jedi_librettist | He Was Starting To Foam In the Heat...

Ani went ahead and opened every door they went by. He had no idea where the med bay was so decided to just open them all.

Ben, meanwhile, slipped in and out of consciousness.

"Left, Ani," Bail directed, trying his best to keep his brother upright. Next left, then right and then they'd be there.

Ani opened the left door before Bail had even finished saying the word. Once they arrived, he looked around, wide-eyed. He couldn’t remember seeing such a place before in his short life. It didn’t take him long to notice a bunk in the next room.

“Dada bed?”

There was a nod, and Bail shifted Ben's weight again.

"Come on then, brother, we got another bunk for you." Then he needed to find the doctor. Which was gonna be great - they didn't get on.

Ben groaned quietly as he felt himself being shifted. He muttered something about something hurting before falling silent again.

Ani looked up at his uncle. “Dada not want doctor. Why Dada not want doctor? Doctor fix?”

"He's getting a doctor," he assured the kid. "He's not really got a choice, state he's in."

Ani nodded solemnly. “Dada sick.”

That was, after all, why he’d gone to find his uncle. Next time, he’d just get a doctor.

Ben flailed slightly as he found himself eased onto the bunk. He stilled once his brother and son got him in place.

A sigh came from the doorway. “Bali Organa-Solo, what did you go and do now?”

There was a sigh, and a bit of a groan.

"Why do you always assume I've done something?" He said before gesturing at his brother. "He's sick. Really sick."

The doctor gave him an unamused look. “Perhaps because you only come when you’ve gotten in over your head and your father brings you here with a serious injury, Solo.”

She turned to her patient and frowned. “Sick. How sick? What am I dealing with?”

"Han's not even here," he said, with an eye-roll. Who knew where the eldest Solo was? He hadn't been in contact either. It was not as worrying as it should have been - Han had a tendency to go off the grid a bit. Give it another day and then they might start worrying.

He shrugged. "Kid came to me saying his Dad was sick. He's got a fever, I think."

“Another reason I didn’t expect to see you here,” she snarked. She laid the back of her hand against Ben’s forehead. “You think he has a fever? The boy is burning up.”

She turned and called for a droid to prepare a cool bath. “Help me get his shirt and trousers off.”

He did not let out a snarky comment in response, as much as he may have wanted to. Leia had been on at him for antagonising the doctors; it wasn't appreciated, she said.

"...Take them off?" Bail groaned - it had taken him after to get the damn shirt on. And with those marks... But the doctor wanted it off, so he moved forward to help.

She gave him a dry look. “Yes, take them off. It’ll be a lot harder after they’re drenched from cooling him down.”

Ben, unfortunately, was still sufficiently aware to pick up that someone was undressing him. He made a quiet noise of protest and fought half-heartedly.

"...Fine."

He gave a look back at the doctor as if to say 'see' when Ben started to fight. "Doc says we gotta do it," he said, trying to make his voice clear.

Ben shook his head, shivering and trying to move away from them. He pushed Bail’s hands away and muttered more persistently but his words were too slurred to understand.

The doctor sighed and walked over to a cabinet. She got out a syringe and came back to the bunk. “I don’t like to do this,” she explained as she slid the needle into his skin. “But his fighting will just delay him getting the treatment he needs. He doesn’t seem to even know where he is.”

Bail turned to the doctor and then back to Ben. He didn't want to do it but...

"Fine. Go."

Ben twisted away when he felt the prick of the needle but it was too late. Perhaps the most telling thing was that he didn’t use the Force to fight back, not even as he slid into merciful unconsciousness.

The doctor hissed when they finally got his shirt and pants off. The man’s body was a mass of scars and metal. Her eyes narrowed but she said nothing, simply motioning for Solo to help her carry him to the waiting bath.

Which he did, all the while wanting on the rant that would surely come about his brother's... markings. Not that he had the answers to thrm.

The doctor didn’t say anything until after they got Ben into the cool water. She stayed up by his head, making sure he didn’t slip under the surface. Then she turned to the elder twin.

“What happened to him?”

"He hasn't told me details." That was true, only vague statements. "He was being sold as a slave."

The doctor nodded. “In that case, he should have been to see me as soon as he got back.”

She frowned as she looked down at her patient. She remembered so clearly when the twins were born. They had been so tiny, so innocent. She had always known that wherever the young twin had ended up, he would come back changed if he lived to come home. It’s why she’d been so angry with Bail when he decided to enter the pits. The Solos has already lost one son. It had seemed like the elder twin was in a rush to make sure they lost both. And now they were both home but both had changed so much from the boys she had known.

“I suppose this is just as well, then. I’ll do an extensive check up while he’s here. No doubt, this is just the least of the damage.”

"He doesn't want to see anyone," was the muttered reply. It was taking them long enough to try to get Ben to go to the mess hall and eat with other people - he was still keeping to the private rooms.

The doctor frowned. “Well, that will have to change. He looks like he’s barely been eating.”

She sighed heavily. “I would wager he’s been sick for while now. A fever this high rarely happens suddenly.”

"I'm trying everything I can," Bail groaned, "he just won't eat more than a few mouthfuls at a time."

He wasn't surprised, though he supposed he should have been. Ben was keeping too much to himself now.

“Judging from the state of his body, he may not be able to eat more than that at once.” She sighed. She hadn’t seen anyone in a state close to this since the twins were born. “He will have to make up for that with more frequent meals.”

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