Archive: Yes, anywhere
Archive Date: May 28, 2001
Author's Webpage: http://diana.slashcity.com
Feedback: Always welcome, good or bad. I get some of my best ideas
from my readers. Email address above.
Pairing: Q/O; this story is pre-slash
Series: Children of the Temple
Summary: Knight Qui-Gon Jinn meets the newest Temple infant.
Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi Knight, walked unhurriedly through the corridors of the main Temple on Coruscant, anticipating the task ahead of him. After long hours spent defusing the most recent political crisis on Terisis Minor, he was looking forward to an hour or two in more pleasurable company.
A loud sigh from companion told him that his anticipation was not shared, and he looked down at his young apprentice with amused affection. The young man was displaying all the dismay that a teen at the ripe old age of fifteen could be expected to show for the mission that he and his master were on.
"Master, why are we doing this?" The apprentice's voice was dangerously close to a whine, and the reproving look from his master brought a darkening flush to his cheeks. "I beg your pardon, Master."
"Granted, Padawan." His eyes twinkled at the younger man. "I must admit I felt the same way when I was your age. Master Yoda used to drag me down here all the time, with me protesting the whole way. But after a while I began to enjoy it. And it is part of our duty to the Temple."
"Now I begin to understand where you got your obsession with small, helpless creatures, Master," the young man muttered.
Qui-Gon laughed and reached over to tug his apprentice's dark braid. "Helpless? Obviously you haven't been around five-year-olds in a long time, Padawan." The door in front of them opened, and the younger man winced at the cacophony of sound that assaulted them. "Remember, Padawan - serenity."
Resigned brown eyes met amused blue ones. "Yes, Master." He winced again as the younger children in the room recognized his master and swarmed him, begging for a story.
"Quietly, children, quietly," Master Arlina admonished with a laugh. "You'll frighten away Knight Jinn and then you'll never get your story." The Initiate Master smiled at the Jedi Knight and his apprentice. "Thanks the Gods you were able to come, Qui-Gon. The children were disappointed when Master Yoda had to cancel his visit for a meeting of the Council, but they were reconciled when I told them you were coming in his place."
Qui-Gon bowed his head slightly. "I am honored to be of service in whatever way I can - as is my padawan."
Master Arlina turned to the silent younger man with a smile on her face, noticing with amusement that the boy looked like he'd rather be in the Healing bay getting all his inoculations at once. "The older children are in the play-yard - perhaps you could organize a game of Nantha-ball for them, Padawan Windu?"
Mace bowed his head in response, echoing his master. "I would be honored to do so." With another bow to his own master, he moved past the two Jedi toward the door that led out into the garden area reserved for the Initiates.
Qui-Gon surrendered to the younger children, letting them pull him down onto the pile of cushions on the floor. Bodies tumbled around him for a few minutes, each wanting to get a place close to their captive storyteller, and one of the smaller children crawled into his lap. He laughed and tousled the little one's head, and felt his spirits begin to revive under the energy of these bright ones.
"All right, Initiates, settle down," he admonished, and the children stilled, shushing each other. Rapt attention from a dozen small bodies reigned for an hour as he spun a tale about a young force- sensitive who was able to discern the presence of a small legume under a mound of bedding, thus earning the trust and respect of the people for whom she had come to mediate and successfully ending a bitter dispute between opposing households. Satisfied sighs all around greeted the end of the tale and, before the young ones could demand a second story, Master Arlina caught their attention with announcement of snack time. Hugs were given and received, and then two dozen little feet scampered off in search of their treat. Qui-Gon watched them in amusement, once again marveling at the patience Master Arlina and her assistants must have to deal with more than one of these little balls of energy. The Light knew that he had enough trouble keeping up with his own half-grown one.
At that thought, Qui-Gon stepped out in the gardens in search of his young padawan and had to hide his amusement from leaking into his training link. His padawan, so careful of his dignity now that he had returned from his first assignment in the field, had shed his cloak and outer garments as well as his dignity, and was racing around the gardens with as much enthusiasm as his eight-to-ten year old charges, refereeing the lively game in progress. He would have been hard- pressed to choose who was having more fun - Mace or the other children - and silently resolved to get his padawan more involved with the Initiates while they were in Temple. The boy was too serious as it was - he could use a little stirring up to keep him from getting stodgy.
Mace sighted him at about the same time that the lunch bell sounded and, after extracting a promise from the padawan to come back again, the youngsters rushed off towards the Initiates' dining hall. Mace followed more slowly, gathering his scattered garments, a smile still lingering on his face.
"You did well out there," Qui-Gon commented.
Mace gave him a rueful grin. "It's been a long time since I played - I'm a little rusty. I suppose I could spend a little time coaching the Initiates while we're in Temple - if that's all right with you, Master?"
Hiding a grin, Qui-Gon said, "As long as your studies do not suffer, Padawan, you are more than welcome to do so."
Mace finished fastening his sash and belt and picked up his cloak. "Lunch, Master?"
"Shortly, Padawan. I would like to take a look in the nursery first."
Mace rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed. "All right, Master - I suppose it's safe enough since you can't take any of these little creatures home with us."
Qui-Gon chuckled but said nothing more as he opened the door that lead towards the sleeping rooms in the Initiates' wing. The first rooms he passed, those of the older Initiates, were empty. The next room, a large dormitory room for the two-to-four year olds was half- filled as the little ones lay napping after their morning exertions. He stopped in the doorway for a moment and nodded a silent greeting to the knight taking his turn at nursery duty, watching over the sleeping children and sending out soothing waves of thought.
Qui-Gon closed his eyes as a deep feeling of tranquility and calm blanketed him, making him feel relaxed and at peace. Then he opened his eyes and smiled to himself, glancing over at his padawan. It was here that he had first seen Mace Windu, a small boy just on the verge of moving up into the Initiates' dorm. The boy had awakened before the rest of his age-mates and was lying in his bed, quietly meditating as he waited for the rest of the young ones to wake up. Qui-Gon had been impressed at such discipline in one so young and, with the permission of the Master of the Nursery, had taken the young boy for a walk in the gardens. It was a fond memory for him, although it wasn't the defining moment when he knew that there was a training bond between them. That had come later, when Mace was almost ten.
Qui-Gon continued down the hallway and opened the door to the infants' room. The feeling of tranquility was stronger in here, almost a palpable voice reassuring the small ones that they were home and loved, that there was nothing to fear. Healers and Warriors moved about the room with equal ease, soothing restless sleepers in the cribs or playing with the more alert babies on the floor.
He smiled as he saw his year-mate, Knight Trellin, sitting in a rocking chair, crooning to the infant in her arms. They had been good friends as Initiates, had remained close even when Master Yoda had elected to train him to become a Warrior and Trellin had decided to pursue the healing arts. He crossed to Trellin's side, squatting to take a look at the baby she cradled. A red, scrunched up face peered out of the nest of blankets and a small fist waved in the air as the baby cooed back at his adoring audience. Qui-Gon pressed a finger against the palm of one little hand and felt tiny fingers wrap around it. He chuckled.
"He's got a good grip. He'll make a fine Jedi knight someday."
Mace peered down at the bundle with all the perplexity of a teenage boy. "He's kind of scrawny, isn't he, Master?"
Knight Trellin laughed softly. "He's only a few weeks old, Padawan Windu. He'll grow. And he's going to be a beauty when he grows up - look at that red hair and those blue eyes."
Mace looked skeptically at the infant. A beauty? That wrinkled thing?
"You were undoubtedly wrinkled when you were born, my padawan, and you turned out well," Qui-Gon said in amusement, then turned back to his age-mate. "Only a few weeks, Trellin? A fortunate coincidence that we were in the area so soon after his birth."
"Knight Meduri found him - and a close thing it was, from what I hear. His mother died giving birth to him."
Qui-Gon nodded. It was well-known that Kishara Meduri's strongest Force-talent lay in the ability to detect infants in whom the Force was strong, sometimes even while they were still in their mother's wombs. A gift that made her highly valued among the Jedi, for early detection was crucial in the upbringing of a Force sensitive.
Highly Force-sensitive children left in their natural homes with non- Force-sensitive parents often failed to thrive. Many were naturally quieter and more focused than other children, and a baby that rarely cried, even when hungry or in pain, tended to suffer benign neglect unless the mother was Force-sensitive herself and bonded to the infant. Other highly-sensitive children were high-strung and easily over-stimulated by their surroundings. Such an infant - one that had trouble eating and sleeping, that cried for hours in a jagged, high- pitched tone - was enough to drive the most loving parent to insanity. The confirmation of the Force-sensitivity of a child was a great relief to many mystified and overburdened parents.
The Jedi did nothing to coerce a parent into giving up a child, preferring to present the parents with the information, catalog the child for Temple records, and let time do the rest. Not all were initially willing to part with their children, but it was not unusual for parents to turn up at a Temple months later to give their child to the Jedi. Loving parents, unable to care for such a high- maintenance child, were thankful to know that their child would thrive and be well cared for with their future assured. For no child given to the Jedi was ever turned away.
"Force Sensitive?" Qui-Gon asked, referring to the deceased mother.
Trellin nodded. "And no others nearby to take her place when she Passed, according to Kishara. It was a week before the father agreed to give him to the Jedi, and little Obi-Wan here latched on so tight to Kishara that it took two master-healers to ease him over to the Nursery bond. Even so, he prefers the individual touch and we're hard pressed not to accidentally link with him." She smiled down at the child. "Such a sweet spirit he has."
"Will he Thrive, Trell?" Qui-Gon asked in concern. "Is he damaged?" Sometimes Sensitives who suffered such an early trauma were unable to adjust, and either faded away or were unable to make any kind of training link. And there were so few Sensitives coming to the Temple these days - the nursery was only half-full, unlike what Qui-Gon remembered from visiting the Nursery with his master when he was younger.
"Not damaged, although I think he'll always be a little fragile in this area. He'll be able to bond, but it'll be difficult for him to break a bond once made. We may have to recommend pair-bonding when he's ready to become a Padawan."
Qui-Gon nodded at that. It was unusual for a master and padawan to form a pair-bond, as the two groups tended to prefer partners within their own circle, but not unheard of. "Time will tell, although surely it won't be difficult to fit a suitable match for this little man." He smiled down at the infant still gripping his finger tightly. "He's a heart-breaker already."
Trellin laughed. "More than likely we'll be beating them off with lightsabers!"
"Indeed." Qui-Gon extracted his finger from the tight grip, gently tousling the shock of red hair. "Good-bye, little one. May the Force be with you."
He stopped by a few of the cribs to soothe troubled dreams and add his own energy to the nurturing Force that permeated these rooms, then looked for his padawan. Mace had once again abandoned his dignity and was sitting on the floor, encouraging a toddler's exploratory steps, and Qui-Gon grinned fondly. His padawan would make a good master one day, he thought. But for now, it was time to get on with their regular duties.
Qui-Gon collected his padawan and headed towards the dining hall, his mind already going over the training session he had planned for the afternoon. But as he left the nursery wing, he had the oddest feeling that he was leaving something behind...