Qui-Gon sat with a patient expression on his face and his full attention directed to the small green Jedi seated before him. His former Master was patiently explaining the dangers and benefits of developing and working with a bond in a young child. Qui-Gon nodded in all the appropriate places and added an occasional affirmative sound when he thought it was required and mostly did his best not to roll his eyes. He knew the Jedi Master was simply trying to do what he thought was best for all involved, but the Yoda was telling him nothing he did not already know. He's spent enough time with the ancient Jedi to know better than to mention that fact.

"Listening to me you are not." Yoda accused him when Qui-Gon missed his cue to nod.

"I am, Master." He protested. "You were just telling me that it can be dangerous to commit to any sort of bond with one so young, but to ignore the bond could cause great damage as well." He was almost positive that was what the small Jedi had been saying.

Yoda glared at him for a long moment. "Lucky guess that was. Patronizing you I am not, assured of the dangers you must be, for the boy's sake and your own." He sighed. "Good this can be for you both, but difficult it is as well." He shifted slightly in his small chair. "How went your last mission?" He asked, changing the subject suddenly.

Qui-Gon considered the question for a moment, knowing Yoda wanted more than the mission brief he had given in his report to the Council. "Obi-Wan knew about the bond, but did not understand its significance. He played with it constantly until I contacted him and asked him to stop. Even then I had to promise to contact him frequently to keep him from playing with it."

Yoda made a thoughtful sound. "Miss you more than usual he will until work with the bond you do. Distracting you he should not while on missions. Work with you both I will." He nodded sharply as though the thought was a forgone conclusion. "Come to me tomorrow you will with the boy to work on the bond. Released from his classes he will be, contact Master Heri I will."

* * *

Qui-Gon tapped lightly on the open doorway to the main communications station and smiled in greeting as he entered the room. "Payter, so good to see you putting your skills to work." He said lightly, his eyes scanning the room.

The large Shistavanen stood as Qui-Gon came fully into the room and extended on furry hand in greeting. "Qui-Gon." He said genuinely pleased. "I haven't seen you in, what's it been? Four years?" His fierce appearance and large teeth belied the gentle and humorous disposition that had cemented their friendship when the two had been Padawans.

Qui-Gon gripped Payter's hand in greeting. "Yes, I think the last time I saw you was when I left for the mission to Nentert. After that we never seemed to be in the same place at the same time."

"Ah, Nentert, we all know how stunningly you did on that mission." Payter said with a grin around his massive, pointed teeth.

Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. "That wasn't--"

"Your fault, right." Payter sat back in the chair he was stationed at and waved a hand for the Qui-Gon to join him. "That's beside the point, tell me my friend what have you been up to? And what had you calling the fifth year creche every other day while you were away?" His voice was slightly mocking and held more than a hint of innuendo.

"Nothing quite as interesting as all that. I've developed a rather close relationship with one of the children. It was hard for him to be away from me while I was on my latest mission. He's quite young and had grown used to having me around since--"

"Your mugging?" Payter finished for him with an innocent tone. "Just because I haven't seen you in four years doesn't mean your escapades go unnoticed around here. I think the older Padawans in particular find your adventures particularly interesting; it gives them hope that their lives will be interesting." He took a breath and scanned the instruments quickly, looking for messages. "So one of the little ones hm? Does that mean you will be taking another apprentice?"

Qui-Gon blinked, mildly surprised that his friend was so willing to discuss the topic with him. Most people, even those to whom he was closest, tended to avoid the subject. "I haven't made any decisions about that yet, though more than one person thinks that might be a good idea. I still find myself still wary." He admitted, easily falling easily into conversation with the other Jedi. Payter had often been the one individual he could talk to about anything, no matter how embarrassing or uncomfortable it could be for him.

Payter nodded. "Good. I think it's far past time, you've been dwelling in the past for long enough. So does the boy have a name?" He asked, his eyes trained on the instruments in front of him, though Qui-Gon knew he had the Jedi's full attention.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, he's five." He offered, suspecting the Shistavanen would not know the boy, he had known Payter to pay as much attention to the Jedi children as he had in the past.

Payter shook his head. "Doesn't sound familiar."

"It isn't surprising." The Jedi Master leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "So tell me what you did to get this detail." Qui-Gon nodded to the equipment.

Payter sighed. "It was really all just a misunderstanding. Mace and I were working on a report for the Council. You know Mace, he's trying to impress them and he needed my help to keep track of the number of training accidents in the upper level lightsaber instruction. Anyway, I owed him a favor, and he really is terrible with numbers so I agreed to help him. Well, when I was retrieving the data from the past six months, I came across a file that was restricted." He held up a fur covered hand. "I know, I know I should have left it alone, but I couldn't resist. Misspent youth and all. So I asked Bel-San to look into it for me, you know how he is with the computer systems."

"You didn't drag Bel-San into this, did you?" Qui-Gon asked, shocked.

"It isn't like I had to drag him kicking and screaming. He isn't getting enough stimulation with those kids he teaches. I thought it would be good for him. Anyway, he broke in for me and I was looking through the information; it wasn't anything important I don't know what the big deal was. Ki-Adi-Mundi, however, wasn't all that amused. Apparently, something in the file triggered an alarm and he walked in on me reading it." Payter shrugged. "Luckily Bel-San had left already, he had a class or something, so I managed to keep him out of it. The Council, in their unending brilliance, thought since I was so technically inspired a few months manning communications would do me good." Suddenly Payter laughed. "Mace still won't speak to me, the Council reprimanded him and said he needed to take better care in choosing who to delegate responsibility to on his projects. He deserves it though, he's been so insufferable lately. His blatant move for a Council position is wearing a little thin."

Qui-Gon nodded his understanding. "Well, if there's anyone who can point out his shortcomings, I would defiantly say that would be you. Who would have thought that Mace would be the one who would make a play for the Council? Do you remember the time when we were Padawans and he broke into the Council chambers and changed the coloring of everything to that particular shade of pink? I don't think I have ever seen anything quite so funny."

"I don't know my friend, some of the things you and Bel-San pulled off together top that one in my mind. Like that time-" He broke off as a light flashed on the console. "Jedi Temple, can I help?" He asked professionally.

"Um, yes I was trying to find someone, I can't quite remember her name, but I have a passing description." Payter rolled his eyes at Qui-Gon, who stood. "One moment please." He switched the speaker to a mute position. "It amazes me the calls we get in here."

Qui-Gon smiled in sympathy. "I'll see you later, it looks like you may be tied up for a while. Have fun." He said with a bright smile.

"Thanks. And I will hold you to that, Jinn. I will see you again before another four years passes." He gave a smile and turned back to the speaker.

* * *

"Hello Heri, how have you been." Qui-Gon said with a smile as he entered the outer room of Obi-Wan's home. The Creche Master looked particularly frazzled.

"Qui-Gon." She nodded in response with a smile. "It has been quite a day. Two of my four children have come down with Heravial flu and have needed nearly constant attention while the other two have been bouncing off the walls."

"Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked immediately in concern. The boy had been fine the day before, but he had kept him out in the cold, something to which the boy was not accustomed.

Heri shook her head. "He's fine, just a little on the hyperactive side. He's playing in the common room if you wanted to see him." She offered, nodding to the door.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could steal him away for the afternoon." Qui-Gon said.

Heri flashed him a brilliant smile. "Qui-Gon, you are the best man I have ever known. Please. Take him." A hint of something very close to desperation was in her voice. "It isn't that I don't love him, but all four are a little much today."

"I'll have him back before his bedtime. Is there anything else I can do?" He asked worrying for the Creche Master.

She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine." She assured him.

Qui-Gon nodded and strolled into the common room shared by Obi-Wan and the three other children under Heri's. The small boy was sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by large colored blocks which he was carefully stacking into several high towers. When he had four separate structures completed to his apparent satisfaction, he picked up a stuffed draigon and made loud roaring noises to accompany the flight of the animal. With each swooping pass, the draigon came closer to one of the towers and with a giant roar, Obi-Wan knocked over one of the towers which collapsed with a loud crash. Qui-Gon watched his careful progress for several moments before Obi-Wan turned and caught sight of him.

"Master Qui-Gon!" He shouted, jumping to his feet, knocking over the last standing tower with a clatter. He ran over to the Jedi and Qui-Gon knelt to accept the hug the boy offered.

"Hello, Little One." He followed the boy back over to the blocks and draigon. "What are you doing?" He asked curiously.

"Building towers and knocking them down." Obi-Wan said with a shrug.

Qui-Gon nodded seriously. "Is it interesting?"

"Kinda." Again the small shoulders raised in a shrug.

"How would you like to spend the afternoon with me instead of playing with the blocks?" He asked watching the elfin face of the boy carefully.

Blue eyes lit with excitement. "Can I?"

Qui-Gon nodded. "I cleared it with Master Heri already, she said you could as long as you cleaned up your mess." The Creche Master hadn't actually said anything of the kind. However, he doubted she would be pleased if he took Obi-Wan with him and left mess from the boy's amusement behind.

The boy's excitement faded slightly as he gazed at the blocks scattered over the common room. "I didn't do it." He held up the draigon. "It was Omo."

Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows and carefully held back a laugh. "And who was holding Omo?"

Obi-Wan blinked as he looked at the stuffed toy. "Um, no one, she flies." He said carefully.

"Obi-Wan." The warning was evident in his voice.

"But there's so much." The despair in the small boy's voice was comical.

"Did you pull out all the blocks?"

Obi-Wan nodded, his worried gaze taking in the mess he had created.

"What if I were to help?" Qui-Gon offered. Immediately Obi-Wan's face lightened.

"That would be good, cause then, um I could get done faster." He picked up a block and walked over to a box against the wall. "This is where they go." He announced as he placed the block in the storage bin.

Qui-Gon stooped and gathered several of the blocks in his large hands and carried them swiftly to the storage bin. When he turned, Obi-Wan was just then picking up another block. "It might go a little faster if you carry more than one at a time."

"Carrying more than one makes my arms hurt." Obi-Wan said innocently, his eyes wide.

Qui-Gon stared at him for a long moment as the boy walked across the room. "I am not going to pick up all of these for you, Obi-Wan."

"You won't. See." He placed another block in the bin. "I did two." He smiled and walked back to the pile.

Several minutes and many trips to the pile of blocks later the mess had been cleaned up, mostly by Qui-Gon. He hadn't been fooled by the boy's show for a moment, but honestly he was just as anxious for the boy to be done as Obi-Wan was. He led Obi- Wan from the common room out to the hall and passed Heri on the way out.

"Have fun Obi-Wan, be good." She told him as they passed.

"'Kay. I cleaned up my mess." He called back to her as the walked down the hall.

Qui-Gon merely shook his head and continued walking.

* * *

Obi-Wan sat down with a heavy thud next to him and Qui-Gon smiled indulgently at the boy. "Having fun?" He asked the boy.

Obi-Wan nodded, his small face flushed. The boy had been chasing a small bird through the small Garden for the past fifteen minutes, though he had never really gotten close to the animal.

Qui-Gon had chosen the Garden because it was one of the smaller ones which few Jedi visited. It also provided a perfect view of one of the more heavily trafficked airroutes. Since the boy had run off some of his energy, Qui-Gon began pointing out different types of ships that passed and answered questions about them.

"Did you ever fly one of those?" Obi-Wan asked pointing at one of the higher end luxury cruisers.

Qui-Gon laughed. "No, and I doubt I ever will. The Temple budget doesn't cover expenses like that. No, I'm much more familiar with the transports like that one." He pointed to a ship that was very much like the last one he had piloted.

"But those are so small." Obi-Wan protested.

"Size matters not." He said, giving his best imitation of his former master.

Obi-Wan's head turned to him quickly, a shocked expression on his young face. "You're gonna get in trouble." He warned, looking around the Garden for the Jedi Master Qui-Gon was impersonating.

Qui-Gon reached out and ruffled the boy's golden hair. "Don't worry Obi-Wan, hardly anyone ever comes here."

Obi-Wan looked at him suspiciously but didn't argue his point further.

"Do you know we are going to see Master Yoda tomorrow?" He asked the boy as they both laid back in the soft grass and looked up at the sky and the passing ships.

"Master Heri told me. We aren't in trouble are we?" Obi-Wan asked, his young voice colored with concern.

"No, he just wants to talk with us about our bond. He wants to help us so we both know more about it and we can control it."

Obi-Wan sighed. "So I don't bother you." He said sadly.

"It isn't that Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon reassured him quickly. "This is a very special thing we have and it can be very helpful, we just need to know how it works and why it's there."

"I've tried to leave it alone." Obi-Wan said, his small face set in concentration. "I try really hard, but um sometimes it's really hard, like when I'm in class and it's really boring and um they're trying to teach us stuff I already know and um, I get bored and it just sits there and it's interesting and um it's hard not to think about it but then when I try to not think about it I just think about it more, and then um my Teachers get mad cause I'm not paying attention."

"That's part of what we will work on Obi-Wan, so that you aren't so distracted in your classes." He paused thinking over the boy's comments. "Are you bored in a lot of your classes?" He asked curiously.

"Not all of them, the history ones are good but the stuff they talk about in technical sciences is really easy and I know it already, so I don't pay attention and then I get in trouble even though I know how to do it." Obi-Wan picked up a piece of grass and looked at it closely as he spoke.

Qui-Gon made a mental note to speak with Heri about the boy's aptitude levels and see if he wouldn't be eligible for higher level classes. He was about to comment on one of the ships to Obi-Wan when he heard the door to the Garden open. He looked over his shoulder and stiffened slightly.

"Qui-Gon, I haven't seen you in an age." The man who walked in said.

"Guod. It has been a long time." He didn't add that their separation had been intentional on his part. The other Jedi tended to be petty and arrogant, two traits Qui-Gon refused to endure when he had the choice.

"I think the last time we were together, you had just taken Xanatos as your Padawan." He stopped and looked at Qui-Gon for a moment who had tensed imperceptibly. "Oh, I'm sorry you probably don't want to talk about that, right? Perfectly understandable."

"How have you been, Guod?" He asked as civilly as he could manage. He did have a certain image to maintain in front of Obi-Wan. He thought it wouldn't do the boy any good for him to hear the things Qui-Gon actually wanted to say.

"Oh, you know, the same. Not much ever changes for me. The Council thinks the best place for me is here, doing research and I can't blame them, I am very good at it. Still, I think they could use me out in the field every once in a while. You do it, how hard can it be?" The other man smiled and Qui-Gon swallowed back a retort. The horrible part of it all was he wasn't sure if Guod even knew how offensive he was being.

Guod looked around the Garden and his gaze fell on Obi-Wan who he had previously overlooked. "And who is this?" He asked in a high, condescending voice.

"My name is Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon had never heard the boy's voice so cold.

"Cute isn't he?" He looked at Qui-Gon speculatively. "I didn't know that you had taken a new Padawan. I thought that after the awful way you handled things with Xanatos, you would have been done with that sort of thing. But then I suppose Alla didn't turn out too badly did she?"

Qui-Gon stood abruptly, he had no wish to listen to the Jedi say anything about what it was like to deal with padawans when he had never taken one for himself. "I'm sorry, I just remembered I have an appointment. Come along Obi-Wan." He reached out and took the boy's hand in his own.

Qui-Gon did not even acknowledge the words the other man spoke as he left the Garden, and he walked as quickly as he could with Obi-Wan. The small boy's hand gripped his own tightly as though he could sense his distress. After a moment he cursed himself and realized the boy probably could as a result of their bond. He drew a deep breath to calm himself as they walked and released the majority of his negative emotions to the Force.

When he had calmed, he looked down at Obi-Wan whose large blue eyes stared back at him with some concern. "I'm sorry Obi-Wan, you shouldn't have had to see that."

"I don't like him." The boy said certainly.

Qui-Gon drew another breath. "It is important to remember that sometimes we have to deal with people we don't care for." He would have to remember to mention the incident to Heri.

They were silent as they approached a lift and stepped inside. Qui-Gon touched the level for his apartment and stood silently with Obi-Wan. After several moments, he felt a tug on his hand and he looked down to see Obi-Wan's face creased in thought and concern. "Is everything all right, Obi-Wan?" He asked in concern.

"Master Qui-Gon, who is Xanatos?"