Chapter 9

Burning red light. Flames. Screaming.

Nell saw her parents again, their faces twisted in to awful melted versions of the faces she knew so well. Nell was paralysed, unable to move as her parents screamed in pain and horror, the world around them dissolving into ash and molten rock, buildings crumbling in to the flames, their bodies blackening in the fire that surrounded them.

Nell woke abruptly, realising that the screams were her own. Shaking her head to clear her mind of the images, Nell threw off the sweat-soaked sheet that covered her trembling body. Looking around her, Nell stood up, stretching her limbs. Checking the chrono on her desk, she saw that it was only two hours past midnight. Deciding that she wouldn't be able to sleep again just yet, Nell pulled on her boots and a thin black sweater, leaving her room. Heading for the hangar, Nell breathed in the smell of engine fuel and the damp earthy scent of the trees that covered the planet. Looking up at the stars, Nell was struck by the empty space where the Hosnian System would have been. Roughly wiping the tears from her eyes with her sweater sleeve, Nell didn't notice the figure that entered the hangar behind her, until she heard him call her name softly.

"Nell" Poe said, coming to stand next to her. "What are you doing out here?"

Nell turned to face him, trying to hide her red eyes behind the fall of her hair. Poe reached out and tucked the strands behind her ear, his hand lingering before he limply dropped his arm to his side. Nell looked up at him slowly, meeting his worried gaze.

"I saw them, Poe. My parents. They were in so much pain...I couldn't help them...I..." Nell drifted off, unable to continue the sentence as she felt her eyes burn with tears again. Poe moved closer to her, pulling her in to his arms. She sank in to his embrace gratefully, breathing in his warm scent. Poe held her head to his chest, slowly rocking her from side to side, not talking, just trying to offer her comfort. Nell pulled away from him slightly, looking up into his tanned face, her eyes roving over his features.

"Why aren't you in bed?" She asked softly. Poe looked away, but not before Nell noticed a haunted look cross his face. Poe sighed heavily, taking her hand and leading her over to a bench at the side of the hangar. He was silent for a moment and Nell waited patiently for him to explain, as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. Looking up to the stars, he finally spoke.

" I was captured. On Jakku. I was on a mission for the General, and the First Order came. Everyone in the village was killed, there was no mercy. They took me. They tortured me. I was beaten pretty badly,but Kylo Ren, he..."

Poe's words tailed off, and he shook his head. Nell reached across and turned his face to hers.

"What happened, Poe?" she asked quietly, dreading the answer.

"He was in my head. The beatings were nothing compared to what that sick son of a bitch did. He was a jedi, but there was nothing good or pure about him. He stole my memories, sifting through them. He made me see things I'd tried to forget. Made me watch my mother die, over and over. He showed me the deaths of my friends in terrifying, graphic detail. I haven't slept well ever since I got back. "

Poe hung his head and Nell gathered him to her, holding him as she tried to come to terms with the awful truth of what he'd just told her. She'd heard talk of Kylo Ren, but thought he was just a myth. Lifting his head, Poe gazed at her, lifting a hand to cup her cheek.

"I haven't been able to tell anyone about that. It feels better just to have told you. Thank you."

Poe kissed Nell softly on the forehead, and heat blossomed in her, travelling from her heart, right from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes. Nell closed her eyes, savouring the warmth of his calloused hand against her cheek. She didn't open her eyes even when he slid his hand to trace her jaw, and tangled his fingers in her hair. She felt his warm breath ghosting across her face, could smell the minty scent of his toothpaste as he leant his forehead against hers. Nell's breath caught when she felt his soft lips lightly touching to hers, almost as if asking for permission to kiss her. As quickly as the contact came, it left. Nell opened her eyes to see Poe looking at her cautiously.

"Is this ok, Nell? I didn't mean...I mean, I wanted to, but-"

"Shut up, Dameron." Poe looked confused and a little taken aback by her words. Nell leant forward and kissed him, smiling in to the kiss when she felt him respond and slide one arm around her waist.

Pausing to catch their breath, the two pulled apart, smiling at each other nervously.

"Stay with me tonight?" Nell said.

"Are you sure?" Poe responded.

"I don't want to be alone. I just need you to hold me" Nell admitted softly, gazing at the tarmac below her feet. Poe rubbed her cheek with his work-roughened knuckles.

"Of course."

General Leia Organa hadn't been able to sleep ever since the return of the Millennium Falcon. Han's loss hadn't changed much of her day-to-day life, but she felt his absence keenly. Sometimes at night she like to come to the hangar to just be near the Millennium Falcon. She knew Rey would be leaving soon to find her brother, but for now she wanted to remember the man she had always loved. As she was about to emerge from the shadows she noticed movement in the corner of her eye. Leia smiled softly to herself as she recognised her favourite pilot and her dear friend's niece sitting together watching the stars.

Turning around, she left as quietly as she arrived, glad that the two troubled souls had found comfort in each other.