A/N: Hey guys! Been dying to write a Star Wars fic, so here we go! I own nothing.

Obi-Wan's Tale:

Obi-Wan pulled the river stone out of his inner pocket and turned it over and over in his hands. He used to be able to feel the force hum through it, feel the bond with his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, sing when he touched the stone. But now that bond was cold and silent, much like the stone in his hand now was. And it's all my fault. Obi-Wan sighed to himself. He had recently left the Jedi Order and his master to join the Young, a group of children fighting to end a centuries long civil war on the planet of Melida/Daan. The Young had won the war, only to turn on one another when they disagreed on what should be done with the war memorials from throughout the years. Obi-Wan had been called an outsider by a close friend, Nield, whom he had fought alongside. But the sting of Nield's rejection, the uncertainty he was tortured with after leaving the order, not even the loneliness and sorrow of betraying his master compared with the pain that followed. Obi-Wan had watched his close friend, Cerasi, get shot and killed as she tried to stop the fighting from breaking out again. That had been the last straw, and Obi-Wan had appealed to the Jedi and to Qui-Gon to help save the planet. Now he sat and waited for his former master to return. He squeezed the riverstone in his palm again, the smooth surface cool against his skin.

"Hey Obi," a voice said softly. Obi-Wan turned to see Roenni, his last remaining friend on Melida/Daan, standing behind him.

"Hey," Obi-Wan croaked back.

"Your master just commed and said for you to meet him outside the gates of the city," Roenni told him. "He should be here in about an hour." Obi-Wan nodded. Strange he didn't comm me. But what can I expect after I betrayed him?

"Are you okay?" Roenni asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm great," Obi-Wan said sarcastically. "My master hates me, my friend is dead, and the people I fought alongside turned their back on me." Roenni was silent.

"Sorry," Obi-Wan apologized. "I'm just nervous about seeing Qui-Gon again." Roenni smiled at him sympathetically.

"It'll be alright." She sat down next to him and reached over to grasp his large hand in her two small ones. "You two had a bond. A bond strong enough to be rebuilt after something like this." Obi-Wan smiled at her a little. Roenni frowned as she felt the stone in Obi-Wan's palm.

"What's this?" she inquired, opening his hand to reveal the red streaked rock. "It's very pretty."

"It's a rock," Obi-Wan stated simply. Roenni raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"It's a riverstone," Obi-Wan explained. "Qui-Gon gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday. It's customary for a master to give his Padawan something meaningful and special on their thirteenth birthday. Qui-Gon found this on his homeworld. When he gave it to me, I didn't understand what was so special about it. Then I realized it's force-sensitive. It can feel the force and conduct it, like Jedi do. It helped me withstand a memory wipe during our first mission as a master-Padawan team." Roenni nodded, fingering the rock as it sat in Obi-Wan's palm. Then she closed his fingers over it.

"Keep this close," she told him seriously. "I have a feeling you'll need it. This rock is a symbol of you and Qui-Gon's relationship. And I doubt it can be tossed out so surely and quickly as you think." Roenni gave his hand one last squeeze, then stood and walked away. Obi-Wan stared after her. Could she be right? Could he and Qui-Gon's relationship not be completely gone? Obi-Wan sighed. Only one way to find out. He stood and straightened his tunic, then headed to the city gates to meet his former master.

Obi-Wan breathed in deeply. I could die. I have to come to terms with that. I have to accept that.

"Obi-Wan? Are you alright?" a deep voice broke into his thoughts. Obi-Wan turned to look into the concerned face of his master.

"I'm alright, Master," he attempted a smile. "After all, I made it this long, right?" Qui-Gon frowned. On their last mission on Toydaria, Obi-Wan had received a severe concussion and now had a blood clot pressing on his optical nerves. The seventeen year old Padawan now required emergency surgery, but it was risky. There was a chance he wouldn't wake up, or could be blinded for life. Obi-Wan had gone several days at the temple, hiding the signs of the blood clot from his master for as long as possible. Now, he squirmed a little under Qui-Gon's worried, yet reprimanding gaze.

"I'm sorry, Master," he apologized, looking at his lap. "I should have told you sooner, but I honestly didn't think it was anything serious. My vision went in and out a little, but I thought I was just tired. I'm sorry for hiding it from you though. I just didn't want to bother you." He heard Qui-Gon sigh. He felt a hand under his chin and let his master gently force his head up.

"When are you going to learn that you're never a bother to me?" Qui-Gon asked, half-exasperated, half-sorrowful. Obi-Wan glanced away, trying not to meet his master's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it."

"Why can't you help it?" Obi-Wan bit his lip, feeling like he was thirteen again.

"Padawan? Please, Obi-Wan, tell me." Obi-Wan almost winced at his master's pleading tone.

"I...I just don't ever...want you to get tired of me. Annoyed or disappointed, I guess. I don't ever want you to regret taking me as your padawan," Obi-Wan admitted softly, still not meeting his master's gaze.

"Obi-Wan, taking you as my padawan was the best decision I ever made," Qui-Gon told him seriously. "If anything, I regret not doing it sooner. I will never get tired of you. True, sometimes we will get on each other's nerves, but I will always be there for you no matter what. And any time you ever have a problem, no matter what, I want you to come to me. Understand?" Obi-Wan nodded, looking up and smiling slightly.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi? It's time," the Jedi healer said simply. "Master Jinn, you'll need to take all of your padawan's things from the room and wait in the waiting room." Qui-Gon nodded.

"See you soon, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon gave him a reassuring smile and stroked his cheek before gathering up Obi-Wan's clothes.

"Wait!" Obi-Wan reached and grabbed his tunic from Qui-Gon's hands. Qui-Gon looked puzzled, until Obi-Wan pulled a small red-streaked stone from the inner tunic pocket. Qui-Gon smiled a little. Obi-Wan clenched it in his fist, then lay back.

"Now I'm ready."

Three hours later, Obi-Wan was safely through the surgery. He was still pleasantly unconscious when a presence begin gently probing in his mind, pulling him back to the real world.

"Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan? Wake up, Padawan. Come on, son, wake up." Obi-Wan's eyelids slowly creaked up, and he stared up at his master bending over him.

"Hi," he groaned.

"Hi," Qui-Gon smiled, sighing inwardly with relief.

"I can see you," Obi-Wan stated sluggishly. Qui-Gon's smile broadened.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly.

"Like someone cracked my skull open," Obi-Wan moaned. "I can see."

"You already said that," Qui-Gon reminded him.

"Huh?" Obi-Wan's eyelids were sliding shut.

"Rest," Qui-Gon told him, placing a hand on his forehead and infusing the order with a gentle sleep suggestion. Obi-Wan fell back asleep, aware of a hard warmth in his right palm. He tightened his grip on the warmth, confident it would anchor him to whatever happened next.

Obi-Wan sat by the lake at the temple, hands clasped together, staring out at the water. The twenty-four year old had been sitting there for several hours, hardly moving. He felt his master's presence behind him, but he didn't turn.

"What are you doing out here so late?" a soft voice asked him, a slightly reprimanding tone to his voice.

"I'm not a child that you need to come find me," Obi-Wan replied, his words a little hard. There was silence as Qui-Gon sat down next to him. Obi-Wan sighed.

"Sorry, Master. I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"I know. Want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

"Which means you should anyway." Obi-Wan was silent. He didn't want to admit to his master why he was out here. Qui-Gon reached out and placed a hand over his. He felt something in Obi-Wan's fist, and gently turned over Obi-Wan's palm to see what it was.

"What's this?" he asked. He held up the smooth round object to see that it was the riverstone he had given Obi-Wan all those years ago.

"I carry it with me everywhere. Whenever I sit and think, or need comfort, or when we're separated on a mission, sometimes I'll pull that stone out and hold it. It makes me feel as though you're right here," Obi-Wan told him quietly. He couldn't see Qui-Gon's face in the dark, but he felt through their bond that his master was deeply touched and gratified. Qui-Gon put an arm around his shoulders and glanced at him. Obi-Wan knew he was waiting for him to open up.

"I had a nightmare," Obi-Wan murmured. Qui-Gon waited for him to continue.

"I was fighting someone, but somehow it was wrong. I shouldn't have been fighting this person. He should have been my friend. And...his eyes. They were yellow. But they should have been different. It was all wrong. I was overcome by this sense of...sorrow. Despair. Pain. And...failure. I felt like I had failed you, and I didn't know why. I knew you would be disappointed in me."

"You've had this dream before, haven't you?" Qui-Gon asked gently. Obi-Wan nodded.

"Dreams pass, in time," Qui-Gon told him, "but know this Obi-Wan; you could never fail me. No matter what you ever do, I will always be proud of you. And I will always love you. You're like a son to me, Obi-Wan. You know that right?" Obi-Wan turned towards Qui-Gon.

"I know," he said softly. "I love you too." He smiled in the dark.

"We have a mission tomorrow to Naboo. We should probably get some sleep," Qui-Gon stood, holding out a hand to help Obi-Wan to his feet. Obi-Wan stood, nodding. He followed his master back to their quarters, a deep feeling of contentment settling over him.

Obi-Wan stood next to Qui-Gon's funeral pyre, his riverstone clutched in his fist underneath the broad sleeves of his cloak. His eyes were dry, but his heart cried. His master was gone. If only I had gotten there sooner. If I had been there...but deep in his heart he knew he could not have stopped his master's death. He gripped the riverstone tighter, a deep loneliness settling in his chest. He heard a sniff to his side and turned towards Anakin. The boy was trying not to cry, his grief clearly written on his face. Obi-Wan knew that Anakin had looked up to Qui-Gon, but nothing could rival the grief Obi-Wan had felt at his master's passing. He shuddered when he remembered the cold, emptiness that had settled over the bond as his master had died in his arms. He gripped the riverstone even harder, but instead of feeling warm and comforting, the rock felt cold and hard.

"What'll happen to me now?" Anakin asked anxiously at his side.

"The council has given me permission to train you. You will be a Jedi," Obi-Wan told him reassuringly. The boy nodded and bit his lip. Obi-Wan sighed inwardly. Having a Padawan when he had just so recently been made a Knight would be hard. But Anakin was a bright, caring boy. Obi-Wan thought back to Qui-Gon's confidence in Anakin and the prophecy. Maybe, just maybe, Anakin was the chosen one. If so, Obi-Wan had a lot to live up to as his master. Much more than he knew right now.