Archive: Sith Chicks, SWAL, AllMaulFic, my site
Archive Date: September 25, 2000
Author's Webpage: http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/theglobe
Category: Ficlet, POV, AU
Feedback: Is always welcome!
Rating: G
Series: A Life Less Ordinary, a subdivision of Knight Moves
Summary: Yet another visit to the Healers yields a pain in more
ways than one for Obi-Wan.
"Back again, I see."
Jedi Healer Maede raked a quick, assessing gaze over both of us; I could feel her reaching out along the Force as well, trying to discern whose injuries were the worst, and she ended up going to Maul first. He was leaning heavily on Aren, who was also carrying the boot Maul had managed to pry off before his ankle started to swell. The boy is a student in one of his classes who regards him with blatant hero worship, and I think if Aren weren't already a Padawan, he'd try to get Maul to choose him as an apprentice. I tease Maul about it mercilessly, of course. It's the only thing I've found so far that embarrasses him, and I'm not about to let it go.
I would have helped him hobble to the Med level myself, but I couldn't--I had to be helped myself by a Master who had been in the practice room at the time, watching our little exhibition. For some reason, crowds tend to gather when Maul and I practice unless we retreat to one of the smaller, private rooms. But as energetic as our sessions get, those rooms are too restrictive, so it's either constrict our movement or put up with being watched. We choose the spectators as the lesser of two evils--unless, like today, they all bear witness to our mutual defeat.
The Master assisting me had helped me limp over to the nearest examining table, given me a hearty thump on the back that was probably meant to be comforting but merely served to make my already bruised ribs ache anew, then left us. Maede didn't invite Maul to sit down, though. Instead, she moved to kneel in front of him so he was obliged to keep relying on Aren's help, which I knew was annoying him. His expression was calm as usual, but his mouth was thinned into a hard line, and he avoided Aren's and my eyes--a sure sign he was uncomfortable. He's too independent to like relying on anyone, even when it's necessary. A quick, mischievous glance from Maede to me let me know the maneuver wasn't an accident on her part, and I winked at her in acknowledgment. She knew us both too well, but considering how often we were in here having to be patched up, that wasn't surprising.
Holding her hand over his ankle without touching it, she announced, "It's just sprained badly, not broken." She glanced up at Maul, her expression sardonic. "Which one of you was showing off this time?" Suddenly she turned her head and skewered me with a look. "Or was it both of you?"
Maul just looked at her and said nothing, his face perfectly blank, but I shrugged and answered honestly. "Both."
"Uh-huh." She turned her attention on his ankle again, brushing her fingertips over the bare skin, and even at this distance, I could feel the healing energies flowing. "Whoever thought to remove his boot so quickly did well. We might've had to cut it off otherwise."
"I have sustained injuries of this type before." Maul spoke for the first time since our arrival, sounding slightly affronted.
"I know..." Maede's voice sounded as if it was coming from far away, and I knew that meant she was immersed in the healing. "Your bones told me."
"Well, at least you saved your boot," I said helpfully, earning a Look from Maul.
He was no more pleased to be here--again--than I was. We'd both protested being brought, insisting we could walk off the injuries.
Until we tried to walk.
"Stay off it for the rest of the day." Maede rose to her feet slowly, looking up to make eye contact with Maul, her tone no-nonsense. "No exertion for the next three days--that means no sparring and no practicing with your classes," she added, and I saw his grim expression turn grimmer.
Then it was my turn, and she rested her hand on my knee, that slight touch flooding almost my whole leg with Force-warmth.
"Wrenched, but not dislocated." She glanced at me, then turned her attention back to my injured knee. "You were lucky."
Again I shrugged. "We get a little carried away sometimes--as you know," I said with a grin, and she shook her head, smiling even through her disapproval.
"You're the best in the Temple, and you're equally matched," she said. "That's the problem. You both need someone better than you are to provide a challenge. Until then, you're just going to keep battering yourselves bloody trying to one-up each other."
I didn't answer; I couldn't. There was only one Jedi who I knew could have fit that description. I felt an old, familiar ache that had nothing to do with the physical damage my body had taken as I thought of all the practice sessions we'd shared and how he'd constantly pushed me to my limits and beyond to help me become the skilled warrior I am now.
"There." Maede patted my leg gently and took my arm, helping me to my feet. "Stand on it and see how it feels."
The pain in my knee was gone. The pain in my heart... there was nothing she could do about that.
"I'm fine," I answered tersely.
Maul gave me a questioning look, but I ignored it for the moment.
"You need to stay off it for the rest of the day as well," she instructed. "Don't push too hard for the next day or two. If you see any fluid build-up, come back immediately, all right?"
I agreed dutifully and thanked her, and she waved dismissively. "Just don't let me see either of you in here for... say, at least a week." She lifted one eyebrow and crossed her arms on her chest. "Think you can manage that?"
"Maybe," I replied, mustering enough good humor to return her teasing.
"I'm beginning to think I ought to move in with you," she said as we slowly made our way to the door. "It'll make things more convenient for me since I seem to have become your personal healer anyway."
I nodded in agreement because it was easier than trying to offer any rebuttal. She could heal my knee, but the one who could have healed the ache in my heart had been dead for almost two years.
Some pain, no healer can touch. Some pain, you just don't get over.
Master, I miss you. I sent it into the Force, knowing there would be no reply, as there had never been any reply. From the look in Maul's eyes, I knew I had some explaining to do once we hit home.