"Qui-Gon, please, slow down!"

Master Windu had to raise his voice over the squealing laughter of two six year olds who were running round and round him in circles, one trying to tag the other. He watched as another of them tried to hide under his robe. Did I ever have that much energy? he wondered briefly. And if I did, where did it go?

"Come on out from there. It's against the temple rules to hide under a Jedi Master's cloak, especially when he's in it."

The children slowed gradually, and the little one came out from his hiding place, staring defiantly.

"I've never heard of that rule." he stated in disbelief.

"Would I lie to you?" Windu replied, crouching down to the boy�s level and making a crossing motion over his heart.

The eyes squinted as the child considered this. "Padawan Kenobi says that you are one of the most accomplished fibbers that the Jedi order has ever seen," he quoted word for word, "I heard him say so to Padawan Cates and Padawan Abran in the transport on the way here." The boy scratched his head. "Is that good Master Windu? I thought Jedi's weren't s'posed to fib."

Windu's mouth dropped open. This was getting interesting.

"Oh, did he? And what else did Padawan Kenobi have to say?"

"That if Master Jinn found out that you'd been helping him to sneak off and meet his friend in secret that he'd have both your hides used as temple crash-mats."

Pride glowed on the little boy�s face. He was one of those annoying kids with perfect recall, and every word, every inflection and rounded vowel was repeated to recreate Obi-Wan's smug tones.

"Padawan Kenobi has a very big mouth." muttered Master Windu. "He's also irritatingly sure of himself, in which respect he's just like his master."

Mace glanced over his shoulder to see the man in question enduring in stoic, Jedi fashion a session of hair pulling by little Sabra-Ni Gil, a dark haired youngster with an unfortunate tendency to not fully control her bladder properly. As they had both found out to their cost.

Words formed in Windu's mind. [Mace] they said, [help me! ]

The master straightened up, sighing. Let's see if this diversion works, he thought.

"Who's for more Candyfloss?"

The screaming in the affirmative of eight high pitched voices almost caused Windu not to hear the [More! ] from his friend. [ Tell me, Mace, have you ever seen eight projectile vomiting kids? It's not a pretty vision. All that pink and green fluffy stuff cannot be good for them, and you want to give them MORE?!]

[They like it! ]

[You'll regret it; I'm warning you. ]

[Look, just shut up and leave the thinking to me. Weren't you ever a kid? Besides, when they're eating their mouths are full and they can't talk.]

Pause.

[Good idea]

[Yes, well. Deviousness is one of my stronger points, or so I've been told already today. ]

[Let's just buy them the stuff. My hair's being pulled out in clumps and the rate this little girl's going I'll soon be resembling you! ]

[Very amusing. ]

The walked over to the vendor, and bought an array of multi-colored and sugary confections. Qui-Gon was still not convinced. To quote his padawan, he had a very bad feeling about this. Then they made their way to a large ceramic tiled seating area, whilst the children ate and played, staying in the masters line of vision as instructed. Mace sat down, groaning.

"I'm getting old, Qui." he stated flatly.

His friend smiled at him. "You ARE old, Mace."

"And what does that make you?"

"I have a padawan to train. Just trying to keep up with Obi-Wan helps me stay in shape." He poked Windu in the tummy. "You're getting flabby, my friend."

"I'm not flabby!"

"You couldn't keep up when we climbed that hill to the Reptalon enclosure." He finished smugly.

"I can out-last you any day!"

"Want to bet on that?"

Windu looked uncomfortable. "Jedi don't bet."

"Coward."

He looked into the large field opposite. It contained some rubbery looking, brown scaly creatures of disproportionate size with a single large horn on its nose, and a trailing top lip. They were unspeakably ugly.

"What are those things?" Windu asked in distaste.

"No idea." sighed Qui-Gon. "I must have been asleep during the how-to-recognize-ugly- captive-mammal class."

Windu stared blankly. "Didn't you used to go out with a girl that looked just like that?"

"Ha-ha!"

"You did! What was her name...ten ton Trudi! That's what we used to call her."

"Mace." Qui-Gon warned.

"You�re just sore because your padawan has a better taste in women."

"I just knew this was coming." grumbled Qui-Gon. "Why can't I have a conversation just once in a while that doesn't revolve around my padawans love life?"

Mace drummed his fingers against the tiles, watching distractedly as one of the kids turned another of her fellow initiates upside down before placing her head first into a trash receptacle.

"You're jealous."

"I'm WHAT!"

"You heard."

"Jealous?!"

"Yup."

"Of Obi-Wan?"

"Uh-huh."

A fleeting moment of panic crossed Qui-Gon's mind as he had a vision of his apprentice standing by an underwater enclosure, with a large tentacle-shaped appendage sneaking towards him from behind...

He shook his head to clear the image. Mace looked at him, challenging him to deny it.

"You're just upset because your padawan's not your little boy anymore. He has his own life, too."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is." Windu folded his arms.

"Everyone in the temple knows you look on Obi-Wan as a son. Well, I've got news for you, Qui. Your eaglet is about to leave the nest. What are you going to do when he becomes a knight?"

"He's got years before that..."

"Listen to yourself! Stop playing the heavy-handed father and let the boy has some fun! Do you want to turn into Yoda, for Siths sake!"

That made Qui-Gon think.

"What's wrong with Jemmiah anyhow?" Mace asked.

Qui-Gon watched a fly absently circle his head. �Nothing."

"Oh, is that right? You haul her all the way to Coruscant age 10, and for the next six years it�s �Oh, isn't she sweet.� Then she hits the big 16, your padawan becomes all doe-eyed and you get protective!"

Master Jinn sighed. "Is that what I'm doing?" he asked tiredly.

"YES. For force sake, Qui, she's a young woman."

"Really. I hadn't noticed." He retorted, but the smile was back on his face.

"Your padawan has." grinned Windu.

"Yes, well. The least said about that the better."

They watched the grazing creatures opposite for a while, aware that time was slowly, VERY slowly ticking away.

"Those things REALLY smell." Windu muttered.

Qui-Gon was lost in thought, remembering the earliest days when he had taken Obi-Wan as his padawan. A hesitant start had turned into an exceptionally strong bond. A stray memory forced itself into his mind and caused him to smile.

"What is it?" Mace asked.

Qui-Gon laughed. "Do you remember the Master/Padawan sack race during the temple sports day? Obi-Wan must've been about thirteen."

"Oh, I think everyone remembers that one!" replied Windu ruefully. "The stomach pump incident." "It wasn't his fault. He thought those tablets were high energy sweets."

"Yoda wasn't too happy."

"Well, we won the event at least." muttered Qui-Gon. "There's no pleasing some people."

"You got disqualified for illegal drug taking. Obi-Wan was as high as a Sand Falcon!"

Qui-Gon pulled a face. "That was one of An-Paj's most memorable calls of duty. Having to pump a padawan�s stomach during a sports day. I think he was only expecting cuts and bruises."

"Yes. Master Cheat and Padawan Junkie they called you two."

"I do remember!"

Mace sighed. "Nothing's ever simple with kids, is it. Remember the last Padawan/Master outing?"

"Sith, yes!"

"You go out for a quiet drink, down town, not expecting any trouble. Suddenly, you're wandering drunkenly round the temple gardens with no clothes, three missing padawans, four Jedi Masters who manage to get arrested for indecent exposure..."

"Obi-Wan nearly drowned in that fountain." frowned Qui-Gon.

"I only left him at the side to dry off!" sniffed Mace. "

"He wasn't breathing." replied Jinn pointedly.

"You're so picky! Anyhow, I had other problems to contend with."

The dawn of realization hit Qui-Gon.

"Oh, yes. You tripped and sat down on that up-turned rake!"

"It wasn't funny!"

"No you're right. It was hilarious!" Jinn laughed. "An-Paj's face when he had to remove it! Do you recall what he said?"

"No." grumbled Mace sullenly.

"He didn't miss a beat. Just looked at it and said "My, what a well worn piece of equipment! The healers were laughing for days!"

"I'm sure."

"An-Paj was brilliant though. Said he knew where to turn to if he wanted somewhere to store his gardening tools!"

"Have you finished?"

Silence reigned briefly, but not for long. The kids were staging a mock lightsabre fight with the Candyfloss sticks, but Masters Jinn and Windu were too tired to care.

"I s'pose we ought to be moving." Qui-Gon offered.

"S'pose so." replied Windu.

Neither made any move.

Qui-Gon sighed. He DID feel old. "Care for some Candyfloss?" he asked Mace.

*******

Jemmiah Gleshan sat fidgeting as she waited for the transport to take her to the zoo. Not perhaps the venue she would ordinarily have chosen to say goodbye to her boyfriend.

She'd not made many friends outside the temple since her arrival several years ago, but that had never bothered her. She'd always been a loner, always having to rely on herself. She just couldn't shake the habit, even after all this time. There was of course her guardian Evla Sovalla, who had taken her in and adopted her as her own, putting her own needs before all others, for which Jemmy had boundless gratitude. She cared for her foster parent very much.

But she had never fitted in.

Not just on Coruscant, but on Corellia and then Nargotria, where Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had first found her.

Obi-Wan.

He'd been such a good friend to her, understanding her occasional bouts of frustrated temper, the overly high spirits, and the endless pranks. He was so often away on field missions, and for her part she missed him very much during her once yearly stay on Corellia with her Uncle. She dug her nails into her hands when she thought that tears were about to spill from her eyes. She was due to embark on that particular journey once more.

Tomorrow, in fact.

She didn't mind her Uncle. He had been kind and supportive of her once an agreement had been reached regarding her future, but there had been an initial period of over a year whilst endeavors were made to locate any living relatives, all fruitless as it happened, in which she had formed a bond of sorts with Mistress Evla from the temple cr�che, and who had decided to offer her a roof over her head. Qui-Gon Jinn had supported the decision, being loosely speaking the one who had championed her cause in the first place. Even Yoda seemed to have an inexplicable liking for her.

Her horror could not be expressed in words when her Uncle was eventually located, and he and his wife had filed for custody. Qui-Gon had been distraught on Mistress Evla's part. The lawyers not unnaturally leaned towards her uncle. Obi-Wan had been her only true source of comfort. A fellow child who could understand a child�s tears.

Her savior, she grinned at the thought, had been Yoda himself. She never knew what he had said to swing things her way, but her Uncle had relented; realizing that it was important that she should have the choice in the direction her future would take. She had chosen Coruscant. But part of the settlement had been an insistence that for four months of the year, she spend time with her Uncle and his wife.

And their three sons.

The transport shuddered as it continued its journey. She hated public transport, part of the legacy of not liking to get too close to people, and here she was, surrounded by beings with the most raucous voices imaginable... and with the most dubious personal hygiene. Literally trapped. Squashed between two bulky figures whose elbows insisted on digging into her side at all times, forced to listen to their inane conversations. Sith, how she wished the transport would arrive!

She took a calming breath, trying to remember what Obi-Wan had taught her about stress control. One didn't have to be a Jedi to meditate and think relaxing thoughts. But, Jemmy thought grimly, it probably helped. He'd assisted her with all manner of things. How to bite her tongue in difficult situations. How to be considerate to other beings less well off. In return, she'd taught him all her best Corellian swear words.

She'd thought it a fair exchange.

In truth, Jemmiah didn't think Obi-Wan's lessons had done her very much good in the long run. The temper management one had been a disaster. Only two months ago she had smashed him over the head with what she could only describe as a rather mingy looking glass vase.

Unfortunately, Qui-Gon had seen the deed committed. She had apologized on the spot, offering to pay for damages, medic bills, only to be met by stony silence. As Master Jinn had wrapped a towel round his apprentice's bleeding head, she had run away. He hadn't spoken to her since.

That hurt. She deserved it, she knew, but it still hurt. Qui-Gon's support during her initial stay at the temple had been so important to her, and so to be cut off from his paternal, guiding hand had been a bitter blow indeed. She had hoped he would come round, but there had been no sign of the chill that had grown between them thawing now, or in the immediate future. And now Evla was ill...

Her one consolation was that Obi-Wan had quickly forgiven her. That he hadn't made good his threat to explain the real reason behind their argument.

And that Master Windu was such a quick and ready accomplice.

The meeting had been arranged between them in an extremely hasty manner via Mace's Holonet connection, and not for the first time had she been thankful that at least some people within the Jedi temple thought her worthy of some consideration.

The Yoda thing still bothered her, though. He'd seen something in her future, something important enough to merit keeping tracks on her, but try as she might he would never say what it was. Master Windu remained tight-lipped also.

Frustrating no longer went deep enough.

Twisting her long, chestnut hair round her finger in annoyance, Jemmiah failed in her attempt to close her mind to the conversation around her, especially as one of the larger ladies elbows landed yet another blow to her ribs.

"I think there's far too much violence portrayed on kids holo-broadcasts these days," she was saying to her even larger companion sat on the other side of her, "I mean, where is all the romance? Where are all the good old fashioned musical productions they used to show when we were children?"

Her friend rumbled to herself for a moment. "You're right dear. You can't call all this trash they listen to these days music, can you?"

"No. It's all thumping, and squealing and meaningless noise." replied the first.

You can talk about meaningless noise, thought Jemmiah.

"It's all this...what's it called. Juzz-Wailing."

JIZZ, thought Jemmy. C'mon. If you're going to insult it at least get it right!

"No wonder the youth of today is delinquent. It's all Juzz-Wailing and Cantina's and low cut tops..." she turned her head distastefully to look at Jemmiah.

The cheek! It's not cut that low...is it? She caught herself staring down at her own ample cleavage. Well, maybe it is a little bit revealing, she admitted. But I'm not a delinquent. I mean, it's not as if I go around smashing up people's property or attacking people...

Oh.

She swallowed. Maybe they did have a point. But Sith, no! Her reason for wearing revealing, figure-hugging outfits was because she had the figure to wear it. She was curvaceous, and not unattractive, with a still child like face and large, copper colored eyes. If you've got it, share it! You didn't last long on the streets if you didn't capitalize on your assets!

Liar, her inner voice said. You just do it to tease poor Obi-Wan. Well, he did blush beautifully.

Her attention was brought back to the conversation by the words "Jedi". "Young girls these days just go for the wrong type of man. It's all bounders and cads, and..."

"...scoundrels."

"Yes," nodded the larger of the two, her jowls shaking in agreement. "What's wrong with a nice Jedi boy? I always did fancy me a Jedi. So well mannered. Always so obliging, happy to help you."

I must remember to set you up with a certain Jedi Master, smiled Jemmy to herself. Two hours with you and I just know he'll be fighting you off with that stick of his.

To her relief, the transport began to approach their destination, slowing gently. Please don't spare me to grow up like these two, she prayed to whatever gods were listening.

"I don't like a beard on a man. I like a nice, clean shaven man." commented number one. "Anything goes these days." She turned to Jemmiah eyeing her as if she were a poisoned scorpion under a rock.

"What do you think, dear?"

Jemmiah shrugged indifferently.

"I don't like beards." the large lady repeated disparagingly.

The transport had stopped moving, and in one lithe swoop Jemmiah had pulled herself from her seated position towards the exit.

"Really," she called over her shoulder, " Is that why you're growing one."

The doors opened and as the light flooded in, Jemmiah made her quick escape. The fresh air was welcome to her after the claustrophobic atmosphere of the transport. Those classes Obi-Wan had given her on politeness really had NOT helped her one whit. But she didn't care.

As she strode towards the entrance she had only one desperate thought.

LET ME IN!!!

*******

Obi-Wan was not having a good time. One of the initiates had stuck a Candyfloss stick up their nose, which had broken off leaving part of the offending object still there. The Sith would be easier to fight, he thought, grinding his teeth as he tried to peer into the little boy's nose. He had only one thought as he looked wildly round for help.

LET ME OUT!!!

Mace Windu glanced around the small initiates massed around his feet. Taking a quick count, the blood in his face began to drain. �Qui-Gon Jinn?� he said, glancing around hastily. �We�re missing one.�

Qui-Gon was kneeled on the ground tying a shoelace of a younger boy who kept wiping his nose with the back of his hand. His head shot up to look at his friend�s face, hoping to see mirth in his eyes. �You�re kidding, right?� he said, finishing with the shoelace and producing a handkerchief from a pouch on his utility belt, which he thrust at the boy. The boy took it, looked at it, and then tied it around his head like Qui-Gon�s hair, mimicking him.

�Sith, no, not at a time like this. We�re missing an initiate,� he replied, counting the group for the third time. �I only get seven heads each time I�ve done this.�

�Force. The little green troll is really going to have our hides if we don�t find him,� Qui-Gon replied, taking another count for himself. Running a hand through his hair, he turned around, frowning at the little boy who was doing the same. He stopped, blushed a deep red, bowed his head modestly, and proffered the handkerchief back. Qui-Gon didn�t pay attention long enough to notice. �Sith!� he muttered under his breath. �I�ll go look for him. You keep an eye on them and don�t let them out of your sight!�

Mace shook his head, wondering how he was going to occupy the group. �All right, but you owe me on this.�

Qui-Gon looked back grimly. �If I don�t find the kid, it doesn�t really matter, now does it?� he replied anxiously.

Settling off into a crowed, Qui-Gon traced the steps that the group had taken back towards the entrance. Suddenly, he caught sight of medium-sized, chestnut-haired girl. Jemmiah? He thought wonderingly to himself. What is she doing here? He saw her glance furtively around, check a chrono hanging on a wall, and then set off determinedly in down one of the paths.

Suddenly, a small set of hands latched onto his leg. �Daddy!� a high-pitched voice squealed. Looking down in surprise, Qui-Gon saw a young blond-haired, blue-eyed little boy attached to his kneecap. The little boy looked up and paled, fear etched across his face. �You�re not my daddy,� he trembled, letting go. Tears began to form at the edge of his eyes, and he rubbed a chubby hand across his face, trying to get rid of them. �Where�s my daddy? He�s gone! He left me! I�m never going to see Mommy or Daddy again!!� the little boy began wailing at the top of his lungs. He cried even harder.

Feeling terrible about causing such grief, Qui-Gon stooped down until he was eye level with the boy. �I�ll help you find your daddy,� he said gently. People began to stare at the oddly dressed man and the screaming little boy.

He pushed at Qui-Gon and looked angry. �No, you�re not my daddy. Go �way!!�

Glancing to his left, Qui-Gon stared at a pair of knee length boots and the dark blue of uniform pants. Looking up, he saw a security guard, tapping his billy club against the palm of one hand.

�Is there a problem here?� he asked sternly.

Qui-Gon opened his mouth to speak but never got the chance. �He�s not my daddy!� the little boy wailed again, tears streaming down his checks. �I can�t find my daddy or my mommy!�

The guard looked humorlessly at the Jedi Master. �And what�s your story?�

�I�m here with initiates from the Jedi Temple, and one of them got separated from our group. I went looking for him and this little boy grabbed onto my leg, thinking I was his father, then went into hysterics,� Qui-Gon replied, looking hopeful. The little boy continued crying noisily.

�Uh-huh,� the guard responded dubiously. �Sir, you need to come with me. I think you and I need to have a little chat about the wrongs of kidnapping innocent children.� He produced a pair of arm restraints and put them on the master�s wrists. �Come with me, son, we�ll find your parents and keep you away from this nasty, mean, old man.�

Unceremoniously, Qui-Gon was hauled to the containment area. Sith, I�m going to murder that little troll when I get back. If I get back, he thought bitterly. Obi-Wan was wrong, this day did get worse. I have a sinking feeling it�s not over yet, either.