Archive: Yes, anywhere
Archive Date: May 28, 2001
Author's Webpage: http://diana.slashcity.com
Notes: This series totally ignores any of the Jedi Apprentice books.
Pairing: series -Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan; this story is pre-slash
Rating: G
Series: Children of the Temple
Summary: The three women in Obi-Wan's life express their view of his
bond with Qui-Gon.
Knight Kishara Meduri shifted the child in her arms so that she could open the door to the Initiates' wing of the Temple on Coruscant and gestured to the two children clinging to her robe that they should go ahead in. Two pairs of eyes glanced down the hallway and then back up at her, and she smiled reassuringly.
"Go ahead," she said, adding a touch of Force to her voice to calm their fears. "I won't leave you." The two boys reluctantly let go of her robe and stepped into the hallway, and Kishara followed them.
Alerted to their arrival, Master Mrill, the head of the nursery area, met them with a warm smile for the knight who had once been his padawan. "Welcome back, Kisharrrra," he said, the purring of his voice emphasizing his delight in seeing her. "It's been too long since last you were here. My fireside has been cold without you."
Kishara embraced her master with one arm, mindful of the child she carried. "My master," she said softly, rubbing her face against the Trianii's soft fur with as much delight as she had when still a child. "I'm glad to be back. And I've brought three little ones for your expert nurturing."
"So I see." Mrill released his former padawan and knelt so that he could look into the two older children's faces. "Welcome to the Temple. I am Master Mrill, and you are?"
"Pedr," said one of the two boys. "I'm 'most three. And he's Vicoro, and he's two." Pedr indicated his silent companion, a thin child with blue skin and large, frightened eyes. "He don't talk yet, but he hears real good so he's not stupid."
Mrill's eyes flashed up to meet Kishara's. Vicoro was abused?
Yes, although not deliberately. His parents were Stribers, hired for an underwater mining contract, but they died in a mining accident six months ago leaving no clan information. The child hasn't reached the verbal stage of his growth cycle, and the local orphanage just didn't know how to deal with a mute telepath. Lucky for him, I had to stop there to refuel
Mrill made the rumbling sound deep in his throat that passed for a laugh. I suspect that luck had little to do with it.
Kishara quirked up her mouth. If you say so, Master.Out loud she said, "And this is Shesha, from Firrerre, and she's eight months old." She smoothed back the little girl's multi-colored hair to press a kiss on a baby-soft cheek and was rewarded with a gurgling laugh.
Mrill turned back to the two boys, noting the protective way that Pedr stood by his companion, already displaying his people's ability to read and react to the body language of others. "Hello, Pedr. We're glad you're here, and we'll take very good care of Vicoro, too." He turned to the other boy and held out his paw but didn't touch him, knowing how disturbing that could be touch-telepaths.
Shyly, Vicoro touched the back of the Nursery Master's paw, running his finger wonderingly over the fur. Soft. Like.
Mrill smiled. Thank you, Vicoro. I like you, too. Would you like to see your new home?
Home?The thoughts were tinged with anxiety. How long?
For as long as you want.He stood back up and held out a hand to Pedr. "Come, let's find you two a place to sleep, and then we'll get you something to eat. I expect you boys are hungry."
Within a short time, both boys had been settled into the Newcomer's ward of the nursery and were devouring a late lunch. Vicoro was assigned to Knight Zentosh, also a telepath, as his primary caregiver until he was settled enough to move to the pre-Initiates' dorm. After consulting with his staff, Mrill also assigned Pedr to Knight Zentosh so that the two boys could remain together rather than disrupt them any further.
Shesha had been transferred to the Healer who would be her primary caregiver for the next two years until she was old enough to transfer to the pre-Initiates' ward. Kishara was relieved to see that the child's transfer went smoothly, shuddering as she remembered how her last charge had screamed at being taken from her arms, and how it had taken both Master Mrill and his assistant to loosen the tight bond that little Kenobi had formed with her. Even now, she felt a pull from the residual link between the two of them, and decided to give into the urge.
After promising to have dinner with her former master, Kishara went looking for her surrogate son. She glanced into the infants' nursery, already sensing that he wasn't there, but Knight Trellin was. Trellin was tucking one of her other two charges into a crib but she looked up with a smile and indicated that Kishara should wait for her in the hall.
A few minutes later, Trellin slipped into the hallway. "When did you get in? Why didn't you let me know you were coming?" she scolded, then pulled her friend and sometime-lover into a warm hug. "Force, Kish, it's good to see you!"
Kishara relaxed in her friend's embrace. "I didn't know I was coming back myself until a couple days ago."
"Another emergency?" Trellin asked soberly, pushing the other knight back slightly so that she could see her face.
Kishara nodded and bit her lip as the tears that she'd been holding back for days suddenly welled up. "He was at the orphanage, and I - I saw him, sitting in a corner, all pulled in on himself. A mute telepath, Trell, and they were yelling at him and - and hitting him and calling him moron - "
Trellin gathered the weeping older woman back into her arms, murmuring soothingly band rubbing her back just as if she was one of the nursery babies. The storm was violent but brief, and as she felt Kishara's sobs easing, she murmured, "It's all right, love. He's safe, you rescued him and we won't let anything happen to him. They're all safe."
"Someday I won't be able to," Kishara muttered, her face still buried against Trellin's shoulder. "I'll lose one of them."
"Not gonna happen," Trellin said stoutly, then lifted her lover's face up between her hands and gave her a quick kiss. "But what is going to happen is that you're going to take a little break - rest, visit with Master Mrill, get fattened back up-" She teasingly pinched Kishara's thin cheek.
"But the Council - "
"There are seven other Searchers, Kish. They can afford to let you rest for a bit." She slid an arm around her friend's waist and began walking her towards the dining hall.
Kishara sighed. "I don't know if the Order can, Trellin. I only got three this year, six last year - and I'm still doing better than the others. We'll be lucky to have two dozen pulled in this year total. And the number being born within the Order just isn't compensating. If our numbers keep shrinking like this, the Order could be in real trouble."
"You don't know that for certain," Trellin said. "'Always in motion the future is', remember?" At Kishara's doubtful look, she decided on another course of action. "All right, gloomy - I'll show you something that'll make you smile."
Trellin pulled Kishara into the Toddlers' playroom. There was a pleasant hum of activity as little ones crawled and walked and played under the watchful eyes of their caregivers or, in a few cases, their future masters. Trellin pointed at one such pair saying, "Look."
Kishara looked in the direction Trellin indicated, and saw one of the most prominent of the Jedi warrior/diplomats sitting in the middle of the floor, long legs spread wide, hands stretched out towards a toddler standing on wobbly legs. The child took a few tottering steps forward, toppling into the Knight's waiting arms with a crow of triumph. There was something familiar about the little one, and it didn't take the subtle pull between them for Kishara to identify him.
"Obi-Wan!" she breathed, her eyes drinking in the sight of him. "Force, Trell, he looks good!"
Trellin squeezed her friend's shoulder. "And where would he be without you, huh?" She looked over at her foster-baby with a fond smile. "Hard to believe that it's been almost a year."
Kishara smiled wistfully, her heart still aching a little from the enforced separation from the child. "So when did the great Qui-Gon Jinn start spending time with babies?" she asked, giving her friend a sideways grin. She knew that her younger lover had had a crush on her age-mate Jinn when they were padawans, a feeling that had transmuted into friendship over the years. "I thought the older Initiates were more his style."
"Since he life-bonded with Obi-Wan," Trellin said blandly.
Kishara's head snapped around and she stared at Trellin. "What? Jinn's bonded with him? Are you sure?"
Trellin gave her lover a look of exasperated affection. "And how many bonds have I seen formed over the years, Kish? Of course, Qui-Gon tries to pretend that it's just a training bond, but Master Yoda and I know better. We just don't let Qui-Gon know that we know."
Kishara bristled slightly at the implied insult to her surrogate son. "And just why wouldn't he want to be life-bonded to Obi-Wan?" she demanded. Trellin just gave her a 'get a clue' look and Kishara blinked. "Oh. But that was at least ten years ago. And he's got a padawan, hasn't he? So he must have gotten over it."
Trellin rolled her eyes. "A training bond isn't nearly as deep as a pair-bond, idiot. You don't just 'get over' having a bond ripped out of you like that."
"Well, he seems to be doing just fine now," Kishara said dryly, looking over at where the knight was still sitting, blowing raspberries on a squealing Obi-Wan's belly.
Trellin smacked her lover's arm. "Down, dear. Your impression of a mother-rancor will have Qui-Gon running for the Rim."
"He'll wish I was just a rancor if he toys with my Obi's affections," Kishara muttered, and started across the room towards the pair.
As if sensing their eyes on him, Qui-Gon looked up and over at them, and an amused smile curved his lips as he saw the challenging look in Kishara's eyes. Pulling the giggling toddler close for a raspberry on his neck, he murmured, "I don't think someone's too happy with me, sprout."
He stood up with Obi-Wan in his arms and waited as the two women approached him. Obi-Wan began burbling as soon as he recognized Kishara's Force signature and eagerly held out his arms to her. Reluctantly, Qui-Gon relinquished the child to the older woman, only slightly appeased by the obvious affection Kishara felt for Obi-Wan. And the fact that he knew Trellin was watching him with amusement didn't help.
"I see that he's walking on his own," Trellin said, trying to draw Qui-Gon's attention away from the pair getting reacquainted.
Qui-Gon nodded, a smile automatically coming to his face at the thought of the child. "A few steps. He still seems to prefer crawling, though. And I think he's trying to say my name."
Trellin nodded; Obi-Wan had been babbling "gee-gee-gee" for the past few days whenever he sensed the knight's Force presence. "You've done wonderfully well with him, Qui."
Qui-Gon shook his head. "It's not me - Obi-Wan's very bright. And I doubt that Knight Meduri shares your opinion."
"You know how Searchers get about their finds. And since she's the closest thing he has to a mother now - " Trellin shrugged.
Kishara had turned her attention back to them, and Qui-Gon mentally braced himself. A part of him was amused at the irony - ten years ago, he had been the one raking her over the proverbial coals, suspicious of her intentions towards his best friend who was also 15 years her junior. It felt different to be on the other end of the equation.
"Trellin tells me that you two are bonded but that you're fighting it," Kishara said bluntly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Qui-Gon saw Trellin's eyes widen with shock but he was too stunned to pay much attention to that. The idea that anyone other than Yoda knew about the potential pair-bond made his stomach clench. "I - "
"Why? Don't you think Obi-Wan is good enough for you?" Kishara persisted.
"Of course I do!" Qui-Gon snapped. "I think he could do a hell of a lot better than me, in fact!"
"So do I," Kishara said coolly. "And I intend to protest this pairing to the Council."
"You can't!" Trellin said, horrified.
Qui-Gon stared, dumbfounded, as his heart plummeted into his boots. He had known it was a mistake, had known it would get his heart torn out again, and he'd gone ahead and surrendered anyways.
As if sensing the suddenly turbulent currents around him, Obi-Wan began whimpering in Kishara's arms. She shushed him lovingly, bouncing him on her hip, but he continued to fuss and held out his arms to Qui-Gon.
"Gee-gee-gee," he whined.
"Kishara, stop this right now!" Trellin said sternly, taking Obi-Wan out of her friend's arms. "You know that you can't interfere in a valid pairing." Obi-Wan was continuing to fuss so she handed him over to Qui-Gon, practically forcing the shaken man to take the child.
Qui-Gon's arms automatically shifted to cradle the child's body against his, and Obi-Wan immediately stopped whimpering. He leaned his head against Qui-Gon's chest and sleepily popped his thumb into his mouth while he warily eyed his surrogate mother. Trellin could almost hear him saying "so there!" and she chuckled softly.
Kishara's eyes narrowed as she studied the pair and then her grinning lover. She snorted and threw her hands up in the air, acknowledging defeat.
"All right! I can see that Obi-Wan has made his choice, and if he's half as stubborn as his birth-mother, there'll be no changing his mind." She held out her hand to Qui-Gon. "I'm sorry, Jinn - I'm afraid that diplomacy's not my strong point."
"I noticed," Qui-Gon said dryly, but he accepted her handshake. He was finally breathing again with some semblance of normalcy, the small being in his arms anchoring his scattered emotions in the Force. "I can understand your - concerns about Obi-Wan. I felt the same when I found out. Although I don't believe that this is a life-bond, just a deeper than usual training bond."
Kishara crossed her arms and gave Qui-Gon an amused look. "You just keep telling yourself that, Jinn. Meanwhile, I'll be sure to clear my calendar for your Bonding ceremony in about twenty years."
She leaned over to kiss Obi-Wan's cheek, smiling as the toddler opened his eyes to blink sleepily at her. "And you be sure to give him six kinds of hell, Obi-Wan."
Trellin rolled her eyes and pulled at her friend's sleeve. "Enough, Kish! Go get some sleep before you set even the Caamasi to blows!" She turned to Qui-Gon holding out her arms. "I'll put him to bed now, Qui."
He shook his head, reluctant to part with the little one after his brief scare. "You go ahead with Knight Meduri - I'll get Obi-Wan settled in. I've got another hour before Mace is out of classes, and this'll keep me out of trouble."
Trellin snorted at that but went off with her lover to spend a little time resting and getting reacquainted. Qui-Gon carried the sleeping toddler into the nursery and settled him in his crib. Obi-Wan whimpered a little at being separated from the knight's touch, but he settled when Qui-Gon soothingly rubbed his back and drifted back to sleep.
Qui-Gon remained for a few minutes longer, then kissed the child's forehead before slowly heading towards the door. He had to meet his padawan in the training rooms for saber practice, and then the Council wanted to discuss an upcoming mission, but he was still feeling unsettled and reluctant to leave Obi-Wan.
Pausing with his hand on the door, he was thinking about turning around and going back to Obi-Wan when he was suddenly filled with an almost euphoric sense that everything would be all right, that he didn't need to worry about Obi-Wan. Serenity flowed through him, calming every fear and anxiety, and he was suddenly absolutely certain of their future together. He smiled as he hurried to meet his padawan, feeling suddenly energized and ready to put Mace through a challenging session.
And behind him, in the stillness of the nursery, a hazy figure tinged with blue hovered over one of the cribs and gently caressed the red-gold curls...