Chapter Sixteen

Left foot, right foot, left foot again.

Lisa had one arm around Luke’s waist while the other braced his that was draped around her shoulders. She used her wings for balance as she supported him taking his first steps since being injured. Artoo offered support on his other side.

Right foot, left foot.

He was weak from his month-long recovery, his muscles incredibly stiff from lack of use. He trembled slightly with the effort.

Right foot –

Luke stumbled, and Lisa managed to catch him and ease him back to the bed. He sat on the edge, breathing deeply, his hands on her shoulders. Artoo beeped quietly.

“Good start,” she said encouragingly, bringing him his water.

He sipped slowly, then handed it back to her and pulled his legs up so he could lie down. Lisa sat beside him and brushed his hair from his eyes. Inhaling so his lungs filled completely, then exhaling slowly, he caught her hand.

“Slow start,” he said, then added, “I know. I’m not rushing. Just making a comment.”

She chuckled. “You’ve been making similar comments for a month.”

Luke grunted and shut his eyes. Even if he’d long accepted that rebuilding the Jedi Order wasn’t going to happen until he was completely healed – and that included being able to walk unaided – and that he couldn’t push the Force to show him anything more than what it wanted, and his body was quick to remind him that his healing wasn’t yet complete, he still occasionally got frustrated with how long it had been.

Intermittent complaining, he’d figured out, was okay as long as he didn’t actively try to do anything to speed up the process. Because of that, he didn’t insist on trying again yet.

Lisa handed him his water again, and he held it as he breathed, his head against the pillows. He brought the straw up to his lips and took a few more sips before giving the container back to her to put on the table.

They sat in silence for several minutes, Lisa gently running her thumb over his knuckles. He opened his eyes a little and gave her a tired smile.

She smiled back and leaned over to give him a gentle kiss. “Sleep?” she asked.

“Just resting my eyes,” he said, his closing again.

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed. “Well, we know you need as much rest as you can get.”

Luke agreed sleepily, tugging a little on her hand. At the image that appeared in his mind, Lisa stood and adjusted her position so she could pull him against her, his head now resting on her shoulder. She kissed his hair, then rested her cheek on the top of his head. Her arms lifted slightly as he inhaled deeply, then lowered as he let the breath out slowly.

His body visibly relaxed. Despite his insistence that he was “just resting,” he was definitely asleep within minutes.

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