CONSTELLATIONS | Poe Dameron

CHAPTER XIII

"That depends- would you?" He met my gaze almost in a challenge. Before I could reply, movement from the other side of the room caught my attention. Leia and Vice Admiral Holdo made their way over to us. Poe and I stood and walked around the table, meeting them half-way.

"Dr. Dreis, Commander Dameron," the Admiral began. "I want to personally thank you for all that you've done in your days away. Having the Devaronions as an ally to the Resistance has been extremely important, and the two of you solidified that relationship with your dedication."

"Of course, Admiral. We'd happily do it again." I told her. He gave a tight smile in return.

"I'm sure you are both tired after your travels and... eventful day. We may need to speak with you in more detail later about the attack, however."

"Yes, Admiral."

We turned to leave when General Organa cleared her throat, "Commander Dameron," Poe paused and turned towards her. "I would like to meet with you in the morning." Her voice sounded tense, like it was not a meeting she was looking forward to having. With a curt nod, Poe turned and took a hold of my elbow, guiding us out of the room.

"I don't envy you. She didn't sound too thrilled." I took a sideways glance at the pilot, taking a second to admire his side profile. I could tell he was thinking about what she wanted to discuss; his jaw was set in a hard line and brow furrowed.

"Probably just another mission. So much for a day off."

"Oh please, you love being the go-to man." I bumped his hip with mine as we walked causing him to chuckle quietly. We got to a split in the hall, each way leading to our respective rooms. Suddenly, I was overcome with the feeling of not wanting to be alone. The weight of the last few days felt heavy on my chest, and I wanted to keep it at bay for as long as possible. "Poe?" I asked, feeling a little selfish and out of my own head. I looked up, catching him staring at me. "I would like to invite you for some wine..."

He gave me a knee-melting smile. "Thank the stars. I was debating chipping away my pride to invite myself, but figured that really would've made you deny me."

Letting out a laugh, I shook my head answering "You're probably right about that. Come on." I led the way to my room and let us in the door, kicking off my shoes and walking over to my makeshift bar cart. I grabbed two stemless red wine glasses and selected a bottle from my small collection. While I was preparing our glasses, I noticed Poe looking at all of the still prints I had up above my desk. I grabbed our glasses and walked over, handing his to him then looking at the pictures.

"I recognize a good bit of these people. This is your med team?" He was pointing to a picture of our team after a meeting a few months back. I was in the front with Ezra. Tash was giving me a giant kiss on the cheek, causing me to be in mid laugh when the droid took the picture. All the other nurses were huddled around, laughing or smiling straight ahead.

"It sure is. My clan of trouble-makers. This one," I pointed to a still of a little girl in a man's lap. He had raven hair, but deep green eyes, much like my own. "This is my father and I before my first flying lesson. He always said he knew after this day that I was going to end up rivaling his skills. Which of course was impossible." I smiled fondly at the memory.

"And I assume this woman was your mother?" She was a tan woman with short, blonde hair. Her eyes were the clearest blue I had ever seen. She was very pregnant, but posing with her arms outstretched and legs wide with a giant smile. I nodded, admiring the spirit of a woman I had never had the pleasure to meet. "You look just like her, besides your eyes... She was beautiful." He looked over at me thoughtfully, causing a slight heat to run through me.