Ever had to look after a four year old?
"Ki'ara, can I ask you to do me a favour?" Qui-Gon Jinn asked."Of course master Qui-Gon."
"I need you to collect Anakin from the infirmary, Obi-Wan and I have to meet with someone. Just bring him straight back here. We shouldn't be to long." He said. She nodded it sounded easy enough.
When she walked into the infirmary waiting room Reeta Dala, one of the healers was waiting for her.
"Hello Ki'ara, Master Jinn told me that you would be coming for Anakin. There's a little problem. He seems to be allergic to the anaesthesia we gave him. It's making him behave a bit oddly." She led the way into the infirmary and Ki'ara was nearly bowled over by Anakin.
"Ki'ara! Wow it's great to see you; I thought Qui-Gon was coming to pick me up."
"Well, I'm afraid that you're stuck with me. Thank you healer Dala, c'mon Annie." She walked out Anakin trotting behind her.
"We're going straight back to your quarters, Anakin ok?" She said, receiving no response she turned around, Anakin was no longer behind her. She retraced her steps, and found him inside one of the crèches playing with the other children. The crèche master were giving him strange looks, he was a fourteen-year-old acting like he was four.
"Anakin. We have to get back before your master returns." She called, but he just continued playing.
"Anakin! Aren't you in enough trouble already?" Finally he came out, and she apologised to the crèche masters, once again they started off. A moment later she noticed he was gone again, this time he was in the empty dining hall trying to take as much ice-cream as he could get away with.
"Anakin! We need to get back now put that ice cream back!" She said. He shook his head and pouted.
"Don't wanna. I want ice cream." He said petulantly, and then to her utter amazement he threw himself on the floor and started kicking the floor screaming.
"I want ice cream! I want ice cream! I want ice cream!" He yelled, she sighed in exasperation.
"How about we have ice cream when we get back, you can have as much as you want?" She said. Slowly he sat up, and then grinned leaping to his feet, and he started jumping up and down. Now she was really glad that no one was there yet.
"K', can we go now?" He begged. She rolled her eyes.
"That's what I've been trying to do." She muttered.
"This time you walk in front of me." She ordered, they were finally nearing their quarters, when he turned around.
"I gotta go!" He whined.
"We're nearly there, you can go then." She said.
"I gotta go now! I wanna go now! Now! Now! Now!" To demonstrate he started doing the dance.
"We'll be there in a minute, Annie." Before she could stop him, he darted over to the nearest door and started banging on it.
"Let me in! I gotta go!" He yelled. The door slid open, these were Mace Windus quarters, he was the head of the Jedi council and usually very stern, today was no exception, Anakin just pushed right past him, and ran to the fresher. Mace Windu turned to Ki'ara, eyebrows raised.
"Would you like to explain what's going on." He said, she knew it wasn't really a request.
"Yes, master. He broke his arm and the anaesthesia they gave him is making him act like a four year old." She said as Anakin came back out.
"I even washed my hands when I was finished, wanna see?" He held them out.
"Not particularly, let's leave master Windu alone before you get us into more trouble. I apologise for disturbing you, master." She pushed Anaking out ahead of her, when they eventually made it to his quarters he started begging for the promised ice cream.
"Ok, ok sit down over there and I'll go and get it." When she returned she wasn't particularly surprised to find he wasn't sitting down waiting for the sweet, instead she found him in Qui-Gons room throwing Qui-Gons clothes around and jumping on the bed.
"Anakin get down from there! She said.
"No! You wanna join me, it's great fun? C'mon! Whee!" She closed her eyes and tried to stay calm.
"If you don't come down here right now you won't get any ice cream." She warned, it had the desired effect; he climbed down of the ruins of Qui-Gons bed.
"If I don't kill you then I'm sure your master will." She muttered. The quiet didn't last long once the ice cream was gone, he started pulling the cushions of the sofa and bouncing on its bare frame. Force give me patience she thought.
"Anakin get down of the sofa!" She ordered.
"No! Gonna bounce all day." He declared happily.
"You're going to break your other arm." She warned.
"No I won't." Then he apparently changed his mind, he went into the kitchen, but it wasn't until she heard banging that she went after him. He was floating dishes around his head and some of them were falling.
"Anakin! Stop it right now!" She yelled, losing what little calm she had left.
"No! It's fun here wanna plate?" And one of the plates flew right at her, she ducked just in time and it crashed against the wall.
"Fine do whatever you want, I don't care." She walked back to the living room. When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan finally returned, they found Anakin bouncing on the sofa, singing, and Ki'ara studiously trying to ignore him.
"What's going on here? Why are you letting him do that?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Because it's quieter, that's why." She said a little testily.
"Anakin! Get down here right now! Quieter than what exactly?" He asked her. When Qui-Gon ordered him to get down again, he started screaming his protests that jumping on the sofa was great fun, she smirked at Qui-Gon.
"That." Was all she said, and started picking up her datapads.
"I'll see you back in our quarters, master." She turned back to Qui-Gon.
"If you don't kill him, then you really do have the patience of the Force, however Master Windu might object to him living. Enjoy cleaning up the mess."
A few moments after she arrived at her quarters she was joined by Obi-Wan.
"That was a very cruel thing you did to Qui-Gon."
"I didn't give him the anaesthesia. The healers did that."
"You know that's not what I meant. I was talking about the ice cream, why did you give him chocolate ice cream? Qui-Gon was trying to make him go to bed when I left, and having a great deal of trouble doing it." He said, she frowned thoughtfully.
"I don't think that it's the ice cream that's making him act that way, it's probably the coffee." Seeing the look on Obi-Wans face she continued.
"Have you ever tried saying no to a four year old? Besides I only gave him one master. It should wear of in about eight hours, Qui-Gon is in for a fun night." She grinned up at him.