Star Wars EU Ships and One-Shots

Don't Tick Me Off

A.N.: Okay, let's pretend that Jacen didn't use that Force trick to erase Ben's memory of learning Tenel Ka's daughter was also Jacen's. Let's pretend that Jacen cared too much for the boy to do that to him . . . So he bribes Ben not to tell anyone. That works just fine. Until . . .

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  "I can't!" Ben yelled again, fuming where he stood.
  Since taking on Ben as an apprentice, Jacen had quickly come to realize that he struggled with children. He loved holding Allana whenever he managed visits to Hapes, but Ben . . . Ben was too much.  The two cousins got along fine. In fact, they were very close, but Ben could grow impatient very quickly and fits usually ensued. Today's had to be the worst in a long time.
  Jacen put a hand to his forehead and sighed, taking a deep breath before confronting the angry child. "Yes, Ben. Yes, you can. I know you can because I've seen you do things more difficult before. You just need to calm down and try again. Now, relax, focus on your surroundings, focus on the Force. Try it again."
  "I thought there was no try," Ben pointed out, fiercely crossing his arms and stomping closer to Jacen.
  "You're right," Jacen agreed, now at the point where he would agree to anything Ben said if it got him to calm down. "There is no try. Only do or do not. Soo . . . do it. Now."
  Furious, Ben shook his head, pointing to the monkey lizard sitting on the ground. "It doesn't just work like that! I tri- I mean, I worked on it and I kept doing it, but it didn't work!"
  "That's because you're not focusing, Ben! You're letting your anger control you."
  Ben let out a loud hmph! and stormed out the door, leaving the monkey lizard in the practice room with Jacen. Jacen thumbed his comm and waited for his uncle to pick up. "Our lessons will be ending early, today," he told Luke. "Things got . . . heated."
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  Ben was tired with trying to make Jacen not feel the monkey anymore. He'd tried so hard like he always did. He didn't want to disappoint Jacen, but it wasn't working and Ben was too frustrated to give his full effort. He was mad at Jacen for yelling at him, even madder that he was now being punished for leaving his Jedi lessons early.
  He looked across his room and out the door to where his parents were talking with his aunt and uncle. He knew his parents had already been planning on leaving for the night. The other Masters were going to hold a meeting with them over something Ben didn't understand what it meant. That meant Uncle Han and Aunt Leia were going to babysit him tonight. From past experience, he knew that didn't mean getting off the hook with his punishment. Aunt Leia was fair and if Dad had told her Ben wasn't supposed to eat cake or stay up late because he'd done something . . . Leia wouldn't fall for the Poor Nephew Look or any other pout Ben could invent.
  His parents left and Han and Leia slowly turned to face him. "So," Leia entered his room and kneeled beside his bed. "I heard you got upset with Jacen today."
  "I was trying really hard!" Ben cut straight to his own defense. "But Jacen kept yelling at me!"
  "I'm sure he didn't want to yell at you. Maybe, you could have stopped yelling, too?"
  "Jacen yells at me all the time! I accidentally heard him say something once and he made me promise that I'd never tell anyone."
  Leia narrowed her eyes and she leaned forward, asking her nephew, "He doesn't want you to tell anyone what?"
  "I can't tell. I promised him I wouldn't."
  "Okay, but sometimes you need to break a promise. Do you think it's something he doesn't want people to know because it's important?"
  Ben's eyes went wide like satellite dishes and he nodded.
  "Okay. Is it important to you?"
  Ben shook his head.
  "Is it important to your parents? Or us?"
  Ben looked away sheepishly before nodding and muttering, "It's very important to you."
  "Can you tell me why it's important to us? If it's so important, why wouldn't Jacen tell us?"
  "He doesn't want to tell you because he's scared. He doesn't want bad things to happen to people."
  "He thinks bad things are going to happen?"
  Again, Ben nodded. "He's really scared."
  "Can you tell me what it is or do I have to keep guessing to figure it out?"
  "Guess. I promised Jacen."
  "Alright. Is it something that will make us sad?"
  "No. You should be happy."
  "Then, I don't understand why Jacen won't tell us."
  "He needs to protect."
  "Protect. Protect what? It? Him? Her?"
  Ben jumped up on his bed, nodding and jumping around and clapping.
  "Her? Her who? Ben, I don't know what to guess! Jaina? Who?"
  Ben held his aunt's gaze and his eyes went dark with grief, with guilt. He was going to tell her, Leia knew. So, she slowly nodded, pulling her nephew into a hug as she told him, "It's okay, Ben. You're doing a good thing. Now, we can help Jacen, right? We can help him protect her. Whoever 'her' is. Who is he trying to protect?"
  "Aunt Leia, he's scared about what's going to happen and so he's trying to protect . . . he's trying to protect his daughter."