Over the next two days, Anakin rarely left his Master's side. The medics had moved them to a more private area of the palace, away from the constant stream of wounded that were being brought in.
The tall Jedi Padawan paced nervously inside the somewhat cramped space, which he assumed was some sort of converted storage facility due to its size and location.
He should be out there, he thought vehemently, helping resolve this crisis. It was his duty, but it was also his duty to protect his Master, and Obi-Wan still had not awakened.
The young man had spoken to the Nusar physician a few times when he came through to check Obi-Wan's vital signs and hang a new IV bag. The hemorrhaging had stopped, the intracranial swelling subsided, and there was no reason why his Master had not revived.
Anakin sat next to the bedside as the distant rumbling of explosions echoed throughout the palace.
"Master? Can you hear me?" The young man asked quietly in the darkness. "What am I supposed to do? How can I help you? The doctor says you're healed. Why don't you wake up?"
But there was no sound other than the incessant bleep of the monitor attached to Obi-Wan's finger and the steady drip of the intravenous fluids that hung by his bed.
Anakin sat back in his seat and wearily ran his hand through his spiked hair. His attention however, was soon drawn away from the unconscious man before him to the noise outside. Actually, to the lack of it. The bombing apparently had stopped, and other than the occasional blaster burst, the night was unusually peaceful.
The young man rose and walked to the shattered window to stare out into the city of Nusar. The remains of buildings and lifeless bodies littered the streets below, but walking through the middle of the catastrophic display was a pair of individuals that he immediately recognized. Their long brown cloaks swept behind them as they made their way up the palace steps.
Anakin raced down the corridor to meet them, catching them at the juncture of the main foyer and throne room.
He bowed in greeting. "Master Secura, Padawan Beel."
"Greetings Padawan Skywalker." The Jedi Master answered back formally, both she and her padawan bowing, before she nodded her head to the young student, who abruptly bounded away toward the throne room. She then turned back and smiled gently, placing a casual and friendly hand on Anakin's shoulder.
"How is Obi-Wan?"
"My Master still sleeps and I don't understand why." Anakin answered back, his brow etched deeply in worry.
"Take me to him." Aayla replied, following quickly after the young man.
"What of the rebellion?" Anakin asked as he led the way.
"There is currently a cease fire agreement, although I don't know how long it will last. After I check on Master Kenobi, I'm going to attempt to begin peace negotiations."
Anakin escorted the Jedi Master to Obi-Wan's bedside. She immediately placed her long blue fingers across his brow and grimaced with awareness.
"What is it?" The young man asked.
Aayla removed her hand from Obi-Wan's forehead, but to Anakin's surprise, gingerly swept aside a lock of hair from off his face, and placed a gentle caress down the side of his cheek before removing her hand.
"He's fine." She said with a gentle smile.
"Then why doesn't he wake up?" Anakin asked, failing to keep the edge off his voice.
"He's in a deep healing trance, but not purely a physical one. Physically, he is nearly completely healed, but there are some mental reparations being done as well. Did something upset him recently?"
"Maybe." Anakin replied, feeling stupid about his answer, but he honestly didn't know what had happened other than Obi-Wan discovering that he had been secretly dating Padmé all along, but that shouldn't have upset him this much.
"Don't worry Anakin. He's done this before."
The older woman hurried on when she saw the look of confusion on the apprentice's face. "You were probably too young to remember, and I believe you were going through initiation at the time." Aayla explained as she sat herself down on a nearby metallic stool.
Anakin was perplexed. His Master had gone into a self-induced soul-healing trance before? For what reason?
"It was right after he returned from Naboo." She began answering his unspoken question. "Yoda took over your care through your initiation process, giving Obi-Wan time to adjust to his new status as a Jedi Master, and to mourn over the loss of his own." The Twi'Lek's voice had softened and she stood and moved to gaze out the open window.
"When he first arrived back at the Temple, I went to see him, hoping that we could start from where we had left off."
The Jedi Master had her back turned to the young apprentice and she could not see the look of surprise on Anakin's face, but she had sensed it.
"We had an on-and-off-again relationship. Obi-Wan never made any promises to me and I never asked him to. I knew too much of his reputation to expect any vow of loyalty. I knew he was incapable of it, but I also knew he loved me in his own way, and I loved him. When I saw him that day, I knew something had happened. It was more than Qui-Gon's death. It was something that had hurt him much deeper."
Aayla turned to face the padawan who was nodding his head in acknowledgment. Anakin knew exactly what had happened on Naboo. Padmé had told him.
"But he wouldn't talk about it." The older woman continued. "I suggested that he see one of the soul healers, but he refused. I was helpless to stand by and watch him withdraw from the active social life that he had known until he was no longer the exuberant, fun-loving man he once was. So full of life and love and such a joy to be around."
Was she talking about his Master? Anakin wondered to himself. Incredible.
Aayla continued. "His meditations grew longer and longer and his countenance more and more serene. He transformed himself into a shadow of the man we all knew and loved, suddenly all seriousness and duty."
Anakin nodded once more. "I remember when the initiation was over and I began my training, how strict he was. But I just assumed that he was adjusting to his role of a Master. In hindsight, I see now it was rather obvious he took his role a little too seriously."
"Just a little." Aayla joked, remembering the Council's censure Obi-Wan hadendured concerning the treatment of his new padawan.
"It made for some interesting moments though." Anakin said with a grin. "I was always trying to sneak off and have some fun, and sometimes it seemed that having fun was the last thing my Master wanted me to do."
"Was it always that way?" Aayla moved once more back to the bedside.
"No. About a month ago, things changed. He started joking around, started actually suggesting that I go out with my friends. It was great."
Silence hung between them as they both stared down at the still form on the bed.
"I won't pry, Anakin, but whatever happened in the last few days has hurt him enough that he is once again withdrawing from life. You can feel it, can't you?"
"Yes." Anakin answered. The previous bright Force aura that was once Obi-Wan Kenobi had diminished somehow. It was like the eclipse of a sun.
"You must help him." Aayla said with firm conviction.
"How?"
"I don't know, Anakin." She answered back, once more brushing away the hair from his Master's face before moving toward the exit. "But I'm sure you'll figure out a way."