Chapter Text
“You’re going to crack the windshield if you stare at it any harder” Rose teased.
Rey let out a huff and twisted around in the seat.
“Ben’s never late Rose.”
Rose rolled her eyes and adjusted herself with her feet on the dash.
“I’m sure he got held up on a call Rey” She paused a devilish grin spreading across her face
“You know if you two would just get it over with and sleep with each other we wouldn’t have all this tension in the air every Monday.”
Rey threw her an exasperated look.
“Rose! We aren’t sleeping with each other, I barely know him, we are co-workers, sort of.”
Rose wiggled her brow “So you’re telling me that if Officer Solo were to ask you on a date you’d say no?”
Rey blushed furiously and glanced down at the Dunkin’ bag.
“Well, I wouldn’t say no, that wouldn’t be very polite of me. He’s not terrible looking or anything.”
Rose let out a snort “Oh PLEASE Rey I’ve never seen you eyeball a man harder in the ten years I’ve known you. Besides, I don’t blame you- he’s fit.”
Rey was about to make a snarky comment back when the radio blared to life.
Rig 2187 we have an officer down hostage situation proceed with caution suspect is not in custody- stand off in progress.
Rey’s blood ran cold and she froze, Rose mutter “Oh shit” and grabbed at the receiver answering the call. She breezed through the checks and brought Rey back to her body with a sharp smack
“We have to go”
Rey gritted her teeth, faced the wheel and the engine roared to life. Rose patted her leg “We don’t know its him” She gripped the wheel until her knuckles were white, Ben’s never late...
The street they turned onto was blocked and the scene was utter chaos, Rey had never responded to anything that was still in progress and the sheer number of police vehicles and the whirring helicopter above was an indication that things were definitely more serious than she had let her brain think. She couldn’t see Ben in the crowd of people but then again she couldn’t see who anyone was because they were all in SWAT gear and hunkered down behind cars. She scanned the crowd again looking for any sort of familiar face while Rose had already moved to the back to grab their bags. Her eyes landed on the back of Chief Skywalker’s head and it propelled her into action. She jumped out of the rig and grabbed her bag from Rose briskly walking towards what she assumed was some sort of command center.
“Chief Skywalker we got the call, who’s injured? What’s going on?” The words tumbled out of her mouth faster than she anticipated.
He nodded to the officer he was in conversation with and turned to face her.
“Some asshole managed to find his ex wife and kids at the shelter- he’s got a bunch of hostages. Ben went in to try and negotiate we’ve got eyes on them but no way to take out the perp.”
His and swept through his hair and Rey was barely listening because blood was rushing through her ears at an alarming rate.
“From what we saw Ben took a hit in the leg, but he’s still alert in there, we are negotiating on getting him out, when we do he’ll need medical attention.”
Rey had somehow forgotten english it seemed because all she could do was look at the Chief and try to breath. Rose pulled her from the trance by grabbing her by the shoulder and steering her away
“Yes, sir!” she supplied to the Chief before pulling them away.
All they could do was sit and wait and it felt like time was dragging like nails on a chalkboard. Rey couldn’t keep her leg from bouncing as she leaned against the front of the rig with Rose at her side.
She shouldn’t be acting like this, he wasn’t her boyfriend, in fact he wasn’t anything more than a co-worker and Rey didn’t even know if he wanted anything more than that. He hadn’t asked her out and they had been doing this dance for months, maybe he just enjoyed having a friend, maybe he just enjoyed free doughnuts- I mean who didn’t enjoy free food?
Rey was pulled from her thoughts as several clicks happened in unison and it became deathly quiet around her. She looked towards the shelter doors and held her breath as the doors swung open. Ben stumbled out and he seemed okay, he didn’t have the SWAT gear on- just a vest and casual clothes. He must have been clocking out on his way to pick up her favorite java chip frappe when they got the call about the hostage situation. Of course Ben would have volunteered to stay and help, he was loyal to a fault. She wasn’t angry at him anymore as he eased his way down the stairs, his arms lifted above his head and he kept glancing back towards the door. Rey could barely make out a figure in all black with glaring orange hair holding tightly to what she assumed was a gun. He was just behind the doors so that the snipers across the street couldn’t get a shot off. She couldn’t help but notice that Ben was more pale than usual but that was to be expected. As he reached the bottom stair Rey’s ears were deafened by several pops and her eyes glazed over as she saw Ben’s face drop, he staggered for a moment before falling face forward his arms not even extended to catch himself.
She didn’t realize the shriek had come from her mouth and she was already moving before two large arms wrapped around her from behind.
“Rey, Rey calm down, you can’t go it’s not safe.”
Finn had come out of nowhere and the gear he was wearing was digging into her back as she struggled against him. More pops went off around them and she was being held to the ground hot tears in her eyes. After what felt like an eternity Finn eased up from on top of her. She was dazed but scrambled up to her feet.
“Not so fast, not until they give the all clear.” He head whipped around and she saw Rose was rising from the ground and dusting herself off. Rose reached for Rey and met her blurry eyes.
“Rey, can you handle this? Do you need me to call another rig?” Rey blinked several times and inhaled through her nose. Ben needed her. She swallowed and steeled her insides and nodded.
She turned and faced the scene and pushed down the waves of nausea that rolled over her. Ben was in the middle of the street, still face down, not moving and she could see blood pooling around him. Her instincts and training kicked in and she made her way forward with Rose behind her. The second that Chief Skywalker gave the signal the various SWAT members swarmed the building, Rey and Rose joining the charge. The closer she got to Ben the more her stomach sank- there was alot of blood.
She dropped to her knees and was immediately in ‘EMT mode’ as Rose so fondly titled it. Finn and Poe were by their side awaiting Rey’s instructions. She saw two holes oozing thick sticky blood at a rate she didn’t like. She planted her face down on the concrete in front of Ben’s
“Ben, can you hear me? Ben?” Nothing. She took a breath and returned to the wounds on his back.
“Rose grab the Coag and get it into these wounds. She picked up Ben’s wrist gently and could feel his pulse strong but slow.
“Finn- Poe bring the backboard quickly he’s losing alot of blood.”
She notices the slight tremble in her fingers and goes back towards Ben’s face. She can see that there is a gash in his forehead, undoubtedly from falling on his face. She turned his arm over and began an IV craning her neck to see Finn and Poe coming towards her.
“We’ve got to get him flipped over, on three, one, two, three”
Ben was very large but the four of them flipped him easily onto the backboard. As soon as he was on the board his eyes fluttered and he groaned trying to lift his head which caused him to start coughing. Rey placed a hand on his chest “Hey, hey it’s alright, stay down you’re okay I’ve got you” Ben relaxed a little as his glazed eyes flitted across her face. She continued to feel across his chest and stomach checking for exit wounds but there were none to be found which gave Rey a new sense of urgency. Rose was at his left thigh securing a tourniquet Rey’s voice came out a little shaky and Rose met her stare.
“Rose?” “His leg is okay, clean entry and exit wound, no arterial damage that I see” Rey nodded
“We need to get going, grab the stretcher, I’ll be ready when you get back. Find someone to help us lift him.” Rose picked up on her urgency and sprinted off in the direction of the rig.
Rey returned to Ben’s face which was a sickly grey color and she almost couldn’t stomach it. She checked out the gash on his forehead and determined it wouldn’t need stitches. She grabbed his wrist to check his pulse, gulping and looking up frantically for Rose as it had grown slower and fainter.
“Ben?” she shook on his shoulder trying not to jostle him too much. His eyes fluttered open for a moment.
“Ben can you keep your eyes open for me, please, I need to see your eyes.”
He struggled for a few moments before blinking them open. The sight of them broke her, he looked so young, so scared. She grabbed his hand on instinct.
“Hey, you’re okay. You’re going to be fine” He let out what she thought would have been a laugh if he could manage that but it died on his lips.
“Rey, I- can you call my mom?” She saw tears well up in his eyes and she squeezed his hand tighter.
“Of course, we will call her from the hospital” He shut his eyes and she started to panic a bit.
“Hey Ben, eyes on me”. He met her gaze but she could tell he was struggling he tried to smile and she saw a bit of the dimples that she’d grown to love.
“Will you tell her that I’m sorry, that I’m sorry I wasn’t there, she’ll know what I mean, and just that I love her so much.”
Rey wasn’t unfamiliar with people feeling the need to say their goodbyes when they were severely injured as Ben was right now but she couldn’t deny that this was different and it was tearing her apart.
“You’ll tell her yourself.” He let out a sigh and his grip relaxed a little in her hand. She panicked for a moment but could still feel his pulse and she let out a breath.
Finn, Poe, and Rose finally returned and took their places on either side of Ben. They lifted him onto the stretcher easily and rushed towards the rig. Rey instructed Rose to drive as she climbed into the back.
She attached the various wires to Ben’s chest and read off his vitals into the radio informing the hospital they were coming in with a critical trauma. She had placed an oxygen mask over his face, his stats were still dropping as they sped towards the hospital. She determined that he had to have some internal bleeding for that to be the case and the feeling of being sick passed over her again. She knew he had to be in pain so she prepared a small dose of morphine to help take the edge off, it was the least she could do. Before she could administer the dose he started pulling his mask off and trying to sit up. She put a hand on his chest
“Woah woah woah there big guy, relax.”
When she saw his eyes she knew something was wrong the panic as they darted back and forth at a rapid pace caused her to furrow her brow. His breath came out strained and his voice hoarse
“Rey, Rey I can’t, my chest” he grabbed at his shirt and began coughing flecks of blood splattering out of his lips. Rey jumped into action
“Okay okay, I’ve got you relax” she grabbed a stethoscope and brought it to his chest. His heart was beating fine and she could hear his left lung working, she moved to his right and realization struck her face.
“Rose!” she shouted “what’s our ETA?”
“Two minutes” she breathed thank the gods.
She grabbed the radio and called into the hospital
“Our critical has a collapsed lung, we are two minutes out, how should I proceed?”
She was met with a calm voice and she didn’t understand how anyone could be calm right now, but then again nobody else was undoubtedly in love with Ben Solo whose lips were starting to lose their color.
“We have the OR on standby 2187, intervene only if pressure drops significantly.”
Rey confirmed the order and placed the radio down with a shaky hand, glancing up to the vitals, his pressure was holding but low. Ben’s eyes were closed again and Rey couldn’t do much- they were pulling into the bay. She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, leaning over and pressing a small kiss on his forehead before leaning her own against his. She let out a huff
“Ben Solo, I swear if you make me have to start paying for my own frappe’s again I’ll never forgive you.” She paused and looked over his features- he almost looked like he was sleeping “Please, be okay, okay?”
He didn’t respond but the back doors swung open and Rey assisted the doctors in getting the stretcher out and into the hospital. She watched them whisk him away and once he disappeared from sight she backed into the closest wall and sunk to the ground.
Rose crouched in front of her gently placing an arm on her shoulder
“He’s going to be okay Rey, you probably just saved his life.”
Rey could hear her but there were no words she just shook her head and sank her face into her arms. She let out a sob, taking notice of her shaking body. Rose pulled her arms away
“Nope, none of that, he’s going to be okay, let’s get you cleaned up.” Rey looked down at her hands and gagged at the sight of the blood.
“Come on, up” Rose said pulling her from the floor.
She shoved her into the closest bathroom and stood guard. Rey didn’t recognize herself in the mirror. She was a mess at best, hair disheveled, her eyes were rimmed red, her cheeks were blotchy. She leaned onto the sink heavily and let out another shaky breath. Blood swirled in the sink as she cleaned herself up. She splashed the cold water on her face and patted it dry with the coarse paper towels. She exited the bathroom and Rose was waiting with a sandwich and orange soda. She took them thankfully and Rose starting talking before she could even ask
“He’s in surgery, it will be a while.” Rey nodded and flopped down into a chair cracking the soda open and chugging it down with no shame.
“I called the Chief, you’ve got today and tomorrow off.” Rey nodded thanking her without words as she scarfed the sandwich down.
She woke with an awful crick in her neck a few hours later but snapped up none the less as she came face to face with Chief Skywalker.
“Uh- hello Sir” “Good Morning Rey” he supplied
“Ben’s out of surgery, he’s stable. He’s been asking for you” She smoothed her hair
“Oh, well that’s that’s great. Oh shit.” she smacked herself with her palm
“I was supposed to call his mother when I got here”
He waved his hand, “Don’t worry I’ve taken care of it, I’m sure my sister would kill me if I didn’t call her and let her know what happened. She’s on a flight now.”
It took Rey a moment to let the words wash over her “Wait, Ben is your nephew?”
A smile quirked across his face “Yep, he’s lived with me here since he was in high school” Rey smiled back at him
“Well that’s a relief I would have felt awful if something would have happened and I didn’t get in touch with her.” Chief Skywalker shook his head
“She’d have known anyways, I don’t know how but she always knew when he was in trouble, sometimes she would call me before I even had the chance to lecture Ben and send him to his room.”
Rey smiled at that, she had only been interacting with Ben for a few months but she could see him having a wild streak, especially when he was younger.
“Well, you can head down and see him, I’ve already seen him, beware though he’s a little loopy.” Rey giggled at that
“Thank you Chief Skywalker” he nodded “Call me Luke, and look after the boy will you? Gods knows someone needs too.”
Rey nodded and headed down the hallway.
Ben looked like he was sleeping again but not in the I’m about to die kind of way and Rey breathed a sigh of relief. She approached quietly and took the chair that was already at his bedside careful to not wake him incase he was sleeping.
“Ben?” she whispered taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
His eyes fluttered a bit and he let out a groan before opening them fully. He looked her up and down slowly and she offered a smile “Rey” he breathed his dimples boring into his cheeks.
“Hey there, how are you feeling?” she asked thumbing over his hand gently. He glanced down at their hands, his grin growing wider.
“I’d be better if I had my doughnuts.”
She rolled her eyes “And I’d be better with a Java Chip Frappe, but here we are” letting the smirk grow across her face.
He let out a small laugh before catching her gaze again giving her hand a squeeze.
“Thank you Rey, you saved my life.” Her cheeks grew pink
“It’s my job, besides your uncle says someone needs to start looking after you.”
He closed his eyes and let out a sigh grumbling something about Luke being an old man. They were silent for a few beats as Rey raked over him and drank in the fact that he was there, living, breathing, and okay. His voice was soft and caught her off guard.
“You’re beautiful”
She let out a laugh “I’m a mess, most definitely not beautiful” she gestured at the uniform she was still wearing. Ben didn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Rey, when I get out of here will you let me take you on a date?” Rey’s breath hitched and she grinned
“Is this going to be our usual coffee and doughnut date?” He blinked at her slowly and lifted his hand brushing her cheek “No, this is going to be a proper date. I don’t know how I’ve waited this long to ask, but after today I’m not wasting anymore time.”
Rey smiled at him softly “Ben, you don’t have to take me on a date if you don’t want to, you had a near death experience, don’t feel obligated to take me out...” she trailed off.
Ben laid his head back on the pillows closing his eyes “Okay then” he said peeking out beneath his lashes catching Rey’s face fall.
He lifted his head and gave her a devilish smile “Kidding, I’m kidding, I want to take you out Rey, I have been wanting too for months, I’m just an idiot.”
Rey’s face grew warm again and she grinned
“Well in that case, I guess you’re my idiot.” and she lifted his hand kissing his knuckles.