Chapter 11
Just as Leia had hoped, Luke slept a bulk of the first week. The aftermath pain of the operation came in waves, so the medi droid came at least twice a day to provide medicine for it. It wasn't until the second day of the second week, that Luke wanted to try getting out of bed. Leia hesitated, because he'd been so sick the previous night. "After throwing up for four hours, do you really think you want to try walking around today?" she asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.
He groaned, clearing his throat, and closed his eyes. "Leia, I might forget how to walk if I don't get up eventually."
Leia smoothed his cheek. "I know this is really horrible for you," she told him. "But you really have to take care of yourself. You're still pretty ill." She felt his forehead, glad it wasn't feverish as it had been.
"Let me just walk over to my desk, then," Luke begged. "At least so I can check up on my student's files. I need to know where we stand when we start classes again. We're already horribly behind." He sniffed, looking so pathetic, that Leia had to give in. She moved to the side of the bed, preparing to help her brother slide his legs over the side. He gasped in surprise as he stood for the first time since the surgery, and clung to Leia's arm for dear life.
"I've got you," she insisted, wrapping her arm around his shoulders for support. "Just take it one step at a time, now."
Though it was only about five feet from the bed to the desk, that short walk completely exhausted Luke. He was grateful when she eased him onto the chair, though his head spun from all of the movement. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, resting his head in his arms. "Ugh, I really don't feel good," he whispered, and Leia rubbed his back.
"Do you have to get sick again?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Mmm, no. Not now, anyway."
Leia sighed. "Luke, I should bring you right back to bed. Your students will understand if things are a little jumbled up when you come back. They knew about the surgery."
Luke glanced at her. "Hold me, Leia. I just need…"
Leia wrapped her ams around her brother, resting her cheek against the top of his head. He leaned against her chest, feeling almost childlike. "Oh Luke," she breathed, rubbing his shoulders. "I just wish this never happened."
He sighed softly. "I'm so sorry I ruined your vacation," he apologized, and she gave him a slight glare.
"Luke Skywalker, don't you dare apologize," she snapped. "You couldn't help this."
Luke gave her a sheepish expression. "Well, I could have, if I weren't so stubborn."
Leia kissed his cheek. "It just runs in our family, I guess," she teased, stroking his hair. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to bed?"
Luke shook his head. "No, not now," he told her. "I just have to get used to it. Thanks, Leia." He added, when she released her grip. She gave him another kiss, and squeezed his hand.
"What are sister's for?" she asked, and Luke gave her a small smile.
"Tell the kids I love them, will you?" he asked, when she got up to leave the room. She glanced over her shoulder, and smiled back.
"I will," she added, and made her way to the common area.
When she reached it, she saw Anakin playing a clapping game with Jaina on the floor. "Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man!" Jaina was sing-talking, and Anakin giggled each time their hands touched. Jacen was lounging on the couch and doodling, while Han was discussing something with Chewie in private.
"Mommy!" Anakin squealed, hopping to his feet, and running to her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her legs, nearly throwing her off balance. Leia laughed, hugging him in return, and stroking his hair.
"Hello, sweetheart," she greeted, just as Han came over to kiss her.
"How's he doin'?" he asked, and Leia shrugged.
"He made it from the bed to his desk, so I guess that's something," she admitted, and Jaina gasped, leaping to her feet as well.
"Uncle Luke's walking?" she cried in delight, and Leia put her fingers to her lips.
"Just a tiny bit, love. And don't go bursting in and bothering him right now. He needs peace and quiet."
"Has he finished puking?" Jacen asked, and Jaina glared at her twin.
"Yes," Leia smirked. "For now, anyway."
"Why was he throwing up, Mom? We thought he was okay, right?" Jaina asked, and Leia shrugged.
"Honestly, it might be a reaction to the painkillers. I'm just hoping he hasn't caught another virus. The last thing we want is for him to go into a relapse."
Han rolled his eyes, lifting Anakin into the air. "Wheeeee!" Anakin squealed, as his father bounced him a few times. "Do the Falcon! Do the Falcon!" he added, and Han pretended to fly him around the room, dipping and ducking him on occasion. Leia and Chewie looked at one another, and the wookiee gave a snuffle of amusement. Leia scratched Chewbacca's arm, and then watched as Jacen stood up from the couch.
"I think I'm going to go and read for a while," Leia announced, just as Han set Anakin back onto the floor. "You'll keep an eye on the kids, then?" she asked, and he nodded, saluting her. Anakin was hopping up and down, clearly full of energy from breakfast that morning.
"You shouldn't have had chocolate milk," Leia chuckled, and Anakin ran around her in circles.
"I'll be good, Mama!" he insisted, and at that moment, Jaina scooped her little brother into her arms. He let out a surprised shriek, fighting against her for a moment, and then allowed her to carry him over to the couch. Leia gave Han a grateful smile, before turning and heading away. When she was gone, Han clapped his hands together.
"All right, kids," he announced. "Looks like we're going to have to do a little work."
The twins groaned. "What kind of work?" Jacen asked. "It's holiday!"
"Not that kind of work," Han replied, sitting down with them. Anakin was still bouncing in place on Jaina's lap, though she was too curious about her father's plans to notice. "I'll need one of you to make a trip to the med center, one of you to find Threepio. Then, Anakin, you can stay with me and give me a hand here."
"What's goin' on, Dad?" Jacen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll show you when we get started," Han replied. Jacen agreed to go to the med center, because he thought Jaina couldn't handle the "icky stuff" there. Jaina went off to find Threepio, and Anakin watched his father, his icy blue eyes wide.
"Why do you need Three?" he asked, and Han sat down with him.
"Because," he replied, "we're going to make a drink for Uncle Luke. And since we don't have any kitchen supplies here, Threepio is going to provide us with them."
Anakin let out a soft, "Ohhhh." And then he gave a shrug. "But why did Jaina have to go to the med center?"
Han thought for a moment, wondering how he was going to explain, without being too overly detailed. "Well, since Uncle Luke has such a problem taking medicine, we're going to try it another way."
"How? Giving it to him in his butt?" Anakin asked. Whenever he couldn't take anything through his mouth, well…Han snorted, amused that his son had suggested that so boldly.
"Um, well, not exactly."
Anakin blinked.
"Well, I figured we'd disguise the medicine to look like we're just giving him a mug of tea."
"What's 'sguise?" Anakin asked, and Han rubbed his hands over his face.
"To make something look like something else."
"How do we do that?"
Han smirked. "You just do what I tell you, all right, kid?" he asked, ruffling the four year old's hair. Anakin nodded, and went to go and play with his blocks. Han watched as his youngest son sat in the middle of the room, and shook his head. When the twins returned…Jacen came with the medi droid behind him, and Jaina had Threepio at her heels, Han turned around.
"Sir, is everything quite all right?" Threepio asked, and the medi droid repeated the question.
"Well, Luke's been pretty nauseous the last day or so. I wanted to give him some medication, but I think he's gonna be pretty stubborn if I just give it to him outright."
The medi droid agreed. "I quite agree," he replied.
"Are you gonna sneak it in his tea, Dad?" Jacen asked, a rather wicked smile coming over his face.
"I guess you could say that," Han admitted, and accepted a liquefied medication from the medi droid. "Threepio, what I need from you, is a mug, and fill it with juice or something that is similar to the color of this stuff." The medication was a light pink, a very unusual color for any type of liquid. Then again, Jaina thought, as she watched her father, the non-humanoid buffets contained odd quanitities of what they called "edible" food and/or drink.
"Is there anything you'd like us to do, Dad?" Jacen asked, leaning his elbows on the counter, and Han shook his head.
"You did your part, kids. Anakin's going to help me with this next part."
Threepio waddled off, and the medi droid gave Han instructions on how much medication was to be given to Luke in one dose. "Thanks," he replied, and the medi droid rolled off as well.
"Do you really think it'll work?" Jaina asked.
"I hope so," Han admitted. "If we don't get your Uncle back on his feet soon, we're gonna be stuck here for a while."
That didn't sound like a bad idea to the kids, who smiled at each other secretly. They would rather stay at the Jedi Acadamy with Luke, than return to their boring old studies on Coruscant. "Ugh, that stinks!" Anakin complained, covering his nose with his hand, after Han popped the lid from the medicine bottle. Han grimaced as well, having to agree.
"Yeah, it does." He poured about two spoonfuls of the medication into the dark mug, stirring it with a spoon. "Now Anakin, when the juice comes, I'm going to let you stir everything together, okay?" he asked, and Anakin looked delighted to have an important part in the scheme.
"Okay!" he exclaimed excitedly. Jacen and Jaina went back to doing what they'd been doing before, and Han and Anakin waited patiently for Threepio to return with the items from the kitchen. When he did, Han thanked him, and guided Anakin's hands to pour the juice into the mug.
"Good," Han told him proudly. "Now take this," he added, handing the boy a spoon. "And stir it quickly."
Anakin stirred the liquid, fascinated as the colors blended together. It certainly didn't look like a type of juice he'd ever seen! "And," Han added, "your other job will be to bring it to Uncle Luke."
The twins looked up, and stared at each other. "Dad…you're trusting Anakin with that?" Jaina asked. "Don't you think he might try drinking it?"
Anakin glared at them. "I won't either!" he snapped. "It smells yucky."
"You're right," Han told him. "You won't either. Now, sneak off with it, and act as innocent as you can."
"Innocent?" Anakin repeated, and Han groaned softly.
"Act like you're just going to give him juice, not medicine. Can you do that, son?" he added, knowing Leia would kill him if he'd done this in her presence.
"Think so." Anakin took the mug carefully into his hands, and the group watched as he made his way out of the room. Han blew out his breath, pouring Jacen and Jaina a glass of the leftover juice. They drank it eagerly, and helped clean up.
When Anakin reached Luke's quarters, he was relieved to see that his mother was nowhere in sight. Luke was sitting at his desk, pouring over a pile of papers. "Hi!" Anakin greeted, causing the Jedi master to jump a little with surprise. Luke glanced over his shoulder, and smiled as Anakin came towards him.
"Hey there, buddy," he replied. "Where are your brother and sister?"
Anakin shrugged. "With Daddy."
"So you just decided to come on your own, huh?" Luke kissed him when he came over to the desk.
"I was allowed to come," Anakin explained. "I made you a drink, Uncle Luke. Well, I helped, anyway."
Luke gave Anakin a suspicious look when he accepted the mug, peering inside. It certainly didn't look like tea, which is the drink he'd been taking down for the past week or so. "Well, thank you," he replied thoughtfully. "It looks…" he cleared his throat. "Different." He timidly took a sip, grimacing. "Wow, that's a little thick. What kind of juice is this? I don't think I've encountered it before." He took another sip, trying to get used to the strange taste.
Anakin shrugged, scuffing the side of his shoe along the rug. "I dunno. Is it yucky?" he asked, putting on a pout. Luke cocked his head to one side, and then smiled warmly.
"It's delicious," he croaked. After the third sip, he blinked. "Wow, this is a little strong. Making me kind of dizzy." He set the mug on the desk, massaging his temples. "Anakin can you…" he swayed, and the little boy stepped back, horrified.
"Uncle Luke? Are you okay?" he asked, and before he could blink, his Uncle had collapsed. His head connected with the edge of the desk, and he slid right out of his chair. Anakin's mouth hung open wide, and he fell to his knees beside his relative. Almost immediately, the little boy burst into tears. "I killed Uncle Luke!" he wailed, running out of the room as fast as his small legs could carry him. "MOMMY! MOMMY!" he screamed, and nearly ran into Jaina, who'd been coming to check on him.
"What's wrong, Ani?" she asked, scooping her little brother into her arms. He clung to her.
"I killed Uncle Luke!"
Jaina gasped. "You…what! Where is he?" Anakin was sobbing too hard to respond, so Jaina immediately carried him off to find Leia.
"WHAT!" Leia exclaimed, hopping up from the bed she shared with Han. "Anakin, calm down, love! What exactly happened?" she asked, taking her son from her daughter, and led them both to Luke's room.
"D-Daddy and I made him a drink," Anakin hiccoughed, and Leia raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of a drink?" she asked, and Anakin shrugged.
"I dunno." They entered the room, and Leia quickly spotted her brother's body.
"Oh Sith spawn," she cursed, setting Anakin down. She ran over to Luke's side, kneeling down and turning him over. Luke had a great bruise forming on his forehead, but he was still breathing when she checked.
"He's all right," she told the children. "But he's out like a light." She stood, reaching with the Force to lift Luke into the air. Anakin gasped, as did Jaina…their mother rarely had time to display her "powers" to them.
Han entered at that moment, and stopped short. "Oh boy," he spoke, a bit too loudly for his own good. Leia, upon hearing him, accidentally lost control and sent Luke crashing to the ground again. He woke up with a surprised, "Ow!"
She blinked. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, easing him into a sitting position. Luke massaged his throbbing head, looking around the room in a slight daze.
"Where'm I?" he asked, as Han hurried over
"In your room, kid." He lifted Luke into his arms, and carried his friend back to bed, trying desparately to ignore the menacing glare from his wife.
"Kids?" Leia spoke, just as Jacen and Chewbacca joined them in the room. "Stay and keep an eye on Uncle Luke. Your father and I…" Han gulped at her cold voice, "we have to talk." She grabbed him roughly by the arm, and drug him into the hallway. Jace and Jaina stared at each other, and Anakin climbed onto the bed.
Seconds later, they heard Leia explode, shouting curses in a number of different languages. Luke covered Anakin's ears, and closed his eyes.
"Wow," Jacen laughed. "Mommy has a dirty mouth."
Jaina smirked, and Anakin looked at Luke. "Uncle Luke, what does…" he spoke a foreign curse, and Luke's eyes widened. Using two fingers, he waved them in front of his nephew's eyes.
"You will not repeat that word again, Anakin." He spoke calmly, and Anakin's body seemed to go slightly rigid.
"I will not speak that word again, Anakin."
The twins were giggling, and Luke raised his arms in defeat. "Close enough," he said.
"I thought you weren't supposed to talk, Uncle Luke," Jaina told him, and Luke glanced at her.
"Well, it all depends on circumstances." He lay back down against the pillows. The recovery period was unbearable, though having Han, Leia and the kids made the situation a little easier to stand. Well, somewhat. Between the waves of pain and Leia's constant fussing, he would have rather spent the stretch of time by himself.
"I think they've stopped yelling," Anakin announced, and Luke kissed the top of his head.
"Why don't you guys go and check on them?" he asked, and Anakin and Jaina scurried off. Jacen remained behind, and Luke smiled softly at him.
"What's wrong, Jacen?" he asked, and he boy ran over, crawled onto the bed, and embraced his Uncle tightly. Luke held Jacen close, rubbing hi back.
"I love you, Uncle Luke," he whispered, and pecked a kiss on his cheek.
"I love you too," Luke replied softly. "I'm going to get some rest, all right?" he added, and Jacen nodded.
"Okay." He accepted another quick kiss from his Uncle, before following in his sibling's wake.