Chapter Three is up! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I tried NaNoWriMo... and I got barely over 1,000 words. Oh well. I'll still work on that story. Meanwhile, here's the final chapter of this fun story. Thanks to each one of you for your support and encouragement. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Maybe I can win Star Wars from Disney in a poker game...
Anakin sat on the edge of bed, oblivious to the activity that unfolded all around him. Two medics were in charge; one concentrated on taking notes as the other subjected the Jedi Master to a dizzyingly endless list of questions. He had cuts, bruises, but nothing that had required their attention beyond a bacta patch. Now he was ignored as long as he remained out of the way. Hands resting on his knees, hiding the sweat his palms were beginning to generate, he watched as Barriss joined the medics at the foot of the bed. Together they had helped the Jedi Master to a sitting position. Her back and head were propped up by several pillows. He almost smiled when one medic told her to remain awake and still for the next hour. Her response? "You put me on a bed, surround me with pillows, and then tell me to be awake? No wonder Skywalker never listens to you." He'd have to remember to tell Obi-Wan that. See, now she agrees with me!
"Master Skywalker," Barriss sounded unsurprised. "I was informed by Ahsoka to tell you that the debrief will begin in approximately ten minutes."
"How is she?" his response forming a question. Judging by the look on her face, any less proper and she'd be rolling her eyes at him.
"Reminder, Master Skywalker, you have ten minutes to make it to the debrief," she reiterated.
"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine," he said, waving it away. Who cared about a debrief at this point? 'We won – they lost.' End of story. It would take any number of days to finish tallying the casualties, the value of the ships lost in the attack, as well as request appropriate replacements. All of which was unimportant as of now. "How is Luminara?" Barriss sighed.
"She's doing better." His eyes focused on the padawan momentarily, and narrowed.
"Define 'better'," he stated. She sighed.
"Between you and I, Skywalker, that concussion needs to improve. If the symptoms do not lessen, I cannot in good conscience put her in a bacta tank. Vertigo and blindness are potential side effects if I were to do so, and neither of us wants to see this Jedi Master blinded by pure accident." Anger swelled within him quickly.
"So you can do nothing?!" he asked angrily. She eyed him, her stance becoming guarded. He didn't particularly care at the moment. What good was it to have the ability to heal people if certain conditions only hindered the process?
"Beyond taking care of her fractures with some healing, no. Rest assured that her ribs are mending with the patches, accelerated as I could do with the Force. As with most healing, it just requires time." She appeared to give him another look, before sighing aloud.
"What you can help with, Anakin," he perked up at the chance to do something, anything, "might seem boring, but –"
"I'll help," he quickly volunteered. Better than being stuck in a debrief where he'd be wishing he was back here. She nodded in acceptance.
"Talk to her." She must have seen the look on his face because she continued rather fast. Not his fault it sounded ludicrous. "The worse the concussion, the harder it is to stay awake, which complicates further treatment. However, as I just expressed, we can't continue further treatment until her concussion symptoms get better. By talking to her, keeping her awake, you're stalling for time for her symptoms to subside enough for us to treat her as well as preventing further complications." He could almost hear the unspoken and you'll be out of having to do the debrief. It wasn't like he planned this. Any defensive utterances would have to wait, however.
Barriss pivoted on her heel, and in the blink of an eye was out the door. The two pieces of metal met together in a quiet whoosh long after she had exited. He looked around the room, and seeing that it was devoid of organic personnel swallowed hard.
It was a similar feeling he had had when visiting Obi-Wan's bedside, particularly after the events on Jabiim. Like his master, she looked drawn, pale, fragile, and he was confident that her voice would also sound broken, weakened. Similar these situations were, but different in a way he didn't dare dwell on. How long could he talk to her without making an idiot of himself?
"Just keep me awake, Skywalker." Luminara's deep blue eyes opened to focus on him. He felt himself becoming defensive.
"I was working on that," he responded. It was a little too loud however, as evidenced by her eyelids and lips simultaneously drawing down. Guilt, his constant companion, was coming back to hover over him. "I'm sorry," he said, not surprised that he meant it.
"Sorry for what?" Apparently, she was. "You did not cause the damage to me. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"If I would have been faster in shooting down the fighters, I could have prevented the craft from penetrating the ship," he said. He could still recall the last transmission before he had touched down in the hanger, hearing Ahsoka's answer and feeling helpless… angry. "I could have prevented you being here," he gestured. "Being hurt."
"Probably," she acknowledged. "But now we're here. We'll just have to work harder to prepare for next time." Next time? What the hell did she mean by that?
"If you think you're going to get away with another stunt like that," he began, tone rising in anger.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Luminara responded in kind, eyes narrowing. "I can't just sit by and let others take risks for me."
"So getting yourself nearly killed was the plan?!" he exclaimed, leaning forward. She remained in her seated position, openly glaring at him.
"Look who's talking. Weren't you the one to tell me I needed to be daring, Anakin?" she rebutted sharply. He drew back as if she had slapped him. He should have known that was coming. Despite all his anger at her for endangering herself, he knew he was responsible for telling – no, encouraging – her to do so. It was his fault for endangering her like this. Within that knowledge came another problem.
He had barriers to keep most of the galaxy out, and for the most part he was successful. When certain people breached those barriers, such as Ahsoka, Padme, and especially Obi-Wan and Luminara, he became deeply attached to them, more so than a proper Jedi should. He could not, would not lose any one of them. It was hard to communicate it in the right way to them, especially when they were Jedi. With Luminara around, it was like having a female version of Obi-Wan around. Add to that the return to Geonosis, rescuing her (again), and working with her seamlessly the last few weeks, and he realized he didn't want her to leave.
Seeing how grounded and centered she was had only increased his attachment.
Obi-Wan could calm him like no one else, including Padme, and Luminara (with the exception of this Force-forsaken stunt) had proved to be very similar. He didn't know how, but her mere presence was enough to keep him grounded. She quickly became another person in a handful of people without whom his remaining in the Jedi Order quickly became dubious. He knew what his master would say to that, but he had no reason to care.
On the other hand, would Padme care? The feeling he got was a yes, despite wishing otherwise. If he was honest, it hadn't been just this latest spat with Padme that was draining their relationship. Other incidents came to mind rather quickly – all of which had involved parts of the war that were dark and dirty. It was one of the few things he thanked his Jedi training. Without it, he wouldn't have been prepared for the harsh reality that wars couldn't always be stopped, that often there were reasons and grudges held by others whom, represented by their leaders, were as much in favor of the war as said leaders. That no matter how hard you tried, not all conflicts could be stopped – not when one side wanted the war to continue. From making a point to an attempt to gain more leverage, the reasons for war never stopped.
However, Padme could never seem to get beyond the notion that the Separatists – for the moment – wanted the war to continue, thinking that if the Republic kept trying for peace it would happen. She never was interested in hearing his perspective either – apparently the Senate liked to keep their idealized notions of warfare over an honest point-of-view of one of their top generals. The argument with Clovis had more so been just one more thing to add to their list of points of contention. No wonder she had been tempted by her old at least promised something other than arguing.
At the moment, though, she still appeared to blame him for his actions towards Clovis, judging by the lack of messages or calls. Not that there had been a whole lot sent to begin with, but there wasn't even anything waiting to be read on his end. Nothing. He had tried calling her multiple times, but those calls weren't connecting. By all appearances, she was shutting him out. And as much as he missed her, he needed someone to confide in, in this storm of a war. Like it or not, Luminara had become the default. Similar points of view regarding the war had brought them to more of a like-minded, unified position before their part in the battle to retake Geonosis. She had begun to open him up, little by little, and he found he didn't mind opening up to her more. He appreciated what they had at the beginning, and now he found he craved more of it.
But did she? He needed to find out, and to do that, he'd have to tread carefully – something foreign to his very nature.
"Anakin?" He removed himself from his train of thought to see Luminara looking at him. She appeared worried. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." He grinned in response.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll just take it to mean that you appreciate doing things my way for once."
"Your way?" Her tone was wry, but her lips were smiling. "I'll have you know that that was my plan I followed."
"Maybe it was your plan," he teased, "but it was inspired by me." She shook her head.
"You wish it was!"
"Obviously it worked!" he smirked. "So what else are you going to do? Go one-on-one against Grievous? Or maybe Count Dooku? Because I've already got you beat," he added proudly.
"I've got to think of something else then, so I can avoid being compared to you," Luminara responded. She was still smiling, though, and she reached out with her left hand as if to smack him. Before her palm could make contact, he reached up and took hold of her wrist. Initially, his fingers grasped cooling skin (thanks to the cold temperature which the medics left the medbay at – jerks), but as they circled around to encase her wrist, he felt it. Her face flushed even more in response, and he felt her try to pull her arm back. His grip remained unmoved.
"W-What, what are you doing?" she stammered. He felt her pulse quicken underneath his fingers.
"Relax, would you? It's just an experiment," he said, feeling a smirk crawl across his face. But so far it proved his guess.
"Oh, and I guess my arm happens to be the guest of honor. Will I ever get it back?" she asked. Her face appeared to be a dark shade of green by this point.
"Eventually," he winked at her. "Relax, would you?" He studied her carefully, his gaze taking in everything about her, both external and internal. He sensed her confusion through the Force, tinged with a hint of… hmmm. He brought his gaze back up to her face, locking eyes with her. Anakin knew that he was not a careful Jedi, not cautious nor given to hesitation. He also had a tendency to speak his mind, regardless of the cost or the inevitable lecture Obi-Wan had in store for him. But he had to be careful now. She wasn't looking away from him, which was a good sign as any with which to start.
"Luminara, you're quite a Jedi," he began. That might have been the wrong thing to start out with; she looked almost ready to keel over.
"Anakin –" she tried to interject. He shook his head in response, and she stopped short.
"And you are one of the most powerful Jedi I've ever known," he continued. Afraid of what might happen, he maintained his gaze on her face. "But, as we've seen just today alone, you can be injured. I don't like that." He paused immediately after, seeing the need to rephrase that fast. "I don't like to see you injured, Luminara. I don't want to see you injured. It was like seeing Ahsoka injured – that can't happen again." Not the best comparison, but he couldn't say anything too soon yet. "I'm still really worried," he admitted. "Not so much because of your injuries now, but that you'd do the same thing again. If I didn't care, I wouldn't be saying this right now," he finished lamely. Hopefully Luminara didn't think that was too stupid to end with. A silence stretched out for what seemed to be forever. Luminara's gaze remained fixed on his though, and his on hers. Now, all he could do was hope.
"Have you ever thought," the Jedi Master began softly, "that maybe, just maybe, I don't want to see anything happen to you either?" Her lips began to twitch upwards, a choked laugh escaping. "You idiot." He let out a small laugh as well. He loosened his fingers around her wrist enough so she could begin slipping it out. However, his fingers tightened once the palm of her hand brushed against his. He held on to it, his focus still on her face, and she didn't show any signs of resistance as of yet.
"I'm the Chosen One, don't you know," he teased. "Nothing will ever happen to me." Her gaze turned somber. He resisted the urge to shiver.
"I hope you're right," she responded. He nodded.
"Just… no more close calls, please?" he asked. Not begged. He didn't beg. Although it was coming close.
"No promises," she said. "Not to mention, if I were to give my assurances and yet you remained committed to your acts of increasing insanity, that would be rather foolish of me." She knew him too well. He displayed a grin in response; it didn't seem to deter her train of thought. "So let's make a deal: you and I both agree to stay out of trouble to the degree that we can, alright?"
"Okay," he agreed. She had agreed; as long as he knew that, he could breathe easier. And her wording gave him ideas for a workaround (the Chosen One couldn't behave if he was to balance things out, now was he?).
"I mean it," she said, her voice and face remaining somber. "Ahsoka and I, and Obi-Wan for that matter, can't try to keep ourselves out of the line of fire if you don't try and do the same. We care about your safety as well. So even if it's only for Ahsoka, you take care of yourself too, you hear?" she pleaded.
"I hear you." But it wasn't Ahsoka who was crossing his mind.
"Aw, come on!" the clones chorused. Ahsoka and Barriss both rolled their eyes at the overly theatrical pair.
"What? Mad they didn't say the words?" Barriss asked, and Ahsoka sighed. In hindsight, signing into the computer so they could rewind and watch the events that had transpired previous to their arrival wasn't a great idea after all. Ahsoka also had the suspicion that the clones, probably Gree, had been recording the playback privately. But it wasn't like she could openly accuse either one unless she had reasonable proof of such.
"No! How could they do this to us? The terms of the bet were veryspecific," Rex stressed. "Besides, it's so obvious that they should have just said it. Even a kiss would have been acceptable."
"They didn't need to," Ahsoka said quietly. She saw Barriss nod in agreement. Between the two of them, they had seen their fair share of relationships among fellow Jedi. Because of the Code all Jedi had to follow, any relationship had to be a secret. Since Jedi were trained to hide their feelings to begin with, each pairing had devised their own techniques in communicating in public view as to not be caught. One could even call it a type of love language.
Now, was it a formal declaration? Technically no, and even as informal declarations went it was debatable in her view. It was enough for her, and she could guess Barriss felt the same. However, she had a sinking feeling that it wasn't for the clones, and she had a guess as to what direction the clones were heading towards. She could say something, even a warning, but on the other hand, it would be rewarding to see those two finally get into trouble. She loved Rex, but not that much where she'd step in to save him again. Besides, she needed to have some blackmail material on Rex. He had enough on her already.
"What are you two planning?" she heard Barriss ask. She joined her best friend in glaring at the two clones who could be seen whispering to each other.
"Nothing, nothing," Gree said over his shoulder. "Don't you have somewhere to be, someone to check up on?" Barriss turned her furious face towards Ahsoka, who returned her look with one of somber acceptance.
"Are we – shouldn't we –" her fellow padawan sputtered.
"No, no," Ahsoka said quietly, "we just – better to keep it quiet." Let the clones embarrass themselves for a change.
"True." Barriss must have caught on to acquiesce so quickly. "Otherwise they'll just escalate their antics."
"Probably," Ahsoka agreed. "But we'll be the ones with the recording technology this time."