Tavi looked up from her book to see Jack's taxicab drive up to her curb. She placed her bookmark in her book, The Cellist of Sarajevo, and threw it in her shoulder bag as she walked towards the car.

"Thanks for the pickup, Jack." She smiled as she sat in the passenger seat.

"How was work?" Jack placed his hand on the shift but didn't move it. He gave her a smile.

Tavi shrugged, "Okay, I guess. Just routine, nothing out of the ordinary." She placed her bag on the floor on the car. "The place was dead so I finally got to fix that clock I've been telling you about."

Jack nodded and looked to the road. It was quiet for a few minutes until Jack spoke up.

"You know I probably could find you a better paying job outside of-"

Tavi knew this had been coming, "Jack." She warned. "I've told you many times I have no problem working in an antique shop. I've actually really come to like it. The people are kind and the work is honest." She was telling the truth. She enjoyed the peace and quiet of the dusty tiny store, tucked away near the outskirts of the city.

Jack opened his mouth to speak when the back door of the car opened. Tavi twisted in her seat to see –okay, this was weird- two men dressed in clone trooper costumes enter the car. Their costumes seemed to limit their movements as they jostled the car to sit in the back.

"Imperial droid," one of the men started, "drive your Geonosian starfighter to Planet… Hollywood!" Both men immediately began to laugh.

Jack looked to Tavi. She mouthed the word, 'Wow' and rolled her eyes making Jack smile as he shifted the car to drive. Before he stepped on the gas petal the 'storm troopers' began acting out some sort of battle in the back seat, making gunshot noises and speaking gibberish. Tavi rolled her eyes again. They must be drunk.

Jack grabbed the guns from the 'troopers' earning a yell from the nerds. He used the guns to pull down the flap above her seat to show the 'No Weapons Allowed' sign. Tavi heard the men scoff but then turn silent. Tavi smiled towards Jack and mouthed, 'Thank you.' Jack nodded and then pulled the car out onto the road.

The rest of the ride was quiet and once we reached our destination Jack threw the guns out the window, onto the sidewalk, as the men exited the car. Jack immediately set the car back in motion as the two nuts shouted in anger.

"Well that was fun." Tavi spoke sarcastically earning a groan from Jack.

"What say we head back, drop off the cab and head home?"

Tavi nodded. "Sounds good. Wanna watch a movie tonight?"

"As long as it isn't Star Trek, I'm up for one."

Tavi frowned. She loved science fiction stories, especially Star Trek. She shrugged, "Well I guess we can put our thirty-day marathon on hold for tonight."

Jack smiled.

They had almost reached the taxicab central, as Tavi liked to call it, when a woman waved them to the side of the road.

Jack groaned again, "One last passenger and then we'll call it quits, ok?"

Tavi looked at the car's clock, 10:45 PM. She shrugged, "Fine by me. But if we get back home after midnight I'm heading straight for bed."

The woman had a suitcase put into the back of the taxi as she entered into the rear of the cab. She had short black hair that framed her face nicely, Tavi thought. Her grey jacket, black pants, black heels and black purse made her seem professional. Tavi's curiosity peaked.

"Planet Hollywood, please."

Aaaannndd curiosity crashed. Tavi frowned. What would a smart looking woman like her want to do with a nutty place like that?

Jack looked slightly annoyed, having just driven back from there. Nevertheless, he shifted the car into drive and headed to their previous stop.

As they neared the location the familiar lights of the buzzing alien convention became visible.

"They've got everything here." The woman broke the silence. She sounded like she was going to Disneyland. "This place is truly like being on another planet."

Tavi snickered, "You got that right." She twisted in her seat to face the woman, "Hi, I'm Tavi." She extended her hand.

"Alex." The woman gave a friendly smile and shook her hand. She glanced at Jack and then back to Tavi, "Do you usually ride with your dad during his shifts?"

Jack scoffed.

Tavi chuckled, "He's not my dad, more like a good friend." She quickly changed the subject, "He just picked me up from work, actually. I work at Dolly's Treasure."

Alex cocked her head to one side, "What's that?"

"An antique store." Tavi smiled when Alex raised an eyebrow. "It's just outside Sin City."

"Oh." Alex replied. She looked out the window, making it clear that antiques didn't intrigue her. At the sight of all the shops, hotels, and casinos the woman's excitement seemed to be returning. Her smile widened and her eyes seemed to be trying to take in all the details.

"Like what you see?" Tavi asked.

Alex nodded, "With all this to see every night, you guys must never be bored."

Tavi smiled and then sank back into her seat while glancing at Jack. He looked tired and he glanced in her direction with a look that said 'you wanna bet?' Tavi bit her tongue to hold back a giggle.

Once the cab halted in front of the Space Expo Jack put the car in park. He kept his gaze on the road as he spoke, "Welcome to the nutjob convention."

Tavi smiled.

"I understand your reaction." Alex stated, still sounding like a girl in candy land. "They certainly aren't helping our cause."

Jack twisted in his seat to look back, "Our cause?"

Tavi turned to look back as well to see the woman pause. There seemed to be hesitancy in her gaze, as though she regretted what she said.

"Educating the public on the legitimate possibility of life on other planets."

Oh. Tavi's smile faltered. Suddenly the professional image of this woman seemed to be deteriorating very fast.

"As a matter of fact, I'm giving a lecture on Astrophysical Anomaly Detection," she extended a flier towards Jack, "at the 'nutjob convention.'"

Yep, professional image gone. Tavi sat back in her seat as Jack took the flyer.

"Feel free to stop by. Close-minded skeptics are always welcome. Keep the change."

"Thanks." Jack replied as the woman finally left. He lifted the pamphlet for them both to see it. "Dr. Alex Friedman."

"Maybe you could give her tips on finding a more productive job." Tavi smiled.

Jack seemed lost in thought for a moment, which didn't bother Tavi. Every now and then Jack would loose focus of the present but eventually he'd find his way back.

"Uh, classic." He stated and turned the car around.

Author's Note~

So here is my first installment of my version of the movie Race to Witch Mountain. Hope you liked it! Let me know if you have any cool ideas of where the story could go. What is Tavi's past in Wolfe's gang? How and when did Tavi and Jack first meet? And so on.

Or you could just let me know if you like it or not. Either your feedback would be awesome! Next installment should be out by Monday.

See you around!