Earlier that day, she had worked at the clinic until Dande had arrived at noon. She was lucky that morning; her only patient had been Mace Windu complaining of a paper cut. He had been helping to hang Christmas decorations in the Hunkette Temple and had become careless. Darry had dressed the boo-boo and sent him back to finish up. While her back was turned, he had mumbled a thanks and something about cornering Jenn under the mistletoe and left.
Now Darry contemplated the flow of chi through her new office and began rearranging furniture accordingly. Finally setting up pictures of her sibs and two favourite Jedi on her desk, she leaned back in the chair, picked up her decaf extra-milky latte, and looked around the room, thinking about the rest of the day.
She wore the grey velvet Dana Scully-esque suit Emmy had helped her pick out the last time they had been shopping in Seattle. The jacket was long, falling to a just few inches above her knees, and the pants were slightly cropped. Very professional, very provocative (especially if you had a thing for Gillian Anderson).
She pulled out the large day planner and began filling in appointments. Just then, the com chimed.
"Darry Willis" she announced.
"Did I get you off the desk?" Dande asked.
"Hilarious. What do you want?"
"Did we or did we not have some medicinal ganja in the drug cupboard?"
Darry narrowed her eyes in thought. "Yes we did." Yoda complained about what he thought was glaucoma, but what she assured him was old age. Nevertheless, he'd request it from time to time. "Why?"
"Well, Yoda's come in looking for his prescription and I can't find any. Did someone else get into the drug cabinet?"
Darry thought about the morning's patient. "That wanker!"
"Who? What!" Dande shouted.
"Dande, remember Qui-Gon saying something the other day about Mace and Yoda playing practical jokes on each other."
"Not really," Dande confessed.
"Well, I'm not surprised, you were attempting to French braid Qui-Gon's hair at the time. Anyway, he said that Mace and Yoda had taken to picking on each other the last few weeks. It started when Mace had removed Yoda's chair from the Council Room, and he had nowhere to sit at the last meeting. Then Yoda had sent a love letter with Mace's signature on it to Chancellor Vallorum. After that, Mace had hidden Yoda's staff in the women's' locker room in the Temple gymnasium and Yoda had countered by putting Propecia in Mace's food."
"Oh yeah, I remember now. He came to the clinic to have his Wheaties analyzed." Dande said. "So you think that Mace stole the Mary Jane?"
"I'm sure of it. He'll be at our Temple all afternoon. Ask someone to keep an eye on him…Jenn, perhaps." Darry smirked evilly.
"Ah, that's just an expression I like to see," said a voice at the door. Darry looked up and saw Senator Palpatine walk in and stand by the desk, a stack of data pads in his hands.
"Dande, I gotta get to work," Darry said.
"Of course you do. I'll just give the little green troll some parsley then and send him on his way."
"Sounds good," Darry said as she broke the connection.
"Forgive the intrusion, my dear. I did knock," the Senator said.
"That's ok. What's up?"
"Here are the requests for interviews, appointments and appearances for the next part of the legislative session that I've gone through. I've marked the ones that I'll attend and the ones for you to handle."
"Not a problem. I'll put them all into the planner. Was there anything else?"
"My secretary says that I have an appointment with a tailor this afternoon. Is that a suggestion of yours?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. I don't know who your PR people are, but they need a swift kick in the butt."
"I don't have a PR department," Palpatine replied.
Darry grabbed her little black telephone book. "You will by tomorrow," she said with gusto.
"Wonderful," the Senator enthused. Darry reached for the com, expecting her boss to leave. Instead he just stared intently at her face.
"What?" she asked as she looked up the number for Satchi & Satchi.
"You have the most remarkable hazel eyes, my dear. Did you know that?"
"Yes, now go away," she said with a smile, shooing him out of the office as her call was connected.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Ok, who put the music on so loud at this time of the day?" Diebin complained sleepily as she leaned out of her room, wrapped in a bedsheet.
Tasha, who was sitting in the small annex at the top of the stairs, looked up from the string of popcorn she and Luke were working on and shouted back to Diebin. "I think it was Mace. It is a little loud, I grant you, but it IS two o'clock in the afternoon."
"It is?" Diebin looked genuinely surprised. She looked back into her room. "Did you know it was already two?"
Bob Marley emanated at a rather high decibel from the Temple's sound system.
Obi-Wan charged, half-dressed, from Diebin's room and ran down the winding staircase toward the foyer of the Temple. He almost tripped over the box of decorations at the foot of the stairs.
"Where are you going in such haste, Padawan," asked Qui-Gon who was standing by the huge tree next to the stairs.
Obi-Wan raced toward the door, pulling on his tunic. "I told Harleen and Jael I would meet them at the mall at two o'clock and help them shop."
Qui-Gon turned and addressed his pupil. "You'll only end up holding their purses while they try on clothes. Believe me, I know. Patience is a virtue, young Obi-Wan."
"I know that, Master, but do you think Harleen and Jael do?" He ran out the door.
"Excuse me," said Kim. "Do you think you could skip the lesson and concentrate on what you're doing?" Kim was perched on Qui-Gon's shoulders and putting decorations up on the higher part of the tree.
"Of course, forgive me." He handed her another Hallmark Millennium Falcon replica. "Force, do you all have one of these?"
"I don't," called Tasha.
Jenn emerged from the hallway leading to the large kitchen area covered in flour and a half amused/half disgruntled look on her face. She walked halfway up the stairs at about eye level with Kim and sat down.
"What's the matter," Aya asked as she handed Kim another ornament (Watto).
"Don't go in the kitchen."
"Why not," asked Carolann, as she opened another box of decorations marked "E a-Go-Go".
"Kayla, Mace, Panth and Emmy are all in there."
Carolann held up another Millenium Falcon ornament.
"Is that where Mace is?" Tammy asked walking in from the utility room carrying a box. "He was supposed to help me hang these lights up outside."
"Well, we were all in there happily baking cookies and making fudge when Mace came barreling in and starting eating anything he could lay his hands on. It's like was possessed or something."
Aya handed Qui-Gon a box of tinsel to open and hand up to Kim.
Emmy walked in from the kitchen and into the foyer. "Oh, that's my ornament box."
"Really, I would never have known," said Carolann, holding up a laminated Battlestar Galactica trading card on a string.
"Emmy," Tasha called from the top of the stairs. "You know you have a flour handprint on your butt?"
Emmy craned her neck to one side and attempted to look at her rear. She looked back up to the top of the stairs. Luke nodded at her, starting to smile.
"That rat bastard!" Emmy shouted and stalked over to the wall com unit and speed dialed Darry.
"Darry Willis."
"What the hell did you give Mace at the clinic this morning when he went over there?"
"Why? What's he doing?"
"Well, at last look he was eating everything in site and shouting 'Airee, man' at the top of his lungs."
"You don't say…ok, do a twirl…that means turn around…yes, that one will do nicely. Let me see the next one."
"We're not disturbing you, are we?" Jenn asked coming downstairs to join Emmy by the com.
"No, I'm just enjoying a little fashion show."
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. I think the problem you're having is called a stoned Jedi. Dande warned me about this. It seems as though our good Master Windu got a hold of Yoda's stash this morning while my back was turned."
"No shit!" Emmy squealed. "Think of the blackmailing opportunity this presents."
"So what do we do now?" Jenn asked. "Should we send him back to Dande?"
"I don't think that would help. Hold on- that almost works, do you have it in another colour? Well, it's not as flattering as purple or black might be. Hey, no problem, that's what you're paying me for, remember?"
Just then Diebin emerged from her room, dressed and looking slightly more awake. She walked to the foot of the stairs.
"I'm hungry. Are there any leftovers in the kitchen?"
Tammy grabbed Aya's and Diebin's arms and headed for the front door. "You don't want to go in there. Here, ladies, help me string up these lights and I'll take you out for lunch at International House of Jedi."
"I think you're just going to have to deal with it," said Darry's voice from the com unit followed by shuffling noises. "Will you please just try the next one on? Now is NOT the time for this! Hold on a minute guys-" Darry's voice faded and was replaced by "Copacabana".
Carolann opened a small box. It contained only a few ornaments: mostly cows and stars of David.
"Tell Darry we found the box she was looking for."
Luke handed Kim the popcorn string over the top railing. "No, I found it. The box fell on my head when I opened the closet this morning."
A bloodcurdling scream issued from the kitchen. Qui-Gon turned sharply trying to grab his lightsaber. Kim went sliding off his shoulders and ended up hanging from the banister.
"Jinn, get back over here, dammit!"
Kayla and Panth came racing into the foyer and hid behind Qui-Gon.
"Hello?!" Kim called. Carolann tried reaching for Kim, but only succeeded in grabbing her feet.
Marley continued wailing on the stereo, fighting with Manilow coming from the com unit. Mace stalked down the hallway holding a sprig of mistletoe over his head. He headed toward the girls hiding behind Qui-Gon and then spotted Jenn.
One love….
"Aha!"
"Ahhh!" yelled Jenn. Emmy grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up the stairs as Mace grabbed her other arm and tried to pull her into the kitchen.
Her name was Lola ….
Luke reached over the banister and attempted to grab Kim's hand, but tripped on some popcorn and almost tumbled over himself. Tasha grabbed him around the waist, trying to pull both Luke and Kim over the railing, while Carolann was pulling from the other direction.
One heart….
Kayla and Panth had succeeded in climbing up Qui-Gon and were clutching at his head and torso. Unfortunately, they had pushed his hair in front of his eyes and he was wildly spinning around with his lightsaber in his hand.
She was a showgirl...
Suddenly the front door slammed open. "Mace!" A very pissed-off Yoda stood at the entrance. Obviously Tammy, Aya and Diebin had tried to waylay him as he was wound head to toe in Christmas lights. "My doobie you have stolen!"
"Ok, I'm back," Darry's voice said. "You would not believe what I'm having to put up with here. So what's going on now?"
Let's get together and feel alright.
Merry Christmas Hunkettes!
End