The Power Inside (Kylo Ren)

Sixteen

"Elle?" Ren asked quietly.

Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the bright lights in the room. She was back in her body, alive. Elle looked to her left at Ren; she couldn't hide her anger at him. 

"Leave." 

"Please listen. I'm so..."

She cut him off instantly. "I don't want to hear your apologies. Get out of the room, now." 

He sighed in defeat, knowing that nothing he said would change what happened. He returned his helmet to his head and left the room as she had asked. Elle wouldn't admit it, but her heart sank a little as soon as his presence was gone. She ran her fingers over her hand where he had held it. 

"You're finally awake." said a medical worker. 

"Can I leave?"

"Not yet. There are some things the doctor needs to follow up on but you should be out of here by tonight." she explained. 

Elle let her head fall back on the pillow; she had no choice but to wait. She just wanted to go see TJ and Dez; It had been four days without a word from Elle. The doctor came in an hour later. He took her vitals and drew some blood. 

"Everything looks normal so you're being discharged." he informed her. It was the same doctor that treated her hands when she was here before. He must have been the primary doctor for this sector. 

"Okay, thank you for treating me...again." 

"Last time you were here, the Commander was with you as well. Do these incidents have something to do with him?" 

"I guess you could say that."

"If he's hurting you..."

Elle sighed and cut him off, "He's my protection; he's just really shitty at it. I promise I'll be fine." 

The doctor nodded cautiously and followed the discharge procedure. Elle got out of there as quickly as she could and practically ran to her room. It was a bit of a mess from the incident so she straightened things up and took a shower in the lavatory. 

Once she had put new clothes on, she left for TJ's room. She wasn't sure if he would be there but decided that she'd wait for him at his door. Elle knocked on his door but there was no answer. 

Shit.

She sat down in front of the door. "Hey Alan?" 

It took him a minute to respond. Yes?

"Oh good, you're here. I was worried you didn't make it back with me or something."

Nonsense. How many times do I have to state that I am part of you. 

"It's a weird concept alright, chill out." 

How long do you plan on waiting for him?

"Until he comes back to his room." 

Am I expected to wait with you?

"Well you are now. What's with the attitude?"

I do not have an attitude. It's impossible. 

"Seems pretty possible to me."

I do not feel and behave like humans. I understand feelings and behaviors but cannot experience them. However, I can project them. 

"Um...sorry what?" 

For example, I can't feel that I care for your well-being but I know that I want to so I project that feeling in a way that matches the actions and behaviors of compassion. 

 "You don't get angry or sad?"

No. 

"But you understand the concept of anger or sadness?"

Yes. 

"So it's like pretending that you feel by saying things associated with those emotions?"

In a way, yes. Nevertheless, I don't pretend to care about your well-being. I know that I do from my instincts to help you.

"I think that may be because you're connected to my brain."

Perhaps but I do not believe so. I could just as easily feed off your anger and project hatred towards you. 

"Alright, fair enough. Let's not test out that theory...I see TJ coming." 

Alan retreated and Elle stood up to greet TJ. 

"Elle where the fuck have you been? Me and Dez have been looking everywhere for you."

"It's a really long story. Where's Dez?" 

"She's working. Our shifts don't align." TJ opened his door and they both entered his room. "Start talking." 

Elle groaned. She desperately didn't want to talk about it. "I was in the medical ward for a few days." 

He stared at her, waiting for her to continue. He wasn't going to give up until she told him everything. 

"I pissed off Commander Ren and he sort of force choked me to death. The medical team brought me back and I've been unconscious for the past four days. I woke up this morning." 

"That son of a bitch. I'm going to kill him." 

"Let's not do that okay?" 

"He almost killed you Elle." 

"I'm here, aren't I? I want to forget about it and avoid him until I'm actually due to die."

"Quit putting it like that. It's going to really suck when you're gone. How am I going to explain your death to Dez?" 

"Tell her the truth." 

TJ rolled his eyes and changed the subject. He could tell Elle was still a bit traumatized from the incident and talking about it wasn't helping. They talked for a couple hours about what had been going on for the past few days. Elle fell asleep in the chair she was sitting in; TJ woke her up and helped her to his bed and she instantly fell right back to sleep. He layed on the other side of the bed and went to sleep too.