Alina avoided Jorge all day after that, even going to bed early to avoid talking to him. He was walking by her door that evening when he paused. Did he dare go in and apologize?
The decision was taken out of his hands when he heard a choked scream from inside the room. Galvanized into action, he slapped the door controls and rushed in, only to pull up short. No one was there, simply Alina writhing on her bed.
"Alina?" he asked cautiously.
As soon as his words engulfed the silence of the room, she sat straight up in bed, cheeks tear-blotched and red. "Who's there?" she immediately demanded, wiping at her eyes. "Light up, one quarter." The glowlights slowed filled the chamber, and her reddened eyes widened. "Jorge? What do you want?"
"Are you alright?" he asked, hesitating to tread into a subject he knew was painful for her.
He was right to be wary. "I'm fine," she immediately snapped.
"I heard you scream," he replied slowly.
"It was nothing. Now go away. I'm fine." Her voice was rising in decibels with each word, and he winced.
"Alright, I'm going." He hastily beat a retreat to the doorway, then hesitated and turned around. "There's nothing wrong with reaching out to others, you know," he gently rebuked before leaving her bedroom entirely.
Alina watched him go, biting her lip against the words her heart tried to spill. He was right, but she was too scared, too lost to know what to do. Why is this happening? she pleaded with the Force. Why couldn't just let me die? Tears streaming down her cheeks once more, she lay back down, and rested her face on the pillow, for once willing sleep to come quickly. Even nightmares were infinitely preferable to battles with her conscience.
&&&&&
Felja gave him a strange look when he'd asked to be moved to the room besides Alina's, but Jorge gave no explanations, other than he thought it would be nice for her to spend some time with her newlywed husband, Wiltive. He kept his distance from Alina, finally having realized that she was still smarting over her lack of control over her nightmares, and the fact that he'd caught her in the throes of having one.
His new room still smelled like Felja, even though it had been more than three hours after she'd moved out. He turned on his side to look at the chrono on the bedside. 2350. He sighed. Only ten more minutes to midnight, he thought to himself. His mind wandered. It had been two days since he'd walked in on Alina's nightmare- two days of her ignoring him and him avoiding her.
He frowned and sat up. He thought he heard a muffled cry from her room. There it was, again! Jorge threw back the navy coverlet and hurried outside his room to stand at her door. A quick press of his hand to the door controls was all that was necessary to step inside.
Once inside her room, Jorge hesitated. It was one thing to want to stop the nightmares; another thing entirely to know how to do it. He looked over to the former Jedi. Alina was sobbing uncontrollably, shaking and rolling, the bed sheets wrapping themselves tighter around her body with each movement.
A memory flashed in his mind and a slow grin creeped upon his face. Slowly, he inched into the bed, unwrapping the taut sheets from her body and sliding under them, cradling Alina in his arms. At the first touch of his hands on her body, she'd stiffened, but then slowly relaxed. The tremors racing through her skeleton slowed, then disappeared, as she buried her wet face in his dark gray t-shirt.
Pressing a gentle kiss to her unruly hair, he held her close to him. Her sobs quieted gradually, then disappeared. Jorge gently drew her head back and gazed on her face. The lines of tension had faded and smoothed out, leaving her looking peaceful, much like she had evening in the study.
He sighed and closed his eyes. Weariness spread slowly through out his body, and he finally allowed it to overcome him.
&&&&&
Alina blinked twice, disoriented as she woke up and began to take in her surroundings. Someone was in her bed, their warm breath gusting along her neck. Their arms were wrapped tight about her torso, cocooning her in warmness. She frowned as she tried to figure out who it was. Her face was pressed into the spot where the neck met the shoulder, preventing her from seeing anything besides curly brown hair.
Pressing gently against his chest with her fingertips, she leaned back. Her companion protested, pulling her tighter towards him, his legs tangling with hers. "Crap," she whispered softly, barely audible to her own ears. She nudged his shoulder, a bit harder than last time, and he stirred, before blinking open drowsy green eyes.
He blinked several more times, clearing away the sleep-induced haze. "Good morning," Jorge told her, with a slow smile.
Alina picked her words carefully. "Would you mind telling me why you are in my bed?" she finally asked.
He finally seemed to realize that his arms were locked around her, pulling her body to press tightly against his, and a flush began staining his cheeks as he hastily let her go. She took advantage of the freedom to inch back some more. He swung his feet out from under the covers, revealing black sweatpants. Muscles shifted in his right arm as he rubbed his face. "You had another nightmare last night."
The former Jedi flushed with embarrassment. "But that doesn't explain what you were doing in my bed this morning," she pointed out, crawling over the bed clothes to sit next to him. Gray eyes met green, hers reflecting curiosity, his something she didn't recognize.
"I was trying to calm you down so you could fall back to sleep with nightmares, and I accidentally fell asleep," he told her, cheeks flushing even more as he spoke. His eyes jerked away from hers to stare at the floor.
"Oh." She looked down as well, at her hands. "Thanks."
An uncomfortable silence descended, then he tipped her face up to meet his gaze. "Don't worry about it." She pulled her face out of his hand to look away. "Alina, look at me." When she refused to do so, his voice hardened. "Look at me." Reluctantly, she did so. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help or allowing others to see your weakness. Sometimes the best show of strength is allowing yourself to rely on others."
"Why do you care?"
"Because I don't want to see you fall apart." He leaned forward and brushed his lip over her cheek, close to her mouth. "I'd better go get dressed."
Alina watched him leave, then flopped backwards on the bed with a sigh, chestnut hair fanning out around her. What's going on? she wondered. She remembered waking up in Jorge's arms. She'd felt warm and safe, and hadn't wanted to move. The feeling was much like the one she'd experienced with the stranger in the rain. Her breath caught, and she sat straight up in the bed with a quiet gasp. Was Jorge him?
Her forehead furrowed in thought as she climbed off the bed and shucked off her clothes, leaving the white nightgown on the wooden floorboards as she pulled on some khaki trousers, and a red t-shirt. Would it be so bad if he was?
Her mind flashed over the weeks since she'd arrived at the Daleby house. There had been times when Jorge had avoided her, true, but she knew that she could depend on him. "Sometimes the best show of strength is allowing yourself to depend on others."
Alina smiled as she slowly worked her long hair into a plait. When she'd arrived here, her faith in the goodness of people had been shattered, completely destroyed. Jorge- and the rest of the Daleby family- had restored that faith. She leaned forward, resting her forehead on the cool metal of the mirror. She felt safe with him. I want that, she realized. I want to feel that.
&&&&&
After breakfast, Alina went in search of Jorge, finally finding him in the garage, tinkering with the engine of one of the hovercars. She waited for a minute, watching his body move under the hovercar, listening to the occasional grunt and metal scraping on metal, before levering herself up onto the hood of another hovercar. She let her legs swing free as she watched him work.
Jorge grunted as he used to the multitool to lever a knob tighter. "Wil, hand me the calibrator?" he called. He'd heard the door open to the garage, barely audible over the sound of sparks, the result of his tinkering with the hovercar's engine.
The small metal disk was pressed into his hand, and he hooked it onto his multitool. The knob was more than tight enough, and he scooted out from under the hovercar to come face to face with Alina. Confronted with her clean pale skin and neatly braided hair, he instantly felt like a grubby mess with his greasy old navy blue jumpsuit covered all over with dirt stains. He knew he had grease on his hands and face, and a nasty burn on his left forefinger. "Hi," he said awkwardly.
Alina flicked the braid over her shoulder and pushed away from the black hovercar she was leaning on. She gave him an easy smile as she asked, "Can we walk?"
He gazed at her for a long moment, then gave a short nod. "Let's go then."
Jorge led them into the garden in the center of the house and they strolled easily along the paths. Alina found herself rambling, talking about her few memories of her birth-family, the more numerous ones of her friends and the Jedi. And then, haltingly, she began talking about her flight from the Jedi Temple, watching her master die, losing her friends to death and betrayal.
He listened carefully, understanding what she was saying underneath her words. She was giving him a verbal indication of her trust; he knew for a fact that she hadn't talked to anyone else regarding these memories. His heart wrenched for her as he listened to her recount her trials and the harshness of her life for those months before his brother had rescued her.
He placed a gentle hand on her arm and turned her to face him. Unshed tears glittered like stars in the night sky before spilling over down her cheeks, and he gently wiped them away before drawing her into his arms. Sheltered from view of the house by trees and other vegetation, they stood relaxed in each other's embrace, taking comfort in each other.
After several minutes, she tipped her face to lock eyes with his. His own head slowly lowered, hesitating centimeters from her lips, hope and fear intermingling in the green of his eyes. She reached up and threaded her fingers through his curly brown hair, and drew his head down to hers.
Their lips met and clung, warm breath mingling. "Stay with me," he whispered, his breath gusting against her lips.
&&&&&
The days flew by as Alina reveled in her new life. No longer did she worry about possible discovery by the Empire, as the Republic had been newly declared. She found herself relaxing far beyond anything she had ever dreamed of. She gloried in the trust she'd placed in Jorge, finding it to be one of the most liberating things she'd ever experienced. The love that grew within her was beautiful to her, overwhelming her at times.
She spent her time recording as much as she could about the Jedi with Malen, finding the words flowing as she recalled more and more.
One day, late in the evening, Alina pressed the stop button on the recorder and quietly left the room. She found Jorge in the kitchen, tasting a pastry that a little girl with blonde pigtails had apparently made. "Can we walk?" the former Jedi asked when he looked up.
He gave her a quick nod, then turned to the little girl. "This is delicious, Diry. You should make some more so we can all have it for dessert tomorrow night."
Diry gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck before skipping off out of the room. Jorge finished the fruit pastry, scraping his fork along the plate to get the last of the dish before putting the two items in the automotive dishwasher.
As they walked to the door, he reached for her hand and twined his own around it. They walked in silence for several minutes before reaching a secluded porch. "What did you want?" Jorge asked.
Alina looked at his chest for a minute, fiddling with one of his shirt buttons. "You remember the other night? When we first kissed?" He was fascinated by the fact that she was blushing, but nodded. "You asked me to stay, and I never gave you an answer." She hesitated, then whispered, "Yes."
His green eyes blazed, and then his lips crashed down on hers. Caught in the middle of a tempest, all Alina could do was wrap her arms around him as fire exploded within her.
Jorge pulled back a little while later, but still kept his arms wrapped tightly around her. "Someone's coming," he whispered hoarsely.
Foorsteps echoed from inside, and then Felja came into view, a slightly panicked expression in her blue eyes. "Alina, Jorge, come quick." When the two hesitated, she urged, "Come on!" Alina exchanged a glance with Jorge, and then the two hurried after the blonde.
Felja led them to Malen's study, where he and Wiltive were waiting, along with a pretty woman with curly black hair. "Alina, Jorge, I'd like to introduce you to Monelle A'Duley. Monelle, this is my son Jorge, and this is Padawan Alinketa Vepos."
The woman stepped forward, hand outstretched. Alina took it, grasping it warmly. "Hello."
Monelle smiled. "Hi."
Wiltive broke in at that moment. "Monelle has received information from her contact network regarding a Padawan Jasken Kiko."
Alina immediately straightened. "Jasken? He's still alive?" There was hope shining in her eyes like brilliant stars.
"We're not sure," the black-haired woman replied. "Apparently, a friend of mine had lead a group of rebels to break him out of the jail he was waiting in before being transported off planet. Unfortunately, the stormtroopers managed to track 'em, and Tikie barely managed to escape with his life. Jasken was re-captured and now Vader has taken a personal interest in him, according to another source of mine."
The former Jedi's face fell. "Do you know where he is?"
"He's being held in the capital city lock-up, awaiting Vader's arrival next week," she was informed. Glossy flatpics were passed over. "Just for confirmation, is this him?"
Alina looked over the pictures, wincing as she took in his battered face, captured so graphically by the holos. "It's him," she said weakly.
Monelle nodded. "I've got a team standing b-" She broke off as the portable comm unit on her belt whined as a call came in. "A'Duey here," she snapped out as she snatched it off her waist.
She frowned, snapped out some orders, then said, "Thanks." The unit was placed back on her belt, and she informed the group. "Vader is en-route to the Corellian system inow/i."
Five faces whitened and flurry of voice filled the room, demanding answers. So caught up in the new problem, no one noticed as Alina stepped backwards towards the doorway, then slipped through it.
Her soft-soled shoes were barely audible against the wooden floor as she hurried down the hallway to her bedchamber. Ignoring the various pieces of clothing scattered around the floor- Jorge and she hadn't gotten around to cleaning up after last night- she headed straight to the wardrobe.
Alina stripped off the light green trousers, gray t-shirt, and cream colored jacket, and pulled on a costume that was all dark brown: pants, shirt, vest, and boots. Fingers easily replaited her Padawan's braid, and then she left the room. She stole stealthily towards Malen's bedroom, where her lightsaber and blasters had been stored.
Minutes later, she slipped into the garage and started up one of the hovercars. Its engine purred, and then she was leaving the Daleby home behind her. She drove for several hours, headed for the capital city. In the city outskirts, she abandoned the hovercar, and walked in.
Dawn was just beginning to drag her paint-tipped fingers across the lightening sky. Alina called on the Force, using it to help her blend in with her surroundings, as she crept past some guards, listening in on their conversation.
"Aw, man, how much longer do we have to wait here?" one of the guards whined, rubbing one foot against the opposite calf. He was clad in the ill-fitting dark red uniforms with yellow piping of the Corellian Planetary Guard.
"For as long as we're ordered, Vanin. You don't want to make a mistake when Lord Vader gets here," the other snapped. "Stop whining."
"We've been standing here for two hours," Vanin grumbled.
"Well, you'll be standing here for at least a couple more hours, so stop whining. Shut up and look professional,' the second bit out.
Alina grinned slowly as she sneaked past, into the jail. Two arguing sergeants passed by, and she pressed herself tight against the wall.
As she moved away from it, she caught a snippet of a conversation. "That bloody Jedi broke Kei's nose!" Alina sidled up behind them, listening in.
"Oi, you!" She looked up to see a muscular man whose red hair clashed horribly with his uniform motioning to her from behind a desk. "What do you want, girl?" he demanded.
The former Jedi forced herself to think fast. "My brother was picked up for public drunkenness. I was told I could find him here."
"His name?" the soldier asked in a bored monotone.
"Derenk Saliiny," Alina lied.
The man tapped several keys on the datacomp, then looked up. "He's not here." A couple of more keys clicked. "We only have dangerous criminals here, no public drunkenness."
Alina forced her eyes to sparkle with excitement as she leaned over the desk. "Dangerous criminals?" she echoed. "Like murderers?"
He shook his head. "Homicide suspects go straight to the planetary prison. We do have a Jedi though," he reported, puffing out his chest.
"A Jedi? Won't he use his magical powers to escape?" The former Jedi added a note of fear to her voice. "Am I in danger?"
"Not at all," he leaned forward reassuringly. "He's in a secure cell on the ninth floor. We're on the first. You're perfectly safe."
Alina nodded. "That's a good thing to hear. Well, I'd better go look for Derenk." She strolled out of the jail and disappeared into the alley beside the building. What do I do now?
She only had a couple of hours before Vader got to Corellia City; she wanted to be long gone by then, preferably with Jasken.
A hand clamped over her mouth at that instant, and she forced back a scream as she bit down- hard. With a strangled yelp, the man behind her, let go, cursing quietly. Alina spun to see Jorge, Malen, Wiltive, Monelle, and Felja, along with several others, standing with her attackers.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" a blond stranger demanded.
The former Jedi crossed her arms defiantly. "I could ask the same of you," she retorted.
Another blond, who looked exactly like the first, didn't even bother to disguise his outrage. "Our jobs," he spat.
"No," Alina corrected. "My job. Jasken is on the ninth floor in a secure cell." Jorge caught her eye, and she realized she owed him an explanation, to her shame. A long one.
"We're helping," Wiltive stated. There was no question involved. Alina sighed, then nodded, accepting their help. Immediately, she was drawn into the group as they began figuring out what they were going to do.
Jorge pulled her aside just as she was about to begin her ascent of the building. He hesitated, then simply ordered fiercely, "Be careful." He pulled her against him so tightly that her ribs creaked.
Alina pulled his head down to hers for a hard kiss. "I will," she promised. He nodded, and then they began crawling up the side of the building. A window on the ninth floor was easily opened, and then the ten of them slipped inside.
Using hand signals, one of the blonds indicated that there were two guards about a hundred meters away. As the only guards on the entire floor, they made it rather easy to pinpoint where Jasken's cell was.
A earpiece was pressed into Alina's hand, and she quickly inserted it. "Video feeds off and erased," a quiet voice whispered minutes later. "Lights shutting down." At his words, the entire floor blinked into darkness. Alina stole silently forward and stunned the two guards while they were distracted, and then Malen set about unlocking Jasken's cell.
The door swung open, barely visible in the unlit room. The two blonds hurried into the cell and helped Jasken out. The cell door was shut behind them, and then the entire group went quickly out the window, the lights coming back on as they disappeared.
Using backstreets and alleys, the team easily made their way to a parked hovercar. As someone started the engine, Alina reached up and flicked on the interior lights to check on Jasken's condition.
She bit back a gasp when she finally got a glimpse. It looked awful. His face was pasty pale, the cuts and bruises standing out in sharp relief. He'd been unconscious since they'd broken him out of the cell.
Jorge joined her. "He doesn't look too good," he observed. "Felja!" The blonde popped her head back from the front of the hovercar. "We need to take a look at Jasken. He's in really bad shape."
Monelle clambered over the seats as well, but remained silent as Felja ran a med scanner over Jasken's body. The blonde finally looked up. "It's not going to be easy, even if it's possible," she confessed. "We've got a crushed kneecap, three broken ribs, massive amounts of internal bleeding, head trauma, three blaster wounds, one of which is festering, two missing teeth, three crushed fingers, a sprained wrist, and a loss of about point eight liters of blood." Everyone winced. "It gets worse. I suspect that one of his lungs is punctured and nine of his vertebrae have been crushed. Even if he survives, it is highly unlikely that he'll ever walk again."
&&&&&&&&
I just wanted to quickly apologize for not updating last week: I was on vacation in Florida, without ATWTTS, and due to the hassle of last minute packing, I wasn't able to post. I apologize.
Reviews are my lifeblood!
