As you will see, Obi-Wan wil be completely fine, despite the number I did on him. And I make it up to him (You'll see how *grins impishly*) There's a song that goes with this chapter: Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation. The # will tell you when to start the song if you want to listen to it while you read.
Chapter Eleven: Senator Secret Sith Lord Strikes Again
Jane knelt down beside Obi-Wan, waiting anxiously for the paramedics to arrive. She knew from previous experience and her books that if she moved Obi-Wan, it could prove more harm than good, especially if he had damaged his neck. So, instead she stroked his hair, trying to soothe him as he gave the occasional moan of pain.
Jane couldn't have been more relieved when the paramedics arrived. Only after she was sure that Obi-Wan was in good hands did she let Bail lead her off. Bail took her to his speeder to the hospital; on the way there, Jane contacted Qui-Gon through the Force to the Jedi Master's relief. Qui-Gon had been panicking because he was unable to get to his Padawans, nor known which apprentice was injured. He told Jane to stay with Bail and that he would meet her at the hospital shortly.
What felt like an eternity later, Bail led Jane up to the reception desk of Coruscant General and asked about Obi-Wan.
"He's still in triage," The receptionist said. "Are you family?"
"I'm his sister in everything but blood," Jane said, having to be held by Bail as she was too short to see over the desk. "And, trust me, I know this drill: no allergies, not on any medications, contact the Healers at the Jedi Temple, they've already got his medical file on standby."
"This happens often?" Bail asked Jane as the receptionist made a note.
"Often enough that the Healers have a betting pool every time we go on a mission over which one of us is going to come back with the worst injuries," Jane said as Bail put her on the ground.
Just as Jane finished giving the receptionist the number for the Halls of Healing, Qui-Gon entered the building, followed by Winna Di Uni—the trio's primary Healer—and Bant Eerin, Obi-Wan's best friend and Winna's apprentice.
Winna and Bant showed their credentials and were allowed back. With a feeling of helplessness, Jane crawled onto Qui-Gon's lap and allowed herself to get buried underneath the Jedi Master's arms. Neither spoke, but they didn't need to in order to comfort each other.
Ten minutes later, Winna came out and pulled up a chair to sit directly across from Qui-Gon and Jane.
"Is Obi-Wan alright?" Jane asked softly.
"He's conscious," Winna said, Jane noting that she skirted around the actual question. "And he wants to see you both before he is sedated. But first I need to prepare you for what you will see.
"His left arm is broken and will need surgery and a cast. He cannot be immersed in bacta at this time because of some of his other injuries. He has a concussion, but fortunately his skull is intact and there appears to be no bleeding or swelling of the brain or damage to his spinal cord-" Jane said a little whisper of a prayer of thanks. "-His right shoulder was dislocated, but it seems that it popped back into place shortly after. His right hip is also dislocated; he will have to be sedated for it to realigned, as it is very painful and, if it doesn't work manually, he'll have to have surgery to get it back into place. Either way, he will have to wear a brace for a month or so, depending on how bad the damage is. He also has a few cracked ribs, a sprained ankle and lots of lacerations and bruises. So far there has been no indication of internal problems."
It took a moment for all this information to comprehend and also—primarily on Jane's part—to swallow back tears.
"Are you going to be alright?" Qui-Gon asked as he set Jane on her feet.
"I think so," Jane said hoarsely as she clutched Qui-Gon's hand. In the two years since she began her training under Qui-Gon, she had seen both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in the medward plenty of times, and had even been in there as a patient just as frequently. But she had never seen either when they were in this bad of a condition.
Winna led Qui-Gon and Jane back to the exam room; they didn't speak and were so quiet, one couldn't have heard even their breathing. Jane quickly swiped her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to control her emotions with the Force. She knew Obi-Wan's heart would break if he saw that she was upset; his heart was the only thing still fully intact, and Jane was determined to keep it that way.
Jane, still clutching Qui-Gon's hand, walked into the room. Machinery and medical devices were everywhere. In the middle of the room was a long padded table with Bant standing next to it, talking with the table's occupant, who was covered with a blanket from the waist down, and was stripped of his tunic.
Just as Winna had warned, Obi-Wan was indeed worse for wear. Bright white bandages covered his head, shoulder and chest. His broken arm was splinted and the other arm had an IV pumping pain meds into his bloodstream. Wires were taped to his chest to monitor his heart beat and breathing, and his blue-gray eyes were glassy and unfocused.
"Hey, Obister," Jane said softly, carefully taking Obi-Wan's good hand, trying to make him at least smile with her nickname for him. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been run-over by a herd of Gundarks," Obi-Wan replied in a hoarse whisper.
"Do you remember any of what happened?" Qui-Gon asked, looking at his oldest apprentice with concern as he brushed some of Obi-Wan's hair out of his face.
"I remember falling," Obi-Wan said, closing his eyes tightly in pain and in frustration. "I don't remember how I came to be falling. Can I please have some pain meds or something?"
"You're on a drip full of medications to lessen the pain right now," Bant said gently. "And you're going to be sedated in a few minutes."
Obi-Wan moaned softly; her heart breaking, Jane gave his hand a little squeeze.
"It's going to be okay," Jane told him. "The pain is only temporary."
"Jane is right," Qui-Gon said. Obi-Wan's glassy eyes looked up at the tall master. "You just need to relax and let the doctors do what they need to do, and to stretch out with the Force for healing."
Obi-Wan nodded vaguely.
"'Kay," He said.
Just then, a nurse stepped up beside them.
"I'm sorry, but I need to sedate him now," She said.
Jane and Qui-Gon nodded.
"Love you, Obister," Jane said, standing on her toes to kiss Obi-Wan's cheek while the nurse administered the sedative.
"Love you too, Jainy-bug," Obi-Wan said, his eyelids slowly lowering as every second passed.
"We're not going to be far," Qui-Gon told him. "If you need anything for either of us, or anything, just reach us with the Force."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said in a whisper. His eyes closed and all the Jedi in the room could tell that he was relaxed now that he was asleep and out of pain.
Qui-Gon brushed his fingers over Obi-Wan's forehead one last time before picking up Jane and setting her on his hip.
The next several hours were very long for Jane and Qui-Gon, full of impatient waiting and praying. They couldn't feel anything from Obi-Wan due to the strong anesthesia, but Bant frequently left the operating room, still in her scrubs, to give the two a progress report every so often. Thankfully, all the news she brought was good: Obi-Wan's dislocated hip did not require surgery to fix, nor did they run into problems with fixing his arm, and no signs of internal issues had shown up, though they still wanted to keep an eye out for any sign of problems and run some scans the following morning.
Jane was only half-awake when Obi-Wan came out of surgery; Bant and Winna offered to take her home and let her sleep in her own bed. Jane tried to refuse, but she fell asleep halfway through giving her reasons for staying; Qui-Gon woke her up briefly so she could say good-night to Obi-Wan, who was still fast asleep.
Upon waking up the next morning, Jane helped Bant pack a bag of Obi-Wan's belongings to take up to the hospital and, after eating breakfast and getting dressed themselves, the two went back to Coruscant General.
They were about to walk into Obi-Wan's room when they heard a very familiar voice.
"Seriously, Kenobi, why are you always doing this to yourself? Do you want me to have gray hair before I'm twenty? Thank the Force I'm blond and can hide it easily. From you especially."
"Is that Siri Tachi?" Jane asked in a whisper, her hazel eyes wide.
Bant nodded. The two carefully peeked around the corner and, lo and behold, there was the Temple's fierce blond fighting machine, Siri Tachi. She was sitting beside Obi-Wan on the bed, his good hand wrapped in one of hers resting on her leg; he was still asleep and Jane picked up from the Force that he wasn't going to wake up any time soon.
"I'm really glad they didn't have to cut you open," Siri said as she gently ran a finger over Obi-Wan's abs. Jane briefly wondered if the blanket had been originally folded at Obi-Wan's waist or if it had been moved. "I'd have hated it if the medics had to damage this washboard tummy of yours. Oh, gosh, I've been wanting to do this for so long," She smiled as she continued to run her fingers over Obi-Wan's bare chest, her finger going over each individual muscle that was put there by hard-work and determination. "Do you know how long I've been pining to snuggle up against you? Or that I get jealous of Jane when I see you holding her in these wonderful toned arms of yours? Yeah. Siri Tachi, envious of a five year old! How pathetic can I get?"
Jane and Bant had both hands over their mouths to contain their giggles, though Jane did feel guilty when Siri admitted her jealousy. She knew Siri liked Obi-Wan (and that Obi-Wan liked Siri) but she didn't know that Siri felt this strongly about him.
"I always have this dream where due to strange circumstances, I'm about to almost drown in the lake, ocean, river, whatever, but it's always okay because you rescue me. Bare chested. Then you give me mouth-to-mouth. Then it's always ruined by Master Yoda in a pink feathered tutu, or something similar before it gets really good," Siri sighed, twirling Obi-Wan's Padawan braid around her finger. "Oh, Force, I am so glad you're not awake and there is no one around to hear me ramble.
Quietly, Jane and Bant crept out of the room and back down the hall. Then, trying to act casual and to wipe the guilty grins off their faces, they walked back into the room.
"Siri!" Jane said, acting pleasantly surprised. "Fancy meeting you here!"
"Oh, I, uh," Siri said, leaping to her feet, her pale cheeks red. "Just came to see what mess Kenobi's gotten himself into now."
"Admit it, you were worried about him," Bant said, a coy smile on her face.
"Okay, so maybe I was, just a little bit," Siri said defensively. "A friend can't be concerned about a friend?"
"Where's Qui-Gon?" Jane asked as she sat in the chair beside Obi-Wan's bed.
"He and Winna left about half an hour ago to get some breakfast," Siri said. "I had arrived a few minutes before and Master Qui-Gon wanted someone to keep an eye on him. Though I doubt he's going to make a run for it any time soon."
"Don't doubt me," Obi-Wan grumbled as his eyes fluttered open.
"Morning sleeping beauty," Jane teased. "Have a nice nap?"
"Yeah, but that's nothing compared to knowing the fact that I just woke up with the three prettiest girls in the Temple surrounding my sickbed." Obi-Wan said with a grin that was without a doubt painkiller induced.
Bant shook her head.
"What the heck are they giving you, Obi-Wan?" Bant asked.
"I dunno," Obi-Wan admitted. "Whatever it is, makes me feel good. So it must be okay."
"Not necessarily," Bant said as she examined the drip bags. "Jane, do me a favor and go tell the nurse he's amongst the living again."
Jane nodded and disappeared for a minute, bringing a nurse in tow upon her return.
"You sure have been through the mill," The nurse said as she took Obi-Wan's vitals.
"No. I just fell down some stairs," Obi-Wan said in a would-be proud voice.
The four females laughed at him, though in his drug-induced state, he had no idea what was so funny.
"The doctor will be here in about a half hour to examine him," The nurse told Obi-Wan's companions.
About ten minutes later, Qui-Gon and Winna arrived, happy to see Obi-Wan awake and not too long after that the doctor entered and gave Obi-Wan a quick examination.
"Everything looks good, the concussion doesn't seem to be a problem," The doctor said. "But I want to run some scans just to make sure there are no internal problems, because, considering the trauma his body underwent, I don't want to overlook anything, though at this point I doubt we'll find any major problems. If there is anything small—like a tear—that we find, we can easily fix it with minimally invasive surgery."
"Good," Jane said, not trying to hide her smirk. "We'd hate for there to be a lot of damage to that washboard tummy of his."
Bant doubled over, trying to control her laughter, while Siri went red-faced again. The doctor, Qui-Gon and Winna simply looked at Jane with confusion. And Obi-Wan, well, Obi-Wan found a loose thread on the blanket right beside his good hand and was now so engrossed with playing with it, he hadn't heard a word in the past two minutes.
"How much did you two hear?" Siri hissed at Jane a moment later when the doctor left to call the radiology unit.
"Enough for blackmailing purposes," Jane responded, still smirking.
"Look, Short-Stuff," Siri said. "I don't want Obi-Wan to know anything of what I said. Make sure Bant gets that message to, got it?"
"Got it," Jane said.
"Good," Siri said. After ruffling Jane's hair, she went over and said good-bye to Obi-Wan, as she had to get to a class at the Temple, and promised she'd be by later. Shortly after Siri left, it was clear that the happy side-effects of the medicines were wearing off and Obi-Wan was starting to get moody, particularly when the nurse brought him a bottle of murky white liquid and instructions to drink it all.
"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked as the nurse opened the bottle. "It doesn't look too good."
"Without getting to technical, it's a dye," The nurse responded. "You drink it so that the technicians can read your scans after it's done."
Jane noticed that the nurse skillfully dodged the part of Obi-Wan's question of the taste. Obi-Wan noticed that too after he took a sip. He wrinkled his nose and shoved the bottle away.
"You need to drink that, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, trying to bring the bottle back into Obi-Wan's hand.
"Don't wanna," Obi-Wan grumbled, trying to turn his head away from Qui-Gon. "Tastes awful."
"That doesn't matter," Qui-Gon said, trying to be patient with Obi-Wan.
"Is it alright if I have a sip?" Jane asked, looking at Winna, who nodded.
Jane took the bottle from a very confused Qui-Gon and took a sip and smiled.
"Umm," Jane said, closing her eyes wistfully. "It tastes like the chocolate Bantha-milkshakes we get at Didi's diner after a mission."
"What?" Obi-Wan said, his brow furrowed. "Let me taste."
Jane handed Obi-Wan the bottle and, carefully due to his injured shoulder, he raised the bottle to his lips again.
"You're right, it does," Obi-Wan said, a smile on his face.
Less than a half-hour later, Jane was sitting smugly in the radiology wing's waiting room chair.
"So…" Qui-Gon said from beside her. "Did it really taste like a chocolate Bantha-milkshake?"
"No, it was disgusting," Jane said, wrinkling her nose at the taste that lingered on her tongue. "Tastes like someone took an industrial grade box of chalk, pounded it to a fine powder—cardboard and all—then put polluted lake water into it."
"Wait, then why did Obi-Wan say it did taste like a chocolate Bantha-milkshake?" Bant asked.
"Well, once his mind was open to the idea, I kinda went in with the Force and, uh, may have played around with his taste buds and the part of his brain that acknowledges good tastes and bad tastes, and tricked him into thinking it was a good taste," Jane said sheepishly.
"Cool," Bant said, trying to figure out Jane's technique in her head.
Qui-Gon shook his head.
"Jane," Qui-Gon said. "Before all this happened, you called me. Said you had found some important evidence?
"That I did," Jane said, remembering her great find of the day before. "Bail's keeping it safe in his office for me. It proves my theories are right."
Qui-Gon frowned slightly; he hoped for both their sakes that she was right about this.
Three days later, Obi-Wan was released from the hospital. The doctors found nothing wrong on the scans, none of his cuts were infected, and his concussion had cleared up. His leg was still in brace, his arm in a cast, his ribs taped up and he had a few mobility problems with the arm of his dislocated shoulder, but was told with rest, a good attitude, staying on his medications and a bit of physical therapy he would be fine in a few weeks.
Jane was very overprotective of Obi-Wan for the next few days as he sat in his favorite recliner in the living room. She made sure he had everything he needed and even slept on the couch at night, just in case, though after three nights of this, Obi-Wan asked Qui-Gon to carry the little girl to her own bed.
A week after Obi-Wan was home, Jane and Qui-Gon had to go back to the Senate building to give their reports on Senator Durane's death. Both were apprehensive about leaving Obi-Wan, so they asked Bant, Siri and Obi-Wan's friend Reeft to "Obi-Sit" as Jane called it to Obi-Wan's annoyance.
Jane stood in her best robes, carefully shuffling her papers stating who she suspected and why as Qui-Gon instructed Bant, Siri and Reeft which medicines to give Obi-Wan and when, and other information they might need to know.
"You alright, Jainy-bug?" Obi-Wan asked, looking up at Jane over his datapad.
"Nervous," Jane admitted. "I've never taken down a corrupt Sith politician before."
Obi-Wan frowned.
"So you still suspect Senator Palpatine?" He asked.
"Yeah," Jane said, sitting down on the coffee table. "You still don't believe me, do you?"
"Jane," Obi-Wan said in a sigh, then he beckoned Jane closer. "You could be right," He whispered in her ear. "There is something Dark in the Senate Building. I felt something dark right before I fell."
"Fell or was pushed?" Jane asked. Obi-Wan shook his head.
"I don't remember," Obi-Wan said. "I just remember hitting something hard then waking up in the hospital. Just be careful, alright? I don't want you to get hurt too."
"Alright," Jane said, kissing Obi-Wan's cheek. "I'll be careful. I promise."
"Good," Obi-Wan said. "Well, I've done my big brotherly duty of the day. Good luck."
"Thanks," Jane said.
Half an hour later, Jane led Qui-Gon down the halls towards Bail's office. The young man looked up at Jane and smiled.
"How's Obi-Wan doing?" He asked.
"Much better than he was a few days ago," Jane said. "Can I have the disk? I want to show it to Qui-Gon before the meeting."
"Here you go," Bail said, unlocking his desk and taking out the disk. "It's been locked in here since the day you brought it to me."
Jane explained to Qui-Gon how she acquired the tape and how she carefully studied it as she put the disk into the player. Then her face fell.
"The disk is blank," She whispered, turning to Bail, who was just as confused.
"But I checked it before I locked it away," Bail said, scratching his beard in dismay.
Jane felt like crying; all her hard work, her evidence, gone thanks to a blank holodisk.
Qui-Gon sensed her disappointment and laid a hand on her shoulder. Though he did not support her theory, he knew she worked hard and was confident in herself and her evidence. The past few nights he had stayed awake wondering if she was right; but now they'd never know, never have a chance to prove it.
Jane sat quietly throughout the meeting, listening as Qui-Gon explained that Senator Durane's death was an unfortunate freak accident. She left as soon as the meeting adjourned, not wanting to be seen as her eyes filled with tears.
#
She ran down a deserted hallway, trying to calm herself, wanting to just go home… when she ran straight into Senator Palpatine.
"I'm sorry," Jane apologized, her cheeks red. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"No need to apologize, young one," Senator Palpatine said kindly. He studied Jane. Suddenly, Jane cringed; she felt herself being probed through the Force and quickly blocked the other Force-sensitive. "My, my. You are quite powerful. Smart, pretty," Palpatine said, gently fingering Jane's hair. Jane drew away from him.
"You could have it all, you know," Palpatine whispered after a second. "The Jedi under your control, the Galaxy at your beck and call, every citizen who sees you fall on bended knee."
"I don't want power," Jane snapped.
"You're denying yourself your destiny, child," Palpatine said. "You could be stronger than any other Force-user in the Galaxy. You could rule. You could change the Galaxy. Run it the way you want it. I can help you."
"I don't want your help!" Jane said bitterly. "And I know you did it. You killed Senator Durane because she wouldn't vote for your planetary defender. And when I found the evidence, you pushed Obi-Wan down the stairs and set the holodisk to erase itself the next time it was played."
"Sadly, all wastes of my time and effort," Palpatine said bitterly. "The bill wasn't passed."
"Good." Jane said. They stared at each other for a long time.
"Give into your anger," Palpatine said. "You are angry I hurt your friend. Take revenge for him, hurt me. Let me know the pain he went through."
"I won't fall that easily," Jane spat. "I'm getting stronger every day, strong to face all the Siths of the Galaxy like you."
And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away.
"Your father would have been brave enough to accept a challenge from me." Palpatine said to her back.
Jane paused in mid-stride. Swallowing her pride—and her hatred for her father—she continued to walk.
When she got home, she spoke to no one. She just went straight to her room and laid on her bed and cried. Sometime later, she had cried herself dry and she carefully crept out of her room for a drink of water, sensing that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had already gone to bed.
She was almost back to her room when she heard, "Jainy-bug?"
She winced and turned to see Obi-Wan, awake, looking at her.
"You alright?" He asked.
"No. Not really," Jane admitted, her throat aching as she swallowed back a new set of tears.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Obi-Wan offered. Jane shook her head. "Do you want a hug?" Jane nodded. "Come here, kiddo." Obi-Wan said, offering his arms for her.
Jane hugged him tightly but carefully and instantly felt much better.
"Do you want to sleep out here with me?" Obi-Wan asked. Jane nodded. Carefully, she laid against Obi-Wan's right side, his arm wrapped around her, his hand gently rubbing her shoulder.
"Love you, Obister," Jane whispered.
"Love you too, Jainy-bug," Obi-Wan said, kissing her head.
Wrapped up in each other's arms, Jane and Obi-Wan both had the best sleep they'd had in days.
Meanwhile, not too far away, Senator Palpatine was looking out his window, scowling.
So. The Jedi's pet prodigy won't turn as easily as her father. She had a lot of self-restraint…
"No matter," Palpatine said to himself. "She will either turn, or she will die. If she won't turn, the boy will, then I will make sure she will die. But not before I break her entirely."
That thought in mind, Palpatine walked back to his desk to work on his report as his aides walked in. No one would be the wiser of his evil plots.