Every Once in a While

I woke up before Poe did, rubbing at my eyes as I sat on the edge of my bed. I was expecting to feel somewhat hungover, but I guess I had lucked out. I felt absolutely normal, not like I had drank more than I ever had a couple hours prior. I glanced over my shoulder at Poe, who was still sleeping, he had his face nestled against the pillows as he snored softly. I stood up, walking towards my bathroom as quietly as I could. Poe didn't need to be up for an other hour. I could have stayed in my warm bed, but I knew if I didn't give myself a head start I would be in rush trying to get to work on time. I pulled Poe's shirt off, after a couple minutes of going back and forth with him I agreed to not wear my 'revealing' cardigan to bed. I slipped my undergarments off and hopped into the shower, I let the warm water hit my back for a couple of seconds, attempting once more to get rid of my sleepiness by rubbing my eyes. I could have stayed in the shower for much longer, but I didn't want to miss saying goodbye to Poe. I walked back out into my room, silently cursing myself for forgetting to bring my clean clothes into the bathroom with me.

"I wouldn't mind waking up to this every morning." Came Poe's groggy voice from behind me. He caught me off guard, I groaned in embarrassment. I was currently bent over, fishing around for a pair of socks from my bottom drawer. I stood up quickly, straightening my towel back down.

"You didn't see anything." I stated, not that I would really care if Poe had gotten a peek.

"I saw enough." He sat up, a smile creeping up onto his face. We stared at one another, I was trying to keep myself from smiling back at him.

I hummed softly, "Guess you won't mind me changing in here then." Poe's eyes widened, his mouth fell open a tiny bit as I dropped my towel. I couldn't keep myself from laughing at him.

"Isla." He warned.

"Yes?" I slipped my underwear on, reaching behind me for my bra. I was fully aware of what I was doing, and Poe's expression only fueled my mischief. I got dressed as slowly as possible, Poe didn't seem to mind my pace. Once I was completely dressed, he sighed, lying back down on the bed.

"If I didn't have to be somewhere..."

"What?" I asked, smirking. I sat on the bed, slipping my socks on and then my boots.

"Let's just say we'd be occupied."

"There's always next time."

I finally managed to get Poe out of bed, he groaned all the way to the shower, mumbling about how he just wanted 5 more minutes of sleep. I took the free time to fix my hair, since it was still pretty wet, I styled it into a simple side braid. I finished my tea and grabbed my jacket before heading out, Poe hadn't been gone for long but I had started to grown impatient. When I arrived at Poe's door, he was just about to head out.

"Something wrong?" He asked, running a hand through his wavy locks. He was in his pilot uniform now, holding his helmet in his left hand.

"No," I shook my head, "Can I walk with you?"

"Sure." He reached over, throwing his arm over my shoulders. It wasn't as if I didn't know that Poe was leaving, I knew he would be do something that would put him in danger. I was aware of all of it, but it had hit me hard once we neared the hangar. I had seen the hangar as everyone from pilots, to droids, and mechanics were preparing for missions. It had made me nervous before, but now nervous was an understatement. My whole body was filled with worry and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. I was probably imagining things but I could have sworn I could hear my heart thumping. I trudged next to Poe, expecting him to stop before we had actually made it onto the hangar. Instead, Poe tightened his grip, leading me further onto the hangar.

I didn't expect anyone to notice me, they were far too busy preparing, but that alone hadn't stopped me from protesting.

"Poe, I don't think I'm allowed-"

"Sure you are."

I was dreading the fact that we were prolonging saying goodbye. I didn't want to hurry up and get it over with, but I wasn't certain on how I would react. I didn't want to do anything that would be considered embarrassing in front of all these people. Poe had walked me all the way over to his x-wing. I had shrugged Poe off when Finn came by, they exchanged some sort of silent reassurance.

"Isla." Finn nodded towards me, he extended his hand, I took it slowly.

"Good luck." He gave my hand a squeeze. I hesitantly let him go. I was watching Poe speak to BB-8, he patted the droids small head before stepping back and watching as the droid rolled into position, getting pulled up into it's very own compartment on the x-wing. Poe turned around, locking eyes with me. Poe seemed at ease, or he might have just been really good at hiding his nervousness.

"Isla."

I smiled slowly, "Poe." He walked over to me, pulling me in for an embrace. I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck, my hands wrapping around his back.

"Gotta go soon." He said. I nodded against him, gripping tightly at the material of his suit. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes.

"Just a couple of hours." He added.

"I hope it goes well."

"Me too." I could feel him nodding. I pulled away so that I could look at him.

"Be careful, please." I moved my hands so that I could rest them on his chest. Just a couple of hours. Just a couple of hours.

"Always am," He smiled, "But I'll be extra careful."

"Good."

"I'll be thinking of you." He reached up to toy around with the bottom of my braid.

"Shouldn't you be focused on the mission and getting back home?" I teased.

"Mm-hm," He nodded, "Thinking of you will definitely make me want to come back home." I couldn't help but smile, I had almost let an 'Awe' slip out. Poe's eyes traveled downward, I laughed slightly.

"I'll be thinking about last night, too."

"Shh." I said quickly, glancing around us. Poe laughed, pulling me in for another hug. He pressed a firm kiss to my temple. "There'll be more where that came from..." I kissed his neck, "Once you get back."

"Isla, don't start."

I pulled away laughing, biting at my lower lip.

"Sorry, Commander." That was when he pulled me in for a kiss, guiding my chin with his fingertips. His hands were now cradling my face, holding me in place. I moved my hands up to grip his shoulders. Up until now, Poe and I hadn't took part in any public displays of affection, I never questioned it mostly because I wouldn't have been comfortable parading our relationship in front of everyone. But Poe was kissing me as if there was no one around, and even if I wouldn't give the possibility of never seeing him again any mind, I knew it was reality. So I kissed back, not letting the fact that we were standing in the middle of the hangar discourage me. We only pulled away from each other when BB-8 let out a lengthy amount of impatient beeps.

"Coming buddy."

"I'll see you later?" I asked, trying to make this goodbye as smooth as possible.

"I should be home before dinner." Poe played along.

"If you happen to see Jules, tell her I said good luck." I added quickly. We each took a step back, no longer embracing.

"Will do." Poe kissed my cheek, smiling softly before he made his way to his x-wing, I watched him climb up, feeling instantly uneasy.

"Poe." I called out quickly. He glanced over his shoulder, looking down at me.

"Good luck."

"Thanks, babe." And with that I turned on my heel, not allowing myself to take another look back. I was going to walk straight to the med bay and hopefully busy myself with work. I didn't get far before I came to an unexpected halt. Chewie had appeared, he was standing near Finn, who seemed to be loading some sort of weapons.

"Be careful out there, Chewie." I said, looking up at him, "You don't want Elliot fixing you up, do you?" Chewie growled lowly, shaking his head. I was slightly taken a back when the tall wookie had leaned down to hug me, crushing my face into his furry chest.

"How come you like her more than me, huh?" Finn asked Chewie. Chewie ignored him, causing Finn to huff and go back to what he had been doing previously. General Organa had showed up, she glanced at me before glancing over at Han.

"I was just heading to work." I said, slowly, almost hesitantly.

"That would be smart. Watching them fly off might be harder than the actual good bye." The General smiled up at me. I nodded in response, walking as far away from the hangar as fast as I could. I was hoping that whatever the resistance was trying to accomplish with this mission would go as planned, not just for my sake but for everyone. I decided thinking about mission would only make me wonder what the 'mission' actually was, and then that would lead me to think about Poe and whether or not he would be safe. I definitely needed to occupy myself and fast.

That's where Elliot would come in, I didn't know Elliot very well but I was sure he wasn't the kind of guy to take a nap in the backroom, especially at work. I nudged him numerous times, he never even stirred. I pulled him up, taking a look at his face. His eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings in a dazed manner.

"Isla?"

"I thought you might have been doing more than just sleeping, I had to check." I let go of him.

"How long ago did you get here?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Just now. Are you okay?"

Elliot looked up at me, sighing as he covered his eyes with his hand, "I'm hungover." I let out loud laugh, startling Elliot.

"Wait," He glanced back up at me, "Are you hungover?"

"No," I shook my head, chuckling down at him, "I drank water, took a warm shower, had some tea." I had never been drunk before, but one of those things had to be reason why I wasn't feeling what Elliot was feeling.

"Once I got back to my room, I went straight to sleep," He yawned, "Didn't get a chance to drink water."

"Hungover doctor, that's a good look."

Elliot's features hardened, eyes widening, "Isla.. I didn't mean to-"

"I'm just teasing," I chuckled once more, "Now, come on. Come teach me all about this tablet." I walked over to the desk where I had set all my things, I waited for Elliot to get up. I held the door open for him, he gave me weak smile.

"My head hurts just thinking about it." Elliot mumbled as I came over to stand next to him at the front desk.

"Too bad, I wanna know all there is to know." Did I really need to know everything about the annoying tablet? No. But I knew there would be a lot to learn, and hopefully it would keep my mind occupied.