Part 3
A day later Tohny-Qui opened his eyes and immediately wished that he hadn't woken up. He ached all over, the pain medication only doing so much to ease the pain. He reached up to remove the oxygen mask, but stopped when the muscles in his arm screamed at him.
"Try not to move around. You'll just aggravate your wounds." Anakin gently informed him.
Tohny-Qui sighed and looked up at Anakin. Stretching out with the Force, he formed a thin connection with Anakin so that he could talk telepathically. /Do blaster wounds always hurt like this?/
"Yes." Anakin answered."
/Oh. How long have I been sleeping? Is everyone else in the Temple alright? Did we win?/
Anakin smiled, "Yes we won." His face turned serious as he answered the other questions. "You were unconscious for almost four days. There were a few casualties during the assault on the Temple. Many Jedi who were off Coruscant were killed. Some good news is that the Sith Master is dead and the clones have either been arrested or killed."
Tohny-Qui-'s eyelids flickered closed briefly and then opened again. /I feel so tired./
"You need to rest. Your body has a lot of healing to do. You'll probably be stuck in here for a few weeks." Anakin chuckled when Tohny-Qui groaned. "I take it that you are not fond of that thought."
/It's so boring in the healer's ward. Doing nothing but sleeping, getting checked by the healers, and not moving is boring./
"While I agree that it can get boring being stuck in the healer's ward, you do need the rest." Anakin told him, a smile on his face.
/I am tired./ Tohny-Qui admitted. /Will you stay with me?/
"Yes." Anakin answered.
/Okay./ Tohny-Qui responded and closed his eyes, falling back to sleep.
Anakin brushed a wayward strand of hair off of Tohny-Qui's forehead and fixed the blanket that was covering the boy before sitting back in his seat.
"How is he doing?" Obi-Wan asked as he entered to room.
"The healers say he's doing better, but he's still so weak." Anakin answered, glancing over at Obi-Wan before looking back at Tohny-Qui. "Has the Council made a decision?"
Obi-Wan pulled a chair over and sat next to Anakin. "The revelation that the Chancellor was a Sith has been a shock for many and has made many in the Senate wary of the Jedi."
Anakin nodded soberly. "Padme told me. She says a number of Senators still support the Order but they are few in number."
Silence fell between them for several minutes with only the beeps of the heart monitor punctuating the silence.
"The Council understands if you desire to leave the Order. But the truth is, we need you. Changes are going to need to be made if the Order is going to survive in the weeks ahead. As word gets out on what has transpired, many will question the Order and its right to exist. We became what we should not have. Soldiers. We participated in the illegal act of cloning. Led armies of clones." Obi-Wan lapsed into silence, his eyes far away in memories.
"I put my own needs above the Order, Obi-Wan."
"You did what was right in the end, Anakin." Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Do you recall Master Jolee Bindo's teachings?"
Anakin looked quizzically at Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan smiled sadly. "You would not have. There is much history that the Order has buried in order to prevent conflicts within the Order. Master Tahl studied his teachings in depth, as did Master Qui-Gon and several others within the Order. All in quiet though, yet passing on the knowledge to their padawans." Obi-Wan paused for a moment. "I failed in that regard. I tried to be the perfect knight. To prove that I had what it takes. That the Council would not regret their decision to knight me."
"What did Master Bindo teach?"
"Master Bindo said that 'Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware, but love itself will save, not condemn you.'" Obi-Wan looked at Tohny-Qui and watched the rise and fall of his chest. "The Order needs to change, for the sake of the children and for those to come."
Obi-Wan removed a small, well worn, brown book from his robe and handed it to Anakin. "Read this before making your decision. They are the collected journal entries of Master Bindo."
Anakin accepted the offered book and watched as Obi-Wan left the room. As the door slid shut, Anakin looked down at the book and then slowly opened it up to the first page.
