I'm sorry this chapter is a little slow but it sets a basis for the plot and i felt it was nessecary to set a little bit of the mood. if you just looked a josephine (her nickname Ine pronounced EENE will be introduced next chapter)she would seem calm cool collected and even bored. but really she is stressed and confused and i wanted to show you that instead of just telling you in one of these bluby things. anyway i don't own starwars or the clone wars or anakin or earth though it would be nice if i did

"Get in the ambulance miss," said the paramedic kindly. The whole team had gone into utter shock at the sight of Anakin Skywalker. He was a Jedi. He existed in six movies and a cartoon series. Not in real life. Not real enough to crash into the mountain that was her back yard and skid through the foreclosed properties of many of her neighbors. Not real enough for the dark eyed girl to wake up an hour before she had to go to school because a sonic boom was created when it entered the atmosphere. Not real enough for her to throw on her Ugg boot and sprint through the falling snow, telling her blurry eyed parents to go back to sleep. They nodded and put their ear plugs back in. She was surprised they had even bothered to ask. Not real enough to have made her retch at the sight of his injuries. She hadn't eaten a substantial meal since… dinner yesterday. It was not enough food to throw it up. Not real enough for her to have a bloody paper-towel in her pocket covered in his blood. Not real enough for him to be lying broken next to her on a gurney surrounded by paramedics taking his vital signs and staring at his lifeless body. Well, his heart was beating weakly. So he was alive.

"How is he real?" one man said in the silent car. He just touched the light saber clipped at his hip, and then jerked his hand away like it burned.

"I have no idea," said another with wide blue eyes. She sent a quick text to her parents telling them she went to the hospital. They wouldn't really care. She could say she went to the moon and they really wouldn't care. Money did things to people. The siren blared and they flew down the highway at close to one hundred miles per hour. This early there was no one awake let alone driving around. So faster than she thought possible the sky scraper hospital came into view, solar panels turned away, the air plane warning light blinking slowly red. Anakin moaned again and the medics pressed something on the IV drip. He moved no more.

"We need to keep him from moving and damaging himself more," the man on the walky talky was yelling at whoever was on the other end.

"I don't care that you think I'm crazy! I am not drunk and you know it! Prepare for an emergency surgery! There is a man here who is going to die because of your stupidity!" the girl walked to the front of the truck. The driver was frowning in concentration as he took the exit ramp.

"Let me speak with the kind person," the man looked at the girl in her ridiculous outfit and sighed, handing her the device.

"Good luck kid," he said. He was wondering why he was giving a minor access to closed medical airways.

"Please prep an emergency surgery room for General Skywalker," she said calmly and softly into the speaker.

"YOU'RE INSANE!" shouted some nurse on the other end through the crackling. She repeated her instructions again, this time with more force. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

"I will prep an emergency surgery room for General Skywalker," said the woman on the other end of the yellow device. The man stared at her for a moment and the girl smiled.

"What's your name?" he asked and clipped his walky talky to his belt.

"Josephine Dethkilr," he looked horrified by her last name. "It's German," she had made that excuse thousands of times.

"Okay miss," and she walked back to the rest of the ambulance. She un-clipped his light saber, not trusting the hospital not to lose it. She would need it if she was going to get this whole ordeal paid for. She had no doubts that Anakin would survive. No body died in hospitals anymore right? So the next crisis was to pay for it. Then when Anakin could function they would discuss getting him off this planet. For now, all he needed to worry about was staying alive. All she needed to worry about was holding on to this heavy weapon. She resisted the urge to test it. They pulled into the off load station and the sirens died. Then they threw the locks off the gurney and went into full emergency mode. They loaded him off the truck and into the bustle of the ER. People filled the lobby, a man with a stab wound, a kid with a fish hook in his mouth. These were the ones without health insurance. Most of them were not white. Then behind the curtain it was filled with white people. Children with leg braces, eyes red from crying and well-dressed parents. Old white men on their last legs. One Indian couple dressed in business suits with what looked like an unconscious colleague. Anakin by passed all that. He was thrown directly into surgery. I mean this was Anakin Skywalker for Pete's sake. That and Josephine always gets what she wants. People stared at her with her strange ensemble and the light saber. It was still night so there were less stares than there would be in a few hours. Once Anakin had been forwarded into surgery Josephine pulled over a nurse.

"What room will Anakin be put in after he comes out of surgery?" she asked sweetly.

"I don't know that is not my job…" the woman trails off with a confused face. This girl is staring straight into the weaker minded woman's eyes.

"Please check the computer."

"I will check the computer."

"Thank you," the nurse checked the system. It was room 789, which was a pretty funny number. Not really. Josephine didn't laugh.

"I want his clothes brought straight to me from surgery. Not washed, not even brushed. Even the ones they have to cut off. The gloves, the boots, everything,"

"The clothes will be brought to you unchanged after surgery," the nurse nodded, dazed look in her eyes as she typed something into the computer. Josephine nodded and proceeded up the empty elevator.

Ding

Ding

Ding

Ding

Ding

Ding

Ping

The doors opened revealing a long white hall. It was empty. All the doors were shut tightly. Voices could be heard behind one of them but most of the others were silent. Dead silent. Skywalker's home away from home came into view. The door was closed just like the others. The inside was white. There was a reproduction of Monet's water lilies on one wall. There was a single hospital bed with equipment surrounding it like hovering vultures coming in for the kill. There was one window and one small table. There was a chair for visitors. It was an ICU.

Josephine realized her mind was not working at full capacity. That was why her observations were so plain, her sentences so short. She was in a state of mild shock. She had gotten four hours of sleep and found a man a minute from death in a ship from outer space. A man who should not exist. He was in movies as Darth Vader. Then he was in another set of movies as the hero. A set of movies where she had seen clips, but never the entire thing. Now he was in a cartoon series, that, she must admit to herself, she loved. Even if she was a high school student and female. She had dreamed of situations like this. They were just dreams. Once, she had actually imagined Anakin calling her Padmae. That's why she was so stunned when it actually happened. George Lucas had an elephant load of explaining to do. It was going to take some effort to get to him. For now though, all she wanted to do was curl up. So she crawled into the chair and did just that. Then she started crying, cell gripped in her hands lightsaber on her lap. Tears dripped on the scratched NV3. Her body shook but she didn't make a sound. She had learned to cry silently over the years. Her parents wouldn't care. Her watch began beeping the slow automated ticks forcing unsuspecting children out of sleep. It was time for her to get ready for school. She thought about calling in sick, but they would see where she was on the news in a few hours. She stood and tried to look as commanding as possible in her pajamas. A laminated list of doctors and phone numbers inside the hospital was under the empty white vase that smelled like a dead garden. More death. Anyway, she found the number for the manager's office. He wasn't going to be in until nine like most people with his job. So she was going to have to wait around for four hours before she could call a press conference. Through the manager she would get the mayor, through the mayor the governor, and then finally George Lucas. Anakin was still in surgery and probably would be for most of the day. What was she supposed to do then? There was a polite knock on the door.

"Perfect timing," she mumbled under her breath. "Come in!" she said much louder. The nob turned revealing a nurse or PA or whatever they called them now.

"General Skywalker's clothes miss," she said and placed them gingerly in the corner. She was wearing long disposable gloves and an apron. "I wouldn't touch them if I were you. Oh, I have also been told to inform you that the doctor took the liberty of taking a blood sample and a clothing sample. He is likely to survive at this point though we make no promises. He will probably be out of surgery around noon."

"Would it be possible for you to bring me a net book? Thank you for the information. All updates are appreciated," she said softly. Her eyes were probably red. The woman looked at her with little pity. She had been there since midnight and didn't want to deal with some whiney teenager who made her carry disgusting clothes from the bottom floor.

"I will bring you a netbook." The hazel eyes left without another word.

Josephine went back to being anxious and bored. The lightsaber called to her from her hands, but she didn't activate it. It wasn't a good idea in this small room. She was also afraid that the men in black might follow its signal or something. That would totally suck, having this all taken away from her by the government.

"ANSWER YOUR PHONE! ANSWER YOUR PHONE!" her phone was ringing. That tone still scared her. She read the caller ID. Speaking of sucking…

"Hey mom," she sighed and prepared for the attack she would have to shut down. They only cared when bad things were happening.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE AT THE HOSPITAL? WHY IS NASA IN OUR BACK YARD? WHY IS THE DAMN FOREST ON FIRE?" she screamed into the phone. Before she could continue ranting Josephine began speaking.

"Do not worry mother," she said softly and stared at the window and the sun dragging itself above the horizon for another grueling day's work.

"Why wouldn't I worry?" she trailed off confused.

"Do not worry mom," Josephine said again, with more force.

"I will not worry," she repeats back as most people do when Josephine gives them an order.

"Why don't you relax today? Just make sure Helen gets on the bus okay?" She says sadly and turns away from the gathering clouds. For once she wished someone would argue with her, not just do what she said. She used to wonder how she did it. Now it was just a part of her everyday life.

"I will relax today. I will make sure Helen gets the bus," her voice floats dreamily over the phone.

"Good bye mom. I love you," she said resisting tears.

"Bye hun," and she hung up the phone. Now she would be standing there rubbing her head wondering what had just happened. Then she would shrug and do what Josephine had told her to. She curled into a ball on the chair again and set her watch to eleven.

The buzzing brought her to her senses. For a moment she panicked. Then she felt the lightsaber in her grip and the whole night came rushing back to her. A net book was on the empty bed. She snatched it, cursing its tiny keys as she flew through log in procedures. The internet was open in a millisecond and she was snaking her way to Lucas film entertainment's official website. The government could be by passed. She could just get to him through the company. Hopefully they would fall under her persuasion like most people do. She found a phone number written microscopically in the corner of one screen. She snapped her cell phone shut and punched the numbers into contacts. It was too early to call in California. The manager should be in by now. She punched in the numbers offered to her by the sheet into the ugly off white phone on the table. Then she pressed the red glowing button and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" the man said politely doing a good job of hiding his irritation.

"This is Josephine Dethkilr. I am the girl who came through with Anakin Skywalker. We have some matters we need to discuss," she paused and allowed him to respond.

"Yes, we do," his voice was steel. "See, if he is real,"

"Which he is,"

"If miss, if, the media hype is going to start in about a half an hour. We will be swarmed,"

"Yes, that is part of the point,"

"Well it is not so good for the patients of our hospital,"

"View it as an advertising campaign sir. Think of all the publicity your fine hospital will get. If you don't want news helicopters at your front door, call a press conference this afternoon. You obviously have a conference room somewhere,"

"Yes, we do have one."

"Call a press conference at three o'clock."

"I will call a press conference at three o'clock,"

"Good. Thank you sir. Have a good day," and she hung up the phone.

"That was productive," she mumbled and curled back up in the chair. Anakin would be arriving in a few minutes, she would call Lucas film around one and then she would deal with the press. Actually, somewhere in there she would have to eat something. Her stomach clenched. A lot of something. Pacing seemed like a very good idea right now.

The door opened to reveal a team of people in scrubs and white. One held the door as another wheeled in what looked like an operating table or some tricked out gurney. Josephine danced to the corner of the room to get out of the way. Another team trailed behind. The door opener and the pushed gently shifted Anakin from the rolling thing to the bed from hospital hell. They backed off and doctor team alpha squad came in after. They hooked up his full casted leg to something in the ceiling and snapped him out of one IV into another. They took the mask off his face simultaneously. They plugged him into a few more wires then then most of the alpha squad left without a word. That left two doctors a male and a female about the same height with dark hair and gray eyes. They could be brother and sister. It was a little disturbing.

"He will live. The damage to his organs was immense, and he had fifty broken bones. Though to our astonishment, his organs and bones were healing themselves at an impossibly rapid rate," the man's eyes were glowing with excitement at this discovery though his face remained impassive. "We actually had to re-break multiple bones that healed incorrectly. This is a very exciting medical discovery!" he rubbed his hands together. The woman began talking.

"Ignore my brother. I am actually a neuro-robotics specialist, this is my lab coat. See, when we were giving him X-rays before the planned MRI we discovered that this man has a robotic arm, just like the one in the movie I might add. Anyway that forced us to give him a CAT scan instead. We discovered that this robotic arm is connected to his brain and functions like a normal arm would except it is stronger. Another amazing feature is that is not cut off at the joint but just above the elbow. This is a miracle opportunity in neuro-robotics-" her brother cut her off.

"She doesn't care about that!" he hissed. "She is here for his health," he turned back to her and straightened his scrubs. "Even at his accelerated healing rate he won't feasibly have extensive motion until the end of the week. He shouldn't begin walking until Sunday. If he is who he seems to be, then he shouldn't use that," he gestured to the lightsaber clutched in her fingers, "until Tuesday of next week." His sister stood sulkily by as he continued to speak. "He will be gaining consciousness in a few minutes. He was very heavily drugged because he seems to resist amnesiac drugs. He most likely will be… confused for an hour or two. Maybe three-" his sister stepped on his foot. He turned to her and she made some slicing motions. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, normally we would ask you to leave but since this is a new planet entirely we think it would be better if he saw a face he recognized when he awoke. He did see you before he fell unconscious correct?" she nods and the talkative man continues. She was a little scared. These two seemed pretty child like to be dealing with injuries of such an immense proportion. Josephine hadn't even taken a good look at Anakin since he entered the room. She would do that when these two left. "Well don't touch him and if things go wrong press the red button on his IV." Then they left. It was so abrupt. No goodbye or good luck. Not even a nod.

It didn't seem that important when she turned back to Anakin. She bit her lip and forced the tears down that tried to burst the dam she had built there.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Beep

Anakin's heart beat at what seemed like a normal pace. His eye lids flickered and his lips twisted into a scowl. Those were one of the few things that wasn't bandaged or wrapped in a cast. There was an anti-scar bandage on his forehead. That cut must have supplied all the blood. His face was clean of soot now, and it was just a beautiful as it always had been. He was just as angular as he had been animated to an almost in human extent. His undamaged arm, the robotic one, was muscled and had not an ounce of fat. The aqua hospital scrub looked ridiculous on him even with all the casts. There was one on his flesh arm. One of his legs was encased with plaster while the other wore a boot. There were bandages wrapped around his ribs and a special brace over the top of them. The saddest thing of all was the neck brace. The plush white tube made him appear broken. His eyes fluttered again. Then they snapped. He tried to sit up, but the restrains she didn't notice before held him back. That and when he tried his face contorted in pain. The azure was still clouded when they flickered to her face. Then he relaxed. She knew what was coming. The doctor's words came back to her.

"…He will be… confused…" Anakin blinked one and then said the single word in his rich voice.

"Padmae…" his voice is a deep and smooth as it is in the cartoon. Exactly the same, as if the man who voiced him laid on the bed. Josephine shakes her head.

"I'm not Padmae," his eyes flickered from her own.

"Why are you here? We are under attack. You could be killed," he said the words with little feeling. It was as if he was in two places at once. Then his eyes come into focus.

"I could never live with myself if you were killed," Josephine winces. Her almost black eyes flicker to her phone. The time at the bottom of the blue screen is slowly growing larger and the icon that is a cross between a Texas cowboy hat and a corn cob is pulsating gently. "It might drive me to the dark," the blue goes unfocused again.

"I'm not Padmae,"

"I'll call a shuttle and get you shipped out. Then I won't have to worry anymore my love,"

"I am not your love,"

"Please don't fight me on this. It is for the best. Naboo needs you, the senate needs you. What about that bill you are about to pass?"

"Please stop," his eyes flicker into this world again.

"I will never stop fighting. Not until this body can't breathe and my heart doesn't pump. Until they have to replace absolutely everything with circuits and metal, I will fight,"

"What will you fight for?" Josephine asks the window with the dark gray sky. It was going to rain soon. Playing the game was easier than fighting it. Anakin doesn't really reply.

"This was has been going on for too long. It takes us away from our real jobs, and more importantly from each other. I don't see you anymore," some of the pain must have come back. His face contorts and he bites back a shout. The sea is bright with it. A fraction of awareness is back in his features. "What… what happened?" he mumbles and blinks his eyes blearily.

"You were gravely injured when your fighter crashed. He tries to nod and lets out a shout. His eyes go fuzzy again.

"Hurry Padmae, the ship is leaving. You need to evacuate," he intones with a little more feeling. His robotic arm strains against the bonds provided for it. Josephine unsnaps the plastic tab. His fingers take her own. His are cold.

"I am not your love Anakin," she says at a whisper. Why she bothers she doesn't know.

"Don't play your political games with me. You know I don't like that. Just kiss me and be off to safety," he finishes gently.

"I am not who you think I am,"

"Kiss me Padmae,"

"Anakin…"

"What is wrong? There is another man isn't there-"

"No, there isn't!"

"Why don't you do it then?" his voice rises and his heart begins to beat faster. The doctors will come in if things change. Josephine doesn't want him seen like this.

"I am not your wife!" she practically sobs. His face looks mildly angry.

"I love you," he says like he is ruined.

"Damn you!" she shouts. "Damn you," mush softer. Then she leans over and kisses him. It was to shut him up more than anything. She really did want to kiss him of course, who wouldn't? It just wasn't right. He was married and not even from her planet. That and the fact she was almost eight years younger. No matter how many time people thought you were older it didn't change your age.

What surprised her was Anakin's cool hand on the back of her neck, pushing her closer in the awkward position she was in. His warm tongue was at her lips and it begged for access to her mouth which she would not allow. She pulled away, tears dripping down her face.

She was weak.