Work Text:
Gentle Lessons
by Queen of Randomness
bookfun@hotmail.com or booknfun@yahoo.com
Obi-wan watched as the Denalis walked out of the jungle. "Master, they're here." Two of the large cats immediately altered their course to come to him.
"We are medics can we see your hands for a moment?" Obi-Wan gave the lead medic his two casts and watched as they ran a scanner over them and held still as a full body scan was done. "We will have to wait until we get to a hospital to treat your injuries. Are you in pain? Do you wish a pain killer?" The orange tabby asked.
"No thank you anyway. Master Qui Gon is almost done packing. We can leave as soon as he is finished." He had not been allowed to help at the very least he could carry one of the survival packs but his Master had given an emphatic 'No' to the idea. Soon after Qui Gon strolled out of the cave with the two survival packs. A large grey tabby cat took the pack adjusted the straps and slipped it over his own pack.
Qui Gon made a beeline to his student. "Time to go Padawan. We still have a vacation to do." A small smile appeared on his Master's face.
"Yes Master." How long was this vacation anyway? Obi-Wan wondered.
8 days later...
Obi-Wan woke up and stretched out as best he could in the hospital bed. Looking at his hands they were completely and seamlessly healed by the constant presense of the Bacta. An older human walked in, "Good Morning Padawan Kenobi feeling well I hope."
"Yes sir. Do you know when I could leave?" The thought of a long stay in a hospital still made Obi-Wan uneasy. Some lessons were harder to unlearn than others. According to his Master he had a lot to unlearn still.
"As soon as you can get dressed. Your Master is waiting for you in the lobby. Have a better vacation than what you've seen so far." The doctor smiled as he returned to his rounds.
Obi-Wan dressed quickly eager to be rid of the hospital. Qui Gon as promised was waiting in the lobby. To an observer they looked like a middle class father and son. Qui Gon was wearing simple slacks made out of a loose black airy material and a white button down shirt and a colorful patched vest. Obi-Wan was wearing denim jeans (yes denim exists mostly because I said so) and a loose cotton T shirt. How these items got into Obi-Wan's wardrobe was unknown seeing as how he only had two jedi uniforms and two pairs of black boots. He suspected a certain slightly sneaky Jedi Master.
"Are you ready Obi-Wan?" QUi Gon asked as he rose from the chair he'd been lounging in.
"Yes Mast...Qui Gon." No Master and Padawan while on vacation. His heart thudded in his chest. Obi-Wan had this horrible fear that suddenly Master Jinn would wish the perfect padawan and go about it like Master Hethin had.
"Our hotel is awaiting and then perhaps a soothing trip to the beach." Qui Gon had felt the sudden surge of fear from his padawan through their bond but that fear was best addressed at the hotel not in the middle of a hospital lobby. Never having experienced a bond before Obi-Wan could not shield his emotions from the bond. It was sometimes the only way Qui Gon knew what was going on in his apprentice's head.
The ride to the hotel uneventful. There would be plenty of time to see the sites later but the Council was expecting their transmission of safe arrival at the hotel. They were escorted to their room and left in peace. Obi-Wan began to unpack as Qui Gon signaled readiness to the Jedi Council from the quiet booth. Inside one of the quiet booths a person could talk without fear of background noise of the outside world. The outside world could not hear the conversation either.
The council finally appeared on the screen. "You can never do things easy can you Qui Gon?" came from Windu.
"You know me better than that Mace. I do have news to report though. I finally got my padawan to bond. The next thing I get to tackle is tio strengthen the bond and maybe teach him to shield from it." Qui Gon gave a small smile usually shielding came second not third. Yoda simply nodded his approval.
"Trust he must first." Yoda pointed to Jinn with his finger.
"Yes Master Yoda. My padawan is still keeping his secrets though. There is a very large area of darkness staining his mind. That will be the real foe. Learning to Trust will merely a warm up."
"Darkness in mind not a good thing. Think it has reasons to be present hmmm? Not whole story we have. Whole story we must but not at expense of padawan. Dark cloud present in all Hethin's trainees they know not what it signifies.Starting to probe the mystery are the healers but making no progress towards answers." Yoda ended his tirade with a nibble on his stick.
"Good luck Master Qui Gon you're going to need it." Windu remarked.
"May the Force be with you." and signing off. Damn what the hell did Hethin do to them? Qui Gon wondered. Time to go to the beach. "Time to go Obi-Wan. get into your swimsuit and grab your towel."
"Yes Mast...Qui Gon." he quickly went into his own rooms and changed into his swim trunks and a cover shirt. He grabbed the towel that had also mysteriously appeared in his suitcase along with the rest of the cloths.
They went down the lift and out a different set of doors. Their hotel was located on the boardwalk so in a matter of about five minutes they were on the white sand beache. Copying his Master Obi Wan spread out his towel and laid down. In a matter of minutes the warm sun had out him to sleep. Time passed broken by turning over and the occasional spray of sunscreen. A ball came to land on Obi-Wan's back. A group of young people had been playing beachball and lost control of the ball. "Come join us." One of the girls smiled. He was cute. His dad was pretty cute too.
"Go and join them if you wish Obi-Wan." He watched as about ten years disappeared off his padawan's face and he tossed the ball and joined the game. Eventually the game broke up and to get rid of the sweat Obi-Wan went for a dip into the ocean. It was close to three hours before he returned to his towel. "Did you have fun Obi-Wan?"
"Litza cheated...yeah I had fun." Litza was the girl that had invited him over to play. She flirted shamelessly with him. He was starting to understand why Qui Gon had brought him here. He had to learn to relax and make friends. Relaxing soemthing he never could do with Hethin. It had been a sign of weakness and weakness was seen as imperfection. Bant had started her life lessons with her master. Life lessons were teaching soon to be knights how to find a mate, what to with that mate, and how to relate to your mate's friends and family. He should have begun those lessons already but he knew that his training was beginning over it might be several years before he got to the life lessons.
"Its time for lunch shall we walk along the boardwalk and see what we find?"
After a satisfing lunch Obi-Wan broached the topic of his training, "Master, when will you begin training me?"
Qui Gon looks off in the distance for a moment and then looks directly into his padawan's eyes, "When the time is right. Hethin did much damage to your psyche with his 'training' and before we move forward we must erase that damage. You were already far ahead of your yearmates in both physical and academic development but your skills in the mental arts are behind and the abuse you suffered delayed other aspects of your devlopment. You must learn to trust me." The more Obi-Wan asked the longer they would be on 'vacation' but he didn't know that. Hethin made him so jumpy and looking for danger that Obi-Wan never lived in the present. He had lived in the past remembering Hetin's abuse or in the future trying to become the perfect padawan.
Unsatisfied Obi-Wan lapsed into silence. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking on the boardwalk and visiting the local vendors. Obi-Wan remained close to his master and ready to follow any order given but none ever came. The way his padawan stayed close gave Qui Gon an idea for the next day.
The Next Day dawns...
Qui Gon did not rise until late in the morning. His hair was uncharacteristically mussed and he looked a tad pale. Holding a hand to forestall the inevidible questions from his padawan, "Why don't you go out alone today padawan. I'm feeling a tad under the weather." Reaching into his pocket Qui Gon produced a lot of local currency. He then gave all of it to his padawan. "Go and spend some money. The casinos might be in or der or possibly the mall. I simply wish to sleep." He then gently manhandled Obi-Wan towards the door. "We can go out to dinner say around 8ish. I'll meet you at the fountain in the hotel fountain." He then gently pushed his padawan out the door and locked it. Obi-Wan did not have a key. A quick call to the management would make sure that he would not get back into the room anytime soon.
Now what?' Obi-Wan wondered. He had been unceremoniously rushed out of the hotel room. He made his way to the lobby should his master need him he would be able to resond quickly. Nearby the hotel manager was talking to his son both with twinkling eyes. The son looked like a miniature version of his father. Both had bright blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a sleek build. With a very mischievous
look in his eye.
"Hey you're the Padawan thats been staying here right?" He used his mellowest tone. He nearly laughed aloud at the look of surprise that flitted across his victim's face. That's right you are NOT as invisible as you have been projecting yourself to be.
"Yes, my name is Obi-Wan is there something I can assist you with?"
Please make this quick..Obi-Wan noticed with dread hotel patrons now noticing him for the first time.
"Yup. You see my father needs me to do some errands but doesn't trust me to be quick about it. If I can get the errands done I can have the flycycle tonight but he never believes me when I say how long it takes. I want you to accompany me and see how long it takes so my dad can see I'm not slacking off. Jedi's don't lie so if you told him that I do my best to get the errands done quickly he'll lay off for a while. So you'll come?" not waiting for a response, "Great come on we got lots to do. Bye dad see you in a couple of hours." He grabbed tha hapless and still stunned padawan out of the lobby and into a waiting aircar. With a grin he put the car into gear and sped out of the parking lot at double the speed limit. He watched as the jedi nervously gripped the arm rests of his seat. "My name is Mike. Got I hate my father sometimes he's like way to old to remember what its like being a teen."
end part 1