The night air was thick. It always was on Tatooine. Jade walked side by side with Leia Organa Solo, thinking, What in the hell am I doing back here? as he walked briskly, trying to keep up with Leia. He turned his head inches to his right and saw her eager face. That's why, he thought sullenly. It had been a while since Leia had had enough time to get away from Coruscant to see her children, and here they were. Why they had chosen Tatooine to meet, he would never know. He also had no idea how much his life would change after that night. For the better.

Jade walked in first, eyeing the wretched hive carefully before leaning his head out the door and telling Leia, "Well, they're all armed in some way, but they don't look too hostile."

"Is that the best I'm going to do?" Leia asked in return.

"Ummm... yes," Jade answered blatantly. He always did have a way with words.

Leia sighed. "Okay." She walked in, scanned the filthy Cantina and then smiled warmly as she saw Jacen, Jaina and Anakin sitting at a table, waiting for their mother. She approached the table, Jade, one of her most dedicated bodyguards, at her side, wearing his usual stern face. Come to think of it, Leia hadn't really seen him smile or laugh or do anything normal. Odd... She quickly put the thought out of her mind. Right now she just wanted to be with her children. Han couldn't make it, but this was still wonderful.

She gave them all a hug and a quick kiss and then sat across from them. Jade stood, ever vigilant, at the table, hands behind his back in a very military fashion. Dangling from his right side was a lightsaber handle, but Jaina had cleverly observed a small bulge on his right side of his chest. She guessed it was a blaster stuck into a chest holster. She didn't know who he was, just that he seemed like one of those typical gung-ho military guys. Long on patriotism, short on emotions.

They talked for a while, before Jaina pointed to Jade and whispered to her mother "Mom, who's he?" Leia followed her daughters finger and nodded.

"His name is Logan DeKoma. Colonel Logan DeKoma. Everyone calls him Jade though. He says it's because of his eyes. I don't buy that, but I don't bother arguing. He's one of the best bodyguards I have. Totally devoted and willing to take a blaster bolt to the head to save me." Leia said in a hushed tone, not wanting to attract her favorite bodyguards attention.

Jaina looked at him and couldn't help but smile. "Loyalty like that is hard to find, Mom." she said, turning back to face her mother.

Leia smiled. "Jade?"

Jade turned, somewhat startled. "Yes, Madame Solo?"

She couldn't help smiling. "Jade, I told you to call me Leia. I want to introduce you to my family." she said, indicating her three children.

Jade nodded, smiled warmly, and said, "Hello. I didn't think I have to bother introducing myself, since Leia has already told you my name and such." He glanced at Leia.

"What? How did you.... I thought that you couldn't hear us!" she exclaimed, somewhat startled he had overheard the hushed conversation.

He half grinned and looked over the rim of his sunglasses. "Please... Leia, you know it's my duty to hear, see, smell, feel, and sometimes... taste everything around you. I've developed a keen ear since I signed on as your bodyguard."

She cleared her throat and nodded, still shocked his hearing was that good. She continued, motioning to Jacen first. "This is Jacen, my eldest son."

Jacen rose from the table, hand outstretched. "Hello Jade. Master Jacen Solo. Pleasure to meet you." Jaina couldn't help rolling her eyes when he called himself Master Solo. Jade glanced at Jaina and stifled a laugh. Jacen apparently didn't notice. Jade reached out and shook his hand.

"This is my youngest son Anakin. I'm sure you know who Han and I named him after," Leia continued, this time moving just a little to her left, to where Anakin was sitting.

"Of course. The late Anakin Skywalker. A fine man before his falling to the Sith. Pleasure to meet you Anakin." Jade said, leaning over with one hand outstretched, the other still behind his back.

Anakin shook his hand briefly. "Likewise, Jade. And please, call me Kinkin. Everyone else does, except during formal gatherings." He looked around the Cantina and motioned with his arms outstretched. "And as you can see, this is hardly formal." Jade laughed a little and nodded.

Leia moved her hand once more to the left. She motioned to Jaina, who seemed to light up the Cantina with her stunning beauty. "This is my oldest child, Jaina Solo."

Jade nodded and smiled warmly. Jaina offered to shake his hand, but, being the gentlemen that he was, he couldn't resist taking her soft hand and kissing it charmingly. "A pleasure to meet you, Jaina." Jaina's mouth quirked, and for a split second, she blushed.

"Uh, nice to meet you too, Jade. Any friend of Mom's is a friend of mine." she returned, more than a little nervous with the situation. Jade sensed her nervousness and released her hand. She smiled again and they all returned to their conversation. He turned, felt a thin smile cross his usually stony face and then forced it back, keeping a stealthy eye on the strange crowd.

After perhaps an hour, or maybe an hour and a half, Leia stood and stretched. "Jade, I'm ready to go. We should head back to Coruscant before the Senate falls apart." she smiled. He began to walk with her out the door when he heard Jaina mumble something to Jacen. He turned, somewhat surprised. "Jaina... if I may call you Jaina, I play Sabacc."

Jaina, looked at him startled. She apparently had forgotten about his exceptional hearing. She looked at mom, then at Jade. "Can I mom?" she asked imploringly.

Leia looked at Jade, then at Jaina and shrugged. "Sure honey, if you want. I can make it back to Coruscant on my own." she said. She turned to Jade and jokingly remarked, "You behave yourself flyboy." Yea right, Leia thought walking out of the Cantina, he's about as sociable as a corpse.

"Of course Leia," he replied, serious as ever. She laughed and walked out of the Cantina with Jacen and Kinkin. Jade looked at Jaina and motioned for her to follow him. He had a small place of his own here, that he used when he came to Tattoine, which, granted, wasn't very often.

Jaina followed him closely, not wanting to be left alone in the streets of the Mos Eisley spaceport. Oh sure, she was a lot tougher than she looked, but who would want to take on a wretched hive of scum and villiany by themselves? They finally reached the stone building, and he opened the door.

The room was bare except a table, two chairs, what appeared to be a very uncomfortable cot and a tiny refresher in the back. Jaina frowned, sensing this may be somewhat dull. Sabacc was fun, but it was more fun when your host would show just a hint of emotions once in a while. Jade was too serious for his own good.

He pulled out a chair for her and she nodded to him in acknowledgement. He smiled warmly and sat across from her. He reached into a trunk that she had not noticed before and produced a deck of cards. He looked at her and asked, "What rules Jaina? You're the guest, so it's your call."

"Corellian," she remarked almost instantly, as if she were going to say that anyway.

Jade nodded and smiled. "My favorite style." He shuffled the cards and dealt quickly, almost professionally. Jaina picked up her cards and bit her lip immediately. Jade couldn't help but grin slightly. It appeared he might have already picked up on a quirk of hers. He wouldn't truly know until later in the game, though.

The game progressed quickly. They rolled, had to shift and Jade shuffled the two shifting cards. He dealt one back to himself and to her, then noticed the card he had dealt was the same. Maybe she had the same as him. Either way, he was stuck with a seven of staves. Finally, they came to the calling phase. Jade slyly layed his cards down. It wasn't a bad hand, but Jaina's destroyed it; an Idiot's Array to his nineteen. Jade smiled at her and pushed the pot across the table. She gleefully accepted it and poured the credits onto her side of the table.

This time she dealt. Jade smiled at her halfway through the game, a thinly veiled flirt. Jaina smiled nervously in return. The game finally came to the calling phase and Jaina, once again, took the pot. Jade winced as he tossed in the ante for the next game. If this luck kept up, this would be his last game for the night. He couldn't see Jaina smiling but he knew she was. He looked up, saw her smile briefly and then saw her smile disappear and her face turn back to the cards.

He shrugged and examined the four cards he held. The game went on with Jaina shooting him a nervous smile on occassion and him returning a warm flirty grin. Finally, the game came to a close. Jaina revealed her hand and leaned back in her chair whistling, proud of her ensuing victory. Jade couldn't help but snicker as he laid his hand out on the table. She stared in disbelief. He had actually won! She stared at the cards, adding and re-adding the totals for what seemed like minutes, Jade watching her intently, trying to hold back hysterical laughter the whole time.

Jaina finally sat back in her chair and pushed the pot to him. She was obviously upset. He emptied the winnings to his side of the table and then looked at her quizically. She looked up. He couldn't help himself. He leaned across the table and kissed her softly on the lips. She was stunned. "Better now?" he asked slyly.

She couldn't help but smile. "A... a little." He was pleased. For a while, they talked. She told him about a few things that had happened recently and about her childhood. Jade managed to speak to her about the painful memories of living on Alderaan and getting off-planet only a single day before it was blown to bits by the first Death Star. Jaina was stunned and apologized later for bringing it up when she realized how much it hurt him to talk about it.

Finally, the night drew to a close. He walked her to her ship, a smaller YT-1300 Stock Light Freighter called the "SoloSaber". He kissed her once again and made brief small talk about how nice it was to meet her and how much he enjoyed the game before she agreed with everything he said and closed the ramp. He started the lonely walk back to his stone dwelling, and in the distance the ship took off. He watched as the running lights disappeared into the stars. He would definitely have to see her again.

"This is Jaina Solo,of the SoloSaber requesting permission for the planetary shield to be de-activated so I may land." Jaina's voice echoed over the Comm.

Wedge Antilles sat behind the Com and grinned a wide Corellian grin. He hadn't heard her voice in a long time. "Howdy, Jaina. This is Wedge. I'm de-activating the shield and feeding landing coordinates to your Navicomp. Enjoy your stay on Coruscant," he drawled as he entered the proper clearance for the shield to be de-activated.

"Sure thing Wedge, I always do." She punched the coordinates into her nav computer. Minutes later, the whine of repulsorlifts cut off. The slender ramp of the SoloSaber slid open to reveal her smiling mother and father, waiting for her in Landing Bay 6. She smiled and rushed down the ramp, giving them both a long hug. "Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" she said, still hugging them. Then she stood back, her eyes widening. Behind them stood the one and only Jade, decked out in his standard civilian clothes, trying to look inconspicuous. It wasn't working at all. She smiled and he turned, saw her and grinned.

"Hello Jaina," he said deeply. Jaina knew he must be in his late 30's, maybe even early 40's. Still, something about him was ... attractive to her. Maybe his stunning professionalism. Maybe his charm or skill at sabacc. She wasn't really sure. But something was there, and she couldn't ignore it. Then again, there was Zekk. She winced inwardly. Great, she thought, this is all I need right now. Someone else to think about.

She had to wonder how he beat her to Coruscant, especially with a day's late start. She didn't really care. Then Jacen and Kinkin interrupted her thoughts,running into the landing bay. For a while, the family regrouped and then Jade escorted them down the halls of the Imperial Palace. He wasn't one for subtlety, that was for sure. He walked in front of them, eyeing all of the others in the hall with a BlastTech E-13 Model Heavy Blaster Pistol in his left hand, and his saber hilt in his right. His stride had a good, military style rhythym to it. His boots made a hollow clomp sound on the metal floors. His face was, as usual, stone cold. All others were silent during their trek down the hall.

Finally, as the last of the Solo family reached their quarters, he bid Jaina farewell with a brief kiss. He wouldn't see her for days since he was busy working. Jaina later found out he was also an accomplished pilot, Jedi Master and a TacGen. His resume was quite impressive. She liked him as a friend. He was a wee bit uptight, but very sweet to everyone, despite his hateful demeanor. Looks could be decieving.

Jade didn't feel the same way about her. She was intelligent, sweet and radiantly beautiful. She was young for him, sure, but at the time Han and Leia met, there had also been a large difference in their age, and look how they had turned out. He definitely had to see Jaina again.

Several days later, after consulting with Leia, Han, Jacen, Kinkin and Luke to get their permission, he worked up the nerve to ask her on a date. She answered the door, in a long gown that made her look even more lovely in the hall. They talked between the door frame for a moment and she invited him in. He complied and sat uneasily on the couch in her room. It was comfortable, but for some reason, he wasn't. He had wondered what became of the "duty first, feelings second" Jade he used to be. He grinned inside. Maybe this was the start of something better. Little did he know, it was.

It was Jaina's birthday and Jade was no longer the man he was. He was happy, sweet, loving and showed emotions everyday. Jaina and he had been together for a while now and he was feeling confident about what would happen later that day. He examined the Corusca ring with the orange gem in it and smiled. An engagement ring. Made from parts of his own saber. He had taken the gem out and shaved bits off the handle of his saber and welded them into a gorgeous base for the ring. He was no professional, but the ring was.

Jaina entered the room and startled him. He slyly drop the ring into his pocket. She never noticed. "Honey, let's go for a walk in the jungle," he said, standing and taking her hand. She grinned at him and followed. Halfway into their walk, he stopped. "Jaina, I have two birthday presents for you. Here's the first," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the shimmering ring.

Jaina gasped and took it. She smiled kissed him. "It's... it's so beautiful Jade. I love it. I'll wear it always," she pledged as he slipped it onto her left ring finger. He explained the significance of the components of the ring and she looked at him wide-eyed. "Jade, that's so sweet. I love it even more then before," she took him into a long embrace.

"Now, here's the secon...ahhhh..." he groaned, dropping to one knee and clutching his abdomen.

"What? What's wrong honey?" she asked, trying to help him up. He wouldn't move. Suddenly, he looked into her beautiful brandy-brown eyes dreamily.

"Jaina Solo, I've loved you since the first day I've met you. I want to make sure those feelings continue forever. Will you marry me?" he asked in a soft, soothing voice. She was stunned. Part of her wanted to marry him and the other part was screaming a definite NO!!! ... she wasn't sure what to do. She bit her lip and looked at him. "Yes?" he said, hoping she wasn't thinking what he feared she was.

"Jade... I... I don't know about this. I mean... I'm only just 18. I... I... give me one day to think about it. Please..." she implored. He was a little depressed. He stood took both her hands into his and kissed her. He pulled away and forced a smile.

"One day..." he said, holding up a finger jokingly. She nodded and they walked backto the Great Temple in silence, the only noise being the jungle.

Jade straightened his clothing and entered Jaina's and his quarters (they had been rooming together and sleeping in one bed since they got to Yavin IV, though nothing sexual had happened between them). Jaina was sitting on the edge of the bed, hands in her lap. She noticed him enter and stood. She kissed him lightly and led him over to a small couch. She sat facing him. "Jade, I've decided..." she started.

"Yes?" he prodded, more than a little impatient.

"I will say yes to getting engaged, and then we'll take it from there." she said, smiling. He closed his eyes and smiled. Jade opened his clear green eyes and looked at hers, tears welling up.

"Thank you," he whispered to her as he hugged her tightly. She pulled away, smiled, then kissed him passionately. He grinned after they had stopped kissing and looked deep into her eyes. "I love you Jaina." he said. She hadn't been able to say that she loved him yet and he didn't expect her to. He didn't need her to say it anyway. She showed him in her own way, every single day.

She looked at him and smiled. "I love you too, Jade." He laughed, elated, and hugged her tightly again, tears streaking his face. He felt reborn, like his life was just beginning on that day. Maybe his life wasn't beginning, but a new part of it was. He was thrilled. Beyond thrilled. There was no word for it, but he didn't care. As long as he had Jaina by his side, he'd have plenty of time to think one up.

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