Clone Wars One Shots

Burnout

Saying Anakin Skywalker was exhausted was an understatement. He had just gotten back to the Resolute from a rough battle, and could barely keep his eyes open.

He dragged his feet from the gunship to his quarters, looking down so no one would talk to him. All he wanted to do was shower and sleep.

The Jedi punched in the code to his room, threw off his boots and walked to the fresher. His head was throbbing and all of his muscles ached.

He quickly stripped his tunic and pants off, and stepped in the shower. The warm water felt amazing against his irritated skin, whisking away all the sweat and dirt from the mission. After a while of basking in the heat he stepped out and shoved a clean pair of robes on his body.

The only thing the Knight wanted to do was sleep, but unfortunately for him he had a council meeting to attend to. He groaned and dragged himself to the bridge, sometimes he hated being a General.

Captain Rex was there to greet him. "With all due respect sir, you look terrible."

Anakin chuckled, "I feel terrible."

Rex frowned. "Maybe you should go see Kix?"

Anakin knew he would say that. He didn't feel hurt, just very exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. At least not yet. "I'll be fine, Rex."

The Captain nodded and followed the General inside the command center.

About 10 minutes into the meeting Anakin started to get dizzy. His head was throbbing and his legs were weak. It was hard to focus on what Master Yoda was saying.

"Knight Skywalker?" The green creature said, nodding towards the Jedi.

Kriff. What had they been talking about? "I'm fine, what was it that you said?" He hoped he didn't sound too tired.

Yoda eyed him wearily then went on to say his sentence again. "I was asking about the report. Master Windu is wanting to see how your mission went."

Anakin tensed. He hadn't finished the report yet, heck he'd only been back for a couple hours. Thankfully his Captain spoke up.

"The report is almost finished, General." Rex said, nudging Anakin reassuringly. He knew how much stress the Knight was under.

Yoda nodded, "thank you Captain."

Rex switched the holo off, ending the transmission.

"What do I owe you this time, Rex?" Anakin said, even though he had trouble focusing on the Captain.

Rex took note of his behavior and spoke up. "Nothing sir, it was a friendly gesture."

The Jedi forced out a short laugh. It took all his energy to laugh. "Maybe you should do it more often."

The Captain smiled. "Are you hungry?"

Anakin smirked, "definitely." He just hoped he could make it to the mess.

The walk was long, at least it was for Anakin. Each step he took he felt like dying. His vision was blurry and he kept having to rub his temples to stop himself from fainting. He needed food.

Once they finally made it to the cafeteria, Anakin sucked in a sharp breath. Kriff, Kix was there. The medic always knew when Anakin was hurt, physically or mentally. One time he strapped him to a cot because he wasn't sleeping. The Jedi quickly shook that bad memory out of his head.

After him and Rex got their food, they sat down next to Fives, Echo, Kix, and Jesse. Anakin almost missed the bench and fell on the floor. That wouldn't have been good.

Kix looked his face up and down. "Have you slept sir?"

Anakin winced, he knew this was coming. "Uhm, almost."

The medic squinted his eyes but let it go. He knew how stubborn the Knight was. He would probably have to sedate him after this.

Fives took one of his ration bars in his hand and started teasing Echo with it. After that they started making jokes and laughing, but Anakin couldn't focus on them. He wasn't even hungry anymore, his head was pounding.

He laid his fork down and rubbed his temples.

Kix noticed this. "Maybe you should go get some rest, General." Anakin tried and failed to make eye contact with the medic. "Do you need me to escort you to your quarters?"

Anakin sighed, the last thing he wanted was help walking to his room. "I think I'll be fine Kix, but thanks."

The medic hesitantly nodded. "Just comm if you need me."

It took awhile for Anakin to process what he had just said. He was really out of it, but he nodded anyway and walked away.

The Jedi was almost to the exit when everything started feeling really light. His head was woozy and his legs felt unnaturally heavy.

Then suddenly his world went black.

****************

Anakin knew he was in the meday. The smell of antiseptic and the blinding light on his closed eyelids gave it away. It was familiar to him, he was here a lot.

Slowly he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light. He saw a familiar face hovering over him but couldn't quite make it out.

"Easy General, you had quite a fall."

It was Kix.

Anakin  tried to sit up but the medic hurriedly pushed him down. "No way, you're staying in bed."

His throat felt dry but he managed to speak, "what happened?"

Kix rubbed his chin. "You passed out in the mess, and hit your head pretty hard on the floor."

Anakin let out a light groan. "I'm sorry Kix, I've just been so busy." He played with a loose string on the blanket covering his body. "I haven't got much rest lately."

Kix sighed, "maybe next time you should ask the Captain to help. Or the Commander."

The Jedi rubbed his hand down his face. "I know, I just thought I could do it myself." He also didn't want to bother them. Ahsoka has enough trouble with her schoolwork and Rex is always breaking up fights or training.

Kix smirked. "Well you're not going anywhere till we get back to Coruscant."

Anakin groaned, "your kidding."

The medic laughed, "no."

Anakin smiled, he was actually kinda happy. Now he could have a good excuse to tell Master Windu. He also didn't want to write that report.

Kix walked into his office and Anakin stared at the ceiling. They would probably reach Coruscant soon and he wouldn't mind going back to bed. He was actually still thoroughly exhausted even though his muscles didn't ache anymore.

So he finally gave in and closed his eyes.

1117 words
My first One Shot!! Hope you guys enjoyed it. I wanted to take a little break from writing Guilt. Hopefully I can add another part to this series soon. :)

-Kat