Serena & Din

Chapter 6: The Decision

Author Note: So sorry I haven't published sooner. School can weigh you down. Just to clarify, this is a daughter x father fanfic, not a romance.

Once Serena managed to calm down some, Din turned her around and made sure she didn't get injured during her freak ambush. When he was satisfied, he lifted her into his arms without a word.  When they got back to their room, everyone was relieved to find Serena unharmed and were all asking questions. Serena stared numbly at them with a blank expression.  She wanted to be alone, be by herself again. Din sets her on the couch and sits next to her, a protective arm on her shoulder. Suddenly, Cara bursts into the room "I may know who are those men! We may have a lead after all, Serena-"

"Not now Dune, she needs to recover for a sec." Din says, wishing she would shut up for a minute at least .

"But Din, this is crucial!" she exclaims

"I said not now!" he growls. Then suddenly Serena stands up, and gazes at the faces around her and says quietly "I think we all need to get some rest, I'll be in my room." Cara and the Nite Owls  stared as Din went with her, and decided to take her advice and left.
Serena set herself on the bed. She didn't cry, she was too hurt  to cry. All her mind could think of were memories of Tatooine. One that came through the most was of her stepsister Melana; the one who wanted to be a doctor and set up her own clinic in Mos Espa, the one who was the family's shining star. A star that now has lost its glow. The grief in her heart stirred her anger more. She just wished she knew why she and all of the others she loved chosen to suffer and die?
       Her thoughts were disturbed by a voice cutting through the silence. "Serena, I know it must've been hard to control yourself when you come face to face with someone who you took everything. But you could've been killed," It was Din's. He must've came in without her knowing.  He continued "You'll need to control your outbursts if you want to find them. That's one of the main principles of our creed: discipline; don't strike until they make the first move."

 Serena gazed up into Din's dark eyes, tears still wetting her cheeks. Din cupped her face in his hand and gently thumbed away the tears, never missing a drop. "I know what you're going through,"  he whispered "I lost my parents when I was no younger than you, and like you I wanted revenge; I craved justice for my parents.  But, I had to  decide if that's really all I wanted."

"What did you choose?" Serena whispered with a slight crack in her voice. 

"I chose to confront them, and find out why they did what they did. Death did come in the process unfortunatly for some. I never intended on hurting them, but that's what anger can do to people."

 Serena blinked away the last couple of tears, and leaned into Din's armored chest, to which he allowed and hugged her. For a view minutes, the only things Serena heard was the howling winds and Din's heart, beating in a calming pace.    When Din spoke again, he tried to keep his emotions from going too far     "Before you, I had a foundling, who was able to do things nobody has seen in years. And so to hone their skills, they had to leave me, and for a while, I felt... lost. It felt like losing my parents again, but it wasn't death. It was for thier own good."

"And so what's that to do with me? I'm nothing but some stupid girl from a planet nobody gives a bantha about and is probably going to end up in some institution!" Serena said sourly as she sat back up straight. 

"Don't talk like that, you know you're not stupid. The point I'm trying to make here is that I will protect you and help you at anything! 

"Why though? What made me suddenly so special to you?" Din paused as he chose his words, then looked her dead in the eye and said "Because I want  you to find peace, and to do so  you'll need help won't you?" Serena knew  he was right. She couldn't do this on her own.  

"You're right Din," Serena said with sudden force as she stood up, "I don't want to be like a coward for the rest of my life, but I don't know what direction to take." She walks toward the window and gazed for a moment at the starry heavens, then turns round to Din with a new gleam in her eye.

"And you're the compass I need."