Title: A Show of Love
By: Seven
Category: Short Story
Rating: G
Archive: QGJDL, EarlyYears, POUL
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: All recognizable Star Wars characters are the exclusive property of George Lucas. All others belong to me. No money is made from any of them.
Feedback: Please! I beg of you!
Seven
Time Frame: Obi-Wan is fourteen.
Summary: Qui-Gon assists a runaway girl. In the work of a Jedi, no mission is unimportant.
*******
Qui-Gon Jinn collapsed into a seat in the transport station, his legs
protesting at the sudden strain. He could hear the tapping of Obi-Wan's boot heels as the young man walked off to discuss the prices they were being charged for transport. Just because Jedi don't take money, he thought wearily, doesn't mean we like being cheated.
The mission to Talinda had been stressful, to say the least. He was looking forward to some off time on Coruscant, free of the usual demands and problems.
He looked up suddenly at a sudden flicker in the Force, accompanied by a muffled noise.
A dark-eyed young girl with long, reddish hair was stumbling into the terminal, dragging a case that was clearly too heavy for her. She grunted a little as she heaved it awkwardly onto a metal cart and stumbled to a nearby clerk. She slapped down a credit slip. "One pass to Aydoria," she said breathlessly.
Qui-Gon felt his brows rise slightly in surprise. She was younger than Obi-Wan--probably only thirteen. Far too young to be making such a long journey alone.
The clerk yawned, as if bored, and passed her slip through the scanner. She glanced nervously at the door, running her fingers through her hair. She snatched at the colorful token that he handed her, then dropped into a seat near Qui-Gon.
Qui-Gon glanced sideways at her, seeing faint streaks on her wan cheeks where tears had flowed. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.
The girl jumped and stared at him, then relaxed slightly. "I'm... I'm fine." For a moment, she fidgeted under his gaze, then looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"I'm sensing that you're very unhappy," he said softly, smiling a little. "I'd like to help, if I can-"
"No!" she exclaimed, a little too quickly. His eyes fell to her hands, twisting and yanking at themselves in her lap. "I'm... I don't need any help."
"If you're certain," Qui-Gon replied, crossing his arms and sitting back in his seat. He felt the girl slowly turning her gaze toward him, almost afraid. "Is it..." she said haltingly, "is it true that... Jedi can read a person's thoughts?"
Qui-Gon smiled slightly. "Only if the person's emotions are strong enough... and if the reading is wanted."
He paused, uncrossed his arms. "You're somewhat young to be journeying to Aydoria..." He paused.
"Rheen," the girl replied nervously. "My name is Rheen..."
"Rheen," Qui-Gon said slowly. "Are you meeting your mother there? Your father?"
Rheen jerked again, then stared out the window at the hundreds of ships winding through the air. "I'm running away," she said harshly.
Qui-Gon still stared at her, unblinking. "I see."
After a moment, she stole a look back at him. "You're not going to be able to stop me," she said stubbornly.
"It's not my place to stop you," Qui-Gon replied softly. "But I would like to know... why are you running away from home?"
Rheen stared down at the tips of her shoes, strands of reddish hair falling over her eyes like a curtain. One hand went out and plucked off a purplish-blue leaf. "It's my family," she burst out. "My parents are Rubori ambassadors..."
"Rubori?" he interjected, frowning. "But... the civil war on your world is over. Why is this dividing you from your family?"
Rheen's face darkened as she tore furiously at the leaf. "Because ever since the war ended, a year ago, they don't even talk to me anymore. I don't even exist for them anymore!"
"I see." Qui-Gon's brow furrowed with concentration. "And... what do you remember?"
Rheen stared down at her interlaced fingers, still grasping the shredded leaf. "I remember... they're never around. They're always away from home..."
"Does that make you think that they don't love you?" Qui-Gon pressed.
A strange spasm seemed to cross Rheen's face. She drew her knees up against her chest, rocking back and forth. "If they do, why don't they ever say so?" she asked softly.
Qui-Gon watched her for a moment, his rough-carved face softening slightly. He wrapped the Force around Rheen,, enveloping her in a glowing blanket that she could not see. "Think back," he whispered, the world around the two fading away to a velvety darkness, the darkness of a nightfall rather than an abyss. "What do you see?"
Rheen, beside him, strained to look forward. A misty figure appeared in it, being shaped and colored until it was the form of a man, with the same reddish hair as Rheen. Propped in his lap was a tiny baby, with a small smiling face.
"I see... my father. Back before he went gray..."
"What else do you see?" Qui-Gon whispered, putting his arm around Rheen's thin shoulders.
"I see... that he was bouncing me on his lap. That we used to... laugh together. Play together..." Rheen shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't understand..." she choked.
Qui-Gon gently waved the misty figures away, the darkness banished by the dim glowing lights of the terminal, on Coruscant. "Understand that love can be buried," he whispered. "Your family loves you, Rheen."
She sprang to her feet, her face crumpling under a torrent of emotions. "Then why don't they say so?" she sobbed.
Qui-Gon enveloped her small hands in his bigger ones. "I don't know, Rheen. Perhaps they don't know. Love is wanting the best for the one you care for, being willing to give yourself to spare them pain or death. Would you do such a thing for your family? Any of them?"
"Yes..." Her reply was almost too soft to be heard.
Qui-Gon smiled at her warmly, patting her on the shoulder. "And they would do the same for you..."
Rheen sank down into the chair, then let out a strangled giggle through her tears. "You know.... I never remembered my father playing with me like that."
"But he did," Qui-Gon said softly. "I pulled that vision from your own memories, the first ones you ever had, because somehow you wanted to remember a time, when for you love was easily shown. The Force gave you the sign you wanted..."
Rheen stared down at the floor for a moment, then back at the Jedi Master. A slow, tremulous smile had worked onto her lips. "I should go home?"
"You know full well what's best."
For a moment, Rheen stared at the token still clutched in her fingers. Then she slapped it down on the arm of her chair, jumped up, and yanked the case off its luggage cart, sending the cart spinning into a potted plant. She barrelled past Obi-Wan, calling back, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Qui-Gon smiled distantly as his padawan sat down beside him, glancing at the small, retreating figure. "Who was that?" he asked, puzzled.
"A lost girl," Qui-Gon replied. "I helped her on her way."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "They found the computer error, and refunded the money to the Temple." He sighed and sagged down in his seat. "I'm glad that the mission's over..."
"There are always new missions, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon replied with a smile. "Always around us..."
END
This was posted on April 21, 2001.
© 2001 heather.lively@ns.sympatico.ca
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