Qui-Gon rested his large, callused hand on Obi-Wan's sweaty forehead. The fever had steadily risen over the past hour. Obi-Wan's eyebrows knitted together and a soft moan escaped his lips as some part of his unconscious mind registered the cool pressure on his skin. Qui-Gon closed his eyes and concentrated on pouring positive energy into the young Jedi. He felt something block the flow of the Force. With a frown, he opened his eyes and studied his former apprentice. Whatever was happening to him was undoubtedly caused by the bite on his arm. But how the infection interplayed with the Force was bewildering to Qui-Gon. In any event, he needed to find a way to cool down Obi-Wan's body.
He had found capsules of water beside the small med-kit he had used previously; they smelt stale but they would do. Unscrewing the cap of the first capsule, he poured some of the water onto a piece of cloth he had ripped from the hem of his own cloak. He wrung out the excess water and then placed the dampened cloth on Obi-Wan's forehead.
Obi-Wan's eyes fluttered open. Qui-Gon leaned over him, scrutinizing the boy's face. Obi-Wan blinked a few times, finally focusing on the older Jedi above him.
"Are we..." his hoarse voice trailed off as his muddled brain failed to form the words of the question he originally intended to ask.
"We're almost home," Qui-Gon answered gently.
Memory came back to Obi-Wan in a violent jerk of his body. He remembered the bite, his failed suicide attempt and Qui-Gon's insistence that he wasn't infected. In a panicked daze, he tried to sit up; Qui-Gon placed his hands on his chest and eased him back down.
"Where are we?" Obi-Wan frantically asked. "Where have you taken me?"
"We're on the Health Authority transport vessel. We are going back to Coruscant," Qui-Gon answered evenly.
Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "Are you insane? Do you know what could happen?" Obi-Wan demanded. "I'll kill everyone!" He yelled.
Qui-Gon folded his arms into the large sleeves of his robes. "You are not infected."
Obi-Wan smirked at him cynically. "You don't know that." Nonetheless, he let his head fall back to the ground in defeat.
"You are not infected," Qui-Gon repeated. Even in his own mind, Qui-Gon had to wonder for whose benefit he continued to say those words.
Obi-Wan turned his head away from Qui-Gon. An unbidden tear slipped from his eye. He irritably wiped it away. Qui-Gon felt the pain and the helplessness stream from Obi-Wan.
"Do not fear me, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said gently.
There was a long pause before Obi-Wan answered. "It's not you I'm afraid of."
Silence spread through the gulf between them. For nearly an hour, neither spoke. Qui-Gon continued with his meditation, although the slightest twitch from Obi-Wan made his eyes pop open. Obi-Wan tried to sleep, but found it difficult, if not impossible, with his anxiety coupled with the uncomfortable floor keeping him awake. Dread flowed through his veins, along with the effects of the fever. He reflected on why he hadn't turned yet; what was stopping the infection in him that didn't stop it in the others? Even if the symptoms had yet to take full effect, why was Qui-Gon so insistent that he was not infected?
Thinking of Qui-Gon made Obi-Wan angry. His former master was being a fool, and a careless one at that. He should know by now how the Council would react to such a brash move. Why would he risk others' safety for a Padawan he walked away from? Obi-Wan ground his teeth.
"Selfish."
Qui-Gon opened his eyes by a fraction, hearing the word mumbled quietly from Obi-Wan. "What was that?"
"You're selfish," Obi-Wan growled. "That's the only reason you brought me back."
Qui-Gon raised his chin. "I did it for you," he said quietly.
"No you didn't," Obi-Wan said with a choked laugh. He turned, facing Qui-Gon with glassy eyes and a snarl on his lips. "You did this for you. You did this to make yourself feel better. Didn't you?"
Qui-Gon cocked his head. He tried to feel beyond the words Obi-Wan had just spewed at him, to understand the reasoning behind the vitriolic comments. "You are unwell, Obi-Wan. You need rest."
Obi-Wan barked out a hoarse laugh as he used shaky arms to push himself up onto his knees. "Oh, I'm going to need a hell of a lot more than that, I think."
The air between them tingled with a dangerous energy. Qui-Gon felt the warnings of the Force whispering urgently in his mind. Something was rapidly changing. Obi-Wan had his head down, staring at his knees with that odd, smug smile on his face. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Qui-Gon.
Qui-Gon felt his heart jump. Crimson mist was swirling around Obi-Wan's eyes, overlapping the whiteness but not yet forcing his eyes completely red. "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon started cautiously. "You need to calm yourself. You need to take control of yourself."
Obi-Wan's shoulders jerked on their accord. "I don't need to listen to you anymore, remember? You were right to have had your doubts about me. You must have foreseen that this would happen." Obi-Wan made a hiccup-like sound before his head twitched uncontrollably. Qui-Gon stared at Obi-Wan's fingers, noting the way they trembled violently. The muscles in Obi-Wan's arms shook, getting ready to lunge.
Qui-Gon moved first, leaping for Obi-Wan and pinning him to the ground under his large frame. He encased Obi-Wan's wrists in his hands and knelt upon his chest, making sure his body was out of reach from the gnashing teeth of Obi-Wan.
"My doubts were never about you, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan's body stopped thrashing. Qui-Gon continued to pin the young apprentice. Obi-Wan turned his head away from Qui-Gon. His savage grunts turned into soft sobs. Tears ran down his face.
"You can control this, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon encouraged.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "There's too much...I can feel everything," he panted. "I can feel it all...everything they felt. They're inside of me...all of them," he gasped. Waves of rage flowed from Obi-Wan, making Qui-Gon cringe under the assault of dark energy. "Get them out of my head!" He begged.
"Fight this!" Qui-Gon urged. "They will not have you!"
Obi-Wan bit his bottom lip until it bled. He squeezed his eyes closed, dug his nails into his palms. His heart beat erratically as thoughts and emotions poured through his body, screamed in his mind. Visions of blood, teeth and nails, limbs and flesh tearing, raced through his brain. He wanted to scream with them, break free and destroy. But he held them at bay, fighting to capture a sense of calm in the tumultuous storm that was taking place in his mind. He pictured himself at the centre of it all, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, ignoring everything. He had to become that; he had to pretend it didn't exist.
Obi-Wan's body seemed to melt beneath him. Qui-Gon watched the boy's face fall slack as whatever battle was raging inside of him came to a screeching halt. Tentatively, Qui-Gon released one of Obi-Wan's wrists to place it on the boys cheek. He no longer felt the waves of rage emanating from the boy he had felt earlier. Qui-Gon lifted an eyelid. He sighed audibly in relief. The red was gone, replaced by the familiar sea-green. He was in a deep trance, but how he managed to place himself in one within the chaos of the infection was beyond Qui-Gon.
He backed away from Obi-Wan and ran a shaking hand over his face. That had been too close. He glanced down at the lightsaber hanging off his belt. For a brief moment, he wondered how long it would take to jump away from Obi-Wan and to ignite the weapon, and whether that length of time would be sufficient.
He did not sleep for the remainder of the trip back. Nor did he try to meditate. Instead, he sat with his back against a stack of containers and his eyes never left his former Padawan's still body.