READ THE AUTHORS NOTE! IT'S IMPORTANT! READ IT NOW, OR DIE! OR AT LEAST, BE CONFUSED! READ IT!

A/N: I've made one tiny little change. In the first chapter, I say Tiv and Colac are ten and fifteen, but I've changed that to eight and thirteen, which means I had to say that Boba was a few years older than her. Speaking of which, does anybody know how old he really is? I have no idea, and I can't find it anywhere! I know there are books on the subject, but I'm too lazy to read them. And I can't find them. So if you know how old Boba is, please, please, please tell me! Please.

Tiv woke up with a headache to justify the groan she gave.

"Owwwww, what happened?" she moaned.

A pleasant, female voice answered her. "You got hit on the head with a door. The door was opened by a complete idiot who happens to be standing right next to me." The voice didn't sound so pleasant anymore.

"What? It wasn't my fault, blame the boys!" retorted a man's voice. Tiv still refused to open her eyes.

"Hey!" exclaimed two voices at once. Tiv thought they sounded familiar.

"How was it their fault, Anakin?" asked another man wearily.

"They were the reason I opened the door!"

"You don't even know how stupid that sounded, do you?" demanded a second woman.

"He rarely does, Senator," the second man answered.

"That's our Ani-kin!" said a cheerful voice happily.

"Jar Jar, shut up," ordered a third man.

"No need to be rude," the second woman, the Senator, told him.

"Could we please stop this dizzying conversation?" demanded the first voice. "Our friend here isn't used to it, and I certainly don't want her to faint again."

"Too late," commented another voice, and this one Tiv identified as Boba. She forced herself to open her eyes, and saw a very strange sight.

She was lying in a bed, apparently in some sort of medical place. On her right was a being she recognized as a Kamino cloner, and three human men. On her left was Boba and the two boys, a Gungan, and a human woman. All were watching her intensely.

"Wrong," the taller of the two boys told Boba. "She's awake."

"No, you think?" demanded Boba sarcastically. "I thought she just slept with her eyes opened."

"That's enough, boys," the woman told them sharply. "It is partially your fault that she's in this situation anyway."

"Sorry," chorused the trio.

"I should think your masters would have something to say about that," the woman continued, looking pointedly at the two younger men, who squirmed a little.

"Umm, right," said the bearded one. "We will. When we get home…"

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea," interrupted the cloner, apparently noticing that the woman appeared to be about to yell at them again. "We should all go home."

The two men nodded quickly and gathered up the brothers, the younger one taking Luke, and the bearded one taking the taller boy. The cloner herself took Boba with her, and they all exited the room, with the woman shouting after them, "And I would think that your master would have something to say to you, Anakin Skywalker!"

"I'm not a Padawan, Padmé," the younger man called over his shoulder.

"Than stop acting like one!" the Senator, Padmé, retorted.

"Why don't you go home?" offered the remaining man. "You have a meeting tomorrow, and you look tired. I can watch our friend here."

The woman sighed, and Tiv realized that she really did look tired, although she appeared to be trying to hide it. She couldn't blame the Senator, doing the same thing herself all too often.

"Alright, Qui-Gon," Padmé said. "Thank you."

The man flapped his hand at her. "Not a problem," he told her.

She smiled tiredly, and turned to the Gungan. "Come on, Jar Jar." The creature nodded happily and followed her out of the room.

Tiv watched the man warily. He had long brown and gray hair, and a beard, with a kind face and surprisingly alert eyes. Wearing brown robes and a lightsaber suddenly reminded the girl that he was a Jedi, and not to be trusted.

A sudden thought hit her as she realized that. "How long have I been unconscious?" demanded Tiv.

The man blinked. "Almost a day, why?" Then he appeared to kick himself. "Right. Sorry."

"I have to get home," she began, trying to sit up.

The man pushed her back down. "Whoa, now, wait a minute. You got hit harder than you think, there. You shouldn't be going anywhere for a while yet."

"You don't understand," she tried to explain. "My brother, he'll be worried… He's only ten, he can't take care of himself."

"Don't worry," he said soothingly. "I'm sure your parents will…"

"Their dead, and he's got nobody to look after him but me!" she exclaimed. "Now let me…"

Tiv began to get up again, but he stopped her. "And what do you think you're going to do?" he demanded. "Walk all the way there? Doubtful. Wait a moment, and I'll drive you." Seeing the look on her face, he added, "Your brother can wait, and you won't do him any good if you pass out again."

So she accepted his help, reminding herself that if she didn't ask for it, than she couldn't be considered indebted to him. A simple 'thank you' would suffice, and if these great Jedi wanted more from her, well too bad!

Giving him directions to her house, and leaning back in the seat, Tiv tried her best not to fall asleep, but she couldn't help it. When he pulled up in front of the bar, the man frowned at the idea of two children living in a place like this, and turned around to ask her something. But, seeing that she wasn't awake, he only smiled and got out of the speeder.

Qui-Gon's POV

Qui-Gon Jinn stepped into the bar, scowling. If things ever worked out the way they should, two people as young as Tiv and her brother would never live in a place like this.

He frowned a bit more, realizing that the girl hadn't told Boba her last name, and had only stayed awake long enough to give him directions. He had no idea how to find her brother.

Someone laughed loudly, and two people started fighting. A man stumbled away from the fight, falling right in front of Qui-Gon, and then jumped back up again to watch it. The Jedi's scowl deepened. Definitely not a good place for two children.

He stopped a barmaid who didn't look much older than Tiv and certainly shouldn't be working in a place like this. "Excuse me, but can you tell me which room belongs to a girl named Tiv and her younger brother?"

The girl glared at him. "Why'd ya wanna know?" she demanded. "Tiv ain't there, and her brother's nothin' to Jedi-folk."

He blinked in surprise. "Actually, Tiv asked me to get her younger brother for her."

"And how'd ya know her?"

Qui-Gon sighed internally, not sure how much information Tiv would want this girl to have. "She had… an accident, which is why she's been missing. She wants her brother nearby."

The girl grinned. "I can see Tiv 'avin' an accident like ya say, her bein' the clumsy type, but I can't see why a Jedi such as yerself would care."

He glared at her, not liking this girl much. "My friend and former apprentice inadvertently caused the accident. Tiv is staying in the Temple until she heals fully."

The girl chuckled. "Ya told 'er that yet?"

Qui-Gon blinked unsure as to what she meant. "What?"

"Nothin'," the girl cackled. "Nothin' at all!" She straightened up, all business now. "Tiv and her brother live behind the second door to the right over that way," she pointed. "Not sure if he'll believe what ya say, but 's worth a shot!" She left, called away by a shout for more beer.

Qui-Gon shook himself, still slightly confused by this encounter. But he went to the door she had pointed at and knocked.

He hadn't even finished knocking when the door burst open. If he hadn't jerked his hand away, he might have accidentally knocked on the little boy who stood there, looking expectant and excited.

The cheerful look on the boy's face deepened into a scowl as he saw that it wasn't his sister. "What?" he demanded. Prepared by the girl's reaction to him, Qui-Gon wasn't too surprised.

"Hello," he said. "Are you Tiv's little brother?"

The boy nodded cautiously, still glaring at him.

"Your sister…"

But before he could finish, Tiv's brother kicked him in the shins and yelped "Where is she!"

"Right outside, actually," responded Qui-Gon, trying not to seem fazed. "She got hurt yesterday, so she's resting, but she wants you to come." He blocked the boy as he started to race out. "You may be there for quite a while," he continued, "So pack what you'll want before you go."

The boy scowled and then slammed the door in Qui-Gon's face. The Jedi stood there for a few minutes, unsure as to whether that meant 'go away' or 'just a minute', until the door opened again, and the boy came out with two backpacks.

"I packed one for Tiv," he said, still watching Qui-Gon cautiously. "If she's staying with you, she'll need it." Qui-Gon decided not to ask what he meant, instead simply taking the larger of the two packs and putting it on his back. It was very heavy.

"What did you pack in here, rocks?" he demanded.

"Yes. It's Tiv's special rock. Don't look at it. She doesn't let anyone see it but me." Qui-Gon nodded seriously, and led the boy outside.

"Nami, he's taking me to Tiv!" exclaimed the boy as they passed the barmaid Qui-Gon had talked to earlier.

The girl smiled slightly. "That's great, Colac," she told him. "Just make sure that Tiv's really there, and come back soon!"

"We will," called Colac, waving over his shoulder. Then he turned to Qui-Gon again. "Where is she?"

"She's outside, in my speeder," he told the boy. "She would have come and gotten you herself, only she was very tired and fell asleep."

Colac giggled. "That's my sister!" he exclaimed, as they pushed the door open and went outside.