"Well?" Qui-Gon asked when Mace escorted Jemmiah back, "what did he have to say?"
"He said you were right." Jemmiah didn't look too pleased. "He told me to show some patience."
Qui-Gon stood for a while with a puzzled expression.
"What's the matter?" Jemmiah frowned.
"I'm sorry. It's just that I could have sworn that you said something about Yoda telling you I was right."
"He did."
Jinn shook his head as if dazed.
"I'm going to immortalize this day in my diary."
"How come the troll sent me out of his home?" Mace grew curious.
"You're complaining?" Asked Qui-Gon.
"Not on y our life. I hate the stink of that place."
"How do you think I felt? It didn't do much for me in the romantic stakes. I always had to sneak round to my girlfriends homes and even then they complained that my robes smelled like they'd been rotting in a bog for weeks and weeks." He looked at Jemmiah. "Cover your ears."
"You had girlfriends?" She asked, suddenly interested.
"There's no need to sound so surprised." Qui-Gon said, slightly wounded. "Even despite Yoda's attempts to stop me with his ancient recipe for gruel I managed to grow into a reasonable figure of a man, even if I say so myself. Don't you think so?"
"Well," She began, "you're maybe a little past your best…perhaps if you got rid of the beard?"
Qui-Gon looked shocked.
"I don't think so." He replied. "This beard and I go a long way back. I'm not shaving it off for anybody, and especially not to satisfy the curiosity of a ten year old girl who should be doing her mathematics homework."
"Rats." Complained Jemmy. "Nevermind. I'll get you one day. I'll make it my life's work to have that beard removed."
"Absolutely no way." Jinn answered with a smile.
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Whilst he was singing your praises," Jemmiah placed the plant pot on the table next to the other two, "he also said that I couldn't really expect you both to help because when it came to the more practical, hands on aspects of gardening you were both totally useless."
Mace growled.
"He said that did he? From someone who spends his private life hanging around a giant swamp I think that's a bit rich!"
"How could he say that about me?" Jinn demanded, pointing to the collection of ferns on his balcony.
"Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger." Jemmiah looked back and forth between the three plant pots.
"I can see what Yoda means about you. "Jinn looked at Mace. "You single handedly managed to kill off virtually every decent plant in the herb gardens when you had that punishment for pulling Quirida-Xac's chair away from underneath him using the force."
"It wasn't my fault!" Mace declared indignantly. "I thought they were weeds! And what about you? Force feeding Yoda's plants gruel for years and years? That as good as makes you a mass murderer!"
"I'm a better gardener than you any day!"
"Oh yeah?"
"You know it!"
"Garbage!"
"It's true." Qui-Gon said smugly.
Jemmiah looked at him with large, rounded eyes.
"Prove it." She said.
"Pardon?"
"I said prove it." She pushed one pot over to Qui-Gon. "You take that one and…" she pushed the other at Mace, "You take that one. Let's see which of the three of us gets their plant the biggest."
Mace looked uncertain.
"I dunno…"
"What are you scared of, Mace?" Qui-Gon remarked. "Are you afraid that a ten year old girl is going to beat you?"
"Of course not!"
"Well then. Do as she says. Prove it!"
The self-satisfied gleam in Qui-Gon's eye was all the challenge that Windu needed to rise to the bait.
"OK. Fine. I accept." He shot his hand forward and shook on it. "May the best man win."
"I think not." Jemmiah grinned.
"Haven't you got studies to see to?" Qui-Gon reminded her.
"Yes." Jemmiah picked up her plant. "In a little while. I'm going to water my plant first."
"You don't want to over water it." Qui-Gon suggested.
"Whoa, Qui-Gon. She's the enemy now. If she wants to kill the thing that's up to her."
"You are also the enemy." Jinn smiled at Mace. "Go attend to your plant."
Sighing, Mace picked up the identical pot and poked his finger into the soil. Despite his bravado he knew very little about plants.
"Is this soil too dry, do you think?" He asked.
"Uh-uh. Not saying." Qui-Gon refused to help. "Figure it out for yourself."
Mace hooked a protective arm round the circumference of the pot and walked towards the door.
"I only came in to see if there was anything interesting happening." He muttered.
*******************************
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP…
"Oh, force preserve us. What is it NOW?" Qui-Gon hissed, standing up and laying to one side the training schedule he'd prepared for his padawan over the next month.
There was a brief lull and the irritating pounding of music suddenly ceased as quickly as it had started. Qui-Gon blew out an annoyed breath. Which one of them was awake and playing music at this time of evening?
Then it started again.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP…
"I don't believe this." He gritted his teeth.
Someone was going to regret this.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP…
It was roughly 11.30 at night, give or take a few minutes. Not the sort of time for children to be up and playing loud music. Shutting his ears against the din, Qui-Gon strained his senses to see which of the two was the culprit, although he had a fair idea. Sure enough, he discovered his padawan was teetering on the edge of consciousness whilst Jemmiah was very much awake…
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP…
"That does it. If she thinks that she's getting away with this…"
Qui-Gon forced himself to calm down a degree or two before striding purposefully to Jemmiah's room. He paused for a brief moment, rapping twice on the door with his knuckles and then pushing the door open.
Jemmiah turned to face him with an extremely guilty expression on her face.
"Do you have ANY idea of the time?" He asked coldly.
"N-no." Jemmy frowned.
"Look at the chrono."
Jemmiah squinted up at the wall chrono.
"It's 11.29…whoops! It is a little late I s'pose." She confessed.
"What do you think you are doing playing music at this hour? And why aren't you dressed f or bed?"
"I'm not tired." She grumbled.
Qui-Gon looked closely at her.
"That is a blatant lie." He tried to look intimidating.
"I'm NOT!" She answered. "And the music wasn't my idea. It was Master Yoda's. He said that instead of speaking to my plant I could try playing some music…"
"Not at going on midnight." Qui-Gon glared.
"But he said…"
"Master Yoda is a very wise and honorable being but this is NOT Master Yoda's house. He is NOT in charge of you." Jinn folded his arms. "I am. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No sir." Jemmiah looked at the floor.
Qui-Gon nodded.
"I expect you to show some consideration for others whilst you live under my protection. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." He looked round the room. She'd managed to gather a fair amount of possessions in the three months since she'd arrived at the temple but her room was still neat and spotless. Obi-Wan on the other hand had very few personal belongings and yet his room always managed to transform itself into a hovel. He'd never understood how this happened.
It was something he classified as one of the hidden mysteries of the force.
"I'm sorry about the music." Jemmy shrugged. "I could always get some personal ear sets and…"
"Get changed for bed and go to sleep." He instructed.
"But I'm not sleepy!" Jemmiah insisted.
One look at Qui-Gon told her he wasn't buying it.
"I am going to check on you in twenty minutes and I want to see you either asleep or giving a very good impersonation of someone who is." He stared levelly at her.
He could have sworn she was on the verge of stamping her foot at him but she backed down with a curt nod, refusing to look him in the eye.
"Goodnight. AGAIN." He said, shutting the door on a very angry young lady.
**************************
Fifteen minutes had passed and Qui-Gon decided it was time to make his inspection.
He could tell she was still awake because he could feel the frustration, the annoyance and the exhaustion flooding from her in waves. He hoped she was at least attempting to get some sleep or there was going to be trouble…
His hopes were quickly dashed when he saw a light on from underneath her door.
Right, thought Qui-Gon silently, she's picked a fight with the wrong person…
This time the door flew open without any warning.
Jemmiah looked positively shocked.
"You said twenty minutes!" She said through a creaky voice.
"As I said earlier, I am the head of this household. I make the rules."
"That's not fair!"
Qui-Gon gave her a look that told her he was not joking this time.
"Give it here." He held his hand out for the little torch that she'd been using. "I don't allow Obi-Wan to read after hours and I am not making an exception for you."
"I wasn't reading!" She said sulkily. "I was shining it on my plant!"
Jinn looked firstly at her and then the pot with the soil in it.
"This has gone too far." He marched over to her bed and picked up the plant pot and the torch.
"What are you doing?" Jemmiah demanded.
Qui-Gon didn't even answer her, simply turned his back and marched through to the balcony, putting the pot down with all the other plants that were out there.
"No, not out there," Jemmy pleaded as she followed him out, "it's cold! How's it s'posed to grow when it's all frozen?"
He turned back to face her.
"Get back into bed."
"I'm not tired." She said belligerently. "Can't I get a hot drink?"
"No."
"Why?"
"You're just stalling."
"I don't want to go to sleep!"
"Why not?"
"Because."
"That's hardly an answer."
"Just…because. I'm not ready." He could see her digging her nails into her hands to stop her from shouting and causing an even bigger scene.
"Not good enough." He took a step forward. "I will not be dictated to by a sulky child who wants everything her own way. We'll talk about your behavior tomorrow. Now, for the last time: GET TO BED or I really will be angry."
Jemmiah once again looked as if she was going to give him an argument. She shot a brief look of disgust at her plant stuck out on the balcony and virtually fried Qui-Gon with a furious glare before stalking back to her room and slamming the door.
For the first time since he'd brought her back Qui-Gon wondered if he'd done the right thing in letting her stay with them. It had been the first full-scale battle between them. OK, he'd won the battle but he didn't think that discussing the matter tomorrow was going to bring about any kind of resolution.
He sighed, realizing that with all the hullabaloo the urge to sleep had completely worn off…
***************************
Mace sat and stared at the soil.
He wondered how he always seemed to end up involved in somebody else's hair brained schemes no matter how hard he tried to avoid them. He didn't suppose there was much harm in it, after all plenty of people kept plants in their homes to help oxygenate the place.
And if Qui-Gon was looking for a friendly rival then he'd chosen the right man.
All their lives it seemed that the two of them, along with Dex, had always been getting into trouble. Always finding invisible potholes to fall into. Always showing off and competing with each other.
Usually Qui-Gon won.
Windu chuckled as he prepared to do a search for information on houseplants on his computer.
This time he would come out on top.
That would take the smile off Jinn's face!
*********************
From somewhere in the distance, somewhere beyond the fringes of wakefulness, Qui-Gon heard something that disturbed him. He didn't know what it was, just that it was demanding his urgent attention. Swimming against the tide of sleep Qui-Gon struggled to bring himself to full consciousness, the mist still firmly wrapped around his mind.
He heard it again.
Blinking the sleep from his eyes the master sat up in bed, listening intently this time. He didn't have long to wait.
A scream.
A shorter one followed soon after.
Swinging his long legs over the side of his bed, Qui-Gon threw on his robe and bolted straight for Jemmiah's room from where the screaming had come from. Even before he had got to his door he could hear her yelling and screaming again.
"Lights on." He commanded, screwing up his face as the light hit his pupils.
She'd managed to fall off her bed and onto the floor taking half the blankets with her, most of which were wrapped round her legs in a tangled mass. That had probably explained the dull thud he thought he'd heard initially on stirring from his sleep. Still fully asleep and yet half sat up and shouting and screaming at something beyond him that he couldn't see, Jemmiah struggled in futile fashion to kick at the imprisoning blankets on her lower body.
Qui-Gon bent down beside her.
"Easy, easy." He tried to calm her down with the force.
It didn't seem to have much affect.
He saw Obi-Wan at the doorway.
"Master, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked in confusion.
"She's having a nightmare, that's all." Qui-Gon replied.
"That's all?" Obi-Wan stared at her. "It's enough to wake the dead!"
Jemmiah screamed something out in Corellian that Qui-Gon couldn't make out. There wasn't much use for ancient Corellian any more as the planet had used Basic for millennia, although it was still taught on the principle of national identity being so important. Qui-Gon had never had the need to learn it but decided to try remembering the words the girl was uttering in hope of unravelling this nightmare at a later day. Dex Berlingside spoke fluent Corellian. He'd almost certainly know…
"Can't we wake her up?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Too dangerous." Qui-Gon replied. "We'll have to let this one play itself out. Why don't you go and make some hot chocolate for the three of us, hmm?"
"Er…yes, master." Kenobi glanced back at the squirming figure as Qui-Gon held her gently.
He was glad he didn't have to share her dreams.
Jemmiah yelled something else that Qui-Gon didn't understand and then suddenly sat bolt upright, gasping for air.
"Shhh. You're alright now." He said gently. "It's Ok. It was just a nightmare."
If she heard him she gave no recognition.
This has gone on far too long, he thought, as he watched her start to tremble violently with shock. She'd had nightmares before, noticeably on the flight back from Nargotria but absolutely nothing like this…
"Hush," he said, brushing the hair back from her face, "you'll be fine. Do you want to talk about it?"
Eventually he was rewarded by a short shake of the head, interspersing the shivering.
"Come on then." He tried to remove the blankets from round her in an effort to redress the bed.
She shook her head.
"You can't spend the night down here." He said calmly but firmly. Suddenly he got some insight as to her behaviour a few hours before.
"Have you had these dreams before?" He asked.
He wasn't surprised when she nodded.
"Last night? The night before?" He enquired carefully.
She nodded again.
"Is this why you didn't want to go to bed?"
Nod.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
This time he received a shrug.
"They weren't as bad as this?"
Another nod.
He reached for her dressing gown and draped it over her shoulders.
"You can speak to me you know. If you're having problems you should tell me about them. If you keep things to yourself then they only get worse. Now, are you sure you don't want to talk about your dream?"
She shook her head again.
Qui-Gon sighed. If she wouldn't talk then there wasn't an awful lot he could do to help. And he had no doubts that if she didn't talk these nightmares were going to become a semi-regular occurrence. Somehow he had to persuade her to speak to somebody, even if she wouldn't thank him for it.
"Right then," He said as he helped her shakily to her feet, "come on. Something tells me that none of us are going to get much sleep tonight so we may as well all be awake together. I think Obi-Wan's making a hot drink as I instructed."
He heard the sound of munching somewhere in the distance.
"I think he's raiding the refrigerator as I DIDN'T instruct him." He added dryly. "Let's see what damage he's managed to inflict on the supplies, shall we?"
***************************
Four hours later and the light streamed in from the balcony and onto Qui-Gon's face, causing him to wake up for a second time. He'd sent Obi-Wan back to bed but Jemmiah had finally fallen into a troubleless sleep on the couch by his side. Wincing at the awkward position his body had been forced to adopt he carefully moved himself away from the sleeping girl and over to the holoterminal.
Yoda answered him not long afterwards.
"Tired you look." He said a touch too smugly for Jinn's liking.
"So would you be if you'd had the night I'd just had." He replied. "Master, I need your advice."
"Your young ward does not dream the dreams of pleasant sleep." Yoda stated.
Qui-Gon looked at Yoda's image.
"May I ask as to how you know this?" He asked.
"Know me well you should, Qui-Gon." Yoda smiled. "Problems this one has."
"I'm not sure how best to proceed. I confess to being a little worried this time."
"Seen too much she has in her short life." Yoda nodded. "Disturbing her it is. Talk the problem through you must. Tend to her as if she were that plant. Leave her in the cold you must not."
"She won't speak to me."
Yoda seemed to consider this.
"Bring her before the healers."
"I think she's spent too much time there already." Qui-Gon sighed. "And I'm not sure what An-Paj can do other than perhaps…" he broke off suddenly as Yoda's true meaning sank in. "You mean the soul healers?"
Yoda watched the evident discomfort on Qui-Gon's face.
"She won't care for that." Jinn said.
"Do things to be popular, you do Qui-Gon?" Yoda asked. "Distasteful it may seem but for the best it is."
Qui-Gon agreed reluctantly.
"Speak with you later I will." Yoda smiled.
"Thank you, master."
"Take care of that one you will or answer to me you shall." He chuckled, pointing beyond Qui-Gon to the slumbering girl on the couch.
"Yes master, Yoda."
****************************
Jemmiah awoke an hour later.
No matter what she did her eyes refused to open properly. It felt as though they had been gummed together during the night by some unseen glue-wielding maniac. Something felt odd…it didn't feel like her own bed.
Vaguely she thought she saw a large shadow standing infront of the source of light and forced her eyes to at least open into tiny slits. Master Jinn was awake.
So how come she was in the living area?
It came back to her with frightening clarity, causing her to groan at the memory. She'd refused to go back to her room because like a true coward she'd been too afraid.
Sophie Digwurt would have laughed herself sick if she'd known.
The horrid thought of that particular individual had suddenly reminded her that she had to get ready for school. With a grunt she forced herself to sit straight, causing the large shadow that was Qui-Gon Jinn to turn round.
"You're awake." He said with a half smile.
"What's the time?" She asked through a voice hoarse with screaming.
"That's not important today." He replied.
She frowned, trying to take in his meaning.
"But I've got school."
He responded by pointing at the plant pot, which now had the tiniest of tiny green shoots in the middle of the soil.
"YES!" She coughed/yelled as much as her poor abused throat would allow. " Good old Yoda! Who would have thought that playing Jizz would have that affect on a bulb! I can go to school and tell them…"
"No school for you today." Qui-Gon remarked.
She looked stunned.
"Why not?"
"You're tired and wouldn't get out of the temple without falling flat on your face."
"I'll be OK." She pulled herself up.
"I've already informed your school that you won't be going in today." He said.
He could see her looking at him as if trying to locate a reason for his bizarre behavior.
"I've made an appointment for you to see someone about your nightmares." He watched her squirm at the thought.
"Who?" She asked distrustfully.
"The soul healers within the temple."
She stared at him.
"What's one of them?" The suspicion growing in her voice all the time.
"Well," he began cagily, "they'll ask you some questions to try and establish what's at the root of these nightmares and then they'll see how best they can help you."
Her eyes became impossibly big.
"Head doctors?" She asked as if she hadn't heard right.
"It's not like that…"
"You want to take me to the loony brigade?"
"They're there to help you."
She looked anxiously at him.
"Do you think I'm mad?"
"Absolutely not!" Qui-Gon replied. "But you're under a lot of stress which you need to get sorted out and I believe this is the best way."
"I don't do the psychiatry thing!" She replied. "I'm fine! Why did you have to do this?"
"It's for your own good." He said softly. "If you don't like any of the question that they ask you have my word that you do not have to answer them."
"Promise?"
"You have my word on it."
She looked very uncomfortable, Qui-Gon thought, as he watched her shuffle her feet nervously.
"I bet Master Yoda wouldn't send me." She mumbled.
"What would you say if I told you this was Master Yoda's suggestion." He said gently.
All the fight seemed to dissolve from her suddenly.
"I don't know." She sulked. "You spend a day or so talking to a plant and they think you're a nut case!"