Obi-Wan watched as healers, nurses, and doctors passed by, moving through the halls of healing. With his back against the wall, he watched as time slowly passed, waiting for news about Anakin. He knew that several hours had passed- the ache in his joints from sitting in one position for so long was telling him that more than anything. But he couldn't bring himself to move. Not until he got more news about Anakin.
He felt his eyelids drooping, but they would snap open after a moment as his anxiety fought with his exhaustion. Master Che came from around a corner and Obi-Wan quickly stood up, eager to hear any news.
"Master." He said, his voice hushed. Obi-Wan looked at her- while she was a stern and stoic woman, he had never seen her look weary the way she did now. She started at him for a moment before speaking.
"Padawan Skywalker is going to be fine." She said before he could say anything else. Obi-Wan let out a huge sigh of relief, releasing hours of anxiety that had been building up.
"But," She continued. "It will take some time before he is back to feeling like his normal self."
"How long?" Obi-Wan asked.
"At least a month." She said and shrugging. "It could be longer." Obi-Wan opened and closed his mouth again, unsure of how he was going to break to Anakin that he was going to have to spend the next month sitting still and not doing very much. Master Che sighed.
"I know that your Padawan is an active boy. But trust me, he will not have the energy to be moving around like how he did before for at least two weeks." Obi-Wan frowned and reached a hand up to stroke his beard to hide the concern in his expression.
"Obi-Wan." Master Che said in a soft voice. "While the chest infection wouldn't be that much of a problem on its own, it's the infection on his arm that is worrisome. Do you know anything about when he could have hurt himself?" He crossed his arms, deep in thought about when Anakin could have done something to injure himself.
"Well…" He began. "If I didn't know about it until now, that means that he was probably doing something that he didn't want me knowing about." Obi-Wan muttered. "And my first guess would be that he was working on some project somewhere and didn't want me to find out about it."
Master Che nodded. "That makes sense. Had he been more closed off than usual?"
"Yes." Obi-Wan replied. "His mood got worse as the week went on."
"Well, I think that tells us what we need to know. He probably was doing something he shouldn't have been doing- was worried about your reaction and decided to hide the wound instead of getting help."
"But what about the chest infection?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to push down the guilt that was rising.
"For that, I would assume that he was trying to hide that as well." Master Che said. She sighed.
"It is obvious that your padawan has learned many things from you, including a lack of self-preservation skills." Obi-Wan wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry when he heard her say that. He decided to change the subject.
"When will he wake up?" He asked, anxious to see his apprentice.
"It's hard to say. We had to sedate him to stop the convulsions. It should wear off in a few hours, but he won't be in any condition to hold any kind of conversation. Right now, we are more focused on clearing the blood infection than the chest one." She paused to look at Obi-Wan's confused expression before continuing.
"The chest infection, while probably a nuisance, is not life threatening. Had Skywalker waited longer before getting help for the blood infection however, it would have been very likely that we would have had to consider amputation." Obi-Wan gasped softly.
"He is a healthy child. I am sure he will make a full recovery. It will just take time." She crossed her arms over her chest.
"But for now, I would suggest that you focus on getting some rest yourself, Kenobi." Master Che said. They heard Bant call her name from another room and Master Che walked off, leaving Obi-Wan alone with his thoughts once again.
Obi-Wan had never seen Anakin be so still in his life. His padawan was always on the move, and never seemed to tire out. Asking more questions than Obi-Wan had answers. Pushing whatever limits he could. But now, as Obi-Wan stood by Anakin's bedside, he wished that he were dealing with a hyperactive teenager instead of one who looked like he was on death's doorstep. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent, and his face was pale aside from the fever. Obi-Wan looked at the machines by his bedside: an oxygen monitor, heart monitor, several IVs, and data pads with notes and charts. He looked back down at Anakin- who was now wearing a white tunic and saw the infection in his arm. Obi-Wan winced while looking at the angry, red lines that ran up and down his arm. He looked out the window, at the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window. Speeders passed by, casting temporary shadows against the buildings. He watched them go by, not really focused on what was in front of him.
Yes, he was definitely going to have a serious talk with Anakin once he was well enough.
He heard a cough and jumped. Obi-Wan quickly turned around and saw Anakin trying to sit up while coughing. He quickly rushed over and helped him sit up, and felt his body shake as the coughing continued.
"Anakin." Obi-Wan said sternly, "How are you feeling?" He watched as Anakin blinked a few times, like as if he were trying get rid of the mind fog from the fever.
"Tired." He rasped out. He brought a hand up to rub his eyes, and then looked down at the IV that was inserted into his wrist. He frowned, and then looked back up at Obi-Wan, who had now sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Anakin," he repeated as he watched his apprentice lean back into the pillows, his eyes half open. He lifted an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Obi-Wan sighed.
"I should go get a healer. I'm sure they will want to check in on you and make sure everything is alright."
"Later." Anakin whispered, his eyes closing again.
"Anakin." Obi-Wan sighed.
"Master, I'm tired." Anakin replied, his voice cracking on the last word. Obi-Wan felt that tug on his heartstrings.
"Fine. Later." He said.
"It is now later, Anakin." Bant said as she approached his bedside. Anakin's eyes cracked open, and they still looked dazed from the fever.
"You're lucky Obi-Wan let you rest some more- if I was your master, I would have had the healer check on you as soon as I saw you were awake." She said as she picked up a nearby data pad and began to read through its contents.
"Oh, I wanted to, believe me." Obi-Wan reported from her side. A ghost of a smile formed on Anakin's face, but his eyes still stayed mostly shut.
"Well, his fever has gone down, so that means that the antibiotics are working." Bant said as she continued to look at the data pad. "Although you'll have to stay on bedrest for at least another standard week, Anakin." He hummed in response, his eyes closed again, and she glanced at Obi-Wan who was trying to conceal his worry in the force.
"Don't worry about it." She whispered. "I'm sure Master Che told you that he was going to be really out of it for a while. Until his fever breaks, he won't be very responsive." Obi-Wan nodded.
"The only concern we have about that is that if he's too tired to eat on his own we might have to insert a feeding tube." Bant muttered. She leaned over and gently shook Anakin's shoulder, who groaned and then coughed.
"Do you feel like eating anything?" She asked him gently. He shook his head.
"Not even some juice? Some tea?" She questioned. Anakin shook his head again. Bant stood up straight and looked at Obi-Wan. She sighed.
"We can try asking him again later, but if he still says no then we would have to consider inserting the tube. Do you know when the last time he ate was?"
"Yesterday, lunch, I think. He ran out before we had dinner." Obi-Wan replied. She nodded.
"His body isn't going to be able to fight off these infections unless we are able to get some more nutrients into him." She commented. Obi-Wan leaned over and shook Anakin shoulder again.
"Anakin." He said softly. "If you keep refusing food, then the healers will have to insert a feeding tube."
"And you don't want that." Bant added on. "So, it would be better if you could try and eat a little something on your own." Anakin whined into his pillow, but after a moment he began to sit up, using shaky arms to help push himself up. The two of them leaned forward and helped him sit up.
"Great!" Bant said. "I'll be back in a moment with a juice pouch." She said as she walked away. Anakin leaned forward, resting his head on his master's shoulder and sighed.
"I know you're tired, Anakin, but I promise you can sleep after this." Obi-Wan whispered softly as he rested a hand on Anakin's shoulder. While he knew that Anakin's fever had gone down, he could still feel the intense heat against his neck that was coming off of him. He felt Anakin nod, and the wave of chills that overtook his body. He heard the door open and Bant walked in, holding a purple juice pouch in one hand.
"You don't have to finish it, but you have to try and take a few sips." She said as she handed Anakin the drink. He took it with shaky hands and Obi-Wan was pleasantly surprised when he was able to finish about half of it before handing it back to her and curling up underneath the covers. Bant chuckled slightly.
"It must be weird to see him so quiet." She remarked. Obi-Wan nodded.
"Quite." He replied, watching Anakin's chest rise and fall as he slept.