Humanity

"I don't believe Anakin will be available for combat within the next two weeks."

Obi-Wan blinked, unsure of what to make of this news. He stared at the Master of the Order, confused as everyone else in the Council chambers. "Why, pray tell?"

"I'm surprised you don't know," Mace answered dryly, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "You two are attached at the hip."

"Contrary to popular belief-"

"The only hip he sees is the Duchess Kryze's," Ki-Adi murmured, causing more than a few to snicker.

Obi-Wan - ignoring the fact that his ears were probably bright red - cleared his throat uncomfortably. "What happened?"

Yoda, still snickering a little, spoke. "Matter to ask your apprentice, young Kenobi."

He raised his hands in a placating gesture, letting the conversation move to different matters. There were people holoing-in from all over the Galaxy, answering matters of uncover work and battle reports. In other words, he zoned out entirely, wondering what could possibly cause Anakin to be exempt from a mission.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Anakin all day. Anakin had come back to Coruscant sometime yesterday evening, though he hadn't stepped foot in the Temple. The bond between them had been suspiciously empty too - void of any emotion, like he had been under...under anesthesia.

Oh.

Oh shit.

The meeting dragged on and on, and he swore that Yoda was only keeping them there because he wanted to gossip. There wasn't even a chance to step out and examine his personal comm for messages.

He remembered - way back, at the beginning of the war - when something like this had happened, when he had trouble locating Anakin's presence in the Force.

Very vividly.

The meeting finally let out around noon, though only because everyone's stomach started to grumble. He did his best to remain calm, walking out completely dignified, his back straight, hands folded neatly in his robe and not at all fiddling with the edges sleeves.

Finding an empty corridor was easy enough, and he slipped into one, finding Senator Amidala's message between a missed call from Bant and a message from Satine.

Obi-Wan grimaced while the message played, and then made his way to Coruscanti Medical Hospital.

"Missing an arm?" Obi-Wan asked, knocking on the door frame of the room. He wasn't entirely surprised to find Senator Amidala beside the hospital bed, looking oddly informal in a blouse and a long skirt, her curly hair tied back in a braid. With a gentle smile he acknowledged her, then looked to the groaning patient in the white bed.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Yep."

Obi-Wan stepped into the room, letting the door hiss shut and giving a quick glance to where Anakin's mechanical arm usually was. The shoulder and stump was resting on a pillow, neatly wrapped in bandages. There was an IV stuck in the other arm, and a heart monitor attached to a finger, and maybe five different cords and wires leading to various machines in the room.

Folding his arms over his chest, Obi-Wan asked softly, "Might I ask why?"

"The mission went south." Anakin gave a small shrug, then grimaced at the movement. "I pushed some civilians out of the way from falling debris. I got trapped. My arm was damaged beyond the Temple's capabilities."

"That seems unlikely the Temple doesn't have the technology to deal with such a surgery."

Anakin spoke crisply, his eyes narrowing a bit. "Well given the fact that I was seizuring and the false nerve endings attached to my actual nerve endings were infected and short-circuiting I can understand why the Temple didn't want -"

"Didn't the Temple -"

"There's no reason to be upset, Obi-Wan," Senator Amidala spoke, her words hoarse. On closer inspection her eyes looked bloodshot, and her skin was paler than usual. She must have been at the hospital since Anakin had been admitted - whenever the hell that was. "The 501st medical team agreed with Madame Che that it was better for Anakin to be admitted and treated here."

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows at her, unsurprised at the unwavering gaze. No wonder Satine and Anakin like her so much. Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face and whispered, "Senator - Padmé - may you leave us for a moment? Please?"

Senator Amidala looked like she was about to protest, but was stopped by a slight shake of Anakin's head. She schooled her face into one of neutrality, and stood gracefully, smoothing out her skirt. "I'll grab some lunch from the cafeteria then."

Obi-Wan pretended not to notice the quick brush of their hands, or the look Senator Amidala gave him when she walked out of the room. He stared at the window for a moment, watching speeders go by. Now that he was in Anakin's presence, their bond was thrumming steadily, like background noise.

Or that could have been the sounds of the machines. It was hard to tell. He swallowed, catching Anakin's eye in the reflection and startled to discover how tired and old they both looked.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in surgery? On Coruscant, no less?"

"Kind of hard to do that when you're high on pain meds and your brain is short-circuiting."

"Anakin."

Anakin stared at the ceiling for some time, tapping the fingers of his flesh hand against the bed. He finally sighed gustily. "Technically you received the message, being the General overseeing the 501st. Must have gotten lost in all the transmissions."

"Let me rephrase - why didn't anyone have someone contact me directly? I would have come." Even if I had to stand beside Padmé all night and wonder exactly why she was there.

I'll leave it at moral support.

"I don't know why, Obi-Wan. Maybe they thought you knew through our bond."

Obi-Wan couldn't help himself - he snorted and cracked a smile, turning around to glance at his former padawan. "They have no idea how bonds work, do they?"

The premature crowsfeet around Anakin's eyes crinkled. "I'm sure Master Qui-Gon would know."

"I'm sure he would have."

Anakin had forgotten how humiliating it was to not have a limb. He nearly wished he hadn't been released from the hospital, so he could hide away and not have to face everyone he came into contact with.

But of course, the staff at the hospital cheerily released him to Madame Che's care under the promise he would come back to have his new prosthetic fitted. He couldn't even hide away at home, buried under the blankets with his wife beside him.

No, he had to be at the Temple on medical leave, which was somehow worse than being suspended from the front for some ungodly action or another. Word had traveled of his little predicament, and everywhere he looked there was someone staring at his lack of a limb, then glancing away rapidly when they realized he caught them.

Like now, when he faltered in his conversation with Obi-Wan at lunch to glare at a senior padawan.

"Giving a reaction only fuels people's curiosity," Obi-Wan murmured, sipping calmly at his tea.

Anakin huffed, using his elbow to steady his bowl before bringing the spoonful of soup to his mouth oh so carefully. "Thank you for your sage advice, Master Kenobi. I'll add it to my list of things to remember."

"You're very welcome. Might I suggest adding punctuality to that list as well?"

"Very funny."

Obi-Wan smirked. "I think so." He watched Anakin struggle with another spoonful, and let out a sigh. This was going to be the next two weeks? "Anakin."

Anakin didn't respond, closing his eyes and grimacing when a bit of broth spilled onto his tunics.

"Might I suggest eating something -"

Anakin let the spoon clatter into the bowl, and stood, his chair screeching against the tile. His right sleeve hung mostly limb at his side. The table occupants around them faltered in their conversations, staring at the pair in anticipation.

His voice was low - shaking, even. "If you want the soup so much, Obi-Wan - you can have it."

Obi-Wan made no effort to keep his former apprentice from stalking away, watching until the doors of the cafeteria were shut and the conversation had returned to normal before he sipped on his tea again.

Some people believed Anakin had lost a bit of his humanity when he lost his arm.

Obi-Wan never believed that...well...at least he had never voiced it out loud.

Author's note: hey guys! I'm a bit unsure about this fic, but hey! Let's see what happens!

ii Digestive Reader ii