Chapter Four

A few hours later Karis woke to the general thrashing and mumbling in his sleep. She noticed that he felt several degrees cooler and she managed to turn around to face him. He mumbled something that sounded like her name as his arm tightened even more around her waist locking her in place against his chest. She tried to be mindful of his healing wound but he seemed oblivious too it. She looked up at him to see his forehead creased and his eyes moving back and forth underneath his still closed eye lids. He was dreaming and what ever it was seemed intense. She placed her hand against his cheek lightly and her cool touch seemed to relax him a bit. His features lightening up a bit. She took in his features something she had never done up close. He had changed since they had first met, aged due to a life time of circumstance she supposed. She knew that he had been a hard person, one used to control. Always with that stiff military stance. With her however it had been different somehow. She always felt she saw a side of him that very few if any others saw. He seemed a bit softer, kinder and had treated her with nothing but respect. He made sure she never went with out and always paying her way more than she needed. He had made sure that she was protected that evident on his insistence of the state of the art security system among other was true he protected what he deemed valuable but a small part had always hoped it was something more. Maybe that was why he had come to her in the first place. Which ever the case she swore to help him no matter luck. He was the only one who had ever even remotely cared for her well being what ever the reason. She wondered about his as a child, if he was ever shown kindness. Somehow she figured he was a lot like her in that manner.

Her own parent never wanted her and at the earliest convince they had gotten rid of her. Dumping her when she was just barely thirteen she had learned how to survive on her own, had learned how cruel the world really was. She never looked back. It wasn't until the general, her general had entered the picture that she had been left with the feeling of being useful. If anything she owed him more than anything and that alone earned her loyalty.

Working her hand up she felt his forehead to find that it had indeed cooled down. She took a sigh of relief to know that the medicine was doing its job and that his fever had broken. For the first time in a long time she felt a twinge of hope and that everything was going to work out. He seemed to relax further under her touch as she reached up even further to brush his disheveled hair away from his forehead. His breathing seemed to even out and he seemed to go into a more relaxed sleep. Even though his grip on her was still tight it had lessened considerably and she managed to wiggle out of it without waking him tucking the blankets around him more securely. As much as she hated leaving the welcoming feel of his arms around her she still had work to do and needed to find them a safe place to go. She had an idea but getting there would be a bit of a challenge. Not only would she need more supplies which included not only the essentials but also clothing for him. When she had made her plan to disappear it had only been her but now that she had an extra passenger.

She took a little time to get herself cleaned up and changed in the small bathroom she had installed on her ship. Her through process as she had readied to leave was to have her ship a dual purpose, a form of transportation as well as a very secure home. Now she was very glad she did as she took the time she needed to get her thoughts together. Once that was accomplished she finally looked in the mirror, something she had avoided up until this point. What stared back at her was a bit alarming. A bruise had formed along her cheek bone and up under her eye but the one on her neck was more alarming. True the ointment Hux had applied had worked on soothing the ache and pain but it still left very bad markings all around her neck. The very defined hand prints reach all the way around her and she flashed back to the moment when she had thought this was it. She had almost lost her fight if her now protector hadn't shown up…She pushed that thought aside for the moment reading herself for the task ahead. She needed to focus on something else, anything else.

Once she was done she made her way to the cockpit in order to ready the ship to leave before anyone else found them. She knew of a black market supply route where she could get what she wanted if only it was still there. Once that was done she could set off and start her new life. What would happen after that , well that was still up in the air. For the first time she thought that maybe being by herself wasn't such a great idea. Sharing this new experience with someone was just that an experience. Even if it was short lived. In truth she had no idea what would happen after he got better. Would he leave? Would he stay? Did he even want to stay? She wasn't the most pleasant person to be around, this she knew from past events. A part of her hoped that he did decide to stay but she wouldn't count on it. Getting attached always lead to getting hurt another thing she knew a lot about. Still if she was being honest being around him was nice. He made her feel important like she mattered in some small part. She shook the thought away as she set a course for yet another back water outer rim planet. This one she hoped was a bit safer and would have the supplies that she needed. She was so lost in thought, so caught up in her plan that when she felt a hand lightly on her shoulder she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Son of a bit.…" She started to say as she looked up at him with tired eyes. He looked down at her with a look much like he he used to. Back before everything had changed and yet something different twinkled in his eyes. Amusement mixed with something a bit softer.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said to her in a soft voice.

"Um, no no that okay. My mine was just somewhere else." She responded as she turned to watch back out into the darkness of space.

"Where?"

"What?" She asked looking up at him with confusion.

"You said that your mind was elsewhere. Where did you go?"
"Oh…well…just." Shrugging her shoulders and she suddenly couldn't answer afraid that her inner dialog would rear its unfiltered ugly head. There were somethings that she wanted to still keep to herself. Once she voiced them out loud then they became real and with that so would be his reaction. She wasn't sure if she was ready to hear his answer. Either way it scared her just a little. She couldn't quite meet his eyes and started to fidget with the sleeve of her shirt. A nervous habit she had picked up when she was a kid. "How are you feeling?" She suddenly asked looking for ways to redirect the conversation. She turned her attention back to him noticing how tired he still looked but his color was better. His normally tamed hair in disarray and a two days growth lined his face. If she was being honest it was a good look on him.

He looked down at her still with that same look but a dash of determination added. He knew she was derailing the conversation but let it go for now.

"I'm fine Karis, thanks to you but you are not." She had practically lept from her seat to stand in front of him. Her hands on his head to feel that his fever had broken and true to his word he felt cool. Relief ran through her as she ran her eyes over the rest of him. She reached for the front of his shirt he had hap hazardously put on and she started to unbutton it. She needed to see his other wounds to make sure he really was okay and not just telling he was. They had been bad and he really shouldn't be standing. She became slightly frantic in her movements when his hands fell over hers stopping her.

"Karis,. Karis, dove look at me." She slowly met his eyes which once more held a hint of amusement. "As much as I would love to have you continue to undress me I need you to take a breath darling." He gently brushed aside some of her wayward hair causing her to shiver at his touch. "Now I wont say that I am completely fine but I am okay, thanks to you." He took her face into both of his hands gently slightly pulling her closer. "You saved me. You did well. Now let me look at you." She didn't really speak, she found that she couldn't and just nodded her head. He brushed at the bruise on her face again as well as along her neck where she had been chocked. She watched him with interest as he scanned the rest of her body looking for signs for any other injuries. His eyes betray an array of emotions, going from worry and concern to fear and anger. Finally he looked at her again with a serious look. Once again his hands on her cheeks. "I promise you I am not going to ever let anyone hurt you like this again."

"Ari…" She started to say as she gripped his wrist slightly but he didn't let her continue instead he rested his forehead on hers once again.

"When I woke up and you were gone I was so scared. You have to understand that I have never felt any kind of affection for anyone and then suddenly there was you. More loyal than even my most loyal soldiers. When you look at me its as if you see…"

"A person?" She provided.

"Yes, a person." He said with a soft laugh. "I have never been a person before, to anyone. You changed everything for me and for that I thank you." He moved his hands from her face to settle on her arms and pulled away slightly so that he could look at her again. "So now tell me what was going on inside that pretty head of yours that had you so preoccupied." Yeah she should have know he wasn't going to let that go. She looked down just then avoiding his gaze. She really didn't want her inner conflict to be known so she just shrugged her shoulders.

"N..nothing."

"Karis." He said with a bit of unbelieving in his tone. She sighed.

"There is a kind of sanctuary not to far from here. They offer supplies, medical attention anything one could need in an emergency situation. If its still in operation. I've run supply ships there a few times." She pulled away from him causing his arms to drop as she made her way to the other side of the very small cockpit. She needed some distance before her next thought came out. She looked up to see him watching her curiously. She next look back down at the pilot seat that she was currently hiding behind nervously running her fingers across the stitching that she suddenly found fascinating. "From there you can decide on what you want to do next. I can help you find another pilot…"

"I don't want another pilot."

"…They can get you to where you need to go."

"I don't want another pilot."

"They can get you to any system that you want." "I…don't…want…another…pilot."

"You don't owe me anything. I did what I did because you needed my help."

"Karis? Is that really what you think? Is that what you want?" She froze for a moment unable to say anything and unable to look at him. "Look at me dove, look at me and tell me you want me go. Tell me you don't want me to stay…with you." She looked up at him trying to form some kind of response. Anything. She knew in her heart that she wanted him to stay, she really did but she was scared. What if once he knew her really knew her he would leave. That seemed to be the case with most people in her life and one of the reasons why she kept to herself.

"I…I don't want you to feel like you have to…to stay." he stepped toward her and moved the seat out of the way so that he was in front of her again, this however she couldn't escape this time because he currently had her pined to the wall with not only his gaze but his body as well. His look was intense, unnerving and very determined.

"You think that I don't want to stay with you, that I don't want to be with you." He came even closer so now that they were nearly chest to chest. She had to crank her head up to look him fully in the face. She felt her face heat as his words started to sink in. "You have shown me more compassion than anyone in my life, ever. I have no intentions of walking away from that. Unless that's what you want."

"No…no that's not…" She started to answer quickly but never finished because his lips were suddenly on hers. At first she was shocked by the sudden change in his demeanor but she finally relaxed and he deepened the kiss. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him catching her off balance and she heard his breath hitch as she bumped his still healing body. Still he didn't let up on the kiss even as she tried to break away. She finally broke contact to breath but he still held her close as he kissed her neck up to the shell of her ear. "I don't want to hurt you. Your still healing." She reminded him as he nipped at her ear with a slight growl.

"I don't care." He mumbled as he snuggled his nose into her hair.

"Ari.." She said breathlessly. He looked up at her. "Ari you still need to rest."

"I will rest when we get to this sanctuary of yours." He kissed her again, this time is was full of urgency and she returned it just as much. He made her feel thing unlike anything she had ever felt. It was a frenzy and she was sure if he wasn't holding her up than her knees would collapse from under her. When he finally pulled away again leaving them both breathless he looked down at her with an unreadable look. He brushed her hair from her face and then kissed her gently on the forehead. She knew that when she looked up at him it was with awe and stars in her eyes. She had never been kissed like that before, never felt so wanted before and she was in a state of pure euphoria. "You do need rest though. Lets set a course and you can get some sleep. I can keep an eye on things here and wake you when we get close." He said. She just looked up at him with unblinking eyes which caused him to chuckle slightly. "If I had known a simple kiss would render you so speechless I may have tried it earlier." She blinked several times to clear her head.

"I don't talk that much." She mumbled mostly to herself but he heard her just the same.

"I'm just teasing dove." He said with a teasing tone. "I actually quite like your voice."

"You like my voice?" She asked questionably. That was different but she would take it. He nodded to her.

"Yes, I find it rather…calming. Everything about you is calming."

"Is that why you always came back?" he traced her face with his eyes again.

"One of the reasons. One of many reasons actually. But that is a conversation that can wait. You need sleep. So let me watch over you this time."