Hello? Anyone out there?

XXXXXX

Rey was dreaming. She knew it was a dream because it was too perfect for reality.

She was riding BeeBee out on the old Billings Trail, which used to be a former railway, and it was late in the evening. The sun was low behind her, and the shadows from the cypress and oak trees were long in front of her. The air was muggy and warm, indicating the height of summer. She knew they were riding toward the coast, with a short stretch of beach that allowed horseback riding just a little more than a mile from Yavin Stables. She was riding BeeBee with her fuzzy bareback pad, leaving her shorts-clad legs hanging loose on his sides, and a bitless bridle adorned his head. Poe and Dee were riding alongside them, Poe riding his big black stallion in his Australian stock saddle, his back preventing him from joining Rey in freedom from saddles. He was laughing at something Rey had said, his eyes crinkling up and his smile bright. Rey felt her heart swell; he may never see her as a romantic interest, but his friendship was so very important to her. As much as she loved having him as her trainer and had learned so much from him in this last year, she would happily ride with someone else as long as it meant keeping Poe as her friend.

She heard a strange sound off to her left. Her heart suddenly racing, she turned her head to see a red pickup truck racing toward them.

"Rey!" she heard Poe shout as she screamed.

Her eyes jerked open and she blinked madly, her panic not easing as she looked upon a dark room. Her head was throbbing and she brought her hand up to it, rubbing her temple. She could feel something attached to her hand and she brought her other hand up in an effort to feel it, but that hand felt heavy and weighted down more than it should. She became aware of soft beeping noises, and then the sound of someone breathing close to her. Her nose picked up the scent of her father's cologne, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Hospital, her brain quickly registered. She was in an accident and she was in the hospital. Carefully, she felt her left arm with her right hand and realized she had a cast on her wrist, and her right hand apparently had an IV catheter in it. She could feel the push of oxygen into her nostrils and knew she must have a cannula in her nose. Her head felt horrible.

She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Daddy?"

Her inquiry was soft, but he must have heard her. She felt more than heard him sit upright, breathing in deep. "Rey?" Luke Skywalker grumbled, his voice still sounding of sleep.

"You were sleeping," she croaked.

"Yeah, sweetheart," he answered, and she heard the smile in his voice. "I was." He paused. "You were, too, but you're awake now. I'll let the nurse know." She guessed he was pressing the alert button.

"Can…" she started. She cleared her throat again.

"Let me get you some water," her father responded. She felt a straw touch her lips and she gratefully mouthed it and drew cool water into her dry mouth. When she was done and he took the cup away, she tried again.

"Can you turn the lights on, please?"

There was a long pause.

"Daddy?"

"Honey, the lights are on," he said, his voice rough.

Confused, Rey immediately brought her hand back up to her face, feeling her eyes. They weren't covered. She blinked again, several times. "I… I don't understand."

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked quietly.

"I was going through an intersection," she started, squeezing her eyes shut and rubbing her temple again. "The light was green. There was a red truck. It wasn't stopping."

"Yeah," Luke confirmed. "It didn't stop until it hit you broadside. Guy was texting." Rey could hear the anger in his voice. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, you hit your head really bad. It caused some serious swelling in your brain, and that's why you can't see."

Opening her eyes once more to darkness, Rey took a deep breath. "But it's just temporary, right?"

There was another long pause, and Rey felt her heartrate increase again. "Maybe," Luke finally said. "Most likely," he added, his voice firm. Rey heard movement off to the side. "Here's a doctor," he said. "She can tell you more."

"Hello, Rey," a woman said, her voice coming closer. "I'm Doctor Harter Kalonia," she said. "I'm glad to see you're awake!" Rey could hear her father move and decided he was probably standing up. There was a moment of silence, and Rey could almost 'see' the doctor and her father speaking to each other without words. "I'm going to look at your eyes real quick, okay?"

Rey nodded and felt the woman take hold of her chin gently. She heard a click and felt movement in front of her face, then she heard her father speak. "Her pupils are dilating," he said, and Rey determined that the click had been a flashlight. "That's a good sign, right?"

Dr. Kalonia hummed softly as she let go of Rey's chin. "How are you feeling other than the anxiety of not being able to see, Rey?"

Rey licked her lips. "My head hurts. My body aches, too, but nothing specific."

"We'll get some more pain meds on board now that you're awake," she said. "The last CT scan we did showed that the swelling was almost gone in your brain, but it will still take time to heal completely."

"But it will heal," Luke said, his voice hopeful. "Her sight will return, right?"

"Rey, you have what is called Cortical Blindness," the doctor continued. "It can be caused by trauma, as yours is, or by diseases such as meningitis or a stroke. In most of those cases, the blindness is indeed temporary, or at least some vision will return with time and therapy, but with an injury as severe as yours, only time will tell." She paused. "I don't want to get your hopes up, Rey. There is a good chance your vision will never return."

Silence. Rey wondered where the panic from earlier was. Instead, she felt numb.

"Aren't there any treatments or…" her father's voice broke. "Some kind of surgery or something?"

"I'm afraid not," Kalonia said softly. "If she recovers some vision, there are therapies that help retrain the brain to use those specific pathways again, but if she cannot see anything, that kind of therapy won't work." She sighed, and Rey could tell she was facing her again, and not her father. "I know an excellent opthamologist in Savannah that I want to refer you to. I know he's dealt with Cortical Blindness in other patients and understands it well. He'll be able to help you through this better than anyone. I'll make sure you get his information."

"Thank you, Doctor," Luke said softly.

"In the meantime, Rey," Kalonia continued. "You need to rest and let your body heal. Whatever happens, it's not going to happen overnight." Rey felt the woman's hand touch her arm gently. "We should be able to get you out of here in a day or two."

Rey felt herself nod, then she blinked and felt tears slide down her cheeks.

"Hey, honey," Luke said, and she could feel him move in close to her. "Let's think positive," he told her. "You are strong and your body is strong and you will heal and see again, okay?"

Biting her lip, Rey nodded again. "What if I don't?" she whispered. "What if I never ride again?" How could she ride if she couldn't see? How could she ever dream of getting to the Olympics if she was blind? Poe couldn't train her. He would have no reason to even see her. What would become of BeeBee?

She would lose them both.

"Don't think that!" her father said vehemently. "You will ride again!"

Feeling tears stream down her face now, Rey asked, "Does Poe know? What about BeeBee?"

"I had your aunt call and update him," Luke said. "BeeBee's fine! Dameron's taking care of him."

Of course, he was, Rey thought. Poe would take care of BeeBee as long as he needed to. Until Rey was back to normal.

But Rey couldn't help but feel that normal would never happen again.

XXXXXX