| ***** Muttering to himself, An-Paj completed his search of the Temple. No Jemmiah. No Obi-Wan. Why do I get the feeling that wherever they are, they are together? Frowning An-Paj decided that there were only two places that pair could be. Since he didn't think Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan a large enough allowance for a hotel room, that just left... the cantina crawl. "Force! He's going to kill that girl." Storming into the healer's An-Paj grabbed a medical bag, and two pair of force restraints. They're coming back here whether they like it or not. Noticing Padawan Giana looking very forlorn at the front desk, An-Paj realized she must have been planning on going to the cantina crawl. Hitting her up for information, An-Paj headed out the door. Obi-Wan will regret the day he decided to mess with THIS healer. ***** "Where does she get off telling me what to drink?" Jemmiah couldn’t believe the temerity of Healer Leona. She’d thought her a quiet, timorous little creature whose one aim in life was to be affable and avoid causing trouble of any description. It seemed now that the worm had well and truly turned. Well, two could play at that. She gave Abran that look. The one that meant there was a hidden agenda of sorts. Kenobi saw it. Simeon, how ever unsteady he was becoming, recognized it also. Sybelle nudged her boyfriend knowingly. There was some fun in the offing. "You know, Leona, this stuff’s awful." She groused at the table. "That’s a pity." The healer replied. "I’m going to see that you’re drinking it for the rest of the evening." She saw Jemmiah pull a face. "Or you could always go back to the healers." Leona added pointedly. Victory, thought Leona, as Jemmiah seemed to give a sullen impression of relenting with little good grace at all. What she hadn’t seen was the glint of sheer devilment in those copper eyes. Obi-Wan whispered in his girlfriend’s ear, "What are you up to now?" "Revenge, dear Ben. Pure and simple. I’m not a vindictive person by nature, but if it got out that I had allowed myself to be mollycoddled all evening by a healer masquerading as a strip artiste, I would never be able to hold my head up in a Cantina ever again. And we wouldn’t want that, would we?" "And?" He prompted. "Buy me a Autrial-Slammer." She said wickedly. "NO WAY." Obi-Wan refused point blank. "That’s FAR too strong." "It’s not for me, silly." She jerked her head sharply at Leona. "It’s for a certain Healer of our acquaintance." "You promise?" Kenobi felt a smile tug at his lips. "Of course. Would I lie to you?" "Yes." He grinned. "Well, nevermind that now." She mumbled in reply. "Would you indulge me in this one?" He stood up, the grin spreading even further. "A Slammer. Ok." She watched Obi-Wan retreat to the bar, as did Leona. The latter did not feel as reassured as she had a minute or so earlier, as Jemmiah’s seeming compliance had evaporated before her eyes. She had unwittingly made this a test of wills. And she had the horrible feeling she knew who was in control. In the background she became aware of several interested spectators. Oh, force! "Can I get you a drink, Leona?" Jay Abran enquired gallantly. "Same as before." The healer looked askance at her opponent. She wasn’t sure what the Corellian had planned, but she didn’t think it would be pleasant. They met each other’s stares. Jemmiah smiled that very charming smile. Leona settled for remaining cool in the line of duty, as she waited for their drinks to be brought back to the table. I don’t like the confident way she’s looking at me, thought Leona nervously. I feel like I should be on the lookout for a hidden blade inserted in the back of my seat… Kenobi returned first with Jemmiah’s Slammer. "Here you go." He placed the blue drink in front of the girl. "I hope you know what you’re doing." "I do." Leona replied, reaching across for the glass and pulling it out of Jemmy’s reach. "Hey." She pouted. "That was mine." "Not any more." Leona smiled simply, tossing her head back and swallowing the contents without much of a thought. Jemmy observed the entire scene with a detached interest. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Leona managed to cry out through her burned voice box. "Whaaaa?" "I think she’s trying to ask what that stuff was." Drawled Simeon. Tears had come to Leona’s eyes, but the power of speech continued to elude her. "It was a Slammer. Bit of a speciality in this place. Oh, I should really have warned you that it has a bit of a kick, but when you go around stealing other people’s drinks, you have to find these things out as you go." Jemmiah smiled a tight smile. Jay Abran returned with Leona’s low alcohol drink and was about to set it down in front of her when Jemmiah took it from his grasp. "This must be mine, I think." She raised her glass and nodded at Leona. "As we say on Corellia, "There’s no fool like a sober fool." Jemmy batted an eye in slow motion. "Cheers!" ***** An-Paj slipped unnoticed into the bar. Well, unnoticed except for Healer Leona who just about fell out of her chair. Force! What's he doing here? Looking around to make sure they hadn't been spotted, Leona did, what she convinced herself, was only living up to her arrangement with Dimallie and Simeon. Using a Force push that was probably misjudged a bit after that last drink, she pucked Obi-Wan and Jemmiah under the table. Glancing around the cantina, An-Paj at first saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then... Force, is that Leona? What on Coruscant is she wearing? Striding over, he intended on finding out exactly why she had such a guilty look on her face. ***** Lilith asked for a Riptide the next time around. She wanted to make sure she stayed sober enough to truly enjoy the spectacle the Jedi were making of themselves. She ignored the suspicious glances Griff kept shooting her way. It wasn't her fault if he had a chip on his shoulder and there was no way this side of the galactic rim she was going make it easy for him to start a fight. The last thing she needed was to be picked up by the cops and tossed in jail for the night. She had to leave early the next morning if she was going to meet the deadlines for the rest of this run. Krelo waved to a few of the knights and masters she was on good terms with, a depressingly small number in this crowd, and downed yet another drink. She'd spied the padawans in the back playing a Corellian drinking game and was thinking seriously about wandering over to join them. There were all too few opportunities for that sort of fun at the Temple. ***** At the back of the Cantina, things were getting very tense. "What’s going on!" Jemmiah’s expression had turned rapidly from smug satisfaction to alarm within the space of a few brief seconds. "Is this your doing?" Obi-Wan shook his head, eyes wide and round. He mouthed the words "AN-PAJ" and pointed frenetically above the table with one finger. "Oh, holy Master Yoda’s sainted underwear." Jemmiah hissed. "Why is HE here?" "Because he knows that YOU are." Kenobi mumbled. "Keep still. I’ll try and shield us." She tucked herself up as small as she could manage and pulled the plasti-table cover as far over as it would. Obi-Wan likewise huddled himself into a ball, concentrating on masking their presence. He looked at Jemmy and impulsively grabbed her hand. "Whilst we’re down here…" He grinned. "An-Paj! What a delight to see you here. And so unexpected." Leona said in an unnecessarily loud voice. "Leona? I thought it was you," An-Paj walked slowly over to the table where she was sat and cast his eyes appreciatively over her, "But I confess I did think I was imagining things at first. This isn’t your normal look at all. Not that it isn’t most becoming." Leona blushed slightly at the compliment. Under the table, Jemmiah made a gagging gesture and Obi-Wan stifled laughter. What a smooth talking old devil An-Paj was. "I was wondering why you were over here with the padawans, though." Everyone froze, including the two hidden fugitives. "Well…" Leona stammered, wracking her brain for a plausible excuse, "It’s a little embarrassing." The healer frowned. "Go on." Seeing that she was reluctant to divulge her great secret, An-Paj pulled up a seat next to her. His leg nearly caught Obi-Wan in the face as he crossed his legs under the table. "It’s my padawan." She confessed eyes downcast. She indicated the sprawling mass in the corner that was Dimallie. "I think she overindulged a smidgen whilst I was answering a call of nature." "She lost a drinking match?" Hazarded An-Paj with a rueful expression. "How did you know?" "Dimallie doesn’t strike me as the type of person who is used to alcohol." He replied. "She doesn’t seem the sort of person who would drink that heavily without some severe cajoling." He looked around him, at Simeon and Jay, both of them fidgeting under his scrutiny. Kylenn looked worried and even Meri appeared subdued. "Where is she, Leona?" An-Paj interlaced his hands and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Where is who?" Leona swallowed. "I think we both know who. Is Kenobi here, too?" An idea struck him. "Perhaps I should speak to Master Jinn. He must be beside himself with worry, with that poor girl wandering round the streets with a concussion." "Oh?" Leona feigned surprise. "You mean Jemmiah?" "Yes, the one and only." An-Paj nodded. "Now don’t tell me she was never here?" "Well," Leona picked her words carefully, "If she was, I don’t see her now." An-Paj took that in. "I know that young lady’s remarkable talent for finding trouble. I also know the mark of one of her victims." He pointed at Dimallie. An-Paj tried another tack. "I shouldn’t want to risk an excess of alcohol mixed with a fairly recent head injury. That’s not the way to be setting yourself up for a ripe old age. Downright dangerous, infact." Leona’s worry began to surface again. What kind of healer was she when she was jeopardizing her patient’s wellbeing in this manner? She was half tempted to tell him exactly where they were, when An-Paj spoke again. "Anyhow, I’ve brought a little back up with me, just incase we find we should have to persuade Ms Gleshan to return with us. For her own good, you understand." Jemmiah cursed silently under the table. She could almost here the smile in An-Paj’s voice. "Well, if you’re all sure that you haven’t seen them, I shall be off to give my report to Master Jinn. I wouldn’t want to use these RESTRAINTS we’ve got with us. If you should come across Jemmiah, you might let her know that we were searching for her." Jemmiah sat up bolt upright in terror and nearly hit her head off the table. The healer cast a baleful look at his apprentice. "Remember what I always say about misery, Simeon. A little of it can go a long way. If you find that you’ve enjoyed yourself too much tonight, just remember that I will take it upon myself as a teacher and mentor to make sure that you will be suitably miserable tomorrow." He raised a cautioning eyebrow. Simeon took the hint. "Enjoy yourselves, everybody. Nice dress Leona. I wish my wives would wear something like that from time to time." He sighed, and went off in search of Qui-Gon, pausing only to give the table that Obi-Wan and Jemmiah were sheltering under the briefest of smirks in passing. Leona watched the healer’s retreating back as he headed towards the other half of the bar. When he was safely out of earshot, she let out a sigh the strength of a hurricane. "Oh, I thought we’d had it that time, for sure!" She groaned. "My heart’s thumping like a Wookie tree-drum!" She pleaded with her eyes to Simeon. "Go fetch me another drink, huh Simeon?" Simeon blinked in surprise. "I’ll have another Slammer, or whatever that blue stuff was that Jemmiah was drinking. Once you get your voice back they’re really quite pleasant…" Obi-Wan crawled out from under the cover. "He knew we were here, somewhere." He gasped. "An-Paj always knows. He can smell a patient at a thousand paces." He looked back towards the table. "Leona, she’s not coming out." "What?" Leona frowned. "Just what I said." He looked frustrated. "An-Paj did that on purpose. He mentioned restraints and now she’s to scared to do anything except hide under the table." Leona puzzled over this. "Don’t be silly, Obi-Wan. Whoever heard of…" "She has a real phobia about being restrained. I mean REALLY big. When she was on Nargotria, a lot of the captives were kept restrained for the most trivial reasons. She’s sitting under there shaking like a leaf." The healer pursed her lips. So Jemmiah had a weakness after all. "Do you want me to speak to her?" She asked Obi-Wan. He nodded. Acutely aware of all the strange looks she was getting from the other padawans, Leona bent down on her hands and knees and started to crawl under the table, uncomfortable in the realization that the slit in her dress was showing a lot more than it should. What the heck. She couldn’t just leave the girl to sit under the table all night. Simeon returned with her drink. "What’s everyone staring at?" He asked. All the males turned to him in one fluent move and stretched their hands out simultaneously to indicate the shapely rear of Healer Leona sticking out from under the table. "Oh!" Cates smiled happily. "The things you see when you don’t have your lightsabre!" ***** "Jemmiah?" she said softly, shocked by the normally extroverted girl's behavior. Eyes wide with fear, she appeared to be shaking like a tauntaun at midnight on Hoth. "Jemmiah." she repeated, the girl's eyes finally focusing on her. "Are you alright?" A stupid question, it was obvious she wasn't, but she needed to get the girl's attention. Leona knew only the barest of Jemmiah's history. That she came from Nargotria at the age of ten and was a sometimes ward of Qui-Gon's when she was on Coruscant. "I won't be put in restraints." she told the healer quietly, "I can't." Crawling completely under the table, she sat next to the girl, looking into large wide eyes full of fear. Leona didn't think it possible to ever see the girl so vulnerable, her lively spirit so broken. Just looking at her broke the healer's heart. Taking the girl's hand in her own, "No one's going to put you in restraint's Jemmiah. Not Qui-Gon. Not An-Paj. They'll have to come through me first." she said with forceful resolution. Jemmiah blinked at the healer hearing the promise in her voice. "Now I'm not saying there won't be any repercussions from this little adventure of yours. You did leave the infirmary against medical advice, and Master Jinn's wishes, which I may add, were for your own good. We'll all be dealing with the consequences of our actions tonight, but I see no reason you and I can't make the most of it. Within reason, of course." the healer added with only the barest of lecturing tone. An astonished look crossed Jemmiah's face at the caring nature of the healer. It was rare when someone showed her that type of kindness, even when they were subjected to her wild inclinations. Master Jinn had been one of those rare individuals. Seeing that the girl's tremors had subsided and the sparkle had returned to her eyes, Leona ventured, "Why don't I just remove myself from this rather uncomfortable position." she shot a hesitant glance at the many legs that surrounded the table, remembering the show she had probably given. "Simeon" she said, holding her hand out waiting. Taking his cue, Simeon placed her previously ordered drink into her hand. Raising the glass to Jemmiah, who now wore an impish grin, Leona quaffed the drink then began to crawled out from under the table with as much dignity as possible. |
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| A Night to (almost) Remember |
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