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Chapter Five:
Qui-Gon started from his light doze to the sound of insistent knocking upon the door. It took him a moment to orient himself—the drink that had been passed around at the meeting earlier that day had been a little too strong for the human system—and when he finally did, was a struggle for him to right himself up from his sleep couch and pull himself to his feet. At first, he did not know whether it was the rumbling of thunder sounding in the night sky around them—for a storm had been persistent for quite some time with its brilliant blue flashes of light and light snow fall. But it was only a split second later that he realized the rumbling was, in fact, coming from the door, and he wearily turned on the ceiling light to a dim sheen before making his way to answer the impatient awaiting visitor.
He looked over at Obi-Wan who was still sleeping deeply under the large mound of thick blankets, and was concerned to note that the body still shook slightly with the cold. Blast the boy and his rashness, he thought while his heart twisted in sympathy. He should know better than to do something so foolish, going outside when he was still ridden with a fever. What had he been thinking? Qui-Gon did not need the light to be confident to make out that the usually fair skin of his apprentice was paler than it always was, and that those circles beneath the eyes were not only from a lack of sleep.
Qui-Gon let out a silent sigh before walking down the hallway to the front door and palming it open. He made a note to check on his Padawan as soon the business at hand was dealt with.
A young Irinian servant stood at the door, quivering slightly as he stared up at the large Jedi man with a slight look of annoyance on his face.
Upon looking at the boys reaction, Qui-Gon carefully concealed his earlier aggravation and placed a kind smile on his face.
'Yes, may I help you?'
The boy nodded slowly, staring fixated at Qui-Gon's lightsaber but shook himself out of his reverie as he remembered his place and handed the large man a large stack of data sheets.
'The Prime Minster Asdir, requested that you take these and look over them for the meeting tomorrow morning.' He said in a rush.
Qui-Gon accepted the bundle and nodded. He had known that this was most likely to occur for not everything had been completed earlier that day at the meeting between the governors. It didn't mean he enjoyed this aspect of the mission, rather, he knew it was coming and it didn't bother him with worry. If Obi-Wan were well, he would have him do this part but….seeing as he was in his current state, there would be none and that, and the last thing he wanted was to burden his Padawan with unneeded worries.
Which you seem to be doing naturally, Jinn, he berated. The boy sees anything that he does as not satisfactory enough, and it's not as if you have tried to move forward to make him feel more comfortable about the way he is.
He brushed away the distracting voice for a moment and directed his attention down to the youth who was beginning to fidget under his silence.
'Is there anything else, little one?'
The boy bit his lip. 'Well, no and yes, Master Jedi, sir. It's not from Mr. Asdir but…' He gazed down at his feet ashamedly, fidgeting madly with a small pouch on his belt. Qui-Gon eyed the little bundle and slowly lowered himself to one knee so that he was at eye-level with the child who was slow in looking back. The silver eyes stared confusedly at the Jedi—for he had expected this to be the last thing for the Jedi to do—and hastily said. 'I--I h-have something for your ill friend.'
He searched quickly for the strings that held the small package on his belt and untied it with nimble hands before holding it out to Qui-Gon. 'I—I watched you fight with your glowing swords and…it was so wizard! I felt bad that your friend is really sick now and I know that when I'm sick my Mamma will make me something special to make me feel better. Will this help him feel better?'
Qui-Gon smiled widely at the little boy's enthusiasm. It never failed to amaze him how quickly Obi-Wan made an icon out of himself when he could. If only he would understand how strong he is viewed to others without feeling like a complete failure.
He carefully took the pouch—which was lighter than he had thought—and met his eyes again with the young boy.
'Thank you,' he said sincerely. 'I will make sure he receives it. Am I allowed to know what's in it?'
Comfortable with the man's tone, the young boy shook his head in glee and practically split his face in half from his large smile.
'Not yet, not until your friend opens it for himself,' he teased. 'And no peeking either.'
Qui-Gon chuckled. 'I wouldn't think of it.'
The young boy nodded earnestly and began to back away down the hall 'Good. I have to go now. Mamma said she's going to making my favorite dinner tonight and I can't be late.'
He waved to Qui-Gon as he began to rise from the ground. 'Goodbye.' He said and scurried off before Qui-Gon could reply.
Qui-Gon smiled to himself as he watched the little feet carry the child out of view, a large smile knowing smile on his lips.
He had no doubt that the Prime Minister had not sent the boy at all, for in fact, the only servants in the house worked during the meal hours and even then, droids did most of the work. Yes, the young child must have found his way into Asdir's office, taken a few pages and found out where the Jedi were quartered so that he would have an excuse when he gave Obi-Wan his gift.
Well he fooled me for a moment, Qui-Gon thought amusedly as he went back into their quarters and glanced over the datasheets. Yes, it seemed like this was Asdir's schedule for the rest of the week—associates, meetings—something he would need dearly in some time. Qui-Gon thought about returning it now, before the Irinian leader realized it was gone, but was quickly distracted by the small pouch that he had set on the table.
Whatever lay within the folds of the brown fabric was smooth and light, and made a small thumping sound when he placed it onto the wooden table. He was almost tempted to look inside himself but thought better of it. What ever it was, the boy had clearly specified that it could only be opened by one person and one person only.
Qui-Gon hoped it would brighten up his Padawan's day if it could. He was not doing an adequate enough job himself.
Obi-Wan, he remembered, and placed the small bag back onto the table and walked over to the unmoving figure. He smiled slightly as he saw the covers thrown back to the edge of the bed with only a sheet to cover the slender frame but the smile quickly slid away as he looked at the young boy's face.
Brow furrowing in concern, he fell to his knees beside the bed as he stared surprised at the wide-eyed apprentice.
'Obi-Wan?' He asked and placed a hand on the warm forehead. The youth seemed not to hear him, cerulean eyes fixated on something Qui-Gon could not see. Like a huge invisible landscape or world lay above him that was only for his eyes to delve into.
Qui-Gon checked their thread of a bond through the Force and was surprised to find Obi-Wan's half open to him. Whether it was intentionally or not, he did not know but he, nevertheless, entered into Obi-Wan's mind very slowly and carefully.
/Obi-Wan/ He searched through the thick haze that swirled around his mind now that was coming from Obi-Wan's. /Obi-Wan/ He asked again, trying to pull through the haze as one does when walking through water.
/Qui-Gon…/ The voice sounded so distant…so small he though it was only a trick in his mind—or lack thereof, but no, it was in fact Obi-Wan's voice sounding through the fog, looking for him with a great urgency.
/Padawan, I'm here. What is it/ He asked and suddenly felt himself being slowly pushed out. At first he resisted, confused at his Padawan's sudden strength but when he opened his eyes he realized that Obi-Wan wanted him out of his mind to speak with him.
"Padawan, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked quietly and it took him a moment to realize that tears were falling from those crystalline eyes that still remained turned inward. He had never seen Obi-Wan cry…he realized. He had seen the marks of it; the shallow look in those eyes that came in the aftermath of some grieving period, but he had never seen it so… manifestly. So…heart wrenching.
Slowly, oh so very slowly the teal eyes withdrew from the deep fog that clouded his mind and turned to recognize the blue ones who were searching questioningly for them. His lips parted as if for the first time in years he had used this voice to speak of this specific desire of his heart. It was a voice so hoarse from misuse, the body did not know how to compensate for the thoughts that came through it. But the meaning, raspy and airy as it was, was spoken articulately enough that Qui-Gon dropped his hand from Obi-Wan's forehead and nearly winced from the harshness in the tone.
'This was a mistake. You could never understand.'
A/N: Sorry for such a long delay. Schoolwork, hurricanes and a small cold (perfect for the story, wouldn't you think?) . I'm really trying to finish Chapter Six, which will sadly be my last chapter, because of Nanowrimo (if any of you are familiar with it) and I won't have any time to spare for this story because of that. So Chapter Six will be coming soon, don't you worry. I wouldn't leave this story unfinished!
Now, this time, I actually have the time to reply back to you individually so…without ado…
Oh yes and chocolate and fluffy bunnies for everyone who reviewed and who is reading this! Thank you eternally!
K.Elessar
mikayla: bows thank you so much for your comment! Glad you are liking it so far!
ultimateSUfan: Aww, thank you Ultimate! Your comment really brightened up my day. It makes me very happy to know that you are enjoying this story!
Eternity's Angel of Mercy: Wow, thank you, thank you!
Laura of Maychoria: They'll have this talk…don't you worry one bit. Thank you May! A compliment from you is high praise:)
Ducky: Thank you, Ducky! I love your name, by the way. Ha ha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well as the last. I love writing dialogue between Obi and Qui, and their interactions are always so…Jedi'ish with their own attitudes. :D
Masterarcher: Impatient, aren't we? Hee hee. Well I'm hoping this quenched your impatience thirst. ;) Thanks a bunch for the comment! It got me going!
The Dancing Cavalier: Aww, you always know how to make my day with your encouraging comments. You ought to get a reward for best reviewer because you really make us writers want to write, write, write! Thank you!
Qui's Padawan: I know, aren't Obi and Qui just the sweetest when they're together? The best characters for some good ol' mush in my opinion. Glad you're liking it so far!
Nelarun: My little friend, thank you for reviewing again:)
SFGrl: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Out Of Phase: Warm fuzzies are wonderful, aren't they? I don't think there were any in this chapter but we'll see about the next one, won't we?…