CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LUKE'S SICK
One year after Padme's miscarriage, things were going much better with the Skywalker Naberrie family. Anakin and Padmé were thinking of having another baby, Luke and Leia were growing up fast, the republic was in good shape again. With Padmé as one of the most important senators in the galactic senate, there was progress, and she was working in a law that would forbbid slavery forever. Anakin was very proud of his wife. She had overcome of the terrible things that had happen to them a year ago. She seemed to be stronger than ever.
Not like little Luke. He didn't have a good health, and was always getting a strange virus or something like that. But this was not a big deal for Anakin. Every time Luke got sick, he would give him strength through the Force and the little kid would be running around in a couple of days. But this time it was different.
Padmé was getting a little worried about Luke. He'd been in bed for almost a week now, and Anakin's "Force doses" weren't working as usual. They called all the healers on Naboo, and they all said the same: he had the Flutsery virus. It didn't usually affect humans, because it was a Gungun disease, and he'd probably got it for eating grass or leaves (Luke loved to do that). There was no known cure, only to let the illness follow it's course. Generally, it would take a couple of more weeks for the fever and the sweating to stop. It would probably stop by then.
But Padmé wasn't satisfied with this answer. She didn't wanted her little boy to suffer if there was something she could do about it. The only problem was that there was nothing she could do for her boy, and this drove her crazy.
Two weeks passed, and Luke's health wasn't improving at all. He slept all day and night. At least that's what they thought for the first week. It turned out that Luke passed out at daytime and slept all night long. That way it was harder to get him to eat something, and he was getting thinner and weaker every day. One noght, Anakin had a dream. More like a vision. He saw Luke suffering and dying in Padmé's arms. He woke up in his sweat breathing hard. That was it. Anakin decided to take control of the situation, so he locked himself inside Luke's room, telling Padmé that he wanted to be alone with him for a while.
*****
Anakin must've been holding Luke's hand for an hour now. He was focusing on his son's illness and trying to take it away from Luke's body. He was sending his own energy to his son's body through the Force. Anakin thought that this way Luke would get better sooner than expected. But it wasn't working. Another hour passed, and another, and another, and another. . .
Anakin was getting tired. He had spent almost all night trying to give Luke enough energy so that he would eat, recover his strength. But he wasn't going to give up that easy. This was his son's health in jeopardy, and he wasn't going to let an insignificant thing like him getting tired to stop him. But it was getting to affect him, all this energy he was giving to Luke, he was loosing it. He felt as if his brain floated inside his head, moving everywhere, and it really hurt. He opened his eyes and noticed Luke was blushing, color came back to his cheeks. It was working after all. Anakin concentrated even harder in what he was doing. He heard somebody knocking at the door, but he didn't answered it. He was still focused in Luke.
Anakin couldn't take it anymore. He fell to the floor with his eyes half closed, facing the door. He watched how the door was opened with keys and saw Padmé rush inside to then kneel by him. He closed his eyes and didn't opened them until the next morning.
Anakin woke up and felt somebody squeezing his hand. It was Padmé, who had a smile of relieve on her face. suddenly, Anakin remembered everything that had happened the previous night.
"Luke. . .", he whispered, with a concerned look in his eyes.
"He's fine now, thanks to you, Ani". Anakin smiled. "What you did was really dangerous, Anakin. There's something that. . . " Anakin interrupted her.
"I had a vision. . . Luke, he wasn't getting any better. I had to do what I did before it was too late", he managed to say. He had a terrible headacke.
"You mean. . ." Padmé asked disbelieving what she'd just heard. Anakin nodded. Anakin wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, Anakin. I don't know what we would do without you". A tear rolled down her face. anakin felt the tear on his shoulder.
"Why are you crying?". Padmé looked at him and sighed.
"Anakin, Obi-Wan is here. He will explain everything to you". She walked outside and came back in with Obi-wan by her side. He had a very serious but sad look in his eyes. He stood up by his bed while Padmé sat down next to her husband and put an arm around him. Anakin was confused. He tried to reach the Force so that things were more clear to him, but he couldn't. //I must be tired//, he thought.
"Anakin, I have bad news for you", Obi-Wan started. Anakin looked at Padmé, who was looking at him trying to send strength to her husband.
"What is it Obi-Wan?", Anakin asked. Padmé's face was wet with tears.
"I'm afraid that in the attempt to save your son's life you lost great part of your powers". Anakin had a puzzled look in his eyes.
"And. . .?"
"You can't be a Jedi anymore".