I Bet My Life

Seven: Wrecked

Cody's heart sank when his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. There, in a corner of the room, in between the two cribs that paralleled one another, was Obi-Wan curled into a tight ball. His arms gripped the folded legs that rested against his unsteady chest, slowly rocking back and forth in place on the floor. His disheveled auburn hair covered his face completely, unknown of his condition at the moment. Cody immediately came next to him, kneeling on the floor as his face changed from worried to slightly panicked. The clone had seen this happen before, but it really only happened in the Jedi's sleep or during his meditation. The Jedi still believed that Cody had no idea of them because he never directly told him otherwise, yet the clone was strategic and was highly-skilled at reading faces and habits. However this time, it almost caught Cody off guard as Obi-Wan had been completely fine in the time he'd been with him, but he knew very well that these things were never planned nor expected. He didn't exactly remember what to do as Obi-Wan usually had methods that would get himself through them, yet this one showed no signs that it could be navigated alone.

So, Cody tried to relay information from the clone medics, attempting to remember if they even told him what to do in a situation like this. He was drowning in thought and only confusing himself indefinitely, so he did what his gut was telling him to do. He looked at Obi-Wan and placed a hand on the frightened man, speaking ever so softly and with a quietly audible tone. He didn't want to scare Reva more than she probably did due to her Force abilities to sense emotions and irregular patterns. It would also be the best approach to bring Obi-Wan back to the present as smooth as he could humanly do. He began with his mission that was being planned as it went along,

"Obi-Wan... It's me, Cody... I am right here, okay... Can you hear me? Please nod if you can..."

The curled man slowly lifted his head from the comfort of his knees. His eyes were red and dry, his pale face coated with the slick gloss of tears that weren't absorbed by his auburn beard. He turned to face the warm amber eyes that sat in front of him. Obi-Wan didn't know why he was like this, feeling like he was going to die right then and there. His eyes stung like the hot sands that surrounded him for as many months as he'd been here, dry from the tears that couldn't be projected from his eyes any longer. His head pounded like someone was beating him severely on the head, his stomach felt like it was contorted in a way that was almost unbearable. He felt like he needed to throw up, yet he knew nothing but acid and tea would come out as he ate very scarcely. This was the end for him, wasn't it? The day he would die? Then why did it seem like it wasn't? Though his vision was blurred and he felt like he drifted in and out of consciousness, he picked up on three words that he heard at different times: "...Hear...Nod... You..." Obi-Wan, in all the physical pain that made him feel as this day was his last, slightly nodded at the figure in front of him. From what the man could pick up, those amber eyes that looked upon him with unwavering concern and worry belonged to his dear friend and companion Cody. The clone's mouth moved once again, Obi-Wan trying his absolute best to hear what he had to say. However, he continued to drift in and out of consciousness and it was difficult to hear almost anything,

"...Need... Move... Nod..."

Obi-Wan nodded in silence once more.

"Bedroom?"

Once more, Obi-Wan nodded at the amber-eyed man. He tried to stand up, but physically couldn't. It was as if he went completely limp, yet he had feeling in his body as the gritty sand grazed the crevices of his palms. Something that only people on Tatooine would understand as the sand always found a way of gathering in clumps in the home. Obi-Wan really did try to support his body to a standing position, but he just couldn't do it. The physical and mental strain on his body made him weak in his eyes, yet he wasn't mocked or judged by the man in front of his unstable state. Cody in fact did the complete opposite of what Obi-Wan would have expected from an experience like this. Instead of waiting impatiently for the man to get up and walk to the shared quarters, the clone carefully scooped Obi Wan into his toned arms without any thought to it. It completely shocked the Jedi, but he had no other choice than to accept it. He buried his dried and tear-stained face into the soft fabrics of the figure that cradled him like a newborn. In that small moment between being alone to being held, Obi-Wan actually began to warm the smallest sliver of a bit. He didn't even care how he looked or felt like a helpless child, all of the denials of being that naive and dependent youngling again slowly faded.