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Padme did everything she could to focus her thoughts on Obi-Wan and not her nervousness. It had been about twenty minutes since Laicee had left for her lab. She prayed that she had not sent the healer to her death. Laicee getting that message sent was their only hope.
Padme took a peek at Obi-Wan's chest underneath the bacta cloth. The wounds did look a bit better, but they weren't healing nearly as quickly as when Obi-Wan had healed himself the day before. Obi-Wan needed to regain consciousness so that he could heal himself again!
Padme put her hand on Obi-Wan's face and leaned in. "Obi, please wake up! It's Padme. Please, Obi, I need you to wake up!" Padme decided to try and send those same words directly into his mind. She didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a try.
Padme watched him closely, looking for some kind of response. There was nothing. She sighed heavily. She berated herself yet again for not waking up earlier and telling Obi-Wan that she loved him. What if that was my last chance? No, she wouldn't allow herself to think that way.
But doubt crept back into her thoughts. Tears started to make their way down her face. Her heart felt like it was in a vise. Escaping without Obi-Wan by her side wouldn't even be worth the effort. What was she to escape to? Vader would never stop hunting her, not after this. If she went back to Alderaan, she'd be endangering her daughter and the newly forming rebellion, since Bail Organa was one of the leaders. She'd be completely alone, running and hiding all the rest of her days. If Obi-Wan died, she knew that she would too, in all the ways that counted.
Padme's thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and Laicee running in. She was carrying a large case and was gasping for air. The Stormtrooper acknowledged her return with a nod. Laicee made her way back to the cot, still trying to catch her breath. She saw the tears on Padme's face and grew concerned.
Laicee checked Obi-Wan to make sure he was okay. She was worried by his lack of improvement. She glanced at Padme as she opened her case. "Are you okay?" She unfolded a blanket and covered Obi-Wan up to his waist.
Padme nodded her head and wiped the tears from her face. She spoke quietly as she got off the cot. "Remember to focus all your thoughts on Obi-Wan. I doubt it will be much longer before the Emperor comes back. We'll have to talk about things later."
Laicee nodded her head as she prepared an IV. "I need to get some fluids into him soon. The last thing he needs on top of everything else is to get dehydrated." She thumped his arm with her finger, looking for a good vein. Padme watched as Laicee inserted the IV needle and anchored it with tape.
Laicee unfolded the IV pole and got the saline bag ready. As she was connecting the tube to the IV needle, she heard the door open. Laicee knew who it was without even having to look. She kept concentrating on Obi-Wan.
Sidious walked over to them. Padme once again graced him with a glare. "How is he?" Sidious was all business.
Laicee kept working on Obi-Wan. "He's alive, for now. The next twenty-four hours will be critical."
"He better stay alive, for your sake, " Sidious hissed. He turned towards Padme. "He needs to wake up and heal himself. Use your pull with him to bring him back!"
Padme was furious. "I wouldn't need to use my pull to bring him back if you would have kept Vader's hands off of him!"
Sidious smiled that horrible, wicked smile. "Don't worry. He won't be touching him again. I will be handling Kenobi myself."
Padme's face dropped. "I think I'd almost rather have Vader."
"Think of it this way, at least with me, you know he won't wind up dead."
Padme gave him a steely gaze. "There are things worse than death."
Sidious ignored her comment and turned to Laicee. "Keep working on him. I'll stay here for a while." He walked over to the Stormtrooper and spoke to him. The trooper left and returned a few moments later with a chair. Sidious sat down and took up his vigil.
It unnerved both Padme and Laicee to have the Emperor watching over them. They kept themselves completely focused on their task. Laicee peeled off the bacta cloth from Obi-Wan's chest. She had brought back a scanner and tissue knitter, among other things. She scanned him carefully.
"His body is still a bit shocky. His large intestines and his colon, not to mention the surrounding tissues, are badly damaged. It can be hard for the body to recover from this kind of internal trauma. His body was already weakened from what he endured yesterday. Even though he almost fully healed, the wounding and the recovery took its toll." She shut off the scanner and looked up into Padme's eyes. "He's in a coma."
Padme's eye grew wide. She sat slowly down on the cot by Obi-Wan's feet. "Coma…"
Sidious listened to the two women talking. Coma? Great! He had to admit that his plans were not quite unfolding as he had hoped. After all he had done to bring this plan to fruition, to simply lose Obi-Wan to death now was unthinkable. If he dies, there's going to be Hell to pay!
"There's more," Laicee continued. "I'm going to need to open him up a bit more and repair the damaged organs. This will be key to his survival, considering he isn't conscious to heal himself." She hated having to tell Padme these things. It was obvious that this man meant the world to her. She patted Padme's hand and gave her a reassuring smile. "If he's half as tough as I've heard, he'll pull through."
A realization came upon Sidious. He got up and walked over to the cot. "Wait a minute." Why didn't I think of this before? "I can probably help to heal his organs and forgo the need for surgery."
Padme's jaw dropped. "What?"
Sidious' brow was furrowed. "Frankly, it never even entered my mind until just now. I've never used my powers to HEAL anyone before."
Padme looked uncertain. She wanted Obi-Wan to be healed, but she didn't know if she wanted this creature to be the one to do it.
Sidious glanced at her in disgust. "I do not need your permission! Now, step away and let me work." He turned back towards the trooper. "Bring me the chair." The trooper brought it over and he sat down right by the cot.
Padme backed off, but just a bit. She didn't want to get too far away from Obi-Wan. She watched as Sidious laid his hands on Obi-Wan's side. He closed his eyes in concentration.
Laicee looked on a bit confused. Why would he torture this man, just to turn around and heal him? She shook her head. He must really want this man on his side! Her eyes widened in awe as she saw some sort of energy emanate from Sidious' hands and enter into Obi-Wan's wound.
Padme saw it also. Part of her wondered if it was truly healing energy and not destructive. How could anything positive come from HIM? Then she reminded herself, He's healing Obi to turn him to the dark side, Dummy! It ISN'T positive!
Sidious worked on Obi-Wan for quite a while. Finally, he opened his eyes and removed his hands. The wound was completely closed.
Laicee ran the scanner over Obi-Wan again. "His organs are completely healed! If I didn't see that with my own eyes, I never would have believed it!" She glanced over at Sidious. "Why didn't you heal the rest of the wounds on his chest?"
"I'm only going to heal the life-threatening wounds. The rest will serve as a reminder to Obi-Wan. As for him being in a coma, that is not something I can help. His mind has locked itself away. He will certainly not respond to me."
Laicee looked over at Padme. "You might be able to help in that department. People in comas can hear, deep in their subconscious. He will hear you speaking to him. If he loves you as much as you obviously love him, then he will try to come to you." She saw a spark of hope enter Padme's eyes.
"Then I leave the rest to you." Sidious grabbed his chair and brought it back to where it was before. He sat back down, arms crossed.
Laicee put the large bacta cloth back on Obi-Wan's chest. Then she covered him completely with the blanket. "There's not much more for me to do now, except wait." She sighed and stifled a yawn. "I'm really tired and could use a nap." Laicee looked around for a good spot to lay down. She took off her lab coat and balled it up to use it as a pillow.
Padme got off the cot and carefully moved Obi-Wan closer to the back wall. She maneuvered herself under the IV tube and lay on the cot beside him. She lay down on her side, her back to the Emperor. She then started quietly talking to him.
Sidious watched as she got on the cot beside Obi-Wan. He was glad that he had thought to capture her too. He had known that the key to one would be the other. He watched as Padme stroked Obi-Wan's face, talking to him so quietly that he couldn't hear. Sidious found it interesting --the feelings and the loyalty that Obi-Wan seemed to evoke in others-- even in himself. Of course, he would never admit that to anyone. He could barely admit it to himself. Interesting, indeed…