A shorter chapter compared to the last few ones. More lighthearted and fluffy. I promise! The next few chapters will be lighthearted before a few more drama filled ones. So enjoy the reprieve and the cuteness!

Also, I wrote this whole chapter before I did research (I know, what was I thinking?) on bumblebees. Apparently their stingers don't come out and stay in what they've stung and they don't die from one sting. We only have honey bees where I'm from so my bumblebee knowledge is like zero. Also I've never been stung before *knocks on wood* so I'm just going by what I've seen and been told. But once I researched it and realized I was wrong, I really didn't feel like fixing it, so, let's just say for the sake of this chapter, that the bumblebees in the SW universe act like honey bees. That works, right?

Chapter 26: 20 Credits

Ahsoka Tano was definitely not freaking out. No, she was the picture of a calm and composed Jedi Padawan who was not about to be in major trouble. She wasn't about to be in trouble because she definitely didn't lose a 4-year-old Iyla Kenobi in the Room of a Thousand Fountains after Master Obi-Wan had trusted her to keep the girl occupied. No, Ahsoka was completely fine and everything was completely fine.

Except it wasn't. Because she might have lost Iyla in a huge garden that would take her hours upon hours to look through to find her. And that girl knew how to hide. Kriffing Kenobis and their kriffing talent for getting into trouble. Master Obi-Wan said he'd meet them in the garden in 30 minutes, after he finished speaking with a few Council members, and Ahsoka had only covered one fourth of the room. It wasn't called the Room of a Thousand Fountains for nothing. It was an enormous garden and Iyla was nowhere to be found.

She didn't even know how it happened. She had eyes on the girl the whole time. She'd been chasing around a butterfly and Ahsoka was sure to follow her as she did. All it took was a split second of distraction, an annoying bug buzzing in her ear that she turned to swat at, for Iyla to disappear completely out of her sight.

Now she was frantically looking for the girl while pretending not to be frantically looking. Ahsoka did her best to appear as if she was taking a leisurely stroll through the garden while secretly looking under every bush and around every tree she came across. Every time she came up empty. No 4-year-old, no butterfly, no happy giggles, no blinding bright Force signature. There was no doubt about it. Master Obi-Wan was going to kill her. Well, maybe not kill but definitely be very disappointed, which, really, was the same thing as killing her.

Ahsoka, defeated and panicked, slumped down against a tree and tried to sink into the Force, hoping she'd find the girl that way. But the Force merely laughed at her and told her this was a lesson. Kriffing Force and its kriffing lessons. She must have looked more distressed than she could hide because a concerned voice suddenly brought her out of her "mediation."

"Is everything alright, little Soka?"

"Master Plo!" Ahsoka said, jumping up from the ground and schooling her features.

"Your meditation looked…stressful," he stated, now looking amused.

"Uh, yes, well, the Force wasn't giving me the answers I wanted. And it's really important that I get those answers," Ahsoka replied.

"It is not the job of the Force to give us answers that we want, young one," Plo said.

"I know that Master Plo, but…" Ahsoka trailed off, refusing to admit that she lost a little girl in a huge garden. She tried to discreetly look around the area she was in, past Master Plo and off into the distance.

All the while Plo Koon stood and watched her silent panic, trying not to laugh. "Are you here alone, Padawan?"

"Huh? Oh, um, yes, Master... well, no not technically…I mean I didn't come here alone," Ahsoka stuttered.

"Then where is the person you came with?" Plo asked.

"That's a good question," Ahsoka muttered.

"I'm only asking because I'm fairly sure I saw a certain little Kenobi running around over by the base of the East Fountain. I found it very strange that she was unaccompanied and-"

Before Plo could finish his sentence Ahsoka was running off towards the fountain. "Thanks, Master Plo!" she yelled over her shoulder. The Kel Dor Master chuckled and shook his head before continuing his stroll around the garden.

Meanwhile, Iyla was leaping around in excitement and completely oblivious to the fact that her chaperone was nowhere in sight and probably having a heart attack. She had tired of chasing the butterfly since it kept flying too high and too far for her to follow. Instead, she was intrigued by a new kind of flying insect she'd never seen before. It was much smaller and its wings weren't colorful at all. But it made a funny buzzing sound that she liked and its body was a pretty yellow and black pattern. It also stayed closer to the ground and the flowers and was much easier for her to follow.

The buzzing insect finally came to a stop long enough for Iyla to get a closer look. It sat on a flower and seemed to be covering itself in the "flower dust" as Iyla called it. Slowly and carefully she approached the flower, not wanting to startle the insect and also not wanting to disturb the Master who was currently meditating right by the flower. She'd learned her lesson about getting in a strange Master's way. She could have just left the insect but her curiosity was always her downfall. Her Papa said she got that from himself and her Mama so she was doubly curious. And, being doubly curious, she couldn't just leave the unknown bug unexplored.

Finally she was able to lower herself down to sit next to the flower without disturbing the bug or the Master. She was proud of her stealthy skills and applauded herself while she silently sat and watched the bug's behavior. The wings weren't the least bit pretty, but the body looked fluffy and soft and the yellow and black colors blended nicely with each other. Suddenly she had the urge to pet the bug and feel how soft it actually was. Her Papa always says to seek answers to the questions she has and the only way to answer the question of whether it was soft or not was obviously to reach out and touch it. So that's what she did.

It was immediately obvious that the bug was not soft, not at all. It was painful and scary and her finger was red and hurting, really, really bad. Filled with sadness that her thoughts about the soft bug were proven wrong and that it was a mean bug that made her finger hurt, Iyla started to cry. Her finger was throbbing now and her new bug friend didn't like her and she wanted her Papa to make it better. She let out a loud sob and hugged her hand to her chest.

Quinlan Vos had just come back from an extended mission in the Outer Rim on a sith-forsaken backwards planet with people who had done nothing more than try to kill him the whole time he was there. After getting to his room, drinking a bottle of Corellian brandy, and sleeping for 10 hours, he decided to seek solace in the gardens. He went to his favorite spot, a secluded area cut off by bushes and shrubs that no one ever wandered into. Well, until today that is.

He felt the presence before he heard it, obviously. He hoped that the intruder would see him and retreat somewhere else to leave him alone. He wasn't the most liked Jedi Master and most people thought he was crazy. Which was fine. He kind of was. Plus, it meant he was left alone when he wanted to be. However, this presence didn't run away in fear when it saw him. Instead it stayed and seemed to settle itself down close to him. He tried to ignore it but it was so blasted bright and warm that he couldn't drown it out with his own meditations. So he reached out into the Force and prodded at the presence, trying to see what or who exactly had invaded his space.

His eyebrows furrowed when he realized it was a child. A very young child. This was puzzling since most younglings were completely terrified of him and would often run away crying when they saw him coming. This little one however, didn't seem the least bit bothered. Curious. He continued to reach out to the child's Force presence for anymore information about why the child was there and what exactly they were doing. It wasn't hard to get past the youngling's defenses, if one could even call it that. The child was practically projecting their feelings, but, if the child was as young as Quinlan guessed, it wasn't all that surprising.

He felt the emotions swirling around him. Excitement, curiosity, confusion, wonder, joy, all of it leaking out from the little one seated not far from him. Were they aimed at him though, or something else? His questions were answered when he heard the small voice talking quietly.

"You a weird kinda bug. You not like the buvverfy. You not gots pwetty wings and you vewy small. But I like your colors on your body and you make a silly buzzy sound. Will you be my fwiend, little bug? Maybe I take you wif me back to the cwush."

Quinlan's mouth twitched up in a smile. Yes, a very young and very curious child. Meditation now forgotten, he listened and reached out again to the Force swirling around the child. He too was curious about the bug and the little one talking to it.

"You gots yellow and black stipes and some sticks comin' outta your head," the voice continued to talk.

Ah, a bumblebee. The child had found a bumblebee and was trying to figure out what it was.

"Why you rubbing your hands in the fower dust? You get all messy. You gots it in your fur too. Maybe I get it out for you. I clean it. I'm good at cleaning, Papa says."

Quinlan frowned in confusion. Papa? Perhaps he just hadn't heard right, or misunderstood. He continued to listen.

"You look vewy soft. Can I touch your fur? I wanna see if it's soft and then I can clean it. Hold still, little bug."

The Force blared in warning and Quinlan's eyes shot open. He opened his mouth to tell the child not to touch the bumblebee but it was too late. A pained cry came from the youngling's mouth. Before he could stand up enough to approach the child, the sobbing had started.

The child, a little girl, from what Quinlan could see now that his eyes were open, was curled up on the ground next to a flower, cradling her hand and looking at the bug as if it had betrayed her. She must have seen him approaching because she suddenly curled up further and hid her face in her knees.

Now, Quinlan Vos wasn't the best with children. Ok, he was actually terrible with children, but he wasn't about to leave such a little girl to her misery and pain if he could help it. The fact was that the stinger had to come out, sooner rather than later, and he was the only one around to deal with it. He heard the child whimper as he got closer, clearly scared and startled by his presence.

"Hey, kid," Quinlan said. "You ok?"

The girl didn't answer and simply stared up at him in fright. He was immediately struck by a strong sense of familiarity when he saw her big blue eyes. He knew those eyes. But from where? Quinlan carefully came to kneel across from the girl and he gave her a gentle smile.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he said. "I just wanna know if you're alright."

"I…I'm sowwy I asturbed your mentanation, Masser," she replied, still looking fearful.

"Oh that?" he asked, then waved his hand. "No big deal. I'll just do it again later. I don't care about that. But I do care about why you're upset. Wanna tell me about it?"

"But you a stwanger. Not 'llowed to talk to stwangers."

Quinlan smiled. "You're right, kid. I am a stranger. Let me change that though. My name is Quinlan Vos. But you can just call me Master Vos."

"P-peased to meet you, Masser Voz," the girl said.

"You've got some good manners, kid," he said.

"Fank you, Papa says I'm vewy polite."

There was that word again. He definitely didn't mishear this time. "Papa?" he asked.

"Uh-huh. My Papa is Obee Kemmobi. He's at the cowsul right now so I comed here wif Soka…" she trailed off and looked around wildly. "Wh-where's Soka?" she asked, biting her trembling lip.

Quinlan saw the tears start to form again. "Whoa, whoa, hey, it's ok. One thing at a time, alright. Now, you said your father is Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

"Yes. He's my Papa. But it's ok for Jedi to have fam'ly now acasue he chained the code. So…I not get in twouble for having a Papa," she said, somewhat defiantly.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not mad. I'm just surprised. I mean, I heard rumors but, I didn't think it was actually true. I thought Depa was just messing with me," he let out a small chuckle. "I mean, damn Kenobi, who'd have thought you'd-" he stopped short when he saw the little girl looking at him in confusion. "Never mind. So, Kenobi's your dad, huh?"

"Yeah and Mama's name is Satine Kweeze. She's from Manlowe, but she had to go away and she in the Fowce now."

"The Duchess?" Quinlan's eyes seemed to bug out of his face. Then he groaned and brought a hand to his forehead. "Kriff! Billaba was right! You cost me 20 credits, kid. Thanks a lot," he said, mostly teasing. He laughed out loud when he saw the tiny raised eyebrow directed at him. "Forget it. Let's get back to my original question. Are you ok? I can tell you're in pain."

The girl nodded her head sadly. "The bug bited me," she pouted and pointed an accusing finger at the bug that was now lying still and stiff in the pollen.

"It didn't bite you, kid. It stung you. That's what bumblebees do. They sting people," Vos explained.

"Why the bubblebee stinged me? I was twying to help it. It was diwty and I wanted to help clean it. It's good to be helpful, that's what Jedi do. They help. Cwush Masser Tewwul teached us that."

"Well, unfortunately, the bee didn't know you were trying to help and it got scared. That's why it stung you. Usually people don't go around trying to touch bumblebees."

"Oh. I not know what it was. I never sawed a bubblebee afore. I was just coowius 'bout it. Papa says I got double the coowiosidy from him and my Mama. Maybe I gots too much," she said, bowing her head.

"Nah, it's fine. Nothing wrong with being curious. It just didn't work out well this time. But it's ok. I've always been overly curious and I'm perfectly fine."

"That's a comforting thought," a voice teased.

"Papa!" the girl shouted excitedly.

"Hello, darling. Ahsoka and I have been looking for you," Obi-Wan said sternly.

"Sowwy, Papa."

Obi-Wan looked at her red puffy eyes and grew concerned. "Iyla, what's the matter, dear? Have you been crying?"

"I gots a owie on my finger, Papa. It huwts lots and lots," Iyla said.

"How did you hurt your finger?"

"The mean bug stinged me. Masser Voz said it's acasue I twied to touch it and people not 'sposed to touch bubblebees."

"You touched a bumblebee?" Obi-Wan asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Why on earth would you touch a bee, love?"

"I not know what it was and it was diwty from the fower dust and I wanted to help clean it. Acause I'm 'sposed to help acasue I'm a good Jedi," Iyla explained.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Oh, little one," he said with a chuckle. "Too curious and kind for your own good. Now, come here, let me see your finger."

Iyla walked over to her father and held her red throbbing finger out to show him. Obi-Wan knelt down in front of her and tutted as he examined the place where the stinger entered. "Well, that stinger needs to come out. But it won't be pleasant I'm afraid," he said.

"It gonna huwt, Papa? Like the nacanations from Masser Eewin?" Iyla asked worriedly.

"It might, darling. But we can't leave the stinger in there. It must come out. Remember how brave you were for Bant? Can you do that for me again, sweetheart?"

Iyla whimpered and bit her lip. "I twy, Papa," she said.

Obi-Wan smiled and ran a finger over her red cheek. "Good girl." He suddenly looked to Vos and smirked a bit. "Maybe you can help me out, Quin. Can you pull the stinger out? I have my hands a bit full," he said, silently gesturing to the teary-eyed little girl clinging to him in fear.

"Sure can, Obes," Vos teased, knowing how much Obi-Wan got annoyed whenever he called him that.

"Just do it, please, Quinlan," Obi-Wan said with an eyeroll.

Quinlan knelt down in front of them and reached out for the little hand. Iyla whined and tried to pull the hand away but Obi-Wan shushed her and held her firmly. "Remember, my little light. Brave," he whispered. Iyla held her hand out to Quinlan and raised her chin. Vos smiled at her attempt to be brave for her father. Gently and carefully, probably the gentlest he'd ever been, Quinlan pulled the stinger from the tiny finger and dabbed away some of the blood that escaped from the small wound.

"All done, kid," he said. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"No, Masser Voz. Not too bad," Iyla said with a sniffle.

Obi-Wan wiped her tears and rubbed his hand down her back soothingly. Iyla was now looking down at her finger with a frown.

"It still huwts, Papa," she whined.

"Should I kiss it better?" he asked with a smile.

Iyla nodded sadly and held her finger up to him. Obi-Wan pressed his mouth to her finger and gave it a quick kiss then tickled her neck playfully. "Better, little one?" he asked.

Iyla giggled and nodded. Obi-Wan smiled and stood up. "We'll put some bacta on it and wrap it in a bandage later," he said.

"The ones wif stawships?"

"Of course," Obi-Wan replied, running a hand through her messy curls.

Quinlan stood staring at the father and daughter pair with a smirk on his face. Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes in challenge to whatever it was Vos was thinking about.

"Alright, out with it," he said.

"Nothing, nothing. Just never thought I'd ever see the day when Obi-Wan Kenobi was called Papa. I mean, I'm actually impressed. I didn't know you had it in you. A kriffing Duchess? Wow, you must be pretty damn good to nail-"

"Vos!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, eyes flicking down to the girl at his side.

"Ok, ok. Don't get your robes in a knot, Papa Obi. I'm just saying I should have believed Depa when she told me. I shouldn't have made that bet either. See, I thought you two were just a one night stand when you were still a Padawan. I didn't know you actually loved her."

"Papa loves Mama lots and lots, fowever and evew," Iyla spoke up.

Obi-Wan's face went red and Quinlan smiled widely. "Is that so?" he asked Iyla.

"Uh-huh! He tolded me. He finks she's pwetty and he likes her hair and her smile. Unka A'kin said he sawed him kiss her too. He said that's what people do when they in love."

"Among other things," Vos muttered. He winced when Obi-Wan "accidentally" elbowed him.

"Yes, thank you, darling, for that. Now, we need to find Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, effectively changing the topic. "You wandered away again, Iyla. Ahsoka has been very upset that she can't find you," he reprimanded.

"Sowwy, Papa," Iyla said as she lowered her eyes to the ground.

"It's very important for you to stay with the adults who are watching out for you. It can be dangerous to be on your own."

"But I not on my own. I was wif Masser Voz," Iyla said.

"Iyla Kenobi, you know what I mean," Obi-Wan said firmly. "There won't always be Masters around to help you."

"Yes, Papa," she said, looking contrite. "I polgize to Soka when we find her."

"Good," Obi-Wan replied with a nod. He nudged her to start walking as they made their way out of the secluded area. "Come on, my little imp," he teased affectionately.

"You've got some seriously good Papa vibes, Kenobi," Quinlan said as they walked.

"Yes, well, I've had to adapt quickly to my role. Good thing I had some practice from raising a Padawan."

Quinlan barked out a laugh. "I'm sure Skywalker was more than sufficient practice."

"You have no idea," Obi-Wan smirked.

Once they were out in the open area of the gardens they heard a cry of "Master Obi-Wan!" and looked up to find the young Togrutan running towards them.

"Oh, thank the Force, Iyla! I was so worried! Master Plo said he saw you running by the East Fountain but by the time I got there, you were gone. I thought I lost you forever, kiddo!" Ahsoka was now on her knees and pulling Iyla into a hug. "Why did you run off?" she asked.

"I not mean to. I was chasing the buvverfy but then it goed too high and too far and then I sawed anuver bug I liked and I followed that one instead. I'm sowwy, Soka. I shoulda stayed wif you. Do you forgib me?" Iyla asked, looking ashamed.

"Of course, kiddo. I forgive you. Just please don't do that again, ok? I'm way too young to have a heart attack," Ahsoka teased. She looked up at Obi-Wan and got up to stand in front of him. "I'm truly sorry, Master Obi-Wan. I was watching her very closely, I promise. I looked away for a split second, no, a nanosecond, no, a-"

"It's alright, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan interrupted. "It's not your fault. I've talked to Iyla about not running off and hopefully it won't happen again," he said, side-eyeing the 4-year-old who ducked her head and looked apologetic.

"It won't, Papa. Pwomise," she replied.

"Good. Now, it's nearly dinner time and I've been stuck in an awful meeting, bored out of my skull, listening to Masters drone on and on and-"

"Oh, hey, Windu," Vos said from next to him.

Obi-Wan went pale and looked around in a panic. Vos cackled, nearly doubling over. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and smacked his friend's arm when he saw that Mace was nowhere to be found.

"Not funny, Quin," he grumbled.

"I thought it was pretty funny," Ahsoka chuckled.

"Watch it, Padawan. I have the power to assign you kitchen duty for the next two weeks."

Ahsoka squeaked and instantly stopped laughing.

Obi-Wan smirked in satisfaction. "Anyways, my point is that we should head to the dining hall. I'm starving. Care to join us, Quin?" he asked.

"Sure why not. Maybe Depa will be in there and I can ask her to renegotiate the terms of our bet."

"You can't renegotiate a bet after you've lost it, Master Vos," Ahsoka said.

"Says you, Tano," Quinlan sneered. Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"Masser Voz said I costed him tweny cwedits, Papa. But I not got any money," Iyla said, holding Ahsoka's hand and swinging it back and forth.

"Vos," Obi-Wan said, exasperated.

"Relax, I was kidding," Quinlan said.

"Were you though?" Obi-Wan asked disbelievingly.

"Mostly," Vos muttered.

"You give Masser Voz money for me, Papa?" Iyla asked.

"Absolutely not," Obi-Wan said, bristling. "If Master Vos didn't want to lose 20 credits then he and Master Billaba shouldn't have been betting on my love life," he said, crossing his arms petulantly.

"Oh, come one, Kenobi. Lighten up. It was just for fun. Plus, how were we to know that we'd actually end up needing the bet anyways. I mean, you're not exactly one I'd pick out as likely to go to bed with a Duchess, for Force sake."

"You're uninvited to dinner, Vos," Obi-Wan scowled, lip jutting out just slightly.

Quinlan laughed at his friend pouting like a youngling and followed them to the dining hall anyways.

Next up: Obi-Wan and Iyla are both little brats and the temple despairs that there are now two insufferable Kenobis ;)