Every Once in a While

"What?" I asked, I wasn't sure why I was asking, I had heard him clearly. And even now, the words were replaying in my head over and over. I felt that overwhelming feeling, the feeling you get when you feel time and the world around you slow down. I was aware that Poe was watching me and I knew I had let way too many silent seconds pass.

"Shit." He sighed.

"What?!" I replied quickly.

"Just that look alone," Poe shut his eyes for a moment, " I shouldn't have said anything." I stayed silent, once again. "You stopped moving."

"I did." I mumbled, moving my hands off of his broad chest and bring them up to my own, attempting to hide myself, despite the fact that Poe had seen me already. I stopped looking down at Poe's sullen face. I managed to get myself off of Poe, quite awkwardly. I was still attempting to look decent. I wasn't hearing Poe clearly, I could hear him saying my name, and going on about how he was afraid this would happen. I was way too concentrated on sliding my shirt on, slipping my pants up, and sticking my feet into my boots. I hadn't even bothered with undergarments. I managed to grab my bra off the floor, hiding it under my jacket which I also picked up off the ground. It had felt like an eternity, but I guess that's what happens to time when things get awkward. In reality, it was probably the fastest I had ever gotten dressed.

"Isla, come on. Don't leave, let's talk about it."

"I have to be up early tomorrow." I said, trying not to stare too hard at Poe as he stood up and reached over for his boxers.

"So do I." But I was already at his door, letting myself out as quickly as possible. I was practically jogging back to my room, that might have been the cause to my quickened heartbeat, or could have been because Poe just said he loved me. Once I got into my room, I went straight to bed, although there wasn't much sleep going on. I was lying flat, staring up at the the plain ceiling, playing Poe's words over and over in my head. It didn't take me long to start feeling guilty, I didn't have to leave the way I did. Guilt wasn't the only thing that wad bothering me, I was confused. Really, really confused. Being shocked was one thing, but leaving Poe in the middle of 'doing it' seemed a little extreme. I wasn't sure why I had even left, that was probably the worst part of it all. If I knew she wasn't already asleep, I would have went to Jules and spilled about my new dilemma. She could probably make sense of it all.

The next morning, I was feeling pretty bad over the whole situation, but that didn't mean I was going to go out my way to seek Poe. What was I supposed to say? Sorry that I left last night but I don't really have a reason why? I scoffed out loud, shaking my head clear of thoughts as I slipped my jacket on and gave myself one last glance in the mirror before heading out. I had gotten up early, mainly for the reason of seeing Jules before we were both expected at work. She opened the door, struggling to slip her jacket on while attempting to keep both her eyes open.

"Hey, what are you doing over here so early?"

"Hurry, I have something I have to tell you." I said, as I shooed her back into her room, shutting the door behind me.

"Oh, gossip?" Jules face brightened up.

"Yesterday, I left in the middle..." I whispered the next part quickly, "Of having sex with Poe, because he said he loved me and I didn't know what to do." It was safe to say that Jules was struggling to stay awake any longer, she stared at me for a moment, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"You left in the middle of it? Or were you done?"

"No! It wasn't even the middle," I groaned, "We had just started."

"There you go," Jules shrugged, "Now, you definitely know he doesn't think you're moving too fast." She paused for a second, "Now, do you think he's moving too fast?"

"I..don't know," I thought it over for a second, "I want to say no, but why else would I leave?"

"Because you were overwhelmed, Isla. That's all." I stared at her, waiting for her to go on, because her answer wasn't really doing it for me, "Isla, you don't love him yet, maybe you were nervous about actually letting him know that you weren't on the same page as he was-"

"Well, now I've made it worse! What kind of excuse is 'I left because I was overwhelmed'?" I groaned in frustration.

"I'm sure he'll understand, I'm positive."

"I don't want to talk to him right now," I mumbled, "I'm embarrassed." Jules laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Suit yourself, you know he's going to come looking for you," Jules said matter of factly, "You owe him an explanation, you did leave during the middle of sex after all." I agreed solemnly.

"Hey, so how was your 30 seconds of sex? Good?" Jules smirked.

"I'm leaving," I shook my head, trying to suppress a chuckle, "I'll talk to you later."

I knew once I was at work, my mind wouldn't be on Poe or how I had embarrassed myself. I was glad Elliot was lingering around the front desk, I would have a chance to ask about how Finn was doing.

"Isla." He greeted as I rounded the corner. I couldn't overlook the bags under Elliot's eyes, wondering if he had even gone to his room last night.

"Morning, how are you?"

"Tired." He smiled.

"Is Finn okay?" I asked, watching him intently. Elliot sighed deeply, moving his hands up to rub at his tired eyes.

"He's fine, he hasn't woken up yet. I don't know how long that'll take, or how long it'll take for his wounds to heal." Elliot dropped his hands, looking even more tired than before, "He lost a lot of blood, I had to check to see what blood type he was, considering he needed a red blood cell transfusion."

"I was going to ask if you could bring Poe in, they're a match. I used all of his donor blood, and he's in the clear to donate again. Finn is stable, but it wouldn't hurt to have a bit more just in case something were to change."

Oh great. So much for avoiding Poe.

"I would do it myself, but I'm going to take about an hour nap and then come right back. I told the General I was fine, but she insisted." Elliot shrugged, "If anything changes with Finn, come get me, okay?"

"Okay."

"I know Poe might be busy, but the sooner you have the blood, the better." I watched Elliot walk out, cursing under my breath. There was no way Poe was the only match, there had to be someone else. I grabbed my tablet, it took me longer than usual to find what I needed. Sighing loudly, I shut the tablet off quickly. On this whole entire base, Poe was the only person to have the same blood type as Finn. What was I supposed to do now, head into the command center for Poe, surely that would be the only place he would be. I checked in on Finn before heading off, I lingered at the door way, listening intently to the monitor that was hooked up to him. If I hadn't known any better, Finn just looked as if he was sleeping soundly. I left his room quietly, sighing deeply as I walked towards the big sliding front doors. I mustered up some courage, trying not to dwell on the fact that I was extremely embarrassed.

I had started walking off quite slowly, wanting to avoid the situation all together, but then I remembered that I needed Poe for something serious. I couldn't avoid the situation, as much as I had wanted to, not when Finn was involved.

"If you're trying to avoid Poe, I wouldn't go in there." Jules said, loudly, luckily there wasn't many people around. "Just saw him go in there." I closed the gap between us,

"I need him," I replied dully, "Apparently he's the only person on this entire base to have the same blood type as Finn."

"Lucky you." She laughed, "I gotta head to the hangar, tell me all about it later."

I walked into the command center, feeling out of place and nervous. Just like the very first time I was summoned into the command center. It wasn't any different, it was still hectic, even more so now, considering what had just happened. I couldn't spot Poe, but I spotted the General. I walked over to her as quickly as possible, careful not to bump into anyone.

"General Organa."

"Isla, " She glanced at me for a moment, "Is something a matter?"

"I just need Poe for a blood transfusion, I thought he would be in here-"

"He was," She glanced around us, "When I see him, I'll send him over your way."

"Thank you." I had been all for avoiding Poe, now I just wanted to get it over with and he wasn't even here. I made my way outside, taking a deep breath as I made my way back to the med bay. I hadn't gotten very far before I heard Poe.

"Hey, wait up!" I didn't bother turning all the way around, I knew it was him. I got a good look at him when he caught up to me. I had never seen Poe in this particular uniform before, and boy, was he handsome. I made sure not to stare for too long.

"You gonna talk first?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, come on." I replied quickly, leading the way back to the med bay. Oh, I couldn't wait for it to get even more awkward.