A/N: Wow... so this isn't a short story like I wanted it to be. I think I'm getting too into these things lol Anyway! Thanks for sticking with it this long! Enjoy the next installment! Sorry about the time skips in this one. It's hard to deal with unconsciousness with only one character lol
*Languid = weak or faint from illness or fatigue
Lost
Chapter 7: Languid
Rey sensed something was off. He had cut off their connection. It was very, very weak. All she got was that he was on his way. Her anxiety was at an all-time high as she paced the landing bay nervously. Why did he sound so weak when he spoke with her? And why couldn't she get him to respond now? Had something happened? She found herself biting her nails as she leaned against one of the cargo containers, waiting for any sign of his ship to enter their air space. With each passing second, her nerves were growing more and more frazzled. What if he'd been injured? What if something happened to his ship? What if...
She shook her head, refusing to even entertain the possibility of his lifelessness. She glanced over her shoulder to see the other Resistance fighters looking on with trepidation. She knew they weren't completely trusting of this situation. How could they be? The man that had single-handedly taken out so many of them without a care was now coming here to make amends? They didn't believe it and she didn't expect them to understand. No one ever really understood their bond like her and him. Heck, half the time she didn't understand it! She glanced over to Leia and saw the peace on the woman's face as she sat nearby on one of the chairs. Her hands were poised on her cane peacefully, her body language showing peace and not agitation like Rey.
"Rey... calm down. He'll be here soon," Leia said as she sensed Rey's anxiety pick back up again.
"Something happened..." Rey said as she continued to pace. "Something isn't right."
Leia watched the girl in front of her and couldn't help but chuckle. "He'll be fine, Rey. He probably got delayed." Rey shot her a look. "Even if something did happen, what good will it do anyone if you're already on edge before he arrives? You won't be able to deal with the situation calmly if you aren't calm."
Rey sighed heavily as she sank against one of the crates, knees to her chest. "I know... I'm just worried..." Her voice was small and soft as she rested her forehead on her knees. It was taking him longer than expected. Then again, he didn't tell her a time, so maybe she was just being anxious. He said he was on the way, but there was something odd about the way he said it. And now she can't reach him. Was he even conscious? Maybe he was tired...? She had no idea. She knew that this was a high energy situation already and the fact that he didn't sound right alarmed her. Was he regretting his decision?
She heard his ship approaching and she was instantly on his feet. A sigh of relief came out of her mouth without her permission. The air from his ship blew the trees and everything surrounding them. Once the ship landed, Rey rushed over to it and gasped when she saw inside the cockpit. He was passed out, blood soaking his shirt. She knocked on the glass, calling out to him with no answer. She used the force to release the cockpit, making it open for her. Once it was open, she rushed to him and gently touched his face. "Ben...?" she whispered, gently shaking him to try to wake him up.
His eyes opened a fraction as he struggled to focus on her before him. He gave her a weak, tired smile. "I made it," he whispered with a small weak grin.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw how weak and out of it he was. "Leia!" she called desperately. "Hang on, Ben. We're going to get you help." His eyes shut without his permission and she felt the bond grow weak again. "Leia! He's injured!"
Leia rushed to her side and frowned before looking around at the soldiers hiding. "Well? Don't just stand there! Get him to medical!" The soldiers started to scramble over to her, hesitantly helping Rey lift him out of the TIE and limp him over to medical. It took two men and Rey to get him there. It would have been easier had Rey not insisted she stay by him. Leia sighed and shook her head at her son's recklessness. This was supposed to be an easy "hi-bye" situation, but now it's turned into him staying for a while. The others wouldn't be too happy about this, but at this point in time she didn't really care. She couldn't let her son die.
X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X
Ben's eyes opened after what felt like an eternity. He took in a sharp breath as he groaned quietly. He didn't even bother to look around as he tried to sit up and realized his side was aching something fierce. His shoulder, too. Memories flashed back to him at what had happened. He remembered taking on troopers and an officer as he disbanded the First Order, then setting the ship to self-destruct. Rey! He looked around quickly as he sat up, hand going to his side in pain. Then he saw her. She was asleep at his bedside, head in her arm as she held his other hand to her face. Her eyes were puffy as if she'd been crying. His face softened toward her as he frowned. Had he worried her? He reached out and gently moved the hair from her face as he looked down at her sleeping face.
"She's been there since you arrived." Ben's eyes shot up to the intruder in the room, only to realize it was his mother. She stood from her seat in the corner and walked over to his bedside. "She was really worried about you, Ben." He looked back down at her and sighed heavily. If Leia was here... then he was at the Resistance base. Which meant more trouble.
"I guess I'll be imprisoned once I'm healed enough then?" he asked, his voice devoid of any emotion or energy.
Leia huffed quietly. "You should be." Ben sighed again as he saw Rey moving a little at the voices carrying on. "But no." Ben looked at his mother once more, eyes full of curiosity and guarded optimism. "I promised her nothing of the sort would happen. Once you're healed enough, you two may go in peace. That was the agreement."
"Why? After all I've done... why?"
Leia gave him a soft smile. "Isn't it obvious? Ben, she cares for you so much that she's willing to leave the Resistance for you. To go off to Force knows where, to live a life free of everything. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's love." Ben's cheeks turned a soft red as he cleared his throat and looked away. Leia couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. "You're so much like him. He wasn't really good at expressing his feelings either, you know." Sadness took root in Ben's heart then. Han, his father... he was just like him? He could see that... He often struggled with expressing himself tactfully. It was always black or white with him; no grey. Ben was the same way. He was either all in, or all out.
Rey shifted again with a deep sigh. "I'll leave you two alone for now..." Ben looked over at his mother. "Ben... I'm glad you came."
Before he could muster the words to say to his mother, she was gone. He felt his head swirling as dizziness started to come back to him. He pushed back the nausea as he let out a heavy sigh. "Ben...?" came a soft voice from his side. He looked down at her with a small smile. She lifted her head and looked at him fully. Her eyes were watering again as she gasped and wrapped her arms around him tightly, making him wince and groan in pain. However, even though it hurt, he still wrapped his around her. "I was worried about you when I couldn't reach you. What happened?"
Ben struggled against the throbbing in his head. He felt drugged... Whatever was going on with him, he didn't feel in control of his mind. "Something's... not right..." he said as he ebbed on the line of consciousness.
Rey looked at him then and realized he was pale. His eyes started to drift shut and Rey gently laid him down. "Rest, Ben... I'll be right here..." When he was out again, she saw blood seeping through his bandages. He'd reopened his wound by sitting up. She sighed in irritation. She had to heal him somehow... She was still researching the healing ability, so that was out for the time being. She looked around the medbay and found some bacta patches. She sighed in relief. She looked down at his wrapped up injury and frowned to herself. She didn't necessarily think it would be easy to leave the First Order, but what did he have to do to leave?
She shook that thought off as she cut through the soiled bandages with some medical scissors. She saw the wound on his side and frowned. She hadn't dressed it originally so she didn't know how bad it was. Now that she looked at it, she could see how gnarly it looked. She frowned as she hovered her hand above it for a moment, trying to summon whatever energy she could into her hand to at least cauterize the bleeding. She winced at how difficult it was, but when she pulled her hand away, she saw that she'd succeeded. With a sigh of exhaustion, she placed a bacta patch over his would, earning a soft growl in his sleep as his face scrunched up in pain. She gently shushed him as she stroked the hair from his face and kissed his forehead. His face relaxed, allowing her to gently run her fingers through her hair in thought. He really was strong... He carried such a burden on his shoulders, but he did it as gracefully as he could. She admired him for that. He never pushed off his failures on anyone else. He was a little too harsh on himself sometimes, but she admired his honestly.
She started to wonder how she would be able to get to his shoulder while he was lying like this. She let out a soft sigh. She supposed she had to wait until he woke up... She laid her head on her arm next to him as she stared at his sleeping face. It was a rare sight. His face was peaceful. No sign of distress or irritation or worry or fear... It was perfect. She loved seeing him like this. No worries or cares; just peace. She hoped he could look like this even while awake, too. One day... With a small smile, she took his hand in hers and closed her eyes, drifting off into a peaceful slumber next to him once again.
X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X
Rey opened her eyes with a small groan. She looked around the room and saw that nothing had changed. How long had she slept? She looked up at Ben's resting face and sighed as she frowned at him. If she had been stronger in the force to heal him at this moment, he wouldn't have to suffer like this. She reached her free hand out and gently caressed his face, only barely noticing how he turned his head toward her touch. He let out a soft sigh in contentment eliciting a small smile from Rey. She gently prodded at their bond and was surprised when she was allowed entry. She searched his mind to see what he was dreaming of and blushed when she saw their time together at the other planet.
She felt him moving and it brought her back to the present, receding from his mind completely. He opened his eyes, blinking several times as if to get the sense of where he was. He looked down at her and sighed softly. "Hey," she said softly.
"How long was I out?" he asked, voice still gruff from sleep.
"I'm not sure." He winced when he felt the pain in his shoulder start to act up again. "Is it your side or shoulder?"
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine... which one is hurting, Ben?"
He looked at her face, studying it carefully for a long moment before sighing in defeat. "Shoulder."
She nodded quietly. "I managed to patch up your side with a bacta patch. I wasn't able to get your shoulder though... So I guess I need to get that now." He nodded and tried to get up on his own, wincing at the pain. "Let me help you," she said as she grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulders. She steadied his larger frame with her arm around his back as she helped pull him to a sitting position. She sensed he was about to protest, but she kissed his cheek instead. "Before you say it, I know you can do it yourself, but the last time you sat up alone, you ripped open your wounds and ended up passing out from the blood loss. So just deal with it for now..."
Knowing he couldn't argue with her, he nodded lethargically and sighed. She moved to his other side and examined his shoulder, moving the bandages out of the way from his side that she'd cut prior. She removed the bandage on his shoulder and frowned when she saw a bit of infection starting. "It's getting infected..." she said as she grabbed some bacta spray and sprayed it, causing him to growl and wince in pain. "Sorry..." She gently wiped the infection away and sighed to herself. "Ben... what happened?" she asked softly as she continued cleaning the wound.
He frowned as he glared at the sheets. "I disbanded the First Order."
"What? How?"
He sighed heavily. "I gave them an option to leave willingly or they wouldn't leave at all." He sensed her displeasure at what that meant, but he shook his head. "The majority of them left. But there were some that were stirred to mutiny." He was silent for a moment as she put the bacta bandage on his shoulder, pressing it gently to make sure it adhered properly. He hissed softly. She still stayed by his side as she listened carefully to what he was telling her. "An officer rallied the remaining troopers against me, brainwashing them into staying. I knew that... if I had let them go, they would end up still coming after everyone. So... I had to... eliminate them."
"How many?"
He frowned and shook his head. "Fifty... maybe more... I tried to give them a chance..."
He felt her arms wrap around him, face buried in his neck as she held him gently. "You did what you needed to do," she whispered.
Ben hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. "You don't... hate me?"
She shook her head. "You did what you felt was necessary, right? You were trying to protect everyone. I can't hate you for that."
He pulled her into his lap and held her tightly, forehead resting on her shoulder as he clung to her warmth. "Thank you." The tension was released just like that as if it had never existed in the first place. All he needed was to know if she hated him or if she could forgive him. And he'd gotten his answer. She was so understanding. He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve any of this. He'd done his fair share of massacring and he'd done his fair share of resisting, but she was able to undo all of his regrets.
"What's going to happen now?" she asked softly as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. "Have you spoken with Leia yet?"
Ben nodded against her. "For a moment... but nothing substantial."
"Is she... going to imprison you?"
Ben snickered softly. "No."
"I'm glad."