"Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death." --General Omar Bradley

Disclaimer George Lucas owns Star Wars. Lucas is King. If he doesn't like me pilfering his characters, he can have his merchandise back.
Summary: Obi-Wan finds his dearest friend in trouble and he rushes to save her.
Author's Notes: :D

Three-year-old Obi-Wan could sense something was wrong, and he didn't like it. It felt the same as the butterflies he got when he had to do something in front of the class mixed with the hollow feeling in his chest that often filled him whenever he'd awaken in the middle of the night from a nightmare, only this was ten times worse. He couldn't quite articulate what was wrong or why it was wrong, but it scared him a little. The feeling had started when Bruck had flashed him a smug grin after having come back from sneaking into the nursery during what was supposed to be nap-time for all the younglings.

As Obi-Wan sat by himself trying to figure out why he felt something wrong, that wrongness suddenly spiked into unadulterated fear. Obi-Wan jumped up, the fear permeating him as if it was his own, and he stared at the door that led out of the toddler's playroom. Giving the young Knight assigned to watching them during playtime a quick glance and wondering why - as an older and supposedly more adept Jedi - the Knight couldn't feel this bad feeling too, Obi-Wan crept to the door. Once he was in the hall, Obi-Wan hurried down to the nursery and snuck in. He looked frantically around the room as the fear washed over him. The only thing out of place was the fact that the young infants were all reacting to this same badness, and the soft whimpers of sympathy for whoever was projecting the feelings collided in the room in a quiet buzz.

Young Obi-Wan walked around, trying to calm the infants in their cribs as much as he could while he tried to locate the source-...wait! There, at the opposite side of the room was a tall cupboard that held supplies for the nursery; at the very top two large, water eyes peeked over the edge and a whimper escaped the pink, Mon Calamari mouth of the cowering crecheling.

Bant! Obi-Wan's brain flashed, identifying the stranded and distressed one-year-old girl. Obi-Wan was torn between running for help from one of the Masters and not leaving his friend in her fear. He was scared for his friend, knowing that she could fall if she wasn't careful.

It took Bant bursting into terrified tears to make Obi-Wan's decision, and he ran to the foot of the cupboard, careful not to run into any of the cribs. The young Jedi pressed themselves against the bars as they all tried to see what was going on, feeling a tendril of strength from the older boy as he rushed to Bant's aid. They were still scared, and the amplified emotions were difficult for Obi-Wan to ignore. He knew that Bant had to have been put up there by someone using the Force, and he suddenly had an idea of who it had been. The thought of Bruck coming in here and doing this to Bant simply because she was different made Obi-Wan angry, but Yoda's quiet and stern voice filled his head.

Do not give in to anger; lead you astray, it will, he had warned them once, his tired-looking eyes piercing through each of the students as the Master looked over them.

Right. What else did master Yoda say, Obi-Wan tried to think. Something about the Force being your helper, and that no one was too little and nothing was too big when the Force was involved.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and trampled down the emotions swirling around the room and pushing them out of his head. He pictured Bant up top, and how scared she was and he held out his arms as if she were on the ground and he was encouraging her to come to him. He pictured her lifting up gracefully and coming to him in a controlled descent. The gasp of surprise that sounded from behind him didn't even make the scene in his head falter once, and it wasn't long before Bant's outstretched hands touched his and the young Jedi was gathering her into his arms to hug her gently.

Bant latched onto him tightly, her crying having ceased as soon as she felt Obi-Wan's presence in the invisible arms that carried her down from her perch. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and held her close, soothing her with the whispered nonsense that the Masters always whispered to him after those nightmares.

As he turned around, Obi-Wan stopped and felt himself blush as the Creche Master stared down at him, her jaw slightly agape.

"I'm sorry, Master," he said softly. "I couldn't leave her up there..."

The Master closed her mouth and swallowed her heart back into her chest and then forced a smile. "It's...it's alright, Obi-Wan," she said finally. "Come here, and we'll get Bant all settled again."

Obi-Wan followed the Master as she ushered him back to Bant's crib. He carefully handed his friend over and watched as she was soothed back to sleep with a little help from the Force. Once that was done, the Master looked back at Obi-Wan and smiled kindly. "Now, Obi-Wan. I want you to tell me exactly what happened..."

When all was said and done, Bruck was chastised and suspended from playtime for the rest of the afternoon, while Obi-Wan suffered through his newly-dubbed status as hero of the creche.