Disclaimer: I wished I owned the Fett's, but I don't. They belong to the great George Lucas…damn it…
In my mind, Boba Fett seems to have been forced to grow up rather fast as a child. Even though he is young, his perception is that of an adult almost, which is probably hard on him since every kid should be just that; a kid.
Iile
Jango stood silently outside the door to the medical facility on Kamino. The hallway was deserted of the cloners, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He had rushed back from Tatooine with Boba and immediately the tall aliens had brought them here and then shut the door in Jango's face, telling him that he would only be in the way. That had been over an hour ago.
Jango paced back and forth, his hands clasped behind him as he waited.
The door suddenly hissed open and Taun We emerged.
"How is he?" Jango asked her quietly.
"Three fractured ribs, internal bleeding of the stomach, sixteen abrasions, a vicroblade inflicted wound on his left thigh, and a concussion," she reported. "However we have been successful, and his health has stabilized and he is on his way to recovery," she told him, bowing her head slightly.
Jango frowned, he had no idea that his son had been in such a state since Boba had hidden his pain well while they were on Tatooine.
"Can I see him?" he asked gruffly, his eyes downcast.
Taun We shook her head. "I'm afraid not for he is resting at the moment and should not be disturbed. You should return to your room and we will inform you if his condition changes."
She held her long white hands together in front of her and watched him, waiting for his answer. He stared at the doorway for a few moments before finally nodding in agreement.
Taun We waited until Jango was gone then went back into the medical rooms. She walked over to the bed where Boba lay sleeping and quietly stood beside it. The child had been given sedatives to calm his body, and he would probably not wake for at least another couple of hours. Her liquid gave traveled over his face; such an innocent boy, having to go through such a horrible experience. She wondered how his father would help him in dealing with it. She sighed and clasped her hands in front of her, and waited…
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The sound of humming from the medical machines slowly brought Boba out from his deep sleep. He shifted his gaze around the white room until it came to rest on the figure of Taun We, who stood to one side of the bed watching him.
"It's good to see that you are awake, Boba," she said in her soothing and calm voice. "Your father has been waiting patiently and will be very glad to know that you are making a fast recovery."
"How long have I been here?" he asked, groggily.
"Three standard hours and twenty five minutes to be exact."
Boba wondered if she had been standing there the whole time. He stretched slightly, his sore muscles making him grimace in pain.
"The medication has most likely worn off by now, so another dose will be required soon."
Boba nodded then turned his head to the side, away from Taun We. He felt as though he was ripping apart internally. Part of him wanted to scream and yell out his frustrations but the other part wanted him to shrink away from the outside world and hide his pain.
And then there was the shame. He had brought on the attack because it was his punishment for disobeying his father's orders. It was all his fault...
Taun We noticed Boba's behavior and felt lost as to how to help him.
"Do you require anything, Boba?" she asked softly.
"I want to go back to the apartment."
She nodded and pressed a button on the wall to get someone to go and retrieve Jango.
Boba began to tremble again as the pain started to return.
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Over the next few days Boba's wounds healed cleanly. The bruises faded slowly, still leaving his skin dark brown in patches that seemed to cover his entire body. The bruises made sleeping slightly difficult since they were still quite tender and painful headaches once in a while made him have to lie down until they went away. Jango meanwhile had stopped taking bounties, making sure to be around for his son. He felt horrible for his part in Boba's pain, and he wanted to tell him that, except he didn't know how. This ate Jango up inside every time he looked at Boba. The child was beginning to withdraw, he could feel it. Jango often saw him sitting by the window in the dark, watching the ever falling rain for hours, or lying in his bed and hardly touching his food. Jango knew that if he tried to force Boba to eat it would just make things worse, but how do you get someone to listen when they are intentionally hurting themselves?
The tension between them was increasing, Boba hiding within himself and Jango tense at saying or doing anything that would make him recede further. He had to admit however that his son was showing an exceedingly great amount of strength for someone his age. Jango knew most children wouldn't have been able to handle what Boba had went through, they would have broken a long time ago.
Every time he remembered that night he felt like punching a hole through the damn wall. He envisioned the bastards writhing in pain deep within the Sarlacc's gut, being eaten alive, their screams echoing through the darkness of the beast. He smiled coldly; he had taken on one mission right after Boba had been able to return to the apartment. The information source had been slightly hard to find, no doubt hiding from Jango, but he had found him quickly and had brought him to Tatooine to the very same Sarlacc and had thrown him in, down to meet the other two. The men's screams mixed with the creature's squeals still rang through his mind and it was satisfying to know that he had rid the galaxy of those two bastards forever. Who knew how many children they had raped and slaughtered in the past.
During one quiet evening Jango found himself polishing his armour when there came a beeping indicating that someone was at the door. He moved aside the armour and stood up from the table to go see who it was. The door slid open and Jango looked down into the cold eyes of Kish Tyres. She stood there with her arms casually crossed in front of her but her stance made her reveal she had a reason for being there.
He moved to let her in and the door slid shut, leaving them alone. He went back over to the table and sat down, watching her. She withdrew a small disk from one of her belt compartments and flipped it through the air to him. He caught it in one hand and examined it.
"A private bounty from the Net, thought you might be interested."
The Net was an internal organization of the higher powers working in the shadows of the Republic. It was exclusive and only few outsiders knew about it and were able to access its massive data information systems; Kish being one of them. Jango had tried many times to try and get in but every time found himself at a dead end, apparently the organization changed its network codes every two days. So instead he had mentioned to Kish about wanting some of the highly paid bounties that once in a while graced the Net and she had proven true and every now and then managed to get him one. He had asked her before why she never went after them and she had replied saying that unless the employer wanted her and only her, they were not worth her time. Jango knew that he was just as skilled as her and could easily think that way as well, but then again he had himself and Boba to care for and he couldn't be so choosy when it came to jobs, unlike Kish who had no one. Jango did however limit himself to the harder and higher paying hunts since everyone had to have limits at some level. Plus if bounty prices were too low, it was too much a waste of time, energy and equipment to go chasing someone for some random customer, too cheap to name a worthwhile price.
He carefully put the disk onto the table. "I'm not taking any bounties just now Kish, but thanks for the thought."
He resumed his work while Kish remained standing by the door her curiosity quirked. Since when did the great Jango Fett turn down a Net bounty? She uncrossed her arms and stroked the edge of the vicroblade strapped to her right thigh.
"Very well," she said. She looked around the room. "Where's Boba?"
Jango's hands stilled for a split second before continuing rubbing the metal armour with a cloth.
"Out somewhere."
He felt her eyes on him again and gave her a sideways glance, one eyebrow raised slightly.
Kish knew that she wouldn't get anymore out of him and took her leave.
"Take care Jango," she told him as she went out the door.
She went down the hall back towards her docked ship when suddenly had a change in mind and turned down a corridor. There she stopped and made sure no one was around before closing her eyes and concentrating, searching for Boba's life-force.
It didn't take long to find him. He was outside on one of the platforms overlooking the ocean. The rain had turned to a fine mist and came down in soft sheets and clung to your body, making it shimmer in the lights of the facility. Boba was sitting on a ledge of the platform, his legs tucked underneath him and upper body leaning against the metal railings. His chin was on his arms as he stared out at the water and Kish could tell there had been a change in him from when she had last been to Kamino.
She walked quietly up behind him, looking him over. Something had happened…
Boba jumped slightly as she sat besides him. His eyes held a small amount of fear but then it receded upon recognizing her. He swallowed uneasily and turned back to look out at the ocean.
"No hello?" Kish asked him casually.
"Hello," he mumbled against his sleeves.
She frowned, not finding the game very amusing. Her gaze came to linger on the back or his neck.
"Is anything wrong?"
He shifted away from her. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine."
He suddenly felt her fingers on the side of his face. He jerked back and looked at her. She continued to slide them down to his chin and gently tipped it up. Boba was torn between wanting to pull away and wanting to remain where he was and continue to feel her touch. She moved her hand lower and ran her hand over one of the large bruises that showed on his neck above his collar. He closed his eyes tightly; the shame seemed to overwhelm him. She knows, he thought.
The fingers left his neck and were replaced on his forehead. She brushed aside a dark lock of his hair and gently traced the still healing scar, caused by his head's impact with the ground during his attack. Suddenly the constant ache within his skull seemed to melt away at her touch. His muscles relaxed under her administrations and he sighed.
"How are you doing that?" he whispered as he leaned his head into her hand.
"Doing what?" she asked quietly.
"Making the pain go away."
When a few moments went by without her response he opened his eyes to see that she was smiling softly down at him, her eyes full of warmth.
"You…you're smiling," he said, astonished.
"I guess I am, but why is that so amazing?" she wondered, still tracing her fingers across his skin.
"It's just that I've never seen you smile before."
"You make me smile Boba."
He frowned, trying to find the humor in her words but found none.
"I make you happy?" he asked slowly.
"Yes."
The feelings that washed over him at her words filled him with joy and seemed to drown out the sorrow that had taken over his mind. He stared at her for a while as she slid her hand down his face one last time then leaned back against the railings. He swallowed hard and looked down at his boots.
"How did you know?" he asked her, his voice quivering slightly.
"I could feel it," she responded. His gaze shot back up to hers.
"How?"
She shrugged. "It's something I can do."
A look of panic came over his face and she quickly shook her head. "Don't worry though; ninety nine and a half percent of the galaxy doesn't have that ability."
He relaxed and looked out at the water. "I'm trying to make myself believe that it never happened," he said sadly.
Her gaze turned serious and she turned his head to look at her again.
"Listen to me Boba. Don't ever do that, don't ever pretend that something didn't happen for if you do it will sit within yourself and the pain will just grow, consuming you. I know what it's like..."
His voice trembled. "Then what should I do?"
She sighed. "I've heard that it supposedly helps to talk about your problems to someone."
"But I don't have anyone to talk to."
"You can talk to me," she told him. "That is, if you want to."
He smiled slightly. "I can?"
"Yes, and you can also talk to your father you know."
Boba shook his head. "I can't because then he'll think I'm weak."
"No he won't, trust me on that one. I've known Jango for a long time. He won't fail you."
Kish stood up and held out her hand. "Are you ready to go back inside? I'll take you back to the apartment if you like."
He looked at her outstretched hand for a few moments, and then took it in his own.
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Boba had finished his dinner early and sat staring at his bowl. Jango watched him closely noticing that he had finally eaten something.
"She knows."
Jango's gaze filled with surprise.
"You told her?"
Boba shook his head slowly.
"No. She just…knew."
His father frowned slightly then lowered his eyes to the table and cleared his throat.
"Boba…I need to tell you something."
He got up from the table and went around to his son's side. Boba looked up at him with slight worry, wondering if he had done something wrong.
"I want to apologize for what I did to you, forgetting to ask you for that information chip and making you come after me, which resulted in the attack," Jango said softly. His hands were clutched nervously at his sides, hoping that his son wouldn't suddenly get upset at him for talking about what had happened. He waited.
"But I was the one who disobeyed your orders. What happened was all my fault, I was weak," Boba managed to say. Jango quickly knelt in front of him and grasped his shoulder.
"No Boba. What happened was not a result of you being weak, and you must never, ever think that you deserved such a thing to happen," Jango said firmly.
Boba took a deep breath. "But I did disobey orders…"
Jango couldn't believe the amount of strength his son had, to be able to admit what he just did. He smiled slightly and sighed.
"I guess we're both to blame on some level," he told him softly.
Boba looked down at his father and suddenly the barriers that he had created over the past week broke and he collapsed against his father's chest, his arms around Jango's neck in a fierce hug. Jango wrapped his arms around Boba and held him tightly.
"I'm sorry," Boba mumbled against Jango's shirt.
Jango smoothed Boba's dark hair with his hand. "I'm sorry as well. I love you Boba."
He felt his son tremble against him.
"I love you too dad," he whispered.
***Awww!!! (sniff) That was such a cute moment between Jango and Boba :) (or at least I thought it was). I know Jango didn't really seem in character at the end but that was because he was dealing with his son (notice his thoughts when he was thinking about throwing those people into the Sarlacc or his conversation with Kish, cold and the short "I don't care or want to talk to you right now" attitude).
Also we learned a few new things about Kish, as in her ability to sense people's feelings and their life-forces. Hmmm, maybe she's a Jedi. Wouldn't that just be horrible when the Jedi, Mace Windu, kills Jango…keep reading to find out! And please review cause I really look forward to them :)