Raen stared around, eagerly trying to take in every detail, even of the spartan
hallways as they made their way to the quarters that she would be sharing with
Obi-Wan and his master, at least for a few days.
        " I never knew this place was so big," she whispered into his ear, and he
laughed, shifting her more comfortably in his arms, unwilling to put her down.

        " Really, Qui-Gon, what were you thinking?" Mace Windu asked coolly, fingers in
their ever-present steeple before his lips. " Look what followed us home, can we
keep it?"
        Qui-Gon stifled an unseemly laugh, and spread his hands out to his sides. "I
know you all think this is a completely arbitrary act on my part, but I do have
a sound reason for bringing the girl, her wishes and those of my padawan
notwithstanding."
        Yoda leaned forward, eyes sparkling with restrained humor, waiting to see just
what rabbit his former padawan was going to pull out of his hat to devil the
council with this time.
        " I firmly believe this girl to be , " he paused theatrically,"  very important
to us all."
        " Perhaps you could be a bit more vague, Master Jinn," suggested Master Adi
Gallia, her eyes flashing with merriment, though her features remained stern.
        " Yes, Qui-Gon, I don't think we have enough mystery here," Windu actually
cracked a smile, that time, and soon the whole council was infected by the
mirth, glad their errant pair of Jedi were safely back, regardless of whom they
had brought along.
        " On a serious note, I would like the healers to look at her, and Obi-Wan. Make
sure nothing untoward has come from her world. And now, to the crux of the
matter. " Jinn sank comfortably to his knees, and the assembled Masters paid
attention, putting away their frivolity.
        " This young woman appears to me to be as Force blind as a body can be. I
cannot make a dent when I try to speak to her mind, or hear her, or even
influence her. She's a blank wall to me. My padawan, however, has the unenviable
ability to hear, see, and feel her mental and emotional states, and she, to some
degree, his. "
        Mace shifted uneasily," And they've been intimate?" he queried, brows shooting
up his smooth brown forehead.
        " I would have to say yes," Qui-Gon assented, " I don't sense anything I
recognize as a soul bond, Mace, or I'd have mentioned it,"
        " So you brought her here, to us?" that from the lithe form of Depa Bilaba,
curled up in her council seat, watching the proceedings with hooded eyes.
        " Yes. I can't state any clear reasons for allowing her to come, just a
pressing need to remove her from there.  I think I made the correct decision."
        " The decision without her consent was made?" Yaddle, one of Yoda's race
demanded, her voice ominous.
        " Of course not. Do you think I've no brains, or ethics?" Qui-Gon stared deep
into her moss green eyes 'til she looked away, ashamed.
        " Your pardon I crave, spoke out of concern, I did," she mumbled, and her
cheeks flushed apple green.
        "The fact remains, she petitioned me to bring her here. I think, if she were to
be tested, that one of two things will out: either she will have a very high
midi-chlorian count, or a nearly non-existent one. Once that is determined, i
hope we will be able to figure out her seeming symbiosis to my padawan."
        There was a rustling of robes, the susurrus of voices, both audible and mental,
and then a quiet moment before Windu spoke," I think you can handle the
situation, Mater Jinn. We leave the matter in your capable hands, with the
exception of Master Yoda,"  he deferred to the green imp wriggling in his chair.
        " Speak with this girl, I must, Qui-Gon. Examine her myself, hmmm. " he slid
out of his chair, struck the butt of his stick twice on the marble floor, and
moved with haste to the doors, expecting Qui-Gon to follow. He did, bowing to
the council as a body, and striding out.

        "They're looking at me," Obi-Wan objected to the figures aligned on his chest
of drawers. She had done something and the lightsabers glowed when she turned
off the lights. Raen giggled, and turned the light back on, leaning her hip
against his doorframe.
        " They can't be looking at you, they're plastic." she rebutted, and swung away
from the door to put her meager belongings into the drawer he cleared for her.
As she passed him, he  grabbed her and pulled her down onto his lap. She
squirmed to get more comfortable, and hugged him.
        " Even though I still don't really have a home anymore, I feel better here. "
she said, smiling happily at him.
        " You'll always have a place with me," he offered, " Even if we were both
ninety and I were living in the old Jedi's home."
        " How gallant," she kissed the tip of his nose," But what if you were married?
With kids and grandkids, and a dog and ..."
        " Even then. Or if you were. It wouldn't matter." he hugged her hard, then let
her go. "They're on the way. Master Yoda wants to see you." Obi-Wan led the way
out into the common room, and they waited.
        The door slid silently open, and in came Yoda, a serious looking Qui-Gon at his
heels. When both Masters were seated, the two young people stood before them.
        " Sit, you will," commanded Yoda, glaring up at them," Think you I care to
strain my neck?"
        " Sorry, Master Yoda." Raen was abashed, and dropped to the floor, sitting
cross-legged, her eyes on a level with his. Obi-Wan followed suit.
        " Now, explain to me, you will, how recognized me you did." Yoda stared
intently into her eyes, and she blushed.
        " I feel as if I know you, Master Yoda, because..." she hesitated, looking to
Obi-Wan for an assist. He remained silent, but the brush of his mind comforted
her. She straightened her posture and got the words out as quickly as possible,"
Because I saw those damn movies too many times, and you were always one of my
favorites."
        "EH?" he grunted in surprise, as her hand shot out toward him, holding a tiny
replica of him, complete with stick. He took it in one gnarled hand and examined
it minutely, a grin creasing his features.
        Obi-Wan's eyes rolled, and he felt as if they would likely roll out onto the
floor, if this sort of thing kept up. She seemed to have brought more little
plastic figures than anything else, and he knew somehow, his master would never
let him hear the end of it, especially when he saw the trio on the chest of
drawers. Gods, most especially the Sith doll...
        "What's that? Sith doll?" Yoda's all too sharp eyes speared him, and he knew he
too had blushed.
        "I was thinking about all the dolls Raen brought, Master," he admitted, and
Yoda's ears pricked up and forward.
        " Loud, too, you were. Fetch them." he shooed them off.
        In the bedroom, he turned to Raen, grumpy," I knew you shouldn't have brought
all of them," he told her, and she shrugged.
        " I didn't." she replied, and flounced back out with her sack, leaving him to
bring the three that he was convinced were still staring at him.
        " Oh, my," Qui-Gon breathed, vainly attempting to control his laughter at the
spill of little plastic replicas that clattered onto his floor. Then Obi-Wan
presented the big ones, setting them on a low table. His master suddenly seemed
less amused.
        " Good likeness, it is," Yoda nodded, watching Qui-Gon from the corner of his
eye as the Jedi picked up and examined the toy, a slight frown on his face.
        "This is..." his cheeks pinked , then drained of color before resuming an even
skin tone. " This is a very interesting artifact." he finished, amid a wash of
laughter from Yoda.
        The Darth Maul was next up for his scrutiny. He turned it over and over in his
hands, remarking, " Yes, this looks like the maniac we fought in Theed, but I
had no idea-- we didn't even have a chance to record his image before he fled."
        "Things really did diverge from the way Lucas envisioned them," Raen whispered
to herself, and knew immediately that Yoda had heard her.
        " Speak up, you must. Reasonable ears, these others do not have." he told her,
and she gulped.
        " Obi-Wan, d'you remember the movie I told you about?" she began, and had to
look away when his smirk and his mind told her exactly what he remembered from
her thoughts.
        "Of course," he answered her verbally, for the benefit of their audience, who
didn't eavesdrop.
        "Ohh, this is gonna suck," she muttered, and launched into detail. By the time
she finished, Qui-Gon was at the edge of his seat, the doll clutched in one huge
fist.
        " Darth Maul? Darth Sidious? " Yoda was thinking, very still. "So much ,
accurate is, but..." his gaze burned into her. Raen resisted the urge to hide
behind Obi-Wan, and returned his stare, waiting.
        " What you have told us, given much thought it shall be," Yoda hopped off the
couch and made surprising speed to the door. He paused and told Obi-Wan, " Off
to the healers, both of you go. Tested she will be, and you, padawan. Qui-Gon."
he summoned, and Jinn set aside the doll and followed his former master out.
        "That went well." Obi-Wan sighed dryly, and offered her a hand up off the
floor. She took it, and clutched it a moment.
        " Healers?" she asked, and looked a bit white.
        " They're just to check us over, and test you for midi-chlorians," he
reassured, tugging her toward the door.
        " I really don't like doctors." she admitted, but let herself be dragged along.
        The room was white, barren, and except for an exam table, empty. A droid rolled
in and addressed her," Raen deMarcos?"
        She eyed it with some worry, but answered," Yes."
        It hummed around her, completely ignoring her shaking, her fidgeting, and her
high level of anxiety, until it ran a scanner over her.
        " There are elevated levels of adrenaline. Are you taking any medication to
cause this symptom?" it's hollow voice droned.
        " No!" she yelled," I'm freaked, I hate doctors, I hate hospitals, and I'm
leaving!" she leapt off the table, looking wildly for the exit. Obi-Wan appeared
from the next exam room over, halting her rapid egress.
        " They're not here to harm you," he assured her," And they're almost done."  he
herded her back to the table, making her sit.
        " I don't like this." she gritted, and he sympathized, but orders were orders,
and the sooner they were done, the better.
        " All that's left is a small blood test." he soothed, and she cast white rimmed
eyes on him, ready to bolt again. He held her in place. The droid took the
opportunity to prick her skin and capture the requisite sample, then rolled out.
        Raen rubbed the sore spot, glaring after the mech. She hit the floor walking.
        Obi-Wan caught up, and attempted conversation," That wasn't so bad, was it?"
        "Do you really want an answer?" she returned, angry.
        " Wait, let me think about it..." he teased, and she hit him, not hard enough
to sting, just enough to make a point.
        " Really, Raen, are you always so difficult when you have to see healers?" he
asked, his stride matching hers.
        "Yes." she sighed, and stopped suddenly. He took another step before noticing.
        " What?" he inquired, noting the odd feel of her mind.
        " Why a blood test? Are the powers that be worried I brought a plague? " she
was suspicious.
        " Actually, no. You're to be tested for midi-chlorians. A plague?" he watched
her closely.
        " Yeah, we have plagues. I'm clean, though, if you're worried. I had my blood
tested not two months ago. And a physical, and a cholesterol screen, and ..."
        Obi-Wan gently covered her mouth with his hand. " I'm not worried." he told her
softly, and some of the wild look leeched out of her. Her posture relaxed a bit,
and she grinned a little, realizing how she must've looked.
        " I told you I didn't like doctors." she offered lamely, and he hugged her
shoulders briefly. Then her hand was in his, and he was leading her down yet
another corridor, rather quickly.
        " Wait! where are we going?"
        " It's mealtime, soon, we don't want to miss lunch," he jollied, and she
followed more swiftly, reminded of her belly grumbling.

        " Please!" Mace Windu couldn't decide whether to try hiding inside the cowl of
his robe, or bite all the way through his bottom lip to hold back the laugh his
friend Qui-Gon would most definitely take umbrage at. He stood behind the taller
Jedi, hiding his grin as the harried Master went on about the dolls, his hands
describing massive circles in the air.
        " But Qui-Gon, you've already said they were innocent enough, not anatomically
detailed, or anything..." Mace sputtered, and Jinn turned the glare that had
reduced many a padawan to trembling jelly on his friend.
        "That's not the point!" he roared.
        " Then what is? Yoda's quite taken with his figurine." Mace couldn't stop the
snort from escaping, and he was soon convulsed with guffaws, collapsing into the
chair at his desk.
        " Just you wait, Mace. She's brought one of you." Qui-Gon purred. The laughter
choked off.
        " You're not serious..."

        "Oh, Sith..." Obi-Wan muttered, as a sleek form undulated toward them just
after they had found seats in the crowded dining room.
        " What?"  Raen asked, keeping her voice as low as his.
        " Be polite," he cautioned, and looked up with a tolerant smile at the
newcomer.
        " Greet you, Kenobi." a deep, caressing voice flowed like silk over them both.
The young man was a head taller than Obi-Wan, and loomed over them.
        " Raffe. I heard you were back." His cool tone warned Raen, and she looked over
the other padawan with assessing eyes. His skin was poreless perfection, a white
so pure it almost hurt to look at, and his hair was a shock of black that
resembled fur, it was so lustrous. His face was calm, but with a slight hint of
derision. It was also breathtakingly beautiful.
        " Introduce?" he husked in that odd, throbbing voice.
        "Sure. Raffe, this is my friend, Raen." Obi-Wan was cordial, but it only went
surface deep. Raen was alarmed.
        " Greet you, Raen. New, yes? Always glad to meet new...friends, yes." he bowed
over her hand as he gathered it into his massive, spidery one. His skin was hot,
burning.
        " Pleased to meet you, Raffe." she smiled her best plastic smile, and pulled
her hand from his as soon as it was possible. He laughed, a dark, smoky sound
that was more a seduction than an expression of humor.
        " See you soon, yes." he promised, and she was glad to see the back of him, his
form moving with boneless, exotic grace.
        " Who the hell was that?" she demanded, leaning close to Obi-Wan.
        He shifted somewhat uncomfortably, and she got the vague image in her mind of
the two men in a bed, in a tangle of sweaty sheets.
        " Oh." her eyes widened, and then she giggled.
        " You saw...?" he cringed, still trying to formulate a verbal answer for her.
        " I'm getting better." she told him, and he squirmed, embarrassed.
        " I hadn't meant for you to ..." he started, but she shook her head.
        " Look, for you to be as good as you are, it had to come from somewhere,
right?" she reasoned, and he gaped at her. She continued, snaring a piece of
cheese off his tray and nibbling at it, " But never call me by somebody else's
name."
        " Never," he echoed, and relaxed.
        " How long until we know what the tests say?" she suddenly shifted the topic.
        " Uh, the results will go to the masters first, probably Qui-Gon," he informed
her, picking at his food. Something was on her mind besides the stated question.
He could feel it trying to burst out.
        " Was he flirting with you or me?" she finally blurted, and Obi-Wan dropped his
fork.
        " Both of us, probably," he replied, resuming his meal after studying his hands
for a moment.
        " Why does he bother you so much?"
        " He's careless of other's emotions," Obi-Wan said softly, and felt her hand on
his.
        " Mistakes like that hurt no matter where you're from, huh?" she squeezed his
fingers. He returned the pressure, and was taken by a sneak attack from the
rear. Brawny arms wrapped around his shoulders, and a dark padawan cut crested
into view beside his.
        "Kenobi, if you ever do anything that stupid again, I'll... I'll , I'll tell
Master Bilaba who ran her nightshift up the flagpole last mid-winter festival!"
the padawan hissed, and Raen had to admit, it sounded like a good threat.
        " Tisa! Let go, you're choking me! " he laughed, and Raen already liked this
friend of his. He knew it immediately, and swiveled in his seat to make
introductions.
        This individual was nearly the opposite of Raffe, short, compact, and extremely
muscular. Her skin was mahogany dark, like Windu's, but softer looking, and her
hair was tight ringlets forming a cap on her head, except for the braid, which
made it's own curl.
        " Tisa, Raen, Raen, Tisa." Obi-Wan was definitely more pleased with this
meeting. The two women shook hands, and he could see the twinkling in Tisa's
obsidian eyes.
        "Welcome to the Temple, " Tisa said, and dropped her voice, leaning in toward
Raen, " When you've gotten settled, we'll get together, just us girls, and I'll
tell you stories about everyone,"
        " It's a date," Raen grinned, and flicked her gaze to Obi-Wan, who was groaning
in horror.
        " She's the biggest gossip in the Temple! " he objected, and Tisa's merry laugh
floated back as she excused herself.
        " What, are you afraid of what she'll say?" Raen chided.
        "Yes!" he returned, and finished his meal.
 

        " Borne out, your second guess was." Yoda waved a sheet of plasfilm at Qui-Gon,
who was seated at the Masters table for noonmeal, trying to figure out exactly
what kind of soup was lying in wait in his bowl.
        " Yes? Her count is below normal, then?" he asked, somewhat distractedly.
        " Low? Say that you could. Register at all, it almost did not." Yoda plopped
next to him.
        " Then we must seek harder for our answers." he poked at his soup with the
spoon.
        " Eat that, were you planning to?" Yoda raised a hopeful brow.
        " It would seem not, my Master," Qui-Gon chuckled, pushing the bowl, spoon and
all in front of the Elder.
        " Good food, you have never learned to appreciate,"  he mumbled, slurping
contentedly.

        Mace Windu sat at his desk in his quarters, mulling over the test results on
Raen deMarcos, not looking at the thin film of plastic on which the results had
come to him. His eyes had a far away look, as if he were gazing into infinity.
He came to himself with a start, and quickly rose, settling his robes around
himself and hustling out, headed for the commissary.
        " Obi-Wan," he hailed, staying the both of them as they were getting up to
leave.
        " Yes, Master Windu?" Obi-Wan replied politely, hands tucking into his sleeves.
        " A moment of Raen's time, if you will." he nodded toward Raen, and she ducked
her head in assent, waiting.
         "Both of you come to the main gardens. And Obi-Wan, bring your master." Windu
said, preoccupied with a thought. He sailed out and left them to scramble, Raen
trailing after him, Obi-Wan to collect Qui-Gon from the master's table, where he
still sat, deep in discussion with a young knight, while Yoda eagerly listened
in.
        "Your pardon, Master, Master Yoda, Knight Iken. Master Windu has requested that
we join him and Raen in the main garden."
        "All of us, padawan?"  Qui-Gon lifted his smiling eyes to his apprentice.
        " He only specified you, Master," Obi-Wan was properly deferential, but
obviously eaten alive with curiosity. Qui-Gon obliged him, rising sedately, but
with no undue dawdling. They walked out in tandem, Obi-Wan a pace behind his
master.

 
        When they entered the large, sweet smelling garden, Raen was heavily in
conversation with Master Mace Windu, sitting on a stone bench, both her fists
clenched, her eyes bright and defiant. Obi-Wan's nerves, which had been jangling
since they left the dining hall, flared brilliantly into overdrive as Raen's
reactions became more adverse to whatever Master Windu was saying.
        " Miss deMarcos, it would be in your own best interests," The master was saying
kindly, but Raen shook her head violently, unwilling to even consider his
proposal.
        "Master, she's going to implode. Master Windu needs to change the subject,"
Obi-Wan murmured to Jinn, who stepped forward, calling out.
        " Qui-Gon! Perhaps you can talk some sense into your padawan's friend." his
voice was even, but clearly, her refusal had begun to test his patience.
        Obi-Wan went directly to Raen, and spent the next few moments in head bowed
silence, his hand on her shoulder.
        Both masters stood watching.
        " Master, Raen has a great...dislike for healers. Even the short time she spent
there today was traumatic. Perhaps another venue could be sought?" Obi-Wan
hedged.
        " He's definitely been paying attention to you, Qui; he's becoming a diplomat.
" Windu was quietly impressed, but still less than pleased.
        "What exactly was the idea she found so unpleasant?" Qui-Gon asked Windu in a
soft aside.
        " I felt that since she has no direct connection to the Force, a physical
anomaly may be involved in her ability to mesh with young Kenobi. I suggested
that she give herself over to the temple healers for a short time and let them
try to discover if that was so." Mace shook his head. " She's even more stubborn
than you,"
        Qui-Gon offered an apologetic half-smile, and turned away, steering Mace onto a
garden path, and away from the others.
        " Obi-Wan clearly and concisely disabused her of the notion that she would be a
lab specimen here, Mace. I do believe she felt as if that were where your
suggestion was heading. "
        " Oh, my. It did look that way, didn't it?" he thought furiously a moment, then
his brow smoothed, and a smile lit his face. " I have an alternative."
        Qui-Gon waited expectantly, and glanced back at his padawan and his new
roommate.
        " For a few hours, spread over a few days, one of the healers can come to your
quarters, a living being, not a droid. The healer would simply complete any
scans necessary in a place she feels safe, and ..." he glanced up sharply at
Qui-Gon's muffled snort of amusement.
        " A wonderful idea, Mace. " he schooled his mind and features to calmness, and
meandered back in the direction of his apprentice.
        " Qui-Gon?" Mace's tone was questioning as he called to his friend and fellow
master's retreating back.
        " We'll let you know, Mace," Qui- Gon responded, keeping his thoughts to
himself. He gathered his padawan and Raen with a gesture, and they all left,
leaving Master Windu at a loss, standing on the grden path.

        Yoda paced back and forth, his brow furrowed with heavy thought. He kept
glancing at the plasfilm levitated before his eyes, and then down at the carpet
beneath his feet. With a chirp, he let the sheet of data drop and hurried to the
terminal, tapping rapidly with two fingers. A holo formed in the air above the
terminal, and he dithered with the controls a moment, calling up another holo,
then merging the two. His eyes fairly glowed with satisfaction at what he saw,
and he transferred the data to a portable pad, stashing it in his robes as he
made his way out the door, humming.

        "Padawan, it's time for your evening sparring. " Qui-Gon mentioned, several
hours later, breaking into a tight game of holo-chess that Raen had a small
chance of winning. He grinned apologetically, and stood from the table, bowing
to Raen.
        " I'll spot you a rematch later, angel," he offered, and she  sniffed.
        " Maybe I'll find a different game to play," she flung back at him, and treated
him to a vision of her, a cigar clamped between her teeth, sleeves rolled up, a
ridiculous visor on her head, and a deck of cards in her hands. Obi-Wan winked,
and exited the suite, his mirth clattering in her mind. She smiled, stretched,
and stood, then wandered into Obi-Wan's...Their...room and collected a few
supplies before heading to the bathroom.
 
        Qui-Gon heard singing. A glorious voice, lifted to carry over the sound of the
shower. It called to him, he had to hear more. The tune was fast, raucous, not
his choice in music at all, but it was like a siren's call, not to be denied.
        " I can't drive...fifty-fiiiiiive!" the water shut off, and so did her voice.
Jinn started guiltily, as though he had been ogling her while she bathed, rather
than just listening to her sing in the shower. He dove for the shelter of the
kitchen, choosing to be busy making tea, not skulking outside the door when she
exited the 'fresher.
         She came bouncing into the small kitchen wearing a thin, short tunic he
recognized as an old one of Obi-Wan's, long outgrown. She wasn't looking where
she was going, and barreled straight into a wall of--chest. She rebounded,
falling to her rear. Immediately, she realized what she had done, and her lack
of clothing. Blushing furiously, she scrambled to her feet and cursed quietly,
then tried to apologize.
        " I'm so sorry, Master Jinn, I thought you'd gone with Obi..."
        " Raen, calm down. I hardly think bouncing off my person is reason enough to
have you flogged," he chuckled, and handed her a cup of the tea he had just
made, prior to her dramatic entrance.
        She accepted it with a slightly skewed smile, one he recognized, but was
accustomed to seeing on a different face. The sight nudged at his memory, and he
goggled. It was his padawan's smile, and no mistake. He was about to comment,
but the door chimed, and his attention was diverted.
        Raen fled to the safety of the bedroom with the teacup still in her possession
while he was otherwise occupied, and dug thru her few articles of clothing for
decent attire before showing her face in the common room.
        When she did, she was greeted by the sight of Yoda, levitating off the floor to
shove a datapad in Qui-Gon's face, his visage contorted by what could either be
triumph, or indigestion.
        " Ahhh, here, are you. As it should be," he settled gently to the floor, his
entire being encouraging her presence.
        She dropped to the floor at his side, looking intently at him.
        " Found something, have I, yesss!" he told her, while Qui-Gon ignored them, his
whole concentration entirely consumed by what Yoda had given him.
        " Master Yoda, please don't make me go back for more tests," she pleaded, and
one gnarled green hand patted the side of her face.
        " Ever mindful of the Force, is Mace Windu, but not so mindful of the fears of
others, is he. Understand them he does not. No. No healers, unless necessary
they become." his convoluted sentence structure penetrated her scattered wits,
and she sighed in relief.
        " Thank you, Master. I appreciate it." she smiled at him, and he patted her
again, like some doting uncle. Qui-Gon, done with the reading material, watched
her ease with his former master, and commented on it.
        " How is it that the co-chair of the council gets a happy, relaxed young lady,
and a plain, old Master gets a worried, skittish ..." he stopped when the ever
present stick caught him in the shin.
        " Qui-Gon!  Better manners, I taught you." harrumphed Yoda, casting a
conspiratorial eye to Raen, who looked as if she might break and run at any
moment.
        " I am sorry, Raen. I just don't understand why you seem to fear me so."  Jinn
looked at her with resignation.
        " I don't fear you, Master Jinn," she piped up, and he gave her his full
attention.
        " I admire you. I always have, but I guess I just don't feel like I'm ... I
don't know , worthy." she admitted to him. Yoda smirked.
        " When known him as long as I have, young Raen, not so impressed will you be
with him." he informed her, and she flushed.
        " Master Yoda," she breathed, scandalized.
        " I'm just a man, just like any other. I won't have you thinking I'm something
I'm not, not if you're going to stay here, even for a while." Jinn commanded,
and plucked the teacup from her nerveless fingers.
        " And you've let your tea go cold," he scolded gently.
        A small grin reminded him again of Obi-Wan, and set his mind back onto the
track Yoda had come to tell him about.
        " I don't quite grasp your theory, Master, "  Qui-Gon switched back to the
matter at hand, and didn't protest when Raen reclaimed her cup, heading for the
kitchen while the two Jedi discussed whatever it was that Yoda had discovered.

        By the time Obi-Wan returned, sweaty and bone tired, the three of them were
deep in conversation. Qui-Gon glanced up, noted  his apprentice's arrival, and
commanded him to shower, change, and join them. "This concerns you, as well." he
said, before sending him off to clean up.
        He was still towel drying his hair and clad in a bathrobe when Raen banged on
the 'fresher door, demanding to be let in.
        " Is the Temple burning down?" he asked calmly as she barged in when he opened
the door.
        " I...they...you..." she attempted, and he set his hands on her shoulders,
forcing her to slow down. She grabbed his hands with painful intensity, and all
but carted him out to stand in front of the seated masters.
        " Patience, she has not," muttered Yoda, and gave Obi-Wan a slow once over that
caused him no end of worry.
        " I can't believe it." Qui-Gon asserted, and his worry edged in on panic. Raen
wasn't helping his emotional state, practically vibrating at his side, her
excitement making it impossible to dislodge anything coherent from her mind.
        "Master?" he tried not to sound pleading.
        " Padawan..." Qui-Gon was staring hard at his apprentice's face, and Obi-Wan
could feel himself coloring. He let go of the negative emotions, letting them
bleed into the Force, and stood calm and untroubled, awaiting whatever happened.
        " So tell him! " Raen barked, destroying the frozen tableau, and eliciting a
strangled giggle from Yoda.
        " You and Raen, a bond you share." Yoda said to Obi-Wan, a wicked gleam in his
eyes. " This bond, the Force is exclusive of. Forged by flesh, yes, but
how....?" he grimaced, and Obi-Wan hung on his every syllable.
        "Master, can you elucidate ?" Obi-Wan begged, banishing the momentary urge to
shake the full explanation from Yoda. He knew  it had come from Raen, and he
made a mental note to take umbrage later.
        " Apparently, padawan, you fell fortuitously into the arms of someone with
almost exactly your own brain wave patterns, and a near match for your genetic
code, as well. She seems to be a mirror image of you, Obi-Wan.
        " Huh?" was all he could manage to get out, shocked to stillness.
        " Young Kenobi, your doppelganger, she is. " Yoda put in, and Raen grabbed
Obi-Wan, helping him to settle to the floor in a much slower plummet.
        " What do you mean? Are you inferring we're related? Sith!" Obi-Wan spat, his
flesh cringing as he thought of what he and Raen had done, and how many times,
in the few days they'd known each other.
        " Don't be an ass." she hissed in his ear," And besides, I already did that."
        He knew she'd picked up his desperate thoughts, and cringed again.
        " Don't be foolish, Obi-Wan. You're no more related than you and Master Mundi.
Nothing remotely incestuous is to be even considered. "  Qui-Gon calmed his
apprentice, and Obi_wan sagged back into Raen with relief. His curiosity
re-asserted itself in the sudden absence of self-disgust.
        " What does this mean, Master?" he straightened himself, sitting up and looking
from Qui-Gon to Yoda.
        " It means, padawan, that your old master, and his older master, will be up
most of the night with Master Windu and a few healers trying to make sense of
this." Qui-Gon sighed, rising from his seat on the couch and waiting for Yoda to
slither onto the floor. " Don't wait up."
        Jinn paused at the suite door," And padawan, don't be late for your tutorial in
the morning."
        " Yes, Master," Obi-Wan dutifully agreed, and felt his ears burn as his
master's amused conjecture traveled back to him through the closed door.
        " What?" Raen asked as he turned his gaze slowly upon her.
        " I don't see it." he crawled over nearer to her, a predatory air about him.
        " Don't see what?" she demanded nervously, scooting backward on her rump.
        He pounced, knocking her flat on her back. " Any resemblance," he growled,
leaning over her, his legs on the outsides of hers, his hands holding hers out
to her sides, his braid dangling down across her neck. She stared up into his
eyes, and let herself be swallowed up by them. After a very long moment, or an
extremely short eternity, she blinked, and retorted, "I do."
        His lips brushed softly across her jaw, a chaste caress. Anticipating him, she
turned her head slightly, captivating his mouth with hers. Their kiss, long and
slow, deepened, and his body lowered to hers, the contact light, teasing. She
squirmed under him, pushing her breasts up against his chest, annoyed that two
layers of cloth restricted the sense of skin on skin.
        With a low chuckle, Obi-Wan rose, depriving her even more. Raen surged up into
a sitting position, her hands darting into his bathrobe to feel the warm skin of
his chest.
        " Anxious?" he taunted, breath even.
        " Mea culpa," she responded, and dragged him back down, her fingers warring
with the tie of his robe. He laughed into her mouth, lazily enjoying her
attentions. He shifted, going to one hip at her side, his mouth still firmly
latched to hers, then he broke away, his left hand brushing her hair away from
her face.
        " Why is it, do you think, that we always seem to end up on the floor?"  he
asked, a little grin playing at the corners of his lips.
        " I have no damn clue," she rasped, unwilling to let her concentration be
disrupted by idle words.
        Blindingly fast, unhampered by the open bathrobe, he was up on his feet, Raen
in his arms, and stalking to their room.
        " I, for one, have no idea when, or with whom, my Master is going to return,
and I have no intentions of performing in front of an audience of Masters and/or
healers." he informed her briskly," We might either be disciplined, or
critiqued, and I shudder to think of either."
        The door closed behind them, leaving them in the pitch blackness of the small
room, alleviated only by the thin glow coming from the lit sabers of the dolls.
        " And I won't have them watching." he deposited her unerringly on the bed and
reached to turn the figures toward the wall. When he turned back, she had
already shucked out of her clothes, and was reclining on his bed- their bed- he
corrected himself. He knelt on the mattress beside her, his palm lightly
brushing over her skin, and she arched into the stroke, her hands sliding up his
arms, fingers grasping strong shoulders, pulling him down into her embrace.
        Her mouth was sweet beneath his, welcoming, and he felt himself sinking into
the sensation, wallowing in her essence. He pulled back, staring down at her
face, and the rapport, until that moment a hazy, on again off again sharing,
blossomed.  He gasped, as did she, and they both went still, unable and
unwilling to move, trying to sort out the heady
physical and emotional  merging.
        Obi-Wan called on his training and the Force, settling them both.
        " I think I'm a bit jealous," Raen sighed, and he nodded, knowing she could see
the gesture as well as feel it.
        " Not in a dangerous way, though," he responded, and let his fingers brush
along her ribs. " When will you start dancing again?" he suddenly asked, and she
tensed.
        " I don't know." she hemmed, and he let it go. Perhaps this link was a hidden
blessing. If they each knew when to push and when not to push, life could be
much more peaceful.
        "Besides, the only dancing I want to think about now is horizontal," she pulled
his arm out from under him, toppling him onto her with a muffled," OOF!"
        " I live to serve," he husked, and shrugged out of his robe, dragging his
fingers down her legs, leaving slight pressure trails. Her legs parted, and he
pushed them up, taking their weight over his shoulders, his face pressed to her
inner thigh. She cried out when his teeth nipped into the tender flesh, but with
their minds in synch, he didn't need to ask to know he hadn't hurt her. With
fingers, lips, teeth and tongue, he tormented her, never once hitting the raw
bundle of nerves that screamed for fulfillment. Raen thrashed under him, her
hips straining to make him complete the connection, tension clawing her to
pieces. At last, he obliged her, the very tip of is tongue flicking light as
abutterfly's wing against her clit, and she screamed, convulsing as her orgasm
burned her from the inside out.
        Her whimpers were music to his ears as he crawled back up her body, kissing and
licking a path to her throat. He bit her lightly, and rested for a moment
against her, before she regained complete control of her limbs. He knew when she
had, because they wrapped around his like warm velvet, and she lifted herself,
rubbing her belly into his rampant erection with wanton abandon. Her lips found
and claimed his, and she began her dance, under him, writhing.
        Gently, he disentangled himself from her, moving behind her as he guided her up
into her hip. He raised her left leg, placing it over his hip and behind him,
his body spooning hers, his cock nudging against her slick, hot sheath. Raen's
body jerked in anticipation, and he took the cue, sliding himself into her in
one long, slow motion. Her breathing hitched, and he held still, holding his
willful body in check. She was a wild thing, suddenly, her head thrown back,
body contorted to kiss him savagely and buck against him at the same time, her
hand seizing his and clutching it over her breast, instigating his fingers to
squeeze her sensitive flesh, to pinch the nipple hard. Her moans vibrated into
his mouth, and his surprise gave way to the primal need of the moment. He surged
into her, crushing her body against his, reason gone, instinct taking over. Her
mouth released his, her head falling forward, and his teeth scraped over the
skin between her neck and her shoulder, his voice joining her keening with a
deep throb of completion. As he came, he stopped his own scream by biting into
her skin, and she accepted the sting, her hand coming up and grasping the back
of his neck, forcing his mouth harder into  her.
        Sweat dripped from them, the scent of sex permeating the air, and they
collapsed, still connected, exhausted. Intelligence reasserted itself
eventually, and Obi-Wan slid himself from her. She protested the evacuation with
a small, grumpy noise, which turned into something like a purr when he dragged
her close, his body molded to  hers from the back.
        " Uh-oh." he said, a tiny nudge at the back of his mind remembering something
far too late.
        " Mmmmm? " she snuggled, ignoring the wet spot she was lying in.
        " We forgot something." his voice was dark with dread, but his embrace didn't
falter.
        " What?" she refused to open her eyes, or move away.
        " Condom," he breathed, waiting for her to tense, the scream...Neither event
occurred. He searched along the open connection between them, and found no
worry, no fear.
        " I had my shot. It's safe." she assured him, and felt the questions bubbling
in him.
        " I have - had-  birth control shots at regular intervals. No real reason,
lately, but just to be safe, and keep the rhythm in my body. If I'd stopped, it
would've screwed up my cycles." she said, alleviating his doubts. New questions
asserted themselves.
        " Why..." he began, but she rolled over in the circle of  his arms and kissed
him softly, quieting his inquiry.
        " It's always better to be safe than sorry. We're both certified safe and clean
by your healers and my clinic back on Earth. I figure, if we're still intimate
by the time my next shot is due, I can force myself to go visit your healers
again and see if they can't supply the same thing mine did."
        " Oh." he smiled, his arms relaxing the strangle hold he hadn't realized he'd
held her in. " You do realize I have no intention of pushing you off?"  he
asked.
        " I have no intention of leaving your excellent company, either, but who knows
what the future holds?" she fitted her head into the hollow between his chest
and shoulder as he relaxed onto his back.
        She sensed his intent, and pinched him hard to forestall his seeking into the
future, " Don't you dare!" a warning growl on her lips.
        He grinned ruefully, desisting.
        " Sleep, Obi. You have  that tutorial in the morning," she whispered, snuggling
up to him, her arm around his waist, face pressed to his chest.  His arm snugged
around her shoulders, and he complied.
 

        A light tapping at the bedroom door woke Raen, and she stretched, then rose and
found her clothes, calling," Just a minute!"
        Her nose was assaulted by the infernal stench of something awful coming from
the kitchen, and her hand went immediately over it protectively.
        " What in the name of anything sane is that?"  she demanded, and glared
indignantly at Master Qui-Gon Jinn as he turned nonchalantly to greet her.
        " And a bright good afternoon to you as well, Raen," he laughed, amused at the
accusatory glare she directed at him. It was a great improvement over the awe
she had been treating him with.
        " Sorry." she rubbed her hands over her face," What is that horrible smell?"
        " Liniment. It's a recipe I picked up on some forsaken rim world about thirty
years ago, and Gods know it stinks, but it works better than anything else I've
ever found. " he explained, and she pinched the bridge of her nose, getting a
headache from the fumes.
        "I woke you because in about half an hour, possibly less, the whole apartment
will stink like this, and I thought you might like to escape."  " No, sir, I
think I'd like to stay and die of asphyxiation," she drawled, coughing for
effect.
        Qui-Gon laughed again, and waved the spoon he had stirred the noxious potion
with at her.
        " Obi-Wan mentioned that perhaps you would like the use of a practice room
today, and music. I think I can arrange both while you get a shower and eat." he
offered.
        "Did he?" she glowered. The sharing between the two of them had given him
information she wasn't prepared to deal with. She sighed and bowed to the
inevitable. " Yes, Master Jinn. I suppose I would like a practice room."
        " When you're ready, Raen, It'll be waiting. Oh, and by the way, my name is
Qui-Gon. I appreciate your deference, but inside this apartment, it's
unnecessary. And a little taxing." he turned back to cooking his evil brew, and
she hid her vexation by darting into the bath.
        Emerging bare moments later in a towel, she raced to the bedroom and flicked on
the light. The bed was a rumpled mess, and she stripped it, dropping the towel
with the soiled linens on the floor. Inside the closet, she discovered a shelf
containing clean sheets, and remade the bed, tucking the sheets and blankets
with military precision before replacing the pillows at the head and slipping
into a long sleeved and legged unitard that lay at the bottom of her one drawer.
Balling up the dirty linens, she padded barefooted back to Qui-Gon.
        " Okay. I can accept that My calling you Master Jinn all the time is bound to
get annoying, but it may take me a while to get used to calling you Qui-Gon."
she announced, and he nodded without turning to face her.
        " Your time in the room has been allocated. A droid will meet you at the door
in  a short while to guide you. It will assist you in procuring whatever music
you require," he instructed, and she sighed.
        " Thank you. Can you tell me where to do the laundry?" she asked, and he looked
back over his shoulder.
        " Obi-Wan can assist you with that chore this evening, Raen. You can leave the
pile in the hamper in the 'fresher."
        'Fresher? Her mind dwelt onthe word  a moment before it connected  with the
term bathroom. She returned after stuffing the linens into  said hamper, and the
door chimed just as she was about to ask Qui-Gon another question. Diverted, she
answered the door. It was her droid guide, and she called to Jinn, " I'm going,
now. Thanks!"
        " Enjoy yourself," he called back, and she left.
 

        The droid she followed was a protocol model, and she asked," What is your
designation?"  as her eyes tried vainly to find some sort of  landmark in the
sterile corridors they traversed.
        " I am M P -76," It replied in a moderate baritone. She giggled, and pondered
for a moment. The droid was a teal/ chrome kind of color, and she absently
thought of her car.
        " D'you mind if I call you 'Impy' ," Raen asked, and the droid walked in
silence ahead of her a moment before answering.
        " I find no difficulties in responding to that address," it acknowledged, and
she nodded to herself. Impy stopped after turning a corner, and she nearly
walked into it.
        " This section is devoted to training rooms only, Mistress Raen. Your assigned
chamber is fifth on the left. Shall I bring anything to you?"
        " Please. I need a towel, and  music with a heavy beat."  she informed it.
        " Please enter the room. I will return in a moment."  Impy advised, and walked
off. Raen approached the door, and found it open. Inside was a plain wood floor,
polished bright by countless feet sliding over it. She admired the flooring for
a moment, then turned her scrutiny to the walls. Two were plain plaster, one of
which was the  one with the door. The other two were mirrored from floor to
ceiling, corner to corner. She heaved a deep breath. At least she'd see all her
screw ups.
        As she waited for Impy to return, she set about stretching and warming up,
limbering her body for something she'd not done in months.
        The droid walked in on her just as she'd forced her body to stand on one foot,
her other leg extended fully above her head, her hand pressing her knee toward
her ear. She let go the stretch, and took the proffered towel.
        " I have a selection of pieces for you to approve," Impy held out several
arcane looking little disc- like things.
        " I have no idea what to do with those," she told it, and said," You pick one
for me. I want fast pace, heavy rhythm, and preferably no vocal."
        Impy made a selection, and advanced on the small recessed rectangle she'd
missed by the door. Raen watched with interest as the object was inserted into a
slot, and a series of buttons pushed. The music washed over her, primitive,
fast, non-vocal. "Louder," she instructed, and the droid complied. She excused
it, and it went to the corner nearest the door, deactivating itself until she
had need of it.
        " Do this, you silly bitch," she muttered, letting the music guide her swaying.
All the years, all the lessons, the recitals, the costumes, the injuries, the
triumphs and failures coming home to roost as she let the sound take her. Her
Grandfather had dreamed of her as a dancer, and she'd tried to make his dream
come true. She'd even tried to keep the dream alive after his death, but it hurt
too much, and she'd avoided her workshops, refused auditions, and dropped from
her studio. Now, thanks to the gentle question of one padawan and the kind offer
of his master, she found herself reliving what she'd sought to escape. She
squared her shoulders, beginning a few easy, basic moves, quickly finding that
she missed it. The basic steps evolved into more demanding ones, then into the
serious, driving dances she'd been perfecting just before she'd quit. She flung
her body into the complicated, sometimes dangerous patterns, bending, twisting,
extending, lunging...her body remembered what she had not- the exhilaration of
freedom to move as it had been trained to, defying gravity, worshipping the
ground. She was lost in the dancing, giving in so completely she didn't notice
mundane things, like time, or her surroundings, or pain.
        The music stopped abruptly, and she whirled, a jangle of agony shooting through
her thigh.
        "What?" she cried, astounded to see, not Impy staring at her, but A master
she'd never seen, accompanied by a young padawan, her braid barely three inches
long.
        "I'm terribly sorry," Raen panted, winded. She wondered how long she'd been
dancing.
        " You must be Qui-Gon's house guest."  the Jedi seemed amused.
        " Yessir," she answered, and he smiled encouragingly.
        " You should demonstrate your technique for the younger padawans, young lady. I
feel certain they wouldn't be so annoyed to be forced to learn dancing if they
saw you." he glanced down at the little girl at his side, staring at Raen with
huge, worshipful eyes.
        Raen cleared her throat in discomfort, and bowed to the master.
        " My name is Master Sol Hannek. This is my padawan Rhianna Valk." he said,
returning the bow.
        " Raen deMarcos." Raen gave her name. She felt embarrassed, but a warm glow  of
accomplishment overlaid it. She hadn't forgotten at all.
        " It would seem no-one told you how long your reservation in this room was
for," Master Hannek said without reproval, and she blushed , nodding.
        " I lost track of time, sir. It won't happen again,"  she assured him, and he
scoffed.
        " A more appreciated delay I've never had. You were a great surprise, but my
apprentice can learn from the experience, so no harm was done. You're limping."
he observed, as she walked slow circles, wiping her face and neck with the
towel.
        " I seem to have overdone it. This is the first time I've really danced in
months. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll see if that horrible liniment Master
Jinn was cooking really works." she bid the pair good bye, and hobbled out,
calling to Impy to follow.
        Outside the closed room she turned to the droid," How long was I dancing for?"
she demanded, and the droid imperturbably rested it's visual receptors on her.
        " I was in diagnostic mode for three point four hours, Mistress Raen," it
replied, and she felt the color drain from her face.
        " Oh, I am going to pay for this tomorrow." she groaned.
        By the time they reached home, she was regretting her inattention. Her whole
body was beginning to ache, one long pain starting at her head and ending
somewhere below her feet.
        " Shall I escort you to the training room tomorrow, Mistress Raen?" Impy asked,
and she groaned again, then considered.
        "Yes." she bit off, realizing her pain was just beginning. She would dance
again, but for herself this time, to remember.
        Qui- Gon was nowhere to be found, and neither was Obi-Wan, so she retreated to
the 'fresher, drawing a warm bath to soothe her aches. She fell asleep for a
while, and woke, if not painlessly, at least refreshed. She dragged herself into
the room she shared with Obi-Wan, and discovered a box with her name on it.
Opening it, she found a set of tunics and leggings in shades of mauve and
burgundy, and a note.
        " Miss deMarcos, I wish to apologize for upsetting you unduly.
        Master Yoda has taken me to task for not sparing your
        feelings, and I gift you with these, knowing you have so little.
        Welcome to the temple.              M.Windu"
 
        Raen laughed til her breath came in strangled whoops, holding her sides and
moaning as the movement caused her aches to protest. In her mind's eye, she
could envision Yoda shaking his finger up at Windu, chastising him.
        She wiped the tears off her cheeks and studied the outfit. It looked just like
Obi-Wan's uniform, dyed a better color scheme. And it matched her hair. She
tried it on, and found it to be surprisingly comfortable. The belt that went
over the sash was a bit big, but it would do. Humming the music she had danced
to for so long, she strolled, barefoot still, to the kitchen. The stench of the
liniment was nearly gone, and her stomach gurgled, reminding her that she'd not
eaten. Rummaging around in unfamiliar territory, she assembled the basics for a
meal, and decided to cook for everyone.
        Obi-Wan entered the apartment, following his nose to the source of the
delightful aroma. It was concentrated in the kitchen and dining alcove, and the
sight that greeted him was amazing. Three places were set, and covered dishes
occupied most flat surfaces.
        He almost didn't recognize Raen, her clothing changed so radically, and her
movements so stiff, like an old woman's.
        "What happened?" he wanted to make sure she was all right, but the food was
soooo tempting.
        "I did what you suggested to Mast.....Qui-Gon. I went dancing. Unfortunately, I
didn't stop until Master Hannek and his apprentice turned off the music. I
forgot to tell Impy to tell me when my time was up, and I just shut out the
world." she  reported.
        "Impy?" he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her gently.
        " Yeah, M P-76. My guide. Oh, I was so embarrassed." she buried her face in his
shoulder.
        " I see you got Master Windu's apology for upsetting you in the garden. It
looks good on you," he kissed her neck.
        "Thanks. I need to get a job. I need to get more clothes, and , uh, stuff." she
said, her voice muffled by his clothes.
        " I think you've already got one," Qui-Gon announced from the doorway, making
both of them jump.
        "Master?"  Obi-Wan queried, looking up.
        " A certain Master Sol Hannek has spent the past hour tying up the council with
his non-negotiable demands that you be hired immediately to save him from
teaching the younger padawans to dance. Or at least to not loathe dancing." he
laughed at the sour look on Obi-Wan's face.
        " I hated that part of training."
        " Exactly, my padawan. Apparently, Master Hannek's apprentice hasn't stopped
talking about you, Raen."  Jinn was suddenly taken by the scent of a well
prepared meal.
        " Obi-Wan? Did you cook?" he asked in amazement. Had he been late enough to
avoid his turn at preparing dinner?
        "I did, boss." Raen stepped back from Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon immediately noticed
her discomfort.
        "Boss?" he gaped.
        " I told you it might take a while to just call you'Qui-Gon'." she said with a
grin, and sat gingerly on a stool.
        He shook his head. "Very well, but only here." he cautioned, and she nodded.
        " Is that liniment ready?" she asked as she served out of the steaming platters
of food.
        " Hurt yourself?" Qui-Gon asked, raising a brow as he, too, sat, gesturing
Obi-Wan to the stool nearest Raen.
        "Ache like nobody's business." she replied, and both men hid grins. She saw,
but was too tired, sore, and hungry to do more than sigh.
        " Of course. After you and Obi-Wan do the laundry, I shall give him some to aid
you." his eyes sparkled.
        " Thank you," she groaned, and applied herself to the meal.
        " So, Raen, when will you dance for us?" Obi-Wan teased gently.
        Raen's moan sent both her lover and his master into uncontrollable fits of
laughter.

        The call came well after Raen and Obi-Wan had finished the laundry, and were
ensconced in their room with the liniment, with the door open to let the nasty
aroma escape. Qui-Gon was the one who answered the communit, his voice shaking
with concealed amusement at the colorful phrases Raen was using to cover up the
hisses of agony she let herself in for, and Obi-Wan's just as colorful insights
about how badly she needed a chrono, a really big one, that talked.
        "Qui?" came Mace Windu's voice, which ended on a very questioning note as a
particularly loud and rude set of choice words flowed out of the smaller
bedroom.
        " Yes, Mace?"  Jinn kept his own tone perfectly bland, as if the most
inappropriately hilarious debacle were not happening a few feet from him.
        " Is something...wrong?" he demanded, listening to the voices and accompanying
grunts and groans in the background.
        " Of course not, Mace. What can I do for you?"
        " Is Raen available? I have an offer for her from the council."
        " Well, to be perfectly honest, old friend, no, she's not available. At this
moment, she and my padawan are rather indisposed. " Qui-Gon chuckled.
        Mace had had enough. " What the Sith are you people doing ?!"
        " Really, Mace. Perhaps I should have Raen and my padawan give you a refresher
course in creative invective." he couldn't hold back his laughter a moment more,
and his booming guffaws drowned out the indignant sputters from the comm. He
strode into the bedroom, where Raen was on her stomach, on the bed, and Obi-Wan
was trying to rub the liniment into her abused muscles. Qui-Gon thrust the comm
into her hand, and she glared at it before cautiously speaking into it.
        " Hello?"
        " Raen, are you...all right?" Mace asked delicately.
        " Compared to what, Master Windu? " she asked with long suffering." Obi's
beating me to a pulp with the horrid, stinky stuff Master Jinn cooked up."
        " Ahh." the one word spoke volumes. He had intimate knowledge of the legendary
but olfactory unappealing substance. " I have an offer of work from the council.
There are stipulations. We'd like to see you in chambers tomorrow morning." he
said, and waited for her reply. He had to wait, because all he heard were
painful sounding indrawn breaths.
        " Yessir, Master Windu. I'll be there at uhm," she looked over her shoulder at
Obi-Wan. He held up seven fingers. "Seven?" she squeaked.
        " That would be fine," Windu approved.
        " And Master Windu, thank you for the gift. Everything fits." she added.
        " Even the apology, Raen?"
        " Especially that." she said quietly, and  told him goodnight, before closing
the channel and setting down the comm.
        " Are you going to take the job?" Qui-Gon asked from the doorway.
        " I don't see any other offers coming in. I need work, and  I intend to take
what I can get. It helps that this is something I can do."      "I thought you
weren't ready to dance again." Obi-Wan pointed out as he found a particularly
sore spot.
        Raen bit back a sob, and the pressure of his fingers lightened, but not the
pressure of his mind on hers.
        " I hadn't thought about dancing for a long while until you brought it up last
night. Why did you?" she asked, relaxing marginally under his skilled hands.
        " When the link fully opened, it showed quite a bit to me that I don't think
you had any plans to share. I'm sorry if I hurt you." he leaned in close and
touched his lips to her ear before settling back, remembering his master was
still hovering.
        " The link opened? Padawan, we had thought it was open already." came Qui-Gon's
surprised tone.
        "So had we, Master. We were incorrect. It was merely a trickle until last
night. It has since dimmed down to manageable levels again."  Obi-Wan duly
reported, shamed by his negligence in informing his master of a significant
occurrence.
        " Can you control the strength of the connection? Either of you?"  Jinn had
assumed his instructional personae, leaving the relaxed homebody behind.
        Both young people sat up straight, Raen clutching the sheet in front of her.
        " We haven't really tried, Master. We're still getting used to it. " Obi-Wan
said, on his knees, but looking directly into his Master's eyes. Raen strove to
emulate him from her crouch on the bed.
        " I believe it is time you tried, Padawan." he used the title as a direct
address, and Obi-Wan bowed. So did Raen, for the same duration, the same angle
if incination, and the same tension.
        "I can tell you're using it now. It's as if there were one being in two
bodies."  Qui-Gon sounded as though he were disturbed by the image. It was not
the first time he'd noticed the action.
        " Sometimes I don't know what to do, so I do what he does," Raen offered, and
Qui-Gon's gaze raked her.
        " And when you speak the same words in tandem?" he insisted.
        " I don't know. Great minds thinking alike?" she tried, and earned a slight
lessening in the stern facade.
        " Do try to work on that control I mentioned. And feel free to ask for help.
None of us may have ever come across this kind of thing before, but we have been
known to solve a few puzzles in our two millennia or so." Jinn stated dryly, and
exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
        " Why do I have the feeling I've just done a very bad thing?" she asked
Obi-Wan, who was biting his lip in agitation.
        " Probably because I do. " he answered, and grimaced. He stood, divesting
himself of his clothes, and slid into the bed next to her, dragging her close
like a stuffed animal, burrowing his head into the crook of her shoulder. She
accepted him, holding him tight, ignoring the much lessened but persistent ache.
Obi Wan shut the lights with the Force, and whispered in her ear, " I guess
since I don't ravish invalids, you can be my stuffed Ewok tonight."
        Raen cuffed him lightly, and settled in, secure in his embrace. Her eyelids
cracked open and she reminded, " Wake me in time to get ready and meet the
council in the morning?"
        " Of course, angel," he yawned, and she relaxed, letting sleep take her.
 

             The morning found Raen standing in front of the huge double doors
of the council chamber, waiting. She had determined that the clothing given her
by Master Windu would be the nicest things to wear, since she'd only brought
comfortable things with her. She tugged at the hem of her outer tunic, and
waited some more.
              An apprentice appeared at her elbow and ushered her into the
meeting. She stood in the center of a circle of Masters, determined to be
professional.
               " Raen, we understand you need a job." Windu began, but Yoda
snickered, completely ruining the solemn atmosphere.
        " Dance, it appears you can. Need a dance teacher, we do.Take the job, will
you?" he asked.
        Master Eeth Koth, the Zabrak, covered his face with one hand, trying to cover
his suspiciously not-serene visage with the pseudo-weary gesture.
        "Is this my interview?" Raen asked, bare toes digging into the plush carpeting,
wondering briefly if she'd be asked to demonstrate her form with no music, and
on the rug.
        " Yes," Windu shot Yoda a hooded glare for stealing his thunder.
        " I studied at Madame Ruven's Academy from the ages of six to fourteen. I then
took private lessons with Darvin Machelle until I was eighteen. I was cast in
several productions, including an amateur one of "Cats" for community theatre. I
will need some time to regain my tone, since I stopped dancing regularly five
months ago."  as she spoke her resume, she kept her eyes on the Coruscant
horizon outside the window.
        " Why?" inquired Master Gallia, leaning forward in her chair.
        " A ...personal matter, Master Gallia. I've come to terms with it." Raen
evaded.
        " You have obviously spent most of your life studying this discipline. To stop
suddenly would be illogical, and counter productive. We need to ascertain if the
problem will arise again before we can confer the position on you."  Ki- Adi-
Mundi intoned, watching her with his oddly colored eyes.
        Raen shifted uncomfortably, and debated the wisdom of telling the council, or
just dropping the matter and searching for another means of supporting herself.
A slight pressure against her mind let her know Obi-Wan would support any
decision she made, and his charity stiffened her resolve.
        " My Grandfather had a dream of me dancing. After he died, I tried to keep it
up, to honor his memory. It became too painful. I loved dancing, Masters, but I
had to stop. Recently, I was given the opportunity to re-examine my motivations.
I choose to dance."
        " I see. Thank you for being honest." Mundi spoke softly, his massive head
dipping in a little bow. Raen inclined her body toward him in return, and
waited.
        " Raen, work well with children, can you?" Master Yaddle joined the
questioning, and she swung to face the red haired little green Master.
        She thought a moment." Honestly, Master Yaddle, I have no idea. I worked with
the younger students at the academy, and again when I was instructed in group
work with Darvin, but I haven't had much practice."
        "Good enough. What forms have you mastered?" Windu demanded, drawing her back
around.
        " I doubt I've mastered any, since a dancer is supposed to keep learning all
her life, but I know classical, jazz, tap, modern, primal, and popular well
enough. I was working on Far Eastern forms when I stopped."
        " None of those  words mean anything to us, child. We have no basis to
interpret those tems from." a gravelly voice came from her left.  " You will
have to show us."
        " Your pardon, Masters, but I won't be dancing here. " she refused, and a small
buzz of commentary swam around the room.
        " We will need to see you, Raen" Windu said crisply.
        " I agree, Master Windu, but I won't make a spectacle of myself in these
clothes, on this floor. And I will have music." she said stubbornly.
        " Tomorrow, too far away, is. Welded to these chairs, we are not. To the
smaller taining arena we will adjourn. Conclude this, we will." Yaddle hopped
off her seat, shooing Raen ahead of her. Indulgent smiles were hidden or wiped
off of many faces as the disparate pair walked out.
        " In one half hour, convene, we will." Yaddle called over her shoulder, and the
doors closed behind her.

        After a small side trip to her temporary home to change, Yaddle guided Raen to
the smaller training arena, which was, in a word, enormous. Raen did her best
not to feel dwarfed, the towel clutched in her fingers forgotten.
        The council sat as a body in the stands, a few rows up from the floor, which
was bare wood. Raen nodded to herself, trying to relax. The black unitard felt
suddenly constricting, as her mind played out everything that could go wrong.
When she was sure she'd thought of every bad occurrence, she shoved them all
away. This was just another audition.
        " Music will be provided. Specify tempo." Mundi instructed, and she nodded,
beginning to limber up. She groaned as all the aches and pains crowded in on
her, but she banished them to the same place as the bad thoughts, recalling
Madame's words. 'Pain is the road to art,' .
        " I have no shoes, so I won't be going on pointe." Raen informed her audience,
and called for the same music she'd used the day before.
        A series of short pieces, demonstrating each form she knew, with unfamiliar
music, left her breathing raggedly, drenched in sweat, and hurting, but she knew
she'd managed to pull off the necessary requirements. When she looked up to the
stands, she was appalled to see, not just the council, but a vast array of
padawans, masters, and other teachers. She swore softly.
        " Negotiations for working hours and recompense for your time will commence
when you have refreshed yourself," Master Koth advised, and rose to leave.
        " One hour, have you. Meet in the council chambers, we must." Yoda said, and
followed Koth.
        Raen was still cooling down, stalking up and down the arena floor, occasionally
stretching, when both Obi-Wan and his master appeared in her field of vision.
        "I saw it in your mind, angel, but I never guessed you were so good," Obi-Wan
hugged her, sweat and all.
        " Yes, Raen, you are very accomplished," seconded Qui-Gon, with just a hint of
some nefarious plan in his eyes. She concentrated on breathing before she
replied.
        " Thank you. I'm out of practice. And out of breath. I need to start working
out again." she said, and dropped into a long hamstring stretch, grimacing as
the tense muscles and tendons protested.
        " You can make use of the training grounds, you know." Obi-Wan said, hands in
his sleeves, echoing his master's pose exactly.
        " I can?" she was interested.
        " Certainly. As a guest, you are welcome to. As a teacher, you'll be expected
to." Jinn's tone was amused.
        " Come on, then. You've got to get cleaned up and meet with the council again."
Obi-Wan nudged, and she fell into step with him.
 

        " So, Raen. We feel you would be an asset to the teaching staff, if you can
make the younglings feel less like eating glass would be better than dance
class. If you can make them move like you do, so much the better."  Adi Gallia
said with a smile as they settled in to talk money.
        " I can't promise they'll like it any better than they have in the past." Raen
demurred, but Master Hannek, present at the meeting, shook his head.
        " Miss deMarcos, I have been the dance instructor here for years, simply
because I was available. I have a mediocre talent for it, at best, and no great
love for it. You are a great improvement." he laughed.
        " Master Hannek is now paired with a padawan of his own, and cannot be spared
for class teaching on a regular schedule. You can." Windu said, fingers steepled
again.
        " I'll take the job, Masters, but certain requirements must be met." Raen spoke
from what she hoped was a position of strength.
        " Name them, you will. Then consider them, we will," Yoda watched her with a
slit eyed gaze.
        " I need to research and compile a music library. I will require a room big
enough to hold at least twenty students whirling and writhing around. I will
need to earn enough to pay for lodgings, clothes, food, and entertainment. And I
will need the services of one droid." she set out her list of demands.
        Depa Bilaba nodded, " And?"
        " And nothing, Master. Those are my needs. Anything else will be cream." Raen
stolidly said.
        " First, you will be working for the Temple. Therefor, your lodgings will be in
the Temple. All teachers who aren't Masters or Knights have apartments here, if
they haven't any elsewhere. It's part and parcel of the deal. Food is also
covered by the same. Furnishings are part of the rooming facilities, as are
medical care, dental care, and elderly care. " Master Windu patiently explained.
        " And the other things?"
        " Your salary will be in credits. It is our form of hard currency, and accepted
as payment in the Republic. A set amount of 30,000 credits annually is the basic
level for a teaching position. It should cover any needs you have over and above
the rooms, food, and medical. Your working schedule will, of course ,need to
coincide with the padawans you will be instructing . Most likely, a morning
class and an afternoon class, each of three hours should cover the present
need."
        Raen stood absolutely still, her brain locked on the figures, the benefits, and
the obligations. Her evenings would be free, and the rest seemed equitable.
        " And the droid? The room? The music?" she prodded, her eyes sweeping the room.
        " Those things are reasonable. We accede."  Master Koth rose and bowed to her.
The others did the same, and she covered her confused blushing with  her own
deep bow.
        " I guess you got yourselves a new teacher." she grinned, and looked to Yoda,
who was nodding dreamily, eyes half closed, communing with something, the Force,
she assumed.
        " We shall have the contract drawn up and you may affix your thumbprint after
reading it tomorrow. Your duties shall begin at the start of the new week.
That's in four days. Shall we assign a droid, or have you one in mind?"  asked
Master Bilaba, brow raised.
        " I'd like to request Impy." Raen decided, and blushed again at the looks she
received. " M P -76, I mean." she corrected.
        " I believe it can be arranged. M P-76 can assemble the music library you
requested. "  Master Koth sais warmly, and Raen was dismissed.
        She all but ran from the circular room, and had to ask for directions several
times before she reached the apartment she was soon to be moving out of. She
stopped in front of the door, considering for the first time that she'd no
longer be sleeping in Obi-Wan's bed. A frown pulled her mouth downward, but then
she thought of how much nicer it would be to be able to invite him, or him to
invite her, rather than having to share quarters, and she smiled, entering the
rooms.

By: Rabid