Poe groaned as he opened his eyes. He blinked, and saw Rey and General Leia Organa sitting by his bedside.
"What happened? Where are we?" he asked.
"We are back on base," the general told him.
"But how? We were captured by Hux!"
"We were. We were set free by the Supreme Leader."
"What! I don't understand..." Poe uttered, before noticing that someone was missing.
"Where's Kaydel?" he questioned.
"She stayed behind," Rey explained.
"No!"
"The Supreme Leader told her that if she stayed with him, he would set us free."
"No! We have to get her back!"
"Poe..."
"We can't leave Kaydel with that monster!"
"Commander, that is enough!" Leia scolded him. "She sacrificed herself so that we could live."
Poe shook his head in disbelief. This could not be happening!
"Don't even think of leaving to get her. It will be a suicide mission," Leia warned him.
She rose to her feet and told Rey,
"Make sure he stays on base."
After Leia left, Poe sat up in the bed and looked at Rey.
"No," Rey sternly told him.
"Rey..." Poe pleaded.
"No. You heard the general."
"I can't leave her with him! He will torture her!"
"He won't."
"Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten what he did to me? What he did to you?"
"I did not forgot. But you need to trust my judgment. As it is, I question yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"Did you know how she felt about you?"
"Kaydel and I are just friends..."
"Just friends don't sleep with each other!"
Poe bowed his head. He was hoping Rey would not have found out about that.
"She loved you, Poe. And you used her!" Rey snapped angrily.
"I didn't know! We were consenting adults!" Poe defended himself.
"You were blind, that is what you were!"
"I guess I was. But I'm not the only one that can be accused of using someone."
"What?"
"Rey, I'm not stupid. I saw how you looked at him," Poe confessed.
She did not respond. She could have denied the feelings she had for Ben, no, Kylo. But she knew Poe would know she would be lying.
"Do you still want him?" Poe asked in trepidation.
"No," Rey answered honestly. "Do you still want her?"
"No."
Rey managed a small smile, before reminding him,
"This does not change the general's order. You are not to leave to rescue her."
"Rey, she is in danger!" he insisted.
"Poe, this is not up for discussion! Now drop it, or I will knock you unconscious!"
Seeing she meant business, Poe dropped the matter. He was tough, but he knew better than to fight with a Force User.
The next morning, they were in a meeting with Leia, when a knock was heard on the door. Rey answered it, and a soldier was standing outside.
"My apologies," he said. "We found out that the Supreme Leader is going to be broadcasting on all the Holonet channels."
"Put the broadcast on in the main conference room. We will be there momentarily," Leia instructed.
"What do you think that is all about?" Poe wondered curiously, as the three of them left.
"I do not know. But let's find out."
The conference room was packed. As soon as Poe, Rey and Leia stepped inside, the broadcast began. They saw a masked Kylo Ren, standing by a large window. Many stars were in the background. Another man, standing with a book in his hand, was next to the Supreme Leader. A sea of First Order officials and Stormtroopers stood at attention.
"What is this, a display of power?" Poe grumbled in annoyance.
"Oh no!" Leia gasped in realization. "Rey..."
"I know," she replied sorrowfully.
"What is this..." Poe began to say, before seeing for himself. Their enemies turned to the face the aisle. They saluted as a figure in white and pink passed them.
"What the Maker? A wedding?" Poe marveled. "Who the hell would marry Kylo Ren?"
"Poe, you better sit down..." Rey tried to warn him, knowing who the bride was. But before he could, someone shouted,
"Look! Kaydel Ho Connix is the bride!"
Chaos ensued. Poe attacked the man, landing a couple of punches before being restrained.
"Enough, Commander!" Leia barked at him. "Do you want me to put you in solitary confinement?"
"No, General," Poe uttered in dejection. He watched as Kylo Ren and Kaydel faced each other.
"Why?" he moaned softly. Rey touched his shoulder and stated,
"She did it to protect you."
He closed his eyes, desperately trying to fight back tears. He was suppose to be the one to protect Kaydel, not the other way around!
The room was quiet as the Supreme Leader slipped a ring on Kaydel's finger.
"Leia," Rey called out to her in the Force.
"I wish I could be there," she responded back non-verbally.
The ceremony was short. The Supreme Leader and the former lieutenant were pronounced husband and wife. They turned to face their guests, who saluted the newlywed couple as they walked arm and arm up the aisle.
"At least there was no kiss," Poe muttered ruefully. "Oh Kaydel!"
He ran out of the conference room. Rey went to follow him, but Leia stopped her.
"Give him some time. He is upset, and so are you," she told the young woman.
"I am not upset..." Rey tried to deny.
"Don't lie to me. We are all upset, for different reasons. But we need to face the truth. Kaydel is now part of the First Order."
"I understand. But I won't stop caring about her."
"And I am not asking you to. That would be like me..."
Leia paused, not wanting to finish the rest of her statement. Rey nodded her head in understanding.
"That dress Kaydel wore looks familiar,"
"It is similar to a dress my biological mother wore when Naboo was liberated from the Trade Federation. Kaydel did not have the back piece. She looked stunning in the dress."
"She did. I should go check up on Poe."
"Rey, don't be too hard on him."
She nodded, before leaving Leia. The general took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Han, wherever you are, it did not happen the way we expected. But our son has found himself a good woman. Force, please make sure he treats her well," Leia prayed to herself.
Rey found Poe at the hanger. He turned to face her.
"Hey," he uttered softly.
"Hi," she replied back. "You weren't thinking..."
"Of getting Kaydel? No. Of leaving and never coming back? Yes."
"Why would you leave? We need you here!"
"Do you? I think you and the general have everything under control."
"Poe, talk to me. Why do you really want to leave?"
The pilot sighed and confessed,
"Because I am not the man I should be. I... I couldn't see that she loved me, and now... This is all my fault!"
"Don't blame yourself," Rey consoled him. "She made the decision to stay, to spare all our lives."
"She is a better person than me, that is for sure."
"Poe Dameron, you are a good man. I am sorry I came down hard on you earlier."
"I deserved it."
"No, you didn't. You didn't know Kaydel loved you. But I... I knew the Supreme Leader loved me, and I rejected him."
"Of course you did. You are a good woman, Rey of Jakku. He hurt you. He hurt the both of us."
"I know. But when you have been hurt your entire life, it is hard to be a better person."
"Not for you. You faced more difficulties than most people. Yet you are the kindest person I know."
Poe leaned in and kissed Rey. After a minute, he offered his hand and said,
"Let's go inside."
She was surprised when he did this. He mistook her shock for hesitancy, and added,
"I know it may be too soon for you..."
"No," she interrupted, before taking his hand. "It's perfect timing."
He was overjoyed when Rey did this. As they walked away, he thought to himself,
"I hope the bastard is not hurting her."
MEANWHILE, ON THE STEADFAST...
Kaydel sighed contently, as she laid naked in bed. Her hair, which was normally worn in two buns, was loose. In her wildest dreams, she never thought she would be married, much less to the Supreme Leader. She never thought she would wind up with such a powerful and sexy man.
"Can you repeat that last thought out loud?" Kylo, who was also naked, asked. His new bride raised her eyebrow.
"You said I was a powerful and sexy man," he reminded her.
"No. I am not feeding your ego," she teased. Kaydel shivered in delight as Kylo caressed her leg.
"Then can you feed my desire for you?" he asked in a husky voice. His eyes closed as Kaydel began to kiss his neck.
"Thank you, sweetheart," Kylo gasped, as she caressed his chest.
"You're welcome," she whispered in his ear, before climbing on top of her husband. She chuckled when he groaned in pleasure.
"You are going to have your wicked way with me," Kylo stated, as Kaydel positioned herself.
"Well, it is not every day that a girl gets to make love to someone less experienced than herself," she offered.
"Kaydel..."
"It's okay, Kylo. No one will ever know. It will be our secret."
She leaned in and kissed her husband. He returned her kisses with equal passion. Just like the first time, when Kylo lost his virginity to Kaydel, she rode him until he surrendered in pleasure. She came hard, screaming his name.
Afterwards, Kylo took Kaydel in his arms. He softly caressed her hair.
"You are happy," he gasped in surprise.
"I am," she confessed sheepishly. "Aren't you?"
"Of course. I married the most beautiful woman in the galaxy. By the way, the dress was gorgeous on you."
"Thanks. But I thought I was going to be wearing a black dress."
"You were. But when I saw you looking at the jubilation dress on the datapad...I know you gave up everything to protect your friends. It was my way of giving you what you want."
"That was very sweet of you."
She was surprised when Kylo moved, so that he was now on top of her.
"Of course, you are more gorgeous out of the dress," he purred seductively.
Kaydel blushed. Kylo took advantage, and began to kiss and cuddle her. That led to more lovemaking.
After they finished. Kylo rose from the bed. Nervously, he extended his hand to his wife and asked,
"Would you like to join me in the shower?"
Kaydel quickly realized that he wasn't just asking to join him in the shower by his gesture.
"I chose to marry you," she sweetly reminded Kylo. With a grin on her face, she took his hand. He smiled , before leading her to the bathroom. Both of them thought it was going to be another person holding their hand. But Kylo and Kaydel realized at that moment they were perfect for each other.