Archive of Our Own ^beta

Obi-Wan winced and rubbed at the tightness in his chest that hadn’t seemed to let up for the past year. He was already feeling the beginnings of  a headache and he had only just woken up a few hours prior. What a day.

He sighed, cracked his neck, and headed into the briefing room. Cody, his ever faithful commander, was already present, alongside Captain Rex. Anakin and Ahsoka were nowhere to be seen, but Obi-Wan supposed he shouldn’t really be surprised by that. 

“Commander. Captain,” Obi-Wan said as he entered the room, shoving his aches to the back of his mind. The upcoming mission was far too important for those sorts of things.

“General.” The two men stood at attention, their helmets tucked under their arms. Obi-Wan waved casually at them, indicating they were at ease.

“How are you two doing? And the troops?” The 212th and the 501st had just completed a taxing rescue mission on an outer rim planet, retrieving Master Rancisis from a Separatist prison. The operation had resulted in a great deal of casualties and fatalities. The Jedi Council had severely underestimated the prison’s defences. 

“The men have bounced back well, sir. They’re more than ready to blast some more clankers.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Commander.” Obi-Wan was not glad to hear that. The men shouldn’t have to bounce back so quickly after that sort of experience. He resisted the urge to rub at his chest again. “And yourselves?” 

“Alright, sir,” Rex answered.

“And Anakin? Have either of you any idea why he’s late? I hope he hasn’t managed to blow anything up in the few hours I’ve left him unsupervised?” 

Obi-Wan didn’t miss the way Rex stiffened. It was a tiny movement, and just about anyone else would have missed it, but Obi-Wan wasn’t anyone else.

“I think he should be along any minute, General.” Ah. So Padme, then. Obi-Wan was not blind when it came to his former Padawan’s secret marriage. He wasn’t exactly pleased about the whole situation, and even less pleased that Anakin seemed bent on keeping it a secret from him, but Padme made Anakin relaxed and calm and simply happy in a way Obi-Wan never had been able to and probably never would, so he didn’t intend on bringing it up anytime soon. Anakin really could make an attempt to keep his Captain out of it, though. The poor man was clearly not a good liar and knew it, which made the situation all the more stressful for him. And painfully awkward for Obi-Wan.

The door flew open as Anakin finally arrived with a grin plastered on his face. “Sorry I’m late. Ahsoka and I were, uh. Sparring. Lost track of time.” Ahsoka followed her master into the briefing room, looking a bit confused and not at all like she had just been sparring. Very smooth, Anakin , Obi-Wan thought.

“Right. Now that you’ve finally decided to bless us with your presence, let's get this briefing started.” The plan was relatively simple, but Obi-Wan knew all too well how quickly south simple missions could spiral. The Republic had received intel of a highly functioning research facility on Akiva, a Separatist aligned Outer Rim planet. The facility gave off high levels of radiation. It was likely they were trying to produce some sort of mass destruction weapon, and the plan was to eliminate it by blowing the whole building up. Anakin, along with a platoon of air force clones would take out the defensive missile system. Ahsoka and Rex would lead a battalion of soldiers through dense jungles until they reached the back wall, which was fortified with sensory lasers, and she’d likely have a swarm of droids on her as soon as she planted the bomb. She’d then rendezvous with Obi-Wan, who would lead a battalion to the front tower, where he’d sneak into the facility while the clones covered him, take out as many droids as he could, and try to get more information on what exactly was going on, as well as plant a bomb. After he hopefully made it back out, he’d meet with Ahsoka at the rendezvous point in the jungle about three kilometers from the facility, where they’d set off the bombs. Cody would lead a battalion which would surround the remaining parts of the facility, and be ready to come to the aid of either Kenobi or Tano.

“I’ve gotta say, Master, I’m not a huge fan of this plan,” Anakin said when Obi-Wan finished, arms crossed.

“Why not? You get to show off your flashy flying skills. And even better, I don’t need to be there with you when you do.” 

Anakin put his hands up, eyebrows raised in indignation. “Woah, woah, woah. I’m a great pilot. It’s not my fault you're too old to appreciate my modern technique. And why do you need to go in there alone? Could Cody go with you, at least? It’s dangerous, and Captain Barlex can lead Cody’s battalion.”

Obi-Wan sighed. Anakin had a point, but he’d wanted to give his commander a bit of a break. He’d lost a lot of men a few days ago, and had had a rough time of it. Obi-Wan glanced at Cody and locked eyes with him, asking the silent question. Usually he’d put up more of a fight, not anxious to be swayed by Anakin in front of his men, but his chest had given a sharp tug and he couldn’t really say much even if he wanted to. Cody gave a nod of his head with determined eyes, because of course he would, he was Cody, and Cody was always up for anything, especially if it included keeping his Jedi safe. 

“Alright,” Obi-Wan conceded. “Cody will come with me, and Captain Barlex will lead the battalion surrounding the facility. We should head to the ships.” The captain and commander nodded, slipping on their helmets and heading out of the briefing room, the three Jedi following close behind. Obi-Wan lagged behind Anakin and Ahsoka and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, willing the pain to disappear into the Force. 

It was going to be a long day.

Obi-Wan stepped off the ship and into the dense jungles of Akiva. The heat was immediately nearly stifling and sweat sprung up on his forehead. The rest of the ships landed beside his, and swarms of armored clones hopped out. Obi-Wan swallowed thickly over the lump in his throat, and he wasn’t sure if it was from his own anxiety or the nagging ache in his chest anymore. 

Sometimes he wondered whose idea it was to put an entire army of men under his command. He was a Jedi, for Force’s sake, and the Jedi Code renounced possessions, and here he was, with a whole ship named after him and everything. At times like these, watching hundreds of men prepare to fight, to die, just as they were bred for, he felt not at all like High General Obi-Wan Kenobi, but much more like Oafy-Wan, a small child with no control as Bruck Chun picked on him ruthlessly. Because what was the difference? Time had passed, but Obi-Wan was still being bullied, bullied by the council into suicide missions for his men that never seemed to end, and he had no control over any of it. 

His chest gave another sharp tug, and this time pain lanced through his left arm. It was time to get this over with.

Anakin didn’t waste any time beginning the attack on the missile defense system, bolts of light raining down on an invisible shield surrounding the facility. Flashes of purple arched across the sky in brilliant bursts with each hit. Ahsoka and Rex began their trek around to the back with their troops, and with a wave of his hand, Obi-Wan led his men to the front entrance.

Within minutes the shield was down and Obi-Wan easily cut through the battle droids that came pouring out through the entrance with quick slashes of his lightsaber, Cody on his tail. He slipped in the front entrance as the troops prepared for the next wave of droids. The inside of the facility was relatively well lit and air conditioned, a temperature shock compared to the heavy humidity from outside. The Force hummed quietly, a soft warning that danger lurked around the corner, but for the time being, they were safe. Obi-Wan shut his eyes briefly to concentrate and allowed  the Force to map out the facility. A hall stretched out in front of them, devoid of any activity. About 10 meters ahead, another hall spouted off to the left. He sensed a deep pulse coming from that direction. The Force felt odd around it, twisting away from its grasp, embedded with a sick sense of malice. 

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and set off at a brisk walk, turning the corner. “It’s this way, I can sense it. The Force is reacting strangely to it. We must be careful,” he told Cody. The commander nodded and followed with his gun raised. They turned another corner and the Force flared a warning at Obi-Wan. He brought his arm up, signaling Cody to stop and pressed his back against the wall. Moments later, the metallic clunking of battle droids rang through the facility. The group of droids that turned the corner never stood a chance. There were only about 10 of them, and Obi-Wan didn’t waste any time cutting them down as Cody fired at them from behind him.

“I expected more droids, sir,” Cody pointed out when all was quiet once more. “I thought this facility would be more heavily guarded.”

Obi-Wan stepped over the pile of burnt metal. “My thoughts exactly, Commander. The Force is warped here. Something is going on.” The warning in the Force had grown more persistent as they had proceeded through the halls, and Obi-Wan was on edge, waiting for the worst to happen. 

Don’t center on your anxiety, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs.

Right. He just needed to calm down. He was being stupid, and the ache in his chest was just throwing him off. 

“ Master Obi-Wan? ” Ahsoka’s voice rang out on his comm. “ We’ve got some really heavy droid fire in the back. I haven’t had an opportunity to plant the bomb yet. We’re gonna need some backup. Can I borrow some of you troops? ”

So that’s where all the droids were. He raised his comm. “Of course. I’ll comm Captain Barlex and have him send some men over your way.” Obi-Wan pressed the button on his comm and brought up the captain. “Captain. Ahsoka needs some backup. They’re getting heavy blaster fire in the back. Send some men her way, please.”

“ On it, General ,” the voice rang out on the other end. 

Obi-Wan continued down the hallway. The pulse grew stronger in his head as they came closer and closer. They didn’t meet any more droids, or any people. He and Cody finally reached a door where the pulse nearly reached a breaking point.

“It’s in here,” Obi-Wan said. “Whatever they’re doing is in here.” The door was unsurprisingly locked, so Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and burned a circle into it. They stepped through the smoldering hole and entered the room. 

The room was dark, with a pool of a blue liquid substance in the center. A glass dome covered the pool, which gave off a faint glow. The substance shifted and flickered, and gave off a dizzying sensation. Or maybe that was just the fact that Obi-Wan couldn’t seem to take in proper breaths. He stepped closer to the dome. The Force swirled disconcertingly, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. 

He pried his gaze from the swirling liquid and scanned the rest of the room. There was a file cabinet with a single computer on it. He moved towards the cabinet as Cody stood guard at the door. Once he overrode the security, the computer proved to be quite helpful. Obi-Wan plugged a flash drive in and saved all the information, and then started to sort through the files. There weren’t many. The few there were almost all in languages he had never seen before, except one, which was in Basic. There were multiple extensive chemical equations that he didn’t have time to make sense of. 

“This is some sort of organic substance. It says here it’s still in an early stage, but it’s being used for...future chips? I’m not sure what that means. Chips for recruited soldiers.” Obi-Wan frowned. “Does this mean they’re switching from a droid army to living beings? This isn’t a mass destruction weapon.” Something was very wrong about this, and Obi-Wan felt a tingling in his fingers. 

“Switching from droids to sentients doesn’t seem very effective,” Cody said from the doorway. “I can’t imagine General Grievous being too happy about that.”

Obi-Wan hummed in agreement. The thought of the cyborg general caused his chest to tighten even further and his head to spun. He decided they’d wasted enough time here. The facility and this room especially stressed him out, and he was rather anxious to see it go up in flames. 

“Well, we can try to figure this out later, but for now, I think it’s time to leave.” Obi-Wan visibly saw relief in his friend’s eyes. He didn’t like it here one bit more than Obi-Wan. Cody slapped the bomb on the wall, and Obi-Wan followed him out of the room. His comm beeped as they hurried down the hall with the files and flash drive; it was Ahsoka. 

“ Just planted the bomb, Master Obi-Wan ,” she said.

“Good,” Obi-Wan replied. “Cody and I have as well, and we’re headed out now.”

“ Find anything interesting? ” Anakin’s voice chimed in.

A swarm of droids rounded the corner, and Obi-Wan and Cody skidded to a halt. There were about 25 battle droids, and behind them were five destroyers.

“Not good,” Obi-Wan muttered. 

“Understatement of the century, General,” Cody said. 

Obi-Wan checked to make sure his comm with Anakin was still on. “The understatement of the century was when Anakin said he didn’t have the situation on Corellia handled.” 

“ Hey! Who busted your ass out of the pit on Glee Anselm? Me! What’s not good? Cody, do I have to come rescue him again? Is he being a pain? Do I need to rescue you from him? ”

“Language, Padawan.”

“ Don’t call me Pada- ”

“I’ve had quite enough of that,” Obi-Wan said, shutting off his comm and activating his lightsaber. He saw Cody slide into a fighting stance beside him.

“I’d like to hear more about Glee Anselm when we’re back on The Negotiator , General.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, but felt a spark of affection at his commander’s jibe. “Oh, not you too .”

In unison, they lunged forward as the droids began to fire on them. The Force whispered in his ear, and Obi-Wan followed, flicking his lightsaber left and right in an impressive presentation of Form III. The hallway was filled with the hum of the blue shaft connecting with blaster bolts and the metallic clanging of droids hitting the floor.

 Normally, this fight would’ve been a bit of a challenge due to the enclosed space but not too difficult, but Obi-Wan’s breaths kept getting stuck in his chest and the pain made it hard for him to move as athletically as he usually could. He lurched ungracefully to the side as a bolt singed his tunic. Blast. He was better than this. He could feel Cody in the Force beside him, as healthy and determined as ever. That made one of them, at least. 

Obi-Wan slashed through the last battle droid, and the destroyers advanced, activating their shields. Cody pulled out a droid popper and made a run for it, gracefully hitting the floor in a slide as he slipped the device under the shield. Blue bolts of electricity wrapped around the droid and it fell to the floor. 

Four to go. 

Sweat was starting to drip down Obi-Wan’s face. He wiped it away, annoyed. If Cody found out how exhausted he was, he’d make him go see Helix, and then they’d most definitely overreact and put him on bedrest for a few days, and that just wouldn’t help anybody. Not for the first time, Obi-Wan found himself thanking the Force that the clones weren’t Force sensitive. Hiding from Anakin was hard enough as it was. 

He deflected a few bolts before sliding feet first under a droid and lashing up with his lightsaber, splitting it in half. Cody had already taken down another one with a droid popper. 

Two to go now. 

A bolt was fired at Obi-Wan’s feet and he leaped up to avoid it and landed awkwardly. Another bolt came at him and he twisted to deflect it, but he still hadn’t gained his footing and he slipped, colliding with the ground. The first thought that popped into his brain after ouch was, well that was undignified.

“Alright, General?” He heard Cody yell out. He quickly rolled to avoid more bolts. How embarrassing. 

“Just fine, Commander,” he said as he staggered to his feet. Cody must have taken out another droid, because there was just one remaining. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force and gave a sharp tug, and the shield deactivated. He swung his lightsaber, and the droid crumpled in a pile of sparking circuits. 

He and Cody stood for a moment, Cody probably waiting for orders as Obi-Wan tried to get his wheezing under control. Maybe using the Force hadn’t been such a good idea. He felt a bit like he was going to pass out. 

“Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

Cody nodded. “Good plan.”

They made it back to the entrance without seeing any other droids. The ring of soldiers still stood around the facility, and Obi-Wan could see the fighters in the sky, ready to shoot down any separaist attacks. Obi-Wan and Cody hurried into the jungle. Three kilometers seemed so far, he thought as ragged breaths tore through his chest. Who’s idea was this? Oh, right. It was his. 

The lack of air conditioning was also starting to take a toll. The Force had felt strange and uncomfortable inside the facility, but at least it had been cool. 

After several minutes of trying to run as fast as he could without passing out (Cody definitely knew something was up at this point), they arrived at the rendezvous point where Ahsoka and her men were already waiting. Cody quickly ordered the men barricading the facility to back up to a point where they wouldn’t be caught in the explosion. Obi-Wan was grateful he took the liberty of carrying that out without being ordered, because Obi-Wan really wasn’t capable of forcing out words at the moment. 

“Ready?” Ahsoka asked. Obi-Wan nodded and brought the detonator from his robes, and Ahsoka did the same. On the count of three they pushed the button, and the ground shook as the facility blew up. 

Obi-Wan sighed, feeling some of the tension in his shoulders vanish. A successful mission with minimal casualties. Ahsoka had done well; she had successfully taken down the defense in the back and set up the bomb, and made it to the rendezvous point with minimal casualties. She would be a fine Jedi one day. Obi-Wan sent a thread of pride towards her through the Force, and she visibly straightened as a small smile graced her lips. 

“Right. Good work everyone. Let’s head back to the ships,” Obi-Wan managed. The group set off through the jungle, and Obi-Wan ended up lagging behind, despite his attempts to keep up. He was exhausted. Cody stayed back with him, and Obi-Wan was both grateful and embarrassed. Cody was a good man and even his presence was soothing, with his strong, steady Force signature, but Obi-Wan didn’t relish the idea of seeming weak infront of his commander. 

“Are you alright, General?” He asked softly. 

Blast. Of course he knew something was wrong. 

Obi-Wan nodded. “Always, Commander.” Cody clearly wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but he left it alone. 

The walk back to the ships seemed to stretch on and on forever, and Obi-Wan’s chest ached with each step. He tried to think of something to say to fill the silence as they fell farther and farther behind. He didn’t want Cody to worry, but his head was all fuzzy and he couldn’t really focus. Walking in silence with his commander wasn’t usually something he’d describe as awkward, but this seemed to be the exception. Maybe because Obi-Wan was so obviously hiding this from him. Or maybe Obi-Wan was just paranoid. His head spun. Force, was he tired. 

The ships finally came into view as he and Cody entered the clearing. The rest of the men had already boarded by the time Obi-Wan made his way up the ramp, Cody trailing behind him like some sort of a guard massiff. It would’ve been slightly endearing if it wasn’t so damn embarrassing. He was a High General, for Force’s sake. 

The ship took off and Obi-Wan tried to relax a bit, listening to the soft chatter of his men. He tried to release his pain into the Force, but the Force didn’t seem to want to listen. The slight turbulence of the ship did nothing to improve his balance, already compromised by the preexisting dizziness. He bit back a groan as a wave of nausea crashed over him.

This was not ideal. 

A painful few minutes passed of Cody stealing quick glances at his general from under his bucket. Obi-Wan could feel his concern clearly through the Force. 

“I’m fine, Cody,” he assured softly, so that no one else would hear.

“Sure,” Cody said. 

The ship docked on The Negotiator , and the men all started to exit.

“Please, sir, at least just go see Helix? It won’t take long.”

Obi-Wan shook his head and began the walk to his quarters, a walk that seemed impossibly long with his throbbing chest and worried commander.

“I’m fine, Cody, just tired. Nothing a quick nap can’t handle. Besides, I’ve got to report to the Council about what we found, and the paperwork won’t start itself.” Obi-Wan didn’t intend to take a nap no matter how amazing that sounded at the moment, but he didn’t plan on telling Cody that. He turned the corner and prayed that Cody would drop it so he could just suffer in the privacy of his own room. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days. 

Unfortunately, Cody followed.

“Two minutes, General, just give him two minutes. You’re not just tired. Something's wrong.”

A sharp pain lanced through Obi-Wan’s chest and his breath caught. He leaned heavily on the wall, eyes squeezed shut at the sudden, severe pain, thanking the Force that the hallway was empty. Empty except for Cody. 

“General?”

Obi-Wan felt the sliver of panic through the Force. He dragged in one breath, then another. There is no pain there is no pain there is no pain there is no pain there is-

“General? Can you hear me?”

Obi-Wan forced his eyes open and immediately regretted it. The hallway spun dangerously around him and spots danced threateningly at the edge of his vision. The nausea was back again, full steam ahead, and Obi-Wan was suddenly terrified of throwing up on his commander’s boots. That would just be the cherry on top of this awful, painful, stressful day. 

“I’m okay,” he heard himself wheeze out, and decided that he definitely would not be speaking again, because opening his mouth made the possibility of losing his breakfast all the more real.

Wait. Did he even have breakfast? He couldn’t remember.

“Banthashit,” he heard Cody say, but his voice sounded galaxies away. Obi-Wan felt his knees crack against the hard floor and he started to tilt forward, but instead of feeling his face smack the ground, it was pressed against something rounded. There were arms around his body. He wasn’t on the ground, but he wasn’t sure which way the ground even was. 

“General, please, you gotta tell me what’s going on. General! Obi-Wan! ” 

The use of his first name coming from his by-the-rules-commander was enough of a shock for Obi-Wan to keep the overwhelming vertigo and pain from completely taking over for a few moments. Maybe now was the time to come clean. 

“Chest...hurts…” he slurred against what must be Cody’s chestplate. Why wouldn’t the hallway stop spinning? It was making him sick. He blinked, and if anything it got worse. Pain stabbed at his chest again, fiercer than before, and a pitiful noise forced its way out of Obi-Wan’s mouth. He was sure that he’d be embarrassed about that later, but at the moment it hardly seemed to matter. A hand was suddenly on his chest, moving in soft, soothing circles.

“Helix...I need...passed out... chest hurts…two minutes…” Cody was talking to someone. Was someone else here? That would be mortifying. Oh Force, if it was Anakin, Obi-Wan would never live this down. But if Anakin was here, wouldn’t he feel him in the Force? Well, maybe not. Obi-Wan couldn’t exactly feel the Force currently. He was a bit preoccupied trying to keep breathing.

Something was suddenly under his knees and he was being scooped up. His head thunked softly against something hard. Was that armor? Was he still with Cody on The Negotiator ? He opened his eyes to check-when had he closed them?-but found that his eyelids were as heavy as boulders. 

“Cody?” he tried to ask, but all that came out was a soft groan.

“I’ve got you, General,” a calm voice drifted down to him from above. That was good. That someone had him, at least, because that meant Obi-Wan didn't have to deal with everything himself for the time being. It felt like he’d been doing everything himself the whole war. He stuck out on the Council, being the youngest and the most prone to attachment. He was really only there for his strategy and negotiation skills. Anakin was happily married and no longer needed him. In fact, he was leaps and bounds ahead of him, and Obi-Wan knew he would never catch up. Ahsoka was bright and a quick learner, more in tune with the living Force than Obi-Wan could hope to be. And she wasn’t really his padawan, anyway. She was a lot like Qui-Gon. Oh, and Qui-Gon was dead. And Cody had his brothers, men who could truly understand him. He did not deserve to be thrown into this war against his will. So Obi-Wan was alone. He knew all those people were more than willing to help him (well, except Qui-Gon), but they were much better off without him. He’d always known, deep down, that he was meant for infinite sadness, so he’d made himself his own bubble, floating farther and farther from his family and into the unforgiving sea. To help them, he repeatedly told himself. 

He felt himself being placed on a soft surface, and a few more Force signatures floated around in his head. He recognized Cody’s, a sturdy, reliable presence which had been there this whole time, and latched onto it. There was a sharp prick in the back of his hand that was dwarfed by the raging fire in his chest. 

“General? Can you hear me?” A bright light blinded him momentarily. He wanted to respond, he really did, but it was no use.

The world faded to gray as Obi-Wan floated off into the cold, dark sea. 

The sea was very lonely, Obi-Wan decided, and even if he was made for infinite sadness, and his presence was harmful for the people he loved ( didn’t love, attachment was forbidden), he figured it was okay to indulge in a bit of selfishness, just this once. He could be mad at himself for it later, when he didn’t feel so heavy and he could feel his limbs again.

Why couldn’t he feel his limbs? Did he have limbs?

Of course he did, he wasn’t Anakin, he told himself. That was probably mean. Anakin still had three limbs, at least. 

Tired of the strange thoughts that wouldn’t stop bouncing around in his head, Obi-Wan tried to open his eyes. They didn’t listen. 

A door opened somewhere very far away, and suddenly a warm pressure he hadn’t noticed before left his right hand.

So, he did have limbs, That was a relief. 

“Hey, I got here as soon as I could. What the sith hells happened?” 

“He told Cody his chest hurt on the way back to his quarters and then passed out. I ran a blood test, and he had an abnormally high elevation of cardiac enzymes in his bloodstream.”

“Sorry, Helix, I’m not a healer. I have no idea what that means.”

“Well, usually an elevation in cardiac enzymes indicates a heart attack-”

“He had a heart attack? He’s thirty-six! ”

“With all due respect, General, please let me finish. Usually an elevation in cardiac enzymes indicates a heart attack. However, I also took a chest X-ray and an echocardiogram and there’s no coronary artery obstruction. There’s nothing wrong with his heart. He’s suffering from stress induced cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome. It’s when all the symptoms of a heart attack are present, without the actual heart attack, and as I said, it’s caused by stress. He’ll be fine and there’s no damage to his heart, he’s just gonna be pretty tired for a while. He needs at least a week of bed rest with no paperwork or anything. He needs rest, General. Will you notify the council of this?”

“Yeah, I'll tell them. Thanks, Helix. Broken heart syndrome? Really?” A faint trace of amusement and relief danced through the Force. “He’s always so dramatic.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t really comprehend much of what he heard, except he was pretty sure his former padawan just called him dramatic, and Anakin was really not one to talk about that. He tried again to open his eyes, but still couldn’t manage it. In fact, he felt the tendrils of sleep catching up to him once more. 

“Thanks for being there, Commander,” he heard someone say, and then he drifted blissfully into unconsciousness. 

Something bright brushed up against Obi-Wan’s shields, asking a question that he still couldn’t quite comprehend. Everything was so fuzzy and confusing, and he was so tired. He wanted to go back to sleep, but the bright presence was still there, at the edge of his awareness, and he felt that he had to find out what was going on. He was a general, after all. 

This time when he went to open his eyes, they slugglishy blinked open, only for him to be blinded by a harsh light. This light was different than the one in his head. He winced, and a voice off to his right muttered a quick “shit, sorry,” and the harsh light dimmed. 

Obi-Wan lazily rolled his eyes to his right, where they landed on a very tired, very disheveled Anakin. 

“‘Lo,” Obi-Wan slurred in a tired greeting. His tongue felt swollen and dry and very out of place in his mouth. He swallowed thickly. His mouth tasted metallic. Ugh. 

Anakin smiled. “Hey. How do you feel?”

Obi-Wan took a moment to evaluate himself. He still felt incredibly heavy and exhausted. He tried to move his arms, but found that task nearly impossible. His chest felt oddly empty. His head felt stuffy and he couldn’t concentrate, and the room shifted dizzily around him. There was a lingering sense of nausea that he couldn’t seem to shake. His body felt impossibly heavy but his head felt...light. That didn’t make sense. Was he floating? No, he was laying down and Anakin was sitting next to him. He didn’t feel any horrible injury or discomfort, so he wasn’t really sure why he felt so off .

“I dunno. Am I high?” He asked, words running into one another. 

Anakin’s smile grew a bit and humor lit up his tired eyes. “Yeah. Helix has got you on the good stuff. Enjoy it while you can, Master.”

“ Enjoy it?” Obi-Wan asked incredulously. “I’m about to throw up. You enjoy it.” Force, why couldn’t he annunciate? He was the famed negotiator! He hoped this didn’t last for very long. 

All humor dropped from Anakin’s face. “Wait, actually? Do you need a garbage can?”

“No. I dunno. Everything’s spinning. ”

Anakin relaxed a bit, but levitated over a garbage can anyway. 

Obi-Wan frowned and tried to put on his best lecture voice, which was hard when he could barely form words with his drug-addled brain. “Extravagant use of the Force,” he mumbled. 

Anakin smiled down at him, and oh, did he feel powerless. “Sorry, Master. I do not want you puking everywhere.”

Obi-Wan sighed as his eyelids began to grow heavy once more. Being awake was exhausting. 

“The mission went well, if you were wondering. Minimal casualties, ten fatalities. I got the flash drive and the files on the stuff from the facility, and I reported to the Council and told them about it. And, uh, about this. You’re on bedrest for a week, so you don’t need to worry about anything. It’s all under control. I am very responsible.”

Obi-Wan let out a slight huff at that, which was all that he could manage. Anakin was starting to blur above him. He seemed to realize that he was losing his fight with consciousness. 

“Just rest, Master. Everything’s okay, I promise. Cody, Rex and I have got it all under control.”

Obi-Wan smiled gratefully at his former student before allowing himself  to slip back under. 

It was quiet when Obi-Wan woke again. There was no bright presence brushing up against his mind. Instead, he felt the very familiar and steady presence of Cody. Obi-Wan was immediately at ease with his commander, but he recognized he was going to have to do some apologizing. His head was much clearer this time, the effects of the drugs had worn off more, and he had a stronger memory of what had happened. Having your general collapse in your arms probably wasn’t a very fun experience. 

His eyelids were still heavy as he blinked his eyes open, but it wasn’t quite as monumental of a task as it had been before. Cody sat beside his bed in a chair, with a datapad on his lap. He had a small frown on his face as he swiped and clicked. Obi-Wan quietly took better stock of his surroundings. There was an IV in the back of his hand. He was in a hospital gown in the medbay of The Negotiator . He heard a quiet beeping, and noticed a wire snaking down into his hospital gown, attached to his chest. Was it monitoring his heart? He still wasn’t sure why he’d collapsed like that, but the wire attached to his chest made him a bit nervous. If there was something wrong with his heart, that was a problem. 

“Commander,” he said, voice rough and quiet. Cody jumped a bit in his seat at the sudden sound, then smiled tensely. Yes, Obi-Wan needed to apologize. 

“How do you feel, General?” Cody asked. 

Obi-Wan lazily waved his hand.“Oh, I’m fine, I’m sorry about earlier. That wasn’t a fair situation for me to put you in.”

Cody frowned, confused. “What?”

“When I, ah, passed out on you. And you had to carry me. Here.” Well, this was just lovely and awkward. 

Cody sighed and looked at Obi-Wan with an emotion he couldn’t make out. “You don’t need to apologize, sir. Just don’t let it get that far again. Please.”

“Obi-Wan.”

“What?”

“We’re alone, you can call me Obi-Wan. I don’t mind.” 

Cody smirked. “Sure thing. General.”

“Fine. If I promise not to let it get that bad again, will you promise to call me Obi-Wan when we’re alone?”

Cody stuck out his hand, and Obi-Wan lifted his to give it a weak shake. “Deal.”

Obi-Wan pressed his hands into the bed and attempted to sit up, but his arms shook and his chest ached slightly and the room spun, and Cody set his hand down on his shoulder. 

“Not a good idea,” he said.

“Why not? It’s not as though I’m about to break.”

A funny look crossed Cody’s face. 

“What is it?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Well, actually, sir, you’re here in the first place because of this thing called broken heart syndrome, so I wouldn't say you’re not about to break.”

Obi-Wan ignored the fact that Cody had called him ‘sir’ and frowned. “Broken heart syndrome? What’s that?”

“The symptoms of a heart attack without actually having one. It’s caused by extreme stress. Sound familiar?”

“Well that’s a stupid name if my heart is actually fine,” he pouted. “Could I please have some water?” His mouth was still dry and tasted metallic, and he figured if he wanted Cody to call him Obi-Wan, he should start taking care of himself. Cody stood and filled a small cup with water. Obi-Wan’s hand shook slightly with the weight of it. How humiliating. 

Nevertheless, the cool water felt amazing and washed away the bitter taste and soothed his dry throat. 

“Small sips, Obi-Wan,” Cody said, and Obi-Wan held back a smile at the use of his name. “Helix would kill me if you choked to death in his own medbay.” 

Obi-Wan set the empty cup down and tried to shift so he was at last sitting up a little bit. The mission really had not gone according to plan, but it was a success and he supposed it was all for the best. He had a week of bedrest, which he was sure he would soon despise, but for now it was nice to have the ever present burden of the war lifted from his shoulders. And he supposed he wasn’t as alone as he’d thought. Anakin had been here, and Cody was here now, and the Council was okay with giving him time off (though he wouldn’t be surprised if it had taken a few strong words from Anakin in order for them to do so). Anyway, he figured he should concentrate on the here and now and not worry so much about the future, as a very wise master once told him. 

He looked at Cody with a grin. 

“I do believe I owe you a story about Glee Anselm.”