Disclaimer: Star Wars is not mine

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up. I went out of town over the New Year's and chaos has been reigning in my life aka writer's block. So its all good now. Also I made it extra long for ya'll. Enjoy! Oh and if anyone ever wants to chat with me on AIM feel free! My screen name is StarDreamz81 thanks to everyone who always reviews. It makes me feel loved.

Chapter 10: Recovery

Luke starred into the clear liquid. Floating helplessly inside the Bacta tank was Caylee. Her curly hair was floating all around her. He gently touched the glass of the tank as if he was reaching into the tank and taking ahold of her. All he wanted to do was simply hold his baby girl in his protective embrace. And never ever let anyone harm her again.

It had been a week since the incident on Tatooine. Caylee had for the most part had been in lots of pain.

As soon as they had left Tatooine, Kam had contacted Leia and told her what had happened and that they were on their way to Naboo, while Luke tended to Caylee. Once they had gotten to Naboo, a few hours later, a med crew was waiting for them. Leia had contacted them for Luke.

Once the med crew had Caylee at the MedUnit, she was rushed into surgery, where Dr. Rogan Tobias discovered that Caylee had suffered minor nerve damage, along with her burns. Nothing too bad, but just bad enough that she might have to go through rehab. Also through body scans, Dr. Tobias learned that she had suffered a bruised shoulder, which would heal the fastest of all.

It had been the most agonizing week for Luke. He hadn't gotten that much sleep nor had he left the MedUnit. He wanted to be there for the times when Caylee was awake, which wasn't much. But when she was awake, she hadn't really said much. But that didn't bother Luke. He was just happy to see her safe.

Since it had been her back that was injured, Caylee had to sleep on her stomach all the time. This was so she wouldn't injure her back more then it already was. And that was why she was drugged to sleep most of the time.

A soft hand gently placed itself on Luke's shoulder, which knocked him out of his train of thought about the past week. He turned to see Leia standing next to him. A gentle smile spread across her face.

"Last treatment?" she asked.

Luke nodded. "Since she is so young, Dr. Tobias wanted to take things extra slow. And not keep her in the tank so long."

"How does she seem mentally?" Leia asked worried.

"I'm not sure…"

Leia nodded silently as she and Luke continued to watch Caylee in the Bacta tank.

"I failed you Master."

"No Trekk, you did not," the cloaked figure said turning to look at his apprentice. "You did very well against her father."

"Shall we try again to take her?" Trekk asked eager to please his Master.

"Not right now. And not for a long while."

"How come?"

"The tide of the galaxy is about to turn against the New Republic and the new Jedi Order. This I have foreseen."

Trekk nodded. He too had felt the impending terror that was about to strike.

A bright light. So bright that Caylee wanted to curl up in a little ball and hide from it. Then she felt someone grab ahold of her. She knew it wasn't someone she was familiar with. But she didn't dare open her eyes or scream.

The next thing she knew was that she was thrown into a room. A cold, dark room. Then there was blackness…no warmth, no love, not a single familiar thing. The only thing she felt was a pain emitting from her shoulder.

Then she was taken from the room into immense sunlight. And she was being handed over to someone. That was when she heard a voice in her head saying to kick the man and bite him. He did just that. The next thing she knew her daddy was there!

She watched her daddy fight the bad mad and win. She began to run to his open arms and smiling face. She knew she was safe.

Out of nowhere she felt a burning pain. She could hear her daddy yelling at her to get down. But it was too late. "DADDY!"

"DADDY!"

Luke bolted in Caylee's hospital room. She was screaming out from her dreams. He gently took her by her shoulders.

"Caylee. Shh. It's all right sweetheart."

Her eyes began to slowly open, as she stopped her screaming. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw her daddy sitting next to her on the bed. "Daddy!" she said reaching out to him. This was one of the few things that she had said in the past week.

Luke gently picked Caylee off the bed and held her close, as he sat down on her bed with her in his arms. He was careful not to pull any of the tubes that ran into her arms out.

As he held her in his arms, a lump formed in his throat. His little girl was finally safe. When he felt Caylee's warm tears against his chest, he too began to cry.

"Daddy am I all better?" she softly asked a few minutes later.

"I don't know sweetheart. We have to talk to Dr. Tobias."

"Who is that?" she asked with a raspy voice.

"That would be me." Dr. Tobias said as he entered the room. In his hand was a glass of water with a straw. "Here drink this slowly. It will help make your throat feel better."

Luke lay Caylee back down on the bed softly then she took the glass from him and began to sip the water slowly.

"Now you my dear are a very lucky little girl." Dr. Tobias said to her as he stood next to Luke.

"Why?"

"Because the burns on your back could have been a lot worse. Also your father was quick to use his Jedi skills to try and save you. And that is what may have been a key factor in saving your life."

Luke sighed in relief. He hadn't known until then that what he had done right after the incident had saved his daughter's life. Thank the Force…he thought to himself.

"Now what we had to do was surgically remove a lot of skin from your back then we put synthetic skin over what we had to cut away."

Caylee nodded as Dr. Tobias told her what he had done to her to make her better.

"Then you were put into the Bacta tank to help the scars heal on your back. And now you're almost all better!"

"Almost?" she asked confused.

"Yes. While I was operating on your burns, I noticed that your nerve endings were slightly damaged. Now I need to make sure that there isn't any permanent damage."

By then Caylee was done with the water and had set the cup on the table next to her bed. "How?" she asked.

"Try walking."

Caylee looked at him weird for a second then looked at her father. Luke nodded at her, which meant you better do as the doctor says.

She pushed back the covers on the bed and swung her legs over the side and then stepped on to the cold floor. Her legs felt wobbly and she wearily took a step forward towards a chair in front of her. All along her spine, she felt pinpricks and in her legs too. She tried to take a second step, but fell flat on her face.

She didn't move, but just laid there and cried. Why couldn't she walk? Would she ever walk again? If she couldn't walk then how would she become a Jedi?

Luke reached down and gathered his daughter up off the floor and set her back down on the bed. Dr. Tobias moved next to her, so he could examine her further. "What did you feel?" he asked.

"My legs felt like gel and my back hurt and my legs hurt," she said sniffling through her tears.

"Did it feel like little needles poking you?" he then asked.

Caylee nodded yes.

"Now try to wiggle your toes."

Luke and Dr. Tobias watched as she tried and barely wiggled her toes. But the look on her face said it all. Caylee was in pain and lots of it.

"I need to talk to your father for a second Caylee. Then I'll be right back."

Luke followed the doctor out into the hall. "Master Skywalker it seems that Caylee will have to go through rehabilitation."

"Will she ever walk again?"

"I have no doubt that she will, especially since she has feeling in her legs. But like I said earlier, her nerve endings were damaged and they need time to repair themselves. A Bacta dip can't do that, but rehab can."

"When can she start?" Luke asked concerned.

"That I'm not sure of. I've been called to teach on Courscant for a few months. I can either pass her off to my associate here or she can come to Courscant and go through rehab there under my supervision. The choice is yours."

Luke turned and looked back at Caylee sitting on her hospital bed. He could feel her sadness through the Force. He gave her a soft mental nudge of encouragement. "She'll go to Courscant. She can be better protected there."

Dr. Tobias nodded in agreement. "Then she will start in one standard week. Is that enough time to get there?"

"Yes doctor. But what should we do before next week?"

"She is released whenever you want her to be. She can have normal foods and drinks. And I want you to have her try to wiggle her toes once or twice a day."

Luke nodded.

"Also don't have her stand too much."

"Ok." Luke said making mental notes about everything Dr Tobias was telling him.

"That's it. So I will see in you about a week at the MedCenter in Courscant. I'll send a nurse droid to come and release Caylee to you."

"Thank you doctor."

Dr. Tobias smiled and turned and walked down the hall. That was when Luke saw Leia, Han, Chewie and the droids all making their way towards him.

"How is she?" Leia asked hugging her brother. She had just found out that Caylee was awake.

"She has to go through rehab."

Leia gasped. "Is it that bad?"

"Not really. She has feeling in her legs, so mainly its to get her nerve endings working right again. She's going to start next week at the MedCenter on Courscant. Kandra will stay with her there. Because I need to go back to Academy as soon as possible."

"You know Caylee's not going to like that, kid." Han said.

"I know. But I have to go."

"But why Luke?" Leia asked.

"I just need to. I have a bad feeling about something."

"Where are we going daddy?" Caylee asked as Luke carried her down the hallway in the apartment complex on Courscant. They had been back almost a week and Caylee had been in rehab for a few days.

"Over to Leia and Han's."

"Why?"

"Surprise."

Caylee smiled. She loved surprises, but only if it was a good surprise. "Is Anakin there too?"

"I think so."

She had an even bigger smile on her face then.

When they got to Han and Leia's, Caylee reached out and knocked on the door. Anakin answered the door. "Anakin!" Caylee said reaching out for her cousin.

"Hey Caylee," Anakin said as he took his cousin in his arms. She quickly planted a kiss on his cheek and hugged his neck as he carried her into the living room, where Han and Leia sat on the couch, along with Chewie.

And of course when she saw her uncles and aunt, she reached out to them too. Anakin handed her to his father first.

"You've been a good girl, or so your dad tells me. So do you know what that means?" Han asked after hugging his niece.

"I get to fly the Falcon again?" she asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Yup! As soon as you are done with rehab."

She hugged her uncle again, happily, before hugging her aunt and 'uncle' Chewie. Once she was done, she sat next to Anakin on the couch. "What's my surprise daddy?"

"Remember when you asked me if you and Kandra could have a R2 unit to keep while Artoo would be with me?" Luke asked, kneeling on the floor next to her.

"Un hun."

"Well I got you one. But you have to take care of him because Threepio is staying here with Han and Leia and Artoo will be with me." Luke said. He had told Caylee earlier that day, that he was going to have to go back to Yavin the next day and that she was going to have to stay on Courscant so she could finish rehab. She didn't want to at first, but if it meant her being able to walk again, she was all for it.

"I will daddy! I will!" Caylee said bouncing up and down happily on the couch.

Luke smiled and called Artoo and Threepio into the room, along with the new droid. Threepio was first coming into the room, fussing over Caylee as soon as he saw her. Followed behind her was Artoo, beeping away at Threepio. "I will not stop fussing over her! She needs to be taken care of!" Threepio said to Artoo. And behind Artoo, was a silver and purple Astromech droid.

The new droid rolled up next to Luke. "This is R3-TE," he said.

The droid beeped.

"Can we call him Artie, daddy?" Caylee asked happily.

"Sure sweetheart." Luke said picking her up off the couch and setting her on the floor. The little droid rolled over to his new Mistress, while Threepio made the introductions and translated for Caylee. Artie beeped wildly at Caylee.

"He says that he likes you." Threepio said.

Caylee simply smiled.

The next few weeks were extremely difficult for Caylee. She had to deal with going through rehab and having her dad gone again. But she knew that the graduation for her cousins and their friends from the Jedi Academy was soon. And she wanted to be able to walk right by then.

Her therapy sessions were usually about an hour long. Kandra usually went with her, but on this day Anakin had gone with her. He stood off to the side and watched as Caylee slowly made her way across the therapy room.

"Does it still hurt to walk Caylee?" Dr. Tobias asked as he watched her walk.

"Kinda," she said as she took another wobbly step. Suddenly she doubled over. Dr. Tobias and Anakin were both by her side immediately.

"What hurts?" Dr. Tobias asked.

But Caylee didn't answer. She just began to shake violently. Without hesitation, Anakin used the Force to dive into his cousin's mind to find out what was going on.

…A duel a former Master versus his former apprentice. Then an explosion with huge stones falling….

Where is this Caylee? Anakin asked.

I don't know…

Anakin pulled out of her mind. "She's fine, Dr. Tobias. She just had a vision, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

Anakin nodded yes. "Is it alright if I take her home now?"

"Yes."

He picked up Caylee off the floor and carried her out of the room. "Come on Artie. I need to find my mom."

The little droid beeped worriedly.

"Mom I need to go back to the Academy. I think something is wrong." Anakin said walking into his mother's office in the Senate building.

Leia looked up from her paperwork and looked at her youngest son. "Is everything alright? Did you have a vision or something?"

"No Caylee did. I want to take her to Uncle Luke. She has suddenly gone mute."

Leia looked down at Caylee, who was holding Anakin's leg tightly, and then nodded in agreement.

"Go find your father and Chewie."

Luke was thankful that no one had seriously been hurt. But on the other hand, his Jedi Academy had been damaged greatly. Suddenly he felt something in the Force. A ship was exiting hyperspace nearby and was carrying several life forms. A small smile spread across his face. The Falcon was here.

Luke stood by and waited for the loading ramp to open on the Falcon. And he was in for a huge surprise.

A pair of little feet came running through the Falcon and down the ramp. Caylee launched herself into her father's arms.

"I can walk daddy!"

"I see that," Luke said hugging his daughter tightly.

"Are you ok daddy? I know that you fought someone bad," she then asked.

"I'm fine sweetheart. And even better now, that you are walking again!"

By then Anakin, Han, Chewie and Artie were all down off the Falcon. That was when Luke told them all about what happened at the Academy.

The next few months, were very busy for everyone. The destroyed parts of the Academy were rebuilt. Along with that the Shadow Academy was finally destroyed, along with Diversity Alliance and the Black Sun.

That made way to when Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and their friends would graduate from the Jedi Academy and become full Jedi Knights. Caylee had never seen so many Jedi Knights in one place at once! Some of her father's former students were there such as Kyp Durron.

The entire time, she was with her father. Still a bit scared from all that had happened to her, she didn't want to leave his side. Luke didn't seem to mind, as long as she behaved herself. And of course she did.

During the graduation ceremony, she got to be up on the dais with her father, uncle, aunt and Chewie. As each student walked past Caylee, who was in Chewbacca's arms, she handed them a shiny pebble. She didn't tell any of them what it was, but they all had curious looks on their faces.

"What are these Caylee?" Anakin asked, after the ceremony. All the newly graduated Jedi Knights were gathered around the little girl as she sat on her father's lap. They were curious about the stones that she had given them.

"They are from Otoh Gunga, an underwater city on Naboo. It's where Tara lives! The stones are sacred stones of the Gungans. They were meant to be given to the Jedi Knights who saved Naboo a long time ago, so daddy suggested that they give them to you the new generation of Jedi Knights," she said with a smile on her face.

They all told her thank you and hugged her. Then they all walked off to find their friends and family that had come to see them graduate. Luke reached into his robes and took something out.

"And this is for you Caylee. It had to be taken off when you had surgery and I forgot to give it back to you." Luke said as he put the gold necklace and rings back around his daughter's neck.

"I love you daddy," she said turning around and hugging his neck tightly.

"I love you too Caylee."