Hey y'all! I found this little gem of a fic when I was flipping through the Plot Bunny Adoption thread over at FF.N and Shanobi was gracious enough to turn it over to me, though she may not want to claim it later.
At any rate... This is dedicated to Shanobi, for the obvious reason as well as because she has inspired me on many occasions. Much thanks must also go to REV042175, who has stuck with me and has been kind enough to not only beta read each and every chapter, but offer some fabulous suggestions and ideas that have made this story infinitely better than it started out.
Okay, I'm rambling. I'll stop soon. I promise.
This fic is set just after the battle of Naboo. Qui-Gon survived, as did Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the Queen. I'm exploring the idea, "What if Obi-Wan had chosen to train Anakin?" Would he have made that choice? What could have driven him to it? Would it have changed the end result? And is it possible to turn Qui-Gon Jinn into a plot device?
I'm a lot ahead over at FF.N and things will probably stay that way. I'm tenatively starting with a "once-a-week" posting schedule, but that could change if I get writers block or if anything else decides to burn down. Allright, I'm done now. Let me know what you think. I'm still writing and I cannot guarantee that your suggestions won't make it into the story. (Yes, read that sentence exactly as it is written.)
Burden of Choice
Chapter 1
Obi-Wan Kenobi paced the halls of the main medical center in Theed for nearly an hour before someone noticed the rather large bruise forming on his chin and realized that he might have been hurt in the battle that had left his Master in surgery. The nurse who spotted it did not know the details around either man's injuries, but knew a battle had been fought -- who could have missed it? -- and tattered tunics were a good indication that the young Jedi had been involved.
With the help of two doctors, she convinced the young man to sit down while they double checked that his status. She refused to be cowed by his glare when the doctor pronounced him "mostly fine" because she had also heard the comment about "bruised ribs." The ribs and several large, painful contusions were treated and he was subsequently released to a waiting room.
This particular wing of the Medicenter was fairly empty. Most of those who had been injured at all had not survived, as was they way of such battles. The majority of ground injuries had been Gungan; who insisted their own healers could handle things. In a few more hours, the emergency wing would be filled with people from the camps, but the surgery and long-term care areas were mostly empty. And Jedi or not, Qui-Gon Jinn would require some long term care.
The wound that covered most of the right side of his chest was jagged and badly burned , completely destroying several ribs, one lung, and assorted other organs. It was designed to cause a relatively slow and very painful death. Cauterization kept bleeding to a minimum, but death would have been assured in anyone else. As for the Jedi, he'd remained alive just long enough for his apprentice to call for aid.
Unfortunately, this meant long hours of surgery to repair or replace the damaged organs and supporting bone and muscle. This also meant the aforementioned apprentice was destined to spend interminable hours in the med ward.
Obi-Wan took his relegation to a waiting room gracefully, though that was probably due more to the sedatives the doctor had given him than any true resignation on his part. But they simply couldn't risk him being in the way while wandering the halls. The medium-sized room was nice enough, but was filled with large, soft chairs that left little room for pacing. Exhaustion from his battle was finally catching up to him, however, and combined with the light sedatives, it caused him to finally settle into one of the soft chairs and stare at the carpet. Neither sleeping nor meditating, he just sat; numb to the world.
Only another hour later, the nurse returned. She was a kind looking woman with her hair in a loose bun and her white uniform crisp and clean. The reason for her return became evident when she tugged a tow-headed boy wearing dusty clothes into the room.
"Now you can wait here until we figure out what to do with you, alright?"
Anakin nodded gravely and sat in one of the first chairs he came to. Obi-Wan finally looked up after the nurse had left. The boy was sitting on the opposite side of the room, underneath a tall window. Small, even for a nine year-old, he had pulled his legs up into the chair instead of letting them dangle above the floor.
The sunlight from the window glared off the child's hair making it look even brighter than it was. The same light sank deeply into the worn clothes, making them appear dirtier and dingier than they actually were.
Aren't those the same clothes he was wearing when we found him? The young man thought randomly. It was, right down to the now muddy boots. Apparently, dust did not do too well when mixed with damp grass. That was the only thing he thought he'd seen the child walk on aside from corridors and landing platforms.
It looked as if they had been washed, at least. Though the Jedi doubted it was possible to get that much dust out of cloth. His own clothes had been coated with the stuff and he'd only been outside for a few minutes while they were on Tatooine.
As if just realizing someone else was in the room, Anakin looked up quickly and tried to smile at the Jedi. The expression turned into a grimace and Obi-Wan realized he must not look like much himself. His tunics were covered in small burn marks and were filthy from the reactor room. His cloak had been left behind hours ago, leaving him with nothing to disguise the small tears and cuts in his clothes.
Had it really only been a few hours ago that this battle had started? It certainly felt like it had been much longer than that.
Based on the fact that the boy was here in the medcenter and not still hiding in the Palace hangers, Obi-Wan determined that the control ship had been destroyed and the battle was over. Startled, he realized he did not even know if the Queen had survived and he stood to find a comm station. He should at least try to contact her. If her couldn't reach her via comm, he would have to go searching for...
"Are you leaving, Jedi Kenobi?"
The boy's voice was mournful and Obi-Wan felt compelled to ease his mind. "I need to speak to the Queen, make sure she is safe."
"She is. At least, she was fine a few minutes ago. I said I was worried about Master Qui-gon and she sent me here with Eirtaé." He frowned. "How is Master Qui-Gon? Nobody will tell me."
The Jedi managed a grin, though it was strained. "No one will tell me either. He's still alive though and the medical staff here is very good. I'm sure he will be fine."
To his surprise, easing the child's mind helped his own mood somewhat and Obi-Wan settled in a chair just across from the boy. "What of you, Anakin? How did you fare throughout the battle?"
Cheering slightly, the former slave launched into a detailed and smooth story about a wild flight with his starship on autopilot and droids firing at him. The tale was incredible and included the ultimate destruction of the Droid Control ship, something he'd needed to know anyway.
The story also served to bring the young Jedi's opinion around to his Master's. The boy definitely needed to be trained; no one was that lucky. The Force had been guiding the child's actions all along. This much he was certain of. It didn't matter if he lost his Master over it, Anakin Skywalker was important.
Cutting off that line of thinking quickly, he focused on the child, who was still rambling.
"...flying like that was so wizard. I hope I get to do it again. I wouldn't mind not being shot at next time, though. Do you ever fly, Jedi Kenobi?"
There was that formal greeting again. For some reason, it sounded odd coming from Anakin. "I fly when the situation requires it, yes."
"I hope I get to fly lots. I think I wouldn't mind being a pilot, if I can't be a Jedi."
"You will be a Jedi, I can promise you that." Obi-Wan said, surprising even himself.
Hope lit the child's face, "Do you really think so?"
Obi-Wan's smile was grim. "My Master gave you his word and Qui-Gon has never backed down once he agreed to something."
He'd expected Anakin to grin, but the boy didn't. The expression on the child's face was pleased, but detached. It seemed he was trying to think about something that eluded his grasp. The discussion, and apparently the boy's train of thought, was broken when the kind Nurse returned. This time she carried two large trays with food and juice on them.
She smiled and placed the trays on a low table. "I thought you boys would need something. I know you're upset, but neither of you look like you can afford to skip a meal." She started to turn, the looked over her shoulder. "By the way, it looks as if they doctors may have news soon, thought you'd like to know."
Anakin smiled sadly and nodded, unknowingly copying the Jedi. The nurse was the only one who noticed, but she said nothing.
The boy made no move for the trays though, and neither did Obi-Wan. Both were too caught up in their thoughts. Noticing the boy wasn't getting up, the Jedi retrieved the tray and passed it to him. Anakin was far too thin. Deciding he had to set a good example, he proceeded to nibble at his own meal, though he wasn't hungry.
.
Half an hour later neither had spoken, but the nurse was happy to note that both trays were empty when she returned to retrieve them. It wasn't standard policy to feed visitors, but the Jedi had been a patient earlier and the boy just looked hungry. As she had told them, neither really looked healthy enough to skip a meal. She wondered if that said something about the two young people, or about the Jedi that supposedly cared for them. Shaking off the notion, she decided it wouldn't hurt to check on the doctors again, as long as she didn't disturb them.
.
Five hours later, the two had exchanged light conversation periodically, but neither had much to say to the other. Obi-Wan had, at some point, taken to pacing the room and had moved a few of the chairs so that he could walk in a circle around the center cluster. So preoccupied was he that when the Queen entered, he nearly walked right into her. As it was, she had to sidestep into more chairs to avoid him. Her natural grace helped her land in a sitting position, though the action was anything but graceful.
"My apologies, Milady-"
She cut him off, her clean, unpainted face kind. "No apologies are necessary, Jedi Kenobi. I came to see how Master Qui-Gon was doing."
"They still cannot tell us anything, other than he is still alive and in surgery." Obi-Wan tried to smile. "I'm sure he will be fine."
"Of course he will be, he's still assigned to be my protection, after all."
Obi-Wan was shocked at her callous words, until he realized she was sharing a jest with him. She'd obviously recognized the man's stubborn streak.
"That he is, Milady." The Jedi sighed. "I apologize for not checking on you after the battle, Your Highness..."
She shook her head. "It is fine. You had other things to deal with. With your battle won and the Federation Leaders in our prison cells, there was little further danger to my well being." She yawned unexpectedly, then giggled. "Except, possibly, exhaustion. Please, why don't you come back to the palace for the night? I can have the medicenter notify you as soon as they know anything."
A soft snore issued from the other side of the room and Obi-Wan turned to find Anakin asleep. He'd pulled two chairs close together and was sprawled across both of them. Just to confuse the issue, a doctor entered the room again and the Jedi realized the room did not have an over abundance of seats after all. At this rate he could see all of them being filled rather quickly.
"Jedi Kenobi?" The doctor crossed to meet the two and only offered a sideways glance at the sleeping boy. "Master Jinn is resting now. We are keeping him lightly sedated, but only enough to encourage sleep. He needs to rest, but his surgeries seem to have been successful. I won't try to say he's clear of danger, but he should recover eventually."
Obi-Wan let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and nodded his thanks to the doctor. Padmé started speaking to the doctor, asking the extent of the Jedi's injuries, but Obi-Wan was not listening. He was focusing on the Force, checking on his sleeping master. The older man was deep into a healing trance and the apprentice smiled.
The young Queen looked at the doctor in shock as he said, "...So, you see why this took so long. Injuries like that don't repair themselves."
Obi-Wan stepped forward to rejoin the conversation. "Your Highness, I think Anakin and I will accept your offer. Master Qui-Gon will not be awakening any time soon and the boy needs rest."
Padmé smiled and it was the doctor's turn to look on in shock.
"Your Highness?" He repeated. "My apologies, I didn't recognize you, I..."
The girl sighed indulgently. "That was my intention, Doctor. I thank you for the update. I would appreciate it if you would send word the moment anything changes?"
"Of course, Your Highness." The doctor bowed before leaving the room quickly and Padmé sighed.
"Perhaps we should wake Anakin? He'll want to know that Master Qui-Gon will be alright."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, he's sleeping peacefully, let's let him get some rest." The Jedi gathered the small boy into his arms, surprised at how little the child weighed. The three of them left the medicenter and took the Queen's hovercar back to the Palace where both Anakin and Obi-Wan managed to get some rest.