"Obi-Wan!" The sound of his name being called made him spring up like a rocket. He recognized his surroundings, and his heart twisted. It was the planet- if you could even call it that- that he, Anakin, and Ahsoka had been practically sucked in to and met the Father of the Force and his admittedly lovely daughter and despicable son. But this time, he was in Anakin's place in the middle of the courtyard. The Daughter had his former master, Qui-Gon Jinn, in her talons and the Son had his wife, Satine Kryze and their son, Qui-Gon Kenobi. Obi-Wan looked up to see the Father watching expectantly, his gaze going from Obi-Wan, to the victims of his son, and then his daughter.
"Padawan," Qui-Gon's voice called, calm and comforting as it always was. Oh, how he missed hearing it everyday. "Save Satine and your son, there's no sense in saving me."
"Master, you know I can't-" His voice caught in his throat at the thought of loosing him again. Turning to the Father, he said sternly, "I won't choose. Let them go, they're of nothing of value to you."
"Ah, but that's the point," He replied, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere. "When you eventually choose, I will not have to grieve over them. You must face the decision. Either your family-" He gestured to Satine and the crying infant. "or the Jedi Order." He swept his hand towards Qui-Gon. "And only you have the power to set one of them free."
Straining to hold back tears, he sat down and held the Father's intense gaze. "I have maintained a balance between the Jedi Order and my family. Other Jedi secretly have as well. I do not need to choose, so I will not."
"Does your wife tell you that?" the Father questioned, smiling and raising an eyebrow. "Do you know if she does not envy your commitment to your Order? Or does she get frustrated that she has to raise your son, who you did not know existed for a time, without you while you go off and fight a war she does not agree with?"
Doubt arose in his mind, but when he looked over to Satine and his son, he knew that the Father was not correct. "She does not get angry with the fact that I am away most of the time and not able to be with our son, she understands that the Order means so much to me, and I would be leaving a very large portion of my life behind if I left, but I have told her that I would if she would ask."
"Well, what about your Grand Master, Yoda? Does he know of your family? Does he know you've broken the sacred Code you swore to keep as a youngling? I do not think he would let you stay unless you renounced loyalty to them."
Guilt began to slowly take place of sureness in his heart and mind. Would Yoda make him do that? Surely he would understand and let it slide since he hadn't let them get in the way of his duties of being a Jedi.
"See? Now you realize," the Father said, interrupting his thoughts. "You must choose."
"No!" he cried, desperate. "I love them both so much!" His frustration was clouding his thoughts, and he found it extremely difficult to keep his emotions in check.
"If you won't choose, then I shall have them both destroyed!" the Father threatened, extending a hand towards his children. When Obi-Wan did not immediately respond, a crater suddenly formed in the floor, and the Son and Daughter flew over it, dropping their victims in. Outraged, he ran towards the crater and sighed in relief that Qui-Gon and Satine had grabbed a hold of something, but they would most likely fall soon if he didn't help them. Lying on his stomach, he reached out for Satine first, who was clutching their son tightly to her chest. Qui-Gon took the child while Obi-Wan grabbed her hand to pull he up, but just as their hands touched, Qui-Gon lost his hold and Obi-Wan's reflexes took over, his other hand grasping his old master's. He groaned at the effort it took to hold both of their weight, but the adrenaline helped him ever so slightly. Sweat beaded on his forehead and the back of his neck.
"I... I can't hold both of you..." he strained, desperation in his voice.
"Obi-Wan, let me go, you have to save Satine and your son," Qui-Gon said, his grip beginning to slip.
"No, I can save you, too-" His words were cut short in a cry of pain as the Son came out of nowhere in his human form and brought his foot down hard on Obi-Wan's hand. The Daughter came and smashed his other hand, making him cry out again. He grunted with effort as he tried to reach out with the Force and push them back, but he was terrified to not sense any connection to the Force. He was helpless.
Another stomp of the Son and Daughter's feet, and his grip slipped, and Qui-Gon and Satine fell, their screams echoing the entire way down. Obi-Wan cried out, the world suddenly beginning to shake. In a fit of rage, he blindly leapt after them.
Obi-Wan woke with a start, bolting upright in his bed. With uneven breaths, he came to his senses and realized he'd had a nightmare. Throwing the covers off him, he got up and walked the seemingly long journey to the nursery next door and quietly went in, not wanting to wake the sleeping infant. Luckily, Qui-Gon didn't wake when he was scooped into his father's arms, instead, he snuggled into his chest and mumbled happily. When he turned, he saw his wife standing in the doorway, which made him almost jump.
"I'm sorry if I woke you," he mumbled, returning his eyes to his sleeping son. "Did I?"
"Well, it got cold all the sudden and you practically threw the covers on me," she explained, sauntering over to him. "Why did you get up?"
"Nightmare," he answered softly. "I wanted to make sure he was safe." Looking at her with sorrow-filled eyes, he added, "And you, too, of course."
Frowning, she asked, "What was it about?"
"My master," he sighed, "you and Qui-Gon." At the mention of his name, the baby cooed and nuzzled himself into his father's gentle arms. "I was forced to choose between you and the Order, and I just couldn't do it. If I chose you, my master would have been killed, but if I chose the Order, you and our son would've been killed." Sorrow filled his eyes in the form of tears. "In the end, all three of you ended up not making it, and I dumbly followed."
She didn't know what to say, all she could do was stare at her husband who was holding onto the slumbering Qui-Gon like if he didn't, he'd be gone forever. Tears brimmed his eyes, and one fell despite his attempts at keeping them back. She stood in front of him and wiped away the tear with her thumb. To think that this man, a general, friend, husband, father, Jedi, Master, and apprentice should go through this much pain was unthinkable. She had been with him through most of it, and it broke her every time she saw him like this. She wanted nothing more than to take away all of the pain those blue-grey eyes had seen and all the tears they had shed from things he did not deserve. Right now, all she could do was offer a safe haven for him as he leaned into her touch, relieved that at least something was going right in his life.
"Please don't leave me," he finally said after a while, tears now streaming down his face. His nose nuzzled her palm, desperate for reassurance that she would be okay, along with everyone else he cared about.
"I'm not going anywhere," she told him, kissing his forehead.
A rueful smile and a kiss to her palm was all she got as a response, but knowing that he had calmed down and was content was all she needed.
