The Jedi Temple's infirmary was among the best in the galaxy. Aided both by modern technology and the Force, the healers and medical droids within were known for working miracles. They could perform surgery that was too dangerous for non-Force users, revive patients that other physicians had given up on, and even repair some types of brain damage that most had deemed irreparable. During the Clone Wars their numbers had been depleted, so for a time no patients outside the Jedi Order were admitted. In the ten years that had followed they had finally added enough Healers and healing apprentices to begin sending them outside the Temple.

Comparatively speaking an arm broken at both radius and ulna was almost as simple as a cut. Once set, the affected limb would be soaked in bacta for several hours to begin knitting the bones together. A Healer would then use the Force to accelerate the process and ease the worst of the pain. Depending on the severity of the injury- and how much they rested -the patient could be healed in as little as one standard week; a full week faster than outside the Temple.

Anakin knew this. He had been well-acquainted with the Infirmary during the Clone Wars, most notably after he had lost his right arm to Count Dooku and during the reattachment of his left leg after it had been severed during the final duel with Palpatine. But still he felt a deep sense of agitation as he sat in the waiting room in anticipation of seeing his daughter. He wanted to pace, tap his foot, twiddle his thumbs, or do anything but sit there like a calm Jedi Master was expected to. Be still, he told himself firmly. You aren't going to help anyone by wearing a hole in the floor.

Leia had been quiet during the trip back to Coruscant. Anakin insisted she lie still in one of the bunks. She didn't like that at all. While in pain, the girl grumbled more about her father and brother's fussing than her arm.

Luke had been in tears for half of the trip home. He made an absolute pest of himself in keeping his sister company and asking if there was anything she wanted. A half dozen times since Leia had been taken back to the Healers, he asked if his sister was going to be all right. Anakin knew that if he showed how agitated he was, it could make Luke even worse.

Luke didn't look very worried at the moment. He sat in an attitude of meditation with his eyes closed and his arms slack, brows knit in concentration.

Anakin's mouth twitched into a partial smile. He was the one who had suggested Luke calm down and try to sense Leia with the Force. As long as he could sense her, he'd know she was fine. Apparently it had worked. I should be following my son's example, he thought with a light sigh.

He could already sense Leia somewhere in the treatment portion of the Infirmary. She was still in pain, but it had eased gradually over the last two hours until receding to no more than a dull ache.

Anakin hated nothing more than knowing someone he loved was hurting, but in this case it wasn't the injury itself that had him most upset. It was the knowledge that his daughter had been injured while in his care. Over and over Anakin had reviewed what he should have done differently to prevent it. He should have sensed the charges set at the top of the cliff, set to sabotage the meeting had the Jedi not showed up...but how was that possible? In the end, Anakin came to one of two conclusions; either he should not have allowed Luke and Leia to climb the cliff, or he should not have taken the mission in the first place. He blamed only himself.

"Dad?" said Luke, laying a tentative hand on his father's arm. "You're worried."

"No, I'm not." Anakin shook his head in denial.

"Leia's gonna be okay," declared the boy with a smile.

"Of course she is. I told you, didn't I?" Anakin gave a somewhat ragged smile to his son.

"Leia did, too. I just talked to her and she said she's fine."

"I know."

Luke's smile faded. "Then why are you still worried?"

My son is more perceptive than I am. Anakin shrugged. "I'm not worried, Luke. I just hate it when someone I love is hurt, and I can't do anything to make them feel better."

Confusion overtook the boy. "But you did. You set her arm with the Force...and besides, you saved us."

A halfhearted smile returned, but rather than answer, Anakin gave his son a brief squeeze around his shoulders. The approach of a Jedi healer made father and son rise expectantly.

"Master Skywalker, your daughter's treatment is complete. You are free to see her if you wish," announced the healer.

"Thank you," sighed Anakin, bowing to the Twi'lek woman. His arm returned to Luke's shoulders, as much in affection as to keep the boy from running pell-mell down the hallways to see his sister.

Anakin felt like doing much the same himself.

:=v=: :=v=: :=v=:

"Father, I told you, I'm fine," insisted Leia. Having just been released from the Infirmary with her arm in a plasticine alloy cast and a sling, she walked alongside her father and brother with an air of impatience and annoyance. They had hardly left before Anakin looked her over one more time and told her to be careful.

"I know...I just hate seeing you hurt, that's all," explained Anakin with a helpless shrug.

"It's only a broken arm. It doesn't even hurt."

"Leia, what have I told you about honesty?"

Leia cringed. He can sense it. From the look on Luke's face, he could too. Jedi weren't the type to start doling out painkillers. For a student her age, she was expected to fend off at least most of it with the Force. That only worked if she concentrated and put a lot of effort into it. Thankfully since treatment had finished the pain was very mild...as long as she didn't move her arm. "All right. It doesn't hurt much. But honestly, Father, you worry too much."

Anakin's mouth twitched. "You sound like your mother." He nearly winced at the memory of telling Padme their daughter had been hurt. The reaction had been surprisingly strong in that Anakin had expected her to be horrified at what had happened, which she was. The surprise came in seeing Padme cry over the news. She was not hysterical, but it affected her more than Anakin had thought it would. Padme never cried unless someone she knew and loved had passed away. But why not? After all, she loved her children more than anything.

Padme, when she had gotten control of her tears, asked when they expected to be home. For that, Anakin didn't yet have an answer; he hoped it was soon. He needed rest.

Anakin's fatigue had finally caught up with him. Fighting the pirates, catching those stones, and then setting Leia's arm had taken more out of him than he had expected. Now that Leia had been taken care of, all Anakin wanted to do was sleep.

Hopefully he wouldn't nod off while in the Council chambers giving his report.

:=v=: :=v=: :=v=:

"Complete, this report is?" questioned Yoda some time later.

"Yes, Master Yoda," nodded Anakin. His cheeks burned in embarrassment and shame. "I apologize for allowing the majority of the pirates escape, and have no excuse."

"Hmm. Distracted, you were."

"Yes. I realize this does not reflect very well on my abilities as a master. If this shows that I am ill-suited to train both of my children, I'll accept any reassignments without question," finished Anakin with a sigh.

The Council had been surprisingly quiet and unreadable during Anakin's full oral report of the failed mission to Balmorra. Luke and Leia had already contributed their bits and stood waiting outside. Anakin had been expecting to be chewed out at least a little, but there was none of that. The Jedi Master almost wished there had been...he certainly felt as if he deserved it.

But in reality they regarded Anakin's last remark with confusion. Mace and Yoda exchanged puzzled glances. Ki-Adi lifted his brows in surprise, while Obi-Wan tilted his head to one side and leaned forward, elbow crooked on one armrest. "What makes you think either you or your twins would be reassigned, Anakin?"

Anakin lifted his head and knit his brows, confused. "The mission was a failure. The treaty between the Balmorrans and the Weequay was not honored, and the majority of the pirates escaped."

Mace shook his head. "The fault does not lie with you. The Weequay colonists deceived both you and the Balmorrans."

Anakin grimaced. "I should have sensed their deception."

Yoda rested his chin on his knuckles, thoughtful. "Not always clear are the intentions of others. Gifted with such insight, few Jedi are."

"But Master, I let them escape," sighed the unhappy Skywalker.

"You are being too hard on yourself, Anakin. No mission is guaranteed to be a success. The point is not to dwell upon it, but to learn from it," suggested Obi-Wan. "Besides, Master Yoda is right. The failure was not yours."

"Nor should this mission be considered a failure. Your daughter, for instance, showed herself to be quite skilled at negotiations," reminded Aayla Secura with a hint of a smile.

"Yes. Apparently the Balmorrans think very highly of her," added Mace with a nod.

Anakin's smile of pride was brief and strained. "Both my children- my students -conducted themselves well..." His voice faded into a regretful sigh. "I only wish Leia hadn't been injured."

Yoda and most of the other Council members noticed. "Mmm. More concern regarding your children, I think, than you have said."

I'm that obvious? Anakin grimaced. It would be useless to lie at this point, so he nodded. "I feel that now I understand why the rule of having only one apprentice at a time was put into place...and why the rules against attachment were honored for so long."

Mace leaned back in surprise. "Do you?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, Master Windu. I was left with a choice, either to save my children, or allow the pirates to escape...and I chose my children. I don't regret this decision, of course, but I see how a thing like this could be a problem. I fear that in the future I may be faced with the same decision but with far more dire consequences."

Kit Fisto frowned. "So, you feel both inadequate to protect your children, and fearful of the consequences of doing so?"

Hearing someone else speak what was on his heart should have been a relief to Anakin, but it made him feel no better. "Yes."

Yoda lifted one eyebrow. "Wish for someone else to train them, do you?"

Anakin's heart stung at the idea, but still he nodded. "I feel that it might be better for both them and me."

Half of the Council members frowned. Some shook their heads. Obi-Wan stared at the floor with a look of slight exasperation.

Mace pursed his lips. "Anakin, you are already well aware that to be a Jedi involves making difficult decisions. I believe the Council would agree that in this instance, yours was correct."

The others nodded.

"No one blames you for either the escape of the pirates or Leia's injury," added Obi-Wan. "The pirates will be dealt with and Leia will heal. And Anakin...this was only your first mission with your children as your apprentices. There is always a breaking-in period."

"I concur with Master Kenobi. You should give yourself more of a chance rather than immediately concluding you are unfit to train your children," Plo Koon put in.

"Do not forget, Skywalker, that you saved young Leia's life," reminded Luminara Unduli.

"How could I? I know you don't understand, but don't think for one moment I'll forget how close I came to losing my children." Anakin hadn't meant to be so snappish, and immediately hung his head in embarrassment. You always have to do that. When are you going to learn to keep your mouth shut? "Forgive me."

Once again half the Council members glanced at each other. It was as if they were tossing thoughts back and forth like a child's toy ball, and the one who ended up with it could either hold the ball and speak or pass it on. Usually Yoda was the one who caught the ball last.

Such was the case again. "Tired you are, Skywalker," the green gnome observed.

Anakin nodded, rubbing his eyes with thumb and forefinger. 'Tired' was an understatement. He hadn't slept since the evening before the collapse, and that had been nearly 36 hours ago. "Yes."

Obi-Wan sighed. Anakin had always been that way. He kept pushing himself, taking on one thing after another with hardly a break between, and never slowed down until he crashed. It was through Anakin that Obi-Wan had learned that there was such a thing as being too dedicated. He nearly smiled when Anakin met his gaze and shrugged. 'What can I do?' he seemed to say.

Yoda looked thoughtful. "Much have you taken on in a short time, Skywalker. Little time have you had for rest."

Anakin shrugged. "I have the weekends, Master."

Plo Koon steepled his tridactyl hands. "Apparently this is not enough. Your stress levels are elevated and may be impairing your ability to think clearly."

"Agreed," nodded Mace. "Your last meditative retreat was four years ago. Apparently you are in need of another one."

"A retreat?" Anakin disguised his instant attraction to the idea with a frown. "What about Luke and Leia?"

"Recover, young Leia must, from her injury, before another mission is assigned," Yoda pointed out. "Take them with you, you shall."

Two weeks away from the Temple? Luke and Leia had not spent that much time away from Coruscant since they were six years old. Anakin had to agree that such a thing would be good for Leia with her need to heal. Luke, on the other hand, might enjoy it for a few days before he started going stir-crazy. Training was his life. "Both of them, Master?"

Yoda tilted his head to one side. "Separated, you believe they should be? Hmm?"

Quickly Anakin shook his head. The twins couldn't stand being apart. "No, Master." The more he considered it, the more appealing it became. Two whole weeks with the children...

"What say you, Skywalker?" asked Yoda, somewhat amused. The more Anakin tried to hide his enthusiasm, the plainer it was.

Anakin bowed in deference before giving in to his smile. Hopefully his children shared his feelings. "When do you wish us to depart?"

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long for an update! My mom had bunion surgery and I've been taking time off to help her at home. More is coming!