The man called Jinn looked absolutely devastated as the doctor stood before him in the waiting room. His mouth hung open, but he said nothing. Dr. Tiaurn motioned for him to follow.

The man's peculiar wool cloak billowed behind him as she led him into her office. He glanced around, as if he thought the patient would be hiding behind the door.

"Have a seat. I understand you have a DNA file of the missing child you believe is in our care?"

"Yes," said Jinn gruffly, placing a memory stick on her desk. "Can I see him?"

"I am not at will to allow that. Even my staff are on a need-to-know basis because of the police investigation."

"I'm a part of that investigation," Jinn growled. He reached into the pocket of his enormous robe and produced an identification card. All official visitors to Jacquen carried one. Jinn's bore the city police insignia in the corner and stated that he was a temporary special consultant.

"I thought you were family?" Tiaurn raised an eyebrow carefully.

"I am." The man stated. "You will take me to him," he hissed as though he thought by saying it he could make it so.

"Have a seat," Tiaurn repeated.

Tiaurn plugged the memory stick into her analyzer alongside the DNA she had collected from her patient.

Qui-Gon couldn't stop his heart from racing as the tiny machine hummed. Tahl's words echoed in his ears.

"Qui-Gon," she had breathed when he had finished his story. The crease in her brow was neither shock nor joy, it was pity.

"I know," said Qui-Gon. "I need you to get his medical record from the archives, the doctors here need to see some sort of proof of guardianship. And we should notify the Council…"

"Qui, I don't think you should involve the Council in this," said Tahl sharply.

Qui-Gon cocked his head as if he didn't understand. "I don't see how we can keep it from them,"

"Qui-Gon," Tahl repeated. "I think you need to come home. Ask the Council to assign someone else to this mission. Don't tell them everything you've told me—just that you need more time."

"It's not as if we can jump in my ship and fly to Coruscant, Tahl, Obi-Wan will require medical transportation."

Tahl closed her eyes, even though she could not see him. "Qui, Obi-Wan is gone. You know that."

Qui-Gon stared. "But…" a spark of anger flared in his chest. "I saw him!"

"Are you sure?" the sympathy in Tahl's voice only spurred Qui-Gon's temper. "Can you sense him in the Force? Through your bond?"

Qui-Gon opened and closed his mouth

"I'm so sorry. I thought you were past this, or else I wouldn't have urged you to take on this mission. It was too soon."

"Please send me the records, Tahl. I can't—they won't let me in. I need his DNA file."

"Alright," said Tahl tentatively. "But Qui-Gon, comm me when you get the results," her voice softened as if to imply that she knew exactly what those results would be. "You will be fine. We will get through this."

"Tahl, listen—"

"Comm me."

The projector switched off.

A sickening feeling welled up from the pit of Qui-Gon's stomach, and his arms gripped the sides of the chair. Tahl no longer trusted his senses—and with good reason.

He had not felt so much as a flicker of life from Obi-Wan's side of their shared Force bond in years. Furthermore, he should have immediately sensed the presence of his bondmate when he entered the building. There had to have been some mistake. He had deluded himself this far, and when reality set in, it was going to sting.

A cheerful beep pulled Qui-Gon from his contemplation. His breath caught painfully in his throat.

He slowly met the doctor's gaze.

"It's a match," Tiaurn said quietly.

Qui-Gon pushed the breath he had been holding out through his nose. He leaned back in the chair.

"Are you alright?"

The world was spinning again. Qui-Gon knew he must look a sight, color draining rapidly from his face. It was true then, all of it.

"Obi-Wan," he whispered.

And just like that, the mystery patient had a name. Obi-Wan. Tiaurn smiled sympathetically. "You may be experiencing some shock. That's completely understandable for a parent in your situation. Just—" Jinn glowered at her. "Try to breathe slowly."

"Is he…is he going to survive?" asked Jinn in a hoarse whisper.

"There's no reason he shouldn't recover with time," Tiaurn assured him. She was watching the man's face carefully. "Mr. Jinn, how long ago did Obi-Wan go missing?"

Jinn paused as if mentally calculating the time. "Three years and…seven months," he decided.

Gods.

"Please—" There was no trace of the man's demanding tone from before.

Tiaurn nodded her concession. "Just for a few minutes. He's sedated anyway, and we aren't finished treating his wounds." She led him through a series of short corridors, then paused before a swinging door and turned around.

"Do not be alarmed by what you see," she warned Jinn. "You will be surprised what a few days of bacta treatment and antibiotics can accomplish."

"What do you mean?"

Tiaurn did not elaborate, but Qui-Gon soon understood. His first, sickening thought was that Obi-Wan looked even more like a corpse sprawled out on the metal table all jutting bones and ashen skin. Any remaining doubt assuaged, Qui-Gon clamped a hand over his mouth. Obi-Wan's wounds had been bathed and smeared with bacta gel, but under the bright lights Qui-Gon could see all the cuts and scabs and purple-grey bruises he had not noticed before.

Qui-Gon crossed the room slowly until he stood by Obi-Wan's head, staring down at him in disbelief. He pressed the backs of his fingers to Obi-Wan's cheek in a gentle caress.

"Our scanners indicate that he is about seventeen years old, is that accurate, Mr. Jinn?" asked the doctor behind him.

"Seven…" Qui-Gon had to think about it. Obi-Wan had been a few weeks shy of his fourteenth birthday when he'd been lost. Seventeen? How could that be possible? "Yes, that's correct." He paused to clear his throat. "And I'm not his father."

Tiaurn looked startled. "Apologies. Is there a parent or guardian we should—"

"Me. He might as well be my son, we share a bond." A bond that's been stone-cold and silent for years. Force forgive me, I thought—we all thought—

Obi-Wan was seventeen. He looked even younger now than Qui-Gon remembered him—smaller, weaker. His hair was short and scraggly and missing patches where there were wounds on his scalp.

His padawan braid was gone, too. That was the final injustice that set Qui-Gon's shoulders shaking.

He felt Tiaurn's hand on his elbow, surprisingly supportive. "You should go," she murmured. "You can see him again when he wakes."

Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan's shoulder a final pat before allowing himself to be led from the room. Tiaurn steered him gently to a small room with an assortment of loveseats and tiny tables. "I know that was a lot to take in, but with the bacta the majority of the open wounds should heal over by tomorrow. The older ones will scar, but they aren't as deep as they look. Mr. Jinn—"

"Qui-Gon's fine," he grumbled. "If you're going to be his primary physician, I'm going to have to trust you."

"Qui-Gon," Tiaurn amended. "I will do my best to keep you in the loop."

Qui-Gon nodded. "Thank you."

"I'll be in touch," said Tiaurn, giving him one final, appraising look.

She left Qui-Gon alone to process what he had seen. He pulled his communicator from his robes and saw that Tahl had left a message.

Qui-Gon, comm me.

He ignored it.

Qui-Gon passed the rest of the afternoon pacing around the lounge, avoiding eye contact with other visitors who came and went. At one point, his datapad had pinged, and he saw that an archivist droid had fulfilled Tahl's data request and sent Obi-Wan's complete medical record. Qui-Gon wandered to the administrative office and gave them the file. Then he wandered the corridors of the hospital just for something to do. He bought a ration bar from a dimly lit vending machine, but found that he could only bring himself to nibble at a corner of it. He pulled out his datapad and re-opened the message from Tahl just to close it again.

Finally, Qui-Gon returned to the lounge and sank into one of the loveseats. He sat with his elbows on his knees, wondering what in the galaxy he was going to do.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there when he heard his name being called.

"Qui-Gon," Dr. Tiaurn repeated. "I wanted to touch base with you before I head home. I've just had a look at Obi-Wan, he's holding steady. We're going to keep him down for the night, let the bacta do its job, but you can be with him tomorrow when he wakes up."

Qui-Gon blinked as he absorbed that mix of information. "Th-thank you," he stammered.

"And Qui-Gon?"

Qui-Gon tilted his head in reply.

"The medical file you turned in…it's from the Jedi Healers."

"Yes."

"So when you said you shared a bond, you meant…"

"Yes. We are connected through the Force, and can sense one another's thoughts—or at least, we could." His expression darkened.

Tiaurn frowned. "You may not be his father, but this is a lot for any caregiver to process, Qui-Gon. Is there someone you could call for support?"

Qui-Gon grunted noncommittally.

"You are free to stay, obviously. But it will be a long night for you here by yourself. Go home, or at least call someone. I'll see you in the morning."

Qui-Gon nodded appreciatively and watched her leave.

In the end, Qui-Gon gathered his things and made sure his comm frequency was entered into Obi-Wan's file, so they could reach him if anything happened. Even though it was already dark, he walked home instead of taking an airtaxi.

He didn't even turn the lights on when he climbed the stairs and unlocked the door to the modest apartment the Intersystem Investigation Unit had put him up in. He threw the keys on the counter and collapsed onto the lumpy couch as if a heavy weight had been dropped upon him all at once.

His last thought was that he would never get to sleep with so much on his mind to process. Almost instantly afterwards, he fell asleep anyways.

.*.*.*.

Qui-Gon awoke to the uncomfortable realization that he was still fully dressed, even wearing his boots, with ash and dust in his hair from the explosion. He took a quick sonic and pulled on fresh clothes in a groggy haze, then hurried back to the medcenter. All the staff on duty were different than the night before, and he had to explain the whole story and wave his visitor ID at three different security guards just to find out which ward Obi-Wan was in.

Obi-Wan was tucked in neatly like a doll with his arms on top of the covers. He was restrained to the bed with a padded belt and his wrists cuffed to the side rails. Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows at the nurse.

"They are just a precaution," she explained. "There must have been a concern about his mental condition the last time he was lucid."

It still turned Qui-Gon's stomach, but he let the issue drop. Obi-Wan was alive and safe, and in the clarity of the morning that seemed less like a nightmare and more like a miracle

"He had his last dose of sedative around 0500," the nurse informed him. "I wouldn't be surprised if he starts to come around soon."

Qui-Gon placed his hand over Obi-Wan's and waited. He stroked the side of Obi-Wan's hand with his thumb, trying to picture his face without the swollen bruises and nasal cannula. In spite of all the equipment, Obi-Wan breathing slow and peacefully. Safe. Qui-Gon would have been content to spend an eternity watching the boy sleep.

He would have, but he did not. The first time Obi-Wan's fingers twitched against Qui-Gon's hand, the old master's heart leapt. "Obi-Wan," he whispered.

Obi-Wan's eyelids fluttered. Qui-Gon tutted encouragingly. "Wake up, lad."

Obi-Wan came awake gradually. He didn't seem surprised to see his master beaming over him – in fact, he frowned in return. He attempted to reach up, but his wrists pulled against the soft cuffs. A machine by the bed chirped in warning as Obi-Wan's heartrate climbed.

The image of Obi-Wan restrained in his filthy cell rose unbidden to Qui-Gon's mind. Of course Obi-Wan did not understand what was happening to him. "Obi-Wan, this is a hospital."

Obi-Wan had not heard, he was busy discovering the belt around his middle as well. He collapsed back into the mattress, breathing hard and too frightened to move.

"Alright, alright, I'll take them off." Qui-Gon hastily put down the side rail of the bed and reached for the restraints. Obi-Wan squirmed away from his touch, breaking into a coughing fit as Qui-Gon fought to get the straps unbuckled. "There's nothing to be afraid of." Qui-Gon reached out to his padawan with the Force, but to no avail. "I am here now to protect you."

"You can't", Obi-Wan croaked. Qui-Gon tried to take his hand, but Obi-Wan shied away and slid off the side of the bed, sinking to the floor when his legs wouldn't bear his weight.

"Obi-Wan, you are safe."

"You'll just disappear when he comes back," Obi-Wan sulked.

"He's not coming back, lad. He's dead," said Qui-Gon.

Obi-Wan backed himself up against the wall, yanking the leads off his chest. The equipment beside his bed began to shriek. He gave the IV a tug as well, but the tape held fast and it hurt so he let go of it. "You're me. I'm lying to myself."

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon ventured. "This…is real. I am real." He reached out and took Obi-Wan's hand more forcefully this time, squeezing it as if to prove how solid and tangible he was.

Obi-Wan stared at the hand holding his, then lifted his gaze to Qui-Gon's face as if taking it in for the first time. He reached up and touched the cut on Qui-Gon's jaw, which had barely scabbed over since the explosion. His fingers explored the wound, digging in a bit with a jagged fingernail, but Qui-Gon did not flinch.

"I've got you. You're safe with me now."

Tears welled up in Obi-Wan's reddened eyes.

Qui-Gon felt his emotions clamming up, pushing the guilt and horror and wonder further and further down inside himself. Obi-Wan looked so tiny pressed up against the wall in his plain hospital pajamas, broken inside and out. It was too much to bear. On some level he already felt himself mentally recoiling from the source of pain.

A nurse strode into the room and was taken aback by the sight of Obi-Wan crouched on the floor, grasping Qui-Gon's hand as the older man leaned over the bed. Obi-Wan's eyes flashed with renewed terror when he saw her.

"It's alright, you're alright," Qui-Gon placated.

"You have no business being out of bed, dear," she said softly, shooting Qui-Gon a glare.

Qui-Gon climbed over the bed to crouch next to him while the nurse approached from the other side. Feeling cornered, Obi-Wan began to pant, triggering a fit of coughs that resonated deep in his lungs. He flinched when Qui-Gon put an arm around his shoulders, his master still whispering soft reassurances that had lost all meaning. He did not fight as the nurse took his hand and pushed something through the IV line.

They worked on regulating his breathing while the sedative took effect. When Obi-Wan seemed calm, Qui-Gon half-lifted him back into bed and the nurse replaced the leads that he had torn off.

"The restraints are for his safety, sir," the nurse snapped. "We use them as minimally as possible." Qui-Gon was barely listening. He was watching Obi-Wan's face as she buckled him back into the bed, but the boy was dazed and pliable as she handled him.

The nurse noticed a drop of blood trickling through Qui-Gon's beard. "Did he scratch you?"

"No, this is from yesterday."

She handed him a tissue and a bottle of bacta gel. Qui-Gon accepted the former to clean up the blood, but shook his head when she continued to hold out the bottle towards him.

"If you wait, it might scar," she warned.

Qui-Gon glanced down at Obi-Wan who was already half asleep, and remembered his quiet fascination with the wound. Likely, it was what had set him apart from the hallucinated version of Qui-Gon the boy was accustomed to seeing. "Let it scar, then."

Qui-Gon felt bile rising in his throat as he resumed his seat by Obi-Wan's bedside, knowing they would start back at square one the next time Obi-Wan awoke. He had been foolish to think it would be as simple as mending Obi-Wan's physical wounds. They had an awfully long way to go.

.*.*.*.

.*.*.*.

Dream Plane: Thank you so much for the review! The angst is definitely thick in the beginning of this one! I do plan on writing a happy ending though! Anyways, your review really made me smile :)