Author's Notes: Well, we made it to the end. Hugs to you all for sticking it out! Thank you for taking the time to read my story.... it's a little bit different than anything I've ever read in SW fic, and I hope you enjoyed it... I enjoyed the opportunity to share it with you (just don't tell Lucas what I did to his chars. *wink*)
Also, this first section was very hard to write...
DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters (Shal-Nyx Cael), the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author. The original character of K'yllyn Myrrdin is the intellectual property of Caeryn Myer, and is used with permission.
Three days later...
Feeling a little more like herself, slipping the clean shift over her shoulders, watching the fabric fall past her middle with far less hassle than it had in the last three months, Shal-Nyx Cael wondered once again if her decision was the right one.
Partially recovering her strength even though her body was thrown into another whirlwind of changes, including the swelling of her breasts with lactation, she enjoyed that she could actually stand without feeling the urge to promptly sit down again. Retropsect of the whole process was sinking in, great moments of clarity mixed with the general blending of the less than pleasant memories of morning, noon and night sickness and the weight gain that had all but ruined her balance. But for all that, there were the moments where she had wished that particular moment would never end, moments of comprehension and fascination, the rare feeling of completely intertwined connections between herself and the galaxy adhering together for far too short periods of time.
Stepping quietly up behind her, an Order acceptable calf length brown sari and her hooded robe draped over his arm, Qui-Gon watched as she examined herself in the mirror. "You're so beautiful right now. I hope you're feeling better?"
Smiling slightly at the compliment, she raised a eyebrow. "You mean not needing to run to the restroom 20 times a day? Yes, for that I'm better, but now I know why we can't do anything for a while."
Almost opening his mouth to ask the question, he stopped, realising the answer he was going to get would not be good for his libido nor his stomach. "Yes, pet."
Taking the light brown fabric and sliding her arms into it, clasping the single silver hook together just below her chest, she set her shoulders back, sighing. So much had changed.
Slipping her outer robe onto her, settling the hood on her back and pulling her long auburn hair free, he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Come on, we're going to be late."
She nodded, quelling the sudden bout of nervous energy. ~It's the right decision, Shala, it's the only decision. Have faith.~
The facility was impressive, the exterior walls a clean white colour with beige trimming, being larger than what they were expecting for a continent that touted it's non-urban nature.
The interior was pleasant and warm in appearance, but with visible hesitation Shal-Nyx passed through the main doors, the energy of a facility that housed the ailing not beneficial to her already wavering control.
Qui-Gon shook his head, feeling it too. "These people could take a lesson from Coruscant. The environment here is not conducive to healing."
"I know."
Coming out from a long hall, Marcus and Crys Stoforn emerged, a smile on the blonde's face as she embraced the female Jedi. "It's good to see you again. How've you been?"
Shal-Nyx accepted the hug as much as she could, managing "A little off my game."
Marcus nodded. "That's to be expected. Come on back, he was downgraded from the ICU last night."
Qui-Gon nodded and placed a hand across her waist, whispering "We'll get through this."
Shal-Nyx sighed, letting him guide her down the hall, up a lift and into an area that was somewhat cheerier in decor. On the walls were posters that expressed optimism and hope to the passer-by. The warmer yellow of the main area of the clinic was replaced with a soft green, the tools of the medical trade intentionally put away to disperse the feeling of cold treatment.
Marcus stopped before a large plate of glass that divided the carefully made room and gestured towards it. "It's the pre-natal ward. We prefer to give the infants a setting that's more welcoming than a surgical bay; and with strange luck we only have two patients."
Shal-Nyx stopped his speech with a raised hand. She could feel him.
"We can go in there if you like," the blonde offered.
Reading the expressions of the rest of the party, sensing the internal battle Shal-Nyx was dealing with, Qui-Gon shook his head. "Maybe. Not now."
There was a silent exchange between the Calanese couple, both confused by the refusal. "Whatever you like."
He nodded gratefully, watching them back up a little, offering the Jedi pair space.
"Shala?"
She met his eyes for a brief moment, fighting tears. "It's for the best."
She was telling herself more than him and he knew it. "Even if we wanted to it'd mean we'd have to stay here or we'd risk his life by moving him."
"Faith in the Force... " Her voice was a whisper.
Turning her so he could pull her into a tight embrace, Qui-Gon kissed the top of her head, wrapping supportive arms around her body. "Marcus, Crys?"
The doctor stepped close. "Yes?"
"We need you to do something for us."
Crys Stoforn's face fell, the tone in his voice speaking volumes. "Oh, Gods... "
"We need you to... take-- take him as your own."
Marcus' face was pure shock. "You can't be serious."
Feeling Shal-Nyx bury her face in his chest, her breath ragged as she tried to stay composed, he held his ground. "We can't take him now and coming back later would be even worse. It's not in our make-up as Jedi to be family like this, and we can't give up our lives there."
"But... "
"You need only care for him until the Order returns for him, and return they will. I don't need a midi-chlorian count to tell me that. But if we were listed as his parents his life will never become what it is destined to be, he would ever be shadowed by our lives. Please Marcus, we-- I need to know that he will have a future."
Crys bit her lip, "Because with your lives will endanger his... "
Qui-Gon could only nod.
"We will do as you ask. I can't say I'll ever understand why, but we'll do it."
He bowed his head in gratitude. It was done. The request was made and accepted, nothing else needed to be done.
And that nothing hurt like hell.
Saying final goodbyes to the Stoforns and turning to leave the hallway, he eased Shal-Nyx's face from his chest, seeing the veil of misery in her eyes. Nodding understandingly and guiding her out of the facility, beyond the grounds and to the transport that would take them to the ship bound for Coruscant, he watched as she eased herself into a chair in the small ship's quarters.
Kneeling before her, holding her hands gently in his, he offered a quiet, "I'm sorry."
Giving up on the remaining vestiges of control, Shal-Nyx Cael broke down into bitter tears, crying.
"No! That can't be it!"
"K'yllyn, the record ends there. They leave Cas'hay and return back here and that's the end of it."
"But what about the child? What happened to him? Who is he?"
Obi-Wan shrugged. "I don't know. There is nothing in these records, we've gone over them already."
"I can't accept that. There's a Jedi out there that is the child of our former masters."
"Yes, and they intentionally left him to be brought to the Temple by someone else so he wouldn't carry their legacy."
K'yllyn Myrrdin arched her eyebrows. "You're content to not know?"
"No, in fact, I am very curious, but what do you want me to do, hack into the medical records and cross-reference the information?"
She smiled and rolled his chair out of the way, taking command of the interlinked computer. "Yes, exactly. Now, if we go by date of birth we should immediately come up with an answer."
"K'yllyn... "
"Hush... oh, damn. Nothing."
Obi-Wan crossed his arms and nodded.
"Well, okay. We can go by year of birth and gender. Thinking about it, it should be someone close to our age, actually yours, you were born that year... " Industriously typing away, she watched the database filter through the thousands of records to find her search perameter.
"And there's no indication that the child didn't die."
"Ah, poodoo. Hmmm... there's 40 entries."
"Well, its safe to say that you can narrow the search by humans."
"Yeah, okay... 14 left."
Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "So, dead end?"
She shot him a dirty look and went back to the search. "I wonder if Cas'hay would be listed as his homeworld."
"Maybe. What about the Calanese couple.. would they be listed in any way?"
"I doubt it, they obviously aren't his real parents, their physiology alone gives that away."
"Blood type?"
K'yllyn let out a cry of triumph. "Got it! One entry that matches what we know. And yes, he is alive. Wonder who he is... "
Obi-Wan rolled the chair back over, now curious. "But we can't get the name because of the security lock-outs; only the Council members have those access codes. It's a safeguard to protect the Jedi in case we should ever be hunted... "
She huffed. ~So close.~ Staring at the physical description, she ran through in her mind all the Jedi she had come in contact with. "No, no, wasn't human, no, not his real hair colour, no, no... hey, you're 5'9", right?"
"With or without boots?"
"You know what I mean. Hmmm... what's your blood type?"
"Can't recall... wait, why? You don't think... ?"
K'yllyn shrugged, squinting at him. "It does kinda make sense."
"What? You're serious! There's no way I-- um... "
A silence fell over the room. Thinking over her years with Shal-Nyx, she tried to think if there was ever any kind of clue that might help, but realised with a sigh that her former master wouldn't have known. She had crafted it that way.
Fidgeting, the silence getting to him in the absence of answers, Obi-Wan Kenobi lowered his head, scrunched his face into a confused expression and grumbled something.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing, just thinking of what it would mean if it were true."
K'yllyn stared at him, wanting to hear the rest of that thought. "And... ?"
He looked up and into her eyes, searching for the simplest response. Finding nothing as he pushed through all the information in his mind from earlier, two words suddenly echoed inside his thoughts, clear as a bell.
"What, Obi-Wan?"
"Every moment."