~* You Get Me *~
Chapter 9-
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Jacen," Leia declared, a hint of maternal pride shining on her now softly wrinkled face. Despite her advancing years, Jacen still thought his mother to be one of the most beautiful women alive, and he knew his father felt the same. Jacen smiled back, grateful for the close relationship he shared with his mother. In so many ways he admired her and identified with her on more levels than he and his father ever would.
"Thanks, Mom. I was hoping you would agree--- because I need your help," he added cautiously.
"Why am I not surprised?" teased Han Solo from across the room. He was reclining comfortably in his most recent acquisition--- a body-fitting lounge chair guaranteed to mold to any form offering the best seat anywhere in the galaxy--- or so the advertisements raved. According to Han, however, the verdict was still out. He thought it needed a few more 'test runs' before he could say for certain.
"Oh, Han!" Leia scolded.
"It's okay, Mom," Jacen assured her with Solo grin. "What I need doesn't require money and it won't put anyone in danger."
Han continued leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. "Well, kid, as long as it doesn't require my getting out of this chair, it's yours."
Leia cast a knowing grin over to Jacen as she clasped his hand in hers and then said, "He's all talk, dear. Now, what is it you need?"
Jacen proceeded to explain his plan and their part in it, and although Han's eyes remained closed, he knew his father would be carefully weighing his every word.
"And all I need from you is security clearance into the camp," he finished, slapping his hands on his knees and heaving a sigh.
A brief silence followed as Leia pondered her son's request. "Is that all?"
"I think so," Jacen answered with a shrug. "Once we get into the camp, I believe Tahiri's mind will automatically switch its focus from her pain to something more constructive."
Leia smiled warmly again and squeezed her son's hand. "Consider it done. I'll have your passes by tomorrow morning. You know, I'm proud of you for taking the time to help Tahiri. She's such a sweet girl. Anakin was crazy about her, I know. In some ways I think his death touched her more deeply than the rest of us, if that's possible." She ceased talking, and her gaze drifted away as if she was seeing something that wasn't there.
"Yeah, she's a good kid," added Han, eyes now open and slightly glistening with unshed tears. "I kind of think of her as one of our own. I just wish she'd put on some shoes," he stated to the amusement of the other two.
~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
Tahiri glanced around the bustling dock and shielded her eyes from the bright sun. 'Where is he?' she wondered as she continued to search for Jacen among the crowds of people passing her by. His call late last night had told her to meet him at the sea dock the next day without any hint of where they were going or what they were going to do. It was a little frightening and exciting at the same time. She trusted Jacen enough to know he wouldn't place her in danger, but she didn't know him well enough to predict his next move.
A smile erupted involuntarily on her face as she spotted him coming towards her, and she waved. He was grinning widely, his sun-streaked hair mussed from the pleasant ocean breeze sweeping in from across the waves. Today he had changed his attire from the typical tan Jedi tunics to a thin white shirt similar to one she'd often seen his father wear and a pair of snug- fitting black pants. Not that she noticed how well his clothes fit, but she did notice several females pause to take notice of his attractive figure, and it almost made her proud to know he was hers.
'No! Not mine!' she scolded herself quickly, lowering her head and her hand. 'I didn't mean it that way,' she tried to explain to herself. She merely found it amusing so many women found him handsome, yet he wasn't even paying them one iota of attention. Yes. That was it.
"Hey! You're right on time," he announced as he finally arrived by her side still smiling warmly. "Punctuality is a virtue."
"Well, I learned my lessons well at the academy. After pulling clean up duty in the mess hall a couple of times, punctuality suddenly became a priority."
He laughed and Tahiri felt herself smile again. "Been there, done that," he said with a nod and a smirk. "So, are you ready for this?" he asked.
"It might help to know what I need to be ready for," she replied hoping he would elaborate on the day's plans, but he didn't. He just stood there with that same smug grin on his face until she finally shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I didn't think you would give anymore clues, but I thought I'd give it a try."
"I'll give you an 'A' for effort, Tahiri," he teased. "But it's really no mystery. I told you that what you needed was to get your mind off of your pain and put it to good use--- and that's exactly what we're going to do today." He grabbed her arm and looped it through his offering a reassuring pat on her hand. "Just trust me. Okay?"
Tahiri looked up into his warm brown eyes and felt a tiny twinge of something unidentifiable in her heart. For the life of her, she couldn't stop staring at him. "I trust you," she said softly, wishing she hadn't sounded so foolish to her own ears.
"Good!" he stated, patting her hand once again. "Let's be on our way then. Our water speeder awaits just over there." He gestured with his free hand towards a small vehicle parked on the water and began to move in that direction. However, he found his progress soon halted by Tahiri. She had frozen in place and a look of nausea-- or was it fright?-shone on her face. "Tahiri? What's wrong?" Jacen was looking at her in concern, and it made her feel all the more a fool. "Tell me," he coaxed gently.
She swallowed nervously before glancing from the water to Jacen's worried face. "I-uh, I don't really like water," she admitted in embarrassment. She looked away from his studying gaze but continued to feel his eyes upon her. His chuckle caused her to jerk her eyes back to him, and a flash of indignation rose in her gut. "You're laughing at me!" she accused, ripping her arm from around his and stepping back to offer her best glare.
"No--- no," he tried to reassure her. "I just wasn't expecting that particular explanation."
"Well," she huffed, "in case you had forgotten, I did grow up on Tatooine, a planet without water. It's just not natural to be surrounded by it, if you ask me."
Jacen laughed out loud again as her arms crossed and her nostrils flared. "Stop laughing at me!" she insisted, but it only encouraged him more. Finally, she softened and let her arms drop to her sides.
"Tahiri, there is nothing to fear from the sea. We will only be riding on top of the waves, not underneath them. And if you fall in, I know how to swim. I'll rescue you. You have my oath as a Jedi." He crossed his heart and offered a sincere smile. He noted her hesitant glances back and forth between the water and himself as if she were weighing his devotion against her own fears. "Trust me," he reiterated tenderly taking her arm once again.
Tahiri offered a weak smile and let him lead her to the water speeder. "Okay. I'll trust you, but if I drown, I'm taking you with me."
Jacen laughed again and shot her another roguish grin. "Well, then, I'm going to have to teach you how to swim."
She snapped her head up to look at him in disbelief. Was he serious? He winked and then helped her into the vehicle. With effortless grace he jumped in and lowered himself into the seat beside her. "Better buckle up. This might be a bumpy ride!"
And with that, he throttled up and the speeder shot out of the dock like a rocket, leaving Tahiri pinned to the back of the seat unable to move. She wasn't for certain, but she could almost swear she heard Jacen laughing over the roar of the engine as the speeder skipped across the choppy waves.
Chapter 9-
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Jacen," Leia declared, a hint of maternal pride shining on her now softly wrinkled face. Despite her advancing years, Jacen still thought his mother to be one of the most beautiful women alive, and he knew his father felt the same. Jacen smiled back, grateful for the close relationship he shared with his mother. In so many ways he admired her and identified with her on more levels than he and his father ever would.
"Thanks, Mom. I was hoping you would agree--- because I need your help," he added cautiously.
"Why am I not surprised?" teased Han Solo from across the room. He was reclining comfortably in his most recent acquisition--- a body-fitting lounge chair guaranteed to mold to any form offering the best seat anywhere in the galaxy--- or so the advertisements raved. According to Han, however, the verdict was still out. He thought it needed a few more 'test runs' before he could say for certain.
"Oh, Han!" Leia scolded.
"It's okay, Mom," Jacen assured her with Solo grin. "What I need doesn't require money and it won't put anyone in danger."
Han continued leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. "Well, kid, as long as it doesn't require my getting out of this chair, it's yours."
Leia cast a knowing grin over to Jacen as she clasped his hand in hers and then said, "He's all talk, dear. Now, what is it you need?"
Jacen proceeded to explain his plan and their part in it, and although Han's eyes remained closed, he knew his father would be carefully weighing his every word.
"And all I need from you is security clearance into the camp," he finished, slapping his hands on his knees and heaving a sigh.
A brief silence followed as Leia pondered her son's request. "Is that all?"
"I think so," Jacen answered with a shrug. "Once we get into the camp, I believe Tahiri's mind will automatically switch its focus from her pain to something more constructive."
Leia smiled warmly again and squeezed her son's hand. "Consider it done. I'll have your passes by tomorrow morning. You know, I'm proud of you for taking the time to help Tahiri. She's such a sweet girl. Anakin was crazy about her, I know. In some ways I think his death touched her more deeply than the rest of us, if that's possible." She ceased talking, and her gaze drifted away as if she was seeing something that wasn't there.
"Yeah, she's a good kid," added Han, eyes now open and slightly glistening with unshed tears. "I kind of think of her as one of our own. I just wish she'd put on some shoes," he stated to the amusement of the other two.
~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
Tahiri glanced around the bustling dock and shielded her eyes from the bright sun. 'Where is he?' she wondered as she continued to search for Jacen among the crowds of people passing her by. His call late last night had told her to meet him at the sea dock the next day without any hint of where they were going or what they were going to do. It was a little frightening and exciting at the same time. She trusted Jacen enough to know he wouldn't place her in danger, but she didn't know him well enough to predict his next move.
A smile erupted involuntarily on her face as she spotted him coming towards her, and she waved. He was grinning widely, his sun-streaked hair mussed from the pleasant ocean breeze sweeping in from across the waves. Today he had changed his attire from the typical tan Jedi tunics to a thin white shirt similar to one she'd often seen his father wear and a pair of snug- fitting black pants. Not that she noticed how well his clothes fit, but she did notice several females pause to take notice of his attractive figure, and it almost made her proud to know he was hers.
'No! Not mine!' she scolded herself quickly, lowering her head and her hand. 'I didn't mean it that way,' she tried to explain to herself. She merely found it amusing so many women found him handsome, yet he wasn't even paying them one iota of attention. Yes. That was it.
"Hey! You're right on time," he announced as he finally arrived by her side still smiling warmly. "Punctuality is a virtue."
"Well, I learned my lessons well at the academy. After pulling clean up duty in the mess hall a couple of times, punctuality suddenly became a priority."
He laughed and Tahiri felt herself smile again. "Been there, done that," he said with a nod and a smirk. "So, are you ready for this?" he asked.
"It might help to know what I need to be ready for," she replied hoping he would elaborate on the day's plans, but he didn't. He just stood there with that same smug grin on his face until she finally shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I didn't think you would give anymore clues, but I thought I'd give it a try."
"I'll give you an 'A' for effort, Tahiri," he teased. "But it's really no mystery. I told you that what you needed was to get your mind off of your pain and put it to good use--- and that's exactly what we're going to do today." He grabbed her arm and looped it through his offering a reassuring pat on her hand. "Just trust me. Okay?"
Tahiri looked up into his warm brown eyes and felt a tiny twinge of something unidentifiable in her heart. For the life of her, she couldn't stop staring at him. "I trust you," she said softly, wishing she hadn't sounded so foolish to her own ears.
"Good!" he stated, patting her hand once again. "Let's be on our way then. Our water speeder awaits just over there." He gestured with his free hand towards a small vehicle parked on the water and began to move in that direction. However, he found his progress soon halted by Tahiri. She had frozen in place and a look of nausea-- or was it fright?-shone on her face. "Tahiri? What's wrong?" Jacen was looking at her in concern, and it made her feel all the more a fool. "Tell me," he coaxed gently.
She swallowed nervously before glancing from the water to Jacen's worried face. "I-uh, I don't really like water," she admitted in embarrassment. She looked away from his studying gaze but continued to feel his eyes upon her. His chuckle caused her to jerk her eyes back to him, and a flash of indignation rose in her gut. "You're laughing at me!" she accused, ripping her arm from around his and stepping back to offer her best glare.
"No--- no," he tried to reassure her. "I just wasn't expecting that particular explanation."
"Well," she huffed, "in case you had forgotten, I did grow up on Tatooine, a planet without water. It's just not natural to be surrounded by it, if you ask me."
Jacen laughed out loud again as her arms crossed and her nostrils flared. "Stop laughing at me!" she insisted, but it only encouraged him more. Finally, she softened and let her arms drop to her sides.
"Tahiri, there is nothing to fear from the sea. We will only be riding on top of the waves, not underneath them. And if you fall in, I know how to swim. I'll rescue you. You have my oath as a Jedi." He crossed his heart and offered a sincere smile. He noted her hesitant glances back and forth between the water and himself as if she were weighing his devotion against her own fears. "Trust me," he reiterated tenderly taking her arm once again.
Tahiri offered a weak smile and let him lead her to the water speeder. "Okay. I'll trust you, but if I drown, I'm taking you with me."
Jacen laughed again and shot her another roguish grin. "Well, then, I'm going to have to teach you how to swim."
She snapped her head up to look at him in disbelief. Was he serious? He winked and then helped her into the vehicle. With effortless grace he jumped in and lowered himself into the seat beside her. "Better buckle up. This might be a bumpy ride!"
And with that, he throttled up and the speeder shot out of the dock like a rocket, leaving Tahiri pinned to the back of the seat unable to move. She wasn't for certain, but she could almost swear she heard Jacen laughing over the roar of the engine as the speeder skipped across the choppy waves.