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forcesensitiveflower · 3 days ago

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S T A R D U S T

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hiii. So I told myself I was going to be better and post regularly on Mondays, but I couldn't sit on this chapter any longer, so here it is a day early :D enjoyyyy!

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chapter viii.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. . 　　˚　　　　*　　　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　

daylight.

Ben sits on the infirmary bed, awkward and stiff as the nurse takes his blood pressure. Rey stands in the corner, trying to make conversation with the nurse to ease the tension.

“So, Suni, how has your day been?” Rey asks with a genuine smile. Ben’s eyes shift to Rey, practically begging her not to make this longer than it needs to be. Rey ignores him. Suni types his vitals into her datapad.

“It’s good. Mostly everyone seems to be recovering nicely,” Suni says quickly. She finishes up checking on Ben and pauses before looking back at him.

“Cano will be right in to see you. He’s our head medic,” she says as she looks at him, gripping her datapad tightly. Ben’s eyes flicker to her hands, and he gives her a polite nod.

“Thank you,” he says calmly. She looks at him with a hint of surprise on her face. Rey is smiling at the whole interaction. Suni awkwardly nods and walks out of the room. Rey’s eyes follow her out, then she looks back at Ben.

“See? Not so bad,” she says optimistically. Ben’s eyes are glued to the floor.

“I’m fine,” he says quickly. He’s irritated that Rey is treating him like a child. That’s all she and Leia were doing since he got back. He understood they were trying to care for him, but he just wanted to be treated normally. Not like this poor wounded animal, they seemed to think he was. He looks back up at Rey, and his face softens as he notices he might’ve said that too harshly. He can’t bring himself to apologize.

“Right. Well, I’ll be just a few doors down. Need to visit a friend,” Rey says, and Ben nods. The door opens, and Cano slips in. He and Rey almost bump into each other.

“Oh, apologies, Rey, didn’t see ya there. How’s your hand doing?” he asks, taking a glance at the bandage on her hand before pulling out his datapad.

“A lot better, thanks,” she smiles politely. “Odette’s at the end of the hall?” she asks. Cano nods, “Yeah, on the left. Leia’s in there now,” he says. Ben sighs and runs his hand through his hair. He was getting impatient and just wanted this to be done with. Rey and Cano both look at him. Rey gives Cano an apologetic smile and slips out of the door. Cano walks up to Ben and holds his hand out.

“Afternoon, I’m Cano, the head medic on base.” Ben looks at him and shakes his hand.

“Ben,” he says plainly. Cano releases his hand, gives him a once-over, then pulls up his chart.

“Nice to meet ya,” Cano smiles and looks down at the chart.

“Okay, Ben. Looks like everything is good. Blood pressure is a bit high, so you’ll need to stay away from salty foods, which is good, we don’t have much of those on base.” Cano awkwardly laughs. Ben nods, his eyebrows pushed together. Cano clears his throat.

“And, try to ease any stress you may have,” Cano explains. Cano can feel how much Ben does not want to be there. He’s trying to be professional and perhaps be someone that Ben can trust. He’s not sure himself how he feels towards him, but he wants to make sure Leia’s son is taken care of.

“So, we’ll need to bandage up some of these injuries you have, but besides that, is there anything you’re concerned about?” Cano grabs a tube of bacta gel and a few bandages. Ben thinks for a moment.

“So, no brain trauma? Nothing to do with my head?” Ben asks. As Cano goes to start dressing Ben’s injuries, Ben holds his hands up. “I’ll do it,” Ben says quickly. Cano stares at Ben for a second, not trying to push him, and hands him the supplies. Ben holds the supplies and waits for Cano to respond. Cano takes a breath and looks down at his datapad again.

“Uh, no, everything seems pretty normal. The blow to your ribs seems to have healed pretty quickly, but I’ve usually seen that force sensitives heal a bit quicker than us regular folk. Why, are you in any pain?” Cano asks as he looks at his head. Ben mentally scoffs. Not physically, no. Ben shakes his head. What were these damn stars then?

“No, no,” Ben nods and avoids looking at Cano. He nods and types a few things on his datapad.

“Okay, then you’re set. Come back if you need anything,” Cano says and walks out of the room. Ben stares at the floor as he holds the bacta gel and bandage. He sighs, pulls up his shirt, and puts the bacta gel on his ribs. He hisses as it stings, and he quickly puts the bandage on. Ben leans over, his elbows resting on his legs. He breathes deeply until the pain subsides. Once it does, the same stars appear again, clouding his vision. He blinks quickly and stands. He walks over to the small sink in the room and splashes some water on his face. He rests his hands on either side of the sink and thinks for a moment. He wasn’t sure what these little bouts of dizziness were, maybe it was the high blood pressure. Try to ease any stress? How did he expect him to do that? If meditation wasn’t helping, what would?

Ben’s thoughts are interrupted by his mom’s voice down the hall. He quickly dresses the rest of his wounds, trying not to think of the pain. He walks out of the room and follows his mom’s voice down the hall. He knocks on the door. He hears whispering, and his head starts to feel fuzzy again.

“Ben, it's okay, come in,” Leia calls out. He steadies himself, the door slides open, and he walks in. He pushes his hair back and turns to his mom. He looks at Leia, but a mess of red hair pulls his attention away from his mom.

He looks at her. The girl he’s heard so much about.

And suddenly, he’s not dizzy anymore.

The static that has been playing in the back of his head for years—gone. Just like up in the tree.

He doesn’t know what to make of it.

“Ben,” Leia says, interrupting his staring. Rey looks at him from the other side of Odette’s bed, puzzled. She’s usually able to read him, but she can’t in this moment.

Ben clears his throat and looks at his mom sitting beside Odette.

“Saw the doctor, everything’s fine,” he says. Leia studies his face, not believing a word.

“Okay, good,” she says, trying to get a sense of what is going through his head. Ben is actively trying to avoid looking down at the girl. Leia notices this, and her eyes slightly narrow at Ben. An awkward silence passes, with the exception of the sound of the heart monitor. Rey stands.

“I’ll leave you two to it, then,” Rey says as she walks towards the door.

“Oh, you’re leaving us so soon?” Leia teases. Rey stops in the doorway.

“Got some training to do with Finn,” she smiles at Leia proudly.

“Still trying to convince this one to join,” she says, looking at Ben. Leia chuckles and shakes her head.

“Well, you got him to go see the doctor. I’d say that’s a step in the right direction,” she smiles at Ben. Ben playfully scoffs and shakes his head. Leia smiles at him. She noticed he’s a bit more relaxed and is cautiously optimistic to see this side of him again, even if it's subtle.

“See you two later,�� Rey gives them both a quick smile and exits the room. Leia looks back at Ben.

“You two talk about me like I’m not here, or like I’m some helpless child,” he says as he leans against the wall. Leia stands, using the cane to help her. She walks over to Ben, reaches up, and playfully pats his cheek.

“Then stop acting like one,” she says with a smile. She drops her hand and studies him again.

“I’ve got to talk to Cano, will you keep her company for a minute?” Leia asks Ben, gesturing back to Odette. Ben looks at Odette, then back at Leia. Leia gives him an annoyed look.

“Come on, Ben, you don’t even have to talk to her. This is perfect for you. Or better yet, get some practice in since she can’t talk back,” Leia smirks at Ben. He barely laughs, but he does. Leia smiles at him and points to the chair she was sitting in. She turns to Odette and touches her hand.

“I’ll be right back, Dette, but Ben is here. Go easy on him,” she says jokingly. Leia looks back at Ben, and he shakes his head with a hint of amusement on his face.

“Enough, Mom,” Ben says as he sits down with a sigh. Leia smiles at him and looks at Odette, then makes her way to Cano out in the small waiting room of the infirmary. Ben keeps his eyes down, staring at the floor of the room. He takes a look around, but unfortunately, there is not much on the walls to distract him. He takes in a small breath and tentatively looks over at Odette.

What was so special about this girl? His mom had visited her everyday. The jealousy he felt towards her has now turned to curiosity. He studies her, his eyes traveling from her lashes that fall onto her cheeks, the bridge of her nose, and landing on her lips. He looks away, almost feeling wrong for studying her so closely. He clears his throat and sits up taller, and the grates in the floor become very interesting to him.

He relaxes back into the chair a bit. The static in his head seemingly gone now.

“Maybe mom was right,” he thinks, and laughs to himself. He clears his throat again and looks back at her. He opens his mouth to speak, but then shuts it.

“No, no, that’s ridiculous. I’m not going to talk to her,” he thinks, trying to convince himself. He brushes a fallen piece of his hair away from his face and leans back in the chair, resting his chin in his hand. Ben notices the cards on the bedside table and the wilted flowers in the vase. Candlewicks.

He looks at her with his peripheral vision. He feels like she could be awake, but no, his mom had said she had been in a coma for a week now, and they weren’t sure she would make it out. She seems so fragile, so frail. He wonders what could have put her in this state.

He hopes it wasn’t his doing.

Leia knocks on the door frame, and he turns, almost startled by how quickly she came back.

“Okay, ready to head back?” Leia smiles and looks at Ben. Leia glances at Odette.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, girlie. Hope Benny didn’t bore you too much,” she chuckles as she makes her way towards the door. Ben rolls his eyes and stands. He takes a few steps, but lingers for a second, keeping his back to Odette.

The stars in his vision may be gone, but they seem to have made their way down to his chest. He clears his throat and swallows this feeling down. Ben follows his mother out of the infirmary and back to her quarters.

Back in the room, Odette’s eyes slowly flutter open.

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