a fierce protector of her own individuality, no one could control or dictate to such a tough leader herself, or so I thought. It was possible these past three years under Thrawn's tyranny had pacified her, weakened her into a compliant, obedient, submissive, timid version of herself that had never previously existed. She spun around and climbed up the ramp, avoiding my question as we wordlessly followed her into the belly of the ship and I was shocked to find a third child, another boy appearing to be of the same age, sleeping next to the first boy I'd seen. I couldn't believe it, Rebel had given birth to a second set of triplets! The two boys looked as if they could be twins. They were so identical, the girl, however, had a different face shape, unlike either of the two parents. It was more rounded with less prominent cheekbones and cheeks that didn't concave, but rather puffed out. I searched for more children, thinking I could've missed some and that there might have perhaps been an entire colony as Thrawn had so creepily promised Rebel, but I didn't see any additional kids at the moment. Rebel knelt down beside the bed and gently ran her hand up and down the girl's arm, shaking her lightly. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she rubbed them with the sides of her fists adorably before sitting up and yawning with her tiny mouth as wide as it could be, not bothering to cover it. I knew both Rebel and I shared a matronly grin as we watched the process in which she woke up based on the feelings of unconditional love and care stirring in my heart that I also felt whenever I looked at Ria. I knew Rebel felt them too, she couldn't help it, that was her daughter. Even if she was the product of a marriage arrangement she certainly didn't agree with and had been scarred from, she could never despise this little girl or be anything but grateful for her, for that matter, because she was her mother and that's what being a mother is about, putting your children before yourself. "Mama," she said drowsily and strained as she stretched her arms up to the sky, her eyes squinting at us because of the sudden influx of light. "Are we here?" She asked and I suppose Rebel took it as a rhetorical question, given the fact that she didn't respond and instead shook her two sons awake with a bit more roughness than she had used with her daughter. The daughter wrapped her arms around Rebel's neck as she was leaning over to awaken the boys and Rebel wedged her hands underneath the girl and lifted her up, supporting her on her hip once she was upright. "Guys," Rebel snapped her fingers at the pair of boys as they were sitting up and blinking the sleep from their eyes. "This is Auntie Rue and Uncle Rex." Rebel pointed at me, then my brother as she introduced us to her children. "Rex," Rebel said as she looked at him. "Rue," she looked at me. "This is Ansa," she looked at the girl in her arms and rubbed her stomach in a circle as the girl giggled and gently tried to shove her hand away. Rebel smiled at her childish laugh and looked down at the identical boys on the bed. "Aaron," she pointed to the boy that had been laying in between his brother and sister who was staring up at Rebel in an entranced state. "And Apollo." Lastly, Rebel pointed to the boy on the far right side of the bed, on the side that was up against the wall as he was scratching the wall with his finger distractedly, not watching us as it made a terrible screeching sound. "Aww," I propped my chin up with my interlocked fingers as I cooed and looked them over. "Hi," I greeted them in a soft voice as I waved with one hand, folding my fingers down into my palm to perform the greeting. I'm not sure why I was drawn to Apollo, but almost by instinct, I reached over Aaron and picked him up, which Rebel chuckled at. Perhaps it was because he looked bored, like he needed something to do other than aimlessly pick at the wall, perhaps it was because I hadn't quite gotten a good look at his face while he was awake yet, perhaps it was to eliminate that force awful screeching noise his nails were making against the walls, for whatever reason, I chose him. He glared at me as I lifted him up, offended I had put a hold on his scraping, but suddenly his frown quirked up into a smirk, but his eyes remained in their squinted form as if he'd just received a mischievous idea. I had enough practice with Kai though to know not to set him down because then he'd learn what was necessary to be put down and he'd have control over me. I couldn't let that happen, he had to know he wasn't the one in authority here. I would just have to take whatever mischief he threw at me with little reaction and eventually he'd see that he'd just have to tolerate my embrace. He thrust his hand in his pocket and I held my breath, bracing for a jump scare that I would refuse to jump at. "Look, Auntie Rue," he held up a silver lighter with a bumpy texture that looked much like the one Ash had earned one summer when he was a child and had gone to summer camp and used it to ignite camp fires, although now he used it for more…recreational purposes. "Fire," he said hypnotically as the small flame began to burn once he flicked the trigger with his thumb and the orange and yellow light reflected in his wide and mesmerized eyes. I flashed a panicked glance at Rebel as Apollo held the flame nearer to my face and I counteracted the measure by holding him farther out at arm's length. I had hoped Rebel would step in, understanding I wanted to outlast Apollo in this endurance battle. I would not be the one to surrender first, but she only shrugged, looking at me helplessly. "Put that down, you imbecile!" His sister, Ansa, scolded and snatched the lighter out of his hand. "Gosh, you could start a fire with this-'' she began to lecture him, fumbling with the now unlit lighter in her palms, rolling it around as she looked down at it. "That's the point," Apollo said bluntly as I felt more comfortable holding him closer to me now that his hand wasn't a flame thrower and I secured him to my side. "Duh." He gestured at his sister exaggeratedly and rolled his eyes at her before planting his face into his palm at her proposed stupidity. Apollo, then, darted his tongue out at Ansa and she narrowed her eyes at him, warning that she'd tattle. "Mooooom!" She prolonged out her mother's title as she tilted her head back to look at Rebel. "Apollo stuck his tongue out at me." She pointed at him as she tattled on him in a complaining tone. "Moooom!" Apollo mocked his sister's whiny and higher pitched voice in a much more dramatic fashion than it had truly been as he tilted his head side to side at her annoyingly. "Ansa gave me a glare." He pointed at her and they began to smack each other's hands, but I took a step back to prevent Apollo from hitting his sister any more, to which he became very frustrated with and tried to free himself from my grasp by squirming and pushing against my arm that was wrapped around his torso with his hands, but he did not succeed as I merely held onto him tighter. Aaron, the third sibling, sitting peacefully out of harm's way on the edge of the bed with his legs hanging off the side, decided to get involved, not wanting to be left out or forgotten. "Mooooom!" He made his presence known as he called his mother's attention, mimicking the same tone. "They're fighting!" He announced, pointing to both of his siblings with both of his hands and then made the shape of the letter 'X' with his arms as he switched which hand was pointing to which sibling. I saw Rebel plop her free hand down on her hip as she sighed strenuously and raise her eyebrows at Aaron as if she were telepathically telling him something, but he didn't seem to receive it, nor notice the expression on his mother's face as he glanced back and forth innocently between his brother and sister as both were now focused on him, glaring daggers at him. "Guuuuys!" Rebel looked up at the ceiling of the ship as she imitated her children's voices and stomped her foot to draw their attention. "I don't care." She looked back down at each of them and shrugged, showing the only complaint that mattered was that they were complaining at all. "I give dirty looks to people all the time, it's called attitude." She snapped her fingers sassily as she swiped her hand across her face. "It'll get you killed if you do it to the wrong person," she said frankly. "So be careful," she advised as she waved her finger back and forth. Rex approached Rebel and Ansa abruptly and both leaned back slightly, an imperceptible lean to some, but not to me as I noticed both of their eyes widened too before returning to their previous state and shaking off the brief surge of fear all before Rex took note. "Hi there, Ansa." Rex leaned down slightly to come face to face with Ansa who was still in Rebel's arms as he changed up the pitch in his voice to speak to her, altering it so that it was higher in the same way that he talked to Ria. He took her small, soft hand in his and she looked down at their intertwined hands disgustedly as he tried to wrap her hand around his finger as if she were a baby. Rex was awkward around kids, I'm not sure why Ria still preferred him over me. He always either tried too hard or treated them as if they were younger than they were. He was better with Ria whom he'd known and been around longer, so he knew better how to interact with her, but right now, he was doing both. "What's your favorite color?" He asked, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand and I saw Rebel's cheeks fill with air as if bracing herself for Ansa's response. "Why the kriff would I tell you that, you stalker?" Ansa asked rhetorically and I could see Rex's cheeks flush with embarrassment as I snickered, struggling to contain my laughter. I doubt anyone has cursed at Rex in a long time, or ever for that matter. Regardless, it had probably been a long time since Rex had heard that word and for the first person to say it to him after all that time to be a little girl in her tiny, yet bold voice, it was priceless! Rebel smacked her palm against her mouth apologetically and shook her head in small, ashamed rotations, looking only at Rex with fearful eyes. "Learned that language from your mother, I assume," Rex grumbled under his breath as he stood back up straight without meeting Rebel's eyeline at all. "I mean, she is right." Rebel removed her hand from in front of her mouth and set it down on her hip with a determined look in her eye, one that blinded her from all common sense. It was as if it put a veil in front of her face and didn't enable her to see where this was leading, not that I even knew where this was headed. Her harsh tone, defensive posture, and cold gaze had come out of almost nowhere, but I knew both Rex and Rebel to be stubborn, so now that Rebel had challenged Rex, neither would back down until there was a winner, even though I didn't know what the winner would accomplish or how one could become the winner. I had thought Rex had merely made a silly remark regarding her child's language which I had assumed was simply to relieve the embarrassment surrounding the two of them. I hadn't thought he'd said it in a particularly critical tone, but perhaps I had been too busy focusing on the humor of the exchange to listen closely enough. Perhaps Rebel had truly been offended Rex had assumed she was the bad influence on her children, which I would understand if it had in actuality been their father's doing. To be accused of something that man had done, to even be compared to him in the slightest, was the highest form of insult. Or perhaps there was still some unresolved conflict between the two of them that was easily sparked by a simple comment by either of them, Rex just happened to be the instigator on this occasion. I wasn't even sure on what basis Rebel was agreeing with Ansa currently. Either Rebel agreed Ansa had no reason to tell her uncle her favorite color or she agreed that Ansa's name calling was warranted, but why would Rebel agree with Rex being a stalker? I was genuinely so confused over the sudden shift in the overall mood of the room and over something so small. "You did erase my memories and spy on me for quite a few years, isn't that a stalker?" Rebel asked rhetorically, snapping back, definitely not teasing this time as she defended her daughter. If she thought that made Rex a stalker, did she think that made me a stalker too? I looked over at Rex with wide eyes, silently pleading with him to make peace before this went any further. Unfortunately, I failed to catch his eye before he responded. "Well, at least I didn't abandon my kids for three years and come back like nothing happened." Rex ground his teeth at her and I sucked in my breath through my teeth, making a hissing sound which I assumed only Apollo was close enough to hear. I hadn't known it had offended Rex so much that Rebel had left Kai, Kali, and Armani in mine and Ash's custody, but perhaps he was only searching for ways to insult Rebel at this point. "Well," Rebel scoffed as she set Ansa down to free up both of her hands for wild gestures. "At least I didn't betray my sister's trust and be rude to her ever since she found out!" She yelled and I saw all of the kids flinch, cover their ears with their hands, and close their eyes at the same time, noticing they were sensitive to loud noises. Rebel hadn't looked at me when she mentioned betrayal of trust, but I had been a part of that decision, did that mean she thought I had betrayed her trust as well? I couldn't live with myself if she still thought that, I thought we had made peace with that and she'd seen we were only performing the mind wipe for her own good. Perhaps she only brought it up though because of the instance of rudeness directed at her after she'd discovered the truth, perhaps it was only Rex involved in that matter. I hadn't noticed it though, but it had clearly upset her enough that it stuck with her even through their very limited reactions since her realization. "Well," Rex took a step towards her, nearly squashing Ansa in between their legs as Rex squared Rebel up, easily towering over her. Ansa stumbled backwards, hugging the fronts of her mother's legs as she leaned back against them, cowering to retreat from her unknown uncle. "At least I didn't break my siblings' hearts when I told them to think of me as dead because I can tell you that shattered our hearts more than you could have ever imagined, including mine." Rex jabbed himself in the heart with his finger, demonstrating the pain. I hadn't known he'd been heartbroken when Rebel had given us her goodbye speech, he never told me. All kinds of revelations were occurring today, this felt more like a private interaction though, one that Rex and Rebel would be better off resolving alone. Plus, the kids seemed terrified in this tense environment. I lifted Apollo up higher and sat him on my shoulders, his legs around my neck. "Well," A tear ran down Rebel's cheek as she began to speak. "At least I didn't wake up in a place I didn't know and say goodbye to my family there 'cause I knew I was as good as dead,'' she cried, defending her actions in the same format the two had been arguing as I crouched down and waved my hand at Ansa to attract her attention. She looked at me and then looked around, swiveling her head to both sides and looking behind her before pointing at herself with her eyebrow cocked questioningly, wondering if it was really her I was gesturing to. I nodded, showing that it was and she timidly tiptoed over to me, squeezing in between Rebel and Rex's legs as I waved Aaron towards me and waited for him to hop off the edge of the bed and walk over to us before gently taking hold of Ansa's hand and descending the ramp, holding onto one of Apollo's legs with my free hand to ensure he wouldn't fall off. "Oh wait, I did." I heard Rebel say sarcastically just before we were out of listening range and I shivered, involuntarily imagining what Rebel had said about thinking she was as good as dead. How terrifying would it be to accept your fate and unselfishly let go of your family, the only place you received real love from anymore, just so that they wouldn't worry about you anymore? Rebel had done it though, she'd undergone the worst nightmare any of us could ever imagine and she'd managed to let on that it hadn't phased her as much as it truly had because she was still striving for us not to worry about her. I shook off my admiration for her, though it would never truly leave my body, and instead focused on her second set of triplets that had, doubtless, received her same selfless attitude. I definitely wanted to start off on the right foot with them and give them a good first impression, unlike Rex had, so they would know their mother's side of the family, although farther away, would always be closer to their heart and more reliable than any other family they had. I knew food was always a good method in which to be friendly to someone. Ash and Wrecker would always say that the way to their heart was through their stomach, it was the reason both had fallen in love with their waitresses. I supposed the kids might also live by the saying and that perhaps the entryway to their hearts, my destination, was their tummy also. "Y'all must be hungry after your long trip," I assumed the nap had made them develop an appetite as well. "Do you want something to eat?" I asked, bending down slightly to see the reactions on their faces at the mention of food. Aaron's eyes lit up and he licked his lips as I saw Ansa smile gratefully at the same time and I could already predict their response, though it all depended on Apollo, who was out of my line of sight at the moment. "Yeah!" They each cheered in unison and I smiled involuntarily at the eagerness in their voices. "Okay, let's go see what we can scrounge up," I said as we continued walking and I led them into the mess hall where I set Apollo down off my shoulders, planting his two feet flat on the ground, back where they belonged. I released Ansa's tiny, clammy hand and pulled on the handle of the refrigerator to open it as I stood back up. Disappointingly, I noticed there were slim pickings, only vegetables that I couldn't get anyone else to eat even if I force fed them, and that was definitely not how I wanted to begin my new relationship with my niece and nephews, and a box of a few pizza slices that had been leftover from Wrecker's fourth box of pizza that evening he, shockingly, wasn't able to finish. Surely, he would be tired of pizza after just recently eating three whole ones and a fraction of a fourth, so hopefully he wouldn't mind if I shared it with Rebel's children. I opened the left door of the fridge, behind which was the freezer, which contained mostly ice, a frozen gornt, which I assumed wouldn't be appetizing to the toddlers, and a box of frozen nuna nuggets which might be a slightly more appealing meal and would take far less prep time. "We have pizza and nuna nuggets," I listed out the sparse options as I looked over at the pantry while shutting the freezer door. "Um, what else?" I asked myself out loud in an attempt to better visualize the shelving in the panty, but I saw nothing edible. We hadn't done a supply run in weeks, which we were obviously in desperate need of I was realizing. I couldn't allow these kids to think we were lacking though. I was already in love with them, I didn't want to limit the number of their choices to so few, I wanted them to receive whatever was their hearts desire. I may never see them again, I definitely wanted to spoil them for as long as I had them with me. Besides, if I was sending someone on a supply run, they could pick up whatever the kid's favorite food was on the way in no time. "What are you kids craving?" I asked as I crouched down in front of them. They looked at each other unsurely and conspiratorily, then raised their eyebrows and smirked as if they were about to make an outrageous request. "Anything you want," I said, opening the door to endless possibilities. They whispered amongst each other briefly before turning towards me simultaneously. "Pizza!" They all shouted, coming to a consensus decision. I breathed a silent sigh of relief that they decided on a food item we already had here, although I hoped the toppings Wrecker had chosen would be alright with them. "Excellent choice!" I praised and explained what I was about to do so that no sudden movements were made. "I'll warm it up for you," I said as I pointed to the toaster oven. I wanted to take extra care not to spook them since I wasn't sure what type of father theirs was like, evidently he couldn't be a particularly exceptional one. "Make it all nice and toasty," I spoke slowly as I stood up and used calming words. "It'll only take a second," I promised as I turned towards the kitchen appliance and reopened it, removing the flat, square, white box. I had to think of what else a hostess might offer since it had been since I met Ash's parents that I'd actually hosted. Finally, I remembered something as I opened the pizza box. "Y'all can sit down if you want." I gestured to the nearest picnic style table and they all waddled over to it instantly as if they'd been anticipating an invitation, which made me chuckle at their patience with me. As I watched them crawl up onto the bench to sit down, I began removing slices to heat up until I realized I didn't know exactly how many I needed to be heating up. "Ansa," I looked at her over my shoulder, choosing to ask her first since she seemed like the oldest of the group, and saw she perked up at the mention of her name. "How many slices would you like?" I asked, trying to sound professional as I assumed that was what she was used to at home. "Just one, please," she responded politely. "Coming right up," I assured her as I placed one slice into the toaster oven. "And Aaron, how many are you hungry for?" I asked, switching up the wording of my question, but he was too busy to answer me. He had formed his hand into the shape of a ship and was pretending to fly it all around his head as he made buzzing noises with his mouth. I watched him, not wanting to interrupt his playtime by asking again, but my hand still hovered over the slices. "He'll have one too," Ansa said, speaking up for her brother. "Sounds good." I chuckled as Ansa rolled her eyes teasingly at her brother's dorkiness with a smile on her face. "Last, but not least," I said, introducing the remaining triplet as I situated a second slice on the rack. "Apollo?" I asked without expounding on my question since I assumed he knew what I was wondering at this point as I turned towards him. He was slumped over, leaning on the table with his chest against it and his arms stretched straight out in front of him, flat against the surface. "Fire," he said wistfully and as clearly as possible since his chin was against the slick, solid surface of the table, making it difficult for him to speak. I looked over at Ansa with my eyebrows raised, depending on her for an interpretation, and she held up one finger to me, indicating he wanted the same amount as his siblings. "One it is." I nodded as I turned back to face the pizza and slid Apollo's slice onto the bottom rack so that it'd be the closest to the fire as possible. I closed the door to the countertop oven and set the timer for the appropriate amount of time. I turned to face the triplets again and leaned against the counter with the base of my palms. "May I sit?" I asked as I gestured to the empty side of the bench across from them. They looked around at each other, silently consulting amongst themselves and I smiled, appreciative they were taking my question under such careful consideration. They finally looked over at me and nodded, small, sophisticated smiles on each of their faces, as Ansa held her hand out to the bench seat across from her invitingly. I sauntered over towards them, giving a dramatic, gracious bow at their admission to their table, which incited small giggles from them. I sat across from them and thought up topics of conversation, steering clear of asking them personal questions about themselves since I'd seen their reactions to that already. "So, I know you don't much care for being asked questions," I stated my awareness. "So how about I tell you some things about me?" I asked rhetorically as I'd already decided on doing so, gesturing to myself by placing both palms over my heart and thought of standard facts about me, things I might want to ask them about themselves. "I'm 33," I said, holding up three fingers on both hands, indicating my age and I watched their tiny brains comprehend a number that was nearly 17 times the number of their own age. It was a number I myself almost couldn't comprehend. "I know, I'm old," I said jokingly as I nodded, lowering my hands. "Aren't I?" I asked, not seeking an answer and they all snickered and attempted to hide their laughter behind their hands. "I have lots of brothers," I said once their laughter had died down, keeping my statement vague and not giving the exact number of brothers so as not to have to go into detail on why I had such a vast number of siblings and also because I didn't know the exact number myself. "But your mother is my only sister," I said without going into the complicated details of why she was my only sister. While on the subject of family, I thought of my kids, Rebel's kids technically, and I thought that they should meet even if they'd never be together again. "And I have 4 kids," I said schemingly, imagining the seven of them playing together. "They're only two years older than you," I said factually, hinting that they would make excellent playmates as I held up two fingers. "Do you want to meet them?" I asked, ensuring they were interested in making friends before I dragged the four of them in here. Once the triplets had come to an agreement and answered me by nodding each of their heads, I called for them. "Kids!" I hollered, turning my head towards the door and cupping my hands around my mouth. I looked back at the triplets as I waited for the kids to, hopefully, respond to my request for their presence and arrive soon, only to see they each were holding their hands over their ears. "Oh, I'm sorry." I leaned towards Ansa since she was sitting directly across from me, forgetting that they were sensitive to loud noises, and placed both of my hands on top of Ansa's compassionately, adding to her sound proofing method. "I won't yell," I promised as I shook my head. "I'll go get them," I said as I stood up, eliminating the reason for me to raise my voice. "I'll be right back," I gave them my word as I spun towards the door and exited the mess hall, heading to the playroom. "Kids," I said in a sing-songy tone as I knocked on the door and it creaked open. I peered around the edge of the door and saw the four kids congregated in a circle in the middle of the room. They looked up at me and ceased whispering amongst themselves as soon as they heard the door open as if they'd just been caught plotting. "I have some friends for you to meet." I crooked my finger at them, indicating for them to stand up and follow me, to which they groaned as if it were a tremendous burden to leave their post for only a few minutes. Eventually, and by eventually I mean as soon as I gave them the mom glare and set my hands on my hips, they rose up and drug their feet as they traipsed behind me. Once we made it to the doorway, I ushered them inside of the mess hall ahead of me and stood behind them as they froze after taking two more steps inside the cafeteria. "Kids," I sighed and placed my hands on top of Kali's shoulders as she was the one standing in front of me. "This is Ansa," I pointed to her and she waved politely with a friendly smile on her face. "Apollo," I pointed to a still rather depressed Apollo, longing for his lighter, who barely gave a wave and without lifting his head. "And Aaron." I pointed to him as he had his head tilted all the way back and was staring at the ceiling with an agape mouth. "Aaron, Apollo, Ansa, meet Ria," I introduced them to my daughter on my far right side as I patted the top of her head and she swatted me away. "Kai," I patted the top of his head quickly enough so that he couldn't bat me away as Ria had done. "Kali," I squeezed her shoulders. "And Armani." I pointed to her on my far left. "These are your cousins," I explained their relation to each other as I stretched my arms out, making them span from Armani's far left shoulder to Ria's far right. "Is it okay if they sit next to you?" I asked for Ansa, Apollo, and Aaron's permission before instructing my children to sit at the table with them. They nodded, displaying their consent. "Go sit down, loves." I kissed the top of Kai's head as I directed them towards the table. They reluctantly shuffled over to join their cousins, shyly holding their arms with their hands. As they sat down on the opposite side of the triplets and awkwardly tapped the table to fill the void of silence, the beep of the oven timer helped them out. "Oh, that's your pizza," I quickly explained to the guests what the sound was as they flinched, but before they could cover their ears. "I'll get it," I announced as I made my way over to the triplets' freshly heated lunch. I opened the door and placed each slice of pizza on a different plate, then set them down in front of Ansa, Aaron, and Apollo, ensuring I put the burnt one in front of Apollo. He looked up at me enthusiastically, beaming with gratitude as a smile slowly spread across his features and I winked at him. Ria looked over at the plate I had set down in front of Ansa with jealousy and licked her lips hungrily. "Mama," she addressed me demandingly without taking her eyes off the food. "I'm hungry," she stated. "I want pizza too." She straightened up haughtily, finally looking in my direction, but not bothering to meet my eyes as she held her chin high. "Okay," I said hesitantly, put off by her demanding, brattish attitude. "I'll fix you some, sweetie." I granted her request as I turned back to the box of cold pizza and reopened it. I took out four slices, assuming Kai, Kali, and Armani, Rebel's first set of triplets, would want some too, and filled the oven with them. Ria huffed impatiently and I could hear her squirming in her seat. "Hurry, Mama!" She ordered. "I am, sweetheart," I said through a sigh as I stood by the oven and tapped the toe of my boot against the floor, waiting on the timer to ring, indicating it was time to remove the pizza, becoming increasingly irritated by her disrespectful behavior, especially while her cousins were here. Suddenly, I heard stifled sniffles coming from one of the kids and I turned to see Ria gobbling up a slice of pizza while Ansa's plate was empty and Aaron and Apollo were still munching on theirs. Ansa's eyes were shimmering with tears that had yet to spill down her cheeks. "Ria!" I scolded as I slapped my palm down on the counter to deter her from taking another bite, but she simply gave me a proud grin, sauce smeared around her mouth and all, as she shoved the remaining food down her throat. "That is not nice!" I marched over to her with my hands on my hips. "That was not yours!" I informed her as I loomed over her, but she just looked up at me blankly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then burped. "You need to be patient," I lectured. "If you would've waited just a few minutes I would've gotten you your own." I sighed as I leaned back and crossed my arms. "Don't steal other people's food," I summed up the lesson as I wagged my finger at her. "That's rude." I swatted at her shoulder, but did not make any contact and she, unexpectedly, flinched and held her hands up at arms length to protect herself, palms facing me. She whimpered as she cowered and I felt extremely guilty as I took a step back from her and held up my hands in the same fashion, displaying my harmless nature. I wondered if she reacted this way out of fear of being smacked again, if she remembered what Ash had done to her, but I didn't know the likelihood of that as she seemed to have a rather short memory span. "I'm not gonna hit you," I promised as I shook my head. She looked up at me through her eyelashes and glared. "Mean Mama!" She shouted before running out of the room, stomping her feet with her fists clenched. "I'm not- '' I began to protest, but she'd already darted around the corner. I sighed and rubbed my forehead embarrassedly as I looked back at the triplets, Aaron watching the scene that had played out intently, his mouth, full of food, hanging wide open, Apollo continuing to eat, unphased by what had happened, and Ansa looking up at me with her bottom lip quivering. "Oh, sweet girl." I placed my hands on either side of her face and kissed the top of her head, feeling compelled to comfort her after she'd been so accepting of the kids, only to be denied their friendship. "I'll get you another piece," I assured her as I looked into her riverish blue eyes and noticed her light freckles from this distance as I brushed her hair, of a slightly darker tint than her eyes, out of her face. "I'm sorry." I apologized as I stood up. "She doesn't have the greatest table manners, does she?" I asked rhetorically and ashamedly as I walked back over to the oven as it beeped. "That's my fault." I took the blame upon myself as the parent as I placed my hand over my heart and one handedly opened the oven door. As I opened the cabinet above me to take out plates to put the pizza on, I made sure they wanted it before I gave it to them. "Kai, Kali, Armani, do you want some pizza too?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at them and they nodded. "Okay," I resumed my serving process and balanced two plates on my forearms and the remaining plates on the upturned palms of my hands, rekindling my waitress techniques. "Here you go," I said as I placed them in front of the older set of triplets, plus Ansa, and they gave an appreciative nod before chowing down. I watched with adoration as crumbs formed in the corners of their mouths as they ate and needlessly wondered if they were enjoying it. "How is it?" I asked as I sat down beside Armani and wiped a dollop of sauce off of Ansa's cheek while we both giggled and it made my heart swell to hear her expressions of joy. "Good," they chorused while continuing to consume their food. "Good." I smiled, expressing my satisfaction with their contentment. I observed Ansa take a deep breath and set down her pizza, pausing for a moment to chew, closing her eyes to savor the taste in her mouth, and the thought entered my mind that perhaps she'd never experienced such tastes before. I wondered what tastes she would be familiar with then and perhaps by asking her what foods were native to her area, I'd get a clue of where Rebel had been all these years. "What do you have to eat at home?" I asked as I propped myself up against the table with my forearms and leaned towards her, my eyebrow cocked. "Mostly gross stuff," she responded as she grimaced, opening her eyes to me. "Like mynocks," she exemplified as she retched and proceeded to take another bite. I considered that statement for a moment, mynocks were rendered as a delicacy on Ryloth, but there's no way Thrawn would take her there. He'd likely take her somewhere more remote, which meant that perhaps Thrawn had simply visited Ryloth during his travels once before and sampled mynock and enjoyed it, now he was probably forcing his children to eat it as well. "Ew!" I cringed and shivered at the thought of being forced to eat the winged parasites, probably even less appealing to a toddler. "I know!" Ansa agreed with my disgusted reaction and I enjoyed finding common ground with her so I maintained my grossed out opinion. "Yuck!" I stuck my tongue out and wanted to reassure her that I'd never force her to eat such creatures, proving that it would not even be possible for me to do so since I'd never seen one in person. "Well, I've lived on Kashyyyk for about three years and there's been no sign of mynocks," I shook my head. "So I think we're in the clear." I gave her a wink which made her smile. Once all six children had finished, I contemplated alternative ways to keep our visitors entertained and conjured up the idea that they might enjoy playing with some toys as most kids would, with the exception of Apollo perhaps. "Armani, Kali, Kai," I turned to my left to look at them, hoping they wouldn't mind sharing their playthings, also thinking that the younger triplets might be more comfortable with an escort closer to their own age instead of me. "Do you want to show your cousins all your toys in the playroom?" I asked as I pointed in the direction of the room that stored all of the kids' toys. "Sure, Mama." Armani nodded as she answered and collected her siblings' plates, stacking them on top of her own responsibly and placing them in the sink. I smiled at her maturity and obedience as she stood in the doorway with Kai and Kali, waiting for her half siblings to join them. I quickly turned to Ansa, Aaron, and Apollo, realizing I'd forgotten to check with them before. "Do y'all want to follow them?" I asked, tilting my head in my childrens' direction. They exchanged looks before reaching a decision as they always did and looked at me and nodded once they had. I nodded in response and stood up to watch them leave, but as they walked timidly over to their half siblings, Ansa turned towards me, giving an expectant look as if she was waiting for me to pursue them. I hadn't planned on it, I figured they'd fair just fine in the playroom on their own since it was safe and there were plenty of other rebels that I trusted wholeheartedly around and I also wanted to be around Rebel as much as possible, but if Ansa wanted me to follow her this badly, my plans could stand to be changed. "I'll be right behind you," I promised through a chuckle as she brightened up and bounced on her toes, grateful for my flexibility. It felt unbelievably good to have my presence desired by someone again. As I took a step forward to follow them, I couldn't help but want to enhance my already favorable reputation with Ansa, solidifying it in some way, and in part want to repay her for the sense of purposeness she'd gifted me with. As she turned her back to me, trustful enough of me to rely on my word without waiting to see if I'd actually pursue them, I thought of just the thing. "Ansa," I whispered to her and she whipped back around immediately without the other kids noticing and waddled over to me as I crooked my finger at her and squatted down to her level. "Do you want something sweet?" I asked, wanting to treat her and she nodded eagerly. I smiled at her and stood up to walk over to the cabinet and rose up on my tiptoes, reaching for the candy jar after I'd opened the cabinet door. I delved one hand into the jar and left the other hanging down by my side and as I groped for the candies, I felt a tiny hand slide into my empty one at my side. I looked down to see Ansa standing at my side, her small hand in mine as she looked straight ahead distractedly, then seemed to sense I was watching her and looked up at me, flashing me the most heart warming grin. I squeezed her hand in mine, deeply touched by the small action, and fought the urge to offer her the entire jug of candies. I closed the cabinet door and crouched down to hand her the wrapped parcel of pink, spherical candy, wondering if she'd ever received the opportunity to taste its sweetness before as she was looking at it cravingly. "Have you ever had one of these before?" I asked as I extended it towards her and she shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes fixed on her dessert. "I hope you like it." I held the candy out to her in the middle of my flat palm and she picked it up carefully, preciously, as she pinched the flared end of the wrapper between her index finger and thumb. As she treasured it in her cupped palms, I felt compelled to remind her that she owned this piece of candy, that it belonged to her, therefore, no one should steal it as her pizza had been stolen and that she had a right to protect and claim exclusivity to whatever was hers. "Now, this is for you." I tapped the tips of her fingers as she stared at the candy, but my touch finally brought her gaze up to meet mine. "You don't have to share with your brothers," I said to her, yet she looked guilty at the thought of being selfish, though that hadn't been my aim at all. My only goal had been to help her understand that she wasn't required to sacrifice what was given to her, but if she preferred to be generous instead, that was totally permissible as well, far be it from me to hinder generosity. "But if you want to, you can," I permitted while nodding. "Thank you, Auntie Rue," she said gratefully as she flung her arms around my neck and I froze, my hands hovering over her back while she hugged me tighter. "You're welcome, darling," I said softly into her shoulder as I swallowed hard against the rising lump in my throat and hugged her back. Her embrace was so soothing, but I didn't want to make her uncomfortable by lingering in the hug for too long. I released her and began to stand up, but she refused to loosen her grip and her feet lifted off the ground as I rose. "Oh!" I exclaimed surprisedly and chuckled as she still clung to my neck and her feet dangled in the air. I paused my effort to stand in my awkward bent over position before realizing that her refusal to release me indicated that she wanted to be held. It had just been so long since one of my kids wanted to be held, I had forgotten what the signs were like. I proceeded to stand up the rest of the way and slung my arm underneath her to support her and once she felt secure enough, she released my neck. I wasn't sure if she had wanted me to follow her in order for just my presence to join her and her siblings or if she had wanted us to spend some one on one time together, so I figured I'd ask. "Do you want to join them in the playroom?" I asked and she looked around the room, tilting her head as she contemplated, then apathetically nodded her head, her face showing a careless expression. "Okay," I hugged her again, wanting to feel her against me again, and closed my eyes as I savored the feeling and slowly walked towards the exit in order to prolong our time together. "I'll take you there," I told her as I took leisurely steps to the doorway. She reared back as I finally allowed her to back out of the hug at her own will and she placed the candy in her pocket, storing it for later. I smiled at her preservation of the sweet, it was something I would've done at that age. I wondered what else we had in common and found my mouth unwittingly begging to expel the question Rex had asked her earlier, only I would introduce it properly this time. "So, Ansa," I shifted the position in which I was carrying her so that she was riding against my hip now so that we could see each other better. "We're dying to know," I said dramatically as she looked up at me, seeming intrigued. "What is your favorite color?" I asked, arching my eyebrow. "I won't tell anyone else," I swore. "I pinkie promise." I extended my pinkie finger towards her and she bit her lip, holding back a smile as she wrapped her own pinkie finger around mine. She scanned the hallway up and down for eavesdroppers before discovering none existed and leaned in close to my ear, cupping her hands around it. "Pink," she whispered. I smiled at her secretivity and also the irony that, although she was Rebel's child, Ansa and I shared the same favorite color. "No way!" I exclaimed, tossing my palm across my heart. "That's my favorite color too!" I pointed to myself and she looked teasingly skeptical. "Do you want me to prove it?" I asked jokingly, though I had real evidence. When she nodded, I was prepared. "Look," I instructed as I looked down at my chestplate which I knew displayed clear proof of my favorite color. "I have pink on my armor," I said, running my finger down the pink stripe which caused me to notice my wrist which also had pink on it. "And on my bracelet." I jingled the charms hanging off of the jewelry piece in her face and she giggled. "See that?" I asked sarcastically and she again rolled her eyes teasingly, but then leaned towards the bracelet and squinted in genuine curiosity. "That's a picture of your mom and I when we were little," I tapped on the image behind the glass inside of the pink, heart-shaped frame with my fingernail. "Mama has a bracelet just like that," Ansa said, mostly to herself, as if realizing why the photo seemed so familiar to her. "Yes, she does." I nodded, agreeing with her as I watched her continue to stare at the faded picture. "I'm glad you noticed," I said as I pointed at her, although what I'd really meant was that I was glad to know Rebel was still being allowed to wear it so that she could cherish at least one small part of home still with her. "We're matching." I pointed out to Ansa as I shook my wrist side to side, causing the charms to jingle again. "It's our friendship bracelet," I explained why we had copies of the same jewelry. Ansa was still staring at the bracelet with a distant look in her eyes and a blank expression on her face, so I asked her a question to try and break her trance. "Do you like it?" I leaned forward to see her facial expression better and she finally shook her head as if to snap herself out of a hypnosis and smiled up at me. "Yeah," she said, her pleasant expression returning. Since she'd said she liked it, I wondered if she wanted her own that she could share with me. It would've been rude of me to ask if she liked something and then proceed not to offer it to her when it was available. "Do you want one?" I asked, wrapping both arms around her now as she was no longer looking at the bracelet and she immediately nodded. "Yeah?" I asked for verification, not anticipating her to say yes, I hadn't even planned on offering one to her anyhow. "Okay, let's see." I stopped in my tracks and tapped against my chin with my finger, wondering what bracelet I had handy that I was willing to part with. "What can we use?" I asked myself aloud as I looked to my side and saw my open bedroom door. I figured I could enter and look around for something bracelet worthy since I certainly didn't want to barge into someone else's bedroom and steal theirs. I walked in and saw my jewelry box Ash had given me and realized the only other bracelet I owned was my diamond one that Ash had also given to me on one of our dates. He loved to impress me with jewelry, which was easy to do since I'd never owned any jewelry myself before meeting him. I definitely didn't want to give her the diamond bracelet, no matter how much I loved her. Besides, there wouldn't be a separate one for me to share with her. I spun, looking around the room and spotted the entryway to my refresher, an idea creeping into my head. I stalked toward the open door and went straight to the top drawer and pulled it open, revealing numerous toiletries, along with hair ties. I had seen girls wearing them around their wrists before and thought perhaps, since I had plenty, I could give one to Ansa and I could wear one as well so that we'd match, just like her mother and I. I crouched down, setting Ansa on the floor and picked out two pink hair ties. "Here," I said, extending one to her as I held it in between my index finger and thumb. She held out her wrist for me to put it around and I did so, finding it endearing she couldn't do it herself. "We can have one together because we're friends, right?" I asked as I pulled the other rubber band around my wrist. She nodded enthusiastically and I excitedly held up my palm towards her for a high five, which she wound up for, rearing back her hand and giving me a good, firm slap on the palm. "Yeah!" I cheered and she collapsed into me for another hug. "Aww," I cooed, wrapping my arms around her. I felt a flood of adoration for her seep into my veins and wanted to assure her I'd always be there for her, even if I was millions of parsecs away physically. "I'll be your best friend," I murmured into her hair, stroking it softly. "You can always count on me," I promised. "I want you to remember that." I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from me so that I could see her eyes. She smiled at me, silently promising she'd never forget, and I stroked her cheek with the back of my finger. I don't know why or how I'd been so drawn to her in such a short amount of time, but there was something about her that was particularly charming. I picked her back up and decided to head the rest of the way to the playroom since I had made a promise that the rest of the kids had heard and were expecting me to follow through on. "Hey, everybody," I bumped the already partially cracked door with my hip so that it opened the rest of the way and saw all of the children, minus Ria, on the ground playing with toys that had been scattered all over the room. "How's it going in here?" I asked as they all looked up at me and I took a step farther inside. "Good," they responded simultaneously and resumed playtime. "That's good," I commented and noticed Ansa looking at Ria's dollhouse in the corner of the room that none of the other girls dared to touch since they knew how possessive of it Ria was, but for now, while she wasn't here, Ansa could safely play with it. "Do you want me to put you down?" I asked and she nodded reluctantly as if afraid to insult me. "Okay." I smiled, showing I was happy to do so and it inflicted no offense on my part. I complied with her wishes and set her down on the ground before she waddled over to the dollhouse. I sat down on the floor to watch her play when a blood curdling scream broke the peaceful atmosphere. Ansa scrambled back over to me, crawling across the floor to climb into my lap and cling to my chestplate with a death grip and burrow her face into my chest, her knees tucked up under her chin as they trembled. I looked over at Aaron and Apollo for possible explanation, although the scream was terrifying and did warrant such a reaction. The two boys though were huddled up next to each other, shaking and rocking themselves back and forth consolingly with their backs turned towards me. "It's okay, you're okay," I soothed as I stroked Ansa's silky hair. "You're safe," I promised her as I kissed the top of her head. "I'll go see what's wrong," I said, deciding to investigate and gingerly pulled Ansa away from me and wiped a frightened tear from her cheek as I picked her up and plopped her down on the floor beside me before standing up. I ran to the airfield, having a sinking feeling in my gut that the scream had come from Rebel since it was, unfortunately, a very familiar sound, a scream that was identical to my own. Even if the cry hadn't been issued from her, I needed Rex's assistance to either investigate or supervise the kids since they seemed severely rattled and the last place I'd seen Rex had been on the airfield. On my way, however, while frantically searching for potential babysitters if Rex couldn't be found, I spotted Benji's daughter, Ally. Oh, and another thing I forgot to mention, Benji joined the rebellion around the same time as Jacen. That's how Jacen came to us in the first place actually, he was best friends with Benji and had learned of the rebellion through him. It took a long time for the rebels to warm up to Benji since he was a former stormtrooper, but I vouched for him, being able to see how much he loved Rebel and how much she loved him. He was also the last person to be in contact with her that was on our side, I figured he carried the most information and if he had turned out to be a spy, I was confident we'd be able to easily overpower him. Ultimately, it was my decision as leader whether or not he was allowed to join us, probably one of the most controversial topics I've ever had to make a decision regarding. Eventually, under great protest from the rebels, Benji had been accepted into our little band of insurgents and his daughter along with him. Ally had aided greatly in Benji's quest to gain favor within the rebellion. She was such a friendly and responsible little girl, it also didn't hurt that she was cute as a button with her flowy light brown hair, freckled cheeks, and dimpled smile. The rebels figured that Ally had to have inherited at least half of that from her father, so he couldn't have been a monster. They also saw how gentle of a father he was to her and would have to assume his treatment towards her was indicative of his personality. As it turned out, Benji really didn't carry much information on Rebel anyway. He had been detained on Naboo by Palpatine the same as us, so he discovered later that Rebel had been kidnapped by Thrawn. As soon as he found out, he escaped and endeavored to find us. It took him nearly a year to do so, even with his best friend, Jacen's, expert detective help. "Ally," I crouched down in front of her, out of breath, and she looked eager to complete whatever task I had lined up for her. She had reminded me countless times before that she was available to babysit and willing to do so whenever necessary, but I had never taken her up on her offer before, dismissing it because I thought she was too young to handle four children at once, but now she appeared to be the only accessible babysitter. "Are you ready for your first babysitting job?" I asked hesitantly, especially since now there were three extra kids to look after. Her eyes widened and her smile fell, worrying me, making me think she was going to decline my proposition at first, but she must've just been shocked because she immediately accepted. "Yeah!" She cheered and nodded enthusiastically as she locked her fingers together underneath her chin and bit her lip excitedly. "Okay," I nodded, grateful her stance on babysitting hadn't changed. I didn't want to frighten her with the true reason I was leaving them in her care, so I told her a vague rendering of the truth. "I just need you to watch them for a few minutes while I go outside," I explained as I gestured with my thumb to the outer wall, withholding the fact that the reason I was going outside was because I'd heard a scream since it was superfluous information anyways. "Can you do that for me?" I asked, ensuring she was up to the task. "Yes, ma'am!" She straightened up responsibly and planted her feet together, positioning them so that they both faced straight forward, and held her chin high as she saluted to me. "Thank you," I said appreciatively and watched her weave around me to run to the playroom to begin her shift. I slowly turned my head back to facing forward as I stood up and saw Benji standing in front of me, looking teasingly appalled, with his hands propped up on his hips. "Oh, Benji!" I jumped back startledly and clutched my chest. "You're here too," I said mostly to myself as a late warning of his arrival. While looking down at him since he was slightly shorter than I, I thought perhaps he could be useful since he didn't seem to be occupied at the moment if he had time to spook me. "You can help her keep an eye on them." I pointed at him, understanding she might be grateful for the assistance since I knew they could be quite the hassle altogether, it would certainly ease my mind as well. "I know it's a lot for a first job," I said through an embarrassed chuckle at my childrens' combined misbehavior whereas Ally was a gem. "Yeah," he said, scoffing as he crossed his arms. "And you were about to hire my daughter without asking me first." He pointed a disapproving finger at me while shaking his head shamefully. "I'm sorry," I apologized, aware that he was joking. "I just heard a scream and wanted to get over there fast," I blurted out without thinking, in need of a quick excuse as to why I was rushing and hadn't prepared a more formal hiring process and didn't have a witty response lined up for him either. "It's fine." He smiled and brushed off the comment with a wave of his hand before restoring it to his hip. He didn't appear to be phased by my excuse in the slightest since he didn't move out of my way, either because he didn't hear me or he was just used to Wrecker's constant yelping due to his spillage of something or other and concluded the shriek had come from him. I cleared my throat awkwardly and rocked back and forth on my heels, tapping the tops of my thighs with my hands anxiously, not wanting to be impolite and dart away, but also wanting to check on Rebel. Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that Benji might be interested in her whereabouts as well and knowledge of her presence might motivate him to unobstruct my pathway to her. "Guess who's here," I prompted as I jutted my chin out towards him, hoping that his infatuation with her hadn't faded by now and simply been a crush as he gave me an ignorant look and shrugged. They hadn't seen each other in nearly three years, perhaps the attraction would've fizzled out by now, but I'd set the bar high, I'd need to continue with my first instinct of chalking the person up to being someone he cared about a great deal. I bit my lip in an excited manner and wiggled my eyebrows up and down, giving him a knowing smile, attempting to transmit a secret message. Finally, after displaying a great deal of confusion on his face, it seemed to click as I saw his eyes widen and the color drain from his face. "No." He shook his head slowly. I was puzzled by his rejection of my statement, but perhaps he was only reacting out of denial to temper his enthusiasm. "No way." He further refused to believe it as his smile grew wider and I nodded harder. "No!" He exclaimed, squinting at me to detect any traces of falsehood, although there were none, which he could tell, and the fact only made him smile brighter. "Oh my force, Rue!" He shoved me backwards by my shoulders with his hands and I stumbled, but quickly regained my balance with no help from him, and massaged my possibly bruised shoulder with my hand. Too excited to notice my aching, he continued to exert his anxiety over seeing her again on me. "Are you serious?!" He asked me, pushing me backwards again, this time with even greater force. "Dead serious," I said through a chuckle at the amount of energy he had bundled up inside of him at the prospect of seeing her again, so much energy he needed to expend a portion of it on shoving me. "She's here right now," I informed him as I pointed to the place I'd last left her, on the airfield, and rolled my shoulder in case he'd somehow dislocated it. His jaw gaped open in surprise and he whipped his head around in search of her. "She doesn't know you're here though," I said quickly so that he wouldn't waste time looking for her when she wasn't even in pursuit of him. Also, since she had no knowledge of his presence here, I received an idea that would benefit me by getting Benji out of my way and, at the same time, benefit Benji by providing him with more time to prepare before interacting with her and orchestrate a grand reveal.