Obi-Wan quickly hurried through the streets of Coruscant, holding an unconscious Anakin in his arms. He looked down at the boy in his arms and readjusted his grip. Anakin's head lolled and his forehead was now pressed against Obi-Wan's neck. He winced at the heat coming off of it and cursed himself for not noticing that something was wrong sooner. The rain blurred his vision, causing the neon signs to blur together into one iridescent light show. The people of Coruscant were silhouettes against its background, and Obi-Wan did his best to weave in an out of them while carrying an unconscious teenager in his arms. He had wrapped his cloak around Anakin to try and stop his shaking, but it didn't seem to help. Anakin still trembled in his arms, and Obi-Wan quickly rounded another corner as he headed back towards the temple.
He sighed as relief coursed through his veins. Ahead of him were the steps for the jedi temple. At this hour of the night, they were empty, and the raindrops falling from above bounced off of the steps leading up to the great hall. Obi-Wan ascended up the steps wordlessly. All he could hear was his own breath, footsteps and the rain falling from above.
That was until he heard a weak groan from Anakin.
"Master?" He whispered, his voice hoarse. Obi-Wan almost didn't hear him speak over the sound of the rain.
"We're almost back to the temple, Anakin." Obi-Wan replied softly as he continued onward. Obi-Wan frowned when he heard Anakin mumble something unintelligible before shifting in his arms and falling silent again. Anakin always had a witty comeback- no matter what kind of situation they were in. Obi-Wan pursed his lips as he realized that there was something serious going on- and he would get to the bottom of it. Despite the raging fever and being wrapped in Obi-Wan's cloak, Anakin still trembled in his arms. Obi-Wan quickly ran through the great hall and towards the healers- his pace quickening as he realized that Anakin was trembling harder and becoming less responsive. His breathing was growing more and more ragged. His arms burned with the strain of carrying Anakin for so long. Hooded jedi looked at Obi-Wan in shock and confusion as he jogged through the halls of the temple, holding his unconscious padawan in his arms.
Obi-Wan rushed into the halls of healing, out of breath and arms trembling with the strain of carrying Anakin. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but he had caused enough of a scene just by entering so suddenly- soaking wet and out of breath. Holding an unconscious teenager in his arms. The healers quickly moved into action. Taking Anakin out his arms and placing him on a stretcher. Swarming his body and taking all kinds of vital signs. Shouting over each other as they tried to hook him up to various machines.
The flurry of emotion and action could have lasted for five seconds, or five minutes. Obi-Wan wasn't really sure. But he stood, rooted to one spot in the halls of the healing, a small puddle forming around where he stood. Doctors and nurses rushed past him, and he watched as they whisked Anakin away.
"Obi-Wan," A voice called. Obi-Wan turned around and sighed in relief when he saw Bant approaching him.
"What happened?" She said as she stopped in front of him. Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Honestly, I'm not sure." Obi-Wan whispered. "We were talking, it turned into an argument, Anakin stormed out and…" Obi-Wan trailed off.
"And now you're here." Bant said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Obi-Wan sighed again.
"You know," She began as she placed a hand on his shoulder "I first thought that you taking on Anakin as your padawan when you were hardly a knight yourself might have been a bad idea. But you've proven me wrong over and over again." A moment of silence passed before she spoke again. "And Anakin is a good kid. He's got a good heart. He'll be alright." Obi-Wan smiled softly at her words- he often questioned himself, late at night, wondering if he was the right one to train Anakin. How things could have gone better if Qui-Gon was still alive. How things could have been different if they found Anakin when he was a toddler. If he was a better master.
"I can see the doubt in your eyes, Obi-Wan." Bant said, breaking the silence. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say something when Master Che walked out.
"Master Kenobi." She greeted him as she approached the two of them. Obi-Wan turned quickly, eager to hear any news about Anakin.
She looked between the two of them, her eyes first settling on Bant before looking back at Obi-Wan before speaking.
"Anakin just had a serious seizure." She whispered, and Obi-Wan felt as if the ground had been pulled from underneath his feet.
"What?" Bant whispered. Master Che's face remained grim.
"We're trying to lower his body temperature, but the convulsions and seizures are making it difficult for us to begin any kind of intravenous treatment. He's incredibly disoriented."
"But," She continued after a moment of silence. "We think we know what the problem is." Obi-Wan's eyes lit up at the idea of finally getting to know what could have caused Anakin to act so rash so recently.
"At first, we thought it could have been some kind of untreated flu, but as we were removing his tunic to try and administer fluids intravenously, we noticed that his right arm seemed to have some kind of rash." She explained.
"Which means that something else is going on." Bant commented. Master Che nodded.
"Precisely. And while we are sure that there is some kind of untreated chest infection, I am starting to think that this was not the only thing that had been ignored." She continued.
"What? What else could be going on?" Obi-Wan asked eagerly.
"Master Kenobi, did you know that Anakin had sustained a serious cut on his right arm?" She asked. Obi-Wan shook his head silently. She sighed.
"And that it wasn't disinfected properly?" She asked. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to respond, to address his failure as a master when Bant chimed in.
"Master, with all due respect, Anakin is a prideful child. He probably… didn't want to have his master worry about him." She added on quickly, wincing at her own words.
"And so instead he opted for neglecting his own health?" She countered. She looked back at Obi-Wan. "Looks like a skill that he learned from you, Kenobi." She sighed again. The moment of silence that passed way heavy and broken when Master Che spoke again.
"Anakin will probably be fine, but I suggest that you two have a serious talk about all of this once he is well again." She said before she walked away, leaving the two of them alone.
"Don't beat yourself up over this, Obi-Wan." Bant said quietly. "I'm sure you two will figure this out."
"Right." He whispered, looking at the floor as he tried to fight back tears.