Chapter 1


The machines were all operating very well, and the soft beeps were reassuring as far as they went. Anakin had studied them, putting his hands on them with great care not to disturb anything, and they were really good. He'd know if anything started wearing out, he was sure of it. And it wasn't very likely. The Temple didn't have to eke the last use out of old parts, and while they weren't wasteful about replacing things too early, they weren't wasteful about leaving things in place so long that they threatened to burn out everything else if they blew, either. He'd talked to one of the technicians, who had liked him, and probably thought she ought to be nice to the white-faced little kid whose Master was hurt.

Anakin leaned his head against the bacta tank, staring in at the sensors. There was no Healer in here, but there wasn't a need for one right now. There were all the monitors, and it wasn't like Dooku was going to be in some sort of crisis.

They were more worried about things staying the same.

"What were you doing?" he whispered to the still figure in the tank. Qui-Gon had made an awkward joke as Dooku was being lowered into the tank that Dooku's longstanding distaste for bacta immersion would make him wake up just to avoid it. It hadn't done anything to dissipate the tension in the room. But it had reminded Anakin that he wasn't allowed to start crying or anything else equally mortifying, because he had to stay strong to be able to help his Master.

He wasn't sure what he could help with though. He liked being able to fix things. This wasn't something he could fix.

He gingerly extended his mind along the bond, but he didn't really know what he was doing. Dooku was still in there, he was sure of that, but the mix of unconsciousness and pain made Anakin's stomach churn.

There was no sound of footsteps, but he was turning just before the door slid open.

He stared.

It was Komari.

She looked terrible. Not, perhaps, as bad as Dooku, but underweight and haggard, with an odd texture to her skin. She was unarmed, this time, and Anakin had his lightsaber. And she wasn't supposed to be out!

He swallowed, wondering if he was supposed to be calling for help. "What are you doing here?"

Her smile was more of a baring of teeth, although this seemed to be more a lack of energy than actual hostility. "I heard something had happened."

"Come to gloat?"

"You'd think so." She stayed by the door, but let it close. "What did happen? They weren't exactly specific with me."

"I don't know!" Anakin's gut twisted miserably. "He didn't take me with him, but he wasn't supposed to be doing anything dangerous. Then he was attacked, I could feel it. And... we found him like this." He's not going to die. He isn't. He can't.

"Oh. I thought they just didn't want me to know." She took a half-step closer. "Strange. He doesn't usually run into spontaneous trouble that he can't handle."

He'd been dueling. His lightsaber was still in his hands when they found him. Anakin swallowed and closed his eyes. "What do you think you're going to do? He can't hear you, and I - I won't let you hurt him."

"I'm not here to hurt him."

"Then why are you? You haven't even seen him since he brought you back, and you seemed like you wanted to hurt him plenty then."

Komari remained still. Anakin wasn't entirely sure if she breathed in the long moment before she answered, "I don't know."

Anakin swallowed again, then ventured, "You loved him once, didn't you? He used to be your Master too."

Komari's laugh came out something like a cough. "Loved him a little too much, was the general opinion."

"...Mom always said there was no such thing as loving too much."

"That's right, you knew your mother. Strange for a Jedi." Her mouth quirked, and her eyes flicked up and over Dooku and then down to the floor. "But I'm not sure whether she would have approved proposing to sleep with your teachers."

"I'm not going to leave him alone just to-" Anakin started off heatedly, but then fragments of conversations clicked into place and he turned bright red. "You really... erm... but he's old. He's like a dad. Or a grandpa." Not that he'd had either, but still.

"He aged well," Komari said drily.

"Well, yeah. I didn't think he was as old as he is, but..." He wrinkled his nose. "Still." But he shrugged. Padme was the most beautiful woman in the whole galaxy, and she was older than he was. He guessed that part didn't matter so much, but he was pretty sure the teacher part did. And the Jedi part. Master Dooku had told him the Jedi didn't love, not like that. Mostly.

"Yeah. Still." Komari snorted suddenly. "Don't worry. I didn't come to leer at him in the bacta tank." She frowned a little absently. "He never liked bacta..."

"I know. Master Qui-Gon said." Anakin put one hand uneasily on the side of the tank. "But I couldn't feel any difference when they put him in. I was trying to sense him, but..."

"Huh. That's not good. Unless it's a healing trance..."

"I know it's not good!" Anakin burst out. "I can feel that much! But I don't know how I can help!"

Komari looked at him speculatively. "So, do they complain about your temper too?" She shook her head. "I don't know what you can do either, unless you've been studying Healing..."

"Not yet," Anakin said miserably. "I haven't been a padawan very long. I've mostly learned meditation and lightsabers."

Komari flickered a grin that looked a little more like a real smile this time, if a haunted one. "It's Dooku. Of course it'd be lightsabers." She paused. "Meditation could help. Think good thoughts at the bond or something."

"Thinking good thoughts" didn't seem as if it was going to help when all of the gleaming medical machines around him weren't doing any good. But...it was something he could do. "Maybe I'll try." If she would just go away so he didn't have to worry about her! "How'd you get here, anyway? I thought you were locked up."

"I was. I sneaked out. They'll be more careful next time."

"...Maybe you could sneak back before anyone knows. I won't tell."

"You'd have to. In case I did it again and hurt someone." She slid down to sit cross-legged beside the door. "I doubt he'd want to hear from me, but I wonder if he'd wake up to tell me to go away..."

Anakin considered this, then offered quietly, "He was really glad to find out you were still alive, you know."

"Not quite the impression I got."

"He was, at first. He thought you were dead. He wasn't glad to find out what happened to you, but he never wanted you to be dead."

She gazed up at him for a moment. "No... I suppose he wouldn't."

Anakin sighed. "You can ask him about it. When he's better."

"No, I believe you. I just wanted to be able to hate him."

"No one can hate Master Dooku," Anakin said softly, ignoring the very obvious proof that someone clearly did. "He's wonderful. He's a good teacher, and he's patient, and he's the best fighter-" Not quite the best. "-And...he's everything a Jedi is supposed to be."

Komari laughed softly. "I guess you two have been getting along pretty well."

Anakin looked over at her. "He wouldn't leave the infirmary until you were stable and moved somewhere else, you know."

"Of course not. Couldn't have his prisoner getting out and causing trouble."

"Not like that. I don't think they had him doing anything to keep you there. He just... didn't want to go."

Komari looked over at the bacta tank and stared at Dooku's still figure for a long time. Finally she said, "It's easier to hate him." Then she stood and brushed her hands against her tunic briskly. "Try meditating at him. It might help."

Anakin thought about it. He doubted it, but it probably couldn't hurt. "Maybe I-"

The door opened, again. Komari stepped sideways and faded unhappily and not very effectively into the shadows as one of the assistant healers hurried in to hand Anakin a small comm-pad. "Sympathy note," was the explanation. "From the Chancellor. Inquired about coming to visit."

"...Oh." Not a cure. Not that he was really expecting it, but... "That's nice of him. I guess it would be okay, if Master Caudle thinks so. I know they're friends, kind of." And Chancellor Palpatine was from Naboo. They'd met a few times, and the Chancellor was always very kind and smiling.

"We'll check with her, but thought you should have a copy of the note."

"Thanks. Um..." Should he say something about Komari? She wasn't doing any harm...but she wasn't supposed to be out, either, and he didn't know if he could stop her if she did try to do harm.

"You ought to get some sleep, you know," the Healer said, not unkindly, and hurried back out of the room.

Anakin swallowed and looked at Komari. "You should too. They're not going to miss you if they come in again. You weren't hiding real well."

"I'm astounded that they missed me this time," Komari said wryly. "I'm not exactly at my best."

"He looked a little distracted. I'll, um, tell Master Dooku you visited, though. When he's feeling better."

"Mm. I suppose I should see if I can get back to my cell without being caught."

He wasn't sure if he should offer good luck or not, so he settled on, "May the Force be with you."

That earned him a quick, if rather pained, smile before Komari slipped out of the room.

Anakin settled down - physically; he still felt definitely unsettled - to read the message. It was short and elegant, and mentioned the hope that Dooku would recover once and the desire to visit him twice. Anakin figured the Council had probably gotten a copy, or anyway somebody who could arrange that sort of thing.

Maybe it was selfish, but he didn't really want anyone else here right now. Well, obviously if they could help, but not just to stand around and look serious and worried. He leaned against the tank and sighed. "Maybe you'd like to have friends here," he suggested as if Dooku was fully capable of answering. "I know Master Qui-Gon's going to come back. He's trying to find out what happened to you, though. That's important too..." He swallowed. "Please be all right, Master. Please."

Dooku, perhaps understandably, did not answer. He did have a double lungful of goo laden with very busy little organisms, and was also still blankly unconscious. Anakin closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, and eventually slipped into one of the first meditations Master Dooku had taught him, and then into something between that and sleep.