𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 | 𝘱. 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯

• 𝘹𝘪𝘹 - 𝘱𝘰𝘦

WHEN I'M ASSIGNED TO A TASK, I follow it through to the end. It's like my promises. I don't break them—I keep them to my dying breath. I stay committed as much as I possibly can. So, when Leia came to me this morning, asking if I could keep an eye on Elyse who still has yet to wake up, I made sure to follow her instructions. I hope she wakes up. I did one hell of a blanket stitch for her to not wake up.
— Poe Dameron

I sit in Elyse's room, chewing on my lip as I flip through page after page of a book Han recommended. Han steps into the room, an eyebrow raised.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asks, pointing to the book in my lap.

I nod, lifting it, showing him the cracked spine from such wear and tear.

"Yeah. You recommended it and I have nothing better to do than this. So, I started reading it." I say.

He nods. He walks to the opposite side of Elyse's bed, the palm of his hand cradling her cheek. Her lips are dry and chapped. Her cheeks have a rosy tint to them. The blood bag hanging above her bed slowly re-infuses a supply into her system, replenishing whatever she lost. Han kisses his daughter's forehead, sighing.

"I need to talk with you. But, not in here." He says.

I nod, dog-earring the page of the book. I stand, setting the book down on my spot the chair, stepping out of the room with him. Suddenly, my cheek stings and I flinch. Han places his hand back down on his hip, staring down at me.

"I thought I taught you to be better, Poe." He says, his dark eyes glaring at me.

I raise an eyebrow, rubbing my cheek slightly to release the pin-prick sensation.

"What the Hell are you talking about?" I ask, staring up at him.

He bites the inside of his cheek, laughing slightly in a sarcastic tone.

"I taught you how to fly an X-Wing, not how to kiss my kid." He says. "Leia and I trusted you and you really dropped the ball this time."

I squint, trying to figure out what the Hell he's talking about.

"Han, to be honest, I don't know what the Hell you're talking about," I say. "I never kissed your daughter."

He raises an eyebrow, obviously biting his cheek again based on the dimple that appears in the hollow of his jaw.

"When you arrived with Elyse, you had blood all over your shirt and lap and she was wearing your jacket. She was on your lap. You kissed her." He says, accusing me of something I'd honestly like to do, but didn't.

I shake my head, laughing sharply at his statement.

"Yes, Han, she was on my Lap. However, we did not kiss. She was cold so I lent her my jacket." I say.

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head.

"Even if that story was true, which it's not, she didn't have to sit on your lap." He says.

I laugh even harder, covering my mouth to avoid waking Elyse.

"Where else was I supposed to put her, out on the Wing with BB-8? I mean, sure, that's an option if you wanted your daughter back as a popsicle. You do realize that the X-Wing I flew out there only had one seat, right?" I ask. "It's not like you guys assigned me a two-seater. If I had the option, I would've just had her sit in the back, granted, I had a backseat."

He sighs, nodding. He leans against the wall, his back away from Elyse's room.

"I'm sorry. It's just... I hate to see her this way. She's always been so strong. In fact, when she was younger, she was braver than Ben. He was a sissy." He says.

I raise an eyebrow, stifling a laugh. I stop, chewing on my lip.

"What did you see out there, Poe?" Han asks, sensing my unease. "You told us you were going to search the area where you found her. What did you find?"

I press my lips together, swallowing sharply as I think back to the temple.

"Awful things happened in that temple. Ben did something... something horrible. He made a decision he shouldn't have. He killed his fellow students, watched his sister suffer as she begged him to stay and sort things out. I found two bodies at the temple, one who had been stabbed in the stomach, the other who had his throat slit." I say. "Ben made a bad choice and it killed many innocent people who didn't deserve it."

Han's face flushes of its color, his eyes growing dark and watery, almost like glass. He looks nauseated, almost as if he's about to vomit.

"He... He couldn't have. He promised to never do that. He promised to stay with us." He says, stepping away from me. "I'll come back later."

He walks away, pushing the doors of the Med-bay open. I watch him, my eyes trailing back to the nurse's station before I step back inside Elyse's room. I sigh out sharply, leaning back against the wall, pressing my hands to my eyes. I look up, spotting Marlene standing at the Nurse's station, looking up at me from her file. She frowns, her eyes full of worry. I stand, walking back into Elyse's room. I take my seat, folding my leg back over the other, cracking my book back open. I look up at Elyse from my book, spotting her eyes open.

"Poe?" She asks, staring at the ceiling.

I drop my book, standing. I approach her, looking down at her.

"Hey. I'm here." I say, placing my hand on top of hers.

She turns her head, our eyes meeting. Her eyes are full of tears.

"Please don't leave me alone." She says. "I don't want to be alone anymore."