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

[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.”

[middleoftheforce]

"All we know is she taught him Mandos," he shrugged. Look, the kid was still a prickly issue by Ben and Bail knew that if his brother could, he'd leave the kid and run as fast as he could. He... didn't want to think on that, actually.

[jedi_librettist]

That wasn’t entirely a fair judgment of Ben. He adored Ani. It was simply that he felt the child deserved better than him.

“So she was a Mando or at the least related to one.” The doctor sighed. This all painted a very grim picture and there would be no real answers until her patient woke.

She took one towel and began drying Ben’s arms. That done, she brushed his hair out of his face before starting on his torso. “If you would dry his legs, I would appreciate it.”

[middleoftheforce]

"Ben can't remember," he said with a shrug. He wasn't going to add that he swore blind the child wasn't his until Ani made it perfectly clear that yes he was. He took the towel, and began drying off the legs.

[jedi_librettist]

The doctor gave her patient a worried look. This just confirmed the picture she’d already gotten.

“Mama go ‘way,” Ani added. “Mama call me jetiise.”

[middleoftheforce]

Bail stared at Ani, then back at the doctor. He didn't actually know any Mandos so he was in the dark as to what it was Ani's mother had called him.