Author: Chaos

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Qui-gon and Obi-wan and the universe they come from, along with their vehicle and all their luggage belong to George Lucas exclusively. They are respectfully borrowed with no intent to profit thereby or infringe on the copyright thereof.



Section 7

�Hey, guys?� Debrah called up the stairs after breakfast the next morning. �I gotta go into town to return the trailer and get some food. Is there anything you want me to pick up while I�m at it?�

The Jedi came down the stairs to discuss it with her. The woman shrugged. She�d had plenty of shouted conversations in this house and didn�t see any need for the two men to come all the way down the stairs. Shouted conversations used to be a common occurrence, what with her three young nephews underfoot and as many as seven adults running to and fro on their various errands. Shouting was the only way to be certain you�d been heard.

�We have no real needs at this time.� Qui-gon told her when he and his apprentice had seated themselves on the couch. �We will just go out on the deck and drill some more. Obi-wan needs practice with his throws.� Bright blue eyes winced at the thought, but the young man stayed silent.

�Are you sure?� Debrah looked doubtful. �Maybe I should take you with me to keep you out of trouble.� The Jedi Master looked ever so slightly affronted at the thought that he couldn�t keep himself out of trouble for a few hours.

�If you are worried about us being seen by your neighbors, we can simply stay indoors.� he suggested.

�Look, it�s not that, it�s just that . . .� she sighed, throwing up her hands. �I can�t just leave you two here every time I need to go out. That�s just a little rude. I have to take the trailer back and I have to get groceries and then I�ll have to look at your ship and then I�ll probably have to go out to get parts or something that we can jury-rig into the stuff you need to make your ship fly right. Each of those trips will take a while. During that time you�d have no way to reach me if there was an emergency. And you can�t go out dressed like that.� She gestured at their robes and tunics.

�We have no other attire.� Jinn remarked. �It seems we are at an impasse.�

�Impasse? Why?�

�We need other clothing to go out, but we need to go out to get other clothing.� he explained.

�Not so, though I�m not sure how good a fit the leftovers I have will be. My dad�s pants and shirts ought to fit you length wise, Qui-gon, but they�ll be baggy around the waist. Obi, on the other hand,� she trailed off and turned to face the young man in question. �My little brother�s stuff is the only thing I can think of that might fit you, but Justin�s a little leaner through the hips and not quite so broad across the shoulders. It�s going to be a tight fit.�

�You do not need to-�

�Yes,� she interrupted, holding up a hand to forestall any arguments. �I�ve heard it all before. But you know what?� Debrah looked back and forth between the two of them. �You need clothes, not only so that you can accompany me on other excursions, but also so that you have something to wear when your robes and tunics are in the wash.� She wrinkled her nose. �There is no way that you can convince me that wearing the same clothes for a week straight is customary where you come from.

�I have both the time, the money and the inclination to provide clothing for you. It won�t hurt you to let others help out on occasion, you know.� Debrah sighed deeply. �Besides, I need to help someone right now. If I didn�t have you two here to fuss over and help, I would be laying in bed still. I wouldn�t have moved once I got here and I would still be wallowing in my own misery and pain and I don�t think I would get over it in time to get on with my life.� Anger at their self-effacing attitudes and reluctance to take advantage of her offer welled up. �So just stuff your �we don�t want to put you out� routine in a convenient orifice of your choice and let me buy you some clothes already.�

There wasn�t much that either man could say in response to that, so they chose the wiser course in not saying anything. They both followed Debrah up the stairs. She first showed Obi-wan where Justin�s old clothes were stored and left him to it. She showed Qui-gon into her parents� walk-in closet and picked out one of the least grandparent-ish shirts in there.

�Your boots will be just fine, unless you want to try a pair of my dad�s shoes. They�re long and narrow. I�m not sure how good a fit they�ll be.�

The Jedi Master laid a hand on her shoulder. �We really do appreciate what you are doing for us. I know how hard it must be for you to give your father�s clothes to a stranger, especially so soon after losing him.�

�Yeah, well,� Debrah twisted away from facing the pain by using an old family joke. �We always said that strange is relative and my relatives are stranger than most. You�re my cousin, remember?�

Qui-gon ignored her feeble attempt. �I will do my utmost to not dishonor the man who last wore these clothes.�

�You can�t dishonor him, Qui-gon.� Debrah spoke softly, finally facing him and her grief. Her energy drained away and her voice was low. �He�s locked safely away in my heart. Nothing can touch him there.� She gestured at the various shelves. �There�s pants, a belt, socks if you need them. Let me know if there�s anything else you need.� She turned and walked out of the closet and he heard the bedroom door close behind her as she left.

Qui-gon came down the stairs a few minutes later. The Jedi Master was looking very normal, very average. His long hair would attract a little attention, but in California long hair wasn�t all that uncommon. His blue eyes sparkled at her and Debrah nodded at him in approval. He certainly had a better sense of color than her father, because everything blended together. He�d pulled the loose pant legs down over his boots and pulled a belt tightly around his waist to keep the pants from falling right off his hips.

�Not a bad ensemble for an out-of-towner.� She commented, critically eyeing the gathered and bunched waistband. �We�ll just tell anyone who asks, that you�ve lost some weight.�

Qui-gon raised an eyebrow at her, a smile lurking near his lips. �More than just a little, from the looks of things.�

�Hey,� Debrah protested. �Dad wasn�t fat. He just had a very generous spare tire.�

�Debrah.� Obi-wan�s voice interrupted them both, drawing their attention to where he stood on the stairwell landing. �Let�s get this shopping done quick. I don�t think the seams will hold up for long.�

Debrah wasn�t sure the blood pressure of any women they passed would be able to hold up either. She hadn�t been wrong when she�d said that the clothes would be a tight fit, but she hadn�t exactly counted on how well it would show off the young man�s physique. The white t-shirt was stretched taut across his shoulders and arms, defining every muscle there was, before plunging below the waistline of his jeans. And the jeans were tight enough that he�d tucked them into his boots. In fact, they were tight enough that she wasn�t quite sure how he�d managed to bend his knees enough to come down the stairs, let alone getting them on in the first place. All he needed now was a black leather jacket and some sunglasses and he�d look like a serious biker.

The woman blinked a couple of times. �Yeah, we�d better get you something else, and fast.� She ran a critical eye over the both of them and noted one trouble spot. �You guys are going to have to leave the lightsabres here. There�s no way on Earth anyone would mistake those for something normal.�

�If you feel that is best.�

�I do.� She collected both weapons as the men pulled them off their belts and moved into the kitchen, pulling the step-stool behind her. She stepped up onto the stool to give her the height she needed and pushed aside the plastic sheeting that covered the lights over the sink. She stuck both sabres in the empty space to the right of the opening before sliding the sheeting back into place. �No one will find them there.� She smiled brightly at them. �Besides, we�re going shopping. How much trouble could we get into?�

They dropped off the trailer first and while paying for the rental, Debrah was once again grateful for the invention of credit, debit and check cards. Yeah, her money tended to slip through her fingers on occasion, but they sure came in handy when you were in a hurry and didn�t want to carry around large amounts of cash. She swiped the little rectangle of plastic through the reader and mere moments later she and her guests were on their way.

As Debrah steered Jinx out of the U-Haul parking lot, she turned her thoughts to where she could go to get them all the things they would need. All the Jedi had was what they were wearing. They would need at least several days of clothing. The Jedi mentioned late last night when she�d asked that they had not packed any extra clothes on their ship because they�d been expecting to pick some up on their arrival at their retreat. That meant they�d need underpants, pants, socks, shoes, shirts, and probably a light jacket considering that the Northern California weather wasn�t going to seriously warm up for another month or more.

Debrah sighed. That meant a mall.

She wouldn�t go to the Great Mall of the Bay, there were too many people there on a regular basis. Besides, this was Saturday, a weekend, and the normally loaded walkways would be overflowing with moms buying summer clothes for their kids and teenagers looking for somewhere other than home to hang out. Not that it would be all that different at any of the other malls in the area, but the smaller ones would at least have a proportionately smaller amount of people in them. The only alternative was to spend the whole day driving back and forth across town going to individual shops. Not gonna happen. I�m feeling generous, but not that generous.

Debrah had never been what one might call the usual female shopper. In fact, Leigh had once told her that, when it came to shopping, she would have made a great guy. She went to the store, got what she needed and left. She�d never felt the need to wander in and out of the dressing rooms trying on anything that caught her eye, something that had frustrated her mother to no end. So she knew exactly which mall she wanted to go to. Once she got there, she fully intended to use the idio-locators with their silly little �you are here� arrows to map out the most efficient route through the chaos.

She was an engineer after all.

They finally found a spot to park Jinx on the third level of the garage. Debrah led her charges to the nearest stairway and down to the main floor. They crossed the walkway and stepped through the glass double doors into the department store that anchored this end of the mall. The woman made a point of looking around to see what was around them.

�Take a good look, boys. This is the entrance closest to where Jinx is parked. If, for any reason, we get separated, this is where we will meet back up. Got it?�

�Yes.�

�Okay then.� She pointed toward the men�s department and started off. �Away we go.�

*******

�This stuff you guys have been teaching me is great,� Debrah remarked out of the blue. �Can you sense him?�

�Sense him?�

�Yeah, about twenty meters back. He�s focused pretty tightly on us.� She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. �No, don�t look, Obi. That�ll just tip him off. Never, Never Land figured out that Jinx doesn�t belong to Dellon quick enough, didn�t they? They probably traced my credit card use. We�ve been here long enough that they could have been looking for it and driven here to see what we were up to.� She laughed lightly as though Qui-gon had said something amusing. �Or, more likely, to see what you two were up to.�

�What should we do about it?� Obi-wan asked. Both men were taking all this extremely well. So was Debrah, for that matter. She was mildly surprised to realize just how well. Maybe she�d just seen a few too many spy movies.

�Well, we certainly don�t want him following us around all day. He�s triggering my danger sense almost constantly now and it�s starting to get on my nerves. Anyway, we�ve gotten you guys enough threads for the time being. We could ditch him and bail for home.�

Both Jedi shook their heads. �Your slang is still incomprehensible, Debrah.� Obi-wan complained.

�Only to the un-American.� she responded in an affected hauteur. �Besides, I�ve heard you guys say �Force this� and �Force that� several times. Those are only beginning to make sense to me, but do you hear me complaining? No.�

�About the man?� Debrah nodded at Qui-gon as he pulled them back to the topic at hand. �I could influence him to be on his way and leave us alone.� The woman was already shaking her head before he�d finished speaking.

�No. You already said that trick doesn�t work as well on the strong willed or the truly determined. Well, this guy is most likely both- spooks like him usually are. No, there are ways to do this without resorting to powers that no one on Earth has. We�re trying to avoid attention, right?� Both men nodded.

Debrah looked at her watch and glanced up to see where in the mall they were. A plan took shape immediately. �Okay, here�s what we�re going to do. The theaters are just up around that corner. There should be a showing just getting out in a couple of minutes. We�ll use the crowd as a distraction and a smoke screen.� She dug around in her back pocket for the rubber band she kept there and handed it to Qui-gon.

�Here, when we get around the corner pull your hair into a ponytail at the nape of your neck.� She reached back and tried to sense any change in the mind of the man behind them, but there was nothing. That could mean that he didn�t see anything strange in their behavior, or she just hadn�t gotten the hang of this mind sensing thing yet. The latter was the most likely answer.

At a small sports store, Debrah stopped. �Wait here a sec. Keep an eye on our friend.� She ducked into the store and was back out in barely over two minutes. She smiled, linked her arms through theirs and started them back on their way.

�As soon as we round the corner, Obi, you pull on your new jacket and those sunglasses and mix with the crowd as it comes out.� Knowing that the young man would look good in it, Debrah had splurged a little and bought him a black leather jacket and a pair of wire-rimmed, blue-tinted sunglasses. �Duck into a store or wander around, but start moving back the way we came. We�ll meet you back at the entrance we came in through, okay?� His clear blue eyes were solemn as he nodded at her. �Qui-gon, you get into your jacket, too. Leave your hair inside the collar and put on this cap.� Debrah patted the bag in her hand, the one she�d come out of the sports store with. �Wear it with the bill backwards. Between that and the jacket all your hair should be covered up.�

Debrah stretched out her senses as far as she could toward the theater, but other than the presence of a large group of people, she couldn�t sense anything. �I need one of you to monitor the theater. I can�t sense enough yet to get the timing right. We want to round the corner just before they come out the doors.� Qui-gon�s eye got that �out-there� look Debrah associated with him reaching out through the Force. She let him dictate their pace through the mall as the trio wove their way through the meandering crowds. Sure enough, they had barely come around the corner towards the theater when the first couple of people pushed their way out of the double doors.

Pulling the jackets and hat out of the bags, Debrah quickly distributed them. The trio continued moving even as the young man shrugged in the shiny leather. �Go, Obi.� Debrah gave him a gentle shove. �Meet you back at the entrance.� The young man nodded and joined the section of the throng streaming back the way the trio had come. Qui-gon pulled his hair back and settled the ballcap on his head. As Debrah pulled him through the crowd, he shrugged into his light windbreaker. The green-eyed woman turned to face him and backed into a corner created by a main wall and a decorative pillar. The Jedi Master stood back from her, respecting her personal space, but the blond woman wrapped her right arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

�We�re a couple and we�ve just come out of a romantic movie.�

�I do not understand.�

Debrah would have loved to explain to him the most common �ditch the follower� trick in all movie-dom, but just then the man tailing them rounded the corner and there was no time left. She reached her left hand around the back of his head and pulled him even closer. Startled, Qui-gon put out both hands to steady himself even as she overbalanced in her effort to pull him nearer. Catching on, he left his right hand on the wall behind her head and wrapped his left arm around Debrah�s waist to steady her, which worked out perfectly.

With his head bowed and his broad shoulders blocking almost all view of her, it would be impossible for anyone not in the corner with them to tell that they were not, in fact, locked in a passionate embrace. Despite outwards appearances, Debrah was only staring blankly into Qui-gon�s shoulder, her Force enhanced senses locked on that mysterious man out there, and the Jedi with the Irish accent was only breathing quietly in her ear, not nibbling on it and making scandalous suggestions. No, for all intents and purposes they looked like a happy couple engaged in a short round of tonsil hockey.

And the man tailing them walked right past without a second glance.

Debrah pushed up onto her tip-toes to peer over Qui-gon�s shoulder after the Never, Never Land Pirate, as her brother had dubbed the Area 51 agents, as he began frantically searching through the dispersing crowd for his lost quarry. The blond woman whispered in the ear conveniently located near her lips. �Do you want to follow him a little or leave?�

�Perhaps a short way to see if he suspects.�

�Not a bad idea,� she whispered, settling back to the ground. Debrah ducked under the tall man�s arm, grabbing his hand as she went and giggling loudly. �Honey, people are looking!� she protested in a half embarrassed tone, which caused people to do just that. She settled his arm across her shoulders and wrapped one of her own around his waist. Snuggled up against him, the woman smiled winningly and led him off after their spook.

A mere five minutes later the man stopped and pulled a cell phone from a pocket. Debrah and Qui-gon walked on right past him as he began to punch numbers into the phone and didn�t stop until they reached a phone booth two stalls up the walkway. There they stopped and she pretended to pick up the handset and dial.

�Can you read his lips from here?�

�I will attempt it.�

�Good, maybe we can learn something.�

Qui-gon dipped his head closer to her ear and spoke softly. �He is waiting.�

�Someone will pick up shortly. They wouldn�t leave agents in the field just hanging.�

�He is beginning to speak. �Yeah, I lost them. No, they must have ducked into the theater or another store around here. Just call me back as soon as her credit card scans again and I�ll be back on them. I don�t know what the fuss is about though. Yeah, she checks out just fine so far.� He�s turned his back to me.� The Jedi continued to watch over Debrah�s shoulder. ��. . .got a couple of relatives visiting her, but her parents just died, so that�s understandable, but the timing is just a little too convenient for me. Uh hunh. Yeah, Phil�s checking on that now. Hey, I�ll let you know as soon as I find anything unusual.� He�s moving away again.�

Qui-gon glanced down at her. �I don�t think that we need to follow him any further. Your story about us being relatives appears to have at least cast some doubt about our identity.�

�Yeah, let�s just hope that it continues to fool them. We can�t afford for them to start chasing us before we get everything you guys need to get home.� Debrah gave the area around them a quick scan. �Let�s go find Obi.�




Section 8