Archive: Yes
Archive Date: May 28, 2001
Author's Webpage: http://diana.slashcity.com
Feedback: Always welcome, good or bad. I get some of my best ideas
from my readers.
Pairing: Series pairing - Q/O; this story is pre-slash
Rating: G
Series: Children of the Temple #3
Summary: The Nursery staff learns that size matters not when it comes to stubborness
Master Yoda, the oldest and most revered of the Jedi masters, walked slowly through the Initiate's wing in the Temple on Coruscant. He paused to watch the classes at work, enjoying the ripples in the Force from so many eager minds and bodies at work. The eight-to-ten year-olds were absorbed in the intricacies of language - Wookiee, to judge by the growls and yips coming from the classroom. The five-to-sevens were releasing some of their excess energy by racing around the Initiates' yard, squealing as they tried to avoid the tag-bot by ducking, dodging, or nudging it away with the Force.
In the common room, the threes and fours were lying on their mats on the floor, going through meditation exercises with their teachers, although it appeared that one or two of them had fallen asleep. He chuckled softly at that and used a slight touch of the Force to ease them from sleeping into a meditating state. Master Arlina opened her eyes briefly to nod and smile at him before returning to her meditative watchfulness.
Yoda shuffled over to the doorway leading to the sleeping area and the nurseries, quietly closing the door behind him. The rooms were quiet and empty, although there was a lingering feeling of tranquility from the most recent watcher - Yoda smiled as he recognized the Force signature of his former padawan. He had heard that Qui-Gon and his padawan had arrived home the previous day after their most recent mission but his own busy schedule had not allowed him to stop in to visit with the knight. He would have to amend that when he finished his visit here.
He chuckled in amusement at the thought that Qui-Gon had barely gotten home before he was down visiting with the Initiates. He remembered a time when the knight had been a gangly youth, protesting loudly each time Yoda dragged him down to the Initiates' wing. And now he was no doubt dragging his own protesting padawan with him to continue those visits. It was amusing how circular the Universe was.
A soft sound caught his attention, and he glanced down the hallway to find that he was not alone as he had thought. One of the babies was crawling down the hallway toward him, determination clear in the bright Force pattern that danced around him. A moment later, one of the nursery workers burst into the Hallway in a decidedly non-serene manner and gave a sigh of exasperation.
"Obi-Wan, no!" she said sternly. The baby ignored her, continuing onward in his crawl. He paused as he reached Yoda, looking up at him with bright curiosity. Yoda chuckled and crouched down to meet the bright blue-green eyes.
"Somewhere you are going, young one?" he asked. The child blinked at him and sat back on his bottom. He looked around him, his face puckering with a frown, as if searching for something or someone that wasn't there.
Knight-Healer Trellis caught up with the infant, scooping him into her arms. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked in affectionate exasperation. The infant fussed in her arms, wiggling impatiently, and she shushed him with the ease of long practice. Obi-Wan subsided with obvious reluctance, whimpering slightly as they turned back towards the nursery.
Yoda paced alongside Trellis, looking up at the infant in her arms curiously. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, is he not? Knight Meduri's find, yes?"
"Yes, Master Yoda."
"Strong in the Force he is. Determined."
Trellis snorted. "Stubborn's more like it. That's the third time today that he's done that."
Yoda tilted his head. "Done this before he has?"
Trellis shook her head. "No, today's the first time. He's usually a sweet, well-behaved baby. Well, he was a little fussy yesterday, but I think he's cutting a new tooth. But today - anytime we turn our back on him, he's out the door on his way to - wherever."
"Let him go have you tried? See where he's going?"
She nodded. "The second time he got away, I did that. He crawled down to the Initiates' dorms and sat there for a moment, then started crying. Took me half an hour to get him settled down for a nap, and then he took off again."
"Hmm. Curious it is." Yoda studied Obi-Wan again but there didn't seem to be anything unusual about the seven-month-old. He laid one clawed hand on the child's head, closed his eyes, and reached out to sense the child's future.
Knight Trellis stared in open-mouthed bewilderment as the venerable Jedi master began to chuckle, softly at first and then with increasing merriment until he was shaking with laughter. Everyone in the nursery stopped what they were doing and turned to stare, stunned.
Yoda finally stopped laughing and opened his eyes, then smiled into bright blue-green eyes. "Glad to meet you I am, young Kenobi. Good friends we will be. Good for him you will be." The infant blinked once and babbled at him, and Yoda chuckled again.
"Master Yoda?" Trellis asked, puzzled by the elderly Jedi's actions. But then again, Yoda was always something of an enigma.
"Worry about him there is no need," Yoda said firmly. "Fine he will be."
Trellis shrugged and set Obi-Wan down on the floor, well away from the tempting doorway. She set an energy globe on the floor in front of him, hoping to distract him from his new favorite pastime, and he batted at the ball, laughing when it changed colors at his touch. Breathing a sigh of relief and hoping that the child would stay occupied for a little while, she turned back to introduce Yoda to the newest additions to the nursery.
Obi-Wan batted at the brightly flashing globe for a few minutes longer, chortling at the odd noises and flashes of color. But it wasn't enough to distract him from the siren song from nearby, filling his mind with the sense of someone big and warm. He pushed the globe away, shifting onto his hands and knees, and determinedly crawled out the door...