Six Sleepless Nights.

Being an eight-year-old is tough, but today is one of the hardest days Poe has dealt with in his life. His mother had passed away earlier today, with himself and his father by her side. Their neighbors, the Erso-Andor family, had come over that evening bearing food. Poe knew that his parents were close friends with their neighbors, so he wasn't surprised to hear them offering to stay with them and help with Shara's funeral arrangements.

Lying in bed, with only an alarm clock to light the room, Poe hasn't found sleep yet. He'd already flipped his pillow after it became dampened from his tears. Now fresh tears are threatening to flow again.

"Mom." Poe softly whines out, having pressed his face into his pillow once more to hide his sobs.

He's so wrapped up in crying that Poe doesn't hear the door to his bedroom open and close. Nor does he hear the sound of soft footsteps approaching his bed. So, when the pressure of a small body on his bed alerts him that he isn't alone, Poe startles out of crying.

"You sad?" the little voice of Rey Andor asks before offering her stuffed Tooka cat toy to Poe. "Melshi help me when I sad."

"Go away." Poe mumbles out to the two-year-old.

"I stay." Rey proudly tells him as she begins to crawl under Poe's covers. "You sad. I stay and help."

Poe is speechless at how this little girl can be just as forceful as both of her parents. He doesn't reprimand her nor kicks her out of his room. Instead, remembering what his mother had told him about how to treat little girls, Poe lets Rey cuddle up against him. The room stays silent and it isn't long till both of them have fallen asleep.

~~SW~~~

Rey had run away from home and she doesn't have any inclination on going back. For a nine-year-old, living on her own is a hard feat in itself. However, what caused Rey to run away was her anger towards her father. Her father, Cassian Andor, had left yesterday morning at the request of some princess. Something about Imperials and Orders and needing more information on both. So yesterday morning, Rey and her mother had said their temporary goodbyes and watched him fly away.

Rey spent the day hiding in her room, away from her mother who she also blamed for her father leaving. For the past week she'd heard them arguing about this mission and Rey believes her mother didn't fight hard enough to keep father home. So that night, Rey packed a bag and waited for her mother to go to sleep before sneaking out.

She'd managed to make it all the way to the growing tree at the back of the Dameron orchards before coming to a stop. Rey wasn't too sure what caused her to stop, but something about this particular tree drew her in. When the pale light of dawn started to rise, and a familiar hand landing on her shoulder, did Rey break free from the spell that had surrounded her.

"Thank the Force." Fifteen-year-old Poe says before pulling her into a hug. "Your mum has been worried sick. She 'bout scared us half to death banging on our door. You can't just disappear like that on your mum."

"I don't care." Rey announces, shoving herself away from Poe. "Papa left us, and it's her and that stupid princess' fault."

"What?" Poe asks, trying to figure out what the heck Rey is talking about.

"Papa wouldn't have left if the Princess had asked him. If Mama had fought harder, he would have stayed with us. Not just leave us." Rey cries out, her eyes filling water. A few tears rolling down her redden cheeks.

"Rey." Poe says softly to the distraught girl. "Your father didn't abandon you, and your mum didn't just give him up. He only left so he could try to keep the Empire from coming back. That's all. My dad said it'll only be a couple months. He only left to help Princess Leia Organa in discovering if the Imperial Remnant is conducting secret raids. That's all. He'll come back."

Rey starts crying in earnest, something deep in her gut knows what Poe is telling her is true.

"Come on." Poe offers a hand out to Rey. "Let me take you back home to your mum."

Rey shakes her head no and immediately sits at the base of the Force tree, tucking her knees to her chest. "Not going back till Papa comes home."

Poe lets out an annoyed sigh before moving to sit down next to her. "Then let me sit with you a bit before I head back."

As soon as Poe is seated next to her, he wraps an arm around Rey's shoulders. It doesn't take long for the pair to fall asleep and not long after for them to be discovered by two worried parents.

~~~SW~~~

Poe is seventeen. Tomorrow morning, he flies out for the New Republic's Military Academy on Coruscant and his nerves are proving to be his downfall on not attaining any sleep. He knows that if he wants to be a pilot, like his mother was, that he needs to leave to achieve this dream of his. However, it also means leaving behind his father and childhood home.

As he tosses and turns in his bed, Poe hears a small clack come from outside his window. Getting up, Poe makes his way over to his window and slides the clear dura-steel pane open. Down below is his neighbor Rey.

"What is it, Rey?" Poe calls out as quietly as he can.

"Coming up." Rey answers back, just as quietly, jumping up towards the open window.

Poe backs up a little and rolls his eyes at Rey showing off her newly learned skill. She'd returned from Skywalker's Jedi Academy only a week ago for a month-long break.

Climbing through the window, Rey sits on the window seat and looks at Poe. "So, you leave tomorrow for the Military Academy, how exciting. You'll finally be doing what you always wanted to do."

"Yeah." Poe mumbles out in reply, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.

"You don't sound too excited though." Rey comments. She'd felt his conflicting thoughts all the way over at her house and decided to come check on him. Out of all the settlers here on Yavin IV, Rey and Poe are the only children on the planet.

"I'm just nervous is all, Rey." Poe moves to sit on his bed. "I've never been away from home for more than a week or so. There is a chance I won't be able to come visit Dad during my training at the academy."

"I'm sure they'll give you a break between sessions."

Poe shakes his head. "This isn't going to be like Skywalker's academy for you Jedi. I'll be trained on how to fly, fight, use a weapon, and a whole bunch of other things. Gaining those skills take a lot of work and time to master."

"Well," Rey says before shuffling over to sit next to Poe on his bed. "if you're going to not sleep, then lets watch something together."

Using the Force, Rey turns on the holo-vid to some random program on the migration patterns of the wild Shaak on Naboo. They only get about forty-five minutes into it before falling asleep.

~~~SW~~~

On Rey's sixteenth birthday, she woke up that morning to a strange vibration in the Force. She can't explain what is causing this, but it leaves her unsettled for the entire day. Even during her birthday celebration that evening, Rey can't help but feel as though something is wrong. It isn't till Kes arrives just after sunset that Rey learns that Poe is listed as MIA by the New Republic's Military Fleet. Admiral Antilles had contacted Kes personally to make him aware that his son went missing while on a mission.

"Contact Leia." Cassian tells Kes. "Maybe she knows what happened to him."

"I wouldn't want to bother Leia with this. With Luke's Jedi Temple destroyed and piecing together another Rebellion." Kes sighs out.

"Kes, if anyone would know what happened to Poe, it'd be Leia." Jyn states, setting a cup of caf in front of the man.

"We'd contact her if Rey was missing." Cassian sets himself down on the couch next to Kes.

"Yeah, but your daughter isn't missing, Andor. Hell, she was here on Yavin when the Temple was destroyed."

"And I made sure that documents showed that she never left; so, she's safe here while the galaxy thinks she died." Jyn retorts back.

"I just wish I knew if he was alive or dead." Kes says, putting his head in his hands.

"He isn't." Rey pipes up, moving out of the hallway and coming into the living room. "Dead, I mean. He's still alive."

"Rey." Cassian gives his daughter a look as if telling her to keep quiet.

"No, Papa. I can still feel Poe's presence in the Force. Whenever he is, he's alive." Rey stops right in front of Kes and kneels down.

"You sure, little Jedi?" Kes asks, having dropped his hands to his knees.

"I'm sure." Rey places her hands over top of his. "I'd know if he died."

Rey stays awake that night and listens to Kes's stories from the days of the old Rebellion while her parents contact Leia Organa for any information about Poe.

~~~SW~~~

Poe is pacing back and forth in his quarters on D'Qar, unable to fall asleep. After having blown up Starkiller Base, General Organa had made it known that she was sending Rey to go find Luke Skywalker.

Rey. No longer the little girl who was his shadow while growing up on Yavin IV. She was now a young woman. A beautiful young woman.

"Get it together, Dameron." Poe mutters to himself. "You're twenty-eight and she's twenty-two. You grew up together and were childhood best friends. Plus, her and Finn seem close."

He keeps pacing back and forth till the door chime goes off.

"Enter." He calls out, knowing that the door will open on his voice command without the person outside needing an access code.

Low and behold, it's Rey who enters his room. She quickly looks at the room before speaking.

"I see you you've learned to clean up after yourself." She teases, knowing that his room back on Yavin was always a mess.

"Wastes valuable time tripping over stuff when the alarms go off." Poe gives her a smile. "So, what brings you here?"

"You."

"Me?"

"I can hear your thoughts clear across the other side of the base, Poe."

Poe's face goes ash gray with dread at her words. "You can see into my mind?"

"No. I can't see in, Poe." Rey moves to stand in front of him, taking his hands in hers. "But I can feel your emotions through the Force."

"Oh."

"I'm not Kylo Ren. I'd never Force myself into your mind. It was an abomination what he did to you." Rey presses their foreheads together.

"He did it to you too."

"But he didn't get too far in. Poe…" Rey tries to find the rights words to say next to her friend.

"I know, Rey." Poe squeezes her hands. "You'd never do anything to hurt me."

"Then why are feeling conflicted about me leaving to go find Master Skywalker?"

Poe lets out a sigh, releases Rey's hands and takes a step back. "Because if you do find him and he comes back…"

"You think that we'll have to say goodbye." Rey finishes Poe's thought out loud. "Poe, you're the one I care about the most here on base besides Mama and Papa. I'll never leave you."

Sensing that Poe doesn't believe her, Rey walks up to him and pulls him in to place a not so chaste kiss on his lips. They kiss for feel like eternity to Poe, but it ends with Rey pulling back to look him in the eyes.

"Promise."

~~~SW~~~

It's been nearly five years since the defeat of the First Order had taken place. Tomorrow would be the anniversary celebration and there was even going to be a lot of things going on. Yet Rey can't seem to feel bothered by the idea of attending all the parties and commemorations. At the moment, she's more concerned with the tiny two-month old baby suckling at her breast. She never though in all of her thirty-two years that she'd even get the chance to be a mother again.

The tiny boy lets out a whimper, his wide brown eyes focusing on his small hand that is clenching and releasing against his mother's breast.

"You're going to turn into Abuelo if you keep focusing so hard. You've already inherited his scowl." Rey whispers softly to her son, letting out a soft chuckle as that very scowl her father and now son share.

"Woke up again?"

Rey glances over her shoulder to see Poe walking towards the pair.

"He's just hungry." Rey replies, then lets Poe give her a gentle kiss.

"Must get that from you." Poe mutters out, letting his son wrap a hand around his finger. "You know our parents have a betting pool going as to who this one is going to take after."

"Doesn't surprise me. Mama and Kes were always creating betting pools during the Rebellion against the Empire. Papa never approved."

"Yeah, and I think Cassian may have won this time around." Poe says, studying his son's face. "I swear Leo has inherited that look from him."

"You should know. That's the same look Papa gave you when we told our parents about me being pregnant with Jaina."

"He'd also threatened to make me disappear if I didn't marry you before her birth. Though, to tell you the truth, it's your mother I'm more scared of."

"Aren't we all?"

Thank you to all of the kind readers and reviewers. I am grateful for the response to this story. Big thanks to Darksidefan5 for their awesome Beta skills.

Reviews are very welcomed, deeply loved, and extremely cherished.

Selene

Chapter 7 preview: Questionable Situations