This was weird. Food has never been free for me before. When I asked Poe what they traded for food here, he laughed and said the Resistance members got rations because, "you can't defeat the First Order on an empty stomach, sunshine." I'm still not actually a member of the Resistance, but there I was, in line at the mess.
When the droid put the rations on my plate, I was so shocked that I almost forgot to thank him. What had been put on my plate was pre-prepared and was the size of two whole portions. As I made my way to a table in the back, I fought back tears, because how embarrassing would it be to cry over food in a room full of soldiers who had lost so much? After I sat down, I immediately began eating, because it been so long since I had had this much food in the front of me. I looked up just to see Leia Organa coming right to my table.
"Hello, Rey," the General said, and gods, something about her was so familiar, "mind if I take a seat?" I had still had my mouth full of a big bite, so I just shook my head. I enjoyed seeing her, maybe it had something to do with her association with Han or maybe it was just the idea of seeing such a strong woman in action, but I knew that her presence seemed to soothe something deep in my heart. Leia smiled as she sat and waited until I was done to speak again, "why are you sitting all by yourself?"
It was shocking that she cared so much about someone who was partially responsible for her husband's death, but it was better than having the Resistance General hate you. "I-I've never really ate with anyone else before," Leia looked more apologetic for this than anyone who didn't really know me should, but then again, she had been like that since the first time we had been on the landing bay. Before she could respond, I unconsciously followed with,"and I also don't really know anyone here, Poe's busy and Finn's still in the Med Bay."
"You know me," she said with a knowing, understanding smile, "we'll eat together, okay?" I nodded my head vigorously, I didn't know why the General would want to eat lunch with me of all people, but I appreciated it. "Poe told me you had asked how to pay for food, I just wanted you to know that you won't have to worry about going hungry while you're with us."
In the week before Rey left to find Luke, she and Leia ate all of their meals together. They would talk about Rey's life on Jakku (this left Leia feeling a strange mix of sadness and pride), Leia's time in the Rebellion (this changed Rey's definition of badass), and sometimes Chewbacca would join them and he and Leia would trade stories about Han (these were Rey's favorite days). Little did Rey know that these meetings were what kept Leia going during the day. She had never fallen apart (not even after Alderaan), but losing Han had brought her close. She stayed strong for Rey, she knew that after Rey came back with Luke she would want her family even more. The Force told Leia that she had to wait to tell the truth, but Leia was determined to be there for her baby girl, even as a temporarily adoptive parent.