A/N: OMG i finally got this chapter up! my goodness it took forever, idk how long it is, i was just writing lol. anyways thank you everyone for your comments and support, its really the only reason why i continue writing to begin with. anyways enjoy and comment, love hearing from you guys.
Chapter 11: its finally over…
Fox's pride wouldn't allow him to run anymore, especially from goons he would take out on a normal day while he was working. So what if he only had his pistols, and was lost beyond all comparison, he was a man, not just any man, a Republican Trooper! Like hell he'll just run away from a fight, no one ordered him to? His hands went down to his duel pistols on his sides; he just waited for a chance.
"Where is she?" the first asked.
"Who?" Fox asked raising an eyebrow.
"Don't play dumb meat droid! Where the hell is the Kiffar slave!" the second bigger one demanded, he was a tall bulky, stupid looking thing, he looked to be mix, with what? Fox didn't know, or he didn't care enough to know.
"Hmm Kiffar….Kiffar, ah, the little thief, yeah, no, no one is going to lay a hand on her." The other two looked even more pissed off then before, and Fox took his chance, he drew out his pistols and shot them.
Two of the men fell to the ground, dead, the only one left was a Trandoshan who only had a leg and an arm wound, he fell to his knees, and Fox ran to him. And with one swift and powerful strike, he kneed the man in the gut.
"Now, if you don't mind, i have someone to meet," he said calmly, placing his blasters back into his holsters. He calmly walked out, but remembering Leana, he started to run. He wondered if she was okay, if anyone had picked her up while he was gone, if his brothers let her though. He smacked himself, of course his brothers wouldn't let her though, one she was a thief, and two she had no authorization to go, it wasn't like the senator was waiting for her outside, and as soon as she saw Leana she would let her in. Fox quickened his pace, he had to get there and hopefully get Leana out of a situation he sent her into.
Leana was starting to get worried, it had already been half an hour since she had last seen Fox, and since the night he took her in, the only time she was away from him that long or longer was when he was asleep, she assumed that was because he was like the little goodie goodie who always kept her from stealing and messing with pedestrians, and stealing…yeah he was always there and he always seemed to know when she did something wrong. She shook her head and started pacing.
The guards watched over her, they all figured that she was the commander's girl, and the last thing they wanted to do was have her get taken away, and get an earful from Fox about it. One of them went to go get Amidala, since she was the one that Fox and Leana were supposed to meet anyways.
"Don't worry ma'am, Fox would be fine, I'm sure he is coming over right now," the one to her left said, from what she remembered his name was Rys, the one who left was Vic, a new member who was glad to move out of his position, and the other one who was with Leana was Jek, from what she knew of them, which wasn't much, they were normally supposed to be escorting important people, not that they liked it, but it was better then what they were doing now, keeping guard and all.
"I know Fox can take care of himself, but…"
"You really like the commander huh?" Rys asked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
Leana blushed. "Yeah, considering that we only met a few days ago, but i feel so safe with him, and when he's gone, i just get worried, and i…." she sighed, and sat down on the ground.
The doors of the large building slid open and the senator walked out. She looked around and saw Leana sitting on the ground with the hood of Fox's jacket over her head. She walked over to her and kneeled down next to her.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but are you the slave girl Commander Fox told me about?" she asked softly.
Leana nodded her head but she didn't look at Padme, she was too focused on the area where she hoped to see Fox come walking in from. Padme turned her attention to where Leana was staring, but there wasn't anything, no one was walking from that area. Padme gently pulled Leana up from the floor.
"Your waiting for Fox aren't you?" she asked, she knew that lost and worried look she saw in Leana's emerald eyes, she knew that look well.
Leana didn't say anything she just continued looking, hoping that Fox would walk in at any moment, smiling brightly with his back towards the late afternoon sun, his chocolate eyes holding her's, and right before she yelled at him for taking too long, he would pull her into a hug and tell her how happy he was to see that she was safe and sound, and then kiss her tenderly even though his brothers and a senator is watching. She shook her head, which was too much fantasy for this kiffar, far too much, she knew the real world, and even if he did come he wouldn't kiss a thief in front of his brothers and a senator, and not a slave. Leana sighed and turned around, she allowed herself to be led by the taller woman towards the building, even if Fox wasn't here, that didn't mean she had to look so damn down.
"Ma'am, there's someone in the distance!" Rys called out.
Leana turned her head in an instant and stared back in the direction she was once staring in not that long ago. There in the distance she could make something out, she couldn't see very well, but who needs to see well when you have a trooper with his helmet on? Rys confirmed her original hopeful thought; it was Fox running down the road towards her, she took a few steps away from Padme then ran towards him, a part of her was really upset, he really gave her a scare, and she was so worried.
How dare he make me worry! She thought as she ran, but soon that anger was washed away when she saw him smile, he stopped running and smiled catching her as she jumped at him.
Padme stared at the young couple and she smiled, it reminded her of her own relationship. To this day she is worried sick about Anakin, if he was going to come home safe and sound, if he was going to lose another hand, if he was going to come home at all, so Padme could understand why this girl would sit and wait, looked depressed when Fox wasn't near her, and worry so much, she could even understand the sudden rage, which was always followed by a quick slap, a few tears and then some smiles.
"I was so worried about you, promise me Fox, promise you won't do something so stupid again," Leana sniffed her head down so that he couldn't see her cry, she didn't want Fox to see her so weak.
He sighed, and raised an eyebrow, "only if you promise not to smack me like that," he offered with a sideways grin.
Leana looked up at him, her eyes narrowed and a look of death in them, but she couldn't help but smile and giggle, Fox was mimicking her, and once he got her to laugh he stopped and pulled her in for a kiss. It was a long kiss, one filled with deep passion, as if kissing her was the only way for him to live. Leana pushed into the kiss, opening her mouth a little and licking his lips in invitation.
"Uh sir, not to be rude, but, senator Amidala is waiting," Vic said with a light chuckle, he tried hard not to, but it was really hard.
Fox Coughed and Leana blushed as the two moved to the side so that both of them could be seen by the senator. Padme giggled and waved it off as nothing, and then the three of them went into the building taking a lift to her apartment on the top floor.
Leana didn't say anything when the doors slid down, she dug into her jacket pocket to take out a toothpick, but her fingers were met with the soft fabric of the white and red Jacket, this wasn't her's and she didn't have her backpack either, she left everything at home. She giggled bringing her hand to her mouth to hide her smile. Fox turned to her and raised an eyebrow in question.
"I left everything at home," she giggled softly.
It took Fox a while for her words to register, but when they did he smiled widely, home, in all his days living in Coruscant and being in the guard, he had never really called his barrack room home, but to her, since Leana came into his life, it had been home, it was a place where the two of them could run away for a while, it was safe, it was home.
"Yes you did," he smiled down at her. He held her hand in his, her small hand that fit so perfectly in his. He smiled again. "We can go home after this, you won't be bothered by anyone again," he smiled.
"I would like that," she whispered, but the truth was, was that she wouldn't need to hide anymore, and sneaking into his room wouldn't be needed, maybe…just maybe there would be a way for them to get a nice house on Coruscant, it would be theirs a place where he could come home and be at peace, like a normal man, she could learn to cook, so that she could make him meals before he had to go to work, and after for dinner, they could….they couldn't he wasn't just a man who served the Republic, he was their property, and she was a thief, a woman who couldn't get a normal job, because the moment she did, the Hutt's would be after her, because according to them she was still theirs, and they hated to lose something that was theirs, unless it was through a good trade.
Leana looked up at Fox; the light that came in from the wide window behind them gave her soldier a look of heroism that she could only remember in stories of her lost childhood. She smiled, for just a little while, she'll live in her fantasy, and maybe when it was all done, and maybe this senator would help make them real, her hero, and her soldier, only hers, that would be a great day.
"We're here," He said as he turned to face her. Leana nodded her head, and was led out of the lift to the long white hallway on the other side of the sliding doors, pictures of landscapes from all over the Galaxy decorated the plain hall giving it some character, and the lights were beginning to hum to life, as the day began to climb to an end.
Padme look out her keys and with a clean swipe of the key card, the door unlocked and she walked in, telling the two to have a seat, the living room was finely decorated, but not too much, Padme wasn't the kind of woman who swam in her wealth, a simple long couch and a couple of chairs sat towards one corner of the room, near the fireplace, there was another small bench that was placed in front of the long window that gave everyone who entered a beautiful view of the city, and to the right you could see the Jedi temple, which to Leana didn't look like a temple at all, but a block with a bunch of tubes sticking out of it.
The two followed her instructions and sat on the couch, Padme smiled, and then told them that she would be right back, normally she would get c-3po to do the serving, but she wanted to get the drinks herself.
Leana sat down on the couch, she leaned in and rested her head on his chest, she tried hard not to touch the couch, sometimes she couldn't control what she saw, and everything she touched had a memory, she didn't want to see what this couch knew, but her hand slipped and her mind was attacked by visions of what happened in this room in the past. Apparently this had a huge effect on her physically, for Fox was shaking her and calling her name.
Padme came into the room as quickly as she could when she heard Fox's concerned Voice.
"Is she okay?" she asked.
Fox pulled Leana's hands up off the couch and placed them in her lap; Leana opened her eye and blinked a moment, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Yeah, i think she'll be okay," he replied.
Padme handed Leana a cold glass of water when she was finally sitting up, Leana smiled and thanked her for it, when they asked what was wrong, Leana just said she didn't know, and left it at that, but she did tell them that there wasn't any need to call the hospital, or get any medical aid, she was fine. Padme didn't know if she could trust that, but let it slide, Fox wanted to make for sure Leana was well, but the look in her eyes told him that he should drop it until they got home.
"Can we continue on making me a citizen?" she asked as she rolled the now empty glass in between her hands.
"Oh yes, I'll need to know your full name, your life day, and a few other things," Padme smiled sweetly, and Leana noticed that the woman smiled a lot, she was also very kind, and it seemed that her kindness reflected off of her, to the point where you could feel it.
"Um, can i ask you a question?" Leana asked her attention on her glass now.
Padme waited for a while, and then nodded her head. "Yes of course you can," she replied.
"Is it possible…" she paused not knowing the right way to phrase her question. "Can a Republic trooper become a citizen too?" she asked.
Padme thought about it, she didn't know the answer, maybe, but what could she tell this girl.
"It would be nice to be a citizen, but i don't need to be, my life isn't in danger if I'm not, yours is, so we'll deal with me, with my brothers later, right now, you come first," Fox said soothingly, as he rubbed her shoulder. "Let's take one thing at a time."
Leana nodded her head, and Padme was thankful to Fox for getting her out of answering the question.
"Okay, my name is Leana Venshii…" she began, and the long talk to fill out her citizenship began.
It wouldn't be till late in the night when it was done, Padme offered them dinner, at first Leana didn't want to, she felt that she would be intruding, and normally that would bother her, but senator Amidala was so nice, she couldn't bring herself to be the low thief she normally was. Fox was also going to refuse, but knew that there was no way he would be able to feed Leana, and he didn't know when the last time she ate, lunch, yes they ate lunch but that was hours ago, and even though he could last a few days without eating, there was no way he would allow Leana to do the same, even if she could.
"Yes, if we are not troubling you, we would love to accompany you to dinner," he smiled politely.
"It's no trouble at all commanders," she smiled; it would be nice to eat with company that wasn't a droid for once.
Padme went to her room and grabbed her jacket, and her purse, then went to join the others out in the hall, locking the door behind her.
"i know a place the both of you might like, maybe even love," she winked, and she smiled as she got the two to smile, and Leana to giggle a bit.
"I do hope so, this city might look great, but there is hardly any place that has any really good food," Leana sighed waving her hands over dramatically.
"Not enough soul in the cooking," Fox joined in, and the three started laughing as they got into the lift, and went down to the first floor.
"Oh you would know Fox, those ration cubes must be filled with soul," Leana teased.
"If you call that soul i would hate what you thought was plain," Padme giggled.
Fox made a face, acting like he was hurt. "Oh that hurts, it's not my fault i don't get paid for my hard earned work," he sighed, then gently pushed Leana into Padme.
The two women looked at each other than at Fox, both had an evil look on their faces as they rammed into Fox, however, the man wouldn't move, and he laughed at their attempt.
"I was made for perfection girls, you're not going to knock me down," he said proudly smacking his chest a few times.
There was no sound, nothing, Fox groaned in pain, and fell to the floor with a loud thud, Padme shrieked, and Leana ran to Fox, only to be caught in a net. A tall Twi'Lek man walked into view, it was hard to make him out in the dark, and the lights weren't doing anything to help either.
"Tsk tsk, commander, i thought you were made for perfection, looks like someone has to complain to those fish heads huh?" the man spoke his rough voice was coated in the accent so common in his race.
Fox tried to get up but was kicked back down, Padme reached for her blaster she had always kept with her, a small on in her purse.
"I don't think so little lady, if you even make a single move," and he swiftly pulled out his blaster for the holster he kept on his leg. "don't make the same mistake as those guys," he added tilting his head towards the heap on the floor, it was troopers, wearing the colors of the guard, each one of them dead.
"What do you want?" Padme demanded, her eyes narrowed in her building anger.
"I got what i wants, a stray bird that needs to be brought back," he smiled as he looked towards the captured Leana. "One who needs her wings to be clipped if you ask me," he scoffed.
Fox managed to get up on his knees, once the man had went to pick Leana up.
"She's…she's a citizen…you can't have her," he coughed, his hand on his side, he had been shot, and lucky for him, it didn't feel like it was that bad.
"My employers don't care, according to them, she is still their property," he said as he threw the net like sack over his shoulder and walked to Fox. "You caused me a bit of trouble, killing my men like that, but consider this part of my thanks," he started as he fiercely kneed Fox in the gut nearly knocking him out instantly. "Now i don't have to pay two more retards, and you, you get to keep your pathetic excuse for a life," he chuckled then walked away. Leana was knocked out, Fox didn't know why, but when he looked at her while the man was walking away, she didn't open her eyes, she didn't move, or protest.
Fox reached out to her, mouthing her name, but no sound would come. "Leana…I'm…I'm sorry," he chocked before he went limp.
"Commander, commander hang on I'm getting some help," Padme cried.
Fox didn't care at the moment, he let Leana down, he led them to her, it was his fault, and he deserved to die.
