TITLE: Double Trouble?
Part 2
(Again, thanks Jane Jinn for letting me borrow An-Paj)
********************
Two days later:
"Look, I CAN walk! Honest!"
"That's what you told yourself the last time." Qui-Gon replied. "There's no way you can possibly have got better in just two days."
The petulant look edged its way back onto her face. Qui-Gon was beginning to become very much accustomed to the vast repertory of facial contortions but this one was by all accounts her favorite.
"Stay in bed." He warned her.
"You sound just like An-Paj." She protested.
"The day I sound like a healer is the day they put me in a home for retired Jedi." Qui-Gon answered. "An-Paj did tell me that if you carry on getting better the way you have then perhaps at the end of the week he might consider letting you try to walk with supervision."
Jemmiah's face lit up with a wide smile.
"I think that's the first time I've seen you do that since we brought you back." Qui-Gon sounded somewhat surprised, but smiled right along with her.
"If you had only the ceiling to stare at you wouldn't exactly be a bundle of joy." Jemmy pointed out.
She looked about her.
"Is it the end of the week yet?" she asked.
"No! And you asking about it is not going to make it arrive any faster."
"But I'm bored!"
"Jemmiah…"
"I can't help it! I need to get out of here before I try slitting my throat with that plasti spoon." She nodded at the tray where her virtually untouched food lay.
Qui-Gon shook his head.
"Jemmiah, if you don't eat you won't get well."
"But it's horrible." She lowered her voice. "It taste's of Nerf's pi…"
"Pardon?" An-Paj interrupted as he opened the privacy curtains and joined the twosome.
"It's not very nice, is it?" Jemmy pushed the tray even further away. "I thought people were supposed to come in here to get better? There's no way that would induce me to recover, even if I was hungry."
An-Paj took that in.
"Still not eating?" he asked.
"I can't! I feel sick when I eat." She huffed. "Maybe if you fired the cook…"
Qui-Gon actually tittered at that and left An-Paj feeling rather annoyed at the pair of them.
"Are you going to eat this or not?" he asked in a steady, over-patient voice.
"Sorry." Jemmiah said.
"Well, let me put this in a way you will understand." A renegade smile suddenly appeared from nowhere. "NO FOOD = ETERNAL BEDREST."
"But that's not fair! You said I could get out at the weekend." Her face fell, causing Qui-Gon to feel very sorry for her.
//She's well and truly got him hooked// thought the healer with amusement.
"An-Paj, that is a little unfair." Qui-Gon replied.
"Life is unfair my friend. Those are my terms I'm afraid. Take it or leave it."
"I'll be sick again." Jemmiah grabbed hold of the tray and then shot him a poisonous look that took even the healer by surprise. "And it will be all your fault."
An-Paj leaned in closer.
"I know, I'm a heartless individual." He grinned. He watched her scoop a mouthful of something green and vaguely spinach like and hold it in a wavering hand.
"Eat it." He smiled.
Jemmy stared at the stuff as if it were a lump of pure poison they had asked her to swallow. Concentrating, she brought the plasti fork up to her mouth.
"I can't." she shook her head.
"Yes you can. Go on." An-Paj encouraged her.
"Bassalads!" the girl cursed.
"Pardon?"
Jemmy looked apologetically at the two of them.
"It's just a word. It's used to express discontent with life in general." She looked down at the fork again. "And this Nerf's fodder in particular."
"Jemmiah…" warned Qui-Gon.
"That's not fair. Two against one; what chance do I stand?"
"None at all. Better give in graciously." Jinn answered.
The Corellian girl sniffed in the face of adversity and hurriedly shovelled the green matter down her throat for fear of it coming straight back up again.
"That was evil." She said after a moment had passed.
"Don't exaggerate." An-Paj smirked.
"I'm not! You work here; you don't eat the food the patients get! Have you EVER tried any of their food?"
An-Paj frowned. He didn't think he had…
"See?" Jemmy exclaimed. "You haven't, have you? So how do you know that it's good if you won't give it a go?"
"She's got a point, my friend." Qui-Gon agreed.
//There he goes again, siding with her// An-Paj couldn't believe how quickly the two had adapted to each other. //I really hope the matter of her temporary custody is approved or else he's going to be very upset//
"It can't be all that bad." He refused to concede his point.
"Try some then." Qui-Gon dared.
"You try some." Countered the healer.
"Uh-uh. I don't think so. I've been a patient in here on several occasions. I know what it's like."
"I'll try some if you try some." An-Paj stated.
"Fine. You can go first."
An-Paj shrugged, picking up an unused spoon at the side of the tray and slowly dipped it into the slimy substance. Jemmiah and Qui-Gon watched in interest as the healer brought the spoon past his lips…
He chewed the mouthful of food for what seemed to be an excessive amount of time.
"Well?" asked Jemmy.
"I'm sure it must be very nutritious." An-Paj answered.
"Ha ha! I win." Jemmy crowed.
"Not in the least." The healer dabbed at his mouth with a white napkin. "Because you are still going to have to eat it all."
Jemmiah tried to wheedle him with her large eyes, but An-Paj was having none of it.
"It won't work. I am a healer and have sold my soul to the devil if you believe some of the regular patients in here." He replied. "If you haven't made significant inroads on that food by the time I come back then I am going to have to consider putting the tube feeder back in and that will almost certainly ruin any slight chance you have of getting up and about come the end of the week."
Jemmiah looked at him balefully.
"I hope you'll forgive me for saying this An-Paj, sir." She said humbly. "But I really want to throw this at you."
"You won't have the energy unless you eat that food." He pointed at the tray. "Get to it."
*****************************
An-Paj eventually relented. The girl's body might not be healing very quickly but her mind was sharp and lively and extremely resentful of her situation. Grateful to be alive, yes but also highly unhappy that she was so sick. He'd let Qui-Gon push her about in a wheel chair, showing her all over the temple whilst the girl struggled to memorize who everyone was and where everything led to. It was all perhaps a bit much. She'd had no real appreciation up until that point of how big everything was.
One more day and then she could try walking once more.
To have this brief taste of freedom and then be locked back in her cage was excruciating for Jemmiah. The minutes between Master Jinn and Obi-Wan's visits would drag relentlessly whilst she was once more left to twiddle her thumbs and bemoan her bad luck.
And all the time the wheelchair lay propped up against the wall. All folded neatly, tormenting her inability to walk.
Would it matter if she….?
Nobody need know that An-Paj hadn't said she could. And Master Jinn was supposed to be meeting some politician or other, so he couldn't say anything to the contrary.
On short little turn in the chair.
"Do it now kid, before you lose your nerve." Jemmy muttered as she made a weak lunge for the chair, dragging it to her bed.
This would be fun…
********************
Valorum had been in politics long enough to know his way about the intricacies of the senate but he didn't know his way about the Jedi temple. There were one or two official matters that he had been discussing with the council, but they had been dealt with surprisingly quickly. He had arranged to meet his old friend Qui-Gon Jinn at noontime in the refectory, however his schedule was now thrown into disarray. He'd (very foolishly) assured Masters Windu and Yoda that he could navigate his way round the temple and locate his friend but the truth was that he hadn't the slightest idea where he was…
"Good one, Chancellor." He said sarcastically to himself.
The temple was so huge that he could probably spend the rest of his life wandering round the place and STILL not find where he was searching for.
A sort of squeaking noise caught his attention and he turned round.
"Hello?" he asked hesitantly.
"Hi." Jemmy regarded him from her seat in the wheelchair. "Don't s'pose you know anything about these contraptions, do you? Only I gave it a real dunt against the wall when I went into the turbo lift. I think I've irreparably damaged the right wheel and An-Paj will be mad as heck with me."
Valorum stared at the surprisingly eloquent young lady infront of him, holding a conversation with him as would two adults. She surely couldn't have been more than seven years of age…
"I'm not really an expert when it comes to wheelchairs." He said apologetically, wondering who she was. "I'm sorry."
"No problem, just a thought." Jemmy shrugged. "I've escaped the infirmary. Thought I'd get a change of scenery."
"Are you well enough to leave the infirmary?" Valorum asked. "You don't look too good."
"You really know how to cheer a girl up, don't you" Jemmy grimaced. "I'm getting better. Tomorrow they're going to let me try walking again."
"That's good." Valorum smiled, thinking she must be one of the initiates. "I hope everything goes well for you…but I wonder, could you see your way to helping me on a small matter?"
Jemmy blinked in astonishment.
"Sure, if I can." She replied.
"Well, it's rather embarrassing to admit this but I'm afraid I'm somewhat lost." He looked about him.
"Easily done." Jemmy agreed.
"If you could point me in the direction of the refectory I would be eternally grateful."
"The…er. Yeah, wait a moment." Jemmy frowned, trying to think of all the places that Qui-Gon had taken her. "I think I can help you. Infact, I know I can. I can take you there if you'd like?"
Valorum sighed in relief.
"That would be very kind, young lady."
"That's OK. If anyone asks me what I'm doing out of bed I can say I was helping you." She turned the chair three quarters of the way round and headed off down the corridor. "Don't worry sir. We'll soon have you there."
The Chancellor had offered to push the child's chair but she had tenaciously refused, infact Valorum got the distinct impression that she liked having someone to talk to beside her.
"I imagine you're missing the company of your friends?" Valorum offered conversationally.
"My friends?" Jemmy looked somewhat pained.
"Your crèche mates. I'm sure they must miss you."
"Oh…I'm not a Jedi," Jemmy shook her head, understanding the question at last. "No, I'm normal."
"Normal?" The Chancellor laughed.
"Yeah, you know. I can't make objects float through the air just by sneezing." The Corellian replied. "I was brought back on a mission by one of the Jedi and I'm staying here until I get better."
"Then what?" Valorum asked.
Jemmy spun the wheels round a little faster.
"I don't think we're too far away." was all the reply he got.
They continued to walk (or in Jemmy's case to wheel) their way towards a set of doors, which Jemmiah pointed to, halting the chair with a screech.
"See through there?" she indicated with an outstretched finger. "If you go through those doors, turn left and through the next door that's facing you then that should be where you need to go. And there should be plenty of space so just take a seat." Jemmiah smiled. "I don't imagine any one will disturb you."
Valorum nodded his thanks.
"I wish you a continued speedy recovery, young lady. Get well soon." The Chancellor gave a small bow and took his leave.
Jemmy groaned. The last thing she needed was a speedy recovery. Whilst she so desperately wanted to get away from the infirmary she knew that as soon as she was well enough she would be taken away to some children's orphanage. And she did NOT relish that prospect at all. She hadn't been joking when she said the food made her sick because it did, but at the back of her mind came the worrying thought that the sooner she ate then the sooner she would be better and forced to leave…
Pulling a miserable face, Jemmy decided to head out towards the gardens, hoping that the wheel wouldn't come off.
Or that nobody would notice the rather large scrape in the turbolift wall…
**********************
"She's not here!" Qui-Gon said as a small dose of panic threatened to overtake him. "Where could she have gone? I only came to visit for half an hour before I meet with Chancellor Valorum. Do you think she's alright?"
"Not by the time I've caught up with her." An-Paj promised. "I'm going to employ a Hutt to come and sit on her to keep her in that bed!"
"The wheelchair's gone." Qui-Gon nodded at the empty space by the wall.
An-Paj didn't really want to say it but knew that someone would have to bring the subject up.
"Qui-Gon, the girl is extremely badly behaved. She's disobedient and wilful. Are you sure you want to take her on?"
"Yes." Jinn answered without hesitation.
"But why?"
"I can't explain." Qui-Gon said simply. "She's become important to me. You've only got to see the sick child. She's also very bright and quick to learn. If you'd seen her on the way back from Nargotria you would have been more than impressed with her."
"It's still a big step you're wanting to take."
"I'm sure I'll manage." Jinn said grimly. "In the meantime I have to locate our runaway. I only hope she turns up before I meet with Valorum."
Right on cue there came a squeaking sound, and Qui-Gon and An-Paj turned to face a somewhat guilty looking Jemmiah as she wheeled herself in towards her bed.
"What have you done to that chair?" An-Paj demanded.
"The turbolift hurt it." Jemmy answered uncomfortably.
"And what about you?" asked Qui-Gon gruffly. "What's your excuse?"
Jemmy smiled to herself.
"I was showing a gentleman round the temple. He looked a bit lost so I thought I'd help him."
"Valorum?" Jinn wondered.
"Grey hair?" Jemmy asked the Jedi.
"Yes," Qui-Gon said, "where did you take him?"
"The refectory." Replied Jemmiah smugly. "See? All Corellians can navigate. Found it real easily, too."
"But I never showed you where the refectory was." Frowned Qui-Gon.
"You must have done…"
Now that she actually thought about it she wasn't too sure that Master Jinn had taken her to the refectory. Maybe she was getting mixed up with something else.
"Where did you show him?" An-Paj asked.
"Through the doors along from training rooms." Jemmy said in a small voice. "Then left again and…"
Qui-Gon's eyes went wide.
"You showed Chancellor Valorum into the room with the red door?" Qui-Gon swallowed.
"No sir." Jemmy replied.
"That's a relief." An-Paj sighed.
"It was the one with the blue door."
The two Jedi looked as if they'd been clubbed over the back of the head.
"The blue one?" The healer asked in disbelief.
"Yes. What have I done?" Jemmy pleaded.
Qui-Gon wondered how to put this.
"Well, in layman's terms you have managed to send Chancellor Valorum into the freshers at the end of the training suite instead of the refectory.
"That's not so bad."
"You've sent him into the women's freshers. That certainly ain't good." An-Paj grinned.
"The freshers?!?" Jemmiah gulped.
She buried her head in her hands.
To her amazement bot Qui-Gon and An-Paj were laughing uncontrollably.
"I take back everything I said." An-Paj grinned, pointing at the Corellian girl. "That was worth a few hours illicit freedom."
"I suppose I'd better go find him." Jinn smirked.
Jemmy didn't move from her crouched over position.
"Oh, hell's teeth. I…I told him to take a seat!"
Qui-Gon laughed all the harder.
"Young lady, you are worth your weight in gold." He grinned.
"Which is all the more reason to get you to eat something." Am-Paj rubbed his hands together. "This is your punishment for trying to escape from the infirmary."
He indicated a tray with a giant container with a lid cover on it. As he lifted the cover off there were two dishes to be seen. The first was a rather sickly looking sweet concoction smothered in Corelli Treacle.
"Doesn't look too bad." Jemmy admitted. "But I can't believe you're making me eat the horrid green slime again."
"I'm not." An-Paj smiled at the plate of evil smelling food. "This one is for Master Jinn."
"Sorry?"
"For wriggling out of that dare yesterday. Did you think I'd forgotten? I ate my share, now it's your turn. And I want to see that plate clean." The healer chuckled as he turned away.
Qui-Gon poked at the liquidated seaweed on the plate, wrinkling his nose.
"I won't tell anyone if you don't eat it." Jemmy whispered as he helped her back onto the bed.
"Thank you." Jinn smiled at her.
He paused for a moment.
"Jemmiah, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you. Just suppose that the chance for you to stay in the temple was offered to you. What would you think?"
He watched intently as the girl's face went from trance like shock to complete delight, throwing her arms round the back of his neck in a thin little bear hug.
"I'll take that as a yes." Jinn hugged her back, carefully. "Don't get too carried away. There are still a lot of things to be finalised. The search for any relatives you may have hasn't yet been abandoned. But I've been speaking with Master Yoda and he seemed to approve of the idea, in principle."
"I think I like Master Yoda." Jemmy murmured.
Qui-Gon chuckled.
"There are times when I almost like him myself." He smiled.