𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙀𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉
—𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯—

THERE WAS A sharp noise that pounded against the door to Bexley's assigned medical room. The blonde woman felt uncomfortable as she slowly opened her eyes, staring up at the bright lights in the ceiling that burned when she looked for too long. Blinking, Bexley jumps at the sound of another thump— but it was louder this time. She found herself curious over something else, though; her body no longer hurt when she stretched out. Glancing down to her gown-covered body, she realizes that there are no longer bruises and gashes on her skin. In fact, there was no sign of a scar at all, which led her to believe maybe she had hallucinated the whole situation.

But she wouldn't take the time to celebrate— as far as she knew, she was still trapped in the First Order ship, under the close surveillance of Ben Solo himself. His threats were anything but empty, especially after she saw what he was capable of. The proof of her mother's death was more than enough to show that. With another steady, solid blow to the outside of the door, it swung open and smashed against the wall behind it. The Terris woman tended up, gripping the bed sheets beside her.

But the sight ahead of her wasn't something she'd ever expect— or someone. In fact, that very moment, she lost her breath. Swallowing back the urge to cry out, Bexley sits up on the white medical bed, her eyes focusing in on those of the raven-haired man just ahead of her. He moves forward, his lips parting as he concentrates on all of her features; something he missed so dearly.

"Poe?" Bexley's voice cracks in her throat, almost as if she hadn't talked in days. We're her eyes deceiving her? Was this another one of her daydreams?

"Are you okay?" He asks immediately, taking her small hand in his and examining her arms. "I assume they fixed you up for tonight. Can you walk?"

"I can't believe you're here," she chokes out, tears coming to her eyes. "I—I thought I was going to die here."

"Don't cry, sweetheart," Poe says, placing a firm hand on her cold cheek. "We need to get you the hell out of here before they can catch us. We'll talk afterwards, okay?"

With steady hands, he helped the blonde to her shaky feet. For a short moment, Bexley lost her balance and almost fell to the floor. But with precision and carefulness, Poe supported her, and placed his arm around her waist. "Do you need me to carry you?"

"No, I'll be fine— just a bit dizzy, is all." Bexley dismisses him, shaking the nauseous feeling away. "Let's get out of here."

With a stiff nod, he moves forward, still keeping her upright while being cautious towards the possible guards outside the room. Poe glances out the door and down the hall, his free hand on the blaster in his belt. To his utter relief, there's no one around— so he leads Bexley out of the room, hiding her behind him. He places a knife in her hand with a subtle statement.

"If something happens to me, run. Get out of here and don't look back." His face is solemn, but shows some sense of worry. Because what if something did happen to him? Bexley wasn't so sure she'd be able to leave him that easily, without putting up a fight, anyway.

"Okay," she responds, not putting any ounce of meaning behind it. She would stay with him, and nothing could stop her or change her mind. Not even Poe himself.

They slide into the next hall, coming face-to-face with Commander Kylo Ren. Poe stops completely in his tracks, holding his blaster up in defense.

"Leaving so soon?" The unmasked man asks without hesitance, noticing Bexley behind his back almost immediately. "And taking an assassin with you, I assume. Poe Dameron, isn't it?"

"What the hell do you want?" Poe grits out through a clenched jaw. "Just let her go, Kylo. There's no reason for her to be here, you and I both know that."

"I see she's valued in the Resistance— she'd have to be if they risked their head pilot to retrieve her. So tell me, why would her presence be unnecessary? We haven't quite gotten what we've wanted, and this is the best way to get it." He tilts his head to the side, examining Bexley. "You've finally been fixed up, I see. Just in time, too."

"You won't get away with this," Poe warns. "Not any of it— especially not Takodana."

"Did you really think that was my plan?" Kylo chuckles, clasping his hands together. His dark hair glows underneath the fluorescence, and his teeth shine white through his menacing smile. "It would've been a good way to go, if I hadn't have gotten my way at first. But now that they've actually sent someone to get Bexley— someone very educated with General Organa, in fact— alines everything . . . "

Bexley's heart thumps against her ribcage as she places her hands on Poe's back, and slightly moves him to the side. Once having a full view of Kylo, her face falls. "You . . . you planned all of this. You knew the Resistance would send someone for me, someone who they actually trusted; someone who was bound to know things no one else knows. Someone that knows where the map to Luke Skywalker is."

"Hmm, a cherished and beneficial part of the Resistance goes missing after a suicide mission, and no one ever comes to look for her. Sounds a bit stretched, am I right?" Kylo grins, shaking his head. "Precisely. And now, here we are, falling exactly into the lines that I had hoped for."

"What are you planning?" She asks, stiffening in her spot.

"I'll destroy everything in my path until I find Luke Skywalker." Kylo replies, his eyes growing dark. "And neither of you will be able to stop me."

There are a rush of troopers around Poe and Bexley before they can move and inch— and in a quick second, there are already darts in their skin.

And then everything went black.

---

Poe's eyes opened as soon as Kylo Ren entered the interrogation room, even though it was hard to; there was still a bit of drowsiness left over from the surprise injection earlier brought on by the swarm of troopers. With furrowed eyebrows, his glance falls on the almost empty room around them— only settling when his gaze lands on a still unconscious Bexley Terris. Visually relaxing, the pilot sinks into the slightly propped table he's lying on.

"Finally awake, I see," Kylo comments, removing his helmet and placing it on a platinum table. "And before the girl . . . how impressive. But I have some questions for you, Poe Dameron."

"Whatever you want, I won't be giving it to you," Poe counters, his chocolate brown eyes not breaking his intense stare at Kylo. "Try what you want."

"Very well, then," Kylo shrugs, holding up his hand, before compelling Poe with the Force. He searched every inch of the pilot's mind, looking over everything carefully— yet there was nothing. And so he dug deeper, his power sharpening in the effort to find exactly what he wanted.

And suddenly, it appeared. Poe grunts, clenching his jaw and struggling against his restraints. There was nothing he could do, other than sit back and watch as Kylo lowered his hand. The spiteful man had received the information he wanted.

"Thank you," the man tells him, his arm falling at his side. "For your sacrifice, Takodana won't be desecrated today. But until I find the droid with the map to Skywalker, I will destroy everything in my path."

Kylo shoots one last look to the raven-haired man, before turning on his heel and exiting the room. Poe was left to nothing but his own thoughts, which scared him more than ever.

General Organa had entrusted him with this— and depended on his soon return. But what would she think when he never did? The head pilot of the Resistance was quite a large title, and wouldn't easily be replaced. Then again, he had been warned of what the outcome might be if he had failed; but he had risked it all to find Bexley. And now, looking at her from across the room, he realized that he would do it all over again. As it turns out, he hadn't lost her.

Poe aches to reach out and touch her face; to feel her soft skin again, and to do something he had never done before— miss her. Somehow, he would break them out of this place, and they would bring a fall to the First Order. The Resistance would win whatever war they were fighting, and he would be able to relax for once. He would be able to tell the blonde assassin how he felt for her . . . how he had felt since the day he first laid eyes on her. Something had changed in him that day.

Something about her gave him hope, and the strength to continue on. She was what he wanted to come home to, the reason he fought every day. So that sometime in the future, they would be able to have their fairytale ending that Bexley undoubtedly deserved. She had been strong for far too long, and had seen plenty. It was in this short moment that Poe Dameron made a vow to himself. If and when they made it out of this situation and things grew calm again, he wouldn't hesitate to make Bexley Terris his for the rest of their lives.

Poe smiles slightly to himself, laying his head against the table. Not only would he pull her into his arms and kiss her— he was also fully prepared to change her last name.

Bexley Dameron did have a nice ring to it, if he did say so himself.

_______