I would like to acknowledge WolfieGal as the co-author of this lil itsy part. Kudos to her!
**
Red swirled with black, mingling into a nightmarish face, leering at him. He felt the searing pain in his middle and he knew his face registered disbelief. He vaguely heard a voice screaming in pained denial, but his senses were blurred, thoughts concentrating on a future magnified before by the Force.
A future of pain.
A future of despair.
A future of fleeting hope mired in death and evil.
A future brought about by one little boy.
Obi-Wan could stop that future, surely. His Obi-Wan could do anything once his might was set toward it. With the right encouragement, Obi-Wan would stop the pain, despair, death and evil. He would stop Anakin from turning.
Strong arms lifted him slightly and he felt rather than heard the tears and sobbing from his distraught apprentice. "It's too late." That wasn't what he wanted to say, but he heard Obi-Wan whisper a strangled denial. "Train the boy," he whispered desperately, damning his inability to convey more. "He is the Chosen One. He will...bring balance."
Darkness washed over him, robbing him of the ability to say any more, offer any more. His mind swirled around the words that he would have said next, obliterating them. "I love you."
---
Qui-Gon Jinn's eyes slowly opened and then shut them tight as the light seared into his brain and made his head hurt. He moaned, trying to say Obi-Wan's name, but it came out garbled.
"Master Qui-Gon?"
That wasn't Obi-Wan. His cloudy mind searched for the name and found it. "Ana...in," he murmured and he felt a surge of joy through the Force. Definitely Anakin. The boy's emotions were strongly felt in the Force.
"You're awake! I'll go tell the healers!" A clatter of loud footsteps made Qui-Gon wince at the pain and then there was blessed silence.
Taking a risk, Qui-Gon slowly opened his eyes a crack, allowing them to become accustomed to the light and opened them some more. Once his eyes were completely opened he looked around for some sign of his apprentice. There was no Obi-Wan to be seen.
"Padawan?" Qui-Gon croaked. Still no Obi-Wan swam into view. "Obi-Wan?"
"Obi-Wan isn't here, old friend." Qui-Gon looked over to see Mace Windu and Plo Koon entering the room, young Anakin hot on their heels.
"W-where..." Qui-Gon looked utterly bewildered. His young Padawan would never leave his side, unless…. unless.. Qui-Gon's eyes widened in horror. "Please, no….."
"He lives, Qui-Gon."
Relief turned to confusion. Gentle hands supported his weight as his parched throat was relieved by the sweet coolness of water.
"You've slept for a long time. There is much we have to tell you, " Mace Windu said with a small smile, holding Qui-Gon's shaking hand in his own. "But not now. You need your rest."
"Tell me." The whisper could barely be heard in the silence of the room but the raw emotion behind it echoed in every corner. "I must know."
Glances exchanged, tinged with sadness and understanding. The demanded answers were there, evasive pictures of words understood but not spoken. Held back only by the desire to protect the fallen Master, once so strong and sure.
"The answers you seek will come in their time. Sleep now."
Qui-Gon's desire to know warred with his body's need for healing and lost, his mind wandering into the planes of the subconscious, guarded by those who kept his dreams at bay. His nightmares.
"You'll need your strength when you wake, old friend. You'll need it."
Sometimes, the truth was better left unspoken.