"Burns everywhere, I'm sensing at least one broken bone…" Voices washed over Obi-Wan as he drifted to consciousness. The first thing he registered was pain; his head ached, and it felt as though every inch of his body had taken a beating.
"...lucky to be alive...Oh, I think he's waking up."
"Sedate him again. Trust me, he doesn't want to be awake until after he's spent the night in a bacta tank."
"No, wait." Obi-Wan begged, the words feelling thick and indistinct in his mouth. "The last thing I felt in the Force – something happened to Anakin. You have to let me go, I have to find him." Silence from the voices above him. Then,
"Sedate him now, or he'll panic and hurt himself more." Obi-Wan felt a pinch in his shoulder as he began to struggle. His limbs refused to respond to his attempts to move, however.
"Nooo," He slurred as darkness began to overtake him. "Have to help Anakin..." And then everything faded to black again.
When Obi-Wan woke up again, he could tell he was in the Halls of Healing, lying on a bed in one of the private rooms. His mind felt cloudy and unfocused, but the only pain he felt was a dull throb in his leg. What happened? He thought vaguely. Memories seemed to float just outside his grasp. Vokara must have me on some serious painkillers, he thought absently as he tried again to think back. They had been on Takodana, he recalled. He'd been fighting droids to give Ahsoka time to escape, and then-
And then there'd been pain, something very wrong with the Force, and Anakin had been behind it. Obi-Wan pushed back the covers of the bed , trying to swing his legs off the bed onto the ground. This was made more difficult by the fact that his left leg was heavily wrapped in bandages and his right arm was in a sling, but he had nearly managed it when a voice came from the doorway.
"Master Kenobi, stop that before you hurt yourself." Vokara Che walked into the room, probably drawn by his return to consciousness.
"Master Che, is Anakin here? Something happened in the Force that was centered on him..." Obi-Wan stretched out his senses to reach his bond with Anakin, and gasped at the gaping emptiness that was where the bond should have been. His head spun, and he fell back onto the bed.
"Master Kenobi, you're recovering from several blaster wounds, a broken collarbone, and psychic backlash from a broken Force-bond, now is not the time to overexert yourself," Vokara Che scolded.
Broken Force-Bond. Psychic backlash. A gaping emptiness where Anakin should be. Even through the haze of the drugs, a wave of grief swept through Obi-Wan as he realized what this meant.
"How did he die?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice quiet. "Anakin was on Coruscant while we were on Takodana, what could possibly have happened that-?" He trailed off, leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken.
"We still aren't sure what happened." Vokara's voice was gentle and consoling. "He reported in about an hour before the clones reported you and Ahsoka collapsed – he said that he was on the trail of a witness to the bribery of a senator. He sounded completely normal – relaxed, even. When the Council got word of what happened to you and Ahsoka, they sent out a team of Jedi to investigate. No one's found anything yet." She didn't say it, but Obi-Wan could tell what she was thinking. If Anakin's death had caused major enough psychic repercussions that it had incapacitated Obi-Wan – a Jedi Master who suffered no such repercussions when his own Master was killed – it must have been absolutely horrifying and probably messy. It shouldn't take long for the Jedi to find the location of where it happened, since violent deaths of Force-Sensitives – especially Force-Sensitives as strong as Anakin – tended to leave an imprint in the Force that Jedi were able to track. He pushed the thought away, not wanting to think about a team of Jedi – a team who probably didn't know Anakin personally – coming across Anakin's broken, mutilated body.
"Where's Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan asked instead.
"In the room next door to this one. She wasn't physically injured, other than a few bruises from falling down. I kept her overnight for observation to make sure there wasn't any lasting mental damage, and she's still asleep there." Vokara said.
Obi-Wan struggled again to get up. "I should go see her, she must be devastated-"
"Lay down Obi-Wan," Vokara Che said, exasperated. "You're not going to do the girl any good by waking her up at in the middle of the night the day after her master died." Obi-Wan glanced at the wall chrono and realized that she was correct; the current time of day had been the last thing on his mind.
"And besides that," Vokara continued, "You aren't going anywhere until I examine your injuries. You spent last night in a bacta tank, and that took care of the blaster wounds on your shoulder, back, and side. The damage to your leg was much more severe, however. You took a number of shots in your left leg, and as a result there's some serious muscle damage. Frankly, you're lucky that we didn't have to amputate. You'll have to stay completely off it for a few days at least, and you'll have to use a brace and a crutch for several weeks after that."
"A few weeks?" Obi-Wan asked, incredulous. "I can't be out of the field that long! My men need me, the Council needs me-" This time, when he pushed himself out of bed, Vokara merely stood back to observe rather than trying to stop him. As soon as he tried to put weight on his left leg, a bolt of agony shot through it and it collapsed under him.
"Now will you listen to me when I say you need a crutch?" Vokara asked as she offered him a hand to help him up. He grasped it with the arm not in a sling, leaning on his good leg to push himself back into the bed.
"I...may have to bow to your medical advice on this occasion," Obi-Wan gasped, still wincing from the pain.
"Good. One of my healers will come by later to start healing your collarbone, but the leg is trickier – we can speed up the healing slightly, but we have to let the damaged muscle mass grow back on its own. Tomorrow, I'll get you fitted with a crutch, but for the rest of today, I don't want you leaving this bed."
"But the Council, they'll want my report on what happened on Takodana-" Obi-Wan protested.
"Then they'll have to come here to get it." Vokara said firmly. "If you want to walk on that leg again, you aren't leaving this bed for at least a day. That's non-negotiable, Master Kenobi." Her voice softened slightly. "When Ahsoka wakes up, I'll send her in here. But for now, you need to rest and heal."
"Well, seeing as I can't actually leave the bed, I suppose I'll have to follow your directions," Obi-Wan said. "Would it be possible for someone to bring me a datapad? That way I can at least start on my official report of the mission."
"I'd much rather you actually rested, but if it'll keep you from trying to get out of bed, I'll take what I can get." Vokara Che said. "I'll send one of the padawans down to your quarters to get your datapad and bring it back to you later."
"Thank you, Master Che. I'll try not to be too awful of a patient for you." Obi-Wan said.
"That'll be the day." Vokara's tone was serious, but her lips twitched in a smile. Apparently satisfied that Obi-Wan was no longer about to try to bolt from the hospital wing, she headed toward the door.
"And Obi-Wan?" She turned over her shoulder as she stood in the doorway to speak to him. "I'm truely sorry about Anakin."
"Thank you, Vokara." Obi-Wan said, and she closed the door, leaving him alone.
Anakin.
Grief rolled through Obi-Wan, threatening to overwhelm him. While Vokara had been there, he'd been able to focus on their conversation, compartmentalizing the information that Anakin was dead. But now, with nothing to distract him, it truly hit him that Anakin – his best friend, the closest thing he had to a son or a brother – was gone, lost to him forever. Tears welled in his eyes, and he let them spill down onto his cheeks. Anakin deserved his tears, he thought. Anakin had deserved so much better than to be murdered in some back alley of Coruscant. He'd always thought that Anakin would end up as a Master some day, would probably end up on the Council if he could ever grow up a little. But now he would never have the chance to.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure how long he wept over Anakin. It felt like both an eternity, and only a few moments later, when a knock on the door broke through his grief. Hurriedly, he tried to compose himself, using his free hand to brush away tears. He suspected he still looked as awful as he felt, but there wasn't much he could do about that at the moment.
"Come in," he called out, and the door opened to reveal a teenage pantoran girl in healer's robes clutching a datapad.
"Um, Master Che sent me to deliver this to you, Master Kenobi." The girl said.
"Yes, thank you, Padawan...?" Obi-Wan said, reaching for the datapad.
"Tacha Ora, Master." She crossed the room to hand him the 'pad, and seemed to take in his red-rimmed eyes and blotchy face.
"Are- are you all right, Master? I can get one of the full Healers if you need more medicine for the pain." She asked nervously.
"That won't be necessary, Padawan Ora. I'll be fine." A small lie, but it wasn't as through painkillers would help him through the pain of grief.
"Um...well, if you're sure, Master Kenobi. Is there anything else you need?" She asked.
"A pitcher of water would be splendid, if possible." He wasn't hungry - he usually wasn't, for a day or two after being seriously injured - but he was thirsty.
"Of course, Master. I'll get that for you now." She turned and left the room quickly, probably embarrassed by his visible distress.
By the time Tacha returned with a pitcher of water and a glass, Obi-Wan had gained a greater measure of composure over himself.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, indicating she could place them on the table beside his bed. After setting them down, she turned and walked back toward the door. She turned nervously back toward him when she stood in the doorway.
"Is...is there anything else I can do for you, Master?" She asked.
"No, I'll be fine. Thank you, Padawan Ora." She nodded quickly and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Unwilling to be alone with his thoughts again, Obi-Wan picked up the datapad. Typing with one hand was difficult, but he welcomed the distraction it gave him - it took his mind off Anakin and the pain in his leg. He was halfway through the report on the mess that had been the Takodana mission when a tall human male with black hair and a tan complexion stuck his head in the door.
"I'm Healer Tahlo Laka," he said. "Master Che sent me to start healing your leg." Laka entered the room, grabbing the chair that sat in the corner of the room and dragging it over to the bed.
"If it's all right, I'm going to unwrap the bandages so that I can begin the healing." Laka said, his tone clear and professional. "As Master Che may have mentioned, the damage to your leg is quite serious. There's severe burns on your thigh, and two blaster shots directly hit muscles in your calf. Much of the muscle mass was burned away by the blasts – that's what's going to take the longest to heal. The healing I do tonight will mainly focus on healing the burns and on stimulating the damaged tissue to promote growth. Nothing but time will be able to regrow the tissue, I'm afraid, and you'll have to come back for regular treatments." Obi-Wan nodded his assent, gritting his teeth against the flares of pain from his leg as Laka began to unwrap the bandages. Laka stopped, noticing his wincing.
"I'm going to put you into a healing trance, if that's okay with you," Laka said. "It'll be less painful for you, and easier for me to do my work."
"That's fine," Obi-Wan managed to say. Laka moved his hands from Obi-Wan's leg to place two fingers on each of Obi-Wan's temples.
"Just try to relax, Master Kenobi," Laka said. Obi-Wan tried to allow the tension to seep from his muscles, knowing it would make it easier for Laka to do his job. He felt Laka's unfamiliar presence brush up against his mind, and a moment later Obi-Wan was drifting in the expanses of the Force.
Hours – or minutes, time was difficult to tell in the Force – later, Obi-Wan felt Laka calling him back, and his mind slid out of the Force and back in to his body. His leg was once again wrapped in bandages, and it hurt. A thousand other aches were also beginning to make themselves known across his body. He guessed that this meant the painkillers had worn off by now.
"The burns on your thigh are mostly healed now, though the skin will continue to be delicate for another few weeks. The healing on the muscle damage is also begun, but you won't notice any difference for a week or two." Laka said. "I also worked on your collarbone – it was a clean break, so with the healing it should be all right in a day or two."
"Thank you very much, Master Laka." Obi-Wan said. "When will I be able to walk again?" Vokara had told him, but maybe this Healer would have a more optimistic answer. A slight grin touched the Healer's mouth for the first time since he'd entered the room.
"Master Che said that you would ask. My answer is the same as hers; you need to stay completely off that leg for a full day. I'd like you in a hoverchair for a week after that, and then you can switch to a crutch and a brace for another two to three weeks. There are no shortcuts in healing destroyed tissue, Master Kenobi." Laka said. Obi-Wan had to smile wryly at Vokara's foresight, even if he was disappointed by Laka's answer.
"I see." Obi-Wan said. Laka stood up from his chair.
"Well, unless there's anything else I can do for you, Master Kenobi, I'll take my leave."
"Of course," Obi-Wan said. "I wouldn't want to keep you from your other patients." Laka inclined his head toward Obi-Wan in gratitude, and then quickly left the room.
Now that his head was clearer, Obi-Wan went back through what he'd written so far in his report and was mildly annoyed to find a number of errors. That's what you get for writing a report on painkillers, he thought to himself. At least Laka had said that he'd be able to use his arm in a few days. Not being able to walk was horrible, but not being able to walk and only having one functional arm was even worse. Sighing heavily, Obi-Wan continued typing out the report.
Ahsoka stood in front of the Council, hand clasped behind her back as she gave her verbal report of the Takodana mission. Normally, Master Kenobi would give the report as the General in charge of the mission, but Vokara Che had flatly refused to allow him to leave the hospital wing or for members of the Council to visit and debrief him for at least another day. As a result, Ahsoka had been summoned instead. Vokara Che hadn't liked that either, but since Ahsoka was physically completely healthy, and they couldn't detect any brain damage from the psychic backlash, there was nothing she could do about it. Ahsoka hadn't even been allowed to speak with Master Kenobi before she'd been ordered to come before the Council.
"So Takodana has gone over to the Separatists." Eeth Koth said grimly as Ahsoka finished. "This is troubling news."
"The planet has always been known for its neutrality. If they've chosen to actively side with the Separatists, other neutral systems may follow their example." Depa Billaba said. The other Councillors nodded, looking concerned. Ahsoka knew she should probably stay silent and allow them to discuss the implications of Takodana's actions on the war effort, but at the moment she had other concerns.
"Masters, what about Master Skywalker? Have the search teams...found anything yet?" She asked, knowing she was pushing her luck by doing so. The Council didn't like being interrupted by padawans, but she had to know.
"Nothing yet, Ahsoka." Plo Koon said. His breathing mask always made reading his tone a bit difficult, but she thought he sounded sympathetic. "You will be informed as soon as they report in with news."
"Another thing to discuss with you, this council has." Yoda said, tapping his gimmer stick on the floor. Ahsoka looked at him, confused.
Without a Master, you now are, Padawan. Choose a new Master, you must," Yoda said. "Ready for your Trials, you are not. More, you have to learn." Ahsoka gaped at him. Anakin wasn't even officially declared dead yet, and Yoda was already asking her to replace him?
"Master Yoda, please, I need to grieve for Anakin before I can make that decision. Please, don't make me choose now." She begged.
"Time is not something that we have in this war, Padawan Tano." Mace Windu said. "You're one of the most promising padawans in the Order. We can't afford to keep you out of the field for long." Any other time, the praise would have made Ahsoka beam with pride, but right now it felt empty and hollow.
"Please Masters, at least give me a few days. I'll decide after that, I promise." She said. The councilors glanced at each other, and finally Mace Windu nodded.
"You have three days, Padawan Tano. After that, you must find a Knight who is willing to train you for the remainder of your apprenticeship, and you will be deployed with them." He said.
"Thank you, Masters." She responded, bowing slightly.
"You are dismissed then, Padawan." Mace said. Ahsoka bowed again, and hurried out of the room. This time, she headed straight for Master Kenobi's room in the hospital wing. She barely managed to get in the room and wrap her arms around him before she began to cry.