A/N) Thank you for all the reviews so far! I'm glad that Obi-Wan's history went down well. Here is the next chapter!

The Protector

Chapter Four: Visions

Meditation was designed to help a Jedi become one with the Force; it was supposed to centre the Jedi and give them a chance to assess the life force of the universe. In Obi-Wan's case it was a guilt trip. He had sunk deep into the flow of the light-side of the Force, trying to ignore the dark tendrils that still remained a part of him due to Dooku's attempted turning of him to the dark side. His eyes were shut and his legs crossed; his concentration causing him to float gently upwards in mid-air.

His mind processed exactly what he had learnt, seeking answers in the Force.

He had been kidnapped, given to the Jedi Order on false pretences but his mother and father had decided to keep him there when given the option to take him home. If they knew what Dooku had done to him they would blame themselves for leaving their son in the care of the Jedi Order. Could he really put them through the emotional agony of that?

For your own piece of mind you have to tell them.

Qui-Gon's voice, his former Master's presence echoed in the Force.

Obi-Wan swallowed. "How can it help?"

An outsider's perspective can aid the emotional healing you are going through. You were always meant to be a part of the Jedi Order, just as you were always meant to be my apprentice, just as you were always destined to train the Chosen One. You were never meant to be just an heir to an old legacy.

"But Dooku…" moaned Obi-Wan, but was cut off by Qui-Gon before he could complete his sentence.

Count Dooku was misguided. You survived what he tried to do to you. You did not kill him in anger. His death is not your fault. You are a stronger Jedi then you otherwise would be because of what you have suffered.

"I cannot burden my family with this. They will judge me like Owen has done. Rena and Bro's support of me is misguided."

If you believe that then you will believe that Owen's dislike of you is warranted. Owen feels guilty for letting his wife go. He will never forget what he did. As you were on Christophsis, he is lashing out at you because a Jedi is meant to help those in need. We cannot save everyone. That was what Anakin believed – he wanted to save everyone but he couldn't. He lost his mother because he assumed that as a Jedi he could save everyone. He didn't want to believe that a Jedi can suffer loss just as much as a normal person can do. Owen believes that too. In time, he will come to see that, but only if you try to set things right. You were the brother that was there for him when he was a small child and then you were no longer there. It was a loss he couldn't comprehend at a young age. You need to rebuild that bond you had with him.

"He won't try with me," said Obi-Wan miserably.

You don't know that until you make the effort. If you want to heal, you've got to take the first step. Others can't do it for you. There was hesitancy in the Force. You will need your family.

Obi-Wan's eyes opened but Qui-Gon's presence was still with him. "What do you know?" There was suspicion in his voice. Qui-Gon had been the one to suggest returning home. What did he know? Did a Force entity have the ability to have a clear view of the future?

Qui-Gon did not reply, choosing to remain silent, but Obi-Wan felt that he had hit onto something. What if Qui-Gon had suggested coming to Stewjon because his people needed him?

Dread welled up inside his stomach, his chest heavy with concern. He wasn't a Jedi. How could he help people when he had failed to help himself?

He closed his eyes again and sunk back into the flow of the Force. Obi-Wan reached out, feeling the soothing motions of the light side bathe him in its splendour. "What shall I do?" he asked the Force, not expecting Qui-Gon to talk to him, and he was right, for he didn't.

Images flashed before his eyes, multiple paths laid themselves out in front him. He saw things that could be, the possible futures flashing past him in a rush of colours; all of these appeared to be the paths he could take, the question was which one?

The first he saw, and the one he wanted to avoid was himself spiralling downwards into depression and darkness, unable to feel that he could share the burden with anyone, not even his family. He would fall further into darkness and be consumed.

The second saw him ignore his past and forget his place as a Jedi, never intending to return to the Temple, and staying on Stewjon where he would live a life of boredom, not being able to help others because he feared if he did he would open himself up to the intricate dark side once more. Again, he would fall.

The third saw him leaving Stewjon, unable to face his family because of Owen's hostility and wondering the galaxy looking for the healing that never came. He would succumb into depression.

The fourth future was different. It was of death. Owen was sobbing in a field, holding his son, whose body was limp, and covered in blood. He was dead. And then he saw the world of Stewjon encased in darkness by Separatist forces. And no one came to its rescue before it was too late. Obi-Wan saw himself watching the fall of the planet from afar, too afraid to help for fear of the darkness inside him, of what he could still do if he tried to emulate a Jedi.

The visions stopped and Obi-Wan felt worry rush through him. Would this happen to him if he didn't get his life back together?

The fourth future is more set in stone then you think. Qui-Gon's voice echoed.

"And the other three?" Obi-Wan swallowed.

It all spirals down to that final vision… answered Qui-Gon. You have to take charge. You are a Jedi and always will be. They are the possible consequences of the fourth vision. It is up to you to decide what path you take and how you change it is what matters.

"I'm not a Jedi," whispered Obi-Wan. "I want to be but how can I be when I embraced the dark side?"

You didn't do that willingly. It wasn't your choice. If you wallow like this then you will never heal.

"I can't tell them anything," replied Obi-Wan.

Yet your mother didn't want you to know how you were given to the Jedi Order but you convinced her to. Doesn't she deserve the same in return from you?

Obi-Wan stayed silent, his mind jumbled with many thoughts. How could he put his mother through what he had done? She would feel guilty over leaving her son behind when she had had the opportunity to take him back. Was his mother aware of Owen's dislike of him? Did she know that Owen blamed him for his wife's death? Would she side with her younger son if she knew of his true actions?

She will find out. You are here now. She won't avoid the reports on the Clone Wars now that she knows you are safe. Do you really want her to find out in the worst possible way? Don't you think she has the right to refuse knowledge from you? Qui-Gon's voice was soft, endearing and understanding. Just as you had the right to learn how you became a part of the Jedi Order?

Obi-Wan felt conflicted. Qui-Gon was right. What was stopping him was that he didn't want his parents to feel guilty about choosing to leave him with the Order. Should he really let that affect his own journey to find healing? Didn't he want to feel that he was a Jedi again? Guilt welled up inside him. As a Jedi he should be thinking of others feelings rather than his own. If he told his parents the truth then he was thinking of himself rather than them. How could he still be a Jedi if he told them just so he could feel better? That was selfish.

Oh Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon sounded disappointed.

"If I tell them," said Obi-Wan aloud, "I will be selfish. A Jedi isn't meant to be selfish."

This is not the test which will test your selfishness.

Obi-Wan swallowed. "I can't do it." He could not put his mother through the pain of believing she had made the wrong choice for her child. He simply could not do it. He had done terrible things, that much was certain. His father and mother did not need to know.

Displeasure rocked through the Force.

"I don't have to tell them to be healed," Obi-Wan said defiantly.

And yet he had the feeling that he was wrong, yet he was too afraid to face his parents over what he had gone through during the war. And a part of him hoped that would change.

The next day dawned bright and warm, the sun beating down upon the surface of Stewjon, a slight wind making the water trickle in the rivers. Obi-Wan woke early, his stomach feeling tight and uncomfortable. He didn't have an appetite, even when he went down for breakfast; he only managed half a piece of toast. Thankfully he was alone in the kitchen, allowing him the privacy he needed to try to eat.

The first family member he saw was Bro, who entered the kitchen when he had just put away his plate and chucked his remaining toast away. He was wearing flared shorts with a loose fitting sleeveless shirt. His brother-in-law smiled at him.

"Rena told me that Lau-rie and Ben told you the truth about how you were given to the Order," Bro said, watching Obi-Wan carefully.

"They did," he replied.

"How do you feel about it?" Bro asked.

That was blunt. Obi-Wan stilled, unsure of what to say.

"Look, you don't have to answer if you don't want to," continued Bro, but Obi-Wan cut him off.

"No, no that's ok," replied Obi-Wan easily. "I was shocked, surprised even that I wasn't given in the traditional sense to the Order. But I accept my parent's decision in doing so, just as they had a right to take me back originally."

Bro nodded, picking up a bowl and filling it with crunchy rice before pouring milka over it. He sat at the table, facing Obi-Wan. "Look, I just wanna say I admire you Jedi for what you do. You fought a war for us so that people like me didn't have to fight. Regardless of what you may think, the people here respect you."

Obi-Wan shook his head, sounding a bit miserable. "Owen won't be alone in thinking what he does."

Looking at him critically, Bro sighed: "I don't think you are a bad person."

"Hmm, so I'm not a Separatist to you?" he had to ask that; he knew the Republic had announced his forced defection to the Separatists, yet he couldn't believe that most people could be so forgiving. Owen was testament to the fact that others would never trust him again.

"Nope, never were, never will be. We may not know the full truth of what happened to you in this war, but Rena and I are smart enough to look between the lines. You're here because you can't forgive yourself. And you are struggling to accept whether you deserve to be let off from prosecution," said Bro, rather accurately.

Obi-Wan bit his lip. That was completely true. He didn't want to forgive himself. He lowered his head, feeling ashamed at his inadequacy to see beyond his own selfishness. "I don't know what to do."

Bro leaned back in his chair, a little smile pulling at the edges of his lips. "I know what you can do."

Obi-Wan raised his head, one eyebrow crinkling upward. "What?"

"Come with us to the fair."

"Err… what?" Obi-Wan felt confused. The fair? What did that have to do with everything?

"You can't talk to us because you don't trust us because you don't know us. Spend more time with your family. Perhaps you will see that not all of us judge you on what the holonet reports," continued Bro, looking a bit smug, but still with a kind expression on his face. "Believe me, I know."

"What do you mean?" asked Obi-Wan, his curiosity rising at that statement.

Bro shrugged. "I used to be a dealer. My parents were poor and we dealt with the illegal trade… I was underage at the time when we were arrested. My father and mother were sent to state prison and I spent two years in confinement. As I was a minor I was given the chance to atone for my ways… The public judged me harshly, not wanting anything to do with me because of my shady past. It was Rena who saved me. It was her that convinced them that I wasn't a bad person, and she taught me to be a better person. I am truly thankful for her to seeing past my mistakes and bad judgements. She helped the public accept me… and then we fell in love. It surprised me that no one – at least publicly – was against our relationship. They trust me now because they looked past what I had done. Owen is capable of that too in your case. He did not like me when I first got together with Rena… then I made the effort to get to know him, and he slowly realised I wasn't the bad person that he thought I was."

Chewing his bottom lip Obi-Wan contemplated what he had learnt. Owen had disliked Bro to but it was on Bro's initiative that helped him to see reason. Could that work for him? The cynical part of his brain said no but the hopeful side screamed yes. He locked eyes with Bro. "Is Owen going to the fair?"

Bro leaned back in his chair and nodded. "He is. He's taking Alex with him."

"Ah." That complicated things.

"If you try to avoid him you two won't ever repair your brotherly relationship," pointed out Bro, almost sounding wise. "And it will give you a chance to get to know the kids."

Obi-Wan hesitated. It was a tempting offer. "This… fair… Will I be expected to do stuff?" He had never been to a fair before, the entire concept was new to him, but he did have an idea of what to expect.

"That is up to you but you won't get to know your family if you sit on the side lines. Rena would love it if you could come," added Bro.

Sighing, Obi-Wan gave in. He had to make some effort; perhaps doing this fair would help him? He nodded at his brother-in-law. "Ok, I'll come."

Drifting in space, a few thousand light years away, the last remaining Separatist fleet, continued on its course, bearing towards the one planet where a conflict would soon begin. It wouldn't just be a physical battle between the Separatists and the local populace, it would also be the place of a struggle; a struggle between a former Jedi and his inner demons.

And if that Jedi chose wrongly, Stewjon would burn.

To be continued…

Please let me know what you think!

Erm so yeah Obi-Wan has seen a few possible futures… and the next chapter he gets to go the fair. Hey, he needs to do some family stuff, right? Don't worry I have a plan for that chapter and Obi-Wan is going to be tested… That's all I'm saying :D

I'm back to university next week so I don't know how often I will be able to update or not since I'm entering the part of my year where I'm going to be sitting final exams and assignments. My uni course finishes in March 2014, but I have all the exams mostly in November and most of the assignments are due in then too so if I don't manage to update every week that will be why

I hope to update next week!

the-writer1988