Epilogue

Obi-Wan woke with a start, sweat glistened on his skin. He hadn't been asleep long; it had just gone midnight.

"Just a dream." He whispered to himself.

Dreams. They were all that remained from his terrible ordeal. It had been 2 years, yet they still persisted.

Blindly, he reached to the notepad and pen that rested on his nightstand. Flipping through the pages, he realised that it had been a while since he had last written in it. Obi-Wan smiled, he looked forward to the day when this notepad would simply sit there gathering dust. That had always felt like a faraway dream, but now he thought he might actually be close to it.

Obi-Wan found the next empty page and noted the date. Then, he began to recount his dream like he did every time he woke from one. He used to do it because Qui-Gon insisted on hearing about every single one, now he just did it out of habit. When he finished, he placed the notepad and pen back on the nightstand.

This was the part he hated most. Now he would have to go back to sleep. He lay there for half an hour before he decided that that wasn't going to happen. Throwing the covers off himself, he got up and crossed the room to reach the closet where he pulled out a cloak and a pair of boots.

Then, he left the room and just kept walking. He didn't know where he was going but it felt good to walk. The way the Force hummed peacefully in the serene corridors of the Temple made him feel calm.

Obi-Wan stopped walking abruptly; he recognised the corridor he was in. He had no idea how he had got there, but there he was. He walked on until he reached the all too familiar door. Hesitantly, he ran his hand over the nameplate. It was new, or maybe old? It was familiar yet it felt out of place at the same time.

Obi-Wan considered knocking, but the occupant was most likely asleep. He started to turn away but stopped. Until now, he hadn't realised how lonely he felt. He craved the comfort that this place still brought him. So, without much thought he opened the door. He was surprised by the sight before him.

"I knew you would turn up here in the middle of the night sooner or later." The man sitting on the sofa said without looking up from the datapad he was reviewing.

"I didn't think you would still be up." Obi-Wan confessed.

"Oh, well. I'm sorry to disappoint you. I hope you weren't planning on smothering me in my sleep." The man retorted

Obi-Wan laughed. "I would never dream of it, Master."

Qui-Gon finally looked up and smiled at the young man who still stood in his doorway. "You don't have to call me that anymore, you know." He said.

Obi-Wan finally stepped into the apartment allowing the door to close behind him. "I know." He said, but even now, 4 months after his knighting he still couldn't shake the habit. "I didn't mean to disturb you." He quickly apologised as he remembered what time it was.

"Nonsense. You are always welcome here Obi-Wan. This will always be your home as well, even if the door only says 'Jinn' now" Qui-Gon said.

Obi-Wan smiled gratefully.

Realising that Obi-Wan was still standing, Qui-Gon scooted to the side and lightly patted the spot next to him. Obi-Wan picked up on the hint and took a seat.

"So," Qui-Gon said, his penetrating stare seemingly looking into Obi-Wan's thoughts, "what brings you here?"

"I couldn't sleep." Obi-Wan confessed. He would have loved to say something else, anything to stop the look that formed on his former Master's face. But he had promised. After everything that happened, Qui-Gon had made Obi-Wan promise not to keep anything from him. But Obi-Wan hated the look of concern on the older Jedi's face. It was a look that Obi-Wan had seen far too often over the past 3 years.

"You're still having nightmares?" Qui-Gon asked.

"They're not as bad as they used to be." Obi-Wan assured.

"What does Larynia say about it?" Qui-Gon wanted to know.

Larynia Callen. She was the mind healer who Obi-Wan had been seeing for 2 years now. It was one of the council's conditions that he see a mind healer every week. He had been glad when he heard that it would be someone new, and he had quickly grown to like and even trust Larynia. 5 months ago, she had told the council that he was ready to take his trials. Despite that, Obi-Wan still visited her occasionally. It did him good and he knew that it made Qui-Gon feel better.

Obi-Wan smiled at the memory. "She says what you always used to say; dreams pass in time. And I know that they will."

Qui-Gon's expression finally relaxed. "Why don't I put some tea on?" He said getting to his feet.

"It's late…" Obi-Wan started to say but Qui-Gon interrupted him, knowing what his former Padawan was going to say.

"I wasn't going to get much sleep tonight anyway. I have a few things left to do. At least now I have some company." He smiled warmly.

"Perhaps I can give you a hand?" Obi-Wan suggested.

Qui-Gon's smiled broadened and he patted Obi-Wan on the shoulder. "That's my boy."

Obi-Wan laughed quietly to himself as Qui-Gon disappeared into the kitchen. Obi-Wan was going to take his cloak off but realised that he was still wearing his sleep ware and decided against it. If he had known that he would end up at his former apartment he would have got changed.

When Qui-Gon returned with two cups of tea he noticed that Obi-Wan had already started to go through what he had been working on. He passed the young knight one of the cups before sitting down again.

"I can't believe that you're a knight." He said with a proud smile on his face. "I sometimes wonder where that little boy I took as my Padawan went." Qui-Gon reached out to where Obi-Wan's Padawan braid used to be, his fingers only grasping at air.

Obi-Wan tried to appreciate the moment while it lasted because he knew what was about to happen. There was nothing he could do to keep Qui-Gon from flinching as his gaze shifted from the empty space behind Obi-Wan's ear to his exposed neck. Qui-Gon's fingers shifted as well and they found themselves tracing the scar that stretched across Obi-Wan's neck.

Normally it was covered by the high collars Obi-Wan had started wearing but as he sat there in his sleep wear it was clear to see.

"Qui-Gon." Obi-Wan said softly as he knew his former Master was caught in the memory of how the ugly red line had come to be.

Snapping out of his thoughts Qui-Gon quickly retracted his hand and placed it back on the other side of his cup. "I'm sorry Obi-Wan." He said before averting his gaze and taking a mouthful of his tea.

"Don't be." Obi-Wan replied with an easy smile. Above everything else, to Obi-Wan, the scar was also a reminder of how Qui-Gon had saved his life. Unfortunately, Qui-Gon didn't share his view. All Qui-Gon saw was a Sith's failed attempt at decapitating his Padawan. Failed or not, Qui-Gon had almost lost what meant the most to him that day. The scar was just a painful reminder of that.

Obi-Wan looked back down at the datapad he had been reading, it held the beginning of Qui-Gon's mission report.

"I think you're overusing the word 'again'." Obi-Wan commented in an attempt to change the subject.

"I was trying to emphasise my point." Qui-Gon explained.

"Ah, well then." Obi-Wan handed the datapad back to Qui-Gon with an amused glint in his eyes. "What happened next?"

"I had to save him again."

Obi-Wan started laughing and Qui-Gon couldn't help chuckling in response.

Obi-Wan helped Qui-Gon finish his mission report before starting to work on some other assignments the council had given the Jedi Master. All the while, Obi-Wan recounted his last mission on Christophsis and Qui-Gon listened with interest and pride at how far Obi-Wan had come.

There was a peaceful atmosphere as the two Jedi talked and worked into the very early hours of the morning. Until finally, Qui-Gon looked at his former apprentice and found him fast asleep on the sofa. Taking the datapad from his hand, Qui-Gon pulled a blanket over Obi-Wan and decided it was probably time he got some sleep as well.

As Qui-Gon looked back one last time at the sleeping form on his sofa, he smiled contently. Obi-Wan had become the knight and negotiator that Qui-Gon had always known he was meant to be. Even though the past still had a firm hold on both of them, their bond was as strong as it always had been and as the Force hummed calmly, lulling him to sleep, Qui-Gon knew that they were going to be alright.

A/N: And there it is. I can't believe it's been 8 months since I started writing this and now it's finally finished.

I just want to take this last opportunity to thank everyone who has read, followed, favourited and of course reviewed this fanfic. Thank you so much! You have no idea how much it means to me!
I would love to hear what you think now that it is complete. I really hope I haven't disappointed you.
So, if you liked it, please tell me, or if you have any constructive criticism for me, I'd love to hear it, so I can improve any other stories I write. I always like reading your reviews. :)

May the Force be with you. ;)