Qui-Gon slipped quietly into the silent room, smiling when he saw Rai sitting at a desk. It was not uncommon to find active field Jedi wishing to spend night duty in the Creche. The main room held a clear view of the rows of small beds, which held the children age three and younger who had not yet been turned over to the more individual attention of a Creche master. Rai smiled in return, her yellow eyes flashing in delight. She stood when he entered the outer room and walked quickly to his side. When he came into range she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Qui-Gon, when did you arrive?" Her voice held genuine pleasure at seeing him, though it was hushed in deference to the sleeping children.

"My transport came in about an hour ago. I've already been to see the Council. Mace told me I would find you here," Rai sighed as she sat once again behind the desk, looking over to the room holding several sleeping forms. Her pale blue skin was dulled, lacking its natural shine, a sure sign that something was weighing on her mind. "Demeron and I arrived back at the Temple last week. Our last mission ended. . .badly. It was nothing we could have prevented, but that doesn't mean that we both don't feel the weight of those people's lives on our shoulders." She paused and kept her gaze on the children. "I knew something was wrong from the moment we stepped off our transport, but I couldn't find a reason for my unease. It wasn't until the embassy blew that I knew I should have paid closer attention to my feelings." The Jedi shook her head and met his eyes. "I find that spending time with the little ones helps me to remember why we do this."

Qui-Gon nodded, sharing in her pain and understanding her words. Not all of his own missions had ended well and he too found that sitting with the children could help him to recover. It was their stillness as they slept and the promise they held that seemed to soothe most Force sensitives. "Where is Demeron?" he asked, changing the subject and pulling her from thoughts of her last mission as best as he could.

Rai smiled, nodding her head in the direction of the door. "He's down the hall in one of the other rooms. We've both been sitting night duty since we returned, though I think he may have an ulterior motive. It's been almost three years since Feiriv was Knighted and I think he's becoming a little restless. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he changes his mind about not taking another padawan." She paused, smiling fondly. Her husband was from a particularly long-lived race and had already trained five Padawans. "So what brings you here, Qui-Gon?"

"I'm not exactly sure. Mace said I would be able to find you here and I thought it would be good to stop in."

"Mace? I thought he was still on Borelan."

"No, he's back and trying his best to convince the Council that he's a responsible Jedi now. Apparently he's been trying to gain their favor by running some projects for them."

Qui-Gon smiled at the thought of his old friend trying to distance himself from the often-reprimanded padawan he had been. "I think he's going to have to do more than head a few projects to erase their memory of the stunts your little group pulled when we were padawans."

Rai shook her head. "It amazes me sometimes that they knighted any of you."

"What can I say, it was the mishaps of a misspent youth."

Rai laughed lightly before turning back to the conversation. "So, Qui-Gon we've been in the Temple at the same time before and you never thought to look me up. Why now?"

While her tone held no rebuke, Qui-Gon still smiled apologetically. "Something seemed to be pulling me here since I stepped off the transport. When I mentioned I was heading here to Mace, he told me you would be here and I thought I would make the best out of my trip." He shrugged slightly and Rai nodded, accustomed to the strange directions the Force pulled people in on occasion.

"How was Aberdal? Your mission, you said you already met with the Council?"

Qui-Gon nodded. "Tiring. It took weeks to even get the warring factions to the same table. I don't know if I would have been able to accomplish anything if both sides hadn't both been so solid in their determination to end the conflict. You know how it is, they want to stop the fighting but it's been so long they don't know how to let go of the grievances. I was able to draw up only the most basic treaty and ensure that they would keep an open dialogue, but the Council seemed pleased. Pleased enough to wait a few days to assign me a new mission at any rate."

Rai's eyes widened. "Pleased? The Council was pleased? With you? Very impressive, Jinn, I think that might be a first."

"It isn't that bad, Rai. Yes, I clash with the Council sometimes, but-"

She cut him off. "Sometimes? I think they hold a celebration when you come back from a mission and only spend half an hour arguing with them. I--" She stopped as a sudden disturbance ran through the Force, centered in the children's room. Qui-Gon and Rai stood from their seats at the same moment and both began moving toward the room. The rooms had been designed to allow the children a measure of privacy while sleeping, yet close enough to whomever was watching over them that they could be reached quickly should trouble arise.

Qui-Gon, having the advantage of longer legs, reached the center of the disturbance first. He found a small boy of about three years sitting huddled in his bed. The small golden-haired boy was shaking and crying and had his blankets were wrapped tightly around him. Without thought, Qui-Gon sat next to the boy and drew him into his arms, trying to comfort the child. He could sense Rai sending calming waves of the Force to the other children to keep them asleep, but most of his attention was focused on the small boy.

Despite his physical reassurance and his spoken words of comfort, Qui-Gon soon realized the boy was not calming. Lifting the child from his bed and holding him cradled to his chest, he brought the child into the outer room to prevent any further disturbance to the other children. He sat in the chair he had recently vacated and turned his full attention to the child who clung to him tightly.

Physically the boy was fine; he could find no evidence of any injury. He then sent a gentle probe of the Force across the boy's mind and found his mental shields had been shattered. Whatever it had been that had woken him had obviously been traumatic for the young boy. With careful control developed from years of work with the Force, he wrapped the boy in his own mental shields to protect him from stray Force eddies so commonly found in the Temple.

Settling more comfortably in the chair Qui-Gon carefully began rocking the child, running soothing circles on his back with his hands. He continued to speak to the boy softly, murmuring words of reassurance and safety. Rai approached them quietly, a concerned look on her face.

"What is his name?" Qui-Gon asked quietly. The boy's shivering was beginning to subside.

"Obi-Wan. He is very strong in the Force, and prone to prescient nightmares and perceptions." She knelt by the chair, but made no move to touch the boy. "It must have been a powerful dream; his shields were shattered."

Qui-Gon turned his attention back to the boy. He continued his running dialogue of quiet reassurances to the boy, his tone soothing. Within moments, Obi-Wan's shivering had stopped, though his face was still wet with tears.

"Obi-Wan?" Rai called in a soft voice. He gave no response. "Obi-Wan." She tried again with more authority.

Slowly, the small head turned from its hiding place against Qui-Gon's chest. Large blue eyes regarded her from a small elfin face.

"Master Oberon?" His voice was soft and slightly broken.

"How do you feel?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, his face contorted as though he could not explain his feelings. Another tear rolled down his cheek and Rai reached out to brush it away.

"Do you hurt anywhere?" She tried again with a different phrasing of the question.

The small boy shook his head slowly.

"You were just scared?"

Obi-Wan nodded slowly. The boy's head tilted to one side as he finally seemed to recognize he was being held by a stranger. He leaned back away from Qui-Gon and the Jedi was concerned that he might have frightened the boy. Instead, the child moved away until he could see Qui-Gon's face and looked at him as though waiting for an explanation.

"Hello Obi-Wan, my name is Qui-Gon Jinn," he said softly, offering a reassuring smile. Obi-Wan gave him a tremulous smile then leaned back into his arms.

"Can you tell us what happened, Little One?" Qui-Gon asked, brushing a hand through the boy's short, sleep tussled hair.

"Had a bad dream." He spoke softly, his voice muffled by the fabric of Qui-Gon's robe.

"How was it bad?" Rai asked, resting her hand on his arm.

"Can't remember. Hurting, loud sounds, bright lights." His eyes were shut tight against the memory.

Qui-Gon hated to ask, but it could be important considering the boy could have had a vision of the future. "Do you remember where this happened?"

"Here." His voice was soft, and he sounded on the verge of tears again.

"Shhhh, Little One, everything will be fine." Qui-Gon met Rai's eyes over the boy's head seriously. They would have to consult others with this information. It could have been nothing more than a nightmare, but if the boy had had a vision of some sort of danger in the Temple they could not ignore the warning.

Obi-Wan yawned, and he rubbed his eyes sleepily. He sniffed and rubbed his face into the folds of Qui-Gon's robe. Smiling ruefully at Rai, he ran a hand through the boy's hair again. "Do you think you can sleep now, Little One? It's very late."

The answer was immediate. "Not tired."

Qui-Gon smiled at the boy's stubbornness. "What if we do a little project instead? It might help to make you tired."

"'Kay." Obi-Wan looked up at him again, obviously interested.

"You need to build your own shields back up, but first," he tapped the boy lightly on the nose, "you have to let go of mine."

Rai looked at him sharply, but he shook his head slightly, indicating they would talk later. He knew it was unusual for one so young to be able to manipulate another Jedi's shielding, even when two minds were in such close contact. Despite the fact that is was a basic level of manipulation, it was not something a three-year-old should have been able to do.

"Can you do that for me, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan nodded and Qui-Gon could see the boy concentrating on letting go of Qui-Gon's shield. He felt the grip the boy had held on his shields slowly dissipate until they were once again separate. Qui-Gon continued, offering encouragement. "Good, now you need to build your own again. Do you know how to do that?" He ran his hand in small circles on the boy's back in encouragement.

Obi-Wan nodded. "They taught us." His small face once again contorted in concentration. Qui-Gon carefully monitored the boy's progress and was impressed at the level of control the child showed. After a few moments, when he felt that Obi-Wan had his shields reestablished, he released the boy from his own shields.

"Very good, Obi-Wan. Now why don't we put you back to your bed and you can sleep. I'm sure you could sleep now."

"Not tired," Obi-Wan repeated, rubbing his eyes.

Qui-Gon laughed. "Not tired? How about this, you pretend you're asleep. That might help."

"Stay out here?" he asked faintly, already settling back against Qui-Gon's chest.

"If you promise to try to sleep," Qui-Gon replied indulgently, knowing the boy was close to sleep.

Rai rose and picked up a spare blanket from the other side of the room using it to cover the small boy. Obi-Wan lay quietly for only a few moments before he began to drift off to sleep.

Qui-Gon sat quietly with the small boy in his arms for several moments. He wanted to give the child some time to fall into a deep sleep before he tried to move him. Just as the Jedi Master was ready to rise and return the boy to his bed, the small body jerked, waking Obi-Wan. He blinked slowly then settled back. "I was falling," he said faintly before closing his eyes again.

Qui-Gon again began rocking him, knowing that the boy was still disturbed by his dream. Quietly he began to sing a song he recalled from the days of his own time in the Creche. Soon Obi-wan was fully asleep, this time untroubled by dreams.