Taken and Alone

OK. Here it is! The last chapter of my very first fanfic. This has a tissue warning attached.

This story will have a sequel that will be posted here relatively soon. It is entitled "Broken, but Together" and it will focus on Obi-Wan's recovery from the torture he endured in this story. Be sure to check it out!

Once again, thank you so much to my reviewers!!

Geri K-Thank you so much! But come on, I could not leave Obi-Wan kidnapped. That would be horrible and I do not think that I have the heart for it. Besides, if they did not find him, how could we get to the best part: MUSH!! Thanks for reading.

black-and-white-stockings-Thank you so much. I hope that the last part is satisfying.

And now the conclusion of "Taken and Alone"

Chapter 4-Home

After he and Mace started their journey and he had settled into the pace, Qui-Gon turned all of his energy to the young being in his arms. Obi-Wan was in a deep sleep, caused by a mix of exhaustion and pain. Qui-Gon was very disturbed at how many injures his Padawan had. Besides the leg, he had a few cracked ribs, a fractured right wrist, a broken clavicle and numerous bruises and cuts of varying depth. The young apprentice was also getting sick from the dampness of the cave. The Master knew that it was lucky Obi-Wan was not in more critical condition. It was clear that he had been severely beaten, but there was no internal bleeding and no life-threatening injuries. It would be a very long road to recovery, especially with the surgery and therapy that his left leg would require. Qui-Gon was also worried about the boy's mental state. The boy had endured a lot over the last two days and he seemed very unwilling to let Qui-Gon go. The Master feared that the child might be afraid of being left alone. Not that this was the worst thing in the world. Qui-Gon felt that he might not be so wiling to leave the boy alone, for a while at least. He would just have to see how they both handled things when they were back on Coruscant. He unconsciously strengthened his grip on the boy, as he moved faster through the forest.

The Jedi were silent throughout the majority of the trip back to the capital city. They had to change course multiple times to avoid the groups of Gargednians that were now sweeping the territory searching for their captive and his rescuers. However, they did not manage to run into any groups. The Jedi only stopped for water breaks. It was especially important to keep Obi-Wan hydrated in his weakened state. He was probably not given any nourishment during his capture, making his last meal two days ago. Qui-Gon did his best to push his young apprentice to drink, but it was hard with Obi-Wan drifting between sleep and unconsciousness.

About an hour away from the border and an hour and a half away from the cabin, Mace's comlink went off. The two masters stopped walking as Mace went to answer to incoming call. Qui-Gon took the time to once again try to pour some water down Obi-Wan's throat. "Obi-Wan. Wake up, little one. Time for some water." Qui-Gon's voice seemed to break the child out of his slumber. Opening his eyes, he gave Qui-Gon a small smile, his eyes bright as ever.

"You did not leave me."

"Oh, my child. I told you that I would not leave you."

"I know. But, it's just…I was all alone. I don't want to alone anymore."

"You won't be." Even as he said this, Qui-Gon knew that his suspicion was correct: Obi-Wan had developed a fear of being alone. Not that anyone could blame him after this. "Come on, Padawan. Sit up and drink some water." Obi-Wan did as he was instructed, but then slumped back down to the ground as soon as he had enough. It was clear that these injuries were taking a hard toll on the boy. "Go back to sleep, little one; and when you wake up we will be going home." Obi-Wan just gave a small smile as he tightened his grip his Master and the robe that covered him. Soon he was back asleep. Qui-Gon knew that it was going to take a lot before Obi-Wan was once again the bright, happy unafraid child that he had been, but he would get there. Qui-Gon would make sure of it.

His thoughts were interrupted as Mace came back to Qui-Gon. "That was Eeth Koth. He is in the atmosphere. Koth and his Padawan Sharad Hett will take over the negotiations while we take your Padawan back to Coruscant. Winna Di Uni is with him and she will take care of him on the way back to Coruscant. We need to go. They are going to meet us at the edge of the territory." Qui-Gon just nodded as he prepared his Padawan of the last leg of the journey.

True to their word, when Mace, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arrived at the edge of the territory, Eeth, Sharad and Winna were waiting, with their transport. The first priority among all of the Jedi was to get Obi-Wan safely aboard the ship and looked over by Winna. While all Jedi had medical training, Qui-Gon was no healer and he was anxious for his Padawan to be looked over by someone with skill in that area. Once aboard, Qui-Gon unwillingly left Obi-Wan in a private room so that he could be checked out by Winna. She would tend to him, while he gave Koth all of the information he needed to finish the negotiations.

Qui-Gon, Mace, Eeth and Sharad all sat around a table in the ship's lounge, sipping the tea that Sharad had made. Qui-Gon started to relay all of the information about the tribes that we arguing over the land and how he thought the situation could best be resolved. He also briefly talked about the tribe that had captured Obi-Wan and the lack of a known motive. All during the talk, it was evident to all of the other Jedi that Qui-Gon was not really paying attention to his surroundings. All of his attention was on the being in the next room.

Once all of the basic information was relayed, Eeth tried asking a few questions to get a better sense of how Qui-Gon was doing. The Jedi truly looked horrible, as it was clear that he had not slept or eaten since his Padawan had been captured. Eeth had been in this type of situation before and he knew how easy it was to forget about taking care of oneself when one's Padawan was hurt or sick. But all of his best attempts were met with one-word answers and blank stares.

Suddenly a piercing scream cut through the awkward silence in the lounge. Qui-Gon raced to the room where he left Obi-Wan, the other Jedi not far behind. Bursting through the door, what Qui-Gon saw stopped his heart. His poor Padawan was sitting up in his bed, panting, sweating, with tears streaking down the small face. But what really went straight through Qui-Gon was the look of sheer terror on his Padawan's face. It stopped him in his tracks for second. His Padawan had always been so brave. He had never seen Obi-Wan this scared before. That thought put Qui-Gon back into action. He very briskly walked over to his Padawan, taking the child in his arms. Qui-Gon did a quick scan of his Padawan to make sure that this was not caused by anything physical, although he doubted it since the child was being taken care of by a Master Healer. His suspicions proved to be correct. This was a deep-seated emotional pain brought on by the trauma that he had endured. Qui-Gon had yet to find out the details of what happened to his Padawan, but it had clearly impacted the child. While Obi-Wan had settled down somewhat when his Master had taken him into his arms, but he was still crying, silent sobs wracking the young body. Qui-Gon started to rock the young one back and forth, murmuring soft words of comfort. Soon the sobs started to subside, but Qui-Gon could sense that the child was not going to let him go anytime soon. Not the way that he was gripping the Master's tunic. Knowing that the position was not good for the injured boy, Qui-repositioned himself so that has was leaning up against the headboard, while Obi-Wan was half on top of him, half next to him. The Master continued to utter soft words of comfort to the child, until the sobs ceased. Eventually, Obi-Wan did stop crying. When he did so, he tilted his head up to look at his Master.

"You left me."

"No, my little one. I would never, ever leave you. You need to believe that. You are my Padawan and I will NOT leave you. Ok?"

"Then where were you? I woke up and you were not here," Obi-Wan's small voice cracking, once again on the verge of tears.

"Oh, my child. No. I was just outside talking with Mace and Eeth Koth, while Winna checked you over. You know that healing is not my strength and I wanted to give Winna some space while she made she that you were OK."

"Oh, OK. But…but can you, um, not leave again?"

"I think that I can manage that. Now close you eyes and get some rest. I will be here when you wake up." Sending a subtle Force suggestion to his Padawan, Obi-Wan was soon in the deep throes of healing slumber.

Holding his Padawan closer, Qui-Gon thought about the last few days and how they had impacted him. He had always been fond of the small child, which was to be expected, since he was his Padawan. But looking back, the Jedi Master was shocked at just how panicked he got when Obi-Wan went missing. He had only been gone for a few hours and it had sent him into a panic. It had shocked him. He had never been this scared before, not even when Xanatos had been captured. All Padawans were captured at least a few times during their apprenticeship. It went with the territory. Obi-Wan was probably going to be captured many times in his apprenticeship and, unfortunately, he was probably going to be hurt much worse than he already was. Suddenly, that thought became the most terrifying thought that Qui-Gon ever had. Without a second thought, the Master pulled his Padawan closer to him, taking care not to wake him or aggravate his injuries.

His musings were interrupted by Winna's gentle hand on his shoulder. She had been on the opposite side of the room, giving the Master and Padawan the time that they needed. Now that Obi-Wan was asleep she could update his Master on the injuries that the child sustained.

"Qui-Gon. I need to speak with you about your Padawan's condition."

"Will he be alright?"

"Yes. It will take some time, but he should be fine. I have wrapped his ribs and his collarbone and applied bone knitters. They should be healed in about a week. I also wrapped his wrist. He woke up when I was finishing that, and you know what the reaction was. I need to clean out his cuts. As you know, his worst injury was his leg. That will be the hardest to heal. I have stabilized it as much as possible and applied some bone knitters, but he is going to need surgery. Once we land on Coruscant, he will need to get a rod put in his leg so that it heals properly. That will probably take over month to heal, but as long as there are no complications, he should be fine. He is a very lucky boy, especially when you consider everything that must have happened to him."

Swallowing the acid that had risen in his throat, Qui-Gon reluctantly asked the question that had been on his mind for some time. "Do you know what happened to him? What he was…hurt with?"

"I have some guesses, yes. But are you sure you want to know?"

"I have to."

"Very well. Everything that your Padawan was hurt with must be been relatively primitive. There are no blaster wounds, electro-whip marks, vibroshiv injuries. Everything is much more basic, which is probably one of the reasons that the little one survived. I have to believe that most of his injuries came from his getting beat up. He had some defensive wounds and there are no marks that one commonly sees with a weapon. I think that only time an actual weapon was used was on his leg. It looks like he was hit with a stick or a rod of some sort. You should be proud of your Padawan. He seems to have survived a lot of abuse and I believe that he did fight back. He was just too small to make a difference," Winna finished softly. "I know that the two of you need each other right now, so I will leave you be. If you need anything, just yell." And with that Winna walked out of the room, leaving the Master to think about all that was said.

He was very proud of his Padawan. Obi-Wan had obviously been very brave during this ordeal. A real Jedi. He thought back to only a few days prior, when the boy was practically bouncing off of the walls, acting more boy than Jedi. There was a part of the Master that never wanted his Obi-Wan to grow up. For him to stay young forever. Of course, this was not befitting of a Jedi. Obi-Wan needed to grow and learn in the ways of the Force. But that part of Qui-Gon wanted his Padawan to stay that hyperactive boy forever. But why? This boy is my Padawan. It is my job to teach him and him to grow. It is part of my job to make sure that he reaches adulthood. For me to want him to stay young is unnatural. It is too…parental, Qui-Gon realized with a shock. I see Obi-Wan as my son.

The logical part of his brain told him that Obi-Wan was not his son, but his heart did not listen. Qui-Gon realized that this boy was more like his son then anything else. He loved the child as his own, putting his own safety behind the boy's. That would explain why he was so panicked for his safety, why he let the child be a kid before a Jedi. He had even encouraged that on a few occasions. Obi-Wan had been a quiet child, when he had taken him on, but Qui-Gon had broken him out of that quickly, by pushing him for details about his classes and friends. Soon the boy looked forward to telling his Master about his day, with an enthusiasm that could only be seen in youth. Qui-Gon knew that he was going to have to reign in these emotions. It was not natural. He was going to have to train this boy and it was probably going to be harsh at times. Training to be a Jedi was a hard task and it required a certain amount of strictness. Somehow, Qui-Gon could not think of that when he small ward was lying in his lap, bruised and injured. All he could think of was getting Obi-Wan back to the Temple and healed physically and mentally. There would be time for strictness later. Now he could be the overprotective father that his heart wanted so badly to be. And with those parental thoughts running through Qui-Gon's head, the Jedi fell asleep, his Padawan still safe in his arms.

Qui-Gon was brought out his deep sleep by slight movements against his side. Instantly coming out of his slumber, his focus settled on the being that was lying there. Obi-Wan was sweating and tossing as much as injuries would allow. He had also started to moan in his sleep. The Padawan was having a nightmare. Knowing that his Padawan's Force connection was still too weak to receive a message, Qui-Gon started to physically shake his Padawan, trying not to hurt him further. "Obi-Wan! Wake up, child. You are having a nightmare. Wake up!"

With one more forceful shake, Obi-Wan broke free of his dream, gasping in lungfuls of air, the look of fear still etched in his face. Almost immediately, Obi-Wan started frantically searching for the one thing that would give him comfort. He did not have to look long, seeing his Master's face gazing down at him, full of concern. Obi-Wan sagged against his Master and started to cry. Qui-Gon, not at all shocked at how much the past few days affected the child, just held him, rocking him back and forth and rubbing soft, slow circles on his back. Once the tears abated, Qui-Gon sensed that the child did feel a little better.

"Obi-Wan. Do you want to talk about your nightmare? It will help make you feel better if you talk about it."

The Padawan immediately shook his head and started to rant to a small panicked voice. "I don't what to talk about it! Please don't make me talk about it. I will be a good Padawan. Just don't make me talk about it. Please." By the end of this rant, Obi-Wan was tucked in next to his Master' tunic, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Shh, little one. Hush. It's alright. You don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to. I would never make you do something like that. I just wanted you to know that I was here if you were ready to talk. But it is OK, if you're not. Now what is this about you not being a good Jedi? You are a wonderful Jedi and you have been very brave over the past few days. I know that your first mission did not exactly go as planned, but you did a wonderful job. Why do you think that you are not a good Padawan?"

"Because Jedi are not suppose to cry," Obi-Wan replied, obviously still fighting to keep the rest of his tears from flowing.

"Everyone needs to cry every now and again. Even Jedi. You are only reacting as your mind needs to. To do any different would be dangerous. Ok?" Obi-Wan just nodded, putting his small head against the wet spot on Qui-Gon's cloak where his tears collected. "When you are ready, we can talk. For now, why don't you try going back to sleep?"

"No. I don't want to go back to sleep!"

"Why not, little one? Are you afraid that you will have another nightmare?" Obi-Wan just gave a tight nod. "What if I tell you a story? Then will you go to sleep?"

"But what if I have another nightmare?"

"Then I will be right here to wake you up. Please, Obi-Wan. You need to rest."

"Ok. But make it a good story."

" I think that can be arranged. Now lie back down and stay still. So here is your story. There was a man…"

"You forgot 'Once upon a time…'"

"Oh, sorry about that. Ok. Once upon a time there was a knight. It was his job to keep the evil driagons away from the Kingdom. The kingdom was run by one of the wisest men in the galaxy and he used to fend off evil by himself. However, as he got on in years he had another take his place on the battlefield, while he reigned. There was great peace in the kingdom and the Knight made sure that the darkness did not break that happiness. But the Knight was not happy. He had fought the dark for many years and he found that all of his dealings with dark had changed him. He no longer liked what he did. He got no joy when the peasants thanked him for his work. He got no sense of purpose as he fought to keep the evil at bay. He just went through his life, without a purpose. But then one day the Knight got the call to save a small village from a driagon attack. When he got there the village was almost completely destroyed. The knight went about his job, fighting off the driagons as fast as possible, in order to save what survivors were left. When the attackers were dead, the knight moved through the village, finding it to be completely destroyed, much like his heart. But then the knight heard a soft cry coming from some wreckage. Briskly walking over, he found a small child walking out of the wreckage. It was a small boy with big blue eyes He was young and looking around, he found that the child was now alone. Not wanting to leave the child alone in the remains, he took the child to his quarters in the castle. It was there that the child stayed, learning from the knight and the others in the castle. Soon the knight realized that something changed. He no longer dreaded getting up in the morning. He found that he wanted to fight off of the defenders, because now he had something to fight for. He now had a son." Looking down, Qui-Gon found that his story had indeed put his Padawan to sleep. "Thank you, Obi-Wan. You have given me everything and you will never even now it. Rest now and I will be here when you wake."

EPLIOGUE

The next week and a half had passed relatively quickly. Obi-Wan was taken in to surgery as soon as they landed on Coruscant. The rod had been successfully implanted in his leg and, while it would take some time and therapy, he would make a full recovery.

On the second day back at the Temple, Qui-Gon had received a transmission from Eeth. They had found the people responsible for taking Obi-Wan and they had discovered why they done it. The Gargednios believed that they deserved a piece of the land that the Traln and Morillo were fighting over. However, because of they were so much more violent then the other tribes, they were put at a distance in the negotiations, making it impossible for their plea to be heard. They had captured Obi-Wan as a bargaining chip. They thought that the next day they would admit to taking Obi-Wan and then using that to make their case heard. It had also explained why Obi-Wan had not been hurt too badly. They did not want him dead. Eeth also learned that Obi-Wan only would have had some cuts and bruises, but the night after he had been captured, the people holding him got drunk and they beat him in their stupor. That was the only time he was beaten, but it was enough. Eeth was still in negotiations with the tribes and charges might be filled with Gargednios, but everything was still being worked out.

Qui-Gon should have cared about this. But somehow he just didn't. All he cared about was getting his Padawan well again. Unfortunately, that was proving to be a difficult road. Though he was healing physically, Obi-Wan was having a very hard time dealing with his emotions that went along with the torture. He refused to talk about what had happened to him and the repression was causing severe nightmares. Obi-Wan also had a fear of being left alone, since that was what started this. Qui-Gon could not leave his Padawan's room without him getting scared. His young mind had been very scarred by this. However, while Qui-Gon was concerned, he knew that this was something that they would overcome. The boy had proven himself to be very strong and he would get past this, with his Master's help.

It was true that Obi-Wan's first mission had not gone as planned, but they rarely did. This would not be the first mission that Qui-Gon was on that had turned ugly and it most certainly would not be the last. Qui-Gon had recently found himself looking to the future, when all of the fears were gone, all but a distant memory. And they would face that future together, not just as Master and Padawan, but also as Father and Son.

The End

Thank you very much for reading. I hope that you enjoyed and remember the sequel to be posted, hopefully, within the next few weeks.