Before - Legends Someone to Watch Over Me (JA thriller/romance - repost) *final post! 07/7*

I had an aborted attempt at a repost just before the boards split (just call it lousy timing on my part) and thought that now was as good a time as any for a second attempt. Not sure I can totally justify the repost either, although I'm tempted to tweak here and add bits there...but I guess it really doesn't need much work to it so I think I'll more or less leave it as it is. I suppose this is really just a shameless repost - but if it succeeds in getting just one new reader who enjoys it then I'll feel extremely happy! (and give me an excuse to repost the others from the classic boards!). Who knows, I might even finish Tomorrow Can Wait!

Someone to watch over me (STWOM) was co-written with my wonderful friend Mouse, who has to take the lion's share of the plaudits, especially for being manic enough to keep up with me! And I owe her a big, hearty thank-you for her bringing Rela Quinn to the Jemmiah Chronicles world.

STWOM is a mystery and a thriller, but primarily an unashamed romance. It was written before EP2, and as a result there might be some that view the following as AU, which is fair enough! But we sort of managed to dodge round the issue of Jedi marriage and romance by having the non-marriage rule brought in some time between TPM and AOTC. (I love stretching credulity to its limits! )

Please read, please enjoy...and please leave the occasional comment if you feel you'd like to. Many thanks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Someone to Watch over Me

By Jemmiah & Mouse



***********


It's raining.

It's been raining for the past seven hours but that doesn't matter. Not to me. She doesn't know that I'm here, watching her. Never sees me staring as she leaves her apartment. Never notices me standing in the shadows when she returns. That's how I want it to be.

For the moment.

When I'm ready I'll make my move. I've been standing here here watching for two months now just waiting for the right moment?time becomes irrelevant after a while. Persistence is what counts. And I can be very persistent when I put my mind to it.

Love can drive a person to do very irrational things. It can drive a man to the edge, sometimes further than that. Powerful emotions are frightening. Exhilarating. So much good and evil has been committed in the name of love.

This isn't love. It's something more than that. Almost an obsession.

There have been others who have been important to me?stirred dark, base feelings within me, but not like this. This is pain, anger, greed, lust all combined: an actual and physical hurt eating away at me like a cancer. I have to get this sorted out. And I will...I will end this, soon. In the only way that it can.

So she can continue in her blissful ignorance for the time being, unaware of her hidden watcher. She can close the blinds and shut out the world and myself if she wishes. I can close my eyes and still see her.

That's not all I can see.

From the murky street corners I am aware of the presence of another. Someone else watching, a fleeting figure in the darkness. He's been my shadow for the last eight weeks.

I know he's there.

They say it will rain for the next week on and off. Even the sky is weeping.

But is it crying for me or for her?

************************

Qui-Gon fixed his padawan with the kind of look you might expect an adult to give to a recalcitrant toddler, one who was indulging in throwing his toys across the other side of the room in a tantrum. He was worried about Obi-Wan. Had been ever since his close call at the hands of Rufus Merdan. Somehow his padawan's concentration had slumped to an all time low, his mind always away on some hidden trail of thought, eyes with a vacant look to them. It was almost like the time when his padawan had started moping around after Jemmiah?

She was worrying Qui-Gon, too. Her reaction to the Merdan affair had been extreme. She had quietly and without any fuss upped and moved out of the temple and into her own place, leaving Qui-Gon to wonder if she and his padawan had been fighting again.

 

Neat! I never actually got around to reading this one. *hangs head in shame* But this is a good opportunity.

Oh, typo alert:

When I'm ready I'll make my move. I've been stood here watching for two months now just waiting for the right moment?time becomes irrelevant after a while. Persistence is what counts. And I can be very persistent when I put my mind to it.


The second sentence should either be 'I've been standing here...' or 'I've stood here...'



I like the beginning, very sinister and creepy. And I wonder who the two watchers are. Keep going. I'll keep reading.

 

Cool! Thanks for taking the trouble to read, Lilith

And thanks for the typo - there will no doubt be many of them. I'll put that one down to Scots language - I'll bet more little idiosyncrasies like that are strewn the length of the story!

 

I can't wait for more! I alway sknow I'm in for a treat when I see your name as the author!

 

I love this one! Will read again because I have forgotten so much.

 

Awesome work! I've never read this the first time around, so I'm glad you re-posted! It's all news to me! The watcher sounds like Obi-Wan, as if in a 'prologue' sense, yet the rest telling the story. I could be wrong, but I'm curious as to see who the watchers are.

 

Wow, thanks for all the responses so far! VaderLvr, gosh, I'm blushing now! But thank you! As I say, Mouse also helped write this story so I can't claim all the credit. And Obi-Wan 21, thank you for reading! Ish -glad you're reading! Hope you still enjoy it 2nd time about.

*******

Post co-written with Mouse


~~~~~~~~~


Rela slowly peered outside her door. The coast was clear! She darted out and turned to lock her door then?

?Hello Rela. Can you help me real quick??

Rela?s head hit the wall with an audible THUNK.

?Hello Mrs. Krabople. What?s wrong now??

?Tuffy?s stuck and I can?t reach him. Do you think you can get him down??

Rela looked at her neighbor suspiciously knowing that she had an ulterior motive.

?Mrs. K, I need to get to work.?

?I don?t believe that you still work there.? Mrs. Krabople muttered. ?Please it will only take a second. Tuffy likes you.?

?Yes ma?am.? Rela agreed knowing that she would never get out of there if she didn?t.

Rela followed Mrs. Krabople into her apartment in the search for Tuffy. Rela quickly found him hanging on the holo-terminal, happily batting at the images on the screen.

?Hello Tube Rat. What have you gotten me into this time??

?Squeak, squeak!?

?I wish she would stop too.?

?Rela, you aren?t planning on having a party any time soon are you??

<Where did that come from?> Rela asked herself.

?No, ma?am, not any time soon. Parties seen to be frowned upon lately.?

?Oh that?s Brak?s fault. His father, the super, said the insurance company won?t pay for any more damage done from parties. Ever since Brak had that barbecue in the stairwell that caught one of the floors on fire.?

?Oh, I missed that one.?

?You did? Oh, it was great.?

A knock on the door interrupted them. Rela stayed by the holo-terminal holding Tuffy waiting for Mrs. Krabople to come back. When she did none other than Brak accompanied her. He was a short fellow with dirty blonde hair and downy fur that covered his entire body. Rela wasn?t sure what kind of being he was but she did know that he had a mental capacity, as she remembered, of an empty shot glass.

?Why Rela, look who it is.? Mrs. Krabople said excitedly. ?I had completely forgotten that I had called Brak to look at my kitchen drain.?

?Hello Brak.? Rela said politely as possible knowing that her nosy neighbor had ambushed her.

Brak gave her a knowing smirk. ?Hey Rel. How you doin???

?Fine Brak. Now if you?ll excuse me I need to get to work.? Rela explained trying to make a break for it.

Brak gave her a quick look up and down, whistled appreciatively through his teeth then started towards the kitchen. Rela rolled her eyes and started to inch towards the door.

?Well what do you think?? Mrs. Krabople asked.

?I think that I should be angry at you. Mrs. K I?m already seeing someone.?

?Who? That Jedi boy? He?ll just break your heart Rela. Just like what happened to that naked one and that dear sweet girl. They were such a cute couple.?

Rela smothered a snicker at the description of Jemmiah as that dear sweet girl. Mrs. Krabople didn?t notice and continued talking.

?What does he do for you anyway??

<Wouldn?t you like to know.> Rela sighed contently to herself.

?I mean something that can be mentioned in mixed company.? Mrs. Krabople clarified.

?He makes me laugh.? Rela smiled.

Mrs. Krabople moved Rela so they could both look into the kitchen to see Brak hunched down hitting pipes with a hammer. Just in time to see his backside fully exposed because of his ill-fitting pants.

?I could have gone all day without seeing that.? Rela muttered to Tuffy, who had fallen asleep in her hands.

?Rela, you do know that Brak?s single.?

?Really? Now that?s a shocker.? Rela told her dryly. She quickly handed the sleeping Tuffy over and headed for the door.

?Now if you?ll excuse me, I really need to get to work. I don?t want to be late. Again.?

?Rela listen to me.? Mrs. Krabople called out, now in her mother mode. ?You be

 

I had just as much fun writing this as you did Jem! It's one of my favs. Especialloy keeping Leona guessing to the end, but that's another story. I'm so happy to see this reposted. Now I can go back and reread and enjoy again.

...an actual and physical hurt eating away at me like a cancer. I have always loved this line. It always gives me chills.

Tee-Hee! I almost forgot how annoying Mrs. K and Brak were. Almost.

(Note to self: Get to work on that story where Rela first meets Brak and Mrs. K.)

 

Great! loving this! Poor girl... not wanting to run in to Obi... Hopefully she's ok though... And friends getting caught in between things like that... doesn't that happen all the time!! hehehe

 

Jemmiah slowly began to peel away her racing gear, trying as best she cold to ignore the bruising she knew would already be visible on her skin. Sure enough, all the way down from her left shoulder and running along her side to below her knee spread a mixture of dark, mottled skin and splashes of angry purple-red. Rela's words of chastisement still plagued her as she pulled on her bathrobe, tying it loosely at the side so that it wouldn't chafe against her abused flesh.

What had she said that was so wrong?

Jemmy couldn't understand what had caused such a vehement reaction in Rela. It wasn't as if she were obliged to follow her every command and instruction.

//Shoozer, Rela. You're not my mother!//

Yet to fall out with one of her few remaining friends left a very bad taste in the Corellian's mouth and the headache that pressed down on her skull she attributed in no small way to her fight with the argumentative and fiery Rela Quinn.

"Just once - Just ONCE, you hear me - I'd like something to go right for me." Jemmy muttered as she limped stiffly into the kitchen in search of a tumbler for her headache pills. "Is that such a terrible thing to ask? Why does nothing ever turn out well for me?"

//Because you won't let it.// her inner voice replied.

Her inner voice. She'd been trying to ignore that more and more in the last few months but to no avail. It always told her little truths about herself that she didn't want to hear and Jemmiah wished with all her heart that it would just abandon her, just as she'd turned her back on everyone else she cared for. It had been a sad but necessary choice to leave her friends behind. She couldn't really justify putting them in the awkward role of sitting on the fence and mediating between two very angry and hurt young people.

And she didn't want to hurt anyone else ever again.

//YOU hurt him. YOU did that. Proud of yourself?// retorted her inner voice once more.

"Shut up." Jemmiah grumbled.

In four days time she would be competing for the richest prize Coruscant had seen for a humble swoop race. The money the winner would receive was an extraordinary amount. All she had to do was complete the course in the fastest time and make sure she turned up on the day healthy, well and in one piece.

Jemmy looked at the bruises on her hip and thigh once more.

Fat chance of being healthy and well?

"Why did you have to be right, Rela?" hissed Jemmy, a hand held to her head. She knew her only chance of being passed fit to race was to get those bruises seen to as soon as possible, and that meant going to the temple infirmary. Which also meant An-Paj or Leona asking all sorts of questions, and a probable dousing in sticky Bacta bandages - and no doubt a visit from Master Jinn lecturing her on the dangers of travelling at high speed?

//OK. So what if Rela's right? Big deal. I'm still suspicious. She might genuinely worried about me - and I should be grateful - but there's a part of me that feels she's trying to find ways of getting me back with Ben again. And I can't allow that. I can't?//

"For once, inner voice, I have to agree with you." Jemmiah closed her eyes, willing the headache away. "She means well but it's over?finished."

//Who are you trying to convince?//

"How many times do I have to tell you to butt out of my mind? This is a private conversation."

//Do you know how stupid you sound, talking to yourself like this?//

"Who's gonna see me, huh?" Jemmy sighed, eyes alighting on the swoop helmet with the darkened visor that sat upon the seat of her sofa. Lilith had bought it for her eighteenth birthday. By this point, Qui-Gon already knew about her frequent trips to the track. Sithspit, she remembered the traded insults and heated tongue lashing that had taken place when he'd confronted Lilith about it all. But in the end he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop her.

"Yeah, if I've hurt Ben then I've disappointed Qui-Gee," she grimaced. "Seems to be a special habit I have for kicking people in the teeth

 

"Im sitting her reading this and suddenly come to the conclusion that Obi-Wan and Jemmiah's misery is all the fault of Qui-Gon. He had absolutely no right to extract a promise like the one he got from Jemmiah toward the end of A Night To (ALMOST) Remember..."

Don't worry Leona. One day you'll understand what Qui-Gon meant, and why the promise he made Jemmy swear in ANTAR is possibly the most significant aspect of the chronicles.

But you'll just have to wait...

 

This post was co-written with Mouse

*******


"Obi-Wan."

There was no immediate answer from Obi-Wan but his master continued regardless.

"Padawan, I really think we should discuss this further." Qui-Gon said quietly.

"I've made such a fool of myself, haven't I?" Obi-Wan mumbled into the cup of hot chocolate he held tightly in his grasp, not caring particularly if he did hurt his hands. Feeling physical pain would take his mind off the mixture of embarrassment and heavy heartedness that he felt right now.

Had felt, for the past two months.

"In what way?" Qui-Gon asked, sitting alongside the miserable apprentice on the couch in their living quarters. Obi-Wan stared briefly into his cup, remembering that hot chocolate had always been HER favorite drink, torn between placing the drink on the table and pushing it aside or hug it even tighter in his hands.

"I shouldn't have told you." Obi-Wan said honestly, regarding Qui-Gon in an open and frank manner. "You're going to spend the rest of your days thinking what an idiot you have been saddled with for a padawan."

"Is that really what you think?" Qui-Gon asked. "Or are you feeling sorry for yourself?"

"I don't know." Obi-Wan considered. "Both perhaps. I'm beginning to wonder if I like tormenting myself. I have to get on and put it behind me. That much I know. It's just that I haven't managed it at all well. Infact if anything it's got worse."

Qui-Gon looked at the young man sadly.

"I know what it's like padawan. I've been there."

"I'm still an idiot. Why should I think she'd want to marry me?"

"For what it's worth I think the issue is not about you, I think it's to do with what's going on inside Jemmiah's head."

Obi-Wan snorted, refraining from making the obvious remark.

"Why don't you talk to her?"

"I can't." Obi-Wan said definitely. "It's still too painful."

"Rejection is never pleasant, no matter when it happens." Qui-Gon smiled thinly. "I would tell you about the time Sal-Fina and I got engaged but I think it would just make you cry into your cocoa."

Kenobi blinked.

"You and?Sal-Fina?" he said in disbelief.

"It was a non-event. We got engaged in the morning and by the evening it was broken off." Jinn sighed.

"We are talking about the engagement here." Obi-Wan snickered.

"Padawan!" Qui-Gon rebuked, although he was pleased to see the young man with some life to him at last.

"Well, at least you got engaged. I didn't even get as far as that."

"You miss her." Qui-Gon stated.

Obi-Wan half shrugged as if ashamed.

"I feel so foolish." He confessed. "When I was asleep last night I thought she was there with me. And when I realized she wasn't I felt so?"

"What?"

"Alone." Obi-Wan replied. "I felt alone. I've got used to her being there. I've got used to her teasing and her occasional temper tantrums. I've got used to her terrible pinching fingers?"

"I'm not sure I want to hear this part." Qui-Gon interjected.

"And I've become used to helping her cope with her nightmares. I find myself wondering how she's coping on her own, and then I get angry at myself for caring."

Qui-Gon drummed his fingers on the side of his cup.

"Padawan, it seems to me that however bad you think your relationship with Jemmiah my have sunk on past occasions, you always found a way of sorting things out. You had much more honesty between the pair of you than I ever had with Sal-Fina. You have to decide what you want and then you have to decide how you're going to achieve it." He placed a large hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Maybe you should go and have a think about that."

Obi-Wan nodded, standing up with his hands still round the mug.

"Thanks." He smiled slightly at his master before retreating to his room. "I will."

**********

"I'm telling you, someone's been watching us." Rela hissed as they finally made the sanctuary of the infirmary. Dimallie looked at them in surprise, and nearly walked into a door.

//Nothing's changed that much in two months.// Jemmy grimaced.

 

This is continuing to be great! Sounds like it's about to get interesting also.

 

Thanks Obi-Wan21. I'm really glad you're enjoying it

*******

"Can you lie along the bed?" Leona asked.

"No...not really." Jemmy said in a hoarse whisper. "I'd rather not try."

Leona said nothing, merely indicating that Jemmiah should loosen her clothing to allow her to see whatever damage might be lurking underneath.

"Careful." Jemmy warned, closing her eyes and awaiting the inevitable cold fingers against her flesh.

They never came.

"Perhaps you'd like to tell me how you really did this." Leona broke the silence.

"I told you?"

"That you'd fallen? Yes you did. Now I'm asking for something a little more honest." Leona watched the girl' chagrined expression fade to one of reluctant acceptance.

"You knew." She growled.

"Yes, I did. But I also knew you must have a reason for your falsehoods and so I said nothing. I would, however, like to be able to do my job properly and for that I am going to have to extract the truth from you."

"I did fall." Jemmiah said in a small voice.

Leona coughed pointedly.

"I fell from my swoop." The eyes fell to the floor again. "Luckily, I never damaged anything too important."

"I'll be the judge of that." Leona remarked.

"A bit of tinkering will put everything to rights."

"It could have been very serious!" Leona examined the now blackening bruises all over the girl's side.

"Just a quick patch up job and nobody will be any the wiser there's been a mishap."

"Wasn't there a course doctor or something on hand?"

"What good would that do? They don't understand where everything goes when bits go flying off. Or how to reattach it."

"Bits? How dangerous is this swoop racing?" Leona demanded.

"Only twelve or so fatalities in a standard year. That's not bad."

The healer looked stunned.

"Anyhow, there's no cause for alarm. I admit the old body work doesn't look so hot at the moment but a quick touch up and a hard rub down with an oily rag will prove most beneficial."

"What sort of things do you swoop riders get up to?" she said in a horrified tone of voice.

"Eh?" Jemmy frowned.

"I mean, I know that some sports stars have some strange ways of celebrating victories but that is downright perverted!"

"Leona, what are you talking about?"

"What are YOU talking about?" Leona asked carefully, hoping she'd got the wrong end of the stick.

"My swoop of course! It got all scraped and it's going to need sorting before the weekend when I'm supposed to compete in the big race."

Leona sighed.

"Well, that's a relief." She said.

"No it's not! I'll have to pay for the damage. I don't come into my inheritance until my twenty first birthday and I have virtually no money of my own. What I do get in the way of an allowance from my uncle just about covers the rent charge for my apartment." She sighed mockingly. "It's dreadful. I'm down to my last bottle of nail varnish."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Leona placed a hand gently on the girl's side.

"It's not like I'm asking much. I'm not after his money: I just want what's mine. It's my mother and father's money and estate that I'm talking about."

"And what would you do with it?" The healer asked conversationally as she assessed the damage with the force.

"Sell the estate for a start. Get rid of it. Should be worth a fair bit. My uncle's maintained it very well."

"What else?"

"I'm not sure. Anyway, it's pointless dreaming about it seeing as how it's a long way from ever becoming reality."

Leona straightened up.

"You must have been going at a fair speed." Leona looked her straight in the eye.

"If you'll forgive the sarcasm, that is the whole point of swoop racing." Jemmy covered herself slowly again with her clothing. "What's the prognosis?"

"You are very badly bruised, internally and externally. Fortunately, nothing seems to be torn or actively bleeding?" she smiled sadly at her. "We have to be careful on that score, as you'll appreciate."

"Yeah." Jemmy looked away.

"And so I'm going to offer you a choice."

 

Post by Mouse

*****

Rela stormed out of the temple as fast as she could. How could two people that obviously care so much for each other be so stubborn? She could feel her blood pressure rise just thinking about it, which made her walk all that much faster. Rela had to do something to take her mind off the disaster she had just witnessed and start thinking of a new plan.

?The Pit.? She murmured to herself. ?That way I can shoot at something, and Jedi aren?t allowed in the Pit.?

Rela took a quick look around and got her bearings then hastily started towards her new destination. Now that she had gotten her temper somewhat under control, she started to get that odd feeling again. She didn?t care what Jemmy said she knew someone had been watching them she could feel its eyes. With a shiver, whether from the rain or her thoughts, Rela picked up her pace and swiftly made her way inside the Pit.

The darkness surrounded her and Rela deeply inhaled the musky scent that took her back to a past life. She couldn?t help but smile. There were some things that were inevitable, death, taxes and the seedy characters that would hang out at the Pit.

?Quinn! What are you doing here you short, no-drinking, temper-flaring, redheaded snippet??

?Magee, I?m here to shoot at something, you overweight, no-hair, bug-eyed, no shooting, stupid, drunk mook! Gotta spot open on the range??

?Not going on the course today? Well, the range is pretty full, but yeah got a spot open, only if you test out this new blaster for me.?

Rela eyed him warily for a moment, but decided, why not? Couldn?t hurt and it could get her mind on something else.

?You got a deal Magee. Where to??

?Number eight?s open.?

Rela started toward the firing range, but suddenly paused as if mid-thought.

?Magee, you haven?t seen anyone?well?weird have you?? she asked carefully.

?Quinn, you just described over half the beings in this place.?

?No, this one is different. I can?t explain it, but the whole idea has got me wound tighter than a strung out spice addict.?

?Ouch.?

?You?re telling me. Anyway if you get any funny feelings about anyone new, would you let me know about it??

?Sure thing Quinn.? Magee answered to her retreating form. ?And just shoot at the targets this time! No customers!?

Rela waved her hand in acknowledgement that she had heard, but stayed quiet. Her mind was now working on a new problem as she squeezed of a round of shots. How to get her two best friends back together? Obviously throwing them together didn?t work. Maybe if one of them was in trouble, then would the other come running to help. Rela shook her head as she fired off another round. They both had been there, done that. Plus something like that could backfire and they would be worse off then they are now. If they would just stop yelling for a minute and talk to each other, but how? After what just happened, Rela would be surprised if either of them would talk to her much less each other.

Rela was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the large figure looming over her. As round after round rang out, Rela was still unaware of the figure creeping closer. The last shots finished and a large furry paw clamped down on the redheaded shoulder causing her to jump.

?Damn you Mus!? Rela yelled at her Wookiee friend. ?I?m already about to crawl out of my skin, what did you have to do that for??

{Playing hooky?} He grumbled.

?I don?t have an appointment today.? Rela huffed.

{I?m talking about the cantina. Els called you back and you weren?t at home. You were cold busted and he?s in a rage.}

?I needed to help a friend and took a mental health day. Although now I feel as if I just made things worse.?

Mus looked down at his small friend. She was hiding something, he could tell, but it was just a matter of time until she told him. He wasn?t as good as his cousin Hrruggla at making her open up, but even he knew something was bothering her.

?How did you find me?? Rela asked.

{Where else do you go when

 

Sometimes the only reason Obi seems to open his mouth is to take one foot out and put the other in.

But we love him anyway.

 

Hi - waves at Jemmy (love the new faces, but why none waving )

A great start to the thread - can't wait to see if I can spot any of the changes - unlikey granted!

Now the exams are over I might even be able to keep up with the stories - need to start S&R again from scratch as I've forgotten who all the new characters are.

 

It was quite late at night, infact Leona had almost completely lost track of the time. She was working a late shift that evening, her few moments of peace and solitude spent writing a chapter for her latest story. It had been going smoothly for some reason, perhaps too smoothly. The stories flowed, the dialogue flowed and the characters came alive without effort, making the transaction from her own thoughts to the holoterminal with no real problems at all. She thanked the force profusely that despite the long working hours her muse was feeling particularly benevolent.

She felt entirely satisfied.

The exultation faded somewhat as she cast out with the force, trying to locate the feeling of hurt and discomfort she had picked up on briefly whilst her mind had wandered. Discomfort wasn't unusual in an infirmary but this? seemed a different type of hurt entirely.

Well, she'd get no peace of mind if she didn't check for herself.

Leona saved her story with a heavy sigh. Everything had been going too well and without interruptions until now. It never did to tempt the force.

She followed the palpable trail of emotion out of the room where she was sitting and down into one of the connecting corridors that linked the wards in the infirmary. Further still she walked, nodding briefly to Gethin Territ as he did his rounds, avoiding the newly washed areas on the floor. She paused for a moment, closing her eyes in concentration, trying once more to locate the feeling of unhappiness and frowning when at first she could not do so. Had she imagined it?

There it was again.

This time Leona turned left and headed toward the main waiting room, the feeling of unhappiness getting stronger the closer she got to the doors. Even though the force seemed to give her some insight as to what the source of the misery was it was still a slight surprise to see it confirmed with her own eyes.

She closed the doors behind her and gazed sadly at the only figure in the waiting room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked gently. "I thought you'd gone home?"

Jemmiah shrugged with her unbruised arm.

"Didn't think anyone would mind." She mumbled.

"But just sitting here in excess of half a day?" Leona walked over and sat down beside her. "That's not doing you any good, is it?"

"I don't know. Tell the truth I don't much care."

"Oh, dear." Leona said simply. "Sounds like you've got a bad case of the blues."

"Is there a cure?" Jemmy asked, looking at her for the first time since she had come in.

"For the bruising or the blues?"

"I already know the cure for the bruising," Jemmiah grimaced distastefully. "I don't much care for it."

Leona regarded the girl for a moment, trying to sort out the many mixed emotions that assaulted her.

"I think the first thing you need to do is get the physical injuries seen to." Leona remarked. "You'll feel so much more able to cope with the world once you're well. It's easy to feel depressed when you're unwell."

"Yeah, but the tank..." Jemmiah shuddered.

"You weren't the first person to go in the tank and sadly, you won't be the last. Doesn't make it easier, I know."

"I'm just trying to avoid the inevitable." Jemmiah looked at her feet. "I knew as soon as I came off my swoop that I'd end up in that infernal contraption." She looked at Leona nervously. "You haven't told Qui-Gon, have you?"

"I said I wouldn't, and I meant it." Leona stated, trying to reassure her.

"Ben?Obi-Wan will tell him." Her face altered with suppressed anger. "I don't want Qui-Gon to know I hurt myself. I'll never hear the end of it. You know how much he disapproves of what I do."

"He's frightened that you'll be really badly injured. And if I may say, he'd be a poor parent if he didn't worry." Leona added.

Jemmiah twiddled her thumbs for a moment.

"What about Evla? What do you think she'd have said?"

"Well," Leona considered, "I think the first thing she'd have said was 'Jemmiah, get in that tank this instance' and leave the worrying and recrimination until la

 

Great to see this one again, Jemmiah.

 

Hi Sara! Thanks for reading again!

Leona, well if someone can ever talk sense into Jemmy it's your namesake, lol!

********

Obi-Wan wondered if he had walked the last few miles back to the temple with his eyes closed.

It was after two in the morning. He could have hailed an air cab; there was never a shortage of them, but he needed the cold, crisp Coruscant air to clear his head of all the terrible thoughts that assailed him with unrelenting persistence.

What had he done?

His master would have despaired of him had he known of his fight with Jemmiah. Despaired of both of them, but him in particular. He was supposed to be a Jedi and Jedi were above such things. His anger, his wounded pride and his lack of forgiveness had hardly marked him out for greater things. As for Jemmiah, she was a deeply scarred individual whose upbringing still left its mark upon her behavior. She knew better but couldn't help herself. He had no such excuse.

His residual anger had burned itself out after his talk with Rela. He remembered the countless pranks and tricks he and Jemmy had played as children, recalling also the numerous occasions where they had defended each other through thick and thin. They had laughed and consoled, teased and fought. No matter what she did it was virtually impossible to stay mad at Jemmiah for any length of time. And that was the problem.

He knew he should be angry and hurt. He had wanted to hurt her in return to show her how it had felt but now all he could think of was the image of that frightened and skinny child with the wild eyes they had brought back to Coruscant with them all those years ago.

"What are you doing?" he had asked on the first night of their voyage home.

"I?I don't sleep very good." She'd answered, pulling the bedding off the fold down bunk. "I thought I'd find somewhere else to rest tonight."

"What do you mean?"

Jemmiah had glanced nervously round from side to side as if afraid that his master would overhear them.

"I get nightmares sometimes. Weird dreams. Quite loud. I don't want to wake anyone up."

"But that's silly!" He'd protested. "It doesn't matter where you sleep, you'll still have nightmares."

"I know. But at least I won't have disturbed anyone else." She'd looked at him anxiously. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Where are you going to go?" he'd asked, sounding incredulous.

"I'll find somewhere." She pulled the pillow away from the bunk with her thin little arms. "I like being on my own?"

On her own. That's where she was again, retreating to lick the wounds he'd inflicted, just as she always did when feeling vulnerable or angry or hurt. Never discussing, never sharing any thoughts with anybody except for Rela. It made him jealous, he realised, that she'd talk to their mutual friend long before she would turn to him. It was a big part of the reason that they had so many misunderstandings and arguments; if only they could communicate with each other more, how different things might be!

Obi-Wan stopped apportioning blame at Jemmiah's feet, knowing that he was just as bad as she was when it came to keeping secrets. There were many things he couldn't speak to her about. Things in his own past that he would rather forget?

Those nightmares of hers were semi-regular visitors, never seeming to lessen in their ability to cause pain. Jemmiah coped with them as best she could; she'd told him many times before that they would never leave her and so she was resolved to learn to live with them. The only thing he could do was to hold her until the shaking tremors left her and offer to talk about them if she wished.

She never did.

He desperately wanted to speak to Rela about it but knew that such discussion would be met with cool civility at best: Rela was very big on keeping promises and secrecy. Obi-Wan however remained almost feverish with curiousity. What did they talk about? How much of Jemmiah's past had she shared with her friend and declined to share with him? He so wanted to demand that Rela tell him e

 

I'm still reading! I'm enjoying this very much. The suspense is building slowly, but surely.