Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Important Author Note: School has just started last Wednesday for me, so the posts are going to come slower until I get settled in with the new way of life.
On a lighter note, the people who can name all of the YJK references (classic lines and personalities) gets a cookie.
Chapter Thirteen: Tenel Ka the Psychiatrist
No one was in the entrance gardens when Zekk arrived. Then again, Zekk was three minutes early, so this "Nada-n-Zip" had a bit of time. He strolled down the path a bit, absently admiring the flora that lined the walkway. His Jedi senses flared when he felt Jaina's presence right before she rounded the corner.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Zekk, what are you doing here?"
"I'm waiting for someone, you?" Zekk asked.
"Someone's supposed to meet me here," Jaina said, looking around with arms akimbo. In general, Jaina seemed to be annoyed.
Zekk frowned slightly, hoping very much that Jaina hadn't made a new "acquaintance". Hoping that he sounded somewhat casual, Zekk asked, "Who are you meeting?"
"Umm… I actually don't know. I just got some weird holomessage." Jaina gave a sheepish smile.
"I don't know who I'm meeting, either," Zekk said. He hoped his relief didn't show too much through the Force. "How about we wait another five minutes, it's 1705, and if they don't come we go for a walk instead?"
The lopsided smile he had missed so much was all he needed to know the answer. Five minutes flew by quickly and without hesitation the two Jedi started to walk down the main garden path. Ivy was draped over trees whose branches stretched out and shaded the path. Around the base of the trees were artfully arranged flowerbeds. Neither of them could name the species of plants they saw, but had fun coming up with what they thought the names were. The path itself was flat stones set into the ground to lead the way.
A breeze blew in making the branches gently sway. For Zekk, most of the landscape's beauty was lost to him as joked with his best friend. It was the day's highlight, for he had Jaina all to himself, something that had become rare since the preparations of the wedding went under way. Doing stupid things like guessing plant names took Zekk back to the days where they would tromp through Yavin 4's jungles together.
"It's nice," Jaina said.
"Hmm?"
"I meant that it's nice just to do… nothing. I haven't done nothing in years!"
"I know what you mean. It's been forever since there wasn't something that couldn't wait to be done."
A distant roaring sound suddenly came to their ears. It wasn't a snub fighter, though it was still familiar. Jaina apparently recognized it, for her grin became wider and she raced off, yelling, "Catch me it you can, old man!"
Zekk let out a noise of protest but still ran after her. He weaved in and out of trees as Jaina took them onto a slightly more wooded area that had no definite path markings. Despite Jaina's slight head start, he never lost sight of her. While his navigation through the foliage distracted him slightly, Zekk still noted the roaring sound was growing louder by the second. He rounded the bend at top speed… And crashed right into Jaina.
They tumbled into a pool of water below them, created by a waterfall that was the source of the sound that they had followed. Both came up sputtering. They treaded on water – the pond was surprisingly deep – while they attempted to wipe the water from their eyes.
"Looks like your senses have grown dull from your advanced age," Jaina teased.
Zekk growled and made a quick grab for her. She laughed and evaded. They kept up the game until Zekk finally caught her and dunked her underneath the water. Jaina came up sputtering and glared at him. Zekk responded with a smirk and asked, "Now who's getting old?"
She submerged half of her head and gave him a cold look. Just when he was starting to get unsettled by her constant glaring, she rose up and spat a mouthful of water in his face.
"Hey, that was unfair!" Zekk said. He rubbed the water out of his eyes. "I was off-guard."
"Whoever said I fight fair?" Jaina asked. She leaned back – a smirk on her face – and started to float.
Zekk laughed. "Good point." Then he mimicked Jaina and started to float on his back.
Finally, after floating for quite some time, Zekk rolled over and swam to the bank. Jaina copied a few seconds later. Out of the water, Zekk felt acutely uncomfortable. His clothes were soaked and at some point he had lost the tie that held his hair back.
Jaina grumbled, obviously, she felt as uncomfortable in squishy clothesas he did. "Stupid water, why does it have to be so wet?" He tried to fight back a laugh, but was unable to. Jaina immediately looked up from her attempt to get some of the water out of her hair. Her eyes narrowed. "What was that, Zekk?"
He forced back another laugh and managed to stammer out, "N – nothing."
"Good, because it's your fault in the first place that we're in this position," Jaina stated matter-of-factly.
"My fault?" Zekk asked. "How is it my fault?"
"You weren't watching where you were going."
Zekk fought the urge to roll his eyes. He decided not to tell her that is was most decidedly her fault since there would be no convincing her otherwise. "Should we head back? It's almost time for evening meal."
Jaina cheered up considerably. The water had made her ravenous. "What are we waiting for?"
"My underwear to dry?" Zekk suggested.
Jaina snorted and started to walk away. Zekk easily caught up to her and the two slowly made their way back to the original path. But as the walk grew on, Jaina's good mood lessened, possibly because with every step she took, her shoes squished and her clothes were becoming heavy from the water. "It's still your fault," she grumbled.
Zekk sighed and then noticed a window of opportunity. His most charming smile suddenly appeared on his face and he gave a small bow. Seeming to pull it out of thin air, a flower appeared in Zekk's hand. "Well then, please, accept my deepest apologies."
A few levels up, this scene was being observed. Jacen leaned against the window pane, brow raised in thought. "Blaster bolts," Jacen muttered, "Zekk can put on the charm, even if it is clichéd."
He watched as Jaina accepted the flower and grinned at Zekk. Neither of them was aware that they were being watched.
"Jacen?" He waved his hand forward, not looking away from the scene below. Tenel Ka came forward. "What are you looking at?"
"You already know."
"This is a fact. Is your plan working?" She rested her head on his shoulder as Jacen put an arm around her.
"Somewhat, this all would have happened eventually, I'm just speeding things along."
"Ah. Aha." She paused, then asked, "Should I have the servants deliver evening meal to everyone's quarters? We can eat in tonight."
Jacen smirked and turned from the window to look down at her. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Yes, that sounds like a great idea, I'll comm so she can spread the word."
"No need, I have already notified everyone else and there's a note waiting for them when they return to their quarters."
Jacen's smile grew. "What would I do without you?"
"Get lost on your way to the refresher unit?"
"Hey, that only happened three times!"
"It still happened, did it not?" She started to walk off, leaving a pouting Jacen behind. He blinked a few times before following his fiancée.
XaXaXaXa-
(Jaina/Zekk's room)
Jaina walked straight into the room and Zekk paused long enough to grab a piece of flimsi that had been taped to the door. He followed Jaina indoors; both of them were still dripping wet. He blinked momentarily at the note and then turned to Jaina, about to tell her what it said. Unfortunately, he turned when Jaina was struggling to get the top part of her jumpsuit off. She managed to pull the wet garment off revealing a light gray tank top that was just as wet as the original had been. The difference was that this one stuck to her like a second skin. His cheeks flushed a bright red and he quickly turned away.
"Uhh… Jaina?"
"Hmm? Zekk, what's up? Is there something on the door?"
He face went an even deeper shade of red. "C-could you umm… put your shirt back on?"
"Huh?" Jaina laughed. "Zekk, you're such a baby, you've seen worse when we went swimming as kids."
She was right, he knew that for a fact, and there was no way she would let him live it down if he didn't turn around now. Sighing in defeat he turned to see Jaina giving hima mocking smile. He tried to keep his face on anything except her. His new focus became the flimsi in his hand that had been momentarily forgotten.
"Jaina, we're eating in here tonight," Zekk stated.
"Why?" She came up next to him and peered at the note.
"I don't know."
Jaina sighed. "Well, before the food comes I'm going to take a shower."
Zekk looked up at her in surprise – forgetting why he had been staring at the flimsi in the first place. He fought to keep his eyes from looking her over and said, "You're already wet, what's the point?"
"That water may not be as clean as it looks," Jaina stated. Zekk rolled his eyes and quickly snatched a towel out of the 'fresher before she went in.
When he had finished drying and dressed in new clothes on, the door chime rang. He muttered a curse – as he had just gotten settled into the chair – and stood. Muttering indistinctly he walked over to the door and opened it. A young handmaiden – about 14 years old – stood there. When she caught sight of Zekk her face went a bright shade of red and she stared at him. He scratched his head, waiting for her to say something for about five seconds before he became impatient. "Is there something you wanted?" he asked.
"Uhh…" This was crazy; he was about to give in to the extremely rude urge to shut the door in her face when she said, "I have a message for Zekk and Jaina Solo."
"Okay, what is it?" She faltered a moment and continued to stare at him dazedly for a while. To him, it looked like she was in a trance of some sort or that she had somehow fallen asleep with her eyes open. He waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello? Anyone awake in there?"
Suddenly she snapped out of her daze and stated loudly, "I'm to tell you that your food will come in thirty minutes!"
Zekk jumped and started at her for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Great, thanks."
Then she started to stare at him again, her face growing redder by the second. Was a screw loose in her head? Did she normally go this color when she was talking to people? Starting to get concerned Zekk took a step towards her and asked, "Are you alright?"
The handmaiden squeaked and ran off leaving Zekk to stare at the spot with confusion. After a few moments of wondering what her problem was he shook his head and muttered, "Women."
There was a loud snapping sound and Zekk felt a sharp pain in his lower back. He turned around and looked down to see a fully clothed Jaina. She was standing there with a towel in her hand in position to give him another snap with it. Zekk rubbed his back and indignantly asked, "What was that for?"
"What did you mean by 'women'?" she asked.
"Nothing."
She snapped him in the leg before walking away to sit down on a chair. Zekk let out a yelp and managed to mostly move out of the towel's way. After she got settled, Jaina looked incredibly happy. It made Zekk wonder if she was having emotional problems with her sudden change of moods. She even looked over at him and smiled. "Zekk, when's food coming? I'm starved!"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course, we went swimming; it makes anyone willing to eat even your mother's cooking."
Much to his surprise Jaina didn't raise the towel against him, as a matter of fact, she was laughing. "I forgot you were there when mom decided to give cooking a try. I must say that I have never seen Giju stew in such a bright shade of pink before."
"I can still remember what it tasted like; I thought I was being eaten inside out," Zekk said.
"My cooking isn't that bad, right?" Jaina asked after a few seconds.
"Yours is edible," Zekk said. "If it wasn't do you still think I'd be around?"
Jaina used the Force to send one of the pillows from the bed flying at him. He easily evaded the attack and sat down in the other chair. The remote levitated off the coffee table and into his hand. Zekk channel surfed for a few minutes before Jaina repeated, "Seriously, when's the food coming?"
"Some handmaiden came by and said that it would be here in thirty minutes."
"How long has it been?"
"Barely five minutes."
Jaina groaned and got out of the chair. She made a beeline for the bed and fell face first onto it. As to what purpose that would serve to alleviate her hunger, Zekk knew not, but he let her continue uninterrupted. He was soon engrossed in watching some sporting event; it involved people in two parallel lines fighting over a ball which one person was to throw to these guys who ran off ahead of the others. This diversion almost made him forget that he was not alone in the room until he heard a faint but distinct beeping. Without letting his eyes drift from the screen he reached down to shut off his comlink only to find that it was off.
Now he looked around in alarm only to see Jaina now sitting on the bed propped up against the headboard. She was holding a datapad in one hand with the stylus poised over the screen with the other. She was engrossed with what was on the screen. Zekk had an inkling of what was on the datapad and meant to put a stop to it immediately. He cautiously reached out to the Force, being careful that Jaina didn't notice. Then, the datapad soared out of Jaina's hand into his waiting one. With a flick, the stylus that was in Jaina's other hand came flying to Zekk as well.
He peered at the screen and was unsurprised to see an unfinished supply list for the Twin Suns. He raised an accusing eyebrow at Jaina that clearly said "explain".
She gave a sheepish smile. "I needed something to do?"
"Yeah, right. This is supposed to be a vacation," Zekk stated. He saved the supply list and turned the datapad off. "I'm going to keep this for you until we're en route to Mon Calamari so you won't be tempted."
"Zekk!" Jaina whined. She groaned and rolled off the bed, landing in a crouch. "Give it back." She walked across the room and made a half-hearted attempt to retrieve it.
"I'm sorry, Jaina, but this is the way it has to be," he said whilst pocketing the device.
"You're mean," Jaina said as she sat on the floor.
"To the core," Zekk agreed.
She hit his arm and asked, "How long until food comes?"
"I don't know, five minutes?"
Jaina cheered just as the door chime rang. She sprang up and ran over to it and thrust the door open. Alaric stood there smiling. Jaina's face fell and said, "Oh, it's you."
Alaric blinked in confusion. "Yeah, I know it's me. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Hey, Al," Zekk greeted as he walked up to prevent Jaina from further being rude, "did you need something?"
"Umm… Jaina told me to get her copies of the Twin Sunsbudget and what we've been spending in the past two months," Alaric answered.
"Were you?" Zekk said, glancing at Jaina with a raised brow. "Why don't you give them to me?"
"Why? Jaina's right here," he stated, pointing to emphasize this.
"Yes, yes, I know, but Jaina's been having a problem with getting flimsi cuts lately and I wouldn't want her to get another."
"Hey, I have –" Zekk covered her mouth with his hand.
"I'm sorry, Al, she's a bit embarrassed by it."
"Oh, okay. Here ya go!" He handed a fair stack of flimsies into Zekk's hand. "I hope your flimsi cut problem stops soon, Jaina. I'm gonna go and see if that handmaiden came by with the food cart yet." He cheerfully ran down the hall, which was when Zekk noticed he had been wearing socks, and Alaric slid straight into a wall while trying to turn.
Zekk shut the door with a sigh and removed his hand from Jaina's mouth.
"Flimsi cut problem?" Was all Jaina could get out before the door chime rang again, this time with the food.
XaXaXaXa-
(Mystiran and Tahiri)
"'Ran, is that the food?" Tahiri called from the refresher unit.
"Yep, finish washing your hands before I eat it all," Mystiran responded as he wheeled the cart over to the room's couch and flopped down.
"Oh, no you don't. I'm coming! I learned my lesson: never let 'Ran eat before me or there will be nothing left when I arrive." She sat down next to him and eagerly looked at the cart. "So what's on the menu? I hope there's some of that chocolate stuff; what's it called again? Oh yeah, mousse, thanks. Are there any bantha ribs? No, wait, there wouldn't be, would there? After all, Hapes is by no means close to Tatooine. Why are you just sitting there? Serve the food up!"
"As you wish," Mystiran said, handing her a salad while helping himself to the dessert tray. Tahiri gave him a stern look and he sheepishly put the desserts back on the plate and opted for some meat instead.
"By the way, did you take your medicine?"
"Err…"
"I thought that was the case."
"I'll take it after dinner?"
"Of course you will, even if I have to pry your mouth open with pair of tongs and shove it down your throat."
"That would hurt."
"Yes, it would," Tahiri agreed, smiling cheerfully. She picked up a dish that she couldn't pronounce but vaguely recognized as being good. Mystiran, on the other hand, didn't care what he put into his mouth. He was getting into his eating mode. It was at times like these that she wondered if Alaric and her husband had switched places. Speaking of Alaric, where was he? "'Ran, where's Al? It isn't like him to miss a meal. I thought he would be eating with us. Speaking of which, do you know why Jacen and Tenel Ka wanted us to eat in our rooms tonight? Not that I'm complaining, after all, I can eat more dessert without looking like a pig, but it makes me curious. What do you think? 'Ran, are you listening? Hello, say something!"
"I would, but unfortunately you didn't pause long enough for me to speak. And Al probably didn't want to share. But don't worry; he'll be by later to trade us for the wakku nuts. He hates them. I planned on saving some of that mounder potato rice for him," Mystiran said. He had finished the meat with remarkable speed and was now digging into a bowl of soup using fresh bread to soak it up.
"Are we going to tell them soon?"
"No, after the wedding."
XaXaXaXa-
(Tenel Ka's office)
"We have the flowers and the invitations have been sent out," said one of Tenel Ka's many aides.
"Good," Tenel Ka responded. "Are all preparations for the ceremony going as planned?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. There will be another dress fitting for the bridesmaids and yourself this afternoon."
"Very well." Switching gears, Tenel Ka asked, "We have heard that a scientist wishes to request a grant. Let us see her application."
XaXaXaXa-
(Jaina/Zekk's room)
She had the dream again… Or a variation of it at least. This was getting ridiculous. Why was she constantly having the multiple variations based off the dream where she and Zekk were married with kids? It wasn't that being married to Zekk would be bad – she'd rather it be him than some stranger – but it felt… weird. Her feelings on this were mixed and jumbled. Jaina barely had any time alone to think things through. The only time she was by herself was in the refresher unit.
At night, she could barely get any sleep – the dreams never failed to come. Her confusion and frustration must be obvious, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, people constantly asked about her health. Even Alaric noticed something was wrong! The worst part was that Zekk and Jacen especially noticed her distraction.
Jaina wanted to tell someone but Jacen was out of the question, Lowie, Mystiran, and Alaric wouldn't understand and Tahiri would be too busy keeping Mystiran and Alaric in line. She couldn't tell Zekk what was wrong; he was part of the reason. It would be too awkward and ruin their newly regained friendship. At least, that's what she told herself. So now she was headed towards the one person who would surely know what to do. Jaina ignored the Hapan woman that attempted to stop and knocked once on the door before entering.
"Tenel Ka?" The warrior queen was surrounded by aides, counselors, and handmaidens. All looked up when she entered and Jaina suddenly felt self-conscious. Maybe she should have waited. "Do you have a minute? I was wondering if we could talk?"
"We will be able to speak with you in fifteen minutes if you do not mind the wait."
"It's fine, I'll be in the waiting room." Jaina turned and left the office. She sat in a chair and waited as patiently as she could for fifteen minutes to pass. As always, Tenel Ka was punctual, for exactly at the fifteen minute mark, all the people that had been in her office filed out and she gestured Jaina inside.
When Jaina was settled, Tenel Ka – always one to go straight to the point – asked, "What it is that's troubling you, friend Jaina?"
"Well," Jaina started, beginning to feel like it was a bad idea to talk, "I've been having a dream lately."
Tenel Ka waited for Jaina to continue, but when she didn't, asked, "What is the dream about?"
"It's not really just one dream… More like different variations based off of the first one," Jaina explained. Deciding that it would be best just to admit all, she forged on, "It really isn't all that bad it just makes my life… awkward. It always starts out with day-to-day stuff like cleaning or work." She paused trying to think of how to word what came next.
"What is so bad about that?"
"Nothing!" Jaina exclaimed. She sighed. "It's the people who are in it. They're dreams about my children."
Tenel Ka gave her an appraising look. "Friend Jaina, it sounds to me like these are more than dreams. What's so wrong about dreaming of the possible future?"
"Well, they're…" she trailed off incoherently, her face coloring as she did so.
"Pardon?"
"They're my kids… with Zekk."
"Ah. Aha. I see we have reached the root of the problem. Do you dislike the idea of having that sort of relationship with friend Zekk?"
"No, yes, maybe? I… don't know," Jaina admitted. "I'm confused right now."
"Perhaps you should talk about this with friend Zekk."
"Sith, no –"
Tenel Ka silenced her by holding a hand up. "It would make more sense for you to discuss this with him instead of me. After all, friend Zekk does play a role in your 'dreams'."
"But that would be embarrassing! I can't just go up to him and say, 'Guess what, Zekk? You're not going to believe this but I've been having dreams where we're married with children'!"
"Why not?"
"It –"
Once again, Tenel Ka interrupted her, "Friend Jaina, this had to do with friend Zekk and you should work it out with him."
Jaina sighed in resignation. The look on Tenel Ka's face said she would not debate this any further and the only path for Jaina to take was submission to her decision. After all, wasn't that why she had come to Tenel Ka in the first place? To ask for help on deciding what to do? She stood and said farewell then left to face the person occupying her dreams.
TBC-
Well? How'd you like it? I'm afraid this actually has some plot. I know, shocking isn't it? Oh yes, to repeat my earlier message, there's a cookie for anyone who can name all the YJK classics in this chapter.
IRs:
DathomiranAuthorRoamer: I do try with Al. Just wait until the end of the story when I clear some things up about him, it'll knock your socks off. You're going to feel sorry for Jaina now. And this cliffie is now down right evil if I do say so myself.
Aramor Lady of Mirkwood: Here it is, I hope you enjoyed this one as much as the last.
Ice-maiden9191: Thanks!
Anya Urameshi: I thought your review once one of the funniest things I'd ever seen! I am interested and I think I already reviewed a couple of them. I'm glad you decided to stop by! Oh and one more thing… NEW READER!
Kratos42: Dude, I did think you were a girl at first, no offense. I must say 'Hear, Hear!' on your statement about Jag, my sentiments exactly. And if you don't mind me doing this ...hugs… You're my first male reader I know about on ff.n! Thanks! Oh yes… NEW READER… AGAIN! …cheers…
