Chapter 10

Hux watched the unconscious form of Captain Guerran being wheeled away on a gurney, bag valve mask pressed firmly against her face while one of the nurses surrounding her pressed and depressed the valve in a steady rhythm to try and keep her breathing. A doctor was straddling the captain's body on the gurney while trying to carefully insert an IV into her vein, knowing it was risky but having no time to spare as a nurse to his left pulled the IV pole with fluids attached along with them and towards a set of durasteel doors that swung inward and outward, this particular type of entry being unique to the sick bay. His thoughts were lost among the hurried calls he'd just heard from the medical staff, the mix of 'She's hemorrhaging too much blood! We need to cut this armor off!' and 'We're losing her! Prep the O.R. stat!' muddling any cognitive function he currently possessed. After they'd disappeared behind the double doors, he saw the head of the medical department rushing out of one patient's room and towards where her staff had just gone, Hux's voice stopping her mid-stride.

"Dr. Lanith, I expect you to keep this as quiet and confidential as if it were the Supreme Leader himself," Hux warned, watching the woman nod at him and begin to make for the doors again, but his next words freezing her in place once more, "I want updates on her status immediately as they become available. Oh, and Doctor…if she dies, I will personally execute you myself." His voice was low and deadly, and he watched the woman's eyes widen significantly before she nodded at him in fear, whispering a frightened 'Yes, General' before she finished putting on her scrub hat and disappeared into the bowels of the medical ward. His eyes watched her critically and almost with disgust, knowing that at one time he'd actually enjoyed being able to see such terror in his subordinate's eyes, but that feeling tainted by the only one who'd ever stood up to him, the very same person whose life was barely hanging on by a thread.

He made his way back to his quarters numbly, glad that he didn't have to pass by Captain Guerran's from the elevator he'd purposefully taken to avoid the one they'd just been in, which was probably currently being cleaned of her blood. He entered his rooms and went straight to the refresher, reflexively glancing at himself in the mirror as he usually did to ensure his hair was still in place, except this time his eyes settled on the drying streaks of crimson on his cheeks. The little strength he felt he had remaining left him and he gripped the sides of the sink tightly with his now-bare hands, using them to hold himself up as he stared down at the sink, the red that had seeped through and into the gloves onto his hands a stark contrast to the solid white material he was clutching. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, shutting his eyes tight to keep himself from seeing the stains of her life-sustaining liquid on his fingers but regretting it immediately when reminder images flashed in his brain – of the trail on the elevator wall, of the puddle on the floor, of her body lying still in the midst of it all. Despite these images, there was one that gave him a tiny spark of hope deep in the heart he'd been pretty sure he'd lost to a black hole many years ago – the look on her face when she saw him, her lips turned up into a smile as her eyes still shone their bright aquamarine hue and, most of all, the tender caress that she gave him even as her strength was quickly draining from her body.

This thought sobered him and as easily as he felt his body failing him it returned with more vigor, obviously determined to keep himself together, if not for himself or the Order, then for her. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted now, not when she had a team of the best doctors on the Supremacy working on her, and not when the Resistance was about to meet its untimely end. He mustered up a deep breath, washing his hands of most of the crimson on his hands while simultaneously realizing how hard it really was to get it off, never having needed to do such a thing until now. He splashed some water on his face and gently removed her blood from his cheek, drying his face on one of the colorless towels nearby before glancing at himself in the mirror, still seeing a ghost of a trace that it had been there before, but knowing nobody but he would know so. He exited the refresher and began hurriedly changing out of his bloodied uniform and into a pristine one, knowing he had to get back to the bridge as soon as possible before he missed any critical chances of completely overwhelming his foes.

The entire Supremacy shook and groaned against the sudden weight and speed of the Raddus crashing into one side of it, tearing straight through the fleet and taking out multiple areas and personnel with it. Hux braced himself, gripping the control panel before him and waited for the ship to stabilize before glancing quickly to one of the Officers nearby, barking out an order for the subordinate to inform him of what damage had been caused and what had been lost. He listened intently as he began the preparations to shift some key personnel back to the other Resurgent-class battlecruisers, including himself back into command of the Finalizer. Even though the Supremacy was still operational, it was in no shape to fight a battle and, much less, a war – he'd have to keep a skeleton crew on board to keep the ship from falling into the hands of pirates or scavengers, while the remaining resources were collected and moved from one ship to the rest of the fleet. He was brought out of his plans by the male Officer's words that sent a cold, creeping chill down his spine.

"—hangar bay, medical ward, Level 8 stormtr—"

"Which medical ward?" Hux interrupted, slowly turning to face the younger Officer and clasping his hands behind his back, keeping his face stoic even if inside, he was panicking.

"East, sir. All of the damage was on the east side of the ship."

He tried to remember exactly which sick bay he'd left her in, his thoughts currently too frantic and erratic with the current happenings of not only her but the ship, although a small voice in the back of his mind told him it'd been the West. He glanced briefly over to Sergeant Summers without so much as turning his head, and watched as she barely shook her head No as if to tell him Ros hadn't been in the obliterated part of the ship. He released a quiet breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and swiveled on his feet towards the exit of the bridge, heading towards the Supreme Leader's chamber in order to tell him what had just happened – it was odd that he hadn't heard from him by now.

It was several hours later before he and the rest of the crew on Crait had pulled back once the remaining Resistance fleet had managed to escape. He'd already put in the word to switch some of the crew around and return the crews that had been pulled from each battlecruiser back to where they'd originally been stationed, but he knew there was still much more work to be done on the Supremacy, especially now that Kylo Ren had announced himself Supreme Leader. This thought enraged him, not only for the man-child's gall at doing so but for what he'd done to her, who still sat in the medical wing but was now finally out of surgery, according to the message from Dr. Lanith on his com. He strolled out of the bridge and took the nearest elevator to the correct level, noting that the Captain's blood had already been cleaned and sanitized from the walls and floor as he reached the sick bay. He entered it and amidst the commotion of injured crew being tended to and equipment trying to be salvaged, he was still saluted by the ones that could as he walked past them and to a section of the sick bay reserved for what could only be described as V.I.P.'s.

He entered the double doors and approached one of the only rooms that was occupied, stopping to look into the open windows to see a resting form on the bed with a familiar blonde clutching her hand and staring at her, wiping away the stray tear or two that she was trying not to shed. The back of Dr. Lanith was to the window, and she kept glancing between the attached vital monitors and the clipboard in her hand, scribbling down various notes before she suddenly hesitated and stopped, as if knowing she was being watched. The doctor glanced over her shoulder and saw the stern face of the General, which prompted her to whisper an 'I'll be back to check on her again in an hour' to the blonde who simply nodded but appeared too distraught to speak, making her way to the exit before moving to stand in front of said General. Without having to say another word, Hux stared her down in his usual stance, his body still facing the window but his head tilted to one side in the direction of Dr. Lanith.

"She's not breathing on her own just yet, but there's still hope. She did lose quite a bit of blood, though, but she pulled through the surgery without any catastrophes," She paused, pursing her lips together as if she was afraid of what his reaction would be to her next statement, "We'll be lucky if she makes it through the night."

Hux had turned back to the window, feeling a mix of desperation and frustration at her last sentence. He heard the audible squeak of protest his leather gloves gave against the tight grip his fists made behind his back, and could only think of two words to say that could possibly help in the situation he had no control over. "Bacta tank?"

Dr. Lanith gave a small nod and turned back to look at her patient through the window, wondering the significance the young woman had to the hardened General of the First Order, especially since he was wiling to go through such lengths and even use expensive treatments to save her. "That's a great option once she's stable enough. If she makes it through the night, we should be able to put her in one in the morning even if she's not breathing on her own just yet. I just need your approval, General."

Hux gave her a curt nod, noticing the doctor's movements out of his peripheral vision as she fetched a datapad and typed a few things into it. A few seconds later, she held the tablet out to him, watching as he peeled off his right glove and pressed his hand onto the smooth surface, approving the treatment without even having to speak. He broke his temporary bout of silence just as the doctor began to walk away, his eyes having shifted to his hand as he placed the black glove back onto it. "I want her moved to Finalizer as soon as she's stable after the bacta treatment," He paused, flexing his fingers inside the glove, "As well as you and your top medical team assigned to her care. My warning from earlier still stands." He didn't bother looking at her as she audibly swallowed and walked away, instead taking a moment to gather himself before stepping into the room.

Leillea didn't chance to look up when the door opened, expecting it to be a doctor or nurse but finally glancing over when she spotted all black walking towards them. Her eyes widened when she saw the tall form of General Hux approaching and she stood up quickly, the chair screeching back in protest at her sudden move as she straightened herself up and wiped a few tears away, her eyes red and puffy from the past few hours. "General Hux," She managed to croak out, her throat dry as she cleared it and attempted to even her voice, "Thank you, sir. She wouldn't have made it without you."

Hux didn't reply nor bother to even look at her, choosing instead to set his eyes on the fragile form of the woman he'd spent one of the best nights of his life with, who'd shown him in her own way what it was like to truly feel alive again. He took in a sharp breath, noticing Summers' line of vision follow his own back to the brunette resting on the bed before speaking. "I need you to gather her belongings," He paused, feeling the blonde's head snap up to look back at him as if she was about to protest and say her friend wasn't even dead yet, "And have them moved to Finalizer back into her quarters there. You and her squadron are also being moved back. Once she's out of the bacta tank tomorrow or the following day, she will be transferred to the medical wing there." He didn't wait for her response before turning and walking away towards the door, hearing the soft 'yes, sir' and 'thank you' being uttered behind him as he exited.

Leillea stood dumbfounded, slowly pulling the chair back so she could sit next to her friend's bed and looked at her. "I don't know how you did it, Ros, but you actually got the General of the First Order to actually care for someone other than himself," She smiled, squeezing her hand gently, "And none of us are giving up on you, you hear me?"

It had been a few days since the attack by the Raddus, and Hux sat in his old Finalizer office poring over the Supremacy's schematics to triple check that everything vital had been moved. He hadn't slept properly since spending the night with Captain Guerran, and he couldn't only blame her current condition for his lack of sleep – dealing with the aftermath of the Resistance, Kylo Ren, and having to reorganize the fleet was taking a harsh toll on his body and psyche. And so, after he finished his last cup of Tarine tea, he set the datapad and files down and decided to call it a night, knowing he had only a few more hours before he was due back on the bridge.

He exited his office and walked past the few doors to his quarters, freezing in place when he heard a soft, lullaby-like voice coming from behind the doors of a set of rooms that nobody should be in, especially when the person assigned to said rooms was down in the medical bay. There was nobody in the corridor besides a spare droid or two since it was so late, so he turned to face the durasteel doors, noticing the voice wasn't the one he remembered and, if anything, their singing was much better than the one he'd originally been entranced by so long ago, although it did nothing for him – if anything, it made him miss her all that much more.

Determined to find out what was going on and why someone would even be there, he pressed his ungloved hand to the access panel and heard the soft hiss of the doors just before they opened, the smell of woods-scented cleaning solution wafting into his nostrils. A flash of confusion crossed his face as he entered, the doors closing behind him and the music that the person was singing to flooding his ears, causing him to look in the direction of the voice and watching as the person responsible suddenly noticed his presence and stepped out of the open refresher, cleaning spray and cloth in hand.

"General Hux," Leillea uttered in surprise, setting the cleaning materials down on the sink behind her and crossing the living room to turn off the music before turning back to him with an embarrassed smile, "What can I do for you, sir?"

Hux eyed her almost suspiciously before stating the obvious to see what her answer would be. "These aren't your quarters, Sergeant."

Leillea gave him an awkward nod, placing her hands on her arms as she gave a brief glance around, "Yes, I know, I'm sorry sir. It's just…" she hesitated, hoping she wasn't going to sound like an idiot in front of her superior, "I'm just keeping it clean for Captain Guerran, is all."

Hux, still not fully comprehending, decided to point out the obvious once again. "We have cleaning droids for that, Sergeant."

Leillea pursed her lips contemplatively, trying to think of the best way to explain what she was doing as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Yes, sir, I know. But…may I?" She glanced over at one of the leather chairs asking his permission to sit, knowing he would probably say no but being pleasantly surprised when he gave her a small nod for her to continue and she did so, taking a seat. She let out a soft sigh, looking down at the caf table in front of her as if reminiscing, "Hopefully Ros doesn't find out I told you this, but…there's a lot of things she's always done for herself, despite being on a ship where droids or other people can do most of your work for you. She always cleans and cooks because she used to do it all the time when she was younger, with her family. She would help her mother clean the house and cook for everyone, it was just what they did, so she always does it to remind her of her old life, to keep pieces of it," She paused, letting out a soft laugh, "She's a great cook, too, and she always knows if an unrequested cleaning droid has been by somehow. So, I just wanted to keep the place clean for when she comes back, to help her feel better or something. I just can't sit around and do nothing for her even if it's out of my control."

Hux felt understanding coming from deep within his chest, but chose instead to keep it simple and formal – one person seeing him vulnerable had been more than enough, especially when that person had been the one to remind him he had feelings again. "Do you have enough supplies?"

Leillea, expecting to be reprimanded, blinked once or twice in surprise before responding, giving him a nod and standing up once more. "Yes, sir. She always swipes one or two from the janitorial closets when she's running low, so I think she has some extra I can use."

Hux allowed a ghost of a smile to grace his lips as he turned back toward the exit, the thought of the Captain stealing cleaning supplies being both comforting and not surprising at the same time. "Very well. Carry on," he replied authoritatively, exiting the rooms before heading for his own.

Lei watched him go, having noticed the way he smiled at her last statement before leaving, "Well Ros, he either really likes you, or is really excited to get onto you for stealing supplies when you get better," She thought, shaking her head slightly in hopes it was the former before heading back to turn the music back on, the rhythm of her best friends' favorite slow songs soothing her as she continued.

Hux sat hunched over his desk, various datapads strewn about as his eyes pored over the latest reports on the Supremacy's progress. He heard the door whoosh open and didn't bother looking up, his eyebrows furrowing at the intrusion since he hadn't asked anybody to stop by and it was very well past the time that his rotation had ended; everyone on his crew should be sleeping at this point. "This better be important, I'm very busy," He called out gruffly, eyes still glued to the screen as he heard the person enter, causing him to set the datapad down and close his eyes, rubbing his temples.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, General."

The silky, feminine reply came, causing Hux to freeze momentarily as he heard the slow, deliberate clicks on the floor as the person neared, his eyes opening suddenly as he snapped his head up to look in their direction. Directly across from him stood Ros, palms resting atop his desk as she leaned forward and gave him a clear view of her ample cleavage underneath the robe she wore, a smirk on her face as his jaw dropped as if he was looking at a ghost. "Captain Gue—Ros, when did you wake up? When were you released from the medical bay?!" He asked, half in alarm and the rest in anger at not being told she was awake, especially after giving specific instructions to be updated on her status at least twice a day.

Ros let out a soft laugh, falling back into the chair behind her before leaning back, lifting her legs so she could cross her high-heeled feet on one corner of the desk. "I woke up early yesterday, and they released me a few hours ago after I passed my physical with flying colors – that bacta tank really did a spot on job, I feel better than I've had in years," She paused, waving her hand in the air as she continued, "Oh and don't go getting mad at the medical staff for not telling you I was awake or free to go…I told them not to."

Hux gaped at her as he scooted his chair back so he could stand, his face showing the blatant confusion her words caused that he was trying to comprehend, "But why?"

Ros didn't answer as she stood as well, walking around the desk and watching as he turned to face her, his eyes following her every movement as she moved to stand in front of him. "I knew you were busy," She began coyly, reaching her arms out and gently pushing him back to sit in his chair, moving so she was in between him and the desk, "I didn't want you to find out via com, since you probably wouldn't be able to come to the med bay with everything that's been going on anyway; that's how I knew you'd be here. I wanted to show you I was okay," She continued, never breaking her gaze from his as she moved to straddle his lap, watching his eyes widen in surprise before it ebbed away to understanding as she reached up and gently ran her fingers through his perfectly placed hair, "But most importantly, I wanted to thank you for saving my life."

Hux looked at her, the awful image of her bleeding out in his arms as she touched his cheek briefly flickering in his mind and he took in a deep breath, placing his hands on either side of her waist as the two different shades of blue clashed while they looked at one another. "Kylo Ren will pay for what he did to you," He uttered bitterly, his eyes flitting down to her chest as he noticed the small scar that remained from her endeavor, reaching up and gently tracing it with his thumb.

"Don't worry about him, I'll deal with him later," She replied, continuing when she saw he was about to protest, "I can't believe that tiny little thing is all that's left of what happened. I mean I knew bacta worked wonders, but you can hardly see it. You have to look for it to know it's there," She commented, giving him a smile when his eyes met hers again, "But really, Hux, thank you. You didn't have to do what you did, and I owe you my life."

He was about to tell her that he had needed to, of the fear of losing her, of the rage overwhelming him when he'd watched what Kylo Ren had done, and of the fact that he'd almost broken down when she'd been in his arms, barely hanging on by a thread and the panic that had overcome him when he hadn't been able to do anything about it. He wasn't used to not being in control, and the images he'd seen plagued his dreams every night, turning them into horrible nightmares so vivid that he'd barely been able to sleep since the first night he'd left her in the hands of the surgeons. He didn't have time to tell her all this, however, as she leaned down to him, capturing his lips in a chaste kiss that he deepened when he pulled her towards him, feeling as her hands grabbed the collar of his jacket.

Ros ran her hands up the collar to his neck and finally behind his head, tangling her hands in his hair briefly as she pressed her body against his and felt the hardness under his pants, causing her to kiss him hungrily as she reached down and began to fumble with the buckle of his belt. She felt him untie her robe and sling it off her shoulders, letting it fall aside as she removed his uniform belt and jacket, whispering in his ear that she wasn't wearing any underwear underneath her negligee.

At this Hux growled, allowing her to open and lower his trousers enough to free him before she lowered herself onto him, the sweet heat of her sex coupled with the wetness of her readiness for him making them both groan in pleasure. He felt her begin to torturously slide up and down, the slow pace at which she teased him almost unbearable as he tried to hold himself together, her soft whines of delight driving him wild until he couldn't take it anymore. He took control as he held her hips firmly, standing up suddenly with her tightly wrapped around one arm as he used the other to shove the datapads and documents out of the way, ignoring the sounds they made as they hit the ground and he set her on his desk, quickening the pace they'd had before.

"Oh fuck, Hux," Ros cried out, one hand wrapped tightly around his shirt while the other pulled him to her, her legs wrapped firmly around his waist as they shared a passionate kiss in which they fought for dominance. His thrusts increased to a maddening pace as their bodies began to climb simultaneously, her lust-filled mewls causing his mind to fog with desire as she moaned against his lips, the fabric between her breasts and his chest wrinkling from their endeavor. They pulled back just enough to look at each other, staring at him through partly hooded lids as he nipped gently at her neck, moaning his name into his ear as he kept pushing himself in and out of her at a torturously slower rhythm than before.

He couldn't keep the slow pace for long however, as she felt too delicious and tight and he resumed his frenzy, her fingers digging into his back from the pleasure as he watched her face twist in delight. He could feel her body clenching around him as she came, his name the only word on her tongue as she did so and pushing him over the edge, the two of them letting out soft curses as their frames shook with the passion they'd just delivered each other. As the two panted for breath, he looked into her eyes and felt an overwhelming sense of relief, the truth that he'd fully prepared himself to never see her again lifting from his shoulders as she smiled wistfully at him. She reached a warm hand up to cup his cheek, reaching up to meet his lips with her own in a tender kiss, one which he dutifully returned and deepened before finally, unwittingly, peeling himself apart to look at her.