Chapter 6: The Longest Day
Anakin was striding down the market on of Courscant's levels enjoying lunch when his comlink went off.
"Anakin Skywalker?" a female voice asked, much to his surprise.
Resisting the urge to stomp on the comlink in the case it should just be a pesky handmaiden wanting to torture him further. "This is he," he finally said after swallowing his bite of shurra fruit.
"This is Healer Mardia. You have a one o'clock appointment at our west building."
How can I have an appointment if I never made one?
"I'll be there," he blurted out, clicking off the comlink.
But
then, he realized one important thing. Where was the west building?
You've got to be kidding me he groaned, mentally
hitting his forehead as he realized his only option.
He'd have to go back to his apartments and look it up over the hologuide, which meant handmaidens.
Maybe I can slip in without them noticing me
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Ten Minutes Later, Padmé's Suite
Quietly, Anakin stole into the apartment, not daring to make a single sound. Perhaps this will work he thought after having been there for a minute and not been noticed.
He was especially quiet as he sneaked into the bedroom and got the name and number, but in his haste, Anakin overlooked another important thing that would come to haunt him.
But in passing by the twin's room on the way out, the Jedi couldn't resist but poke his head in to see his little angels.
Leia was awake and sitting up in her crib, and she flashed him a wide grin upon seeing him. "Dada," she whispered, holding chubby hands out to him.
This melted Anakin's resolve to slip away as soon as possible, and he was soon holding the squirming girl in his arms. "How's my little princess doing?"
Naturally, the Chosen one hadn't actually intending for her to respond, but neither was he expecting to open up her mouth widely and cry out, "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
This woke Luke up and he joined in with the howling. "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Without using the Force, Anakin soon knew that they were not alone. "What are you doing to those poor, innocent children?" the Fatty handmaiden asked, rushing immediately to his side and scooping the babies out of his arms. "Is your daddy being silly again," she cooed, kissing Luke and Leia's red foreheads.
"What's the riot about?" another handmaiden asked as she stepped in. Anakin distinctly thought he heard her mumble something about 'incompetent fathers.'
"I just wanted to check up on them," Anakin cried out in an exasperated way.
"Aren't you supposed to be at a meeting?" one of the handmaidens frowned.
"Actually," he said with a note of triumph in his voice, "I am going to the healer."
This confused both of the handmaidens. "Are you sure?" one asked.
"If you're just trying to confuse me, you can stop already," Anakin boasted. "I just confirmed it minutes ago."
Suddenly, the handmaidens burst into giggles, surprising both Anakin and the sniffling twins.
"What?"
"Nothing," the both said in unison, still laughing at him. "Enjoy your appointment!"
Grumbling, Anakin left.
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Thanks to his navigation skills, Anakin soon found the healer's office and strode in. "I know I'm a bit early," he apologized to the receptionist, "but is there any way I can be seen now- I have important things to do this afternoon."
The receptionist stared at him before a few moments before running off. She came back a few minutes later and calmly addressed the confused Anakin. "Sure thing," she said cheerfully.
A healer's assistant appeared out of nowhere. "Follow me right this way and Healer Mardia will be with you shortly." Stopping before a door, she handed Anakin a blue gown and gestured for him to enter.
A few minutes later, she joined Anakin and sat down at the desk and hastily jotted down some notes.
Why do I need to wear this stupid gown just to see the healer?
She proceeded to ask Anakin a lot of questions that were both so confusing and embarrassing that he blushed. "Okay, that will be it," she announced a few minutes later. Out of a drawer, the assistant pulled out a lethal looking needle. "I need to get a blood sample and then a urine one."
Did I miss something?
Minutes later and having that all accomplished, Anakin returned back to the room. "Lie down on the stretcher and put your feet into those stirrups."
What!
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Next Postie: The doctor arrives and discovers something very important… and so does Anakin!
