Star Wars the Clone Wars - One shots

Sandstorm - Part 4

A/N: Note for the previous chapter. I'm very aware that Sinker and Boost are from the 104th, not the 212th, but for the life of me, I couldn't find out who is in the 212th besides Cody, Waxer and Boil.

Also, huge thanks to InkSplots for letting me borrow Shatter!

And finally, apologies for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. I hope there will only be one more to wrap this piece up.

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They say Anakin is only sleeping because the painkillers are strong. Obi-Wan nods, but he knows they slipped sedatives into the Knight's bloodstream to keep him calm in the medbay.

Obi-Wan can't blame the medics for being cautious. Anakin is exceptionally good at escaping medbays, but that isn't the reason behind his sedation this time- although keeping him in the bed is better for his wounded leg than trying to sneak away.

The reason they put Anakin to sleep is because his student is on the bed next to his, and she currently can't breathe without a ventilator.

Obi-Wan moves his gaze to Ahsoka's prone form. He should've dragged her to the medbay himself- knowing she's just as stubborn as her Master- but he was more occupied with Anakin's condition to figure out that his walking-and-talking Padawan had received life-threatening injuries.

His eyes trace the wires that weave over her body- wincing at the large needle inserted in the crook of her elbow that feeds her a third blood transfusion. The medics operated for two hours to fix the internal damage to her chest, and by the time they were done, Ahsoka had lost over a third of her blood. Considering her size, this was panic inducing for the elder Jedi.

Twelve broken ribs. Three on one side and nine on the other. Obi-Wan's surprised she didn't collapse sooner. It was impossible to feel any pain radiating off her Force-signature, and he blames Anakin entirely for that because he taught her how to shield so well.

That shielding technique almost cost Ahsoka her life.

The broken ribs splintered against her lungs, causing one to collapse and the other to work at less than half of its capacity. Until they heal, Ahsoka's stuck on a ventilator. Seconds from death, the medics had told him when they realised how gravely injured she was.

Footsteps behind him- slow and even- pull Obi-Wan out of his thoughts, "Cody."

"General." The Commander steps into line beside him, falling into parade rest after removing his helmet. "The Council want a report-" a short pause- "I can watch them."

"Thank you." It takes some will to pull his eyes away from the two younger Jedi, but Obi-Wan knows they're in capable hands, and Cody will call him the moment something happens to either of them.

He just hopes they both wake up.

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At this point- after being subject to severe injuries for the best part of a year and a half- Anakin knows what it feels like for a sedative to be wearing off. It's like floating to the surface of a lake, and all his limbs feel weightless and like lead at the same time. His head's foggy- throat dry from the lack of water passing his lips.

Seventy-three hours, he decides, using his internal chrono to calculate how long he's been dead to the world. That's long enough- he'll be waking up soon.

Before he becomes aware of his surroundings, Anakin focuses on himself. Being a Jedi at war, he doesn't often have the chance to evaluate his health from the inside out- and that's probably where a lot of his problems have come from.

He can feel gauze on his skin- near his leg. If there's a wound there, it's still numb- all the way to his toes. He wonders what did it this time. He already has a record of breaking his femur three times- Rex will kill him if he's broken it again.