When Cody worked his way back to the waking world several hours later, it was to Coric standing over him, typing something out on a datapad. He squinted up at the medic, the pain behind his eyes just as sharp as it had been earlier, the nauseatingly bright overhead lights of the med bay only making it worse.

"Commander," Coric greeted distractedly with barely a glance in his direction.

Cody groaned, feeling completely drained, and rolled over to stuff a pillow over his head in attempt to block out the offending brightness.

"If you are going to vomit," Coric said, still in his distracted tone, "For fucks sake, please use one of the emesis bags on your bedside table."

Cody shot him a glance from under the pillow, eyebrows raised. "I take it you've had some trouble with that?"

"You've no idea," Coric responded, dropping his datapad on the table irritably as he turned to tweak something on Cody's IV.

"Well, I'm not feeling nauseous any more, so you don't need to worry about me," Cody grumbled.

"Uh huh. That's what they all say. Right before they throw up all over the kriffing floor."

Cody rolled his eyes, feeling unreasonably sulky, and shoved the pillow back over his face. Coric snorted lightly in response. "You're getting an anti-emedic, along with saline and a mild pain killer through your IV. I'll up the dose of the pain medication and add a sedative when the muscle pain starts setting in."

"Great," Cody mumbled. "I look forward to it."

Coric merely patted him on the knee as he walked away from the bed.

Cody rolled back over to see his comm, which he had tossed onto the bedside table, blinking with an unread message. Upon picking it up, he discovered that Rex had sent him a message several hours before.

CT-7567: You alive, ori'vod?

CC-2224: Barely. Nearly puked all over General Kenobi. Cody sent back, feeling the desire to disappear into the mattress as he was forced to recall the events from earlier in the day. His comm beeped with a return message almost immediately.

CT-7567: That would have been something. Is it that flu?

CC-2224: Sure looks that way. I am confined to the damn medical bay until further notice.

CT-7567: Sorry Codes. Skywalker is helping push for a solution from the Council and he says General Kenobi is relentless. He's sure they're going to have something soon.. Until then, get some rest. We both know you are going to give your poor medics a run for their money.

CC-2224: Elek, buir.

CT-7567: In all seriousness, vod, gar shuk meh kyrayc.

Cody tossed his comm back to the table with an exasperated but fond smile. Rex was just as much of a mother hen as Obi-Wan was, sometimes, but Cody supposed that he had the same protective streak in himself as well. He settled back into the pillows with a sigh, allowing himself to drift back into sleep.

The next six days passed in a blur of bright lights, the hum of medical devices and the smell of antiseptic. Rather than improving, Cody noted within the first twelve hours that, though his symptoms were changing, he was actually feeling worse. His thoughts became heavy and slow, and everything felt scattered and fuzzy. A bone deep fatigue settled over him like a weight, keeping him anchored to the bed, unable to even sit up. His world narrowed to fitful stretches of sleeping and the brief periods of miserable wakefulness he managed in between.

Jesse from the 501st was a near constant presence in the med bay, sitting beside Kix - Cody would often wake briefly to see the ARC trooper running fingers comfortingly over the CMO's forehead, murmuring things that the Commander could not make out. Kix could not seem to rest properly and would often toss and turn in fits of fever dreams, only falling into a deep sleep when he could sense Jesse's steady presence. Without Jesse nearby, Cody would sometimes hear Kix surge awake with shallow, panting gasps, and the Commander would turn as though to offer comfort when the normally audacious medic curled in on himself, trembling, but frustratingly lacked the strength to even force words out. Coric would come sweeping in, bending quickly over the CMO with his face drawn, his voice more tender than Cody had ever heard, while he calmed Kix with soothing hands.

Across the room, in another row of beds, lay Fives and Waxer. At Fives' bedside sat Echo and occasionally Tup, sometimes quiet in their unwavering support, but usually cracking jokes and making Fives snigger, despite his weakened disposition. Boil sat, a grounding presence, next to Waxer, and read out loud occasionally from a stack of data pads he'd brought along whenever the lieutenant was able to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. Though Cody wasn't coherent enough to make out the exact words from across the room, he found the low drone of Boil's voice calming, and it often lulled him into sleep.

At the thirty six hour mark, Cody's fever spiked and the muscle spasms set in. He spent half his time in a muzzy state of not-quite-asleep-but-not-awake-either, periodically jerking back to full consciousness with a gasp and curling onto his side, fingers gripping the blankets in a vice when a particularly bad spasm gripped him. It was during one of those spasms that, as he was slammed forcefully into wakefulness, shivering and covered in a cold sweat, he saw a figure, all brown and cream and copper, leaning over him. He was able to focus his vision enough that Obi-Wan's face, tight with concern, swam into view. The Jedi's lips were moving, he was saying something but Cody heard everything as if through deep water. He choked out a cry as another spasm danced agonizingly up his spine and Obi-Wan placed a hand gently over his forehead. For a moment, Cody felt a strange, encompassing warmth pass through his body, soothing his aching joints and ragged muscles as it went and leaving a tingling sensation in its wake - the force, his fever addled brain supplied dully. He relaxed momentarily, just in time for Coric to lean into view on his other side, also saying something that Cody was sure was meant to be reassuring - he didn't quite catch it and before he could ask, the medic was shoving a hypo spray into his neck. He only had a moment to register that it was a sedative before it pulled him under.

Cody flitted in and out of consciousness for Force knows how long. He surfaced once to see the blurry outline of his General, slumped and clearly asleep in the chair beside his bed. He reached out, attempting to find his voice, but fell back, drained, as he was dragged back into unconsciousness. He woke again, hours or days later - he wasn't sure, and Coric was above him, fiddling with something on the machine that controlled Cody's IV and monitored his vitals. Cody heard someone retching across the med bay and Coric winced and swore before vanishing from the Commander's vision. Cody was quite sure they were keeping him under near-constant sedation, but had no time to reflect on it as he slipped under again.

The second to last time that he was able to surface into murky consciousness, despite the heavy undercurrents of the sedative, Cody was convinced that he was dreaming. The med bay was quiet and dim - seemingly asleep itself - and Obi-Want floated silently, ghost-like between the rows of beds in the darkened room and paused here and there, his hands hovering steadily over each of the vode who lay prone within. The Jedi was using force healing, the Commander realized with some consternation. Cody had half a mind reprimand him, to chastise the Jedi for using up his own precious energy reserves, but he remembered the peaceful feeling that had overcome him as Obi-Wan touched him with gentle hands and pulsed, warm and steady in the force, to soothe him back into sleep. He saw each one of his men relax under the General's outstretched hands in turn and could not bring himself to rasp out a reprimand. The vision of Obi-Wan's tired smile followed him back into the darkness.

In his dreams, he relived battles, both real and imagined, of the cries of injured and grieving brothers rising above the metallic din of the droids in a horrifying refrain. He dreamed of blood, rivers of it, flooding through The Negotiator, drowning everyone within. He dreamed of being swept away as it crashed into him in a wave and he was struggling toward something, towards some golden light, warm and gentle, piercing the deluge with brilliant rays of luminescence. He gasped and kicked his legs with all of his strength, trying to stay afloat as he reached a hand out to the light, desperate, but he fell short, swept away by the torrent of blood. He felt it dragging him under, pulling him along, and despite his resistance, he was sinking down, down into crushing depths as it filled his mouth and nose and ears, choking him until his vision went dark. One moment he was floating in the throws of unconsciousness, and the next he was surging awake with a harsh cry, his body jerking convulsively as the feeling of panic clung to him. He bolted upright, only belatedly realizing in his panicked stupor that he was not, in fact, drowning. He was sitting, gasping, in the med bay of The Negotiator, his vision swimming. There was no blood, only the dim lights of the night cycle and an incessant rushing sound in his ears as he gulped for air. The last thing he saw before his eyes rolled back was Coric, moving to him from somewhere across the dim room, alarm on his features, and then he was falling again, back into the deep, dark recesses of his unconscious.

Cody awoke overly warm, covered in sweat and disgusted to feel the sticky dampness of his cotton shirt plastered to his upper body. Allowing his eyes to flutter open, he noted dully that he didn't feel as disoriented as he had the last few times he had awoken. He swallowed roughly around the sandpaper dryness of his mouth and throat, feeling as though his tongue was made of cotton and his limbs were made from lead, only vaguely noting the IV in the back of his hand as he struggled to sit up. There was a gentle pressure on his shoulder, pushing him back down to the medical berth and he turned to find Obi-Wan bent over him, a damp cloth clutched in his hand.

"General," he rasped, wincing at the roughness of his own voice. He sunk back onto the mattress weakly and Obi-Wan reached forward to gently press the cloth he was holding against Cody's forehead. Cody found himself only mildly embarrassed at the small groan of relief that escaped his throat as the coolness made contact with his scorching skin.

"Welcome back, Commander," Obi-Wan said softly, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly in the dim lighting. "How are you feeling?"

Cody closed his eyes for a moment in assessment and his throat clicked audibly with his next swallow. "Honestly, sir? Like I've been trampled by a herd of angry bantha."

Obi-Wan didn't laugh, but quiet humor sparkled in his eyes as he gently wiped Cody's forehead and cheeks with the cool cloth, a soft hum in the back of his throat. "Your fever has finally broken," he supplied.

Cody noticed, with some hope, that the medical bay was nearly empty now, the only filled beds were occupied by himself and several Shinies from the 501st whose names he could not currently recall. Kix, Fives and Waxer's beds were empty, their crisp sheets made as though they had been for some time.

"How long have I been out?" Cody asked, frowning.

"It's been six days since the onset of your symptoms," Obi-Wan said, somewhat tightly. "You are through the worst of it, but it seems you came down with a particularly bad case. We were beginning to worry."

Cody lacked the energy to be anything more than mildly surprised and merely nodded in assent. His General looked tired, and Cody said as much before he could stop the words from slipping off his tongue. Obi-Wan huffed a gentle laugh and ran his fingers through his slightly unkempt hair, attempting to push it back into place.

"Getting the approval to push the vaccine through took some doing." he said, finally. "But with Kix and Coric's help - and obstinance - we managed. The first doses should begin arriving within the next four days."

Cody nodded with a deep exhale, his relief palpable, and Obi-Wan smiled in concurrence, though it was slightly overshadowed by the crease in his brow.

"Have you slept at all, sir?" Cody asked, pushing as much rebuke as he could manage into his tone. He thought he already knew he answer to that question.

"I have slept," Obi-Wan reassured him with a wry smile.

"In the chair?" Cody challenged.

"Ah. Saw that, did you?" Obi-Wan had the grace to look sheepish, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck as it always did when he was facing a (probably necessary) scolding.

"Sir," Cody sighed pointedly. "I also saw you walking around doing some force healing, which I know for a fact is exhausting."

"Ah, well," Obi-Wan shrugged. "I do what I can."

Cody leveled him with a withering look.

"Cody, you and your brothers are very dear to me," Obi-Wan said earnestly. "If I can help in any way, even if it's just as simple as soothing your aches or easing you into sleep, I will."

Cody considered this for a moment. He knew he would do the same - anything, really - to ease the suffering of his men if it were ever in his power.

A beat of silence passed. "Cody, you were..." Obi-Wan hesitated, taking a breath. "You were quite unreachable for a time. Even through the force, I had a difficult time grounding you. Despite our combined efforts, Coric and I struggled to bring down your fever for several days. We were beginning to fear that you would not recover."

Cody frowned, taking in the crinkle of Obi-Wan's forehead, the slight downturn of the corners of his mouth, the tenseness in his shoulders, and reached out to place a hand over the Jedi's. "I felt you there, sir," he said softly. "Your presence, that is. Even in the throws of my nightmares, you were there, something I could work toward."

Obi-Wan huffed a self-deprecating laugh, shaking his head so that his fringe fell forward into his eyes and he had to push it back again. Cody cleared his throat, feeling awkward in the silence, and decided to change the subject.

"How is Kix doing? Fives and Waxer?"

"Well," Obi-Wan started, eyes crinkling around the corners, "Coric has released Kix, but with the understanding that he is confined to his quarters on bed-rest, with the exception of helping put together a case for the vaccine to present to the Council. He, perhaps smartly, put Lieutenant Jesse in charge of seeing that our Chief Medical Officer stays in bed. I am sure you can imagine how well he took to that."

Cody snorted lightly, eyes fluttering closed. He'd pay good credits to see that happen.

"Waxer was discharged two days ago, into Boil's diligent care. Lieutenant Fives shortly after, with Echo's support."

Cody hummed in approval. "And Coric?" he asked, remembering the tension in the medic's face as he hovered about.

Obi-Wan gestured to the far end of the room and when Cody followed his gaze he saw Coric slumped over his desk, atop several stacks of data pads and flimsi, his mouth open slightly and shoulders rising and falling with the slow breathing indicative of one in deep sleep. There was a blanket laid over his shoulders and Cody looked back to Obi-Wan with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"He's been fussing over everyone all tenday," Obi-Wan supplied with a mixture of warmth and exasperation. "By the time I actually got him to sit down, he didn't even require a force suggestion to drop right off into sleep. I am not quite sure how he was even still on his feet, to be honest."

"Remind me to tell Rex to give that stubborn dikut some leave next time we return to Coruscant," Cody said fondly.

Obi-Wan merely chuckled, warmth and relief in his eyes.

Nearly a week later, Cody stepped onto the bridge of The Negotiator for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He took a deep breath, relishing the feeling of being back at the heart of things as he let his eyes scan over the bridge and its crew. Though he was still recovering his strength, after his forced sojourn in the med bay, and then being confined to his quarters for several days afterward, he felt more rested than he had in a long while.

Thanks to the intervention of the Jedi, the vaccine had arrived as expected, and within the first week nearly two thirds of the combined numbers from the 212th and the 501st had been given their dose with more incoming. Several new cases had popped up in the interim, of course, but Kix, whose indomitable presence had swept the med bay upon his return, had assured the chain of command that the cases were not as severe and were trending downward as the number of vaccinated troopers rose. Cody could not stop his lips from twitching at the thought of the CMO and Coric, together once again, wreaking terror on any unfortunate soul that had fallen to their not-so-tender mercies.

The cruiser had suddenly felt more alive, more full than it had in some time, the easiness returning to the corridors and the mess along with the vode. Things felt more relaxed than they had in the last two weeks and Cody liked to think that it was due to the forced, although necessary, weeks of downtime during the mandatory quarantine of both battalions. Perhaps, he mused, this was the universe's way of telling them they needed a break. Though the whole outbreak issue was probably overdoing it a bit, he thought with a small shake of his head.

"Welcome back, Commander," a warm voice said from behind him, and he turned to find Obi-Wan sweeping through the door to the bridge. The Jedi squeezed his shoulder in greeting as he passed to stand on the opposite side of the table.

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be back," Cody said sincerely. "Shall we get to work?"

Obi-Wan tossed him a smile from across the holotable, and all was suddenly right in Cody's world again.

Welp, that's that! I found myself struggling to tie this one up with something brief but still meaningful.
Comments are most welcome, as always.