Hello, lovely readers!
Hope you are well and are enjoying the story so far. I've been so happy with the response so far to the story so a huge thanks to everyone. I love you guys.
Bad Wolf and Timelords – Yes, I read that. I plan to get the novel too. And I'm so happy you are enjoying it so far. Thank you for the support.
SpiritedMichelle87 – You didn't come off rude at all. Thank you for the compliment on my writing. I never have a lot of confidence in it so to hear that your enjoying it is very reassuring.
NicoleR85 – Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy
Sarahmichellegellarfan1 – I agree there aren't enough Poe/OC stories as I really enjoy them too. So I figured I'd throw this little story out there to bump up the numbers lol
This chapter is named after 'Propane Nightmares' by Pendulum
Eva Reigns's Point Of View
All I could do was stop and stare as Poe ran from the house at speed, darting out of the door and running out into the night.
I wasn't exactly sure what had even just happened if I was honest. One minute he had his head in my lap, his eyes closed and his mind shut down. And the next he was alert, awake, speaking utter jibberish and running from my house faster than a womp rat.
I had no idea who Finn was and I certainly didn't know who BB8 was, never mind the fact that apparently the First Order could have him. He'd never mentioned those names before and I wasn't sure what had caused him to mention them now.
And then it hit me…
Of course!
The hit on the head, the loss of consciousness, the sudden alertness and urgency about him as he spewed unknown information. Perhaps the knock had given him his memory back.
"Where the hell did he just go?" my sister asked once she'd returned from the kitchen.
"No idea," I said. "But I'm going to find out."
Before Lila could respond, I ran from the house, looking left and right in search of him. I quickly saw him running in the distance and set off after him immediately.
I pushed my legs as hard as I could, running as fast as they could carry me, needing to get to him quickly before he was either out of sight or too far away for me to catch him. I felt myself slowly edging towards him, but I had no idea how fit he was and how he was able to get away so quickly.
"Poe!" I called after him, fighting to push air into my lungs as I ran. "Poe, come back!"
He hardly heard me, his body continuing to run on. I wasn't exactly sure where he was heading. He was distancing himself from the village and the nearest outpost was a mile in the other direction. He was heading toward the desert lands, towards the Starship Graveyard, and all he'd find there would be whatever was left of discarded vessels and acres upon acres of sand.
I knew he wasn't thinking straight and therefore he had no idea where he was going. He was simply running, heading in whatever direction he felt was right. He had seemed so panicked back at the house, his eyes wide, his chest heaving to breathe. This was an impulsive reaction, but it wasn't a good one. He'd tire himself out and hurt himself before he even got anywhere.
My instincts were right as I noticed him slow until he eventually dropped to his knees. He was covered in injuries and had received a big blow to the head only moments earlier, so this excessive use of energy was not good for him.
I reached him within seconds, quickly rushing to his side as I squatted beside him.
His whole body heaved as he fought to breathe, his hand clutching his chest, his face a little pale. I brushed his hair from his sweating face, checking him over as quickly as possible.
"You okay?" I asked with concern, relaxing a little once I was certain he was only tired and hadn't done any real damage.
"Head… hurts…" he managed to get out between breaths. "Couldn't… run anymore."
"I can see that," I said, slowly helping him to his feet. "But you were running in the completely wrong direction. Listen, why don't you come back to the house, rest up and we can talk all this over."
"I need to go," he insisted. "I need to find my droid, my friend and acquire a ship."
"I understand that," I said. "But its night time, its cold, and you won't find anything with how dark it is. What you need to do is come home, rest and plan all this out for tomorrow. You've just taken a major blow to the head, so heading out into the unknown, especially at night, is not the wisest thing to do."
He looked at me for a few moments, assessing my words before slowly nodding, accepting what I said, knowing it was the best course of action.
"You're right," he finally agreed. "You're completely right. I'm sorry I ran out like that."
I offered him a warm smile. "It's fine, Poe. And it's understandable. I'm assuming some memory came back."
"A lot of memory came back," he said. "Like a shot to the head."
"Well let's head to the house, let my sister take a look at you, and get you some sleep. I think you need it."
He agreed, the two of us slowly walking back to the house, taking our time, making sure we were both heading in the right direction this time!
xXx
After we returned back, Lila checked Poe over, only leaving him alone once she was certain he was alright. We all went to bed soon after, the lateness of the night catching up on all of us. Poe's head hurt, he was exhausted, and the last thing he needed was a full blown conversation about what had happened and what he planned to do from here. So we set him up a makeshift bed on the sofa, allowing him to sleep, all of us planning to talk all this through over breakfast in the morning.
Once I knew he was settled and once I knew my dad had gotten to bed safely, I hurried to my own room, eager for sleep to take me.
It had been a crazy day to say the least, one I had not expected when I woke up this morning. It wasn't every day you found a wounded man with no memory wandering the Jakku dessert lands, and it certainly wasn't every day that the same man turned out to be Poe Dameron, Resistance pilot extraordinaire.
That little piece of information totally blew my mind, and if it wasn't for the identity card, I probably still wouldn't believe it. How Poe Dameron had found his way to Jakku I'd never know, and how he'd lost his memory was a mystery still. This was all so crazy and mad, the sort of stuff that never happened to people like us.
I was just a mechanic, a quiet girl who lived with her father and her sister and lived day by day, fixing machines and earning whatever she could to keep her family going. I wasn't someone who found Resistance pilots and nursed them back to health, never mind that said pilot was one of the greatest the galaxy had ever seen.
But even so… to meet Poe Dameron, to see the guy in the flesh, it was quite the privilege and I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I'd heard so many stories about the Resistance and their work and the way they fought endlessly against the First Order. I hated the enemy, I despised them with a passion, so anyone who was against them, I was in great support of.
Being a mechanic meant I took a great interest in the technical side of things, especially their ships and transport. So I knew exactly who Poe Dameron was. He was skilled, he was fast, he was reliable, and he was held in very high esteem. So to actually meet him was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
He was much younger than I'd ever pictured him, probably around 30, give or take a few years. He was extremely handsome too, even when covered in cuts and bruises. His tanned skin and dark hair was distinctive and pleasing to look at. I wasn't blind and I was only female – I could see Poe Dameron was a good looking guy.
But I also knew he was a man on a mission, he was a man who had a job to do. So whatever happened tomorrow, I'd do whatever I could to get him back to where he needed to be. The Resistance needed him, the galaxy needed him, and I planned to help in any way I could.
I fell easily to sleep that evening, the day's events clearly exhausting my body to the point where it craved rest. It had been a long day and I knew I'd need to wake up refreshed for tomorrow.
However I was brought from my sleep by the sounds of murmuring a few rooms down. It sounded like whimpers, shuffling noises being heard, and as I awoke I could tell it was coming from the living area.
I yawned, rubbed my eyes and slowly walked from my room, heading to the living area where I knew Poe was currently sleeping. I popped my head round the door, seeing him lying on the sofa. But he wasn't still and peaceful in the depths of sleep. He was shuffling around, the sheen of sweat all over his face, noises emerging from his mouth as he slept. He didn't look comfortable and he didn't look pleased. His eyes remained closed and I quickly concluded he was having a nightmare.
"Poe?" I asked him softly as I slowly walked into the room. I wanted to be gentle but I also wanted to calm him down before he woke anybody else up. "Poe?"
It clearly wasn't working at his nightmares seemed to be getting worse. So I rushed to his side, kneeling at the side of the sofa, gently nudging him in an attempt to break him from the sleep.
It took only a few seconds but the nudging worked, his eyes suddenly opening, his mouth gasping as he sat upright, clutching his chest as he tried to breathe. His eyes looked around urgently, trying to see what had caused him to awaken, his body relaxing as soon as he saw it was me beside him.
"E-Eva," he said between breathes. "It's only you."
"Are you alright?" I asked him softly. "You seemed to be having a pretty bad nightmare."
"Yeah…" he said, brushing his hair away from his damp face. "Sorry if I woke you up. It was nothing… You don't have to worry."
"It didn't seem like nothing," I said. "In fact it seemed far from nothing."
He glanced at me for a few seconds, his brown eyes meeting my brown eyes before he eventually spoke. "Can I have a damp cloth for my face?"
"Oh! Of course," I said, quickly rushing to the kitchen. I grabbed a cloth and ran it under water, ringing it out so it wasn't too wet. I grabbed a cup of cool water too before returning to his side, handing him the drink. "Here, this will help," I said, handing him the cup.
"Thank you," he said as he took it. He slowly sipped on the liquid as I folded up the cloth, gently wiping and dabbing his face with it to brush away the sweat and cool him down.
He looked a little worse for wear, and I knew whatever his nightmare had been about, it hadn't been good for him. He looked tired and exhausted, his body in desperate need of rest that simply wouldn't come uninterrupted. The damp cloth seemed to be working, as did the water, his spirits slowly getting better.
"Thanks for this, by the way," he said as he finished his water, placing the cup on the floor beside me.
"Anytime," I said as I brushed the cloth over his forehead. "I have to make sure we look after our guest."
"You don't need to do this, you know," he said with a light chuckle, referencing the damp cloth. "I'm easily able to do it, you know. I'm not an invalid."
"I don't mind," I said, brushing the cloth along his hairline before bringing it down to his cheek. "Lila always said its best for the nurse to do this kind of stuff. Doing this can take the stress off a patient, even simple things like wiping their face."
"So you're my nurse now?" he asked, and I saw the cheeky glint in his eye.
"I think you need one," I said with a smirk. "That nightmare seemed pretty bad."
His shoulders dropped and he looked away awkwardly, the glint quickly vanishing. "It wasn't great…"
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked as I moved the cloth along his jaw line.
"You don't want to hear about it, trust me," he said.
"Try me," I challenged, looking up at him. "You might be surprised."
He looked back at me, a silence hanging between us as he decided what to do.
He finally decided to speak.
"Before you found me this afternoon, my ship had recently crash landed on the planet," he began to explain. "My friend and I had been inside but the ship had been hit and we had to make an emergency landing. I made sure to eject him safely first before I attempted to land it as best as I could. That clearly didn't happened because I had no idea where I was or who I was when you found me."
"That explains the memory loss," I murmured.
"The ship we were in was a First Order TIE Fighter," he went on. "I'd never driven one before and sadly she was easily hit."
I looked at him skeptically, not sure what he was getting at. "Why would Poe Dameron be in a First Order TIE Fighter?"
"It was my only means of escape from the First Order," he continued. "I was sent on a mission to Jakku last night but was intercepted by the enemy soon after. The TIE Fighter was the only ship I could acquire to get the hell out of there."
I slowly stopped wiping his face, placing my hand into my lap, hanging on every last word of his story.
"That must have been pretty terrifying," I stated.
"It was definitely something I could have done without."
"How long did the enemy have you?" I asked.
"Long enough to do some damage," he said, pointing out the cuts and marks on his face.
I looked at each one in turn before I winced. "The First Order did that?"
"Their torture methods are… interesting to say the least," he said.
I looked at him sadly, sympathy in my eyes. "What did they do to you, Poe?"
"There was a man," he said, his eyes looking off into the distance. "I use the word loosely. He was more of a monster than a man… All clocked in black, a mask hiding his real face…" He looked back at me. "Have you ever heard of something called The Force?"
"Of course," I replied. "My dad used to tell me stories about the Jedi and the Sith when I was a little girl."
"He had those powers, powers that only Force users have. Once their usual methods didn't work on me, the monster got into my head, he flicked through my memories, dug around in my mind… It hurt… It killed… I wanted to scream… cry… shout…"
His voice was getting urgent, his tone panicky as he began to remember all that had happened. His voice could no longer go on. I quickly grabbed his hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. The skin was surprisingly soft for a pilot, his hand much bigger than mine. He looked down at our hands before looking up at me.
"You can stop if it's too much," I said. "I can guess how it ends."
"Sorry…" he muttered. "I'm never normally like this. I'm usually calm and collected. The last day or so has totally screwed my head over."
"You have nothing to apologise for," I assured him. "Everything you've just told me, it's enough to send anyone crazy."
"I've just never experienced anything like it before," he said. "Everything he did, everything he said, the way he made me feel… And now my dreams are making me relive it."
He winced, a sharp pain clearly hitting his head. He grabbed it with both hands, pulling at the hair roughly.
"Hey, hey, don't do that," I said as I leant over, gently trying to pry his hands away from his head. "You're only going to make the pain worse by doing that. It's not good for you."
"I've never had nightmares in my life," he said, though it seemed as if he was talking more to himself than to me. "I've never let anything or anyone affect me before. I've always been so strong. Yet one hour with him and I'm completely messed up. I'm pathetic."
"No you aren't," I said to him. "The last thing you are is pathetic. You're just human, it's natural to react like this."
"He's totally messed my head up to the point where I'm having nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat. This isn't me, Eva."
"It doesn't matter," I said. "You're still a great man. You're Poe Dameron for God's sake."
"Well I sure don't feel like him."
I let out a sigh.
"Then the First Order have already beaten you," I said.
He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed, puzzlement etched on his face. "What do you mean?"
"You sound like you've already given up," I explained. "Like you're simply accepting what they've done to you. I've never known The Resistance give up and I know I've never heard of Poe Dameron giving up. By sitting here, wallowing in self pity, you're already letting them win."
"Eva…" he said.
"You need to stop and you need to fight," I continued. "So they got the upperhand on you once. You need to fight back and beat them even more. Don't let them break you. Just get past this and come back even stronger. Don't give up just yet."
He looked at me for a few moments, his eyes narrowed as they assessed me. A tense silence hung between us, my mouth running a little dry at his look of his gaze. He was staring at me so hard I was afraid he'd burn a hole right through me.
I briefly wondered if what I'd said had been out of turn or out of line. I mean, he was Poe Dameron after all, the best pilot there was. I was just a lowly Jakku mechanic. Who was I to give him advice and talk to him like that? I was a nobody, and I didn't know what he'd truly gone through on that First Order ship. I worried that I'd spoken too much, I was worried he'd be upset.
All of a sudden a hand darted out, but this time it was his hand that held mine. My heart pounded in my chest.
"How old are you, Eva?" he asked me.
"Erm… 26… Why?" I asked nervously.
"Because you have seriously got your head screwed on for someone so young," he replied.
I smiled, by body quickly relaxing once I realised he wasn't mad at me.
"Thank you," I said, and I honestly could not help the blush that came across my cheeks. "That means a lot coming from you."
"What do you mean?"
"You're Poe Dameron," I said. "I admire you so much and am in awe of everything you do. So to have such a compliment from you means a lot."
"It's true," he said. "You're words make sense. I shouldn't give up and I shouldn't let them win because of one incident. That's not me and I'm not going to let it happen."
"Well I'm glad I could help," I smiled as I stood up, realising how tired I was. "But you should get some sleep now. We have a big day tomorrow after all. Do you remember where your ship crash-landed?"
He was thoughtful for a moment. "I think so," he said.
"Maybe we should go there tomorrow," I suggested. "See if we can find any traces of your friend or your droid. Either of them could have returned to it in order to find you."
"It would be a good place to start," he agreed.
"We'll see what we can find and then we can go from there," I said. "And we can get you home again."
"Alright," he said as he settled down again. "Sounds like a plan."
"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" I said and I turned to walk to my room.
All of a sudden his hand shot out to grab my wrist, stopping me in my tracks, my body turning to look at him in confusion.
"Thanks, Eva," he said with a genuine smile. "You've really made me think tonight. And you're words have hit home. Seriously. Thank you."
My grin was wide and I bit my lip lightly. "Of course. I'm here if ever you need me. Goodnight, Poe."
"Goodnight, Eva," he said with a wink.
And with that I returned to my room, sleep coming easily to me, my smile huge. No more nightmares came to him that night and only sweet dreams came to me... dreams filled with dark haired pilots, held hands, and bashful winks.
Again, a huge thank to Bad Wolf and Timelords, SpiritedMichelle87, NicoleR85 and sarahmichellegellarfan1 for their reviews of the last chapter.