| ***** An-Paj glanced around. He didn't want to play chaperone, and he couldn't go back without Jemmiah... and Kenobi if he could get his hands on him. Spotting Qui-Gon and Mace across the bar, An-Paj ambled over. "An-Paj, I was under the impression that you wouldn't be joining us." "I didn't intend to Qui-Gon, however, I believe I discovered what became of Jemmiah." His interest perked, Qui-Gon smiled. "So you have her back in the infirmary then I take it." "No, and I believe she is here with Obi-Wan." "WHAT!?!?!" Qui-Gon replied as he sprayed a glass of Alderaanian rum across the counter. Mace just looked amused. Tonight could be more interesting than I thought. ***** "We don’t have much time." Obi-Wan looked about him anxiously. "An-Paj is probably telling my master as we speak that he thinks we are on the premises." "What are you going to do?" Kylenn asked. "Short of turning yourself invisible or camping under the table for the rest of the evening…" Leona extended an arm and helped Jemmiah crawl out from the table. "Are you OK?" Kenobi asked Jemmy anxiously. "That was a bit scary for a while." "I’m fine." Jemmiah smiled briefly. She glanced up at Leona from under thick, dark lashes. "Thanks." She added. Leona nodded, delighted with their truce. "He’s going to come over pretty soon, I should think." The healer replied, searching for a swift solution. "If he doesn’t see you here he might get the impression that An-Paj made a mistake." "An-Paj isn’t in the habit of making mistakes." Simeon chirped up. "He leaves that to us lesser mortals." "True." Sighed Leona. "How about…is there anywhere else you could hide until the heat’s off?" "There’s an old cellar through the back," Jemmy pointed down to a hatchway. "Fizz Mollop’s turned it into a gaming room. Not many people know of it, so if you could keep that piece of information to yourself I think he’d be grateful." Leona stood wondering how come Jemmiah had been privy to this information to start with…Gaming, indeed! "Would this…er… Fizz Whatshisname…" "Mollop." "Right, would he let you stay there for the time being? We could let you know when it was safe for you to come out of hiding." "Fizz’ll be fine about it." Kenobi agreed. "We’ve been down before. Although not as runaways." He grinned ruefully. "Yes, well. Don’t make a habit of it." Leona admonished. "Anyone would think we’d eloped, or something." Jemmiah complained. "Hey, there’s an idea! We could run off together and…" "…Watch as my master hacked me to death with a rusty chainsaw." Obi-Wan mumbled. "I’ll pass on that." He winked at her. "For the time being, anyway." Leona grew slightly alarmed at that last statement, but decided to hold her tongue. "I’ll go see Fizz about hiding us. Sybelle? You want to come too?" "You MUST be joking." Sybelle snorted. "I’m not going to hide away like some naughty schoolkid. If my master doesn’t like what she sees then that’s her problem. Besides," she added with a leer, "Two’s company and all that sort of thing." Leona waited until Obi-Wan returned with Fizz Mollop; a middle-aged humanoid with a wide grin, all set off with a row of gold teeth. His Sandy hair seemed to stick out in all directions, giving him the appearance of having just dragged himself out of bed. "Kenobi here’s just explained your problem." He leaned forwards confidentially, "I understand. I had to hide my girlfriends away from my father, too. Usually because they were wanted by the law." He winked. "What for?" Leona swallowed in consternation. How had Jemmiah got herself mixed up with somebody like this? On second thoughts, she didn’t want to know. "Curb crawling, mainly." He eyed Leona and pointed to her dress. "That’s my idea of a Jedi uniform. I’m all for that!" His breath was distinctly alcoholic. "I’m sure Master Yoda will be pleased to hear you say that." She glanced at Obi-Wan as he took hold of Jemmiah’s hand and led her through the secret hatchway. She was not happy about this, not one little bit. "Where are the others?" Qui-Gon straightened up sharply. "Hiding down the back playing some Corellian ritualistic drinking game. I rather think Leona’s padawan has come off a little the worse for wear, despite the fact Leona’s with them." "Dimallie’s Master is here?" Jinn frowned. "Didn’t she say if Jemmiah and Obi-Wan were here?" "Oh, she did." An-Paj replied, "although not directly. She’d look pretty bad infront of the others if she handed them over into our custody." The healer flexed his hands. "Not very professional." Qui-Gon said acidly. "She’s a good healer, and an extremely nice person. The fact she’s never had to treat you before should make her kind of special in your eyes." An-Paj said as if he were hinting at something. Qui-Gon shook his head. He would never understand healers until the day he died. Perhaps that was the wrong phrase to use. "Drink up." An-Paj encouraged his comrade. "Let’s go hunting." Obi-Wan and Jemmiah stood and watched as the door was shut behind them with a sharp clang. Jemmiah swallowed. She knew she had suggested it, but if she was honest she wasn’t that good with being locked in enclosed spaces either. Especially where there was very little light. Mollop had insisted that the lights should be left off, or as dark as possible at any rate, incase the Padawan’s enraged master should somehow pick up on the fact there was someone down there that shouldn’t be. It was creepy in the extreme. She stared up to where she knew the doorway to be, and suddenly felt a hand descend on her shoulder. "Easy!" Kenobi urged, "It’s me! Don’t panic!" Jemmiah sagged. "Oh, you really scared me that time, Ben." "You’re a real nervous wreck." Kenobi stood behind her, trying to relax the knots in her shoulders." "Do you blame me? After what An-Paj said." She almost started shaking again. "He won’t go anywhere near you with restraints. I won’t let him." Obi-Wan said determinedly, rubbing her neck gently. "I’ll hold you to that." She smiled. "We could be here a while." He remarked after a brief amount of time elapsed. "That sounds like a leading question, Ben." "We have to do something to relieve the boredom." He smirked, wrapping his arms round her waist. "Is that right?" "And it would be a tragedy to waste this precious moment that we’ve been given alone together." "Stop drooling!" She laughed, trying to pull out of his grasp. "I don’t want to." He made a grab for her. "Ben!" She warned. "What? We could call this round two in our revenge against the healers." He tilted her chin in his hand. "And I’ve noticed that there’s a perfectly good gaming table all conveniently laid out for us." "Stop that!" She giggled. "Who’s going to know?" He hugged her. "On top of the table?" She tried to picture it and started to laugh once more. "That’s wicked! Imagine even suggesting it! I bet it collapses!" "I’m game if you are." He flashed her his most cheeky grin, and even though it was dark she thought she could see his dimples as he smiled. "Leona will die of embarrassment." She kissed the tip of his nose. "Leona isn’t going to know. Is she?" Was all Obi-Wan replied predatorily. His face lit up. Alone at last! Leona gawked almost dream like as she saw the tall figure of An-Paj accompanied by the even taller figure of Qui-Gon Jinn strolling towards them. Sybelle seemed to get very on edge suddenly, despite all her bravado. The others all tried to resume as nonchalant a pose as they could muster, making the effort to act as normally as they could under the circumstances. Oh, force, thought Leona. I have to lie to the one person in the galaxy that I want to impress the most. But she knew she couldn’t readily betray Obi-Wan and Jemmiah. She’d promised, after all. She wet her dry lips, pulled at her dress and smiled sweetly with a confidence she didn’t really feel. Oh, Force! Here goes nothing… ***** Krelo stood and stretched her shoulders. She shook out her butt length mane of dark red hair and turned to her friend. "Lil, I'm going to show those puppies over there just what Corellian deathmatch is all about." A wicked glint played in her leaf-green eyes. "Wanna join me?" "What's Corellian deathmatch without a genuine Corellian?" she asked casually and stood, towering over even Krelo's 5'10". The two amazons made a stunning looking pair in their fitted pants, loose shirts and vests. Krelo kept her sabre hilt hidden in a pocket sewn into the back of her vest where she could quickly lay a hand on it in an emergency. Lilith didn't bother with stealth and a large blaster hung boldly from her belt. Together the two women made their way over to the padawan's table and glanced around. "Deathmatch?" Lilith asked with a raised eyebrow. "Mind if we join you?" ***** Qui-Gon squared his shoulders as he walked to the far corner where the padawans were. Adopting a forbidding posture he decided to use his intimidating image to his advantage. If it took scare tactics to get to the truth then, so be it, he thought. Leona watched with mixed emotions as Qui-Gon and An-Paj approached the table. Her heart skipped a beat when the Jedi Master's gaze fell on her, giving only the briefest of glances before turning it on the padawans who tried hard not to be noticed. Qui-Gon paused at the table, taking delight in the way none around it would meet his eyes. "Simeon." he finally stated, noting the way tension bled out of everyone but the boy whose name he called. "Why, hello Master Jinn." Simeon said quickly, trying not to sound as drunk as he already felt. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked with too quick a smile. "Have you seen Jemmiah?" Qui-Gon ignored the question. "Well, ah, Master Jinn, not recently." Simeon answered, avoiding a straight lie. An-Paj stepped forward, a frown on his face. "Padawan Cates, I believe what Qui-Gon wants to know is if Jemmiah's here." "Master An-Paj" Leona spoke up timidly, "I'm sure wherever the girl might be she's in good hands. Obi-Wan would be sure to see that no harm comes to her." Qui-Gon glared at the woman standing behind an obviously over intoxicated padawan passed out on the table. "And who might you be?" he asked gruffly. "Qui-Gon you remember Healer Leona P'lila." An-Paj broke in, seeing Qui-Gon's anger escalate at Leona's innocent comment. "You're Leona?" Qui-Gon couldn't refrain from casting a perusing glance over the woman. "Then this is your apprentice?" he pointed to the unconscious figure draped over the table. Taking a protective step forward, Leona placed a hand on the back of the chair. "I'm afraid Dimallie's had the unfortunate luck to being the loser of a rather potent drinking game." Leona answered calmly, offering a shy smile. "And you allowed this?" Qui-Gon blurted accusingly, the control of his temper dampened by the effects of the alcohol he had consumed. Disturbed by the tense exchange, An-Paj placed a restraining hand on Qui-Gon. "I don't think that this is the place..." the Master Healer glanced at the padawans around them. "It's a master's responsibility to instruct and care for their young charges." Qui-Gon shook off the healer's grasp. "Not dress up like that and play drinking games with them." "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" Leona stammered, her voice filled with hurt. "That's hardly befitting a Jedi Knight." he answered caustically. "No, but it is befitting a woman" she rounded on him, her eyes shining with moisture. Taking four steps closer to him so as not to have to raise her voice, she looked up at him glowering. "I suppose it would be more appropriate to wear my Jedi robes when cantina-hopping for all of Coruscant to take notice." she said indignantly. Hurt and shocked by his extreme attitude she surprised herself by continuing her quiet tirade. "And as to my padawan, I was not in attendance during the game. In case you haven't noticed they're not crèche babies anymore, they have ideas of their own and maybe if you stopped treating your own apprentice as one he wouldn't find it necessary to be sneaking around behind your back." Blinking back tears Leona turned to the table, "Simeon, please watch over Dimallie while I get a cup of caff for her." Leaving an embarrassed An-Paj and speechless Qui-Gon behind, Leona walked quickly away passing two tall women heading in the direction she had just come. ***** "Lilith!" Griff spat, turning round to the tall woman standing behind him. "What the Sith are you doing here?" Lilith smiled dangerously. "Exactly what you're doing, Rendar. Laying in wait to take advantage of drunken padawans." Krelo glanced at her friend and tried unsuccessfully to suppress her laughter. Griff's face was a picture. Sybelle turned round and glared at Krelo. "Why are you here, anyway? You're not exactly Miss Popular." "Just thought you young ones could do with a little babysitting." Krelo smiled sweetly. "Babysitting!" Sybelle spat. "Did you come here looking for trouble?" Griff asked icily. "You'll be the one in trouble if your precious Jedi masters find you associating with the likes of Griff Rendar." Lilith laughed. Sybelle glanced at Qui Gon, who was looking suspiciously in their direction. She stood up. "We're going." She announced. "I have better things to do than stick around here to be insulted by you." She marched off, followed by Griff. "See you later, Rendar!" Lilith called. She knew they would. ***** "Intolerable, insufferable, wretched…MAN!" Leona cursed under her breath. "After all I’ve done!" It occurred to her as she strode away to find her padawan the black caff she so desperately seemed to need, that Qui-Gon had not asked for any special attentions or advances. And yet the fact that she had gone to so much trouble just to have it thrown in her face… Unusually for her, she felt her blood boiling. Perhaps Jemmiah was correct, she thought miserably. Maybe Qui-Gon really is tyrannical in the way he controls his padawan. Disappointed as she felt, Leona came to a startling resolve, one that she would never have thought herself making at any cost prior to her little spat with Master Jinn. She would help the hapless couple to have a little fun. Serve Qui-Gon right! Sal-Fina watched as the petite healer strode past her. The chance to make some kind of remark was just too good to pass up. She waited until Leona had gone a few strides past but still easily in earshot, and said: "What DOES she think she looks like?" The sound of a giggling padawan followed the statement. Leona stopped in her tracks. Is she really talking about me, she wondered? Slowly, Leona turned round to face her opponent. She was quite frightened by the powerful, dark emotions that this person awakened in her. The temptation to give in and poor that big bucket of ice over her head was almost overwhelming. But she couldn’t. "Sweetheart, don’t you think that dress is just a little too much?" Sal-Fina replied in her clipped, overly polite voice. Could she? "For a few measly drinks in a cantina or two? And those shoulder pads went out of fashion decades ago." It really was tempting. "And as for the hair, well, far be it for me to insult a fellow Jedi but honey, that look went out when Master Yoda was in his crib!" I’m going to do it, thought Leona. "I’m just telling you for your own good, sweetie." Sal-Fina looked down her long, thin nose and studied her as if she were an insect in the bath. I will, you know. "It’s not as if there’s anyone worth impressing round here." Sal-Fina followed Leona’s anguished gaze until it rested upon Master Jinn’s tall frame, as he stood speaking to An-Paj. "You don’t…you don’t mean to say it’s QUI-GON! Please tell me you are joking!" Sal-Fina’s face registered both amusement and annoyance at once. Was she jealous, wondered the distracted Leona? Did she care? Yes, she did. "Oh, you poor child! Give up on that fantasy right now! Qui-Gon’s the most selfish individual it has ever been my dubious privilege to come across. He cares about nobody except himself." "That’s not true." Leona piped up. "What about his padawan?" Sal-Fina looked surprised that she’d been answered. "What, the Kenobi boy? Don’t you remember how Jinn treated him when they first became master and padawan? He had such a chip on his shoulder about Xanatos that he nearly pushed the boy away." "Xanatos?" Leona said doubtfully. "There’s a lot you don’t know about Qui-Gon. He only brought that Corellian urchin back to flatter his own ego. Don’t think he gives an Ankula’s backside about her. She’s a nuisance to him. Especially since she hooked up with that boy of his." Leona didn’t want to hear any of this, incase it had the mark of truth to it. "As far as I can see, the boy’s not very promising as knight material. If he chooses to hang around with a worthless tramp like that, good luck to him. They’re probably meant for each other." "Kenobi is a very bright young man." Leona bristled. "And Qui-Gon DOES care what happens to Jemmiah. She’s had a bad start in life and Qui-Gon’s helped turn things around for her…" "You go ahead and think that, if it makes you feel happy." Sal-Fina waved her hand dismissively. "Garbage attracts garbage, if you see what I mean." She looked up and down at Leona. Leona thought she was referring to Jemmiah and Obi-Wan at first, but then she caught that imperious look and realized her double meaning. "No hard feelings, sweetheart." Sal-Fina turned her back. "Let me get you a drink to prove it." "No." Leona smiled sweetly. "Let me get you something. What will it be?" Again, Sal-Fina was surprised. "Purple twilight for me." Leona nodded. "You’ll be needing some ice to go with that." She remarked as she lifted up the bucket and emptied it over Sal-Fina’s head. "Although I think there’s enough rocks rolling about inside as it is." She glared at the dripping wet Sal-Fina. "Please, DO enjoy your drink." |
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| A Night to (almost) Remember |
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