Office hours [all day]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was in his office--which he'd carefully sterilized by removing family photos, just in case he had a certain visitor--putting together a new radio.

Um. No reason.

The door was open, and Anakin certainly wasn't plotting anything that would involve Leia, and a giant nunnery with a tower that she wouldn't be able to leave until she was 45. Really.

Comments

[solo_sword]

"I could talk to him, if you want," she offered. "I've been scarily rational so far." Well. Okay there was that one day. But other than that.

[sith_happened]

"It is a little unnerving," Anakin admitted.

[solo_sword]

"I think the John stuff really made me change the way I have to react to things," Jaina explained. "Hit it with logic until you can deal, and move on. It helps at times like now, when I'd like to not spend my last semester here going slowly crazier from the effects of an AU Mom."

[sith_happened]

"I hit my limit on crazy a few semesters back," Anakin replied with a wry smile, "so this is going to take me a bit of time."

[solo_sword]

"I can see the end in sight," she said. "So I'm at the point now where I just want to plow through all the weirdness. There's probably more waiting for me after graduation, but I'll get there when I get there."

Seriously, of anyone to get senioritis, it had to be Jaina?

[sith_happened]

Oh look, another sore spot that Anakin didn't want to think about!

He pursed his lips. "I have to take a bit of a longer view since I live here."

[solo_sword]

"But for every thing that's initially weird, it gets easier, right? I mean, I remember yelling at you when I first met you and now here we are," she said. "I'm sure tiny Mom'll come around."

Yes, she was calling her tiny Mom. It was all Mara's fault.

[sith_happened]

"Yes, but you knew how my story ended," Anakin replied. "Leia is going to be different."

[solo_sword]

"True. I'm not saying it won't be rough." Which was probably not that reassuring, but she couldn't exactly sugar coat it. Her Leia had taken years to get over her daddy issues. The Solo kids almost hadn't existed because of them, in fact. But she did get over it.

[sith_happened]

"I didn't know you had such a gift for understatement," Anakin commented. "If I end with any Leia who still wants to talk to me, I'll be absolutely thrilled."

[solo_sword]

"I have told you mine's over her issues, right?" Jaina said. "It is possible."

[sith_happened]

"Yours lost a son," Anakin said quietly. "I'd imagine she's had more pressing issues."

[solo_sword]

"She was over it long before that. She just had to deal with things on her own time," she pointed out. "Just remember what you had to go through with me. Don't push too hard, let her react how she's going to react. Don't make it harder than it needs to be." It'd be hard enough, wow.

[sith_happened]

"I haven't been able to pin down when she's from," he replied, "to guess how much time I have."

[solo_sword]

"Apparently she's Tahiri's age, so about sixteen. She's got two years till the Death Star." Which probably wasn't the best way to phase it, but that was where everything started. Besides, it was better than saying 'two years till Alderaan.'

[sith_happened]

He winced ever so slightly, but nodded. "Hopefully she'll miss running into Katarn," he said.

[solo_sword]

"I didn't even think about that," Jaina admitted. "I feel like I should stop wondering whether I have time to run interference there."

[sith_happened]

"Think he'd recognize the dangers of telling someone about their future?" Anakin asked hopefully.

[solo_sword]

"He might. I've slipped and called him Master Katarn before and he told me not to because he's not one yet," she said. "So I'm sure he recognizes that. The Rebellion shouldn't even be started yet there."

[sith_happened]

Anakin wiggled his hand in an "ehh" gesture. "Perhaps nothing official, but there were starting to be rumors," he said.

[solo_sword]

"Well, yeah, you guys were a bit on the tyrranical side and people wouldn't stand for it," Jaina said flatly. "But it was all just independent cells. The Rebellion as you know it wasn't really anything until everyone came together to make it official."

And then, you know, Vader started arresting everybody and almost killed the whole thing immediately. Details.

[sith_happened]

Not that he was exactly ready to cop to his part in its formation, no.

"I was really hoping not to have to relive this part of history," he admitted.

[solo_sword]

"Looks like you're going to have to," Jaina said, though there was some sympathy there.

[sith_happened]

"Alderaan is going to go," he said, staring at his hands. "Again."

[solo_sword]

"Yeah," she nodded. When she'd just talked about the rebuilding of Coruscant to Menolly, it was starting to sink in just how bad her mom's life sucked. By Jaina's time she'd lost her entire adoptive family, a son, and two homeplanets. And yet she never complained. It was admirable. "I don't think there's a way to change it, from what I do know. But maybe there's a way to prepare her."