Thicker Than Blood

Chapter 2

I forced my eyes open, my head pounding and gaze swimming. Upon somewhat getting my bearings back, I realized I was lying on my side, crumpled against a large rock and crunched up on my neck. Shots from droids were still being fired, so I figured I couldn't have been unconscious for long. I sensed a familiar presence right next to me, standing over me, if I wasn't mistaken. Glancing up confirmed my suspicions: Obi-Wan stood over me, deflecting the last bolts of the final droid.

He paused momentarily, and I felt him reaching out with the Force, testing to see if that really was it. Then he flicked off his lightsaber and dropped to his knees beside me. His face registered surprise at seeing me awake.

"Anakin! I didn't realize ...." He trailed off, gently feeling for broken bones.

I brushed off his tending as I struggled to sit up. The world lurched disturbingly, and I almost doubled over, but Obi-Wan stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"No, no, Anakin," he murmured, keeping me down as he continued to check me for injuries, "just stay there. I'm so sorry. I should've been concentrating, and I should have known what was about to happen. I'm so sorry, my friend."

"It's alright," I said in confusion, trying to sit up again and this time succeeding. The world span for a moment longer before settling down. I still had a headache, but aside from that, I felt fine. Then Obi-Wan found the blaster wound in my shoulder.

I jerked forwards, crying out as he accidently pressed against it, hugging my left arm to myself.

Obi-Wan immediately retracted. "I'm so sorry, Anakin, this is all my fault. I wasn't paying attention, and –"

I stopped him, putting a hand on his arm. "Hey, don't worry, it's just a laser bolt."

"It's a nasty wound," he said firmly, carefully examining it. "We should get back to the ship, and I can have a better look at it there." He started to stand up, slipping his arm under my right shoulder and helping me to my feet.

Once upright, I tried stepping back from him. "I'm okay, Obi-Wan," I insisted. "It's not that bad, and I can walk by myself: I was hit in the shoulder, not the leg. So, unless I whacked my head so hard that I knocked loose some wiring and therefore think I'm supposed to be walking on my hands, I'll be fine." I said my last sentence with a smirk, hoping to get him to smile.

He just shook his head distractedly. I'm not sure he was listening to me. His attention seemed elsewhere. But he apparently gave up on attempting to support me, resorting to keeping a close eye on me as we headed back to our ship.

We weren't far from it, and we reached it all too soon. Stray blaster shots littered the ground near to it with a small handful of bolts having hit the side of the ship. We must have been fighting the droids too close to our ship, and it had caught some of the leftovers. I thought it was odd, though. The droids had been marching away from us, and we had still had to catch up to them. I hadn't thought we would have been close enough for the ship to get hit, but maybe when I had been knocked out, shots had gone flying more randomly.

I started to go and take a look at the ship's damage – from a distance, it seemed to be mostly superficial, but it was always a good idea to check – but Obi-Wan stopped me.

"I'll do it, Anakin. Go inside the ship and sit down." I went to protest, but he silenced me. "Just go inside!" He sighed, then spoke again, much softer this time. "Please, Anakin. I'm not injured."

I watched him uncertainly for a moment, and I knew he could sense my confusion and concern swirling through the Force. He gave me a small smile, then patted my good shoulder and went to check out the ship.