It was nearly a day later before he got the commcall.
Anakin had virtually worn a hole in Padme's rug with his constant pacing, his wife's nerves almost as frayed as his were. He hadn't been able to sleep lest the nightmares catch up with him, and the few mouthfuls of food that reached his lips turned to ashes in his mouth.
Anakin practically dived for the comlink whenever it began beeping, though the first time it had been an ad for a speeder sale and then two more from the council with their nosiness and lack of mission reports from him. Then finally, finally, he received a message from the Healers stating his Master was indeed alive and in a stable enough condition that Anakin was allowed to visit.
Thus his excitedly nervous mood as he reached the Healer's Ward in a record time of five minutes, thirty-eight seconds; a personal best, considering the unfortunate amount of time he spent here. The receptionist at the front desk smiled kindly at Anakin and pointed him in the direction of the recovery ward while silently mouthing the words "room fourteen". Anakin nodded his thanks and strode down the hallway, eager to reach his friend. He finally came across the desired location after what seemed like forever though it might have been less than a minute. His stomach was aflutter as he stared at the large black number 14 staring back at him, impatient to see his Master again though anxious as to what his condition might be. Drawing a deep breath, Anakin was about to press the activation button when the door whooshed open, revealing an exhausted looking Bant.
"Anakin!" The Mon Calamari seemed surprised to see him yet pleased nevertheless, "I should have known you would be here sooner or later."
The Knight barely returned her tired smile with a small twitch of his lips. "How…how is he?"
Bant's smile became a bit more strained. "Obi's doing well, considering all that has happened. The surgery went fine, the maggots taken care of. He's asleep now, he'll be sleeping for a while; we're giving him some pain killers and sedatives to keep him comfortable."
Anakin nodded, slightly disappointed that his Master wasn't awake though relieved he wasn't in any pain at the moment. "Can I see him now?"
"Of course." The Healer said as she pressed the activation button once more, "Unless some highly unlikely emergency happens, you can stay as long as you can stay awake."
The patient room wasn't very impressive; plain white walls, grey ceiling, and a stupid poster of a baby nexu stating "Hang in there"—cheerful. The only illumination was from the few machines beeping and whirring and the open window letting in relatively fresh air. Anakin's eyes immediately went to the small bed against the far wall that held a peacefully sleeping Obi-Wan.
With a quick parting glance to her friend and a pat on his shoulder, Bant left the room, leaving Anakin alone to his own devices. The young Jedi slowly ambled over to the bed and sat down on the edge, smiling at the sleeping form of his Master. Lines of pain and worry were faded somewhat in his sleep, yet they were replaced by bruises and contusions. He looked much to weak, and well….delicate. Anakin knew his friend would be horrified at the thought that he was considered delicate by him.
"Hey, Master." He whispered softly, wrapping one large, callused hand around Obi-Wan's small, thin one, "I got here as soon as I could—y'know, as soon as the Healers were sure you weren't—weren't—that you were okay."
His eyes roamed over Obi-Wan, the crisp white sheet covering his malnourished and mistreated body, hiding the damage done by the heartless monster Ventress. Anakin felt his anger rising once more at the thought of that wannabe Sith who so mercilessly hurt his Master. She had dared to cruelly torture his friend simply because she hated the man who had been left at the mercy of those who had none. The knight would personally see to it that the bald harpy got what she deserved.
Obi-Wan's diminished Force-senses picked up on the negative vibe Anakin was emanating and he whimpered softly. Anakin was quick to soothe him, giving his hand a comforting squeeze.
"I missed you, you know, although I'll probably never admit that when you're awake. I know Jedi are supposed to release their feelings into the Force, and you probably would have wanted me to do the same with you, but it just didn't feel right. I knew you were alive, even when everyone told me I was wrong. No one would listen to me—I wasn't allowed to go after you, although I didn't know where to go anyway. It was so frustrating, Master!"
Anakin sighed; it felt a bit odd to be conversing with a less-than-conscious Obi-Wan who probably couldn't hear him. Yet it did feel nice to be releasing his feelings by talking—something he usually didn't do. Anakin had to admit, he had felt his emotions starting to boil over in the past few days.
The knight gently brushed his thumb over the rough skin of Obi-Wan's palm. "I'm almost glad you weren't there to see Jabiim, although I wish it had been under different circumstances. I did as well as could be expected of me; which means to say, I failed miserably. We lost so many good men, and all the Jedi who were there—I left before the final battle. Would you forgive me for running away like that?"
Of course he got no more of an answer than a turn of the head and a soft mumble.
"I'm so sorry for letting this happen, Obi-Wan. It's my fault you got hurt—I didn't rescue you soon enough. I know that if you were in my position you would've come for me a lot sooner. I didn't get you out of that mess soon enough—and for that I'm so, so sorry. I don't like seeing you hurt."
"Ventress will pay for what she's done, I promise. No one hurts my Master and gets away with it."
With that promise, Anakin gently brushed a few stray strands of hair back from Obi-Wan's forehead and assured him that he'd be back to visit later, when his Master was awake.
So, yeah, relatively short chapter. I had to get this one out fast 'cause of the cliffhanger in the last chapter, and I figured a sweet scene would be good enough to balance the angst in the last one. Also, one last thing: I'm offering a challenge kinda. If you have an idea for the next chapter, please leave a review with your idea and a little details. Please? I really want to see your take on this. Thanks! Especially to the people who review and have been sticking with the story this far.