Chapter 37
Obi-Wan was bored. He didn't get bored often, in fact he wasn't sure he could recall any time in which he had been bored before. He was still in the Intensive Care Unit of the Med Center, but it was more a matter of not being sure where else to put him than it was of him being in any imminent danger.
Most of his wounds had healed, thanks to a lengthy dip in a bacta tank, but his body still suffered a uminor infection as well as exhaustion. The overuse of adrenaline shots had left his heart in a shocked state. They could have released him to his own quarters for a couple weeks of bed rest and plenty of healthy food, but his mental state was not nearly as recovered as his body was. He wouldn't accept that Anakin had not turned, and that it wasn't his fault, and refused to be sent to his quarters where he would be forced to face his apprentice. Visions of Xanatos' actions played repeatedly through his mind, only in his visions the face of his nemesis was replaced with the face of his Apprentice. The images left him feeling ill.
Obi-Wan surmised he was taking the cowards way out. By remaining in the Med Center, he only had to wait until the Council made their decision about Anakin, preventing him from having to make any decisions of his own.
The order to keep Anakin away only aided his cowardice. The order was certainly an odd one, he had received plenty of strange looks, but he ignored them. This was his decision. Anakin was his Apprentice and he would deal with him accordingly. A voice in the back of his head chimed that he wasn't dealing with the situation at all, but he squashed it. He would deal with his Apprentice when the Council had decided on Anakin's fate.
It had crossed Obi-Wan's mind that it was possible the Council would side with Anakin and he would be forgiven. In that case he wasn't sure what he would do. Anakin had killed in anger – blatantly using the dark side. He had agreed to be Xanatos' apprentice and he had done all this before Obi-Wan's eyes. If the Council forgave Anakin, could he? After all, Anakin was using the dark side now, wasn't he?
It was his right, was it not, if he chose not to? He could very well hand off Anakin's training to someone else if he chose. The Council would not blame him for it, direct disobedience warranted expulsion. He thought back to Anakin's words earlier that day. What if their roles were reversed? Would Anakin be so quick to condemn him?
Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about it.