#Standard Disclaimer, Star Wars isn't mine.#
#I kept thinking of Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" while writing this, so if you want to listen, look it up on YouTube#
Sariah slipped her arms around Poe's waist and looked up into his dark eyes. They'd been married for a year. One year for her of getting used to being a military wife. She'd found a job she enjoyed teaching at the local primary school. She had unfailingly met him on his return from patrols, no matter the time, she liked being there to see him come home safe. And she knew he loved it too.
Poe bent to kiss her, she parted her lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss. He pulled her close, bringing her hips against his and holding her there. He broke the kiss, his dark eyes wide with passion as he looked down at her. "Are you sure you don't mind that we're at home for our anniversary?"
Sariah smiled, reaching to put her hand on his face, his dark hair and dark complexion meant he grew a beard quickly, she could feel the scratchy beginnings of one under her fingers. "No, it's fine. Dinner's almost ready." She'd made his favourite, a stew involving Corellian sausage and a variety of vegetables.
He nodded and kissed her again. He had to leave early in the morning for a long patrol. She pulled back, running her hands through his hair, she loved the way his thick, dark hair felt in her hands. "Really, Poe, unless you want burned dinner, we'd better save this for dessert."
He frowned. "Food first then, it smells wonderful." He followed her into the kitchen. Some of his squadron mates had tried to get him to let them throw a party, but he'd refused. Honestly, he was enjoying this more.
##
Their upstairs was simple, two bedrooms with the refresher at the top of the stairs. Poe watched Sariah walk into the refresher and went to their bedroom. Opening the drawer where he kept his underclothes, he pulled a small box from the very back. He smiled, knowing she'd love it.
She stepped in their bedroom, dressed in a blue nightgown that accented her shape. He swallowed hard, present first. Sariah stood still, watching him, her red hair loose around her shoulders. He crossed the room and held out the box. Taking it from his hand, she opened it and gasped.
"Poe! It's beautiful. Where did you get it?"
She lifted the necklace from the wooden case. A silver chain held a small silver medallion, with a blue and red stone set in the centre.
"Refuelling stop was taking longer than expected, I was wandering around the space station, I saw it. I had to get it for you."
She set it down on the wooden chest at the foot of their bed and put her arms around his neck. "Thank you!" She had gotten him something as well but wanted to wait to give it to him. He pulled her close and kissed her. Sariah leaned into him, parting her lips for him to deepen the kiss. She slipped her hands under his shirt, pushing it out of her way so she could touch him. He stepped back, sitting on the bed and pulling her into his lap. She got his shirt off and ran her hands over his chest and then around to his back. He liked physical contact, they were nearly always touching in some way, even if it was just holding hands. Poe slipped his hands under her tunic, warm against her skin as he pushed the material aside. Gently pushing on his shoulders, she got him to lie down, she remained where she was, straddling his hips. She almost couldn't believe he was hers. She smiled as she leaned down to kiss him again.
##
It was still dark when she woke in his arms. "Is it time for you to get up?" She hadn't heard the alarm he set, but that wasn't unusual. She could have slept through a storm and he was usually attuned to certain sounds, like alarms, out of habit from years of flying.
He shook his head, pulling her closer. "A little longer." He turned so she was under him. Poe kissed her deeply for a long moment, before pulling back, his right hand on her cheek.
The room was dark, but she could tell he was watching her. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I just wanted to watch you. When I get back, I want to request leave, to just have some time with you without either of us having to go, we don't get much of that."
That was true, their schedules had conflicted lately, leaving them with little time together. "True. I'll request time off too. And now that we're actively trying to get pregnant, things could change quickly." She smiled. They hadn't been trying to prevent it, but it had seemed that his patrol schedule wasn't conducive to her conceiving. They both wanted children and so they'd been making a little more of an effort on the right timing. Not that they minded the 'practise'.
She felt his hand on her abdomen, the warmth going through her. He slid his hand a little lower, a grin on his face as he leaned down to kiss her.
##
He stood on the small porch of their home and kissed her. "I love you." He breathed as he pulled back, his hands cupping her face.
"I love you too. I'll see you when you get back."
"Same place?" He smiled, referring to the spot outside the hanger where she waited for him.
"Always. May the Force be with you."
He leaned in for another kiss. She watched him walk to the speeder that was waiting. One standard week. Longer than his usual missions, but not by much. He would be fine.
##
Poe turned his X-Wing in an impossibly tight arc, bringing it about to face the oncoming fighters. He fired, clearing enough of a path for his wingman to go. Apparently their intel was wrong, these people had fighters, They'd entered the atmosphere to follow up on some probe scans that showed suspicious activity. It was suspicious all right, the natives were known to be hostile, but apparently they had access to more weapons than the intel on them said they did. The oncoming fighters weren't TIEs so he felt safe in assuming they weren't First Order. Which meant he could shoot back.
"Karè, go, get out of here!"
"But.."
"NOW!" He yelled into his comm even as he felt the blast hit his starboard high wing. He didn't have to look to see it was gone. He plummeted towards the planet's surface, about as graceful as a rock in water. He saw Karè jump to hyperspace. He was going to have to eject, there was no way he could hold it well enough to survive a crash, he wasn't flying, he was falling. Securing his oxygen in place over his mouth and nose, he hit the eject for BB-8 and then for himself.
##
The house was quiet. Sariah wasn't expecting Poe home from the patrol he was on for another 12 standard hours, at which time she'd go to the hanger to meet him, as she always did. She wasn't expecting the door chime. She stood and went to the door, tapping the control to open it, her heart plummeting when she saw Poe's commanding officer standing there, his expression grave as he stood at rigid attention.
Major Deso spoke. "Mrs. Dameron, we need to talk."
She swallowed hard around the tightness in her throat. Nodding, she stood out of the way and motioned him and the lieutenant with him inside. There was no way this could be good news. They sat down in the front room.
"We lost contact with your husband's tracking signal. He seems to have gone down, but based on the information we have, we're declaring him missing, not killed."
Part of her was relieved, missing was better than dead. She nodded slowly. "He was over a planet then?"
"Yes. I can't say more than that, but yes, he was in the atmosphere, which is why we think he has a good chance of being alive, assuming we can find him."
She nodded. They weren't at war so this was a possibility far from her mind, that she could lose Poe this way. Sariah watched the two officers for a long moment before she speaking again. "May I tell his father?"
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry I can't give you more details than that."
"Can you at least tell me where?"
Major Deso sighed. "Sybastia."
She nodded, knowing full well the world on the edge of their sector of space was hostile to human life, in more ways than one. "Thank you."
"We'll keep you informed."
"Thank you." She stood, the officers took the hint and stood as well. She showed them to the door.
Once they were gone she walked over to the comm and sank into the chair. She had to tell his father. She entered the codes for him. It was the middle of the night on Yavin IV. Her father-in-law answered, a deep frown on his face as he looked at her through the holographic image.
"Sariah, what's wrong?"
She swallowed hard, pushing the urge to cry back. She needed to just do this. "Poe went down. They've declared him missing over Sybastia." She spoke quickly.
"I'm on my way to you, but Sariah, I taught that boy everything I know from being a Pathfinder. Poe can survive in the wild, as long as he survived the crash, he can survive—with or without technology, even in a place like Sybastia."
"What if he was captured? I've heard stories…." She knew her father-in-law was trying to comfort her, but all she could think was the worst possible scenarios.
Kes shook his head. "Sariah, don't. Don't even go there, hope he's alive and able to avoid capture. The Republic will do everything it can to get him back. I'll be there as soon as possible."
She nodded. "I will."
He disconnected. She entered the codes for her parents home on Naboo. At least it was morning there, not the middle of the night.
##
Poe had to eject, he couldn't control the fighter well enough to put it down in one piece. That meant he had to leave the extra rations and survival gear in his X-Wing. BB-8 had ejected as well and was on his way down safely. At least they weren't getting shot at. The intel had been wrong, that was for sure. This was a hostile planet anyway, but now apparently they had fighters. Maybe, just maybe, the X-Wing's explosion on impact would convince the natives he was dead.
He came down in a clearing, quickly unhooking himself from his parachute and hiding it. The terrain was rough, very little cover, mostly rock and dirt. He had to find higher ground, water, and shelter, and he had to do it fast. It was just dawn here, but it would get unbearably hot very quickly, deadly heat without shelter and a water source. He had his side arm, signal flares and two ration bars. He was relieved to hear BB-8 heading towards him. He stopped and knelt down.
"All right buddy, do you have anything at all on this place other than the fact that it's hot."
BB-8 beeped his response. He had the terrain mapped. "We need water and shelter." BB-8 responded. Poe knew the reptilian natives were hostile to humans, not a part of the Republic, and dangerous. He needed to avoid the natives, taking his chances with the elements was a better plan.
##
Kes arrived on Mirrin Prime and was at his son's home as fast as he could get there. He got to the small house Poe and Sariah shared. It was a stand alone, unlike most of the base housing, one of the privileges of being an officer. A small yard surrounded the home. He noticed the flowers along the path leading to the door, a variety of colours and all native to Naboo.
He pressed the door alarm and waited. When it opened, his daughter-in-law stood there, her eyes red from crying. He pulled her into a hug.
"You need rest, Sariah."
Sariah stepped back into the house, letting her father-in-law in. She'd been cleaning just to keep herself busy and had the kitchen completely taken apart. "I can't." She answered quietly.
"Yes, you can. You need to. You sleep when he's on a patrol, right?"
She nodded. She'd quickly gotten used to sharing a bed, to sleeping with Poe at her side, his arms around her, her head on his chest. He liked to tease her that he was her pillow. She swallowed around the tightness in her throat. She felt her father-in-law's hand on her shoulder.
"Sariah, you need to. Go upstairs and lie down. Poe will come back, they'll find him."
She inhaled deeply. "My parents are coming too. They should be here in an hour or so." It was a little further from Naboo than Yavin IV.
Kes nodded. "Fine. I'll be here. You, go upstairs."
Reluctantly she nodded and headed up the stairs to where the two bedrooms were. Sariah crawled into the bed, pulling Poe's pillow to her body and putting her face into it, inhaling the scent that was uniquely him. He had to be ok, he had to come home.
##
Poe managed to find some stray wood pieces that with some work with the knife he had made decent water containers once he found a small stream. There wasn't much on this rock. BB-8 assured him they weren't being followed. He'd also found a very small place within the rocks that would shade him from the sun during the day. It wasn't much, but it would beat dying in the sun. It was already much hotter and he was only a couple of hours past sunrise.
He curled into the spot, BB-8 with him. "Keep watch for a couple hours, buddy."
The small astromech beeped an affirmative and Poe closed his eyes.