Hi guys! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I really struggled with it and had to rewrite it a few times, so feedback is doubly appreciated! The shed load of coursework I've got has not helped me writing this chapter in the slightest! It also means that chapters maybe a bit slower in coming, but hopefully, they won't be too long.

little kitsune: thank you for the review!

Pam: Thank you so much for your support! Yes, I think Obi-Wan will be forced to see a great amount of things in another light, though I don't think that means he's going to like it.

smile888: Merci encore pour un autre avis! J'apprécie vraiment les évaluations :3 PS Je pensais que ce serait plus poli de répondre dans votre langue pour le moment

Disclaimers: Still not George I'm afraid.

Obi-Wan stopped for the third time since they had started down the long corridor. He looked back, waiting for his feet-dragging padawan to come to catch up. Anakin wore a face of moody reluctance as he made his painfully slow way to his master's side.

"Come on," the Jedi said, nodding at their path, "walking slower won't put off the inevitable, padawan."

Anakin glared at him; knowing that Obi-Wan was right in any argument they had made him all the more angry. Though they weren't actually fighting, that same logic still applied: Anakin did not like being bested by anyone, not even his master.

"It will be all right, padawan," he assured him, having to bend down a little to pat his shoulder, "you aren't in trouble, the Council merely want to ask you a few questions."

"More like terror me," he grumbled.

"Terror you?" Obi-Wan asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

Anakin sighed in exasperation, "Yes!"

Terror him? They weren't going to terrorise him if that was what he was thinking... "Oh, you mean interrogate!" he said in realisation.

Anakin rolled his eyes, "'s what I said," his eyes grew wide to hear a low chuckle coming from his Master, "'s'not funny!" he cried, hitting the Jedi's shin hard, though it hurt him more than it hurt Obi-Wan.

"I know, I know," the Jedi's expression lost its mirth and he crouched down in front of his insulted padawan, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, Anakin," the boy huffed and looked away from his master; clearly he didn't appreciate the sentiment, "I'm not laughing at you-"

"Are too!" Anakin exclaimed, arms moving to hit Obi-Wan again, only for his hands to be engulfed by his master's own, much larger palms. He growled in frustration and tried to wrench them free, but the Jedi barely had to tighten his grip and they were trapped.

"I'm not laughing at you," he repeated calmly, "rather at what you say."

"Same thing!" Anakin snarled, tugging hard at the giant hands holding him prisoner

"No, it isn't," he murmured gently, "I'm not laughing at your predicament, Anakin, really, I'm not. But sometimes what you say, it's..."

Anakin stared at him with wary curiosity, "It's what?"

Obi-Wan paused, trying to think of a way to put how he felt in unoffensive terms, only to find he he couldn't do it. There was no other way to explain it, "It's sweet."

It was incredibly hard not to laugh at the look of disgust his padawan had on his face. He actually moved back a little, repulsed, "I'm not sweet!"

"Well," Obi-Wan's cheeks grew a little brighter in colour, but still, he smiled a little all the same, "you are and you're not. You're certainly not when you have a tantrum-"

"Don't have tantrums!" Anakin hissed.

"But," Obi-Wan continued, ignoring his padawan's interruption, "at other times... you're very sweet. Without meaning to be," Anakin stared at his master as though he had lost his mind and to be fair, he didn't blame him all that much. He cleared his throat, "to me you are, any way."

"I'm... I'm a terror!" Anakin cried, sounding rather aghast at being described as something so nice, "I'm... I'm not... that!"

The Jedi chuckled again, "Yes, you can be a terror, but at other times you're not," he shrugged, "it's... you'll understand one day when you get a padawan of your own."

"Is it a grown up thing?" Anakin asked, wrinkling his nose.

"More of a master thing, really," Obi-Wan said, "I see you in a way that you can't. I have a different perspective of you and so I will see things in you that you cannot see yourself."

Anakin stared at him for a moment, before saying slowly, "So... is it the same with me for you?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "That's right. You see me in a very different way to how I and others see myself. For example, most see me as a respected Jedi knight, but you see me as-"

"My master," Anakin cut in.

The Jedi smiled, "Yes. Precisely," he let go of the tiny hands and rose to his feet, "Come," he said gently, "we're late enough as it is."

Anakin paused, head tilted in thought of what his master had just told him. Then he grabbed Obi-Wan's hand and started towards the council room. Neither Jedi nor padawan thought anything of it.

...

Obi-Wan wished his padawan didn't have to wear such a such a displeased scowl on his countenance. No, it was never nice to be scrutinized and he knew that. He also knew that Anakin had never liked the council, especially seeing as the only time he ever saw them when growing up was to be told off. It didn't matter that he wasn't being chastised now- the resentment was there. Obi-Wan could feel it and Windu could too, judging by the stern frown he had on his face. Or did he merely have that look on all the time? Force, he was beginning to sound like Anakin.

"We analysed the blood," Windu said after a moment, raising his gaze from the moody padawan to the master, "what you told us was right; this is Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin crossed his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes, as if to say, "I could have told you that!"

"But there are some more tests we would like to perform," Windu continued, eyes narrowing a little at Anakin's defensive posture.

Obi-Wan nodded, "What sort of tests?" he asked, sending waves of disapproval through their bond, trying to warn his padawan against being so rude. As expected, Anakin ignored him.

"His abilities with the Force, medichlorian count, his memory-"

"I remember fine!" Anakin snapped, tired of being talked about as though he wasn't in the room, "Remember you!" he spat at Windu, sounding as though he deeply wished he didn't.

"Padawan!" Obi-Wan admonished, shooting the youngling a glare.

"Yes," Windu said after a pause, clearly a little taken aback by Anakin's outburst, "that is exactly why we want to perform the tests. It's very curious that you could have gone through such a drastic change with all of your memories entirely intact. Which brings us to why you're here, Anakin," he leant forward a little, leaning his elbows on his knees, "how exactly did this happen to you?"

Anakin blinked. All the attention was on him again and suddenly he looked as though he preferred to be talked about instead of talked to, "It's hard," he said, after a moments thought, "my... leg, my rib and here," he pointed to his collarbone, "were broken. Made my thoughts go all fuzzy."

"Do you remember how long you were there for until this happened?" Obi-Wan asked, his exterior calm, but his insides churning a little at thought of his padawan being broken in so many places.

Anakin shook his head, "They kept giving me funny stuff. It made my head go all fuzzy."

"Anakin, by 'funny stuff', do you mean they gave you drugs?" Obi-Wan asked, thinking it was best to help translate what his padawan actually meant to the Council.

The youngling nodded, "I couldn't move anything, not even with my mind. I could still feel stuff though."

Obi-Wan caught the confused looks on the council members faces and he looked down at his padawan, who was frowning, evidently wondering why nobody understood what he was saying. "So... they didn't allow you to use the Force," he guessed, "they put some sort of binders on you, but you could still access it with your mind."

Anakin nodded, "It's how I knew he was there. Didn't say anything and he was trying to hide from me, but it didn't work."

Obi-Wan's brow furrowed, "Who, Anakin?"

The youngling gazed up at the Jedi, tilting his head. Clearly he didn't realise that he hadn't mentioned this person before, "The Sith."

The boy flinched at the small gasps and murmured and reverberated round the room. His blue eyes turned up to Obi-Wan again, clearly worried that he'd said something wrong. Kenobi himself found it difficult to hide his surprise from his padawan, "You felt the presence of a Sith?" he asked, trying to keep the shock out of his voice.

Anakin nodded, as though it was entirely normal to feel a Siths presence, almost as though he ran into them on a daily basis.

"Sure of this, are you, young one?" Anakin turned at Yoda's voice to find the Jedi Master peering at him. He had always had a way of making Anakin feel transparent, as though he could see right through to his soul without even trying and he instinctively pressed himself up against his master's shins.

"I'm sure," despite his nervousness, his reply didn't waver and Obi-Wan knew that Anakin would never make such a claim without knowing for certain, even being as young as he was, "he felt... he felt like Dooku, but different too. More... stronger."

"Powerful?"

"'S what I said."

"Is he the one who changed you? Did he do this," Windu gestured with a hand at the youngling, "through the Force?"

Anakin paused, "Well... he did something, but I don't know..." he frowned down at the floor, "not to me, but did something to wires. There were loads and they put them all in me," a frown cross his young face.

"What did he do to the wires, padawan?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Made them burn."

There was a pause, the silence, though short, held thick in the air. Anakin pressed himself even further up against his master's legs, sensing the sudden change in atmosphere and not at all understanding why. He didn't know that his small whisper had pierced every chest in the room, that they'd seen a flash of haunted pain pass momentarily across his young face and a chill rush of fear douse their senses. Not even Jedi could be unfeeling at the thought of a youngling burning.

"Do you know what the wires were attached to, padawan?"

Anakin looked up, concern and worry rushing through their bond as his eyes met his master's. The Jedi looked paler and though he still looked calm, his brow was knitted just a little, the corners of his mouth just a little tighter. Small things, insignificant things, except to those who knew how to look for it. He gazed at his master for a moment, before coming to the conclusion that his master was trying to hide how he felt and that he probably wouldn't appreciate Anakin checking he was all right in front of everyone. So, he answered:

"Like... A bacta tank. But... bigger and loads of colours. And they were all swirling round and stuff when it started to work."

"And when it did work," Windu started, "it hurt?"

Anakin paused, "Well... at first, yeah. But it didn't last very long. I think I fell asleep and then I woke up."

"And then...?"

Anakin didn't answer Windu's prompt. He stared at the floor, silent, now pressed so far back against his master's legs he was practically standing on his feet.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, gently. Anakin didn't look up and shook his head, "Padawan," his master's voice was soft, "whatever happened you can say. You won't be reprimanded."

Anakin finally turned round, gazing up at his master with a frown of worry painted upon his brow, "Didn't mean to," he said, his quiet voice plaintive, "but... they were gonna take me away and..." his gaze fell back to the floor, "everything exploded."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose in realisation. Anakin had lost control again. He was terrified out of his wits and that was more than understandable; he had woken up in a entirely new body, utterly vulnerable to surrounding enemies trying to steal him away forever, for all he knew. It was no wonder he lashed out. He was scared to tell the council, his memories still clearly full of Jedi teachings on emotions, even if he couldn't follow them, "You mean," he supplied softly, "you made everything explode."

"Didn't mean to!" Anakin cried, defensive, staring up at his master, aghast to find he had lost his only ally, "i-it just happened! I couldn't help it! They were hurting me!"

"Padawan, no one is blaming you," he reassured him gently, "you were scared-"

"'sactly!" Anakin yelped, "I touched the Dark Side!"

"No, Anakin, you didn't," the Jedi said, quietly. It was as though it was just them and no one else in the room, as though the council were a mere audience to theatre, "using the Force through your fear now is not the same as doing so when you were older."

Anakin scowled horribly and with little wonder. Ever since he was nine he had been told to avoid feeling fear and now all of a sudden it was all right? No, his padawan would not likely stand for that, "Is so!" he declared haughtily.

"No, it isn't," Obi-Wan sighed, "Anakin, you didn't know what you were doing. You acted on instinct and emotion, as anybody in your situation would have. You're a child," the boy huffed and brought himself up to full height as though to say otherwise, "and... you're not a Jedi."

The Jedi winced as blue eyes blazed and a shrill, "I am so!" reverberated around the room.

"No," he said, resolute as ever, "you're not. Not yet. You may be my padawan, but at this moment in time, that title and all that comes with it is suspended. You're a child, you were frightened and you tried to defend yourself, as anyone else would, Jedi or not. Only you did it with the Force," it may not be what Anakin wanted to hear, but whether he liked it or not, it was still the truth. The boy may be able to remember his lessons, but as far as Obi-Wan was concerned, he couldn't practise them in this state, nor would it be fair to expect him to do so. He was three. He was a child. Yes, he knew that it was more complicated than that, but they couldn't expect the same things of him as they used to, not him, not the Council, not even Anakin could.

He could feel the insult radiating from his padawan, but he knew that he was in the right. Besides, now wasn't really the time to have this conversation. "How powerful was this explosion, Anakin?" he asked, wanting to steer the conversation back to why they were originally here.

The youngling was still glowering, but he could sense the undercurrent of firmness in his master's voice which indicated to him that it would in his best interests to answer. He glared and huffed and sighed, but he replied all the same, "Everything crashed," he murmured, "everyone flew and they didn't get up. Least I don't think so. Then I ran."

"How did you manage to evade capture for so long," one council member asked.

"Went through the walls," Anakin said, shrugging.

"Ventilation shafts?" Obi-Wan asked, sounding mildly impressed.

Anakin nodded, "'S what I meant."

"Surely the Sith could have found you though?" Windu inquired.

"No, he wasn't there."

Windu frowned, "Are you sure?"

Anakin mirrored the Jedi Master, his glare intensifying. Obi-Wan could sense that this meeting was trying his padawan's patience and he was reaching the end of his tether. Really, for a youngling who was still catching up on five days proper sleep and who had a temper as volatile as his, he was surprised that the meeting had lasted so far without a more violent outburst, "Yeah," he said, dragged out the word as though speaking to someone rather slow, "could've sensed him if he was there," his rudeness was ignored, as shared frowns and murmurs filled the room. The boy tilted his head in thought, not understanding why the council found this news so interesting. He didn't see how curious it was that a Sith would leave when he could so easily track down the youngling and as powerful as Anakin was (powerful enough to knock a Sith senseless), he didn't have any control over that power. He'd be no match against someone so well trained in the Dark Side of the Force.

Wndu looked at the child a moment more, before seemingly coming to a decision, "I think you have told us all that you can. Now, if you would excuse us for a few minutes. I would like to speak to your master in private."

Anakin's nose wrinkled in distaste. He didn't particularly enjoy being dismissed, "Why?" he demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

"Padawan," the boy looked up at his master's voice, "please could you wait outside for me? I'm sure it won't be long," Anakin tilted his head up, the look on his face showing that he still wasn't impressed with being dismissed. Still, his master's voice voice was soft, not demanding and it sounded more like a gentle request than a direct order. He sighed dramatically and made his way out of the room.

Once out of the room, Yoda began. "Obi-Wan. Telling the truth about the Sith, Anakin is, hm? Believe him you do?"

"He wouldn't lie about such a thing, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan answered, "although he's a child, he still has his adult memories. He still understands the importance of those implications."

Yoda nodded, peering thoughtfully at Obi-Wan, "Very interesting this is, for his memory to be kept. Still a youngling he is?"

Obi-Wan took this as a cue for some elaboration, "It's... It's odd, Master Yoda. He knows me, he remembers who he is, what happened. But he is still a child. It's as though the adult Anakin is now seeing everything through a youngling's eyes. He's very childish, he does things I know he wouldn't do when older, yet still... at times he shows a level of maturity that a normal youngling wouldn't. A great many things have changed in him, but a lot have stayed the same."

Yoda was silent for a moment, evidently thinking, "Seen, have you, his skills with the Force?"

Ah, yes. Obi-Wan suspected they would get back to this. The Jedi Council, he knew, had been wary of Anakin's power, his tendency to volatile emotions making his padawan a viable danger; now that he was so young, his emotions would be ten times harder to keep in check, but that wasn't his fault.

"Skills aren't the term I would use to describe his powers, Master Yoda," he answered delicately. He could feel Anakin's reluctance when it came to divulging the incidents he had had involving the Force. Still, the Council needed to know, whether he liked it or not, "yes, I have seen what he can do. He managed to throw me, himself and twenty droids with an incredible amount of force. But like the previous time, it was out of his control. He was terrified," Obi-Wan wanted so badly to make it clear that it wasn't Anakin's fault, that he simply couldn't help lashing out with the Force.

"Do you think he could be dangerous?" Windu asked, raising an eyebrow. Obi-Wan could hear the suspicion in his voice, finding that it irked him, even though he knew that it shouldn't. It was reasonable to suspect a possibility of his padawan being a possible danger to those around him, yet still, a swell of protectiveness flared up within him that should not have been so strong.

"No. I don't," he noted the look on the Jedi's face and continued, "I think Anakin can only access his powers under extreme duress. That is the only time I could tell he could even access the Force. Before and after that there were no signs he was even a Force sensitive."

Windu held Obi-Wan's gaze with a steady eye, "Are you sure you aren't biased in the matter?"

"If I thought Anakin was a danger to himself or anyone else, I assure you I would tell you," Obi-Wan said, his voice firm, eyes smouldering with a certain kind of fire, "The only risk of Anakin being a danger to anyone is if his life is threatened. And I have no intention for allowing such incidents to occur again."

...

When Obi-Wan stepped out of the Council room, he found his padawan with his feet up against the wall in a handstand. The Council members stared. Obi-Wan merely smiled. He went up to him, tapping the soles of his small boots. The boy toppled gracelessly onto the floor, shaking his head before looking up at his master.

"Going?"

The Jedi nodded, "Yes, Anakin, we're going now."

With a loud "yes!" of triumph, he scrambled to his feet and made his way off down the hall.

Obi-Wan sighed, "Padawan," he called after him, going at a much slower pace, "slow down please. You're going to-" he was cut off by a thud as the youngling fell face first onto the floor, "do that." Anakin allowed Obi-Wan to help him back up onto his feet, fussing hands brushing down his robes, checking for injuries. He rose to his feet again, shaking his head at the small boy before him, "You're not as coordinated as you once were, Anakin," he chided gently, "you need to remember take things a little bit slower than usual."

"'m fine," Anakin insisted, smiling widely as though to prove his point.

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed, a smile of his own flitting about the corners of his mouth, "but some time you might fall and actually hurt yourself and that isn't what we want."

He took the small boys' hand in his and they started off down the corridor. Anakin stayed silent for a moment, but as was always the case with him, it didn't last for very long.

"Master?"

"Yes, Anakin?"

"You said I wasn't a padawan."

Obi-Wan looked down at him, "Well, I didn't mean-"

"If I'm not a padawan, how come you call me one?"

"Because," Obi-Wan smiled a little, "you are still my padawan. You're not a padawan now in the sense that your training to be a Jedi has been suspended."

"Want to be a Jedi," Anakin protested, frowning a little.

"And you will be," the Jedi assured him, "I just can't teach you right now."

"Why not?"

Obi-Wan sighed, "Because, Anakin..." he came to a halt, looking at the youngling before him, "you're a child now. And the level of training you were at can't be taught to you now, not when you're so young. Don't give me that look," there was amusement in his voice as he watched the boy scowl up at him, "padawan, if I gave you your lightsaber, you would be half its size!"

"Still want to train," Anakin grumbled.

"Think of it as a holiday. You always say I work you too hard."

"Do," Anakin concurred, taking up Obi-Wan's hand again, "but still want to train."

"All in good time, Anakin," Obi-Wan soothed, "think of it as a training in patience," he couldn't help but laugh at the look Anakin pulled at his words, "all right then, see it as time you and I can spend together. Does that sound better?" the youngling looked up at his master and beamed. A gentle smile of his own graced Obi-Wan's features and he gave the tiny hand a squeeze.

...

Master Windu and Yoda looked out at the master and padawan. Windu frowned after them; Yoda merely looked contemplative, almost smiling himself.

"I always knew Skywalker was too attached to Obi-Wan," Windu said after a time, "but now I fear his master is beginning to feel the same way."

"Felt it, Obi-Wan always has," Yoda replied simply, "but hide it, no longer he can."

"Perhaps we should seperate them?" Windu suggested, "put Skywalker in the crèche?"

Yoda shook his head, "Anakin Skywalker, still he is. Remembers his master. If in the crèche we place him, understand he would not. Allow it, Obi-Wan would not. Strong is their bond," he looked up at Windu, conviction etched into every line of his face, "break them apart, you cannot."

Windu sighed. As usual, he was right, "No," he said, looking down the corridor again, watching them smile at each other, entirely oblivious to anyone and everyone around them, "I don't think anyone could."