Confronting Fear

Ben

It's going down, neither of us wanna be alone right now
come on come on
Oh my my
Yeah I'm loving all your warning signs
Cause I'm a sucker for you oh my my
Girl you get me high
Yeah you're my type, you're danger, danger

Oh My My - Blue October

Low voices filled Rey's ears, jostling her foggy brain into conciousness. Her eyelids were heavy, too heavy to open just yet, so she used her other senses. She could feel... smooth sheets under her skin, sensuous against her bare legs. She could taste... nothing but her own breath. She could smell.... something clean, fresh sheets mixed with something woody, masculine. She could hear two voices, one masculine, one feminine. At the sound of her own name being spoken by the masculine voice, she finally made her eyelids work. Ben's worried face fluttering into focus, along with a second face she didn't recognize; a woman, her expression kind.

The woman spoke first. "Ah, there she is! No, don't try to sit up just yet. Give yourself a few minutes for the drugs to finish wearing off."

Rey took several breaths, the pain in her side jostling the memories of her mission on Bracca. As the realization of what transpired hit her, she did try to sit up, or perhaps bolt is the more correct term as she willed her burning throat to speak. It was Ben who soothed her.

"It's ok. The others are uninjured and free."

At that Rey did calm down, feeling better knowing that Poe, Rose, and Finn had made it out. At least according to him. She was then hit with another flood of memories, of Padme and her parents and the in-between.

The woman spoke again, "You on the other hand, were badly injured and have been out for a few days. Things will become clearer as the pain medications work their way out of your system. You still need more time to recover, but the worst is over. You can try to sit up now."

Rey attempted to sit, helped by Ben's strong arms supporting her before the woman handed her a mug of some cool liquid.

"For your throat." explained the woman, who Rey had realized was some sort of physician. She also realized she was back in her quarters on the Steadfast. Curiously, there was a cot set up on the other side of the room. The physician asked her to touch her finger to her nose and a series of other simple excercises as the minty liquid cooled her throat.

"Well, it seems everything is in working order. Rest will be the main ingredient in your recovery, along with some time in a bacta tank, but that can wait a day or two. I think I'm done here for now. You know where to find me, Supreme Leader, Princess." She left with a short bow.

Awkward silence followed once the physician left, leaving Rey and Ben alone together. "What happened? Is everyone really okay?" Rey finally croaked out.

Ben looked uncomfortable. "You were impaled by shrapnel and nearly died. Yes, your... friends... are fine, as far as I know anyway. The only one I saw was the pilot and he was alive and unharmed when my Knights and I left." He handed her the wrist comm she had used on Bracca. "It's been blowing up for days now. I did use it to send someone, I'm assuming the pilot, a message saying you were going to be fine."

"Poe." Rey sounded a little clearer. "His name is Poe. And how long have I been out?"

"Four days."

He'd been waiting with bated breath for Rey to wake up, but now that she had, he didn't know what to say or do. An apology seemed as good a place as any to start.

"Rey, I'm sorry. For what happened. I also want you to know, you're not a prisoner here. Once you're healed, there's a shuttle so you can leave."

He tried to gauge Rey's reaction, but she wasn't giving much away, her aura surprisingly calm.