PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

XI

"Jeyna?" He asked weakly, groaning as he attempted to sit up.

"Din!" I rushed to his side, ignoring the wave of lightheadedness that tried to overcome me. "Hey," I whispered as I gently laid him back down on the mattress, "Don't try to get up."

He groaned again. "I saw you..."

"Din, stop." I kept my voice low and comforting. Without even thinking, I reached for his hand, taking his fingers in mine. They were dry and cracked and had specks of dried blood on them. I managed to put a weak smile on my face. "You took a big hit."

"No shit," He moaned, "I feel like I just got trampled by a herd of Banthas."

His joke drew a soft laugh from me. I glanced down at his bare upper body, where his bruises had melted into one giant one, an ugly swirling mass of purple and green.

He lifted his head off the pillow to look down at himself. "Where did my shirt go?" He asked.

My eyes flicked up to his visor again. "Of all the things to ask right now," I said flatly, "You're worried about your shirt?"

He attempted to sit up again, but before I could tell him to stay down, he sucked in a shallow breath. "It really fucking hurts to breath," He hissed through clenched teeth.

"The medics said you have broken ribs." I blinked a few times before continuing, "And probably a concussion."

Din turned his head slightly to stare at me. I could feel the dread rolling off of him as he asked nervously, "Did they-"

I shook my head. "No," I reassured him, "They tried to take it off, but I didn't let them."

After a moment, he exhaled a relieved breath. But then his torso twitched, and I knew that the breath he just exhaled hurt like a bitch. I grimaced for him.

"Thank you," He murmured eventually.

Silence fell between us again. Din seemed to focus on his breathing, taking in light, shallow breaths to keep the pain in his ribs to a minimum. Which seemed to still be a lot, because after every few breaths a soft grunt of pain escaped his lips.

I remained kneeling by his side, gently rubbing off the dried blood on his fingers. The action seemed to help him relax, so even after the blood was gone I continued to move my fingers over his skin.

"What happened?"

My eyes glanced back up to Din's face, where the T of his visor was facing me head on, looking at me expectantly.

I took a deep breath. I asked, "What do you remember?"

He groaned as he laid his head back down on the pillow. "Not much," He admitted, "The last thing I remember was watching you slip and fall into the trench. Everything after that is a blur."

I arched a curious brow. "You don't remember getting shot?"

"Oh, I do. It hurt like a motherfucker." He laughed pitifully, then immediately grimaced in pain. He seethed, "But I only remember what it felt like. The last thing I remember seeing is you."

My heart wrenched. "Well," I recounted, "After you got shot, I..." I paused, taking a deep breath. How would he feel when he learned what I did to the walker? Would he be afraid of me, of what I am and what I can do?

I shook my head internally. No, he deserved the truth. He jumped over the wall to protect me. And he nearly died. The least I could do was tell him the truth.

"I was terrified," I admitted, lowering my eyes from his face. "I thought the cannon bolts killed you. I don't know what came over me, but I..."

"You what?" Din asked anxiously.

"I used the Force to crush the AT-ST," I stated.

Din's outward expression didn't change, but I had the feeling his eyes widened once I finished my statement. "How?" He breathed.

"I-I don't know," I said honestly, "I was so angry and upset and terrified that I just, did what felt right."

Din remained silent as he soaked in the events of the battle. My heart rate began to speed up, nearly beating out of my chest.

Then he asked, "What happened next?"

"Uh, well," I stuttered, remembering the way the raiders stared at me in horror, "The raiders retreated once the walker hit the ground. And I don't think they'll be back anytime soon."

"Good," He breathed, pleased. Then he asked in pleasant disbelief, "You really crushed the walker? Like, with your mind?"

I breathed a laugh. I technically didn't do it with my mind, but I didn't feel like starting an argument with him, so I confirmed his statement with a smile. "Yeah," I said, "It's just a pile of scrap now."

I imagined him with a giddy smile on his face. His chest shook with laughter, but then violent coughs erupted from him. I jumped up, lightly placing my hands on his chest.

"I'm fine," Din coughed, dropping his head back onto the pillow. "I'm fine."

"Get some rest," I whispered, letting my hands linger on his chest for a moment before I stood up. "You need to heal."

I turned to walk across the room, but a warm hand wrapped around my wrist. I looked back at Din, who was breathing a bit heavier than he was a moment ago. He stared at me, deciding what he wanted to say. I could only imagine what was flying through his head right now.

"Promise," He breathed. "Promise you won't run from me again."

Of all things for him to say, that was not what I was expecting. The words caught me off guard and I stared at him while I fumbled for something to say.

My brows furrowed. "I-I don't understand."

"When you..." He inhaled a shallow breath. "I've never been more terrified in my life than when you were dancing around those blaster bolts. Just... promise me you won't do it again."

I swallowed. I knew that he wanted my reassurance that I wouldn't go running towards my seemingly certain death again, but I knew I couldn't offer him that. Nobody knows what the future holds. I couldn't promise him anything.

But if I didn't promise him, he would argue and plead with me until his face turned blue. So to give him some peace of mind, I crossed my fingers behind my back and I said with a soft smile, "I promise."

Din's hand lingered on my wrist before he slowly let go, taking in as deep of a breath as he could before hopefully closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

As soon as I turned around, I quickly wiped a stray tear that slipped down my cheek. I was so relieved that he had woken up, but Din had a lot of healing to do. And as much as I was dreading the journey to Ilum, I wasn't sure how long Soleil was willing to wait before she dragged both of us by the ear to the Crest and forced us to leave.

Hopefully she saw what happened tonight and would allow us to stay a little longer. Just so Din could get well enough to fly us out of here.

I walked back to my original spot next to the kid, who was still sleeping soundly. I sat back down again, glancing out the window to study the last light of the stars before the sunrise.

Sleep tugged on the outskirts of my conscious. LAllowing myself one moment to breathe in the peaceful air around me, I leaned my head back against the wooden wall and gave myself over to the darkness once more.

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Word count: 1952

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Ch 11 published: January 11th, 2021