I'll Come Back for You

Poe slipped in and out of sleep, his fever raging. Sweat soaked his hair, trickling down his forehead and chest. He woke himself up a few times, crying out to Isla that the Knights of Ren were standing around them. Visions of things he’d never seen before had haunted him since Kylo Ren used the Force against him; now, through his fever, it was all becoming real. When he tried to lift his body to run, he only slunk back onto the bunk in a panic, his limbs falling limp at his sides.

“Poe,” Isla rushed to him and made an attempt to settle him back down. “Lay down, baby. We’re almost there.”

Horrified, he screamed at her. Completely delirious, he attempted to shove her away. It wasn’t Isla in front of him anymore—he only saw Kylo Ren.

Isla backed away slowly, raising her hands in front of her.

“You’re just hallucinating, Poe. Everything is going to be alright soon. Can I bring you some water?”

***

Once he began to calm down, Isla came back to him carrying a few canteens in her arms. She knelt down beside him, bringing the first canteen to his lips. When he grasped it in his hands, she let go and pushed his hair back.

“Hey,” she whispered. “You know what I was thinking about the other day?”

Poe looked at her as best he could. His breathing began to slow just a little.

“Do you remember when you first took me to the cliffs?” Isla leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead. “When you’re better we’ll go back—take Ada again, alright? She loved it so much.”

He nodded slowly, his lips parting.

“Ada…” His voice was nearly inaudible. “Where’s Ada?”

“She is safe on the base.” Isla smiled, pressing a cool rag to his forehead. “Leia said she would even take her out for a walk once or twice if she could. You know how much Ada loves her.”

Relieved, he nodded again and began closing his eyes as he slipped into another fever-wrought sleep.

As his body slowly cooled off, his nightmarish dreams began to diminish and became punctuated with memories of his past.

---

He just completed a few hours worth of practice runs with some of the new pilots. The group wouldn’t be clocking any Kessell runs anytime soon, but they would do just fine against those First Order bastards. General Solo was proud.
Despite it being late afternoon, the temperature was high. It was just early enough for him to get some work done on his ship before dinner. He’d heard some rattling earlier in the day that had irritated him. He knew it was probably nothing, as he had some top-notch mechanics and droids working on his X-Wing, but he needed something to take his mind off of a certain…person.
From the moment he’d seen her in the training center, Isla Kesson had been a major distraction; he was absolutely fascinated by her. If he wasn’t thinking about how her hair shined in the sunlight or the way her soft freckles brought out her green eyes, reminding him of the jungles of his home planet, he was thinking about the way she talked—thinking about some of the stories she’d told him about growing up or her time in some of Coreilla’s small-time smuggling rings. Once or twice during training, General Solo had smacked him upside the head and told him to get his head out of his ass.
He often thought about how excited he was for her to complete her training; after speaking with General Organa, he knew she would most likely accompany him or others in his squadron on important assignments. She was the brawn (and also, he thoughtfully noted, the brains) and he was eager to see her in action. His instincts told him that the two of them would make a great team.
BB-8 rolled to a stop near the left wing and chirped as Poe unzipped the top half of his flight suit and tied it around his waist.
“I should at least check it out,” Poe answered.
BB-8 beeped a few times.
“No, I’m not going to make it worse.”

***

An hour or so had passed before Poe realized he had absentmindedly been taking apart the projectile launcher at the bottom of the nose of his ship.
He heard BB-8.
“It’s totally fine,” he said to the little droid. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
He fiddled around with the launcher for another fifteen minutes. His focus began drifting too far into Isla-related territory.
Poe heard footsteps approach his ship.
“Get out of here, kid.” A gruff voice said. “Go get something to eat.”
“General.” Poe rolled out from underneath the X-Wing. “Just working out some rattling parts.”
“Oh really?” General solo had his hands on his hips, eyebrows raised. “It looks to me like you’ve just undone all the hard work your crew put into that thing. I recognize that look on your face, kid—I’ve been there.”
Poe shrugged.
“What can I say?”
“Yeah well, pretty girls prefer pilots with a functioning ship,” General Solo raised his eyebrows. “Why don’t you take a break before you accidentally take the wings off.”
Poe nodded and stood up. He wiped as much grease off of his hands as he could.
To BB-8, he simply said, “No, you were not right.”
Poe looked at the direction the sun was headed in.
“Well, let’s go.”
After a series of short beeps, Poe looked back at BB-8.
“No, I’m not only going to the mess hall to see if she’s there.”
But really, as usual, the little astromech was completely correct.

***

Poe grabbed a roll and a small cup of soup; truthfully, he wasn’t that hungry. He sat down to eat in the far corner of the room, which he assured BB-8 was not just to have a better vantage point. But it took Poe all of ten minutes to spot her. He stood up, running his hands down the front his clothing, as if that was going to make the stench of engine oil and rubber go away.
“Go tell Gunner I said to give you a little tune-up and a nice bit of oil,” he instructed the droid as he zeroed in on Isla. BB-8 beeped.
“Yes,” he said as began to walk away. “I’ll tell her you said ‘hello’, alright?”
So Poe wasn’t the only one who had developed a little attachment to the Corellian recruit.
When he approached her table, Isla was picking bits from a roll as she listened to one of her friends tell a story. It was just the three of them, huddled together, slightly facing inward in a small circle. Poe suddenly felt like an awkward intruder. He recognized the man to Isla’s left—last name, Wheeler. The recruit was well on his way to becoming a pretty decent pilot. Isla’s other friend, a pretty Zeltron woman with pink skin and royal blue hair, saw Poe and stopped talking mid-sentence, her eyes wide.
“Commander Dameron.” The man straightened up as if he was being called to attention. Poe noticed the small smirk on Isla’s rosy lips. He coughed, somewhat uncomfortably; this only made him feel more uncomfortable, as he had always been quite a confident young man for as long as he could remember—some would go as far to say that he was a little cocky.
“At ease, Wheeler.” Poe winked. “It’s just Poe. Nice runs out there today!”
“Thank you, sir…er, Poe.”
He felt a little silly now, standing in front of Isla like this. He hadn’t realized she would be with friends, but then again, what had he expected. Of course he wasn’t the only person on base that she spoke with.
“Hey, Poe.” Isla stood up. “Just give us one second, guys.”
She came around to his side of the table and led him a few feet away. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her friends craning their necks slightly.
“Hey.” She smiled softly. Poe loved that she almost stood eye-level with him; he enjoyed looking directly into her eyes as often as he possibly could.
“Hey.”
They stood like this for a few seconds, silent and smiling.
“So, I, uh.” He looked toward the windows. “It’s a really nice evening…thought maybe you’d be up for a walk?”
“With you?”
Poe glanced around behind him and back at Isla. She shook her head, biting back a smile.
“Well, BB-8 would be here, but it gets rough out there in the woods sometimes.”
“Oh,” she nodded. “So this is more of a hike then?”
“If it gets too tough, I can carry you.”
Isla narrowed her eyes playfully as Poe subconsciously bit his lip while he waited for her decision.
She turned to the others and spoke softly. They nodded, the woman maybe a little more animatedly than the man.
He whispered a quiet thank you to the Force when he realized she had agreed to come with him.
“Alright,” he gestured toward the expanse of greenery outside. “Shall we?”

***

They walked out to the edge of the base; aside from a few singing birds near the forest line, it was completely silent. Poe’s hands swung at his sides with each step and he wondered if it would be too bold of him to lace his fingers with hers.
She didn’t seem to notice his inner turmoil. If she did, she only smiled and began asking about his day. As they made their way into the forest, he regaled her with stories about training the new pilots. Isla listened intently to every word and asked a few questions now and then. Occasionally she would add her two cents in about a particular recruit she was familiar with. Of course, he liked it best when she would laugh.
The more they talked, the slower their pace became. He asked her what she thought of the Resistance so far, and aside from a few choice words she had about her instructors, Isla said that she was very happy she made the decision to join.
“I’m glad you did too,” he added. “From what I hear, you’re going to be a really valuable asset.”
“Oh yeah?” Her entire face seemed to light up. “From who?”
“I have my sources,” Poe joked, nudging her a little. “Friends in high places.”
“I hope you’re not messing with me.”
He stopped her, gently laying his hands on her arms.
“Absolutely not. I know for a fact that you’ve impressed some important people.”
Isla face reddened slightly and she bit her lip in a small smile.
“You’ve been checking up on me then?” She looked sideways at him, a mischievous grin on her lips.
It took Poe a moment to find his speech.
“Yes,” he admitted. “Does that bother you?”
Isla studied him for a second, furrowing her brow a little just to make him sweat.
“No,” she answered, smiling. “It’s nice to know where I stand.”
Poe wasn’t sure if Isla had meant where she stood with the Resistance or with him, but he didn’t ask.

***

They passed a few abandoned huts and came across an older building nestled deep in the forest that housed the small number of children on the base.
There was a little group playing outside and when they saw the two adults, they stopped and stared. Isla waved, a sweet smile gracing her lips.
“I came out this way during my probation and saw them,” she looked over her shoulder as she spoke. “The sound of their laughter was so beautiful I had to come over to watch them play for a while—I haven’t heard something so innocent in a long time.”
Poe looked back at the children, the corner of his lips upturned. He nodded once to the female officer in charge. He pretended not to notice the blush in her cheeks when she nodded back.
He didn’t respond to Isla’s statement, instead immediately imagining her with a child of her own. She was pretty young though—and determined; he doubted she ever thought about that kind of thing yet. He wasn’t that much older than her, but it was something that had crossed his mind once or twice, especially during the few times he thought he was about to be shot down during a fight.
“Commander?” Isla wiggled her fingers in front of his face. He’d been lost in thought.
“What did I tell you about that protocol garbage?” Poe laughed, lightly smacking her hand out of his way. And then, as if some of the children’s playfulness had rubbed off on him, he began to chase her.
Isla shrieked, giggling as she ran through the trees. He followed her over logs and rocks, jumped over thin streams of water and bounded down the hillside.
When they came to a large, fallen tree that blocked their path, Poe leapt onto its thick trunk and, without thinking, placed his hands on Isla’s waist to lift her up.
“Thanks,” she breathed, her cheeks flushed. She could’ve been a little out of breath from the running, or she could’ve been a little flustered by his action. “I could’ve done it, y’know.”
Regardless of her words, Isla leaned toward him, his hands still on her hips.
“I know,” Poe responded. She was so close that he could feel her light breathing on his lips.
I could kiss her right now, Poe thought. But Isla jumped off the tree before he could act.
“So where are we headed, exactly?” Isla started, walking a little further.
Poe dropped his hands onto her shoulders and redirected her. They took a few more steps and then she saw it.
“Whoa.”
“Yeah,” he nodded in appreciation.
They finally made it to the small, almost nonexistent clearing at the edge of the forest. After about fifteen or so feet, the land ended abruptly; it cut off into large, jagged cliffs that overlooked a green, peaceful valley.
“This place is gorgeous!” She sighed, taking in the majestic beauty. “How’d you find it?”
Poe looked up into the open sky.
Beside him, Isla was looking for a boulder to rest on.
“I saw it on my way back from an assignment,” he explained. “At the time, I hadn’t done much exploring yet so it took me a while to find on foot.”
“Are we going to be able to find our way back once it’s dark?” Isla straightened up, her eyes widening in concern.
Poe whistled.
“I sure hope so.”
When she realized he was joking, Isla scowled and gently shoved his arm. She took a seat.
“Careful,” she warned. “I would’ve pushed you over that cliff if you were serious.”
“Oh,” Poe laughed, shoving her back just a little, “I believe it.”
Isla smiled wickedly as she leaned back on her elbows.
“Do you come here a lot?”
“Not as much as I’d like,” Poe admitted, finding a place beside her. He watched as she stretched out, arching her back over the large rock. She lightly ran her hands through the tall grass.
A few moment’s later, Poe felt her settle into his side. Fighting a grin, he watched her as she looked up into the sky and across the valley.
“Poe?” Isla looked at him. He shook his head quickly, breaking his focus.
“Yeah?”
“You were staring,” she prodded, catching him again.
Again, it took him a moment to respond. Isla Kesson had a way of catching him off-guard.
“Well,” he said. “I’m just taking in the beautiful scenery.”
“Stop it,” she shushed him.
“Stop what?” He asked, laughing a little as he raised a hand in defense. “This can’t be the first time you’ve ever heard that.”
Instead of answering him, Isla pushed away some hair that had fallen in front of her eyes and looked out again.
Poe wanted to press the subject; he had to know that she knew how beautiful she was to him. But instead, he opted for less conversation. After a few moments passed, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He was pleased (and a little surprised) when she dropped her head onto his shoulder and sighed.
“I like this.” He heard her whisper in the dark. It was so soft he wondered if she had even meant for him to hear it.
“Me too.”

***

They made the trek back through the forest in almost complete darkness. In his spontaneity, Poe had been very lucky—he just happened to have a small flashlight in one of the pockets of his flight suit from earlier that evening when he’d been working in the hangar.
He led the way, glancing over his shoulder every few minutes to make sure Isla was still with him. They hadn’t gotten very far when she slipped her hand into his, squeezing it gently; he squeezed back.
Warmth began in his belly and spread throughout his entire body. This had been the best night he’d had in a long time.