She was just a human resources assistant, yet she must have had some delicious information to be granted an audience with him. Hux hadn't the slightest idea who she was or what she could want until he stepped into his office where she was waiting and saw her face.
"General," the woman greeted him formally, bowing her head.
"Oh." Hux strode in and sat behind his desk, suddenly feeling awkward. He sat rigidly in his chair and couldn't stop the memories from playing.
It was the one night of revelry he'd allowed himself following a large battle victory. Officers mingled and celebrated with the administrative departments, drinking and eating to gluttonous delight. Music played and lights were low. The pretty HR assistant was there, drinking and touching his arm and looking too boldly into his face for someone of her station. They ended the night drunkenly stumbling into his quarters, unable to keep their hands off each other and uniforms on. She was gone when he woke in the morning.
Certain blackmail was about to be leveled, Hux took a breath and steeled himself. Human Resources. This woman knew protocol and rules, especially the ones he'd broken, and he'd have to play his cards carefully. Fraternizing between officers and non-commissioned personnel wasn't exactly smiled upon.
"Um." The woman fidgeted with the hem of her skirt and swallowed hard. "I wasn't sure if I could request a meeting with you, but your aide cleared it."
"Let's get to it, then," Hux snapped. "What do you want of me?"
Surprise flashed across her face. "Nothing."
Intrigued, Hux cocked his head slightly. "Then what brings you here if you're not seeking reward for your silence regarding our relations?"
"Grand Marshal, I swear that's not my intention." She weighed her words before speaking again. "I feel it's my moral and professional obligation to let you know I'm pregnant." After a moment, she sheepishly added, "By you."
Hux sat back in his chair, plunged deep in thought. The blindsiding news didn't strike him as he once imagined such a jarring announcement would. The shock passed almost instantly and Hux recalled his own childhood. His father Brendol Hux was a monster and mistreated everyone from humans and aliens to droids. Imagine, Armitage thought excitedly, the potential of raising a child properly with love and freedom instead of corporal punishment and military order. The thought of a child with steel grey eyes reading and playing, running across the hall with a fat red cat made his heart thump out of time.
The assistant cleared her throat after a few moments of silence and leaned forward. "Sir, I just wanted you to know. Maybe you have a preference about this? I know crew aren't supposed to fraternize, but officers can. That's why I think my only choice is to leave this up to you," she finished lamely. "I'm not usually a rule breaker, sir. I'll do whatever you prefer. I can go to the medical bay immediately and have it taken care of."
"What's your name?" Hux blurted. "I can't seem to remember your name."
"Aurelia," she replied. "I'm not entirely sure I introduced myself that night. Do you remember me at all?" A pink blush rose in her cheeks. "I don't mean to assume I'm the only girl you've-"
"Aurelia," Hux tested the name, cutting her off before her insinuation could go any further. The idea that workers on board saw him as a loose man seemed strange and somehow offensive. "I'm Armitage. I remember everything about you. I may have been drinking, but I recall our encounter well."
She laughed uneasily. "Yes. So do I. You said you liked my freckles because they're rebellious by uniform standards."
A rare smile crept across Hux's lips and he gave a soft chuckle. "I suppose I did." He looked back up into her face and the smattering of freckles that spread from her cheeks across her nose. They were the color of her caramel brown hair. Yes, sober or drunk, he found her absolutely fascinating. The way she looked at him now was no different than the way she gazed at him during the party. Her blue eyes were locked on his, unwavering and unafraid. The fact that she carried his child made her somehow even more appealing. A child with grey eyes and freckles. Life had taken a fortuitous turn, indeed.
"Grand Marshal. What would you have me do?"
Hux's smile fell away as he realized he hadn't consulted Aurelia on the matter. Perhaps her skin crawled at the thought. He braced himself for any possible outcome. "I can grant you immunity from any punishment, if that's what you're concerned about. What do you want?"
"I want to continue to serve the First Ord-"
"No," Hux interrupted. "Do you want this child?"
Nodding, Aurelia touched her stomach, which had not yet started to swell. "I don't even know you. Could I keep my job? What will happen when I begin to show and my superiors ask who the father is? Won't the Supreme Leader have you punished if he finds out?"
Aurelia's frantic calculations reminded Hux of his own hyper-organized nature. The smile returned to his face. Hux sat back again and nodded. "Your concerns would all be null if we were to wed."
Staring at him in disbelief, Aurelia blinked away her shock and fumbled for a response.
Sensing a building panic about her, Hux held up his hands. "There's a shore leave in two months. That's plenty of time to secure a location, finalize the details and paperwork, and get to know each other better." His mind was surprisingly calm. The right choices were supposed to be the hardest, but making this life altering decision was the easiest thing he'd done in his life. Hux smiled genuinely. "Though it wasn't my intention, I can't say I'm not pleased."
"Two months?" Her hand flitted about her collarbone and her mouth moved up and down wordlessly.
"This isn't an order. It's a proposal." Hux's heart rate spiked. He never thought love was in his cards, and this seemed good enough. The woman had the kindness to alert him to her condition when she could have easily aborted the fetus or lied about the father. Neither Hux's childhood, upbringing, or adult life gave him a healthy example of a marriage to look forward to, but this HR assistant was an agreeable option from what he could tell. Their chemistry hadn't faded since the party; in fact, he'd thought of her more than once as he fell to sleep.
Aurelia took a deep breath. "I only wanted to know whether I had permission to have this child," she said as the color faded from her cheeks. "And now the Grand Marshal is proposing marriage." She fanned herself for a moment before wetting her lips and laughing nervously.
"You can say no. I- I personally prefer you don't. I want to be a good father, unlike my own. I won't abandon this child." He stood and rounded the desk, sitting in the chair next to her. His knee brushed against hers. "Don't think me preying on you in a vulnerable state. I simply want to take responsibility for my part in this. I do so eagerly."
She stared at him and nodded before frantically fanning herself again. "Is it warm in here, Grand Marshal? I think it's quite warm." She frantically unbuttoned the top of her blouse and lunged for a datapad from Hux's desk, fanning it wildly at herself.
"Aurelia?" Hux slid his arm behind her and guided her back into the chair just as she began to faint. "A medical droid to my office," he called urgently into a communicator. "Quickly. My guest is in distress."
Aurelia awoke with a gasp. The shiny surfaces and whirring medical droids of the sick bay greeted her.
"Congratulations," a medical droid said. "You are pregnant. Please avoid becoming overly excited while your body adjusts to pregnancy. You are dehydrated and malnourished. A special meal plan is being prepared for you to sustain your body and your fetus. I will upload the appropriate materials and menu into your datapad for your review."
"A special meal plan?" Aurelia scoffed. "By whose authority? Administrators don't have that kind of access. Perhaps you have my credentials confused with-"
"By the authority of Grand Marshal Hux, you are to want for nothing."
"Oh," Aurelia breathed. It came back to her. She mustered the courage to see the handsome redheaded man, expecting to be ignored entirely or sent for an abortion. Either outcome would have been tolerable. Once either was over, she could have moved on with her life as before. She entered the empty office ready for a verbal beating and awaited the officer with calm resolve. Yes, things would move along one way or another. She simply had to acquiesce to her conscience and let the man know it was his child.
Thinking about it made her head swim again and she laid back down. Grand Marshal Hux's reputation preceded him, but her own experience threw the common perception out the window. Everyone knew he was cruel and calculating, but at the victory party he was charming and laughed easily. Energy radiated from him and like a magnet, she couldn't seem to tear her attention away. There was no zealous ruler present, just a charismatic man with a gentle touch.
It was all foreign and Aurelia felt bad for wishing it had never happened. It would have been easier if Hux dismissed her from his office, but he looked so sincere when he said he'd marry her and raise her child. His child. Their child.
"This note was left for you," a droid said, extending a hand to her. "It's paper."
"I see that," Aurelia nodded in wonder. Paper was reserved for formal invitations and notifications. She'd actually never felt it and marveled at its lightness in her hands.
Aurelia, I'm sorry to leave, but an issue in the Outer Rim demanded my attention. T
I respectfully beg for your hand in marriage. Any fears you have are likely within my control to alter to our liking. As your husband, I could ensure your position in your department or freedom from employment all together. The happiness of our family will be paramount.
I'll include my personal communicator and quarters code. You have clearance to come see me any time you'd like.
Yours,
A Hux.
Aurelia touched her lips. Our pregnancy, she reread. Our family. Your husband. Our liking. Yours.The First Order's young leader was much more than she suspected anyone knew. His reaction to her news. The gentle way he kissed her before he fell asleep. His mesmerizing gray eyes. The delicate curls of his handwriting. Some strange connection that, even as perfect strangers again, burned and made her mouth water. How she had thought of him every day, even before her first missed period.
The answer to his question should hae been cut and dry, but something nagged at her. Folding the letter, she held it to her chest and sighed.