Where we belong

Reckless

Note: I don't know who made this amazing fan art but it inspired me on this chapter.

Ben stormed out of the hut and looked around frantically.
He saw immediately where the scream was coming from and the sight made even him afraid.

Rey was standing at the edge of the lake, her hair dripping with water, and looming over her was something he could only think of as a monster. It was huge - gigantic even - and had a skin the colour of  swamp. The lower side of it's head was covered in tentacles.
The creature roared now and Ben could feel the earth shaking slightly beneath him. He saw long fangs underneath the tentacles and gulped.

Ben looked back at Rey. Why was she only standing there frozen in place? Why didn't she at least take out her saber? That was when it hit him. Her bag. He had seen it in the corner of the hut. That was what had seemed out of place to him. Rey hadn't attempted to run. From the look of her she had been out to wash in the lake.

---

Rey shivered at the sight in front of her. Why had she come here? In retrospect a little sweat was nothing compared to this. She didn't know what to do. Her saber was in her bag back at the hut.

"Rey!"

She saw Ben running over to her, his lightsaber already ignited in his hand. He stopped in front of her and shoved her towards the hut. "Go!", he yelled. "Now!"
Rey stumbled a few steps to the side and stopped again. She was still too shocked to think straight. She had been washing her hair when that... that... thing emerged from the lake.

"You want breakfast? Come and get it!", Ben screamed at the creature now capturing its attention. It roared again and decided to attack.
Rey was still standing there as Ben met the swamp thing. His saber slashed at the tentacles of the beast. It screamed out in pain and stricked at Ben with one of it's enormous arms. He barily dodged the blow and looked over at Rey. "I told you to run!", he yelled. In that second, when his attention was towards her, it happend. The beast hit him with the other arm sending him flying for a few paces. Ben grunted in pain and looked up  to see the thing trying to bite down on him. He held up his saber in time to impale it through the top of it's mouth straight into it's brain. But he bought victory at a high price when the monster itself impaled his right shoulder with one of its fangs. Ben screamed out this time.

Then it was over.
The creature grunted one last time and sank motionless to the ground on Ben's right.
Rey was still standing there. It had all happened so fast. For just a second she thought about running then she immediately dismissed the thought. She couldn't run from him now! He had rescued her by risking his own life. Rey looked at the man lying on the ground moaning in pain. She ran over to him.
"That was rather reckless", she scolded him lightly.
"Really?" His voice came out all hoarse. "I thought it was rather chivalrous."
She saw his lips cracking in a small loopsided smile and smiled back at him. Eventhough he was trying to play things down she could see his eyes were full of fear and pain.
"You alright?", he asked her.
"You are asking me if I'm alright?", Rey squeeked out rather hysterically. "Just look at you!"
"That's actually proofing a bit hard right now. Mind if you helped me up?"

Rey helped him stand and slung his left arm over her shoulder.
Ben grunted in ache and started to limp towards the hut leaning against her.
"At least we know now why the hut wasn't inhabitated."
When they had made it back inside he steered for the place of floor he had spend the night on.

"Where do you think you are going?", Rey asked sternly. "You'll take the bed now!"
"But..."
"Oh no! This is not up to debate! You'll do as I say!"
"Yes, ma'am!"

He let himself sink onto the bed and closed his eyes in pain.
"You should have woke me up!"
"Oh yeah? So you could watch me taking a bath?"
"I wouldn't have looked at you!"
Rey huffed and took out a first aid kit from her bag.
"It was dangerous can't you see, Rey?"
"How should I have known there was some weird lake monster out there, Ben?"
"I told you it was not safe to be alone here!"
"Oh come on! I could've helped myself!"
"Oh please! Oouuch!"
She had pulled the bandage around his hand rather tight.
"Stop complaining and help me take your shirt off. I need to see the rest of it."
Ben smugly raised an eyebrow at her. "Can't get enough of the sight, can you?" He referred to back when she had seen him shirtless through the Force.
She glared at him. "I swear, if you say something like this again, I will leave you alone and you can tend to yourself!",she hissed.
"I was just joking, okay? No need to be this sassy!"

There was silence between them again while Rey tended to his other wounds. There were deep scratches on his left arm and some bruises where the beast had hit him with its arm. But the wound on Ben's shoulder almost made Rey's stomach turn. It was deep and bled a lot.
"I'm sorry", Rey murmered finally. "And I want to thank you! You risked your life to safe me and I just stood there and...." She gulped. "If you hadn't been there, I might be dead now."
"I would do it again any time",he said in all earnest and lightly touched her hand that was adjusting the dressings on his shoulder. Rey bended her head and looked down. Her cheeks tinted a light red. "You should get some rest now."