Chapter 38

Padmé stood looking at the bacta tank. Anakin had been in the tank for more than a week, and she still had no idea how much longer he'd need to remain there. While Dr. Halpern had been very open and honest with Padmé, as well as supportive and comforting, Dr. Donnovan had been the opposite. His cool demeanour and arrogant nature was grating on Padmé's nerves, getting to the point when she was considering only coming to the hospital when Dr. Halpern was on duty.

"Good morning Padmé," said the morning duty nurse, Helen. Padmé liked her, for she, like most of the nurses, was kind and friendly.

"Good morning," Padmé said. "How is he doing today?" She asked the question every day.

Helen studied the control panel attached to the bacta tank. "Better," she said. "His vital signs are stronger." She turned and looked at Padmé. "He's showing definite improvement."

Padmé smiled, the woman's words like a balm on her troubled soul. "That's wonderful!" she exclaimed.

Helen nodded. "It is," she agreed.

"I just hope he's home before these babies are born," Padmé said.

"When are you due?" Helen asked.

"Not for another ten weeks," Padmé said.

"Well I'd say he'll be home in plenty of time," Helen said. "Of course, I'm not a doctor."

"No, you're not," said Dr. Donnovan as he entered the room. He had a frown on his face, an indication that he'd overheard at least part of the conversation. "And I'd thank you not to make prognoses, Miss Adams, is that clear?"

"Yes Doctor," Helen muttered. She gave Padmé a sympathetic look and then left the room.

"She wasn't making a prognosis," Padmé said, feeling compelled to say something. "I simply commented that I was hoping my husband would be home before our twins are born, and Helen said that she thought that he would be."

Donnovan didn't seem to be listening, as he was studying the control panel. "It's impossible to say at this point," he stated flatly.

Padmé frowned. "You really have no empathy at all, do you?" she said.

Donnovan looked at her in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"Aren't health care providers supposed to be compassionate?" Padmé asked. "You seem to go out of your way to be cold. Can't you imagine what it feels like for me to have my husband's life hanging in the balance this way?"

Donnovan looked at her, taken aback by her question. "My job is to save lives, Madam," he said. "If you are looking for a shoulder to cry on, may I suggest you head down two floors to the psychology ward?" And with that, he left.

Padmé stood for a moment, trembling with anger and indignation. If Anakin was awake and heard that he'd have something to say, she thought, fighting the tears that rose to her eyes so easily these days.

"Padmé?"

Padmé turned around to see Obi-Wan standing in the doorway. "How did you get in here?" she asked. Normally only family members were permitted into the intensive care unit.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "A suggestion placed in an unsuspecting mind," he said with a smile. His smile faded when he saw how upset Padmé was. "What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, brushing her tears away impatiently. "Anakin is doing better, isn't that wonderful?"

"Yes it is," he responded, watching her closely. "Tell me what has you so upset, Padmé, for it's clear to me that something has."

Padmé sighed. "It's the doctor," she said. "Donnovan. He's so cold, so patronizing! I feel like complaining to someone about him, but I don't want to jeopardize Anakin's care."

Obi-Wan frowned. "What did he say to you?" he asked.

Padmé related the conversation between she and the nurse, and then with Dr. Donnovan. Obi-Wan listened with a frown.

"The man is out of line speaking to you that way," Obi-Wan said finally. "You have every right to be upset, Padmé. I'm going to say something. This is unacceptable."

"Obi-Wan don't," Padmé said. "It won't do any good. If anything, it will turn him against Anakin. I'll just come when he's not here, that's all," she said.

Obi-Wan didn't like that she had been spoken to in such a rude manner, and he knew that Anakin would be incensed if he knew. "Very well, I won't say anything," he said. "But I want to be with you the next time you encounter this man, Padmé. I won't promise that I will remain silent if he speaks to you again in such a manner."

"That's okay, Obi-Wan," she said. "I mean to avoid the man as much as possible."

Later that day

Padmé smiled as she made dinner, listening as Luke and Leia told her everything about their day at the beach. Her parents seemed exhausted from the day, but didn't complain. Padmé was grateful to them, and wondered, not for the first time, how she would manage without them.

"It sounds to me like you had a very fun day," Padmé said. "I hope you said thank you to Grandma and Grandpa."

"They did," Jobal said, looking at the twins with a smile. "Such well mannered children."

Padmé was glad to hear it. "Okay, go wash up," she told her twins. "Time for dinner."

As they sat around the dinner table, it was decided that they would relocate to Padmé's parents' house in Theed; that way Padmé would be closer to the hospital, and her parents could attend to the tasks of everyday life. Padmé hated to leave the lake house that she adored, but knew that this was a better course of action. Getting to the hospital would be far easier when living in Theed than the distant Lake District.

Later that night

Padmé was exhausted by the time she got the kids to bed, and followed suit soon afterwards. It wasn't long before she fell into a deep sleep.

Padmé entered the emergency ward as an alarm was sounding. She had no idea what it meant, but soon she saw a team of medical personnel rushing down the corridor with a crash cart. "What's going on?" she asked someone who ran past, but they didn't answer. She grew anxious as the followed the team, particularly when they grew closer to Anakin's room. As she reached the doorway of Anakin's room, she froze in her tracks, for the crash team was in his room. They were desperately trying to get him out of the bacta tank, for the monitors that were showing his vital signs were sounding loudly. "Get him out, get him out!" one of the team members was yelling. "He's crashing!" They managed to pull Anakin's unconscious body out of the tank and onto the bed. The team crowded around him, doing their best to resuscitate him. Padmé watched in horror as he flat lined...

Padmé woke up with a start, her heart racing. The relief that filled her when she realized that she'd been dreaming overwhelmed her, and she started to sob. I just want him to be okay...I just need him to be okay...Please don't let anything happen to him...

Jobal and Ruwee needed to run some errands, so Obi-Wan agreed to watch the twins while Padmé went to the hospital. Obi-Wan didn't understand why she had decided to go in the morning, for he knew that she was trying to avoid Dr. Donnovan. But she was adamant that she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible, and Obi-Wan wasn't about to question her.

Sitting at the table with Luke and Leia, Obi-Wan smiled at them over his cup of tea. "So children," he asked, "what shall we do today?"

Theed Hospital

Padmé was relieved that when she entered the emergency ward and all was relatively calm. The images from her dream were still vivid in her mind, and hurried to Anakin's room, needing to see with her own eyes that he was alive and relatively well. Dr. Donnovan had told her that she could not see him while he was in the bacta tank, when what he actually meant that she could not interact with him. Part of Padmé thought that he was deliberately trying to make things more painful for her than they needed to be.

"Good morning Padmé," said Helen, the morning nurse. "I wasn't expecting to see you this morning."

"I know," Padmé said, her eyes moving to the bacta tank. "I'm not anxious to see Dr. Donnovan, as you know, but I needed to see Anakin. I...I had a nightmare about him last night," she said with a frown.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Helen said. "That must have been scary."

"It was," Padmé said, her eyes on Anakin. "I'm just happy to see that he's okay."

Helen smiled. "He's doing well," she said. "His vitals are stronger today."

Padmé's heart soared. "That's wonderful!" she said with a smile. "Do you think he'll be taken off life support soon?"

"I'll let the doctor on call answer that," Helen said.

Padmé nodded, realizing that Helen was anxious not to get into trouble as she had yesterday with Dr. Donnovan. "When will he be making his rounds?" she asked.

"Any time now," Helen said.

No sooner had the words left her mouth, then the doctor on call entered the room. Padmé was delighted that it was not Dr. Donnovan, but a young man who gave her a warm smile as soon as he entered the rom.

"Senator Amidala," he said, extending a hand to her. "It's an honour to meet you," he said. "I'm Petr Hoekstra."

Padmé shook his hand, delighted by the young man. "Thanks you Doctor," she said. "What can you tell me about my husband this morning?"

Dr. Hoekstra walked over to look at the data panel. "I'm sure Miss Adams here told you that his vital signs are stronger," he said.

"Yes she did," Padmé said. "I was wondering if that means he'll be taken off of life support soon."

"I would say if they continue to improve steadily, then yes," Hoekstra said. "Possibly by the end of the week."

Padmé smiled. "That's wonderful," she said.

Hoekstra smiled. "I'd say so," he said. "I have to admit that when I heard that Anakin Skywalker was a patient here, I was very excited. I remember him from the Clone Wars, and what a great hero he was. But I had no idea that he was married to Naboo's very own Senator and former queen!"

"Our marriage was a secret for years," Padmé explained. "The Jedi Code forbade marriage, so we had to keep it that way."

"I see," the doctor said. "And you're expecting a child together. How wonderful!"

"Twins actually," Padmé told him. "Our second set."

"Really? How delightful! Tell me, how did he survive the purges? I'm guessing his amputations occurred then."

Padmé was surprised by his question. "Yes," she said simply. "They were."

Hoekstra nodded. "Well I need to continue on my rounds," he said. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you, Senator."

Padmé smiled. "It's just Padmé," she said. "I haven't been a senator in a few years."

"Very well, Padmé," Hoekstra replied, giving her a smile.

Padmé sat on the edge of the bed after he had left, feeling rather tired. She had not been sleeping well since Anakin had been in the hospital, and it was starting to catch up with her. How is it that he doesn't know that Anakin was Darth Vader not that long ago? she wondered. How wide spread is that knowledge now? Eventually she grew sleepy as she pondered this, and fell asleep on the bed beside the bacta tank that was currently sustaining her husband's life.