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She tried to hide it, but Qui-Gon could sense her movement in the room effortlessly. It didn’t help at all that she was still clumsy when getting around; it was hard to get used to being blind, even if you were a Jedi.
“Tahl, what are you doing out of bed?” She stopped abruptly at the sound of his voice, almost masking it as her feet collided with a table leg in the struggle to find out where she was.
“Do you need help?” Qui-Gon knew he’d regret asking the question the second it left his mouth, but he couldn’t help it. His fellow Master seemed so vulnerable at times like these and all he wanted to do was make it easier for her, but he often forgot just how far her stubborn streak could go.
“ I’m fine, Qui-Gon. You forget that I still have the Force,” she said, her outstretched hands colliding with the plastic shades on the window and making a fabulous racket. Amidst the clutter, she could hear Qui-Gon let out a chuckle.
“Don’t you laugh, I’ve got this under control.” She turned and began to cautiously tiptoe in the direction of Qui-Gon’s voice, trying to find him in her usually familiar dwellings.
“You still didn’t answer my first question,” Qui-Gon said, a small smirk appearing on his face. “What are you doing up? You should be resting.”
“Oh come on, you know I don’t need that,” Tahl replied with a scoff, waving her hand and nearly losing her balance. “I’m already completely healed. I have to get back to work.”
“I’m sure the Council won’t give you any work for some time now,” Qui-Gon remarked very seriously, sliding over on the couch as Tahl continued to approach him. He watched her staggering forward, unease and guilt beginning to consume his mind.
He did feel partly responsible for what had happened to Tahl on Melida/Daan, but he knew he had to shake those feelings and move on with the present. He kept telling himself that it wasn’t his fault, but he could never be convinced. He could have saved her; he knew it.
He felt his fists clench into the fabric of his cloak as he watched her struggle to find the couch, her bandaged hands outstretched in the air, hoping to connect with something. Her beautiful green and gold-flecked eyes stared mindlessly in front of her, making her look as if al the life had been sucked out of her. She did not seem whole, not as vibrant as she had before. He hated seeing her like this: zombie-like in appearance and unable to do everyday tasks she would have taken for granted only a month earlier. She would get used to it, he knew that, but he didn’t want her to struggle. He wanted things to be easy for her. He wanted to see her smile.
“Tahl,” He called out softly from his place on the couch, watching her hands slowly reach out to him from eyes nearly brimming with tears. He loosened the grip on his cloak and extended his hands towards hers; softly encircling the bandaged wrists that seemed too delicate to possess the strength he knew they did.
She gasped at his touch but did not pull back, shuffling ahead with his hands to guide her. Everything was going well, but as Qui-Gon was guiding her downward to take a seat, she overstepped and tripped, collapsing onto Qui-Gon’s chest and knocking him onto his back.
“Are you alright?” Was the first thing that popped out of his mouth, his voice sounding much more panic stricken than it should have. Tahl stayed silent, her head resting in the crook of Qui-Gon’s shoulder with one hand over his heart.
“You’re very warm,” she remarked, the smile apparent in her tone of voice, “and your heart’s racing like mad.” Qui-Gon stayed silent, not wanting to admit to anything she would accuse him of. It was simply the way things were between them, no matter how trivial the matter.
“You’re blushing, aren’t you?” She said, propping herself up on her elbows and meeting Qui-Gon’s worried eyes with hers. He felt unnerved under her gaze, forgetting for a moment that she couldn’t see out of those brilliant eyes.
“I most certainly am not,” he said, trying to sound as eloquent as possible while he pressed the back of his hand to his cheek, wondering if she was right after all - though they both knew he wouldn’t admit it. As he lowered his hand, Tahl’s shot up to catch it in mid air, her fragile fingers clamped around his wrist.
“There are some things all of us can see,” she said with a smile.