TITLE: Vacation

AUTHOR: Obi the Kid (hlnkid@aol.com)

RATING: PG

SUMMARY: Humor. Pre-TPM. Obi-Wan is 13. Non-Slash. Vacation time for Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan

and Bren.

ARCHIVE: Please ask me first.

FEEDBACK: Always appreciated.

MY WEBSITE: http://www.angelfire.com/movies/obithekid/

DISCLAIMER: The characters and venue of Star Wars are copyrighted to Lucas Films Limited. The characters not recognizable from this venue are copyrighted to Tracy C. Knight. The story is the intellectual property of Tracy C. Knight and is copyrighted to her. She makes no profit from the writing or distribution of this story.

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Vacation

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The morning after the ordeal that was Brazo's speeder brought with it a sick trio of Jedi. Bren showed up at the Jinn-Kenobi quarters for a late breakfast, only to find the pair still in their beds. She stole a glance at the apprentice first. Obi-Wan was curled up in the middle of his bed, huddled under four blankets. His face and chest were hot to the touch. She imagined that he felt as bad as she did, but without any remaining energy to get out of bed. Next she went to check on Qui-Gon, who was in the same position as Obi-Wan. Curled into several blankets and feverish.

Her mind wandered. All she could think of was seeking revenge on Brazo for the adventures from the day before. The day from hell. "You'll pay for this, Brazo. You and that thing you have the nerve to call a speeder."

Qui-Gon stirred slightly as he heard the familiar voice. "Huh? Bren?"

She wandered over to the bed and spoke softly. "Sorry, Qui-Gon. Didn't mean to wake you. I was just plotting my revenge on Brazo for leaving us like this. I bet he's sleeping like a baby right now. No fever. No cough. No exhaustion. He must pay."

"I promised Obi-Wan no more revenge. I don't have the energy to seek revenge anyway. You can do it."

"Soon. Very soon. Come on, you need to get up. Eat something."

"No, I'm fine."

"Get up, Qui-Gon."

He knew better than to bicker with her over this. Glancing up, he saw that she felt as he did, but she was fighting it. "Women are not stronger," he mumbled. "Okay, I'm getting up."

"Keep the male chauvinism to yourself this morning. Come on. I'll help you into the common area."

Qui-Gon began staggering down the short hallway, but stopped before the door to Obi-Wan's room. "Is he dying too?"

"We all are. He's curled up asleep. We'll look after him in a bit. Let's get you moving first."

Bren deposited Qui-Gon on the couch and brought him a large glass of cold baja juice.

"I can't drink this stuff. Too sweet. I need a nice cup of hot tea."

"No. You need to drink cold liquids. Tea will just exhaust you even more. Drink it or I will pour it down your throat."

He knew her threats were real and decided he was too weak to push any further. So he sipped the juice while Bren cooked up a small breakfast.

~*~

Not long after, Obi-Wan awoke and dragged himself out of his room, moaning the entire time. He found Qui-Gon sprawled out on the couch, half asleep. "Masterrrrrr. I don't feel good. Can I seek revenge on Master Brazo for this? Please? Just this once?"

Qui-Gon opened his eyes and tried to focus them on the small form that had just taken up residence on the large chair nearby. "No revenge. Only...revenge."

"Huh?"

"I said no you can't revenge him. There is only revenge."

"Oh, right."

Bren wandered over with a glass of juice for Obi-Wan. He drank it without a fuss. "You want more, kid?"

"Yes, please. Makes me feel better. At least for a few minutes it does. Master you need to drink this."

"I am dying. Leave me alone."

"I'd hug you right now, but I can't bring my legs to move into a vertical position. Sorry to disappoint you, Master."

"The one time in my life when I actually would like a hug and I can't have one."

"You are both pathetic." Bren chipped in as she brought more juice to both Jedi. "Drink up. We must be healthy in order to seek revenge."

"Bren, instead of revenge, let's go away. Vacation. Somewhere warm, peaceful and quiet."

"So in other wards, leave Obi-Wan here?"

"I heard that, Master Bren."

"I mean a planet that is quiet. One...with a beach. Yes. And an ocean. Obi-Wan can keep busy talking to the feesh, and I can relax. You can relax. No Brazo. No broken down speeders. No trolls. Just us. Aaaaah. Sounds nice. My head hurts."

She sat on the edge of the couch and wrapped an arm around Qui-Gon's knee. "That sounds nice. But are you sure you want Obi-Wan along? You know how stressing he is to you."

"Master Bren, you are supposed to be on my side. Don't turn against me. You are the only sane person in this entire temple."

"I'm just making sure that your master is in his right mind. That each decision he makes is clear. I, personally, would never leave you behind. But Qui-Gon..."

The big master grumbled in pain as he adjusted his position slightly. He let out a long sigh. "I wouldn't leave him here unsupervised. But I've run out of people gullible enough to watch him for me while I go away. Let's go tomorrow. 'kay?" His eyes fell shut and his head fell back. Moments later, he was out cold.

"Okay, Obi-Wan. I think you should take the cue from your master and get some rest as well. You want me to get you to your bed?"

Slit eyes returned her gaze. "Yes. I can't make it. Why did Master Brazo do this to us? Why does he enjoy making us miserable? Just because he's in love now, the rest of us get treated like hutt slime."

"That's disgusting."

"That it is. Accept it. He can have Mari. I don't care. If he doesn't want to hug me anymore, that's fine. I'll adapt."

"Obi-Wan, are you jealous?"

"Me? Jealous of an archives technician? Get real. She's not all that. And besides, Yoda has a thing for her. Master Brazo will have to fight him off soon enough. I don't need hugs anymore."

Bren moved forward, knelt down and put her arms around the boy. "Everyone needs hugs."

"You are good, Master Bren. I wish my master was more like you. But he's just an insane, crazed man now. I don't understand."

"He's not crazed. Insane maybe. But not crazed. Maybe this vacation will help him relax. Once we all feel better, you'll see that he's not so bad. As for Brazo and Mari, just ignore them. I'll hug you anytime you want."

"Will you adopt me?"

"No, I'm not going that far. The reason I can handle you is because I don't have to spend every day with you. And also because women are stronger."

Obi-Wan pulled back from the hug and moved to get out of the chair. "Boy, do I know that. You are the strongest person I know. Can I go to bed now? I feel crappy."

~*~

The sun rose brightly the following day and it brought with it three Jedi who were beginning to feel better. Thankfully, the temporary illness, was very temporary.

"Master, are we leaving for vacation now?"

"Have you packed?"

"No."

"Then you just answered our own question."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"To a planet called Helopa. It's named after it's dominant species of feesh. The helop."

"Wasn't there a holo horror-vid about those feesh? Attack of the Killer Helop Clones or something like that?"

"I wouldn't know. But if you want to actually go on this vacation, go get packed. Bren will be here shortly."

"Can you eat helops?"

"I don't know. But they can eat padawans. Go. Get. Packed. Now. Please."

"Okay, okay. But you are the one always telling me we should know about the planet to where we are going. I was only trying to find out what we might be up against."

"We are not planning on battling any of the wildlife there. We are going on vacation. Not to war. But you are not going anywhere if you don't go and get PACKED!"

"I'm going. I'm going. Sheesh. I'll ask Master Bren about the helop later."

"Obi-Wan!"

"Bye, Master." The apprentice ran into his room and quickly shut the door behind him. Qui-Gon was left shaking his head when Bren let herself into the apartment.

"Problems with the kid again?"

"You have no idea. Are you ready to go?" He asked her after they greeted with a short hug.

Bren pointed to the large bag that sat at her feet. "Yup. All set. The transport leaves in an hour."

"Thank you. I can't wait to get there. I've heard great things about the beaches there."

"Have you heard about those giant feesh they have there? Helops?"

Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. "Don't start on that, please. Obi-Wan and I just had it out about that. Let's not talk about feesh on this trip."

"Stressed out by a feesh. Sad."

~*~

They arrived on the planet of Helopa after two days of travel. Obi-Wan, who was feeling like his old self again was practically bouncing off the walls of the transport ship. They were dropped off with several other Coruscant residents at a local docking base that lay on the outskirts of the small town that was the heart of this particular resort. There were several thousand resorts on the large world. Qui-Gon had picked this one because of a recommendation by a friend. Reservations had been made in advance for the trio to stay

in a cabin on the beach. Obi-Wan looked up at the cloud-free crystal blue sky in awe.

"Master, WOW! This is beautiful. Look how close we are to the beach. And the water.

It's so warm here. I don't even need my robe. Or my tunic."

"Obi-Wan, keep your tunic on right now. You'll blind everyone on the beach with your pale body. Don't go scaring these people. They are on vacation."

"Hey, Stretch! Maybe the kid can finally get a tan while he's here."

"Oh, yes. Good point. Obi-Wan, take off your tunic. In fact, leave it off the entire two weeks we are here."

"You guys think you are so funny, don't you?"

"Come on, kid." Bren smirked. "We are here to relax and have fun. Let's not get all bent outta shape because of your paleness. Just wait until your master starts showing off his hairy cheeken legs."

"Okay. That'll give me something to laugh at. He'll try to show them off to all the women on the beach. And they'll just giggle at him."

"He'd better NOT be showing off to other women on the beach." She glared hard at the tall master who stood directly across from her. "Right, Stretch?"

Qui-Gon blushed and then turned his own glare towards his padawan. "Obi-Wan, you and I will be having yet another talk about your inability to stop your lips from moving." Then he faced Bren again. "Ah, no. I would never look at anyone but you. I swear on my padawan's grave."

"Wait a minute." Obi-Wan said as he began his protest. He was cut off.

"Boys, boys. Please. Lets get settled in so we can enjoy or vacation."

They all nodded in agreement and headed up the stairs of the sun-drenched deck that fronted the medium sized cabin. Bren couldn't help but fall in love with the place already. "What more can you want? A place on the beach with a deck like this overlooking the ocean. Sun everywhere. Wow. How many bedrooms is this place, Qui?" They wandered into the cabin.

"It's supposed to be three, but I told my friend whatever was available. He had to pull a few strings to get us a cabin this well into the summer."

Obi-Wan came sprinting out of a room in the rear of the cabin. "Master! Only two bedrooms. I get the big one. You can have the couch."

"How about, Obi-Wan you get the small one and Bren and I get the larger room?"

"How about, you two in a room together leads to adult mush. And that just too much for me to handle on my vacation."

"How about, we can turn around right now and go home and not have a vacation."

"How about, I shut my mouth before that actually happens."

"Impressive, kid." Bren chimed in. "You are learning to stop yourself before you make the veins on your masters forehead pop out."

A smirk covered the boy's face and he took off into the smaller bedroom to unpack his bag. Qui-Gon looked down into Bren's eyes. "This is going to be a very long vacation with him, isn't it?"

"Yes, but look at the bright side."

"His pale body?"

"Ah, no. The other bright side. You are free of the council for two weeks and you are here with the people who love you most in the universe."

"Yes, but one of them drives me insane."

"True, but it's all done out of love."

"If you say so. More like lunacy. Let's get settled before he tries to claim our room again."

~*~

Obi-Wan was out of bed bright and early the next morning. He was determined to be the first person on the beach. Donning his shorts and thin sleeveless shirt, he skipped into the kitchen sniffing around for breakfast. Qui-Gon was just pouring two hot cups of imporessi for he and Bren who was just making her way from the bathroom.

"Master, what's for breakfast?"

"Nothing. We have to shop for food. The imporessi is the only thing that I brought with me. A gift from Master Valdez."

"He's back from his foray into the donkey breeding industry?"

"I think so. But anyway, if we want to eat, we have to go to the store. So, put some clothes on."

"I'm going to the beach."

"You are going to the store with me. If you want food, you will change your clothes and be ready to leave in five minutes."

Obi-Wan sulked back into his room and reappeared moments later and the trio wandered towards the closest public transport stop.

~*~

They found a local store not too far away that had anything and everything one would need on a vacation to the beach. Qui-Gon decided he needed a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from the pale body of his apprentice. He picked up at black pair with bright green ear bands on either side. "How do I look, Padawan?"

"Like some reject lead singer of an 80's hair band."

"What?"

"Never mind. Those are you, Master. Definitely. But aren't we here to find food? Your image is the least of my worries. No one will be looking at you on the beach. Not with me close by. The women love me."

"That's not love, Obi-Wan. That's confusion."

Bren had grabbed a small shopping cart and rolled it down the first aisle, Obi-Wan now at her side.

"No sign of food yet. This aisle is filled with holo-vids. You think they have Lima?"

"Easy, kid. Why don't you take a break from Lima while we are on vacation? Give yourself some space. Here, look. Educational holos. Here's one about the Gobi."

"Gobi? What's a...oh...Gobi dessert! Mmmm...that sounds good. Can we learn how to make a Gobi dessert?"

From behind, Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. "It's not dessert, Obi-Wan. It's DESERT. You know, a big hot place with lots of sand? You can't eat it."

"Wait. Gobi. Obi. Um, okay...Gobi is a desert. Is this a sign? Is that why I have dreams of being an old man on some hot, dusty planet with some whiney blonde haired guy following me around? Master! Why do you leave me on some desert planet to die? How can you do this to me? I bet you are off on some tropical world, sipping coconuts with a straw on a beach while I am dying of heat exhaustion in some desert named after me. Is this your revenge on me? Is this how you get back at me for my mush obsession?"

"Obi-Wan! First of all, when you are an old man, I will be dead. So, no I won't be on some tropical world sipping coconuts."

"You are gonna die? When? Don't leave me, Master. Please. I promise, I won't ask for another hug. Ever. I won't go to the Gobi. I'll stay with you and help you. Please don't die. You can go to your tropical world. I won't bother you. I swear. And I won't talk anymore. How about that? No mush and no talking. Ever again. Okay? Huh? Huh? Are you still gonna die, Master?"

"I should have brought Nev with me on this trip. Obi-Wan, relax. I am not going to die because you hug and talk too much. WAY too much. Although I haven't ruled out insanity as an option. What I am saying is that by the time you are an old man, as you are in your dreams, I will be one with the Force. I don't get to live 900 years like that wrinkled old troll does. But I promise, I am not going to die right now."

"Whew. Thank the Force. So you can just ignore all my babble about me not talking and not mushing you. Obi is okay now."

"Kid," Bren put in. "You were never okay. And now that you both have caused yet another scene, would you mind if we did some actual shopping? Let's get out of the holo-vid aisle. It's not a safe place to be with you two."

~*~

"What kind of breakfast food do you want, Obi-Wan? Here's an aisle with sugar free food. Pick anything you'd like."

The padawan sorted through the boxes on the shelf in front of him, looking for something that he considered edible. "Master Bren, I think I need sugar. These foods don't look like happy foods. And you know how happy I am. I need food to fit my personality. A sugar free Obi is like a master without hair curlers. It's just not right."

She looked around. Her eyes searching for Qui-Gon. He was nowhere to be found. Quietly she leaned down and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Okay, turn around to this shelf. This is sugar food. Pick something out. Just don't tell your master. I know how hard it is for you to keep your mouth shut, but do it. Understand?"

Obi-Wan whispered back. "Yes, Master Bren. I love you." He flashed a huge smile and them piled several boxes of sugar loaded breakfast cereal into the cart. "Have you ever had these, Master Bren? Rice Poofs and Coco Trolls. They are to die for."

"You'd die for cereal named after Master Poof and Master Yoda?"

"Odd, ain't it?"

"Hurry up, kid. Before Qui-Gon comes back. Don't know where he ran off to, but if doesn't hear your flying lips for more than a few minutes, he becomes suspicious."

Several minutes passed before the tall master presented himself. He turned the corner into the aisle holding a large collection of items in his hand. "Ah, there you are. Let's add these to the cart." He looked over at them. His nose covered with a bright white cream.

"Um..." Bren glanced at her friends face. "Something wrong with your nose?"

"This is sun protection."

"But we are inside. Not in the sun."

"I wanted to see how it looked on me. Obi-Wan?"

Trying hard not to laugh, Obi-Wan managed a reply. "Uh, it'll go nicely with your sunglasses, Master."

Bren looked away from Qui-Gon. It was the only way she could keep a straight face. Then she began to go thru the other products that Qui-Gon had just put down. "What is this? Looks like a thong for your foot. Did someone some one combine a shoe with a thong and this was the result?"

"It's called a flip-flop. For the beach. Protect the bottom of your feet from the hot sand. Remember this, Obi-Wan for your years in the desert." Qui-Gon smiled playfully.

"Funny, Master. Should I take the nose cream too?"

Bren picked up another item and turned it round and round in her hand. It was a shiny and colorful object that hung from a silver coated ring. "And this is?"

"A key chain." Qui-Gon replied proudly.

"You have no keys."

"Details. Details. It's a souvenir to take home. See, it has a picture of the beaches of Helopa on it. I got one for you and one for Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan, yours has a giant helop feesh on it."

"Souvenirs? You didn't tell me you'd buy me souvenirs. Can I get more?"

"You may get a few of them. Do not go overboard."

"Yes, Master." The boy's eyes brightened as he pulled several glass bottles from the cart. "Hey, are you buying bea? Since when do you drink bea? Is it chocolate?"

"No, Padawan. And that is disgusting. Occasionally I enjoy a little alcohol. I am on vacation. I shall do as I wish."

Once again, Bren had to interrupt them. "Boys. Stop before this get ridiculous. What else do we have here, Stretch." She held up a bright pair of swim shorts. "A bit on the bright side, aren't they? I don't know how you'll look in neon green and yellow shorts."

"Master! They have flowers on them. You always tell me, men don't wear flowers. How am I supposed to take these mixed messages?"

"This is called Hawaiian style. It's okay for men to wear these flowers."

"When we are on the beach at the same time, just remember this...I don't know you."

Master and padawan continued to ramble as Bren dug through the rest of the items. "An umbrella. Map. Tour book. Film. Film? What is film? Never mind. Um...dried slug? Live kryll? Qui?"

"Feesh bait. I thought perhaps Obi-Wan and I could do a little feeshing while we where here."

Obi-Wan stared at his master. "Feeshing? Really? You WANT to spend time with me? Are you feeling okay, Master? You're still sick, aren't you?"

"Is it that shocking that I might want to spend some quality time with my apprentice?"

In unison, Bren and Obi-Wan replied, "YES!"

"Well, don't be so shocked. I am capable of things that you may see as impossible."

Obi-Wan was now looking at his master. His eyes glazed over in amazement. Bren nudged the young Jedi in the arm. "Kid? You okay?"

"He...he...he wants to spend time with me. Are you sure this is my master? And not a clone of some sort?"

"Obi-Wan, do you want me to change my mind about spending time with you?"

"Um, no. I'm gonna go find some souvenirs now. Bye." He ran off into another part of the store while Bren and Qui-Gon finally decided to shop for food. Qui-Gon had yet to see the sugar loaded snacks that Bren had let the padawan pile into the cart just moments earlier.

Obi-Wan caught up with the others as they were about to check out. He had his arms loaded from his souvenir hunt. He plopped them down onto the check out table. Bren took a peak at the junk that the boy had collected and worked to suppress a grin. Qui-Gon however was not so amused.

"I said you may get a few souvenirs. You brought back half the store. And what do you need all this junk for? Cheap, meaningless gifts to make one spend credits. That's all they are."

Frowning and pursing his lips together, Obi-Wan turned his attention to his souvenirs. "Master, I'll have you know, I got something for each of the council members. Maybe a nice gesture of kindness will help them get over their grouchiness. Look. For Master Mace I got a miniature purple doll named Huggy Bear. Funny. It doesn't look like a bear. But don't you love his big hat and bellbottoms? Oh, and for Master Yoda, I got this pen with slime in it. And if you turn the pen over, there's a little teeny troll in there that goes back and forth. Let's see, for Mr. Poof, I got this shell. I think you can hear the ocean in it if you put it to your ear. Sounds more like the sound his head makes when he's mocking you at mach speed. Swishhhhhhh. Um...Master Adi, she gets a plastic toy snake. To make her hair jealous. Master Conehead gets this bandana for his head that says, 'Helopa is for coneheads.' How perfect is that?"

"Stop. No need to go any further. And you think these gifts will put you on their good side?"

"Yes."

"What did you get for Yaddle?"

"It's this small cone shaped thing that you hold up to your eye. And when you look into it, there is a holo in there. I am gonna put a holo of you in there, in your flower shorts and cheesy sunglasses. It'll make her thud."

"You will do no such thing. I have enough problems keeping that nasty troll away from me. I don't need you provoking her to be even more attached to me."

"Hey, kid." Bren decided to help the boy out a bit. "If it's for Yaddle, why don't you put a holo of Yoda in it. Yoda in a thong. That'll get her."

"You are good, Master Bren. Always thinking. Glad someone in this family has some sense."

The apprentice ignored the hard glare from his master. "I think the clerk is waiting for you to pay her, Master."

No one seemed to notice the size that Qui-Gon's eyes became when the clerk told him what he owed. He hadn't come in expecting to spend that much. However, he came prepared for anything on this trip and credits were not a problem.

~*~

Part 2

Back at the cabin, Obi-Wan stashed away his souvenirs and prepared again to head out to the beach. Before his master had a chance to critique his choice of clothing, the boy was out the door, flying across the sand and diving head first into the ocean waves. Qui-Gon

and Bren took a much slower pace as they softly strolled onto the sand.

Poking his head out of the water just to see if his master was on the beach yet, Obi-Wan spotted Qui-Gon and had to submerge himself to keep from laughing out loud. Qui-Gon was all decked out in his beach clothes. Flip Flips. White nose cream. Neon green sunglasses. Bright flowered shorts. Big floppy straw hat. And a beach bag thrown over one shoulder. Bren was with him carrying two chairs, but trailing slightly behind. Distancing herself from all the stares that were flooding their way.

Qui-Gon found the perfect spot, removed his towel from the bag and laid it out meticulously on the hot sand. Bren followed with the chairs, placing them next to the towel. "You going in the water, Stretch?"

"Not until Obi-Wan has come down a few notches. I'm not in the mood for a game of Dunk the Master."

"But he's so cute out there. Look at him. Having a ball. He's made friends already."

"He in all his paleness."

~*~

The week progressed. Obi-Wan established a pattern of eating breakfast and then spending hours on the beach and in the water. Bren was amazed that the boy had not been sunburned several times over by now. Qui-Gon on the other hand, spent most of his time at the beach under an umbrella. Protected from the powerful sun. He resisted the oceans call until midway through the vacation. The pleading eyes of his apprentice and the gentle waves of the day finally lured him off the beach and into the water.

Hours later, master and apprentice emerged wrinkled but happy. Qui-Gon was relaxed and joking with Obi-Wan as the younger Jedi rambled on about why Master Yoda hated the water. When they arrived back at the cabin to find Bren lounging on the sun deck, it was then that they noticed.

"Master, you look a bit red. I think maybe you got sunburned."

Bren hopped up to examine. "He's right. Didn't you use sun block? You did buy some, didn't you?"

"Uh, well..."

"Master, you are gonna look like a raccoon in the morning. Your nose is gonna be as white as a ghost. No wait. Ghosts are blue. Um, as white as a sheet. Yeah, that's it. Why did you buy sun block for your nose but not for the rest of your body?"

"You sidetracked me with your council souvenirs."

"Oh no, Qui." Bren corrected. "Don't blame the kid for this one. You bought all this other stuff. Thong shoes and flower pants, but nothing for sunburn. The bright colors must have gone to your head. You are going to pay for this tomorrow. Ouch."

Qui-Gon gave a grunt and walked into the house. "Someone could have reminded me," he mumbled as he escaped into the bathroom.

~*~

The next morning, Qui-Gon refused to remove himself from his bed. He seemed content to lie there and moan about how sore his entire body was. Bren gave up on him and made a quick escape to the store to see about some type of cream or ointment to help the burn.

There was a soft knock on the bedroom door causing the big master to stir and raise his head. "Whoever it is, go away."

Obi-Wan poked his head around the corner of the doorway. "Hi, Master. Do you need anything?"

"No. Just quiet."

"You know, this is what you get for making fun of my pale body all the time. I think this is the Force's way of getting revenge."

"Obi-Wan. Out. Now. Please. Go play in the ocean."

The boy was now standing at his master's bedside. "Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"I am positive. Please go away."

"Okay," he shrugged. "But if you need me, let me know. I'll go take my pale body outside where it's immune to sunburn. Bye, Master."

Qui-Gon sighed heavily as he heard the footsteps moving away, and then others closing in. Bren was back from the store. Armed with treatment.

"Okay, Stretch. Sit up. I spoke with a doctor in town, he advised me about what to do for a burn like this."

Reluctantly, he pulled his exhausted body up and propped himself with several pillows behind his back. He tried to be patient and ignore the pain as Bren applied the ointment to his crisp skin. The process took almost thirty minutes to cover all scorched areas thoroughly. Qui-Gon was just settling back in when Obi-Wan came flying into the bedroom yelling.

"MASTER! It's disgusting that they allow THAT on the beach. They followed us here. Just to torture me. Don't I have enough angst in my life already? When is enough, ENOUGH?"

"First of all, QUIET DOWN! Second of all. What are you babbling about?"

"Adult mush. ON THE BEACH. Them. Disgusting. I want to go home."

Bren decided to take over the conversation. "Obi-Wan, relax and breathe. Settle down. Are we calm? Good. Now, explain to us what you are talking about. In words that we can understand, please."

"Master Brazo and that Mari woman are here. Slobbering all over each other on the beach. How did they know where to find us? We came here to get away from them. Why do they follow us? Oh and if THAT wasn't bad enough...Mr. Nev is here."

"Nev? Your Shrink? What's he doing here?"

"I don't know, but he's got some blonde bimbo with him, giggling at everything that he says. Makes me sick. My Shrink has left me for a woman!"

"Left you? Obi-Wan, he is a doctor. His job is to treat you." She paused for a moment before it hit her. "Wait a minute. You, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are jealous. Jealous of her, aren't you?"

"Mr. Nev has a lot of nerve. How dare he take other patients when he's still treating me."

"Uh, I don't think she's meant to be his patient. Nev does have a life outside of his practice. At least he does now. You should be happy for him, kid."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms and held them tight against his chest. "Well, I'm not. He's deceived me. How can I bear my soul to him now? Tell him my inner most thoughts so that he can treat me. How can I do that when he is seeing Blondie there behind my back?"

"Okay, you need some down time. You are way too wired right now. Let's you and I go watch a Lima holo. I rented one yesterday. Your master is tired and you are loony. Come on."

"But...I need my master's support and comfort at a time like this." He pulled away from Bren's grasp on his arm. "Master, can you hug me now? I need mush to overcome what I have seen."

Groaning as he blue eyes slowly opened, Qui-Gon shook his head in disbelief. "You do see the state that my body is in? Can you not have pity for me just once? I can't move without pain and you want me to hug you?"

"Yes. Please?"

Bren grabbed Obi-Wan's arm again and dragged him out of the room. "I will hug you. Leave your master alone." She was able to overpower Obi-Wan and direct him to the couch. Pointing his head at the holo-monitor. "Did Mari and Brazo see you? Do they know you are here?"

"I think so. At least I thought I heard Mari say, 'how did that annoying, yappy padawan find us on this planet' right before I made it off the beach. Shouldn't there be a law about beaches and adult mush?"

"There should, yes. But were they both clothed?"

"Yes. And Master Brazo was wearing one those little tiny swim suits. You know, those speedo things? That's just wrong."

"I really don't want to think about that now. How about Nev. Did he see you?"

"He did, but he acted like he didn't know me. I waved to him and he stuck his nose up and turned his head. Women. See what they do to men? They make them soft and weird. Weak males. I have no role models in my life anymore. Well, except you. You're the only one who knows what I go through and accepts me for what I am."

"And what are you?"

"A young, handsome, darling, wonderful padawan. With a big mouth and a mush obsession."

"I'm not to sure about the first part, but your master would definitely agree with the big mouth and mush obsession part."

She punched a few keys on the monitors remote and let the Lima holo play for Obi-Wan. She left him staring mesmerized at the opening scene of Lima on horseback leading a cavalry of men to attack a rabid herd of trolls. *That'll keep him occupied for a while.*

~*~

That afternoon, Obi-Wan had finished with Lima and took his chances back out on the beach. It didn't take him long to run into Brazo and Mari again. They were standing at a small food stand, sharing a choc baja shake. Two straws. One large glass.

Already, the boy was disgusted, but he sucked it up and approached the pair. "Hi, Master Brazo. Hello, Archive Mari. Why are you following us?"

Brazo laughed as he removed his attention from the drink. "This is coincidence, Obi-Wan. We needed a vacation. It was obvious where to go. And it just so happens that you and your master are here as well. Lovely. I'd love to have dinner with you and he. And Bren?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "She is with us, but Master Qui-Gon is burnt to a crisp. You'll have to wait a couple days for him to deburn before he can sit comfortably at a table and eat."

"Ah, sunburn. How is it that you are still so pale? Has he been keeping you inside?"

"No, he hasn't. I don't burn. I just tan. Slowly."

"Uh huh. I see that your Shrink is here too. Popular place, this Helopa."

"Must be. I'll have to remember to tell Master Qui-Gon that next time, we vacation far away from this place. Can I have a hug now?"

Mari rolled her eyes at the boy. He never seemed to stop. "You can't go an hour with out a hug, can you? Just remember to keep your mush out of my archives. Understand?"

"Hmm..." A second of thought, and then Obi-Wan threw his arms around Mari. A surprise hug. There was nothing better.

"Get off of me. What are you doing? I didn't ask for mush. Off. Off!" After a few moments when the padawan refused to let go, she felt herself being won over. Slightly. "Get...off...um...well, this isn't so bad is it? Kinda makes you feel good inside. I think I could go for this mush stuff more often, Kenobi."

"Really?" The young face lit up with a smile as he released his embrace of Mari. "You mean, you'll hug me when I come into the archives?"

"No. Don't get all happy. I just said it was nice and that I don't mind it that much. But NO hugging in the archives. Haven't you seen the sign I had posted near the entrance? 'This is a mush free zone.' Jedi go there to study and research. Not to be hounded by a babbling, mush-starved apprentice."

"Yeah, but you do like the stuff now, don't you? I've converted you to a musher. It's all down hill from here."

With an arm around his lady friend, Brazo decided to cut this conversation short before it progressed into something louder. "Mari, you and I have a lunch date. Obi-Wan, tell Qui-Gon I said hello and that I will see him soon."

"Yeah, right. Lunch date. Lunch. Uh huh. I know what you two have planned. And it's not lunch."

Brazo gave a flick of his hand. Waving the padawan off. "Be gone."

"Fine. I don't want to watch this anyway."

And he sprinted off towards the beach again for a couple hours of sun. After that, it was back to his cabin to harass his own master. Running at full speed, he shouted as he skidded into the cabin where his master now lounged uncomfortably on the couch. "MASTER! I did it. I converted Archives Mari to mush. I hugged her. She liked it, but she won't really admit it completely. She's afraid of the power of mush. Sad, isn't it? How can anyone be afraid of mush? I mean it's only the most powerful force in the galaxy. Well okay, maybe second to the Force. But, it's strong stuff. Aren't you proud of me, Master? Huh?"

Qui-Gon turned over painfully from where he lay on his stomach on the cushions. "Did you say something, Obi-Wan?"

"Oh, never mind. How's your burn?"

"Burnt. Obi-Wan...there is something different about you today. You look...I don't have to squint when I look at you anymore. Oh Force. You've got a tan. It's a miracle. No wait. How did this happen? Pale white bodies usually burn. Is that real? Or do you have on one of those creams that make you look tanned?"

"Master, I told you, I don't burn. It's takes me a while, but I do tan. Eventually. Where is Master Bren?"

"She went to meet Nev's girlfriend. I didn't know Nev was here. You must be some kind of magnet for these people. Brazo, Mari and Nev all end up in the same place that we do? I think, oh...if I do recall correctly, do we not owe Brazo a small measure of revenge for making us all sick on his speeder trip?"

"You want me to spend a day with them."

"Oh, now there's a thought. That would be the ultimate revenge, wouldn't it?"

Before either had a chance to continue the conversation, Bren wandered in. "Is that the sweet plotting of revenge that I hear? Now, now boys. As much as I wanted to seek revenge after that little adventure, I think we should let it drop. For now. We should enjoy the rest of our vacation and not worry about getting back at fellow Jedi for making us miserable. Once we get home, THEN we get into the revenge thing."

"She's wise, Master. You should be more like her."

"Shut up, Obi-Wan. Bren, did you meet Nev's girlfriend?"

"The bimbo?"

"Obi-Wan!" Bren tried to be firm with him, but on the inside she was laughing. "Be nice. Yes, I did meet her, Qui. She's a healer. Her name is Master uh...G'mee Hugg.

"WHAT? No way. You lie."

"No, I sit. Thank you very much."

"Ha ha. That is not her name, Master Bren. Her name is not gimme a hug."

"I didn't say gimme a hug. I said G'mee Hugg."

"So, she is Master Gimme a Hug. Whoa. That is...I take it back. She's not a bimbo. Can I hug her do you think? I mean with a name like that, she has GOT to be a mushy person. But she does hang out with Nev. Something wrong with that picture? Master Gimme a Hugg."

Qui-Gon looked over at the boy sitting across from him. "No. I told you, I can't hug you while I am in this condition."

"No, Master. I was practicing her name. Gimme a hug."

"Listen, kid. It's NOT gimme a hug. It's G'mee Hugg. Don't embarrass yourself. She might be the most non-mushy person in the universe."

"That is just not possible with that kinda name. I refuse to believe it. Mr. Nev is in love with some woman named Hugg. You think she'll sit in with me during my sessions with him? Comfort me when he starts asking me all those personal questions that he has no right to be asking me? Will she hold my hand. Tell me it's okay. Hug me when the questions get to intense? I think I am gonna like this lady."

"Okay," Bren started as she rolled her eyes. "First of all, the questions Nev asks you are the reason you are there to begin with. He asks those to all of his patients."

"You mean he tells asks other people why they like to drive him to drink?"

"Uh, okay not that question. That's not the point. Master Hugg is not going to sit with you while he councils you. She is a healer. She has her own job to attend to. She might even have a padawan of her own. I am sure she's much too busy to spend her days sitting in with Nev's patients. So get over it before you get too involved."

From the couch, Qui-Gon put his small bit in as he sat up slowly. "You tell him, Bren. Of course if this Master Hugg turns out to be someone that Nev wants no part of, he can sic you on her to drive her away. No. That won't work. She'd not only run from Nev, she'd run from the temple. And we'd lose a good Jedi. Okay, forget I said that. When do we get to meet Nev's new love, Bren?"

"Tomorrow night. We are all going to dinner together. Brazo and Mari too. I know, Qui-Gon. I know you are still sore...but it'll do you good to get out. Stretch a little. If the pain gets bad, we'll call it an early night. We can leave Obi-Wan to sit in for us." Obi-Wan tried to protest, but was stopped by Bren's hand slapping over his mouth. "Not a word. This is going to be an enjoyable dinner. Do you understand? One nod for yes. One shake for no." The boy nodded his head. "Good boy. Now, go get a shower. You are covered with sand. There's a place not far from here that sells choc cream cakes. I'll take you for one when you are clean."

Needing no further encouragement, Obi-Wan high-tailed it into the shower and left Bren and Qui-Gon in quiet peace for at least a few moments. "You want me to pick you up something while I am out with him?"

"No, I'll go with you. I think. Sunburn or not, I should at least try and enjoy what is left of this vacation. And I do have a weakness for choc cream cakes. I blame Obi-Wan for that."

"You have a weakness for them, because you are as sweet as a cream cake. Aren't you Qui-Poo?"

From the depths of the shower came a screaming, high-pitched voice. "I HEARD THAT. I LEAVE THE ROOM FOR FIVE MINUTES AND YOU TWO ARE ALL OVER EACH OTHER. DISGUSTING."

"He's so cute. Honestly, Qui. He'd make some mother a wonderful son."

"You think I can pawn him off on some unsuspecting mother?"

"Ah, no. Mothers are smart. She'd see him coming a mile away. Actually, she'd hear him coming. That mouth carries a long way."

The mouth in question came bounding out of the shower moments later. His now tanned body wrapped in a towel. "I heard that too. Are you trying to get rid of me, Master?"

"No, Obi-Wan. Just trying to think peaceful thoughts is all."

"Okay. When can we go feeshing? You promised me we could go and try and catch a giant helop feesh. I think you referred to it as 'quality time' with your apprentice."

"I don't think I should be in the sun just yet. Let's rule out tomorrow. The day after should be okay. We'll shoot for that."

"You say that now. But when that day comes, you'll pull out on me. Give some lame excuse. Just face it, Master. You are afraid of me. Spending time with just me freaks you out. It's okay. I have that affect on people. But can we still go feeshing?"

With a heavy sigh, Qui-Gon lay back against the couch. "Obi-Wan. I am not afraid of you or of spending time with you. I just sometimes get exhausted by your motor mouth. And that is why I recently bought stock in duct tape. I do love you. And I do enjoy your company. But I am an old man who sometimes needs quiet in order to remain sane. I promise, you and I will spend the day just to ourselves. But if you run your lips all day, I'll need a day to recover. So plan accordingly. Okay?"

"I can accept that. Thank you, Master. Master Bren, can we get dessert now?"

Bren glanced at the towel-wrapped boy in front of her. "You might want to consider putting clothes on first. Nice tan though. It looks good on you, kid."

A quick smile and he was off again. Qui-Gon immediately thought about all the sugar in a cream cake and shuddered. Sugar and Obi-Wan were not a good combination. But this was Bren's idea, so it would be Bren's problem to deal with. "If he goes off on a sugar high, you are responsible. I don't have the energy for that right now."

"Don't worry. Unlike you men, I know how to handle the kid. Relax, Stretch."

~*~

The trio returned to the cabin after their foray into dessert land. Obi-Wan had stuffed himself full of sugar and for the next three hours, bounced off the walls. Eventually he bounced into exhaustion and collapsed onto the couch, sound asleep within minutes.

Qui-Gon held out his sunburned arms towards Bren. "Could you?"

"Carry him to his bedroom? Yes, I'll take pity on you. You are going to squeeze this for all it's worth, aren't you?"

The big master said nothing. Instead, he allowed his eyes to smile. Bren lifted Obi-Wan into her arms and carefully tucked him into his bed before returning to the common area. "Okay, he's quiet and comfortable. Do you think he'll behave tomorrow at dinner?"

"Are you kidding? Across from a Jedi named Master G'mee Hugg? I think it'll be something to see. Can you tuck me in?"

"Squeezing this for all it's worth. Yes you are."

~*~

Obi-Wan spent the next day on the beach until Qui-Gon called him to get ready to go out for dinner. "How is your sunburn, Master?"

"Much improved, Padawan. Still stings and itches, but I can actually move my legs and arms now."

"Good. Because I bought you something." He held out a white, square-shaped box to his master. "Here."

"A gift?"

"Yes," the boy said as he tried unsuccessfully to hold back his smile.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan." Gently removing the top of the box and folding back the soft paper inside, he revealed the item inside. A brightly colored blue and white shirt, decorated with beach trees. "Um. This is...bright."

"It's one of these Hawaiian shirts that you love so much. I tried to find a green and yellow one to match your shorts, but there was something about the color blue that pulled me to it. It was like the Force leading me. I got an extra, extra large. Will it fit?"

Qui-Gon forced a grin as he observed the brightness and the size. He removed the shirt completely from the box and put it on. It fell past his hips and almost to his knees. "Just a bit on the large side."

"Hey, Stretch," Bren bellowed as she came into the room. "Wearing dresses now, are we?"

"It is not a dress, Bren. It's a gift from my apprentice. A very...interesting gift."

"Do you like it, Master? I spent an hour picking it out this afternoon. The lady at the store said all the Jedi are wearing them."

"Yes, I am sure she did. And you didn't sense any untruths coming from her?"

"Not at all, Master. She was a nice lady."

"And knows a sucker when she sees one." Bren mumbled behind her hand. "But, it's unique. Wear it tonight to dinner. But you might not want to wear short pants with it. It'll look like you have nothing on. Which is fine by me, but we'll be in the company of guests."

"Ah...um..." He glanced at Obi-Wan's hopeful eyes. "Sure. Yes. I will wear it. Thank you, Obi-Wan. This is very thoughtful of you to spend your hard earned credits on a gift for me. I am honored."

"Don't be too honored, Master. I used your credit chip."

"Oh, then I should thank myself."

"But, I DID pick it out."

"Yes. No mistaking that. Thank you, Padawan."

A grin came over the young face and he bolted into his room to dress for dinner. Bren tugged on the shirt that Qui-Gon was still donning. "It's not bad. A tad bright and big. But I kinda like it. Makes you look...vacationy."

"Vactiony? Makes me look like a tourist."

"Right. Or it makes you look like a father who got a thoughtful, if not odd, gift from a son."

Qui-Gon smiled softly and nodded. "Let's get ready, shall we?"

~*~

Part 3

When they arrived at the restaurant, Brazo and Mari had already been seated at a table for seven. Qui-Gon looked at Brazo. Brazo looked at Qui-Gon. Bren, Obi-Wan and Mari had to do a double take. Both Jedi were wearing the exact same shirt. The only difference was that Brazo's actually fit him correctly.

"See, Master. Great minds think alike."

Bren laughed. "Brazo, did you by any chance happen to get that in a store with a lady clerk who told you that ALL the Jedi were wearing those?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Ask the kid, here. You two look so colorful. This is nice. Hi, Mari."

Returning the greeting, Mari then shared a rolled eyes greeting with Bren as they all sat down. "Have you met Nev's lady friend?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. She...interesting. Not really his type, but what is his type anyway? Ah, there they are now. And um...oh, this is too much." She waved at Nev and G'mee across the room. Nev waved back and pointed to the table. They made their way over. Bren had to turn away to laugh without them noticing. Nev was also wearing the same shirt that Brazo and Qui-Gon had on. "Excuse me, I have to go to the ladies room. I'll be right back." And she walked away in a fight of laughter. Loud laughter. Eyes from the entire restaurant followed her until she vanished around the corner.

Nev was the first one to speak up. "Brazo, Qui-Gon. Nice shirt. That lady wasn't joking when she said all the Jedi were wearing this. Although I never thought, Qui-Gon, that I'd find you in a shirt like this."

"Blame, Obi-Wan."

"Master! You said you liked it."

"I said it was thoughtful of you. I don't recall me ever voicing the words, 'I like it.' But I can deal with this. I can. Nev, who is your friend?" He said, directing a nod towards the blonde woman standing next to the mind healer.

"This is G'mee Hugg. Master G'mee Hugg. She and I have been seeing each other for a couple months now." Nev noticed Kenobi about to jump out of his seat. "Problem, Obi-Wan?" And then realization came over him. "Oh, the name. I knew you'd like that."

"Can I?"

Qui-Gon decided he'd better stop this before it turned into something worse than just an eagerness to hug. "Master G'mee, you'll have to excuse my apprentice. He has a slight obsession with mush. He loves to hug. And any word that even closely resembles the words 'hug' or 'mush' he perks up."

"Qui-Gon," Nev chimed in, "Saying that Obi-Wan has a 'slight' obsession is like saying that Mace has a 'slight' obsession with hairless legs. G'mee, I have been Obi-Wan's personal counselor for a year now. He has a problem. Mush takes over his life. It rules his life. He needs hugs like we need oxygen. Like helops need water. He's...well, he's a pathetic life form."

"Wow. A PLF in the flesh. I've never seen one of those." G'mee held her face in all seriousness as she responded to Nev.

Obi-Wan frowned. His desire to hug Master Hugg was no longer controlling him. He began his protest as Nev and G'mee sat down. "Wait a minute. There are only two people in this galaxy permitted to call me a pathetic life form. You are not one of them. I resent that. Now, the only way that you'll be able to make this up to me, and take back your insult is to hug me. So, take your pick. Obi's good side, or Obi's bad side."

"What's the difference?"

"Trust me, G'mee, his bad side is relentless. More so than his good side. Good means he hugs. Bad means he talks. Constantly. Qui-Gon is the unfortunate soul to have to live with both sides of the boy. I see mainly the good side, unless I am in a session with him. It narrows down to being hugged or yapped. Choose hug. Choose life."

"Aww, Mr. Nev, you put that so nicely. Why can't you be this calm in our therapy sessions? The last time you hid in your closet until I got bored and went home."

"No comment."

Just arriving back at the table in order to catch part of the conversation, Bren put a hand on G'mee shoulder and whispered to her. "Trust me. Let him hug you. It'll all be easier in the long run. Don't worry, he's a terrific hugger. It'll be a good thing."

The blonde Jedi sighed and the entire group could see her about to give in. "Okay. One hug. Then will you go away?"

"Why does everyone say that to me? When you become an adult, do you develop and allergy to hugs?"

"I have other things to do with my life than go around hugging people. Now, are you going to do this or not?"

"I can't hug you if you display an attitude about it. It messes with my fragile emotional balance. Can we eat now, Master?"

Qui-Gon shook his head and looked to Bren and Brazo for assistance. But Brazo was busy nuzzling with Mari and Bren had her head stuck in a menu so that no one could see her laughing. "Yes, I think that's our waiter coming towards us. What would you like to eat, Padawan? Fried helop? Spiced cheeken? Bantha wangs?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"I want those."

"Which?"

"All of the above."

"No. Pick one."

"Are the bantha wangs hot?"

"It says they come in mild, hot, 911 and death by fire."

"Mmmm. I want the death by fire ones."

Bren tore away from the menu long enough to respond. "No, kid. Do you want to keep the insides of your mouth where they are?" Obi-Wan nodded. "Good. Then stick with the mild or hot versions."

"See, Master. She cares about me. She looks out for me. That's why I behave for her. You should learn her ways of mastering."

"The waiter is here. Order your dinner and stop critiquing my teaching skills."

~*~

Two hours later, the group had had just about enough of each other. Obi-Wan was continually grossed out by Brazo and Mari's insistence on making goo goo eyes at each other all evening. Nev was so busy showing off his G'mee to everyone in the restaurant that he barely touched his food. Bren spent the entire time laughing at them and at Obi-Wan's reactions to them. Qui-Gon could only shake his head and roll his eyes.

The evening was boring, so Obi-Wan took a shot at what he mastered in. Annoyance. "Master, gimme a hug."

G'mee's eyes looked up at the voice. "What do you want?"

"I'm not talking to you, Master Hugg. Wow, what a name. Hugg. Mush. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Master, gimme a hug."

Master Hugg was not amused by the boy. "Stop that. What are you repeating my name."

"I'm not. I just said gimme a hug. I am allowed to request mush, you know."

"You are playing with my mind. I've heard stories about you. They never mentioned your name, but Mace and Adi have told me stories about a loony padawan in the temple. Yoda has mentioned you as well. I know now who they refer to. Quiet."

"You should change your name. You disrespect all of those who are in love with mush with a name like Hugg. With a name like that you should be warm and welcoming. Hugging at will. I thought I had found a soul mate in you when I first heard your name. How wrong I was. You have a name like that and you don't hug. That's just wrong."

Things began to go downhill quickly. Bren decided enough was enough. "Okay, I think Obi-Wan is done. Shall we get the check and head on back to our cabins? Qui-Gon, you should have brought the duct tape."

"I left it home on Coruscant. I thought that maybe just this once, I wouldn't need it."

"You should know better than that, Master."

"Yes, I should, Padawan."

The waiter brought the check and they group of seven each put in what they owe. On the way out, Obi-Wan tried one last time to convince Master G'mee to hug him.

"So, Master Hugg, do you have an apprentice?"

"Not as of yet. And after meeting you, I am not so sure that I want one."

"Hug me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"We've been through this."

"Yes, but I am not satisfied with your response. Just one hug. Come on. I know you want to. I am too adorable for words. Everyone gives in to me sooner or later. Look at this face. Can you resist it?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I gave you a chance. Now you'll be the only one in the temple to have not hugged me. And you'll have to live with that on your conscious for a long, long time."

"Somehow, I will manage. It might be difficult, but my Jedi training will pull me through."

When it became obvious that Obi-Wan was not going to stop, Qui-Gon whispered to Bren. "Grab him, please. Before he dies an ugly death at her hands."

Bren wasted no time. She grabbed the padawan by the braid and dragged him away from G'mee. "It's been an...interesting evening. Nev, good to see you again. G'mee, nice to meet you. Brazo and Mari, get a room. Good night everyone. Enjoy the rest of your vacation."

She took Qui-Gon's arm in her free hand and ushered master and padawan away from the restaurant. "Obi-Wan, if Nev is going to continue to see Master Hugg, you and she are going to have to get along better than that. You need to stop being so unrelenting with people who don't want to hug you. It's not the end of the world if she won't hug you. There are plenty of people who will. Me, for instance. Sometimes you can even talk your master into it. But stop driving people crazy."

"I can't. You know that. I'm addicted."

"Yes, I know. But try at least. For me, okay?"

"Okay, Master Bren. I'll try. Just for you."

Qui-Gon interrupted. "What about me? You won't try for me? Do I mean nothing to you?"

"Will you hug me?" Obi-Wan chirped back.

"Not right now."

"Master Bren, will you hug me?"

"Sure, kid. Come here."

The boy collapsed into Bren's arms and was wrapped in a soft embrace. "See, Master. This is why I don't try as hard for you. You can't offer this to me."

"I can. I just choose not to."

"Master Bren, do you think that my master should go with me the next time I have a session with Nev? I think he needs to get his feelings out too."

"You might be onto something, Obi. I'll have to mention that to Nev. But not right now. Okay, hug is over. If I remember correctly, you and Qui-Gon have a feeshing trip tomorrow, right? We should get back to our cabin so you both can recover from this evening."

"Just me and you, Master. The guys. Out with nature. Fighting the elements. Bonding with each other. Man to man."

Qui-Gon sighed deeply and began walking away. "We are just going feeshing, Obi-Wan. It's not a big deal."

"It is, Master. You avoid spending time alone with me. Afraid I might hug you or something. This is gonna be so much fun. I promise that I will try and be good, Master."

"And I know that is all that I can ask."

~*~

No sugar was needed to get Obi-Wan energized for his day of feeshing with his master. He bounced out of bed that morning, was dressed in record time and had packed a lunch for them both before Qui-Gon had even lifted his head from the pillow. When the big Jedi finally did get up, he spent the next thirty minutes in the bathroom treating his still sore arms and face with cream and splashing cold water on his face. He was about to fall asleep standing up when there was a pounding on the bathroom door. Qui-Gon's head dropped in defeat. He knew the presence on the other side before the voice penetrated his tired mind.

"I am getting ready, Obi-Wan. Give me a little time."

"Hurry, Master. We have to get a prime spot on the rocks. We need to claim our place before all the other feeshers get there. What if they catch all the helops in the water? Master! Hurry up!"

"I promise there will be plenty of helops left for us. They cannot catch every feesh in the sea. And there are other feesh besides helops. Why don't you go study your planet information chip. Find out what else we might catch."

"Good idea, Master! But hurry."

The boy sprinted off to dig for his information chip. He discovered that not only were there helops of many sizes to be caught, but many other feesh as well. "Just like Master Qui-Gon said. MASTER! WE CAN CATCH HELOPS AND ENLOPS AND CRILOPS TOO!"

"KEEP READING."

It took another twenty minutes for Qui-Gon to finish. He emerged from the bathroom to find a hot cup of imporessi waiting for him. "Ah, thank you Bren. I might need ten or so of these to make it through the day."

Bren smiled. "Relax. It won't be that bad. He just wants to spend time with you. It should make you feel good that he loves you so much. Look how excited he is. That's good energy. Maybe it'll rub off on you. Go on. Have a good time."

"Yes. You're right. I must think positive. What are you going to do today?"

"I think sit on the sun deck and read. Just enjoy the fresh air. You'd better get going. He's giving us the pleading look. Go on. Have fun. Kid, be good today. Catch us some dinner."

"Okay, Master Bren. Come on, Master!" He handed Qui-Gon a small, portable cooling box that carried the lunches. "I'll carry the feeshing poles. Careful with that. Our bait is in there too."

"You put the bait in the same box as our lunch?"

"Oh, um. Yes. Hmm. Well, it'll be okay. Let's go."

Chuckling to herself as the pair trudged out of the cabin, Bren retreated to the bedroom to catch up on her sleep before she set out for her busy day of lounging in the sun.

~*~

"Master, this is a good spot." Obi-Wan set the feeshing poles down on a large rock and placed a large towel on the same rock, for them to sit on. The rock jetty spurted out several hundred yards past the beach and into the sea. It was already lined with feeshermen. Qui-Gon and his apprentice were settled in the middle of the jetty.

"Do you know what you are doing, Obi-Wan?"

"Kinda. I watched a holo on helop feeshing the other day. You take the feeshing pole, and put the bait on the hook at the end of the string. Then you cast it out into the water and let it float. Eventually a helop will take the bait and then you reel him in. It's simple."

"That remains to be seen."

Obi-Wan hooked the live bait, called a kryll, onto his hook and cast the line out. The hook went one direction, the kryll in another.

"Padawan, I don't think..."

"I know. I didn't hook him on very well. Either that or he's perfected the art of in-flight escape. I knew I should have gotten bait that can't think on it's own. Let me try this again."

This time the bait remained on the hook and Obi-Wan nodded his head in pride. "That is how it's done, Master."

"Thank you, o' great one."

"Funny. You are holding the line wrong, Master. You need to keep the pole higher to the line doesn't all sit in the water. There. Better."

After a few moments, Obi-Was was surprised to feel a tug on his line. He reeled it in quickly until he could see the hook surfacing. It carried with it a small, blue feesh. Before he could raise the pole high enough to remove his catch from the water, a much larger feesh approached. With one quick motion, it had engulfed the hook and the smaller prey attached to it. Then disappeared into the dark water below.

Obi-Wan stared into the water after the thief. "Hmmm."

Qui-Gon shrugged and patted his apprentice on the back. "There's always a bigger feesh."

"Brilliant words, Master," he replied sarcastically. "But the bigger feesh is not supposed to eat things right off my hook. He is playing the game unfairly. I did all the work and he used me."

"Accept it and move on. Learn to move quicker next time."

Sighing in exasperation, Obi-Wan re-baited the hook and cast out again.

The hours began to roll by. And not a helop in sight. Both Jedi were bored beyond words. Even the krill bait seemed bored. Floating aimlessly in the water. The sea was calm. The sun was bright. The feesh weren't biting. Or to be more exact, they weren't biting on the hooks the belonged to the Jedi. All around them, others were catching a wide variety of sea creatures. Obi-Wan looked at his master.

"I don't understand. What are we doing wrong? Why is everyone else catching feesh? They are using the same bait as we are. Master, use the Force. Direct the feesh away from them and towards us."

"No. That is abuse of the Force. And it's also called cheating. If we are meant to catch something, we will. Enjoy the day, Obi-Wan. The warm sun. Soft wind. Clean air. We can always go out to a restaurant and eat feesh. We don't need to catch them."

"It's the principle of the thing, Master. If I can't catch something as simple as a feesh, how will I ever become a Jedi Knight?"

"Perhaps you underestimate the creature that you seek to catch."

"Okay, so they are smart enough to stay away from us. They must have been talking to Master Brazo and Mr. Nev about me. Stay away from the padawan. He'll want to hug you. I don't want to hug the feesh, Master. Just eat it."

"You want to end its life to satisfy your stomach. That'd be enough reason for me to stay away from you."

"Well, you do have a point there. What do we do now?"

"Sit back. Relax. And keep trying."

~*~

Mid-afternoon. Obi-Wan opened the cooling box to get the lunches out. They each took a bite and spit it out immediately.

"I knew putting the bait and the food together was a bad idea. This sandwich tastes like what those kryll's smell like. Obi-Wan...never mind."

"I'm sorry, Master. And my stomach is growling too. I guess this day is not turning out like I had hoped."

Qui-Gon put a hand on Obi-Wan's arm. "I've been spending the day with my apprentice. That in itself is good enough for me."

"Aww, thanks, Master." The boy blushed. "Mushy words sound good coming from you. So the day hasn't been all that bad?"

"No food. No feesh. Intelligent bait. The day could have been much worse. But, it's not over yet. It's only the afternoon. Plenty of time left to catch something. Why don't you try using our lunch as bait. It's less intelligent than the kryll."

"I like that idea. And you never know." He locked a piece of the sandwich on the hook and cast out. A few minutes later, the hook was dragged under the water and the line began swimming. "MASTER! I got something."

"Don't let it get away."

Obi-Wan fought with the line until he'd gotten a good grasp on the reel. Slowly he drew the line in. A feesh could be seen under the surface. "That's it, Master. That's a helop. It's got those red stripes on it's back." He kept reeling. Finally the feesh came flopping onto the rocks. It was at least two feet long. Dragging it to the rock, Obi-Wan removed the hook and pressed a knee gently onto the side of the feesh to keep it from escaping.

"He's beautiful, Master. I bet he's big enough to feed us for a week."

"He is that. You want me to put him out of his misery or would you like to do it?"

"I can do it." Then Obi-Wan looked at the feesh. The feesh seemed to be staring back at him. "Um...where is my saber?" He tried to turn his gaze away from the stressed animal, but he couldn't. Obi-Wan gripped his saber and then set it down. "I can't kill him, Master. Look at him. He's a harmless helop. He'd never hurt a soul. That's why he didn't eat the kryll. He only ate the nasty sandwich. Let's let him go, Master."

"What? We've been out here for hours, bored to death. You finally catch something and you want to let him go because you feel sorry for him?"

"Yes."

"I suppose you want to hug it too."

"Ewww, no. I don't want that smell on me. I just think he deserves to live. Like you said, we can go to a restaurant and eat helop if we want to. But this one. He should live. It's the will of the Force."

"The will of the...okay. Perhaps it is. Go ahead. Toss him back in."

And with a small grunt, Obi-Wan threw the helop back into the water. The feesh landed with a splash and swam happily away. "I feel better now. I like to catch them. But I don't think I like to kill them. Is that okay?"

"They aren't an enemy. Now if that was a sith that you just let loose, I would be upset." Qui-Gon replied with a grin. "Shall we see if we can catch...and release...others?"

"Yes! I bet I catch one before you do!" They both laughed as they cast the lines into the water once more.

~*~

The remainder of the afternoon was filled with many feesh caught and all of them released. The pair feeshed until they had run out of sandwich pieces to use at bait. And then content, they began their short trek back to the cabin.

"Obi-Wan, I have to say, that was a most enjoyable day. I should spend more time with you."

"Yes you should."

"And you see how easy it is to go an entire day without a hug? See how non-stressing it is for me to not have to deal with your mush demands? How much calmer I am?"

"You have been calm today, Master. Will you hug me now?"

"Obi-Wan, NO! I just finished telling you how nice a day it was and now you want to ruin it."

"Sorry. I can't help myself sometimes. My need for the stuff overcomes my ability to keep my lips from asking for it. I need professional help."

"You are getting professional help. At least that's what I am paying Nev for. Do we need to go beyond Nev?"

"No, he's a good healer. I just need to try harder. But it's so easy to give into mush. It calls me. Tempts me. Mocks me when I refuse to give in."

"When have you ever refused to give in to mush?"

"Okay, never. But that's not the point."

Again, as he often found himself doing around Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon sighed deeply. "I will hug you. Because I had such a good day today and you behaved. You've earned one."

"Really?"

"Really. But don't latch onto me and not let go. Just a hug and release. Like you did with the helop. Catch and release. Same thing."

The boy nodded. "I can deal with that. You do smell like a helop. So it won't be hard to let go of you once that scent hits my nose."

"I wouldn't talk."

Arms open, Qui-Gon folded them tightly around his apprentice. Holding him there for almost a minute. Then Obi-Wan released him.

"Thank you, Master. That was nice. Can we go find some food now? I'm starved."

"Yes we can." He put an arm around the slight shoulders and they began walking again. "But let's go to a place that does not serve helop. I think I've had enough helop talk for one day."

~*~

Back at the cabin, they found Bren lounging inside on the couch. She was watching a holo on the monitor.

"Master Bren! He hugged me. And without pulling away."

"Aww, that's great, kid. Qui-Gon, I am so proud of you. How was the feeshing?"

"It was a blahst! We didn't catch ANYTHING for hours and hours. I think because the bait we were using was smarter than we were. So then we stopped to eat lunch. But the bait had been in with the food, so the food smelled like kryll. Gah. We spit it out. Then we used the sandwiches for bait. And guess what. That did it! We caught everything and anything in the sea. I even caught something called a trollfeesh. The ugliest thing you have ever seen. And funny, it swam backwards too. Odd. Anyway, it was green and nasty. I threw it back. We threw everything back. I felt sorry for them. The feesh talked to me. They told me not to eat them. I think it was the work of the Force. So back in they went. Then we put more sandwich on the hook. Cast and catch. Cast and catch. Then catch and release. Catch and release. I tell you, my arms got tired from throwing all those feesh back in. Ouch. They were heavy. And then we ran out of bait. So we let the rest of the other bait go. The kryll. They were very happy about that. And since we were out of bait and we smelled like what we had just threw back in, we decided to come home. On the way home, I asked for a hug. And Master Qui-Gon got testy with me. But then he gave in. And hugged me. That made my day. How was your day, master Bren?"

"How do you do that without taking a breath? My day was nice. I did nothing."

"Can we go get dinner now, Master?"

Sniffing the air, Qui-Gon noticed the odor that they both were carrying with them. "Dinner will have to wait just a bit. We both need showers. They won't let us in to a restaurant smelling like this. Go on, Obi-Wan. You go first. And do NOT use all the hot water."

"Yes, Master." And the apprentice ran off.

The holo Bren had been watching ended and she turned towards Qui-Gon. "You stink. But did you have a good time today?"

"Thank you. Yes, I did. Surprisingly he was very well behaved. Sometimes he does amaze me. Other times I think I want to strangle him."

"But he loves you."

"Yes. That is the only thing that keeps me from strangling him."

~*~

Qui-Gon's turn came in the shower. He was in the bathroom far too long for Obi-Wan's grumbling stomach. "Master, today would be nice. I know you can hear my stomach through the door. It's talking to you. It needs food. Now. You can curl your hair later. You are in there doing your sexy Qui dance. I can hear your feet moving. Your food doesn't care what you look like, Master."

The door slid open to reveal the Jedi Master. The clean Jedi Master. "I was not curling my hair, nor was I dancing. I was making sure I didn't still smell like feesh bait."

"That's what soap is for, Master. When you are in the shower, there is this small white rectangle shaped object. It's called soap. Smells good. Gets you clean. Use it."

"Bren is there a store around here that sells duct tape?"

She only shrugged in reply as Obi-Wan continued to babble. Eventually Qui-Gon walked away from him and out the door of the cabin. Bren put an arm around Obi-Wan as they followed him out.

"Sorry, Master Bren. My lips went out of control again, didn't they?"

"Yes. But that's all right. He'll live. You just have to watch those smart remarks. Try and keep yourself in check during dinner."

"I will. I promise."

~*~

He did indeed live up to his promise and dinner went off without a hitch. They returned to their cabin realizing that their vacation was winding down. And that two days from now, they would be returning home. Which meant, back to work.

The last two days flew by and on their final night on the planet of Helopa, they spent the evening sitting together on the sun deck, watching the brilliant orange sun drop below the horizon.

"Do we have to go back, Master?"

"The Force has work for us to do, Padawan. But we are refreshed and healthy. We must return so that others can get their time off as we did."

"What time is our transport due in tomorrow morning?" Bren asked as she gazed at the stars that had just begun to show themselves in the darkening sky.

"Early. So we'd better get to bed at a decent hour tonight. Understand, Obi-Wan?"

"Don't look at me, Mr. Adult Mush."

"Don't go there. This has been a nice evening. Don't mess it up with your mouth."

"Next time, Stretch, you'll remember your duct tape."

"Indeed."

They fell silent as the final hints of light passed into darkness. Sleep called to them eventually and they headed for bed. The last hours of vacation were upon them.

~*~

They heard the transport land before they were even out of bed. Obi-Wan ran to the window and saw the large ship off in the distance. He hurried into the larger bedroom to wake the two masters. "Master Qui-Gon. Master Bren. The transport is here. Wake up. They only stay grounded for thirty minutes. We gotta get moving."

Qui-Gon pulled his face away from the pillow. "Huh?"

"GET UP! You didn't set your alarm, Master."

"I have...um...an internal clock."

"Well, you didn't set that either. Get up."

The two Jedi dragged themselves from the warm bed and stood around for a few minutes trying to get a hold of themselves. When they finally did, it was near panic.

"Damn. Obi-Wan. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I just did, Master. Hello? I am packed. Just waiting for you."

"Okay, make sure you grab anything that we bought while we were here. Put the stuff

in that large blue carry bag out there. Did we pay for the cabin already? Yes. Good.

Obi-Wan get any books and holo's that are ours. And get my curlers too."

"HA! I KNEW you were curling your hair the other night. You lied to me, Master. Jedi aren't supposed to lie. Jedi who lie do not get called to the Force when they die...they end up..."

"OBI-WAN!"

Bren took the boy by the shoulders, spun him around and shoved him out the bedroom door. "Get our things, kid. We can have this ridiculous argument later. I am sure the rest of the passengers on the transport will be delighted to hear your domestic squabbles."

"You think they will? I'd love tell them all my problems. Maybe they'll hug me."

"I will hug you if you go do what Qui-Gon has asked you to. Go. Now."

"All right! Bye!"

Packed and ready, the trio began the sprint to the landing sight. The ramp was just closing as they came into view. Obi-Wan waved his hands to get the pilots attention. That done, the ramp was lowered again to allow them entry.

They boarded the ship out of breath. Found three seats towards the rear and crashed down into them. They ship slowly ascended from the planet. Obi-Wan, still struggling to breathe, sadly bid farewell to Helopa.

"I'll...miss this...place. Can we...come back here...Master?"

"Sure, Padawan. Any...thing you...want." Qui-Gon said as he collapsed back into his seat.

"Anything I...want? Hug?"

"Does your mind process anything other than mush?"

"Not really."

"Didn't think so. One hug from each of us, and you will be good for the rest of the trip. Right?"

"Yes, Master."

Two hugs later and Obi-Wan was in heaven. He curled up in his seat and leaned against the head rest. His face smiled as he faded into sleep.

Qui-Gon put an arm around Bren in the chair next to him and settled in for the trip home.

"Better take advantage of this time while he's quiet. Read or meditate or something. It might not happen again any time soon."

"So true. He does tax me."

"At least he's entertaining."

"That's an understatement. Let's just sit here as we are and watch the stars float by."

"Qui-Gon Jinn. You. Cuddling on a public transport. I never thought I'd see the day."

"That's because he's always running his mouth about adult mush." Qui-Gon said as he nodded towards his apprentice.

"When he gets older, he'll realize the importance of little things like cuddling. He doesn't know it, but with this mush obsession of his, he's halfway there already."

"If he only knew."

Qui-Gon leaned his head onto Bren's shoulder and closed his eyes. Another vacation come and gone. He wondered how long it would be before another one passed his way. He hoped it would be as entertaining and companionable as this one was.

END

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