I'm so sorry for the delay! I was busy, and also had a minor case of writer's block. Why is writing so hard :( But I'm back now, and here's a long chapter to make up for it!

Warning: The warning from the last chapter is still in effect. Oh, there's going to be so much angst...

Three hours later, Obi-Wan was still alive, even though his condition was getting noticeably worse. Anakin doubted he was going to last another hour.

Logically, Anakin knew that his former Master couldn't feel any discomfort or pain. It was a fairly peaceful way to go, all things considered. From Obi-Wan's point of view, he just fainted in Anakin's arms in Gunray's palace, and he simply never woke up again.

But that didn't make this any less painful to watch.

While Obi-Wan's mind wasn't aware of anything that was happening to him, his body knew that he was dying, and it was fighting tooth and nail against it. His heart was beating twice faster than normal and his body was making tiny, desperate gasps for air in a futile attempt to get some oxygen. His mouth would sometimes open and close slightly, and he would occasionally weakly tilt his head back or roll it from side to side, as if he was trying to get away from whatever was preventing him from breathing.

Bant had explained that all of those movements were just a reflex, not a conscious action, but it didn't make it any less heartbreaking to watch.

It was ironic. Only about ten hours ago, Anakin had been sitting at his side, holding his hand and quietly pleading for him to not give up. Now, he was wishing for the opposite. Nobody deserved to go in such a slow and awful way. Anakin just wanted it to be finally over.

"You can let go now, Master," Anakin said quietly, stroking his hair. "You… you don't have to keep fighting. I'll be all right, I promise. Don't worry about me. Padmé will take care of me. You can go now. It's all right. You can let go."

The door opened and Bant Eerin walked in, carrying a cup of hot, fragrant tea. She handed it to Anakin, who accepted it gratefully. He wasn't sure if he would be actually able to keep it down, but he appreciated the kind gesture.

Somehow, Anakin found the strength to give her a weak smile. "Thank you, Master Eerin."

Bant lightly placed her webbed hand on Obi-Wan's chest, using the Force to check on his condition. Her silver eyes clouded with sadness.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Obi," she murmured. She gently adjusted the tube in his mouth and tilted his head to a more comfortable position, but there was nothing else she could do.

Anakin gave her a pleading look. "Bant, please, are you sure there isn't any way to make his breathing a bit easier? This just hurts to watch..."

Bant shook her head sadly. "There's not. I'm sorry."

She hesitated for a moment, and then sat down in the other chair and sighed.

"Look, Anakin… I didn't say this earlier, because it's going to sound awful. But there is a way to make things easier for him. The extra oxygen flowing through that tube is the only thing keeping him alive right now. Without it, it would be over in just a minute or two."

Anakin stared at her. "What are you implying?"

Bant gave him a sad, sympathetic look. "What I'm saying is that at this point, we're just prolonging the inevitable. If you want to make things easier for him, you can disconnect that tube when you're ready. You don't have to, of course. It's up to you. He's not going to feel anything either way."

Anakin stared at her, absolutely horrified.

"No," he whispered shakily. "I can't. I won't. "

"I understand. I just wanted you to know that it's an option."

Anakin nodded. What she suggested was horrible, unthinkable, but he knew that she had only meant well.

Bant gently squeezed Anakin's shoulder, and stood up. "I'm terribly sorry, Anakin, but I have to go. I have many other patients to attend to. There's no one available to switch shifts with. This war has all Healers stretched very thin, almost to the breaking point."

"Of course. I understand, Master Eerin."

She gave him an apologetic look and left.

Anakin cast a guilty glance at the breathing tube. When Bant first suggested this, his instinctive answer had been a resolute, horrified no. But perhaps she was right. Perhaps it would be kinder to make this quick. It was cruel to force his former Master to go through this for so many hours, when there was no hope of recovery. It was wrong .

Anakin smoothed Obi-Wan's blankets and hospital gown, wiped his hair away from his face, and tenderly folded his hands over his stomach. Aside from the weak gasps for air, he looked almost at peace.

Anakin almost laughed tearfully when he realized that he still had his former Master's lightsaber clipped to his belt. How stupid. Anakin had a very quick shower and changed into clean tunics before he went to Padmé's place yesterday, but he completely forgot about the lightsaber.

Anakin traced his fingers along the elegant hilt of the weapon that had slain the devil himself. You would be proud, Master.

It was strangely fitting. Thirteen years ago, Obi-Wan also defeated Maul with a lightsaber that belonged to his dying Master.

"All right," Anakin said shakily, wiping the tears that started falling again with a vengeance. "I won't force you to go through this any longer."

He squeezed Obi-Wan's cold hand and pressed a gentle kiss against his pale forehead. "Goodbye, Master. And…" Anakin's voice broke again. "And thank you. For everything."

Anakin slowly reached for the breathing tube to disconnect it, and…

He pulled his hand back.

"I can't," Anakin whispered, his voice shaking. "I can't. Just… five more minutes, all right? And then I'll let you go. I promise."

Anakin was well aware of the fact that this wasn't going to become any easier in five minutes. But that was a problem for his five minutes older self.

He gently wrapped his arms around his former Master's still body and pulled him close, cradling him in his arms. Despite Anakin's best efforts, the movement made one of the wires snag the almost empty cup of tea and send it crashing to the floor, where it shattered into a thousand pieces. Kriff.

The sound of shattering glass reminded Anakin of another very painful memory, of a mission from many years ago.

It was a diplomatic mission to a planet called Ando, although Anakin could no longer remember what exactly they were sent to do there. Most likely to oversee some important negotiations or something boring like that. All he remembered was that the mission was a success, and the planet's Prime Minister threw a giant banquet to celebrate.

One moment, everything was fine. Everyone was drinking, eating, talking, and having a good time. One of the guests sitting nearby happened to share Anakin's passion for technology and spaceships, and they were soon engrossed in a lively discussion about the newest upgrades to the Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor, while gorging themselves on the delectable food on the table.

Next to him, Obi-Wan — who was still his Master at the time, since that mission happened many years ago — was discussing something politics-related and boring with two Aqualish ambassadors. Anakin was very glad that he didn't have to take part in that conversation.

The Prime Minister proposed a toast for the successful outcome of the mission. Some kind of a traditional local drink, surprisingly delicious for being mostly seaweed-based. Everybody drank, sat back down, and the conversations resumed.

Anakin was just describing the changes to the Delta-7 wing when he froze mid-sentence. Something wasn't right, he could sense it.

Someone behind Anakin grabbed his arm, so hard it hurt. He whirled around to see Obi-Wan standing there, staring at him with a strange expression on his face. It took Anakin a second to realize that it was a look of absolute fear. The half-empty crystal glass slipped out of his hand and shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor.

His lips moved, but no sound or air came out. Anakin couldn't really read lips, but the two words were simple enough to understand even for him.

Help me.

This was it. Oh, Force, this was it. The vague bad memory Anakin couldn't recall earlier.

Obi-Wan tried to speak again, but Anakin didn't catch it this time. Judging from Obi-Wan's terrified wide-eyed expression and the way he was clutching his chest, it was most likely something along the lines of 'I can't breathe'.

The room erupted into a total pandemonium. Everyone assumed that he had been poisoned, and that they could be next. At least a dozen people were trying to stick their fingers down their throats in an attempt to throw up.

Obi-Wan's knees buckled, and Anakin just barely managed to catch him as he collapsed. Anakin screamed for help and reached into the Force, desperately trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He wasn't choking on anything, Anakin could sense that. But his throat had completely closed up, not letting even the tiniest bit of air through. It must have been somehow caused by that kriffing drink.

It took several horrifying minutes before the medics arrived. Anakin could do nothing but wait helplessly and say useless stuff like 'they're almost here' as his Master's struggles for air became more and more frantic. He was pulling at Anakin's sleeves, his eyes wide in absolute terror, and he kept trying to speak, but he couldn't.

Anakin recognized the phrase 'help me' a few more times, and also something that looked like 'please don't let me die', but he couldn't understand anything else.

The medics finally arrived, after what felt like an eternity. But it quickly became clear that nothing they tried to do was working. They tried several different medications for anaphylaxis and the most common neurotoxins, but it didn't make any difference.

Anakin remembered spotting the exact moment when Obi-Wan lost consciousness. His eyes stayed open, but the light went out of them. He stopped struggling and went unnaturally still. The hand which had been gripping Anakin's wrist slowly let go.

He remembered three of the four medics still trying everything they could to save his life, while the fourth one turned to Anakin and quietly explained that if this really was a poison, then there was very likely nothing they could do for him.

But that mission had a happy ending. One of the medics made the incredibly lucky guess that perhaps it wasn't a poison, but an extremely rare and severe allergic reaction to the hoi-broth drink. The usual allergy medications didn't work on it, only a different medication which wasn't normally used for humans, and certainly not for allergies. The medics luckily happened to have that stuff with them.

The medic's guess turned out to be correct. One small injection and a few minutes later, Obi-Wan was awake and mostly fine, although pretty shaken.

He spent a few days in a hospital, he was told to never touch hoi-broth again and to carry an injector with that medication with him at all times. Anakin somehow managed to calm everyone down, explain that nobody has been poisoned and prevent this from escalating into an inter-system incident, and all was well.

But that was a different situation. This time, things weren't going to have such a happy en—

Anakin's heart stopped.

No, it seriously, genuinely stopped, at least that's how it felt for a moment . At the very least, it definitely skipped a few beats.

What…

What if …

Bant didn't really know why Obi-Wan's condition was getting worse instead of slowly improving. What if she was wrong? What if this was a combination of damage from the spores and an allergic reaction to them? Bant would have no way to guess that. The only symptom, the inability to breathe, could be easily misattributed to the damage from the spores.

What if that was why Anakin had seen that memory in his nightmares?

With his fingers shaking uncontrollably, Anakin reached into his pockets and hurriedly pulled out everything that was in them. A few credits, a small ration bar, his rebreather, his comlink, two emergency painkiller injections, some other random junk, and a small injector with the allergy medication. Anakin always carried one with him as well, just in case Obi-Wan's got lost or broken.

Just like now. Obi-Wan was dressed in a white hospital gown, not in his usual Jedi robes. Anakin had absolutely no idea where his tunics and belt were. Probably still in a locker on the cruiser.

Anakin hesitated for half a second, considering calling Bant and telling her about his new idea, but… no. There was no time for that. Obi-Wan's heart could stop at any moment, and if that happened, it would be game over. Anakin would never forgive himself if that happened. He flung the blankets aside, pressed the injector against Obi-Wan's thigh as the instructions said, and pushed the plunger.

Now he could only wait.

How long did that stuff take to work the first time, on Ando? It started working quite quickly, Anakin remembered that. About fifteen seconds, definitely no more than twenty.

Anakin silently counted the seconds, praying this worked.

Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty…

Nothing was happening. Perhaps it just needs a bit more time to work this time, Anakin thought desperately. Please… Force, please let this work…

Thirty seconds. Anakin gently touched his fingers to Obi-Wan's chest, desperately feeling for a change in his breathing. But there was no change at all. His tiny gasps for breath were still as shallow and labored as before.

Forty seconds.

Nothing was happening. Anakin's eyes desperately scanned the monitors, but not a single number was changing.

Fifty seconds. One minute.

One minute and a half.

Two minutes. And nothing happened at all.

It didn't work. It was a solid guess, but it was wrong. With a bitter sigh, Anakin let the empty injector fall to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin whispered quietly, his heart breaking. "I just wanted to make sure I tried everything. I'd never forgive myself if I hadn't. But it didn't work. I'm so sorry."

Anakin wrapped his arms tighter around him and rested his chin on top of Obi-Wan's head, sobbing uncontrollably.

Was he just imagining it, or were his breaths just the tiniest bit deeper than before? Anakin glanced at the monitors and froze in shock.

No. He wasn't imagining it. Oh, Force...

As he watched, the number measuring the oxygen percentage in his blood slowly started going up. Very sluggishly at first, just a few tenths of a percent. It slowly crawled up to 72%, then 73%, then 76%, and continued to increase, faster and faster.

Since Anakin was still holding his former Master in his arms, he could physically feel each of his breaths become a little bit deeper than the one before it. And he could see the horrible blue tinge on his lips slowly fade away with each breath. Soon, it was gone completely.

In less than a minute, the blood oxygen reading settled at just below 92%, still a bit below normal, but pretty damn close. Obi-Wan was lying very still in his arms, still unconscious, but breathing normally for the first time since Anakin found him in the fortress.

The door flew open and Bant Eerin burst in, even though Anakin hadn't pressed the call light yet. She must have sensed that something had changed.

This was the first time Anakin had ever seen her completely freeze up. She stopped in the doorway for a few seconds, her webbed hand flying to cover her mouth. But her training kicked in quickly. She hurriedly walked to Obi-Wan's side and placed her hand on his forehead, closing her eyes in concentration for a moment.

"I can't believe it," Bant whispered, opening her eyes wide. "Almost all swelling is completely gone… Anakin, what did you do ?"

Anakin shakily pointed at the empty injector on the floor. Bant picked it up and her eyes widened as she read the label and recognized what it was.

"That was it?!"

Anakin chuckled, a bit hysterically. "That was it."

"How did you know that it would work?"

"I didn't. It was just a guess," Anakin said shakily. When he saw the baffled expression on Bant's face, he explained a bit more. "I just remembered that about eight years ago, Obi-Wan had a very bad allergic reaction to hoi-broth on a mission to Ando. He couldn't breathe. The normal allergy stuff didn't work on it, only this. Isn't it in his medical records?"

"No, it's not."

"Then someone must have forgotten to write it there. But it happened, I promise you. I was there. So, I just had an idea that maybe this could be a similar allergic reaction to the spores. And, well, it wasn't like there was anything to lose at this point."

Bant chuckled, and… were those tears glittering in her eyes? Anakin had never seen her lose her composure before. Ever.

"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant," Bant whispered. She sniffled and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She gently touched Obi-Wan's forehead again, listening to the Force. "I… I think he's waking up. Anakin… you just saved his life.. ."

Anakin stared at her, his eyes wide. "Really?"

Bant gave him a bright smile. "Really."

She pulled Obi-Wan's eyelids back and shone a bright flashlight into his eyes. Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut and weakly tried to turn his head away from the light.

Bant chuckled. "Yes, he's definitely waking up now. All right, I think we should take the breathing tube out before he wakes up completely. It's really uncomfortable to have that thing stuck in your throat, trust me. He's not going to like it."

Anakin gave her a panicked look. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Bant's expression softened. "Relax, Anakin. I know you're worried. Now that the swelling's gone, he'll be able to breathe on his own again. And his lungs will heal faster if he can breathe by himself and cough out any remaining bits of the spores that might still be in there. All right?"

Anakin gave her a shaky nod.

"Very well," Bant said. "Now, he's really not going to like it when I pull this thing out. You'll need to lay him on his left side and hold his hands down. And whatever you do, don't let him roll over onto his back."

Anakin did as he was told, grabbed Obi-Wan's wrists and gripped his shoulder with the other.

"Why not?" he asked.

Bant removed the tape which held the breathing tube in place and deflated the tiny balloon which stopped the air from flowing past it. She pulled the tube out of his throat with a quick, practiced motion. Obi-Wan instantly started dry heaving and coughing violently. A little bit of vomit came out as well.

Bant chuckled and wiped his mouth with a towel. "And that's why."

She slipped a breathing mask over Obi-Wan's nose and mouth, placed her hand on his back and sent waves of calming Force energy through his body. The coughing and dry heaving gradually stopped. Bant gently stroked his hair. "Obi, can you hear me? Try to open your eyes, if you can, or at least squeeze my hand."

Obi-Wan stirred and his blue-green eyes slowly opened, looking around in semi-conscious confusion. Bant smiled at him, blinking back tears. "Hey, Obi. It's me. Relax, you're safe. You're on Coruscant, in the Temple. Everything's all right now."

Obi-Wan didn't respond, he just blinked slowly, his eyes unfocused. He still seemed to be completely out of it. Then his eyes rolled back into his head and drifted closed. They didn't open again.

"No…!" Anakin gasped, horrified. He shook Obi-Wan's shoulders, but there was no response. He was still breathing, but his body was as limp and still as a ragdoll. His eyes remained closed.

Bant gave Anakin's shoulder a firm, comforting squeeze. "Anakin, calm down. This is not a turn for the worse. He's exhausted. I'm surprised he had the energy to open his eyes at all. Let him sleep for now."

Seeing that Anakin wasn't very reassured, Bant took his hand and gently laid it on Obi-Wan's chest. "Feel it? His breathing is stronger now. He just needs to rest."

She let go of Anakin's hand and sighed. "I'm going to go find some more of that allergy medication, since that small injector you used is only good for about thirty minutes. I'll be back in a few minutes, all right?"

Anakin nodded. Bant walked out of the room, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and closed the door behind her.

Anakin gave Obi-Wan's still hand a comforting squeeze, noticing with dismay that he was absolutely freezing. Well, almost dying tended to do that to a person. Anakin carefully draped two more blankets over him.

Obi-Wan stirred and dragged his eyes open, noticing Anakin's presence for the first time. He blinked slowly, looking completely disoriented, confused and… scared.

"What… happened?" Obi-Wan whispered, his voice so weak that Anakin could barely decipher what he said. "Why do you… look so sad?"

He coughed a few times. It sounded terrible.

It took all of Anakin's self-control to stop himself from bawling like a little kid. "You… you almost died, that's what happened. You have no idea how close you came to… you have no idea what you went through… oh, Force…"

Anakin lost the battle. Despite his best efforts, tears started rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably. Anakin's heart broke into pieces as his former Master gently touched his tear-stained cheek, and shook his head slightly. He didn't say anything—he probably didn't have the strength left for any more talking—but the meaning behind the gesture was clear. Don't cry. It's all right.

Which only made the crying worse. Oh, Force, this was all wrong. Obi-Wan was the one who almost died. He had gone through such horrible things in the past twenty-four hours. Anakin should be the one comforting him . But that didn't seem to be happening, since Anakin couldn't speak through the lump in his throat. Instead, he could only wrap his arms around Obi-Wan, very careful to not impede his breathing or press on any of the cracked ribs, and rub his back comfortingly.

"Is that all right?" Anakin fretted. "I'm not hurting you?"

"No," Obi-Wan whispered. He weakly wrapped one arm around Anakin, returning the gesture. "I'm… fine, just… cold. But you're... helping with that." Anakin couldn't see his face, but he could tell he was smiling.

Anakin wiped his tears with his sleeve and placed his head on Obi-Wan's shoulder, staring at the star-covered sky behind the window. On the horizon, a thin strip of lighter blue signified the approach of a new day.

Did you see that coming? :)

This chapter was inspired by an incident that was very briefly mentioned in the ROTS novel by Matthew Stover. Here's the excerpt in all its glory:

"The apartment's air still hummed with discord and worry and there was a smell of oxidized spices and boiled seaweed.

Hoi-broth, that was it. Someone in the past few hours had been drinking hoi-broth in this room.

Padme hated hoi-broth.

And Obi-Wan was allergic to it—once on a diplomatic mission to Ando, his violent reaction to a ceremonial toast had nearly triggered an intersystem incident."

Basically, I just took that, and took a bit of artistic licence with it :)

Since I'm a bit busy now, the next chapter will come out in a week or two. Stay tuned and if you liked it, please please review! :)

P.S. A short bit of news: I'm starting a new story called Heart of Darkness! Where Anakin, Obi-Wan and a certain Senator are sent on a seemingly easy mission to Subterrel, which is definitely not a carefully calculated part of Sidious's plan… muhahahaha. As always, there's tons of angst.