Chapter 17 - If they only Knew

Kiro took Ash back to her bed so she could sit while her and Echo talked. Xiang and Kiro then started talking to the nurse.
Ash started to use the Force again. She thought she might as well start to regain her connection to it. As she did, she tapped into her sisters thoughts.. She was wondering why Ash wasn’t hooked up to the machine anymore. Somebody must have told her the entire story.
“The doctors say I don’t have to be on that anymore. My body is fully compatible with my implants now. They think it was the machine that made the implants back fire on me,” she said.
“Wait…they back fired?” Echo said, shocked.
“Never mind about that, let’s hear about you. I have a lot to catch up on,” she said.
Echo smiled.
“They said I should be healed in two months, maybe, but I expect that it will only take 1 month,” she said.
“Why do you think that?” Ash asked.
“Because I’m me! DUH!” Echo said.
Ash laughed.
“How many times can one person die and then come back?” she said, shaking her head. Echo laughed. Her smiled brought a smile to Ash’s face.
“You seem like you’re back to normal now. Me…I’ll never be normal again.” A frown came to her face.
“What are you talking about?” Echo asked.
“Just look at me!” Ash replied and brought up her mechanical arm. “I’m half robot!”
“Something tells me you’ve already had this conversation with Kiro,” Echo replied.
“I have…and he made me feel a little better, but I just don’t understand how anyone could ever look at me the same now.”
“Did he tell you that it didn’t matter if you’re a cyborg, as long as you’re still Ash on the inside?” Echo asked.
“He did,” Ash replied.
“Then he’s right.”
“But I’m not the same Ash on the inside. I’m cybernetic!”
“That’s not what we mean. As long as your still the same Ash in your heart and your brain, then theirs nothing different about you,” Echo said smiling.
“I think my heart and brain are still real…”Ash mumbled.
Echo laughed.
“Well, I’m hardly back to normal yet,” Echo said. “I could hardly handle the ‘fresher. I hate for Xiang to have to watch me all the time. I don't want him to be my slave, but he insists. He deserves better than this…better than me." Echo said softly and frowned.
Ash felt so bad for her sister, but at the same time she realized that Kiro was doing the exact same to her.
“Xiang is lucky to have you,” Ash said, trying to comfort her sister. “But you know that you two love each other! That’s the only thing that he cares about…you’re love and you’re safety. He wouldn’t care if you went blind and forgot things the minute he said them…he would still love you. You would watch over him, like he does you, so he is doing exactly what he’s supposed to do.”
Ash paused, thinking about Kiro. She looked over to him talking.
“I would do anything for Kiro after all this. They saved our lives…I don’t think anything I could ever do would repay them for this.”
Echo nodded and looked to Xiang.
“I’m with ya on that sis,” she said.
“That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re in love…worry about every little thing that happens to the other person,” Ash said.
Echo laughed.
“Love is tough,” she said. “That’s a lot of worrying to do.”
Ash laughed.
“So, do I ever get to fiddle around with your mechanical arm?” Echo said.
“Say what?” Ash said, surprised.
“Ah come on, you know you want to let me…” Echo said, giving her the sad eyes.
Ash giggled.
“Sure…as long as you don’t make me slap myself,” she replied.
“Okay…maybe only once,” Echo said.
Ash gave her a stern look.
“It would be hilarious!!” Echo replied, giggling.
“Only for a person with a deranged mind!” Ash shot back.
“Come on…only once?” Echo pleaded.
“You can make me slap you!” Ash said, pretending to get excited.
“Shut up,” Echo said, giggling.
“That’s my line! Don’t you be taking it now!” Ash said.
Echo cracked up laughing.
Joy filled her mind to see her sister laugh. She hadn’t seen that in forever. They were one again…twin sisters that laughed at each other and weren’t afraid to look stupid…as long as it didn’t kill them in the process…
The doctors came in and literally pushed Echo and Xiang back to their room. They really wanted Echo to rest, but what they didn’t realize was that when Echo and Ash were together they healed quicker. Something about their twin bond made them even closer now since they had stood in front of death.
Ash tried to Force-persuade the doctor into letting Echo stay, but he wasn’t very weak-minded. Either that, or Ash was still very weak.
As they pushed Echo out of the room, Ash tried it one more time.
“Echo can stay as long as she wants,” she said, putting the Force behind her words. The doctor looked at her and seemed to consider it, but then he shook his head.
“Come now. You’re not a Jedi. Mind tricks don’t work on me,” he said smiling.
“If you only knew,” Ash mumbled. Kiro smiled at her.

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