Destinies: Crossed Wires [completed]

[James Prent]

James walked along a pathway near the outermost edge of the Jedi complex, and paused to look out of the window at the panoramic display of speeders and transports. It almost took her breath away, not because she’d never seen it before, but because she’d never quite looked at it the same way.

Growing up on Coruscant, such vistas were a part of everyday life. But....life, as it were, was staring her in the face. Every speeder a soul needing to be saved, and every transport full of beings. The Force whispered to her, and she tried to listen, but couldn’t figure out what it was telling her. Not danger, certainly, but...

The door at the end of the passage swished open, and she looked up to see a man and a boy approaching. The little kid was pulling at the man’s hand, trying to pull him forward faster as he toddled forward on his tip toes. The man was laughing with him, but refusing to walk any faster. James smiled as their eyes met, and then turned to stare out the transparisteel wall again. Krasst, he’s a good looker. Older, but that wasn’t always bad.

Of course, there was the kid. James felt a tug on her padawan robes and looked down into a smiling face with big brown eyes.

“Jax -” His father? sounded exasperated. James smiled at him, and knelt down so she was at eye level with the kid.

“Its ok.” She tickled Jax, and surreptitiously eyed the man. He didn’t look like a Jedi, but he had to be at least involved with the Jedi to get this far up into the buildings. “How old’s he?” Jax giggled, and threw himself at her, his chubby arms flinging around her neck.

“He’s three years old in a week or so, going on sixteen.” The man stepped forward to take his son back.

James stood up, the kid in her arms, and was surprised when Jax planted a kiss in the region of her chin. She laughed, “Friendly fellow, ain’t he.” As she tried to hand him back, Jax squalled, and clung to her. James laughed again, a little bewildered. She’d never had a way with kids before, but this one didn’t seem to be able to get enough of her. “Um..he doesn’t seem to want to let go.”

[Pierce Tondry]

"Jax? Jax." The boy stopped hollering and looked around. "Come here, little one."

Jax looked at James a second time and frowned in puzzlement. He allowed Pierce to take him into his arms and laid his head on his father's chest. His thumb found its way into his mouth and he sat with a thoughtful look.

Pierce closed his eyes and shook his head, smiling. "You are a strange little man sometimes, kid."

Jax looked up and smiled, causing Pierce's heart to do the same. His arms shifted to better hold his son and he looked at James. "Sorry," he said apologetically. "Sometimes he doesn't make sense."

"It's ok," the woman smiled and ruffled Jax's short mop of hair. "Nice to be liked, I guess."

Jax wiggled and smiled at her again, but his face was still puzzled. Abruptly, he hid his face in Pierce's chest with a fit of giggles.

Pierce rolled his eyes. "Boy, what are you doing?"

Jax fidgeted and made a few secret-sounding giggles in reply. Pierce shook his head.

Abruptly, he extended a hand to the woman. "Pierce Tondry," he said.

[James Prent]

She shook his hand almost too firmly. "James Prent. And don't give me a weird look; most people around here do when I introduce myself. I'm no relation to any other Prents in these parts. My family lives in the middle layer of Section 34, and they don't get out much, y'know?"

James poked Jax in the side, and he giggled some more, peeking out at her shyly. "Just look at him flirt! Gonna be quite a ladies man, I s'pose?" The little boy laughed more, and hid his face again. "I bet your dad and mom have their hands full with you!" She grinned at the kid, and extended another finger to tickle his sides. Jax wriggled, trying to get away from her finger, and giggled madly.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Just dad, actually," Pierce said, his face falling.

James looked up. "Oh, I'm- I'm sorry," she stammered. "I didn't realize she'd-"

Pierce waved his free hand. "She hasn't," he said. "She's just... doing her own thing."

"Huh?"

"We don't get along very well," he said. Thinking of Lilaena made his heart plummet. He felt himself sag involuntarily.

Jax looked up at him curiously. "Da?" he asked. "Whassa madda?"

Pierce ruffled his son's hair, but the hurt did not fade. "Nothing, kiddo," he sighed. "Nothing."

Jax suddenly wrapped his short arms around Pierce's neck and buried his face in his father's chest again. Pierce smiled sadly and pulled his son up close.

"Prent, huh?" he said suddenly, turning the conversation in a different direction. "I'm assuming you've heard of Sanis Prent by now?"

[James Prent]

She laughed, a cheery sound that managed not to sound like she was trying to brighten the mood. "Let's just say I might give the guy a black eye whenever we meet." James grinned, but her eyes were taking in the picture of father and son...

No kid should be without their mother. It just wasn't right. Fathers abandoned kids every day probably, but mothers? It was unnatural. James opened her mouth to say something and then closed it. Then she made up her mind, and opened it again. "Y'know, if you need someone to help look after Jax, I'd me more'n willing to help. I have my studies, but... I mean..."

She flushed and laughed nervously, "He seems to like me, an' I don't even know if you live around here, but if you need a babysitter..."

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce returned her smile with half of one. "Yeah, he's a bit of an adventurous one. Likes to sneak out of the apartment. Gramps can watch him sometimes, but training takes up a fair-sized chunk of time. Good thing I'm on one of the upper floors so all he runs into are Jedi. I guess it'd be okay."

Wait a minute. What the hell was he thinking? I don't know anything about her other than a name, least of all where she lives or who she's training under. More details were needed. Lilaena could be behind anything regarding Jax.

"So," Pierce said, as though it meant nothing. "Who're you training under?"

[James Prent]

She made a face at the kid, and Jax tried to reach for her, but his father held him. Jax squirmed.

"Training? Under Master Salemn Lysce. She's a full Jedi Knight, not a master though. I'm still not sure what I should call her. I've been here for a few months." James thought a moment. "Five months. It's slow going."

She laced her hands together in what she had found to be a good Jedi posture, and stood quietly. "Who are you training under then? Upper levels? Must be important. I'm somewhere," she gestured vaugely and then clasped her hands together again, "down there. Rooms are small, but it helps me keep my focus I guess." She smiled faintly.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Well, I have a few special circumstances," Pierce said, nodding at Jax. "Not to mention the fact that I'm involved in some of the security work for the Temple and Senator Helenias Evenstar, which means where she goes, I go. The fact that she's also my Jedi Master helps that."

The two of them nodded and lapsed into a short silence where they both watched Jax attempt to wrestle free of his father's hold. Eventually rolling his eyes in exasperation, Pierce hefted his son up. "Would you mind holding him? He's just not going to sit still unless you do, I think."

"Sure," James said. She stuck her fingers in her ears and wiggled her tongue at Jax.

Pierce laughed in spite of himself and handed Jax (busy giggling in victory) over to James. As soon as James had hold of him, the young boy wrapped his arms around her neck and awkwardly put his head against her jaw. James shifted him higher so she could continue to speak. "What-? I mean, I'm not trying to pry, but what do you do? Security work, I know, but, like, what is it?"

Pierce frowned, trying to decide how to answer. "I'm sorry," James said. She'd probably taken his frown for disapproval.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Pierce waved the apology away. "As to what I do- well, let's just say I used to work for the Empire and I was very good at getting into places people didn't want me. Now, I do the opposite- try and keep people out of places where they're not wanted. I'd say more, but I could be charged with treason if I gave out details."

James gulped and nodded, clearly worried. "So," Pierce said, trying to lighten the mood. "You figure out how to lift rocks yet?"

[James Prent]

She laughed, "Rocks? Hel- heck no. I think I became one with a tree for a moment, and my lightsaber training has progressed to the point that I know which end is which, and I don't chop my own head off, y'know?" James sighed, and added, "It's going slower than I thought it would."

Jax, arms still wrapped around her, laid his head on her shoulder, snuggling against her neck. "I'm beginning to be able to feel the Force more consistently...before I came here I could only use it when something upset me. Got me fired from a job: I managed to break all of the dishes in one of the allnight diner in Sector 43a." Her green eyes darkened, "But it was almost worth it, y'know?"

James shook herself slightly, and absently began rubbing Jax's back with her right hand. "Anyway, the peace that Master Lysce keeps talking about seems t' elude me when I need it the most. But its getting easier."

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce nodded at James' statement, mentally noting that Jax seemed quite comfortable. "I've worked out that only two kinds of people ever know true peace," he said.

James, her curiosity piqued, waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she asked. "Who are they?"

"Farmers and kids," Pierce said. He seemed to sag under the weight of past considerations even as his face became much wiser in appearance. "The catch is that neither of them value it as much as people like us."

Abruptly conscious of himself, Pierce shrugged. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to go all Jedi on you."

James smiled. "Well, it kinda makes sense, y'know?"

"Yeah." Pierce's lip twitched and he poked Jax in the ribs. "Enjoy it while you can, little man."

Jax giggled and tried to shrink further into James, which was impossible. When he realized he couldn't get away, he giggled again.

"Hey, lemme ask you something," Pierce said suddenly. "Do you ever catch flashes that you think are people's thoughts, but then later you realize that there's no one else around you at the time?"

[James Prent]

James thought about it, transferring Jax to her other hip as she did. The little boy wrapped his legs around her as she balanced him on one arm. "No...not really. Sometimes I almost think I can hear the grass talking to me though. It's a little bizarre..." She shrugged, flushing unexpectedly at the look Pierce gave her. "Master Lysce has me working with nature a lot, before I try to use the Force around a sentient being."

She smiled as Jax pointed out the windows at the speeders going by, and she whispered in his ear, no words, but just tickly air. He hadn't said a word yet, but for his age, shouldn't he have been talking some, at least?

[Pierce Tondry]

(ooc) Actually, I did have him say a few words as part of an earlier post. :) Don't know if you caught that.

(ic)

"Ah." Pierce thought for a moment. "Guess I'm not much of a nature boy. I haven't really done anything along those lines. In fact, I seem to be having trouble doing just about everything related to Jedi training."

Jax suddenly wriggled mightily and James had to put him down. The little boy went over to the window and stared out it fixedly at something. James rose, smiling and Pierce stared intently at her face for a moment. That smile looks... familiar...

"Twuk!" Jax piped up. He was very pleased with himself and showed this in the form of bouncing up and down and staring through the glass. "Twuk!"

Pierce knelt by the boy and looked at the speeder truck his son had identified. "Yep, kiddo," he chuckled. "That's a truck. Tr-uck."

"Twuk!"

Pierce suddenly grinned and grabbed his son in a big bear hug. "You learn new words every day," he laughed.

Jax latched onto his father in return, repeating his new word like a prize. "Twuk! Twuk! Twuk!"

Pierce gave James a rogueish wink. "Twuk!" he laughed.

[James Prent]

She chuckled along with Pierce, and looked up at Jax, who was slapping an open hand on the transparisteel as his father held him. She wrinkled her nose at him in a grin, "Twuk it is."

Screaming...he was screaming! Jax was holding onto a metal pole, ducked underneath something, and screaming his head off. James looked at him with fear and compassion, but then turned away to face a multicolored lightsaber held by a shadowy figure. 'Don't cry Jax,' she wanted to say, but the words were caught in her throat.

James started, and lost her balance, nearly falling over.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Easy!" Pierce said, grabbing James' shoulder. A flicker of something dark and fearful crossed his mind and he frowned, trying to sort out whether it was his, or whether it was from someone else.

James steadied herself under Pierce's grip. "Thanks," she said.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," she said. A little shortly, too. Something had unnerved her, and Pierce wondered if it was something similar to the flashes he'd talked about.

"You had a vision, didn't you?" he guessed.

[James Prent]

James took a deep breath to clear her mind, and slowly shook her head. "I...I don't know." She looked at Jax, who was certainly not screaming or even crying, and then rubbed her forehead with her hand.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me. I've never had anything like that happen to me before, y'know?" She looked at Jax again, as if expecting him to do something scary.

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce gave James a comforting pat on the shoulder. "I've never had one myself," he said. "But I hear they can be really nerve-wracking. You want to talk about it?"

[James Prent]

She sagged a little. "Your son... He was in trouble." They both looked at Jax, who grinned.

"Twuck!"

James smiled weakly at him, and Jax's face became serious, and then he reached for her again. Tondry allowed her to hold him, and they clung to each other, neither really sure why. James held the little boy securely, and sighed. "I don't know what to make of it...I was protecting him from something...evil."

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce's jaw worked itself up and down, but no words came out. It was all he could do to keep from staring.

Abruptly he turned away and stared out the window, filled with hard resolve he couldn't let them see. There were many evills in the universe, but few of them had any interest in him, and fewer still cared about Jax. But whatever the cost to himself, he would protect his son.

Would Lilaena go so far as to hurt Jax, though? It was hard to believe that she would. Maybe it was something else, something random and James just happened to be there.

It did not cross his mind to wonder if James was telling the truth, and later Pierce would examine the implications of that fact, but for now he just turned around. He was smiling, but he could not get rid of the intensity behind his eyes so easily. "Can't think of a better kind of babysitter," he said. "If you've got a comm frequency, I'll give you a call when I need you."

[James Prent]

She blinked, and then slowly smiled, her lips somehow reminding him of his wife. Maybe it was the fact that he'd just been thinking about her... "I'd be honored. Jax's a very special little boy."

James paused to scribble down her comm frequency on a scrap of flimsy, and handed it to Pierce. "It was nice to meet you and your son. But I've got a meeting with my master to get to now." She bent down and tussled Jax's mop of dark hair, which made him look up and then latch onto her leg.

"No go! Stay!" Jax looked like he was going to cry. James bit her lip in mock consternation, and picked up the child. He clung to her again. "I miss you."

The words were clear, but he was almost three. But obviously confused. "I'm still here, you can't miss me yet, silly boy." She beeped his nose and tried to hand him off to Pierce so she could be on her way.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Jax."

The quiet and soft tone Pierce used seemed to reach the emotional child. "Come here, son."

"Wanna schtay!" Jax cried, tears, snot, and a hand obscuring his speech.

"She has to go, son," Pierce went on. Strong hands took hold of Jax beneath the arms and lifted him up. "You can see her later."

Jax fidgeted, trying to get free. His father's hands held him solidly, no matter how he twisted and turned. "No wanna go!"

"Son, she's not your mom."

Jax buried his head in dad's chest. It wasn't true! "No!"

"Ohh, my little baby boy," Pierce said quietly. "I know you miss your mom, but this lady isn't mom and she has things to do. So we'd better let her go do them."

Jax took another look at James. "Not mom?"

"Not mom," James agreed sadly. "But I'll come visit you, okay little guy?"

"Okay," Jax said. He put his head on dad's chest and his little face looked absolutely heartbroken.

"Will he be okay?" James asked.

Pierce nodded. "I know a few things about making sadness go away," he said. One hand gently brushed Jax's hair. "Go on. Don't be late for your meeting."

[James Prent]

James hesitated, and then nodded. "Take care of him. He's a special boy." She felt tears pricking her eyes as Jax looked at her, a last whimper escaping him as she turned away from the pair. He just looked so...sad.

The vision was disturbing, though. What did it mean? One thing was for sure, if she was going to protect Jax in the future, she'd better apply herself to training. Lightsaber skills would be a good place to start. James hurried through the doors at the end of the glassed-in hall, anxious not to be late for her Master.

All through her training session, the little boy's tear stricken face haunted her.