When he finished speaking Obi-Wan looked at him for a long time, his blue eyes wide with the information he had received. Although Qui-Gon had pared the story for the boy to understand, he had left little out. It was not his intention to lie to Obi-Wan despite how it might change the boy's opinion of him.

"I'm sorry." Obi-Wan said finally dropping his head and clutching at Qui-Gon tightly.

Qui-Gon shot a look at Heri who stood in the doorway and noted her concerned expression. Qui-Gon ran a hand over the boy's head and lifted his chin until he would meet his eyes. "Why are you sorry, Obi-Wan?" He asked carefully.

"If I had been good, none of this would have happened. I shouldn't have called you."

Qui-Gon immediately shook his head as he began to speak. "No Obi-Wan, none of this is your fault. You are the innocent one here. Guod was wrong to do what he did, and I was wrong not only to leave you with him, but also in my reaction to him. You have done nothing wrong. You didn't make any of this happen, Guod and I both chose our paths. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, though he still looked miserable. "He was really bad, how come you're getting in trouble? You were just protecting me."

Qui-Gon sighed. "I could have protected you without harming him, Obi-Wan. I was not in control of my emotions and that is a very bad thing for a Jedi."

Obi-Wan was quiet for a long time, though he did not release his hold on Qui-Gon. "Are they going to make you go away?" He asked finally, his voice little more than a whisper.

"No, Little One, I'm not going anywhere. Everything is going to work out, you'll see. It's just a little difficult right now." He hoped sincerely that he was not lying to the boy and his words would be true, given time.

"Because you promised you wouldn't go. You can't, you promised." Obi-Wan said fiercely, turning his elfin face up to Qui-Gon. "It feels bad when you aren't here."

Qui-Gon glanced again at Heri, who met his gaze with a concerned shake of her head and shrug. "What do you mean?"

The boy's small features grew pinched in concentration as he tried to place into words how he was feeling. "I remember what it was like before, when you were in here," He pointed to his head. "But now, it feels different, and I can't make it like it was before and it feels bad and lonely."

Qui-Gon closed his eyes as he pulled the boy close to him. "I'm so sorry, Obi-Wan." He didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to tell the boy that he wasn't allowed to fix the damage that had been done by Guod until they knew who would be his master. He didn't know how he could tell him they would both be subjected to the uncomfortably changed bond for at least another month.

At the sound of soft footsteps he looked up and found Heri standing at his side. "I may have something of a solution." She said quietly with a half smile.

"Oh?" Qui-Gon asked. He was still slightly surprised by the support she had offered him.

She held out a pair of comlinks and placed one in Obi-Wan's small hand and another in his own. "Obi-Wan, Master Qui-Gon isn't going to be able to stay here all the time, no matter how much he might want. The Council has other things they want him to do and he's still a Jedi with many commitments. I thought though, that when he isn't here and you feel lonely, you could call him with your comlinks. That way you would still know where he was and not feel so alone." She smiled at the small boy and brushed her fingertips across his forehead.

Qui-Gon looked at the Creche Master, his eyes widening as she spoke. He knew the woman was very intelligent, but he had no idea that she was devious as well. While the Council had decreed he could not see Obi-Wan without the presence of another Jedi, they had said nothing about speaking to the boy. It was a loophole he had not even considered as he grinned at the Creche Master. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was far better than he had ever expected.

He turned his attention back to Obi-Wan as the boy yawned hugely. His small eyes flicked to Qui-Gon. "I'm not tired." He said quickly.

Qui-Gon laughed. "I think you are." He said as he laid the boy back in his bed. "Why don't you try and sleep some? It will help you feel better."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "You can't go." He protested, tightening his grip on Qui-Gon.

"I didn't say I was leaving, Little One. I'll stay until you fall asleep, I promise." Qui-Gon assured him sincerely, though the child's desperation tore at him.

Obi-Wan relaxed slightly at his words, though the small blue eyes remained open. A slow, mischievous grin lit his face as he looked at Qui-Gon.

"What?" He asked, mistrusting the look on the boy's face.

"I might fall asleep faster if you sang to me."

Qui-Gon looked at the grinning face of the little boy and gave an exaggerated sigh. Obi-Wan laughed at the older man's act, but did not restate his request. Heri patted Qui-Gon's shoulder in consolation with a smile of her own and walked over to stand once again in the doorway to give them as much privacy as she could.

Qui-Gon help up a finger. "All right, but only one." He warned the boy.

Obi-Wan nodded and settled more comfortably in his bed as Qui-Gon began to sing quietly.

* * *

"I never knew you for the singing type, Qui-Gon." Heri commented with a smile as they walked into the outer room. Obi-Wan had finally fallen asleep and after sitting with the boy for a while, he had hoped to speak with Heri for a few moments.

He shrugged in response to her comment. "It was an instinctive gesture when we first met and it sort of carried over. Who knew he would remember it?"

"He's far more observant than most give him credit for. I'm actually surprised the Council waited this long to announce him as ready for a master. I just wish it had been under better circumstances."

Qui-Gon shook his head as he sat heavily across from the Creche Master. "I don't know, Heri. Everything has happened so quickly, and I find I have doubts. I want what's best for him, and after what I did to Guod I wonder if I can be that." He admitted, looking back into the room where the boy was sleeping peacefully.

"Don't doubt for a moment that you are what's best for that boy. I can tell you right now that if it had been me in that Garden, Guod would have ended up with more than a broken nose. He wouldn't have been able to walk out of there on his own power." She said fiercely. "He had no right to do as he did and I for one am glad you did what you did."

"I have to say, I was very impressed with the comlink idea, Heri. I didn't know you were that -"

"Sneaky?" She supplied with a smile.

"I was going to say observant, but okay."

"I spend my time with very young children who make it their life's work to find loopholes in the directions I give them. Besides, he's hurting right now and I think it's ridiculous what the Council's doing. If they would see the two of you together, you wouldn't be going through this. I've seen Obi-Wan with the others who've put their name in for him, and he doesn't respond to any of them like he does to you."

Qui-Gon sighed. "I hope they can see things the way you can, Heri."

"Don't worry, I'll give my opinion to whoever will listen to me." She said with a smile. "I care a lot about Obi-Wan, he's been one of my kids for a while now and I only want what's best for him. The Council has to consult me. I've also spoken with Adi, she's a good friend of mine. She's willing to go before the council and tell them that the damage done to your bond is causing the boy pain and request that you be allowed to work on it again. She's the best mind healer in the Order and they value her judgment; they have even suggested bringing her onto the Council. Her voice will carry weight with them where others might not."

"I appreciate your support Heri, and I know Obi-Wan is lucky to have you as his Creche Master." He looked briefly at his chronometer. "And as much as I really don't want to leave, I have a meeting with Yoda shortly."

Heri looked at him with sympathy. "May the Force be with you." She offered gravely. "And if you ever want to come and spend some time with him, don't hesitate, I'll be here."

Qui-Gon stood and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

* * *

"Wondered when come to see me you would." Yoda said evenly as he stood at his door and regarded Qui-Gon in the hallway.

"I thought we should talk." Qui-Gon said softly.

The small Jedi sighed and moved aside. "Enter if you will." He said heavily.

"Thank you, Master." He waited until he was inside the room before he dropped to both knees before his former Master, his head bowed. "I've come to ask your forgiveness, my Master. I have done you a great disservice by showing how little I have heeded your training." He kept his head down and waited patiently for the other to speak.

Yoda sighed again and Qui-Gon felt his small hand rest on his head. "Willful you always were, my Padawan. Rise." He directed.

Qui-Gon stood slowly and followed his former Master through his apartment. He sensed that the other Jedi was not at peace with the situation and Qui-Gon could not blame him. While his Master had agreed to speak with him and had given him leave to rise, he knew that all was not right between the two of them. It did not escape his attention that his former Master had not offered his forgiveness.

When they were both seated Yoda finally spoke again. "Understand I do why hit him you did. Protect my Padawans on occasion have I done as well. However, injure other Jedi you do not." He struck his gimer stick firmly against the floor. "Control your anger you must no matter the circumstances. Taught you this I did. Expect you not to waste my teachings I do."

"I'm not trying to excuse what I did Master, but I didn't strike him in anger. I've thought over the incident much in the past few days and I can say that when I hit him it was purely a reaction. I did not strike him in anger."

"Only area of redemption that is, Padawan." Yoda said quietly and Qui-Gon did not miss the title by which his Master referred to him. He raised a silent eyebrow and Yoda swung his stick out and hit him on the shin. "When act appropriate to your title, then will I call you what you deserve."

Qui-Gon nodded, accepting the rebuke. "Has the Council decided what they are going to do with Guod?" He asked after a moment of silence between them that was not entirely comfortable.

"Concern yourself with your own punishment you should, Padawan." Yoda said firmly.

"I would not ask if it were not for his involvement with Obi-Wan. I just want to know that the boy will be safe from him in the future." Qui-Gon protested. "I am not about to go visit him and mock him over whatever punishment the Council has seen fit to place on him."

Yoda nodded slowly. "Know I do you are concerned for the boy, as the Council is. Expel him from the Order the Council did not for this reason. Too dangerous he would be without the observation of the Council. Never again leave the Temple will he, nor without guard will he be. Felt something in him we have, touched the dark side he has. Prevent further contact with others we will as long as can be done. Enough to satisfy your concerns that should be." Yoda nodded sharply as Qui-Gon sat back in his chair.

He was stunned. He had never particularly liked Guod and he had been shocked when the man was actually knighted, but he had never thought the other man would touch the dark side. He thought of Obi-Wan and looked quickly at his former master. "Does Heri know about this? Did the Healers find anything Guod left behind?" He asked tensely, ready to jump up and leave the room to run to the boy's side.

"Told the appropriate individuals we have, no evidence of darkness have we found in the boy. Steeped in darkness Guod was not, simply touched it he did. Taking precautions we are, worry you should not."

Qui-Gon nodded and looked around the well-known rooms feeling a slight sense of comfort in the familiarity. When his gaze finally rested on his Master, he noted the disappointment and sadness that marked the others features. It was more evident than it had been in the Council chamber, but still nothing a casual observer would see. "Are you very disappointed in me, Master?" He asked finally.

Yoda sighed heavily. "Trained many padawans I have, and none of them as exasperating as you have they been. But knew this I did when took you as my apprentice. Knew I did you would always see differently from the Council." He looked at Qui-Gon directly. "Handled matters badly you did but fault your heart I cannot. What was best for the boy you did. Better you could have done, but in the past that is now and forward you must move. Good for the boy you would be if his Master you become. Follow the Council you must if you wish to have the boy." He grunted with an amused sound, a smile breaking across his small face; it was the first Qui-Gon had seen since the entire matter had begun. "But then, be on the Council you would if follow the code you would, too."

* * *

Qui-Gon stood from his mediation and stretched muscles that had been still for too long. He rolled his meditation mat and placed it in its customary place beneath his bed and wandered into his kitchen to make tea. He felt relaxed after his mediation if nothing else, even though he thought four hours a day was a little excessive. He was more centered than he had been in a long time, but that could also be due to his lack of constant missions more than anything else.

As he poured the hot liquid into his favorite mug and stirred in more sweetener than most cared for, Qui-Gon leaned on the counter and thought about his conversation with his former Master. While the diminutive Jedi had been disappointed, he knew that he still had Yoda's trust and support. Their years together had been to numerous for this to break the bond they shared and Qui-Gon often felt that Yoda knew him better than any other Jedi in the Order. He had seen Qui-Gon at both his best and worst and they were still on speaking terms.

The Jedi Master was pulled away from his contemplating of his tea at the high pitched chirp of the comlink Heri had given him. He set the mug aside and retrieved the small communication device from across the room.

"Yes?" He spoke into the comlink shortly before he remembered that Obi-Wan was the only one likely to use the device. When he was met with silence on the other end, he shook his head at his short response and tried again. "Is that you Obi-Wan?" He asked in a kinder tone.

"Yes." Obi-Wan answered loudly.

Chuckling to himself, he held the instrument away from him slightly. "Did you want something, Little One?"

"Um, no."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

Realizing the conversation was progressing less than optimally, Qui-Gon decided to try a different approach. "So what have you been up to today?" He asked as he walked back into the kitchen to retrieve his tea.

"Um, nothing."

"Nothing at all?"

"Master Heri said that the Healers said I shouldn't do much so um I've just been sitting here." He sighed heavily.

"Just sitting looking at the wall?" Qui-Gon prompted.

"Well um no, Bant came to visit me earlier she saw Qui-Gon, not you the fish earlier in the um, pond we let him go in and um, she said that he got really big and that there are lots less fish in the pond now and that um, she thinks he is really eating the other fishes which isn't good and then um, she had to go so I've been coloring but um I'm not too good at it and so I stopped and called you."

"Oh, okay. It sounds like you've had a pretty busy day. How is Bant?" It always amazed him how the child could speak for such a long time without pausing.

"Good."

"That's good. What were you coloring?"

"Pictures." Obi-Wan said as though the answer should be obvious.

"I know that, Obi-Wan, what kind of picture?"

"Oh, just stuff."

"So are you bored now?"

Obi-Wan paused as though he were considering the question. "Yes. What are you doing?"

"I'm drinking tea and talking with you." He answered truthfully.

"Oh. Um, I have to go now, bye." He could hear the boy place the comlink on some hard surface and begin to hum to himself. It sounded as though he was writing or coloring.

Qui-Gon laughed for a moment. "Obi-Wan?" He heard the boy's humming stop immediately.

"Master Qui-Gon?" The boy asked curiously. "I said I had to go." He informed him slowly as though Qui-Gon hadn't caught it the first time around.

"I know you did, Obi-Wan, but you have to turn off your end of the comlink first." He instructed patiently.

"Oh, 'kay. Bye."

Qui-Gon smiled to himself as he turned off his own comlink. Obi-Wan had never been particularly stellar at talking over communication devices, but he was relieved the boy was comfortable enough to call him when he needed him.

As Qui-Gon sat on his couch and scanned through some reading material from his datapad he reflected that Obi-Wan sounded much more like himself than he had when he had first been released by the Healers. He knew the boy was still troubled and a long way from being completely healed, but it was good to know that he would recover.

He was deeply immersed in what he was reading when his door beeped to announce a visitor. He stood from his couch and placed his now cold tea on the small table. "Who is it?" He asked.

"Bel-San." The other man sounded as though he did not expect to be let in.

Qui-Gon keyed the door opened and waved his friend to come in. "Do you want tea? I'm just heating mine up again."

"Um, sure." Bel-San said distractedly. "Listen, I just wanted to say I was sorry for how I acted the other day. I didn't mean to yell." The Teacher looked very concerned that Qui-Gon accept his apology.

"Did you mean what you said?" Qui-Gon asked curiously.

"Well, yes, I was thinking about Obi-Wan and what this could mean to him, and to you. It could end very badly for everyone involved. I mean, you are one of the best diplomats in the Order and you hit one of our own." The Teacher spoke very quickly as though his mouth had a difficult time keeping up with his thoughts.

"If you meant what you said, then you have nothing to apologize for, Bel-San. You spoke what you thought and I don't fault you for that." He shrugged and handed the man a cup of tea and gestured to the sweetener.

"Thanks." He murmured as he accepted the tea. "I could have been nicer about it though."

Qui-Gon watched him as he stirred the sweetener in his tea. "Payter made you feel bad didn't he?"

Bel-San looked up, his blue eyes wide with surprise. "Well, he did mention that I was a little callous."

"Probably while showing you his teeth and growling a little?" Qui-Gon asked knowingly.

Bel-San nodded.

"It's really fine."

Again the other Jedi nodded.

"Oh," He said casually as he walked to the other room. "I'll mention this to Payter so he doesn't carry out whatever he threatened you with."

"I would have apologized anyway." Bel-San muttered as he joined him.

Qui-Gon felt a ripple run through the Force. He glanced at Bel-San and saw the other man had felt it as well. "What was that?" He asked as he stood.

"I don't know."

The two stepped out into the hallway and saw that several others were doing the same. He glanced down the hall and saw that no one had a better idea of what was happening than they did. He turned back to his apartment and switched on his wall communication unit.

"Yes?" Came the answer in a familiar voice.

"Master, do you know what is happening. I have felt a disturbance in the Force."

"Felt it I have as well, know not what is happening but call you when more I know."

"Must be nice to have those kind of connections." Bel-San noted as Qui-Gon turned from the wall.

"I don't like this, whatever it is." Qui-Gon said as he began to pace the room.

"I'm sure it's nothing." Bel-San said, though his voice lacked conviction.

Qui-Gon's next comment was cut off when his wall unit announced a call. He walked over quickly and answered. "Jinn."

"Qui-Gon, careful you must be, turned and escaped Guod has." His former Master's voice was tense and Qui-Gon took a step back from the wall unit.

He looked at Bel-San, his eyes almost unseeing. "Obi-Wan."

TBC