Obi-Wan brought Anakin by later that day. I was sitting up in bed, feeling rather good as the painkillers continued to do their job. Anakin was clothed in Jedi garb, though his hair was not yet twisted into the braid and nerf-tail that would signify padawan status. As Obi-Wan turned to leave, I put out a hand and asked that he stay.

"No, Master," he said, shaking his head.

"Stay, please," I commanded. Obi-Wan's face twisted with my command, but he complied, going to the window and standing with his back towards us, his very posture telling me that he was present physically, unwillingly, and trying not to listen.

"Qui-Gon, sir," Anakin said, eyes confused as they went back and forth between Obi-Wan and myself. "You know they're going to make me a Jedi? Obi-Wan said you knew. You're going to be my master as you promised?"

The eagerness and certainty infusing his voice meant I now knew how deeply I would be disappointing him. There was no easy way to break the news.

I reached out a hand and put it on his shoulder. "I cannot – I am injured and in no shape to train you, Anakin. I have asked Obi-Wan to train you."

"No! Not him!" Anakin cried, and I saw Obi-Wan's shoulders tense at the pain and scorn in that voice. Obi-Wan had suspected this reaction, had even been prepared for it, I now saw, yet I had forced him to stay for this. To listen to Anakin's protests.

Hadn't he suffered enough pain so far? Forgive me, Obi-Wan, I thought, sending a wave of apology through the bond. I didn't know his words would be so hurtful.

Anakin continued his protests, heedless of their impact, despite my attempts to shush him.

"You said you would train me! He's…he's just a padawan himself, and you were willing to replace him with me, and now you want him to train me? You promised you would train me! I hate you both"

"Anakin, stop," I said sharply, each word of his cutting deeper. My heart ached with the pain that Obi-Wan had to be feeling as he listened to Anakin's objections. Pain that was my fault.

Obi-Wan's hands clenched into fists at his side, and then he turned around and came to stand behind Anakin. He put his hands on Anakin's shoulder. The boy squirmed and tried to throw him off, but Obi-Wan merely rode out the twists and turns of that little body until Anakin quieted down. His eyes were more gray than blue now, a sign of some internal distress, but his voice was calm enough.

"Anakin," he said softly. "He's not rejecting you – he's too hurt to train you. You must realize that. He cares for you so much he's willing to give you up. I know you don't want me as your master; we'll find another master for you, but it won't be Qui-Gon. Don't be mad at him. Just be happy he's alive, and can watch over you, even if not as your master."

I saw tears in Anakin's eyes, and held out my arms. Anakin fell into them, weeping. I had not known this bright and open-hearted child was capable of such grief. It seemed to consume his young body.

I looked over his head and mouthed, "thank you," to Obi-Wan. He smiled at me, and softly withdrew from the room. He was right; he should not have been present for this.

"Oh, Ani," I pressed my lips to his soft hair. "I want to be your master, guide you, but I can't. You must accept that. No matter who your master is, it won't be me. Obi-Wan has been knighted; he will be a good master to you. I trust him. I'd rather entrust you to him, than to any other Jedi. I just can't be your master. Do you understand?"

"No," he sniffled against my shoulder. "I only want you."

"You can't have me," I said as calmly as I could, even as my heart broke. I had taken Anakin away from the only life he knew with a promise and a destiny, and it was not what he expected. He was just a young boy and he knew no other way to behave than to lash out. I hugged him close, feeling his tears soak through my sleep top.

His tears only came harder and harder, and he clung to me. It hurt; his head was pressing against my chest and I began to gasp with the pain. I couldn't get Anakin to let go. I had no choice but to send a quick request for help through the bond. Obi-Wan must have been waiting outside, for he was at my side within seconds and eyes assessing the situation.

"You're hurting Qui-Gon," he said gently as he pulled the boy away. Anakin's arms were flailing, small fists beating against anything he could reach, and now it was Obi-Wan who was bearing the brunt of it. Childish blows were landing on his chest, his hands, and he calmly bore it, even as I tried to protest.

"It's okay, Anakin, it's okay to be upset, but it's not okay to give in to it and hit people when you're upset," he reprimanded him as he spoke quietly into Anakin's ear. He hoisted the boy into his arms, a bit awkwardly since he tried to keep Anakin's fists pinned against his body.

Anakin was about as slippery as a greased felinoid, and even with my concern for Anakin's feelings, I couldn't help but be amused by the sight of one combat trained Jedi almost bested by one small determined boy. Obi-Wan was struggling to control him and I winced as a clenched hand caught him in the face. Panting a bit and giving me a strange look of almost – surprise, I think – Obi-Wan finally gained control over the boy.

The little boy was tense in his arms, until Anakin suddenly collapsed into my padawan's arms and clung to him, sobbing away. Obi-Wan backed into a chair and sat with one arm wrapped around Anakin as the other wiped his tears away with a gentle hand.

After what I had just witnessed, it did my heart good to see these two now, so close to my heart, one offering comfort and the other accepting it. Obi-Wan was holding Anakin as if he belonged in his arms, and Anakin was clinging to him like he would never let go. I had once held a young Obi-Wan like that and I knew the wonder the clasp of a young boy could give. Obi-Wan saw my smile, and rolled his eyes as if to say, yes, Master, I understand.

"Would you take care of me like he would?" Anakin mumbled against Obi-Wan's shoulder. "If you were to become my master?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said firmly.

"Would you love me like he loves me?" softer.

At that, Obi-Wan hesitated and looked at me with a helpless look. I could not help him, only his heart could answer that question. It wasn't a requirement, for a master and a padawan. In some ways it was a hindrance, in more ways it was a blessing.

"Not like he does. Everyone loves differently." Anakin took that as a yes; I knew better. Obi-Wan didn't want to lie to the boy. His love would come in its own time, and Obi-Wan would make no promises. It would come, I knew, but it could be slow to blossom.

No matter. I could see a connection already growing between the two.

"Put me down," Anakin suddenly commanded. Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose and he looked at me and winked, before turning back to Anakin and crouching before him. He spoke slowly and carefully, wanting no misunderstanding between them.

"Nothing's settled, Anakin. I understand your hesitation," he paused, and I knew as if he had spoken it aloud, his own added "I hesitate, too." Obi-Wan looked at me and back at Anakin, and he suddenly smiled.

"There's no rush for either of us to make a decision, so we'll both think about it, right? So I'm not asking you, and you're not forced to give an answer at this time. Okay? "

Anakin looked at my padawan and brushed the back of his hand across his eyes and asked my padawan, "Can I stay and talk with Qui-Gon? I'll think about it."

"Of course you can," I said soothingly, and nodded at Obi-Wan. This time, as Obi-Wan turned to leave, I didn't try to stop him. If Anakin and I were to speak freely, Obi-Wan didn't need to hear some of Anakin's thoughts. He had been hurt enough, Force knows, and I now suspected Anakin would share thoughts that would only add to his pain.

I wanted to spare Obi-Wan any pain I could. He had suffered too much, already.