| As long as there is hope by Jemmiah |
| They'd backed down. Every last one of them had backed down and relented. Samir had been utterly astounded…Depa Billaba had been shocked. Some had sensed the distant menace to the stability of the order in the temple, seemingly so secure and full of promise for future generations. Master Rancis had long since dreamed of years of terror and turbulent times ahead for the jedi. Yaddle had seen it too, as had Yoda. Now everyone knew. The idea that Jemmiah's future was somehow tied into the survival of the jedi order had been difficult for some of the council members to take in at first, yet one by one the resistance had caved in until there was nobody who did not believe what Master's Yoda and Windu had claimed to see. So disturbing was the notion of the destruction of the jedi that some had chosen to ignore it. Now they could no longer do that. Qui-Gon had stood before them, not knowing what to expect but fearing the worst. There was nothing in Mace's countenance to suggest that any of them were likely to grant him his request. He could appeal and ask for different people to assess the judgement, he supposed, but that would be his last chance. If that failed he would have to think very carefully about his own position within the jedi order. But if he abandoned the temple, did he have the right to ask Obi-Wan to do likewise? To force his padawan into a situation like that would be as near to a nightmare as he could get. He could still train him, but the stigma would always be attached to his name. Obi-Wan Kenobi…trained by a Jedi runaway. A renegade. It was little short of how the council collectively regarded him now. "Master Jinn." Samir cleared his throat, not easy for his feline vocal chords. His demeanour seemed somewhat humbler than earlier before, almost penitent. "The council has considered your request to take in this Corellian child. We deliberated over it perhaps longer than was really necessary, for which we apologize." //Longer than necessary?// Qui-Gon thought bleakly. //It is bad enough to have a request turned down but to have it rejected without due thought…// He felt the bile rise in his stomach. He should have known that Mace would talk them round to his way of thinking. "I thank you, my masters, for being so considerate." Qui-Gon replied off handly. "The council approves your request, Master Qui-Gon." Yoda stated slowly. "Remain in the temple she will for as long as is necessary." //Remain? Approve??? Then that meant…// "You agree?" Qui-Gon found himself saying, utterly astonished. "You sound surprised, Master Jinn." Mace leaned forwards, arms resting on his thighs. "We are not vindictive. We just needed to be certain that whatever decision we arrived at was made for the best." "And we believe that under the circumstances this is the correct decision." Samir replied, his voice faltering slightly as he added. "For everyone." Qui-Gon frowned, wondering what had happened to make Samir so utterly out of spirits. All of them looked solemn and serious. All except for Yoda, who remained as unflappable as ever. "Go, Master Jinn." He pointed at Qui-Gon with his stick. "Talk we shall later. Now, tell the imp your news, you should." "Master." Qui-Gon nodded at Yoda, bowing respectfully and deeply at him. "Masters." He indicated the others with a further bow before sweeping out of the chambers and into the ant-chamber outside. He stood there for over a minute trying to take it all in. He'd won! He'd actually won! Qui-Gon would have felt deliriously happy, more so than befitted a jedi master perhaps, except that one thing was playing over and over again in his mind: Why had he won? And just what exactly was that going to mean for the future? *********** One day to go and then Jemmiah would be with them permanently back at their apartment. For the first time since he had won his request to become her guardian Qui-Gon began to wonder if he was going to manage. As Jemmiah's physical strength had slowly began to improve so had the strength of her spirit, which although Qui-Gon was pleased to see, left him wondering exactly what kind of Raltir tiger cub he had taken on. She was lively alright - perhaps too lively of mind even for him to keep track of. She was a great observer of things and several times she had (cautiously) corrected both himself and his padawan on matters that she had seamlessly absorbed better than they had. There was also an unfortunate tendency to sulk when things didn't go her way, and every now and then unexpected flashes of temper would surface that Qui-Gon had seen no evidence of prior to her recovery. Still, he didn't mind the occasional battle of wills. He was quite looking forward to the challenge…so long as she understood that ultimately he would win. She was sat up in bed; playing a game of Sabacc with his padawan and wearing a lopsided smirk that only a Corellian could get away with. Whilst Obi-Wan's frown of concentration was evident it was equally plain to see who had the upper hand. "Tangles, I hope you are only playing for toothpicks." Qui-Gon remarked as he settled down to watch the game progress. "Well, I am on this occasion. I couldn't possibly clean out poor Obi-Wan." Jemmy tilted her head cockily at his apprentice. "You're so certain you are going to win, aren't you?" Obi-Wan grunted as he studied his hand of cards. "Yup!" grinned Jemmy. "Luck of a Corellian." "In my experience there's no such thing as luck." grumbled Kenobi, shifting uncomfortably beneath her intense, scruitinizing gaze. "You don't want to be throwing real money about." Qui-Gon felt obliged to lecture her. "Gambling is an addictive and expensive hobby." "Only when you lose." Jemmiah pointed out. "And I have hardly ever lost a game of Sabacc in my life. I've already beaten Master Berlingside and Master Windy!" "Master Windu." Qui-Gon corrected her sternly. "Yeah, that's what I said. Master Windy! Anyhow, I made a real profit from both of them." She opened up a small box beside her bed where her belongings had been stored. "Look!" Qui-Gon gawked at the credit notes that the girl had amassed from over the weeks spent in the infirmary. This was not going to be allowed. He had to establish some rules and this was the first of them. "Tangles, I will not have you gambling for money." He warned her. "But I'm Corellian. I'm only in it for the money!" Jemmy pouted. "I don't care. You can give that money right back to both Master Berlingside and Master Windu." Jemmy scowled at him but backed down, knowing she'd get no peace until she did. "Okay, I'll give it back." She sniffed. "But if you ask me they deserved all they got! They shouldn’t have been stupid enough to lose it in the first place! Taking advantage of a ten year old girl…" Jemmiah grumbled but kept her eye on Obi-Wan as he tried to decide which cards to play. All of them were equally useless. "I give in!" Obi-Wan folded his hand and sighed, throwing the cards down on the bed in disgust. "Ha! I knew it!" Jemmy crowed at him and gathered all the cards up before he could change his mind. "I win again! You owe me all your toothpicks, three blankets and two bedpans! Cough up!" The image of Obi-Wan literally trying to cough up a bedpan was not something Qui-Gon wanted to dwell on, especially as the boy seemed to have developed a homing quality that saw him repeatedly back within the infirmary over the past year. Perhaps it was better to change the subject. Even though Obi-Wan had been beaten he was laughing and joking along with Jemmiah as if nothing had happened. He realized he was blessed that the force deigned they would get along so well, without so much as a cross word or an argument between them to disturb the peace. Ah, yes. Things would work out really well! "So, out in one day." Qui-Gon felt a smile break his face as Jemmiah grinned straight at him. "You must be relieved." "You have no idea!" Jemmy closed her eyes and fervently gave thanks to whatever gods were watching over her. "I couldn't have stood another day of An-Paj making me eat nourishing meals like Slug Surprise and Cream of Caterpillar." "Quite." "But it will be nice to have my own room again." She smiled shyly at him. "Thanks." "No need to thank me." Qui-Gon shook his head in amusement, watching the sparkling eyes trained upon his face. "I was happy to do it. Vernice says that she will visit you to see how you are settling in. She has some things that she thought you might like…hair clasps and ribbons and curlers and things like that." "That would be good!" Jemmy beamed. "I like braiding things." "But I'm afraid you will have to get some rest now." "Aww, Master Jinn! Not again!" Jemmy pulled such a lamentable face that Qui-Gon found it hard not out burst out laughing. "I really don't want to sleep just yet." "Sorry, Tangles. If you don't try to sleep you won't be allowed home in a day. An-Paj will catch sight of the dark circles under your eyes…" "They can't be any worse than the ones he has." Jemmy's face became incredulous. "Did you know he has six wives?!? All at once?!?" "Why do you think he spends so much time at the infirmary?" Qui-Gon asked dryly. "Now sleep, my angel or you don't get to come home with us." Jemmy looked utterly mortified. "What is it?" Qui-Gon exchanged anxious and baffled looks with his padawan, who seemed none the wiser. "Are you feeling unwell?" "You called me your 'angel'." Jemmy pulled a face. "What's wrong with that?" asked Qui-Gon carefully. "Too sentimental?" "Well…" she considered for a few moments, knowing that both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were awaiting her answer with considerable interest, "I suppose it's okay. I'd rather be somebody's angel than nobody's." It had after all been a very close thing. It was not something she was ever likely to forget. "And," she finished by offering Qui-Gon a hesitant smile, "I guess I'd rather be yours than anybody's." "Thank you." The master bowed his head to her. "I'm honored." There was a five-second pause before the flame-faced Jemmiah next spoke. "Don't you DARE tell anyone I said that!" |