Chapter 1
When Commander Poe Dameron immediately orders that Rey be quarantined upon the discovery of her Force Bond with Kylo Ren, the sworn enemy, Finn deems the punishment a little harsh. He winces when Poe orders that Force-proof shackles be placed on Rey's wrists and a matching collar around her neck. Finn is no Jedi, and he doesn't have the Force. He doesn't even know that much about the strange energy field other than what Rey has told him. But he knows that to cut Rey off from the source of her power will probably not be beneficial for anyone involved.
So, when Doctor Kalonia approaches Finn and asks him to accompany her on her monthly visit to study Rey's health, Finn jumps at the chance, even if he is flattered and a little confused as to why his presence is needed at all.
When the doctor and former Stormtrooper enter the cell, Finn's blood runs cold. Bile bubbles in his stomach, threatening to erupt.
Rey is chained to one corner of the cell. Her skin is a ghastly white. Beads of sweat cling to her skin. She is shivering violently, even though the prison cells are normally regulated with a decent temperature. At the sound of the cell door opening, it takes great effort for Rey to even turn her head. But when she does, her eyes lock onto Finn.
"We're sick... I think we're dying." Her voice comes out in a raspy croak. Her eyes are filled with pain and sadness.
Doctor Kalonia flits about Rey, checking her vital signs and trying to remain clinically composed, as is demanded by her profession. But she can clearly see, as can Finn, that Rey is - at least from a medical standpoint - in grave danger. Finn decides that the most helpful he can be is to hold Rey's hand, stroke her arm, whisper to her that everything will be OK.
And he'll be damned if anyone tries to prevent circumstances from becoming OK again.
As soon as the check-up has concluded, Finn proceeds with purpose to the command center. He has never felt so angry in his life, but he'll have to tamper that unprofessional demeanor down. To lose control of one's emotions was frowned upon in the Stormtrooper ranks, and the Resistance is no different. Composure, professionalism, is demanded in any military organization.
Finn finds Poe looking over holograms and readouts with his advisers. Kalonia scoots ahead of Finn and hands the Commander her findings on Rey's condition without a word. Finn observes as Poe doesn't even glance at them, setting them aside on a nearby table. Fuming internally, Finn approaches his friend and clears his throat.
"Doctor Kalonia asked me to accompany her to... check on the prisoner."
Poe raises an eyebrow, clearly confused as to why that would be necessary.
"For a concurring opinion," Finn explains. "And since I know Rey so well... anyway, Commander, Kalonia's findings are not good. It is clear that Rey's health is deteriorating rapidly. She's... dying."
Finn sees Poe's eyes go wide, but the rest of his face maintains a neutral, detached composure. "Dying? How? She's being fed regularly; Kalonia's appointments..."
"That's not it, sir," Finn interrupts. "Her skin is ghastly white, pale even. She hardly has any voice left. Movement of even the slightest degree leaves her in great pain. And what's more: she knows she is dying. She said as much."
Poe takes this last bit of intelligence with the most interest. "She said 'I am dying.'?"
"That's the thing, Commander. She didn't say, 'I'm dying'; she said, 'We're dying.' We are. You'll recall how you had her cut off from her powers in the Force? It stands to reason, then, that she has had no access to her Force Bond with the Supreme Leader in several months. And if what Rey has told us about the Force Bond is true..." Finn takes a deep breath. "We should have reason to believe that the Supreme Leader is dying."
Dead silence in the command center. Poe looks stunned for one moment; however, it is not long before a triumphant grin takes over his face.
"In that case, let him die! Then we can swoop in during their power vacuum and end this war!"
Finn gawps, unable to believe what he is hearing. He has just reported the medical condition of their friend and ally, and yet in the very next instance, Poe is yearning for the death of a man whom, rightly or wrongly, their ally is inexorably linked to. Clearly, the logical reasoning of the situation has not been grasped. Finn's anger blasts forth after having been forced to lie dormant.
"Then you have just sentenced Rey to death! The Jedi Order to death! If you allow the Supreme Leader to wither away, Rey will quickly follow. And she will probably want to die too. And then the Force itself will be mortally wounded. The Jedi will go extinct forever! Don't you understand?!" Hot tears are beginning to pool at his cheeks.
Poe spins around to face Finn with a snap. "What do you propose we do then? Let her run off to... to him," and his voice drips with disgust on the pronoun. "And risk her betraying us?"
"If it means she lives, yes. I could give a damn whether Kylo Ren lives, but if that is what it takes for Rey to survive or for her to even be happy again, then so be it! Look, I know you had the hots for her, and seeing her reject you for that monster was, I'm sure, a blow on your ego. But the fact remains that she has a connection with Kylo that none of us will ever understand. A power that has a will of its own, and that comes from far beyond. You hold nothing in your hands when it comes to her affections. Everything is fixed, and you can't change it! But of course, you can't see beyond your own jealousy - all you know how to do is sit in your X-wing and go Vroom, Vroom! But... you can still be a hero. Let her go. Let the Force return to her. Let her live!"
But Poe is unmoved. "I am the Commander, I can do whatever I want! Rey remains under solitary confinement!"
Finn grinds his teeth. "If you were half the leader Leia was..."
"I AM TEN TIMES THE LEADER LEIA WAS!" Poe explodes, backhanding Finn hard across the face and sending him sprawling.
Finn shakily staggers to his feet, glaring at the man who was once his friend. Gone is the revering respect, even the... affection he might have felt for the pilot. Poe may have been his ticket to a better life, but Rey was his first real friend.
And so Finn makes his choice.
Sweeping back to the prison cell where Rey is held, he beats the guard into unconsciousness as quietly as he can, swiping the key. Breaking into the cell, he is distressed to see Rey shaking violently, as if from cold or a fever. Worse still, she is crying.
"Ben... Ben..." she moans, pining. Finn kneels beside her, and begins to undo her chains.
"We'll get you to him, Rey."
Rey's glassy eyes focus in on him, and he can see a flurry of hope flutter in her chest. "You will?"
"Absolutely."
Rey finally gives a weak smile and holds out her arms. "Take me to him," she whimpers plaintively, like a small child.
Finn gathers Rey up in his arms and carries her to the hangar bay, racing aboard the Millennium Falcon. Not once do they encounter any guards or Resistance fighters, nor does anyone try to stop them. It is late night, anyhow; most of the base is still asleep.
Finn pilots the Falcon into deep space, trying not to dwell on the fact that he just made an unauthorized departure. Kriff it - add that to the already growing list of insubordination he has already committed against his commanding officer. Tucking Rey into the sleeping quarters in the ship's rear, making sure she has a blanket over her, Finn now works at trying to find a First Order frequency. By almost photographic memory, and a little bit of sheer luck, he manages to tap into the Finalizer. And a familiar voice comes on the line. How in the stars...?
"FN-2187. Decided to come crawling back, did we?" Her voice sounds hoarse and straining, and Finn wonders if that fall into the fiery hull of the Supremacy burned her vocal cords.
"Cut the crap, Phasma. I need to speak to the Supreme Leader."
"Do you have absolutely no decorum to think that I would just give you an audience with the Supreme Leader?"
"Put him on the phone, bitch!" Finn snaps into the comlink, running out of patience. Amazingly, the tone seems to work. A few moments later, a weak, male voice comes onto the line.
"FN-2187. You better have a good reason..."
"I knew it!" Finn cries, his theory proven right.
"What?"
"You are ailing!"
There is a chilling silence on the other end of the line, before Kylo Ren rumbles, "How in the Force do you know?"
"Dismiss whomever is with you, and listen carefully," Finn orders. No one speaks for a few moments as Kylo dismisses his advisers. Finn then proceeds. "Your... mistress is ailing just as much as you."
He hears a sharp breath through the comlink, and he knows that even while speaking in code as he is, that his message has been translated. "Rey? Where is she?"
"I've busted her out of prison, and I am prepared to bring her to you, wherever you are. Can you fly a TIE fighter? Something? Do you have the strength?"
"I can fly anything!" Kylo growls.
Finn nods, chancing a glance back at Rey wasting away on the bed. "Get into the first thing that flies and lock onto the Millennium Falcon's coordinates. We'll meet you wherever you want us to. Come alone."
"You have my word," and Finn is surprised to detect no duplicitousness, no malcontent, in the Supreme Leader's voice.
"And Ben? May the Force be with you." Finn disconnects the call before Kylo can react to the sound of his real name.
It is less than an hour before a TIE fighter frequency demands connection with the Falcon. Finn connects and follows the TIE's flightpath to a remote planet called Dantooine. Touching the cruiser down in a grassy field, he carries Rey like a baby off the ship, finally undoing her Force-proof cuffs and collar. He had left them on in fleeing for the hangar, to keep up appearances in case they ran into anyone. Across the field, he watches as a figure in black, half-jumps, half-falls from the TIE fighter and breaks into a staggering run for them.
Kylo Ren is unmasked when Finn gets close enough to see him. Sheer panic is in his eyes, even though he looks just as worse for wear as Rey.
"Give me her!" Kylo snatches Rey out of Finn's grasp and carries her away, kneeling in the grassy field and cradling her, rocking her gently. As soon as she is back in his arms, nothing else matters. Kylo could give a damn about his own health. All that matters is the love of his life and the light of his love, shaking and sweating and pale, her Force essence tentatively coming back into consciousness after having been squelched for so long. Rey, meanwhile, stares up at Kylo... Ben as if he is God himself. Indeed, she doesn't seem to quite believe that he is real. Has she died? Is this heaven?
"Ben... I was so worried."
"Sssh... I'm here," and Ben is humiliated to hear the croak in his voice, from the tears now pooling down his cheeks. What has this girl done to him? He knows exactly what, but cannot be bothered to address it now, not when she is so weak.
"That's all I need to know. I'll sleep in your embrace at last..." And Rey's eyes close for just a moment in pure bliss, as she tries to wind Ben's arms about her tighter still, like a warm blanket she desperately craves. She is dwindling; he can see it. Oh, God above... if only I could heal your wounds with words of love...
Ben clutches her closer. "You're going to live. I promise!"
Rey smiles at him wryly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Ben..."
"I can and I will!" Recklessly, Ben makes the vow. "I am Supreme Leader, and I was born to be! If I say you will receive only the finest medical care, you shall! If I say you will live forever, you will!"
Rey shakes from the chill and nestles further into Ben's warmth. "I was born to be with you..." she whispers. The couple drifts into companionable silence for a moment, until Ben remembers:
"Did they hurt you?" he demands.
"Other than cut me off from the Force - from you - no," Rey denies.
"Did they touch you?" he growls, and he sends a murderous glare Finn's way, as his arms tighten about her possessively.
"No." Rey reaches for him. "You... only you..."
"I should never have let you out of my sight!" Ben seethes with regret.
"I should never have left you..." But being back where she belongs, Rey finally sighs with happiness. She loves this man so much!
She thinks it instinctively, and it is the first thought, feeling to pass between their minds in oh so long. Ben stiffens and shrinks back a fraction, his irises wide, expression slack. "You... you what?" he whispers.
Rey gazes back at him bravely. She had planned so many other, better ways in which to confess her love, but extenuating circumstances had gotten in the way. She does not know what she will do if he does not feel the same. Maybe it would be better to put the Force-proof cuffs back on and let herself fade away, become one with the Force.
Ben Solo, if you don't kiss me right now, I'll...
His lips mash into hers. And with every steamy kiss Ben now worships her with, he seems to breathe the very breath of life back into her lungs. Rey's cheeks flood with color once again. She feels her strength renewed. She now longer feels cold; rather, a bubbly warmth, compounding even the warmth of being in his arms, floods her from head to foot. Draping an arm about his neck, Rey yanks Ben closer and kisses him back, her eyes closing in raptured pleasure.
Ben now seems to become well and whole again too. He stands, bringing Rey up with him, so that she is nestled against him as though she is his bride.
From a short distance away, Finn watches the couple embrace, watches as their health seems to be restored by an almost magical kiss. He did his job, no matter the cost. And he even has to admit... he feels happy for them.
At last, Ben and Rey tenderly break apart, gazing into each other's eyes with blissful smiles. After a moment, however, Ben stiffens.
"They'll be searching for me. Hux and the others. I told no one that I left, and my conversation with you..." he glances to Finn, "... they might suspect. We have to run away!" And he begins to carry Rey grandly back to his TIE fighter, insisting that he do so in an almost fit of gallantry. Finn slowly follows behind, as the lovers prepare for take-off. Rey now glances back to her dear friend, remembering. "What about you?"
"Poe might give me a slap on the wrist. Or worse. But even then, I don't care." Finn shakes his head. "I don't care what he does to me."
"I daresay you don't," and Ben almost chuckles. "You're lucky I never reported you for insubordination."
Finn leans into the cockpit's window, bidding them both goodbye. "I want you both to run. Get as far away as you can. We'll finish this without you." Finn's eyes now lock onto Rey. "We'll see each other again. I believe that."
Rey gives him a beaming smile. Pulling him to her, she gives him a chaste kiss goodbye. A kiss of thanks. She notes how Ben does not seem to have any envy burn through his heart. After all, love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous...
Finn draws gently away. He grins broadly, and gives a jerk of his head. "Go on, get out of here, Jedi."
And he watches as the TIE fighter takes off from the field and into the nighttime sky.