A/N: Yay! Chapter story! Let's see how it turns out. It's difficult finding F words that go with the theme... The medical side in me needs to do this part to be happy! So I'll try to explain as we go so I don't lose anyone. Enjoy! R&R!

FIRE

Chapter 2: Friend

It had been hours since he had gotten into the room with her. He'd made a trip back to the apartment where he retrieved the things the hospital was looking for, like her wallet, any signs of meds, etc. All she took was vitamins, which made it easy on him because he didn't really want to be that personal with someone he literally just made passing remarks to. Secretly, he wanted to know more about her. But because of the situation, he couldn't really find out what he wanted to find out. He knew she was an adopted cousin of his, but in all honesty, she'd cut ties with Luke as soon as she left his home. They barely kept in contact. Ben didn't keep any contact with his parents or his uncle. His father was dead to him and his mother just nagged him to come home, so he cut her off, too. Both of them were dead to him. Luke... Ben couldn't really forgive Luke. Luke had put him through so much. He'd tried to destroy everything he had because Ben didn't just go with the flow that Luke was trying to force him to do. Ben was his own person, the black sheep of the family, and so, he'd been ousted. Or rather, he ousted himself.

He had tried to make himself scarce from Rey's room when the doctors came in, but they insisted that someone needed to know what was going on and she didn't have any emergency contacts listed, so he was the best they had. He stayed reluctantly, not really understanding what was going on, so he asked questions and received answers. Apparently, she'd gotten carbon monoxide poisoning, that they were currently trying to treat. Ben knew it was possible to get that, but he didn't know how badly Rey had sustained it. He asked what they were going to do for her and the doctor just sighed. Apparently, they could only keep her on oxygen and give her breathing treatments of Albuterol and such. Ben had asked them how long she would be asleep and the doctors couldn't answer, of course. They had told him, though, that he had pulled her from the environment at just the right time because any prolonged exposure would have killed her. His heart ached at that. If he hadn't gone back in, and waited for a firefighter to go in to get her, she'd be dead? He couldn't deal with that. She was the nicest person he'd met and to lose this little ray of sunshine in his dark life would be tragic.

He continued to ask questions of the doctors as they came in, giving him status reports. They'd taken blood tests. They'd increased oxygen and bronchodilators, which apparently opened up the lungs that the carbon monoxide had restricted so that oxygen could get into her lungs and restore her to her proper balance. And apparently, they were giving her antibiotics as well to fight any infections that could have come from a compromised respiratory system. Ben hated all this medical jargon. Just call it the lungs. Goodness... She was steadily improving as the days went on, but the doctors insisted that she be kept a little while longer for observation. He had no choice. He had to stay. If he didn't, she'd wake up alone. She'd been out for three days. Ben had decided that he would go home early in the day, take a shower, grab some food (a whole bag of it so he didn't have to keep leaving because what if he missed the doctors?) and come back to sit with her. He'd brought books to entertain him, but his mind still wandered, his eyes dancing off the page to her beautiful face. Before he knew it, he'd closed the book and taken to staring at her, watching for any signs of distress or peace. It had gone on like this for three days.

On the fourth day, he decided to go home early to get some food and such. He also decided to swing by her apartment and grab her some clothes. With one last longing look at her, wishing she'd wake up soon so they could continue their silly banter, he exited her room and went home.

X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Rey's eyes fluttered open a little while after Ben left. She glanced around from her propped up position and blinked several times to clear her blurry vision. When her eyes finally focused, she realized she was in a hospital room. Curiously, she tried to think back what happened to her. But her head started pounding. She let out a soft groan and clamped her eyes shut as the lights started to assault her head. She opened her eyes again to see a doctor standing there. "Your friend isn't here..." the doctor said off-handedly.

"Friend?" she asked hoarsely. She didn't have a friend. Was this man off his rocker?

"Yes, the young man that's been sitting with you for four days? You don't know him?" Rey thought about it and closed her eyes again. "Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, you're making a great recovery. Stark contrast to three days ago. We should have you discharged tomorrow." Rey opened her eyes at the doctor. "Sound good?" Rey nodded. "Good. I'll- ah! There you are." Rey glanced over at who the doctor was talking about and saw Ben walk into the room, carrying a backpack. He froze in the doorway as his eyes met Rey's. "I was just telling her that she's probably going to be discharged tomorrow. Would you be able to arrange a ride home for her?"

Ben broke eye contact and looked at the doctor. "Sure."

The doctor nodded and smiled at the two. "Great. I'll send the therapist in and finalize everything so we can have you guys out of here tomorrow."

With that, the doctor was gone and Ben stood uncomfortably in the room close to the door. It looked like he was ready to bolt at any time. He hesitantly glanced over at her and saw her staring at him, waiting for an explanation. He sighed and walked over to the chair he'd been occupying for the past few days. He set his bag down and looked over at her. "You're awake," he commented and instantly kicked himself for it. Smooth move, Solo...

Rey snorted and rolled her eyes. She sighed softly and felt a hitch in her throat, making her cough. He waited for it to subside, but it wasn't, so he got up and got her water cup. He handed it to her and she sipped from the straw silently. "What happened?"

Ben took the cup from her when she was done and set it on the table. "The woman in 280 started a fire and burned down two apartments. The rest of them have smoke damage, which they're working to fix. They're starting from 280 to the front, so yours still isn't done." Rey looked at him as he took a seat. "I've been going over there to check on everything. I mean, you can't very well live in a hospital, can you?" he asked with a grin.

She gave him a small smirk and shrugged. "I don't know... It's not too bad. I've gotten used to the whole... blinding whiteness of it."

Ben smirked at her. He noticed her voice was hoarse, which the doctor had informed him not too long ago, that it would clear up a little later. "Can I get you anything?"

Rey looked at him curiously. "Answers?" Ben nodded. "Why are you here? Not that I mind..." she said softly.

He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "The EMT asked me to ride with them here." Rey looked at him, clearly lost. "You were my uncle's ward, so I was the closest they had to family for you. Sounds weird saying that..."

Rey blushed. "So you're... my cousin?"

"I said I was. But I'm not. The adoption didn't officially go through. You may have the Skywalker name, but you're nothing." Rey didn't know why that hurt so bad, but it did. Her eyes fell to her hands in her lap. "You're nothing..." he repeated. "But not to me."

Rey looked up at him, brows furrowed in confusion and a little residual hurt. "What?"

Ben sighed and sat back up, leaning closer to the bed. "When you're well, I'll explain," he said with a small smirk.

Rey pouted, but didn't fight him. "So if my apartment isn't done tomorrow... then where am I going to go?"

He shrugged. "There's room at my place. My place is already done, so if you want, you can stay there until your place is done. Should only be a night or two. You can have the bed and I'll take the couch." She thought about it for a moment, blushing at the thought of staying the night at her neighbor's house for a couple of nights. They weren't even dating and here she was staying the night at his place. He sensed her discomfort and he hesitantly reached out to lay his hand over hers. She stiffened under the delicate touch, but she looked at his face. He looked sensitive, almost compassionate. It was a look she wasn't used to seeing from her scowling neighbor. "If that makes you uncomfortable, we can find another place for you for a few nights."

She thought about it for a minute. He knew her so well. How? How would he know what made her uncomfortable? How would he know that she would be comforted by him holding her hand? Why was this all right with her? She gave him a small smile. "Your place is fine." Ben nodded with a small twitch of his lips. "You're not a creep, are you?"

Ben snickered. "Certainly not." He pulled his hand away and resumed his spot, relaxing in his chair. "Just don't look under the bed." She quirked a brow at him. "It's where all the dead bodies are." She couldn't help but laugh at him, shaking her head and laying back against the pillows. "Get some rest, Rey."

She forced her eyes open and looked at him. "Are you... leaving?" she asked hesitantly.

He considered it, but with her silently asking him to stay, he wasn't so sure now. "No?" he asked, unsure of what she wanted him to do. He wasn't really good with dealing with people, so he couldn't really read what she wanted. He hated questioning himself, but he couldn't be confident about his answer because if she would feel better about him leaving, he would do that, too. He was a mess...

She seemed to nod quietly and relax back against the pillows with a small shy smile. Ben knew then and there that she wanted him to stay. He opened his backpack and got out a book, settling in to make himself comfortable. She was asleep before he knew it.

X~X~X~X~X~X~X

Rey awoke the next day and looked over at the chair to see Ben sleeping, book flat in his lap, forgotten. She smiled over at him. She didn't realize how boyish he looked when he was sleeping. He looked so vulnerable. He looked peaceful. Usually when she saw him, he was always scowling or really upset about something. He looked lonely. Like he was reaching out, but no one was taking his hand. Had she? She thought about it and realized that... she had. He was searching for someone to talk to, someone to understand. And she was the one that took his hand. It started with some passing remarks, but maybe she'd made it more comfortable with joking with him? She wasn't sure. She would definitely need to ask him. When her voice was better, of course.

She saw him shifting in his sleep, the book clamoring to the ground with a loud thud. His brows furrowed for a moment and then he opened his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, palms flat against his eyes with a sigh. When his hands fell from his face, he looked around briefly, as if orienting himself. Then his eyes landed on her, who was watching him with a small shy smile. He returned it with a small twitch of his lips, a ghost of a smirk. "Sleep well?" she asked with a hint of mirth in her voice.

He noticed her voice wasn't as hoarse as yesterday and couldn't help but shrug. "They need to think about the caregivers more," he snorted. "Feels like I'm sleeping on a step ladder." Rey couldn't help but snicker at him, which brought a small smirk to his own face. "Hungry?" he asked mischievously.

"Starving." Ben reached into his backpack and pulled out two bags of chips. "I don't think I'm allowed to have those yet..."

"What they don't know won't hurt them. Which one?" Rey hesitated. "Look, if they come in, just throw me the bag and we'll play it off."

Rey laughed and shrugged as she pointed at a bag of chips, earning her a grin from Ben as he opened it and passed it to her. He opened his own bag and set it in his backpack to hide it when he took the other back from her. He watched her take a chip and she sighed happily. "This is amazing," she moaned as she all but squealed at the taste. Ben chuckled softly, earning Rey's attention. He stopped and put his own chip in his mouth. That's when he noticed her staring at him. "You should laugh more often. It sounds nice," she said as she put another chip in her mouth with a smile. Ben's cheeks heated up at the compliment as he looked away and quietly ate another chip. "I think that's the first time I've actually heard you laugh, come to think of it..." Ben said nothing and didn't look at her. He kept his gaze focused on anything but her. "Why?" she asked softly.

Ben didn't really know what to say. He simply shrugged. "Not much to laugh about, I suppose. I never really... paid attention to it."

"I laugh at myself sometimes." Ben looked at her curiously. "Yep. Sure do. When I have nothing to laugh about, I find something to laugh about. It keeps me from becoming depressed."

"I'm not depressed."

"You're lonely. And that's a recipe for depression," she said back, eyes hard as she looked at him. Ben frowned at her. He felt his anger rising, but before he could say anything, she kept talking. "I'm not attacking you, Ben. I just... see how unhappy you are. Do you have any friends? Besides me?" Ben looked away with a scowl. "Ben-"

"Stop. This isn't going to be a therapy session," he bit out, glaring at her to get the point across.

Rey frowned. "I'm not a therapist, Ben." He looked away from her. She huffed at his attitude and rolled her eyes. "I'm happy around you, too," she blurted out. Ben didn't look at her. "I look forward to the little exchanges we have when we give each other mail. I can tell when I can joke with you and when it's best not to. Ben-"

"Stop." Rey frowned at him and watched him quietly.

"Ok, Miss Skywalker. I have your discharge papers... Uh... were you cleared to-"

"Sorry, sir. I set them there for a minute to get my stuff together. She didn't eat any," Ben said as he took the bag back and closed it up.

The doctor raised a brow at them and shrugged. "Anyway. Here's your discharge papers. You're free to go home now. Here's a prescription that you need to be on for a few weeks, just to make sure there's no infection that develops. The other one is for any trouble breathing, use it as needed. Do you have a ride home?"

Ben nodded. "Taken care of."

The doctor nodded. "Great. Then sign here and we'll get you on your way. Do you have a change of clothes?"

Rey opened her mouth with a blush, but Ben reached in his pack and pulled out some clothes for her and set them on the bed. She blushed at him and looked down at her clothes he'd gotten for her.

"Well... seems your friend has everything covered. I just need a signature stating I gave you everything and you understand your discharge instructions." Rey signed the paper and the doctor left.

She looked at Ben, who said nothing as he avoided her glance. She frowned as she looked down at her hands in her lap. "On second thought... maybe I should make other arrangements..." Ben looked at her then. "You don't really seem to..."

Ben sighed as he stood and crossed the short gap between them. He pressed his lips to hers quickly, pausing there for just a moment to let it sink in to Rey that this was real. When he pulled away, his eyes searched hers, as if boring holes into her very being. "Come home with me."