He Was Starting To Foam In the Heat...

[jedi_librettist]

Ani's bare feet made almost no sound as he trotted up the hallway. Dada didn't make sense. Dada felt too hot. Dada was even starting to scare him a little. Grandma wasn't home. He didn't know where she went. So he would have to find his uncle. Ani thought Dada would prefer Unca Bai, too.

Comments

[jedi_librettist]

The doctor sighed. “Then we may have to admit him. I’d rather not. That’s something I prefer to leave for only the most dire cases. But if he simply will not eat, there may be no other choice.”

[middleoftheforce]

He stared, incredulous. "You think admitting him will get him to eat?"

[jedi_librettist]

The doctor sighed. “Not like that. We’ll probably have to feed him through a tube until his stomach expands and he gets an appetite again.”

Ani creeped into the bathroom, following their voices. There was nothing to do in that room and he wanted his Dada. The doctor was supposed to fix him, right?

[middleoftheforce]

"Oh, that's really going to help things." The sarcastic reply slipped out before he could stop it and he didn't care enough to take it back. Far as he saw it? Force feeding Ben was only going to make him worse in the long run because he was a stubborn asshole like the rest of the family. There was only really one question left.

"Who's explaining it to Leia?"

[jedi_librettist]

The doctor gave him a glare. “It might be the only thing that keeps him from starving to death. A body can only go without food for so long before it gives out. It will supplement what he can eat until he has an appetite again.”

She sighed. “I will tell her. I want to admit him until he recovers from this fever anyway. It will make it easier to monitor in case it gets too high again.”

[middleoftheforce]

"And there's no chance he'll just go back to his habits when you take him off the tube?" It seemed like a good question to be asking, all things considered.

[jedi_librettist]

“There’s always a chance,” she admitted somberly. “It all depends on why he’s not eating. You and Leia will have to deal with that.”

[middleoftheforce]

"If I knew why he wasn't eating, I figure I'd be able to get him to eat," was the only comment. "It's just... whatever he went through."

[jedi_librettist]

“Have you tried actually talking to him about it?” the doctor asked, rolling her eyes.

[middleoftheforce]

"He won't talk about it," Bail snapped back. "He doesn't want to remember it, at all. Can't say I blame him."

[jedi_librettist]

She sighed and instructed the droid to take the sick man’s temperature. “Has he actually said that?”

[middleoftheforce]

"He doesn't have to," Bail tapped his forehead. "We're bonded, I just know."

[jedi_librettist]

The doctor smacked the elder twin upside the head. “You can’t rely on your bond for everything. Talk to him.”

[middleoftheforce]

"I have to rely on the bond because he won't talk about this stuff. He just... clams up," there was a shrug, and a shake of the head. He didn't understand it. Well, no, he could understand the not wanting to talk about it, but that didn't help their problem, did it?

[jedi_librettist]

“I will have a word with him when he recovers,” she said firmly. “From what I’ve seen and heard from you, he absolutely has to talk to someone about it. I can only treat his body.”

[middleoftheforce]

"Yeah, good luck with that," came the low mutter.

[jedi_librettist]

The doctor looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. “As stubborn as you’ve been in your search, you’re giving up on him now?”

[middleoftheforce]

He didn't give an answer, instead just a dead-eyed stare. He'd gotten good at them over the years. They worked in the pits for unnerving opponents, especially after he'd bulked up a bit.

[jedi_librettist]

They didn’t work on the doctor. She was used to patients who didn’t want to listen and tried to intimidate her. “When he’s conscious, talk to him again. Try actually asking him why he doesn’t want to tell you what happened.”

Ben had finally stopped shivering. The doctor called the droid over to check his temperature. She let out a sigh when it turned out to be normal again. “Bring me a couple towels. Solo, help me lift him out.”

[middleoftheforce]

Solo just shrugged and grabbed the towels from the pile off to the side. Following that he moved over to help his brother be lifted out of the bath. Ben was really going to hate knowing this happened when he felt better.

[jedi_librettist]

That was when Ani made his presence known. He tugged on Bail’s shirt, pointing to Ben’s chest. “Who hurt Dada?”

[middleoftheforce]

Kriff

He had forgotten about the kid, and Bail looked from his brother, to the kid, to the doctor, mouth opening and closing in quick succession before he could do anything. How did he explain this? He didn't even know how it all happened! ... Maybe that was the best one to go with. Honesty.

"I don't know, kid."

[jedi_librettist]

The doctor raised an eyebrow at the child. “And who is this?”

[middleoftheforce]

Solo looked back at her. "This is Ani, Ben's son."

Yeah, he wasn't even going to be able to begin answering her questions.

[jedi_librettist]

She smiled at the small boy but couldn’t hide her suspicion completely. “I’m pleased to meet you, Ani.”
She turned back to Bail. “I don’t suppose you found his mother as well.”