III.
The first time he wakes her, Rey grumbles and snaps at him and goes right back to sleep. The second time, she complains about her leg and he gives her some more medicine. She also rambles about Chewbacca and BB-8 and Finn and how they're probably exploring some sunny, warm planet full of fluffy, baby Porgs. She says something about how Poe should have gone with Finn instead before she falls asleep, or loses consciousness. It's hard to tell.
After that, he sets the scanner to wake him and settles down next to her again. She feels unusually warm, and he has a hard time falling asleep, worrying as he tries to figure a way out of this. He's just drifted off when she starts moaning, and when he touches her forehead, she's now cold, so cold. Her eyes snap open and she grabs his hand in an unusually strong grip.
"Still with us, then," he says, hoping his voice sounds lighter than he feels. She looks terrible, her face pale, her eyes dull with pain. Her arm falls to the ground.
"Trying," she murmurs.
"That's good, because you confessed some pretty deep feelings for BB-8 earlier, and I'd hate for you not to get a chance to tell him." She looks confused, and he brushes some hair from her face. "I'm kidding," he says softly. "You're gonna be fine."
"Don't feel fine," she says. "I'm so tired, want to sleep." She opens her eyes and frowns up at him. "And I'm cold."
He knows from experience that neither is a good sign, but he's already given her all the blankets and medicine he can. "Tell you what," he says, maneuvering toward her head. "I'll keep you warm as long as you stay awake. And don't tell anyone I like to cuddle."
She smiles at that. "Won't tell Finn, that's for sure."
He laughs quietly as he pulls her closer, right next to the fusion furnace, cradling her upper body as gently as he can so he doesn't aggravate any injuries, trying to keep her warm. She feels so light in his arms.
"Come on, Rey," he says. "Stay awake. What won't you tell Finn? That we got ourselves stuck in a cave all night with monsters on the loose? He'd laugh at us."
She smiles at that. "Won't tell him you cuddled."
He shakes his head. "Good, 'cause he'd probably be jealous I got to spend the night with you in a creepy, dark cave. Although, you're not cuddling back much."
"Not jealous of you," she says. "Of me." Her smile is weak, and she coughs, and there is a small spot of blood that absolutely sends Poe's heart racing.
"Already told you, it's not like that," Poe tells her, hoping to distract them both.
"Why not?" she asks, voice hinting at her stubbornness even then, and he is startled by the question. She'd probably never ask such a thing point blank if she hadn't been injured and freezing in his arms. When he doesn't answer, she shifts a little, shakes his arm. "Poe, why not?"
"Rey," he starts, and she actually sticks out her tongue in response. Her lips are dry and he gives her some water.
"Thanks," she says, then goes right back to badgering him. "Have you ever thought about it?"
He feels his jaw set, trying to hold back the words. "Can't say."
"You mean, you won't say," she says. She takes a shallow breath in, lets it out in a slow release as if she's trying to stay relaxed. "You can. I won't tell anyone."
"I don't believe that," he tells her, but with a crooked smile. "But if it will keep you talking…then yes, I've thought about it." He can't believe he's admitted it to her, half hopes she'll forget everything in the morning. Yet her smile is genuine and warm and fills him with hope.
"Good," she says. "You should keep thinking about it." A tiny furrow appears in her brow. "But if you think about him like that, why haven't you said anything? Done anything?"
He considers what to say, how to explain something she may not have any way to understand. She's only been with them six months, after a lifetime alone on Jakku. He's been with the Resistance since he left the New Republic years ago, following Leia and a conscience that told him he needed to do something about the First Order. That conscience still drives him, tells him to keep fighting until the end. It doesn't leave much room for things like relationships and feelings.
"I need to do this now," he tells her. "Not get involved in something that may end with the next battle. I fight so there won't be any more battles, so other people can think about it. So they can say something, do something."
She is quiet, thinking or sleeping or trying to come up with another way to argue with him. Her next comment feels like it comes from nowhere and he wonders if she's growing delirious. "Leia once said your parents met during the Rebellion against the Empire, that she knew them."
"They fought at Hoth, and Endor, and a number of other battles, yes," he says. Pride flows side by side with sadness, and she frowns.
"What happened?" she asks. "They won, didn't they?"
"They did, and they left to raise a family, like so many others. It just didn't last."
"Tell me about it?" she asks. "Please? I'll stay awake, I promise."
So he takes a deep breath and settles down for the highlights of his life. He talks about his mother and her role in the war, about his father serving with Han Solo. He tells her how his mom taught him to fly in her A-wing, about his father and exploring the jungles of Yavin 4. Of everything he remembers growing up as a kid after the fall of the Empire. Of his mother's death and the hard times that followed. And that's where he stops.
"I'm sorry," she says, proving she is still awake. "I can't imagine how hard it was to lose her."
"Yes, you can," he reminds her. "It's not so different than your story, after all. I was lucky I had my dad."
"I'd like to meet him someday," she murmurs, and that makes him laugh out loud.
"Oh, he'd love you. He'd think of you as a daughter," he tells her honestly, because that's suddenly the only way he can think of explaining his relationship with her: like a sister that he both loves and who drives him mad.
"Is that how you know so much about the Jedi?" she asks. "From your parents?"
He nods even though her eyes are closed. "Yeah, my mom not only flew for Leia, but she flew with Luke Skywalker as well." That gets a reaction as her eyes open wide.
"Really?" she asks. "That's amazing."
"Yeah, it is," he says, shaking his head. "I met him a few times as a kid, so growing up with stories of the Jedi was normal. They weren't myth or legend, because I knew one."
"What was he like, before he disappeared?" she asks
"He was strong, and full of hope and honor," he tells her. "Everything you'd expect, really. The kind of man who would give his life to save someone." He drifts off, thinking of Luke's sacrifice on Crait, how he'd fought Kylo Ren and given them enough time to escape.
Rey doesn't answer, and he lets her rest, but when he feels her start to go limp in his arms, he grows alarmed. He runs a hand across her face, gently rubs her arm, but there is no response. Leaning forward, he feels a soft breath, yet her pulse is so slow. Panic begins to set in.
"Come on, Rey. Wake up." Nothing. He taps her face. "Be with me. You said it earlier, when you were meditating. You say it all the time. So be with me now. Now, Rey."
She murmurs the words so soft he can barely hear her, but the relief is palpable, that she's awake, alive.
"You can't leave us, you know," Poe tells her. "Because I do not want to tell Finn and Leia what happened. They will have my head if I lose you, so keep fighting, Rey. You keep fighting. For Finn."
"I keep telling you, it's not like that," she says with her eyes still closed.
"He loves you," Poe tells her. "You can't leave him now. He'll be devastated."
"He's got you," she says, opening her eyes with a smile. "You love him too." Yes, he loves Finn, but he knows what losing Rey will do to him. To all of them, if he's honest. Rey closes her eyes again and her breathing slows down even more.
"No, no, no," Poe says desperately. "Come on, Rey. Use the Force! You've still got so much to do, so much to learn. We need the Jedi, we need you."
"'Trying," she mumbles. "'s hard to stay awake."
"Stay awake, Rey. Have I ever told you about the Force tree Luke gave my parents? It's amazing, gorgeous…" He tells her about his mom's mission, describes the tree, waiting for a sign she is still listening. "I'll take you there, when this is all over. You won't believe it. Even I can feel it. We can take a piece of it, plant a new one wherever we settle down when this all is over."
"Sounds amazing," she murmurs. She sounds even weaker than she did moments ago. He can't believe he has the most powerful woman in the galaxy in his arms and she's dying. "I'm sorry…won't get to see it."
"No, you don't get to apologize," he practically growls. "You keep fighting." He pulls her even closer, trying to keep her warm, keep her with him. "Rey, I know I'm difficult, but you're like a sister to me now. You can't leave us. You can't leave me." His voice breaks and he holds her tight, willing her to say something, to give him a hard time for being so emotional, anything.
She doesn't wake up this time.
She's still alive, but barely. Her chest hardly moves, her pulse is so slow. He bows his head and gives into the despair, that she may very well die in his arms. That he will have to tell Finn—and all the others—that he lost her. And that she will never get to realize her potential as the first of the new Jedi.
It is that last more than anything that moves him. He is not going to let her die. She's already been through so much, she deserves to live. Something hot ignites within him, a steely determination to get her out of there and to safety. He sets her down as close to the heat as he can and covers her with blankets. He stands and stretches his cramped and stiff body, grabs his scanner and goes to the entrance. The nighthunters are still out there. The weather appears clear, and to his surprise and relief, a hint of light is starting to fill the canyon. Apparently, nights are short on this rock, and he couldn't be more glad for it. He needs to get her out.
Searching through the old Jedi's cases once more, Poe takes stock of what he has: his weapon plus his backup, an old blaster from sometime around the Clone Wars, some more power cells, and surprisingly enough, several flash grenades. A plan starts to form, as crazy and insane as all of his plans. But he has no choice: he needs to get Rey to the ship. And since it's a twenty-minute climb up a steep cliff with nighthunters prowling about, there's no way he can get her there safely. He's going to have to bring the ship to her.
Not for the first time, he wishes BB-8 was with them.
Poe quickly pulls together everything he could possibly need, including the old Jedi lightsaber, and heads back to the door. The energy shield keeping the nighthunters out (and he'll never get over how he managed to pull that one off) should let a grenade through from his side. He takes several deep breaths, whispers a silent prayer to the stars, and throws it out of the cave. After ten counts, it detonates, shaking the canyon and momentarily distracting the nighthunters with a bright light and lots of echoing noise. He slips out of the cave and runs, but they pay him almost no attention, confirming his theory: they are drawn to Rey, to the Force. Not to him.
Because they virtually ignore him, he's able to get to higher ground quickly and take out at least three of them. Several finally notice him and move closer, growling low in their throats, long sinuous tails moving behind them. But most remain by the cave, and Poe needs to draw them away in case they decide to take a chance and enter. He ignites the old lightsaber.
"Hey!" he shouts, waving it around and hoping it has enough connection to the Force to at least spark an interest in the creatures. "Hey, over here, you dragon-eyed son of a bantha!" For the most part, it works, and more start toward him. When they are far enough away from the cave entrance, he throws the power cells he'd tied together, launching them over the nighthunters' heads, then hits them with his blaster. There is a large explosion that knocks most of the beasts off their feet. He picks them all off as they struggle to recover, including two who stayed behind at the cave.
He can't believe it's actually working.
He waits for a moment, listening, then turns to scramble up the slope. He is almost to the top when one last beast comes barreling at him from the side, knocking him down. He kicks it off hard and claws his way to the top of the canyon, needing to get to firm, flat ground to fight it. He feels a sharp prick in his upper thigh. Thinking he's going to see a set of fangs wrapped around his leg, instead he sees the pointed end of the creature's tail coming around for another hit.
Scrambling to stand, Poe almost collapses as his leg begins to go numb. Whatever it did, it kriffing burns, and he can barely walk. The beast follows him to the top and is prowling around him, as if waiting for him to succumb. It is only one, though, and he can take it, as long as he can stand. But even as he turns to follow its circles, his leg gives out, and he falls to his knees. The nighthunter leaps toward him, teeth and fangs everywhere. Poe lashes out on instinct, not with his blaster, but with the saber. It strikes the creature's hide and bounces off, so he swings again, and then again, and this time he slices it in half, gaping maw so close to his face he has to duck and roll away. It falls to either side of him, dead, and Poe collapses on his back, struggling to breathe. If there are any more, he's a dead man, but there's nothing. It might finally be over.
Except that it's not, because he's got to get the ship to Rey, get Rey back to base, and maybe do something about his own injuries as well. He stands and staggers over to the ship, literally dragging his leg behind him, tears streaming down his face from the pain and utter uselessness of his leg. It takes all his upper body strength to pull himself up the ladder and climb into the cockpit, where he throws the switch and doesn't bother waiting for the starting sequence. He takes off as soon as the first light tells him he can, swooping up and down into the canyon toward the cave.
And of course there are more nighthunters, though stars knows where they're coming from when not a single damn one shows up on the scanners. He sets the ship down, pulls himself into the gunner's seat, and blasts every single one of them to pieces. If he wasn't mad as hell, he might feel bad about killing so many of them; the canyon is a bloodbath, with the bodies of dead nighthunters literally piling up. But it's a matter of life and death, and once they are all silent and motionless, he falls down the ladder and limps through the corpses toward the cave.
He grabs everything he can before hoisting Rey over his shoulder, the one opposite his numb leg. It feels like it takes hours to stagger out to the ship, though he only falls to his knees once, swearing vehemently. He is breathing hard by the time they get to the ladder, and he has no idea how to get her up. For a moment, he collapses in the blood and dirt, tears streaming down his face. But they are so close, he refuses to give up. It would really help if Rey was awake and could use the Force, even a little.
Somehow, he gets her into the gunner's seat and straps her in, terrified of what he's done to aggravate her injuries. Somehow, he pulls himself into the cockpit, starts the takeoff sequence, and pulls the ship off the ground. And somehow, he gets them into space, where the first thing he does is set the autopilot with shaking hands to take them back to base as fast as possible.
He sends a message to the Falcon, hoping they will receive it and maybe come to help, or at least meet them at the base. And then Poe lets his head fall to the side with a sad, breathy laugh. He's not sure either one of them are going to make it, but at least they're not trapped on some desolate space moon anymore, being hunted by monsters from the past. At least they have a chance.
Poe loses consciousness, and never hears the frantic call from the Falcon.
Author's Note:
Final chapter in a few days. Thank you for reading, those few of you who've ventured outside the pairing tags! Let me know if it warrants the Poe/Finn tag, especially after the last chapter.