Hello, lovely readers!
Hope you are all well and ready for the next chapter. Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter. I got quite a few favourites and follows, not to mention a couple of reviews. So a huge thanks to everyone.
NicoleR85 – Aww thank you! I'm excited to write it and I have a lot planned so I hope you continue to enjoy!
JunJunyil – I read on the Star Wars Wikipedia page that Poe had a brief memory loss after the crash landing so I decided to roll with the idea for this story. Whether its true or not, I've never seen a fanfic with it in either so I figured it would be different.
This chapter is named after 'Identity Disorder' by Of Mice And Men
Eva Reigns's Point Of View
It didn't take us long to get back home. The speeder had been very reliable during her first journey, even with the weight of an extra person on her back, so I knew I wouldn't need to peform any extra work. She was good to go and I was quite pleased with that.
I slowed the speeder down once we hit the village, being a lot more vigilant with my driving and my speed. The gate to the house was still open so I slowly guided her into the garage, cutting the engine once she was all parked up.
"Home sweet home," I said as I hopped off, removing my goggles and my scarf, finally letting my skin breathe. They were great protection from the harsh Jakku sands, but I lived on a very warm planet. It could be quite suffocating under all the layers sometimes.
The man got off my speeder, his eyes glancing around, taking in the sight of the garage around him. It was where I did most of my work, bits of metal everywhere amongst the tools and equipment I used when doing my job.
I stood and watched him closely as he walked slowly around the garage in exploration, his fingers grazing across some tools whilst he picked up others. His face frowned occasionally and I was curious as to what was going through his head.
I had to admit, it wasn't everyday that you found a man wandering through the dessert covered in bruises with absolutely no memory of who he was or what was going on. It wasn't a common occurrence and I couldn't help but wonder who this guy was. He was youngish, his hair dark, his skin a touch tanned. He was quite tall too and very well built. His face was extremely handsome too; you'd have to be blind to not come to that conclusion. But he was so plainly dressed, wearing only black pants, boots and a loose shirt. His attire gave no clues as to who he was.
I wondered if he was First Order and that this was some wicked scheme to attack yet another innocent village. Tuanul had been attacked last night whilst First Order troopers had attacked the Niima Outpost only this morning. They were close by and he could easily be part of that.
But then again he could be the exact opposite. He could be with The Resistance, he could be on the side of good who wanted nothing more than to get rid of the evils the First Order wished upon the galaxy. This idea excited me as I'd never met a member of The Resistance before and I loved everything they did.
But then again, he could just be no one. He could simply be a Jakku local who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Either way, I'd have no clue until that memory of his returned and we could ask him. So rather than focusing on it too much, I simply watched him as he curiously explored my garage.
He'd need to get checked over by my sister, of that I was certain. Not only did he seem to have severe memory loss but his face was a little worse for wear. He had bruises and cuts all across his skin so I knew Lila would be the best person to patch him up.
"Is this where you live?" he finally asked me, his head turning to look at me.
"This is my garage," I explained. "It's where I work. My home is just through there." I gestured my head to the doorway that connected the garage to the house.
"Are you a mechanic?" he asked me.
"I am," I nodded. "Ever since I was a little girl."
He looked back at the tools he'd been assessing. "I feel like I've seen this equipment before. It's familiar to me."
This piqued my attention, my head wondering if seeing them was jogging his memory a little.
"It is?" I asked as I walked over to him.
"The wrenches, the screws… I know I've seen all this before."
"Perhaps you're a mechanic too," I suggested. "It's make sense why you recognise this stuff."
"No," he shook his head. "I know what this stuff is but it's not that. I've worked with it but not in that way."
"Then what way do you think?" I asked him.
"I'm not sure…" His voice trailed off as he looked over at my speeder for a few moments before he suddenly clutched his head, his face wincing in pain. It was all too much for him it seemed.
"Maybe that's enough thinking for now," I suggested, pulling him away from the speeder. "Maybe you should come inside. You need water and something to eat. Besides, my sister should be home now and you need medical assistance."
"Yeah, I think you're right, Eva," he muttered before I led him inside the house.
When I was inside, Lila was already in the kitchen preparing dinner whilst my dad was seated in his chair reading a book in the living area. He hardly noticed I'd walked into the room until I greeted him.
"I'm home," I said as I stepped into the living area.
"Ah, how did the speeder…" He stopped talking when he noticed an extra person behind me. "Who is this?"
I turned to look at the man before looking back at my father. "Yeah… I needed to talk to you about that."
I then proceeded to explain everything that had happened during my run with the speeder, how I'd found the guy, gave him water, helped him, and agreed to give him medical aid whilst he had this memory loss. My sister came from the kitchen to hear the conversation half way through before I explained to her what had happened.
"Do you think you can look him over?" I asked Lila.
"Of course," she replied. "I can easily help patch up the cuts, but I won't be able to help with the memory loss. That's something that will come in time."
"But something happened in the garage just," I said. "He looked at my tools and it seemed as if something was coming back to him."
"That's good," she said as she prepped the sofa for him to lie upon. "Keep doing that. Showing him things he recognizes might help boost his memory and allow him to remember."
"We can try that, can't we?" I asked, looking up at the man.
"Of course," he said. He'd been relatively silent up until then. I knew he was overwhelmed.
"Good," Lila said. "Now if you'll lie down for me, I can begin looking at those cuts."
He settled on the sofa as Lila went to fetch her medical supplies. I took a seat beside my father once she came back. She knelt as his side and began her work, my father leaning over to whisper to me.
"Should we have this man in our home, Eva?" he asked, his voice sounding unsure. "We don't even know who he is. And with all the First Order attacks that have happened lately, I'm not sure we can trust him."
"He has no idea about his past or anything about himself," I said. "He can't be that much harm. Plus he needs medical help, and I only said he could stay here for one night. He'll be gone by morning whether he's regained any memory or not."
He looked at me, his face uncertain, but he slowly agreed. "Fine. One night. But that's it."
"One night," I repeated. "And I told him that. I just couldn't leave him out there whilst he was in that condition."
"That makes sense, sweetheart," he smiled.
We both watched then as Lila did her job, applying cleansing alcohol to the wounds in order to clean them. He hissed in pain a little but that was to be expected. It was bound to sting. She applied whatever bandages she needed to before moving onto the next wound. My big sister was a damn good nurse and right now she was proving that.
The man seemed to be taking it all well, his body only shuffling uncomfortably when he was in pain. I was curious as to how he'd gotten the wounds in the first place if I was honest. It wasn't common to come across someone with such injuries unless they'd been in a fight, an accident or something worse. It was a shame he had the memory loss as we'd never know what happened until everything came back to him.
As he shuffled a little in pain, I noticed something quickly fall out of the pocket of his pants and land silently on the floor. I frowned, moving to swiftly pick it up from the ground. I held it in my hands, staring at it.
"You dropped something," I murmured as I looked at the item but he seemed to take no notice. It was a small rectangle card, my eyebrows furrowing when I noticed it was an ID card of some sort. I gazed at it, seeing it held his picture, a few words and details too.
I read them, my eyes widening, my mouth gasping as I took in the information on the card, recognizing the name on the card immediately. I was a big follower of The Resistance and I knew the big names that worked for them. I'd never seen his face before so I hadn't recognized him straight away. But I'd know that famous name anywhere.
"Oh my god…" I whispered before I turned to my father, flashing the card into his face. "Dad… It's Poe Dameron. He's the Poe Dameron!"
"What are you talking about?" he asked, his eyes unable to focus on the card. He took if from my hands in order to look at it properly.
"He's part of The Resistance," I explained. "Poe Dameron is one of the greatest pilots they have. How the hell has he ended up here?"
"Are you sure?" he asked me, continuing to look over the card.
"It's there in black and white," I said, looking over at the man on the sofa. "He's the actual Poe Dameron."
"Surely The Resistance are going to be looking for him if he's here," my father said. "What do we do?"
"I'm not sure," I said. "I'm really not sure. Until Lila has finished what she's doing, I honestly don't know."
"Maybe we should keep him here overnight," my father suggested. "We can feed him and give him a place to rest. Then if he's who you say he is, we can make contact in the morning. It's already getting dark, and with everything that's happened here with The First Order over the last 24 hours, it may not be wise to bring more Resistance fighters to the area."
My father made a point. Poe did not seem in the best condition right now, and with all the attacks, bringing The Resistance here now this late at night would not be wise. So we agreed to keep him here overnight to feed him, water him, and allow him a place to rest. Then in the morning we'd ask him more, try to jog his memory and see if we could get in contact with The Resistance.
xXx
The four of us eventually sat down for dinner that evening. Poe must have been starving because once he'd eaten his dinner, he asked for seconds and even thirds. He drank cup after cup of water, the man acting as if he hadn't had sustenance for weeks. Lila had done everything she could for his wounds, patching them up to the best of her ability. It seemed to help as Poe had not moaned about them since she had tended to him. I ate a piece of bread, staring at him, hardly able to believe that Poe Dameron was actually sitting at my dinner table.
I was a great follower of The Resistance and everything they did. And because of this I knew all the big players they had, including their greatest pilot. How he had ended up on Jakku, I had no idea, but here he was and I was eating dinner with him. He was a lot younger than I ever pictured him. Since he was such an amazing pilot with a great amount of experience, I'd expected him to be older. But he only looked a few years older than I was.
I watched as he drank his sixth cup of water, knowing I'd have to speak to him about it all soon. He still had no clue who he was or what was going on. He was still in the dark about everything and I knew I'd have to show him the ID card at some point. If he was to return to wherever he'd come from, he'd need his memory and identity back.
Dinner eventually drew to a close, Lila taking the empty plates and cups away into the kitchen ready to clean. My father had wheeled himself into the living area so I knew now was as good a time as any to speak to the pilot. Before I knew his identity, I'd been able to talk to him so easily, but now I knew who I was in the presence of, I came over quite shy and nervous.
Poe was about to stand up to follow my father when I quickly stopped him.
"Hey, can I speak to you for a second?" I asked him.
He looked at me. "Sure," he said as he returned to his seat. "What's wrong?"
My hands sat awkwardly in my lap, my fingers twirling the card around again and again.
"So…" I began. "I found something earlier which I think you need to look at."
He gazed at me in confusion. "What is it?"
I took a deep breath before I raised my hand and gave him the card. He took it from me, staring at it intently.
"This fell from your pocket when my sister was tending to your injuries this afternoon. It's an ID card with all your information on it. Your name, your job, everything. I figured it could help."
He could not tare his eyes from the card, staring at it so hard I was afraid he would burn a hole right through it. He turned it over and over again as if it would hold new information every time he did. A tense silence fell between us and I did not know what to say.
"Poe Dameron…" he quietly said. "And I'm… a pilot."
"The best there is," I said with a soft smile.
"You know who I am?" he questioned, a puzzled look on his face at the sound of my words.
"You're quite the big deal," I explained. "You're quite famous after all the battles you've been in. And your X-Wing is one of a kind. You work for The Resistance who are-"
"This is a lot to take in," he interrupted, his hand clutching at his head, and I knew all this information was hurting like it had before. He winced in pain again as his head throbbed. "Goddamn!" he said, as he wobbled on his seat, the pain getting too much.
All of a sudden he fell from his chair, crashing to the floor, hitting his head off the ground.
"Poe!" I cried as I rushed to his side. His head had taken quite the hit, his eyes closed as he lost consciousness, my sister running into the room at the sound of my shouting.
"What happened?" she asked.
"He just fell from his chair," I said in panic. "I think he's hit his head."
"Don't move him," she said. "We don't know if he's hurt or broken anything. I'll go get some water and a cloth."
She rushed back into the kitchen as I brushed his hair from his forehead. I placed my hand on it, his temperature rising and I knew he needed to be cooled down.
Why had I shown him that dam ID card? I should have waited till morning once he'd rested more before telling him the truth. It had obviously been too much for him to handle and now he was out cold on the dining room floor.
And then all of a sudden his eyes shot open, his brown orbs looking frantically around the room, his body sitting up. I was a little taken aback by the suddenness of his movements, his breathing heavy, his chest heaving.
"Where am I?" he said urgently. "What's going on? Where's Finn?"
Huh?
"Who?" I asked in confusion.
What was he talking about? He must have hit his head harder than I thought.
"Is this Jakku?" he asked. "Did I make it back to Jakku?"
"Of course you did," I asked as if it was obvious. What the hell was going on?
"I need to find Finn," he said quickly standing up. "We need to track down BB8."
"What?" I asked. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The First Order could have him already. I need to go," he said before he rushed out of the house and out of sight…
Looks like Poe has his memory back!
A huge thanks to NicoleR85 and JunJunyil for their kind reviews. Don't forget to favourite, follow and review, everyone!
