~*~

"You forgot to take your facial mask off," Dande whispered to Julia as the two grrls waited for Emmy and Dorotea.

Julia slanted a look at Sere, then shook her head. "It's woad."

"Oh." The Wench blinked, wondering if it was perhaps something the Mastah would know about.

"She's gone back to her Celtic roots," Sere explained with a sigh. "Or the smog of this air has gotten to her, or she watched 'Braveheart' too many times... I'm not sure which."

"We are up quite high in elevation..."

Julia crossed her arms, mouth set in a stubborn line and ignored them both. "We're going to find him and bring him back."

"Him?"

"General Kenobi."

Qui-Gon, who had remained mostly out of sight, and quiet, couldn't resist joining the conversation. "Is my Padawan well? Have you..." He blinked once...twice at Julia. "Never mind." He turned and went back to sit and read Masters Quarterly.

"Speaking of elevation sickness..." Julia muttered with a cross look at the Hippie.

Sere elbowed her. "EM! DOROTEA! Let's GO!"

"There's still time to find an elephant or two..." Julia's hopeful expression fell at her sister's emphatic head shaking.

"No. Bad enough we have two tigers."

"I like the tigers...." Julia sighed and checked to make sure her camera had film.

"What is your plan?" Dande asked politely. Thud time with her Mastah had been severely impinged upon since the Hos had arrived en masse. Not that she minded them visiting, but...

"Storm the Temple. Grab Kenobi. Go home."

"Or something along those lines..." Julia scratched her nose carefully. This woad stuff itched! "They'll give him back or else."

"You're threatening Jedi?" Dande glanced nervously at Qui-Gon who was still reading.

Sere shrugged. "They're sworn protectors. We aren't really dangerous, we just look that way." She grinned. "And all we want is one man."

"One GOOD man," Julia added with a grin. She waggled her eyebrows.

Sere laughed. "Whatta man, whatta man, whatta mighty fine man!"

"EMMY!! DOROTEA!!"

Even Qui-Gon jumped at the drill sergeant-style bellow.

Julia smiled sweetly. "What? I miss him, okay?"

With a flutter of her hands, Dande sat, fanning herself. "Oh dear...."
  

~*~

"This isn't going to work."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I did!" Emmy puffed a stray wisp of hair out of her face and glared in exasperation as the lift slowly....slowly...carried them up the interior of the Temple. The freight elevators weren't built for speed. "I don't know the first thing about being a Healer!"

"If it's bleeding, apply pressure. If it's oozing, slap a band-aide and bacta on it." Julia shrugged. "If it's broken, grab the bone grafter."

"Here." Emmy shoved the blue scrubs at Julia and grabbed the black security outfit from her. "Trade."

"But -"

"Shh!" Dorotea hissed. Dressed in the coveralls of Temple cleaning staff, Doc Martens peeking out, she carried a Dust Buster as though it were a sword. "We have a mission."

"I feel like the Swedish Chef." Sere pushed the white hat back out of her eyes and scowled as it fell forward again. "Needin da chickie poo!"

Julia bit her lip to keep from giggling, and swatted her sister. "Knock it off!"

"We all know where we're going?" Dorotea looked at each grrl.

"Should we synchronize our comms?" Emmy asked acerbically. "Why didn't we try just walking in and asking to see the General?"

Everyone looked at her for a long, silent moment, surprised.

"Where's the fun in that?" Sere sniffed.

"Or adventure?" Julia snapped her latex gloves with a grin. Maybe washing the woad off had been worth it.

"Just wait until some poor kid comes in bleeding all over and they look to YOU...."

"I had brothers. My best friend is a paramedic." Julia shrugged. "And I've watched ER every season."

"All right." The elevator stopped and the four Hos looked at each other. "Check in at midnight, right?"

"Good luck." Sere set her hat straight and headed towards what she hoped was the kitchens.

"Break a leg." Dorotea darted off down a corridor.

Julia shrugged and smiled. "Catch ya on the flip side." The Ho walked off, humming "Like a Surgeon".

"Oh sure, everyone take all the sayings and leave me here..." Emmy sighed and shrugged into the black overall, belting the blaster on to her hip. She took a step or two, and smiled. This might not be so bad after all. Jauntily swaggering off, she sang, "She's a killer queen...."

~*~