Paralyzed

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A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Five-In the End

Leia knew she was about to faint when her stomach gave out. It felt like her innards were being replaced by some kind of black hole. Then nausea crept from her abdomen to her head and the world went black. She swayed for just a moment before Poe caught her and lowered her to the ground.

"We need some help here now!" Poe yelled as his face turned ashen.

Kaydel Ko Connix quickly leapt into action as she darted off to the find Major Harter Kalonia. Poe gazed down at Organa's pale face, even her lips were bloodless. Her eyelids fluttered as she emitted a faint moan. She finally managed to open her eyes but her eyesight blurred, but not because tears were welling up. She mistook Poe leaning over her for Ben. "My son." She murmured, her fingers aching to caress his cheek.

Poe's voice was tight with fear as he reached for her left wrist to check her pulse. It was so faint; it was like a half dead butterfly trying to flee its cage. "General? Leia? Can you hear me? It's Poe."

"Poe?" Leia's tremulous response was strained. His outline shimmered in front of her, everything becoming fuzzy; then she saw nothing at all. Her consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky space her heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in her ears, alongside fading pleas for help. From a great distance she could hear Luke telling her it was time to let go.

"Not yet!" Leia raged at her twin in her mind. "I'm not ready to go yet!" In her head she heard her brother's weary sigh as she called upon the Force to grant her a bit more time.

"Make room. Give her some space." Harter commanded testily as she fought her way through the gaping Resistance fighters surrounding their fallen General. She finally reached Poe, who shook his head, his grief evident in his eyes. Harter felt her throat tighten as she gazed down at her fallen friend. "Can you carry her to the medical bay, Poe?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He agreed thickly as he wiped at the moisture that had escaped from his eyes.

In the end it wasn't dying that scared Leia, but the thought of never seeing her son again. She grieved for the loss of all those lost years she never got to spend with him. She let her guard down completely as she cried in Harter's arms until her eyes ran dry and her chest heaved violently. She was not over it. She knew she never would be. She wanted to see Ben again in the flesh, but even that was going to be denied her. She was filled with regret and so much anger that Harter found it difficult to comfort her and it pained her deeply. Leia worked herself into such a state that Harter was forced to administer a mild sedative to calm her down enough to sleep.

Harter fought down an involuntary sob as she pulled a thin blanket over Leia and tucked it gently around her body to ward off the chill. She had never seen her friend so distressed and it was killing her. She may be able to offer pain relief to make Leia's last few hours as comfortable as possible, but there was no drug she could offer to cure the pain in her heart. Harter walked out of the tent; her arms wrapped around her body as she tried to hold herself together. Poe was waiting for her outside. She couldn't look at him, her eyes shifted to the side and became glazed with a glassy layer of tears.

"What can I do?" Poe pleaded. "Whatever she needs, I'll make it happen."

"Can you magic her son here?" Harter said bitterly. "Because that's all she wants right now. She just wants to see Ben one last time."

Poe's bottom lip quivered as he watched Harter walk back inside the tent. The tears began to flow unchecked down his cheeks and dripped down his chin as he imagined how his own mother must have felt in her last moments, all alone and unable to see her only child one last time. No mother should have to go through that. He didn't want Leia to go through that. She had been forced to make hard choices and sacrifices her whole life, never asking for anything in return. She deserved this one small thing. No matter how he felt about her son personally, Poe knew that he couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least try and do this one thing for her. Resolved, he left the med tent and went in search of Rose Tico.

Rose smiled to herself as she touched the red flower in her hair and began to hum happily. She had found it laying on her console that morning, it was clearly a present from Finn. He really was going all out to make things right with her. She had finally given in and gone on another date with him the night before, and it had been like something out of a dream. They had even shared a kiss, and this time he was the one to initiate it. She continued to daydream about Finn as she continued with her maintenance check on one of the X-wings, until Hux's whiny voice interrupted her.

"Ow!"

"What now?" She snapped impatiently as she glared down at him.

Armitage showed her the blood welling from the deep cut on his finger. He was crouched down cleaning one of the lower panels on the X-wing Rose had been working on and snagged his finger on a sharp piece of metal. She rolled her eyes at him as she reached for the obligatory bacta patch and slapped it over the cut. He was covered in the things. "There. All better?" She asked sarcastically.

"Shouldn't we clean it first? It could get infected." Hux asked, anything to prolong the conversation. She had been ignoring him all morning, lost in her own little world. He bet she was thinking about the former stormtrooper, FN-2187, and grimaced. That traitor didn't deserve someone so wonderful. He glanced at the crimson flower in her hair and got the same secret thrill he had when he first saw it. When he first noticed the vibrant red flower growing outside his cell, he knew it would be perfect for her. He had managed to pluck it and secret it away, leaving it somewhere prominent the first chance he got so she would see it. He never would have imagined she would wear it in her luxurious hair. He admired the way the dark red petals of the flower complimented the black silky strands so perfectly….

"Armitage?" Rose snapped at him again. "Did you hear a word I just said?" She was beginning to regret turning down Finn's offer to let someone else share the burden of keeping a strict eye on the First Order spy. It had been fun at first, she had enjoyed tormenting him a little by giving him the most menial tasks possible and watching him squirm. But the fun didn't last long. She was a compassionate person by nature and didn't like being so vindictive. The man clearly brought out the worst in her. She resolved to talk to Finn and tell him she had changed her mind. "Just finish cleaning this side." She sighed listlessly when she caught the hangdog expression on his pale face.

They were interrupted by Poe. As soon as Rose took in the distraught expression on Dameron's face she knew that it had something to do with Leia. They all knew it was coming, but still weren't prepared. Empathy burned bright in her dark eyes as she looked up at him. "Is she…?" Rose hesitated as she sucked in her lower lip. She didn't have the words.

"I need your help." Poe's voice was heavy with grief.

"What can I do?" Rose asked gently. The pain that flowed from the fighter pilot was palpable. She tried to contain her own tears but they spilled out anyway.

"She's desperate to see him…. her son…one last time." Poe continued with difficulty. In his sadness he was oblivious to Hux hovering like an unwanted interloper in the background. "Is there any way we could contact him or Rey?"

"Not without giving them and ourselves away. They have to be so careful to cover their tracks. They have to be the ones to contact us. And because they don't know…." Rose felt her heart break. It was such a small request and it pained her that she couldn't even do that one thing. She felt so useless as she shook her head and watched the faint hope fade in Poe's eyes.

Hux stepped forward, clearing his throat to gain their attention. "Pardon me, but I may be able to be of some assistance." He offered.

"Not now, Armitage!" Rose yelled at him in frustration as she tried to blink away fresh tears.

"What do you mean you can help?" Poe demanded as he glared at Hux with intense dislike. He thought the man was a craven coward, and like Finn, wondered how Rose managed to put up with the snivelling wretch day after day. He hadn't even realised the guy was standing there listening in.

Hux stood tall-his back ramrod straight and his hands clasped behind his back- much like he would if he was back on the bridge of one of the First Order ships. He addressed only Rose; his watery blue eyes fixated on her. "I can hack into the comms system of the Steadfast and send a coded message to Ren. Every officer on the Supreme Council has their own unique pass code known only by the Supreme leader himself. As soon as he detects my unique signature, recognising it as mine, he will be immediately suspicious, prompting him to investigate and contact the Resistance base directly to find out why my code is being used."

Poe laughed derisively. "You think we're going to fall for that?" He sneered. "You'll just use the opportunity to contact your First Order buddies and give away our location."

Hux tried to keep the answering sneer off his face as he focused his livid gaze on Poe. "You have conveniently forgotten that my First Order buddies as you call them, see me as a traitor. I am hardly going to give away my location so they can come and execute me, am I?"

"Poe." Rose put her hand on the fighter pilot's chest to calm him when she saw his fists clench. She turned back to face Hux and studied him carefully for any signs of duplicity. She had gotten to know him a little and had learned that the one thing he did value was his own life, pitiful as it was right now. Obviously, he wanted to help because he thought there would be something in it for him. She just didn't know what that thing was. "Why would you bother to help us, Armitage?" She asked suspiciously.

"Because it is the right thing to do." Armitage answered with an obsequious smile. And to impress you, he thought to himself.

Rose and Poe exchanged a dubious glance. They knew they were taking a big risk trusting Hux, but their desperation to fulfil their beloved General's last wish overrode their concerns.

"Do it!" Poe muttered.

"As you wish." Armitage murmured as he approached the nearest console and set to work.

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.