Who: Rey and Xander What: Rey rescues, then needs to be rescued When: July 17 Where: Whittier Rating: low with a blip of dramatics
Rey was thrilled to be on a cruise. It wasn’t the actual cruise that she was excited about, but more that the cruise meant the ocean and it meant that Xander could be close to the thing he missed the most back in Madison. She had been letting him take the lead on anything he wanted to do together and today they found themselves in a small town that Rey was still unable to say the name quite right.
“I’ve seen pictures of this place in the winter. It looks a lot like some of the snow planets back home.” Like Hoth, she thought. “I imagine your ocean is not as cold as this one.”
Xan couldn’t get enough of the salt air. At all. The sea and the salt made him feel more alive than he had since his trip the previous summer with Rey. The small town offered fish and chips, something that Xan thought might be better than back in Madison Valley. He definitely wanted to get some before they headed back to the ship.
“No, it’s warmer by me, but it’s still a bit cool by me. I live further south, but not like California or Mexico.” Xan often dressed in long sleeves and flannels back when he still worked on the fishing boat.
“I love the look of this place, though.
“It’s very pretty.” While it was true, Rey thought it was infinitely prettier thanks to the way Xander was around it. She wished they could have the ocean near him permanently if only for this reason. Rey also liked the size of the town. People sometimes called Madison small, but it wasn’t compared to this place. Rey decided she liked the much smaller communities. She wasn’t sure why - maybe it was because it felt more like a community than a sea of anonymous people.
“I heard we can go see icebergs on our next stop. Is that something you’d like to see?” Rey was mostly following whatever Xan wanted to do, which included giving him his own time when he needed it. When she was on the island with Luke, she found the ocean to be very calming and offered a reassuring sort of solitude, so she wouldn't begrudge Xander for wanting some of that as well.
They were heading toward the edge of the town, but Rey had always found merit in the wilderness too and they had plenty of time to explore before they needed to be back on the ship.
Xan appreciated the space and that Rey mostly followed Xan’s lead. He needed some time to just be back on the water and enjoy the silence. This seemed to be a place without merfolk, which helped Xan relax more.
He wrapped an arm around Rey’s shoulders. “Want to grab some food and then explore?” Xan just finished his sentence when they heard some shouting, although Xan couldn’t quite make out the words.
She had been about to say ‘yes’ when she heard the shouting too. Rey stopped walking and craned her head in the direction to focus better and listen. When the shouting continued, she looked at Xan with a ‘we need to help’ expression before taking off in that direction.
When they got close enough, it was easy to see that there was a mother freaking out as locals were holding her back. A child of hers had gone under the water, having thought there was thick ice instead of thin. Without thinking too much about it, Rey dropped her belt that housed her lightsaber and other items and dove into the water.
The cold of the water made her exhale immediately. She had to push through her own desire for air so she could find the child who was still moving, but their thrashing had slowed considerably - not good. Grabbing the kid by the waist, she propelled herself upward.
Rey managed to get the kid and her own head above water. She instinctively took a big gasp of air. While she felt the child being lifted out, Rey’s own body was starting to protest the cold of the water and she ended up under soon after.
Xan barely registered Rey going in after the kid before he swore. Rey didn’t understand this kind of cold. Xan did to an extent and he watched, apprehension written all over his face. But when he noticed her trouble, Xan hurriedly pulled off his jeans. They’d weight him down in the water.
He took a breath and jumped into it. The cold shocked him, but he tried not to think about it, as his arms went under Rey’s arms. Thankfully, he got them both onto the solid ice. Xan couldn’t stop his teeth chattering and he looked at the people around him. “Anyone have blankets or anything to help her too, please?” At least the kid was wrapped up in something. A moment later, someone threw a couple blankets. “Okay. You need to get warm.” Ideally back in their room with a hot shower.
Rey hadn’t meant to be a burden, but without Xander coming in for her, she would have been in deep trouble. As she stood there, cold and shivering, she tried to also catch her breath. The fact she was so out of breath from the simple cold of the water was surprising, but Rey had learned her lesson.
She tugged the blanket tighter as she watched the son be reunited with his mom and then them being ushered toward some cars. “There’s that Inn by the water.” She didn’t want to ruin the rest of their day on land here because of her. “We can get a room, warm up, and then get those fish and chips you wanted.”
Xander would never call Rey a burden. He loved her, but he did hope she wouldn’t go jumping into icy water again. In this case Xan could handle it better.
A voice called out, “I own the inn. Tell them room 3 is yours free of charge. Tell them Alice sent you.. Thanks for rescuing my nephew.” Xan nodded and said, “Thank you.”
A few moments later they were in the room with a fireplace, with a promise of fish and chips downstairs when they felt hungry.
“You need to get in the tub.” He turned on the hot water and handed Rey a cup of broth as he drank down his.
A moment later he urged her into the water, having accepted a change of clothes for both of them. Sweats and hoodies worked for them.
Rey was surprised just how good the warm water felt as she sat into the water. She closed her eyes for a moment as her whole body seemed to come alive again. At one point this simple act would have been mortifying in front of Xan. They had come a long way.
Opening her eyes, she looked at him. “You should come in as well. You jumped in the water too.” She didn’t want him suffering because of her and there was room for him in the tub.
Xan appreciated how much more comfortable Rey felt around Xander. The fact she could close her eyes meant a lot.
Truthfully, he felt chilled too, but Xan already felt better with the broth. However, he decided to get in the tub as well.
“Oh my God.” He already felt better, but didn’t want to be wet much longer. Xander didn’t even take long showers. Yes, he loved the ocean, but he spent plenty of time damp and chilled. So he associated wet with cold most of the time.
She smiled at him as he sank down and obviously felt better. She felt better too. “...Thank you for coming in after me.” She hadn’t officially said it even though Rey knew that Xan knew. This was one of those issues where she could have probably thought up a better solution, but Rey literally dove in head first. She could have used The Force to find the boy, even if it was weaker here in Alaska than it was back in Madison. “I’ve learned my lesson. And I’m sorry you had to come in after me.”
“I’m not. At least I knew what to expect. And you did what you thought was right.” Xan leaned over and kissed Rey, before he hauled himself out of the bath. He used one of the large towels to dry off and finished off the broth. He just put on the spare clothes when a knock happened.
He opened the door to a large vat of coffee and fish and chips from the pub next door. “Oh my God. Thank you.” Xan brought everything into the bathroom, so Rey didn’t have to get out of the tub yet.
Rey knew that doing what you thought was right wasn’t always good enough. She knew her impulsiveness was a detrimental trait most of the time, even if she was starting to accept it was just the way she was.
She could smell the food before she saw it. “They’re being very nice.” Rey appreciated it, though she still struggled with the idea of accepting gratitude.. “We should find a way to thank them before we have to leave.” What? Well, she wasn’t sure.
“I’ve heard if we stay out longer than departure, we’re pulled back to the ship somehow, so if you want to stay here until we’re brought back we can. I know when we get back to Vancouver… we should go to the beach.” From what she understood, it’d be the closest thing to “Xander’s ocean”.
“I think rescuing the owner’s nephew has made them benevolent.” Xan bit into the fish and closed his eyes to the taste. He forgot how delicious fresh salt water fish actually tasted. He considered Rey’s words.
“I’d be okay with that. I like this place. It feels like home to me.” Xander took another bite of fish. “And yes, I’d love to visit the beach in Vancouver.” It wasn’t far from his home, not that his home existed in this world.
The fact that it felt like home to Xander meant that Rey would do anything for him to have that feeling for as long as possible. Feeling better now, Rey stood up and toweled off, reaching for the clothes that they were given. When she joined Xander again, she looked more like herself. “Then let’s do that.” She smiled. “Even if it’s not home, it feels like a glimpse into your world and I like it.”
Xan leaned over and kissed Rey, before he popped another fry into his mouth. “I think we need to get more fish and chips while we’re here.” And pulled his girlfriend closer to her while they enjoyed their food.