Title: A Jedi vs. the Common Cold
A/N: I'm writing this because I've been sick now for two weeks and I'm tired of it. I've been thinking how so-and-so would handle this. So those thoughts have turned into this story.
Anakin thought his head was going to explode. It felt like a dozen banthas were running around. He had a monstrous head-ache, his throat was sore and scratchy, he couldn't breathe and he had a cough that could be heard all the way on Naboo. He had gone and seen the healers yesterday and they said he couldn't attend his classes for at least two days. So he had nothing to do but lay in bed. Right now, he wasn't about to complain though. He felt that if he moved he might just drop dead right where he was.
It was dark in his room, and Anakin let his mind wander back to Tatooine. He remembered when he was sick; his mother sat by his bed and brought him soup and water. He loved the feel of cold water on his throat when he was sick. That feeling alone helped him feel better. He half wished that Obi-Wan would do something like that. Although, he mused, if he did that, I'd never let him live it down.
With the blankets pulled over his head, the room was warm and dark. Anakin hoped that he wouldn't have to move until he was feeling better. He decided that it was almost certainly going to work out. He didn't have to go to classes for a couple days, his master and himself had a week on Coruscant before their next mission. Yes, it was entirely possible that he wouldn't have to move from his sleep couch for awhile.
After a few hours of staring at his blankets, he decided maybe staring around his room would give his something more interesting to do. He quickly decided that he was wrong. Well, not entirely. There was stuff to look at, like his half finished droids, but his mind started to think about what was lying around his room and how to fix it. Deciding that it was better not to think while he was sick, so he pulled the blanket back over his head.
He had started to doze off, when he heard the door swish open. Anakin slowly pulled the blankets down so he could see who had the audacity to disturb him. It was Obi-Wan. Anakin smirked. Maybe he's brought me soup.
Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile at his padawan. Here was the Chosen One, battling the common cold. He knew that no one was actually above illness, but for some reason he just found the idea funny.
Anakin squinted as his room was flooded with light. He groaned somewhat pathetically. "What?" he managed to get out.
"You have a visitor," Obi-Wan said.
He sounded somewhat apologetic Anakin thought. Hmmm…
Despite his master's tone, Anakin somewhat brightened. Maybe it was Tru, his best friend. He knew that Tru would come visit him. He remembered on Tatooine, how his friend Kitster had come to visit him when he was sick, and how much better it made him feel. "Okay," was all Anakin was able to say.
Obi-Wan's head disappeared only to be replaced by the figure of Ferus Olin. Anakin scowled. He DID NOT want to deal with Ferus at all. He hated Ferus' 'I'm better than you' attitude. When he was at his best Anakin couldn't deal with Ferus, now how would he fare?
"How are you feeling?" Ferus asked politely.
Anakin groaned in response, "Go away."
"I just thought I'd see how you were doing," Ferus said sheepishly. He then turned and walked out of Anakin's room.
"Good-bye Master Kenobi," Ferus said as he left the apartment.
Obi-Wan's head re-appeared. "What did Ferus want, Anakin?"
"Nothing."
Obi-Wan knew the two boys didn't get along, but felt now was not the time to lecture Anakin. He wouldn't listen right now, so there was no point to even try.
Darra and Tru rounded the corner approaching Anakin's quarters. They wanted to see how their friend was handling his cold. A few feet outside of Anakin's quarters they ran into Ferus. Both Darra and Tru were confused about this. Ferus' quarters were on the other side of the temple. He hadn't gone to visit Anakin, had he?
"What are you doing here?" Tru asked after a few moments of startled silence.
"Nothing."
"We're going to visit Anakin. You should come too," Darra invited.
"I can't, I have to…" Ferus trailed off.
Darra tried again, "Come on Ferus. I know that you and Anakin don't get along but he might appreciate your visiting him."
And with that Ferus found himself being dragged back towards Anakin's quarters.
Anakin was in a bad mood now, maybe I should rephrase that he thought, I'm in a worse mood now. He didn't want Ferus to see him like this. It made him feel weak. It was bad enough that when they were on missions that Ferus made him feel insignificant, but he had no right to come and bother him now. Something in the back of his head was saying something about how he should have treated Ferus better. The voice sounded a bit like Obi-Wan's. Anakin dismissed it.
He decided that he'd had enough for one day and pulled the blanket back over his head. He was going to fall asleep and not wake up for at least twenty four hours. At that point light flooded back into his room. He groaned inwardly. He bet it was Obi-Wan, who was going to lecture him about his behavior toward Ferus. Not today Anakin thought.
There was whispering in his room. It took him a couple seconds to realize that it was not Obi-Wan but his best friends, Tru Veld and Darra Thel-Tanis. He threw the blanket off his head to so he could actually see his friends.
His smile quickly vanished when he learnt that Ferus was with them. Not again, Force please, not again.
"Hey Ani! How are you feeling?" Darra asked sincerely.
"Uh, okay. I guess," Anakin stammered.
"We figured you'd like some company for a little while, so we decided to come and visit. Hope that was okay with you," Tru said smiling.
Anakin muttered something in affirmation. With that Tru and Darra sat on Anakin's bed and started telling Anakin what he had missed that day. They covered everything from what went on in lessons, to the fact that Master Windu had tripped as he was walking through the cafeteria at lunch.
Anakin only half listened as his friends relayed the day to him. He was thinking about Ferus. He was standing near the door, in the shadows. Perhaps Anakin could swallow his pride for a few hours and actually invite Ferus into the conversation.
Anakin interrupted Darra while she was in the middle of her story about her sparring session with her master, to invite Ferus over to join them. Ferus hung back for a few seconds, but after everyone turned to look at him, he eventually pulled a chair near the bed and sat next to Darra.
After he was seated Darra continued with her story. Ferus remained quite but he was part of the group. Anakin felt proud of himself. He was the one to make a move; he was a better Jedi than Ferus. And he would be able to use it against Ferus during their next argument. But first he had to survive the banthas in his skull.