Patience
By Rogue

Spoilers: I don't think so. There's none for TPM, but maybe some for Anne Higgins' "Bonding Through the Years". I'll leave it up to you, the rational, intelligent reader, to figure it out. You can expect zilch outta me in that department. (grins)

Rating: Yugga. Umm . . . G, I think. It's a kind of paternal-type thing between a young man and a toddler.

Archive: Master & Apprentice, yes; anywhere else, sure, no problem. Leave the name attached.

Summary: This is where all that Jedi patience training Qui-Gon ever learned comes in real handy. Forget the Dark Side - What about an adamant three-year-old?

Disclaimer: "George! George! He's our man! If he can't do it - that means the SW fandom gets first dibs on the hotties! Qui-Gon! Obi-Wan! Here, boys! (whistles)" (sighs) Okay, okay. Sorry for letting my control slip and subjecting you to that short-term neuron fantasy - ahhhhhummm, failure. Here's the correct version: George Lucas owns 'em, I don't, I only borrowed them when the ol' meany (don't you make like you don't know what I'm talking about, Mr. I-had-to-kill-off-Qui-Gon-to-keep-the-continuity-going Lucas!) wasn't looking. I'm making no money off of this.

Author's note: I fall down on my knees and bow down willingly to give homage to Anne Higgins for allowing this take on the scene from her "Bonding Through the Years" fic in which Obi-Wan cons Qui-Gon into letting him stay the night while he's a toddler. But, I have to admit it, I've been ranting for a while now: "She had to leave a scene like that hanging right where my half-baked gray clay decided to take over and drive me bug-nuts! Did it on purpose, I just know it! Probe droids ain't got nuthin' on that woman, no way!" Ag, well. On with the show.

Feedback: Someone once told me that I write children really well (you know who you are, lady!), so I guess that remains to be seen. What's your verdict? SilvarBelle@msn.com

Patience
by Rogue



Qui-Gon sighed and stood where he was for the moment, which happened to be in front of the door to his apartment in the Jedi Academy.

His imp, three-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi, had somehow conned his way into Qui-Gon's rooms to sleep in his bed that evening.

Making his way toward the bedroom, Qui-Gon thought to himself, 'If I didn't know better, considering that Obi-Wan is only a toddler, I'd almost swear the imp mind whammied me. It's the only rational explanation for why I'm allowing this tonight. "Master" Jinn, my lightsaber; I can't out-argue a three-year-old!'

He paused long enough to pull on a pair of sleep pants to cover his otherwise naked form, then made his way toward the bed in the darkened room. "Move over, my imp," he commanded the small boy.

A giggle sounded in the dark and he heard a rustling noise as Obi-Wan shifted beneath the sheet and blanket. "Yes, Quigee."

"Imp," he muttered, climbing tiredly into the bed to settle down on the comfortable mattress. He closed his eyes, assuming that after so much excitement in a small child's day that the child would be as sleepy as he was.

"Quigee!" Obi-Wan shouted happily as he landed heavily on Qui-Gon's stomach.

"Whourln!" the young Jedi Master grunted, half-sitting up in reaction to sharp little knees and elbows digging into his sensitive sides.

Obi-Wan laughed down at his bondmate in the dark, pleased that he had surprised his Quigee so thoroughly.

"Obi-Wan."

"Yes, Quigee?"

"It is time to go to sleep, my imp."

"Why?"

"Because you are a small boy who has had an exciting day, and you need your rest."

"Why?"

Qui-Gon grit his teeth slightly as he recognized the beginning of a round of "Twenty (thousand) Questions". "Because all people need to rest."

"Why?"

"Because it's the natural order of things."

"Why?"

"Obi-Wan?"

"Yes, Quigee?"

"If I tell you that I would like to get some sleep because I need it because it's the natural order of things, would you let me get some sleep?" Qui-Gon asked quietly.

Obi-Wan thought for a long moment, then said, "I'm no tired! I'm with Quigee!"

"You didn't answer my question, imp. And my name is Qui-Gon."

The little boy simply giggled at him.

Qui-Gon sighed, then grabbed hold of Obi-Wan gently and settled him so that his head rested on the pillow beside Qui-Gon's. Turning, Qui-Gon draped the blanket and top sheet over the little boy, then snuggled him close, gently rubbing his back. Maybe if he held the boy, soothed him with warmth and gentleness, it'd tranquilize him enough so that a very tired Jedi Master could finally get some -

"Quigee tell me story?"

The young man squinched his eyes shut tightly, took a deep, steadying breath - and said a seriously bad word.

Several, in fact.

Obi-Wan waited with an unnatural patience for a three-year-old to possess.

Finally, Qui-Gon opened his eyes to glare down at his bondmate in the dark. "Obi-Wan, if you ever, ever repeat any of those bad words I just said, I'm going to be very cranky. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Quigee."

"Right. What is it you're not supposed to do?"

"Not say bad words, ever."

"Good, my imp, very good. Now, go to sleep."

"No tell me story?" The little voice sounded plainly unhappy and disappointed. There was also the hint of tears in the tone, as well as the emotions Qui-Gon could sense spilling across their bond.

He sighed, smiling ruefully as he briefly wondered how he'd gotten himself into this, then snuggled the little boy closer. After a moment, he said, "Okay, once there was this beautiful princess who lived in a castle in the sky. She -"

"Want good story," Obi-Wan said firmly.

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly in the dark. "How do you know it's not good?"

"No frogs or snakes, jus' some girl."

"You don't know that. You haven't heard the entire story yet," Qui-Gon said patiently.

Obi-Wan considered this for a moment, then sighed in a surprisingly adult manner and said, "'Kay. Tell story."

Qui-Gon grinned to himself. 'I finally win a point over the little imp!' Keeping his voice to low, even tones, he continued. "Very well, then. This princess lived in a castle in the sky. She was a very happy little girl, except she had no one to play with -"

"Nobody?" Obi-Wan asked, amazed. He couldn't imagine not having anyone with him.

"Nope, nobody," Qui-Gon replied.

"No brother? No Mommy, no Daddy?"

"No, no brother, Mommy, or Daddy."

"No Quigee?"

Qui-Gon hugged the little boy tighter. "No, she didn't have a Quigee. But you have me, my imp."

Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around Qui-Gon's neck and simply hung on, waiting for the rest of the story.

"Anyway, she didn't have anyone to play with, but she had lots of toys. Her favorite toy was this shiny little . . ." Qui-Gon searched for a word to describe the weird-shaped toy he was picturing in his head.

Obi-Wan saw it in his mind along their bond, and giggled. "Squitch?" he offered.

Qui-Gon smiled. "Yes, a squitch. Thank you, my imp."

"Welcome, Quigee."

"So, her favorite toy was a shiny little squitch. One day, the princess was playing with it out in the garden when this big snake slithered up behind her and -"

"An' he chomped her!" Obi-Wan cried with a mix of childish fear and enthusiasm.

"No, that's not what happened," Qui-Gon admonished gently.

"Why not?" Obi-Wan demanded.

"Do you want to hear this or not?"

The little boy made a grumpy, grudging sound of assent and nodded.

"Well, this big snake slithered up behind her and stole her squitch! She yelled at him to give it back, but the snake just laughed at her -"

"Snake laughed?"

"Yes, the snake laughed. It was a magic snake," Qui-Gon explained, continuing to rub Obi-Wan's back, smiling to himself as he felt fatigue begin to close in on the little boy's mind.

"So, the snake laughed at her and then slithered off into the woods. The little princess was so upset she went after it! It was her squitch, and no snake was going to take it from her, not if she had anything to say about it. So the little princess went running after the snake who had her squitch. Deeper and deeper into the woods they went, and pretty soon, the princess couldn't see her castle anymore. She started to get scared -"

"Wouldn't be scared if she had a Quigee," Obi-Wan interjected.

"Oh, so you've heard this story before?" Qui-Gon asked quietly, grinning, still rubbing gently.

Obi-Wan's head popped up so that his face was directly in front of Qui-Gon's. The young man could smell the dessert the little boy had eaten earlier that evening, and wrinkled his nose slightly.

"Quigee stomps snake an' saves squitch?" the little boy asked excitedly.

"I'm not telling," Qui-Gon teased.

"Yes! Quigee gots to tell!" Obi-Wan yelled.

"Quiet, my imp. You don't want to wake anyone else up. They're asleep, like we should be," Qui-Gon shushed.

"Quigee still gots to tell," the toddler grumbled sleepily.

"What'll you give me for the story?" Qui-Gon asked playfully, still gently rubbing Obi-Wan's tiny back. His hand was starting to go numb, but he knew - could sense - that the motion was inexorably lulling the child towards sleep.

Obi-Wan leaned up and pressed a smacking kiss to Qui-Gon's chin, smiling the whole while.

Qui-Gon grinned, then laughed and said, "I was hoping you'd let me sleep."

"'Kay. Quigee tell story, then sleep."

"How nice of you, my imp," Qui-Gon teased, then resettled Obi-Wan on the pillow, covering the boy up again. Then he continued.

"So, the little princess was scared, but she still chased the snake that had her squitch. Finally, the snake stopped and coiled up in front of her, and she stood looking at the snake as she demanded her squitch back. The snake laughed again and said that he took it fair and square."

"Was not fair," Obi-Wan mumbled sleepily against Qui-Gon's neck.

Qui-Gon smiled and then said, "Well, the little princess thought so, too. She told the snake that he'd stolen it and it wasn't his to keep. The snake laughed at her again and said that she couldn't take it back because he was stronger than her, and it was true. But the snake told her that if she could answer a question correctly, then she could have her squitch back. If not, then she'd have to leave it with the snake."

"What she do?" a very sleepy voice asked.

"Well, the snake asked her: 'What is the most precious, best thing in the whole world?' The little girl almost said it was her squitch, because that was all she had ever really had that meant the most to her. But she had always had the squitch, whereas she'd never had a brother, or a Mommy and Daddy, or a Quigee. So she knew that the squitch, which could be found anywhere else, wasn't nearly as precious as the other things. So she told the snake that the most precious, best thing in the whole world was family, someone she could love."

"She right," Obi-Wan declared on a sleepy whisper.

Qui-Gon smiled and eased the stroking on young Obi-Wan's back lightly as he said, "The snake thought so, too, because the next moment, he did the most strange, wonderful thing the little princess had ever seen before. The snake glowed, and then changed, until standing before her, holding the squitch out to her, was a boy about her own age, maybe a little older, smiling kindly at her."

"He her Quigee."

"Yes, my imp, he was her Quigee, come to her at last. He told the little princess that she was right, and that she could have her squitch back. But the little princess was sad and told the boy that he could keep it, because she didn't have anyone to share it with. And that was when the little boy stepped up to her and took her hand and said, 'You can share it with me. I'll stay with you and be your family.' And the little princess was very, very happy. The end."

Qui-Gon was expecting an immediate demand for another story, but when none was forthcoming, he assumed that perhaps he'd finally lulled the boy to sleep. He was closing his eyes, settling down, when he heard Obi-Wan say, "Know what bestest thing is."

Gearing himself up to use the Force to drop the little tyke into LaLa Land, Qui-Gon asked, "What is it?"

Obi-Wan snuggled close and, just as he fell asleep, murmured, "Quigee."

Qui-Gon went still as for one moment, he feared his heart was going to explode as it filled with all the love he felt for the little boy he held in his arms. Pressing a soft kiss to the tousled, downy hair on the little head, he whispered softly, "As are you, my imp."

Then, smiling, Qui-Gon closed his eyes and dropped like a lode-stone into sleep, knowing that morning and a battle of wills with the determined toddler would arrive all too soon.

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Authors love feedback! Write to Rogue at SilvarBelle@msn.com.

Posted August 8, 1999

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