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Little Star

by Kristen Elizabeth

"Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality."

—Emily Dickinson

Dr. Kalonia was the first medic on the scene, having been called to the space yard to tend to an emergency, the nature of which became abundantly clear once she'd arrived.

Heavy winds were a problem on Yavin 4 and, every rainy season, at least one building failed to stand up to them. This time, the wind had blown the roof off the yard's repair station. It had slammed into a ship that was being loaded for take-off and broke into a number of smaller pieces that had hit several people working below.

Only one person had been seriously injured by the falling debris. Despite the rain, a small crowd had gathered around him as Harter arrived, medic bag in hand.

"Let her in!" someone called as she tried to fight her way to the patient. "Move back!"

Her patient lay on the ground where he'd fallen, bleeding from a wound to his head. Dropping to her knees-something she knew she'd pay for later-she immediately felt for a pulse, sighing in relief when she felt it, faint though it was.

People were still gathered all around them, watching her work. "Is he alive, doc?" she heard one woman say. "He pushed me out of the way...he can't be..." She sniffed loudly and buried her face in someone's shoulder.

"We need to get him to the medical centre," Harter said, delicately probing his wound. "Is there a medical capsule here?"

She heard footsteps in the mud as someone ran to find one.

Harter looked back down at her patient's unconscious face, a face she'd recognized instantly despite the blood. "And someone please...find his wife."

The rainy season on Yavin 4 was a seemingly-endless stretch, marked by cold spells and high winds, and was utterly reviled by all the colonists who called it home.

All but one.

For Rey, the rainy season marked another year of being with Poe and signaled the anniversary of the day she'd chased after him from Tatooine. The best time in her life had begun on a typical rainy Yavinese day.

Sipping the cup of hot tea that BB-8 had brought her, Rey closed her eyes, lost in a memory.

"Have you done this before?"

Shaking her head against the pillows, she'd wrapped her leg around his, making it clear what she wanted before he could have any second thoughts.

"I'll go slow," he'd promised her. "I won't hurt you, Rey."

The door chime jerked her back to reality. Before Rey could even attempt to get up from her chair, it chimed again. And then again.

"BB-8?" she said. "Would you?"

The little droid rolled out of the room and a moment later, Rey heard the door open. "Rey?" someone called for her.

She recognized Finn's voice and doubled her efforts to stand, although at eight months pregnant, this was no easy feat. When BB-8 finally led Finn into the room, dripping with rain water, Rey was still struggling to get to her feet.

Finn immediately rushed to her and, with his help, she was able to stand. "Thanks." Rey rubbed her hand over her belly; it was an unconscious movement that she did a thousand times a day. "I can't possibly get any bigger, Finn. But every time I think that, I..."

"Rey," he cut her off, reaching for her hands. "I need you to come with me."

"Why?" For the first time, she was able to take in the tight, pained look on his face. "Finn, what's wrong?"

His breath was heavy, like he'd been running. "I'm so sorry, Rey. There's...there's been an accident at the yard."

Rey could feel her heart skip a beat. Fear made her throat thick; she tried to swallow, but couldn't. "Finn..."

"It's Poe." Their best friend struggled to get out the next words, "He's alive, Rey...but barely."

Her knees buckled, but Finn caught her before she could lose her balance. Holding onto him, Rey tried to keep breathing. Her stomach churned like it hadn't since the first few months of her pregnancy and she very nearly lost control, only narrowly managing to keep herself together.

"I need to be with him," she whispered. "Finn?"

He was already guiding her out the door, BB-8 hot on their heels.

Rey and Finn reached the medical centre just behind Poe's father. Having been alerted by one of his neighbors, Kes had dropped everything and ran, in the rain, halfway across the colony to be there.

"Kes!" Finn called, spotting him in the crowd of people milling around the waiting room.

The older man pushed his way over to them. "Finn." He turned his attention to his daughter-in-law. "Rey, honey, what's going on? Where's Poe?"

"We just got here," Finn answered for him. "We don't know."

Kes plunged his fingers through his hair. So much like Poe... "There has to be someone around here who knows something." He looked around, trying to find a medic or someone in charge. "C'mon."

With a hand on Rey's upper back, Kes guided her towards the exam rooms. Finn followed them, sticking close to her other side, in case she needed support.

As they passed by a curtained-off area, a voice said, "Rey, you're here." They all turned to see Dr. Kalonia, her khaki shirt spotted with blood.

"Doctor." Rey couldn't keep her eyes off the stains. "Poe?"

The older woman nodded. "In here."

Behind the curtain was one of Rey's recurring nightmares. On the medical bed, with a myriad of machines and a couple of medics all around him, was her husband. He was still, perfectly still, his arms at his sides. His eyes were closed and dried blood streaked down his pale face.

"He's alive," Harter said before anyone could ask.

"What happened?" Kes asked.

"Falling debris from the winds. He has a serious skull fracture and there's swelling around his brain. We're prepping him for surgery to relieve that pressure."

Rey nodded, but couldn't speak. Kes cleared his throat. "And that will fix him?"

The doctor hesitated. "Every head injury is different."

"What does that mean?" Finn asked.

"It means...even if we can relieve the pressure, until he wakes up, there's no way to tell if there will be permanent damage."

Unable to look away from Poe, twin tears slipped down Rey's cheeks. "Can I...can I touch him?"

Harter looked at one of the medics who nodded. "Go ahead. But we only have a minute."

Rey took a step towards the bed, her hand on her rounded belly. Approaching Poe's frighteningly still body, she quickly searched for all his familiar features. The shape of his nose, the perfect bow of his upper lip, the very small scar on his right cheek. Her hand shook as she reached out to touch his face.

His skin was warm, but his eyes were closed and no smile turned up the corners of his mouth. She swallowed heavily, fresh tears joining the ones already coursing down her neck.

"Poe," she whispered. "If you can hear me, I'm here. I'm here and I love you." Closing her own eyes, she lowered her lips to his forehead.

"Are you okay?" He looked down at her; even in the darkness, she could see the concern in his eyes. "Rey...should I stop?"

The pain was sharp, but entirely bearable, especially since it was accompanied by the amazing sensation of being physically joined. "I'm fine." She slid her palms up his arms, feeling the corded muscles as they held him up over her. "And don't you dare stop..."

"Doctor," one of the medics broke through her memory, bringing her back to the present. "We're ready to go."

Harter looked at Rey. "I'll make sure you're updated. I promise." To Kes and Finn, she added, "You make sure she stays calm and off her feet."

Kes reached for Rey, gently guiding her backwards as the medics transferred Poe to a hovering medical capsule. All three of them watched, helpless, as they pushed the capsule towards the main surgery.

Rose arrived an hour later with enough food to feed the entire hospital. "I didn't know what everyone would like," she apologized. "So you have options."

Finn smiled at his wife. "Angel."

When she offered the basket to Kes, he gave her a nod of appreciation and selected a wrapped sandwich without even bothering to see what it was, more out of politeness than hunger.

But Rey just shook her head when Rose approached her. "Thank you, though."

"Rey, you should try to eat," Kes said. "He'd want you to."

"Then he can wake up and tell me so," Rey replied, her voice emotionless.

Kes and Finn exchanged a look, neither of them knowing what to say to that. But Rose reached into the basket and pulled out a container of cubed joban fruit. "For the baby," she said softly.

Looking down at her belly for a moment, Rey finally nodded and took the container.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. The joban fruit was fresh and juicy, but Rey couldn't taste it. She just chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed. For the baby. For Poe.

Finally, she couldn't go through the motions anymore and she set the container aside. Just as she did, Dr. Kalonia appeared from around the corner.

Everyone leaped to their feet except for Rey. Rose, seeing her struggle, offered her hand for leverage.

"He's out of surgery," the doctor told them, getting straight to the point. "We were able to relieve the pressure and bring his vital signs up, but..." She looked at Rey. "He hasn't woken up yet."

"Should he have?" Finn asked.

"It would be a good sign," she replied. "The longer he stays under, the more likely it is that there's been damage to his brain. And that could be something simple as memory loss or something more complicated like..." She hesitated. "Well, we can cross that bridge if we come to it. Right now, we just want him to wake up as soon as possible."

Rey took all of this in, as calmly as she could. The entire time Poe had been in surgery, her thoughts had been a jumble of memories, worst case scenarios, and questions. Now, she just had one. "Do you think...I could reach him?"

"With the Force?" Rose asked.

She inclined her chin. "I could heal him. I could..."

Finn cut her off. "No. No way." He indicated her belly. "Rey, the kind of strength that would take...you don't have it right now."

"You don't know that," she snapped. "I want to try."

Kes ran his hand down his mouth. "Rey, I'm going to have to speak for my son here and say...I agree with Finn. You can't do this."

Dr. Kalonia nodded her head. "Your baby needs all of your strength right now."

"My baby needs him," she shouted. The shock that had enveloped her suddenly shattered. Her chest rose and fell as she struggled to breathe; tears rolled, unbidden down her cheeks. "He's...I can't...we can't...be without him..." She doubled over, holding her stomach. Finn rushed to her, putting his arm around her for support. "Please let me...I have to try. I can't lose him, Finn. I can't!"

"I know...I know," he soothed as she sobbed against his shoulder. "You won't. I promise you." His tone shifted, grew determined. "Because I'm going to bring him back."

TBC

So...yeah. Sorry. Sometimes stories take unexpected turns.

But to make it up to you, here is a very hot video of our favorite rebel pilot: www. youtube watch?v=Ej2pl_zyGRw