Chapter XIX

Kylo squinted against the bright light as his eyes fluttered open. He had no idea where we was but by the feel of the hard bed beneath him and the harsh smell of antiseptic chemicals clogging his nose he assumed he was in the infirmary. As his eyes adjusted to the light he knew he had guessed right. Shifting with a groan Kylo tried to raise himself up, only to have warm hands press down on his chest.

Glaring at the figure pressing down on him Kylo let out a snarl that was cut short when he realized it was Rey that was holding him down.

"Ben." She breathed out as she slackened her hold on him, her face etched with worry. Kylo peered up at her, something like joy building up in his chest as he took her in. She was alive.

She was alive.

And standing beside him.

Her face was red and splotchy, as if she had been crying. Which Kylo immediately realized she had been as new tears sprang in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. He forced himself into a sitting position ignoring the pull of his wounds and the pain that seared through him.

Taking her face in his hands Kylo wiped her tears away as she struggled to speak.

"I thought you were going to die." her voice was small, strained. The sound of it making his heart feel as if it would cave in.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me." His voice was raspier than he had wanted. Not as strong. He offered a half smile in an attempt to ease her but her face remained serious.

"You're not invincible." she declared "You could have died from the amount of blood you lost which was very, very much." Fear laced her words as she cupped his arms, squeezing hard enough to let Kylo know how deep the fear of losing him truly went.

" I promised that I would protect you." Kylo did not let his voice waver as he spoke. "Even if it cost me my life."

Rey's face crumpled at the words and looked down, hot tears spilling over his hands. He quickly wiped her tears away and pulled her towards him letting her cling to him as she cried. He held her for a few moments before the sharp pains ripped through him, forcing him to let her go and brace himself on the railing of bed. Neither of them spoke as Kylo tried to breathe in and out, the pain becoming unbearable.

"Lay back down. You need rest, you're still healing." Rey's voice mirrored the concern in her eyes as she wiped her remaining tears away and tried to help him lay back down.

"If I knew" Kylo grunted as he let go of the railing and tried to lay down. "That a few cuts and broken bones would have you nursing me back to health, I would have jumped off a cliff a while ago." He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him as Rey's eyes snapped to his.

"Don't make jokes." She muttered quietly as she pulled back the patch at his neck, looking at the wound critically. Kylo felt his curiosity peak as she bit her lip in contemplation. The minor movement of her mouth made Kylo's eyes drop down momentarily before looking back into her eyes. She looked at him then and Kylo raised an eyebrow as a question.

"I want to try something." She finally said, "I saw it once while I was held in the bunker. I want to see if I can do it as well."

Kylo felt a roaring in his head at the mention of that bunker. Of what had happened and what it did to her. He forced himself to keep quiet as Rey cautioned him to hold still.

Rey placed her palm over the patch and closed her eyes in concentration. Kylo wasn't sure what she was doing but as the minutes passed he felt a tingling start at his neck before it spanned down to the rest of his body. While it was not painful, the tingling became so powerful that Kylo shifted in discomfort as Rey continued her vigil. And just as the tingling became painful it vanished, as if a switch had been flipped. Rey opened her eyes and carefully pulled back the patch. She released a breath he didn't realize she was holding and smiled up at him. She pulled the patch completely away and began on removing the others as well. Kylo waited until she had finished before trying to sit up. He noticed as she had worked that he was not in pain and when he finally sat up and swung his legs off the bed he realized why.

She had healed him.

He looked down in wonder, touching where his wounds once were.

Rey too traced the ghost lines across his body, checking.

Kylo didn't give himself any time to doubt as he grabbed her and pulled her toward him, burying his face into her neck.

"Thank you" He breathed, trying and failing to form the words he truly wanted to say.

Rey shuddered in his arms and slowly wrapped her arms around him as well. Tentative. Cautious. Kylo pulled back far enough so that he could see her face. Her eyes shined from the tears she had spilled, her face red as she looked into his eyes. Kylo could see the hesitation in her eyes, but he also saw something else. Something that had his heart thundering and soaring as realization dawned on him.

In her eyes he saw acceptance.

He lowered his head a fraction, seeking permission. Rey's mouth parted slightly as she contemplated his offer. Her eyes searching his as she breathed in. The movement brought his eyes back down to her mouth. Made him imagine things that he shouldn't. A different kind of roar shot through him making his blood boil as his mind took him to places that didn't involve an infirmary. Or clothes for that matter.

Rey leaned slightly forward, a question of her own in her eyes. Kylo couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips as he bent his head to claim her lips with his own.

Just as his lips brushed hers a knock sounded at the door, spooking Rey so bad that she stumbled away from him a hand pressed to her lips.

"What?" Kylo couldn't help himself as he snapped at the intruder.

The door to the infirmary swung open to reveal Senna and Elias both heavily geared. Both stepped into the room and waited for Kylo to give the command to speak. He eyed them, half tempted to throw them out on their ass for interrupting before conceding and waving at them to speak.

Senna spoke first.

"Sir. the resistance has attacked a few of our nearby bases, annihilating all the troopers and raiding our supply ships."

Kylo ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. Darting a look towards Rey who was now across the room tampering with a part of a droid. Kylo felt the first kernels of irritation grow low in his belly.

"Send back up." He didn't wait for a reply as he lowered his feet to the ground, snatching the black silk robe from the side of the bed and throwing it on.

"We have but they wiped out the base and took off before we were even notified of the attack. They left nothing behind." This time Elias spoke, stepping forward from beside Senna.

A clang sounded through the room as Rey dropped the part she was examining, causing Elias to tilt his head to look over at her.

Kylo ignored the noise and pushed forward. "What is their motive for the attack?"

"Not sure, Sir I gather they are trying to gain more resources from the last encounter we had while also wiping us out." Senna moved towards the wall, casually leaning against it.

"Two birds one stone." Kylo said thoughtfully.

"Exactly Sir." Elias nodded.

Kylo shifted his gaze to Rey and rolled his eyes. She had deconstructed the piece of the droid and was attempting to build something with its parts. She was so focused on what she was working on that she didn't notice when everyone turned to look at her.

"What would you advise the Order do my empress?" It was a daring question, but Kylo was curious to see what she would say.

Rey went completely still, the only sound was the sound of the tool she set down with a solid click. "Work in reprogramming the ratio frequencies and move any bases that's left further out before any more are annihilated." She turned to face them, her eyes cool as she looked at each of them before landing on Kylo.

"That could work." Senna said, surprise evident in her voice.

Kylo shifted his weight, turning half way in her direction. "Finally accepting your role as the heiress of the First Order?"

Rey refused to look at him as she turned back towards the droid parts.

"Make no mistake Ren. I'm still loyal to the resistance and will be until I breathe my last breath. It's just a suggestion, it won't be called the First Order any longer if there are no men left standing."

Kylo blinked in response, Elias barely breathed. And Senna howled with laughter.

"I see. Well I appreciate your feedback, Empress." Kylo refused to let his annoyance slip as he addressed the knights before him "Senna, Work with general Tao on reprogramming our ships ratio frequencies. And Elias, send word to the remaining bases to move further north on whatever planet they are on." Kylo waved his hand in dismissal not looking back to see the knights leave as swiftly as they came in.

Rey kept her back to him as he approached, focusing very hard on the parts in front of her. Kylo moved to stand behind her and leaned forward "Ren?"

Rey threw him a glare over her shoulder, "That's your name isn't it?." Kylo didn't answer, his mind solely focused on finishing what they had started earlier. Though he was surprised at her, surprised that she had dared to answer considering what it meant.

Rey turned back to the table.

Kylo leaned in again and breathed in her scent, wishing she would turn to look at him. "It's not a name I would prefer you used."

"Oh?" Rey threw back at him. "Then what name would you prefer?"

Kylo's patience reached its end as he leaned around her and placed his hand over the metal part she kept toying with. "Anything but Ren."

She stared at his hand, her eyebrows scrunching together slightly before she finally spoke."I would like to continue where we left earlier, Kylo." Rey's voice was barely above a whisper, but to him it was as if she had screamed it from the top of a mountain.

He stilled, the metal cold in his hand. His breath stuck in his throat.

His eyes shot to her face. She chewed her lip as she glanced quickly to him and held his stare. Her face blossomed into a deep shade of red as she realized just how close he had been standing to her.

"Remind me again, where were we?" Kylo could barely breathe as she turned to look at him. And he realized, with some morbid sense of pleasure, that she was quite embarrassed at her bold statement. He didn't show it though, not as she shyly leaned forward pressing her lips together tightly before letting them part as she let out a breath. She looked up at him with eager eyes and he let his control slip. Reaching for her face Kylo pressed his lips to hers, softly at first and then more aggressively as she grabbed at this chest. The robe bunching under her fingertips, her nails grazing him as he leaned into her their bodies aligning.

As much as Kylo wanted to press on he forced himself to pull away from her, both of their chests heaving as they tried to take in air.

"Would you accept Kylo then?" He finally spoke as he took in her flushed face and bright eyes. "As you have accepted Ben?"

"Yes."

~To Be Continued~