Chapter Text
Wandering around the base was your favorite way to spend sleepless nights. Being a nurse, you were very used to working on very little rest. Your 2AM walks had uncovered some hidden gems, like a small, peaceful chapel tucked in a back hallway, and a stuffed storage room that had been turned into a makeshift casino by the pilots. You had stood by the door wrapped in your characteristic blanket (D’Qar was cold at nights, especially for someone from a warmer climate) close enough to hear easy, carefree laughter, clattering dice, and lighthearted teasing and boasting amongst obvious friends. It had put a smile on your face as you continued floating down the dimly lit hallway, headed to the airfield to admire the stars, and maybe watch some droids and mechanics repair some ships if you were lucky. You had no head for mechanics, other than the requisite medical supplies, and the intricate workings of the X-Wings always fascinated you.
Wrapping your fleece tighter around you, you admired the feeling of the wind on your cheeks, the quiet bustle of the flight deck in the twilight setting. Sometimes you didn’t get out of the infirmary for days on end, so a respite outside was welcome, even if you had to occasionally stifle a yawn.
Sparks caught your eye and your attention turned to one of the few pilots still up working on his ship. Dark curls fell messily over the collar of his orange flight suit, and he raked them back distractedly as he peered closer at the open panel exposed to the night air. He poked tentatively at the restless wire until it connected with another when the tiny droid at his feet started chittering insistently-
Whoom.
Black and orange ate at your vision as you stumbled back by the blast. Technically challenged you might be, but you were pretty sure that was not supposed to happen. Your feet were moving before you realized it, barely waiting for the heat to dissipate before kneeling beside the surprised pilot who was now sprawled on the ground, black soot covering his hands, blinking wildly.
Quickly, you assessed him, eyes roving him for any sign of red. There- his right arm, definitely lacerated by the wire before he had gotten knocked down. You had your blanket wrapped around the wound, stemming the bleeding, before the man had even begun to cough.
“Okay, sir, you’ve had a bit of an accident, I’m going to need you to lie still until we can make sure you’re not seriously injured. Med staff is already on its way,” you noted, seeing a bright red alarm go off somewhere to your left. “Can you tell me your name?”
“P-Poe. Dameron. Commander.” His eyes were wide and you were afraid he was going into shock, until you realized his body was shaking from laughter, a slightly hysterical note in his voice. “I don’t think that was supposed to happen.”
You suppressed a grin. “Probably not,” you agreed, cautiously probing his right arm. “Can you wiggle your fingers for me? Move your wrist?”
He did so, eyeing his rig wearily. “Yeah, well, wiring was never my strong suit. More of a welding guy.” He let his head fall back against the concrete floor. “Ow.”
“Let’s refrain from giving ourselves a concussion, yes?” You tucked in the ends of the makeshift bandage. “You’re gonna be fine, but you’re definitely going to get this arm checked out.”
“Ma’am yes ma’am.” He smiled crookedly with warm brown eyes. “You a doctor or something?”
“Nurse,” you corrected gently, waving over one of your coworkers as they entered the scene. “Blast knocked him off his feet, possible concussion, laceration and burn on his right arm,” you delivered, and Corbin nodded curtly as he unfolded the gurney. You turned back to Poe. “Corbin will take you to the med deck, okay? You’re in good hands.”
He opened his mouth to say something but was wheeled away before he got the chance, voice snatched away by the wind and drowned out by the extinguishing foam now being blown onto the wreck.
You sighed. So much for a peaceful night.
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“Corbin told me you had an eventful night last night,” Karissa teased, shutting her locker next to yours after pulling out her white coat.
“Unfortunately.” You shivered, and pulled out another shirt to layer under your scrubs before shutting your own locker. “Some idiot blew up his X-Wing on the flight deck. I happened to be passing by, so I got to him first.”
“Some idiot? Do you know who that was?!”
“Um…” You squinted, trying to remember. “Poe..? Something. He was a captain, I think.”
Karissa rolled her eyes. “You’re so out of it, Y/N. That was Poe Dameron.” She waited, like she wanted to elicit some reaction out of you. When you just shrugged, she sighed, tugging you down the hallway. “An in THE Poe Dameron. Best pilot in the resistance Commander Poe Dameron?” You looked at her helplessly. “Hot as fuck Poe Dameron??”
Ah. There it was.
You weren’t much for gossip, so you never knew what hottie du jour the other nurses were fawning over. You supposed this Poe was the latest trend. “It’s a bit hard to notice if someone’s hot when you’re treating them for burns,” you teased, simultaneously amused and baffled at Karissa’s single track mind. She huffed, tossing a pair of gloves at your head pensively.
“Can’t blame me for wanting a bit of action! It can get so boring around here.”
You raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. And you knew better than to suggest the library this time.
“If you say so,” you said finally, aiming for your first appointment for the day. “Try not to seduce any patients while we’re working the same shift, hm?”
“Oh shut it!” You laughed as her indignant cry rang out behind you.
Poe Dameron was just another face in the Resistance, just another person to assess and treat and get on their way. You didn’t see the point of getting stuck on anyone with the constantly changing roster and unpredictability- not to mention lethality- of working in a war zone.
But if you happened to remember a particular Commander’s dark curls in surprisingly vivid detail, well, that was nobody’s business but yours.