Theodosia

Chapter 5

Poe was brought out of his slumber when he felt Astrid stirring in her sleep beside him. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he heard small whimpers coming from her.

"Stop," she was saying repeatedly. "I'm sorry..."

"Astrid?" He shook her shoulder gently. She didn't wake from his call. Her face was scrunched up like she was in pain as she lived through whatever nightmare that was going on. He called out her name again, flicking on the light as he did so. 

She started apologising profusely, mumbling out apologies filled with fear and regret. 

"Hey, hey, Astrid," he told her gently and this time, she woke up with a jolt. She started gasping for air, her hands going to her neck like she was suffocating. Worried, Poe sat up and helped her get up.

"It's alright, it's alright. It was just a dream," he told her, rubbing her back while she tried to slow her breathing. He continued talking to her reassuringly while she rode out the hysteria before her breathing rate became normal. She looked at him, her eyes still wide with fear and then buried her face in her hands.

Poe wrapped an arm around her, still saying words of comfort, hoping that it would at least help her calm down. When she did actually calm down, she spoke shakily.

"I'm so sorry I woke you up."

"You've nothing to apologise for," he reassured, holding on to her hand. "It must have been a bad dream."

She laughed lightly. "I guess you could say that."

A pause. "Do you want to talk about it?" Poe asked hesitantly. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it, shaking her head.

"It's nothing, honestly. Just some stupid dream," she replied. It was far from the truth, but she wasn't going to burden him with her resurfacing memories. She could hear the screaming again. She could feel hands grasping at her feet, begging for mercy. And then she saw him. The man in the mask. 

Still shaken by the dream, she accepted Poe's comfort and almost started crying when he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She was scared. She knew she would just have to deal with her memories, but it made her wonder what sort of past she had lived. It made her even more determined to not mess up the new chance she had been given.

She thanked Poe for what seemed like the hundredth time since she met him and lied back down on the couch. He flicked the lights off and joined her.

Astrid closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. She wasn't in a rush to have another nightmare.

Poe, at the same time, stayed awake. Sometimes his eyes would flicker to her still form in concern but most of the time, he was staring at the ceiling, his mind clouded with thoughts about the mysterious girl.

He would eventually have to tell the rest of the Resistance about her presence. He just needed to wait until she was in a more...stable state. When that was going to be, he couldn't say for sure. But he knew she had a troubled past.

That would explain her nightmares. While she was recovering in the ward, there were nights she would moan in pain while she slept. He always assumed it was pain from her injuries but now he wasn't so sure.

He would just have to figure things out.

***

Astrid woke up feeling slightly well rested despite a night full of going in and out of sleep. Each time she woke up, Poe was there to reassure her and wait for her to fall asleep again. This time, she woke up to see a note on the table.

Going to be out in the hangar today. Help yourself to the food. If you need anything, call BB-8.

She smiled softly at the scrawl of his name at the bottom of the note and placed it back down. She heard multiple beeps before she turned to see BB-8 rolling towards her, the soft rattling of the droid on the wooden floor announcing its arrival.