"Don't Leave Me" part 1/??

WIP Story

Topic: Don't Leave Me
Author: Tigris
Summary: Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are separated on a dangerous mission. Obi is taken and Qui returns to Coruscant thinking Obi is dead.
Rating: PG13
Time Period: Obi is 14
Spoilers: JA series
Disclaimer: Lucas owns all noticable SW characters, others are the authors. An'Paj is Jane Jinns.
*****************

He sprinted down the hall towards the sound of the battle, his boots pounding against the hard metal floor, his long gray streaked hair streaming out behind him like a cape. He rounded the final corner and stopped in front of a thick metal door. Heart pounding, he placed a hand against the cool surface, reaching out for the Force. Now he could feel-almost see-his young apprentice dodging and twisting away from his attackers; the boy was seriously outnumbered. "Obi-Wan!"

"Qui-Gon," his padawan answered, desperation edging his tone,"I could use a little help here!"

"I know Obi-Wan, I'm coming." Qui-Gon ignited his lightsaber and drove the glowing blade thick into the metal. *I'll make my own door* "Hang on," he called, silently willing the lightsaber to cut faster.

He had almost cut all the way through when he heard Obi-Wan cry out in pain.

"Qui-" Then silence.

"Obi-Wan?" he called, his mind reeling with panic. No answer. "Obi-Wan!" All he could hear now was hurried movement, the hiss of a door opening.

His lightsaber connected with the floor again; his outline of a door complete. Swinging back, he brought his leg up and kicked what was left of the entrance out of his way. Qui-Gon stepped into the room. There was no one there-nothing left of his padawan but his lightsaber. Bending to scoop it up, his keen gaze caught site of an open doorway leading outside. Qui-Gon leaped to the threshhold and swung himself out. He was just in time to see the landspeeder disappear over the horizon.....

The Jedi Master jerked awake, gasping for air. Slowly he realized that he was on a Republic cruiser, going home to the Jedi Temple.

"It was only a nightmare," he told himself. Qui-Gon's eyes swept the room for Obi-Wan. He wasn't there. Numbly he was aware of the boy's lightsaber enclosed in his large hands, and he looked down at it. "It was only a nightmare," Qui-Gon repeated, even as pain washed over him. He doubled over. "Please, Force, let it be a nightmare!" Qui-Gon knew it wasn't.

Qui-Gon Jinn strode to the end of the cruiser's boarding ramp and stepped off onto the Temple's landing platform. Alone. For the first time in his life the Jedi cursed his solitude. Sighing, the weary traveler turned away from the ship and proceded through the doors of the main building. The Council had asked to meet with him.

He almost couldn't bare the look of pity on their faces.

"Still no clues, are there?" Yoda asked, his voice grave.

"No," Qui-Gon answered. He struggled to keep his tone steady. "They've been very careful about leaving few witnesses. All I was able to pick up was that they had moved him every two weeks, maybe sooner if they thought I was getting close to discovering their location."

"They 'had'?"

Qui-Gon looked down. "Yes. It's been over two months, and with the type of people that they are...." His voice trailed off. Qui-Gon turned his gaze on the sharp, silver towers outside the Council Room's windows. "It's unlikely that they let Obi-Wan survive the first week. I just refused to see what was right in front of my face."

Saesee Tiin spoke up, the softness of his voice forcing Qui-Gon to look at him. "Obi-Wan Kenobi is a very strong boy. There is still a chance."

"I can't feel him through our bond anymore," Qui-Gon mummered, his pain seeping into his tone.

"And you believe him dead?" Mace Windu sighed, leaning back into his chair. He took Jinn's silence as his answer. "Obi-Wan was a promising young padawan. You're not alone in your loss, Qui-Gon. Kenobi will not be forgotten soon."

"I know," Qui-Gon whispered. Bowing, he exited the room, feeling the Masters' eyes trailing after him.

Qui-Gon paused outside in the cool corridor, making a feeble attempt to squash down his sorrow. Movement danced across the edge of his vision. Turning, he spotted Bant Eerin, Garen Muln, and Reeft, Obi-Wan's closest friends, gathered at the end of the hall. Hopefullness etched their features as they waited for Qui-Gon to give them some sign that their friend was alive. He shook his head. Quietly he watched as Bant's silver eyes filled with tears, as Reeft's face wrinkled in pain. Together the two children took off around the corner, but Garen hesitated.

"Is the search being called off?" he asked Qui-Gon. "Is Obi-Wan dead?"

"Yes," he croaked. Garen slipped after his friends, tears sliding down his face.

Qui-Gon turned and headed in the opposite direction, towards Master Tahl's room. He had so much he needed to talk about, and his friend had always been willing to listen.

*************************

Together he and Tahl sat, watching as the last golden rays of light played over the shining surfaces surrounding them. Qui-Gon leaned back and stared at the ceiling of Tahl's quarters. "I remember the last time we were really able to talk. It was after Obi-Wan came back from Melida/Daan, when I couldn't decide whether or not to take him back." He looked over at Tahl, smiling softly.

"Ah, yes," she said. "I still have that cup."

"You made me realize that rebuilding our bond might not be painful. That it could be satisfying." The smile disappeared. "You were right. It was."

Tahl turned her green and gold eyes on him. They were sightless, but Tahl was now so used to being blind that she no longer needed her droid, TooJay, to guide her movements. "How long has it been since you last saw him?" she asked gently, knowing that he needed someone to help him remember the boy.

"Exactly? Two months, three weeks, five days, eighteen hours, thirteen minutes, and-" he looked at the chrono mounted on the wall "- Thirty-six seconds. I feel every moment he's not with me. Somehow it's worse then when he stayed behind on Melida/Daan. Then, I could always return, and see him. Talk to him. I knew what was happening, and i would've heard right away if he had been killed. Now I know nothing! I have no idea where he is, or if he's really dead! He needs me, or he did, and I couldn't be there for him." Qui-Gon covered his face with his hands and mumbled, "I never even got to say goodbye."

Silence returned for the two figures. Qui-Gon lowered his hands and pulled out Obi-Wan's lightsaber. Memories flooded his mind, and with out even realizing it, Qui-Gon began to voice them. "He's nothing like Xanatos. He never judged me, or lied to me, even when I finally got around to telling Obi-Wan about Xanatos. I would probably still hate my last padawan if not for him. He showed me how the good always overcome the evil. Obi-Wan would've sacraficed himself for me, and the life of every person in that mine. Without the slightest hesitation.

"I remember the way he always saw the good in everybody. Like his friend Guerra. Force knows how many times that Phindian tried their friendship! Yet Obi-Wan stuck by him. And Jono. He had worried about Jono, even though he had betrayed him.

"Obi-Wan really did love that riverstone I gave him," Qui-Gon continued, chuckling softly. "He was really the only person I know of that looked past the fact that it was a rock. I wonder if he had it with him in the end." He choked on the words. Tahl reached over and placed a warm, honey colored hand over his. Qui-Gon tried to keep his voice steady, and the tears from falling, but found he could not. "He used to call me when he was sick, or had a nightmare," he whispered. "Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because I think he needs me. I can still hear him calling my name." Qui-Gon looked over at Tahl. He was almost surprized to see her crying.

"He was only fourteen. We weren't together that long, and I guess I thought we'd have more time. I took him for granted. I miss him."

Qui-Gon turned back to the window. Silently he watched as the sun set on Coruscant, and the time he had with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

*********

Blackness enshrouded the room like a thick blanket, muffling sound and movement. The faint light glowing outside the open door was swallowed as soon as it dared to creep past the threshold. Nevertheless, the boy had been in the dark for so long that even the feeblest elimination stung his emerald eyes. He wished he had enough strength left in his limbs to make it to the door. Instead, he lay sprawled on the floor, bleeding from fresh wounds and listening to the two men standing over him talk.

"We're about two hours from the planet of Aiida, sir," said the first, whose name was Bacchus. Bacchus was a tall man, almost as tall as the boy's master, with bushy, rust colored hair and a short beard. He had strong, roughly cut features, with a well-muscled form, as the boy had found out not too long after meeting him. He had a few other names for Bacchus.

"Good," drawled the other, "Approach from the dark side of Aiida, I don't want all the effort it took to stay away from Jinn to go to waste." The child felt a sick dread wash over him. The man was evil- it didn't take the Force to sense that. "We dump the boy and go," he heard him say, and the boy wondered if he was finally going to finish him off.

"So I take it we're gonna kill this piece of trash, eh?" Bacchus asked, nudging the boy's bruised and broken body with his foot.

"No."

"No?"

"It would be too quick. He's half dead anyway. He won't make it through another night." The man knelt beside the boy's ear. "Jedi scum don't deserve a quick end. You'll die alone. Do you hear me?"

"Go to hell," was the only response he got. The boy felt something slam into his already crushed ribs. Blood rose in his throat, but he refused to scream. He would give them nothing.

"Don't you dare speak to Leporello like that," Bacchus growled.

Leporello laughed. "It doesn't matter, Bacchus." The child was dimly aware of footsteps resounding off the metal floor as Leporello turned to leave. "You have two hours."

"You won't make it through the night, boy," Bacchus said, a smile audible in his voice. "At least not when I'm done with you."

Quiet returned for a moment, and the boy struggled to control his breathing. He needed to hear what direction Bacchus would attack from.

He felt a hand grip the back of his neck as he was lifted into the air.

A scream split the silence.

* * * * * *

It was hard to see through his swollen eyes, but Obi-Wan Kenobi felt he needed to keep them open, at least for a little while longer. He couldn't remember the last time he had breathed fresh air, or felt the cool grass underneath him as he lay stretched out in the small clearing where they had left him. Alabaster trunks expanded high overhead, their limbs casting flickering shadows over his small form. Quietly he stared at the tiny pinpricks of light dotting the blackness above him, trying to recall what they were.

Abruptly he realized they were stars. Had it really been that long since he last saw them? Had it really been that long since he had last stood on a balcony at the Jedi Temple and watched them, looking for the ones he had been to and remembering the friends he had made? Had it really been that long since he'd been home?

Obi-Wan sighed. He didn't even know how old he was anymore. He had no way of knowing how long he had been trapped on that ship, fighting to survive as he held onto the tiny thread of life he had left.

That thread was unraveling. Obi-Wan was dying. It was getting harder and harder to inhale, he was fading into the background. There was only one regret, one more person he needed to see.

"Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan whispered, closing his eyes.

Not too far away, in a small home miles from the city of Calzabigi, someone else was watching the sky too.

Micaela Jacquino had seen a ship disappear under the foliage two miles away, and after only a few minutes it reappeared, then took off into the night.

That's strange, she thought, frowning. Why stop in practically the middle of no where when Calzabigi has a spaceport? The eighteen-year-old pushed herself away from the window and slipped silently through the back door. Unless they had something to hide.

"Micaela," a voice called. She turned to see her eleven-year-old sister framed in the doorway, the light cast from the room beyond making it difficult for her to see the girl's face.

"Yes, Marcelline?"

The girl hesitated, her pale green eyes betraying her worry. After a moment, Marcelline stepped out into the darkness, her raven locks reflecting the moonlight. "Did you see the ship?"

"Yes."

"What do you think it was doing?" Marcelline asked, with an air of one asking about the weather.

"Nothing good."

"You gonna check it out?"

"Yes," Micaela said again, suppressing a sigh. Here it comes, she thought, eyeing the younger version of herself as she opened her mouth.

"Can I come too? Kruschino's working late again, he called earlier, said something about a hyperdrive blowing on one of the ships at the port and how it's gonna take all night to fix, so can I come too? Please I'll - "

"Okay, okay you can come, just shut up and be quiet!" Micaela interrupted, before Marcelline felt the need to name every single reason why she should come.

Micaela set off into the dense forest, Marcelline following in her wake.

The longer they walked the more her patience waned. Micaela estimated that she and Marcelline had walked a little over two miles in the direction where they had last seen the ship, but still nothing had been found, and every time Micaela pushed a branch out of her way and accidentally let it snap back in the direction of her sister, Marcelline spent the next ten minutes telling her what a horrible sister she was.

Micaela was just about to suggest they turn back when her foot caught on a tree root. She fell heavily on her knees, the long navy cloak she was wearing twisting around her legs.

"Are you all right?" Marcelline asked, concern coursing through her voice.

"No," Micaela groaned, yanking her cloak free. She looked up, and suddenly noticed that the trees were starting to thin out just ahead. "I think we're coming up on a clearing. Let's check it out and then head home."

Together the two girls threaded their way towards the clearing, and within a few moments, they reached the grassy break in trees. Micaela's jade green eyes swept the clearing. She froze; beside her, Marcelline did the same.

Something was lying in a crumbled heap on the grass, a pool of black liquid spreading out around it.

"Stay here," Micaela whispered, unsure of exactly who she was talking to. Slowly she walked over to the small form and knelt beside it. The sent of blood flooded her nose; fear swamped her and her stomach rolled. She shot a glance over at her sister at the edge of the field, then slowly reached out to roll it over.

Micaela screamed.

Micaela couldn't believe what she was seeing. A boy, so pale and thin she thought she was looking at a skeleton. His face was cut and bruised, and from the odd angle of some of his limbs, Micaela was guessing that a few bones were broken as well. "Holy…What did you DO, kid? Throw yourself over a cliff and land on broken glass? Look at you! I'm betting you're barely fourteen! I sure hope you beat YOURSELF up, 'cause if you didn't your dad is gonna have to do some serious butt kicking, man I'm telling you!"

"No kidding," Marcelline muttered from her side. "We're going to have to take him home, there isn't any healers nearby-" her voice broke off as the boy's eyelids flickered. Quietly they watched as his eyes slowly opened. They were covered in a thick glaze, swollen almost shut. He blinked at them, then suddenly screamed.

The two girls jumped. "It's okay," Marcelline said quickly, trying to keep a soothing tone. "We're not gonna hurt you…"

The boy paused. Slowly, in a slurred voice, he said, "I'm s-sorry…t-tho-ught you we-eere s-someone el-se."

"Don't mention it," Micaela assured him. "What's your name?"

"O-o-bee Wan…"

"Obi-Wan? Can we have a last name, too?"

"Ken-obi…" he fell silent, apparently looking at the stars. "Qui-Gon," he said.

Micaela and Marcelline exchanged a glance. "Is he the one who beat you up?" Marcelline asked.

"No!" Obi-Wan said quickly. They could tell that he was having a lot of trouble breathing. "Heeeee iss a fri-eend. A Jedi."

"Alright, Obi-Wan. You just go to sleep now, okay. We're gonna take you home with us, and we'll have our brother, Kruschino, contact the Jedi for you."

Obi-Wan continued to stare at the stars for a moment, then turned his eyes to them. "T-tell him g-g-oodbye for me." He passed out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon howled. His voice echoed in his room. He sat up and swung his legs off the sleepcouch, his tired face eliminated by the pale splash of moonlight across the bed. Quietly he stood and walked out into the hall connecting his room to the rest of his quarters. Qui-Gon paused outside Obi-Wan's door. After a moment he swung the door open and hit the light activator.

A gentle stream of light washed over the room. A sleepcouch was backed against one corner, a small desk beside it. Overhead, three model Verpine fighters flew, their tiny engines keeping up a steady hum.

In his mind's eye Qui-Gon could see his apprentice packing for a mission, his bed still unmade, books and star charts piled high on his desk. He could see Obi-Wan turn, his emerald eyes meeting Qui-Gon's blue. "Hello, Master."

Qui-Gon blinked and the boy was gone.

Yet he still stood there, longing for him to come back, wanting so badly to reach out and ruffle Obi-Wan's hair, to say, "Come, Padawan," and have Obi-Wan follow. It should have been easy, Qui-Gon thought. All they had needed was proof.

Originally, their mission to Ranieri had been to investigate a report about the Valhalla, whose members were believed to have murdered thirty-six Ranierians and thirteen off-worlders since they had first appeared. The identities of the Valhalla were uncertain, their leader unknown, but even still they had managed to keep the people of Ranieri living in fear and the government in turmoil searching for them. Ranieri's economy had begun to show signs of suffering as well; traders were afraid that the Valhalla would target them next.

So Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had gone, and not long after they arrived they had discovered that the Valhalla had a cover organization. In no time at all they had come up with a plan: Qui-Gon would provide a distraction, while Obi-Wan- the one small enough to fit in the air shafts- would break into an office and access the company data base from there.

It should have been easy, but everything went wrong.

The leader of the Valhalla had been in the building, along with several of his highly trained assassins. Qui-Gon had found himself bombarded with opponents, unable to warn his padawan of the danger as the Valhalla leader set out to find him. They were gone by the time Qui-Gon got there. The Jedi Master had gotten his own evidence, destroying the Valhalla's hold on Ranieri and forcing its members to flee. He had ripped the planet to shreds looking for his padawan, until the hidden leader of the Valhalla had contacted Qui-Gon himself.

"I plan to keep Kenobi alive for a little while. You will regret the day you messed with the Valhalla," he had said, and with a start of horror, Qui-Gon realized he knew who the man was.

Now as Jinn stood in the threshold of his apprentice's room, he wondered just how long he had planned to keep Kenobi alive. Saesee Tiin's words echoed in his head, "Obi-Wan Kenobi is a very strong boy. There is still a chance." Was there? Had he given up too soon?

Qui-Gon could remember Obi-Wan's devotion to him. His belief in Qui-Gon was staggering, something Qui-Gon had only begun to return. If it had been Qui-Gon who was taken, what would Obi-Wan have done? Would he have given up too? Or would he have kept looking until he found Qui-Gon, alive or dead, but sure that he had done everything it took to find him?

Qui-Gon knew that he would never have peace until he knew what had happen to his padawan. He couldn't just sit there and cry if there was the slightest chance that Obi-Wan was alive, and needed him.

For the first time in almost three months, Qui-Gon felt a shred of comfort. I'm coming for you Obi-wan.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He was halfway down the hall, fully dressed and a survival pack slung over his shoulder, when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Qui-Gon," Mace Windu said from the shadows behind him, "Where are you going?"

Qui-Gon turned, and was surprised to find not only Windu there, but Saesee Tiin, Yoda, Tahl, and a Jedi healer, Leona, there as well. "I have decided not to give up on Obi-Wan."

"Good, that is," Yoda declared. "Message, we have received."

"About Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon said, bewildered.

"Yes," said Saesee, "A man named Kruschino Jacquino contacted us. He said that his two sisters had come across a boy a couple of miles away from their house. He was badly beaten, but he woke long enough to tell them about you, and where you could be found."

Qui-Gon stood staring at them, stunned. "Is he okay?"

"No, which is why we're leaving immediately. It's good to see you ready to leave." Mace looked behind him at Leona. "Master Leona will help your padawan."

Qui-Gon looked at her too, and felt a twinge of relief. Leona was an old friend from childhood, and one of the best healers in the temple. He felt better knowing that someone he trusted absolutely would be the one taking care of the person he loved most. "So he's alive?"

Tahl looked at him, grinning. "He's alive." Before she or Qui-Gon could say more, Mace beckoned them forward, again reminding them that he was still hurt badly. Qui-Gon followed, his mind in a daze and his heart racing.

"Do I have to give you a sedative?" Leona asked from beside him. "It won't do Obi-Wan much good if you die of a heart attack before we even get there."

Qui-Gon force himself to regain his usual composure. Turning his head, he looked at her. "I'm just worried."

Her chestnut colored hair was pulled away from her ivory face, dangling in a long braid behind her back, and her violet eyes were kind as she said, "Obi-Wan will be okay. He's not going to die until I give him permission to, and you know that's never going to happen."

TBC

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