Your Secret's Safe With Us

Trials

Anakin sat in his bed at the medcenter anxiously as the droid adjusted the sensors in his artificial arm.

As he gazed out the window that allowed him to view the hall outside of the room, Anakin could've sworn he saw Padmé pass. It was probably his imagination.

Snapping Anakin out of his distraction, the medical droid prodded the tip of one of Anakin's artificial fingers, shocking the nerve there. His finger twitched on response.

The medical droid seemed somewhat satisfied at that, putting down the tools he used to poke at and adjust the new mechanical addition. It stepped away, leaving Anakin to sit and inspect.

He stared at his hand, experimenting. He wanted to clench his hand into a fist, and as soon as that thought came into his mind, his hand clenched on command.

Then he tried flexing his fingers. It worked just as his other hand would; just as he thought about the action, his hand did whatever that action was. He rotated his wrist. It worked. He bent his arm, and it bent just as it should have.

Anakin smiled proudly about the fact he was able to maneuver the foreign object so well. It was much easier than he thought before.

Just wait until I fight with it, he thought, smiling even wider.

Other than his hand, all he could think about was Padmé, which was not much of a surprise, but he wondered where she was ever since he was transported to the medcenter. He tried not to think about her, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her there, with him, especially now since she had taken a liking to him... well, more like a loving.

He looked up when someone knocked on the wall near the entrance.

"Hello, friend," Obi-Wan greeted with a smile. He wore a new set of robes, free of dirt, sand, rips and charring. His hair was neat again, and he looked satisfied. Happy.

Obi-Wan stepped into the room and stood at the foot of Anakin's bed. Please don't say that you know about me and Padmé, Anakin begged mentally, but on the outside, he kept a straight face.

"Afternoon, Master. You look... put together again."

Obi-Wan chuckled lightly. "Yes, well... I was treated. And I'm not going to say it was easy." He shifted his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I must ask: what was it like having a limb taken off?"

"That's nice, Master, not even an 'are you okay?'" Anakin smiled. "It wasn't as painful as I imagined," he said merely, "but it is strange having a whole new limb to train all over again. I feel like a toddler."

Obi-Wan nodded, "You'll learn in time."

They were quiet for a minute, just thinking things over.

"Where's Senator Amidala?" Anakin asked suddenly, looking up at Obi-Wan.

"She's back in Naboo with her family. I told her you'd be back to get her your things."

At that, Anakin's heart sank. "You mean I don't get to spend any more time there?"

Obi-Wan met eyes with him and laughed. "You have assignments back in Coruscant to catch up on."

Anakin frowned and looked down, playing with the wiring on his hand. "Right," he mumbled. He looked up again, setting his jaw. "Can we go now?"

"I'll check with the medical droid."

Obi-Wan walked out of the room, leaving Anakin to simmer in his own anger.

Why couldn't Anakin just spend a little time with his girlfriend before he went back to his duties? After all, he had been waiting ten years to finally court her. Wasn't it time to settle? Anakin didn't understand how other Jedi lived the rest of their lives without a Padmé, or even just a someone special. Anakin didn't understand why he wasn't just allowed to love in the first place!

Frustrated as ever, Anakin sat in his bed, mad at the galaxy.