"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
She nodded.
"Good. And I'm sorry for nearly killing you with Obi-Wan's Jedi History books." Qui-Gon pulled himself to a sitting position, collected Obi-Wan's books, and tried to stand.
"Wait, let me help you," said Tahl, sitting up and holding out her hand to help him up.
At that unfortunate moment, the ill-fated pair's Padawans walked by the pool, where (for some odd reason) Qui-Gon had been walking when the collision had occured. Needless to say, the sight of their Masters on the floor elicted some odd looks.
Bant caught a glimpse of the look on Obi-Wan's face and jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow. "Obi! Are women all you ever think about?"
"Yep," said Obi-Wan, "that pretty much sums it up." Bant kicked him in the shin. Obi-Wan screamed in pain and Bant crossed her arms over her chest, looking triumphant.
"I- I got the books you wanted, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon gasped. Obi-Wan looked at him curiously. "Are you okay...?"
"Yes, fine," said Qui-Gon, though the shade of his skin suggested otherwise. Before Obi-Wan could make another comment, he slipped on a wet patch, staggered backward, and fell into the pool. Bant immediately dived in and performed a stunning "water rescue", though the water at that point was little more than four feet deep. "Goodness, you'd better get some drier clothes on right away, the water's cold," she remarked. "Don't know what's happened to the heater..."
Meanwhile, in the control room-
"Wish I'd been able to get a better heater for the pool," said Miro to himself. "I had to buy that one from the guy who sells tech equipment out of the back of his speeder."
And on Alderaan-
Kinda feel bad for cheating that person from the Jedi Temple, thought a man, unloading some tech equipment from the back of his speeder. Always did have trouble with that heater-
Back in Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's quarters-
"Well, here are your choices," said Bant, "and don't complain if you don't like them, you're lucky to be getting anything." She held up two pink nightgowns. "If you don't mind the pink. Or if you prefer a less, ahem, feminine look-" She held up a blue bathrobe with matching plaid pants and a white T-shirt. "They're Tahl's."
Obi-Wan groaned. There didn't seem to be too much of a choice here. "The second one, please."
"I thought so." She motioned toward the bathroom. "You can leave your wet things on the floor."
Obi-Wan walked into the bathroom and quickly changed into Tahl's clothes, though they were a bit big for him. "You can come in now!" he called to Bant.
Bant opened the door and picked up his wet robes, then looked up at him. "When I said you could leave your wet things on the floor, Obi-Wan, I meant all of them."
He blushed. "But-"
She dismissed his protest. "Obi-Wan, on Calamari my mother has two sons. It is not the end of the world to have me see your underwear. Call me when you get it off." She left, carrying his clothes with her.
Obi-Wan groaned as soon as she was out of earshot. Girls could be so nonchalant when boys got stressed out.
"Achoo!" Qui-Gon reached for another tissue. "I feel sick."
Tahl patted his head. "Let's get you back to your quarters." They walked down the hallway and turned into Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's quarters where they found Obi-Wan backed up against the couch, Bant against the holoprojecter.
"I am NOT going to let you put that thermometer in my mouth!" Obi-Wan shouted, trying to keep up with her quick movements left and right.
"Oh yes you are!" Bant replied, her arm poised like that of a mad scientist wielding a hypodermic needle- not unlike Jenna Zan Arbor. "If you're going to be sick, I have to know exactly how sick you are!" Unexpectedly, she jumped the coffee table and tackled the much larger boy. Obi-Wan struggled to avoid the thermometer and let out a long shriek. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Meanwhile, on Telos-
"What was that?" Den wondered. "Sounds just like that kid-what was his name? Obi-Wan?"
"Forget the name-it's messin' up my cards!" a rather large man across the table shouted. A large number of screams started, among them, "Earthquake!" "It's the end of the world!" and, from Andra, "Oh, shut up and get over it."
"One hundred and one point three," Bant remarked. "My goodness, Obi-Wan, you really are sick. You'd better lay down."
Obi-Wan plopped down on the couch. "You should have taken my word for it."
"Open wide," Bant directed, kneeling by the couch. Obi-Wan opened his mouth and Bant peered down his throat. "A little red, tonsils swollen a bit but nothing too serious. I'll get you some zinc pills." She walked off and returned with a box of small, transparent turquoise pills. "The box says three," she said, emptying three of the small pills into her hand. "Open your mouth."
Obi-Wan's eyes widened. He stood up slowly and backed against the couch...
DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of fiction written in appreciation of Star Wars; to promote the Star Wars franchise and to keep it alive. All characters and settings original to the Star Wars movies and/or novelizations are copyright to Lucasfilm, Ltd. The rest is copyright to the story's author. No profit was gained from this story.