A/N Here's where the fun begins!
XXXXXX
When Poe heard about the shuttle asking for permission to dock with the Organa, he thought it must be another one coming from Naboo. He had told them to stop the comings and goings for the time being; things were getting too tense right now for his staff to have to pay attention to civilian ships flying in and out of their docking bay. But for some reason, his crew had let this one through.
He had been on his way to the mess when he got word, so he changed his course and headed for the bay; he was already pissed, so he might as well take it out on someone. When he stepped through the doors, he saw that a small crowd had formed near the shuttle that had just set down, and he realized with a start that it was one of his shuttles. Well, one of the Resistance's. He felt a surge of anxiety go through him at the realization of who was most likely on it. And joy? Yeah, he felt that, too. But he was going to ignore that. Nope, he was gonna stay pissed.
The ramp lowered and there she was. She had lost her baby weight in the four weeks since he had seen her and looked fit and lean. She was wearing a pair of tall leather boots with grey leggings and her typical white sleeveless blouse with dark grey wraps that floated about her, giving her masculine attire a feminine boost. She wore no arm wraps, a habit from Jakku that she had finally given up for the most part after Exegol, but she had still donned the leather armband and cuff; the cuff was another remnant of her scavenger past, the armband her own quiet acknowledgement of her loyalty to the Resistance. Her hair was swept up in one elegant pile on top of her head, making her look much older than she was; he himself often forgot how young she really was, not even 25 yet. She wore no blaster, but her lightsaber was prominent on her left hip.
Hot damn, if she wasn't the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Her eyes found him immediately, but then the small crowd waiting for her grabbed her attention. Every one of them was a friend from the Resistance. She smiled at them as she walked down the ramp, reaching Beaumont first. He was the current Deck Officer on duty. "Permission to come aboard?" she asked.
He smiled broadly at her. "Permission granted!" Then he moved forward to embrace her. One by one, the rest of the group welcomed her. Poe stayed back, his arms folded, wishing he could share their joy at seeing their Jedi again. His anger, however, was still too strong.
Finally, they all left her alone, with Beaumont giving him a glance and herding everyone in the other direction. Rey walked over to him. He glanced at the shuttle. "Where's the Falcon?"
"Chewie has her on Kashyyyk," she told him.
He nodded. Of course. The Traagmol hadn't gotten there, yet, but they were getting closer. It made sense that Chewie would be there to help protect his people.
Rey looked at him for a while, then she started to walk past him, heading out of the docking bay. He turned and followed, knowing exactly where she was going.
"Where's the baby?" She should still be breast feeding him.
"With his sister and your father," she said softly, not slowing down. "I weaned him to a bottle earlier this week."
"You picked a hell of time to come," he told her, his voice low. Angry.
She glanced at him. "Why?"
He ran a hand through his hair, and couldn't help but notice that she followed his movement with her eyes before looking ahead of her once more. "The Traagmol have abandoned all of the bases they have set up these last few weeks and are gathering in one location near Hypori. Either they're going back to where they came from, or they're coming for us."
Rey didn't ask which option he believed. "So, you're going to get your wish?" she asked.
"And you're going to be stuck here for the duration," he grumbled.
"I only have two things I need to do. I should be out of here in a heartbeat." She spoke lightly, with a certain amount of humor. He suddenly wished he could 'feel' her again; it had been handy being able to read her moods.
"Two things?" he asked. He had assumed she was here for BB-8.
She nodded. "Yep. I intend to fix BB-8," she told him. "And find your spy."
Poe stopped short. She continued walking for a few steps, but then stopped and turned to face him. He stared at her. "You think they're connected?"
"I think BB-8 was sabotaged and if we get him working again, he'll be able to tell us who did it." With that, she turned and continued on to the droid lab.
Poe considered her statement and wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself. It made perfect sense. Except… "Why?" he asked her, running a bit to catch up.
"Because BB-8 is the only being on board this ship that you trust that can't be influenced by the Force."
Poe's anger surged again. "Are you serious?" he demanded. "You think our spy can use the Force?"
"To a small extent," she told him. "Else I would have known a lot sooner than this what was going on." They had reached the lab and Rey opened the door and entered. Orian was not present, so Rey looked at Poe expectantly.
Giving her a glare, he walked over to one of the lockers and punched in a code. He brought out BB-8's head and set it on the desk, then rolled out his torso. Finally, he brought out the small case that held his memory chip. He gave it to Rey and stepped back, folding his arms in front of him again.
He watched as she carefully removed the chip from the case and brought it to the microscope. She placed it under the viewer and turned on the monitor. She focused on every little bit of the delicate piece of equipment, which was essentially the brain of one of his best friends. She licked her lips as she concentrated, and he felt a surge of desire go through him, which just angered him more. She reached up and pointed at a spot on the monitor. "See this?" she asked him. "How it's ever so slightly off center?"
He tried his best to focus on the screen. "Barely," he told her. "Are you sure that's not normal?"
"No," she told him. "Everything should be aligned perfectly for it to function. But how it got like this, I have no idea. I don't know of any machine that could do it, and even a being as tiny and accurate as Babu Frik would have to be a magician to do this without damaging the chip."
"Or a Force user," Poe said without thought.
Rey turned to look at him, her eyes wide. "Of course!" she said, smiling. "Poe, you're a genius! I can be totally blind to what's right in front of me and you point it out as if everyone should be able to see it." He frowned at her, but her compliment was genuine and natural. She looked back at the screen. "If a Force user can do this, then maybe a Force user can fix it." She looked back at him. "Do you want me to try? I can't guarantee I can do it."
He sighed, looking at the droid's head on the table. "I have a feeling this is the only thing we can try. It's this or nothing." He looked back at her. Trust. Didn't he tell her it all came down to trust? "Do it."
She took a deep breath and turned back to the microscope, her focus on the chip itself rather than its image. But Poe kept an eye on the monitor, glancing at her now and then as she stood with her eyes closed, her breathing deep. He thought he felt a surge, like he used to when she used the Force, but he wasn't certain. He was looking at the monitor at the right time, and saw the slightest of movements on the screen. Rey breathed in and opened her eyes. She seemed uncertain when she glanced at him again. "I think I did it." Taking another deep breath, she removed the chip from the microscope. "Let's find out."
He watched as she carefully opened the appropriate compartment in BB-8's head and gingerly replaced the chip. She closed the droid up and placed his head onto his torso, then glancing at Poe, she turned his power on. Immediately, Poe heard the magnets that connected his head to his body turn on, his lights started blinking, and then the beeps started, and oh, were they beautiful! BB-8 immediately started chattering away in binary so fast Poe couldn't keep up. "Hey, buddy! Slow down!" The droid responded with something he did understand. "Hey! Watch your language!" Poe started laughing and he looked at Rey who was also grinning from ear to ear.
"I don't know if you know it, buddy, but you've been out of commission for almost three months!" Poe told his droid. BB-8 squealed in dismay. He looked back and forth between him and Rey, asking why.
"You tell us, BB-8," Rey told him. "Do you know who manipulated your memory chip?"
BB-8 nodded.
"Who, buddy?" Poe asked, his voice soft.
"Mikaela Dean."
Poe caught his breath, everything suddenly making sense. His dreams. His anger. His attraction to Mik. He had accused Rey of manipulating him, when in reality it had been Mikaela all along. He looked at Rey, not even sure what to say. She wasn't looking at him, but was still staring down at BB-8, a contemplative look on her face.
Finally, she spoke. "Mikaela Dean wouldn't happen to be blonde, would she?" She looked up at Poe, her expression blank. "Long hair? Petite?"
Poe didn't answer. He knew Rey wasn't really expecting one.
Rey looked back at the droid. "BB-8, could you go and find Miss Dean? Don't let her see you, just let us know where she's at. I would really like to talk to her."
Poe didn't miss the venom in his wife's voice. He once told her, jokingly, that he didn't ever want her to talk to him like that, that it was frightening. He knew he was about to find out just how frightening.
BB-8 rolled out of the room, moving and acting like he hadn't been stuffed in a locker for three months. Poe watched him, then looked at Rey, who was staring at him with just a hint of anger.
"Did she try and seduce you?" she asked, her voice soft, but the venom still there.
Poe felt guilt rise to the surface and he looked away.
"I know she did," Rey answered for him. "What I don't know is if she succeeded." The hardness in her voice had died. Sorrow had replaced it.
He looked at her then, his own anger surging to the fore. How dare she accuse him of cheating on her! Her chin rose as she read his expression. "She didn't," Rey said, her voice cracking. "And I'm a fool for thinking she could."
Poe stepped into her. "Yes, you are," he growled. He reached up with his right hand and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her to him and kissing her hard, finally allowing his anger loose, knowing she could easily throw him across the room if she wanted.
She didn't.
XXXXXX
A/N As you can probably guess by that last scene, then rating for this fic will be going to 'M' for the next chapter. See you Monday!
