To all you wonderful readers: Thank you so much for sticking with me for so long. ;) I know, it has been a long time, but I had the most trouble with this chapter, that I've had so far in this fic. I can't say I'm 100% happy with the way it turned out, but I think at this point it's best to post and go on. :D Thank you to my betas, for their help, and sticking with this, and to you readers for patiently waiting. I really will get the next one out sooner… honest!!! : )

Qui-Gon was moving before his mind had even registered the danger. As humming filled the air, his instincts took over. Time slowed down, and his senses seemed to expand. His eyes widened. Suddenly he could see the minute detail of the dart's thin, sharp points, the glisten of toxic sap, hear clearly the song of death, the noise they made as they whistled toward him. He was also keenly aware of the unflinching stone and earth surrounding Tahl and himself, providing no escape from this refuge turned tomb. There was only one exit.

Brilliant sapphire light burst to life beside him as Tahl ignited her saber. Qui-Gon swung his own. Time flashed back.

The two beams of laser whirled and danced in the darkness, hacking blindly at the darts. They swung in a frenzy born of desperation. Smoldering darts fell to the cave floor with a sizzling sound.

"Run for it!" Qui-Gon thought he heard himself scream. He wasn't sure where exactly they were going to run, but under the hail of plant darts he didn't pause to think twice. He groped toward the direction he hoped the exit was. The darkness was still heavy in the air. "Tahl?!"

Tahl yelped behind him. "Go Qui-Gon!" She shoved his shoulder toward the tunnel. He barely felt the pain of her hand against his sore back as his fingers found the entrance. Another hefty push from Tahl toppled him into the small tunnel. He caught her hand and pulled her after him, stumbling.

They spilled out of the cave into the driving rain.

"You alright?!" Qui-Gon gasped immediately. Something felt…not right to him…something was amiss, besides the obvious peril they had just faced. Unrest coiled inside him. He could sense Tahl's fear also, it was almost tangible.

Tahl's dark hair was plastered to her face by the rain. She staggered slightly over the wet, loose stones as they climbed up the bank. Her voice was weak over the wind and she panted desperately for breath. "I-" She gasped. "-don't know... "

Qui-Gon stared hard out into the night. "We need to get back, it's not safe out here." He whispered hoarsely. Shadows flickered about them. "We should run for it."

"Where do we go?" Tahl whimpered.

"Campsite." He started off into the deep woods. "This way-follow me!"

The pair skidded across the soggy ground as fast as they could in the heavy rain, Qui-Gon in front, and Tahl panting behind him. Their feet pounded the damp earth.

He was not entirely sure they were going the right way...the trees all looked the same in the rainy darkness. He darted around a trunk and through some ferns, casting about desperately for any sign that they had previously journeyed there. The last thing he needed was to be lost out in this forest at night.

Qui-Gon slowed his pace, guessing what direction to take. If only he had paid more attention when they had left camp...

He turned to consult Tahl, but she was not behind him. Qui-Gon gave a little start and whirled around. She was no where in sight...he must have gotten ahead of her... There was a flutter of panic somewhere in his midsection. He re-traced his steps, casting about wildly for any sign of her.

"Tahl?!"

"Here." The girl appeared out of the gloom, wavering slightly in the downpour, out of breath. Before she could gasp out "sorry," Qui-Gon took her hand.

"Stick close...you scared me."

Lightning flickered briefly and thunder grumbled after it. Tahl gave an anxious glace back in the direction they had come, as if afraid that something was following them.

"Qui-Gon..." Her face looked almost pained in the wane light from her saber. "...I think it's this way..." She indicated through some thick trees. He nodded and they started off once again.

It truly wasn't that far, but it felt like ages before they finally collapsed back at the small rock around which they had made their camp. They did not speak for a moment, but rather tried desperately to catch their breath. The two Jedi's gasps echoed through the trees.

"Well..." Qui-Gon began, regaining some breath, and turning to Tahl. "...that's the last time I let you pick the 'shelter.'" He rolled his eyes.

Tahl was huddled in a wet, miserable heap on the ground where she had dropped. She didn't even acknowledge that Qui-Gon had said anything, wrapping her arms around herself and trembling.

Qui-Gon gave her an odd look as he picked up the wet blankets from the ground. "Hey..." He stretched the blankets out to dry and turned to his friend. "...what's the matter?" The young Jedi crouched next to her, flashing a grin. "You can choose the next shelter if it really means that much to you..."

Tahl gave no smile, but looked up. Qui-Gon was startled to see that her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"Tahl!" He called roughly, seizing her arm with one hand and searching her face. "What is it? Are you hurt?!" In all the years Qui-Gon had been friends with Tahl, he had only known her to cry once or twice, only in the most dire circumstances. If she was crying, it meant something was desperately, desperately wrong.

"Qui..." she whispered, her voice very soft. She had taken to calling him that, lately. He thought it strange that she should even remember. "We...we...almost died in that cave. Didn't we...? Didn't we Qui?"

He closed his eyes and nodded. "It was close. But we made it."

"Too close...and it was my fault..." she murmured, tears now streaming down her face. "It was me. I was r-rash."

"It wasn't your fault. Not at all." Qui-Gon tucked a piece of her dark hair behind her ear. There was more going on than Tahl was telling him. He could feel the fogginess, the unrest in her aura. His chest constricted. The pain. He could feel her pain. A piece clicked into place in his mind. "You're hurt!"

At these words, she started to sob harder, and hid her face in her hands in utter defeat. The rain, which had become a steady dance down upon the forest, trickled down her face mingling with her tears. Her slight body shuddered with misery. Instinctively, Qui-Gon reached out to touch her shoulder in comfort. His hand came back sticky with blood.

"What happened?" Qui-Gon whispered brokenly, his voice trembling slightly with fear. He explored the wound with his mind, and his heart sank into despair.

"Dart...caught me..." Tahl managed to choke out. "All the way in...my shoulder."

Qui-Gon felt as if someone had suddenly poured ice water over him. Nothing could have prepared him for this. It was like everything inside him had dropped out. He could not breathe. If the dart had gotten her...and...if it was truly toxic to humans...

Tahl was dying.

He took her into his arms, and she willingly went, trying in vain to stop crying, but finding her reserve of inner strength gone. She wanted so badly to be strong, to pull herself together for Qui-Gon's sake, if not her own. But the pain was too great. The forces pulling at her were too strong.

Qui-Gon saw the light fading quickly from her brilliant eyes and knew time was short. The poison was taking effect. Panic flooded his veins and he felt as if his heart had lodged in his throat. There had to be some way to save her, but nothing came to him, his mind only produced static.

Precious seconds ticked by. Tahl was trembling in his arms. His eyes caught on her tunic, where there was a small rip where the dart had pierced her, barely visible in the darkness. Blood soaked her shoulder. He was amazed and horrified that something so small could hurt her so much.

The dart. He paused.

"Maybe if…" Qui-Gon trailed off, thinking hard, weighing his choices. "…I could try…but I'm not a Healer…" He swallow, and seemed to brace himself for something. "…yes, it might work."

Working quickly, Qui-Gon set Tahl down on the soggy blankets, gathering wet leaves and twigs into a pile. He then lit his saber. The timber, saturated as it was ignited easily under the power of the laser. It burst into flame, licking around the edges of the wood and bathing the Jedi in soft, flickering light.

"If I can get the dart out, we'll be fine. I think once the source is removed, the rest should be a simple matter of using the force to work against the poison." Qui-Gon spoke quickly, feeling more confident now that he could see what he was doing. "It will hurt..." He added somewhat hesitantly. "But it might save your life."

She nodded her consent through tears.

Very carefully, and with a deep breath to steel himself, Qui-Gon probed her shoulder. It was hard to see the wound through her heavy tunic, and he squinted in the wane firelight. With this view, he could barely even see the dart itself. He brushed at the ripped hole in her tunic lightly. Perhaps if he could get a better look...

The boy swallowed, pink replacing the paleness in his cheeks. He ripped her tunic down along the hole made by the dart, until he could see the tiny poison capsule quite clearly, its point embedded in the soft flesh of her shoulder. "Here it is." Tahl gave no reply, except for a little sob, so, bracing himself, Qui-Gon took hold of the tiny dart. The girl quivered. He reached out with the force to soothe her pain at the same time he pulled the dart out of her shoulder. She cried out, a soft broken noise that ripped at him. Qui-Gon suddenly realized he was crying as well.

He hugged her, murmuring softly into her hair. "We're going to be alright now...we're all okay."

"No..." she choked, weakly shoving his comforting hand away. There was pain and anger mingled on her face. "This place is going to kill us! We're going to die here, I know it!"

"We aren't going to die." Qui-Gon replied calmly. "Do you remember what you told me back in the cell?"

Tahl whimpered slightly but didn't answer.

"Well, I do. 'It'll all turn out, you'll see.'" He lifted her chin firmly with his thumb. "I was half- dead, scared out of my mind, and broken in every sense of the word. But I believed you. I trusted you. Please, can you trust me on this one?"

She was fading away with the night. Qui-Gon had to lean close to catch her words. "I'm afraid..."

"I am too." He confessed, tightening his arms around her weakening body. "But we'll go on. It will turn out for good eventually. You can't feel the highs if you don't feel the lows."

His friend nodded slowly, only half-hearing as the poison that had leaked into her through the dart took effect. Qui-Gon reached out through the force, focusing his healing energies. Now all he could do was trust the force, and trust Tahl. It would be a long and painful night, but there was a small enough dose of venom that force heal should restore her.

He settled back against the tree, still cradling her limp form in his arms.

~*~

I'm a man,

I'm not a child...

A man who sees

the shadow behind

your eyes

~*~

The darkness had seemed to stretch on to eternity.

Qui-Gon did not sleep, rather focusing all his attention on Tahl. The night had taken it's toll on his strength, however. His body was numb from her dead weight across it for so long. He was dripping wet, having been soaked to the bone by the showers. Healing her had stolen away a great deal of his precious life energy by now. Weariness settled over the boy, and he fought to keep his eyes open. Still he remained awake, until the rain slowed to a steady dance, and fingers of pink began to creep across the cloud-dappled sky. Shadows shortened and the forest lightened. His spirits lifted with the first rays of sunlight that peaked through the canopy. Qui-Gon let out a breath slowly. Dawn had come at last. It was all over.

He glanced down at Tahl. She lay beside him, her lovely face blank and peaceful in sleep. She looked so pale in the wane morning light, so delicate. But she was alive. He breathed the word like a fervent prayer. Alive. Life was a fragile thing here on Childor. It was so easily shattered into oblivion. Here he had battled for his own. And, had come so close to losing that battle, too. And now Tahl. Now Childor had nearly stolen her life away as well.

Powerful emotion rose within him. The night was over, and he could rest now. He squeezed his eyes shut. His head was throbbing, and he felt slightly nauseous. It was all too much, too soon for him. Qui-Gon was sure he was too weak to move, and wasn't about to try, so, tucking one arm around his mid section, he surrendered his conscious to sleep.