Rey had felt fear before, but nothing could ever come close to how she felt at that moment. She wasn't scared for herself, rather for someone else's life and it was a whole new feeling for her. Of course she was worried when Finn was injured, yet oddly enough this time was different. This feeling seeped into her bones, nearly consuming her and causing her to feel a pain she had never experienced before.
As far back as she could remember, she had always been alone. She had to grow up alone, survive, and get stronger on her own. But from the moment she allowed a particular orange-white droid to roll into her life, she knew that everything would change. She gained a family, the type that she could only hope for since the day her real family left her on Jakku.
No one told her anything about the dark side of having a family to love. No one told her about how painful it could be to care about or love someone. How much pain one could feel and yet still how comforting and beautiful it could be as well. This truly was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
The med bay was silent. Rey hadn't said a word in hours and the only thing that sometimes broke the overwhelming silence was BB-8's melancholic notes. Neither of them left Poe's side since they brought him in. By the time the doctors got ahold of him he was in a horrible condition. He was burning with a fever, his heartbeat was abnormally fast and his breathing was erratic and laboured. They pumped him with medicine and fluids, but it seemed like none of it was working. His tan skin was clammy and hauntingly pale; and although he was unconscious, he cried out painfully every time a spasm rocked through his body.
Rey was with him the whole time. She didn't care about the doctors' initial caring queries that later turned into harsh orders to leave the med bay. She couldn't leave him, she wouldn't leave him. She knew how awful it was to be left alone. Even if he was unconscious and even if it could sound silly to anyone else, she didn't want him to experience that feeling of loneliness. She watched, terrified at how the doctors stood around him helplessly. They did not know what was causing his symptoms and why the medicine they gave him was not working.
Finally BB-8 brought the long awaited solution, thus saving his master's life. The droid beeped excitedly as he remembered Poe was bitten by something on his neck a couple of days back during his last mission on Haruun Kal. Rey quickly translated everything to the doctors who checked Poe's neck and in a few seconds they concluded the cause of his symptoms. Right under his hairline, covered by his dark hair, there was a tiny black stinger deep in his neck. His skin around it was angrily red, other than that it was barely noticeable. The doctors recognised it right away, it was the stinger of a fever wasp. An insect that was native to only Haruun Kal and whose venom could cause a serious disease that manifests only days after the bite. By the time a diagnosis is made, the venom will have already spread throughout the victim's body, causing severe pain and occasionally even death if the stinger wasn't found and removed on time. After the doctors slowly extracted it and gave him the right antidote, Poe's condition slowly but steadily improved. By dawn his fever was gone with his breathing and heart rate normalised.
Rey pulled her chair closer to Poe's bed as she watched the slow rising and falling of his chest. She was breathing with him without even realising it. She was so absorbed by his peaceful aura, that she didn't notice someone else had walked into the room. Leia placed a hand on her shoulder, slightly startling Rey. She turned around to see the General's sorrowful face.
"Has he woken up at all?" She asked quietly.
Rey shook her head in response. "According to the doctors he's doing much better now. They think they removed the stinger just in time, before it could have caused any permanent damage. We should be truly grateful for BB-8's observation." She looked down at the droid with a small smile on her face.
BB-8 beeped sadly in return, but didn't move from the side of his master.
"You should get some rest now. I don't think you realise you were with him the whole night." Leia observed the girl carefully. She looked exhausted. Her eyes were red and sunken, either from lack of sleep or crying. Maybe both.
"I'm okay really. I feel I should stay with him," Rey insisted.
"You need to sleep, Rey. I will stay with him, and let you know as soon as he is awake, I promise," the General said kindly.
"I want to be here when he wakes up," Rey replied, her gaze lingering on Poe's face.
Leia watched them quietly for several seconds, a sad, knowing smile forming on her face. Poe and Rey were the two most stubborn people she knew. They reminded her so much of Han and herself… She sighed quietly and nodded at Rey, acknowledging that she wasn't going to win this battle. Quietly, she excused herself and left the room.
Not long after the General left a nurse came into the room to check on Poe's condition.
"You're Rey right?" She asked while motioning for BB-8 to move a little so she could get closer to Poe's side. The droid chirped resentfully in response but rolled enough for the nurse to check on his master.
"Yes." Rey nodded as she watched the nurse make a quick check on Poe's pulse.
"Good, then Rey would you be so kind as to help me turn him and hold him on his side? I have to examine the wound on his neck."
It took a few seconds for Rey to comprehend what the nurse was asking.
"Yes, sure." She quickly stood up, fighting the heavy weight of her tired body.
The nurse observed the tired girl thoughtfully, shaking her head. "You could really use some sleep, you know."
"Really, I'm fine!" Rey said in a surprisingly harsh tone. She sighed tiredly and added regretfully "I'm sorry, I'm just…"
"You're worried," the nurse said sympathetically. "I understand. I truly do." Rey gave her a grateful smile as she stepped closer to the bed. "Please hold him still, while I check the sting."
The nurse pulled down the blanket from Poe's chest exposing his bare shoulders. As they carefully rolled him to his side Rey couldn't help but notice the long scar on his left shoulder. It ran down from his collarbone to the bottom of his shoulder blade. It was a disturbing sight to see, so white against his tan skin. Yet she couldn't take her eyes off of it.
"He was shot down," the nurse said noticing Rey's stare.
"Sorry?" She snapped up her head.
"He was shot down," the nurse repeated. "Four years ago on a mission. I don't know how, but it was a miracle that he survived the crash. "
BB-8 chirped in agreement and twittered quickly, remembering the horrible event. Rey didn't say anything as she looked from the scar to Poe's peaceful face. She knew what he was, he was a survivor, just like her.
"He's going to be alright," the nurse said as she laid Poe back. "There's no infection."
"When will he wake up?" Rey asked. BB-8 joined in the question with a curious whistle.
"It's up to him." The nurse nodded towards Poe. "His body was worn out by the fever and the pain. He just needs time to heal and rest." Seeing the slight disappointment and the weariness on Rey's face, the nurse added reassuringly.
"But he is going to be alright and that's what matters. There is no doubt about that."
Another hour passed without Poe waking up and the depressing silence began to disturb Rey. She was used to the quiet on Jakku and she never really had anyone to talk to, now it felt strangely uncomfortable to her. She wished Finn could be here, but he was on a recon mission to find a supposed base on a planet she had never even heard of. It was highly unlikely he would return before the next week. Rey smiled at the thought of how Finn would talk Poe down when he found out how stubborn and insufferable Poe had been.
She leaned on the bed, her head resting on her arms, thinking about how she had been reacting. She realised that she missed Poe. It may have sounded silly to someone else especially since she was right next to him, but still she missed him. She missed his voice, his laughter, the way they always argued about whether the Falcon or Black One was easier to manoeuvre. But she especially missed the way he looked at her. She so missed those deep brown eyes, because whenever she looked into them, she knew she had someone who would always be there for her.
She gently traced the lines on his hand and felt the comforting roughness of his palm. Strange, she had never held his hand before. Finn had that weird habit of grabbing her hand whenever he was afraid. Rey couldn't really decide whether it was about him being worried about her or about himself, maybe both.
Poe was different. He was never worried about his own well-being, always putting himself last in the order of importance. There was no doubt this was the reason why he ended up here. As for Rey, she knew he worried about her. She saw it in his eyes whenever she was sent on a mission, always worrying about her safety. But when the General worried and questioned Rey's capability and training for missions, Poe always stood up for her. That was what Rey appreciated the most about him. He trusted her implicitly and he knew she was strong enough to take care of herself. She was beyond grateful for that.
She discovered a faint scar between his index finger and thumb. It looked old, childhood old, but it was nothing compared to the scar on his shoulder. Still, she was curious about how he got it. She wanted to know, she wanted to know everything about him: his best and worst memories, his desires, his fears and flaws, his dreams and his passions. She realised she wanted to know everything about him, everything that made him Poe. With this thought she laid down her head on Poe's bed, her head wearily resting by his hand and her tired eyes finally giving in to sleep.