It Happens Every Day... (open)

[Jasmine Carter]

Yesterday

“Daddy! Daaaaaddy! Don’t leave me! I p-promise, Da-a… I p-promise I’ll be-e g-g-good!”

The little girl ran through the crowd after the retreating back, Mary Jane’s ‘clap-clapping’ on the pavement. Daddy paid no attention, but the little boy he carried, her brother Jonathon, watched her over their father’s broad shoulders, too young to understand.

Jasmine was sobbing as she hurried after, her tear streaked face etched in misery.

“D-d-daa-aaddy! S-stop!”

To her great surprise, he did, a firm look on his face. The little gorl ran to him, expecting open arms—which was far from what she got.

Grabbing her tightly by either arm, he shook his head.

“No.”

The single word caused her to wail again, salty drops dripping down her tiny rounded face.

“W-why don’t you l-l-love me-e Daddy? W-why d-do you w-want to leeeave me?”

The man shook her, which only made her cry harder, and then grabbed her head, framing her face with his hands. He gave her another shake until she opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Jasmine I am not leaving you, I’m going on a trip and you can’t come! Now stop!”

He picked Jonathon up again and started walking away. Jasmine chased him screaming, but he only pushed her away fiercely so that she fell.

As her father faded from sight the little girl sobbed, her heart breaking. She couldn’t even get enough air in her lungs to yell out ‘Daddy’ one last time.

******

Today

It was not unusual to see children wandering Coruscant and so five-year-old Jasmine was not noticed by many. Her eyes were red and puffy, both from hours of crying and not enough sleep, and her clothes were rumpled. Every few seconds a “huh-huh” kind of sound came from her as she gasped for air, having just had another cry. Her eyes were still watery and she kept bumping into people.

“S-sorry.”

She must have said it a million times.

Earlier in the morning Jasmine had stumbled upon a cheap playground where a man had been, pushing his sons on the swings. She had fled the plastic tubed structure, shaking.

Bump!

“S-sorry.”

The poor little thing really looked pathetic. Her face needed washing, hair brushing, and tummy filling. But Daddy was gone and Daddy always did those things.

Bump!

“Sorry.”

[Zeke]

"Eh?"

Zeke shifts the bags of groceries in his arms, spinning about on one foot until he can see past them to what it is he's trying not to trip over. A broad grin lights his face as he sees the girl there.

"Hi there!"

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha had been leaning against the doorway of the building, just beyond the reach of the crowds. A glowering expression appeared on his face as he did so, though there was nothing sinister on his mind...just yet.

He could feel the presence of the jedi, a familiar presence, and one that he had taken a slight interest in since meeting his sister some time ago. His sister was..well, she was pretty cool - for the sister of a jedi.

But now the jedi was there - doing his duty as a helpful citizen. With a roll of his eyes, Sasha snorted in contempt. It was annoying, really, at times, the way the jedi were like this. Normally, it probably wouldnt have annoyed him as much as it did - but he was in a period of change - and perhaps this was a sort of last ditch effort at believing he was truly a follower of the Sith.

With amusement on his features, he delved into the mind of the little girl. It was easy, too easy really to read what was on her mind - what was bothering her. So...she missed her Daddy.

Illusions were not a simple thing for him, but he'd worked on them to the point that he was able to do them - at least, they would work on one with a mind that was not quite so advanced, quite so well trained. So it was likely that little Jasmine might have been fooled by the figure that looked so much like her father standing in the doorway watching her and Zeke.

He stepped forward, a smirk going in the direction of Zeke as he did so, as if to say, 'remember me?'.

And then he looked to little Jasmine.

"Daddy's trip was cancelled sweetheart. Ive been looking all over for you!"

(ooc: not trying to turn this into a fight/hijack your thread - just thought I'd add a little twist....if you dont want it, feel free to ask a mod to delete. :) )

[Jasmine Carter]

Jasmine looked from Zeke to what seemed to be her father. As she stared at Sasha, lower lip trembling, she bagan to sniffle. The sniffles turned into giant heaves and before anyone knew it the tiny child was latched onto Sasha's legs, crying loudly, both in relief and cunfusion. She could hardly gasp any words out as she clung tightly to the man.

"I-I-I-I p-rro-mise, ungh, that I w-won't be-e b-bad any... anym-more D-d-addy. J-just dooon't leave m-me a-again!"

[Zeke]

Zeke's met Sasha once already. He doesn't think highly of the man, and even less so now.

"Even if you are a Sith Knight, one would think you'd have enough consideration for your child not to abandon her in the streets!"

[SashaKovalev]

A hand reached down to rest on the litle girls full head full of curls, leaving it only for a moment to tenderly brush a stray lock from her tear stained cheeks.

It had likely been a mistake for him to ever get involved. He was a young kid who'd believed himself to be a follower of the Sith. Only....he'd left the Sith Order and was now travelling about the galaxy on his own, trying to figure himself out.

In his confusion and anger with himself for not knowing what he wanted from life, from time to time he lashed out. He had stepped into this situation as just that - lashing out at the nearest thing - a jedi - and involving this little girl in it as he did so.

As her tiny fists clung to him, gathering his pants desperately between grimy fingers, he felt a brief flash of...of...protectiveness? Instantly he regretted his decision to get involved.

He couldnt just leave the kid - as much as he knew he wasnt meant to be a follower of the Sith, his leaving the order didnt change his hatred of the jedi, or his contempt for this one in particular. He wasnt going to leave the girl to the jedi.

But he wasnt quite sure what he'd do after, either. Quickly he shoved this from his mind. He could worry about that later.

"Shhhhhhh...." He added, the soothing hush coming from his lips sounding foreign to even himself.

"Its ok. Daddy forgives you."

Even if you are a Sith Knight, one would think you'd have enough consideration for your child not to abandon her in the streets!

He struggled to keep the smirk of amusement from his features. So the jedi believed she was his. Perfect. This would make things a bit...easier, perhaps.

"I dont have to justify my actions to you." Sasha stated, his gaze leaving the tiny head of curls and looking towards Zeke.

"But so there wont be any trouble, as I.....love my daughter so dearly...." He added, through nearly clenched teeth, "It was an accident. She was upset with me and ran off. Ive been looking for her all afternoon." He lied.

[Jasmine Carter]

"Its ok. Daddy forgives you."

The words made the little girl cry harder, and she lifted her arms, indicating that she wanted to be picked up. She was so relieved that her Daddy still loved her, that he still wanted her.

Jas halfhazzardly brushed her curls out of her eyes and tried to take deep breaths. She didn't even notice the story that Sasha fed the Jedi about her running off, so caught up with him was she.

"A-and you wo-on't leave a-again?"

[SashaKovalev]

As she began to sob harder, lifting her arms to be picked up, he bent to lift her into his arms. Her little head rested upon his shoulder, her tears wetting his shirt.

A-and you wo-on't leave a-again?

Was he seriously going to lie to this little girl? Despite his belief in the dark side of the force, he did have a conscience. And it stabbed him in the gut as he heard the little girl's plea.

But hatred of the jedi won out. He was, after all, a former Sith Knight.

"No, sweetie, I promise." He replied as he held her, rubbing her back gently, the natural instincts for fatherhood emerging.

His gaze still held that of the jedi, his violet eyes narrowing slightly in satisfaction.

"As you can see, we're just fine now." He stated. "Maybe you could run along and offer your help to someone who wants it..."

[Zeke]

Zeke watches Sasha hold the little girl, mind and heart fighting each other. Should he leave her with him? She's quite happy, and he has no way of knowing whether Sasha is lying or not. He seems genuine, but he still gets that feeling he's lying, that something's amiss about this whole thing. So...let's give the man a chance.

"Let's talk some, shall we? I'd like to know a bit about this daughter of yours."

[Jasmine Carter]

As his hand gently stroked her back, Jasmine began to calm down, the tears slowly dissipating into mere hiccups. The exaustion that had been held back by her childhood stubborness was fighting to catch up with her, and Jasmine was fast losing.

She placed one sweaty little arm around Sasha's neck, as if ensuring that he could not leave, and began to fiddle with his earlobe, a habit that she had developed from infancy. Wearily the bright blue eyes, bloodshot from the turmoil of the last day and a half, began to close. Every few seconds Jasmine would jerk them open in an attempt to stay awake. She was completly oblivious to the verbal argument between 'Daddy' and the Jedi Zeke.

[SashaKovalev]

Let's talk some, shall we? I'd like to know a bit about this daughter of yours.

Had it not been a jedi - this particular jedi lecturing him, Sasha might have given in and handed poor Jasmine over.

But it was a jedi. And it was this jedi.

"You can try to tell me how I can and cannot use the force, jedi, but dont try to tell me how to care for my daughter." A low growl had entered his tone, his defensiveness on the rise.

"We'll be perfectly fine without your help. He added, the use of the word 'we' another stab to the gut by his conscience.

"And there isnt a need for me to tell you anything about.....Jasmine." He added, quickly probing for her name as she drifted off to sleep.

He was in it. And he was in it deep. In a matter of minutes. The way the child played with his earlobe. She'd won his heart in a matter of minutes. In this moment he knew he'd made the right decision in leaving the order - a sith would not have felt the hint of a conscience that he felt. But he had also gotten into more than he'd bargained for. He possibly just gained a 'daughter'.

[Zeke]

"I'm not tryin' to tell you how to take care of kids. I'm no dad. But I wanna know what she did that'd make you leave her in the streets. Of Coruscant no less."

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha rolled his eyes.

"I already told you. She was upset with me" He repeated.

"And if you were a father, you'd understand that sometimes you cant give a kid everything they want all the time. Im trying to keep her from being spoiled, thats all, and she, like any normal kid, got upset that I wouldnt buy her another doll and ran off. Thats it."

Sasha shifted slightly, still holding Jasmine in his arms as she began to drift off to sleep.

"Look, we're fine, ok." He added, the tone of his voice softening a bit.

"She'll be fine." He added.

[Zeke]

"If she ran off, why not chase her and take her home? By the look of her she's been wandering for days."

He's not indignant or worried for the girl anymore. She looks happy, and Sasha seems to genuinely care for her.

"So...she's how old?" he asks, turning the subject.

[SashaKovalev]

"She got lost in the crowd, ok..." He muttered as defensively as if it had actually happened.

Oddly, he was somewhat concerned now that Zeke would actually try to take her from him. This little girl who had won his heart so easily.

"She's five." He replied without hesitation. He had no clue how old she was, but five just seemed to fit her. He could almost picture her holding up her fingers and declaring exactly how old she was.

Her little arms were wrapped about his neck, and while to some degree they strangling him, what sucked the breath from his lungs more was the fact that he cold feel her tiny heart beating next to his. It was the responsibility of taking care of one who was too small, too vulnerable to take care of themselves.

He'd been a kid without a father. And he understood all too well little Jasmine's heartache. Eventually, she would figure it out - that he wasnt her father - but if he could, for some small amount of time, save her from the harsh reality, he was willing to do it.

[Zeke]

"Five huh? She adopted, or she got a mom? She don't look at all like you."

[SashaKovalev]

His violet eyes narrowed as anger flared.

"Thats none of your business, jedi." He snarled between clenched teeth. And it wasnt. Any father - 'real' or not would have been insulted by the question.

"And you could be a little smarter about asking something like that in front of her..." He added.

"In front of any kid..."

And then he turned and began to walk off, Jasmine seeminly content in his arms for the moment.

[Jasmine Carter]

Jasmine dozed on and off, each time awakening in apprehension as if expecting to find that it had all been a dream and that her father really wasn't there. But each time there 'he' was, holding her. She smiled blissfully and buried her face in his neck.

"I thought you was never coming back."

She gripped him tighter as she said this.

"But now you won't never leave, right? Just like you said."

Jasmine smiled, letting out a contented sigh.

[SashaKovalev]

He could feel her shifting every now and then, her little hands gripping tighter, suddenly, as if she feared something, and then releasing.

At one point she buried her head in his neck and he sighed softly. Sighed because he knew that one day she would hurt again as she had been - and she would hurt the second time because he had been the one to decieve her into believing he was her father. And for what? For a foolish fit of anger? This only made him want to protect her more, as if kindness now would make it easier later.

"No, Jasmine, I wont ever leave." He replied. Not him, at least. He wouldnt leave her, but 'daddy' would. He could only keep up an illusion with her for so long. And the truth was, minute by minute, he he was feeling worse and worse about what he'd done.

The sooner he could somehow fix it, as soon as he came up with a plan, he would. But he meant what he said - he wouldnt leave her.

"Are you hungy?" He asked, a hand coming up to entangle in her hair, smoothing out the messy curls, and holding her protectively as they walked.

[Jasmine Carter]

SHe nodded, cheek rubbing against his shoulder as she did. In her relief, Jasmine had not noticed that brother Jonathon was not present-- unusual for her father. Likewise she did not notice it as unusual when he picked her up, another action her male parent had aborhed. In her youthful naivety Jas had written it off as a change of heart, for the better.

"Yeah. I never had anyfing to eat 'cept for breakfast yesserday."

[SashaKovalev]

His violet eyes narrowed as he wondered, for a moment, where her real father was. From reading her thoughts, he'd caught images of the scene - knew he'd told her he was going on a trip and had....shoved her away. He had the distinct feeling the man wasnt coming back for her.

And he'd gotten himself into this mess. What did little kids eat, anyway?

"Alright, then...." He replied, stalling while he tried to figure out where to take her. No where with lots of people - it would be too difficult to concentrate on the illusion.

Ahead of them he spotted a sign for an Inn - with vacancies. Perfect.

He would take her there, get a room, let her get whatever she wanted from room service, and then hopefully she'd fall asleep for a while. She looked tired. Then - then he could figure out what the heck he was going to do with a....five year old girl who thought he was her Daddy.

"How about we go here and you can order whatever you want?" He suggested, lifting the tone of his voice for her benefit. He tried to make it sound optimistic, though inside he was a mess.

"Maybe get some...uh..icecream or something?" He added, thinking that he'd liked ice cream as a kid. Ok, still did. He suggested this as he pushed open the door to the Inn and the two of them entered the expansive front hallway.

[Jasmine Carter]

"Mmmkay!"

Jasmine lifted her head in a hesitantly cheerful way, wondering if this was just another way Daddy could make hurt her feelings. He did that often. But she wasn't about to turn away a good thing.

Twisting a lock of hair around her finger the little girl made a little 'click' with her tongue and started to chatter.

"Do you think they have choc'lit? Cos if they don't I don't want any."

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha chuckled, amused by her idle chatter.

"They'd better have chocolate. I dont want any unless its chocolate either." He assured her.

As he approached the front desk, he moved to set her on the ground beside him but stopped when the lady at the front desk began speaking. It was too late. She'd caught a glimpse of the curly haired cutie and had begun, like all women seem to do, to fawn over the girl.

"Oh isnt she just darling!" The woman exclaimed. Sasha shifted uncomfortably. He hadnt really been hoping to draw any sort of attention.

And then without asking, the woman produced a purple lollypop and offered it to Jasmine.

"I need a room." Sasha stated, getting down to business as soon as possible.

The woman nodded.

"Well of course, let me just take a look and see....." She began to click away on the computer in front of her, glancing every now at then at Jasmine and producing the big, fake, animated smile that people give children.

[Jasmine Carter]

At the womans attention, Jasmine beamed. She knew how to act cute towards these types, it was like a built in reaction. She made her eyes big and blinked them slowly, a dainty smile on her lips. When the woman handed her the lolly she made an 'o' and let out a delighted squeal.

"Oh boy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The woman smiled and then turned her attention to the computer. Jasmine's expression changed from the Bambiesque look to a sly grin as she put the candy in her pocket. She leaned closer to Sasha's ear and whispered loudly,

"She's really weird!"

Giggling to herself, Jas returned the desk clerks smile with a beamer of her own.

[SashaKovalev]

Not only did the whisper in his ear tickle, but the words spoken were just too true. He tried stifle a snort of amusement by turning it into a cough.

The woman glanced up, but a simple urging from the force forced her head back down to pay attention to her computer and finding a room as quickly as possible.

"Ahhh....yes. I see we do have one on the 10th floor...." By now the woman had begun to speak a bit slower, treating Sasha as if he, too, were five years old and needed an explanation as to how to find this room.

He reached for his wallet and struggling slightly to still hold Jasmine, he pulled a credit card from it and tossed it over the desk. The woman ran it through, gave him the key, and they were off.

With a sigh of relief, he searched for the lift that would take them to the 10th floor. It was glass and as they stepped inside and the doors closed, Sasha began to relax a little.

"You want to push the button?" He offered, remembering as best he could the things he'd most liked to do when he was a kid.

[Jasmine Carter]

"Nope. Don't like 'em."

She began to hum a nonsense tune and and fiddle with his earlobe again.

"Daddy? Where's Jonathon?"

She asked innocently.

"He'd prolly like some ice cream too, right?"

[SashaKovalev]

He reached out and pressed the button, gazing out at the city around them as the lift began to rise.

She'd begun to play with his earlobe again. Tiny fingers tugging on it.

Daddy? Where's Jonathon? He'd prolly like some ice cream too, right?

Her question caught him off guard and for a brief moment, his concentration was broken. He was tiring, the work of creating this illusion every so often exhausting him.

He avoided her question, for luckily before he'd had to respond the bell had made a soft dinging noise and the lift doors had opened.

"Ten twenty-six..." He muttered to himself as he began to follow the corridor of doors. He paused for a moment in front of one, insterted the plastic key card, and in they went. He let the door close behind them and then finally moved to set Jasmine on the floor.

She wasnt heavy, for she was just a little thing, but his arms werent used to carrying a child all over the place. Unconsciously, his left hand then reached for his lightsaber, making sure it was still there and realizing that he would have to be careful with it. Kids...kids got into all sorts of things. He had, at least.

And then he reached for the phone and dialed room service, requesting chocolate ice cream, french fries, and a chocolate shake. He had no clue what she liked to eat, but it seemed like the sort of thing a kid might want.

Setting the phone down, he looked to the little girl, completely unsure of what to do next.

[Jasmine Carter]

As soon as she was set on teh floor Jasmine raced for the beds, side by side, and began jumping back and forth, landing with an 'oof' each time. Finally she settled on one and hopped up and down, completly messing the covers.

"You-ou di-ii-dn't answer-r my-y ques-tion..."

She stopped jumping, and discovered that her voice wasn't nearly as entertaining when still.

"How come Jonathon's not here? Did you leave him like ya left me?"

[SashaKovalev]

She was jumping on the beds. Something inside him told him he was supposed to tell her not to, but no one had ever explained that logic to him, and he knew he wouldnt be able to answer the inevitible 'why' that would come with telling her not to do something.

So he let her do as she pleased.

You-ou di-ii-dn't answer-r my-y ques-tion... She stated as she bounced.

His eyes lifted to the ceiling, as if asking someone, something, for some sort of guidance.

How come Jonathon's not here? Did you leave him like ya left me? This was asked without bouncing, her innocent little face staring at him.

He felt like a monster. And for a moment, his anger flared. Anger with himself for not having just stayed out of it earlier.

Sighing softly, he took a seat on a chair in the corner of the room and rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

Who was Jonathon? He wondered, though he found this answer easily in only a matter of moments. He didnt want to lie to her any more than he had to. After she ate, after she'd rested, he would somehow explain this to her. Only...how was he to explain to a five year old - or...a kid who appeared to be somewhere around that age, that he'd screwed up, he'd decieved her, he'd lied to her, and now he'd taken her further away from someone who probably could have helped her.

His gaze lifted to look at her once again. How did he break her little heart all over again and tell her that he wasnt really her father?

Somehow, he would have to do it. And then somehow, he was going to have to figure out what to do with her.

He hoped room service arrived quickly. Something to distract her.

His violet eyes looked about the room and came to rest on the television. He didnt bother to reach for the remote - it was too easy to use the force. And too second nature. The tv came on and he hoped she might be distracted.

[Jasmine Carter]

It didn't occur to Jasmine to wonder about the questionable way the television had been turned on; she simpy hopped over to teh bed nearest teh dvice adn plopped down. After a moment of watching she made a face and scootched off the bed, grabbing the remote.

"Yuk."

She began to flip through the channels, every once in a while stopping to evaluate a program before surfing again. She finally decided on a loud cartoon, giving a nod of satisfaction before walking over to Sasha and crawling into his lap. She squirmed around until she was resting with her head in the crook of his arm and began to watch the show.

Jasmine didn't make a sound as she watched, nor did she smile. Somehow she just didn't find cartoons funny enough to laugh aloud.

"Oh, I like this guy."

A strange blob-like character had appeared on the screen and began to 'dance', making gargling noises.

"He's the best 'cos the guy with the hammer always squishes him."

[SashaKovalev]

He sighed in relief as his plan seemed to work. She was, for the time being at least, enthralled with the television. She’d known how to change the channels, and she knew what she liked or didn’t like. That was for sure.

She’d made it rather clear with her look of disgust before she’d changed the channels and finally settled on a cartoon of some sort. Sasha had never seen the show, that was for sure. He’d raised an eyebrow at it, thinking that kids these days watched some strange things.

But it seemed to make her happy, and in moments she’d moved from the bed to crawl into his lap. Moment by moment he was feeling worse and worse. She squirmed about a bit, but then finally settled with her head in the crook of his arm to watch the show.

Protectively, perhaps, and without consciously realizing it, he played with her curls, wracking his mind to find some suitable way to explain to this little girl what he’d done. For the moment, she was still seeing him as ‘Daddy’, but it wouldn’t be much longer that he could keep up the charade. Not without some time to rest first.

And so, while her mind was on the tv, he relaxed, dropping the illusion. The only thing he could hope, when he finally dropped it for good, was that there would be something familiar about him that would help her to realize that he wasn’t a stranger. Well…not totally.

When there was a knock on the door about 25 minutes later, he put the illusion back to work, loathing himself every moment for doing it. He lifted Jasmine easily and set her on the bed while he answered the door.

The guy from room service carried the tray in, set it down, and then in only minutes was gone. Sasha picked up the tray and carried it over to the bed, setting it in front of Jasmine.

“Here you go, Princess.” He teased as he set it down before her. The nickname had come easily, for as he’d walked to the door he’d realized that in a very short time this little girl had begun ruling his life. His every move for the past hour or so had been dictated by what would be best for Jasmine. And so he donned her a princess for the time being.

He probably should have known to have her sit down at the little table in the room to eat, but he hadn’t ever taken charge of a kid before, and knew virtually nothing about parenting. Where she was, on the bed in front of the tv seemed like as good a place as any to east ice cream, French fries, and a chocolate shake.

He grabbed one of the fries and popped it in his mouth before he took a seat in the chair in the corner of the room once again.