Close to Me {Poe Dameron}

sixteen

They wound up with a small fleet of mismatched fighters and a decent start to rebuilding their armory. That first night they had gotten the command center up and running while also moisture protecting all of the tech. Just before they were sent off to sleep Kat passed out small cups and then passed around the bottle of Corellian whiskey. Once she got the bottle back, she held up her glass. "Tonight we would not be standing here without the brave sacrifices of so many. They will never be forgotten and their spirit will help keep pushing us forward. We may be licking our wounds now but with the start of a new day we will bring hope back to the galaxy and wipe out the First Order. So please join me in raising your glass to honor those of our friends who are no longer with us and to celebrate those of our friends who are still here."

They all raised their glasses and when everyone drank, Kat poured hers out for Han before pouring herself another and drinking it. Leia wrapped an arm around her daughter and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "That was perfect."

"Thank you." She easily returned the kiss before going to help with collecting the cups so they could be cleaned.

✧☆✧

In the weeks that followed everyone worked on fixing up the fighters that were worth saving, clearing the airfield so they could land without worrying about vegetation, and setting up various rooms within the cave. As Poe had suggested, Finn had tried to speak with Kat but if she wasn't in the middle of helping fix a fighter, she was stuck in meetings with the other commanding officers. What felt like the hundredth time he tried to speak with her, Kat gave him an apologetic smile. "I swear I'm not trying to avoid you, Finn. I'm just currently balancing a few too many plates."

He understood, of course, he did. They were working on rebuilding so they could take out the First Order. She needed to be focused on that instead of someone who was trying to get to know her better since two of the three people in his life thought highly of her. And he needed to focus on how to listen to the force, be one with it as Rey said.

✧☆✧

The first thing the remaining commanding officers did was to give Poe his commander title back. He was grateful but now that meant he was brought into their meetings. He tried to think of the positive that he got to spend more time with Kat since the only time he got to see her lately seemed to be when they were working together on fixing up a fighter. Once he tried to voice his concern about her running on fumes but she waved him off and promised she got plenty of rest.

He found her two days later asleep slumped over her desk in the office she claimed inside the Tantive IV. He carried her to her room and asked Connix to make sure she stayed there until dinner, at least, which turned out to not be a problem.

✧☆✧

Rose spotted her first as she made her way into the galley. She kept watching Kat as she grabbed a sandwich and some tea before looking for a place to sit. To grab the attention of her friend, she waved her arm up in the air making the group around the mechanic turn towards the colonel.

Rey moved down a seat and Poe followed suit so that the seat at the end and across from Rose was empty. "Hey, Kat." Rose smiled as Kat sat down while also trying to figure out if she needed to get Finn and Rey to leave with her so the two commanding officers could talk privately. Kat, however, didn't look anything but rested.

The group had joined in with a chorus of greetings and Kat returned each one before her eyes landed on Poe. Her friendly smile turned into one of gratitude. She didn't linger long, or at least she didn't think so until she saw Rose's smile. "So what did I miss?" She asked, wanting to get some sort of conversation started before a topic she didn't want to discuss was brought up.