Chapter Text
Up until the moment the Boss decided they would be smuggling a child, Henry had been having a pretty pleasant few months.
He had really gotten the hang of spice running. He was good at it. No, it wasn’t the most ethical job in the galaxy, but nobody was getting hurt (too badly at least). He had a good deal with the Boss. A few months back, he had gotten into a little trouble on Jakku. The spice running was helping him get out of said trouble.
Everything had been going fine.
Then, the Boss traded a large amount of spice for a collar. Not just any collar. A collar that could contain the power of a Jedi. It was extremely expensive, but if they could get their hands on even one Jedi, the collar would more than pay for itself.
Henry grimaced to himself as he carried the child over his shoulders. He didn’t like this one bit.
The kid was young. The poor thing was probably terrified though he seemed pretty good at hiding it. He hoped that wherever this kid ended up, he was treated well. He tried not to think about it too much.
“Come on Henry!” The Boss yelled. “We’re meeting our connection in there.”
The kid had squirmed a bit on his shoulder but had given up rather quickly. It was clear he was exhausted and in pain. More guilt crept into Henry’s gut. He did his best to shrug it off. After this job, he could return to Jakku and pay off his debts. He would be free.
He sighed to himself as he followed the Boss into a bar.
Qui-Gon had always had the advantage of height. He was tall for a human, and he towered over many other species inside the bar. Unfortunately, his height in conjunction with his Jedi robes would make him sorely stick out in a place like this. He settled himself in a dark corner of the bar and took to observing the clientele inside.
It was a rough group. Small brawls broke out frequently all over the bar. Prostitutes flirted with drunk patrons and some people were passed out over tables and on the floor.
Qui-Gon paid these people no mind. He was only looking for one person in particular.
His eyes landed on a short, burly man whispering to a Twi-Lek woman. He shifted his gaze to the right and he saw a taller man – and on that man’s shoulders was a small bundle of brown robes with a shock of copper-blond hair.
Qui-Gon’s heart leapt into his throat. More than anything he wanted to charge at the two men and take his Padawan back. However, Qui-Gon didn’t want to cause a disturbance that would let Obi-Wan get hurt in the process.
He quietly made his way around the edge of the bar, never letting his eyes leave the boy so carelessly thrown over a strange man’s shoulders. Like a predator hunting his prey, he stalked through the bar.
The two men had their backs turned to Qui-Gon, but Obi-Wan was facing him. His young Padawan lifted his head and scanned his surroundings until his eyes landed on Qui-Gon. His eyes widened and his head shot up. Qui-Gon grit his teeth as he willed his Padawan to stay still and not alert his captors to the Jedi’s presence.
Unfortunately, Obi-Wan couldn’t currently hear Qui-Gon’s silent pleas and he wriggled against his captors. The sudden disturbance caused Obi-Wan to fall to the ground with a harsh thud. The two men turned in surprise, then their eyes landed on Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon immediately drew his lightsaber at the same time the two men drew their blasters. One was pointed at Qui-Gon, and the shorter of the two men had his blaster pointed at Obi-Wan’s head.
So much for not causing a disturbance.
The whole bar had come to a stop. The patrons all watched the standoff with curiosity. Brawls were common, but Jedi were not. They eyed the deadly weapon in Qui-Gon’s hands with a mix of fear and intrigue.
“Drop your weapons,” Qui-Gon commanded.
“Drop yours,” the shorter man commanded. He grabbed Obi-Wan by his hair and pulled his head back. The boy yelped and his eyes widened.
“Hand over your lightsaber or the kid dies.”
“If the kid dies, you won’t live even a second longer than him do you understand me?”
Qui-Gon could sense the fear rolling off of the two men, especially the taller of the two.
“Come on Boss, just hand the kid over. This whole thing was wrong and you know it,” Henry pleaded.
“I suggest you listen to your friend,” Qui-Gon stated evenly. He spared a glance at Obi-Wan, his eyes bright. He wished he could send him a wave of calm and reassurance through their bond.
Henry slowly lowered his weapon, but didn’t drop it. This left the other man, still pointing his gun at Obi-Wan.
“I’ll kill this kid right here right now if you don’t mind your business, Jedi.”
“He is my business,” Qui-Gon said icily. “If you hurt one more hair on the boy’s head you will soon be removed from yours.”
“Now that doesn’t sound like the Jedi way,” he taunted.
“I follow the will of the Force and the Force wants that boy alive.”
Qui-Gon had his attention focused so keenly on the man holding a gun to his Padawan’s head, he hadn’t noticed the subtle movements of the other man until he, in one quick flash, pulled his blaster and shot his partner in the neck. Without missing a beat, Qui-Gon Force pulled both weapons to him and destroyed them. He ran to his Padawan and knelt by his side. He looked to the man who had been holding a gun to Obi-Wan and quickly noted that he was no longer living.
Qui-Gon gave a surprised glance to Henry.
“I never wanted to hurt any kids,” he said quietly.
Qui-Gon could sense genuine guilt and regret coming from the man.
“I’m sorry that it still ended in violence.”
“I’m sorry, Master Jedi. I never meant to get involved in this.”
Qui-Gon hummed. “I’m much too busy taking care of my Padawan to deal with taking anyone into custody. I mean with all the chaos it would be very easy for a suspect to disappear, don’t you think?”
Henry immediately caught his meaning. He darted out of the bar and made a break for the Boss’s ship.
Qui-Gon huffed and returned his full attention to Obi-Wan.
“Master?” Obi-Wan said hoarsely. “Can you get this off of me? Please?”
“Of course Padawan.”
Qui-Gon hurriedly worked on the locking mechanism of the collar. It was tricky, but before long he had it open. Obi-Wan’s Force presence came rushing back to him in a flash. Before Obi-Wan had time to put his shields back up or reign in his emotions, Qui-Gon could feel the fear and panic swirling in his Padawan’s mind.
“It’s alright, Obi-Wan. I’ve got you now.”
Qui-Gon destroyed the collar with his lightsaber and then carefully cut the bonds around Obi-Wan’s wrists and ankles.
“Come on,” Qui-Gon said quietly as he scooped Obi-Wan into his arms. “I’m taking you home.”
“I can walk, Master,” Obi-Wan rasped pathetically.
“I know,” Qui-Gon said without offering further explanation.
Obi-Wan gave up and instead rested his head on Qui-Gon’s shoulder.
It didn’t take long for them to return to the ship. Qui-Gon’s instincts had been spot on in his search for his Padawan.
Qui-Gon carefully set Obi-Wan down in the co-pilot's chair and began looking him over. He noted the torn up skin around his wrists and ankles. What concerned him most was the bruising around his throat. Qui-Gon ran a very gentle finger along Obi-Wan’s neck but withdrew it quickly when the boy flinched.
“I’m sorry, Padawan.”
“It’s okay,” he whispered in reply.
“How is your head, Padawan? Bant said they hit you on the head.”
“Where is Bant?” Obi-Wan asked, perking up slightly.
“Bant is at the temple. She is safe. Now, answer my question.”
Obi-Wan looked down at his feet. “It hurts.”
“Are you dizzy? Nauseous?”
“A little.”
Qui-Gon tried to release his rage into the Force. He looked at Obi-Wan with surprise when the boy recoiled slightly away from him, shrinking even farther into himself.
“Padawan, what’s wrong? You’re safe now.”
“You’re angry with me,” Obi-Wan said in a small voice.
Qui-Gon was too shocked to reply, which only furthered Obi-Wan’s conviction that he was somehow at fault in this situation.
“I’m sorry, Master. I should have sensed them sooner. They came out of nowhere and…”
Qui-Gon watched in dismay as the boy got himself worked up, his breathing becoming more rapid and his blue eyes bright with unshed tears. I’ve already failed this one.
“Shh shhh Padawan, it’s alright. You’re safe now. I’m not angry with you. You did nothing wrong, do you understand me?”
Obi-Wan tried to calm his breathing, but he coughed painfully.
“Hold on, stay here alright. I’ll be right back.”
Obi-Wan’s eyes flashed with alarm.
“I’ll be right back, I promise,” Qui-Gon reassured.
Qui-Gon scrambled to the back of the ship and searched furiously until he found what he was looking for. He came back to Obi-Wan’s side and gently handed him a bottle of water.
“Drink this, Padawan. Slowly.”
Obi-Wan took grateful sips of the cool water.
“I’m going to put some bacta on your wrists and ankles, is that alright?”
Obi-Wan nodded.
Qui-Gon started with his ankles, rolling up the hem of his leggings and gently dabbing bacta on the raw skin. Obi-Wan then set down the water bottle and obediently stuck out his wrists. He only flinched a little bit as Qui-Gon dabbed the healing gel all over the wound.
“There, does that feel better?”
Obi-Wan nodded again.
“Obi-Wan, I need you to know that I’m not angry with you.”
The young Padawan looked at his feet, trying to hide the escaped tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Obi-Wan, I was terrified,” Qui-Gon continued. “I was terrified when I could no longer feel your presence in my mind. I thought… well it felt like you were dead.”
“I’m sorry, Master.”
“Please, for the love of the Force, stop apologizing, Obi-Wan.”
“Sorry,” Obi-Wan said sheepishly and Qui-Gon couldn’t help but let out an exasperated laugh.
“I am the one who should be apologizing to you, my young Padawan.”
Obi-Wan looked up with surprise.
“I’m supposed to protect you. This shouldn’t have happened at all. But more than that, I want to apologize for my behavior over the last few months.”
Obi-Wan’s eyes widened.
“You’ve done nothing but work hard and try to be a good Padawan to me and I’ve done nothing but make you feel unwanted. That’s one of the worst things a Master can do.”
Qui-Gon could sense burgeoning hope coming from Obi-Wan’s side of the bond. It felt light and pure and golden.
“It’s alright, Master. I understand.”
“You’re too good for me, Padawan,” Qui-Gon grinned. “Now, let’s go home so a real healer can look at you.”
“Do I have to see a real healer,” Obi-Wan said in an uncharacteristic whine.
“Yes, I’m afraid so, Padawan. I think your wrists and ankles are fine, but I want Master Che to look at your throat. I also think you might have a mild concussion.”
As if proving his point, Obi-Wan began coughing again. Qui-Gon looked at him with concern.
“Yeah, we’re seeing a real healer when we get home,” Qui-Gon reaffirmed. He entered the coordinates for Coruscant and guided the ship into hyperspace.
“Master Jinn, your Padawan will be just fine,” Vokara Che said, wrapping up her examination of Obi-Wan.
Qui-Gon let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Can I take him home?”
“Yes, just keep an eye on him. The bruising on his neck should go away in a few weeks and his throat is probably going to hurt for the next couple of days, but he’s young. He’ll bounce back quickly. As for his head, he did have a very mild concussion, but he should be okay within the next two days. Overall, I suggest he take it easy over the next two weeks or so.”
“Thank you, Master Che.” Qui-Gon put a large hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “Come, my young Padawan. Let’s go home.”
Obi-Wan got up from the examination table and followed Qui-Gon down the long corridors of the temple. As they neared their quarters, an excited, high pitch voice called out to them.
“Obi!”
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon turned to see Bant running down the hall towards them. She ran up to Obi-Wan and enveloped him in a big hug. He stiffened at first, but then grinned and hugged her back.
“Hello, Bant!”
She pulled back and looked at him with concern.
“Your voice… Obi-Wan, what happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Bant. Are you okay?” he replied, gently grabbing her wrists in his hands. He examined the bandages around her wrists and his eyebrows knitted together in quiet fury.
“I’m okay, they didn’t really hurt me. I was more worried about you.”
“It’s alright, my Master found me,” he said, a grin returning to his face.
As if she just now noticed Qui-Gon’s presence, she turned to him and said, “Oh, hello Master Jinn. Thank you for bringing him home.”
“I promised didn’t I?” Qui-Gon replied, amusement quirking his lips into a smile. He looked back down at his Padawan and could see he was growing tired. “Bant, we need to get back to our quarters, but why don’t you and Master Tahl join us for tea tomorrow evening?”
Bant’s eyes lit up. “That sounds wonderful! I’ll go tell my Master!” she exclaimed in her all too polite manner. No wonder she and Obi-Wan were such good friends. “Bye Master Jinn, bye Obi!”
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan waved goodbye to the young Mon Calamari girl.
Qui-Gon sighed with relief as they finally entered their shared quarters.
“Get some sleep, Padawan,” Qui-Gon said, guiding him to his room. Obi-Wan didn’t protest, opting instead to crawl into his bed and fall asleep instantly.
Qui-Gon looked down at his Padawan and smiled.
Maybe I haven’t failed this one yet.