Chapter 9

Taking hold of the parallel bars in front of him, Qui-Gon lifted himself to a standing position while placing the majority of his weight upon his arms. Once he was steady, he cautiously lifted his right foot forcing it to take a step forward. His foot scuffed upon the floor as he used his hip to initiate the movement; thereby, turning the non-cooperative limb into a diagonal angle.

He bit down on his lip to keep his frustration from being voiced. Breathing heavily, he straightened the limb before once again leaning forward upon his arms. He glared at his left lower appendage as if somehow thinking that that would make it leap to his command. Concentrating, he closed his eyes and with a boost of energy from the Force, the lower extremity slowly lifted and stepped forward.

His chest rose fast and steady from his exertion. A small satisfied smile found its way to his lips. It wasn't much, but he had just taken his first steps.

"Master Jinn!"

Moving his head to the side so he didn't look toward his unwanted guest, he moaned in protest of the forthcoming confrontation.

As the figure moved closer, he could feel the irritation being broadcast for all force users to sense. "What do you think you are doing?! You're not due to begin another round of physical therapy 'till next week! You could have done more damage than good!"

Taking a deep breath in an effort to control his temper, as it had been madly fluctuating the past few months, he looked into the eyes of his tormentor. "Now I understand why Obi-Wan couldn't wait to get away from the healers ward."

"Ha, ha. I would take that as a compliment except I wasn't a healer at that time. Let me help you get back into the hover chair," the physician stated, moving around behind the Jedi Master in an attempt to help him to sit back down.

Qui-Gon turned around as far as his body would allow while still holding the rails. "NO!"

Bant looked up, startled but unruffled. "Don't get huffy with me, now you either accept my help or I'll sedate you and have the med droids move you back to the infirmary. Which do you prefer?"

Qui-Gon glared at the healer a moment before finally releasing a sigh of defeat and allowing her to help him back to the medical center.

The walk through the Temple was quiet. Bant looked down periodically to see that her patient was still resting his head upon his hand as she directed the chair through the corridors. "You have to talk to me sometime, you know. You and Obi never were ones to stay upset for too long."

"How could you possibly remember? My pada…he hasn't been in Temple for the past four years and I've been in a coma."

She chuckled but her gaze held no mirth. She knew he missed him as much as she did, probably more so. "As soon as you're stronger, Master Yoda said you could go to Tatooine." She turned the corner and pushed the chair into the medical wing. Carefully maneuvering around the obstacles in the waiting area, she located his room and entered. Stopping next to the bed she gauged her patient's mood before attempting to ask a question. "Do you want to shower before climbing into a fresh linen bed?"

He looked over toward the fresher. "You aren't planning on helping are you?" He only half jokingly asked.

"That would definitely be a resounding 'no'," she stated, a slight bit of humor coloring her words.

"Then yes, a hot shower would feel good." Taking the controls, Qui-Gon directed the chair into the fresher and closed the door.

X

Slipping from shadow to shadow along the buildings, Anakin made his way to his mother's quarters. He knew he shouldn't be out during the day but he needed to speak with Shmi. Arriving at the home he had lived in for six years, he entered and wandered into his old bedroom to gather a few things before Shmi arrived home.

The door opened and Anakin heard her enter but also realized that she wasn't alone. The flapping of wings accompanying her signaled that Watto had followed her in.

"He offered a large price. I could get my debts paid off from that no good swindler that took your son."

Shmi offered Watto no satisfaction of seeing the fury in her eyes as he spoke of the Jedi who had freed her Anakin. "So you're planning on selling me too then?" She asked, worry etched in the skin circling her eyes. "If Anakin were to return how would he know how to find me?" She had to make him believe that she didn't want to leave if this plan of her and Cliegg's was going to work.

Watto scratched at his chin. "If Ani were to come back he would have already. He left you here so what does it matter?"

Shmi turned away from her owner and sighed. "So how much am I worth?"

"Not as much as Ani but enough to balance the books. He will be by in two days to fetch you so pack your things."

Watto left without another word. Shutting the door, Shmi smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks. She pressed her forehead to the door and took a deep breath, Free. In two days I'll be free. She could hardly believe it. She and Ani would have what they had always wanted, freedom. And they would have it together.

A sound behind her caught her attention and she quickly turned around. She gasped as she saw Anakin standing a few feet from her, his eyes blazing and his hands shaking. "He's selling you?!"

Moving quickly, she walked over to stand in front of her son. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, her arms firmly wound around his shoulders. "Anakin, let me explain." Before she could continue, he shoved her back and glared at her accusingly.

"Explain?! Explain what, mom? He's selling you what is there to explain?! We'll lose you! We can't…" He quieted a moment before turning away. Taking advantage of his distraction, she quickly pressed the button on the comm. link that Obi-Wan had given her hoping he would arrive soon.

Staying where she was in order to not frighten her boy who was tense enough to spur into action at any moment, she calmly began her tale, "Anakin, Watto is selling me but out of this I will gain my freedom."

He spun around and looked at her as if she had gone mad. "How? Like when Gardulla sold us to Watto? Was that a way of us gaining our freedom? How is that freedom?"

"Because Cliegg has promised to give me my papers for me to do with as I wish. He is going to hire a physician to remove the implant and to destroy it. He is going to give me my independence so I can make my own choices about my life and what I want to do with it. Oh, Ani, this will be for the best. You'll see," She replied as she rested a hand upon the top of his head and brought his forehead to rest on her shoulder.

"Lars is the one buying you?" his voice was low and angry.

"Cliegg has asked permission to free me," she said, stressing the word.

"Why?" raising his head he stepped away and began pacing. "What does he want in return?"

"Nothing."

Shaking his head, Anakin replied, "No one does something this big that doesn't want something in return."

"You're right," a new voice entered the conversation.

Anakin looked behind his mother to see his master step inside and shut the door. "You knew about this?"

"Yes, Anakin, I did. Cliegg came to me with his plan a few weeks ago."

"So what does he want?"

"He wants simply for your mother to be self-sufficient and for the chance to offer a proper courtship should she allow."

Anakin's head snapped back and a look of disgust came across his face. "Courtship?!"

Shmi blushed slightly. "Cliegg is a good man, Ani. I have given him my permission to call upon me should he still wish."

Anakin shook his head. "No." he paced wildly through the small dining area as he tried desperately to grasp this. If I get rid of Watto then she would be free without the strings attached, he thought, but then a comforting presence dispelled that thought from his mind.

/ Be mindful padawan mine. That line of thought will lead you down a path I would not wish you to go /

He looked up sharply and for the first time since the bond had been formed he wished that his master would leave him alone. "And how do you know it's not a path that I wish to follow?"

Obi-Wan was momentarily speechless; no Jedi wanted to travel the path of the dark side except he knew that that thought, for him at least, was hypocrisy in and of itself. Regaining his equilibrium, he calmed his thoughts before replying. "It is a path that takes away, Anakin; it offers isolation and loneliness. It is a path that is easy to follow because it requires no effort to do evil. Everything you know would be lost to you if you took that road."

Shmi gasped at the implication of what she had just heard. "Anakin?"

He looked between the two people who were his world. His gaze resting on Obi-Wan, he asked, "And how would you know anything of the dark side? Your faultless."

"I've watched as my own master nearly drowned in his grief and lust for revenge when the woman he forbiddingly loved died. I watched his former apprentice commit suicide because he would rather die than face the Council for the atrocities he committed. I saw a world torn apart, children and parents separated on opposite sides warring against one another and I myself in the middle of it. I shortly lived with the surge of power it offered in my thirst for vengeance when the sith killed Qui-Gon. I know the dark side, Anakin, more intimately than I would care to admit. And everyday I deal with the 'what if's' in the decisions I have made. That, padawan, is how I know."

Anakin's mouth opened and closed several times while he searched the face of his mentor, looking for some sign that everything he thought he had known about this man was still in tact. What he saw was what he knew with the added presence of a life long lived within the mind and body of a twenty-nine year old. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything; show respect and listen to your mother."

Anakin nodded and sat down. Shmi sat down next to him as she offered a nod of appreciation to Obi-Wan. "The plan is this, son. Cliegg will buy my ownership papers tomorrow and will come to get me the following day. Giving Watto time to deactivate the transmitter and sign the papers tomorrow afternoon. Cliegg is then going to give me my freedom before he takes me to your and Obi-Wan's home." Anakin's eyes lifted from the table top to his mother's warm brown pools. "Obi-Wan has offered me a home and I've taken him up on it. And when I am ready, Cliegg and I will discuss what part he may or may not have in our lives."

"Courting leads to marriage doesn't it?" Anakin asked with a hint of dread in his eyes.

Obi-Wan grinned, turning his face away from his surrogate family as he waited for Shmi to answer.

"In some cases, if the two people involved come to love and respect one another, then yes it can. Otherwise they hopefully remain friends and go their separate ways."

"I don't want things to change."

Shmi placed a hand on his cheek. "I know, but you can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting. It's a part of life, Ani, a wonderful part."

Anakin had visibly calmed and that fact alone was enough to calm his guardians. He suddenly routed his gaze to Obi-Wan. "Adding to my punishment, huh? You did that on purpose."

Obi-Wan smirked slightly. "You and Owen are getting along nicely from what I've observed."

"It was a trap to get me to like them wasn't it?"

"Not a trap, Anakin, a learning experience. If we were at the Temple, we would be traveling on missions meeting a variety of species on different worlds with various personality quirks and such. Since you're not supposed to be traveling into town during the day due to Watto discovering that you're actually on planet, I haven't been able to give you any diplomatic instruction in this area; and the shame of it is that Mos Eisley certainly has a diverse populace that would have been perfect for such training. Sending you to work with Owen and Cliegg was the next best thing and the fact that it coincides with this event was merely coincidence." Obi-Wan wasn't known for his diplomatic skills for nothing. He and Qui-Gon were the best at what they did, or so they had been told time and again.

Anakin allowed the corner of his mouth to raise in a half smile as he listened to his mentor try to explain his way out of the mess he had voluntarily gotten himself into. Having heard the whole scenario, he grinned. "Yeah, I bet. You do realize that gibberish only works on the weak minded."

"Well, if the galaxy were full of them then there would be no need for diplomats now would there?"

Shmi laughed as she listened to them banter back and forth. She had actually been concerned at first with the way they had suddenly seemed so at odds with one another, but quickly dispelled those feelings while watching the closeness they shared as friends and brothers come to the surface to smooth away any misdirected hurts and in the process forgiving and forgetting.