Chapter 4: Paralyzed
Kanan: Hello? Dragon?
Me: *leaps down from the ceiling* Hey Kanan!
Kanan: AHH!
Me: *giggles*
Kanan: Not funny. What were you doing up there?
Me: Practicing my lower body strength.
Kanan: *looks up at ceiling, which has metal bars on it* So you were…hanging from the ceiling?
Me: Yep!
Disclaimer: She does it all the time. Kinda creepy.
Kanan: I would imagine so.
Announcer Voice: Last time, on Blasted:
"Increased Heartbeat,"
"Breathing has quickened,"
"Signs of consciousness,"
"Can you hear me?"
"Ezra?"
Light invaded the darkness, and a white room came into focus around him. His vision blurred and refocused. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. When he opened them again, he found himself staring into a pair of emerald green spheres.
Me: Okay, seriously, what IS that?!
Disclaimer: No idea. I'm ignoring it. Maybe it'll go away.
Kanan: I have no clue. You're the one who works here in the fanfiction studio!
Disclaimer: Dragon owns nothing.
Announcer Voice: This time, on Blasted…
Ezra blinked again, trying to get his vision to stay steady.
"He's awake," a voice said.
"Ezra. Can you hear me?" Hera. It was Hera!
He tried to tell her he could, but it came out more like a pained squeak. He settled for nodding instead, which still hurt a bit. Hera let out a relieved sigh. He may not be out of the woods quite yet, but things looked better for the teen than they had mere minutes ago.
"Can you do something for me Ezra? Can you move your left arm?" she asked.
Ezra complied, raising it up then balling his hand into a fist. He flexed his fingers and let it fall back onto the bed.
"Now try the right," she instructed.
His finger twitched upwards slightly. Other than that, there was minimal movement. He hissed as pain flared in his shoulder. His face was filled with pure terror.
"Hera, I can't move it," he whispered.
Hera blew out a breath. She had been afraid of this. (Note: Before you read this part, I have no idea what I'm talking about. This idea just popped into my head and snowballed. I suck at anatomy and the nervous system!) The bolt had struck a nerve in the arm that controlled its movement. While it hadn't been severed completely, as seen when he moved his finger, it had been damaged to the point where the arm was almost completely paralyzed from the shoulder down. If this problem wasn't fixed, and soon, Ezra would lose the use of the arm entirely. For good.
"Kanan, may I speak with you a minute?" she asked.
He nodded and stood, ruffling Ezra's raven hair.
"Be back in a minute kiddo," he chuckled, to which Ezra gave him a fake angry look, which quickly turned to a smile.
The two moved to the opposite corner of the room, discussing something Ezra couldn't hear.
"What do you mean operate!?" the Jedi exclaimed quietly.
"Kanan, look. I don't like it any more than you do. But if we don't do this, he loses the arm. We don't have any other choices here!" the Twi'lek replied.
He sighed, rubbing a trembling hand over his face and through his hair. His mouth had run dry and the color had drained from his face. He couldn't imagine seeing his Padawan, always so energetic and happy, like that. But with the way he was now, Kanan was terrified that he wouldn't make it through the surgery. He didn't want to do this but…if he didn't, Ezra would never fight again. Never be able to wield his saber. And he would be devastated.
"Ask him. If he says yes, do it," he said resignedly.
Hera smiled. "You're making the right choice dear," she said, patting him on the chest before turning and walking over to Ezra. The boy smiled.
Kanan watched as they talked quietly. Hera propped him up. Even though he couldn't hear them, the sudden change in Ezra's face and the feelings he gave off through the Force told him that she had given him the news. He didn't exactly look sad, but he wasn't happy either. He just looked…tired. To be honest, Kanan didn't blame him. The kid had a bad day. First, he'd cut himself repairing the Phantom, then he'd had an emotional breakdown. Not even three hours later, he'd been shot, and now to find out he had to have surgery? Put that on top of not having a good night's sleep in days…the kid was resilient, he'd give him that. He watched his Padawan's face closely. His bright blue eyes were filled with doubt and indecision, and he was biting his lower lip nervously. He had started fidgeting with the bed sheet with his left hand. His right remained lax at his side. Then, he saw the boy nod slowly. He bowed his head. It was for the best, but he still didn't like it. Hera patted Ezra's shoulder and stood, returning to Kanan.
"I assume he said yes?" he asked.
"Yeah. I've got to talk to Commander Sato about landing on Alderaan, his home planet. He and his daughter, Leia, have a lot of power there, and they know of a huge medical facility there that can do this. I'll let you talk to him." She replied, rubbing his forearm comfortingly. She threw him a sympathetic smile before heading out the door.
Kanan walked over to Ezra, sitting down next to him. He had collapsed against the soft pillows behind him.
"Hey Padawan," he said.
"Hi master," he returned, not meeting his eyes.
"Hey, look at me," he said. Ezra looked up. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," his student lied.
"You nervous?"
Ezra frowned and once again began to chew on his lower lip. He opened his mouth to answer, but shut it and nodded instead.
"Well, don't be. I won't let anything happen to you, ya hear?" he said firmly.
Ezra smiled. "Thank you master, for everything," he murmured. The boy surprised himself with a yawn.
"Now try and get some more sleep. You really need it," the older man ordered.
The teen nodded and relaxed, falling asleep only moments later.
A/N
Me: Well, that was eventful.
Kanan: I think Zeb scared off that voice for now.
Disclaimer: Guess so.
(No Next time this time. Don't have anything interesting enough yet!)
-SWMCDC227
