Ok, everyone! This is the second-to-last chapter of "Redefining Limits." I hope to have the last chapter up tomorrow. Thaanks again to all of my readers and reviewers. Your support has been much appreciated.

Trouble

The day started much like all of the mornings he had had since landing of Dubellapperar. Obi-Wan woke up late in a very relaxed manner, took a few minutes to wake up and padded out barefoot to the common area. This morning Qui-Gon was meditating, so the teen grabbed some fruit and water for a low-key breakfast. He was feeling a lot better than yesterday, but he still did not want to push it. So he took his food and headed to the living space, curling up on a chair with his nearby datapad.

When the teen called up his comm center he found that he had a message from his best friend, Garen Muln, who was back at the Temple after a long and tedious mission. After a brief update on his life, Garen asked what was going on with Obi-Wan. The other teen had no idea what was going on in his friend's life or even what planet he was on. Considering this, it was not surprising that Garen ended his message by asking Obi-Wan how his classes were and summarizing what classes he was taking and talking about all of the problems he was having with his teachers. Garen generally had problems with his teachers because he got restless and found lectures boring.

After Garen ended the transmission, Obi-Wan could not stop thinking about the things that he was missing at the Temple. He should be with Garen taking those classes and griping about the Masters. But he wasn't. He was here on vacation with no work and no stress. At first, Obi-Wan had felt okay with this. But now he wasn't so sure. He really should go back to doing class work; after all he did have the whole week off.

Checking to make sure that his Master was still meditating, the teen decided to go and find the datapad he used for his academics. He now knew better than to overwork himself, but what would doing some Astrophysics problems hurt? He had a feeling that Qui-Gon would not want him to do anything, but if he did not do some work now then he would be in the same horrible position that he was in two weeks ago. So it was only natural that he do some work now.

However, what he did not know was where Qui-Gon had put his datapad. On a whim, the Padawan decided to check his survival pack. He had gotten in the habit of keeping an extra, fully-loaded datapad in the side pocket of his bag, just in case something happened to his main one. He was fairly certain that his master had the datapad that he normally used so as to discourage him from doing work. Finding his pack in his room, Obi-Wan checked the side pocket and found the datapad.

Relieved, the teen connected to his temple account and downloaded some of the work that was waiting for him. There was a lot, but he refused to allow himself to get overwhelmed again. That was something that he never wanted to repeat. But surely doing some work now would only benefit him in the long run. Getting comfortable on his bed, Obi-wan started to go through the problems.

He was making good progress when he heard his bedroom door open.

"Obi-Wan? What are you doing?"

"Uh…Just some Astrophysics problems, Master."

"Padawan, what did I say about doing work as long as we are here?"

"That I should not be doing any," the younger replied, head bowed. He heard movement as Qui-Gon came to him. The Master pulled the datapad out of his hands and sat down next to him on the sleep couch. The two sat in silence, Obi-Wan getting more and more nervous about what his Master was going to say.

After a time, Obi-Wan could not take it anymore. "Master?"

"Yes, Obi-Wan?"

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"What do you think I should say?"

"I don't know. I guess I thought you would be mad at me and you would…yell at me."

"No, Obi-Wan. I am not mad at you. Disappointed, but not mad. And you should know by now that I would never yell at you." Obi-Wan had to admit that this was true. Qui-Gon had never raised his voice to his student. "But, Obi-Wan, if you thought that I would be mad at you, then why did you do it?"

"Because…I thought it was a good idea. Garen commed me and mentioned some of the work that he had and it sounded like if I did not start then I would be behind. So I got my spare datapad and started. I was not going to do much, just a few problems. I knew that you wouldn't want me to, but it just seemed logical."

"Why didn't you talk to me about this?"

"You were meditating…"

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon responded in a warning tone.

"I don't know! I knew that you didn't want me to, but I felt like I needed to. So I did."

Qui-Gon did not respond right away, leaving Obi-Wan to sweat out what the response would be.

"Obi-Wan. You know what I am going to say. You knew that before you did this."

"Yes, Master," was Obi-Wan's response, feeling worse than before.

"So I see little point in saying it again. I think that we need to work on where we go from here. Let me ask you what you need? We both know that we will need to balance everything that is going on once we are home again. So what do you need in this balance?"

" I just don't want…what happened before…to happen again. I guess that when I thought about going home and all the work that I would have I was afraid that it would start all over again. So I did some work so that I would not get behind again."

"And how did that make you feel?"

'Fine. If anything I felt better because I was doing something about it. Really, I was okay."

Qui-Gon sighed at this and Obi-Wan was afraid that he had said something wrong.

"I suppose that I overreacted, Padawan. You are right about not getting too far behind. However, you still should have come and talked to me. After all, didn't we agree that you would inform me on the status of your work load?"

"Yes. But I thought that you would say no."

"I could have said no, but as your Master that is my prerogative. I asked you to check in with me because I feel that it is in your best interests. After your explanation, I would not have minded you doing some work, seeing as it has made you feel better. But you must come and talk to me. You have to stop trying to do everything by yourself. I am here to help you and you need to learn to trust me."

"I am trying, Master."

"I know, Padawan. And it will take time. But the first step is to not hide things like this from me."

"I understand, master. And I will try."

"I know, Obi-Wan. And I will help you. In fact, we can start right now."

"How?"

"You wanted to do something this afternoon. Ask me."

Realization dawned on Obi-Wan and he understood what he was supposed to do. "Master, may I please do some schoolwork so I don't get too far behind?"

"What kind of work do you want to do?"

"Just some Astrophysics problems, Master."

"Okay and how long do you expect it to take."

"Thirty to forty-five minutes."

"Very well, Obi-Wan. You may do your problems, but I don't want you to work for more than one hour, since you are still recovering from your illness."

"Yes, Master."

Qui-Gon handed the datapad back to his student before standing to leave. He ruffled the teen's hair before he started to leave the room. Turning back just before he reached the door, the elder asked his student if that was too hard. Obi-Wan just smiled and replied in the negative. Satisfied, Qui-Gon left the student to his work. The apprentice, also satisfied with the turn of events, refocused on his work and began again.

Thirty-seven minutes later, Obi-Wan powered down his datapad after successfully completing all of his Astrophysics work. Ready to get out of bed, Obi-Wan got up, stretched and went out to the common room.

Qui-Gon was there, eating fruit and watching the Galactic News. Without a word, the younger sat next to his elder.

"Finished, Obi-Wan?"

"Yes, Master."

"And do you feel better about everything?"

"Yes, Master. Although there is still a lot to do."

"One step at a time, Obi-Wan."

"I know," the child quietly replied.

"How are you feeling today, Padawan?"

"Good, Master. Not completely recovered, but good."

"Excellent. The rest will come in time."

The two watched the rest of the news, Qui-Gon sharing some of his fruit, before getting some more fruits and nuts for an impromptu midday meal. Later, the Master and Padawan set up a game of sabacc on the dining table and settled in for a long game-playing session.

They had been playing awhile when Qui-Gon started to talk. "You brought up an interesting point today, Obi-Wan."

"Master?"

"The idea of going home."

"Oh."

"What are your feelings on the matter, Obi-Wan?"

"Well, we have to go home at some point."

"Obviously," the elder replied with a smirk. "But what are your feelings, Obi-Wan? Do you want to go home?"

"I…I don't know. Despite all of the problems that I have had to deal with here, it has been nice. I think that I am learning some things that I needed to learn. And I have had a really nice time spending time with you. There are things about home that I miss too, but I guess one of my main problems is that I just don't know what to expect anymore."

"Does that frighten you?" The student nodded. "That is only natural, Padawan. But it is something that we need to work on. I don't want you to fear this."

"When are we going home?"

"Not for awhile, Padawan. I still need to work some things out with your teachers and I believe that we need to figure out some things, as well."

"Okay."

The elder stilled the restless movements of his student by gently laying his hands on his apprentice's. "Obi-Wan. I don't want you to worry about any of this. Everything will be fine."

"That is hard for me, Master."

"I know, Obi-Wan. But we are not going back to the Temple until I am certain that you will be able to succeed academically without doing any harm to your health or well-being."

"I don't want to be a burden…"

"Never! You are never a burden to me, Padawan. I only want what is best for you and I will always do everything in my power to ensure your well-being."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan replied, a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Why do you doubt me, Obi-Wan?"

"I don't know! I am trying, but I am such a burden in your life. And I know you say otherwise, but it is what I feel!"

"You have spent so many years on your own that I suppose it is natural for you to feel that way. Give it time. And while I know this is hard for you, if you trust me and know that I will always be here for you, then you will be okay. Just have some faith in yourself and in me."

"I will try, Master."

"That is all I ask, little one. Now what do you think of another game?" Obi-Wan smiled before replying in the affirmative.

The rest of the day passed without much incident, as they played some more sabacc and ate the late-meal. But as the day progressed, Obi-Wan could help think back about the subject of trusting his Master. Qui-Gon had been everything that Obi-Wan wanted in a Master for this entire trip. But he was always afraid that the whole thing would eventually fall apart. Could he really make that leap of faith? To trust that this was real and his Master would always be there for him?

As darkness fell over the planet, Qui-Gon took his student outside to do some stargazing and to enjoy the night air. The two sat on a log against the house, Obi-Wan wrapped in a blanket that his Master had brought out to fend off the chill. As the Jedi enjoyed the environment, Obi-Wan started to think about what his Master said earlier.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"Ummm…I was thinking about what you said earlier. And I guess that I am more ready to trust you now. I know that you will help me, so I am going to let you."

"Thank you, Padawan," Qui-Gon replied. "I know that that must have taken a lot for you to say. And I promise that I will help you."

"I know," came the confident reply. It had not been easy to trust his Master like that after being on his own for so long. But now that he had made that leap, he was happy and felt very relieved. It felt nice to have someone that he could trust so much. Obi-Wan leaned over to rest his body weight on his mentor. If Qui-Gon was surprised, he did not show it as he draped an arm around his student. Maybe his Master was right. He should trust his Master. It was a little scary to put so much in the hands of one person, but it just felt so…right. How could that rightness be wrong? Maybe Qui-Gon would not be able to help him get his confidence back. But even if that was true, he knew that his Master would always be there with him. And, to him, it was worth more than anything in the galaxy to finally have the father that he always wanted.

To Be Continued...