The One (EDITED)

Chapter 10: Protect Her

It was early the next morning and Rey had woken up to go with Poe and Finn to get some more supplies from another base that was far from this planet. He listened as she kissed her baby goodbye and walked out from the Falcon. He turned over on the bed, he got up and watched as her ship took off and disappeared from the atmosphere.

He got himself and Alix dressed. He carried her out from the Falcon and decided to pay Dr. Kalonia a visit. He walked halfway knowing that if Rey found out he would be in deep trouble, but it was worth it to make his child feel better.

Once he got there, he found her going through the medical machines and putting some loose wires back in place.

"Hey, Dr. Kalonia," he said.

She turned around surprised.

"Oh it's just you," she said.

"Yeah it's just me and the baby," he said. "Sorry if I startled you."

"No it's okay, it happens a lot," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"Um, I was wondering if you could do a quick check up on Alix, she hasn't been feeling well lately," he said.

"Oh no, is she is sick?" she asked.

"She has a fever going on," he handed the baby over to the doctor.

"Okay, well let's see what we find out."

The exam went smoothly and slowly, she weighed her, did a respiratory check, played with her reflexes and her height, then she told Ben to bring her over to her desk.

"All right, so the fever is the least of her problem. It's a physiological reaction to malnourishment," she said.

Ben started playing with her feet to keep her occupied so she wouldn't get upset.

"She's in the seventh percentile with regard to cranial circumference, bone and motor development. Your daughter isn't growing," she said.

Those four words caught his attention.

"What do you mean she isn't growing?" he asked.

"Who's monitoring the child's development?" she said.

"Well no one my wife doesn't really trust doctors," he explained.

"When did she stop nursing?" she asked.

"Uh, the milk stopped coming just three weeks ago," he said. "Now she weans her onto solid foods."

"What does the child eat?" she asked.

"Um, well we're vegetarians," he explained.

"There's nothing wrong with that," she said. "What does she eat?"

"Well she eats, mashed vegetables, avocado," he said.

"So you're vegan, you're not vegetarian. You don't eat any milk products, eggs and the animal derivatives?" she asked.

"Well I do, my wife and my daughter don't," he said. "Rey likes to do things on her own, she reads a lot, she collects her own information."

"But if the child isn't growing, she's not getting what she needs. The risk is retarded growth, rickets and damage to the nervous system."

Ben nodded his head in reassurance and looks back up at the doctor.

"Your daughter is in danger," she said.

That was something he didn't want to hear. His daughter was slowly dying and because she isn't being taken care of the proper way.

"Listen it's very important now that the child receives what it needs quickly," she explained. "Think of it as a race, your daughter got off to a slow start now she needs to catch up, quickly."