Chapter 2: Don't You Wanna Stay

Upon landing, Kit and Aayla were greeted with warm weather and blue skies. The sun beat down on them as they approached a small rural house. A few land vehicles were parked outside and there was green grass surrounding the path to the door. The house was nothing like they saw on Coursaunt.

"Kit," said Aayla, breaking the silence, "do you regret what we did on the Eclipse?" She lowered her gaze, feeling a pang on her heart over the forthcoming answer.

Kit's warm fingers touched her soft cheek, encouraging her to look up. "No," he whispered gently. "I don't regret it nor do I wish to go back and change it." He bent towards her and pressed his lips to hers. Her arms wrapped his neck as his wrapped her waist to pull her off the ground and held her close. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders and effectively deepened the kiss.

"Kit," she whispered when he set her down, "I wish Jedi could love. More than anything."

"As do I, Aayla," he said softly, "as do I." His gentle finger traced the formation of her cheek and chin. "I love you." Those words were so true to her and he meant it.

"I love you too," she said, resting her head against his chest and closed her eyes. To her, this was Utopia, something so peaceful.

"Aayla," said Kit reasonably, "we still need to do our mission. Let's go." He placed his hands on her shoulders and separated themselves and led her to the front door. "This is the address," he said, looking at his holocron. He knocked on the door three times and it opened, revealing a girl about seventeen.

She was a human with pale skin and brown eyes. Her little nose was cute and perfectly-centered with full, pouting lips. Her brown hair was long and was tied in a braid, which ended at her mid-back. She wore an over-sized pink-and-yellow shirt with a camisole and blue pajama pants. Her brown eyes were covered with glasses that were placed on the bridge of her nose. She looked sleepy, noted Kit, and annoyed.

"I'm not interested in Jehovah's Witness," she mumbled wearily. "Who're you?"

"I'm Jedi Master Kit Fisto," he said kindly, "and this is Jedi Knight Aayla Secura." He pulled Aayla close to him so the girl could see her. "We were ordered to protect you. May we come in?"

The girl suddenly looked wide awake but she frowned. "Yes," she said politely. "Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable. I'll get you some drinks." Her attitude had changed dramatically from sleepily rude to very polite. She stepped back and opened the door fully so they could come in.

"Thank you," said Aayla, smiling warmly at the girl, as she and Kit entered the house.

The air conditioning was on and there was some music coming from her music device. A small black dog scampered up to them, looking as scary as she could, which was humorous since the dog was so small. Kit watched the dog as she placed herself between the girl and himself and Aayla. She doesn't trust us, thought Kit. Granted. If there was a stranger at my house, I'd be wary too. He looked at Aayla, who looked a little nervous. The dog was had some pretty sharp teeth and she didn't want to get bitten.

The girl seemed to notice the tension so she said in a firm voice, "Angel, go lay down." The two Jedi noticed how the girl's expression looked firm and orderly, resembling Mace Windu's firm expression when he gave out orders. The dog walked to one of the couches and plopped down on it.

"Sorry," the girl apologized hastily. "Angel's nervous around strangers. What would you two like to drink?"

"Some water," said Aayla, "if you please." It sounded as though Aayla was trying not to be too impolite.

The girl smiled at Aayla as she said, "Okay, and you?" She looked to Kit for a response.

"What she's having," he replied, motioning to Aayla with a carefree smile, "please." He added that when he remembered that he was speaking to royalty.

"Two waters coming up," she said, turning to go into the kitchen. "Oh, I thought you should know we don't have filtered water. The only water we have is from the faucet and in the Brita tumbler."

"Whatever is fine," assured Kit. "May we sit?" His legs felt a little tired from the journey and he would have enjoyed to sit for a few minutes.

"Certainly," replied the girl with her back turned. "Make yourselves at home. Just don't sit on Angel; she won't like you for that."

Kit and Aayla sat down on the loveseat and stared at the dog who occupied the three-seat sofa. They smiled at the sprawled out dog and thought crossed both of their minds. Spoiled. Before they could stare more, however, the girl came in with two glasses of ice water and she handed them the drinks.

Kit took a hearty swig, reveling the coolness of the liquid that ran down his throat. "Thank you," he said with a smile.

"Yeah," added Aayla after swigging hers down. "A nice drink is good after a long journey."

The girl nodded and she sat down, crossing one leg over the other. She looked troubled like she was scared of something. "I want to know who's trying to kill me," she started softly. "I mean, I'm not social enough to have someone who wants to kill me."

"Can you tell us what happened?" asked Aayla gravely. "If we find out more, we could know what we're up against."

"I bet all my credits that it's Count Dooku," said Kit with an uncharacteristic scowl on his face. "That mad-man would do anything to get people on his side." He looked at the girl, continuing, "Your father is well-connected to the politics here and if you were endangered, he'd do anything to protect you."

"I know," replied the girl impatiently. "When I was sleeping last night, I heard someone enter my room and they spoke in a language I've never heard before. It sounded like they were clicking their tongues or something. This man in some weird armor held a gun to my head but I rolled underneath him and locked myself in the bathroom and hid. I heard the door get blast off of its hinges and footsteps but then like ten minutes later, he left and spoke to someone on his communicator; he sounded British."

"Jango Fett," whispered Aayla thoughtfully. "Tell me, what's your name?"

"I'm Shelby Carr," the girl replied, surprised slightly. "Why should that matter though?"

"Shelby," said Kit, "your father is well-connected and Dooku probably thought that if he killed or kidnapped you, the government here would join with him to get you back."

"Why?" asked Shelby softly. "I'm not that important."

"You are to the Jedi and the Separatists," replied Aayla. "If the Separatists had their hands on you, they could persuade your government to join them in order to get you back. The reason we're here is to make sure that doesn't happen. Our presence here will be a subtle as we can make it."

"Okay," said Shelby, nodding as if swallowing it in. "So let me get this straight: Your Jedi Order is protecting me so I can't get taken by the bad Separatists. That means you'll follow me everywhere, right?"

"Yes," said Kit with a smile. "Rest assured we'll protect you."

"Thanks," she replied quietly. "Do you need any guest rooms?"

"We'll share a room," said Kit before Aayla could speak. "You have one guest room, right?"

"Yeah," said Shelby. "Down the hall, in between the bathroom and my bedroom."

"I love convenience," said Kit gleefully. "If we occupy those quarters, we'll be able to protect you better."

Shelby gave him a small smile as she noticed that the two Jedi were close and their body language gave off that signal.

….

Later that night, Kit and Aayla sat in their room, meditating, sensing Shelby's room to see if she was safe. In their Force inner eye, they could sense the girl was sleeping peacefully with her stomach going up and down with every breath she took. She was lying on her stomach, breathing steadily. It seemed she was having a great dream because she seemed at total peace. It was a peace that Aayla and Kit hadn't felt since the Clone Wars started and it drew them in.

"Kit," Aayla's voice broke through Kit's thoughts, "the girl is at peace and I sense no disturbance whatsoever."

"Maybe the girl isn't in as big of danger as I thought," said Kit, opening his eyes.

Aayla unconsciously scooted towards him and wrapped her arms around him. His body warmth was inviting and nice, and she liked it. More than she should have. It was against the Jedi Code to fall in love; it was worse if it was another Jedi—and a master, at that. Just as she thought he'd push her away, he held tighter in a silent, loving way that it almost made her cry. Force, Aayla, she mentally chastised herself, when have you started being emotional?

She felt Kit's chest rumble with a chuckle and then she realized he read her mind. Her cheeks filled with heat so she buried her face in his chest so he wouldn't see them but he probably already did. True to her thought, he gently pulled her face out so he could look at her tenderly. His maroon colored eyes were molten chocolate and she nearly melted. Pushing the thought of what Master Yoda and Mace would think, she relished the moment of letting him hold her. She almost fell asleep but Kit's chuckling kept her awake.

"What's so funny?" she asked quietly.

"Shelby's sleep-singing," he replied, laughing even more. "It's so funny to hear in the Force."

"Ha-ha," responded Aayla, too tired to humor him better.

"Go to sleep, Aayla," he said gently, stroking her back. "I'll be here when you wake."

Her last words were, "Goodnight, Kit. I love you." And she drifted to sleep in his arms.

"I love you too, Aayla," he whispered, holding her closer.

He pulled her back as he went to lay down on the bed and placed her on the other side. She slept soundly and smiled as she snuggled into a cozy pillow. Kit chuckled quietly and he closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him. Being with Aayla, he realized, made him happier because he loved her.

A/N: I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry I haven't uploaded in a while! I've been so busy with school, my birthday (I'm now seventeen), and junior year! It's so difficult, and I'm so scattered! Please, please, please be patient and Read and Review! It makes me happy!

XO

Shelby