Chapter Thirty Six:

All was still, since it was the dead of night. Han was sound asleep on his pull-out bed; the older boy sprawled over the mattress. Luke was envious of Han's state: free of any voices in his head apparently, and able to sleep peacefully.

Luke was wide awake, unable to rest with the growing cacophony of sounds in his head. Over the course of the afternoon and evening the voices in Luke's awareness had steadily grown in both volume and number. Luke didn't understand why this was happening, or what had set it off— the first or second time— but he was still deeply scared of it.

Luke trembled, glancing about his room and trying to make sense of where these utterings were coming from. He saw speakers in his room, but they didn't seem to be active; and Luke doubted the hospital would use them in such a way. It wasn't the holovid, since that was off. Han was asleep: and even if Han sometimes talked in his sleep, he couldn't make this much noise.

There were more voices than Luke could count; all talking about different things. And atop the fear this chaos was garnering, it was giving the boy a massive headache.

Luke breathed erratically as the time ticked by at a snail's pace, and he eventually found himself placing his hands over his ears, hoping that would block out all the noise. But the action only seemed to intensify the sounds, as if blocking out his ears made it easier to hear the voices.

Huh? Luke wondered, confused. Usually when he plugged his ears, it dampened out noises... it wasn't supposed to make them louder!

Tears spilled from his eyes, and Luke wept as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake Han... but also wanting to do so... Oh, Luke didn't know what he wanted anymore! All the voices were making it hard for him to think straight... were messing with his ability to reason properly.

Luke did his best to ride out the noises, the voices, but the intensity only increased, and the mayhem drew Luke deeper into despair. He pounded on his skull, unevenly, and with varying degrees of intensity.

But nothing helped, and so his fear increased until Luke couldn't take it anymore. At long last— seeing no other way out of this— Luke's most base of instincts kicked in.

It was either fight or flight.

Luke didn't have the ability to fight, nor the energy... but he could feel adrenaline fueling what was left of his muscles until he found the power to sit up. He was shaky and unsteady, but he was in motion, and that alone gave Luke the courage to keep trying.

With shaking hands, Luke sought to flee. He managed to swing his leg and a half over the edge of the bed, the motion making him somewhat dizzy. Luke hadn't left his bed in weeks after all...

Luke breathed deeply and gingerly slid from the bed... and instantly collapsed when his weight was placed on his single good leg. Luke cried out when the cold floor touched his skin, and his heart rate kicked up another notch. Hearing the monitor at his bedside staring to alarm, Luke ripped the sensor from his body.

On a roll, and knowing that he was was confined without removing it, Luke also managed to find out how to remove his I.V. It hurt to do so and to his dismay he began to bleed. Luke panicked at the sight of his life-force leaking from his body.

How did he stop it?! With all that was going on— the voices, the state of his body, and now the bleeding— Luke's weeping turned to panicky sobs, and his mind left him entirely. Luke somehow found the ability to crawl— albeit slowly— and he made it to his door, straining to reach the handle.

How he got the portal open he didn't know, but finally it was open, and Luke plunged through, hoping the action would at least silence the noise in his head. But if anything it only increased it, and Luke cried out, clutching his head with one hand momentarily.

He panted... and then tried to crawl further, deeply confused and utterly disoriented. He no longer knew where he was or where he was going. A tiny part of his mind noted that there were no nurses present, and no one seemed aware of his predicament.

But that part was swiftly drowned out by the mayhem within Luke... and all the while his blood continued to seep from where the I.V. had been.

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He had been unable to go to sleep, his mind too caught up in one subject: Luke.

Anakin currently looked at his reflection, seeing some similarities in his features to Luke's. Luke had his father's blue eyes and blond hair; whereas the boy's facial features were more like Padmé's. Anakin wondered what Luke's voice was like, since he had yet to hear his son speak.

Would Luke be interested in ships and vehicles like he had been before? Did the boy like anything right now?

A tremor in the Force gave Anakin pause, and he stopped to listen to it. But as of yet, nothing more came to him so, with one eye still on the disturbance, Anakin returned to his thoughts.

Anakin had done a great deal of soul-searching over the course of the evening, and he had determined that he would be there for every step of Luke's recovery from here on out. If Luke would let him.

First, Anakin had to make amends with Luke, or get Luke to accept him... somehow. Anakin willingly admitted that Han had a point: Anakin's history as a slave might just be his ticket to Luke's good side.

Anakin didn't like to think of it in those terms, but he didn't know what other way to call it.

Another bout of turbulence shook the Force, and Anakin paid it due mind, wondering what was going on. When more detail came to him this time around, Anakin's breath caught.

Luke...

Anakin delved into the Force, trying to get to the bottom of the disturbance. At almost the same time as he touched his eldest son in the Force, all of Luke's emotions washed over Anakin like a tidal wave. Anakin was nearly knocked off his feet, and as it was he stumbled into the sink, knocking things over and clutching his head.

"Anakin?" Padmé's sleepy voice sounded from the room, the sound of shattering glass waking her.

Anakin couldn't answer his wife yet, since he was still trying to catch his breath. She appeared moments later, concern clear on her face. She took in the broken perfume bottle and the spilled items, but her attention was drawn more to her husband.

"Anakin!" Padmé dropped to her knees before him and touched his face. "What's wrong?"

"It's Luke!" Anakin gasped, struggling to dampen Luke's presence so he could focus. He managed it, and sat upright. "Something's happening with Luke!"

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Han didn't know what woke him, though eventually the sound of alarms within the room registered in his sleepy mind. Han recognized the monitors Luke had been attached to, and sat upright in his bed. When he peeked at Luke's bed to find it empty, Han was wide awake in the next second.

"Luke?" Han called, swinging his legs out from under the covers. Han couldn't see much in the gloom, and so he hurried to turn on the lights. When his bare feet contacted something slick on the floor, Han swallowed in apprehension.

When the lights came on, Han's heart leapt into his throat: the bed and all the kid's monitoring equipment were in disarray, and there was a smearing of blood leading from the bed to the door, which Han now saw was ajar. "Kid!"

In the next second Han was out the door, yelling for help even as he searched for the missing boy. To Han's mixed horror and gratitude, there was a trail of fresh blood, and he wasted no time in following it.

"HELP!" Han shouted again, wondering where everyone was. He knew the hospital ran on a skeleton crew in the dead of night, but still, there should have been someone around. Growling in frustration, Han risked racing back to the room and grabbing his comlink.

Han dialed the only number he could think of and waited with baited breath.

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Anakin heard his comlink go off, and he leapt to his feet, sprinting to answer it. His heart raced, and he didn't know how he managed to keep his voice steady as he spoke.

"Skywalker."

"You need to get here now!" Han said without preamble. "Don't ask me what's going on, 'cause the only thing I know is that Luke's missing. I just woke up, and it's not a pretty sight. I haven't found him yet... oh finally!" Han spoke to someone else on his end. "Where in space have you been?! Your patient is missing and bleeding!"

"I was in the E.R. with a badly wounded patient!" was the reply, "I came as soon as I could. We must find the boy and stop the bleeding!"

Anakin swore and was already throwing on his boots, uncaring if he only wore a pair of sleep pants. He was heading for the door seconds later, Padmé hot on his heels.

"Han, I'm on my way!" Anakin said crisply. He had the presence of mind to turn to Padmé before he exited their home. "I love you."

"I know, now go!" Padmé replied. "Call me as soon as you can to let me know what's going on!"

Anakin nodded once and raced for his speeder, using the Force to augment his speed. As soon as he could, he was flying to the hospital.

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Luke didn't know where he was, but he was acutely aware of his flailing strength. How he was still moving he had no idea, but his despair was at an all-time high. How could he get away from the voices? Why wouldn't they go away?! Why were they coming to him? He didn't want them!

"Go away!" Luke screamed finally, crying out as his shoulder caught something sharp that snagged his tunic and cut his shoulder. Luke balked, and he jerked away from the object so violently that his shirt ripped heavily. The thing was now in tatters, and due to this, it was hard for Luke to break free... so much so that Luke felt trapped.

Luke struggled against it like a terrified pet would strain against a collar and leash. Finally he got free of the garment, and he landed upon his back with a painful thud. Luke cried out against the biting cold of the floor, and he shook so heavily that when he tried to crawl further, he couldn't move in a straight line.

He struggled to simply put one hand in front of the other, to move his good leg... his head was swimming... and finally he collapsed. As he lay there, panting and terrified, he saw a darkened space. Part of him realized that the floor here was a little warmer. Luke curled into as tight a ball as possible, covering his head and sobbing heavily. Unstable, he began rocking back and forth.

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Han and the doctor on duty that evening— a man Han hadn't met yet— hurriedly followed Luke's crimson trail.

As they moved, Han looked to the human. "How much do you know about this patient?"

"The basics only, but I am still qualified to help him." The man seemed irked that his authority was in question, especially by a child.

Han glared at him. "Don't get cocky now. Luke's a special case. You can't just..."

"Look!" the doctor cut him off, gesturing to a torn shirt that had snagged on the edge of a cart left in the hallway. It was commonplace for there to be equipment and extra beds and such in the corridors of hospitals. That way the medical staff would have swift access to them if needed, instead of having to traverse half the building in an emergency.

The medic felt the tunic and nodded. "It's still warm, he's close by."

He was off again before Han could blink, and the boy was beginning to fear what would happen when this man caught up with Luke. Han tried again to speak to him.

"Listen to me, you can't..."

"I know what I'm doing!" The man snapped. "Leave it alone!"

Han opened his mouth to retort, angry on Luke's behalf, but the man skidded to a startled halt to see a huddled, sobbing Luke on the floor of a sitting room. Han noted that the boy had stopped on carpet, rather than the tiled floor of the hallway.

The doctor bent down and made to grab Luke by the arm. Han reached for the man's wrist to stop him. "Don't..."

The man shrugged him off, shooting Han a murderous glare, and still grabbing at Luke's arm. "If you don't stop interfering..."

Luke balked as Han knew he would the moment his arm was grasped. He jerked with such force that the doctor lost his balance and fell to the floor. Luke's eyes were wild and unfocused, and he screamed now, eyes darting about to find what or who had touched him.

Han wondered if Luke was actually seeing anything, since his eyes seemed so fuzzy.

But either way, Han let loose on the doctor. "I tried to warn you that he hates to be touched!"

The doctor leapt up, fury in his eyes. "I have to touch him to stop the bleeding!"

Han knew the man had a point, but he wasn't done. "There's more than one way to go about that!"

"Get out of here!" the doctor snapped. "Let me do my job!"

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Anakin leapt from the speeder as soon as he landed, and within moments he was inside the doors. He once more used the Force to go faster, and when he got to Luke's room he froze at seeing the trail of blood. Anakin forced himself to focus and, recalling that Han had said Luke was not in the room, he instead followed the blood trail.

He moved swiftly, hearing raised voices amidst a few terrified screams that had to have come from Luke.

Anakin heard Han shouting at someone in anger, and then the reply from whoever was with him. A doctor, Anakin surmised, by the other's words.

At the doctor's second remark, Anakin was the one to respond. "Han is staying, and you get out of my way!"

The man stepped back in alarm to see Anakin appear, and he obeyed without arguing, making room for Anakin. The first thing Anakin saw was the blood seeping steadily from where Luke's I.V. had once been.

Luke himself was a raging storm in the Force, but the most distinct emotion was fear. Anakin dropped to his knees beside his son, grateful that Han had thought to mention something when they'd spoken earlier.

Luke saw Anakin draw near, and his gaze— unfocused as it was— found the shape hovering near him. Luke shied away, simultaneously hitting the sides of his skull with both fists as if trying to get something out of his head.

His sobbing was so heavy that he was struggling to breath, and Anakin struggled to know what to do first. Stop the bleeding or calm Luke down? One look at Luke's face made his mind up for him.

Anakin reached for Luke but stopped just short of touching him. "Luke, it's alright. Listen to me..."

Luke did look to him, panting with exertion now. Anakin held Luke's gaze openly, keeping his voice steady and calm. He knew from past experience that such an approach could work wonders to calm someone down.

"Listen to me; it's going to be alright. Tell me what's scaring you."

Luke closed his eyes tightly, hiccupping a sob. "...won't... s-stop!" He stammered brokenly. His voice was barely loud enough to be heard.

Despite the circumstances, Anakin rejoiced that Luke had actually spoken to him. He tried to make sense of what Luke meant. "I'm going to touch your mind, okay? Try to hold still for me."

Luke was obviously confused, unaware of what Anakin meant, but instead of objecting, Luke squeezed his eyes shut more tightly and cried out.

Anakin used the Force to gently touch Luke's mind. What he found was a cacophony of voices, seeming to come from all directions and all saying something different. Anakin understood then what was wrong, and he felt his heart go out to his son.

Luke was hearing the people all around him in the Force. He was hearing their thoughts and their wishes in the Force. And since Luke was untrained, he didn't know how to block or filter those voices. As such, everything was hitting the poor child all at once.

No wonder he's panicking. Anakin thought. Force help me... what do I do?

Knowing that to suddenly cut everything off at once would sense his son into shock via the Force, Anakin spoke to his son again. "I can help, but you need to let me do so."

Luke looked to him desperately, and when the man saw that Luke was shirtless, an epiphany hit him. Anakin suddenly knew, both in the Force and in his heart, what to do. Without asking permission, Anakin reached out and picked Luke up.

Luke balked habitually, years of mistreatment causing the child to react so. He strained the best he could against Anakin, trying to get away, but Anakin turned Luke so he and his son were chest-to-chest, at which point he pulled Luke into a hug.

Luke continued to strain for long seconds, his breathing so rapid that Anakin feared Luke would hyperventilate. But finally, just when Anakin began to fear that would happen, Anakin felt something in Luke crumble, and he stopped fighting against Anakin's embrace.

Luke was still stiff, but after another few seconds he gingerly relaxed... until he suddenly folded himself against his father. He buried himself into Anakin's chest much like the infant Luke had done.

"...m-make... it st-stop!" Luke sobbed, his terror palpable in the way the boy shook from head to toe.

Anakin wrapped his arms about Luke in a protective embrace, using the skin-to-skin contact to soothe his son on a base level. He knew that Luke needed this, and he was more than willing to oblige.

Anakin nodded to the doctor, who instantly worked to stopping the bleeding from Luke's I.V. insertion point.

Anakin then rested his chin on Luke's head and closed his eyes so he could focus. Carefully, Anakin methodically started to block out the voices a little at a time. He made certain to give time between each so that Luke could acclimate.

Luke relaxed more and more with every portion of Anakin's efforts until at long last the sounds were gone and Luke all but went limp in Anakin's care. Luke continued to weep, but he was no longer sobbing. When the doctor tried to pry Luke from his father, Luke whimpered and moved to bury himself deeper into his father's embrace.

Anakin sent the man a warning look and the medic backed off. But Luke was shivering heavily now, both from the cold and from the exertion. Anakin stood with care and walked back to the room.

He sat in Luke's bed and then leaned back, with Luke still firmly held to him. The doctor reattached all of Luke's sensors, though it was difficult for him to find a new insertion point for the I.V. The man didn't seem happy with Anakin being in the bed also, but Anakin refused to let Luke go until it was truly necessary to do so.

The medic ended up having to stick Luke several times in an attempt to reestablish the intravenous feed. Luke was weeping again, looking to Anakin with pain in his gaze.

Anakin felt for him. "You took your I.V. out, so he has to find a new place to put it. They can't put it back where it was. And because you're so thin, it's hard to find a vein."

Luke merely closed his eyes and seemed to accept the inevitable, something that hurt Anakin to see. Clearly his son was used to feeling pain, even if he didn't like to do so. Anakin blew out a breath and used the Force to siphon some of Luke's pain onto himself. Luke's eyes sprang open as soon as he felt the lessening of pain.

His gaze narrowed in bewilderment, then shifted to Anakin's. When their eyes met, Luke seemed to recognize the tell-tale sign of pain in Anakin's gaze. That had to have been it, because for the first time ever, Luke's eyes softened.

Luke continued to gaze at his father, and the elder Skywalker was brought to tears at the way Luke began to look at him with the first stirrings of love.

The doctor finally completed all his tasks and left with a muttered promise to check back in. Han watched the medic go, and then drew the blankets up over father and son.

Anakin offered a grateful nod and returned his attention to Luke, who by then had shut his eyes. It wasn't long before he was sound asleep, his face the most relaxed that Anakin had ever seen it.

Anakin continued to gaze at his son, his heart full. Carefully and tenderly, Anakin ran trembling fingers over Luke's hair. He then traced the contours of the child's face, memorizing his son's features.

At last Anakin settled down and let himself sleep as well.

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Han was nearly asleep as well when Anakin's comlink went off. Anakin didn't so much as snort at the sound. Han hesitated, not certain if he should answer the man's device.

His gut told him not to ignore it, and so he fished it from Anakin's pocket, trying not to startle the Jedi Master awake. Finally he had it in hand and answered it.

"Hello?"

A pause, then Padmé's voice spoke back. "Han?"

Han nodded, even though it was a voice-only call. "Yes Ma'am. Your husband is asleep, I'm afraid."

Padmé was quiet a moment, and then asked a question. "Do you know what happened with Luke?"

"Yes," Han replied, and then he proceeded to explain everything he knew, down to the moment Anakin and Luke had nodded off.

He could hear Padmé weeping on the other end of the line now, but before Han could speak, Padmé did so.

"Thank you Han. Please let Anakin know I will visit tomorrow and bring him some clothes."

"Will do, Ma'am." Han promised. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Han."

(A/N: See you all after my vacation :) )