Ben had many plans for the day ahead. He finished getting dressed, when he felt an aching through the Force. He scanned through the Force to figure out the source, and traced it back to Vestara. Immediately deducing that something was wrong, he got out of his room, and beelined it straight to her room.
Ben knocked on his girlfriend's door. "Ves? Can I come in?" He called.
There was a small pause. "Yeah." Vestara called back.
When Ben walked in, he saw Vestara sprawled out on her bed as though she were tethered to a lab experiment table. Ben walked over, and knelt by the bedside next to her closest hand. He cupped it inside his own, and kissed it tenderly. "I sensed you were in some pain. Are you okay?" He asked.
Vestara moaned in pain a little, but nodded. It wasn't weak, so Ben wasn't too alarmed. He cringed a little, but figured it was a good idea to know. He asked his question as sensitively as he could. "Is it that time of month?"
Vestara shook her head. Still not weak. "No. The pain is just in my knees, down."
Ben noticed that she pluralized knees. "Maybe blood was cut off while you were asleep?" He suggested.
His girlfriend considered the idea. "You might be right. Look… if I'm not out within 30 minutes… could you come get me?" She asked. Ben kissed her hand. "I will, my dear." He promised. He left her room, closing the door behind him.
Vestara leaned up. Her knees aching slightly. The pain wasn't too bad, and she hoped that it would pass soon. I hope you're right, Ben. She thought.
She reached over, and delicately touched her knees. She still felt them, and could feel herself being touched, meaning feeling was certainly restored. Maybe just a few more minutes, and it'll be alright. She hoped. She began focusing her mind on Ben's love and care for her, hoping it would help dull the aches. She brought her hand that he had kissed to see it, and caressed it lovingly, longing for the feeling of his lips again.
Suddenly, her pain flared up again! She inhaled sharply, but the aches immediately died back down. She clenched her teeth, and took deep breaths through her mouth. This certainly isn't from cut off circulation. She realized. The pain began increasing.
"Is Vestara alright?" Luke asked.
Ben took a seat at the table. "Erm… so far, we think so. We think she might've cut off circulation in her sleep."
Luke nodded. He took a sip of caf. "I'm sure she'll recover from that soon." He assured.
Ben looked at his part of the table. It was still blank. No dish of food on it. He sighed. His father clasped his shoulder. "Be careful son. I understand that you love her, but you can't become so dependent on her that you end up slowly killing yourself when you're not with her." He warned.
Ben nodded. "I'm just a little worried, I guess."
Luke took another sip of caf. "I understand. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take care of yourself." Ben looked up at his father, and nodded contently.
Ben got up from the table, and walked into the kitchen. Before he opened up the cupboard, he immediately lost focus with what he was doing. The Force was warning him that something was wrong. Stopping what he was doing, he rushed out of the kitchen. His father was sitting wide-eyed at the table, his cup of caf spilled on the floor. "You felt it too?" Ben asked. Luke nodded.
Without needing to feel through the Force, Ben bolted to Vestara's room, Luke fast behind him. Ben didn't bother with being polite. He used the Force to barge open the door, and he and his father rushed in!
Vestara was huddled in the fetal position on the bed. Ben got onto the bed, and tried to pull her onto the sitting position. He stopped once she started screaming! He and Luke were shocked. Vestara was sobbing, and couldn't speak. "Ves, what's going on?!" Ben yelled, panicking. Luke rushed to find pain medicine. Ben tried to comfort her, but any time he touched her, her pain spiked, and she screamed more! Luke returned with a needle and a container of liquid. "Get her calm!" He yelled.
Ben nodded, and used the Force to send calm thoughts and comfort to his girlfriend. Her screaming stopped after about half a minute, but her crying didn't. A puddle of tears left her pillows drenched. Ben spoke softly to her. "Ves, everything's okay. We're here for you." He assured. Vestara sniffled a few times, but kept crying. Luke already jammed the needle into the container, and sucked out its contents. "Vestara, this is pain killer. I need to inject this into you, but I need you to stay calm." He explained.
Vestara couldn't nod. It hurt too much to put any pressure on anything. Instead, she sent a feeling of understanding to Luke through the Force, hoping he'd get the message.
"I can't guarantee that this won't hurt. You'll have to bear with me." He warned. He felt more understanding from Vestara. He aimed the needle over her arm. "I'm gonna count to three." He announced. Vestara sucked in through her mouth, and held her breath. Ben looked worried. Luke used the Force to know where and how far to put the needle. He counted, then jammed the needle into her arm, released the medicine, then pulled it out quickly.
The needle caused more pain within Vestara. She groaned, and fought against the urge to squirm around. After a few minutes, the pain within her began to subside. She began breathing easier. Ben snuggled up to her. She tensed, but allowed him to continue. "What happened?" Luke asked, setting the pen and empty container down.
Vestara took a couple breaths. "My body just felt sudden pain." She explained.
Ben looked down, immediately feeling sorrow for being wrong about his theory. Vestara immediately comforted him. "Ben, you did nothing wrong… neither of us could've predicted this." Ben smiled a little, but his sorrow and guilt remained. "Do you want us to take you to Cilghal?" Luke asked.
Vestara thought for a little bit, then nodded. "Yes. Please." She pleaded.
"You feel like you can walk yourself?" Luke asked.
Vestara didn't know what to think. She didn't want to be thought of as a burden if the pain didn't come back, but she didn't want to suffer again if it did. Ben stepped up. "I'll carry you. I don't care if it ends up being a waste of time. Besides, you'll have someone tall, dark, and handsome to look at to distract you." He said, mostly to lighten the mood.
Vestara put on a look of surprise. "Master Durron will be there?!"
"That's it, you're walking yourself." Ben remarked.
"Wow Ben, you're giving up already?" Luke asked.
"Well sh-"
"I don't care! If Isolder flirting with Leia didn't stop Han, then Vestara's remark shouldn't stop you either. You need to man up, and take responsibility for your girlfriend."
"Do you want me to use the Gun of Command on her for something?"
Luke finally became serious. "Not that far. Ever."
Vestara just laughed. After her pain, it felt good to have something to laugh at. She wasn't actually attracted to Kyp Durron, she just wanted to mess with Ben.
Vestara laid on the hovergurney. The pain hadn't returned in full force. She was taking deep breaths to steady herself. Her hand was clasped within Ben's. He sat closest to her, not wanting to leave her. Luke sat in the adjacent chair. Soon, Cilghal walked in. "I apologize for the wait. I was treating 3 of Tesar's hatchlings." She explained.
Vestara gave a reassuring smile. "It's quite alright."
Cilghal moved to Vestara's side. "So your legs just spontaneously started hurting?"
Vestara nodded. "Yes. Right as I woke up, and it certainly isn't a lack of circulation."
Cilghal nodded, and moved an X-Ray over Vestara's legs. "This is just to check for any possible breaks in the bones." CIlghal adjusted the height and direction of the machine, then turned to her patient. "Hold still." She instructed. The X-Ray hummed, then clicked.
Cilghal went over to a screen, and keyed stuff in. Bones showed up. There was no sign of damage to them. Her bulbous eyes narrowed. "Perhaps an infection of sorts."
Luke's immediately lit up. His expression showing his concern. Not wanting to take any chances, he immediately turned to Cilghal. "Check for coomb spores." He directed.
The dreaded words echoed through Ben's mind. His eyes raised. He began hyperventilating. His forehead felt hot and light. His vision seemed a little blurry. Luke immediately rushed over, and caught his son from falling. Vestara was shocked. "What just happened?!" She cried.
Luke touched the back of his hand to his son's forehead. Sweat was already beating down on Ben. Luke turned over to face his son's girlfriend. He didn't need to be a psychologist to know why Ben started acting up like that. "Those things were what nearly caused Mara to have an early death." He replied.
Cilghal brought some water over, and directed the bottle to Ben's mouth. His lips parted, the water was tipped up slightly, and he began drinking. Luke took hold of the bottle, and Cilghal went to get the testing kit. Luke helped Ben up back onto his chair. "You okay?" Luke asked. He caressed his son's shoulder. Ben nodded weakly. Luke patted his shoulder. "Alright."
Cilghal drew some of Vestara's blood, and took it to get tested. After getting it set up, she took a saliva sample from her. She came back after the saliva sample was set up. "I will need a urine sample, Vestara. Can you walk well on your own?" She asked. Vestara nodded. She pulled her legs over the hovergurney, and Cilghal helped her to her feet. Vestara went into a closet. Cilghal gave instructions, then the door closed. After about 14 seconds, Vestara returned from the room. She used some sanisteam to clean up, then returned to the hovergurney.
After the test results came back, Cilghal brought them over. "Well the good news is, there is no sign of coomb spores whatsoever." She reported. Relief flooded into the Force from Luke and Ben. Cilghal scrolled to another screen on the pad. "The bad news is, nothing at all showed up in any of the tests."
Vestara immediately got defensive. "I swear, I am not making this up!" She demanded. Anger began to fill her mind. Ben quickly grabbed her hand. "Ves, she never said you were!" He promised. Cilghal remained unmoved. "It's alright, Jedi Skywalker. I can see why she got defensive in the first place. But I promise you, Jedi Khai, there are still two more tests that need to be run."
Vestara calmed down. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
Cilghal shook her head. "Anger is a powerful tool, but can also be a dangerous weapon. It's how you use it that makes the difference between Light and Dark."
The Mon Calamari doctor brought Vestara to a neurological scanner. "This will check your nervous system to see what's wrong there." She explained. Vestara nodded. She tried to get off the hovergurney, but tensed in pain as soon as her legs hit the ground! Ben caught her before she could fall. "I got you!" He promised.
He helped Vestara onto the table. She went under the scanner. Cilghal watched her brain waves. "There's certainly something wrong. The nerves connecting her legs to her brain are acting like something's causing pain, but what?" She remarked.
"We're clearly missing something! Can we raise the power?" Ben pleaded.
Luke rested his hand on his son's shoulder in reassurance. "I know you're worried for her. I am too. But fear will only worsen things." He turned to Cilghal. "Is there anything we can do?"
Cilghal clicked her tongue. "You said pain killers worked?"
Luke and Ben nodded. Cilghal sighed. "So that rules out an attack from Abeloth's spirit. Until we find out more, we'll keep using pain killers. I'll look over Jedi Khai's tests, and we'll meet back next week. Earlier if something happens."
They agreed. Vestara was removed from the machine. She was prescribed new medicine to kill the pain. Cilghal administered an injection, and handed the rest to Luke. "Give this to her as often as the pain comes." She instructed. Luke nodded, and pocketed them. "Thank you, Master Cilghal." The medicine was different from the one Luke had given to Vestara earlier.
Ben sat with Vestara on the couch in the living room. She was huddled against him, his arms wrapped around her. She wasn't in pain, she just wanted to be cuddled and snuggled. Ben kissed her forehead softly. "Ben, I'm sorry for my outburst."
He immediately comforted her. "No, no. Shhh–I'm not upset with you. I understand why you were mad. I'd want to be taken seriously too."
"But I didn't even bother to listen for anything else Master Cilghal said."
Ben nodded. "I know, but you're alright. I promise." He kissed her cheek, then her neck. "I'm not mad." He promised.
Vestara sighed contently, and nuzzled into Ben's neck–gently. "Don't worry, Ves. We'll find out what this kriffing thing is, and purge it from your body before it takes your precious angelicness out of existence."
Vestara smirked, and shook her head. "Have you forgotten all of the things I've done? I don't think I can be described as a precious angel."
Ben let out a sarcastic exasperated sigh. "Listen, there's something you've gotta understand. You're my girlfriend, and I love you. But more than that, it's not good to be bitter about things that've happened in the past."
Vestara played along with Ben. "But you're actively forgetting what I've done."
Ben gave an exaggerated eye-roll. "Oh shut up."
Vestara sarcastically glared at him with an exaggerated wide-eyed expression. "Excuse me?"
"Ben, you better not be walking on thin ice in there!" Luke called from the other room.
Ben thought fast. "I mean, please don't leave me. I'll be the one who shuts up."
Vestara brought her arm out from Ben's embrace, and patted his head. "Good boy. Your training is coming along wonderfully." Ben just smirked.