"After all, what Sith's child would want to train with the Jedi?"

Qui-Gon was just grumbling at the futility of home cooking when he heard the door creak open. Well, it didn't exactly creak, but it did open.

He turned around and saw Obi-Wan standing in the doorway, trying to hide a smile.

"Look's like you and Tiv will be eating out again," the younger Jedi commented.

"I suppose you think this is funny," Qui-Gon grumbled.

"Absolutely," Obi-Wan answered, picking up a broom and helping him clean up a shattered plate's remains.

Qui-Gon looked at him for a moment, and then smiled, but hid it. "Making fun of your old master?" he teased. "There ought to be a rule against that!"

"Oh, there is," Obi-Wan told him. "I just break rules a lot."

"Take after me, there," his master laughed.

"Looks like you've had enough luck with apprentices for that to happen quite often," Obi-Wan commented. Seeing Qui-Gon's grin at that, he added, "You seem to be enjoying it."

"Actually, I hate cooking. Or were you referring to cleaning up after myself? I hate that, too."

Obi-Wan couldn't help but roll his eyes there. "I was referring to having another apprentice, but if you'd like to focus on the bad things…"

Qui-Gon laughed again and raised his hands in mock surrender, "Alright, alright, you win. Yes, I am enjoying having an apprentice again, but… Never mind."

"What?" prodded Obi-Wan. "What is it?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Qui-Gon frowned. "Tiv's smart, and a quick learner. She's good with her lightsaber, and very controlled. She'd make a perfect Jedi, except…" Once again, he trailed off.

"Master," Obi-Wan told him. "If you're not going to be able to finish your sentences without me reminding you to continue, perhaps you should just write it down. It's a more simple method of communicating for those of you who can't seem to…"

"Alright, alright!"

"Or let the rest of us finish our sentences," retorted Obi-Wan.

"Okay, I'm sorry," snapped Qui-Gon. "Now do you want to hear the end of this, or should I just let the master of finishing his sentences talk?"

Obi-Wan sighed, "No, I want to hear it. Now, if you please…"

"Now who's not finishing his sentences?"

"It was for dramatic effect!"

"How do you know my times not finishing my sentences weren't?" demanded Qui-Gon.

"Master…"

"There you go again!"

"Master, just talk, alright!"

Qui-Gon suppressed a comment that would have started another one of their inane and redundant arguments, and continued their conversation. Or, at least, tried to. "Err…"

"She'd make a perfect Jedi except…" prompted Obi-Wan.

"Ah, yes, thank you," said Qui-Gon. "She'd make a perfect Jedi, except that she's so mistrustful and secretive. I mean, she already knows how to meditate, but she won't say where she learned it, only that she 'picked it up somewhere'. Likewise, someone taught her to shield her mind, but she won't say who, or why."

"Perhaps she doesn't know, or remember," Obi-Wan offered. "If she learned it when she was very young…"

But Qui-Gon shook his head. "No, she knows alright. She always hesitates a moment when I ask her, as if she's wondering whether to trust me. But she never does."

Obi-Wan frowned. "You said that she already has mental shields?"

"And uses them all the time. I've seen full grown Knights, even a few Masters who aren't as good at shielding their minds as this untrained thirteen-year-old!"

"Pity that talent couldn't have been slightly more… productive," Obi-Wan commented.

Qui-Gon sighed. "Yes, it is." He hesitated for a moment, and then added, "None of my apprentices were as well-shielded as she is, not even… Xanatos."

Obi-Wan jumped at the mention of the fallen Jedi. "You don't think Tiv could be… like Xanatos?"

"A Sith? No, I don't believe so." Qui-Gon quieted for a moment, as if wondering about the truth of his statement. "No, she isn't," he repeated. "A Sith wouldn't hesitate, or even consider trusting us. A Sith would have a lie planned for why she knows how to shield her mind and meditate, or would have hidden it. A Sith would know how to use a lightsaber, even if she did hide it. And… a Sith wouldn't have family that she loves as much as Tiv loves Colac."

"Or it could all be an act," Obi-Wan pointed out.

But Qui-Gon shook his head again. "I don't think so. Tiv's…" he shook his head, and then told his former Padawan, "When she first came here, when she was in the Council meeting, Windu told her that Colac would have to go home without her. Remember?"

"Yes."

"Well, for just a split second there, her shields dropped, and I could sense… fear."

"Fear?"

"I know what you're thinking, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon informed him. "And I don't think it was that she thought her plans or anything else would fail, more that… she would fail as a caretaker to Colac."

"And when Padmé agreed to take him?"

"Her shields went down for the third time and I could sense relief. A lot of it."

Obi-Wan started to nod, and then frowned. "Wait… the third time?"

Qui-Gon sighed. He had been hoping that his apprentice wouldn't notice that. "When Master Kolar told her to be reasonable, she seemed… not angry, exactly. Well, she was angry, but it seemed more like… more like someone had told her that before, and she was angry at them not at Kolar."

"Odd," muttered Obi-Wan. "Do you think that this has anything to do with her shields?"

"What?" asked Qui-Gon, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I think that maybe there's a reason that her shields dropped then. It was almost as if Tiv was remembering something to do with them. I've sensed her shields too, I think, although at the time I thought it must be coming from someone else, but now that I think of it… And Tiv's advanced enough not to lose her shields every time she gets angry."

Qui-Gon nodded. "Yes, I suppose that…"

At that very moment, the door burst opened and Tiv ran into the room. "Master, I… Oh, hello, Master Kenobi." She turned back to Qui-Gon. "Master… err, are Jedi allowed to keep… pets?"

"Pets?" asked Qui-Gon. "Well… I don't… wait. Why are you asking?"

Tiv reached into her backpack and pulled out a fuzzy black bundle. "Err…" She grinned sheepishly.

"What is this?" asked Obi-Wan, leaning forwards and touching the bundle gingerly. It squirmed and a pair of faces turned to look at him.

"Meow," it said.

Heehee! What do you think? Kitties, or something else that says 'meow'? Vote on it in your reviews! And by the way, I was completely serious about that thing with Qui-Gon and Taun We. What do you think? And suggestions or normal reviews are welcome! And to my most recent reviewer, Mikey15: Happy Thanksgiving to you too! And to the rest of you who celebrate it. Aw, heck, happy today to everyone! That way if its not Thanksgiving when you read it, I'm still wishing you a happy day! So, review, and I'll be happy. And probably update faster and longer, too!