Creche Tales 2
by Aya
Qui-Gon wandered into the creche, smiling at the chubby lago that hopped up to his boots. "Hello Draigon," he said, picking the animal up and rubbing its belly. The lago growled softly and yawned, preening under the large hands.

He stroked Draigon's ears then set him on one of the cushions that littered the floor. The rooms were strangely empty with the sounds of laughing children echoing in from the small garden. Striding quickly across the floor, he followed the laughter.

Master Yoda sat on a large rock, tapping his stick on the side. "Children, once again..."

The children lay on the carpet of grass, eyes shut and giggling softly. There was much hushing, more giggling, more hushing. Then together, they near shouted their code.

"There is no goofing, there is learning...
There is no wandering, there is exploring.
There is no shouting, there is sharing.
There is no grumping, there is Joy."

They shouted 'Joy' with great enthusiasm, and even the revered master chuckled softly. The children laughed loudly, giggles and chortles bouncing off the rocks and walls. Qui-Gon's chuckles caught the master's attention.

"Padawan, early you are." Yoda gave Qui-Gon one of his rare smiles. "Come, sit, join us you will."

The children rolled over and yelled, "Good day, Master Qui-Gon!" They sat up slowly, stretching in the afternoon sun.

Qui-Gon bowed deeply. "Good day, my master. Good day, little ones. Am I interrupting your lessons?"

"No, Master Qui-Gon," said a young girl named Neela. "Master Yoda was going to tell us a story."

"Will you sit with us?" called Bant.

"Please?" many little voices pleaded.

"Yes, padawan," Yoda said. "Sit you will. A story I have for the young ones." He smiled at the children. "A good story it is."

Qui-Gon, cocked an eyebrow. "Which story would that be, master?" He lowered his large frame to the grass at Yoda's feet and folded his long legs beneath him.

"Good story, Qui-Gon. Good story." The old master cackled loudly and tapped Qui-Gon with his gimmer stick. "Like this you will."

The children started settling once again on the grass, leaning on each other, pillowing heads on legs, stomachs and any other surfaces that were deemed pillow-like. Contented sighs and giggles came from the group and Qui-Gon found green eyes regarding him carefully.

"Yes, Obi-Wan?" he asked lightly.

The young boy sat across from him. "Everyone else has a pillow." He pointed a chubby finger to the group. "We don't have spots."

Qui-Gon nodded gravely, then turned to Yoda. Yoda raised an ear but said nothing. Turning back to the boy, "Well, I suppose we'll have to make the best of it, won't we?" Stretching his legs in front of him, Qui-Gon moved to a sunny patch of grass and lay back carefully, then patted his belly. "Here. It's not very lumpy."

Obi-Wan smiled and scrambled over, laying his head on Qui-Gon's stomach. He started giggling, then settled in again. Moments later he stifled more giggles.

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Your tummy is making noises, Master Qui-Gon. It's funny."

This caught the attention of the other children. "What kind of noises?"

Obi-Wan elaborated. "Like this. Ealup bloop blup grrr grrr bloop waaap." He turned back to Qui-Gon. "You didn't eat midmeal, did you?"

He thought again about the argument he had with Xanatos. Xani had much promise, but wanted everything too quickly, always looking for an easy way out. Frustrated, he assigned his apprentice to three hours of meditation on patience. Qui-Gon propped himself on his elbows. "No, I didn't. I was with my padawan and forgot the time."

Tristan hopped up quickly. "There are some sandwiches left from our lunch. And juice. I'll go get them."

Another child went with him to help. "Don't forget cookies!"

"That's quite alright," Qui-Gon protested. "I'm not really hungry."

"But you hafta eat. It's important," Reeft stated.

"And your tummy won't make those noises. Those are bad noises." Obi-Wan nodded his head emphatically.

"Uh huh." Tal-Ishara agreed. "If you don't eat, you'll get sick. That's bad."

"Yeah," Bant added. "How you gonna stay a big strong Jedi if you don't eat sandwiches? They are good."

"And cookies too."

"Yeah!!!"

Qui-Gon looked to his former master for assistance, but Yoda sat serenely, nibbling the end of his gimmer stick. He turned then to the small hand on his shoulder. Tristan stood proudly offering him a plate piled high with three small sandwiches and an abundance of cookies. Another child, Tenel, held out a glass of dark sweet smelling juice.

"Here, Master Qui-Gon, now your tummy won't be grumping anymore."

"And here's my favorite kind of juice too," Tenel said in a mere whisper, smiling shyly. Qui-Gon saw her small hands shaking as she held the glass out for him. Glancing once more at Yoda, he took the plate from Tristan, thanking him profusely, then took the glass in one hand and settled the young girl on his lap.

"What kind of juice is this?"

"Meraj juice." She balled her hands in her shirt-front and explained very carefully, "They make it from these berries that go squish squish and then there's juice."

"I see." Sipping slowly, he blinked at the strong flavor, then smiled weakly. "And very good juice it is."

//Better, my padawan. More convincing you were that time.//

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow but drank a bit more juice. Then feeling Tristan watching him, he took one of the sandwiches. Kyilla jam and a nut paste...he smiled faintly. He remembered sitting on the grass in this garden with Mace and Rees, munching sandwiches in the sun while listening to stories.

"Tristan, there are a great many cookies here."

"Yes, Master Qui-Gon. We made them this morning."

"I wonder if I'll be able to finish them all..." He took another sandwich and a cookie, then held the plate out to the children. "I think there are enough for all of us."

The children sat up quickly and waited patiently as the plate went around, each taking a cookie and settling back on the grass. Qui-Gon set the plate aside, finished his last sandwich and lay back in the sun. Obi-Wan gently lay his head on Qui-Gon's stomach again. He was quickly joined as the other children scooted over, pillowing heads on him and on each other, until they were resting comfortably on the grass, surrounding the Jedi master.

Obi-Wan looked up and smiled at Qui-Gon. "See, no more tummy grumping. Now we can listen to Master's story."

"Story!" Qui-Gon found himself cheering with the young voices.

Yoda cackled then. "Very well. A story for you. Of one of my padawans. Large feet he had. And big hands..."


The End