R and R: Rest and Realization
Another mushy, fluffy story! Yay! Anywho, once again I'm stealing Lexi's characters for this multi-chapter fic. If you haven't read her story Quality Time then you may be slightly confused by this AU. And really this AU and an AU of her AU...it's all very confusing and delicious. Here's the basics of what you need to know: Kyp married Gennevi Lassiter, a former Galactic Alliance colonel. The pair had a set of triplets (all girls): Layni, Kaylin, and Cora. The timing of this piece is pretty vague because...well I wanted it to be.
And now, without further ado, the story...

~Chapter 1~

"A vacation?" she asked. Kyp nodded briefly, a bright smile on his face. "Where?"

From behind his back he pulled his datapad and handed it to her. On the screen was a colorful picture of several beings—some alien, some human—having a grand old time in what appeared to be a crowded nightclub. Written in obnoxiously bright colors were the words "Visit Zeltros Today!"

"Zeltros? Isn't that a bit of an odd choice for a family vacation?"

Kyp laughed. "It used to have a reputation as a gambler's paradise, but they've apparently made some changes. They're marketing it as a 'family fun vacation spot' now." He took the datapad back and scrolled to another page. "They've got amusement parks, nature reserves, shopping, and theaters. It won't just be a vacation; it will be a learning experience as well."

Gennevi eyed him with a quirked brow. He was pushing this a lot harder than he usually would, opting to allow her to make a majority of the family's plans, while he maintained his role as the silent partner. Even without the Force, she could tell this was something that Kyp really wanted. Now she just needed to know why.

"Why are you so invested in this?"

Kyp's gaze held strong before it dropped to the floor. He strode over to the large window and took a moment to watch the speeders zooming passed in every which direction. It was a rather literal manifestation of his thoughts as of late. "You know they'll be fourteen this year? Where does the time go?" He felt a pair of arms encircle his waist from behind, her chin resting against his shoulder blade.

"I know. It seems like just yesterday we were changing diapers and trying to get them all on the same schedule. And now…"

"Now it seems like we're missing out on their lives. I knew when they went to the Academy that we would be taking a backseat, but…I never realized how much time they would be away from us." It had been because of Kyp's constant prodding that his girls were now full time students at the Jedi Academy on Ossus. Kyp had taken to teaching the girls himself while they were young, making sure each of them was receiving all the attention he could possible give. They excelled under his tutelage, each showing promise in a different realm of the Force. Because his girls could never do anything the easy way.

Layni had a remarkable grasp of telekinesis. Even at ten years old she had amazed both parents by levitating the couch nearly four feet off the ground, and her powers only grew from there. At one point, Gennevi had checked in on their daughters—because there was silence coming from a room with three twelve year olds inside—to find both Kaylin and Cora floating near the ceiling while Layni sat on the floor beneath them, her brows knit in concentration. Her mother's surprised yell had broken the girl's concentration and both of her sisters immediately dropped to the ground. Luckily, they had been directly above their beds and landed with a thud on the mattresses. Kyp had to have a talk with the girls later that night.

Cora was a fighter. She excelled in hand to hand combat and her skill with a lightsaber was unrivaled in her age group. While her sisters were still practicing with remotes, Cora was quickly moving through sparing partners. She had started with students her own age, but quickly moved on. She was now working with students that were two or even three years older than her—and more importantly she was holding her own. Cora had now become Kyp's favorite sparring partner, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible, because if she was busy sparing with him she didn't have time to think about boys. And that made Kyp very happy.

If only that theory worked with Kaylin. She was his problem child, but not in a predictable way. For her part, Kaylin had shown great mental agility in the Force. She was another Corran Horn, able to manipulate what people saw—or thought they saw—to challenge their view of reality. As a skill, it had its uses, but Kaylin didn't seem to notice. Instead, she chose to spend most of her time chasing boys, a fact that kept Kyp on edge every second of his life. But Kaylin was not without her merits. She had embraced the art of healing, and had found a place as an apprentice to Jedi Healer Tekli. She was making great progress and Tekli assured Kyp that one day Kaylin would make a fine healer.

Those were his girls; each their own and each a perfect mesh of their parents best and worst traits. People often commented on how much his daughters looked like their mother but acted like their father. In truth, there was a healthy mix of both Kyp and Gennevi's physical features in the girls. Kaylin had inherited his dark hair and her mother's bright blue eyes while Layni took the opposite traits, with greenish-gray eyes taken from Kyp and Gennevi's long, curly blonde hair. And Cora…well she was a mixture of both with hair a shade between both of her sisters' and eyes that often floated somewhere between blue and green.

"So that's the reason for this impromptu vacation?" Gennevi asked. "You just want to spend some time with your girls?"

Kyp turned from his view and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her body tightly against his. "I want to spend time with my girls. All my girls." What was meant to be a chaste kiss turned hungry, until the couple found themselves nearly out of breath. "I certainly look forward to more of that."

"You always do," she laughed. "I suppose we should start packing then."

Kyp glanced toward the closet and groaned. "I hate packing. Can't you do it for me?"

Gennevi shook her head. Sometimes she wondered if she had married a teenager instead of a middle-aged Jedi Master. "On one condition. You brief the girls on what's going on."

Kyp smirked and kissed her cheek. "Yes, Colonel." He saluted playfully and darted out of the room before the pillow could hit his retreating back.

"Have either of you ever even heard of Zeltros?"

Kaylin and Cora looked up from their respective bags, eyeing their sister with a mix of amusement and interest. Although she was the oldest, Layni was generally out of the loop on most matters of the universe.

"I heard the planet was like one big party all the time," Kaylin said excitedly.

Cora raised an eyebrow in disbelief, a trait inherited from her mother. "One big party? I highly doubt that."

"Why?"

"Do you really think mom and dad would take us to a place like that?" Cora argued.

Both Kaylin and Layni's shoulders dropped. "I guess not," the former admitted.

"Why don't you just look it up on the holonet?" Layni suggested. Her sisters looked at each other in slight astonishment, wondering how they had overlooked such a simple solution.

Kaylin grabbed her datapad off the nightstand that sat between she and Layni's beds. With a quick search, she was able to bring up a tourism file for the planet Zeltros. "Come visit beautiful Zeltros," she read, her voice taking on a dreamy tone. "A planet known for its hospitality, thriving cultural centers, and magnificent architecture, Zeltros is a prime destination spot for beings of all races. Experience the unique culture and atmosphere of one of the galaxy's most popular tourist destinations."

Cora listened intently as she packed her bag with precision, folding each garment into a perfect square before placing it into her small suitcase. Her sisters had always made fun of her for little quirks, but her mother assured her she showed the makings of a great military mind. Cora didn't know if that was reassuring or not.

"Sounds like a fun place," Layni said.

Kaylin set the data pad aside. "I don't buy it. Why would mom and dad take us to a place like that?" Layni shrugged her shoulders and kept packing, but Cora was now intrigued.

"It does seem rather odd," she admitted, grabbing the datapad off her sister's bed. She scrolled through some more options before stopping on one particular article. "Zeltros Working to Remake Reputation," she mumbled, scanning quickly through the article which was published a few months prior. "Apparently the planet is trying to remake itself as a tourist destination, not just for the rich, but for everyone. Says here Zeltron officials are 'stressing the family nature of the planet.'"

Kaylin laughed. "And getting a Jedi Master to bring his family there on vacation would be a great way to show the galaxy that Zeltros is now a 'family friendly' place."

Layni shrugged, zipping her bag up and setting it on the floor next to her bed. "We're getting a vacation out of it, so I'm not complaining."

"Me neither," Cora laughed.

"Nope."

The silence descended as the Kaylin and Cora continued to pack while Layni lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I can't believe how quickly these few weeks went," Layni commented.

"I know. Feels like we just left the academy a few days ago."

"And now we'll be headed back there in a few days," Cora concluded.

"I bet you're excited though," Layni laughed. "You'll get to see Brailen again."

In the opposite corner Kaylin started laughing hysterically, but Cora was not amused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, Cor. You guys might be 'low-key' but we know what's going on."

Cora sighed. "There's nothing going on. Brailen and I are just friends."

"Friends?" Layni asked.

"Layni, do you kiss your friends?"

The eldest triplet tapped her chin as if deep in thought. "No I can't say I do. Do you?"

"Nope."

Cora glanced from Kaylin to Layni, both girls wearing matching expressions of torturous delight. "I don't know what you're talking about," she grumbled, but couldn't stop the small ghost of a smile that played at the edges of her mouth.

Gennevi stood on the landing platform the following morning staring at the shuttle in front of her, shuttle that Kyp had borrowed the ship from the Jedi Temple in order to take the family to Zeltros and then on to Ossus. Of course borrowing the ship also meant that he would be doing a favor for the Order, in this case escorting three academy students [LS1] back to Coruscant upon their return.

"So this is our ship?"

Kyp smiled as that particular phrase conjuring some rather fond memories. "I believe you said that the last time we were headed to a strange planet together."

The trip that he and Gennevi had taken to Velmor had been an interesting one. The planet's monarch had sought Jedi intervention in a succession dispute, a mission which Kyp would have thought would take weeks to resolve but to his—and everyone's—utter shock, the problem was solved within the first day of negotiations. The eldest daughter, after discovering her son's talent in the Force, had abdicated her claim to the throne, leaving the position to her younger sister. Kyp would like to say it was a wasted trip—since the only reason he had taken the assignment was to avoid an impromptu birthday celebration in his honor, which he had failed to do—but there was a lot of good that came out of it. That trip had given him and Gennevi a chance to be alone and grow infinitely closer in the early stages of their budding relationship.

Thinking about it now, that was a really good trip.

"I remember," Gennevi whispered, as close to Kyp's ear as she could get given their height difference. "I believe it was quite…enjoyable."

"I remember that as well," Kyp said slinging his arm around her waist. "Let's hope this one will be the same." Their lips met for a brief moment before the sound of teenage whining interrupted the moment.

"Please tell me you won't be doing that the entire time!" Cora said and with a roll of her eyes boarded the ship, Layni following closely behind with a smirk upon her face.

"I hope we got separate rooms," Kaylin chimed in. "I really don't want to be scared for the rest of my life."

Kyp shook his head and let out a huff. "Those are our beautiful daughters. Remember when they couldn't talk? Those were good times."

Gennevi nudged his body with her hip. "The attitude comes from you, I'm sure of it." Taking his hand, they boarded the ship together and took a quick look around.

It was a standard passenger vessel, complete with two bunk rooms, a small cargo hold, galley, lounge, and cockpit. The girls had immediately claimed what was for all purposes the crew's quarters, with a set of bunks on each wall and attached refresher. After stowing their bags in the room's lockers, the girls returned to the galley and strapped themselves in, preparing for takeoff.

"Everyone ready to go?" Kyp yelled back from the cockpit where he sat in the captain's chair. To his left, Gennevi had taken the copilot's seat and was methodically running through the pre-flight checklist and start up sequence.

"Good." Three voices answered.

After receiving clearance from Coruscant Space Control, the Redemption broke its way through the atmosphere into the blackness of space. Only moments later, the stars streaked into lines as the ship entered hyperspace. Gennevi left the cockpit shortly after.

Kyp watched the instrument panel for a few moments before his eyes glazed over and his thoughts began to wander. He couldn't stop the feeling that something was going to occur on this trip. It wasn't necessarily a foreboding feeling that he was getting; it felt more like the Force was giving him a heads up that something was going to happen. It could be good, it could be bad, but Kyp knew all he could do was keep his eyes open and his awareness on edge.

"Credit for your thoughts?" Kyp raised his eyes and watched as Gennevi retook the copilot's seat and swiveled to face him.

"Just thinking."

"You're a terrible liar, Kyp Durron." Gennevi sighed, but didn't push the issue. She knew he would talk if and when he wanted to.

"They asleep?"

She nodded and smiled. The ship had just barely entered hyperspace when the girls had retreated back to their bunkroom. She checked on them a few moments later to find them all completely passed out in their separate bunks. Cora and Layni had taken one set, the latter on the lower bunk, while Kaylin had made herself at home on the other top bunk.

"If you were up half the night talking and giggling, you would be tired too."

"I was up half the night," he corrected. "It's hard to shield while you're asleep, and the girls' are terrible at it. I could feel their excitement all night long. It made sleep nearly impossible."

"You should have gone in and told them to go to bed."

He shrugged his shoulder. "I would have, but I was too comfortable."

"You mean you were too lazy," she laughed.

Again Kyp shrugged. "Can you blame me? I was curled up in a nice warm bed with a beautiful woman in my arms." Reaching forward, he grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her into his lap. "Much like now."

"Hmm, I don't see a bed anywhere around here." Gennevi bit back a moan when Kyp's lips moved from her neck to the sensitive spot behind her ear, sucking there and sending shivers down her spine. His fingers toyed with the hem of her shirt, pulling it from her slacks and letting his fingertips brush against the skin of her lower back.

Kyp waved a hand, the cockpit door hissing shut and locking. "Who needs a bed?"