I'm very sorry about the long break in publishing this fic! Writer's block sucks. But I managed to get unstuck at last, and the story finally continues.

Warning: This chapter is exactly what you suspect it is, and it's kinda realistic/graphic. Proceed at your own risk.

Anakin lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling of his dark room. A quick glance at the clock told him it was a couple hours after midnight.

Anakin sniffled and got out of his bed. He got dressed as quietly as he could, careful not to wake Master Mundi, and tiptoed out of his room. His Master shouldn't have to spend his last hours completely alone.

Anakin snuck into the Healer's Ward, terrified that one of the Healers would catch him and send him back to his room. Luckily, no one noticed him. This late in the night, the Healer's Ward was as quiet as a grave. The only sign of activity was a lone medical droid that walked past, and Anakin easily avoided it by ducking behind a corner.

The lights in Obi-Wan's room were on, but set to low brightness. Obi-Wan was lying in his bed, in exactly the same position as when Anakin saw him last, with one hand folded over his stomach, the other at his side.

"Wake up," Anakin pleaded desperately. Logically, he knew that it was pointless, but some tiny part of him still desperately clung to hope that Bant was somehow wrong. She had to be wrong. Obi-Wan was good. He was one of the kindest people Anakin knew. Why would the Force let something so awful happen to him? Surely it couldn't be so unfair. The Jedi wouldn't worship it if it was.

"Please, Master. If you wake up, I'll never disobey you or be mad at you again, I promise," Anakin pleaded. "I'll learn to control my power better, so I can't hurt you again. And I'll start locking my door at night, in case you forget that you shouldn't wake me up. Please, just wake up..."

Anakin couldn't continue. He started sobbing, large hot tears rolling down his cheeks.

And still, there was no reaction from his Master. No movement, no sound, nothing at all. Bant was right.

Anakin kicked off his boots and curled up at his Master's side, wrapping his arms around him. "I'm going to stay here with you, alright? Just so you're not alone."

With a heavy heart, Master Mundi walked to the closed door of Anakin's room and knocked. It was time for him to get dressed, try to eat something if he could - he doubted that - and to go say their goodbyes. When there was no response to his knocking, he opened the door, only half surprised to find Anakin's bed empty. It wasn't too hard to guess where the boy was.

A short time later, he entered Obi-Wan's room in the Healer's Ward, his heart breaking at the sight before him. Anakin was curled up on the bed next to his Master, his thin arms wrapped around him, fast asleep.

Anakin stirred and opened his eyes, red and puffy from crying.

"You shouldn't be standing so close, Master Mundi. I could have killed you," Anakin chastised him. Then his eyes widened as he noticed the daylight streaming in through the window. "What time is it?"

"Seven fifty," Master Mundi replied. "There's… still over an hour left."

Anakin only nodded silently.

Master Mundi felt so bad for the poor boy. No one deserved to lose so many people he regarded as parents, especially at such a young age. First his mother, then Qui-Gon, and now his Master as well.

Some small part of Master Mundi was almost angry at the latter two. Qui-Gon should have been more careful when fighting the Sith. He should have waited for Obi-Wan to catch up before following that creature into the generator room, so they could fight it together. Jinn had a child depending on him, for kriff's sake, a child that had just lost his mother. That was no time for recklessly rushing ahead like that.

As for Kenobi, he should have known better. He knew that Anakin didn't have full control over his abilities when startled, and he chose to wake him up anyway. What happened to him was his own fault.

Master Mundi shuddered, ashamed for being so harsh. But he couldn't help it. He was just too angry at both of them, for leaving the poor child alone in the world once again.

Over the course of the next hour, several more Jedi arrived to say their goodbyes; Bant, Siri, Garen, Reeft and Quinlan. Master Yoda was there too, looking older and more tired than Anakin had ever seen him. But apart from him and Master Mundi, no other Council had members bothered to show up.

Master Mundi placed a gentle hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Let's go, Anakin. What happens next is not something you should see."

Anakin glared at him defiantly. "I'm not leaving."

Bant gave him a sad, compassionate look. "I'm sorry to say this, Anakin, but Master Mundi's right. Once we turn the machines off, it... while he won't feel anything, it will be upsetting to watch. Your Master wouldn't want you to see that."

"No. I'm staying."

Bant sighed, but nodded.

She gently disconnected all IVs and turned off most of the machines, leaving only the ventilator and one of the monitors.

She made a final round of checks to confirm that Obi-Wan was beyond recovery, as was the protocol. She shone a bright pen light into his eyes, gently touched his eyes with a cotton swab, and sharply rolled his head from side to side, but none of those things made his eyes react. They remained unfocused and still, staring blankly somewhere at the ceiling. Bant tried to close them for him, but they wouldn't stay fully closed.

She lightly tugged on the breathing tube to check for cough and gag reflex - nothing - and painfully pressed on his face, hands and feet, looking for any reaction to the pain. There was none.

"No signs of brain activity," Bant announced quietly. She gave a heavy sigh. Obi-Wan had been her friend since childhood.

She turned around to face the other Jedi. "Before I continue... there are some things you should be prepared for. Once I disconnect the ventilator, his heart will continue to beat for a little longer. Perhaps even up to fifteen minutes. Once the oxygen levels start getting very low, there might be some reflexive movements. It might look like he's gasping or seizing. It… it might look like he's suffering, but he won't be, I promise. He won't feel any discomfort. It might still be upsetting to watch, though. You can leave if you want to."

Siri stood up, trembling and very pale. "I- I'm sorry, I can't," she whispered shakily. Garen left with her, with his arm around her shaking shoulders.

"Master Eerin?" Anakin dared to ask. His voice sounded like someone else's, small and scared. "Can I… can I hold his hand? I know that he won't feel it, but..." He trailed off, unsure of what he was even trying to say.

"Of course you can, Anakin," Bant said with a sad, but reassuring smile.

Anakin grabbed Obi-Wan's hand and gave it a brief squeeze, as painfully as he could, out of some desperate hope that he might still wake up, or at least stir. But, of course, no such thing happened. Anakin kept holding onto his hand anyway.

Bant gently smoothed Obi-Wan's blankets, wiped stay hair away from his pale face, and turned the ventilator off. The machine's screen went dark, and the soft hissing sounds stopped. Obi-Wan's chest slowly fell with a soft sigh, and went very still.

Bant disconnected the breathing tube, removed the tape that held it in place, and pulled it out of his mouth. Finally, she stroked his hair and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead.

"Goodbye, Obi," Bant mumbled and stepped back. She had to turn away for a moment, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Anakin hoped that it would at least be peaceful, but the Force wasn't in a merciful mood lately. After a minute or two, Obi-Wan's body started making shallow, awful sounding gasps, with long pauses between them. The movement looked very unnatural. Each gasp made his chest heave and his head sharply tilt back, but his arms, face and the rest of his body remained completely slack. His lips were slightly parted, slowly turning blue. Obi-Wan's half-open eyes were motionless, unblinking. The pupils were unnaturally wide, leaving only a thin ring of blue-green around dull black.

As violent as the movements looked, they didn't seem to be actually getting any air into his lungs. The bluish tinge in his lips and fingernails only turned darker.

Anakin knew that it was going to happen, Bant did warn them about it, but it didn't make it any less heartbreaking to watch. Every instinct screamed at him to do something, to help, but there was nothing to be done.

The monitor started flashing, but no alarm sounded. Bant must have muted it beforehand. The numbers were incomprehensible to Anakin, the only thing he could tell was that they were plummeting.

Still, Obi-Wan's body continued struggling for over ten more minutes before it finally couldn't anymore. The small gasps for air became more frantic, then turned weaker and stopped altogether. His face went very pale, almost grey.

Anakin braced himself. Obi-Wan had once told him that when Qui-Gon died, the pain of their connection in the Force being broken was unimaginable. But nothing happened. Anakin realized that he hadn't really felt Obi-Wan's presence in the Force since the day he had the seizure. Their connection must have already broken then. That was the pain he had felt in the training salle. He just hadn't realized what it meant until now.

Bant gently placed her stethoscope on Obi-Wan's chest, holding it there for a long time.

"He's gone," she mumbled finally. The flashing monitor, with most numbers on zero, confirmed her words. She turned it off, closed Obi-Wan's eyes and mouth, and gently pulled his slack hand out of Anakin's death-grip. His features look oddly peaceful now, showing no hints of the earlier struggle. If not for the bluish tinge of his skin, he would almost look asleep. She pulled the white blanket up to cover his face, and shooed everyone out of the room.

I'm so sorry! There are two more chapters though, because I just couldn't let it end on such a horrible note. Surprisingly, they're a little less depressing than they might seem.

Thank you for reading, and please review! :)