Chapter 40
"Children, wait here," Padmé said. She ran out of the room to stop Obi-Wan from confronting Dr. Donnovan. She saw him down the corridor and ran to meet him. "Obi-Wan wait!"
Obi-Wan stopped and turned around. "Padmé, don't try and stop me," he said. "This man needs a comeuppance," he said. "It's past time."
"It's not worth your time," Padmé said. "He's not worth your time."
"Let me be the judge of that," he said. He walked away, and Padmé didn't try to stop him. Instead she returned to the room where the twins were waiting for her.
Obi-Wan continued on his way to find Dr. Donnovan. He found him at a nearby nurse's station.
"Dr. Donnovan?" Obi-Wan asked, making sure he had the right man.
"Yes, may I help you?" the doctor said.
"I'd like to speak to you in private," Obi-Wan said.
Dr. Donnovan frowned. "What is this about?" he asked. "I'm a very busy man."
"Come with me and I will tell you," Obi-Wan said, manipulating the man's mind.
"I'll come with you," Donnovan said. He followed Obi-Wan to a nearby storage room.
"My name is General Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan said. "And I am a close friend of Padmé Skywalker and her husband."
Donnovan frowned. "I see where this is going," he said. "Look, General Kenobi, I have the utmost respect for you," he said. "I remember your heroics in the Clone Wars."
"Then you must also remember the heroics of Anakin Skywalker," Obi-Wan said.
"I do," Donnovan said. "But I also know what happened to him. I know that he became Darth Vader, and lead the Jedi purges. He killed without remorse, General. You of all people should know that."
"I know exactly what he did," Obi-Wan said. "But I also know that he has redeemed himself. He has worked very hard to atone for his crimes."
"Yes, so I've heard, but.."
"But all of this is besides the point," Obi-Wan interjected. "Your feelings about Anakin Skywalker are irrelevant," he said. "I don't give a damn how outraged you are that you must treat him. As far as I'm concerned, your Hippocratic oath is more important than your self-righteousness."
"I beg your pardon?" Donnovan stuttered.
"I'm not finished," Obi-Wan said. "Shut your mouth. The main reason I felt compelled to speak my mind is your treatment of my friend, Padmé. You have been rude to her, you have been cruel to her, and I am not going to allow this to continue. Padmé Skywalker is a great lady, a very great lady, and she has been through hell in the past few years. Not only that, she is watching the man she loves, the father of her children, fight for his life. And instead of giving her comfort, offering her words of encouragement, you have done everything you can to increase her fear and anxiety. She would not say anything to you, nor did she want me to say anything. But I love Padmé, I love her family, and could to sit by and watch you hurt her anymore."
Donnovan was too stunned to speak, and so Obi-Wan continued.
"You will ask to have Anakin's care removed from your caseload," Obi-Wan said. "Because if you don't, I will go directly to the hospital administrator, and tell him about the way you've been treating a woman who not only served this planet as a senator, but also as its queen for longer than any other person. Do I make myself clear?"
"You do," Donnovan said. "Perfectly."
"Excellent," Obi-Wan said. He left Donnovan standing in the storage room without saying another word.
"Good afternoon, Padmé," Helen said as she entered the room. "This must be Luke and Leia," she said with a smile.
"Yes," Padmé said. "Luke and Leia, this is Helen," she said. "She's been looking after Daddy."
"Thank you for looking after Daddy," Leia said. Helen's heart melted.
Just then Obi-Wan entered the room, and Helen gave him a smile.
"General Kenobi, it's truly an honour to meet you," Helen said, extending a hand to her before Padmé had a chance to introduce them. "I'm Helen Adams."
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Adams," Obi-Wan said, charmed by the young woman.
Padmé couldn't help but notice the way the two of them looked at the other, and smiled as an idea came to her.
"Well we need to get going," Padmé said. "I'm making dinner tonight since Mom and Dad have plans. Helen why don't you join us? You're finished in another hour aren't you?"
"I am," Helen said. "And I'd love to come for dinner. I'll bring dessert, how's that?"
"That would be lovely," Padmé said. "Shall we go, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan had the distinct impression that Padmé was scheming, but said nothing.
As they headed to the Naberrie home, Padmé asked Obi-Wan about the conversation he'd had with Dr. Donnovan.
"You won't need to worry about him anymore," Obi-Wan told her after relating the conversation he'd had with the doctor. "And if he does speak to you, or do anything to upset you, let me know at once."
Padmé smiled. "You didn't need to do that, Obi-Wan," she said. "But thank you all the same."
Obi-Wan smiled. "You're welcome," he said. "Now on to other matters. You aren't attempting to play match maker, are you Padmé?"
Padmé feigned a shocked expression. "Why would you think that?"
"You invited Anakin's nurse to dinner, that's why," he said.
"Helen and I have become friends," she said. "Besides, you two seemed to hit it off rather well."
"She was just being polite," he said. "I'm far too old for her."
"She's 31, you're 43. Big deal," Padmé said. "Besides, she is a lovely woman. Life it too short to be alone, Obi-Wan. The Jedi edict against emotional attachments has been lifted. What would be the harm in getting to know her?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "None I suppose," he said. "But you know the old expression, Padmé: you can't teach an old dog new tricks. And I'd say that I qualify as an old dog."
Padmé laughed. "We'll see," she said.
If Obi-Wan had been honest, he'd have admitted that the thought of having a woman in his life appealed to him a great deal. He'd been involved with women in his life in the past, and missed it. Besides, he envied Anakin what he had with Padmé. What would be the harm in getting to know a charming young woman who seemed to think he was a living legend?
Helen arrived just as Padmé was setting the table for dinner. She had changed out of her hospital scrubs and wore an attractive two piece outfit. She had also let her hair loose. Obi-Wan was enchanted.
Dinner was pleasant. Luke and Leia found that their mother's new friend was a very nice person, who took the time to listen to their stories and answer their questions about her work as a nurse. Obi-Wan was very impressed by how naturally she interacted with the children, and how patient she was with them. Padmé was so happy that she had invited Helen for dinner, for the evening had turned out to be just the diversion that she'd needed.
"Thank you again for a lovely evening," Helen said as she put on her coat and prepared to leave.
"I'm so glad you came," Padmé said. "Did you park close by?"
"No my roommate dropped me off," Helen said. "I wasn't sure where to park, to tell you the truth. I'm not that familiar with this part of the city."
"Well allow me to give you a ride home, then," Obi-Wan said.
"I don't want to trouble you," Helen said.
"It's no trouble at all," Obi-Wan said. "I need to get up to my ship anyway."
Helen smiled. "Well in that case, thank you very much."
Padmé was pleased and waved them off as they left the house together. Well, isn't this interesting, she thought with a smile. And then she headed back inside to get Luke and Leia ready for bed.
"I really appreciate you going out of your way like this," Helen said as they sped towards her apartment complex.
"It's my pleasure," Obi-Wan told her.
"I'm glad you feel that way," Helen said. "Because I was hoping that we'd have a moment or two alone before the evening was over."
Obi-Wan was surprised and pleased to hear it. "Oh? And why is that?" he asked.
"Well...I hope you won't find me forward," Helen began tentatively, "but I was hoping that you'd like to get together some time. I know that the Jedi rules are changing, and..."
"I'd be delighted," Obi-Wan said with a smile.
Helen returned his smile. "Wonderful," she said. "Here's my contact information," she said, handing him her business card. "I look forward to hearing from you," she said.
"And you shall," he said as he brought the shuttle to a stop in front of her building. "Goodnight Helen," he said.
"Goodnight Obi-Wan," she said. "See you soon."
Helen got out of the speeder and walked up to the building, stopping once to turn around and wave to Obi-Wan once before disappearing into the building. Obi-Wan smiled to himself as he lifted off, pleasantly surprised by the unexpected turn of events in his life.