Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter.

Disclaimer: Jedi Apprentice is property of Jude Watson, only the plot is mine.

Can Sins Ever Be Forgiven

Chapter 4: Walk On

Obi-Wan could feel the tears streaming down his face mixing with the blood as the door hissed closed behind him. He had tried to tell Qui-Gon what happened but he didn't even try to listen he just assumed that Obi-Wan was in the wrong. The Temple was his home, he grew up in here and he loved it, but now there was nothing but pain and sorrow around every corner. He couldn't stand being here anymore; he wanted to be anywhere but here. So the dejected boy once again found himself wondering the crowded streets Coruscant.

The cold night air stung his unattended wounds as he limped down street after street, people stopped and stared and a few offered to help but still he walked on into the night until he came once again to the alley where he had met Xanatos. He stopped and let his eyes wonder over the blood on the pavement, his blood, and then brought his eyes to rest on Harvey. Compared to the wounds on him Obi-Wan's looked like mere scratches.

"What happened!" Obi-Wan called to Cerasi as she helped a boy to the ground. He screamed in pain as he grabbed his leg.

"He and Keegan were outside. The Elder's decided to use them for target practice. Keegan got shot in the arm and Deo fell over some rubble taking cover and broke his leg. Can you set it?" She was kneeling by Deo trying to comfort him as best she could.

Obi-Wan knelled by the boys legs surveying the damage. He'd never set a broken leg before but he had an idea how, "Is it bad?" Deo asked flinching as Obi-Wan touched it.

"No, there was this one time back at the Temple when a couple of my friends and I were messing around on some hover boards and I got to going a little to fast and wasn't paying attention to where I was going and BAM!" The boy screamed as Obi-Wan snapped the broken bone back into place. "Right into the wall. Now that was bad."

"Cerasi! Obi-Wan!" A girl screamed as two boys behind her brought in a stretcher. "It's Harvey, he's hurt bad!"

"Did you deliver my message?" Obi-Wan jumped as Xanatos's voice startled him out of his memories. He was thankful for the interruption, he didn't want to thank about what he saw on that stretcher. No, he hadn't got the chance to deliver the message, Qui-Gon hadn't given him a chance to say anything. He turned to face Xanatos the movement making every muscle in his body ache and throb with pain. He felt dizzy all over again, a sudden twist in his stomach made him double over in pain, throwing up blood and stomach acid on the ground. "Poor little Jedi, you're pathetic."

He was tired, tired of talking when no one would listen, tired of the aching hunger in his stomach, tired of the half sleeping half waking state he has been in. He wanted it to stop, all of it, everything. "Yeah, I delivered your message." He said through gritted teeth. "He said to tell you that he's not playing any of your mind games. He's not surrendering to you." He felt a heavy boot hit the back of his head, the last thing he saw before once again falling into unconsciousness was a solitary green eye staring at him.

All too soon the rays from the morning sun penetrated Qui-Gon's quarters waking him as they danced over his eyelids. Sighing heavily he pushed the covers back and swung his legs over the edge of his sleep couch. He'd go talk to the boy after his morning meditations. Stretching as he stood he made his way to the living area to settle in for his meditations.

Taking a deep breath he calmed his mind and let the Force flow around him. Its soft energy washing away all of the tension from the previous nights encounter with Obi-Wan. A sudden gut wrenching pain caused Qui-Gon's eyes to snap open. He felt a foreboding in the air, something was wrong with Obi-Wan. Quickly he got dressed and headed to the boy's quarters.

He knocked but no answer came. Opening the door he could see no evidence that his sleep couch had been slept on. Obi-Wan had been wounded so he quickly headed for the Healers to see if perhaps the boy was there. As he walked in he spotted Winna with one of the younglings.

"Winna, is Obi-Wan here?" Qui-Gon asked as the youngling stared up at him.

"Funny, you didn't want anything to do with him the other day and now you are looking for him." The little girl squirmed as Winna gave her an injection. "No, he's not here."

"Did he come here last night?" He felt he already knew the answer but still dreaded what Winna was going to say.

"No. I haven't seen him since he was here with the two other students the day before yesterday." She looked up at the knight with concern in her eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

"He missed his hearing yesterday. Mace sent me to look for him, I talked to his friends they saw him leave the temple and they also shared your concerns about him not eating or sleeping." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I finally gave up close to night fall, I figured he'd come back and I'd talk to him then. I heard a knock at my door and when I opened it Obi-Wan hugged me, he was bleeding profusely so I tried to clean him up and I accused him of fighting again and lying to me. He tried to tell me something but I didn't listen then he got mad and left. I thought he would come here."

Winna looked wide eyed at Qui-Gon. "If he was trying to tell you something, why didn't you listen to him? He comes to you for help and you turn him away. Qui-Gon I expected more from you." She looked at him like a disappointed mother and shook her head.

"I think he may be in trouble. I have to find him." With that he vanished out the door off to locate the runaway padawan. He feared the worst. He knew from everything he'd been hearing lately that there was something other then the physical wounds he had suffered last night wrong with him. He begged the Force to help him find the boy before it was too late.

Tbc.