LIVING HISTORY
by ardavenport
= = = Part 4
Almost morning.
The air was cool and fresh with living things. He inhaled deeply.
Opening his eyes, Obi-Wan could see colors in the early morning grays. Green plants outside, brightening blue sky through the windows.
Immediately awake, he pushed himself up off the pillow. He yawned broadly, but otherwise his lassitude from the night before was gone.
Next to him, Qui-Gon had not moved.
He scooted over the short distance between them and laid a hand on the older man's forehead. The skin was cool, no fever.
Qui-Gon's eyes opened slowly.
"Qui-Gon? Are you well?"
He breathed in and exhaled through his nose. "No." He sounded disappointed. "But I am better."
"Can I get you anything?"
"Not yet." He closed his eyes and continued breathing deeply.
Obi-Wan rolled over and off the sleeping platform to stand, the smooth wooden floor cool on his bare feet. He looked toward the opposite end of the apartment where his pack and a clean change of clothes were. And he needed to pee. He looked back toward Qui-Gon, unwilling to leave him by himself.
"You should attend to your own needs first. I will be fine," he said without moving his head from the pillow, his eyes still closed. Feeling embarrassed that he was so transparent, Obi-Wan gathered his things together and quickly went to the other sleeping area.
It was quickly getting light outside; he heard more sounds of chirping and squawking, saw a few small flyers, insects buzzing and darting among the flowering bushes on the balcony garden. He quickly took out what he needed from his pack and made a pile of dirty clothes at the foot of the sleeping platform. Then he went to the fresher. The washing stall was minimal, but the water was hot and felt good.
When he was finished, he stepped out, dressed in pants, under-tunic and open over-tunic. Carrying his lightsaber, he went back to Qui-Gon, who had remained exactly in the same place. With no idea what his Master might need, Obi-Wan opened the pack on the bench at the end of the sleeping platform.
"Would you like your clothes?"
"No. This will do. I do not believe I will be able to participate in any activities today."
Obi-Wan quickly dug out a roll of beige fabric and held it up. Straight and sleeveless, it would have hung down to the floor on Obi-Wan, but it only reached down to Qui-Gon's knees. He came around the edge of the sleeping platform with it.
Finally stirring, Qui-Gon pushed himself up to sit.
Obi-Wan hastily put aside the shift and reached out to support his Master with a large pillow. Still grimacing, Qui-Gon lay back down into a half sitting position. He lay panting while Obi-Wan waited for some other way to help.
"I am feeling better. I do not believe I have a fever, but the dizziness of this affliction is persistent."
"A healer is supposed to return. Should I call for one now?"
"I believe I can wait for their attention," Qui-Gon replied coldly. Remembering the healer's rough treatment the night before, Obi-Wan supposed that this was more than enough reason to not hasten their return.
"I would like some water."
Obi-Wan immediately went to the food prep alcove to fulfill the request. When he returned with a cup there was a pile of pants and underclothes next to the bed. The disheveled covering lay partially over Qui-Gon's bare chest and a foot poked out from under one corner.
Dragging the stool to him, Obi-Wan offered his Master the cup. He did not have any trouble holding it, but he paused a moment, the cup resting against his bare chest, before taking a sip.
The quiet hum of the lift started in the center of the apartment.
"Ah! I am so glad to see both of you up this morning!" the woman from the night before greeted them cheerfully. As soon as the lift platform clicked into place she hurried off it and bustled to them, her purple veils fluttering behind her under her brown cap.
"Are we feeling better today?"
"Yes," Qui-Gon answered, eying her warily. She turned to Obi-Wan, her round, smiling face beaming at them.
"And you?" she prompted.
"Oh . . . ," Obi-Wan answered; he wasn't sick, but he had been feeling unwell, thanks to the previous healer. "Yes, much better."
"Good. If I may?"
"Oh, of course." Obi-Wan hastily vacated the stool.
She took the seat, nudging it closer to her patient and placed her case on the stand next to his pillow. With a scraping sound and a thump, Qui-Gon's lightsaber was pushed off the back of the stand. Obi-Wan hurried to retrieve it, getting on his knees and reaching back to where it had fallen next to the wall under the edge of the curtains. Of course it was not damaged from a simple careless fall like that, but when he took his place behind the healer, he saw Qui-Gon giving her a very cross look. She seemed quite immune to it as she attached her medical sensors to his head and chest and opened her kit.
"I am senior Healer Mwassil. Healer Zhenum told me all about you last night.
Now this won't hurt a bit," she said, holding up a swab before jamming it up one of Qui-Gon's large nostrils.
"There," she chirped, oblivious to Qui-Gon's stony glare. "That wasn't so bad."
Next came the needles and sample collecting.
"Now, you are getting all this extra special attention because you're the first case we've had in this part of the Living History Lands. So, we need all this extra data to confirm where any future cases come from, whether they got it from you or some other source."
Qui-Gon stoically accepted her explanation though it was clear he did not see anything special about the attention he was getting.
"Now, lets look at how you're doing." She took out a small screen and read the sensor input. "Oh, you are doing so well," she congratulated him. "Any dizziness, sore joints, lethargy?"
"Yes."
"All of them?" She reached out and cupping Qui-Gon's cheek, turned his head toward her.
"Yes."
"Well, that is very typical," she answered, carefully scrutinizing his face. "Are you feeling up to a first meal?"
"Yes."
"Could you please get him something?" she asked, turning to Obi-Wan. "Something light, but nutritious. Maybe a bit of fruit and bread? Maybe some protein spread? But something he likes."
"Of course."
Obi-Wan hurried to his task, leaving Qui-Gon's lightsaber with his own on the bench at the end of the sleeping platform on the way. But he kept a wary eye on the Healer as he opened compartments and sniffed the contents of food cylindars. Healer Mwassil continued to chatter while his normally friendly Master only responded with single word answers.
Finishing preparing the meal, he loaded everything onto a tray stand and returned to the sleeping area. Mwassil was packing her instruments and samples into her case.
"Oh, yes, that looks lovely." She put her case on the floor, took the tray away from him and placed it on the stand. "Now, please help me take him to the fresher first."
She whipped off the covering. Qui-Gon was completely naked underneath but that caused her only a momentary worry.
"You're not cold, are you? " she asked, bending over him. "This mountain air can be a bit brisk."
"No."
"Good, that will make things much simpler. Help me with him, please."
Qui-Gon slid his legs off the sleeping platform; they each took a shoulder and lifted.
"Now, together, this way," the healer directed.
Obi-Wan could feel Qui-Gon's heart beating fast. But only briefly. After a few steps he was supporting his own weight with his two helpers guiding him, keeping his balance. Obi-Wan felt the Force in his Master's body, in the arm firmly wrapped around his shoulders. Step. Step. Step. Their bare feet slapped on the wooden floor together. Steady and strong.
"Oh, you are doing so well," Mwassil exclaimed as they reached the fresher. She tapped the door controller; the lights inside flicked on. Then she suddenly slipped out from under Qui-Gon's arm to dart inside. Qui-Gon teetered a moment from the unexpected change and Obi-Wan firmed his grip.
"Oh, yes, nice and cozy. Plenty of drying cloths and hand-holds," she approved, coming out. Qui-Gon went forward as soon as she was out of the way. But he turned around, his body filling the door frame that he leaned on heavily, his cold glare boring down on the smaller woman.
"Now, if you need any help, don't - - - "
The fresher door closed.
Mwassil took a step back.
"They're always a bit grumpy about being sick you know," she said, pushing back the edge of her purple veil. Then she sized up Obi-Wan.
"Now Zhenum told me that he gave you a booster last night, too. Are we feeling well this morning?"
He gulped, not liking the healer's attention turned on him. "Um, yes. I'm feeling well."
She grabbed his arm, dragging him back to where she had left her equipment. "Well, let's just have a look at you while we're waiting."
Obi-wan sat down on the sleeping platform while she took out her scanner and passed it over him. She 'hmm'ed over the result, put the device aside, took up another, seized his arm and swiftly jabbed him with it.
"Ow," he complained.
"Best to get these done quickly," she advised, slotting the sampler into a recepticle in a portable analyzer from her case. "Oh, yes, very good. Not contagious at all." She pointed a lecturing finger at him. "Mind you, you can still come down with it. Notthing to be done if you've already got the infection, so if you start feeling unwell at all any time in the next three days, call us."
"Is there any way to cure it? I'd rather not get sick at all."
"Oh, there's no way to stop it once it gets settled in. The best we can do is make it less troublesome. And you've had all the standard treatments. I would rather you stay up hear, so you don't frighten anyone else if you get sick, but they're desperate for you downstairs. Never mind a little thing like an epidemic getting in the way of this Play they're doing," she added, sarcasm tainting her normally cheerful tones.
"Is there any way to find out for sure if I have it?"
"Not really. Oh, there are some tests, but they only work on some people some of the time. And I don't know if it's effective at all for off-worlders. It's really not worth the trouble. Have you eaten yet?" She suddenly changed the subject.
"No, but - - -"
"Well, we cannot have that."
She grabbed his arm and headed for the food prep area.
"It's past time for you to take some nutrition. The stronger you are, the better off you'll be if that serphrada virus rears its ugly tentacles. Now pick something out that you like."
He tried to lean away from the older woman, but she stubbornly stayed close. They were about the same height, but he still felt intimidated. He very much hoped that he wouldn't be sick later.
He took out a container of yellow, green and red cut fruit from the cold compartment and served some in a bowl. Then he filled a cup with water from a cold spigot.
"Oh, you should try some of this." Mwassil picked out a container from the cold compartment, shook some into a clear bowl, covered it and popped it into the flash oven. Obi-Wan read the brightly colored label on the box; it was a local mix of starch, proteins and dried vegatables.
In a few seconds the oven pinged and she took out the hot mix and headed for the round table nearby. He followed with his fruit and water. After putting the bowl down, she hurried back and returned with an eating utensil and a napkin.
"Sit," she ordered. He sat and tasted the meal. It was good and he took another bite.
The fresher door hissed open.
"Stay!" she ordered as she hurried off. Still half standing, Obi-Wan saw her confront a much larger and completely naked Jedi Master. His long hair drooping around his face, he looked down at her as if she were an unpleasant obstruction.
"Give me your arm and I'll help you back," she said firmly, extending her arm to his waist. Their stand-off lasted only a moment before he accepted. They slowly made their way back, only pausing for Mwassil to turn and point back at Obi-Wan.
"Eat!" she commanded. "And I'll be checking when you're done to see that you eat it all."
He sat down, his eyes looking down at the food bowls before hin and then back toward his Master, who steadily plodded back to the sleeping area with the healer. Again, he sensed the Force in his Master, but he was not part of it this time, only an observer.
He continued to watch them as he ate quickly. They made it to the sleeping platform and she covered him up after he lay down.
"Do you need any help with that?" she asked, leaning close to him after placing the tray stand over him.
"No."
"Good." She sat on the stool and, taking up her medical kit in her lap, took out a scanner screen and busied herself with that while her patient ate slowly. He seemed to move his head as little as possible. Obi-Wan vigorously applied himself to his meal.
"You shouldn't eat so quickly."
Obi-Wan started, looking up from his bowl, staring back at the healer pointing at him.
"It's not healthy to gobble things down that way."
Behind her, Obi-Wan saw a smile creep onto Qui-Gon's face.
He slowly took a bite and chewed until the healer went back to her scanner screen. But his Master's smile remained. She did get up once to get a cup of water to mix with some medicine for Qui-Gon but she waved Obi-Wan back to his meal as she bustled about the task. His Master grimaced as much from her attention as from the medicine that she gave him to drink.
When Obi-Wan finished, he put the napkin aside, got up and went back to the sleeping area. Healer Mwassil was putting her things back into her case. She snapped it shut and stood.
"It looks like you're doing well now." She nodded to each of them. "Don't forget what I said about calling one of us if you feel at all unwell," she warned Obi-Wan. He nodded.
"Healer Mwassil," Qui-Gon addressed her for the first time, putting down his utensil. "You came here to help us with this illness and you have done so. Efficiently. And I have been unnecessarily short with your kindness. Thank-you for your service."
"You are quite welcome." She smoothed the front of her brown tunic with unmasked pride. "I don't know if it will be me following up with you because we are still fighting with those fools in charge about a quarantine, but someone will come to visit you again later tonight," she promised. Obi-Wan walked with her to the lift.
"You do have a com that will work in this tower? I was told that you have one," she half-whispered to him.
"Yes," he nodded. It was in his belt pouch over in the other sleeping area. Qui-Gon's was in his belt pouch with his things.
"Good. I know he's doing very well, but Venerate Jedi Qui-Gon really should have a way to call for help if he needs it. Be sure to remind him of that.
She sighed. "Director Tykon has been calling for you two downstairs. I suppose he is a bit demanding. but he is one of our best artists and only wants this event to be the best it can possibly be."
She stepped onto the lift platform and Obi-Wan activated it for her.
"Don't forget what I said about eating properly, too," she admonished before she disappeared. The circle of matching wood slid over the hole and clicked into place, sealing flush with the floor.
= = = End Part 4