Chapter Twenty-Two

Lisa didn’t want to push their luck when it came to sharing the visions. She felt the Force allowed them to do it, and she didn’t want to take advantage of that boon, so during the day they continued what had become their regular routine since Luke’s injury – she’d bring him food; if he was up to it, he would try to walk around his room until he got tired, and then he would go into his healing trance while she looked in the archives for the planet they would be building their Academy on. At night, when she was ready to sleep, she would lie on her medical bed with their foreheads touching so she could see what he was seeing.

Luke was leaning on her and Artoo while he tried to stretch his legs, attempting to loosen the stiff muscles. He bent to touch his toes and nearly pitched forward. Lisa’s arms shot out, and he managed to grip her and the droid in time to keep himself from face-planting onto the hard floor.

He couldn’t help the disgruntled grunt that escaped him. 2-1B had said three to four standard weeks to recover, but it was coming up on five.

“He said three to four weeks for the fractures,” Lisa pointed out. “Last scan, they were gone. Now it’s about building your strength back up.”

Sometimes Luke hated it when she was right.

“Yeah, but you love me.”

I do. I really do.

Sighing, he sat on the edge of the bed and accepted the water container she handed him, taking a drink. After a few more sips, he gave it back to her, standing to do more stretching. Lisa and Artoo stayed close by.

This attempt was more successful; he was able to keep his balance. Relieved, he asked Lisa and Artoo to help him walk a lap or two around the room.

He managed three and a half before the fatigue set in, and they helped him back to bed. Lisa kissed his cheek as he settled into another healing trance, then took the datapad and sat beside him to scroll.

She hummed softly to herself as she read entry after entry about planets capable of supporting human and otherwise life, setting a bookmark on every page that she thought matched what they’d seen.

In his sleep, Luke shifted a little, one hand hanging over the edge of the bed. Lisa placed it back on the cushion and interlocked their fingers, flipping to another entry in the archives.

…a young girl giggled…

Lisa paused, frowning. Did she just…? She looked over at Luke, still peacefully in his trance, a small smile on his lips.

“Hm…” she murmured, rubbing his thumb with her own and turning back to the data screen.

…a bird squawked…

She looked up and whispered, “ ‘Waiting…’ ”

In his corner, Artoo gave an inquiring beep.

“I…think…” Lisa looked back at the entry she’d found. Something inside her tugged at her mind. “Is this it?” she said – to herself, to the Force?

Artoo beeped again.

Lisa looked at her hand twined with Luke’s and gave a slight squeeze. His smile got a little wider, and she felt him squeeze back despite him still being in his trance.

“Artoo,” Lisa said in wonder, “I think we found it.”

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