Chapter Seven

Lisa listened with interest as Luke described his latest vision while simultaneously reminding him to eat. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he didn’t keep his strength up and exhausted himself by talking so much.

His pain was less but still droned on as a reminder he wasn’t 100% yet. Sitting up still resulted in dizziness and double vision. He loved Lisa deeply, but one of her was enough. He already had Artoo fussing over him, too.

The droid was sitting nearby, gently nudging the food tray every time Luke paused for breath. Lisa was regarding her little assistant with amusement and would only ensure he didn’t knock the tray over by accident in his haste to get Luke to eat.

“Was anything different this time?” Lisa asked, handing him a protein bar. “Eat. Chew first, talk after.”

She felt a spark of irritation, but it wasn’t directed at her. He was still annoyed at the situation and his own weakness. He bit down on the protein bar and chewed, casting his mind back to the vision.

“Not really,” he said after swallowing and sipping from the water container. “More students, maybe.” He shut his eyes and thought back. Something stirred in his memory, and he couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face.

“You were there,” he said, looking at her. “Not physically; I didn’t see you, but I felt you. Not just the Force or our link, but your influence.” He told her about the one student comforting the other who had been having a panic attack. “It was the same thing you do for me. For anyone, really. It was your technique.”

She chuckled. “I have a technique?”

Forgetting his condition, he nodded and then grimaced when pain exploded behind his eyes. “Ow…” he groaned and stayed still to wait it out, eyes closed. “Yes, you do,” he said hoarsely. “You’re doing it now.”

“Easy, Luke,” she said soothingly. “What do you mean?”

“Your hands.”

Lisa had placed one hand on his shoulder and had taken his hand with her other.

“And your voice,” he continued. “It’s not just me. You’ll give comfort to anyone who needs it.”

“That’s less of a technique and more of just my nature.”

He opened his eyes; the pain was still lingering, but he needed to meet her gaze. “But it works. We’re linked, so, fine, don’t count me. What about after the first Death Star? When Wedge made it back and the adrenaline finally wore off? He couldn’t steady himself – you stayed with him until he could breathe again. What about after I was stable, when you comforted Leia and Chewie after Han got frozen in carbonite? What about when Ben felt the destruction of Alderaan and you supported him before he could collapse? And that’s just what I’ve seen. You’ve been doing this for eons.” He grunted, pressing his free hand to his eyes.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “I’m good at comforting people.”

“Not just that,” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re good at grounding. That’s what’s so important in this new Jedi Order. That’s what’s going to help the students and their loved ones.”

“Artoo, get 2-1B,” she instructed the droid. “Luke, okay, I see what you’re getting at, but please calm down. This pain spike is lasting longer than the others. Breathe.”

Luke gripped both of her hands, squeezing his eyes shut, and took deep breaths. He tried to find that point in the Force that would allow him to control the pain level, but he was having a hard time concentrating.

Artoo rolled in, beeping his concern, while 2-1B came up behind him. He scanned Luke with his sensors and administered another hypodermic.

Luke slumped against Lisa, and she gently laid him down flat. While stroking his hair, she asked 2-1B, “What happened?”

“Ocular spasm,” said 2-1B. “More are occurring throughout his body. I have given him a mild sedative.”

“He’s been resting, though!” she protested. “He hasn’t stood this whole time, and we make sure he doesn’t even sit up to eat!” Artoo beeped in agreement.

“Even slight movement has the chance to aggravate the microfractures in his skeletal structure. The spasms will continue to occur unless he limits movement.”

Now Lisa was getting frustrated; she’d thought they were making progress, but every step forward seemed to be accompanied by many steps back.

“So he has to lie as still as possible,” she said.

“Correct.” 2-1B went to the bed controls and adjusted some of the settings. “Given the increase in muscular stress, I am enabling assisted positioning and continuous monitoring.”

A screen appeared on a wall near Luke’s bed, showing the various monitoring it was doing – heart rate, neural activity, pain response.

“This spasm has triggered instability,” 2-1B told Lisa. “Do not allow him to exert himself. If his breathing changes, summon me immediately.”

Lisa nodded, Artoo beeped, and they both settled themselves at Luke’s bedside while 2-1B left them alone.

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