Qui-Gon leaned against the wall across from the doorway to the classroom, his arms crossed over his chest. It was the first day Slade had been back in classes and he was waiting to pick both the boys up from their afternoon class. He hoped everything had gone well. He'd not sensed anything from Obi-Wan, but it was difficult to know just how perceptive the boy was in regards to his friend's emotional state. Obi-Wan was a very sensitive child, but some things did slip by him on occasion.

A moment later, the door to the class slid open and a small crowd of children, all at least two years older than his Padawan, emerged. A few of them cast curious or surprised looks in his direction, but most walked on without comment. When Obi-Wan and Slade didn't follow the rest of the students from the room, Qui-Gon frowned and pushed himself away from the wall and entered the classroom.

"So you see, if you attach this here," Alenor bent over a table in the back of the room where the two boys sat side by side in rapt silence, "Then it will perform its intended function. You've done an admirable job making this project, but it's far more complicated than it has to be." Qui-Gon waited near the door, unwilling to break into the conversation, and interested to see what the boys' response would be.

A line creased the middle of Obi-Wan's forehead, a sign of deep concentration. "But no, there's a reason for the extra part. If you do this," he said, his small hands moving over the parts quickly and with more precision than most gave him credit for, "You can bypass that whole system."

"That's why it works so well, you don't need everything to run the system." Slade nodded, his eyes fixed on the equipment before them.

Alenor was silent a moment before he leaned closer to the boys' project. "That's incredible. Are you certain it works? You'd have to connect the--"

"Yes, Teacher Alenor, we checked. See?" Slade grinned at Obi-Wan as he pointed out an aspect of their work.

"Well then, I guess you've proved me wrong. This is quite an accomplishment. I'll change your marks immediately." Alenor stepped back and finally spotted Qui-Gon. "This is quite a pair you have here. I don't think I've worked with students quite this ambitious in years."

Qui-Gon smiled at the two and nodded his approval. “Well done. If only some of them could be quite so diligent in their other work, perhaps in say, cleanliness?" He ruffled Obi-Wan's hair as the boy came to stand at his side and noted it was time for a trim.

Obi-Wan gave an exaggerated sigh. "Master."

"He's right, you know." Slade said softly as the group made their way out of the class and down the broad hallway. "You are kind of messy."

***

Qui-Gon sipped at his tea slowly, letting the hot liquid linger in his mouth for a moment, hoping it would calm him. He was on edge, almost irritated, but couldn't seem to find what was bothering him, which made it difficult to release his feelings to the Force. He knew why he should be upset, there were more than enough reasons for him to have some residual anxiety, but he couldn't relax. Even the tea wasn't helping.

With a stifled sigh, Qui-Gon leaned back and listened to the sounds of the finally quiet apartment. He hadn't been the only one having trouble settling in for the evening. It had taken him far longer than usual to get Obi-Wan and Slade to bed, even when taking into account that the two boys wanted to talk to each other. He'd heard them whispering from Obi-Wan's room for nearly an hour before he tuned out the sound and tried to get through some of his backed-up mail.

Even though the three of them had settled into a pattern over the last several days since Slade had come to stay, it was still not entirely comfortable. Slade was not the same boy he remembered, and the master-less state he was in didn’t help matters in the least. The boy’s overzealous desire to please had resulted in the loss of some of the sarcastic, open replies that had initially drawn Qui-Gon into liking him. He wanted Slade to feel comfortable enough again to say the things he was thinking, not to monitor himself.

He hurt on the boy's behalf, and he ached to know Slade felt so displaced and was largely blaming himself. And the young padawan more than likely would for a long time, no matter what anyone said. Slade would have to learn the lesson for himself, and as much as Qui-Gon simply wanted to give him the answer, it wouldn't be that easy.

Rubbing his tight forehead, Qui-Gon blew out a breath when he came to the end of his messages and found nothing from any of his off-world friends. He'd not heard from Bel-San in far too long; he was of half a mind to call the other Jedi now, even though he knew it was the middle of the night where he was. Despite the fact that there was nothing Bel-San would be able to do from where he was, just talking to him would help to settle Qui-Gon's mind. It always had.

And then there was Payter, who he'd not heard from either. No messages, no rumors of his movements. Nothing.

He'd been very disturbed by the words Payter had left him with when the other Jedi had taken off from the Temple to track down some leads. His friend didn't confide in him very often about the work he did, and for him to do so now left Qui-Gon very unsettled. In an effort to carry out the work Payter had left for him, Qui-Gon had been checking on some of his contacts, probing with great delicacy into some of the other abductions that had taken place over the past five years. He thought that number would be small enough to start with, and secretly he hoped that whatever it was that was going on wouldn't have any connections to the past further back than five years. The thought it had been going on for even that long was troubling enough.

And he'd still had not heard from Payter. Qui-Gon didn't really expect to hear from him, not unless it was urgent. Some of the people the other Jedi dealt with and the situations Payter got himself into needed a particular type of handling, and it generally wasn't a good idea to be contacting the Temple when those around you don't know you're a Jedi.

That didn't mean he didn't wish Payter could at least send a message.

***

"Are you awake?" Obi-Wan whispered in the dark room. He didn't think Slade was asleep and even if he was, he was sure the other boy wouldn't mind. He couldn't sleep and he wanted someone to talk to.

"Yeah. I can't sleep." Obi-Wan could hear rustling overhead and the frame of the shifted. Slade's head peaked down over the edge and Obi-Wan could see his bright purple eyes reflected in the dim light of the fish lamp. "The light's keeping me up."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest, tugging at his blankets. "I can't sleep without it. It's too dark."

Slade didn't say anything, though he shifted again and Obi-Wan could see the dark shapes of his long arms hanging over the edge of the bed, swinging in the air. "So, do you think your master will get mad at us for not being asleep?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. They were being quiet. "I don't think so." Slade had spent a lot of time over the past week worrying about what his Master would think and if he would be mad. Obi-Wan didn't think he needed to worry about it so much. His Master was usually very understanding. "Don't worry. Sometimes it's hard to sleep. He told me that himself."

"We've been in here for hours." Slade rolled away from the edge. "I'm bored and not tired at all."

"Me neither. Let's get up." He threw off his blankets and stood, happy that for once he was able to leave the warm nest of his bed without jumping out into the immediate shock of a cold room. Obi-Wan moved over to the head of the bed and climbed the short ladder so he could look up into Slade's bunk. "Come on."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Obi-Wan. We might get in trouble." Slade said he didn't want to get up, but Obi-Wan knew better. Ever since the thing had happened with Slade's old master and then he'd been taken, Slade was really afraid of doing anything wrong.

"Don't worry. My Master won't be mad. He told me I should come get him if I can't sleep. He said the same for you too." Obi-Wan reached over the low bar and pulled on Slade's arm.

***

The unsubtle shuffling of feet caught his attention and Qui-Gon turned to watch Obi-Wan and Slade come out hesitantly into the common room.

"Master? We can't sleep."

Qui-Gon set down his cup gently on the nearest flat surface and examined the boys. Neither one of them were the least bit tired and Qui-Gon knew they were both still having nightmares, and probably would be for a long time. He stood and walked over to the pair, directing them back to Obi-Wan's bedroom. "Get your boots. We're going out."

"Now? Shouldn't we get dressed?" Slade looked back at him in confusion, though Obi-Wan didn't seem particularly disturbed by the whole notion.

His Padawan had an odd sense of what was and wasn't important in life and Qui-Gon had no doubt he would grow up to face off against the Council in much the same way as Qui-Gon had himself. There were times, particularly recently, when he felt torn between allowing Obi-Wan to keep that sense of self, and directing him to be more of a team player. It would certainly make his life easier than Qui-Gon's, but perhaps not as true.

"No. It won't matter where I'm taking you. Don't worry," he added quickly, noting Slade's wary expression. "We aren't leaving the Temple, we're just going to a little place that I think you might enjoy."

Obi-Wan activated the light to the room and began searching for his boots. "Where?"

"Ssbob's."

"What's that?" Obi-Wan sat on the floor and began pulling on his boots. Again, curiosity from the boy rather than concern.

Slade paused as he retrieved his boots from the same spot he'd kept them in since the first day he'd come to stay with them. "Are you sure we're allowed to go in there? I thought only older padawans and knights could go in."

"As long as you're with me, it won't be a problem." At least he didn't think so. It wasn't like he was taking them to a bar in some lower level of Coruscant. It was just Ssbob's. And if someone did have an issue, well, he was certain they would simply ascribe it to Qui-Gon just being his maverick self.

Obi-Wan jumped to his feet and headed to the door, obviously excited to be leaving the apartment at such a late hour. His friend, on the other hand, looked at Qui-Gon, a single, hairless eyebrow raised, skepticism radiating off of his small form.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Don't worry. If anyone gets in trouble it will be me, and I don't think that will happen. We're something of a special case, lately." He held out a hand to Slade, who accepted it slowly, though most of the distrust had gone out of him.

Obi-Wan bounced slightly in place where he stood by the door. "Come on." He reached out and took Qui-Gon's other hand, holding it tightly as they entered the hallway and headed for the lift. His Padawan wasn't quite at the point where he was ready to pull Qui-Gon away from Slade, but he didn't imagine it would be long before Obi-Wan reached his six-year-old limit of sharing.

The late hour meant that few Jedi were walking the halls of the Temple, though they did pass a few on their way to the establishment. The state of the padawans and their apparent destination raised more than a few eyebrows, but Qui-Gon shrugged them off with good grace and a self-depreciating smile. At this point, the boys deserved a break-- practically anything that would help them get through the night--and Qui-Gon wasn't going to be stopped by some disapproving looks.

A lull fell over the conversation in Ssbob's as they entered; the half-full establishment turned almost as one to watch their progress across the room. Qui-Gon settled himself at his customary table, put Obi-Wan in Bel-San's seat and Slade took Payter's. He nodded to the room curtly before turning his attention back to his charges.

"I'm not going to get you anything to eat at this hour, I draw the line at that, but how do you feel about hot chocolate?" Obi-Wan nodded eagerly, his short legs swinging in his seat.

Slade cast another skeptical look in his direction. "Hot what?"

Qui-Gon gave a mock sigh and shook his head. "I weep for the things they teach in the Creche these days. Obi-Wan didn't know what it was either. I'll get you some; I think you'll like it, but if you don't we can come up with something else." He stood and took a breath, wondering if he would be able to get away with his next move. "All right guys, I'm going to go tell Ssbob what we want. I'll be right over there, you'll be able to see me the whole time and there is no one in this room who is going to do anything. Do you think you can handle that?" He watched the expressions on the boy's faces, his breath held in his chest.

"Um, Master, I don't know if um, that's so good." Small blue eyes shifted significantly to Slade and Qui-Gon was touched by his Padawan’s concern for his friend, even if he was attempting to cover his own fear by misdirecting Qui-Gon's attention to Slade.

Qui-Gon turned to the older boy, giving him a serious and concerned look. "What do you think Slade?"

"Uh, so I guess it would be okay. I think. I mean, we'll be able to see you the whole time. Right?"

With a nod, Qui-Gon pretended not to see the boy's hands gripping the arms of the chair tightly. "All right. I'll be right back. Just call if you need me." It was a small step, but an important one. He knew he was pushing them, but he was certain it wasn't further than they could handle. If they didn't start working on their fear soon, they would only get worse.

As he stepped up to the bar, Qui-Gon kept half of his attention trained on his bond with Obi-Wan, even though his back was turned. He nodded to Ssbob, who smiled at him and glanced over Qui-Gon's shoulder.

"You're freindss sseem ssmaller than I remember," he said with a tilt of his head in the padawans' direction.

"You know how it goes, Bel-San was always a kid at heart." He shrugged. "Can I get three hot chocolates?"

As Ssbob nodded and pulled three mugs from behind the bar, Qui-Gon turned back to the boys, who visibly relaxed at his attention. He gave them an encouraging smile and nod before turning his attention back to the barkeep and accepting the three mugs.

"Thanks," he said softly as he balanced the three steaming mugs of the dark, rich liquid. He moved through the tables back to his own, noting happily that the conversation in Ssbob's had picked up again. "Here we go. How was that?" He placed the mugs before the boys and settled his own on the table, standing a moment longer to reassure both boys with a touch on their shoulders.

"Okay." Slade leaned forward and sniffed at the hot liquid before him, his lips quirking at the smell. His long, agile tongue shot out, its forked end flicking into the hot chocolate before pulling back. "It's good." He looked up at Qui-Gon with a surprised smile and lifted the mug to his mouth.

"Of course."

"If you looked any more smug, I don't think they would be able to technically call you a Jedi." Qui-Gon looked up in surprise as Heri slid into the seat across from him, her hands wrapped around her own mug and a smile on her face. "Of course you may already be disqualified for bringing children in here at such an hour."

"Master Heri!" Obi-Wan jumped out of his seat, sloshing a small amount of his drink onto the table in his haste.

Heri accepted his hug with genuine joy as she ran her hand through his short hair. "You've grown so much since I saw you last." The boy beamed at her and she shared a quick glance with Qui-Gon.

"Do you know Slade?" Qui-Gon asked as Obi-Wan returned to his seat.

"We've met. I've had some contact with most of the children in the Creche at one time or another. How are you?" Heri turned her attention on the boy and it was as if the rest of the establishment had disappeared. Even with Obi-Wan tugging at her sleeve and the various conversations going on around them, Qui-Gon had the distinct impression that her sole focus was Slade. He supposed it came from years of working with a number of children at the same time.

Slade swallowed, his eyes meeting Heri's only briefly. "I'm all right."

She smiled at him gently and rested a hand on his for a moment. "I'm sure you will be." Heri drew her gaze away from the boy and turned it to Qui-Gon. "So should I ask what brings you here at this hour with a pair of padawans? Or should I just let it go?"

"They couldn't sleep and we were all a little restless. I thought it might be a nice change."

"Only you, Qui-Gon."

***

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Qui-Gon whispered to Heri as she lifted Slade into her arms, the sleepy boy wrapping his arms around her instinctively.

She shook her head and smiled down at Slade, a gentle expression on her face. "Not at all. I've carried more than my share of children over the years. Some of them older than Slade. He's a sweet boy, I don't mind at all."

Qui-Gon tucked Obi-Wan against his shoulder, his Padawan’s small head resting in its customary place against his neck. The two Jedi left Ssbob's and Qui-Gon nodded to the man himself on their way out, pleased to note that most conversation hushed as they passed.

"So how are you doing, dealing with both of them?" Heri asked quietly as they moved through the empty halls.

Drawing a deep breath, he considered the boys, so peaceful in their sleep. It was about the only time they were peaceful. "I don't know how you do it with four at a time. And they've both been trying so hard to be good, I know it has to be different for you."

Heri adjusted Slade slightly. "It's not always easy, but it is worth it. Look at these two and think what amazing people they're going to grow up to be." She smiled. "I've liked being part of that."

Qui-Gon nodded, unable to argue, even if he wanted to. They would be amazing someday. But right now, he needed to get them home and in bed; it was late for adults, let alone children. He remembered in his day, padawans this age had to sneak out of their apartments or the Creche if they wanted to wander the halls at night.

Raising a generation of rebels indeed.