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Carth Onasi chuckled softly as he watched his son Dustil wrestle on the floor with his three year old baby sister. Aeryn Onasi was on top of her brother, pinning him down to the lush carpet.

These were the moments that Carth loved the most; spending time with his children. Being the Admiral of the a Republic Fleet didn’t leave him much time to spend with them, so he cherished every moment. The moment was almost perfect.

[i]

There was only one thing missing…[/i]

“I win!” the toddler giggled happily, throwing her arms up in the air triumphantly, shaking Carth from his thoughts.

Dustil grinned up at her mischieviously. “Oh yeah? Haven’t you ever heard of the Telsoian Tickle Monster?”

Aeryn raised her eyebrows. “A monster?”

Her older brother nodded. “Yeah. He sneaks up on unsuspecting three year olds after beating up their brothers.”

The little girl jumped off her brother quickly, only to have Dustil tackle her and began tickling her mercilessly. Aeryn shrieked, laughing hysterically. “Daddy!” she called out between fits of laughter. “Help me!”

Carth laughed. “Oh no, I’m not getting into this. You’re on your own, Princess.”

Dustil cackled evilly as he continued to torture his baby sister. “There is no escaping the Telosian Tickle Monster!”

Carth watched the scene before him for a few more minutes, and decided that Aeryn had probably had enough. Her little face was bright red from the laughter and drenched in tears. He stood up and headed towards the kitchen. “Okay, you two. All this rough-housing has probably made you hungry by now. Let’s go eat.”

Dustil nodded and scooped Aeryn up in his arms and hoisted her up on his shoulders. The toddler giggled as she clung to her brother’s neck tightly as he carried her into the kitchen after Carth.

The Admiral began to reheat the left-overs from the dinner Mission Vao had made for them the previous night. Carth had never been much of a cook, so the young twi’lek stopped by periodically to make dinner for him and Aeryn. His previous wife, Morgana had always done the cooking when Dustil was little. And…

[i]She[/i] had always done most the cooking…before she left.

Carth shook his head, feeling his mood begin to darken. He didn’t want to think about that right now. He just wanted to relax and enjoy the time spent with his family.

Dustil knelt down to allow Aeryn to jump off his back and into one of the kitchen chairs. “Need any help, Father?”

“That’s okay, son. Just relax.”

He nodded. “Just don’t burn the kitchen down.”

“I’ll do my best.”

**********

After lunch, the three sat in comfortable silence, letting their food settle. Aeryn began poking at some of the vegetables with her fork.

“Aery, don’t play with your food,” Carth scolded, picking up her plate, along with his and Dustil’s and put them in the sterilizing unit.

“Can I go outside?” the little girl asked, sliding out of her seat.

Carth gave his daughter a stern look. “You know that it’s time for your nap after lunch.”

Aeryn pouted. “But I’m not sleepy,”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not, Daddy. I promise. I wanna play with Dusty.”

Carth sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Aeryn…”

Dustil couldn’t help but notice how exhausted his father looked. He could tell how much his father had aged over the past four years. Physically, he was still in top condition. But emotionally, he was a wreck. After the events on the Star Forge and becoming a single parent had taken its toll on the forty-two year old Admiral.

He stood up from his seat and knelt in front of his baby sister. “Tell ya what, Aeryn. If you’ll go take your nap, I’ll come tuck you in and read you a story. And when you wake up, we’ll play some more. How’s that?”

Aeryn looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Promise?”

Smiling, Dustil nodded. “I promise.” He picked her up once again and carried her towards her room.

Carth came over to them and placed a kiss on top of Aeryn’s forehead. “Sweet dreams, Princess,” he whispered, then gave Dustil a grateful smile. “Thanks, son.”

Dustil carried the little girl to her bedroom and placed her carefully on the bed, pulling the covers over her. “Now, what story would you like to hear?”

Aeryn ran her index finger in a circular motion. “Can I ask you a question, Dusty?”

He sat down next to her. “Of course. What do you want to know?”

She looked up at him, her bright blue eyes staring intensely at him. “You’re my brother, right?”

Dustil nodded.

“How?”

The young man frowned, confused. “How what?”

“How are you my brother?”

Dustil brushed a black tendril off of his sister’s face. “Your dad is my dad, too.”

“What about your mommy? Is she my mommy, too?”

Dustil felt his throat tighten. He really hoped this conversation wasn’t headed where he thought it might. “No, I had a different mom. She…she passed away several years ago.”

Aeryn looked down at her blankets. “Do I have a mommy?”

Her brother closed his eyes. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having at this point. Aeryn was still far too young to know the truth. “Where did these questions come from, Aery?”

The little girl shrugged. “At my daycare, I see all of these mommies and daddies bringing my friends there after daddy drops me off. Everyone asks me where my mommy is and why she never comes with us.” she paused and snuggled down onto her pillow.

So that’s where this was coming from. “You…you have a mommy.”

Her bright eyes suddenly beamed happily. “I do? Where is she?”

“I…” Dustil started, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know, Aeryn.”

“Does my daddy know where she is? Maybe she can take me to daycare tomorrow!”

Dustil sighed. “I don’t think that’s going to be possible, Aery.”

Aeryn nodded, but didn’t comment. “I’ve also been having bad dreams.”

“What kind of bad dreams?” Dustil asked, feeling dread creep in.

“I’m in this really dark place. It’s really scary. I keep walking around, looking for my mommy and daddy, but I can’t find them. There’s all of these monsters around and people asleep on the floor. I think they’re asleep. They won’t move, so I have to step over them. They smell really bad and some of them don’t have arms or legs. Then I hear someone screaming,” she said quietly. “And for some reason, in my dream, I think it’s my mommy. I…I try to run to save her, like daddy would, but I can’t find her.”

Dustil closed his eyes. “Have you told Father about these dreams?”

The little girl shook her head, her black curls incircling her face. “No, I’m scared to tell him.”

“Why?”

She looked up at her brother, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t want to scare him.” Instead of continuing, she pulled the covers around her tighter. “I’m gonna sleep now. You’ll still be here when I get up?”

Dustil nodded and kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room, closing the door silently behind him, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. He needed to tell his father about what had just taken place.

Walking towards the livingroom, he found Carth laying down on the couch, his arm laid heavily over his eyes. Hearing footsteps, he lifted his arm and smiled as Dustil walked into the room. “Hey son, thanks for putting Aeryn to sleep for me.”

Dustil sat down on the sofa opposite of his father and nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”

He looked over at his father. He knew he should relay what had just happened to him, but was afraid of stressing the old man out even more than he already was. But it had to be done. “Uh, Father?”

“Yeah, son?”

“Aeryn asked me about Revan.”

This caught Carth’s attention. He groaned as he sat up, feeling his exhaustion crash over him. “What did she say?”

“I didn’t tell her anything.”

“What did she say, Dustil?” Carth repeated, his voice lowering to just above a whisper.

His son took a deep breath. “First she started by asking me how I was her brother. I tried to just tell her that we shared the same father,” he laughed a little. “But the kid is too smart for her own good.”

Carth snorted. “Tell me about it.”

“Then she asked me about Mother and if she was her mom too.”

Leaning back against the sofa, Carth closed his eyes and sighed. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dustil. She doesn’t know any better.”

Dustil shook his head. “No, Father, it’s okay. But then she started saying how all of the kids at her daycare are asking her why only her dad is dropping her off and not both her parents.”

The Admiral rubbed his hand over his eyes. “I should have known this would come sooner or later,” he sighed and sat forward, clutching his hands together and resting them on his knees. “I guess I should talk to Jolee about this and see what I should do.”

“There’s one more thing, Father. She’s having nightmares about her.”

As Dustil began to tell his father about the dreams, Carth felt his heart begin to pound. The nightmares were an all too familiar scene. Revan always had reoccuring nightmares during their adventures on the Ebon Hawk, and they ran onto until several months after they were married.

Then…she left.

When Dustil finished, he cleared his throat. “She needs a mom, Father.”

Carth frowned. “She has a mother, Dustil.”

“Not one that’s around!” his son exclaimed, his voice rising. “Almost as soon as Aeryn was born, she took off without so much as a goodbye to you, or her! It’s not fair to her, Father, and it’s sure as hell not fair to you!”

“Dustil…” Carth pleaded with his son, feeling his anger rise and trying to keep it in check.

“Father, you’re exhausted, you could barely keep your eyes open during lunch. You can’t even make yourself dinner. You have to have Mission come over just to give you and Aeryn a decent dinner! My sister needs a mother and you need a wife that cares enough about you that won’t leave in the middle of the night and who’s not an ex Sith Lo-”

Carth’s anger got the better of him. Before he knew what he was doing, he was on his feet and pinning his son against the wall. “Don’t you[i] ever [/i]talk about her that way! You don’t know her!” His face was directly in front of Dustil’s, glaring at him, and his teeth clenched so tightly together they felt like they might shatter. “I made a promise to Revan that I would wait for her to return, to protect the Republic and our daughter. I love her and I’m going to live up to my promises.”

Dustil looked at his father in astonishment. “I…I’m sorry, Father. It’s none of my business.” he gently released himself from his father’s grasp and headed for the door. “I should be going anyway. Tell Aeryn I’m sorry that I won’t be here when she wakes up.” he looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry, Father.”

Carth placed his shaky hand against the wall for support. “So am I, son.”

As soon as he heard the door close, Carth headed towards his daughter’s bedroom. He quietly opened the door only to find Aeryn sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her face.

“Hey, Princess. You’re supposed to be sleeping.” he said softly, closing the door behind him and setting down on the bed next to his daughter and pulled her into his lap. He gently brushed the tears off of her face with his thumb. “What’s wrong, beautiful? Did you have another bad dream?”

Aeryn sniffled and curled up in her father’s lap, snuggling her head against his chest. “Dusty told you?”

Carth nodded.

“I heard you and Dusty yelling at each other.” she said sadly. “Did he leave?”

Again, Carth nodded. “I’m sorry we woke up, Princess.” he sighed and wrapped his arms around his baby girl. “I guess there’s some things we need to talk about.”

**********

That night, after Carth tucked Aeryn into bed, he headed into his bedroom and headed for his desk. He stared at all of the paper work he had to have done by the end of the week, wondering how the hell he was going to get through it all.

Deciding that he couldn’t get focused on it tonight, he reached for his commlink and turned it on.

The image that appeared was blurry, but he could still see the details of the beautiful face looking back at him.

“Hey there, flyboy. I was just thinking about you.”

The smile that Revan gave him immediately lifted his spirits. “Hey yourself, gorgeous.”

“How’s the most handsome Admiral in the galaxy?”

“He’s missing the most beautiful woman in the galaxy. Wishing that she were sharing his bed with him tonight.” he gave her the lop-sided grin that droze her crazy, and he knew it.

Revan smiled sadly. “I wish I were there, too.” she paused. “How’s my little girl?”

“Frustrating, just like her mother,” he chuckled, but then turned serious. “She misses you.”

Revan lowered her head. “I miss her, too.”

“She’s getting so big, so fast, Rev.” he lowered his voice. “She’s just as beautiful as you are.”

Revan smiled. “I can’t wait to be able to see her.”

“Can’t you come home yet?” Carth felt his throat tighten and he fought to keep himself from crying.

“Soon, Carth. I promise. I just have a few more things to take care of out here.” Revan whispered softly. Carth could hear tears in her voice as well. He knew how desperately she wanted to come home and become a family again.

Carth began to tell her of the events that happened earlier. “She needs you, Rev,” he paused and looked into her eyes. “I need you. I can’t keep doing this alone.”

Revan’s image reached over and touched Carth’s cheek. “Soon, my love. I promise you.”

Carth found himself about to lean in to kiss her, when he remembered that it wasn’t really Revan. Before he could say anything more, a little voice cried out for him.

“Daddy!”

Carth turned back to Revan. “I have to go, beautiful.”

Revan nodded sadly. “As do I. I love you, flyboy. And I promise, I’ll be home soon.”

“Not soon enough,” Carth replied, letting a tear escape and slide down his cheek. “I love you, Revan.”

Revan waved to him before the image slowly dissolved into darkness. Carth took a deep breath and wiped his face before heading to tend to their daughter.

As much as he wanted to have Revan home, he knew that until then he would have to stay strong for Aeryn. He promised Revan that he would, and he could be damned if he would break that promise.

“Coming, Princess.” he called out as he shut down his commlink.

[i]

Come home, soon, beautiful.[/i]

This entry was posted on Monday, January 15th, 2007 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Carth Onasi, Knights of the Old Republic, Revan (Female/Light Side), Star Wars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.