Part Sixteen
The nurse was soon called in after that as Anakin just lay on the floor, staring at nothing and not even Kohse could get him to respond. The adults were all worried, saying something about shock and low blood-pressure and rapid heartbeat, but Anakin wasn't really aware of any of that. He just curled into his own mind, trying to process everything that had happened in the short span of seven minutes. Someone had attacked Padme. Obi-Wan had saved her. Beyond that, he knew nothing about them. And locked in his own head, without being able to do anything, worry thrived. It raced, bounced, and drowned his mind, making focus on anything else difficult. Because a frightening possibility had just been presented to Anakin. Obi-Wan had proven, over and over again, that he was committed to Anakin, despite Anakin's lingering fears. And for all the fear that Obi-Wan would return to the Jedi rather than stay with a simple slave, Anakin was beginning to believe that it wouldn't actually happen. Obi-Wan would come back, like he said he would, and they'd go back to being a family.
It was like when Watto would send his mom out for supplies outside of Mos Espa. She would be gone for days at a time, depending on weather, the condition of the epoies they were using, and the caravan she was with. She would leave, but she always came back. Obi-Wan was the same. He left to work, he ended up in jail, but he always came back and smiled at seeing Anakin. It was proof that they were family even if Obi-Wan didn't seem to realize it yet.
But Anakin had never considered that Obi-Wan might be taken away. That Obi-Wan wouldn't want to leave him, but may not have a choice in the matter. His mother had always traveled on caravans that were too large for Tuskens to attack and Anakin had dealt with Tuskens on the racetrack, they didn't seem dangerous or scary when traveling at such high speeds.
Obi-Wan could have died.
He could have died.
Then Anakin really would be alone because who on Naboo would take him? Padme was a Queen, she was busy and he didn't want her to look after him like a little brother. He wanted her to see him as a man. As the man she would marry. And that wouldn't happen if she took him in now. He couldn't go back to his mother as a failure and Watto would somehow slip a chip into him once his back was turned. He wouldn't be a slave anymore, not after seeing what freedom was really like.
Obi-Wan! OBI-WAN!
For just a moment, just one moment, Anakin wanted his brother there by his side to hug onto tightly and not let go. One moment of arms strong arms wrapped around him and a hand running through his hair. One moment of a pair of fingers on his forehead, somehow making it easier to just think. One moment. Please! Just one moment? ...please?
But Obi-Wan wasn't on Naboo and Anakin wasn't on Coruscant. He wouldn't get that moment.
"You have the potential, Anakin. You are the Chosen One. One day, you will wield the Force like no other Jedi has. But you aren't yet trained. You've barely begun. Give it time."
Anakin turned his head, staring at the blue form of Qui-Gon glowing beyond the adults that were crowding around him, trying to talk to him.
"Mister Qui-Gon?"
"Yes, Anakin. Though Obi-Wan has yet to believe that he really sees me, I am here."
...
That made no sense. Because Qui-Gon was dead.
But Qui-Gon chuckled. "Surely that Padawan of mine has mentioned this? There is no death-"
"There is the Force."
"Very good." Qui-Gon positively beamed at him. "Now you have some people who are very worried about you. Can you pull yourself together?"
Anakin blinked back tears. "I want Obi-Wan," he whispered.
"And right now, he just wants to be home with you as well."
Anakin nodded. That meant the world to him. That even half a galaxy away, Obi-Wan wanted to be by Anakin's side as much as Anakin wanted to be by Obi-Wan's. But that didn't change something.
"Obi-Wan could die."
"We will all die someday, Anakin. Nothing, not even the Force, can stop that."
"But 'There is no death'."
"Correct. His spirit would merely join mine. As yours will someday."
"I don't understand."
Qui-Gon smiled. "You don't have to. Not yet. Now, you have quite a few people causing a big fuss over you."
"Obi-Wan says a Jedi is always self-sufficient."
"And you've done a fine job of it so far while my old Padawan goes jumping out of airtaxis and sneaking through streets. He'll be fine, Anakin. Will you be?"
Anakin blinked, really coming back to himself. The voices of the adults were chattering around him, asking him questions, on the comm. with a medcenter, trying to console Kohse who was in tears again.
He took a deep breath; the cold, icy feeling that had settled down his spine and gripped his heart now gone. He was still worried, but things weren't so overpowering. He was... calm. Something a Jedi should always be. One could still worry and be angry and sad and happy and whatever else, as long as it could be put aside to deal with what needed to be done.
Anakin looked around and focused. He had work to do.
He couldn't get out of a ride to the medcenter, but once Anakin was himself again, he started talking. The school's resource officer had come in and Anakin had showed him the video of the attack on Padme and Obi-Wan and said that this needed to be checked on. The officer was as skeptical as Verutine and Kim had been, and Anakin spent the next hour, including the ride to the medcenter, explaining and convincing them that what he showed them had happened, thank you, and could you now please make sure that everyone was alright?
Kohse stayed at the school, still upset and her mother was coming to pick her up. Anakin debated heavily on whether or not the media at large should be given the video, just to see if it could dig up information, but decided against it. He'd seen news commentators and they tended to report rumors more than actual facts. If Anakin wanted to make sure his brother and Padme were okay, he needed to talk to security officers.
So, when Mrs. Hudson came to pick him up, upset and worried to get the call that he was in a medcenter, he took a deep breath and prepared himself.
"We need to go to the Security Center," he said in the calmest voice he could muster.
"What? No, you're coming home with me to rest. Obi-Wan will be very worried about you."
"Well, I'm very worried about him," Anakin said. "A lot happened today that nobody understands because nobody here is a Jedi but I promise I know what I'm talking about. So I'm going to the Security Center; I know where it is from when Obi-Wan was in jail, so you don't have to come if you don't want to but I am going."
Mrs. Hudson was very cross, but ultimately Anakin ignored her, walking out of the medcenter. It forced her to follow and that was fine with him as he marched down the streets. The woman settled down after several blocks, and Anakin slowed his pace so she could catch up. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "but I need to do this and everybody seems to think I'm just playing around."
"At your age most kids do," the elderly woman supplied. "Most don't start acting like grown ups 'til they're about fourteen or so. Some manage it younger, but they have a way about them that we know. Her Majesty was like that; five minutes talking to her and you knew she was going to be an adult before she hit double digits they say. You, though, you don't act anything like what we'd expect. But I've seen you with young Obi-Wan, when you're training and working. You have the potential; I imagine you just need the opportunity."
... Was that what this was? An opportunity? Was the Force giving him an opportunity to prove himself? Was Qui-Gon? It was all still so jumbled; he didn't understand it and he wanted to understand it.
Still, he should at least be polite. "Thank you," he said to Mrs. Hudson, "Thank you for the opportunity."
The two walked in silence the rest of the way, and when Anakin stepped into the Security Center he marched right up to the woman on duty, her yellow uniform hidden by the leather surcoat. It was Mayuntha, Captain Panaka's sister-in-law, whom he'd gotten to know fairly well when Obi-Wan was in detention. She recognized him right away.
"Ani!" she said brightly. "What brings you here? Obi-Wan hasn't been arrested again, has he? I'd have heard of it."
Remembering Mayuntha's relation to Panaka and his role in the traffic cam recording he had on his datapad, Anakin squirmed a little, trying to figure out if this really was a good idea or not. Fidgeting, he said, "Obi-Wan's on Coruscant right now, but he's kinda the reason I'm here."
"Oh?"
Her bright, inviting face me him feel even worse for some reason, and in reaction to the emotion he threw his hands up n the air and plunged forward. "Okay, so I've been watching Nute Gunray's trial 'cause Obi-Wan's gonna testify and I wanna make sure everything goes okay for him. When I was on my datapad at school the Force was really poking at my head and so I tried to meditate to see what it wanted, only Obi-Wan does a much better job at it than me and I don't understand everything I did but when I was done I had somehow accessed the Coruscanti traffic cam network which made no sense to me at all until an airtaxi in one of the windows was blown up and - oh, here, look. I'm sorry if it upsets you."
His last sentence doubled her already confused and curious look, and she and Mrs. Hudson watched the different feeds Anakin had recorded. He winced as the women both gasped and stopped watching their reactions when the color completely drained from Mayuntha's dark face, instead staring at the toes of his boots and hoping this was the right decision. He had to do something, something deep inside of him was telling him to do something, and he had to listen to that voice. He worried that this was the right course of action or if he had somehow made things worse. He wondered what Obi-Wan would say to what he did, or Qui-Gon. He found himself looking around for the dead Jedi, not quite believing he was going to see him but not quite sure that he wouldn't just randomly appear.
No one was there.
"Ani?"
Mayuntha's voice was as shaky as her complexion. Mrs. Hudson was in a seat, head in her hands as she rocked slightly back and forth.
"... I'm sorry," he said, guilt making his speech very quick. "It's just that nobody believes me when I say this happened and that I didn't make it up and I just want to make sure everyone's okay but nobody will check anything and I don't know where else to go and I figured somebody needed to know that this happened and I'd really like to know if Pa-the Queen and Obi-Wan and Captain Panaka are all right." He ran out of breath, finally, and just screeched to a stop, out of words. He looked down again.
Mayuntha, pale and looking chilled, gave a warm smile regardless. "I'll see what I can do."
Anakin soon assured himself that going to security was the right thing to do. No one believed Anakin, but people did listen to an officer making inquiries, especially with forwarded video evidence given from an anonymous source. And that one of the people involved was Mayuntha's brother-in-law helped. Mayuntha was able to open doors Anakin didn't even have access to as she was referred to higher-ups and bounced from department to department as the security on Coruscant tried to figure out what was going on. This wasn't exactly news to them, the division chief she was finally directed to had been getting updates on the case since it happened many hours previously, but the chief was confused (and concerned) on how Mayuntha came across the information. The security officer kept Anakin anonymous, talking of a concerned citizen leaving this in her inbox and her panic when she recognized her brother-in-law on the vid.
It still took several hours of redirecting to get that far, and despite his worry and concern, Anakin couldn't quite hold back his yawn. It was well past his bedtime in Theed, making it somewhere past midnight on Courscant. But Mayuntha's persistence paid off.
"Your Queen and her entourage are spending the night at the Jedi Temple," the chief finally answered. "The Jedi in charge of their security is mighty curious on how you got information so quickly. He wants to talk to you, is that fine by you?"
"Of course," Mayuntha replied promptly.
The viewscreen flickered, and soon an elderly man's face filled half the screen.
"Milady, I am Dooku. I understand that you are worried about what happened today."
Any tiredness dropped right out of Anakin. He looked at the viewscreen, sharp-eyed and he couldn't entirely say why.
"Greetings, Master Jedi," Mayuntha greeted with a bow. "Thank you for your time."
"I assure you, Queen Amidala and her companions are safe. I understand her chief of security is your brother-in-law?"
"Yes. The vid we saw appeared to show him as injured." Mayuntha was every bit the professional, but there was no denying the trace of worry in her voice.
"He is doing well. At worst, a bad cut on the head, easily fixed with bacta, and a concussion that a good night's sleep will fix. He will be well in the morning. Her Majesty wasn't injured at all and has displayed her natural compassion by staying by his side to ensure he doesn't strain himself."
The dark security office let out a long sigh of relief. "I give you many thanks, Master Jedi."
Anakin burst in, unable to stand it any more.
"What about Obi-Wan?" he demanded. "I've been monitoring the traffic cams since the attack and after he landed on that rooftop I couldn't find him anywhere! Him or her Majesty both!"
"Monitored?" the division chief muttered.
Dooku turned his head to look at Anakin, a dark eyebrow raised. "And you would be?"
"His Padawan!"
Anakin wasn't sure why he didn't say brother, like he had been shouting from on high with pride to everyone on Naboo. The only reason he could think of was that this Dooku was Jedi and Obi-Wan said that Jedi didn't have families the way normal people did.
"Ah, how interesting."
Huttese was ready to drip from his lips in frustration at not getting an answer, but for the briefest of moments, Anakin thought he saw Qui-Gon out of the corner of his eyes and he bit down on his first reply.
If Obi-Wan wanted to train him to be a Jedi in all but name, then Anakin was going to prove to every Jedi he came across that Obi-Wan was a good teacher. So he took a deep breath, swallowed the anger and said instead, "It is a Padawan's place to look after his Master, but I have much to learn. I couldn't accompany him this time, but I felt he was in danger."
"Felt? You are on Naboo correct?"
He nodded, not missing Dooku's deliberate lack of reaction. Ha! That surprised you! See, Obi-Wan's a brilliant teacher!
"And sliced into the traffic cams, I take it?"
Anakin grimaced. "I'm uncertain how I did that, sir. But please, is Obi-Wan alright?"
"I am fine, Anakin." Obi-Wan walked up behind Dooku, a gentle smile on his face. "Tired, perhaps, but that's to be expected."
Anakn couldn't quite stop the scowl. "You're taking care of yourself, right? You're not staying up all night or not eating like you did with that negotiation, right?"
Obi-Wan gave a warm chuckle. "I believe a more relevant question is what you've been up to in my absence."
That chuckle just made Anakin's spirit soar. He glanced at Mayuntha and Mrs. Hudson, but both nodded encouragingly to him and he happily turned and started recounting how things had been.
He didn't even notice Dooku watching them with great interest.
"Anakin, how many times have I told you that your 'podrace' meditation may seem easy, but actually uses up much more energy than necessary?"
"I know, Obi-Wan, but I'm not good at your meditation yet. You make it look so easy and-"
"I would hope so. I've been doing it since I was six years old. You will do it, Anakin, but you need time."
The boy frowned on the monitor, and Dooku continued to watch.
"Did you ever have a hard time?"
"At times more than anyone else, it felt like. You have a natural talent, Anakin; you'll pick it up far faster that me. You've already made extraordinary progress. How has your meditation been going outside of today?"
And they continued to talk. Anakin struggled with meditation but he did it diligently; the katas were going well if only because he could sense when he took a misstep much easier because of how the Force flowed; he had started helping people in Theed with mechanics jobs and donating any credits he earned to charity - except, the boy added uncertainly, for a tiny fund he was saving up to free his mother; some boy named Horace wasn't bothering him much but kept looking at him funny; a girl had watched the video feed with him and he was going to check on her tomorrow; etc, etc, etc. Boring and humdrum, but Dooku still watched. Kenobi was much more relaxed talking with the boy; he smiled fondly and with bright eyes, chuckled slightly here and there. He... hardly looked like a Jedi.
And yet... he saw Kenobi a half dozen hours earlier since the attack moments before it occurred. The boy survived a fall from an airtaxi with a panicked passenger with no injury to either party and avoided further conflict for hours before he was picked up. There were few Jedi indeed who had that level of skill. He was simply fascinating.
Finally, the conversation ended, the two participants saying, "May the Force be with you," before signing off. Kenobi sighed, content for the first time, before turning around and seeing Dooku. His face immediately sobered, remembering who was with him, where he was. Dooku held the gaze, his face passive, before walking away to collect the tray he had been preparing. "The tea has gone cold," he said by way of explanation, the two had conversed for well over and hour.
"I'm sorry," Kenobi said, ever polite. "I make a poor guest, it seems."
"No, not at all," Dooku said, equally polite. "You remind me of..." he cut himself off, unwilling to reveal his connection to Qui-Gon just yet. That was a personal detail, and he had yet to decide if he wanted to be personal with Kenobi. There was still much to assess. So, instead, he replied, "... of a Padawan of mine. He often lost track of time."
Kenobi smiled softly, his eyes far away. "My master was like that, too. He always made us late for Council briefings, or get lost in conversation with a friend or someone he simply met on the street. He did not believe in chance meetings..." His voice trailed off, and his expression became pained.
The opening was painfully inviting, and it took everything in Dooku to resist asking about Qui-Gon. He did not want to reveal that bit of himself, and Kenobi would be suspicious besides. The Jedi could only imagine how Kenobi struggled with being back at the Temple, given his status and his circumstances. It was why he retired the boy to his private quarters as quickly as possible, even Queen Amidala could see the stress that was developing in the former Knight and was wise enough to give Kenobi space, choosing instead to sit with the injured security captain.
The conversation with the Padawan may have relaxed him, but apparently not enough as Kenobi continued to withdraw into himself. Even a year after the fact the mere mention of Qui-Gon elicited a visibly strong reaction in the boy; he had not gotten over the death. In this, at least, Dooku felt an intimate amount of empathy. He himself had yet to conclude his grieving process, though in comparison it appeared that Dooku was much father along than Kenobi.
Dooku did not wish to react to the boy, wanted instead to keep his distance, protect himself and at the same time give the boy much needed space.
It was why, days later when he reflected on what happened next, he would swear that his mouth decided on its own not to listen.
"Tell me about the child," he said, covering his surprise with a smile. Even that was out of character for him, and for a moment he thought he saw Qui-Gon, standing at Kenobi's shoulder, beaming at him.
Kenobi stared at him, apparently also surprised by Dooku's sudden attempt at approachability, but the uncharacteristic smile seemed to work, and he leaned back.
"He... is unlike anything I've ever experienced," Kenobi answered.
Dooku's smile was a more deliberate with that. "Padawan's often are," he replied. "My first Padawan was quite the handful." Dooku frankly doubted anyone had as difficult a time with a Padawan as he had with Qui-Gon.
"Anakin is, too," Kenobi said, relaxing slightly. "He doesn't have the experience of being raised here, and his perceptions on some things can be, well, rather different."
"Growing up outside the Temple isn't the only precursor to altered perceptions," Dooku said with the long-suffering sigh of experience. "People like that are destined to irritate everyone around them, to challenge every known convention, to press boundaries to their very limits. They can be inconsiderate to the extreme, act without thinking, and have no control over their impulses. And yet..." Dooku paused in his filibuster. He was no longer talking to Kenobi, his eyes were lost in their own memories, flashes of Qui-Gon in his Padawanship: the arguments, the glares, the missed meetings and chastisement from the Council, all the headaches and annoyances and grievances. And yet, through it all...
"And yet, people like that carry the very essence of the Living Force with them. Their very existence necessitates change and adaptation, preventing sloth and stagnation, and people that know them lead much fuller lives. Their deaths make us less, make the galaxy less, and it is only fitting that their murders be brought to justice."
"... Master Dooku?"
And just like that the Jedi snapped out of his reverie, staring at Kenobi with inexplicably watery eyes and Dooku was forced to blink the moisture away. He had revealed entirely too much with that outburst, he was embarrassed that he had such an unguarded moment in front of someone - worse, in front of young Kenobi.
An yet, he could just picture Qui-Gon, smiling with pride, laughing and saying, "That's my master for you!" The mental image was too much for Dooku, and he broke every rule he had placed on himself with regards to Kenobi.
"How did he die?"
"... What?"
"My first Padawan: Qui-Gon Jinn. How did he die?"
Kenobi's eyes doubled in size, the shock hit him so fast he couldn't cover it. He struggled to reconcile what he learned but Dooku had lost his patience and his dignity and most of all he lost his need to be cautious; just once he wanted to be reckless like Qui-Gon, to jump in with both feet without thought of consequences and sink or swim by his instincts, and it fueled his carefully controlled desire to know what happened, shattering his control and replacing it with determination.
"How did he die?" he asked again, force in his voice.
"I... he... the report must be in the archives."
"Don't avoid the question," Dooku all but spat emotion flooding him. "The Council has sealed the file, they don't want news of the return of the Sith to trickle into the ignorant masses of the Temple - the fools!" Dooku quickly slapped his mouth closed, fighting for control of himself - something he never had to worry about in the past. "How did he die?"
"I..."
"How did he die?"
Author's Notes: Chapter was a pain, blah, blah, took forever blah, blah, oh the self-pity and whining blah, blah, blah.
Dooku was interesting, though. He's still a Jedi but he's not perfectly Light at this point; he's frustrated and angry, and it's crept up on him quite out of nowhere. But then, given how obsessive he's been over Qui-Gon's death and constantly being in the presence of the only witness and then the witness being fascinating in his own right, well, his curiosity had to overcome him at some point. That Qui-Gon's at Obi's shoulder (or is he?) absolutely doesn't help. He always did bring out the worst in Dooku. Sort of.
Next Chapter: A conversation that leads full circle.