Disclaimer: Jahzea, Manighan, and Delios are mine. The rest are Mr. Lucas' except for Bant, Bruck and the bounty hunter, who belong to Jude Watson.
Authors Note: It started with an idea of another Padawan who lost her master, and escalated from there. I'm not entirely sure when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon stuck their noses in, but it was long before I wrote this down. It's not as complete as it could be, but it works for now. This is my first Star Wars fan fiction; my first fic was aproximately nineteen years ago.
Jahzea stepped into the rooms assigned her and sighed. Behind her, the small Wookie girl did the same, and Jahzea smiled fondly at her Padawan. "That much negativity is going to really do bad things," she said vaguely.
"I know." Manighan played idly with her braid, then gave herself a firm shake. "But it's over for today. And you have a message."
Jahzea moved toward the console with the blinking red light. "Who is it, and is it good news or bad?"
Manighan closed her eyes and Jahzea paused before accepting the transmission, feeling her reach out for the Force. They had started it as a game, but Manighan's talent was real, and by now she was rarely wrong. Jahzea wondered if someday she'd be able to know what the message was without opening it. Such a talent could be useful. She was brought out of her thoughts by Manighan's gasp. "It's bad news, Master. From Yoda."
Jahzea slapped the combination of buttons that allowed the transmission to play, and Yoda's form appeared before her. "Bad news I have," he said. His long ears drooped sadly. "Come to Naboo you must. Dead, Qui-Gon is."
The rest of the transmission gave her details to relate to the people where she was. She heard it only peripherally, her thoughts on Qui-Gon's Padawan and her friend. When the transmission had ended, she took a deep breath. "Manighan, will you begin packing please? I must relay this bad news and arrange for transport."
It was done with bewildering swiftness, and that evening they found themselves on a transport to Naboo. After a day of feeling her Padawan's curiosity, Jahzea took pity on her and explained why she had been called to her friend's side.
Their landing in Theed was quiet, although Yoda met them. "How is he," Jahzea asked when their greetings were finished and they had started into the palace. There was sorrow everywhere, but she thought she could find Obi-Wan if she followed the sharp beacon of it. It pulled at her.
"Tired, he is. Sad, he is. Padawan, he has."
The surprise left her dumb. "Where is he?" she finally stammered out, and as soon as he told her, he excused her to find him. She took off at a run, Manighan at her heels.
The beacon she'd felt led her straight to a plain door, but she could feel him on the other side, struggling to keep the emotions in control. Taking a few seconds to catch her breath, she knocked on the door.
A small boy opened it, peering up at her with clear blue eyes. His hair was newly cut, and a braid hung to his shoulder. She thought she recognized Obi-Wan's darker hair braided into the almost blonde locks. "Is Obi-Wan here?"
The door opened further, and he appeared behind the boy, pale and looking almost off-center without his Padawan braid. "Jahzea. Hi. What...."
"Yoda sent me." She glanced down at the boy. "Padawan...."
"Anakin," he supplied.
"Anakin, would you show Manighan around? Please?"
The boy smiled as the Wookie girl nodded at him. "Sure! Let's go see if Padme can talk to us." They took off at a run down the hallway.
Jahzea stepped forward, gently pushing Obi-Wan back into his room, and closing the door behind her. He gave her a helpless look she remembered from her mirror so many years ago when they'd met and become friends, and she moved closer, wrapping her arms around him. He laid his head on her shoulder and took a breath that trembled. "I'm sorry," she whispered. It was all she had to offer.
It was enough. Sobs shook her as he finally released them, and his arms tightened around her. She was ready when his knees buckled, changing his collapse into a slow sink to the floor, going down with him.
In the unmeasured time that followed, the whole story came out. She listened in partial disbelief as he told her of the meetings with the Sith Lord, of Qui-Gon's charge, of Anakin's acceptance into the brotherhood, of his own Knighting. By the time he finished, he was so drained he couldn't move. He'd fallen asleep, still clasped in her arms, before she noticed the boy had returned. Manighan sat quietly in a chair behind him, eyes closed. Anakin stared down at her with an expressionless face, and she smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Anakin."
He nodded jerkily. "What happened?" he asked.
Jahzea sighed. "A lot. Come sit by me."
He did so, sinking down so he could watch Obi-Wan and still look up at her with curiosity. "I could tell he hurt," he said helplessly, his eyes going to his Master. "I couldn't help him."
"He needed someone who understood," she said softly, glancing down at the sleeping man she held tightly. "My Master - my first Master - was also killed on an assignment. Obi-Wan brought me back to sanity." She lifted her left hand from behind Obi-Wan; it was still curled into a claw from the year she'd spent clutching the light saber. "I held her light saber for almost a year, and it took him two weeks to get me to let it go." She smiled sadly. "He'll be okay, Padawan, but you must be patient with him." She paused, looking at him. "And Anakin, don't hide your own sorrow. I can feel it."
The boy's head ducked, and he trembled a little. To her surprise he crawled over, curled up next to Obi-Wan, and cried.
Mace Windu found her there not long after Anakin had fallen asleep. She smiled up at the imposing black man who had been her Master, feeling a little sheepish. "Can you help me?" she asked.
He didn't speak, bending down to lift the newest Padawan. He carried Anakin into a back room. When he returned, he crouched next to Obi-Wan and pulled the younger man's arm over his shoulders. More dragging than carrying, Mace vanished a second time, and Jahzea took his absence to get to her feet and straighten her robes. She was still working on that when he returned. "I think he'll be alright," she said as he came to a stop before her. "Thank you for your help."
"How are you feeling?"
"Exhausted," she admitted. "I think I'll find my own quarters, have a good cry, and sleep."
Mace smiled finally, and the harsh panes of his face softened. "Will you and your Padawan join me for dinner?"
Jahzea laughed. "If Manighan is still awake, I think she will be fine with that. I would love it."
Obi-Wan woke slowly. He felt basically miserable; his eyes burned and his head hurt, but the tightness in his chest had eased. He tried moving, half-surprised to find he was on his bed, and then the bed bounced.
"Master?"
The pain the title caused wasn't as sharp as it had been the last few days. He opened his eyes and found himself looking into Anakin's serious blue orbs. "Padme had food sent up."
Obi-Wan smiled. "Then it would be rude of us not to eat it." The smile came easier.
Anakin grinned at him, and Obi-Wan saw that his pain was less, too. He was glad to see it. "I ate mine," Anakin told him.
With a groan, Obi-Wan sat up. Yes, food. And water. He'd lost a lot the night before. "Did you meet my friend Jahzea?" he asked as they padded companionably to the small receiving room.
"She's nice," Anakin told him softly. "I liked her." He paused, looking up at Obi-Wan with concerned eyes. "Do you feel better?"
Obi-Wan took a deep breath as he sat down. "I do, a little. Do you?"
Anakin sat across from him, studying him. Obi-Wan squirmed uncomfortably, and wondered if he had ever made Qui-Gon uncomfortable. "Yes," the small boy said after a minute. "It still hurts."
"It will hurt for a long time, I'm afraid. We'll just have to be patient with ourselves, and with each other."
"She said I'd have to be patient with you," Anakin said with a cheeky grin.
Obi-Wan chuckled. "It sounds like Jahzea," he said.
"Do you love her?"
The question came out of nowhere. Obi-Wan tilted his head in confusion. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm curious. Do you?"
Obi-Wan picked up the fruit from his plate. "She's one of my closest friends," he said softly. "Yes, I suppose I do love her."
There was a knock on the door just after they'd finished, and Obi-Wan sent Anakin to open it while he finished getting dressed. He had one boot on when Jahzea appeared at the door. "You up for a tour of the palace?" she asked.
Obi-Wan grinned up at her. "Am I giving it? Because if I am, it's going to be very short."
"No, actually. From what I understand from Manighan, Anakin knows his way around pretty well."
"He has good friends here." He finished dressing and followed her from the rooms.
The tour Anakin gave them was highly selective. It covered the hangars, some of the gardens, and the Queen's apartments, or at least the hallway outside of them. Jahzea gave Obi-Wan a confused look as they left again, heading for the gardens they'd had a cursory look at. Their Padawans were already out of sight. "How does he know where the Queen lives?" she asked.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "I guess I didn't mention that, did I." He walked on in silence until they reached the garden, then he clasped his hands behind his back, and told her the story of Amidala and Padme. He was not surprised when Jahzea burst into laughter.
"She had you all fooled!"
"I think Qui-Gon suspected," Obi-Wan told her, and shook his head. "I never even guessed."
"And she befriended Anakin."
"I'm not sure she had a choice," Obi-Wan said. "She told me of the very first conversation she ever had with him. One of the first things he said was that he was going to marry her."
Jahzea stared at him. "This was as Padme, right?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "He couldn't possibly know who she was. And yet...." He trailed off, almost hesitant to let her know what he was thinking.
"What?"
"He's so strong in the force," he said softly. "I may be in over my head."
She wrapped an arm around him and squeezed gently. "You have been in over your head since you were found by whatever Jedi found you. So have we all. All we can do is our best, and you know you can't let your doubts get in the way."
It was almost a slap in the face, and he took it quietly, knowing she was right. She let him go after a minute. "Give yourself time, Obi-Wan. You are going to need time to recover. Even Mace went gently with me the first few months."
"I can't imagine he wouldn't," Obi-Wan said. "He understands things I sometimes think I'll never even get close to."
Jahzea laughed. "And he told none of them to me," she said. "I think when you reach his age, you will be as wise."
A thought crossed his mind, and he snorted a laugh trying to smother it.
"What?" she demanded. "You can't do that and expect me not to be let in on the joke."
"It's no use to any of us," he said. "We'll never live as long as Yoda." It wasn't really funny, but it had struck them both as being so, and their Padawans found them collapsed against each other, weak from laughter. And the youngster's confused expressions only made their Masters laugh harder.