"It's good to see you, buddy," Poe says quietly after a short silence.
"It's good to see you too," he closes his eyes and I watch him struggle to swallow. He opens his eyes and his focus is on the ceiling
"So, how are you feeling?" I ease into the question.
"I'm not too sure."
"I understand what you mean, man. I thought we'd lost you."
He scoffs with a smile, "You're not getting rid of me that easy."
"I don't want-" Poe laughs moving his arm slowly, letting his hand fall out of the sheet and off the edge of the bed to rest on my knee.
He pants my leg, "I know," I pull my lips into a tight smile.
The door opens and Poe and I both look over as soon as I see the orange I quickly look at Poe, his expression turns to one of adoration. BB-8 beeps loudly and exuberantly, rolling as fast as his little motor will allow. As he approaches I notice he has scorch marks tarnishing his once pristine shell.
"BB-8!" Poe's ecstatic reaction warms my heart.
BB-8 hums and spins in circles rolling right up to the edge of the bed near where I am sitting.
"Sorry for the rough landing," Poe takes his hand off my leg and rubs the top of BB-8, his big black eye looking up at him.
BB-8 beeps aggressively as if telling him off, before his tone changes and he seems to explain to him what happened in a fast succession of beeps.
"I know, I didn't realise the cannon was on us either."
BB-8 beeps again, looking at me.
"Finn, you remember Finn, and Rey, they brought you home," BB seems to examine me, looking me up and down; scanning me. It takes a little while longer before he turns to Poe and hums sadly.
"They had to adjust his memory systems, he's still figuring some things out," Poe clarifies what I was told over a week ago.
"Don't stress, BB-8, I'm sure you will remember Rey, you had a bit of a crush on her," BB-8 beeps in quick denial; I assume he is saying I have my wires crossed. Poe laughs, but his eyes are dull from a mixture of medicine and something I can't quite place.
BB-8 then turns back to Poe and whirs but I can't seem to figure out what he means.
"I can't," BB-8 hums in confusion, "Sorry, bud,"
BB-8 then seems to ask a question his beeps higher in pitch.
"I don't know if I will be able to, I'll need to speak to the nurses," his beeps almost sound like crying.
"What did he ask?" I can't help but pry.
"Nothing important, just when he'll be able to shows me something in the mechanical compound," I nod. BB-8 vibrates as Poe rubs his head over his head in a comforting way.
"I better let you two have some time alone and let you rest," I stand up.
"Do you have to leave?" Poe mumbles.
"No, do you want me to stay?" I reply.
"I've missed you, is it too selfish to want to spend some time with you?" I immediately sit back down.
"Not at all," I answer with genuine sincerity.
"Good," I smile.
"I wasn't gone very long, but I guess a lot happened around here in that time," I'd barely left the Resistance for a week and in that time a full assault had launched and I had no idea so I'm interested in what Poe knows.
"The moment Rey found out I'd flown you out of the system she was furious," I laugh a little bit looking back at it now. "She demanded that she saw your beacon."
"Yeah," I quietly assure him I'm listening. Even though I already know this, I let him explain it anyway.
"She was quite devastated that you left," he whispers.
"I know," I laugh to defuse the intensity behind my understanding.
"So did she convince you to come back?"
"You could say that…"
"You're back for good?" his hope makes me smile.
"I guess, yeah. I need to keep an eye on you, and make sure Rey keeps herself out of trouble too."
"Where is the feisty little girl?"
"First off I suggest you never call her that when she is around – or she'll make sure you crash your next fighter too," my laughing mockery slips out of my mouth before I think about it. I am about to apologise for hitting a touchy topic but Poe starts laughing too. "Oh, and she's still in bed," Poe raises a brow and half smirks.
"So are you two..." I blush even before he continues, "You know, a proper thing?" I feel like he chose to change his question. I shrug.
"We haven't really discussed it."
"What is wrong with you two?" He laughs a little but coughs violently as a result.
"It's not like I can just bring it up," Poe looks at me like I've grown another head.
"That's exactly what you do, Finn!" He chuckles at my inexperience.
"We haven't really had much time together…" BB-8 continues to purr quietly under Poe's gentle strokes.
"Everyone knows you two can't live without each other. Because when you're apart you both end up walking around in circles, like a droid with crossed circuits," I snort the accuracy is amusing.
"What are you saying?"
"I knew you loved her the moment you told me you needed to go back for her. You need to tell her," I grin because he doesn't know, and I get to tell him.
"I have," his face drops in surprise.
"You told her? I didn't think you knew…"
"I didn't until I said it," Poe presses his lips together to suppress his grin.
We talk for a while longer, about Rey, and he tells me that I need to make sure we are excusive. We are basically dating, but placing a label on it leaves less room for jealousy. After some time two doctors come into the room: one has a notepad, the other a stethoscope around his neck.
"Sorry for the wait," The latter says.
"No problem, doc."
"How are you feeling?" They approach his bedside; the man with the stethoscope comes stands at the end of the bed. The other stands by the window on the opposite side to me, jotting down the numbers and frequencies his monitors display.
"Good thank you, how are you both?" I smile at Poe's kindness.
"Good thanks," the one with the notepad says quietly. He remains silent for the rest of the consultation, instead, concentrating on taking notes.
"I'm well," the doctor responds after his colleague. "Now that you are awake, do you mind if I conduct some examinations?"
"Not at all."
"Sir, if you could please step out of the room…" The doctor turns his attention to me, and I attempt to stand.
"I'd prefer if Finn stayed," Poe states calmly. The doctor glances between the both of us and nods for me to sit back down in my seat, so I obey.
He starts by making sure Poe's eyes follow his finger from side to side; and testing that he can hear from both ears, and he can.
He pulls the sheet down to reveal his bruised arms, I hadn't notices that his right wrist is in a cast. "Now, can you please move each finger, one at a time," Poe does as requested. "Please lift your arms, and stop if you feel any discomfort," he raises them up quite high before lowering them. The doctor opens his bag and takes out a small blunt instrument. He presses it into the skin of his hand and his fingers jerk almost immediately after.
"Perfect, it seems your reflexes are normal, can you sit up?" Poe nods, and carefully presses his hands onto the bed and sits up." "Excellent. We can take off this neck base." Poe sighs as they peel off the foam. He tilts his head slightly from side to side.
"You could really do with some padding for these rock hard beds," He taps the thin mattress.
"We'll look into that Commander," Poe nods. "It seems the stroke didn't have an effect on your speech or humour. You're lucky." Poe blinks a few times, absorbing the information before he nods again.
The doctor pulls the sheet down to reveal his legs. His shins have bruising, and blood pools beneath the skin, but they seem fine. I smile at Poe but he doesn't meet my eye. The doctor takes the same instrument and pricks Poe's toes. I feel my toes curl instinctively at the thought of the feeling, but Poe doesn't respond.
The room is silent as the doctor continues to perform his examination. The doctor looks at Poe and he looks back at him. Poe swallows and clenches his jaw before clearing his throat. The silent doctor with the notepad comes over to assess, and I feel as though I am missing something clear because he immediately scribbles down secret words.
"Mr Dameron…" The doctor's tone is concise yet dejected.
"I know," Poe's response is calm, and his lips twitch in a smile that does reach his eyes. Both doctors look to each other for a brief moment.
"It is not uncommon. There have been full recoveries," Poe hums in distant agreement.
"Excuse me, but have I missed something?" I quietly ask. Poe peels his eyes from the doctors and turns his attention to me.
"Let's just say I won't be walking out of here…" I laugh nervously. My amusement fades once I realise he is not making a joke, and there is a much deeper meaning to his words.