A/N: Hello! First of all, I really hope all of you are doing okay and staying safe. I know it's been a really difficult time, especially with how quickly and drastically things have changed. Please stay safe, and stay strong.

So for anyone who's following me on tumblr, you may be familiar with my tumblr fic, Bedridden AU. I finally went ahead and decided to post that here! However, this version has been edited, updated, and reformatted, so you might notice some really slight differences between what's posted here and what's on Tumblr.

Anyways, enjoy!


When Anakin arrived at the Council Chambers to see the Council, he didn't think much of Obi-Wan's absence. He wasn't the only Council member who wasn't in attendance, and most of the Council was appearing only by hologram.

He assumed that Obi-Wan was too busy with some campaign. He didn't know exactly where he was because Anakin only just returned from Bothawui with Ahsoka a few hours ago.

Once the meeting began, Anakin gave a verbal report of his mission on Bothawui, with Ahsoka interjecting a few times to explain her role when necessary.

The Council was awfully quiet.

Usually, there would be more questions, more pressing for details, but once Anakin was done, Master Windu simply nodded.

"We'll give you a few days of leave," he said softly. "I imagine you'd want to stop by the Halls."

Anakin frowned. "Why?" he asked, confused.

Master Windu looked just as confused for just a brief moment before understanding flickered through his eyes. He looked around at the other Council members. "I believe we've addressed everything we needed to for this meeting, yes?" he asked.

Master Yoda nodded.

And with that, Anakin watched as the Council members' holograms flickered out of existence, as other members stood and walked out of the room, leaving Anakin and Ahsoka with Master Windu.

"What's going on?" Anakin demanded, feeling more nervous. Ahsoka remained silent.

"You really don't know?" Master Windu asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Is everything okay, Master?" Ahsoka asked.

Master Windu closed his eyes. "I'd better take you to the Halls, then," he said, standing up from his seat and leading them out of the chambers.

Anakin's stomach churned. Something was wrong.

"Why?" he asked cautiously.

Master Windu stopped and turned around to face him. "It's Obi-Wan," he replied.


When Anakin and Ahsoka arrived, Obi-Wan was sitting, propped up against the headboard of his bed, picking at a bowl of soup. He was hooked up to a few monitors, and there was an IV attached to his left wrist.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked, voice shaking.

Obi-Wan looked up. There were dark shadows under his eyes, his face was pale, and he looked a lot thinner than the last time Anakin saw him.

Ahsoka cursed.

"Force, Master," Anakin said, trying not to curse the same way Ahsoka did. "What happened?"

"Nothing of importance," Obi-Wan replied mildly, putting his bowl down on the tray next to the bed. His voice was hoarse, as though he barely used it. "Who told you I was here?"

"Master Windu," Ahsoka answered. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan answered. "I just…had a bit of an episode, and the healers insisted on keeping me here much longer than necessary."

Anakin cocked his head sideways. "An episode?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "It's nothing, really," he insisted.

"It's not nothing, Obi."

Anakin turned around to see Bant standing at the entrance of the room, holding a datapad in her hand. She walked in and studied Obi-Wan's monitors before looking at him carefully.

"You don't look much better," she commented, frowning. "Did you sleep and eat?"

Obi-Wan shrugged slightly.

"What exactly is going on here?" Anakin demanded.

"Obi-Wan had–"

"Bant." Obi-Wan's voice was suddenly firm, but Bant was having none of that.

"If you're not going to tell them, then I will, Obi," she exclaimed.

Obi-Wan sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing at his temples with both hands.

Bant deflated. "They should know what happened," she said, softly this time.

Obi-Wan exhaled and opened his eyes. "I had a stroke," he said finally.

Anakin stared. He heard Ahsoka gasp quietly behind him.

"What?" he whispered. His heart was racing in his chest. "How?" he croaked.

"I…I thought it was a migraine," Obi-Wan said. "It started out like that. Then it–" He cut himself off, and swallowed.

Bant placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"But…aren't strokes supposed to be extremely rare? Especially among Jedi?" Anakin asked. And he was sure that Obi-Wan was way too young to be having a stroke. Something had to be wrong.

"They are," Obi-Wan said, looking even more uncomfortable.

"But–" Anakin cut himself off sharply when Ahsoka elbowed him.

"Are you going to be okay, Master Kenobi?" Ahsoka asked instead, smiling softly.

"I believe so," Obi-Wan answered, barely managing to stifle a yawn as he spoke.

"I'll talk to them about it, Obi," Bant said softly. "Why don't you sleep for a bit?" she asked.

"I'm not tired," Obi-Wan mumbled, though he looked completely exhausted.

"Stop lying," Bant said, raising her brows. "You need to sleep. These two can come back to see you later," she continued, gesturing at Anakin and Ahsoka.

Obi-Wan looked at them for a long moment before he sighed and began to shift slightly. Bant moved forward and helped Obi-Wan adjust himself so that he was lying down more properly.

"Sleep well, Master," Anakin managed. He saw Obi-Wan smile at him before closing his eyes and relaxing into his pillows.

"Come with me," Bant whispered, leading them out of the room to allow Obi-Wan to sleep.


"I'm just confused," Anakin said, rubbing at his eyes with his flesh hand. "These things don't just happen."

Bant sighed and sat down next to Anakin.

"It's an extremely rare case," she agreed. "It's difficult to explain, Anakin, and I think Obi-Wan wouldn't appreciate me telling you exactly what's happening without his knowledge."

"What can you tell us, Master Eerin?" Ahsoka asked.

Bant smiled. "Just be there for him, okay?" she asked. "This came as a terrible shock to him, just like it must be for you right now. He feels very alone, and that's not helping with his recovery."

"Alone?" Anakin asked. "Why?"

"All of this was really scary for him," Bant said. "That's all I can really say."

"But…he will be okay, right?" Ahsoka asked, eyes wide. She looked perfectly calm, calmer than Anakin somehow, but her presence in the Force was betraying more concern.

"Eventually," Bant said, after a long pause that sent more worry crawling into Anakin's veins. "It's going to take time."

The hesitation in her eyes seemed to say something completely different.

Anakin sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the wall behind him.

Bant's commlink beeped. "I have to attend to other patients," she sighed, looking down at the object. "Why don't you come back tomorrow?"

Anakin nodded slowly. "Sure," he said.


Anakin returned to the Halls by himself the next morning, since Ahsoka had to go to class. He was stopped by Bant outside of Obi-Wan's room.

"Today is one of his bad days. If you want to leave and come back some other time, you can do that, Anakin," she said.

Anakin stared and then shook his head. "You said he shouldn't be alone," he replied.

Bant smiled softly and moved out of the way, allowing him in.

Obi-Wan was lying on his side, vomiting into a bucket held by a medical droid. He was shaking and sweating profusely. As soon as Anakin walked in, he looked up.

"Anakin," he slurred, rolling back onto the bed with a grunt. The medical droid walked away, presumably to dispose of the bucket's contents, its joints whirring and clicking softly as it left, leaving Anakin and Obi-Wan alone.

"Hi, Obi-Wan," Anakin said, moving forward to sit on the chair next to Obi-Wan's bed.

"You don't…have to d-do this," Obi-Wan breathed, closing his eyes tight.

Anakin ignored him, studying Obi-Wan carefully. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Headache," Obi-Wan mumbled. "Migraine. I don't know, Anakin." His voice was hoarse, probably from the vomiting. Anakin winced in sympathy.

Right. Anakin could feel the pain, whatever it was, in the Force. "Should I get a healer?" he asked.

Obi-Wan groaned and closed his eyes. "No," he muttered. "This happens…m-more than I'd like." He exhaled softly, shifting back into his pillows just slightly. His Force presence shuddered with a wave of deep discomfort. The sensation was so foreign to Anakin, especially coming from Obi-Wan, that he instinctively shrank away from it.

It felt…wrong, almost.

Anakin wished he could do something to help, but he didn't know what he could do. Obi-Wan never got sick—it was as though he just refused to let his body shut down in any way possible.

This was new ground—completely unfamiliar.

"You can leave if you want," Obi-Wan said, breaking Anakin away from his thoughts.

"I know," Anakin said. "I'm not leaving."

Obi-Wan stared at him for a long time before managing a weak smile.

Anakin sat comfortably and talked quietly with him for the next fifteen minutes. At some point, Obi-Wan began nodding off, and soon enough, he was asleep again.

Oh, well. Anakin wasn't going to leave even if Obi-Wan was asleep. He was going to make sure that Obi-Wan never felt alone ever again.


Anakin must have nodded off at some point, because the next thing he knew, someone was gently shaking his shoulder.

"I'm sorry to wake you," Bant said gently. She was surrounded by a few padawan healers, all watching her expectantly. Obi-Wan was still asleep, and Anakin couldn't help but wonder how much time had just passed. "We need to run some tests. Why don't you get some lunch and come back later?"

"Tests?" Anakin asked, confused. Obi-Wan hadn't mentioned anything about tests—in fact, he hadn't really said anything of significance about his health. "Bant, what's happening?"

She pressed her lips together. "I promise we'll talk about it with Obi-Wan when you come back, okay?" she replied.

Anakin nodded slowly before he stood up and stretched, feeling a few joints pop. He walked out of the sickroom, somehow feeling more nervous than he did before.

As he walked to the refectory, he commed Ahsoka, who just got out of class. She agreed to meet him for lunch.

When he arrived in the refectory, Ahsoka was already there, standing in line to get food. He joined her.

"How's Master Obi-Wan?" she asked immediately, picking up a piece of fruit and examining it carefully.

Anakin shrugged. "He wasn't doing great in the morning, but he managed to fall asleep. They kicked me out to run some tests," he said.

Ahsoka's brow marks rose as she turned towards him. "Tests?" she said, echoing his thoughts.

"My best guess is that they want to figure out what caused the stroke," Anakin replied, voice tense and quiet. The last thing he needed was other Jedi listening in on their conversation and having Obi-Wan become the new source of gossip in the Temple.

"Bant said we'll talk about it after they're done."

"Can I come?" Ahsoka asked, moving again to put some bread on her plate. She kept her voice quiet as well, but there was a hint of deep concern emanating from her presence.

Anakin was so lucky to have a Padawan like Ahsoka.

"Of course," Anakin answered, smiling gently. "Obi-Wan shouldn't be alone."


Anakin and Ahsoka returned to the Halls later that afternoon. When they walked in to Obi-Wan's room, he was sitting up. He turned his head and smiled as they entered.

"Good afternoon," Obi-Wan greeted. He was still very pale and there were dark smudges under his eyes. Anakin forced himself to smile back, through the strange concern worming its way into his gut.

"How are you doing?" Anakin asked. He pulled a chair over to the bed and Ahsoka followed suit. They sat down.

"Better," Obi-Wan answered, though if he was being honest, Anakin thought he didn't look better at all. "You don't need to see me, you know," Obi-Wan continued. "I'm sure you have things to do."

Anakin laughed, though the sound was slightly on the edge of brittle, unconvincing. "We're on leave, Obi-Wan," he said. "Don't worry about us."

Ahsoka nodded in agreement, looking at Anakin for a brief moment before turning towards Obi-Wan. "We're here for you, Master," she said.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said with a soft smile. "I know you've been worried. Bant told me as much."

"She said that the healers had to run tests," Anakin said, frowning. "Why? What's happening, Obi-Wan?"

"I just…pushed myself too far over the past few weeks," Obi-Wan said tersely. His Force presence seemed to withdraw into itself as he spoke, as though he was desperately keeping everyone away from him. "It's fine. Don't worry about me."

"But–"

"Anakin, really," Obi-Wan said hoarsely. He shivered then, curling into himself slightly. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine," Anakin insisted heatedly, gesturing around them to emphasize his point. "Just tell us what's wrong, Obi-Wan!"

"Master, maybe you shouldn't—" Ahsoka began, eyes widening.

"Why do you always insist on keeping things from me, Obi-Wan?" Anakin continued, as though he didn't hear Ahsoka. "You never tell me anything! It's as though you don't trust me, or you don't even care!"

Obi-Wan's eyes were wide, and he seemed to be trembling more visibly.

"Anakin, I–"

"No, Obi-Wan," Anakin hissed, leaning forward. "I am trying to be there for you, but there is no point if you can't tell me what is happening."

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to take a few deep breaths. He was shivering more persistently, and his Force presence seemed to fold into itself more and more.

Anakin blinked.

The door swung open, revealing a furious Master Che and Bant, standing wide-eyed behind her.

"Both of you, leave," Master Che barked, jabbing a finger towards the door. "I will not have this sort of disruption in Master Kenobi's healing."

Anakin opened his mouth to protest, but the healer cut him off with a sharp glare. He turned to Obi-Wan, who had brought his knees to his chest and pressed his head down on his kneecaps, wrapping his arms around his knees. He was still shaking, and Anakin could easily sense pain emanating from his Force presence.

Force, what did he do?

"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin said softly, more to Obi-Wan than Master Che. He glanced at Ahsoka, who nodded at him before they walked out of the room.


Once Skywalker was gone, Vokara raced forward to Obi-Wan. She placed a hand on his. "He's freezing," Vokara said to Bant. "Get some more thermal blankets." Bant nodded and left the room.

"Obi-Wan?" Vokara said softly, slightly tightening the grip on his hand, trying to press as much warmth into it as she could.

"I just—" Obi-Wan's voice was muffled. "Cold," he said, teeth chattering.

"I know," Vokara murmured gently. She moved carefully so she was sitting on the bed next to him, then she pressed both hands on his shoulders. Vokara closed her eyes, gently using the Force to channel warmth and calm.

"Have you had any more visions?" she asked quietly.

Obi-Wan nodded, still keeping his head pressed onto his knees. Vokara found herself thinking of the little Initiate who stumbled into the Halls all those years ago with a skinned knee. Everything had happened so quickly back then, especially for Obi-Wan.

A part of her couldn't believe how much everything had changed since then.

She sighed.

Not long ago, the visions, along with the stress of the war and the fact that Obi-Wan hadn't really been taking care of himself at all for Force-knows how long, crashed down at him all at once. Vokara would have been impressed with how long he lasted against all of it if it wasn't so self-destructive.

Obi-Wan managed a deep, shuddering breath before he lifted his head, revealing watery eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled, quickly wiping away at them.

"Don't apologize," she said. "I know this has been difficult for you."

Whatever Obi-Wan saw in his visions had shaken him to his core. He refused to talk about it, even to the mind healers that Vokara sent to him.

The constant chronic stress that plagued him sapped away his strength, and the Force provided no help, no relief at all.

Bant arrived with the blankets and carefully wrapped the blankets around Obi-Wan's shoulders. Obi-Wan smiled gratefully at her.

"Well?" Obi-Wan asked, looking up at Bant before his eyes shifted to Vokara's.

Bant took a deep breath. "Your cardiac function is lower than it should be because you haven't been taking care of yourself. Your blood is not circulating well. That is why you had the stroke, Obi-Wan," she explained.

"This is all due to stress," Vokara said. "If you don't let yourself relax and take care of yourself, it's only going to get worse."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "My visions, I can't just—"

"Obi, you need to tell someone about the visions. It doesn't have to be either of us; we can set you up with a mind healer, or—"

"No," Obi-Wan said between gritted teeth. "I can deal with it; I've done it before."

"You were a child with the support of the crèche masters, Obi," Bant insisted. "Maybe you think you can deal with it because you've done so in the past, but in the past you had someone help you!"

Obi-Wan shook his head and shivered again, burrowing himself slightly under the blankets.

Vokara shook her discreetly at Bant. It was no use; this conversation was only making things worse.

Bant softened and nodded back at Vokara.

"I'll send along some lunch for you to eat," Vokara said. "I'm also going to send along a healer to help you with moving around. That should improve the circulation."

Obi-Wan exhaled and nodded. "Thank you, Master Che," he murmured.

"Just focus on getting better," Vokara replied. "I don't like seeing you like this."


Anakin went back to the Halls later that evening. He couldn't leave things with Obi-Wan the way he did. He knew he pushed too much, but he couldn't help it. Obi-Wan wasn't telling him something, and it hurt.

When he walked in, Obi-Wan was sitting in bed with a heavy blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said in greeting, looking up. His eyes were dark and weary, somehow revealing more exhaustion than Anakin expected.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Anakin said. "I just—you know I'm worried, right? I can't stand seeing you like this, and I want to help."

Obi-Wan smiled gently, but the sight of it did nothing to ease the nerves building in Anakin's stomach. "I know," he replied, "and I know that Bant promised to tell you what was happening, but…"

"But what?" Anakin pressed.

"But I'm not ready to talk about it."

Anakin blinked. "Why?" he managed, then he frowned. "I mean—you know you can talk to me, right? Why can't you—"

"I can't, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, and he looked up again, eyes wild and desperate. "I appreciate you being here, but…" Obi-Wan trailed off, looking away from him. "I can't."

Anakin desperately wanted to argue, but he pressed his lips together and nodded. "Okay, Master," he replied.

Obi-Wan smiled at him again. "Now, tell me, how was Bothawui?" he asked, changing the topic.

Anakin sat down in the chair next to Obi-Wan's bed and spoke, allowing himself the distraction. If Obi-Wan wouldn't tell him what was happening, Anakin would find another way to get the truth. He needed to know.

It was only a matter of time.


Over the next few days, Anakin spent as much time has he could visiting Obi-Wan in the Halls.

Some days, Obi-Wan seemed to be doing alright. He would sit in his bed and talk with Anakin, though he didn't talk as much as he did before all of this happened. Obi-Wan would mostly just listen to Anakin talk about whatever he wanted.

Those days weren't too bad. Anakin would sit and do his best to get Obi-Wan to laugh or even smile, and seeing that happen—as rarely as it did—would make him feel like everything was eventually going to be alright.

But there were other days when Obi-Wan would be doing less well. He would either be in too much pain to even listen to Anakin, let alone speak. There would be healers coming in every few hours to run tests or to try to help Obi-Wan in some way, though it seemed like nothing they did was actually helping him.

The Council had extended his leave when Anakin asked, much to his surprise.

Sure, he was needed at the war, but…

But he couldn't possibly leave Obi-Wan like this. And the Council seemed to understand that.

He walked into Obi-Wan's room one day to find his former Master pale-faced but sitting upright, staring at the wall in front of him.

"Obi-Wan?" he asked, moving to sit in the chair next to his bed.

Obi-Wan blinked slowly, and his eyes flicked to Anakin's. Then his eyes widened, and he scrambled back, shrinking away from Anakin.

Terror flooded into the Force, freezing Anakin's blood in his veins. He remained standing behind the chair, heart racing in his chest.

"Get away from me," Obi-Wan hissed, and just like that, there were tears spilling out of his eyes.

Anakin blinked, taking a few steps forward.

Almost immediately, Obi-Wan shrank back even further, pressing back against the headboard.

"Haven't you done enough?" Obi-Wan whispered, eyes bright. "You—you killed them, as though they didn't matter to you! You threw away everything I ever tried to teach you, and now you've just—"

Obi-Wan cut himself off with a painful sob, bowing his head slightly as he began to hyperventilate.

Anakin's blood went cold.

"Obi-Wan, I—"

Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan pulled himself off the bed and onto his feet, shaking violently. His Force presence was trembling, shuddering, almost burning at the seams. Anakin could see the sweat gathered on his forehead, the brightness of his eyes.

He's hallucinating—or something like that.

"I've done what I could," Obi-Wan said between heavy breaths, pointing at Anakin, "and you just…"

He staggered into the wall behind him, placing a hand on his forehead. Then his knees buckled, and he crashed to the floor with a pained exhale.

"Master!" Anakin shouted, racing forward.

Obi-Wan looked up with flashing eyes, breathing heavily. "Stay back!" he shouted, flinging a hand forward.

Anakin felt the Force push, but it felt more like a breeze passing through him than an actual push. Regardless, he stopped, realizing that moving closer would only agitate Obi-Wan further.

Discreetly pressing a button on his comm, Anakin stopped. "Listen to me, Obi-Wan, this isn't real," he said, voice trembling. "It's me, Anakin—remember?"

His Master's eyes narrowed. "Anakin is dead. You killed him, Vader, just like you killed everyone else."

Everyone else?

"Obi-Wan, I promise, it's actually me. You're having a vision or a hallucination or something. You've been in the Halls for the past few weeks, remember? You've been sick," Anakin said, trying to keep his voice calm.

Frowning, Obi-Wan pressed his hands to his temples. Then he shook his head, almost violently.

"No," he mumbled, more to himself. "You destroyed him, and now the Jedi have—"

The door slid open, and Obi-Wan's eyes widened as Master Che rushed in, followed closely by Bant.

"Obi!" Bant cried, rushing forward, but she stopped as Obi-Wan let out a strangled sound, pressing his head into his hands.

"This is not real, this is not real, this is not real…"

Anakin watched as Bant froze, her large eyes filling with tears. Master Che stood frozen in the doorway, too stunned to move. In all the years he had known Master Che and Bant, Anakin had never seen either of them completely shaken to the core.

The sight of it now was enough to cause Anakin to panic.

Obi-Wan was always steady, completely rooted in the present. He was the one calming Anakin down when he was overwhelmed, not the other way around. It was Obi-Wan, not Anakin, who was always grounded and levelheaded.

This was…

"Master, please," Anakin pleaded, voice cracking. "This is real. Would I lie to you?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Anakin regretted it.

He was lying to Obi-Wan, about Padmé and the Tuskens and about so much more—and a part of Anakin suspected that Obi-Wan knew about the lies.

"Everything is a lie," Obi-Wan whispered, and pulled his hands away from his face.

Blood slowly trickled out of his nose and into his mustache. His face was completely white, thinner than it was just a few weeks ago, before all of this had happened.

"How does it feel to have won, Vader?" Obi-Wan asked softly, looking at Anakin with unfocused eyes.

Before Anakin could reply, Obi-Wan's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped sideways against the wall, exhaling harshly.

Behind Anakin, Master Che sprung into action, rushing forward and kneeling next to Obi-Wan. Bant followed moments later, kneeling at Obi-Wan's other side.

Anakin stared, too shocked to speak. He couldn't bring himself to react, not even when two Padawan Healers rushed in with a stretcher or even when Obi-Wan was loaded onto the stretcher and taken away.

Only when Anakin was alone did he finally let his own tears fall.


A/N: Thank you for reading!

I'm aiming to post the next part on Sunday, April 19th, but if anything changes, I will update this note to reflect that.

Thanks again, and see you next time :)