Chapter 39

Meri shuddered as chills ran down her back. The air was so cold…

Slowly she opened her eyes. To her horror, she was back on Dubh nán, back in the Rebel camp. Without even looking she could feel the blood oozing from her arms. Her back was a source of agony as she attempted to brace herself on the cold, all too-familiar floor.

It was darker than she remembered. Much darker. She could barely see the few feet in front of her, and shifting shadows hid the corners of the room.

A tidal wave of fear crashed over her, leaving her trembling like the green leafy fronds in the evergreen forest. From the other side of the door, she heard again the raucous voices as they debated her future.

*Master?*

A touch of panic laced Meri's voice as she called out through the Force. Suddenly she felt vulnerable, and exposed to prying eyes. She tried to fold her arms over her chest, but only succeeded in tumbling over.

Out of the swirling shadows a figure loomed, and Meri slowly realized the voices had stopped.

Without even thinking, Meri began to inch backwards in fear. *Away, farther away*, she thought. But despite her best efforts, pathetic as they were, the figure loomed ever closer, the face suddenly becoming clear.

The Rebel leader.

His pale eyes glittered and a leer spread across his face.

"I told you that you would live to regret it," he breathed with a sneer. In a sudden movement he lunged forward, grabbing her by the arm, "I don't give second chances!"

With those words echoing in her ears, and a whimpered cry escaping her, Meri awoke to reality, as she lunged away from the hand that had grabbed her arm. She realized that she was on a cold floor, her knees smarting from the impact, her eyes refusing to focus.

"Meri!"

The forceful call pulled her wide, frightened eyes up and she found herself looking into the very concerned face of the Master healer, An-Paj.

Quickly Meri looked back down, gasping for air as she attempted to slow her wildly beating heart. *Just a dream … it was only a dream,* she told herself sternly.

She found An-Paj on one knee beside her, watching her closely. Meri squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could be anywhere else.

"Are you alright, Meri?"

To her surprise, his voice wasn't stern, nor was it demanding, but warm and caring. She could feel the peace in the Force he was sending along with the words.

"It was just a dream," she breathed, with a weak nod of her head.

An-Paj's pale, blue eyes studied her with interest. "Some dream, Padawan. You had your Master in near hysterics."

Meri looked up sharply to find An-Paj's gaze on her and a wry smile lifting his lips.

"He sensed your distress and it was all we could do to keep him calm. He was so out of it when he was brought in, we thought at first he was hallucinating."

Meri's eyes widened and without thought, she sought her bond with Alex, caressing him through the Force, sensing him relax immediately.

"I'm sorry," she murmured softly, looking away. A hint of coldness still remained, the remnants of the chilling dream.

"No matter," An-Paj remarked neutrally, moving slowly to place his hand at her elbow and helping her to rise.

Meri was embarrassed to find she was trembling and had difficulty standing, and the Master healer only took his hand away when Meri was again sitting on the infirmary bed.

"Let me have a look at that ankle, then I'll attend your back," he said without his usual tone of reproach at the fact she'd injured herself.

With gentle hands at first, An-Paj began to slowly examine Meri's ankle. As his fingers dug deeper into her muscles and tendons, searching out the wounded areas, Meri could not keep back the small cry that escaped her lips.

Tensing her jaw, she bit the inside of her cheek, refusing to make another sound. Across her bond with Alex, she felt a sense of tenseness as her pain bled through the connection that bound her to her Master.

With a labored indrawn breath, she then let it out in a whoosh, mentally blocking her pain from Alex. He had enough to deal with.

Finally An-Paj released her foot, an unhappy frown on his face. "I won't ask how you accomplished that. You've been around Obi-Wan enough to have caught the Kenobi curse," he muttered as he walked across to the opposite wall and removed a roll of wrap off a shelf.

Meri simply yawned in response as he returned and began to wrap her ankle tightly.

Once he was finished he motioned her to lie down. "Now let me see what else you've done."

Meri was only too happy to comply. She was ready to fall into an exhausted and this time (she hoped) dreamless sleep. However the sudden heavy silence in the room as An-Paj pulled back the edges of her gown woke her up.

Finally she heard him release a held breath and her heart began to beat a bit faster.

Slowly the Master healer moved around so that he was looking her in the face. At his expression, Meri's heart dropped.

"Meri," he began gently. "I was under the impression that your back had already been treated."

"I was in the bacta tank for a few hours, but that was all they could spare," she said hesitantly.

"Meri, do you know why your back still hurts as bad as it does?"

She shook her head warily.

"An infection has set in. Now I don't know if this was before or after you left that planet, but it has certainly been too long already."

"W-what's wrong?" she stuttered as she became even more worried.

"Meri," he now sighed. "I'm afraid it might leave scars." He quickly hurried on. "Now of course I'm going do all I can to prevent that, but even so, there may be some remnants of your, ahh, adventure"

Meri just looked blankly at the healer not really comprehending what he was saying and not certain if she should be concerned about this news. Taking her silence for understanding, An-Paj was quick to reassure her.

When again Meri didn't respond, the healer decided she was too exhausted, both mentally and physically, to really understand the impact of his words. After she had rested, and after Alex had recovered enough to support Meri, he would describe what he had done.

The room was silent as An-Paj moved to gather the things he would need and when he returned to Meri's side, she was again, almost asleep.

"Meri, I'm going to need to clean those wounds. I'm going to give you something that will help you sleep through it. Otherwise it would be very painful."

"Mmmkay," she replied in a mumble, not really hearing or caring what the healer was saying or doing. She didn't even flinch as the hypospray pressed against her arm. Almost immediately, she sank into a blissful oblivion.



***

[Midmorning, next day.]



Alex awoke from a restless sleep to the sound of rain spattering against thick glass. Slowly opening his eyes, he found the room cast in a heavy gray light. *I'm in the infirmary,* he realized as he pushed the last remnants of sleep from his mind.

Pulling himself up, he glanced around the room, searching. He found the object he was searching for only a few feet away, in another infirmary bed, but unlike himself, his padawan was still in a heavy sleep.

She lay partially on her side, one arm curved over her head, the other tucked near her body. Her dark braid fell over her shoulder, contrasting sharply against her pale face in the gloom of the room.

A pang of concern went through him as he saw the white tips of a bandage on her back showing.

"Ah, Alex, you're awake," a voice pulled him out of his musings.

He recognized the voice and turning saw the blue healer entering the room.

"An-Paj," he greeted with a faint nod of his head.

"How are you feeling?" An-Paj asked as he checked over the fever-weakened knight.

"I'd say better," replied Alex wryly.

"You sound better as well," the healer commented after using a device to listen to the knight's lungs. "You had a nasty infection. I've put you on a large dose of medication to get it under control."

"Hmm," Alex murmured, his eyes drifting to the still sleeping form of his apprentice.

An-Paj followed his gaze. "She's sedated," he said quietly, the words causing the Jedi Master's head to jerk up and find the healers face. "I had to put her under to care for her back," he said slowly.

Alex pinned his bright blue eyes on the healer's face. "Is there something she didn't tell me?"

An-Paj smiled and shrugged. "That depends. As far as I know you weren't in any shape to listen."

*Point,* he thought, remembering his apprentice urging him to go to the infirmary. After that he remembered nothing except for a few hazy impressions received over the bond from his padawan. The first was stark fear and the second was pain.

"It is her back," the healer continued. "It had been treated, but not for long enough. As a result, it has become rather infected. I've treated it the best I can."

"Will it scar?" Alex asked with concern.

"Well…I am not completely sure at this point, but right now I'm thinking it won't. If at all, maybe the faintest of marks."

Alex breathed in a sigh of relief as he turned his eyes back towards Meri.

"And you," An-Paj startled him by saying. "You need more rest. And don't let me hear any excuses about your concern for her," he waved a hand towards Meri. "I put you two in the same room for a reason. She'll sleep for awhile longer," he assured the knight.

Alex let a faint grin light his handsome features. "Actually I could do with some more sleep," he admitted.

"Good," An-Paj said as he exited the room.

Alex turned his eyes toward the windows and for a few moments watched the rain pelt against the glass. There was something soothing in the sight and sound.

Sliding down onto his side, he let his gaze rest on his apprentice until sleep rose up to claim him.