The Light in Her - a Reylo fanfic

Chapter 1 - The Aftermath

 The gentle ping of her boots against the metal echoed alone in her ears. A flood of people enclosed around the Falcon's ramp, their hurried questions falling on deaf ears. It occurred to her they were asking about Finn, sprawled out over a hovercraft. She stuttered, tried to explain not to lay him on the wound on his back, but they discovered it on their own before she could choke out the words. They rushed away with him and Chewbacca, the only word she could decipher from them, "heartbeat,". She wanted to come along, but she felt drained beyond belief. Her thoughts came seconds too late, she couldn't respond fast enough to any questions that were asked, and eventually all of the rebels either became distracted by the dozens of other things happening on the base, or simply ignored her. One face in the crowd finally looked at her instead of through her. She knew she'd never met the petite woman whose presence towered over the largest soldier, but her eyes soothed Rey's fraying nerves and crumbling mind.

"He's dead, isn't he?" The question rang out in her mind, clearly in a voice and consciousness that wasn't her own.

"Yes." Rey responded as best she could, but she felt the obvious weakness in her voice as opposed to this woman. She felt the woman deflate, but she smiled softly, sadly.

"I felt it." She said, taking a few steps toward Rey and hugging her tightly.

"General Leia Organa. You must be Rey." She finally said when she released her. The General still held the smaller girl's shoulders tightly, mostly to keep her upright.

"I'm very tired." She choked out, her first words since she'd arrived.

"Don't worry, I'll save the questions for later... You look pale, the medics should probably see you too." She said, wrapping a supportive arm around her shoulders, stronger than any had ever held her. She led her underground, through crowded hangars lined with an arsenal of bombs that made her head spin, twisting hallways, slow moving elevators. The deeper underground they moved, the more disoriented she got. The hallways got darker and darker, smaller and smaller.

~~

Three days, the medics told her. Not quite a coma, like Finn was suffering. They were able to wake her up for short periods of time, force some food into her before she slipped away again. She didn't remember that at all, of course, and only vaguely remembered her arrival at the rebel base and the events leading up to it. Likely a brutal side effect of the interrogation drugs, given to her while she was in custody of the First Order, they told her. She wasn't sure how to tell them she'd never been drugged, or even if she should. It was over now, wasn't it? She was awake now, and despite being outrageously hungry, she was fine. But now, she realized, there were questions to be answered.

They gave her some standard issue clothes, a simple shirt, pants, and lace up shoes. They assured her that all of her clothes and belongings would be in her assigned compartment, but for now she was immediately requested by the General. She struggled with the laces on her shoes for a few minutes; the only shoes she'd ever really worn were her simple, slip-on boots. She sighed, her face burning with frustration and embarrassment. The last thing she wanted was the Rebels pitying her, the poor girl who never even learned to tie shoes.

"She's over here, you said?" She heard someone ask; something told her it was her they were searching for. She pulled the laces, tightening them as harshly around her feet, then began stuffing the excess laces into the shoes. "Err.. Rey? I would knock if I could." The voice said from the other side of the curtain, separating her bed from the rest of the infirmary.

"Oh, you can come in." She responded awkwardly. The curtain shifted back, revealing a young girl, only a bit older than Rey, in a green officer's suit marked with the Resistance seal.