Cure | Anakin Skywalker

chapter ten

The bright white lights of a medical bay burn through my eyelids and I jolt awake, the whirring of machines around me sound uncomfortably like hissing. I attempt to sit up but immediately double over in pain as a dull ache spreads through my entire body, catching the attention of a med droid a few feet away.

"Miss, please try to relax while I call an evaluation droid," It beeps at me.

"Was Anakin brought in with me? Is he here?" I ask, doing my best to hide the fact that every inch of my body hurts, in hopes I'll be released sooner.

It answers in a monotone voice. "There were no survivors reported."

I sit there, silent, confused, for a moment. No survivors?

"What do you mean? I'm the only one that came back?!" I raise my voice and its little metal body jumps from the noise.

"There were no survivors reported." It repeats.

I get to my feet, ignoring how stiff my muscles are, and make for the door. The med droid rolls in front of me, it's tiny metal arms held out to stop me from going.

"Miss, please try to relax while I call an evaluation droid."

"No! I don't believe it. No way did Anakin Skywalker die on that mission. He's a Jedi for crying out loud! If I lived then so did he!" I argue even though there is suddenly doubt and dread in my mind. What if he really didn't make it? I almost suffocated back there, who's to say that he didn't? The thought makes me shiver and I push it away. He has to be alive.

"I cannot give you more information unless you sit down," The droid says.

I glare at it. "No. Let me out right now. I need to speak with Rex."

"You have not been approved for release."

"Let. Me. Out," I say darkly. "You can't just hold me here against my will! I am fine, look at me! I am walking and I'm talking and there is seemingly nothing wrong with my body so move or I will tangle your wires up so badly you will never be able to—"

The door slides open and Anakin Skywalker, very much alive and well, stands there, his face lighting up as our gazes meet.

"Anakin!" I exclaim, rushing towards him and placing my hands against his cheeks, searching him for injury. "Are you alright? They said there were no survivors and I thought you didn't make it back."

He reaches up to hold my wrists, grinning from ear to ear. "They said that to me, too. I came looking for you as soon as they let me go."

I brush his hair out of his face, inspecting the bruise that has bloomed across his temple. "You're pretty banged up," I remark, sliding my fingers over it gently. I sense a quiver in the energy around him, his pulse speeding up as I touch him, and I pull my hands back quickly. It's the same sensation I get from him when he's with Padme.

He breaks the silence, his cheeks tinted pink, and looks down at my body. "I'm banged up? Have you seen yourself?"

I search the room for the full-length mirror they usually have and find it on the opposite wall. Looking into it, I'm startled by the damage. Black and blue marks twist all around my stomach, curling and disappearing under my sports bra and pants, evidence of how tightly I had been held by those snakes.

Anakin comes to stand next to me, lifting his undershirt to reveal the same harsh markings all across his skin. We stare at ourselves in silence for a moment.

"We look kinda badass," He mutters.

"You think if we show Master Windu these bruises he'll say we did good and let us go?" I wonder.

"Oh god, we didn't complete the mission."

I widen my eyes before slapping my forehead. "Are you kidding me?! We did all that just for nothing? We're never going to hear the end of it."

I feel Anakin's energy shift. He's afraid.

"Hey," I say, forcing him to look at me, "It's going to be okay. What happened was not our fault. We had no reinforcements and we thought we were going after a human."

He shakes his head. "They won't see it like that." His face falls and I realize how upset he is.

"Anakin," I say seriously, taking his face in my hands again. "I won't let them take you."

There it is again. That fluttering feeling in my stomach, only there because it's what he's feeling. I pretend not to notice. I don't want to know why those butterflies are there and I'd prefer not to wonder what he's feeling. It's a curse to be so sensitive to the emotions of others.

Is that love? What he feels around Padme, what's happening in his chest right now, that's love, isn't it? He's probably nervous that he won't be able to see her anymore if the Council refuses to forgive him for his offense. That has to be it because I can't think of another reason why he would be so flushed.

"I know you don't like talking about her but I promise you, Padme will not stand for it either. You will see her again, Anakin," I try, hoping to ease his anxiety.

His face changes. "What?" He stammers.

"Oh, I— I'm getting that feeling again. The one you had on the balcony when we were talking about her."

He steps away from me and for a second he almost looks angry. I can't understand why but I don't get the chance to ask anything else before he turns towards the door.

"The Council will probably want to see us soon. We should get ready," He says as the door slides open. I open my mouth to say something but he's gone before I can get any words out. How did I make him angry again?! For a few blissful minutes, it had seemed like we were past the feuds and misunderstandings. Like maybe we were friends, as strange as it is for me to think about it.

But once more he's off, bothered by something I said even though I have no idea which thing it was, and I have no idea what went wrong. Grabbing my clothes, which have been washed and folded by the medical bed I woke up on, I go towards the door to return to my quarters.

"Miss," A droid beeps behind me, "Please try to relax while I call an evaluation droid."

"Can it, scrap box," I fume, leaving the room and the offended droid behind.