Allegiance | Kylo Ren

XXXIII

When I woke, I was still in Kylo's room, but he wasn't next to me. He sat in a chair across the room, lost in thought. His eyes were trained on the floor in front of him, and there was that familiar crease between his eyebrows.

I slipped out of the bed and made my way to the bathroom to examine my face. He watched me wordlessly as I disappeared from his sight.

I let out a light gasp as I took in my reflection. Only a faint pink line remained where there had once been a grizzly gash. My fingers traced over the long line running from above my eyebrow and down the side of my nose to where it ended at the edge of my jaw. Kylo's healing powers were borderline miraculous; I should have had a nasty, scabbing, oozing wound or perhaps even stitches. It would no doubt scar, despite Kylo's best efforts; but it would not be nearly as noticeable as his, as it had been reduced to a light pink color just barely darker than my skin tone. But Kylo had been right: I didn't need Mason, not this time.

My pale eyes widened in the mirror at the thought of Mason. I had forgotten again to go see him when I returned.

Kylo hadn't moved when I emerged.

"I need to go see Mason." I told him softly, approaching his side. I knelt so that I could see his face and look directly into his eyes. "Thank you. For this." I gestured to my face, and he paused before giving a brief nod.

I stood again, giving his shoulder a soft pat before departing and making my way to the hospital wing.

Mason had his back to me as he bandaged up the upper arm of an injured trooper. I snuck up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, resting my chin on his shoulder.

"Hi." I whispered, giggling as he jumped slightly.

"Cal!" He exclaimed, a grin spreading across his handsome features. He quickly finished the bandage before spinning around and enveloping me in a tight hug. "You forgot to come see me again, didn't you?"

I dropped my gaze. "There were some things that needed attending to."

He dismissed the trooper and placed his hands on either side of my face, looking directly into my eyes. "I'm just glad you're back. As long as you're okay, I'm okay." His eyes traced the faint line on my face. "What happened here?"

"It was just a graze." I lied. "Most of it healed overnight."

He frowned, clearly not believing me but not sure why I would lie to him. "A graze? Underneath your helmet?"

I gave a sheepish laugh. "Well, my helmet actually fell off when this Resistance fighter tackled me, and that's when I got hit."

His eyes widened. "That sounds dangerous."

I shrugged. "I came out okay, though."

Mason smiled warmly. "Yes you did." He pressed a kiss to my lips. "And I'm very glad for that."

I wrapped my arms tightly around him, inhaling the scent of his shirt. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time."

His chest shook as he laughed, planting a kiss on the top of my head. "I feel that way, too. Are you free to stay here today?"

I nodded eagerly, glancing around the wing. "Do you need help with anything?"

"I don't have anything big scheduled for today." He made a face. "It may just be a cleaning day—"

He was interrupted by the pounding of feet at the entrance to the wing. Two troopers were supporting a smaller trooper between them, whose helmet was missing. She was strikingly young, her dark hair falling around her face as her head lolled loosely on her shoulders. There was a gaping hole in her chest armor, burnt around the edges like she had been shot.

"Training accident." One of the older troopers managed to gasp out as he fought to catch his breath.

"Bring her here." Mason ordered sharply, gesturing to the bed next to us. I moved out of the way as the troopers carefully lay her on the bed. She was almost completely limp, unconscious from either shock or pain.

"We need to remove her armor." Mason's eyes met mine, and I realized that he was asking for my help. I snapped into action, pulling off her chest plate and shoulder pieces to reveal the gashing hole across her stomach. I watched as my boyfriend used surgical scissors to cut away her shirt, leaving her in nothing but a training bra and her pants.

"It's big, but it doesn't look deep." Mason observed quickly. "You two may go, thank you." He dismissed the troopers, who nodded and backed away. The doctor injected her with a clear liquid from a syringe before looking up at me. "Cal, I need you to clean off the surrounding area while I grab the stapler."

I gave a quick nod and grabbed a sterilized wipe, dabbing delicately at the skin surrounding the gash. Mason was right; a large piece of skin was missing, but her flesh was almost completely intact.

You're lucky, I thought to myself. You don't have major internal damage like I did.

Mason returned with the metal tools in hand. He instructed me to squeeze the wound shut while he quickly stapled it shut, using several metal pieces to artificially close the gash. When he was finished he had me hold a large piece of gauze over the staples, which he secured with white medical tape.

"Done." He breathed, taking a step back and pulling off the rubber gloves that I hadn't even noticed he was wearing. I looked down at my own hands, which were coated in scarlet.

"I'll be right back." I excused myself to the sink. I scrubbed at my skin, trying to rid myself of the blood in the creases of my hands and underneath my fingernails.

When I returned to the girl's bedside, she was beginning to wake.

"What happened?" She croaked, squinting against the bright lights overhead.

"Training accident." I explained, offering her a gentle smile. "But you're okay now, thanks to Dr. Mason here. Just rest for now, okay?"

She nodded, and I glanced up. Mason was smiling at me, pride sparkling in his green eyes. He reached out and pulled me a few steps away from the bed.

"That was really, really good." He glanced over at the girl. "I'm starting to think you should just quit the whole trooper deal and come be a doctor here with me."

I glowed under his praise, laughing lightly. "Thanks, but I think I am where I'm supposed to be."

He tilted his head slightly, still smiling. "Well, if you ever reconsider..."

"You'll be the first to know." I grinned, kissing his cheek.