"We are going to have a rough landing." said Poe programming coordinates. "Leave it to me, I know the way from here."
The red planet was uninhabitable, but its green moon, Yavin 4, was their destination. As they got closer, the damages increased by the acceleration.
"Hold on, Rey!" shouted Poe while Phantom hit branches until it fell on a lake releasing too much smoke.
Rey closed tight the backpack with pieces and picked the staff up, but Poe was in pain and stuck. She helped him unfasten the belt, ejected the windshield and got out to the shore before the ship sank completely.
"Now I have to save your life and we are even. Phantom…" it has already submerged. "General is going to kill me for sure! She considers the major ship as rebel relic. Come on, help me walk, my house is not far from here."
East from where Phantom fell, towards the mountains, was the house of Poe's family.
"Nobody lives here anymore. The greenhouse makes all the service of a farmer on the harvest. I just need to come monthly for maintenance. I don't stay for long since my father died."
"I'm sorry." said Rey while helping Poe walk with difficulty.
"It's alright, it was long ago. We must go on with our lives, you know. Take me inside."
"I have to do something for your leg."
"Anything, but no bacta tank!"
"Things never get too bad for you, am I right, Poe Dameron?" said Rey laughing.
"Perhaps things never get bad with you saving the day." said Poe smiling without looking at Rey.
Rey hid a smile. Even though they almost have died in an accident which would never have happened if not for a foolish idea of going back to Jakku, she got a good feeling about this.
She left Poe lying on a couch and prepared some cold compresses. He was not wounded, only a contusion on the left foot and was being treated.
"What did you bring in the backpack that is so important?"
"Some parts I didn't find on the base and I remembered I had kept. I need them to make my lightsaber. Master Luke told we are going to find a Kyber crystal and then I can build it as I see fit. The pieces could just use some polish and wirings. I still need a piece for the crystal chamber, but I can improvise or find something on the base. Along with the parts, there are the helmet and the doll that you already saw. Not that I have an attachment for objects, but they are symbols of my childhood. Symbols of hope. My mother never came back and they reminded me of her. If she had returned, I wouldn't need them anymore. I would have a true heroine."
Poe silently listened to the story. He didn't like to see Rey sad, but looked liked she wanted and needed to talk about this to someone. The girl's voice trembles as tears fall, and his foot wasn't hurting anymore.
"I haven't been a happy child. I haven't had great friends, but I had people who just appeared and left things around my house, then I would pick up the gifts at morning. Food, water, parts." she gave a brief smile. "That's why I wanted to free those people on Jakku. I'm sure that were them, but they never showed themselves. They didn't want to take care of a child, even if I were an independent one. But I was really dependent. Several times I went to sleep crying for my mother. Sometimes I got angry because she never returned, and thought that was my fault." she saw Poe looking mindfully at her and she dried the tears. "Sorry, I didn't want…"
"I miss my mother too. She got sick years after the battle of Endor. I was so little, I wasn't prepared for that. I started to search on her personal belongings that my father kept. Many things reminded me of her. I bear with me this pendant that I found in an old jacket." he pulled from under the shirt an amulet on silver chain. "See? It has the form of a hawk. This is my symbol of hope. I feel like she is with me every time I pilot an X-Wing. I never wanted to be the best pilot in the galaxy as they call me, but I wanted to be the best pilot my mother could have known. Your mother may not be back, Rey, but be sure she would be very proud to have a Jedi daughter."
Rey was crying yet, but she was happy. Share memories is a great step for trust. Rey never had the chance for it and she felt lighter. She could really count on Poe for anything she needed.
"You haven't told me yet what you wanted to show me here."
Poe stood up from the couch, getting to walk without pain and got out by the backdoor. Rey followed him. It was already dusk. In the middle of the garden behind the house there was a tree which naturally emanated a blue light. Streams running through the trunk to the many branches like a pulsing energy, as if it was conscious. Rey was delighted by that sight.
"My mother told me she knew Luke Skywalker after the battle of Endor. He needed a pilot who would help him enter in an imperial base on Vetine. Luke thought that only one fragment of the tree was there, but he found two. He had a certain destiny for one, but he asked my mother to take care of the other."
"Master Luke talked about the Force-sensitive tree. It was lost with the destruction of the Temple that he built. He must know this one still lives."
Concentrating, Rey got closer and touched the tree. She could hear what sounded like a soft and terrific music, as a symbiotic harmony.
"What's so important about it?" asked Poe when Rey moved back from the tree with a smile. "I mean, I can see that's no common tree, but…"
"Don't you see? Master Luke can find more Force-sensitive people with it. Also…" Rey looked into Poe's eyes. "It's a symbol of hope. For the whole galaxy."
Poe contemplated those bright eyes reflecting the light from the tree. He wondered about how a young woman should have a duty to destroy the Dark Side, save the galaxy. Not that this burden would be too heavy for her, that she could not take it or even fail. He simply believed in her. And everything he wanted was to face it all beside Rey.
Hands touching. Butterflies in stomach. Coming closer. The embrace. The eyes close.
The long and unforgettable kiss witnessed only by the Force tree.
The young Jedi apprentice and the best pilot in the galaxy filled each other with hope.
In the morning after, Rey woke up by the sound of engine and turbines and the smell of ignition. In a shed, Poe was putting to work an old rebel A-Wing to take them back to D'Qar. Rey joyfully prepared herself and went out of the house.
"Don't worry." shouted Poe from the open cockpit. "This one can take us to the base in one piece."
"I hope so." Rey didn't dare to be in front of the ship. "We have a galaxy to save."
She put on Dosmit's helmet, put the backpack on a shoulder, disassembled the staff in the middle and entered the cockpit on the side of copilot, backs to Poe. They took off and got out of Yavin 4's orbit.
"Oh, Rey! Before I forget," he shows her a hollow little piece. "does it fit as a crystal chamber for your saber?"
Rey holds the piece and smiles. "Perfect!"
As they enter the hyperspace, Rey leans on the chair towards Poe, fighting against the narrow space, and kisses him. The helmet was not an obstacle.