She slept the majority of the first day, only stirring when I dropped off the bags and food. I tried to stay downstairs, to give her the rest she deserved, but I found myself climbing the stairs and opening the door to my room just to see her, just to be near her, just to know that she was there.

The fact that I could feel the thrum of her power made it easier. Her signature was bright, and unmistakably hers, but tinged with just a bit of darkness, of me. The magnitude of it was staggering, stronger than anything I'd ever felt, but also strangely familiar.

I brought dinner up for her later that night. She was asleep, but wearing the pajamas, and she was clean, her hair fanned on the pillow like a chestnut flame. The stew and the sandwich were on the nightstand and completely untouched.

The Knights returned shortly after, and Ap'lek's blue gaze instantly drifted up toward my room. He was the one among us who could sense Force abilities, and the curious tilt of his head had the hair on my neck standing on end.

"Is this what you sensed when you met her?" I asked him.

"No." He breathed, his brow furrowed. "This is different."

"I sense it, too." Ushar said, stepping out of the darkness. He was bathed in shadows, his face cold and grim. "And, it is different."

Ushar had trained her, I remembered, for months. He knew better than anyone what her power had been before she was taken.

Ap'lek lifted his chin and took a deliberate sniff, and his eyes widened a bit, the line between his brows deepening.

"Is it bad?" I wasn't entirely sure I wanted the answer.

"No, it's just...strange." he said. "Her signature feels like…."

"Me." I finished for him.

He nodded. "But, also softer. Sweeter."

I laid awake on the couch long after the rest of the house had gone to sleep, staring up at the ceiling, my head a noisy jumble of conflict. Getting her well, that was the most important thing, that was what I needed to focus on. But, her power sang to me, and I stayed up, repeating over and over to myself that she was out, that she was safe, that she was free, resisting the urge to sneak to my room to watch her sleep.

I made breakfast and a cup of tea for her the next morning, but when I went back up around noon, I found the still full mug and plate sitting outside the door on the floor in the hallway. She was sleeping when I left dinner for her that night, and did not stir when I retrieved the blanket she'd kicked off and laid it back over her.

On the morning of the third day, I brought another tray of breakfast and tea, and sighed, noticing her untouched dinner on the nightstand.

"Rey," I said, putting the tray down. "You need to eat something." It was the first thing I'd said to her since bringing her here.

I waited, and when she did not stir, I moved closer, calling her name again.

Again, I didn't get an answer.

I reached out, and stroked my thumb along the back of her hand before leaning in and taking it in mine. "Rey."

Heat radiated off of her, and when I touched her shoulder, it was scorching, even under the flannel. I pressed my palm against her forehead, and swore.

She was burning with a fever.

My heart dropped. "Rey!" I yelled, shaking her again. I could hear the panicked edge in my own voice and gritted my teeth against it. "Rey!"

I flung the blanket off of her and gathered her into my arms, cradling her to me as I moved out of my room, and down the stairs. The hospital was just a few blocks away and I ran, kicking open the double doors to the emergency room and screamed for help.

I had to leave her with them. I had to let them do what they had to do. I had to trust that they would save her, and I had to wait while they did. I sat in one of the blue chairs against the wall of the tiny waiting room, holding my head in my hands. I couldn't lose her, not when I'd barely gotten her back. I wouldn't survive. Of that, I was sure.

I heard footsteps rapidly approaching and looked up to see Aplek run in, his face lined with worry. "What happened?"

I'm a fucking idiot, that's what happened. I wanted to tell him. I should have never taken her to the townhouse, I should have never let her leave the hospital. But, I shook my head. "I couldn't wake her up."

The lines in his face deepened. "Have they said anything?" He asked, and I shook my head again, pushing my fingers through my hair.

He put a hand on my shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. He wanted to know more, I could feel it through the Bond, but he knew I wasn't in a mental capacity to go into detail, so he sank into the chair next to me.

A thin woman in a white lab coat approached us and I shot up, moving to meet her at the doorway. "Is she ok?"

She gave me a sympathetic look. "The wounds around her neck are infected, that's where the fever came from. We've cleaned them, and we've given her an antibiotic."

My stomach clinched. "Is she awake? Can I see her?" The desperation in my voice made it a broken plea.

"She's resting." The doctor told me. "We were able to get bloodwork to test for organ failure-"

"Is there?" I demanded.

She shook her head. "No. Though I am concerned about her weight loss. She's dehydrated and malnourished."

"She wouldn't eat." I tried to explain.

She gave me a nod of understanding. "Nausea and vomiting are common this early on. I'll prescribe something for it."

I stilled, my heart stuttering to a stop. My brows pulled together. "This early on?"

She nodded, again. "And, because of her injuries, and obvious lack of prenatal care, I'd like to do an ultrasound."

The magnitude of her words hit me so hard it rendered me helpless, speechless, and utterly incapable, though I barely heard her over the pounding in my ears. My legs started to shake, and I had to force myself to breathe around the seize of panic that wrapped around me. I sank back, sitting heavily in the nearest chair as my throat tightened, my stomach threatening to empty on the tile floor.

I couldn't see her face, but I did recognize the confusion in her voice. "You knew, didn't you?"

I couldn't answer. My chest felt like it'd been ripped open, shredded to ribbons and hollowed, then I'd been left to bleed out with nothing. I sat frozen, blankly staring at nothing as water blurred my vision.

Ap'lek stepped out of the room with her, I noted his absence through the roar of thoughts that raced in and out of my head. Then, the door opened, and he was kneeling in front of me, clear regret in his pleading blue eyes. He knew I was being gutted, he could feel it through the Bond, and he was silently asking me what I needed, what he could do.

All I could think of was our wedding day, the vows I'd made to her, and how spectacularly I'd failed her on every word I'd uttered. I thought of every time I could have told her I loved her, and didn't. Of losing her, of learning what Hux had done and every moment his memories had tormented me.

But, the thing that stayed in my mind, the thought that shredded my heart and shattered my soul was the knowledge of how ecstatic I would have been if the situation were different, if it were mine.

A realization hit me like a slap in the face, and I recoiled, my heart stopping again for an entirely different reason.

Rey's power, her Force signature was distinctly her own, but there was more, something different, something new, something….mine. A tinge of my darkness that had been there even when the Force connected us on Kadavo.

The shards of me that had fallen apart moments ago started to piece back together, the tiny details conglomerating into one blindingly obvious truth.

"It's mine." I breathed, tears spilling over, and down my face.

Ap'lek's face fell. "The darkness in her signature isn't from her, it's from you. It's the baby's signature."

I nodded, my heart leaping up into my throat. "It's mine." I said again, euphoric relief making my voice thick.

Silence fell over us. Silence that was shattered when he let out a whoop of excitement, and tackled me with a massive bear hug.

For a moment, every bit of panic and rage and worry, every bit of fear faded away and it was replaced by excitement, by hope, by joy before doubt slowly crept into my mind.

Rey.

I pulled away from Ap'lek and stood. "I need to see her."

He nodded. "Go!" And pushed me toward the door.