The Empath
By: Crusher1701
Word Count:
Summary: Poe Dameron is an empath, and it comes in handy in sticky situations, and when he falls in love with Finn.
When he was a child, Poe Dameron learned quickly who he could trust and who he could not, it somehow came easily to him. He could sense things from people: intentions, deceptions, honesty, and their emotions.
The ability to sense these things helped him as a pilot in the resistance, and it also served General Organa well. If he trusted someone and their intentions, so would the General; if he didn't, they were gone.
He didn't realize how truly helpful it was to him as a single person until he was captured by the First Order, and a stormtrooper (that he would later name Finn) came to his aid.
Though they were on opposite sides in this conflict, he sensed that Finn felt fear, but he didn't appear to be trying to deceive Poe.
Poe could never be more thankful for his gift than he was in that moment. Finn saved his life and if he hadn't been empathic, he wouldn't have trusted Finn, and he might very well be dead.
When he was stranded on Jakku, his gifts were handy once again when he had to try and secure transport back to the Resistance base on D'Qar. Many of the creatures on Jakku were either liars or First Order sympathizers, and so without his gifts, it would have been difficult for him to know who he could trust.
Eventually, he found a way back to the lllenium system and the base with a creature that was at least partially trustworthy. He hoped that his new friend had somehow survived, and perhaps they would meet again. At this point however, he was slightly more concerned about BB8.
He knew that there was good in Finn, he had been able to sense it. It wasn't his fault that he had been taken by the First Order at a young age, how could it be? He was good enough to go against all the First Order had brainwashed into him. That took more courage than he had ever displayed in his life.
Without Finn, he knew he would be dead at the hands of Kylo Ren (a man who had changed so much from when they were children) and the First Order. Poe still felt dispair at not being able to pick up on warning signs that Ben was going to turn against them. The General had tried to tell him time and time again that it wasn't his fault.
Once he arrived back on D'Qar, he met with General Organa, explaining what had happened, and apologized for his inability to return with BB8 and the map to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. The General understood and assured him that BB8 would be found with the map to Luke, that it was their top priority. For a droid, BB8 was extremely resourceful and would either be returned or find a way back. Poe prayed it was true, before Skywalker had disappeared, he had been like an uncle to Poe.
At this point in time, Poe told her about Finn and all that he had done. "Please General," Poe pleaded. "If he is soehow alive and finds BB8 and returns here with the droid, don't send him away. He's not an enemy, I could sense it."
"Poe, I wouldn't send anybody that you trust away. He must be very brave to go against the First Order like that. If he does arrive here with BB8, he will be deemed a hero," she said, reaching out and patting Poe on the back lightly.
"He'd find a way to help us, I know he would," Poe assured her, getting a smile from the woman who had so few things to smile about these days. "He didn't need to help me, and he did."
Peazy came in the the chamber to deliver a message at this point in time. "General, one of our operatives has just informed us that our missing droid, BB8, is on Takodana." At this point in time, General Organa's smile broadened.
"I only know of one person who would bring BB8 there, to Maz Kanata. Poe, get ready to head out, because if we know, I'm sure the First Order knows as well."
Poe nodded and headed towards the hangar. He missed his old X-Wing, but maybe he could learn to love his new one just as much as the old one.
On the way to Takodana, Poe sensed the nervousness from his crew, but soon after taking off, he froze, sensing a strong feeling from the General. She felt a disturbance, a great loss of life. He felt bad about it, but he knew he needed to push it from his mind or else he might fail at the mission at hand.
When they arrived, Poe could sense intense relief mixed with fear from the surface. He knew that there was a chance that Finn wasn't there, or even alive, but he hoped his new friend would be there. He hoped that they would be successful, especially on what was 'good' territory (Maz shared their feelings for the First Order, though she remained as neutral as she could).
He shot at stormtroopers, hitting them all. At one point, he thought he saw Finn, but when he looked again, his friend was gone. He sighed lightly and carried on fighting. Maybe it as him, and he would find Finn again later.
When the fight was over, he left to return to D'Qar. If BB8 and Finn had been there with Maz, they would be arriving soon after him. He wished he could sense specifics on whether or not someone was alive and safe, but he couldn't. Gosh, there were times that even with his gift, he felt both helpless and useless. He hated not knowing everything, but his gift could only give him so much. Pushing that self-loathing from from his mind, he continued flying and hoping that Finn was still alive.
About an hour after landing on D'Qar, Poe was busy reuniting with BB8, and when he turned around, Finn was standing before him, about 50 yards away.
Running towards one another, the feeling of happiness grew stronger. However, the feeling of love that Poe felt afterwards was stronger than any feeling of love he had ever felt before.
If Finn loved him back, but was too scared to tell him, Poe was happier than ever to be the 'Resistance Empath.'
finis.