Poe found Karè Kun in the hanger overseeing repairs to the squadron's X-Wings.

"Hey, Karè, I need a favor."

"Sure. What's up?" She walked from behind the fighter she was inspecting.

"Can I borrow some of your clothes?"

She raised an eyebrow. Then her eyes raked up and down his body accessing him in a way that would have made him uncomfortable if he hadn't known Karè for so many years. "Well, Poe, we're not exactly the same size, but..."

Poe rolled his eyes. "Not for me. For Rey. She's about the same size as you."

"The scavenger girl?"

"Yes. She doesn't have anything other than what she was wearing."

"Okay. Hey, Arate," she called to her astromech and the R8 unit rolled over to her. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Start working on repulsors."

Poe followed Karè back to her quarters. She had already started packing up her belongings for the evacuation. She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a pair of serviceable black pants. She dug around a bit and started to pull out a cream colored shirt. Poe reached around her and grabbed one woven in a swirling blue and green pattern. "What about this one?"

She tugged it out of his hand. "That's one of my favorite shirts. Besides, what do you care what she wears?"

"I think she would like the colors." He knew she would after the way she had reacted to his hologram. He couldn't imagine having to have spent his life on a dull colorless rock like Jakku. "C'mon, Karè, she's a poor orphan girl." He gave his friend his most charming smile.

But she knew his tricks too well to be moved. "That's no orphan girl. She's got people. Important people."

"Well, those important people seemed to have abandoned her on that hellhole, so I'd say they're not worth much." It made him angry just thinking about it.

"Oh, no," Karè gasped, suddenly sitting on her bed as if her legs would no longer hold her.

"What? Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"Don't do this again, Poe. You know it never works out well."

Poe rubbed his forehead. He was beyond exhausted and his conversation was giving him a headache. "What are you even talking about, Karè?"

She stood up."I know that look in your eye, Poe Dameron." She prodded him in his chest with her finger and he took a step back. "You're taking this girl on as one of your little projects. She's a woman, not just some stray animal that you can patch up and feed and then release back into the wild."

"I know that."

"Do you? Didn't you know that about Leeja? How about Fahra?"

"Rey is nothing like them," he retorted. "She saved Beebee-Ate and made sure that the information he carried got back to the Resistance. I owe her."

"Okay. I get that. But don't get too close," she warned. "That girl is dangerous. You know that masked freak is going to be after her now. You've already tangled with him once. He will take you apart next time and make sure you suffer, especially if you get between him and that girl."

"I know. I know." He did. He knew better than anyone what Kylo Ren was capable of. That mask had haunted his dreams since.

Karè's expression softened and she reached out and squeezed his arm affectionately. "I'm just worried about you, Poe. You've been through hell lately. We need Black Leader for what's coming. I need to know you're on my wing. Being mixed up with Jedi doesn't exactly do good for your lifespan. Look at Solo."

"Yeah," he paused wondering if he should even be discussing it, but the thought was nagging him and he trusted Karè. "Do you think Rey's Skywalker's kid?"

"Makes sense. That would explain some things. Jakku is certainly the kind of place to hide someone you don't want to be found." Her expression turned stern again. "If Skywalker is her father that's even more reason for you not to get involved with her."

He sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair tiredly."I'm not looking to get involved with anyone, Karè. I've got a war to fight."

"Don't forget that," she told him, before giving him a knowing smile. "I know it's hard to do when you're someone who has a chivalrous streak ten lightyears wide." She handed him the shirt. "Here. Don't say I never did anything for an abandoned Jedi."

"Thanks," he smiled at her. "I owe you."

"Just remember what I said and don't get yourself killed and we'll call it even."


Rey felt as if she could have stood under the spray of warm water for the rest of her life and have been perfectly content. She couldn't remember a time when she had access to more water than was strictly necessary for survival. There was soap and shampoo on a little shelf in the tiny shower stall so she used them. She liked the fragrance of both, clean smelling but with a hint of some exotic spicy scent.

She ended up scrubbing her skin until it was nearly raw. She couldn't remember the last time she had been truly clean. It felt like she washed her hair a thousand times before it was completely free of grit. She felt a little guilty when she realized she'd used most of the shampoo that was in the bottle, but she couldn't deny how great it felt to be completely free of the sand and grime for once.

She could only force herself to leave the shower when she felt too tired to stand any longer. She dried off and wrapped a towel around herself. She tentatively peeked out into his bedroom, but Poe wasn't there. BB-8 beeped a greeting from his charging station in the corner. She saw there was a set of clothes neatly laid out over the single chair in the room. She went over and touched the shirt on the top. The silky fabric was a wonderful swirling blue and green design. It was the most beautiful garment she had ever seen. Whoever owned it was very lucky.

She went over to the narrow bed against the wall and saw a much larger shirt laid out there. It was a deep forest green and she could imagine how well it likely looked on Poe with his tan skin and dark hair and eyes. She pulled it over her head and it felt almost sinfully soft against her newly clean skin.

She was ashamed that the the feeling made her tear up. Comfort had never been part of her life and this stranger gave so freely of his own comforts, his candy, his clothes, his water, and even his bed. On Jakku all anyone cared about was their own survival or what they take from someone else.

A twitter of concern came from BB-8.

"I'm okay. I'm just tired." So tired. She hadn't realize how tired she was of scraping by and waiting and endlessly waiting until she had a moment to think about anything other than just survival.

She pulled the covers back and slid into the bed. A sigh escaped her at the feeling of the soft mattress and pillow conforming to her body. She lay so she could look at the hologram of the waterfall and jungle. What would it have been like to grow up in such a place? It may have been in the middle of nowhere to a man of the galaxy like Poe, but it looked just like heaven to her.

That night for the first time her dreams were filled with color. And a man with dark laughing eyes.

TBC