Chapter 2

Something that resembled a punch to the gut tore Poe from a seemingly perfect dream. Fighting for breath he opened his eyes and his hand immediately shot to the flat pillow beneath his head before he could wrap his head around the fact that he wouldn't find a blaster there and that it was only Polly who was standing on top of him with her front paws on his belly. With an audible sigh he fell back onto the mattress and started combing though the animal's thick fur with his fingers.

The body next to him stirred, apparently half awoken by his sudden movements. She was still here then. Not a good sign as far as he was concerned. "I still can't wrap my head around as to why General Organa let you keep the guy." Her melodic voice sounded rough and still weary from sleep.

Poe pushed his arm underneath his head and pulled Polly closer to his body. "Well I'm not part of the Republic's military anymore", he mumbled without pointing out that Polly was a female. Why did she care anyway what kind of personal arrangements he had made with General Organa. Apart from that he didn't like hearing what he knew anyway from others. Space and life with the Resistance were not a particularly good environment for a wild animal. He had found Polly a couple of months ago in a forest on D'Qar near their previous base. She had still been practically a baby and only moments before Poe had arrived on the scene her mother had been killed by a huge beast of prey. Poe couldn't bring himself to leave the small unprotected animal behind and he had grown accustomed to her with her black, slick fur, amber eyes and pointed ears. He didn't want to let her go and that was that. Despite everything and against all reason. The fact that the woman next to him even dared to question him in that respect made him angry in a way he couldn't begin to describe.

Polly yawned loudly, showing two rows of perfect, white and sharp teeth and a couple of black specks on her pink tongue, before she stretched her whole body across Poe's chest laying down on it. The warmth radiating from the animal, whose species was still utterly unknown to him or any database he had checked, was much more pleasant than the immediate proximity of the person next to him whose knee trailed his leg in a seemingly seductive fashion. That had not been part of the arrangement. He had been clear from the very beginning that he did not want to wake up next to her every morning when she had approached him in the cafeteria the previous night.

"Poe?" His name leaving her lips hadn't made him feel apprehensive towards her a couple of hours ago. On the contrary. But now the sound made his hair stand on end. But still he didn't want to be too rough on her. It wasn't her fault after all that he couldn't stand her closeness anymore. He couldn't give her more than what he had given her last night anyway. The war with the First Order simply didn't allow time for this kind of thing.

Poe cleared his throat and looked at her as apologetically as he could. Her dark eyes widened for a moment. She understood. She bit her lower lip and sat up, apparently uncomfortable all of a sudden. The lump he suddenly felt in his throat threatened to strangle him. He hated this. Hated it, when someone expected more of him than he could possibly give. Maybe because he almost never denied anyone anything. But what she apparently wanted and was looking for was a kind of relationship and that was absolutely out of the question. But he couldn't bring himself to say so and he felt sorry about that. He really did, because he couldn't concentrate on anything like that and she was bound to be aware of that. He wiped his brow with his free hand, while she pulled the sheet around her soft and well rounded body. If only he cared more about her... But at least she had shifted away from him. Polly had put her head on his chest looking at the woman who had challenged the very idea of Polly's presence in Poe's cabin.

With a sigh Poe pulled his feet out from underneath the sheet and placed them on the cold floor to make more room for the woman next to him. He didn't mind getting up in front of her with nothing on and walking towards the refresher with Polly in his arms. One of the many advantages that came with being a Commander instead of just a regular pilot was that he had one of the bigger cabins onboard the freighter with an adjoining refresher to top it all. "Let me make you some room" he said to her over his shoulder in a voice which he tried to make sound as friendly and nonchalant as possible before pushing the button which let the door slide shut behind him. He put Polly down on the bright white floor so she could drink from the small water bowl and use the small box with sand for her to do her business in. Poe sat down on the floor cross-legged and stroked Polly's soft fur while she was thirstily drinking from her bowl. For the moment he had to stay put. Strangely he didn't dare using the toilet for now. Not as long as that woman was still in the main cabin. Polly pressed herself against his caressing hand and Poe realized with a pang of guilt, that he really couldn't keep this pet indefinitely. The thought of leaving her somewhere however, even if it was with someone who'd take good care of her, made his heart contract painfully.

After what seemed hours he heard the sound of feet on the floor in the cabin, heard the door leading to the corridor open and then slide shut. Relieved Poe started breathing normally again and he leaned back against the thin wall while looking down at Polly. She sat up so she stood in front of him on her hind legs, the way she usually walked around and looked at him, her head titled slightly to the side as if asking what he was about to do next.

"If only I knew what time it is..." he murmured and got up as well. He hit the button next to the mirror and tried not to look into his own eyes before the ship's status report flashed across the mirror, blocking his reflection. The freighter was going to drop out of hyperspace within the next half hour. They had as good as arrived on the new base. "You'll be able to get outside again soon" he told Polly looking down at her. She was now lying inside the small shower with sonic option. From the very beginning she had shown her utter love for the warm water raining down from seemingly nowhere, even though she hated the sonic function. Poe hadn't been able to refuse her.

Relieved that he wouldn't have to keep Polly cooped up on a spaceship for much longer he stepped inside with her and turned on the water. "I think" he mumbled, still keeping his eyes on Polly, who put up her front paws to catch the water and wash her pointed face, "that I should probably take you to stay with my Dad." Poe reached for the bar of soap, not really able to enjoy the trickle of water on his back. He was sorry about leaving Polly, but this really wasn't the life he'd want for any animal. It was hard enough being a fighter pilot for the Resistance without having to constantly worry about a pet even if he loved that pet to bits. He couldn't be selfish. "I have to go visit him again soon anyway." He tried to go to Yavin IV as often as possible, but he knew that he didn't go often enough.

When the ship dropped out of hyperspace Poe made his way to the hangar. Polly was following him at his heels. He had promised General Organa to not let her run around freely on any ship, but he simply couldn't bring himself to put her in a transport box. She didn't bother anyone anyway.

It was as if the universe intended him to stumble in on awkward encounters with her. She was standing in front of the shuttle, which he too was scheduled to be boarding. She seemed to be involved in an intense conversation with a technician and just as Poe thought he'd be able to slip past her without her recognizing his presence, she turned around and looked at him pulling up one of her delicate eyebrows as she saw Polly walking behind him. She turned around again and walked inside the shuttle.

Snorting Poe rested his hands on his hips while the technician checked the shuttle one last time before take-off. "It's not all my fault, you know" Poe hissed at her even though she couldn't hear him but still desperate to vent at least a tiny bit of his frustration with this morning. Why did there always have to be someone around who thought it absolutely necessary to add more complications to this war?

"What's your fault?"

Poe's head snapped around. Finn. The young man was suddenly standing next to him, his new clothes in disarray but otherwise seemingly happy. Poe had seen him chatting with a couple of pilots the previous night before he himself had left with her. And all of a sudden his mouth felt incredibly dry. That woman could've been Finn's sister by the looks of her. You're doing everything wrong, Dameron... he thought angrily. "Sleep well?" he asked, just as he had done the day before, without even thinking about answering Finn's question.

Finn laughed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Well it's a bit weird having a room to myself" he confessed.

"I can imagine" Poe said nodding. "How's your back?"

Finn shrugged. "Alright." It was only too obvious that he didn't want to talk about it and Poe had to admit that he was a bit relieved about that.

At his feet Polly yawned again and stepped onto Poe's shoes as she did quite frequently when she was tired of walking and held on tight to his leg with her front paws. Finn's eyes flew downwards immediately and he raised his brows. "Beebee-Ate has changed quite a bit, hasn't he?"

"Finn meet Polly. Polly... Finn." Only all to happy to change the subject again Poe lifted his leg to bring Polly closer to Finn. "I picked her up some time ago and haven't had a chance to dump her off somewhere." He laughed, even though he really didn't feel like it. Not after what he decided he must do not half an hour ago.

"Seriously? I mean... she is a wild animal, isn't she?" It was more or less the same question that woman had asked him but now that Finn had asked, Poe didn't seem to mind all that much. Finn, he remembered, wasn't familiar with the concept of a pet. Not really. Not as a Stormtrooper. That seemed to take the sting out of the question.

"It's going okay, actually" Poe answered. "At least until I've found a better solution." He looked up into Finn's face on which he was surprised to find a smirk. A smirk which unsettled Poe somewhat. "What?"

"You seem to have a talent for picking up strange life forms, huh?" Finn shrugged again. The movement didn't seem to cause him pain anymore. When they had arrived on the transport the day before, Finn had been instructed to pay a visit to the infirmary before going to bed but apparently everything had more or less healed. Originally Poe had wanted to make sure that everything was alright with Finn and had wanted to accompany his friend, but Finn had appeared to be quite comfortable with the pilots, especially Jess, and then that woman had turned up...

Returning the narrow smile Poe took a good look at the man in front of him. "Maybe. And I can't seem to get rid of those life forms, can I?" His eyes fell on the shuttle again. "Shall we?"

Polly's weight made walking uncomfortable, but he didn't even try to shake her off. He was even happy about her staying that close to her so that no one could take offence. With a couple of loud and long beeping noises Beebee-Ate shot towards them as they were walking towards the ship. He had been plugged in on the other side of the hangar with the other astromechs whose pilots were still onboard.

"Hey buddy, are you ready?" Poe grinned at the droid as he entered the shuttle with Finn at his side. The grin seemed to drop from his face when his eyes fell on that woman again.

Finn waved at her, apparently recognizing her, and threw a look at Poe as they walked towards the rear of the shuttle. "Why is she looking at you like she wants to slash your face? What did you do to her?"

Poe snorted again, but he was glad for the bad lighting conditions within the transport. He nodded at a couple of familiar faces, sat down and fastened his seatbelt. Finn sat down next to him doing the same. Polly immediately climbed up Poe's leg and sat down on his lap, while Beebee-Ate rolled towards the area reserved for droids and in which he would be held firmly on the ground even if they met turbulences when entering the atmosphere. Poe could still feel Finn's eyes on him and silently thanked the universe for the fact that the seats around them remained empty.

"I didn't do anything" he replied in a whisper, holding Polly tight to his chest. The ship's access ramp was pulled in and he felt the machines coming to life. "She..." He made a dismissive gesture cutting himself off before his discomfort became too apparent. It would have been weird to tell Finn about what had happened. It was none of Finn's business, Poe told himself and cleared his throat looking ahead at the headrest of the seat in front of him and ignoring Finn's stare as best he could. A feeling that he could only describe as embarrassment or shame started creeping up his back and he couldn't even blink as the shuttle lifted itself off the hangar floor.

With a frown on his face Finn leaned back. "There was something like stress relief in the First Order." His voice was so low that Poe thought for a moment that he had heard Finn wrong.

"Excuse me?" He asked disbelievingly, while Polly curled into herself on his lap and started sucking at his index finger. The feeling moved his attention for a second or two, but he couldn't keep his eyes off Finn. Did Finn mean what Poe thought he meant?

Finn shrugged again. "At least for those who had passed a certain rank. Or so I heard."

"Huh..." Poe looked back at the head rest in front of him. Stress relief. His throat had dried up again. What Finn had told him, like it was the most normal thing in the world, was more than just a little disquieting. Stress relief... was that what he had done? With that young woman and so many others? Just like the First Order allowed a couple of its officers to do? He pressed his lips together, breathing heavily. This revelation didn't add to lifting his spirits. Not at all.