Armitage managed to see his wife the following morning. He took a grey dress for her, knowing that she had been dragged off wearing one of his shirts only. He had stormtroopers standing guard to ensure that she couldn't escape and run off from him. She was sat in the corner of the cell on the bed, her legs curled up to her chin as she rested her cheek on her kneecaps. She peered up when the door opened to see her husband stood there. He held her folded dress in his grasp alongside a flask of water and what looked like some toast. She uncurled herself from the ball she was in, a blanket draped around her shoulders.

"Armitage," she whispered his name and he saw the tears falling down her cheek.

Shaking his head, he watched her as she moved her hands to his shoulders and he watched her. She began speaking in a hushed tone as he moved the items he had brought to the bed, depositing them there.

"If Ren reads my mind…Armitage…he will know that you were involved," she made sure she spoke so only he could hear, her lips so close to his ear that he almost shuddered at her closeness to him. He kept himself under control however, knowing that now was not the time for sentiment.

"I am working to find a way out," he promised her.

She shook her head. "There is no time," she responded. "When he finds out then he will kill us both. He…he will torture us…just…he cannot read my mind."

Armitage kept hold of his wife's waist, brows pinching together while he wondered what she was talking about. He remained silent for a few seconds as his wife ran her hand down his cheek, thumb stroking across his pale skin and tracing his cheekbone. He saw the look of anguish on her face and he knew there and then what she was saying to him. He shook his head, refusing even to entertain the idea.

"No."

"You can keep feeding information if they think it was just me," she promised him. "You can still be valuable, but I can't be."

"What you are asking from me…or for me to do…I cannot and I will not," he said firmly.

"I just need the guard to leave his post for long enough," she said to him. "I have thought about it all night and I know how I can do it. I know what I need to do, Armitage, but I need solitude for a little while."

"Absolutely not," he snapped at her, struggling to keep his voice low and under control. Instead he felt an anguish rise up inside of him at what she was asking him to do. "I am working on another way. I…I just need some time. Ren is not due back yet. He is too busy looking for Rey. Rosella, just give me time to think of something."

"And if we run out of time?" she asked from him.

Shaking his head, he moved to cup the back of her head, pulling her to him as his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, holding onto her. To her detriment, she pressed her cheek just to his neck, allowing herself a brief few moments of comfort.

"I won't think like that."

….

Armitage kept his hands behind his back as he walked towards the Millennium Falcon. They had captured the wookie and had sent him to a prison cell. Armitage boarded the ship and walked around it, wondering if there was some way he could send a message to the pilot from this ship. He had solitude as he entered it and he suspected that there had to be a way. He looked around in the cockpit of the ship, seeing if he could find something. Moving to the intercom, he wondered who the last contact had been. But there was nothing. He huffed to himself and pondered if the wookie would help him. But he shook his head. There was absolutely no chance of getting help from that creature.

….

Poe didn't want to go Kijmi but he knew that there was no other option. They had the dagger and they needed to know the coordinates to a Wayfinder. The race to find Exegol was clearly heating up. Poe had wondered if returning to the planet had been the best decision, but there was no other option apparently. They needed that dagger and Chewie was the one who had. But C-3PO had the transcript in his memory. If they wiped it then they could retrieve it.

But then Poe had bumped into Zorii when they had returned. The entire planet was filled with stormtroopers and Poe had gone to keep watch with Zorii.

"There's been rumours about you floating around," she said to Poe and he chuckled.

"I imagine there might have been," he responded, gaze keeping watch and his eyes narrowed. He was doing what he could to keep his mind busy and complete this mission. He had to do this because the woman he intended to marry needed him. "What have you heard?"

"That you stopped running spice to join the Resistance," she said. "And that you are engaged to General Hux's wife. Although rumour has it that she is now back with him."

"Shouldn't always believe rumours," Poe said in a low whisper.

"So none of it is true?"

"Some of it is true," he said with a nod of his head. "I did fall in love, Zorii and I did fall in love with Rosella Hux, but there's a lot that no one knows about her and for the time being it is best that they don't know about her."

"What is it about her?" she questioned him and he could feel his stomach churning.

He hadn't told Rosella about Zorii. He hadn't told her about how he ran spice. It was a long time ago in his life and he had changed. He was a different man. But there was something inside of him that looked at Zorii and felt a sense of pity. She hadn't gotten out. He wondered what might have been if he had stayed where he was.

"I don't know," Poe admitted earnestly. "Does anyone truly know what love is? She is warm, gentle…so strong and stubborn…and kind…loving. She is all I think about. My every thought is consumed with her and keeping her safe, thinking about the life we can have with Katrine once this is done."

"Katrine?" Zorii questioned.

Poe nodded. "She's a little girl whose parents were killed. We've been looking after her and she's…well…I kind of see her as an adopted daughter if I am honest. I feel for her how I imagine a father feels for his kid."

Zorii almost sounded repulsed. "You want to be a father?"

"Hard to believe, right?" he asked from her and chuckled, "but I'm not the same man as I was when I was running spice. I've changed."

Zorii nodded her head. "Clearly," she whispered. She felt for the First Order Captain's Medallion in her pocket. She thought about how she intended to use to travel to the Colonies and leave behind her spice running days. Perhaps one day she could have what Poe had. Perhaps she could have everything too.

…

Ren had returned to the base and Armitage had felt a swell of fear rise up inside of him as Pryde spoke about his own thoughts. Ren turned his gaze onto Armitage. Even though he could not see his eyes, Armitage felt the force of his stare. The sense of foreboding was exhausting him and he was doing his best not to let it show. He would not let Ren win. He would not let Ren get to Rosella. He had ensured that a guard kept watch on her at all times after what she had said to him. He did not want her to die a martyr. He did not want her to sacrifice herself. No. He would find a way to save her.

"Your wife has become quite a menace, General. Is this true what I have been told?"

"Absolutely not," Armitage lied forcefully. "Rosella has been locked away in our chamber. She could not be a spy. I suspect there is someone else and General Pryde is simply looking for the easier alternative."

"Where is she?" Ren demanded from him.

"In a cell," Pryde was the one to answer.

"Supreme Leader," a sudden voice snapped loudly and they all turned to see Admiral Griss running towards them. "It is the scavengers. They are on Kijmi."

"Prepare my ship," Ren snapped and took off without another word, leaving Pryde and Armitage alone.

"Your wife is still on borrowed time," he commented.

Armitage frowned and watched him walk away without another word. As he glared down the corridor he shook his head. "Not if I get my way."

…

Armitage could scarcely believe what he had been told less than two hours later. An unidentified ship had landed in the hanger and Pryde was incandescent with rage. He had demanded to find out who it belonged to at the same time rumours began circulating that there was an attack on the ship and a prisoner had gone missing. Armitage had keenly joined the fray, trying to locate the intruders. He had a suspicion that they would include the pilot. They must have come for the wookie.

And he had been right. The pilot had been captured alongside the rogue stormtooper and the wookie. They had been escorted back to the hanger where their ship was by the stormtroopers and Armitage knew that now was his only chance. Ren would be distracted and Pryde would also be distracted. He had to find a way for them to get Rosella and take her. She had to get away from the First Order and the only time was now.

He went to the hanger and found the stormtroopers holding their weapons, aiming them at the three stowaways. Poe's gaze found Armitage and he did all that he could not to snap at the man, demanding to know where Rosella was. Was she safe? He remained mute, however, teeth ground together.

"I will take it from here," Armitage informed his troops, his voice low and dangerous and Poe shook his head as the General took a weapon from one of them.

He should have known better. He should have known that Armitage would kill when he had his chance. Closing his eyes, he waited for his fate. He couldn't speak. He couldn't talk without giving away that Rosella was the one who was involved.

"Is she here?" Finn was the one to ask, voice a whisper.

"I hope so," Poe responded in a low voice. "But she can't be here…not her…"

The sudden noise of the blast rang out and Poe turned around, looking at the noise. The stormtroopers were on the ground, Armitage holding onto the weapon and looking at the three of them. Poe had to admit that he had been shocked. He did not truly think that Armitage would have helped. He did not believe that he had it in him.

"You need to take Rosella," Armitage said firmly.

"Where is she?"

"In the prison bay," Armitage responded. "Pryde suspects that she is a spy and he is waiting for Ren to come back and read her mind. If he does that then he will kill her. You need to take her away from here."

"Can you get to her?"

"No," Armitage said, "not willingly, however."

"Then looks like we will have to take you unwillingly," Finn was the one who spoke. He took the weapon from Armitage's hands and pushed into his back, forcing him forwards and holding him hostage. Armitage guided them to the prison bay, Poe shooting anyone who dared to get in their way.

Once they were there, Armitage used his authorisation to open the cell door and Poe was the one who moved then. Looking into the cell, he saw her stood there, looking anxious. Her face was pale and her eyes full of fear as her hair sat messily around her head. Looking to him, she let out a gasp at the sight of him.

"Poe," she whispered his name.

"I'm here, Rose," Poe promised her and she stumbled towards him, moving to wrap her arms around his neck and cling tightly onto him. He held her back, the feeling of relief palpable in his body as he continued clinging tightly to her. "I've got you."

Armitage watched the exchange with Finn still holding his arm. He felt a lump form in his throat as he wondered what was going through his mind. Rosella had never held him like that before, not truly.

"Come on," Poe said and grabbed hold of her hand, holding it tightly in his grip and dragging her forward. She looked to Finn and he moved a hand to her arm and she looked to him, trying not to let her emotions cloud her judgement.

"You don't have much time," Armitage said as they raced back towards where the Falcon was being held. He unlocked the door to the hanger and glanced at all of them. "You need to go before they find you here."

"What about you?" Rosella asked as Chewie took off for the ship, knowing that he had to get ready to leave. She kept hold of Poe's hand as she looked to her husband and he watched her back. He shook his head once.

"Armitage, if they find out you freed me then you-"

"-I know," he interrupted her.

Letting go of Poe's hand, the pilot watched her step closer to her husband and he wondered what went through her mind. Her feelings when it came to her husband had always been questionable to Poe. It was almost as though he had some kind of hold over her that couldn't be explained. Poe wished that it wasn't the case, but he was understanding to a certain extent. Armitage had his claws so deep in her that he knew she struggled to get them out of her. She saw something in him that no one else saw.

"Armitage, we talked about this."

"I know," he responded, "but I cannot leave here. I have nowhere to go. This has been my whole life. This is all I know. I can try and play this off as me being held hostage, but I need you to go."

"And if it doesn't work?" she questioned him.

"Then it doesn't work," he said as if it was that simple. "Now go, Rosella. Leave here and look after yourself."

"Come on, Rose," Poe said, knowing that he had to get them out of there.

She moved quickly however. Something inside of her causing her to chest to ache as she reached for her husband. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tightly as he held her back, inhaling her familiar scent and mesmerising every little detail of her. Once she pulled back, he looked her in the eye.

"Permit me one thing?" he asked of her.

"What?" she questioned and he moved then, bending down until his lips were pressed to hers.

Poe ground his teeth together, seeing how she was startled at the brash movement as Finn looked away uncomfortably. Armitage stroked her cheek softly before pulling back from her. Looking to Poe, he nodded his head firmly at the pilot and Poe resisted the urge to snap. He understood his silent message and took hold of Rosella's hand, pulling away from Armitage.

"Keep her safe," Armitage demanded from Poe.

Poe nodded once more. He did not need to be told twice. Instead Armitage looked to Finn and spoke. "Shoot me," he demanded from him. "This needs to look like a convincing escape, so shoot me."

"Pleasure," Finn said in a low voice and he short Armitage in the leg. He fell to the floor and snapped loudly in pain as Rosella watched him grab hold of his leg and he nodded once more to her.

"Go," he demanded. "Now!"

Rosella kept her eyes set on him as Poe dragged her into the hanger and towards the Falcon. Armitage continued staring after her, watching as they moved to the Falcon. She turned her head over her shoulder one more time to look to him and he contemplated speaking those words that had haunted him so often at night. But he knew that would not be fair to her. Instead he waited for her to go from his sight and he laid back on the ground, the ache in his leg taking over as he whispered: "I do love you."

….

After Poe and Cheewie had managed to steer the Falcon to safety, Finn finally embraced Rosella, telling her how good it was to have her back with them. She hugged him tightly and then looked to Rey, embracing her slowly before Poe made his way from the cockpit and asked Rey and Finn to take over and given them some time alone.

Poe looked to Rosella and she glanced to him, unsure of what she should say to him. She had no idea where to begin or discuss what she had seen and what she had done. She wondered if he would be angry with Armitage having kissed her. She wondered if he would be angry with her simply standing there and letting him. Instead she waited for him to make the first move.

He did so slowly, the back of his hand brushing her cheek gently, pushing her hair out of the way as his other hand ran along her neck to her jawline.

"I missed you," he whispered to her gently, voice tender. "I spent every night worrying about you, Rose. I was so scared."

"So was I," she admitted to him. "And I missed you too…you an Katrine."

Poe managed a soft smile at hearing the little girl's name. "She has missed you too. She will be so happy to see you."

"I can't wait to see her," Rosella said back to him, her hands going to hold onto his forearms and he bent down, his forehead pressing to hers.

"I'm not letting you go again, Rosella. I am never letting you go."

"And I don't want you to let me go," she whispered to him earnestly. "I mean it, Poe. This is it now. I am staying by your side until the end."

He bent down and kissed her slowly and softly, his lips moving against hers as she closed her eyes and felt like she was back home when she was wrapped up in his arms. He pulled back after a moment and sat down on the bench seat, Rosella perching in his lap and running a hand up his bare chest to his neck, pressing her cheek to his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"I love you," Poe told her.

"I love you too," she responded.

As she sat there, content in his grip, her mind wandered back to Armitage. Closing her eyes as Poe kissed the top of her head, she longed to know what had happened to her husband.

….

A/N: Do let me know what you think! Nearly at the end now!