The bullets beam off his blue lightsaber, hitting the nearby wall. His free arm reaches out across the Duchess, protecting her from her adversaries. Just like she used to years ago, her hands lightly hold onto his robes, signaling to him that she is still safe.
"Satine, I need you to run." He says, glancing over his shoulder. He deflects bullets without looking, his eyes locked on her. The clash of red and blue light up behind him like fireworks and she's stunned.
"Run?" She asks, finally finding her voice.
"Yes. I'll cover you. But you need to leave now." He says, his attention back on the blaster fire. She watches him block each and every shot, his focus growing stronger. She can't leave him here alone. He needs her help to get out of this mess.
"No. I'm not going to leave you, Obi." She argues, shaking her head. "We are getting out of this together."
He snaps his head back at her, his eyebrows furrowed deep in what she believes in anger. She's never seen him so upset, not even when they would fight about nothing. "If you won't leave willingly, then I'll do it for you."
She lets out a scream as he force pushes her far away. She hits against the hard rocks, the breath knocked out her. She's okay but hears shots landing just a few inches above her head. She ducks and runs away to get help, knowing that they will continue to aim at Obi-Wan now.
Obi-Wan turns on his comlink, bringing his wrist to his mouth. "Anakin, I need your help. I'm trapped." He shouts over the blaster fire.
"I'm a little tied up at the moment." He replies back.
"Whatever you and Ahsoka are doing can wait. She can handle it on her own, but I need you now. I'm not sure how else I'm going to get out of here." He says. Anakin feels his blood go cold. Though he's a couple of miles away, he can almost feel his master's worry through the Force.
"Ahsoka, I'm going to help Obi-Wan." Anakin declares, jogging to the closest speeder bike. "Keep the citizens calm. The Separatists shouldn't be able to breakthrough. But if they do, you and Rex know what to do."
"You got it, Master!" Ahsoka exclaims. Rex comes to her side, giving Anakin a bit of relief in this time of worry. Together, those two are practically an unstoppable team.
Anakin speeds off, his mind running with thousands of different thoughts. Obi-Wan has always been able to defeat the Separatist droids. Something terrible must have happened to him if he's trapped somewhere. Whatever he's gotten himself into though, Anakin can handle it. He won't let anything happen to his master.
As Anakin nears Obi-Wan's coordinates, an explosion booms in the distance. He already knows that it involves Obi-Wan. He tries to force his speeder to go faster, but it's already going its max speed. His master really is in trouble.
Debris is falling from the sky. It seems like everything is on fire when Anakin arrives. He hops off his speeder, searching everywhere for him. "Obi-Wan!" He calls out. "Master, where are you?"
A tired cough catches Anakin's attention and he runs to the hillside. Laying on his side, Obi-Wan can barely lift his head. "Anakin." He hoarsely says, reaching out to him.
Anakin kneels beside him, unsure what to do first. Obi-Wan looks bad. His leg is broken, lying at an awkward angle. His face is beaten and already beginning to bruise and swell. Anakin doesn't even want to know why his side is stained with blood. "Obi-Wan, I'm here." He says, grabbing onto him.
He groans, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
Fear courses through Anakin. "Obi-Wan." He says. Gently, he shakes him, hoping to wake him up. "Obi-Wan, stay with me." He says. This is not good. Whatever has happened to him is worse than he thought.
He grabs Obi-Wan and tosses him over his shoulder. Anakin slightly groans from the weight but pushes on. He must get him to safety. He will save his master if it's the last thing he does. Gently, he places him in the passenger seat then takes his spot.
"You're going to be okay, Obi-Wan," Anakin assures as he looks over at him. He rides off, hoping that'll he'll make it back to base in time.
When he pulls in, most of the fighting has stopped. The Separatists have been pushed back. They are in retreat, heading back to their own ships. He should feel excited that the battle ended so soon, but he's so worried about Obi-Wan.
Ahsoka rushes over to the speeder as she sees the state Obi-Wan is in. "What happened to him? Is he okay?" She asks, her hands flying to his neck. She presses down, searching for a pulse. It's light, but it's still there.
"An explosion, I think. I don't really know. I wasn't there in time." Anakin replies, beginning to panic. "We need to get him medical treatment, and fast."
Rex immediately calls in for medical help. Clone troopers rush to aid the general, placing him on a stretcher. Anakin frets over him, making sure that nothing they do hurts him more. He and Ahsoka follow close behind as they transport him to a medical center in the capital of Mandalore.
"Master, he's going to be alright. Don't worry." Ahsoka assures, her hand reaching out to hold onto Anakin's. She can sense the state of distress he's in. It's so unusual, almost unnatural for him. All of the time she's been with Anakin, the most common emotion he's expressed besides generally happiness has been anger.
To feel him in sadness and worry makes her stomach hurt. She wants to take his pain away from him, but she knows the only way to solve that is for Obi-Wan to recover quickly.
"Ahsoka, I'm afraid." He admits. His grip tightens on her hand and she lets out a soft whimper. It doesn't hurt, but she wasn't expecting it. "I can't lose Obi-Wan."
She bites on the inside of her cheek, unsure what to say. When she was younger, she had attended a funeral for one of the Jedi Masters. When it was completed, Master Yoda explained to them that you don't mourn them or miss them. Death is natural. You are supposed to cherish the life they had and know that they have become one with the Force.
But the idea of not mourning Master Kenobi seems wrong. How could she or Anakin not be upset with his passing?
Hopefully, they won't have to worry about that today or anytime soon.
Obi-Wan is safely secured with medical teams going to work on him. Anakin and Ahsoka stand behind the glass, watching them. Anakin wants to look away, but he's afraid that he might lose his master.
"We have our best medical team on the job," Satine says, making both of them jump. Ahsoka and Anakin drop their hands, turning to look back at her. Her eyes are slightly red but other than that she looks normal.
"What happened out there?" Anakin asks, stepping forward to her. Though he sounds angry, Ahsoka knows that it's only because he's worried. He's not upset with Satine. He knows that she had nothing to do with Obi-Wan's injuries. At least, she hopes he knows.
"I'm not quite sure." She replies. Her eyes drop to the floor and she's filled with sorrow. "He threw me to safety from blaster fire. I ran to the nearest place to get help. But, by the time my men arrived, the explosion had gone off and you had already retrieved Master Kenobi."
The subject drops there. The three of them stand at the window, silently watching the medical team work on keeping Obi-Wan alive. After what feels like hours, they are allowed to enter and finally see him.
Anakin quickly touches his master's hand, hoping to get some connection to him. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan remains unconscious. His chest slowly rises and falls and his heart beats steadily on the monitor. So far, he seems okay.
"What's going on?" Ahsoka asks, looking at the doctors.
"He should be alright. His right leg is broken, but we've placed that into a cast. He was suffering from some minor internal bleeding. We had to patch him up inside and it'll leave some scarring on his side, but he'll be okay."
"Why is he still unconscious?" Satine asks.
"We had to put him under to perform the surgery. Unfortunately, we took a risk. He took a lot of damage to his head. Combined with the drugs we gave him to keep him asleep, we're not sure when he'll wake up."
"You don't know?" Anakin asks through gritted teeth.
"It was a risk we had to take. But, because of the medication we gave him to help heal his injuries faster, we're estimating it won't take him longer than a week to wake up."
Ahsoka, feeling her master grow in anger, reaches out to him. She grabs his attention and shakes her head. "They did what they thought was right. You can't blame them for that."
He sighs, lowering his head. "You're right."
"We'll leave you three alone with him. If you have any questions, please ask." One of the doctors softly smiles. The group of them exit the room, giving them time to be with Obi-Wan alone.
Anakin frowns as his guilt washes over him. "All of this is my fault. If it wasn't for me, Obi-Wan wouldn't be in this mess."
"How is this your fault?" Ahsoka asks with a soft scoff. How could he possibly believe that? It doesn't make any sense. Anakin didn't cause the explosion. He wasn't even there for the fight.
"It's my fault because I wasn't there in time to save him." He answers, his tone harsh. Again, Ahsoka knows that it isn't directed at her. She knows her master. He is directing this anger at himself. "If I would have gotten there earlier, I could have protected him from that explosion. Then he wouldn't be in this mess."
"He would have been in this mess either way." Satine softly replies. The two of them turn to see her brushing his hair from his forehead. "You know Obi-Wan. It doesn't matter if you would have gotten there in time or not. He would have protected you if you were there."
"But he's my master. And when he needed me most, I wasn't there." Anakin insists. He can't bear to look at Obi-Wan at the moment. Though the doctors explained that he would be okay, he still looks to be in pain. If given the chance, Anakin would trade places with him in a heartbeat. He deserves this pain.
"You saved him from more damages," Ahsoka argues. "There was falling debris and fire. If you hadn't gotten there when you did, who knows what kind of shape he would be in."
"But if I had gotten there earlier, he wouldn't be in this shape at all!" Anakin shouts. He tightens his fists at his side. How can she possibly believe that he has done everything right? All of this is his fault and no one else's.
"You can't think like that." Ahsoka fires back. "You are here now and that's what's most important."
Anakin's gaze drops to the floor. She's wrong but he doesn't feel the fire to argue anymore. He can't make her see that all of the pain his loved ones receive is because of him. She doesn't understand how much he fails to keep them safe.
She reaches out, getting his attention again. "Obi-Wan needs you here right now." She says, her voice softer than before. She takes his hand and places it on Obi-Wan's. "Though it doesn't seem like he's reacting, they say that unconscious patients can respond to their environment."
"So?" Anakin quietly asks as he gently caresses his hand.
"So how do you think Master Obi-Wan is feeling when he hears you beating yourself up?" She asks.
A soft frown rests on Anakin's face. "Not well." He admits. "Obi-Wan has expressed to me multiple times how the deadly situations he puts himself in are his own doing."
Ahsoka is silent for a moment, letting the information sink in for Anakin. He needs to see that not everything is his fault. He didn't send the Separatist droids. He didn't make the explosion happen.
"Do you think Master Obi-Wan would let me scold you for him?" She asks, a playful tone in her voice. "After all, you know that's probably what he wants to do right now. Give you a nice long lecture about how you shouldn't place all of this blame on yourself."
A light chuckle escapes Anakin. "I'm sure he would like to do it himself when he wakes. You'll probably miss some key points."
"I don't know. I think I've just about got him down." Ahsoka replies. She tries to scowl as Obi-Wan would. Before she can even say anything, Satine bursts out laughing.
"Don't let him see that. He'll just argue that he looks nothing like that." She says, removing her hands from Obi-Wan's head.
"You're right. We best just wait for him to do it himself." Ahsoka agrees with a smile. She returns her attention back to Obi-Wan whose vital signs were already beginning to show improvement. Most people would argue it's because of the healing medication he was given, but she knows that not why. She knows he'll be on his feet before they know it because of the love and care that she, Anakin, and Satine are showing him.
~~~~~~~~~
This idea came from F4Fanatic on AO3! I hope this has turned out what you had in mind. Thanks for this recommendation, I had a lot of fun writing it!