Flying Through the Flames || Poe Dameron [The Force Awakens + the Last Jedi]

She Did It For Me

Poe's POV

My first thought when I woke up was of Nyssa and nothing but that mattered. I shot bolt upright and scoured the room I was in, chest heaving. Where was she? Where was I? How did we get off Jakku?

The sight of a familiar place soothed the rawness in my chest slightly; we hadn't been captured by the First Order again. We were home. Nyssa had to be somewhere in the base, I knew there was no way I got here because of someone else. She must have been the one who got me here safe.

There was no IV in my arm to tear out as I slipped off the bed and left the room, the bright lights of the hallway an assault on my eyes. I squinted as I looked around for anyone who could tell me where Nyssa was. I suspected it was either late at night or early in the morning as there was little noise around.

All I could recall from before I passed out was crash-landing on Jakku, was pain, sand, pain, blistering heat, pain and then a mouthful of sand as I fell face-first into a dune. What had happened since then? My head felt completely fine, nothing compared to how it felt on Jakku. I had no doubt Kalonia zapped the injury away.

My heart beat frantically as I raced down the hall toward the entrance to HQ from the medical bay. I knew I should have been at least a bit concerned about BB-8 and the map but all I could think about was Nyssa. I loved her and I couldn't remember if I told her when we crash-landed or not. I remembered thinking it, wishing I had told her before I ruined everything and said things I didn't mean.

"Where is Nyssa?" I demanded to whoever would listen as I burst into the main HQ room, scanning for someone who might know.

General Organa and Admiral Ackbar were in the middle of a conversation as they fell silent and pivoted toward me in unison. The General's eyes widened as I jogged toward her.

"Where is she?" I repeated, scanning her eyes which shifted at the mention of Nyssa. My stomach dropped. "Is she okay? Where is she? What happened?" I couldn't get the questions out fast enough air in my lungs, I had to know.

"She's fine, Poe," Leia said softly. "She's going to be fine."

"Where? Can I see her?"

Leia smiled which eased my fierce worry. "She's asleep, but you can see her." Then she excused herself from Ackbar and fell in step with me as we headed back to the medical bay.

"What happened?" I asked quietly as we rounded a corner into a hallway of medical rooms. Leia didn't say anything until she stopped outside one of the rooms, the door hissing as it slid open.

"You hit your head, and passed out," Leia sighed, and I leapt into the room, heart lurching at the sight of Nyssa in the bed, hooked up to machines that beeped. Leia was still talking but I barely heard her as I stood next to her bed, staring. The heart monitor she was attached to beeped consistently. Alive. She was alive.

"And now you're here."

I turned, realizing I'd completely tuned out. "Sorry, what?"

"After you passed out, Nyssa carried you to the nearest outpost and flew you here. You arrived late last night. A few hours ago, really."

"She carried me?" I raised my eyebrows, eyeing the General in utter disbelief. "For how long?"

"Long enough," Leia replied. "We're not sure, but whatever she did pushed her beyond anything I thought she was capable of. Nyssa is lucky she didn't collapse from dehydration before she got you here."

I blinked, the heat of that planet scorching my memory. To walk across a desert without water, with another two-hundred pounds on her back... I was awestruck. I cringed at the pain she must have been in. I couldn't fathom it.

And she did it for me.

I slid into the chair next to her bed and studied her in a way I hadn't had time for when we were escaping. Her face was slightly more pale than when she left the Resistance for the mission. No doubt from Kylo Ren keeping her locked away for weeks. The thought made me want to launch an assault on the First order from which they would never recover. The way her cheekbones and jaw stuck out in ways they hadn't before only heightened that desire. I knew she hadn't yielded any information to the First Order; none of the regular methods nor Kylo Ren's worked on her. I was sure starving her was their attempt at getting her to talk.

I frowned. "Does anyone know when she last ate?"

"She said she didn't remember, but her doctor has her on some concoction of nutrients to get her strength up. He didn't think she'd gone too long without food, she looks like that because of the dehydration and needs rest."

"Hm," I murmured, watching her as she slept. Her hair was unbound, a rare sight to behold, that fiery red spilling over the side of the bed. I reached and let my fingers graze the strands. It had been so long since I saw it unbraided. I'd forgotten how much she resembled a burning, orange sun with her hair spread out as it was. Especially against white sheets.

"Speaking of food, you should come get some breakfast," the General said.

"What are we going to do about BB-8 and the map?" I blurted.

Leia paused. "Admiral Ackbar and I were just discussing the logistics of a search party on Jakku. We were going to send one out after breakfast."

"I should be on it, shouldn't I?" I asked. "I know where BB-8 was last. I can take them there."

"Perhaps, but right now you should eat something, Commander."

"I'll be there in a minute," I said, and with a nod, the General left the room.

I looked down at her, rising to my feet. My hand grazed the side of her face as I leaned down to brush a kiss to her forehead, and I murmured "I love you," against her warm skin. I should have said it to her so long ago, but somehow it was still easier when she was asleep. It was amazing how flying an x-wing into battle was less nerve-wracking than telling the love of my life how I felt about her. I guess I would have to work up to it.

"I'll be right back," I promised.