A/N: My point-of-view character in this story is whoever is with Hux, which is why it swaps back and forth between Poe, Rose, and Finn. Thanks to sunnyangelflowers for the prompt and the encouragement! This story is dedicated to her.

Tags: Hurt/comfort, whump, slow burn, gingerpilot, background FinnRose as an established relationship, reconciliation, Poe thinks it's dub-con but it's not, it's so not

Poe wasn't even certain that was General Hux. His face was bloody and eyes swollen shut. His hands were twisted, fingers broken. He'd been stripped to an undershirt and trousers – belt, boots, and jacket gone – even socks. Maybe he hadn't been stripped to this, but instead it was all he'd been allowed to put on? His hair was matted with blood and he was covered with dust like he'd been rolled through it. Or dragged, which was what was happening now.

Two sweaty miners brought him in front of Poe and dropped him there, where Hux collapsed in the unguarded way of someone unable to support themselves. Or unaware. Hux made a surprised noise and moved slightly at the impact. He wasn't unaware, which meant he knew how much pain he was in.

Poe had jumped just a little when it happened. He had expected that they'd pull Hux to his feet and present him. Instead, they'd dropped him like a crate of parts. Poe had been busy realizing those weren't combat injuries and the 'surrender' he'd been given by Lt. Wrayner of the First Order was … complicated. He wasn't even sure which one the lieutenant was. The only one in anything close to a uniform was Hux and most of that was missing. "What happened?" Poe asked, a flat tone to his voice.

A man dressed no differently than the others spoke. "He wouldn't cooperate. He wouldn't surrender. I suppose he still hasn't. But the surrender is legal. The First Order renounces their claim on Hemmerjan. He's not in charge anymore, due to 'incapacity', as you can see."

"Yeah, I see that," Poe said, his voice even flatter. At his feet, Hux was shifting somewhat, trying to get to his knees.

"You said you wanted him. There he is. He would have had us fight to the end," Wrayner explained, almost boasting as he looked for some validation he wasn't getting. "We said nah. We all renounce our membership in the Order. Those were the terms."

Poe had this slimy feeling like he'd made a very bad mistake in negotiating. Or he'd missed something important, because he didn't understand why they'd do something like this to one of their own. He knelt next to the broken man. "Those were the terms." He put a hand on Hux's elbow to help him, but Hux jerked it away.

"I … do not … surr … ender," Hux said.

"Yeah, I heard," Poe said quietly. "Be quiet."

Wrayner asked, "When are you going to execute him? I guess it's not as good as if he were recognizable, but you know how it goes."

Poe looked up at him as Hux, unaided, pulled himself slowly to a wobbly sitting position. "You need to get going, Lieutenant. Processing is over there."

Wrayner lifted his chin. He seemed to be making some kind of show for the rest. "I'm not a lieutenant anymore. I'm Hemmerjani now."

Poe looked from Hux's smashed face to Wrayner's unmarked one. "I don't care what you call yourself. You're a monster for doing this."

"I'm a rich monster, thanks to you." Wrayner gave a low laugh and headed off. Hux sent bloody spittle in the man's general direction and Poe had to agree with the sentiment.

Poe looked back and forth at the several people who had come forward with him to accept the surrender. The Hemmerjani natives who were working with them looked indifferent or even pleased. Most of the Resistance members showed more empathy. It was one thing to fight someone, wound them, or even kill them in battle. It was another to torture them and a step further than that to be tortured by one's own people.

Poe sighed and looked at the man in front of him. Hux was feeling of his fingers, moving them slightly and trying to get them into a more natural position. Poe said, "The First Order didn't rough me up this bad when you guys had me. Come on. Let's get you somewhere that we can get you some first aid."

"I do not nnn- require aid," Hux said in the same careful, laborious manner as when he'd spoken before. His lips were split, nose probably broken. Poe would be surprised if he wasn't missing some teeth.

"Can you stand?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Come on, then. I'm going to get you to … somewhere."

"I … refuse."

Poe leaned close to him. He used his most charming voice to say, "General Hux? Cooperate with me, okay?"

"No."

Poe leaned back with a wincing grin and a stifled laugh. "Buddy, you're barely conscious." He knew it wasn't funny, but the guy's stubborn determination was touching.

"No."

Poe looked over his shoulder at Finn, who rolled his eyes and circled to Hux's other side. Finn squatted as low as he could go, lifted Hux's arm, and inserted himself under it. Hux swayed away from him, but Poe copied Finn's action on the other side so Hux had nowhere to go. "Up," Finn said. Poe stood with him. Between them, they brought Hux to his feet. He went limp.

"Did you just pass out, or are you being difficult?" Poe asked, cocking his head to try to see. Hux's head was lolling.

"I think he's out," Finn said. "Let's move him."

Hux stayed unconscious for most of their trip to what passed as a medical area in their forward base. The Resistance was here at the request of the oppressed native population, who wished to expel the First Order. Those natives who had joined them in the effort were only loosely under Poe's command. Few would fight, but had lent housing and infrastructure support to allow the Resistance to carry the battle. As a result, Poe had put all the Resistance members into combat roles. The medical area was run by natives.

The chief doctor and two nurses came to them immediately. "What happened? Who is he?" She glanced down him, looking at the First Order-issue trousers. She waved off the two nurses who started to take Hux from them. "Wait."

"General Hux. First Order," Poe explained. "He took a drubbing. Where can we put him?"

She withdrew a full step and waved away the nurses entirely. Disinterested, they retired. Poe's lips pressed together and he lifted his chin unhappily at this reaction. She said, "You can't put him here. I don't allow it."

Hux had regained some level of consciousness. He said, "I refuse-"

"Shut up, Hux," Poe snapped at him, using his name because Hux probably couldn't see with his eyes like that. To her, he said, "You're a medical professional. I can't take him to the same processing area the rest of the First Order guys went to. They're the ones who did this to him. I know we don't have bacta tanks or suits, but you're going to take care of him."

"You're on Hemmerjan, Commander," the doctor told him. "The medical profession here allows conscientious objections. I object. Any true citizen of this world would do the same. Let him die. Or kill him."

"Ha," Hux said bitterly.

"This is not the first time I wished Dr. Kalonia came with us instead of going with Rey," Poe said to Finn.

"Do you just have a dark corner we can put him in?" Finn asked the woman.

"We're not putting him in a dark corner!" Poe said.

"Kind of what happened with injured stormtroopers," Finn muttered.

"You can leave him here and I will find someone to deal with him," the doctor said, proving the First Order were not the most callous residents of the galaxy. 'Deal with him' had a clear connotation. "I will not treat a member of the First Order, any of their leaders, or allow this station to be used for their aid."

Poe sighed. "Let's take him to my room," he told Finn. Supported between them and guided, Hux managed to walk most of the way there. They went into Poe's quarter of the dome habitation. Finn and Rose had the other two quarters devoted to rooms, with the last quarter being a tiny common area and entry. Rose was still out, probably working on reclaiming the base they'd captured from the Order.

"He's filthy. You sure you want him there?" Finn asked before they deposited Hux on the bed.

"He has to be somewhere," Poe said. "Hux? You want to lie down or stay seated?"

"Down."

Poe picked up his feet. Hux jerked, losing his balance. His eyelids were swollen shut, so everything that wasn't telegraphed came as a surprise to him. Finn grabbed his shoulders and together the two of them rotated him onto the bed and lying back. Hux moved his hands over his stomach like he couldn't figure out how to settle them. Poe rubbed his own face. To Finn, he said, "Can you go back to the med station and pick up some stuff?"

"I barely know first aid," Finn said. "What do you need?"

"Hux, do you have eyes in there?"

"Yes."

"Are they hurt?"

"N-no."

"Okay. That's good to hear. They didn't gouge anything out." He turned to Finn. "Wraps. Some antiseptic wipes. Cleaning solution. Bandages. Gauze maybe. Tape?"

"You have no better idea than I do," Finn said.

Poe shook his head. "No, I don't. I'm a pilot, not a med-tech. Get some splints for his fingers if you can find them. Something to immobilize his hands."

"Handcuffs?"

"No," Hux said. "I will not … allow … restraints."

Finn and Poe both regarded him with equally bemused expressions. Hux's ability to allow or not allow anything was nearly non-existent. But Poe agreed. "No. That's not what I meant. To stabilize the bones. Get whatever you think is a good idea and we'll go from there. I don't know how long we'll be down here before I can find someone who will help."

"I'm a little unclear on why you're trying to help," Finn said.

"I helped you."

"I was trying to defect. Technically, he's still the enemy. Those other guys surrendered, fine, but until he does, the First Order still claims this place."

Poe looked at the guy. "He was literally dropped at my feet. I'm not going to treat him like an enemy. He's not. Not anymore. I don't care what sort of rules the First Order has about it."

Hux made a sound like he was going to object.

"Be quiet, Hux," Poe told him. "You don't get a say in this." Hux huffed, but didn't say anything.

Finn looked at Hux for a bit, giving him a perplexed expression. It softened a little. He turned to Poe. "Okay. I'll be back with what I can get."

"Might be a good idea to send someone else since she saw you with him."

"Good point," Finn said. "I'll ask Suralinda or Rose. Might be a good idea for you to stay here, because she heard where you were going to take him. There are a lot of people here who are really upset about the First Order."

Poe nodded. "Good idea. See you later." After Finn left, Poe shut and locked the door, not that it was stout enough to pose much of a barrier to entry. It would keep people from accidentally wandering in, which had happened a few times before Rose had painted an emblem of the Otomok system on the door. It matched her medallion and made the place unique. Poe poured some water into a bowl and came in with a washcloth. "Hey Hugs. I'm going to wipe some of this dirt off your arm." He settled on the edge of the bed.

"So I do not contaminate the place further?"

"Uh-huh," Poe smiled as he wrung out the cloth and picked a neutral spot on Hux's forearm to start with. Hux jumped and raised his other hand, but he didn't do anything with it. Poe kept talking. "I mean, it couldn't possibly be to clean you up. Because you said no aid."

"I did." Hux was breathing harder. "I am in your bed … at this moment?"

"Yeah." Poe worked his way up the arm to the shoulder, where the dirt was stuck to him with blood and less identifiable bodily exudates. He moved aside the strap of the shirt. Hux twitched, his far hand moving like he wanted to push Poe away but it would hurt too much to do so. Poe stayed with the banter. "Never thought I'd have a general in my bed. A First Order one, too. That's something."

"Is it?"

"Uh-huh."

"Who normally occupies it?"

"Just me. But you're welcome to it as long as you need it. Based on how you look, that's going to be at least a few days."

"Where will you sleep? What are you doing?" Hux moved his head awkwardly as Poe worked on his neck. Blood had run down front and back, but for now he was just cleaning the front. Hux brought his hands up again and touched lightly at Poe's forearm. His hands were shaking.

Poe paused. "Is this hurting you?"

"You're touching me!"

Poe rinsed the cloth and wrung it out. The water was stained pink and grey. "Yeah, I am."

Hux tried to touch his own face, ending up doing it with the heel of his palm. He pressed it lightly to his eye and moved it around.

Poe asked, "Are you trying to get your eyes open so you can see?"

"Yes." Hux sounded both frustrated and pitiful.

"Can I help?"

"No."

Poe went back to cleaning the front of Hux's neck. He could see bruising as he cleared off the blood. Hux managed to get one eyelid peeled back enough to see around. He scanned the room before putting his hand down with a sigh. "I don't want you touching me. Everything hurts."

"Painkillers," Poe said, leaning back for a moment, rinsing out the cloth again. "I didn't tell him to get painkillers."

"I won't take them," Hux said petulantly. "You'll poison me."

Poe chuckled. "Yeah, that's why I dragged you in here. So I could poison you in peace and privacy. Not out there in the open, where all those people might stop me."

Even Hux snorted, but then he winced and gasped, raising a shaking hand to his nose and face.

"Okay, no more good jokes. Come on and let me clean you up." He held up the cloth even though Hux couldn't see it. Hux's hand was still in the way. Poe wasn't going to move it.

"No."

Poe sighed. "Hugs, I don't want to do this without your consent."

"Then don't do it."

Poe put the cloth in the water to soak and thought for a little bit. "What would you do if you were in my position?"

"Kill me." Hux relaxed. He put his hand down.

Poe made note of that. He hadn't paid attention to how worked up Hux had gotten while he was scrubbing him and how badly the man wanted to fend him off, but simply couldn't. "What would you do if you were in my position and you had too much empathy to kill someone who was hurt and needed help?"

Hux made a very soft snort, as much as he could manage without hurting himself. "Turn myself in for reprogramming."

Poe laughed a little. "Yeah, I suppose that would work. But we don't have that here. What would you do if you were back in the Order looking like this?"

"I'd … this is tiresome. I'd get cleaned up."

"By yourself?"

"No, I'd have someone …"

"Can I be that someone?"

Hux was quiet for a long gap. "You're not in the Order." His voice was different, though, like he was explaining why it wouldn't work rather than arguing about it.

Poe leaned in. "In another life, I could have been. You can't see me. You don't know who I am. All you got was, what, a blurry second or two? Just pretend."

"You are Commander Poe Dameron, leader of the Resistance as they are currently present on Hemmerjan, the one who was demanding our surrender, the one whom I was delivered to as an incapacitant when I refused to surrender."

"Yeah, I am," Poe said with resignation. "I don't want anyone to see you and think I had anything to do with this, or that I saw you like this and walked away. If you're not willing to pretend, then look at it this way - I don't want you to look the way they left you and I don't think you do, either."

"I can … understand that. You're not doing it for me." Hux nodded slightly.

Poe looked at him blankly for a moment, then said, "I'm going to touch your neck." He reached in with the cloth, deciding not to require any explicit acceptance of help, and started cleaning the far side of Hux's neck. Hux turned his head to make it easier. He sagged against the bed, head lolling as Poe reached across him to continue on the other arm. He didn't seem to have passed out as he wasn't insensible, but Poe stayed quiet and let him rest.

Some time later, Poe heard when Finn came in. He was noisy and talking to Rose, saying, "That makes it sound like they killed more of their own than we did."

Rose answered, "Yeah, that's what it looked like."

Hux stirred. Poe put a hand in the middle of his chest and rested it there. "Easy, buddy. You fell asleep. I've just been sitting here."

"You … finished?"

"I didn't touch your face. It's a mess and I knew you'd wake up. Besides, I wanted to wait for the stuff."

Finn came in the room with a bag of supplies. Rose stopped at the door. "That's him," she said.

Hux raised his head. "Who? Who is that?"

"Easy. That's Rose. She lives here." Poe patted him and stood, looking in the bag Finn handed him. "Thanks," he told Finn.

"With you?" Hux asked.

"No," Finn said. Hux's face jerked in Finn's direction.

"Well," Poe interjected, "yeah, kind of. In the other room." Rose walked to the foot of the bed, looking at Hux with an intensity that put Poe on edge.

"Where are we?" Hux asked, oblivious.

"In a little temporary dome-habitation," Poe said. "They're kind of like sturdy tents. It's what the locals could spare for us while we were fighting for them."

"Fighting against you," Rose said. Hux didn't say anything, but he turned his head to orient on the sound of her voice. Rose went on, "He doesn't know who I am, does he?"

"Should I?" Hux asked, using his elbows to push himself up in the bed. He raised his chin defiantly. "Sounds like I would have been safer with the doctor."

Finn said dryly, "You tried to have us executed on the Supremacy, right before it got blasted in two." Hux said nothing. Finn added, "I'm the traitor."

"Ah. Just like the ones who did this to me. Feel free to finish the job." There was no way he could sneer, but he certainly tried. Blood ran down his chin.

Rose shook her head. "This isn't who I am – threatening someone who can't even get out of bed." She walked into the common area.

"Did you bring any painkillers?" Poe asked quietly as he pulled a few things out of the bag.

Finn responded, "I didn't think about it, no."

"Might be part of why he's grouchy."

"I am not grouchy," Hux said irritably. He was fighting a losing battle to keep from slumping back on the bed.

Poe smiled at Finn, who smiled back. Poe held up two fingers a short distance apart to indicate 'just a little grouchy'. Finn nodded and said, "I'll go see if I can find some painkillers."

"You should just get a med-kit out of one of the ships," Poe said. "It might have some bacta in it."

Finn nodded and left. Poe settled on the side of the bed again. He had a bottle of antiseptic cleansing solution in one hand and some gauze in the other. Hux turned toward him, facing him. The tension that had been in him while Finn and Rose were in the room bled away. Poe said, "I want to clean your face up so you're a little more put together and do what I can to make sure nothing infects. Okay?"

"I … hear you. That's your goal."

"Yeah, it is. This stuff might sting a little." He wet the gauze and started with chin and mouth. "Looks like you're missing a couple teeth on the left."

"Mm. Yes."

"Is your jaw broken? Are there injuries I can't see?"

"My ribs hurt. I was kicked in the … lower abdomen. But my hands and my face were the primary targets."

"You have a lot of cuts on your face for just fists," Poe observed as he cleaned his cheeks. The flesh was puffy and swollen, lacerated in a half-dozen spots. It was probably tender, too, but Hux was holding perfectly still for him. He was quiet aside from speaking and the occasional irregular breath as Poe scrubbed at the worst spots.

Hux said, "Wrayner was using a … thing. A grip-guard."

"Like a knuckle-guard? Something to protect his hand while he hit you?"

"Yes."

"Ah. That's what they took your teeth out with, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'm going to touch your eyes now." Hux continued to cooperate. Rose had come to the doorway and was watching silently. Poe kept talking. "I'll bet that's how you got the scalp wounds, too, isn't it?"

"I'm not sure. I know they hit me with rifle butts a few times in the back of the head."

Poe started around his nose. "Never let it be said that you were asking your people to do something you weren't willing to do yourself."

"Go down fighting?"

"Yep."

Hux sighed. "I'm still … fighting. I suppose this doesn't look much like it."

"You would if you could. We all know that. Hold still here. Can you breathe through your nose?"

"Yes, some. On one side. Is it broken?"

"Uh … It doesn't look that bad." Poe paused as Hux reached up with his thumb to feel around on it. "Hold on. Let me clean your thumb. Is that broken?" His hands were filthy.

"No. Don't- oh-." Hux bit off whatever other complaint of pain he'd been about to make. Poe froze, mid-way in the act of holding his swollen hand so he could clean it. With a strained voice, Hux said, "Everything else in the hand is broken. Just … not the thumb."

Poe let go carefully. "Okay. I'm just going to leave that alone, then." Poe tried to figure out where to set the antiseptic bottle. Rose came forward and took it out of his hand, along with the bloody gauze. He switched to the cloth. "I'm going to clean the back of your neck instead. Can you sit up a little?"

"Yes." Hux started upward, then fell back gasping. "No."

"You mentioned getting kicked. Stomach?"

"Among other places." Hux tried to get up on his elbows as he had earlier, but he didn't seem to be able this time.

Rose set down the bottle and gauze, then moved to the head of the bed and mimed pushing Hux forward. Poe nodded. He said, "I'm going to have someone help me here. They're going to push you up."

"What? Who?"

"Rose," Poe told him.

"I don't want her touching me!"

Poe had to smile, noticing the objection to him touching Hux had disappeared.

Rose said, "I won't be touching you. I'll be touching your shirt."

"Come on," Poe said.

"No!"

"Okay, okay. I've been here before." Poe made a soothing motion at Rose, who was giving Hux a dirty look for being noncompliant. Poe looked to Rose. "Just hold the bowl over here where I can get to it." Poe put his hand on Hux's far shoulder. "This is me. I'm going to lift your head."

Hux said nothing, so Poe put his hand on the back of Hux's head and pulled. With his other hand, he scrubbed the back of Hux's neck as clean as he could get it. His hand came away tacky from the blood in his hair.

Rose helped him wring out the cloth. "That's a lot of blood," she said.

"Yep."

"Finn said this was … his own officers?" Rose asked.

"I think so." Poe glanced at Hux, who was saying nothing. He'd gotten up on his elbows finally so Poe wasn't having to hold him. "If I understood correctly, once we had them cornered and there was no chance at getting out alive or winning, Hux ordered them to keep fighting to the last. They decided not to."

"And then they beat him up?" Rose asked.

Hux shook his head. "You say that like we were hopeless. We were not. We were in a fortified position with sufficient supplies to hold out until the Order sent reinforcements, which they would have, even if it took weeks. The only reason we were defeated was internal. Betrayal."

"How so?" Poe asked. He wrung the cloth out and made a second pass at the back of Hux's neck and the top of his shoulders.

"Jelaki, the leader of the Hemmerjani miners, made common cause with Wrayner. They killed my guards and rendered me … unable to assert my authority … before the rest knew what was happening. Wrayner accepted your terms. I did not."

"So what does it mean that you didn't surrender?" Rose asked.

"He is not an authorized representative of the First Order if he was materially involved in my incapacitation. It means the First Order still claims the planet. They'll be back."

"Finn said the same thing," Poe said.

Rose chuckled. "That's ridiculous. There's no one left fighting."

"I am," Hux insisted as Poe lowered him back to the bed.

"How does that matter?" she asked.

"I know you understand the concept. You bit me when I was going to have you and the traitor executed."

"He goes by Finn now," Rose said. "Not 'the traitor'."

"Fine."

"Finn," she articulated firmly, misunderstanding him. Hux sighed and turned his face pointedly away from her. "Ugh," she said in exasperation.

Poe shrugged. He looked at the hand Hux held across his belly. He touched the back of it lightly. "No compound fractures. Do you know anything about fixing hands?"

He was asking Rose, but blind, Hux didn't know that. Hux answered sullenly, "If you can get me a hardboard, tape, and some wadding, I can manage it myself." He was still facing away.

"With two broken hands?" Poe asked him.

"I can … give orders … for 'someone else' to manage it."

"I will follow those orders," Poe said gently. He put a hand on Hux's bare shoulder and caressed it. Hux turned mostly back to him. Rose raised a brow at Poe, who was continuing to pet Hux since it seemed to be getting a warm reception. At the look, Poe said, "He won't ask for help. Finn brought tape and gauze and a wrist splint but I don't think that's the kind of splint we need. Do you know where there's something stiff and small enough to flatten his hands? It needs to be light."

She nodded. "I know where some uncured plastisynth is. That should work. I'll bring the molding gun, too."

"That should be perfect," Hux said.

She looked between the two of them skeptically, then left. Poe sat there on the edge of the bed as he had before, watching the general. His hand slid down his arm to pat his forearm a couple times. Hux moved it so it rested against Poe's thigh. They were otherwise simply quiet and at ease with each other as Hux dozed.