Aim: 1500 words

WC: 1299

The dream was a mess, as always. Anakin could not really see anything, just blackness. Then he saw everything at once. One by one they flashed quickly in his mind, changing right after he understood what they were.

He saw blood dripping down his mother's bruised face, her body going limp in his arms, the bodies of the Tusken Raiders broken and mangled on the ground under his blue blade, and finally, Padmé's face when he explained what happened. He focused on the last picture, and saw her mouth slightly ajar, eyes full of pity and horror, starring into his soul.

Anakin screamed at everything and jolted awake, sort of. He got half way up and slammed back against the bed. Panting, he looked around him, and felt utterly confused. He saw the sandy metallic walls of the Jedi temple, but he was in a room he had never been in before. There were machines with wires all around him, and an incessant beeping noise that was grating his nerves. He tried to move again to turn the alarm off, but again fell back on the bed, a little softer this time. Only then did he realize he was restrained.

Panic and vomit rose in his throat. They knew! he thought. Padmé told them everything. I'm a monster. There going to execute me. They should execute me! Overcome by fear and shame, a mangled cry filled with fear and shame arose from Anakin. Just then the door opened, and a figure ran into the room.

"Medic! Medic!" Obi-Wan cried. Then the Jedi Master whirled around to his Padawan searching for the source of the pain. A 21-B medical droid entered, coming to the aid of the Jedi.

"What happened?" asked the droid.

"I don't know," came Obi-Wan's reply. "He just started screaming. What wrong Anakin?"

By this time Anakin had calmed down a little bit from the nightmare. He looked up at Obi-Wan's agonized face, and realized that his master thought Anakin was hurt for some reason. Anakin took a shuddered breath and managed a weak smile, "I woke up in a strange place tied to a bed. I panicked. Sorry Master."

Obi-Wan's brow furrowed. "Your not in pain?" He asked, searching the younger man's face.

"No pain," Anakin reassured him.

Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to the medical droid. "I think he is alright, but will you please check?"

"Yes, sir," replied the droid and it rode toward Anakin as Obi-Wan got out of the way. The droid pulled out a medical reader and scanned Anakin's face. The droid turned to Obi-Wan and stated mechanically, "There is a slightly elevated heart rate, possibly due to stress, but no physical ailment that has not already been treated."

"Wait! What have I been treated for?" Anakin demanded.

"Please don-" Obi-Wan started.

"You underwent a four hour operation to replace the hand lost in battle with a neuroprosthetic," replied the robot calmly.

Anakin raised his eyebrows trying to comprehend what the hell the droid was talking about. Then he remembered the fight with that slime ball Count Dooku, and he also remembered losing the fight. Slowly, he looked down at his right arm, expecting nothing to be there. He had an arm, it was just the arm of a droid. Fear and panic rolled over him like waves. With tears in his eyes, he looked at his master his mouth gaping like he was going to scream again.

Obi-Wan stared down at Anakin with sympathy, and recognized his Padawan's fear. Quickly, the Master moved to the bed to wrap his Padawan in a hug. Any other time Anakin would have protested, but with the nightmare fresh in his mind and finding out he was half droid, all Anakin Skywalker could do was cling to his master and sob.

"NO! NO! NO!" He screamed over and over again.

After a few minutes, although it seemed like hours, Anakin shaking wails started to become calmer and calmer. Eventually, Anakin's breathing slowed down and he was able to wipe his tears with his good hand. Obi-Wan stepped away to allow Anakin to compose himself. He watched as Anakin slowly wrapped his good arm around his legs and place his chin in between his knees.

Obi-Wan decided that Anakin looked bloody awful. Anakin's face was dripping in sweat, his eyes were bloodshot and puffy, his nose was dripping, and his bottom lip was quivering. The young Jedi was doing everything in his power to compose himself, and was failing miserably. Anakin had always looked and acted older than he was, even if he was doing something incredibly reckless and stupid. But now, curled up in his fetal position, Anakin looked more like a child than Obi-Wan had ever seen. "What do I do?" Obi-Wan thought.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan started, then he paused, waiting for his Padawan to acknowledge him. When Anakin didn't, Obi-Wan sat down on the bed and reached out to the younger man. He reached out and grabbed Anakin's good hand and squeezed it a little. "Anakin can you hear me?"

"Yes Master," came the lifeless voice from the bed.

"Anakin, you're going to be alright," Obi-Wan promised. But it sounded hollow even to his own ears. "How in the galaxy does a twenty year old recover from this?" He thought in his mind. Anakin was barely a man, and not a well self-controlled one at that. "How do I protect him now?"

He could not let doubt shake him right now. He would be strong like a rock for Anakin, because Anakin needed protection right now. He needed information, even more information than what Padmé gave him. Padmé could tell Obi-Wan what happened, but only Anakin would be able to articulate his feelings.

"Anakin, I went to see Senator Amidala. I have a couple of questions if you could talk about it."

Anakin righted himself, and a wave of calm washed over his face like a mask. Obi-Wan realized that Anakin was going to probably lie about everything so he wouldn't appear weak, but Obi-Wan had to try. "First of all, were all of your nightmares that horrific?"

"Yes," Anakin whispered.

"Why didn't you tell me? I know you told me the night we chased the assassin, but you down played it. Why?"

Anakin paused, like he was struggling with himself on how to respond. Finally he said, "I did not want it to be true. I wanted it to be just a bad dream. When you said 'Dreams pass in time' I wanted to believe you so bad. It was like if I acted like something would happen to her, then it really would happen. If I left it alone, she would be fine." Anakin paused for a minute, but then he whispered in a broken voice, "I guess I failed her."

If you could hear a heart break, Obi-Wan's would have bounced off the walls. Again he approached his Padawan, who had started to cry again, and hugged him tightly,. "Anakin you did nothing of the sort. You came to her aid like any good son. You had no way of knowing she was in danger, and you had Padme to protect. You had too much to do at once: be a good Jedi, protect Padme, and be a good son. And you were all three, Anakin. You did not fail her!"

Anakin's was sobbing loudly again, and trying to talk at the same time. O I-Wan had to strain to hear him, "S- she was ss-so hurt-t and I-I could not d-do anyth-thing. W-We are J-J-Jedi and I-I could not d-do anyth-thing."

Obi-Wan hugged him tightly. "Shh Shh," he whispered. "I know. I doubt this helps, but I felt just as helpless when I lost Qui-Gon."

"W-What-t-t Helped-ed?"

"Yoda."