by Джуд Уотсон
Now he was envious as well as embarrassed.
"I can tell you what you did wrong," she said, nudging him with a shoulder. "You hated the rock. You fought it. I did, too, in the beginning.
You need to love the rock."
Love the rock? That sounded silly. Qui-Gon wanted to tell her that.
But he knew what she meant. And suddenly, he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
Tahl stood. "Now for the reward. Come on!" She ran forward and leaped off the end of the rock, straight into the shimmering green water.
Qui-Gon followed. It was a long drop, but the shock of the water felt refreshing. Tahl waited underwater for him. She grinned, and Qui-Gon smiled back. The cool water felt so good, and he had climbed the rock. Next time he would do better. Next time, he would love the rock.
They burst up to the surface. Tahl's dark hair was slicked back off her forehead. Now she looked like a water creature, sleek and supple.
Suddenly, she frowned. "Someone's coming," she murmured. "Do you see?
Down by the path."
Qui-Gon said nothing. But a fraction of a second later, he noticed a disturbance in the overhanging leaves, far down the path.
"We're supposed to be in meditation right now," she whispered.
"This way," he said. He stroked to the edge of the lake, where a rocky outcropping would shield them.
They waited in the shadows, shivering a little from the coolness of the water. They heard the unmistakable sound of Yoda's shuffling step. Of all the Jedi Masters, for Yoda to catch them!
Qui-Gon's eyes narrowed in concern, but Tahl looked as though she would burst out laughing. Qui-Gon placed a hand over her mouth, and, grinning, she did the same to him.
Yoda stopped on the path over their heads. They did not breathe.
After a moment, he moved on.
After Yoda had moved away, Tahl dropped her hand, and Qui-Gon dropped his.
"You know, you almost beat me to the top," she said. "We could be rivals. But l think it would be better if we were friends."
"Let's be friends," Qui-Gon agreed. He spoke soberly. He took friendship seriously. Already he knew he wanted to be friends with this girl.
As if she couldn't contain herself any longer, Tahl dived underwater and moved away from him. She came up, shaking off water. The sun was shining, and the rays made the droplets shimmer.
"Friends forever!" she called to him, treading water. "Deal?"
"Deal," he said.
Forever.
Qui-Gon was still waiting when Obi-Wan burst into the small waiting area in the med complex a few hours later.
"Any news?"
Qui-Gon shook his head. "They are still with her."
"Have you seen her?"
"Not since I got here. Soon, they say." Eritha hurried in. "How is Tahl?"
"She is holding her own," Qui-Gon said. "Other than that, I don't know."
Eritha paced in front of him. "I don't understand why Manex had you bring her here. Well, I do. He always thinks what he has is the best. Where is he?"
"He waited with me for some time," Qui-Gon said. "He left to attend to some things at his home. He said he would be back."
She sat down and pressed her palms together. "I hate waiting. I know the Jedi don't feel that way."
"We hate it, too," Obi-Wan said. "We are just better at it."
Not so, Qui-Gon thought. The past two hours had been the hardest of his life.
Eritha waited for some minutes, then restlessly got up. "I need some air. Will you contact me as soon as we know something?"
Obi-Wan assured her that they would. He remained next to Qui-Gon, not speaking. Qui-Gon felt his Padawan's sympathy and concern. He was grateful for his presence. It was easier not to wait alone. He knew that Obi-Wan loved Tahl, too.
"Did Tahl say anything about the kidnapping?" Obi-Wan asked him quietly.
"Balog was looking for the list of informers, just as Irini and Lenz thought," Qui-Gon said. He briefly told Obi-Wan what Tahl had told him. He had trouble concentrating on the whys of Tahl's kidnapping. There would be time for that, as soon as he looked into her face and saw that she was her old self again.
"The message runner could be the key," Obi-Wan mused. "We know the list was stolen and could have been in Absolute hands. What if Oleg took it? If Tahl was spotted escaping with him, they would of course suspect that she had it. Tahl said that the Absolute leaders wanted to interrogate Oleg. If they couldn't find him, they would turn to Tahl."
Qui-Gon was barely listening. "It is a theory, Padawan. We shall see.
" The doors slid open, and the med team emerged. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stood. The doctor went straight to Qui-Gon.
"Her vital signs are dropping. We did everything we could do. The damage to her internal organs was severe. She will see you now."
Qui-Gon searched the doctor's face. "So she will recover."
"Her damage is severe," the doctor repeated. His weary eyes were full of sadness as he looked at Qui-Gon.
"She will recover," Qui-Gon repeated. This time there was certainty in his voice.
He strode past the doctor and hurried to the room where Tahl was kept. She lay in a diagnostic bed. He ignored the readouts and sensors. He took her hand, and she turned her head slowly toward him. He was relieved to see that the med team had removed the disguising lenses from her eyes.
He had missed seeing Tahl's lovely green and gold eyes. Now the face he loved was before him, just as he had always known it. He knew every line and curve, every strong feature, every soft hollow.
He took her hand, but received no answering pressure. Qui-Gon ran his fingers down her bare arm to feel her skin. It was cold. So cold…
Her lips parted. He had to bend his head to hear her. "Wherever I am headed, I will wait for you, Qui-Gon. I've always been a solitary traveler.
" "Not anymore," he said. "Remember? We will go on together. You promised," he teased. "You can't back out now. I'll never let you forget it."
Her smile and the slight pressure of her fingers seemed to cost her a great effort. Panic shot through him.
He brought his face close. He placed his forehead against hers. Her skin was so cool against his. He willed his own warmth and energy into her body. Of what benefit was his great strength, what was it good for, if it could not heal her? Qui-Gon called on everything he knew, everything he believed in — his connection to the Force, his great love for Tahl — to enter her and give her strength.
He felt a small sigh flutter against his cheek. Her fingers pressed his again. He knew that she had felt what he had tried to give her, and had received comfort from it. He had never felt so attuned to her, so close. If he could breathe for her, he would.
"Let my last moment be this one," she said. He felt her breath go in, then out, soft against his cheek. Then it did not resume.
Chapter 20
Obi-Wan sat, his head in his hands. Suddenly, he straightened. He felt a disturbance in the Force. Something had been sucked out of the air, a powerful energy collapsing, leaving a vacuum.
When he heard the cry from the other room, at first he did not know who could have made it.
Then he realized it had been his Master.
He heard running feet in the corridor outside the waiting room. The med team.
He dashed to the door and activated it, then followed the med team into Tahl's room.
Two of the team checked the monitoring equipment. The doctor stood by. He did nothing.
That was when Obi-Wan fully understood that Tahl was gone.
The med team stood back from the equipment. No one tried to move the large man bent over the body in the bed. His grief was too huge, too private.
Tahl's eyes were closed. Her hand rested in Qui-Gon's. A slight smile was still on her face. His forehead was pressed against hers. He did not move a muscle. He did not let go of her hand.
Obi-Wan was staggered by the pain he felt in that room. The very lines of Qui-Gon's body told him of a
n agony so immense he could not grasp it. The intimacy of Qui-Gon's posture, the way his forehead rested against Tahl's, suddenly told Obi-Wan that he had not begun to realize the depths of Qui-Gon's feelings.
With that knowledge, his heart broke for his Master.
He took a step closer. How could he help Qui-Gon? What could he do?
Qui-Gon turned. Obi-Wan saw a face that had changed. Something was gone or something was added, he did not know. But it was no longer the face he knew so well. Grief had marked it forever. Obi-Wan knew that in his bones.
He would have his own grief for Tahl. It would never match Qui-Gon's.
He approached the bed slowly. He had no words for this. Nothing he had learned at the Temple, nothing Qui-Gon had taught him, had prepared him for it.
He placed his hand on Qui-Gon's shoulder. "Let me help you, Master."
Qui-Gon's eyes were dead. "There is no help for me now."
Qui-Gon looked down at Tahl's lifeless body. His hand still clasped hers. "There is only revenge."
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