Hunted

XXXXIII. The Debate

In the days since Kylo had finally been allowed to see her and the baby Serela had grown increasingly frustrated with a number of things. His visits had been infrequent and unpredictable, anywhere from 2 times a day to 5, and not by his own volition. He explained that Luke and his mother were conferring with him and many others on the best method of defence for when the First Order struck again. Secondly, his visits were often interrupted by someone coming to fetch him for one meeting or another, which Serela was never invited to attend under the justification of allowing her to 'rest' more.

Serela stared up at the ceiling, trying not to dwell on her own loneliness for too long. Her mother still came multiple times throughout the day, as did Finn and Rey when they could get away from the planning. It seemed everyone was involved in the preparations except for her: the person at the centre of all this.

Not true, she reminded herself, it's the baby they want -- and Kylo. You're nothing to the First Order.

The thought was very little comfort as she looked down at Ben's face again for reassurance and tried to push the pillow beneath her head up without waking him. The clock on the wall told her it was still mid-morning, and he would be due for a feeding soon, but she wanted him to get as much rest as he could beforehand in case she was finally called upon to offer her help.

Ben let out a infantile squawk at something in his sleep, his small mouth contorting as though oohing and aahing at whatever he could see behind his closed eyes. With a mild shudder, he settled back into her arms and resumed his standard sleepy posture. The door flew open suddenly and she startled, a gurgle from Ben alerting her that he had indeed woken and she sighed heavily. A low, steady wail began to emit from his tiny lips as she hurried to unfasten the shoulder of her gown so she could nurse him back to sleep.

Rey had been the one to come in, Finn just behind her but when he saw Serela getting ready to feed the baby he deliberately averted his eyes, fixating on a spot on the wall as he crossed the room with Rey to to sit in one of the chairs

"Big meeting today," Rey mentioned, grinning over at Finn who refused to meet her gaze.

"Oh?" Serela asked curiously just as Ben latched on and began to suckle. She reached for an extra blanket and slung it gently over her shoulder to cover his face and her breast so Finn would stop looking so rigidly at any and everywhere else.

A playful punch to his shoulder from Rey broke's Finn's deep concentration on the stains in the wall and made him venture a glance from her to Serela, visibly relaxing when he saw the cover, "Sorry," he mumbled awkwardly, "Just trying to be respectful."

"So about this meeting?" Serela redirected the conversation again, wondering if they had been sent to let her know so she could come.

Rey's eyes widened in recognition, "Yeah! So there's this big meeting happening in a couple hours--"

A knock on the door preceded the knob turning as it opened to admit a weary-looking Poe, his shoulders slumped and eyes looking heavy.

Serela's face broke into a smile, momentarily forgetting the question she had posed to Rey. "Poe!" she greeted him enthusiastically, and he managed a faint smile as he approached the opposite side of the bed from Finn and Rey, standing at the foot and crossing his arms. For a second, he smiled at her and looked so at ease it felt like nothing had changed other than Ben's birth and she had the old, friendly Poe back, standing ready to make a joke and offer assurances to her fears.

Almost as soon as she saw the flicker of his personality shine though, his eyes clouded again and she knew he was remembering the chasm that existed between them. One he had thought he could fill with a relationship that was more than friends, only to know once and for all that her heart was well and truly Kylo's; regardless of the past.