Alexis raced down the hallway to one of the elevators and took it down to the lower floors, pain forgotten. She ran out of the building and took off through the module that Carth's apartment was in, rushing towards the hangar bay where she knew the Ebon Hawk had to be docked.
When she arrived in the Hangar Bay, she found the Ebon Hawk much where she'd expected. With a grin, she boarded rapidly, excited to meet yet another one of her old friends.
It took her a few moments to get her bearings on the newly refurbished Ebon Hawk, but when she did, she found Canderous in the same place she had always found him when they traveled in the Ebon Hawk together.
He was standing right next to the workbench in full armor, a helmet covering his face and his back to her. He turned when he heard the commotion and Alexis leapt into his arms.
Canderous, who was an utterly enormous man, caught her tiny frame in one of his arms and held her against his chest. He was apparently a little startled to see her, for her jerked and grunted when she jumped on him, but she didn't notice.
She reached up and yanked off his helmet in one swift motion and kissed his cheek. "Hey Canderous." She said with an impish grin.
He blinked several times, adjusting his eyes to the light, and then glared at her. "Who do you think you are, jumping on me and jerking my helmet off like that? I ought to rip you in half." He growled half-heartedly at her.
Alexis grinned and kissed his other cheek. "Oh, be quiet you!"
Canderous shifted slightly but did not put her down. "When was the last time you ate something?" He asked, frowning at her.
"I ate yesterday. I wish all of you would stop mothering me!" Alexis said. She squirmed a bit in his grasp. "And why are you wearing all of this gross armor? It's seriously painful." She muttered.
"Maybe if you weren't so damned skinny you wouldn't have that problem." Canderous replied testily.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the entryway behind them and Canderous turned to face it, effectively turning Alexis's back to the door. She sighed. It didn't look like he was going to let go, either. He'd apparently forgotten he was holding on to her. "Well, who is it?" Alexis asked.
"Carth." Canderous said, though it was clear he was greeting Carth, not answering her.
"Canderous." Carth returned. The two men shook hands behind her.
"Hey Canderous, if you aren't going to put me down, turn sideways so I can see too." Alexis said.
"What possessed you to run from the apartment like that?" Carth asked her quizzically. "You could've been seen."
"And probably were." Canderous added disapprovingly. He turned enough that Alexis could see Carth clearly but did not put her down.
The others ambled onto the ship behind Carth. Even Seré was with them. She stopped fairly near to Carth and reached out and grabbed his arm, saying nothing.
"Awfully young for him, isn't she?" Canderous asked Alexis loudly.
Alexis laughed. "I'm a bit young for you, too, and here you are holding on to me for dear life."
Canderous looked down at her and smiled. "It doesn't feel like I'm holding anything. You probably weigh half of what my armor does." He said.
"Well, good. Take off the armor and cart me around. I'd be a lot happier." Alexis replied.
"And maybe you'd gain a little weight if you'd stop running yourself everywhere." Canderous added.
Kalen wandered up next to them from the back of the group and eyed Canderous. "So… Mandalore is really the renowned Canderous Ordo, mercenary extraordinaire." She said with a smile.
"You bet." Alexis replied for him.
Canderous nodded. "Don't tell anyone. It might ruin my image." Alexis and Kalen laughed in unison.
"Where is Visas?" Kalen asked him.
"Meditating." Canderous replied, shaking his head.
"Oh. I don't know why we all came over here. I bet it was to see Alexis here all over her 'friend' Canderous." Kalen said suggestively.
Canderous shook his head again and Alexis laughed. "Are we going back to the apartment then?" Alexis asked.
"Sure," Canderous answered. "Let me get out of the armor. Since my oh-so-secret identity has been revealed I don't think the armor is necessary in this company anymore."
"Okay. Do you know how to get there?" Kalen asked him. Canderous merely nodded. "Great. We'll meet you there. But I'm afraid you'll have to put Alexis down." She added.
"Are you sure she can't just stay here and help me out of my armor?" He asked with a sly smile.
Kalen and Alexis laughed again. Canderous put one hand on either side of Alexis's waist and held her out straight in front of him. "Go home and eat something, kid." He said. He settled her on the floor and stepped back.
"Okay. Let's go back to the apartment. I promise not to sprint out of it again in wild pursuit of some man or other." Alexis said.
Kalen grinned and took her arm and the group made its way back to Carth's apartment at a much slower pace than they had arrived.
Carth sat in his kitchen, listening to the sounds of laughter echoing from his living room. He glanced out the window with a start and noticed that it was well into the evening.
Everyone had been talking together for quite some time, getting reacquainted and reminiscing. There had been no more incidents involving assassins, and no more random sprints from the apartment. A few of them had gone out and purchased some food and they had eaten some, though Carth had noticed that Revan had eaten very little.
He had watched her deteriorate slowly over the day, become more and more quiet and tired. Even now she was seated a bit apart from the group, closing her eyes every so often to center herself or stave off a waft of pain.
Carth had called in and talked to the TSF's Lieutenant Grenn earlier in the day and told that he would be taking a short vacation for the next few days. His plan was to take care of Revan, hopefully regenerating some of her health and stamina.
It appeared that the appearance of her friends had been good for her at first, but now they were only wearing her down. They, too, were tired, however, and Carth expected them to return to the Ebon Hawk before long to rest for the evening.
Carth stood slowly and wandered back into the living room. Revan was still sitting on the floor, watching the others quietly. Canderous was seated on the chair beside her, speaking to her every so often. Kalen and Atton were playing pazaak on one of the tables nearby. The Disciple, Mira, Seré, Bao-Dur, and the Miraluka, Visas Marr, were all seated in a small group, talking. Clearly the party was winding down.
Carth watched Revan from the doorway, a small smile playing on his face as she fiddled with the laces of her boots. She was such an adorable girl.
Kalen happened to look up and see Carth watching Revan. She grinned faintly at him and Atton looked up to see what she was smiling about. He smiled, too, and whispered something to Kalen. She nodded and stood up.
"Maybe we ought to go back to the Ebon Hawk and get some dinner and some sleep. It's been a long day, and a long few months, really, and I could certainly use the rest." Kalen said loudly.
All of the others looked up at Kalen and nodded. "Sure. Let's get some sleep." Mira said, yawning. The entire group rose basically as a whole and began to gather themselves so they could leave.
Revan rose and walked over and hugged Kalen. Next she hugged Atton, and then Canderous. She carefully shook the hands of the others and then went and stood back by the chairs, out of the way.
Everyone but Seré walked over and stood in front of the door. "Bye!" "See you tomorrow!" "Talk to you later!" They chimed, and then they were gone.
Seré walked over to Carth and stood before him for several seconds, waiting. He said nothing, so finally she said, " Would you like me to stay the evening or shall I come back tomorrow?"
Carth frowned. He didn't really want her there at all, but he didn't think he could really tell her that. "Tomorrow is fine." He finally replied.
The girl looked hurt but she turned and left after a few seconds wandering around the apartment pouting and pretending to look for her things.
"Tired?" Carth asked Revan.
"Yes. And kind of cold." She replied. She rubbed one of her arms absently.
Carth frowned. "Are you in too much pain?" He asked. He'd been worried about that all day.
"Not too much." She answered, yawning. When the yawn was over, she furrowed her brows. "One night of sleep and I'm addicted."
"It's alright. You can sleep again tonight." He told her. "Would you like to get a bath first? I can take one when you've finished."
Revan nodded and turned away towards the bathroom with a muttered 'thank you'.
Alexis emerged from the shower in another one of Carth's shirts. He'd disappeared to take a shower as well so Alexis wandered the apartment quickly, checking for intruders.
She was still worried, but she felt a bit more confident about her surroundings than she had the previous evening. She now knew where everything was and all of the places in which someone could hide.
Periodically throughout the day she had wandered the apartment, searching for potential threats. She knew that most of the company had noticed, but had said nothing.
She'd had fun that day, the most she'd had since she was a very young girl, despite the fact that she was tired and weak. The only dark spots had been her searches.
It wasn't the idea of finding intruders that had been the most upsetting, either. It had been the idea that were she to find one, she would be too weak to take care of the threat herself. Even now she was worried about this. What if Carth needed her and she was too pathetic to help him? She pushed these thoughts aside as quickly as they came, for they were dangerous to her peace of mind.
There were far more interesting things for Alexis to think about. She settled herself in the middle of Carth's bed after her search and started to ponder the day in earnest.
It was clear to Alexis that Kalen was in love. It was very dangerous for Jedi to love, as she well knew, but she was happy for her friend. It was too bad that two of the men in her party loved her, but she could only love one of them in return. It appeared to Alexis that Kalen was very taken with Atton Rand, and Alexis couldn't be happier for them. Both of them deserved it.
It was also clear that the Disciple was in love with Kalen. Alexis thought that perhaps his love was something more akin to hero worship than true love, however, and was glad that Kalen did not love him in return. Atton seemed to love her for who she was, though she clearly did not yet know that she even loved him, much less that he loved her.
Atton was a different story. He appeared to be fully aware that he was in love with Kalen and that she loved him back. He was just biding his time, waiting for her to realize that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. It was very sweet, really.
Alexis heard Carth emerge from the bathroom and glanced up in time to see him walk into the room. He was wearing nothing but soft pajama pants. His hair was wet and his chest was bare, revealing heavily defined muscles. His torso was mostly smooth except for a few softly curling dark hairs to which a few water droplets clung. He had a towel draped over one of his shoulders. It was clear that the last four years had not softened him in any way.
Alexis felt strange as she watched him and she shook her head, confused by the warm, tingly sensation coursing through her. Carth seemed entirely unaware as he continued into the room, reaching up to towel at his hair.
"I thought-" He began, but just then they heard a pounding at the door. Carth turned and trod from the room, Alexis hot on his heels. Carth had scooped up his blaster and Alexis had pulled her lightsaber, each preparing for the worst.
What they actually found when they answered the door startled them. Kalen and Mira stood in the doorway, each holding a parcel of clothing. "Hi…" Kalen said awkwardly, eyeing Carth and Alexis oddly.
Alexis realized that what they were wearing was oddly suggestive, as Carth had no shirt and she appeared to be wearing his missing shirt and she had no pants… She immediately blushed, only making the situation more uncomfortable.
"We brought by some Jedi robes that we had on board the ship that we thought might fit you." Mira said bravely.
Alexis nodded. "Thank you." She answered.
"If they don't fit, you can always have them altered." Kalen added. "Anyway, they're yours to keep."
"Maybe we should get going." Mira said, catching Kalen's arm.
Kalen nodded. "Yeah. Bye guys." She said, turning away. She turned back suddenly, grinning mischievously. "Have a good night." She added with a laugh.
Carth shut the door with a resounding thud. He hadn't said anything during the entire encounter. He turned to Alexis and smiled at her.
Alexis erupted into embarrassed laughter. "Gee, I wonder what that looked like." Alexis said, smiling.
He started to laugh too and soon the pair of them were collapsed on the couch, laughing uncontrollably. "Did you see the look on their faces?" Carth asked between laughs.
"Yes! I thought Kalen's eyes were going to pop out of her head…" Alexis replied. She was slowly regaining her composure. It had been hard. She had been laughing so hard that she was near tears.
"It'll be interesting to explain this tomorrow." Carth said, finally catching his breath.
"Who says we have to explain? Let them think what they want. They will anyway." Alexis told him, sitting up on the edge of the couch.
Carth chuckled again. "I'm sure they will." He watched her for a few seconds and Alexis began to feel uncomfortable. He did not blink or shift his gaze for a very long time. He was always looking at her…
"Carth… What are you staring at?" She asked him quietly. She was almost afraid of the answer.
Carth seemed to shake off his stupor when she spoke his name. He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry." He smiled at her.
Alexis stood up slowly and held out her hand to him. "Let's go get some sleep, Admiral." She said.
Carth took her hand and allowed himself to be led down the hall, walking very closely behind her.
A few minutes later, in the darkness of Carth's bedroom, the two of them lay on opposite sides of the bed, attempting to sleep. Alexis found herself unable to do so, no matter how tired she was. Something was missing.
It was Carth who solved the problem for her. "Revan…" He whispered. When she shifted to look over her shoulder at him, he spoke again. "Come over here." He said.
Alexis smiled slightly and rolled across the bed to Carth's side. He was lying on his back and he raised the arm closest to her. Alexis did not touch him immediately.
"It's okay…" He whispered soothingly. He reached out and touched her hair gently, curling a few of the long strands around one of his fingers.
Alexis gave in and pulled herself to his side. She stretched her entire body against the side of his and rested her head on his shoulder. She splayed one hand cautiously across the center of his chest. Carth placed his hand on top of hers and curled his fingers around it.
Alexis could not resist making a silly comment to lighten the mood. "I hope I don't drool…" She told him.
Carth chuckled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "It's fine if you do. I'm fairly sure that I snore."
Alexis did not answer, she merely closed her eyes. Remarkably, though sleep had seemed unattainable only a few minutes before, Alexis was sound asleep within two minutes of curling up against Carth.
