Disclaimer: Most of this belongs to Mr. Lucas. Xanatos is property of Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson. For those of you who haven't read the Jedi Apprentice books, all you need to know is that Xanatos was Qui-Gon's padawan before Obi-Wan.

Timeline: about 25 years pre-TPM. Qui-Gon is about 35 and Xanatos is about 14.

Genre: Family

Chapter One: Son

Qui-Gon Jinn walked down a long stone paved pathway. His long strides carried him forward with unconscious ease. A step behind him was his teenaged apprentice, Xanatos. Whereas Qui-Gon's face was a mask of happy serenity, a frown had started to settle on his padawan's face.

Without looking back or slowing his gate, Qui-Gon said, "Something is troubling you."

"I don't understand why we need to walk," Xanatos said.

"You know quite well my opinion on that."

"But we're not here on a real mission. We're just retrieving some youngling. We don't need to scope out the land."

Qui-Gon chuckled softly. "Retrieving a Force sensitive youngling is a 'real mission' my young Padawan. Quite an important one, in fact."

"Fine, then I still don't realize why we need to know the lay of the land. We should have taken the speeder that was offered to us instead of plodding along on foot. We aren't simple messengers. We're Jedi," Xanatos said, his tone cool and slightly haughty.

"All the more reason we should walk. Even the most straightforward mission can easily become complicated," Qui-Gon responded. "More importantly, it's a lovely day."

Xanatos knew that his master meant that to be the end of the conversation, but he still felt uneasy. He sped up his pace so that he was level with Qui-Gon. He didn't say anything further, but he heaved a deep sigh. Qui-Gon took his eyes off the large white clouds above and let his gaze settle on the boy.

"There's something else," Qui-Gon said and he already suspected the answer.

"Should we be doing this?" Xanatos said after a pause.

"We just went over this-"

"No, not walking. We obviously shouldn't be doing that," Xanatos interjected with a hollow laugh. "I meant, taking this youngling."

Qui-Gon slowed to a stop and Xanatos stopped a few steps ahead of him.

"You say it as if we were about to abduct the child," Qui-Gon said, slightly disturbed.

"I didn't mean it that way. It's just, don't you think he might be happier here," Xanatos replied. He waved his arms in a sweeping gesture at the grounds around them. Rolling, cheery green hills led to a well manicured garden complete with a number of sparkling fountains. At the center of the garden was a modest sized cottage of hewn rock and timber. "It's not quite the height of luxury, but any child would obviously live a comfortable and easy life here."

"And comfortable and easy is always best?" Qui-Gon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You always twist my words until they sound bad," Xanatos grumbled.

Qui-Gon laughed. "I rather think I tend to do the opposite," he said, half to himself.

Xanatos' pale cheeks tinged a mottled red. With a grimace he brushed off the comment with an impatient swat at the air. "What I meant was," he said, "shouldn't we leave such younglings where they are? This is a peaceful planet, the family is well off- why should we take a child away from that?"

A small frown tugged at the corners of Qui-Gon's mouth. This was not an unusual argument, but not one you often heard from a Jedi apprentice. Suddenly the source of Xanatos' unease made sense. He placed a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"We must trust that parents know what is best for their children," he said in a calm, quiet voice.

Xanatos turned his head to avoid Qui-Gon's eyes.

"We better hurry. Since you insisted on walking, Master, we'll probably be late," he said.

Without further comment, the two started their trek again. Qui-Gon wasn't sure if he should let it drop so easily, but he decided his padawan was a resilient young man. The fact that he was back to joking was proof enough of that. Hopefully the mission would help Xanatos work through some of those feelings. It was the reason, after all, that Qui-Gon had accepted the mission in the first place.

Qui-Gon kept that hope in mind as he reached the front door. He raised his hand to knock, but before he had a chance, the door opened. Standing in the entryway was a young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had long auburn hair that had been tied back in a simple knot and swept over one shoulder. The pale skin on her face was lightly freckled. Her petite, lithe frame was draped in a long, shimmersilk dress of a delicate green. Tucked in the corner of one of her bare arms was the most serious infant Qui-Gon had ever seen. The youngling stared at him with blue-grey eyes that were perfect miniatures of his mother's.

"Welcome, Master...?"

"Qui-Gon Jinn," the older Jedi said. "And my apprentice, Xanatos."

Both Jedi bowed slightly and the young woman waved them in with her free arm.

"Please come in, Master Jinn," the woman said. Qui-Gon smiled. Her voice was deep, smooth, and sweet, like the gurgling of a stream. The Jedi followed her through the entrance into a cozy living room. It was a modest size, but very comfortably furnished. They both seated themselves on a couch and the woman sat in an armchair across from them.

"Welcome to my home," she said to them.

"It's lovely, Mrs. Kenobi," Qui-Gon said.

"It's nothing much but I find it to be a good retreat after spending much of my time on Coruscant," she replied. "And call me Ari-Ahn. Mrs. Kenobi makes me feel ancient."

"Alright, Ari-Ahn then. And your husband?"

"Ben," she supplied. "I told him we had visitors, so he should be in soon."

And indeed, a moment later, a young man walked in from another room.

"Ah, the Jedi. Good," he said. He sat on the arm of the chair his wife was sitting in. Although not an ugly man, he looked extremely plain when compared to the woman next to him. He was none too tall, and spots of grease covered his skin and the well worn coveralls he wore. He had wispy, brown hair sitting in a disorderly pile on top of his head. A beard covered a strong, cleft chin. Despite all that, there was a lively sparkle in his eyes and he had a wide, warm smile; Qui-Gon could tell he was a good man.

"Ben, let me introduce you to Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Xanatos," Ari-Ahn said.

Ben stood and reached out a callused hand to Qui-Gon.

"Pleased to meet you. Don't mind the grease. I was just tuning up my starship."

Qui-Gon shook the offered hand and said, "Starship?"

Ari-Ahn rolled her eyes. "It's his pet project," she explained. "He's a pilot, you see. Seems he's not satisfied flying transport ships. He wants his own yacht but buying one isn't good enough, so he's building one."

"All for you my queen," Ben said with a dramatic bow. "We can't have my galaxy renowned singing goddess riding frigates to perform at the opera."

"If I never rode public transports I never would have met you, my love," she replied. "And you exaggerate as always. I'm not so famous."

Qui-Gon was sure a successful opera singer must be used to compliments, but still the young woman blushed ferociously at her husband's comment. They were a charming couple. Though it killed him, he knew he had to cut their chatter short. He knew they were only stalling for time before the inevitable conversation came up. And inevitable it was, because he was a Jedi and this was a mission. He could not be charmed into forgetting his duty.

"Mrs. Kenobi?" he said.

"I told you, Ari-Ahn."

"Of course. Ari-Ahn, may I see your son a moment so we can begin our testing?"

Her smile faltered and was replaced by a careful, polite mask. Her eyes had shifted to a stormy grey. "Yes, yes, how silly of me. Why else would we be entertaining Jedi in our house Although it could hardly be called entertaining. Where are my manners? Would either of you like tea? Or anything to eat? Maybe-"

The slippery flow of words was cut short when Ben put a gentle hand onto his wife's shoulder. "Beloved," he said, his voice quiet and steady.

"I will not hurt the boy and I will give him right back," Qui-Gon assured.

Ari-Ahn nodded mutely and got slowly to her feet. She handed her son into the large waiting hands of the Jedi. The youngling gave a single tiny whimper as he was handed over, then became all silence and seriousness once again. Qui-Gon took a small blood sample and ran it through the medical datapad he'd brought for analysis. The results confirmed what he already knew- the child was Force sensitive. All further tests, of reflexes and the like, were mere formality.

"Is he...?" Ben asked.

Qui-Gon nodded and handed the youngling back to his mother.

"Of course he is," Ben said. "We knew he was. But still, you never know I guess."

"What happens now?" Ari-Ahn asked.

"That is all up to you. If you decide you want him to stay with you, we will leave you in peace. If, however, you decide you would like him to be trained as a Jedi, we will take him back to the Temple on Coruscant. There he will learn to handle and understand his connection to the Force. He may be given a chance to visit, when he is a bit older, but you will likely see little of your son and he will know very little of you," Qui-Gon explained. "It is a very difficult decision to make but know this- I sense something rare in this child. I believe he could be a great Jedi."

Ben gave a low whistle. "A Kenobi becoming a Jedi. I never thought I'd see the day," he said, with a small chuckle. "Of course, I should have known he'd be something great. He takes more after his mother. Just be warned, that also means he'll probably cry when you get on your transport. He hates flying. Loves looking at ships, but hates flying. Maybe... maybe being a Jedi he'll learn to love flying."

"So you are decided then?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yes," Ari-Ahn responded quietly. "I may not be Force sensitive myself, I may not see what you see, but I can see this much. He is more than our son, our first born. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Jedi."