Before - Legends Loves Labors- A series on the Life of Qui-Gon Jinn. see Note in first post

Kestral_Kenobi: Do you suppose they will allow us to put in an order for our own? I love babies and chidren, because when they are healthy and happy, they are generally "adorable", even at less adorable moments. Thank you

Ish: Yours.. mine.. Ours.. whoops, is that too much of a Utah thing?

Princess_of_Naboo: Do you mean the little baby? No she is someone else. I have a great antipathy for Tahl. I think the should have scrapped her and written someone more like Maychlorians' Julune, hehe.. or someone else we know.


Ara-gon: It really is isn't it? Actually this scene almost came from the first time my daughter smiled and I can still see in my mind her bright little face just beaming at me with the milk streaming all down her face. I swear that is the moment you KNOW you would give your life for them.

And the two year olds I have gotten to know often LOVE to kiss the baby or try to hold the baby. It made sense

As for Jilayne and forgiving the Jedi. I know exactly what you mean. There are several reasons their way of doing things is rediculous. Needing some changing. But it does give a reason for writing my stories! Thanks for reading, I know how busy you are.

Araxie: Yeah I thought of your two year old a lot writing that. I would love to do a scene with Qui-Gon looking just like she does when she is first excited about something. It is an expression I want to remember forever it is so cute

bi0nic: No worries! It is a quandry, one that needed some exploring given what we know about infants and what sort of a situation they do best in. I would be intersted in seeing some of the issues that no one talks about with children growing up as adopted.

Please don't think I am not for that, because I am 100%, but there are definate ways children cope with not being with their family of birth. I will probably touch on that.

The fine line that Jilayne has to keep treading is that even sooner than many mothers are expected to sent the little one off to college, she will be expected to have him ready for the next stage. I already have hinted at how that works. But we will see it more of course.

Thanks for much for taking the time to read!

 

Title: The Truth Behind Legend.
Notes: The idea came from Araxie and thanks to my Master Luna_Nightshade for the beta!

~~~~~

?NO! I doa WANIT!?

The surprisingly bellicose screams shattered the hard-won peace of the crèche wing of the Jedi Temple. After the immediate shock of the realization that once again the younglings were not always in complete compliance with the gentle and quiet ideals of the code, smiles appeared on faces, relieved that at this moment some other master had to contend with a crisis of pint-sized proportions.

The master in question was the uniquely sensitive Master Yvett and her usually compliant charge, Qui-Gon Jinn.

Indeed, she was most perplexed on this early morning as she was having to cower from the powerful antics of a child that not only could indulge in the usual kicking and scratching of a panicked toddler, but one of a magnitude of talent in the living force. As she neutralized one attack of force-hurled objects after another, she reflected that most other Jedi would assume that they were in the medical wing having to deal with the mending of various wounds common in a place where beings were in the process of becoming knights of strength and mastery. She gave an inward groan as the sweet syrup jar that had been on the table hit the wall, and the sticky streams dribbled to the floor where they would be impossible to clean up.

If it were only as easy as their last time at the healer! Visits to the infirmary with the little boy had always been ridiculously simple. Just last week they had to trek there for a laceration to his little forehead because he misjudged his ability to join the 10th year students in the Form IV introduction when he should have been taking his nap, and he had cheerfully submitted to every treatment, including the stinging mender injections.

If it were only as simple as a wound or an illness, but that was not to be. The terror that was striking the heart of little Qui-Gon was one of apparent massive proportions, because nothing but one of Qui-Gon?s deepest fears could have made him throw such a tantrum, complete with kicking and screaming; Master Yvett wished to give him a standard, human-youngling haircut.

She had been able to trim his hair neatly as an infant, but he had emphatically stated just weeks before that he no longer thought that to be an appropriate answer for the locks that hung in errant strands in front of his line of sight, which had been part of the reason he got the cut needing healer treatment; he couldn?t see the wall he ran into for the hair in front of his eyes! Master Yvett erroneously assumed at the time his declaration to be a momentary fancy.

The door chime to her quarters rang, and she managed to call out a harried warning to the somewhat unsuspecting Padawan Landis Boren, who deftly moved to avoid the datapad careening with startling accuracy toward his head.

His reaction to the situation was quick and commanding. With swift and determined steps Landis continued to forge toward the child lying prone on the floor, his face screwed up in a red caricature of his normally sweet and innocent face. The shock of having someone courageous enough to have braved the stubborn use of his powers and reach his position to pick him up, stopped the barrage of airborne items.

?Qui-Gon Jinn, just what do you think you are accomplishing with this disgraceful display?? Landis exclaimed.

The effect was immediate. The whimpering youngling pressed his face in shame to the chest of the young man that had been part of his raising since he was tiny.

?I doan wan it.? The words were muffled, yet still the child hung stubbornly to the choice he had declared as his own.

Landis raised his eyes to Jilayne Yvett, the question obvious in the set of his brow.

She heaved a sigh and explained, ?He already told me that he didn?t want his hair to be cut in the traditional style.?

?Is that all?? Landis was trying with difficulty to keep laughter from sneaking into his response to the monumental temper tantrum that had been

 

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo. That was exactly how I imagined it!!!!!!!! Well done. The perplexities of dealing with children that have minds of their own!

 

I love how you mix typical child behavior with explanations of later trends!

 

The hair thing was absolutely adorable! Loved it.

 

Ahh, so the mystery of Qui-Gon's haircut is finally explained by someone. Now all we need to know is why Jabba lies on his left and not his right and the last remaining unsolved mysteries of the GFFA will have at last been put to bed.

I kid, I kid. No, that was a great update Noelie, I really liked how it switched from being a run-of-the-mill temper tantrum on the part of lil Qui-Gon to explaining away a part of his later character. I also liked Yoda's almost Solomon-esque solving of the problem put before him. No-one can quite resolve a crisis like our favourite green Jedi.

 

Araxie: I am so glad. Of course I lived it a few dozen times too without the force related antics..

Ish: Yes, I think childhood often decides much for us.. what we love, what we cherish. Thanks for reading!

Princess_of_Naboo: Glad you liked it!

bi0nic: I will have to get back to you on the Hutt thing. Again so much of who we are is already determined at that age, and of course he does a far better job controlling his response all the while doing what he thinks best, but determination of what was right for him would have been an early trait.. just as Obi-Wan was likely very compliant with most of the code, just for instance.


And Yes of COURSE Master Yoda should save the day! Who else could do it?

 

Perfectly adorable. Once again, you capture childhood so well. I loved the closing paragraph, especially the last sentence.

 

Wonderful Noelie...you had me grinning from ear to ear...loved the explanation for Qui's hair and Yoda's part in it! lol...and the mega tantrum!

Brilliant

 

Ara-gon- I am glad you liked it. I wish I had a C-note for each time I have personally had to deal with "I doan wanit!" Thank you for coming.

Kestral_Kenobi-I am glad you were grinning. There is so much to smile about with children, even their naughties! Mega tantrum indeed!

 

I remember my baby brother throwing a few tantrums when he had to get his hair cut. Thank the Force the boy's not Force-sensitive.

Great update. Thanks for the memories it spawned.

 

Hello Noelie. This set of vigs featuring Yvett, Landis, and, of course, Qui-Gon touch on a little seen part of the Jedi life, infancy. Not knowing you well, I can speculate that your mother's heart is poured into these pieces. First, there is Qui-Gon's arrival at the Temple. His noble birth meaning little in the face of his apparent power in the Force. But, Yvett takes each child as her own for time she has them. I like the your idea of the conflict in that babies need nurture and caring, though the Jedi teach against attachments. It is a fine line that Yvett walks.

Then we have poor Qui-Gon's colicy, crying issues as he wades though finding the right balance in his diet. I imagine, that those time, in a nursery can be stressful. I like how Landis was able to find the balance as Yvett slept. She needed the rest.

Finally, there is the haircut! At two yearsold, He must have been powerful in the Force, because he made a mess of creche! A defiant, two year old Gui-Gon gives, Yvett, Landis, and Yoda what for in his desperation have his hair left alone. This one I liked the most. Very well done.

?Qui-Gon Jinn, just what do you think you are accomplishing with this disgraceful display?? Landis exclaimed.

I also enjoyed Landis' attempt to calm Qui-Gon by using the phrase "disgraceful display". I'm not sure why, but he seemed so like a Jedi coming in to calm the raging boy. I actually thought reason would work, but, alas, Qui-Gon had made up his mind. Even Yoda could not change it. Even baby Qui-gon is cool.

 

Aya_na-Bashu: I know I those haircuts with my sons! lol, so when Araxie suggested the plot bunny I had to run with it.

I am glad it gave you fond memories.

Brodiew: thank you for taking the time to read these little vigs. Yes being a mom is part of it, and part of it is the character himself.

It is scientific fact that children need love and attachment to grow well, so given that truth is a constant how do the Jedi deal with it became a thought for me.

They also need strong hands and the presence of both male and female role models. We can try to dance around those truths as much as we wish, but there it is. Ergo: Jilayne and Landis. Both fill the roles and both are capable of discipline and caring within that framework.

And Yes.. Qui-Gon's brand of cool is a little like .. well the Fonz. .it just is and would have been his whole life.

Thanks for helping me out and reading them.

 

Master Yvett had tucked both of her charges in to their tiny beds and had a few minutes for her own reflection of the last five years with Qui-Gon Jinn.

She knew this little bit of sentimental reflection came as this was the last night he would sleep within the confines of her quarters because tomorrow he was going to the open dormitory for young initiates. Sometimes if a child needed more time, she would have managed a few more months, but it wasn?t long into his infancy that she understood that he wouldn?t be one of those children. Even then his natural compassion for all living was set, his potential in the force breathtakingly powerful.

Jilayne ruminated on just how often after the haircut incident both Master Yoda and Master Saa had come to the quarters to visit with the boy. It hadn?t escaped the notice of the other crèche masters either, all nodding knowingly that this boy was one of unique talent and would bear watching.

She had thought she was ready for this step until now. She was still a young woman so blaming getting old and tired for the melancholy she was feeling was out of place.

She had perused the holonet looking out for those articles of news from mothers in the mainstream galaxy dealing with their young growing up and moving on. Somehow the advice to get a new career or start a new challenge wasn?t quite appropriate. Conversely making lunch dates with other friends in the same life circumstance didn?t fit either. There seemed to be nowhere a displaced Jedi crèche master could find someone that would understand.

The door chimed and she went to get it, hoping her eyes weren?t too red from the tears that would escape occasionally the last few days. Landis was there looking tired, the push toward his knighthood closer by the day.

Where did the years go?

?I thought I should visit. His life day was just a few weeks ago wasn?t it?? Landis didn?t stand on ceremony, almost as part of the household as if he had moved his personal belongings in.

She nodded, bravely holding back the tears that were still threatening to overwhelm her. It was too irritating really. Qui-Gon was only going down the hall where such a brilliant moment in the force should be allowed further growth that she was not qualified to give.

Landis glanced at her clucking a bit with his tongue, ?I knew this would be getting to you. Come sit down, have you eaten anything??

He of course knew that she tended to forget such mundane tasks as eating when overwhelmed by stress, and so instead of waiting for her answer, set about getting pieces of toast made and a cup of tisane brewed. She started to giggle at just how at home Landis really was with the tasks of homekeeping. It added the noted of elegance she felt such simple acts of love deserved to be recognized for.

He sat beside her, his look clearly telling her she should eat.

?I knew of course that your soft heart, the one you say you don?t have would be suffering. You always do, but I figured Qui-Gon leaving your quarters was going to be difficult for you.?

?Yes it is.? She agreed simply.

?Little Silany isn?t going to find it easy either. She adores Qui-Gon her protector.?

They both laughed at how often they had seen Qui-Gon tell another crèche-ling that this was his baby so they were to treat her kindly, even if their original intent was exactly that. He would then stand watch over the play, thus intimidating any friends little Silany would make.

They both sat lost in memory, when Landis started. ?I came here for a couple of important reasons, both of which I hope will help you and Qui-Gon adjust to this.?

Jilayne watched with detached curiosity as he produced a bulky package from his coat. ?I obtained this for you. Finding just the right craftsman was hard. There are not too many that work with the binding and hand printing work I wanted for this.?

The tears that had been threatening to fall that week began in earnest as she opened up the wrapping to reveal a gorgeous volume, a journal of sorts of Qui-Gon?s short stay with

 

She pointed to his heart and then to hers. ?We are always linked, here little one. Love will always bind us, as it demands that we let each other grow. Grow well for me and I promise to grow well for you.?

Oh that was so sweet and touching. Made me want to cry.

 

Very interesting installment. I liked seeing how an "encounter" with his birth life might have played out.

 

The section with Qui-Gon asking about his birth mother and Jilayne's stuggle to answer was really well written and felt very real. Jilayne is such a easy character to connect with, you've created a very believable OC with her, Noelie.

Even in spite of this story having more than sap than the average tree, and most definitely being a chick fic, I can't get enough. And that's a testament to how good this is. Many handclaps are deservedly yours.

 

Beautiful, just beautiful.

It's like the first day of kindergarten--only worse!

Landis is a dear with the present for Jilayne. What a kind, thoughtful man, how much insight he showed into what she needed.

It's lovely that Qui-Gon knew that his mother wanted him. I'm sure that helped ease the transition for him.

Jilayne is wonderful. I love her quiet wisdom and gentle love for her charges.

 

Aww, that was so sweet. Loved how Qui-Gon shows such attachment and love there at the end.

 

Oh beautiful post Noelie...Loved the interaction between Landis and Jilayne...and then Qui and Jilayne's conversation. Qui-Gon asking about his birth mother was so touching...so sad.

Just lovely

 

Araxie: Yeah. you and I are just old softies...

Ish: Glad you found that interesting. Who knows.. maybe a bit more shows up later.

bi0nic: Yeah, I plead guilty. I seem to get sap rather easy... and I like mush for breakfast so much it shows up here. Glad I am not scaring you off too much! However keep this in mind I think that the way this will play out he will won't be in the soft world of a "mother" much longer, because after all these are Jedi. He needed a few years to grow, and then other things for strength. At least I think that is my general direction. I am glad you like Jilayne Yvett. All I can see in my head when I write her are all those nurses that take care of children and how caring they are with little ones not their own.

Ara-Gon: I am glad you like Master Yvett. It is worse that kindergarten isn't it? And Landis is a great deal of fun. He isn't gone yet!

Princess_of_Naboo: Yeah, the grown up Qui-Gon was an interesting mix of attachment and letting go at the right time, even if it made Obi-Wan's poor head spin a little bit! I think that started fairly early too.... well it would be a certain part of his essential personality.

Kestrel_Kenobi: I like the friendship between Landis and Jilayne. I know sometimes Jedi children would have to wonder where they came from because so many of us do, even those of us that know our parents have questions about our grandparents and where they came from and who they were.
So glad you came to read. Thank you.


Thank you all for reading these little stories. I am working on the next one.

 

Hello Noelie! Another great chapter in Yvett's saga with Qui-Gon. Now that her has left, where do we go from here? Jump a couple of years ahead and have him visit her with a problem, perhaps?

I never knew that I would so enthralled with the story of a creche master and her rather rambunctious charge. You have a gift for drawing people into the story. The haircut reamins my favorite, but this story was bitter sweet. I liked the Landis' gifts. they were thoughtful and just what was needed for the pain of separation. I also enjoyed the backstory on Qui-gon's mother. Very interestesting.

I look forward to more...