I hope you all had a wonderful holiday/vacation!!!!!!! =D Here's the last part and it's nothing but mush, for those of you who like that stuff (like me!).  Sentimental Star – Thanks so much!  I'm glad you like my stuff!  As for JA15, it was nothing compared to how much I disliked JA16's ending.  She had the perfect opportunity (JW) and ruined it again 'cause of course everything just has to come back to the Tahl *sigh*.  Anyway, thanks!  There was recently an update so now JAFD has all of my stories up, except for the ones I haven't posted.

Enjoy!

~ Part Five: A Symbol of Eternal Friendship ~

Qui-Gon:

            I felt him pacing nervously back and forth in front of my door long before he entered. What was troubling my Padawan so? As much as he tried to hide it, his anxiety was traveling through our bond in waves with an intensity that bordered on despair. What could he possibly have to tell me that made him this fearful? I longed to reach out to him and tell him all was well but I did not want him to think I was invading his thoughts.

            Finally, Obi-Wan knocked on my door.

            Trying to sound as if I hadn't been waiting for him for the last five minutes I calmly set aside my data pad – which I had long since stopped reading – and said, "Come in, Padawan."

            The door slid open and a very shy Padawan stepped through. He was obviously trying to hide his distress from me and put up a brave front but the expression on his face was nearly comical. It was a mixture of trepidation, anxiety, timidness, and hope, all mixed into one.

            Now that he had finally worked up the courage to enter my room it looked as if he was ready to bolt. He was standing in my doorway, obviously not sure whether he was going or staying, shuffling from side to side with his hands clasped behind his back.

            "What is it Obi-Wan?" I asked gently, unable to resist the temptation to send waves of comfort to him through our bond.

            "I…I have a confession to make, Master," he said softly, still not moving from his place in my doorway.

            Confused but interested in what was troubling him so deeply I gestured for him to come sit with me. As much as I longed to ease his distress I had to admit that it was highly amusing to watch Obi-Wan walk up to my chair and kneel without unclasping his hands. He was quite obviously hiding something behind his back.

            "What is it, Obi-Wan? There is no need to be afraid."

            Obi-Wan nodded but my words did nothing but increase his level of anxiety. "I...I stole something from your room, Master," he confessed softly as he studied the floor.

            This I was not expecting. Obi-Wan was not a thief. What did he take that I hadn't noticed? "What did you take?" I asked half gently, half sternly.

            "It was when I was waiting for you to come back from your meeting with the Council. I don't usually do this but…I felt compelled to look through some of your things and I found this." My Padawan shakily brought forth one of his hands. In it he held a piece of paper which I immediately recognized as my birth certificate.

            I took the paper from him and did nothing to hide the surprised amusement from my voice, "You stole my birth certificate?" I asked, incredulous.

            "Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said, practically hanging his head.

            Force, was he so insecure as to fear that I would punish him so terribly for such a small thing? "Obi-Wan," I said, reaching down with a finger to tilt his head up to look at me, "if you wanted my birth certificate you didn't have to take it, I would have gladly given it to you."

            "You would have?" He asked, clearly startled.

            I smiled at him reassuringly, "Yes, Padawan, I would have." I sighed then. I wasn't angry with Obi-Wan, or even disappointed, but he had stolen something from me and I could not let this behavior pass unnoticed unless he had a extremely good reason. "Why did you take it, Obi-Wan?"

            "I don't know, Master. I don't even know why I was looking through your things. I know it's wrong, but something told me I had to. It thought it was the only way I'd ever find out your birthday and…I know I shouldn't have taken it. I'm sorry, Master."

            I smiled again, "I can tell that you're sorry, Obi-Wan. I still do not understand why you took it. It was wrong to look through my things without permission but forgetting that for the moment, once you found my birth certificate why did you take it? You could have just looked at the date."

            "I don't know, Master," he admitted truthfully. "The strange thing is that I didn't feel guilty for it at the time. I…I know it sounds ridiculous, and I am not just saying this to excuse myself, but I think the Force meant for me to find it. I'm sorry. I know that I could have put it back in your dresser without your ever knowing but I felt guilty not telling you. Please do not be disappointed in me, Master. I will do better in the future."

            I held up my hand, "Obi-Wan, I am not disappointed. I am just surprised, that's all."

            "I will accept any punishment you give me, Master, but first…I have something for you."

            Suddenly it all made sense to me. Obi-Wan was telling me this now because he knew it was my birthday and he wanted to give me something. Knowing that I would ask him how he knew it was my birthday he had given way to his conscious and come to make his confession.

            "Obi-Wan," I said softly, "you didn't have to get me anything."

            He smiled shakily, "I know, Master, but I wanted to."

            Obi-Wan brought a small box out from behind his back and gave it to me. I frowned, curious. The box was no bigger than an inch tall and two inches wide. What did he get me? Schooling my childlike anticipation, I lifted the lid of the box and found a pendant lying on top of a velvet cushion.

            I took the pendant out and set it on my palm. It was made of gold and engraved on the front were the letters O and Q surrounded by a flower – the symbol for eternal friendship. I could only imagine how much it had cost Obi-Wan to have this made for me and was overwhelmed by the love he had imbued it with. My Padawan had used the Force to implant his love and devotion to me on the pendant so that whenever I held it I would know how much he cared for me.

            I swallowed hard, not even trying to control the emotions such a gesture invoked in me. How could I possibly have thought Obi-Wan was tainted with darkness when he was so pure and good? He humbled me. I had so much to learn from him about love and trust.

            I stilled my trembling hands and tried to think of something to say, someway I could express my gratitude to him. Yes, I thought distantly, this most certainly did excuse such a minor transgression on his part. No one had ever given me such a gift. Not even Tahl, who I considered my best friend.

            Did the boy know how much this meant to me? How much I would always cherish it? He couldn't possibly realize that this pendant was more than just a piece of gold but a piece of his heart that he was giving to me.

            "Master?" Obi-Wan's trembling and hopeful voice filled my ears and pushed aside my thoughts. "Do you like it?"

            Instantly I regretted and cursed my loss of words. Obi-Wan was so insecure about his place with me and he had obviously put his whole heart and soul into this gift. He was misinterpreting my silence as disappointment.

            Wanting to reassure him I tried to say something but the words fled my grasp. There was nothing I could say that would express everything I was feeling right now. So instead I slipped the pendant inside the front pocket of my tunic, where I vowed I would always keep it, and reached down to pull Obi-Wan into my lap.

            The boy was surprised but he came up more than willingly and when I enfolded him in a tight embrace he brought his arms around to hug me back. Gently, I stroked the boy's hair as tears filled my eyes. "Oh, Padawan," I finally managed in a choked voice, "thank you so much. I will wear it always." I wanted to say so much more but my tenuous voice completely failed me as soon as the words were spoken.

            I lifted my mental shields and sent my emotions to Obi-Wan in a rush, wanting him to know how much I truly did love his heartfelt gesture.

            Laughing exuberantly when Obi-Wan caught my emotions and returned his own I tightened my hold on him and slowly began to rock us back and forth in the chair. I could feel my Padawan's joy and relief that I had liked the present along with his love and devotion to me reflected in our bond and in the pendant. It was enough to destroy what remained of my control and soon tears were flooding my eyes and falling to soak the boy's hair.

            I'm so glad, he whispered into my mind softly, his thick voice conveying so much more, and then added, Happy birthday, Qui-Gon.

The End