A/N: I know this chapter is rather short, and it makes it seem like the story is over, but believe me, it's not! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, yes...sorry...Yes, I know Master, Shade's job...don't ask!

Eowyn Skywalker: Meh...I'll leave it. It's my own style, and I'm just too darn lazy to change it! And NO, Jandalf is NOT supposed to get him, not in this one! If Adi wasn't already taken, maybe he'd be my love interest in RotS...but I resorted to Frodo 'cause he was the only one I could think of at the time...And you don't have a copyright on Shadow's name, so I chose a different personnality for her...Padmé! OK, maybe, maybe not, not quite sure yet...and I don't care if she'd not Force-sensitive!

SoloKenobi: So sorry for you! Really, I am. I don't know how that feels, 'cause I don't have a boyfriend...yet...no implications there...anyway, this is for you! (and you, Master...and Jandalf, I guess...)

vegetakitten: Thank you for continuing to review! I'm glad you like it!

And now, chapter three, in which something very startling occurs to our hero...(mwahahahaha!)

Chapter 3: Why Didn't You Tell Me?

Obi-Wan was suddenly wide awake. He wasn't sure where he was, or how he had gotten there, but he was aware of a pounding in his temples. He tried to sit up, but the pounding just increased, so he just lay still and tried to remember where he was. He rubbed his head to try to relieve the pain, but the effort of thinking canceled it out. The last thing he remembered was talking to Bant about his secret, then he had vague recollection of walking down the corridor to his room. Beyond that, he could remember nothing else. He put a hand to his forehead as the pain intensified, then worked on clearing his mind. Why, he asked himself, why did this have to involve the one lesson I was never good at? Well, maybe not the only lesson, but still, I was never good at this. He glanced around the room and recognized it as his own. Then he caught sight of his Master sitting on the floor with his eyes closed, meditating. He held his breath, hoping he wouldn't be noticed, but it was too late. "It is good to have you back, Padawan," Qui-gon said quietly. He could sense his Padawan's confusion and disorientation, and also his pain, but didn't say anything at the moment. He wanted to see how his protege handled the circumstances, and whether or not it would help him figure out what was wrong. He waited patiently, his eyes still closed.

Obi-Wan recognized the test immediately and tried his best to clear his mind. He knew that his Master was monitoring his thoughts, and if Qui-gon sensed the real distress he was in, Obi-wan would be in severe trouble. He steered away from memories of revealing his secret and focused on his fleeting memory of walking down the passageway to his quarters. Qui-gon was at first pleased that his apprentice focused on what he could not remember instead of what he could, but then began to wonder if maybe this had something to do with what his Padawan was hiding. Obi-Wan strained to figure it out, but succeeded only in nearly passing out again. He lay still once more and tried to relax, but simply could not remember what had happened. At last, Qui-gon spoke. "I carried you here," he told his Padawan. "You had passed out in the hall, and your friends, Bant and Garen, were going to help you, but I stopped them so that I could speak with you." Obi-Wan knew what was coming next. His Master must have sensed his disquiet just like Garen had. In fact, he wondered if the entire Temple knew there was something wrong with him.

Qui-gon sensed some kind of dread in his Padawan, but continued anyway. He needed to find out what was bothering his student, and that involved, however much he disliked it, causing some kind of discomfort to Obi-Wan. If he could have spared Obi-Wan the discomfort, he would have, but it was unavoidable in this situation. "Obi-Wan, we need to talk. You have been acting rather strangely lately, and I'm beginning to get worried about you. Now, please tell me what is going on." Obi-Wan didn't answer. He didn't want his Master to know about Adi, but he didn't know how much more emotional strain he could manage. Maybe his Master could help. Maybe...

Qui-gon could sense his Padawan learner pondering his options. Obviously there was something Obi-Wan didn't want him to know about. He couldn't imagine what his appentice could be hiding from him. He wondered if perhaps he could probe his Padawan's mind for the answer. Then he realized Obi-Wan might be able to sense his probing and try to block him out. He couldn't have that, not when he was so close to an answer. He decided to try anyway. He shut his eyes and reached out to his apprentice, groping for a short moment for his mind, then found it. He thought perhaps, if he was gentle enough at first, he might get in undetected. He was wrong. He disappointedly sensed a panicked block in his student's mind. He sighed inwardly, then resorted to his one choice. He forced his way through the block in his Padawan's mind, probing deeper and being more harsh about it. He could feel pain there as he forced the block away. It was difficult, but he succeeded in seeing the one thing Obi-wan was hiding. It shocked him so much he almost lost his grip on his Padawan's mind. He couldn't believe his Padawan could be capable of such misdeeds. He released Obi-Wan of his hold and opened his eyes. He saw his apprentice was sweating, breathing hard from the effort of keeping his mind from Qui-gon's probing. He wondered what damage he had caused, but soon realized he had done nothing to harm Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan finally relaxed when he felt his Master remove himself from his mind. He could not have imagined such pain from fighting his Master's probing. He hoped Qui-gon had not found anything, but he could not be sure. All he could be completely sure of at the moment was that his headache had gotten much worse. He tried to steady his breathing, but couldn't. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and opened his eyes. He saw his Master looking at him with an unbelieving look on his face. He immediately knew he had been found out. Qui-gon stared at him, making sure that Obi-Wan felt his Master's disappointment. Obi-
Wan looked away, embarrassed that his Master had found out his secret. Qui-gon just kept gazing at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked firmly. Obi-Wan stared at the ceiling, silently wishing he were somewhere else. He deliberately pretended he hadn't heard Qui-gon's question, but couldn't refuse it much longer. Qui-gon knew he wouldn't stay quiet long. He rarely did, especially when he was under such pressure. Obi-Wan finally took a deep breath and turned to face Qui-gon. He wasn't sure what to say, or if there was anything to say, but he felt like he should say something. He dropped his eyes to the floor in shame. Qui-gon naturally felt his misery and became slightly more lenient, although not much. His face softened as he watched his apprentice struggle to find something to say. He sighed as he saw that perhaps his own shock had caused it to seem like more of an issue than it should have been made out to be. He looked at him again. "You know you shouldn't think like that," he said, more sympathetically than firmly.

Obi-Wan caught the tone in his voice and looked up at him gratefully. "I know," he muttered ruefully. "I was afraid of what would happen to our relationship if you ever found out." Qui-gon was confounded by this comment. Obi-Wan sensed his surprise and tried to explain. "I thought you would be angry with me for going against the Code, so I hid my feelings in fear of being thrown out of the Order." Qui-gon saw what his Padawan was saying. He had been afraid that others thought as little of him as he thought of himself. This fear had influenced him to keep his feelings secret, apprehensive that he might be expelled for a simple feeling. Qui-gon smiled at the thought. His apprentice had been brought up well, though fear of one's feelings was not good.

"You should have told me, Padawan," he said softly. "If you had, I might have been able to help you through this. Next time, don't keep these things from me, alright?" Obi-Wan nodded his agreement. He was glad it was over, and now that his Master knew, he would have to do his best to forget about Adi Gallia. But as the years went by, he never really forgot his true feelings.

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