The Crucible

Rating: T+
Summary: Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi gets a crash course in Murphy's Law and pays the price for it.
Disclaimer: All cannon characters are owned by the Great Flanneled One, and now Disney. All others are mine. I make no money off this.
Note: This is a sequel to The Guardians

Timeline: 41BBY

Speech: " "
Training Bond communications: /
Internal thoughts: italics

Chapter Seven

Obi-Wan stood in his refresher, hands flat on the counter. Bant's reactions from earlier were not good at all. Deep inside he knew what it meant.

Tahl….

Obi-Wan shook his head again. Eventually he pushed away from the counter and went back into the small common room and then to the kitchen. He stopped in front of the cabinet that held the Corellian bourbon. The level of the amber liquid inside was lower than when he last saw it.

Neither of them set up a time for her next tutoring session, if you could call it that. By now there was only a few things that she couldn't quite understand, so after they worked on those problems, then they worked on other things, things that were much more enjoyable. But with Qui-Gon at the Temple more often than not, they found it getting harder to find time together. The thing is, Qui-Gon hadn't made it back from his last mission. Something happened, though he wasn't sure what it was.

With Siri not there to lighten his mood, Obi-Wan reached for the bottle and another glass. He poured a generous splash into the glass and then drank it without stopping. Lowering it, he grimaced at the taste, though he still poured another one. The taste was the same, but at this point he really didn't care.

After putting the glass in the sink, and leaving the bottle on the counter, he went back to their common room and sat heavily on the couch. On the low table before him was his communicator. Obi-Wan knew he should reach out to his master, but he wasn't sure of himself at the same time.

With a sigh he finally reached for the comm and then flicked it on. After setting it to Qui-Gon's personal channel he waited for an answer. Obi-Wan almost flicked it off when Qui-Gon finally answered. "Obi-Wan?" For a moment he sat there looking at the round cylindrical object. He sounds tired.

"Yes, Master, it's me. Are you okay? Is Master Tahl with you?" Obi-Wan pulled the comm away when he tried to hiccup. "Master?" he asked when Qui-Gon didn't answer.

"I'll be back at the Temple soon enough," and Qui-Gon closed out the channel.

Obi-Wan let his hands drop to his lap. Something bad happened. Qui-Gon would never cut off the call like that. Just as he set it back on the low table the holo, also on the table, activated, startling him, while Siri's image appeared above it.

"Obi-Wan?"

It was obvious she had seen his reaction. "Sorry, Siri," he grimaced. "You startled me, that's all."

She nodded slowly then frowned. "I'm sorry that I canceled our latest tutoring session."

Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "It's all right, Siri."

Her frown morphed into something different. "Are you okay? Do you want me to come over?"

"No," he shook his head though silently debating with himself whether he should tell her his concerns. "Wait…maybe…yeah."

"Are you sure?"

His look turned grim. "Not really."

In the end Siri never did come over. Obi-Wan had another drink and then went off to bed. The next morning he woke up, eyes bleary and a headache. With the heel of his hand he rubbed his forehead. It took him a few moments before he realized that he had a bit of a hangover. "Ugh," he muttered as he stumbled from the sleep couch to the refresher. Turning on the light, he squinted at the bright light and then at the image of him in the mirror. He frowned then turned and left to go back to his room where he could prepare for the day.

Obi-Wan never did see Bant, which was very unusual. Most of the time either he was in the same classes with his clan, or with them while training in the dojos. It felt strange not seeing her. Is this what it will be like if anything happens to one of them, he wondered. He pushed the thought out of his mind as he focused once again on his latest class on diplomacy. It was boring, but also necessary at the same time. For most of the lectures he forced himself to pay attention with interest, either that or he'd fall asleep.

It was the next day when he finally saw Bant again. Obi-Wan sat down beside her at the refractory, hoping that there might be something he could do to help her. "Are you okay?" he kept his voice low as he leaned towards her.

"I…I've been in the Healer's Ward." She sniffed then sighed, her webbed hands now spayed on the table.

"Why would you be there?" The whole thing was confusing to Obi-Wan.

"My training bond with…it broke. Obi-Wan, you have no idea how painful it is, was." Bant shook her head and closed her silver eyes. "It was like the worst headache imaginable, and then some. I was following Master Yoda and then the next thing I knew I was in the Healer's Ward with Healer Doel looking over me full of worry."

Obi-Wan reached over and grasped her closest webbed one. "How are you doing now?"

Before she could answer, Jedi Master Kit Fisto approached the table and sat down in front of them. "Padawan Kenobi," he nodded with a smile. It was difficult to read his expression, especially with his eyes completely black.

"Master Kit," Obi-Wan nodded as he removed his hand and grasped a fork.

The Nautolian turned his attention back to Bant. "Take your time young one. When you are ready we can have your things moved."

Bant looked down at the plate and her meal. "Thank you, I think…Master,"

The three ate in companionable silence until it was time for Obi-Wan to leave. "I would stay, Bant, but I have training."

She gave him a watery smile. "Thank you, Obi-Wan."

As Obi-Wan left the refractory he smiled to himself. It was good that she had a new master. If she had been in the Healer's Ward from what looked like a broken bond it made him worry about what would happen to him if Qui-Gon was ever killed. Instead of trying to mull over the implications he forced himself to pay attention to the latest training session in the dojos. Either that or he'd be covered in bacta patches, which wasn't a lot of fun in the first place.

That evening he flopped down on the couch and sighed as he closed his eyes. It had been a long day "What am I going to do when Master Qui-Gon comes back?" he asked himself. At least Bant will be okay.

It was only after Qui-Gon returned with Tahl's body did Obi-Wan understand its implications. Up until he saw the casket he could believe that she was only hurt and that would come back and spend time in the Healer's Ward, with Qui-Gon by her side more often than not. Not this time, and never again. Most, if not all the Jedi that were present in the Temple attended her memorial, and funeral service. Jedi bodies were burned, if possible, for ancient stories of the Sith mentioned that with the darkest of arts they could actually bring people back to life. When he first read about that, he thought it was just wrong on all accounts.

As the flames licked away at the pyre and Tahl's body, Obi-Wan glanced over to Qui-Gon. His expression was unreadable, and his shields were still ridiculously high and strong. He knew the older Jedi was grieving on the inside. /Master?/

/Yes Padawan?/

Obi-Wan almost jumped at the answer. /I wasn't expecting you to answer./ He closed his eyes and bowed his head. /I miss her, and I don't want to forget her./

Qui-Gon's voice was soft, though he remained cowled in his robes. "You never will, Obi-Wan. She will always be a part of you."

After the funeral and as the Jedi were dispersing, Yoda came forward and pulled Qui-Gon away. They spoke few, if any words, then separated.

For a time, while they were on their way back to their apartment Obi-Wan remained quiet. Eventually he ventured, "Can I ask what you and Master Yoda talked about?"

Qui-Gon remained quiet until they were inside their apartment. He sat on the couch and leaned forward, placing his face in his hands until he sighed and sat back. "I will be in the Temple for the next month or so."

Obi-Wan probed the bond they shared. Qui-Gon's mental shields were still in place. "Because of Master Tahl?"

Eventually he closed his eyes while nodding. "Yes."

Not knowing what to do, Obi-Wan eventually rose from his seat and went back into his room. Qui-Gon's strong shields cracked for a moment and he felt grief coming through before it was closed up again.

That evening Obi-Wan researched the code, hoping there was something he could find to help his Master. It took a while, but he eventually found something different. It looked like an older version of the code. After writing it out, he probed their bond once more, then cast his mind out. Qui-Gon wasn't in their lounge area anymore, or at least that's what it felt.

Picking up the code, Obi-Wan left his room and entered the larger room. It was empty. He glanced around the room for a moment before letting his eye land on the door that led to his master's personal room. Moving across the room, he rapped gently on the door. "Master?" he asked. When there wasn't any answer he opened the door and peeked inside. The room was empty.

With a frown, Obi-Wan stepped into the space and then eventually set the code on the bed. Qui-Gon would find it eventually, and hopefully take solace. Before he left, he looked once more to the last line, death, yet the Force. Somehow he knew what he needed to do. He would be there to support his master until he wasn't needed anymore.

finis

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