Author's Note: Last chapter – more fluff, more Poe and the Force. And yeah, maybe setting up at least one more story.

Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

Despite Rey's complaint that she can't touch him when they're in the TIE fighter, she and Poe fly their stolen ship back to the base themselves, with Chewie, Finn, Rose, and BB-8 following in the Falcon. BB-8 beeped out his disapproval of being left out of the trip with his two favorite carbon-based life forms, but they just laughed and sent the little droid to follow Rose, who he has also taken a shine to.

She wanted to fly the TIE, but he asked her tiredly if he could just get them home and teach her how later. She acquiesced immediately. Even if his voice hadn't told her that the adrenaline crash had hit, his head did. Even so, she asked softly, "Are you sure? You could take a break, Flyboy."

He brushed some loose hair behind her ear, answering a different question, the one he can tell that she's really asking. "I'm all right, Beautiful. Just suddenly very tired. It's been a long week."

She nods, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. She then turns and climbs up into the TIE fighter, giving Chewie a wave, signaling that they'll see them soon. The trip will take longer than their trip to this system, because they want to stop at a few other systems, dropping out of hyperspace for some amount of time to see if anyone is tracking the TIE fighter.

They think it's clean, but they want to be sure. They also are going to run a systems check every time they drop out of hyperspace, just to be sure the small ship is holding up all right. It's going to be a long night, one preceded by a long day, and she's a little worried about him pushing himself too hard.

He follows her into the TIE, and she laughs softly when his voices pings in her head. "Stop worrying, Beautiful. I can sleep some during the longer jumps." He drops into the ship, leaning around and pressing a kiss to her temple, murmuring, "But thanks for the concern. It's kind of nice to have someone care enough to worry over me."

Before he can move away and into his own seat, she turns and takes his hand. "Poe, wait." He stops, lifting an eyebrow at her. "You know Leia worries over you, too, right?"

He shakes his head. "I drive her crazy. I'm impulsive, I don't always think about consequences…"

She reaches back and cups his cheek with her palm. "Poe, she loves you like family. How do you not know that? You're right – you do sometimes frustrate her – but she wouldn't bother with you if she didn't think you were worth her time." She smirks at him. "She's a busy woman, you know."

"Maybe so. But I have a hell of a lot to atone for, Rey. My screw-ups nearly got all of us killed. If I'd just trusted Holdo…"

Rey starts to say something, but she's interrupted by Finn's voice over comms. "You both all right? Your hatch is still open."

Poe presses another kiss to Rey's temple, then he moves to his own seat and turns on his comm as he closes the hatch and starts flipping switches to fire up the fighter's engines. "Sorry, Finn. We're good. Just were talking about something."

Rey sighs and thinks at him, "And we're not done, Flyboy."

He echoes her sigh and thinks back, "All right, but not until we're back." He can feel her reluctant agreement, so he calls the Falcon. "All set, Falcon?"

Chewie's voice rings over the comms, and Rey says, "That means they're good to go."

Poe just grins and shakes his head. "Even I got that one, Beautiful."

Moments later, they're in the air, and they jump to hyperspace not long after that. They zig-zag their way home, stopping multiple times to see if any First Order ships follow, confirming that they killed the only tracker on the TIE fighter. As promised, Poe manages to catch some sleep during two of the longer hyperspace jumps. Rey meditates then, working to keep her thoughts quiet and calm, but his words earlier worry her a little, the notion that no one else cares enough to worry over him, that Leia in particular doesn't. Rey knows better, she just needs to get him to believe it too.

Before the last jump, the jump that will take them home, they send the others in the Falcon ahead, asking them to call the base and explain that a TIE fighter is on its way, and no, they shouldn't blow it up. Rey and Poe wait about a quarter of an hour before jumping. As they sit, Rey can feel Poe getting restless. She quietly offers, "We're almost home, Flyboy. Settle down."

He chuckles. "Yes ma'am." With a shrug, he adds, "I cannot tell you how badly I want to take a shower."

"Good idea. You kind of smell." She leans to her right and turns to look back at him.

He rolls his eyes and does the same, looking at her. "Really, Beautiful? You're not exactly fresh and clean yourself."

She smirks. "At least I don't smell like a strange combination of blood, bacta, and a week-in-an-X-Wing."

He rolls his eyes again and settles back in his seat, the twisting around hurting his still-sore body. As a twinge rolls through his left side, she frowns. "You know you need to let medical check you out when we land, right?" She can feel him protest before he says anything, so patiently, she goes on, "Poe, you said yourself that you hit a tree and then the ground. You need to let them check you over to be sure everything is all right. Honestly, do you think the general will allow you to not get checked out?"

She feels resistance for a moment, followed quickly by defeat. If she could see him, she would know that he nearly pouts, sinking in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. Petulantly, he mumbles, "You seemed to agree that I was healthy enough for most anything in the cave this morning."

She laughs out loud and simply replies, fondness evident in her voice, "I love you, Commander Dameron."

Crossly, he responds, "Love you too. But I still don't want to go to medical."

Twenty minutes later, they land the TIE fighter just inside the hangar. Deeper in, the small hangar there isn't quite tall enough to accommodate the TIE fighter. As they settle smoothly, Rey can already see a crowd amassing outside the fighter. The general is front and center. Rey chides him as they both turn to head for the hatch. "See, I told you people worry about you."

He scoffs. "They want to check out the fighter, Rey." He motions for her to climb out ahead of him as she shakes her head.

When she's down, she can see Leia there, the older woman clearly relieved but still somewhat anxious. Rey can feel the woman's tension, and it only dissipates when she sees Poe climb out of the fighter in at least fair condition. The moment his boots hit the ground, Leia is there.

Much to his very clear surprise, she wraps him up in a hug. After a moment, he returns it, even as he hears Rey's voice in his head saying, "I told you so." He's not just surprised that she hugs him, but he's also surprised to feel a wave of true affection mixed with relief from her.

When Leia finally releases him, she steps back, and he says, "I'm sorry, Leia."

She shakes her head and arches an eyebrow. "For what, Poe? The weather? Even you, the Best Pilot in the Resistance, can't magically make an X-Wing survive a magnetic storm." She places a hand on his arm. "I'm just glad you're all right."

He finds himself a little out of sorts, swallowing hard against a lump in his throat. "Me too, General."

"Now, go to medical." She smirks at him. "And that's an order I expect you to actually follow, Commander. I'm certain that our resident Jedi won't let you skip it anyway. And seeing as I hear you hit a tree and then fell a long way, I am aligned with the Jedi."

He looks over at Finn and Rose, who both laugh at the betrayed look on his face, before he hangs his head in defeat. "Yes ma'am."

She laughs and turns to go, calling, "Nice new fighter, by the way. Good to have you back, Commander."

"Good to be back, General." As usual, they exchange a mock salute from him and an obscene gesture from her, making the assembled crowd laugh and cheer. Many of the pilots, the few of his long-term friends who are still with them, approach Poe, asking him a lot of questions and offering hugs, handshakes, or claps on the shoulder.

It's a good twenty minutes before the crowd disperses, and when Poe's tired eyes scan for her, she approaches him with what she knows is a knowing look on her face. "Still think people don't care, Commander?"

He shrugs. "All right, I may have been a little melodramatic. But you know it's different, Rey. I'm their leader, sometimes their friend, but not like I am with you and even Finn, and I've known them far longer. Part of my problem is that I've lived a little too long in the space between overall leadership and the pilot squadrons, no matter how good at it I am. It's hard to connect when you aren't a clear part of either group. I lead the pilots, but I've never had real authority beyond that."

She puts a hand on his lower back and gently guides him the way she wants them to go, something he's done with her and a move not lost on him, heading them towards medical. "But you do, Poe. Especially now. You can't have missed the fact that you're General Organa's right hand and potential successor? Why do you think she's so hard on you? She's training you."

He runs a hand through his hair. "I can't be her, Rey. I can't…"

She stops them and gently pulls him into a quiet side corridor. "You don't have to, Poe. I'm entirely certain that if something happens to the general tomorrow, you will be the person the Resistance looks to." He flinches, and she gently touches his face, brushing her thumb over his cheekbone. She can feel his anxiety at that notion rolling off of him. "It's all right if that scares you, Poe. But you need to talk to Leia, really talk to her. Understand what she needs from you, and what she wants you to be for her. I think – no, I know – you'll be surprised. I can also promise you that you'll find out that she didn't know what she was doing at the beginning either."

Poe shakes his head. "I don't think I can do it. I'll be alone. None of the other leaders are left. I mean, what, me and Connix?"

She takes both of his hands tight in hers. "You won't be alone. Along with everyone else, you'll have a Jedi-in-Training, a Wookie, a former Stormtrooper, a rather delightful little mechanic, and the most loyal droid I've ever seen standing next to you. We're a motley crew, no doubt, but we all have your back."

He has to laugh at that, and she looks at him quizzically. He explains, "I'm trying to imagine the recruiting posters. I can't quite picture it. But given how odd it will be, we might as well go all the way and add some porgs, too. Maybe one sitting on Chewie's shoulder and another on BB-8's head. And I should look cocky and you equal parts exasperated and intimidating, so it will be natural and therefore inviting and resonant."

She laughs, getting in on it. "And Finn should look confused yet determined, and Rose just determined. Chewie will look stoic. But he should get at least two or three porgs."

He nods. "Perfect."

Even though he still carries tension in his shoulders, she can feel his anxiety ramp down a notch. To be sure, she asks, keeping her hands joined with his, "Better?"

He leans in, pressing a kiss to her lips. "Better. Thank you." Pulling back, he hesitates for a moment before saying, "I don't know if I just imagined it, but I think I felt Leia's emotions earlier." She raises an eyebrow, and he releases one of her hands to rub the back of his neck. "And I'm pretty sure you were right."

"About?"

He smiles sheepishly. "That she worries about me and cares about me like family."

She returns his smile and tugs at the hand still in hers. "Yes, she does, and she'll be checking with medical, you know, to be sure that you go. So march, Flyboy."

He sighs theatrically but allows her to pull him towards the medical area. When they arrive, they realize that Leia must have told the doctors that they were coming, as the lead medic comes and takes Poe by the arm right away, Rey trailing behind. When the nurse tries to shoo her away, Rey shoots a protesting thought at Poe, but he was already ahead of her. "She stays or we both go."

The nurse, a younger Corellian woman, huffs and agrees. The doctor just rolls her eyes. When the doctor asks Poe to undress, he pings a thought at Rey. "I like that a lot better when you say it."

Rey swallows a laugh and helps him, waving off the nurse when she tries to do it. Down to his shorts, he hops up on the bed in the exam area he's in. The doctor whistles at the new scar on Poe's leg. "That's a nice one, Commander." She arches an eyebrow at him. He's known this doctor a long time. She was lucky enough to be with them on the cruiser instead of the medical frigate, as she'd been the doctor looking after Leia.

He shrugs, trying to ignore the nurse, who seems to be staring at him. "Well you know, Doc, anything worth doing is worth doing well."

Rolling her eyes, Rey settles next to him on the bed, sitting and watching the doctor but also cutting her eyes at the nurse. She puts a possessive hand on Poe's back, making him shoot her a funny look. The doctor ignores them and starts cataloguing all of Poe's cuts and scrapes, asking him if he's in any pain. Rey nudges him, and he admits that his left side is still sore. The doctor calls for a portable scanner, and she also takes a blood sample.

Rey offers, "Doctor, I gave him two doses of antibiotics from the medkit. Before I cleaned it, the gash to his leg was a mess, full of dirt and debris, and he was warm to the touch when I found him. His temperature seemed to be back to normal that first night, but I gave him the second dose just in case."

"You did well, Rey. Bacta gel and patches too, correct?" At Rey's nod, the doctor adds, "Well, I'll check his blood sample for infection, but the drugs in the medkit are pretty strong. You should be fine, Dameron."

The nurse is hovering closer now, shooting unveiled dirty looks at Rey. Poe notices, and he thinks at Rey, "Do you know her? Because she really doesn't like you."

The doctor leaves with the sample, calling the nurse to follow and help with the test. As they go, Rey stands up, facing him, and thinks back, "Just how oblivious are you? She's got a major crush on you, and I'm the competition."

He blinks and stares at her. This time, he speaks out loud. "Are you serious?"

She just shakes her head. "No wonder they're all intrigued by you." She laughs, and when he looks even more confused, she explains, "They all think you're playing hard to get, Flyboy. Won't they be surprised when they sort out that you don't actually play games like that, that you just don't notice all that much that isn't related to flying or the Resistance?"

He chuckles and cups her cheek in the palm of his right hand. "I noticed you." He pulls her forward, getting her to stand between his legs and kissing her gently.

She smiles against his lips. When he pulls back and presses his forehead to hers, she replies, "I noticed you right back." His hands slide to her hips, while hers rest on his bare chest.

The sound of someone clearing their throat makes Rey turn. The doctor is back, an amused expression on her face. The nurse is back too, but she looks far less amused. As the doctor approaches with a portable scanner, the nurse seems to be preoccupied with scowling at Rey. The doctor begins to use the scanner, she appears to notice the bruise on Poe's neck. "Dameron, what caused this? Rey do you know…"

The woman's voice trails off as she appears to spot the matching bruise on Rey's collarbone. She lifts an eyebrow. "Hickeys? Really?"

Poe and Rey both blush lightly at being called out, but in unison, they reply, "Yes."

At that, the nurse huffs and spins, leaving the exam area. The doctor chuckles, looking at Poe and then at Rey. "You're welcome." At their confused looks, she adds, "I saw them before. I don't care. However, this base is full of admirers of both of you. The nurse is one of your fans, Poe."

Poe shakes his head, laughing. "Thanks, Doc. But really, do they not get that Rey and I live together? We're not simply roommates, for the Force's sake!"

Rey smooths her hand through his hair as the doctor laughs again and continues her scan. "Poe, I told you that women are intrigued by you." Rey ruffles his hair as she speaks, and he rolls his eyes.

"Really though, we live together!"

The doctor completes her scan, and Rey and Poe look at her expectantly. "Well, Poe, nothing is broken. You're probably just going to be sore for a week or so. And, by the way, the general didn't publicize your co-habitation, and your room is smack in the middle of the pilots, who don't give a damn if you're available or not. At least now it'll hit the gossip circuit and then die out." She pats him on the shoulder. "Get out of here. Come back if you need a painkiller tomorrow – you may stiffen up a bit. But for now, go shower, Commander. You kind of smell."

Rey laughs out loud at that, and he just snorts and looks at the doctor. "So I've been told. Thanks, Doc."

An hour later, Poe is sprawled shirtless on his back in their bed, and Rey is draped across his right side. After he took his shower, alone (at Rey's insistence, citing fatigue for both of them), Rey took one too. She'd gone and collected food for them both in the mess while he was getting himself cleaned up, and she'd noted with some chagrin that she was getting pretty serious side-eye from many of the women, one of them the nurse from earlier.

She'd just shaken her head and headed back to their room with a tray full of fresh food, something both of them wanted after a few days of rations. BB-8, who had been with Rose and Finn, found her in the mess and followed her home, beeping happily. She'd also run into the general in the mess, and the older woman had hugged Rey and sent the glowering group of women scattering with one raised eyebrow. "Don't let them bother you, Rey."

Rey had shaken her head and sighed. "They don't, but Poe is baffled by it."

With a chuckle, Leia had grabbed a cup of caf and replied, "Unless it was about flying, fixing his X-Wing, or anything specific to the Resistance, our dear commander rarely noticed, at least until you. He really is delightfully oblivious sometimes." Leia had smiled softly at her then. "He has his mother's eyes. She was stunning." With a wistful look, she'd patted Rey on the arm and wished her a good night, telling her that they had the next day off.

Now, with BB-8 charging quietly in the corner, she and Poe are still awake. His eyes are closed, and she traces invisible patterns on his chest, making him sigh contentedly. He offers, "As much as I really, really enjoy some of the other things we do alone together," she laughs softly, and he goes on, "I think these moments are my favorite."

"Same," she agrees. "Poe?"

"Hmm?"

She hesitates before asking, "Do you have any holos or pictures of your mom and dad?"

He opens his eyes and looks at her. "Sure. I can pull some out tomorrow. Why?"

"I ran into the general in the mess, and she said you have your mother's eyes. I just suddenly realized that I don't know what they looked like," she pauses, taking a deep breath, "I can't remember much of anything about my own parents. I just would like to be able to have something in my head, a picture of what a happy family can look like…"

She trails off, and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Let me try one better, Beautiful." He pulls on her slightly, making her lift her head to press her forehead to his. With his left hand, he reaches over and extinguishes the main light in the room. "Just close your eyes and relax."

She does as he asks, and he closes his eyes too, trying to focus on a good day he can remember from back when he was seven, when his mom and dad spent a day with him in the jungle on Yavin 4. He tries to show her the memory, to share it with her. He replays parts of the day in his head, focusing in on images of his parents and on how happy the day was. She gasps softly, clinging to him, his memories flooding her head.

Tears spring to her eyes, and she can't stop it when they escape. He notices immediately, but he can tell that she isn't really sad or distressed. "What's wrong?"

She shakes her head, swiping at her eyes. "Nothing. I've just never..." She peers up at him in the dim light from BB-8's charging station. Giving him a weak smile, she says, "She was beautiful."

He wipes away the wetness on her cheeks with his thumbs. "Yeah, she was," he replies softly. "It wasn't great all the time after she died, but Dad tried his best. He missed her so much, though. We both did." His hand goes to the ring on Rey's finger. "You know, that first night up on the lookout, when we Force-connected the first time, I couldn't help but think of her. You remind me of her, you know? But after you kissed my cheek in the hallway, I swear I could hear her laughing at me. I think I was already halfway in love with you."

"Why would that make her laugh at you?"

"You're the one who noticed my whole not paying much attention to anything but my X-Wing and the Resistance thing – I really am not kidding with you that I never noticed what everyone else seems to about women and how they appear to be interested in me." He looks at her closely. "I was actually thinking about it in the shower. I realized that I didn't notice you as a woman when I met you, I noticed you as, well, you. And Mom definitely would have been amused."

"I wish I could have met her." Rey looks up at him. "And your dad."

He gives her a funny look, but leans down and kisses her. "She would have loved you. Dad'll love you too. Maybe just because you push me in the same ways they used to. Push me to be more, to try harder."

She nestles back into his side, pulling a blanket up over them both. She goes back to tracing patterns on his chest. "Poe, can we go to Yavin one day? To let me see the Force tree?"

"Of course, Beautiful." He presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Maybe if we ever get the Resistance to a better place, more stable, we can disappear for a few days. I owe Dad a visit anyway."

She sits up, looking at him. "Wait. Your father is alive?"

He pushes up on his elbows. "Yes. You though he wasn't?"

"You never said!" She furrows her brow at him.

"Beautiful, you never asked." He gets a bemused smile on his face. "Dad is still on Yavin 4. He never really wanted to leave after Mom died. I haven't seen him in a long time, but he knows about you."

"How?"

"I talked to him right before I left on the scouting mission. Leia made me call him – I think you were out working on the Falcon with Chewie. I hadn't talked to him in a while." He looks sheepish. "I didn't want to tell him everything that happened. If he knew about me being captured by the First Order, he might have shown up at Leia's doorstep to give her a piece of his mind."

She runs a hand through his hair. "You didn't tell him?"

"No. He worries enough as it is." He lets himself fall back onto the bed, and she lies down on him again, her head on his shoulder. He reaches up, running a hand through her hair. "It never occurred to me that you didn't know he was still alive, Beautiful. I should have said something."

"It's all right. You can make it up to me by taking me to meet him. Maybe Chewie, Finn, and Rose can come too."

"Maybe…" Something hits him, and he blinks a few times. "You know, it was an old base. I wonder if there's anything salvageable there? There were a lot of battles there after the first Death Star was destroyed and the Rebellion moved the base to Hoth, but anything we can find now might be useful."

"But hasn't it been abandoned for over," she begins.

He finishes, "Thirty years. Yes. But that doesn't mean there can't be anything there. Once the battle moved to Endor, they stopped paying attention to it. When we moved there after the war, the old base was mostly ignored." He yawns then.

Rey moves to settle in, echoing his yawn. She smiles when she feels his head start to go fuzzy, something she's started to notice when he's falling asleep. "Let's talk to General Organa in the morning. It'll keep until then."

He slides down a little in the bed, wrapping his arms around her. "Sounds good," he mumbles, pulling her close, nuzzling his face into her neck.

She feels a wave of affection, sighing in his arms as she feels him slide into sleep. "Goodnight, Flyboy."