Disclaimer: All characters owned by GL, his company, and/or associated authors. I'm just playing!

Author's note: Thank you all for your kind reviews--I'm glad to see that Obi-Wan is really resonating! If you'd be so kind, I'd really like feedback on this chapter, as it was really hard to write Anakin's experience. I hope it worked!

Vee017: Thank you for another very insightful review! Yes, Anakin wants his love! Sweet boy. Angst-magnet? LOL, our dear Obi-Wan is that!

Maia's Pen: Thanks for reading! Addicted? Yeah, the boys will do that to you. Don't you just want to hug Obi-Wan? Sarah is an angst demon, isn't she? I'm having fun finding the quotes!

Liana-chan: I love it that you need a tissue--I'm passing you the box for the next chapter...

Alchemy Dream: As always, you find such a wonderful way to look at things. Yes, Anakin has lost his innocence, but I think in a way they both did that day. Now they need to figure out what that means.

XtinethePirate: (TMF is done! Yay for you!) Thank you, thank you for giving me the confidence to tackle this chapter. Glad you didn't have to beta this one too much! Hope you still enjoy it! Love you!

Chapter 3: Hold On

"Now you're sleeping peaceful, I lie awake and pray
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll see another day…"

--S. McLachlan, Hold On

Obi-Wan began to stir as he felt the hand fall lightly on his shoulder. Where was he? Why did his entire body ache as though he'd been trampled by a herd of banthas? He grimaced as he tried to move a very stiff neck. "Anakin…," he mumbled, slowly remembering where he was. His eyes fought to open, his head to raise.

Anakin! He's awake…

However, as Obi-Wan's vision cleared, it was not his Padawan's visage that greeted his eager eyes.

"Haja, Obi-Wan!" swore Luminara softly, as a small frown appeared on her tattooed lips. "What are you doing? How long have you been here?" It was a rhetorical question, really. She could see the dried tear tracks on the Jedi Master's cheeks, the redness in his eyes, the messy clump of his hair on one side of his head. A sad smile replaced her frown, as her gaze traveled over to Anakin and saw how tightly Obi-Wan held the long, delicate fingers of his Padawan.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a second, his disappointment and embarrassment evident. I was so sure it was Anakin. How absurdly foolish of me to assume my mere presence would be enough. His eyes darted over to his Padawan, and ashamed, he withdrew his hand from Anakin's.

"Luminara, I—" he began, but felt at a loss for words.

Luminara, to Obi-Wan's relief, let the moment pass without comment. "You need your rest, my friend. Here, let me help you up." As she reached over and put a hand on his arm, Obi-Wan couldn't help but let out a hiss of pain. She could feel the heat radiating from Obi-Wan, and upon further inspection, spied the tell-tale sheen of perspiration on his forehead. Her brows creased together with worry.

"When was the last time you changed your dressings? Took a pain patch?" she queried, trying her utmost to be patient with him. The man was clearly not well.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes with disinterest. "Luminara, I'm fine, really—uuunnnhhh!" he groaned as he tried to straighten his injured leg. Suddenly, everything seemed to tilt, first to the left, then the right.

"Obstinate nerf! You have a fever, probably an infection, too. Obi-Wan, I warned you this could happen!" she lectured.

"No, just give me a new pain patch, I'll be fine," he said through gritted teeth.

"No, my friend, you need to rest. Now come, let us get you to your quarters. The Senator has designated a handsome room—" she tried to steer him toward the door.

He shot her a fierce look as he tried to root his feet in place, still stumbling a bit to keep his balance. "No! I'm not leaving Anakin, Luminara. Not again. My place is here. I'll not be sent away again."

Luminara took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as she looked around. Thankfully, Anakin's room was actually a suite…

"All right, how about a compromise? Over there, through that door, is another small bedroom. Would that be acceptable?" She doubted he could make it much further, anyway, in his condition.

Obi-Wan's stubborn pride was sorely tempting him to say no, but the dizziness was getting worse, along with the awful heat he felt radiating from his leg and shoulder as they throbbed in time with his heart. He nodded his head numbly. "All right, Master Healer. But only for a quick nap—really, I'll be fine. It is Anakin who needs you, Luminara, do not waste your time on me."

With some difficulty, Luminara managed to help Obi-Wan into the smaller, more austere bedroom. She gently helped him sit on the bed, then bent down to unfasten his boots.

"For Sith's sake, Luminara, I can undress myself," he snapped. He attempted to bend down to reach the boots, but was cut short by a wave of searing pain in his leg, accompanied by nausea.

Luminara chuckled lightly. "Or, I could do it for you," she said, as the boots came off. But when she stood up to help him with his Jedi robe and outer tunic, he reddened and swatted her away.

"Can you just give me a minute?" he growled, hating to be treated like a youngling. He also had no intention of having his friend undress him—it would be entirely too… humiliating. "A little privacy, perhaps?"

She shrugged her shoulders and went to Anakin's room in search of some supplies to change his bandages, as well as something else. After much grumbling, groaning, and cursing from the other room, she returned.

"What's all that?" he asked suspiciously, as he eyed the armload of supplies she carried.

Aaahh, paranoia. A sure sign of fever. She feigned nonchalance. "You need your bandages changed, Obi-Wan." She started with his shoulder, carefully peeling back the bacta patch. A slight frown formed at the corners of her mouth. The wound was inflamed but otherwise did not appear to be infected. She delicately placed a sterile bacta patch over it, pressing softly to adhere it. Obi-Wan turned his head away as he bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut.

She moved down to his thigh, thankful he had the foresight to change into loose shorts. She didn't need to even remove the patch to know that it was infected. Angry red lines streaked down his leg away from the wound, the surrounding skin seemingly swollen and taut. As gently as she could, she first held her hand above the patch, sending warm Force-healing pulses to him, in an attempt to mute the pain that was about to come. "This is going to hurt, my friend," she said apologetically, as she proceeded to remove the patch.

Obi-Wan's whole body went rigid as he cried out, hands clenching the bedding as tears involuntarily leaked from the corners of his eyes. He tried to find focus and comfort in the Force, but the pain was too distracting.

Luminara sensed his distress and reached into the Force, locating the dark aura of pain that surrounded Obi-Wan's Force-signature. Utilizing a Healer's technique, she enveloped the darkness, drowning it with a wave of soothing relief. He slowly let out his breath and his body began to relax as the pain ebbed.

"Perhaps you'll listen to me next time," she murmured, carefully placing a new bacta patch and dressing on the wound.

Obi-Wan angrily swiped at the tears that had escaped. "My…discomfort…is nothing compared to what Anakin has had, and what he will have, to endure," he replied tersely.

"And here I thought, Master Kenobi, that you wanted to help bring your Padawan back, that you wanted to help with his recovery," she chided.

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. "Of course I do, Luminara. You know that!" His voice dropped to a whisper as he turned his head away toward the door that joined their rooms. "It is my fault he's in there. These wounds, my inabilities, kept me from helping him before. I will not allow them to do so now."

Luminara's rarely-seen temper flared to life. "Neglecting yourself is not going to bring Anakin's arm back, Obi-Wan! Do you really believe Anakin would want you to harm yourself on his behalf? It is not only foolish, Obi-Wan, it is utterly selfish!"

"Selfish? No, laying there, doing nothing, while Dooku hacked at him relentlessly, that was selfish, Luminara!" He turned away again, choking on the bile he felt rising in his throat as he recalled every horrific detail. The smell, by the Force, the smell…singed robes, cauterized flesh…both his and mine. And I did nothing to help him.

Luminara was appalled at the degree of self-loathing she felt in her old friend. She forced her voice to return to its calm, serene tone. She reached out and squeezed his hand. "Obi-Wan. My friend. You were seriously injured; there is no denying that truth, and the rest…you and Anakin will have to work out together. What you must try to remember is that you can help Anakin now. But you cannot help him if you are delirious with fever and incapacitated by pain."

She gave him a gentle smile as she brought her hand up, as though she was going to smooth away the tears. At the last moment, she dropped her hand to his neck, opening her fingers to reveal a small syringe. She gently pressed it into his neck, emptying it of its sedative.

Obi-Wan's eyes went wide. "Luminara…noooo…" he said, his words already starting to slur.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan, but you must rest. Close your eyes now. Anakin will need you very soon." To encourage his cooperation, she gave him a gentle Force-suggestion of sleep.

He could no longer keep his eyes open, his lids were simply too heavy. "And you wonder why I loathe going to the Healer's Ward…" he quipped, finally drifting off into a healing sleep.

Luminara smiled to herself, pleased that she was at least able to help one of her patients. But the other… She frowned as she entered Anakin's room and spied his still form nestled in the multitude of blankets and pillows. Anakin's recovery was going to test every Healer's technique she had ever learned, she feared. There had never been a Jedi like Anakin, much less a condition quite as severe as his prolonged Force-induced coma. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she could bring him back; she wasn't lying when she had told Obi-Wan that Anakin would need him. She had a feeling that their bond might be the only way to reach him.

She sighed as she stood over Anakin, carefully probing his wounds with her deft fingers, looking for signs of infection. Unlike his Master, Anakin's injuries were healing remarkably. The Force is looking out for this one; that much I do know.

She placed her hand on his right bicep and closed her eyes, using the Force to determine if there was any additional nerve or muscle damage, but found none, to her satisfaction. It would make his physical adjustment to a prosthesis that much easier if he didn't have to fight infection and lingering wounds. But will he be able to make that transition emotionally? Will Obi-Wan?

Seeing that all of Anakin's external injuries were healing properly, she drew herself into the chair recently vacated by Obi-Wan. One hand she rested on top of Anakin's, the other she placed lightly on his forehead. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, immersing herself in the Force.

Let's see where you've gone, young one, and why you haven't come back…

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SPLASH! He kicked hard as he swam for the surface, gasping for air as he broke through. Force, the water was cold, but it made him feel so alive, so whole, so at peace. He grinned wildly as he looked up into the warm sun, falling into a relaxed back stroke across the placid water of the lake. He loved the freedom he felt in the water, how it caressed every inch of his skin, how it was so unlike coarse, sandy Tatooine in every way.

He had always loved to swim, ever since his Master had first taught him in the Temple pools when he was nine. At first Anakin had been afraid, but even more scared to let his precious new Master see his fear. But Obi-Wan had known. Somehow, Obi-Wan always knew when Anakin was afraid, but did not coddle or mock him. He would crouch down to Anakin's level, blue-green eyes twinkling as they looked into him, and would say in his firm, yet gentle voice, "Padawan, I know you can do this." So Anakin did, every time, without a second thought. Anakin did not want to let Obi-Wan down, did not want his Master to see that his faith in his Padawan had been misplaced.

Lost in the reverie, Anakin was startled when the tranquility of the moment was abruptly disturbed by a vision of Obi-Wan, bloodied by double lightsabre burns, which danced callously through his mind.

But I did let him down. Oh Master…Obi-Wan…I'm sorry…

Scowling, he immediately deflected the thought, pushing it aside with disdain. He certainly didn't want to think about that, not here, not now.

He started across the water again, when without warning, his mind was assaulted by a vision of Count Dooku smiling maliciously as he held his crimson sabre high above Obi-Wan… Master, I'm sorry…sorry…sorry… churned through Anakin's mind, as he felt a part of himself break apart at the memory of what the Sith had done to his Master, how he himself had carelessly tossed aside all of his training when he gave into his emotions and rushed in for revenge.

Anakin's breath quickened as he began to struggle in the water, his right arm suddenly weakening with each stroke. Master, please, help me! he cried in his mind, just as he had wanted to do in that pool when he was nine. It was an appallingly weak thought he didn't want. With considerable effort, he buried all of these memories and feelings, finding each stroke a little easier, as the thoughts sunk deep down within himself.

"Ani!"

He heard her call out to him, then looked to see her waving to him from the shore. He returned the wave, but he wasn't ready to come back, not yet. Not when it felt this good to be out here…not having to think…or remember…

-----------

In her experiences with other Jedi who had been momentarily "lost" in the Force, Luminara had found that they often retreated either to old memories or to fantasies created by the Force to shield them from some kind of pain. Concentrating her energies, she followed the tendril of Anakin's Force-signature, still blindingly white-hot even with his injuries. She was looking for a breach of some kind in his shields, a way to penetrate his deep subconscious…only to be thwarted at every turn. Haja! The boy has a remarkable ability to close himself off for a Padawan his age.

Luminara decided to try a different approach, one that might work with a Jedi so connected to his emotions as Anakin was. It would be unfair, even cruel perhaps, but if it worked and got through to him… She carefully projected an image of an injured Obi-Wan along the tendril, finding some success as a chink appeared in his mental armor. But not enough to let her in. She then projected Count Dooku at that chink, effectively blasting a hole in his carefully created defenses. There was just enough of an opening… and she slipped in.

But where in the galaxy was this?

-------------

Anakin dove again under the blue water, swimming out deeper into the lake. He knew he wasn't alone here, in this place; he hadn't been for a single moment since he arrived. The water was here, the sun was here, and they were here. That's all he cared to think about right now.

"Ani!" she called out to him again.

"I'll be right there!" he called, as he cut swift, fast strokes through the water to the shore.

She was there to greet him with a towel. "Ani, you know how it worries me when you go out so far."

"Yes, Anakin, you should be mindful," said the jovial bearded man who casually strolled up beside her. "We're worried about you. We were afraid you wouldn't be able to find your way back, Padawan."

Anakin laughed and rolled his eyes, happier than he could remember being in a long time. But something still tugged at the edges of his mind…an elusive ache, a longing for something that seemed to be missing. No matter. He shrugged off the feeling.

"Mom, Master Qui-Gon, I'm fine," he tried to assure them, as he wrapped them both in an impulsive hug that would have been more appropriate at age 9 than at 19. "I've missed you both so much!" he enthused, looking to each one with wonder and delight.

Pulling back from his embrace, his mother gave him one of her sad smiles, so much like the one she had worn when he had left her on Tatooine. "Ani, I love you and I've missed you, too, but you cannot hide here forever. It is time for you to go back. They need you. He needs you."

A scowl flitted across Anakin's face. Obi-Wan doesn't need me. I'm not sure he even wants me. "Please, I don't want to talk about it. It is better this way," he insisted, avoiding their eyes.

The elder Master gave him a sympathetic smile. "The correct path is never an easy one, Padawan, but the burden is made lighter by sharing the journey. Anakin, you are not alone, you never have been nor will you ever be. Do not force this unwanted solitude on the one who has always been by your side."

Anakin looked to Qui-Gon, begging. "Master, please! I don't want to go back, I don't want to fail anyone I care about again. I want to be here, I want to stay with you and Mom. Please."

Qui-Gon gave him a stern look and placed both hands on Anakin's shoulders, capturing his eyes. "Anakin, the Chosen One you may be, but do not deceive yourself into believing you could have altered the will of the Force. A Sith Lord killed me; a band of violent beings killed your mother. It was not in your power to change our fates."

Anakin looked away. It should have been. "Qui-Gon—" he started to protest.

The Master's tone was firm. "You must listen to the will of the Force, Anakin. You cannot avoid your duty nor your destiny."

Anakin hated how the Jedi Master was still so frustratingly cryptic.

Angry and petulant, he flung the towel to the grass and stalked back to the lake, longing for another swim that would drown out the anxiety, fear, and regret he felt coiled deep within him.

As his lithe form cut through the water, the thought again came to him unwittingly.

(Master, please, help me…)

-----

Luminara stood on a high, grass-covered hill, astounded to look down and see Anakin swimming with great skill, in the middle of the very lake that his room on Naboo overlooked. Interestingly, he looked much like he did on Ansion, with his Padawan hair cut, both arms still intact.

So, this is where he went to hide—but why? Scanning across the lake, she saw a dark haired woman watching Anakin, a worried expression on her face. The Healer tried calling out to Anakin, but no sound came forth from her lips. Puzzled, she tried again, this time with both her mouth and her mind, but to no end. Luminara frowned in frustration. She had found Anakin, yet she could not reach him.

"He cannot hear you, Luminara. He doesn't want to."

Luminara was not startled; she had felt his presence as soon as she had arrived. Nevertheless, when she turned toward the voice, she was surprised to be able to see him so vividly.

"Yes, I discovered that," she allowed. She raised an eyebrow as she looked up into his mercurial eyes. "Master Jinn, it is…unusual…to see you."

Qui-Gon rumbled a hearty laugh. "Nothing gets you ruffled, does it? Except for my former Padawan and his Padawan, perhaps?"

She gave him a subtle nod, then gestured in Anakin's direction. "Tell me, Master Jinn, who is that woman with Anakin?"

Qui-Gon's eyes saddened as he folded his arms across his chest. "His mother, Shmi. You may not know this, but he lost her very recently, and it is a weight that he has borne with tremendous difficulty. He holds himself responsible for her death."

"Was he?"

Qui-Gon sighed deeply. "It wouldn't matter if he was. He chose the way of the Jedi; he must come to terms with the consequences of all his choices. As we all do."

Again, she nodded, then looked at him. "Why is Anakin still here? What is he waiting for?"

There was a long silence between them. Finally, the Jedi Master answered. "I am not sure. The Living Force often clouds its intentions, Luminara, but will reveal them in time. To be the Chosen One is not a path either of us will ever travel. Only one has traveled it with him."

Luminara considered his words, comprehending his meaning. "Obi-Wan."

Qui-Gon smiled sagely. "The bond they share is exceptionally strong, of that I have no doubt. Obi-Wan's may be the only voice Anakin will hear; but I fear it is also the voice that he hides from the most."

Luminara watched Anakin for a bit. She turned again to Qui-Gon. "Will Anakin listen?"

"I do not know, Luminara. We must trust in the Force; it is all we can do."

--------

Luminara opened her eyes, seeing that most of the day had passed—the sun was again dipping behind the purple mountains that framed it, golden rays casting long shadows into the room. She slouched in the chair at Anakin's bedside, deep in thought. Her eyes moved over to regard the door to Obi-Wan's room, reaching out to sense his peaceful sleep. At least he still rests—he's going to need it.

------

(Master, please, help me…)

Obi-Wan moaned as he heard the words, muffled at first in his mind. Although still deep in a healing sleep, he knew his Padawan's voice immediately.

(Master, please, help me…) came the words again.

This time it was clearer.

Obi-Wan's eyes opened in a panic, his breath coming in short fits as his eyes looked wildly around the room.

Anakin was calling out for him, in so much pain, and so afraid.

(Anakin, I'm here!)

He tried to reassure his Padawan, but was met with a blanketed silence in their training bond…

Did the Force imagery work? I'm just curious to know if it translated well. Thanks so much for taking the time to read. I promise--Anakin is definitely on his way back! TempleMistress.