Chapter 29
The wind was beginning to snatch Alex's breath away, when he found her sprawled under a large limbed evergreen, its boughs stretching to hide her from view.
Pushing them hastily aside, he took in her appearance with a worried glance; nothing could have prepared him for what he found. She was on her back, her face tilted away from him, her skin dangerously pale. She looked…..//dead.//
His brain shied violently away from the word, though it was the word that had immediately tried to surface in his mind.
Reaching out, his fingers brushed against her neck, encountering the smooth, shockingly cold skin as he felt for her pulse. Long seconds passed until he felt a slow beat and heady relief poured over him.
Gently he turned her face toward him and his eyes were instantly pulled to the blue tinge of her lips. With hands that shook, though not from cold, he reached for his robe and lifted her carefully toward him so that he could more easily wrap the garment around her.
As he leaned her disturbingly cold form against his chest, his glance fell to her back and he paled when he saw what they had done. The words of his despair were born away by the wind and the knight picked the all too still form up carefully, covering her wet head, where it rested on his shoulder, with his robe.
Even though he knew where the abandoned chalet was supposed to be, it seemed to him a life time before his quick steps brought him to the shadow looming up out of the blowing snow.
Unlatching the door by using the Force, he kicked the door open with his foot, quickly strode through, and then, turning, kicked it shut again, effectively drowning out the now shrieking wind.
His bright blue eyes quickly scanned the dusty room, his eyes taking note of the full sized bed against the far wall. It was obvious that someone had at one time lived there long enough to switch from cot to bed, but the only thing Alex was interested in, were the blankets folded neatly on top.
Being careful not to jar his apprentice, he gently placed her on the bed, knowing the first thing he needed to do was get the heating unit going. The temperature in the chalet was biting.
Trailing a finger down her porcelain-like features, he murmured a soft "hold on" before hurrying over to the heating unit. His own body was beginning to shiver, in the first signs of trying to keep warm. Much to his relief, the heating unit, though old, started up easily.
Immediately, he felt the warm blasts of air begin to rush out and he turned his attentions back to Meri.
As much as her back was torn up, he knew she needed to be placed on her back. Breathing would be much too difficult for her on her stomach at this point, and as it was, she was fighting for her life.
Carefully he spread out a blanket for her to lie on, then tenderly placed her on her back. He knew what he was dealing with, having had the most basic of medical training and knew what he had to do. Remove the wet clothing.
//This really is a dire necessity. It's not as though I want to….do this…//
With his expression one of uncertainty, the Jedi knight gathered up the rest of the blankets and set them aside. He held one of the thicker blankets under an arm and started at her feet.
//Why did she have to get herself into this?!//
Carefully he tugged on the wet sock hugging one of her feet and then peeled it off. He paused when he saw her right ankle swollen twice as large as the other small foot and was very careful in removing the sock. Underneath he found her ankle had been wrapped crudely. For a moment, he was distracted from his embarrassment.
With gentle hands, he quickly unwrapped the wet bandage from the puffy ankle. His brow wrinkled with concern; the ankle would obviously need further care, but not right now. //Unfortunately…// he lamented. If only this was already done and she was undressed…then he wouldn't have to do it. Yet, though his mind balked at his task, his hands kept busy, for no matter how he felt, his apprentice was in danger and he would do anything to save her.
Once both socks had been removed, he threw them to the side and then took a deep breath, pushing the rising feelings of discomfiture down into the recesses of his mind. There was no place for that right now.
Unfolding the blanket with one arm, he moved up to her waist and spread it lightly over her. With blanket still covering her, he slipped his hand under the blanket and began pulling at her wet pants that clung stubbornly to her slender waist and hips.
//Think of something else whilst doing this…\\ he instructed himself. //Anything…\\
He tried to move quickly and although she was covered, he averted his eyes to the wall. Once he had them down around her ankles, he easily pulled them off.
//Well, that wasn't so bad...\\ he tried to tell himself as he straightened and dropped the wet pants to the floor. By then, the air in the small chalet had warmed considerably as the heating unit continued to turn out hot air in place of cold.
Glancing at her face, he was relieved to see that it had lost some of its paleness and the blue tinge around her lips was fading. But he wasn't reassured yet. Not until he had her conscious would he know that she was mostly out of danger.
Next Alex moved to Meri's head and looked down at the soaked tunic that clung to her figure. He looked off to the side rather quickly.
//Oh, Force. Why me?\\
His hand strayed up to run through his damp hair; a trademark of the young Jedi Master that told just how unsettled he was. Again, he had to fight the spreading feelings of awkwardness, embarrassment, and something else he couldn't quite identify. The tunic *had* to come off, he knew that. The only question was how, without seeing something he shouldn't.
Glancing at her head, he noticed the dark hair was dampening the pillow her head rested on.
Grabbing another blanket, he vigorously rubbed as much moisture as he could out of the heavy mass and then wrapped her hair in the blanket, to console the heat. Later when she was more stable, he would let it dry in open air. Right now, all that did was work to keep her head cool when it needed to be warm.
When he had lifted the wet hair off her shoulders and neck, he had noticed again that the tunic was in tatters in the back. All he really had to do was turn her over briefly in his arms, and tear what was left of the tunic away from her back. Then when he placed her on her back once more, he simply had to place the blanket over her shoulders and with a little maneuvering, remove the tunic.
Quickly he put his plan into motion and within moments had it accomplished. He heaved a small sigh of relief at having finished removing all her garments and tucked the blankets tighter around the still form.
He paused only a moment to seek out her pulse and was satisfied to find it had begun the climb back toward a more normal rate. Her skin felt warmer to the touch as well, but then anything would feel warmer than the alarming iciness he had encountered earlier.
Breathing a prayer of thanks to the Force, he moved to search out the heating stones. An item, he had discovered, that was used quite often on Dubh nán in this season and would now serve well to warm his apprentice. He only hoped that the old and unused chalet had the stones. If there weren't any that meant he would have to choose the alternative.
And the alternative would be immensely awkward for him and mortifying to his apprentice.
**
Heating stones weren't really stones, but were so named for their shape and color. The knight only found four, but was content with his find. He really shouldn't expect a place like this to have any more than one if any at all. The fact that there were four was most likely because the chalet appeared to have once belonged to a couple.
Alex strode over to the bed, activating one of the stones as he walked and placed the other three on the bed. The gray material covering the so-called stone was velvety to the touch as he bent it back and forth to activate the chemicals. As Alex felt the heat slowly generate from the stone, he glanced down at the still form of his padawan. If she weren't so pale, she would almost look as though she were sleeping.
Taking the heating stone in his hand, he reached under the blanket and placed it gently on her stomach and groin area. Once he had the other two warming, he placed them under each of her armpits. The fourth he gently placed at the nape of her neck.
As he settled her head gently back down on the pillow, she moaned softly, the dark lashes fluttering on her cheek. Bending over her, as he was, he had an easy view of her face, and reaching out, he pushed nonexistent hairs off her brow.
He allowed his hand to linger on her forehead, brushing the tips of his fingers across her arched eyebrows as he felt the warmth of her skin. With the touch, he reached across their bond and attempted to rouse her further.
//Come on, Meri. It's time to wake up now…\\ he nudged her consciousness.
Her lashes flickered again and Alex delved deeper into their bond, his eyes closing as he encouraged her to awaken. Unconsciously his hand moved to cup the side of her face in his hand as his thumb methodically stroked the path of one dark eyebrow.
With a spark and flare of the Force, their consciousnesses connected for a brief moment.
//Master?\\
Alex smiled tenderly at the groggy sound of his apprentice's voice in his mind. //Yes, Meri. I need you to wake up, alright?\\
There was a long moment of silence and he was afraid that she had lapsed back into her dream world. When her voice finally did come, it was fading.
//I'll try.\\
Alex pulled himself back; opening his eyes, he studied her face a few moments longer, again thanking the Force that she was still alive.
She wouldn't wake up. Not now, it was too soon. But it wouldn't be long.
Almost reluctantly, he pulled his hand away from her face and when he turned away, there was a troubled light in his blue eyes.
Turning he walked slowly, wearily, over to the small window and looked out. The only thing he saw was a wall of blowing snow. The only sound in the chalet was the dulled sound of shrieking wind as it blew around the sturdy building.
The blizzard showed no signs of letting up any time soon and stretching out with the Force confirmed Alex's suspicion. //Several days, at least,\\ he thought rubbing a hand across his tired and burning eyes.
The weeks spent on Dubh nán had been long and the days even longer. He hadn't gotten much rest, instead spending many of his nights thinking of ways to get both sides to see each other's point of view. If he wasn't working on that problem, he was worrying about Meri.
At the thought of his apprentice, one hand trailed through the ebony hair and remained as he lightly clenched a fistful of the thick mane in thought. //I had reason to worry,\\ he thought ruefully.
After all, he'd found her almost frozen, whipped, and with a badly injured ankle. At the remembrance of her ankle, he turned and moved back to the bed.
Sitting on the end, he carefully pulled both her feet into his lap, settling the uninjured foot up against his side and under his arm. With it situated that way, he could keep it warm while he worked on the other.
For a moment, he just sat there. He hadn't realized how fatigued he really was until he had sat down. Without giving it a second thought, he pushed his exhaustion to the back of his mind. No time for that now.
He placed his hands on either side of the puffy ankle, closed his eyes and with a masterful show of the Force began to assess just how badly she had injured it.
He winced.
Opening his eyes, a bit reluctantly though he wouldn't admit it, he cast an exasperated glance toward Meri. The injury probably would have healed easily right after it had occurred, but after she had been walking and in some cases running around on it, the damage was now worse. It was broken in several places and a few muscles were strained. It was going to take quite awhile for it to heal.
Lightly he placed two fingers on either side of the swelling and began to send healing tendrils of the Force out through his touch. Minutes stretched into an hour and still he worked at it.
When he finally opened his eyes and titled his head to look down at his work, the room briefly wavered.
He shook his head to clear his vision and ignored what his body was trying to tell him. He was glad to see that the swelling had gone down in the ankle, and gently he tucked both feet back under the blankets.
Standing up slowly, he removed the few bacta patches off his belt that he always carried. Never mind that he was tired. Meri's back was still in urgent need of care and now that she had warmed a good deal, it was safe to turn her over.
As it had many times in the past few weeks, sleep would have to wait.
The wind was beginning to snatch Alex's breath away, when he found her sprawled under a large limbed evergreen, its boughs stretching to hide her from view.
Pushing them hastily aside, he took in her appearance with a worried glance; nothing could have prepared him for what he found. She was on her back, her face tilted away from him, her skin dangerously pale. She looked…..//dead.//
His brain shied violently away from the word, though it was the word that had immediately tried to surface in his mind.
Reaching out, his fingers brushed against her neck, encountering the smooth, shockingly cold skin as he felt for her pulse. Long seconds passed until he felt a slow beat and heady relief poured over him.
Gently he turned her face toward him and his eyes were instantly pulled to the blue tinge of her lips. With hands that shook, though not from cold, he reached for his robe and lifted her carefully toward him so that he could more easily wrap the garment around her.
As he leaned her disturbingly cold form against his chest, his glance fell to her back and he paled when he saw what they had done. The words of his despair were born away by the wind and the knight picked the all too still form up carefully, covering her wet head, where it rested on his shoulder, with his robe.
Even though he knew where the abandoned chalet was supposed to be, it seemed to him a life time before his quick steps brought him to the shadow looming up out of the blowing snow.
Unlatching the door by using the Force, he kicked the door open with his foot, quickly strode through, and then, turning, kicked it shut again, effectively drowning out the now shrieking wind.
His bright blue eyes quickly scanned the dusty room, his eyes taking note of the full sized bed against the far wall. It was obvious that someone had at one time lived there long enough to switch from cot to bed, but the only thing Alex was interested in, were the blankets folded neatly on top.
Being careful not to jar his apprentice, he gently placed her on the bed, knowing the first thing he needed to do was get the heating unit going. The temperature in the chalet was biting.
Trailing a finger down her porcelain-like features, he murmured a soft "hold on" before hurrying over to the heating unit. His own body was beginning to shiver, in the first signs of trying to keep warm. Much to his relief, the heating unit, though old, started up easily.
Immediately, he felt the warm blasts of air begin to rush out and he turned his attentions back to Meri.
As much as her back was torn up, he knew she needed to be placed on her back. Breathing would be much too difficult for her on her stomach at this point, and as it was, she was fighting for her life.
Carefully he spread out a blanket for her to lie on, then tenderly placed her on her back. He knew what he was dealing with, having had the most basic of medical training and knew what he had to do. Remove the wet clothing.
//This really is a dire necessity. It's not as though I want to….do this…//
With his expression one of uncertainty, the Jedi knight gathered up the rest of the blankets and set them aside. He held one of the thicker blankets under an arm and started at her feet.
//Why did she have to get herself into this?!//
Carefully he tugged on the wet sock hugging one of her feet and then peeled it off. He paused when he saw her right ankle swollen twice as large as the other small foot and was very careful in removing the sock. Underneath he found her ankle had been wrapped crudely. For a moment, he was distracted from his embarrassment.
With gentle hands, he quickly unwrapped the wet bandage from the puffy ankle. His brow wrinkled with concern; the ankle would obviously need further care, but not right now. //Unfortunately…// he lamented. If only this was already done and she was undressed…then he wouldn't have to do it. Yet, though his mind balked at his task, his hands kept busy, for no matter how he felt, his apprentice was in danger and he would do anything to save her.
Once both socks had been removed, he threw them to the side and then took a deep breath, pushing the rising feelings of discomfiture down into the recesses of his mind. There was no place for that right now.
Unfolding the blanket with one arm, he moved up to her waist and spread it lightly over her. With blanket still covering her, he slipped his hand under the blanket and began pulling at her wet pants that clung stubbornly to her slender waist and hips.
//Think of something else whilst doing this…\\ he instructed himself. //Anything…\\
He tried to move quickly and although she was covered, he averted his eyes to the wall. Once he had them down around her ankles, he easily pulled them off.
//Well, that wasn't so bad...\\ he tried to tell himself as he straightened and dropped the wet pants to the floor. By then, the air in the small chalet had warmed considerably as the heating unit continued to turn out hot air in place of cold.
Glancing at her face, he was relieved to see that it had lost some of its paleness and the blue tinge around her lips was fading. But he wasn't reassured yet. Not until he had her conscious would he know that she was mostly out of danger.
Next Alex moved to Meri's head and looked down at the soaked tunic that clung to her figure. He looked off to the side rather quickly.
//Oh, Force. Why me?\\
His hand strayed up to run through his damp hair; a trademark of the young Jedi Master that told just how unsettled he was. Again, he had to fight the spreading feelings of awkwardness, embarrassment, and something else he couldn't quite identify. The tunic *had* to come off, he knew that. The only question was how, without seeing something he shouldn't.
Glancing at her head, he noticed the dark hair was dampening the pillow her head rested on.
Grabbing another blanket, he vigorously rubbed as much moisture as he could out of the heavy mass and then wrapped her hair in the blanket, to console the heat. Later when she was more stable, he would let it dry in open air. Right now, all that did was work to keep her head cool when it needed to be warm.
When he had lifted the wet hair off her shoulders and neck, he had noticed again that the tunic was in tatters in the back. All he really had to do was turn her over briefly in his arms, and tear what was left of the tunic away from her back. Then when he placed her on her back once more, he simply had to place the blanket over her shoulders and with a little maneuvering, remove the tunic.
Quickly he put his plan into motion and within moments had it accomplished. He heaved a small sigh of relief at having finished removing all her garments and tucked the blankets tighter around the still form.
He paused only a moment to seek out her pulse and was satisfied to find it had begun the climb back toward a more normal rate. Her skin felt warmer to the touch as well, but then anything would feel warmer than the alarming iciness he had encountered earlier.
Breathing a prayer of thanks to the Force, he moved to search out the heating stones. An item, he had discovered, that was used quite often on Dubh nán in this season and would now serve well to warm his apprentice. He only hoped that the old and unused chalet had the stones. If there weren't any that meant he would have to choose the alternative.
And the alternative would be immensely awkward for him and mortifying to his apprentice.
**
Heating stones weren't really stones, but were so named for their shape and color. The knight only found four, but was content with his find. He really shouldn't expect a place like this to have any more than one if any at all. The fact that there were four was most likely because the chalet appeared to have once belonged to a couple.
Alex strode over to the bed, activating one of the stones as he walked and placed the other three on the bed. The gray material covering the so-called stone was velvety to the touch as he bent it back and forth to activate the chemicals. As Alex felt the heat slowly generate from the stone, he glanced down at the still form of his padawan. If she weren't so pale, she would almost look as though she were sleeping.
Taking the heating stone in his hand, he reached under the blanket and placed it gently on her stomach and groin area. Once he had the other two warming, he placed them under each of her armpits. The fourth he gently placed at the nape of her neck.
As he settled her head gently back down on the pillow, she moaned softly, the dark lashes fluttering on her cheek. Bending over her, as he was, he had an easy view of her face, and reaching out, he pushed nonexistent hairs off her brow.
He allowed his hand to linger on her forehead, brushing the tips of his fingers across her arched eyebrows as he felt the warmth of her skin. With the touch, he reached across their bond and attempted to rouse her further.
//Come on, Meri. It's time to wake up now…\\ he nudged her consciousness.
Her lashes flickered again and Alex delved deeper into their bond, his eyes closing as he encouraged her to awaken. Unconsciously his hand moved to cup the side of her face in his hand as his thumb methodically stroked the path of one dark eyebrow.
With a spark and flare of the Force, their consciousnesses connected for a brief moment.
//Master?\\
Alex smiled tenderly at the groggy sound of his apprentice's voice in his mind. //Yes, Meri. I need you to wake up, alright?\\
There was a long moment of silence and he was afraid that she had lapsed back into her dream world. When her voice finally did come, it was fading.
//I'll try.\\
Alex pulled himself back; opening his eyes, he studied her face a few moments longer, again thanking the Force that she was still alive.
She wouldn't wake up. Not now, it was too soon. But it wouldn't be long.
Almost reluctantly, he pulled his hand away from her face and when he turned away, there was a troubled light in his blue eyes.
Turning he walked slowly, wearily, over to the small window and looked out. The only thing he saw was a wall of blowing snow. The only sound in the chalet was the dulled sound of shrieking wind as it blew around the sturdy building.
The blizzard showed no signs of letting up any time soon and stretching out with the Force confirmed Alex's suspicion. //Several days, at least,\\ he thought rubbing a hand across his tired and burning eyes.
The weeks spent on Dubh nán had been long and the days even longer. He hadn't gotten much rest, instead spending many of his nights thinking of ways to get both sides to see each other's point of view. If he wasn't working on that problem, he was worrying about Meri.
At the thought of his apprentice, one hand trailed through the ebony hair and remained as he lightly clenched a fistful of the thick mane in thought. //I had reason to worry,\\ he thought ruefully.
After all, he'd found her almost frozen, whipped, and with a badly injured ankle. At the remembrance of her ankle, he turned and moved back to the bed.
Sitting on the end, he carefully pulled both her feet into his lap, settling the uninjured foot up against his side and under his arm. With it situated that way, he could keep it warm while he worked on the other.
For a moment, he just sat there. He hadn't realized how fatigued he really was until he had sat down. Without giving it a second thought, he pushed his exhaustion to the back of his mind. No time for that now.
He placed his hands on either side of the puffy ankle, closed his eyes and with a masterful show of the Force began to assess just how badly she had injured it.
He winced.
Opening his eyes, a bit reluctantly though he wouldn't admit it, he cast an exasperated glance toward Meri. The injury probably would have healed easily right after it had occurred, but after she had been walking and in some cases running around on it, the damage was now worse. It was broken in several places and a few muscles were strained. It was going to take quite awhile for it to heal.
Lightly he placed two fingers on either side of the swelling and began to send healing tendrils of the Force out through his touch. Minutes stretched into an hour and still he worked at it.
When he finally opened his eyes and titled his head to look down at his work, the room briefly wavered.
He shook his head to clear his vision and ignored what his body was trying to tell him. He was glad to see that the swelling had gone down in the ankle, and gently he tucked both feet back under the blankets.
Standing up slowly, he removed the few bacta patches off his belt that he always carried. Never mind that he was tired. Meri's back was still in urgent need of care and now that she had warmed a good deal, it was safe to turn her over.
As it had many times in the past few weeks, sleep would have to wait.
