Prompt from SpencerBrown: Obi-wan lost Anakin to the dark, just as Qui-gon lost Xanatos. When Qui-gon starts visiting Obi in the desert as a ghost after RoTS, Obi would still be mired in deep mourning and guilt. I would love to see Qui help Obi start to deal with his grief and guilt. Especially since little Padawan Obi helped pull Qui from his own darkness after Xanatos.

….

Obi-Wan was a shadow of his former self.

Qui-Gon had watched a sullen, but studious young teen grow to a serious young man, who then grew into one of the Jedi's finest diplomats they had ever seen.

He was so proud of his old padawan, and always would be…. He wouldn't have wished this on his worst enemy.

"Obi-Wan…" he tried to contact his old padawan, watching as the young man didn't even react to his voice, merely choosing to stare off into the distance, dried tear tracks still on his face, "…. Obi-Wan can you hear me?"

Nothing… absolutely nothing.

"Alright Obi-Wan…" he sighed wearily, "… I'll be here when you're ready."

He was sure that Obi-Wan hadn't eaten in days.

From his spot near the cooking area, Qui-Gon watched as his old padawan made his way through kata, after kata, after kata…. No breaks, no food and no water.

He was sure the young man had aged ten years in just a few days.

He must have looked similar when he first took on Obi-Wan…. He barely remembers those few years after Xanatos left the order. He was so focused on his training, that he barely ate and slept.

Much like what Obi-Wan was doing now.

"Don't you remember how you helped me get through this?" he murmured sadly to Obi-Wan, who didn't react to his voice at all, "Don't you remember all the cups of tea you would make, most of them wrong, but looking back, I did appreciate the effort… you would just sit next to me and talk, about your lessons, your friends, about anything you could. Eventually I started responding and then training, turned to tea and conversation."

Inspiration struck him.

Slowly, he made his way over to where Obi-Wan kept a rusty kettle, focusing on it intently…. Before striking out.

The first couple of times, his hand went straight through it… finally, he managed to gain enough control over the Force to knock the kettle over, causing it to fall together with a loud clang.

Obi-Wan was startled, spinning around and igniting the lightsabre, still jumpy from the effects of Order 66. Once he realised that there was no immediate threat to his person, he let out a shaky laughter, almost falling into the nearby chair as he stared at the kettle.

"Time for tea, hmm Master?" he muttered to himself, a small smile on his face as he went to pick the kettle up, seemingly unaware of his Master sighing relief beside him.

Maybe there was hope for Obi-Wan after all.

….

Days later, whilst Qui-Gon was happy and secure on the knowledge that his old padawan was starting to eat, drink and sleep properly, he noticed something else that was unusual.

Obi-Wan hadn't cried… not once since this whole mess began.

It wasn't healthy.

Obi-Wan had been through the fall of his Order, walked over the body of some of his closest friends and small initiates and padawans, had been fired at by the one person he trusted with all of his heart, lost his old padawan to the dark side, watched another one die in childbirth and had been forced to hand the baby over, with the knowledge that he might not see the boy again for years.

That was too much for one person to handle, without completely breaking down.

"Obi-Wan…" he tried contacting his padawan again, "… Obi-Wan, please give me some sign that you can hear me?"

Obi-Wan continued to sip his tea.

"Obi-Wan, please!" With a touch of humiliation, Qui-Gon realised that his own eyes were getting damp. He couldn't spend the rest of his days like this…. Yes, he had been joined in the Force by several of his friends (not a good thing really), but he couldn't spend all of this time, without the ability to talk to Obi-Wan, to comfort the young man after the horrors he'd suffered.

Obi-Wan had been there for him, and he desperately needed to be there for Obi-Wan.

********Flashback*********

Qui-Gon knew he must be worrying his Padawan.

Almost 12 hours sat in this dark room, staring up at the ceiling as his padawan tried to speak to him through the door.

He hadn't replied…. It was the anniversary of Xanatos's betrayal, and it was all getting to be too much for him. It was like the air was heavy all around him, pinning him to bed, preventing him from leaving.

"Master?"

It sounded like Obi-Wan was trying again.

"I know you don't want to come out today, and that's okay I promise… but you do need to eat, so I made up a sandwich and some tea for you. It's just outside the door for whenever you need it…. And I'll be in the living room doing some homework if you need me."

Silence.

"I'll see you later Master."

Once he was sure that his padawan had moved away from the door, Qui-Gon slowly mustered up all the energy that he could, before pushing himself into a seated position, moving to stand and then heading to the door. Slowly he opened it up and smiled softly at the sight.

There, sitting neatly on a tray, was his favourite sandwich, with his favourite blend of tea…. There was even a little bun on the side, probably bought from the Temple cafeteria with Obi-Wan own money.

Despite their rough start, Obi-Wan was still trying to be the perfect padawan.

Slowly, he picked up the tray and headed towards the living room, quickly catching sight of his padawan on the sofa, eyes scanning over a data-pad. Once he sat down, Obi-Wan's eyes darted towards him, scanning him from head to toe.

It must have been obvious to see that he had been crying.

Obi-Wan didn't comment though… he simply nodded at his Master, sending him a reassuring smile that said more than words ever could.

'It's alright to cry.'

********End Flashback********

Qui-Gon took a deep breath, focusing on his connection to the Force as he slowly stepped closer to Obi-Wan and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

Obi-Wan gasped sharply, one hand darting to his shoulder and running his fingers over Qui-Gon's fingers for a few seconds, before he bowed his head lowly, eyes already growing damp.

"Thank you Master."

…..

"I just…" Obi-Wan sighed, "… I feel like a failure. Anakin went dark, and I can't help but think… maybe I should have been a better master."

"Obi-Wan…" Qui-Gon went to sit by his old padawan, secretly thankful for the opportunity to speak to the man again, "… You can't think like that. What happened with Anakin is the fault of the Emperor. He's the one who managed to manipulate Anakin into these dreadful deeds… and as much as I hate to say it… I think it was my fault as well."

"Master, what- "

"- I was the one who insisted Anakin be trained. I knew that he was too old, I knew that he was too emotional, but I insisted, I made it my dying wish, which I should never have done…. He should have been a pod-racer, like he wanted to be. And I should never have placed that burden on you."

Silence.

"You don't blame me for what happened with Xanatos, do you?"

Obi-Wan turned to him in shock, "No, I would never- "

"- then don't blame yourself for what happened with Anakin." Qui-Gon knelt in front of him, "I remember how long it took me to come to peace with what happened with Xanatos…. But you were there for me, and I'll be there for you, no matter how long it takes."

"… Thank you Master." Obi-Wan gave him a soft smile, "Thank you."