Jedi Apprentice AU, some spoilers.
If you are seeking for happy endings and fluff, turn away now.
No betas, therefore all errors are mine.
See chapter one for disclaimers.
"He is the Chosen One! You must see it!" Qui-Gon nearly yelled in his ardor. The Council, implacable as ever, chose to ignore the outburst. Yoda closed his eyes, stretching his senses along the currents of the Unifying Force. When he opened them again they bore the same sad uncertainty that Obi-Wan had come to expect when discussions turned to the child that his master rescued from slavery on Tattoine.
"Hmmm. Clouded, this boy's future is," the Grand Master intoned, but Obi-Wan thought he could detect the slightest trace of sadness in the master's gravelly voice. Qui-Gon, however, noticed no such thing, his frustration at the Council's reticence nearly its own presence in the chamber. He stepped forward and placed his hands upon the boy's slender shoulders.
"I will train him, then. I take Anakin as my Padawan Learner."
Obi-Wan was not aware that time could actually stop. Yes, he had experienced the rapid pace of minutes when he was enjoying time with friends or sparing with his master. He too had conversely felt the slowed moments of action in dangerous situations when seconds mattered and lives often hung in the balance, but this... sensation... was unlike any he had every experienced before. For when his master spoke those few simple words, time stopped its passage and lost all its meaning. Existence froze as did something in Obi-Wan's chest.
"An apprentice, you have, Qui-Gon. Impossible, to take on a second," Yoda answered, his brow wrinkled in what a few close members of the Council could easily recognize as annoyance. Master Windu was one such person.
"The Code forbids it," the Head of the Order added, but Qui-Gon was not to be so easily deterred.
"Obi-Wan is ready..." he said pausing just a moment as if he expected his padawan to suddenly speak even though such a thing would have been a terrible breach of etiquette. When his padawan remained silent, the master continued. "He is headstrong and he has much to learn about the Living Force, but he is capable. There is little more he will learn from me," he finished looking to Yoda for some recognition of his request, but the Grand Master wasn't looking at Qui-Gon. Instead, his gimlet gaze was fixed on the silent and slightly pale figure standing to the right and slightly behind Qui-Gon.
"Something you have to say, Padawan, hmmm?" Yoda asked, but Obi-Wan remained silent, his gaze a blank stare into nothing. Master Windu leaned forward in his seat, the beginnings of concern creeping over his stern expression.
"Padawan?" the Councilor called. Immediately disquieted by his padawan's continued muteness, Qui-Gon turned to his apprentice simultaneously reaching for their training bond. It was only the result of that brief inspection that the master was able to act in time to catch the young man when his knees buckled and his eyes rolled back in his head.
"Obi-Wan!" his master yelled as he cradled his apprentice in his arms. By the time the two settled on the floor, Obi-Wan was already in the grips of a massive seizure. Qui-Gon held on to him tightly, partly to keep the man from hurting himself, mostly because he felt helpless to do anything more. Somewhere in the background he heard Mace call for a healer and Adi gently guide Anakin away, but Qui-Gon was mostly oblivious to his surroundings. His focus was on the unconscious young man shaking uncontrollably in his arms.
* * * * *
Somewhere deep inside Obi-Wan felt that things were right. Time had lost its meaning, it seemed only appropriate that his world should do the same.
