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She never saw him.

Although he was there, in the same place physically, and she heard his name mentioned, she had not seen him once.

"Is he confined?" she'd dared to ask General Organa, whose face had flicked instantly from open to wary upon hearing the question. She had paused, leaving Rey to concoct her own conclusion before she spoke.

"No," she replied, hesitantly. "He isn't confined, but he won't leave the room. He won't communicate."

Rey nodded, deciding against voicing an opinion. As the General turned and left, she turned, wondering how she, a scavenger on a remote planet, had ended up in this situation.

He couldn't speak.

As he sat on the bed, staring into space, time seemed to possess a luminous, floating quality. Hour after hour slipped by, with nothing to punctuate it but his own thoughts. Guilt. Fear. Guilt. Fear. Guilt. Fear.

His throat felt constricted. Food made him nauseous - tray after tray was rejected. Sleep was an impossibility. He would lie, his eyes closed, thoughts whirring through his head with no direction. Images flashing behind his eyes. The cruel visage of Snoke. The icy eyes of Hux. The pleading eyes of his father.

He blinked, trying to find mental clarity. Stretching out, he closed his eyes again, hoping to finally find solace. His eyes immediately flicked awake.

Rey was in her room, holding the lightsabre. As her fingers ran over the metal surface, her mind flashed back to the encounter she had had with Ren. Facing him in the forest, a cruel, majestic figure.

But she had left him, a scar trailing across his face, lying on the floor. A confused, deposed king, looking at her with an expression of shock.

Swallowing, she stood, carefully tucking the lightsabre into her belt. Moving before she could change her mind, she began to walk towards the corridor, and finally, arrived at her destination. She knocked.

No response.

Before her courage could desert her, she opened the door. He was sitting on the bed, looking at the floor. Despite his height, she blinked at how much smaller, how diminished, he appeared to be. Stripped of his cloak and mask, the man that appeared was fragile. Diminished.

"Ben?" she asked, softly.

He blinked, and looked up. "Well, well. If it isn't the girl who felled me."

She ignored the carefully worded jibe. "I'm Rey."

"I know who you are." His tone was soft, mocking. "I know who you are, I know about you."

"If you're trying to probe inside my head," she responded, his needling producing a reaction she was immediately ashamed of, "then it won't work. Remember - I-"

"Yes, you have similar abilities," he retaliated with. "You showed me, before. And you currently walk around, whilst I'm a prisoner-"

"That's not what General Organa thinks," Rey snapped. "You're not confined. You're choosing to confine yourself. We will listen if you choose to talk."

"We? You speak for her? For the man who killed her husband-"

"The man who killed his father."

He looked at her, coldness flickering across his face. Turning, she left the room.

"You spoke to him?" Poe looked visibly shocked. "Can't believe you'd do that."

"I felt I-" she paused, and shook her head. "He's here, remember? We can't ignore that. We can't ignore that he is with us."

"Which is a shame," Poe responded. "But, you deciding to talk to him-"

Rey rubbed her face with one hand, a feeling of anxiety beginning to course through her. "What about it?"

"How is the General going to feel?" Poe shook his head. "You, going in and-"

He broke off. Leia was walking towards them. "Rey?"

She turned. "Yes?"

"Would you do something for me?"

"Of course."

Leia looked at her, hesitantly. "Would you mind taking a tray to my son?" She paused, as though gathering her thoughts. "He may actually eat something if someone he knows is taking it to him."

Poe looked at Rey, astonished. She looked at her lap. Ben's refusal to eat was something that was acknowledged, but not discussed openly. "Of course."

"Thank you." Leia smiled, a genuine one, and turned to leave.

Rey paused as she stood outside the door, holding the tray. She swallowed. "Ben?"

After a few moments, the door opened. His face, pale, and slightly gaunt, looked at her, then moved to stand aside. As she walked in, she placed the tray on the bed. "Here."

He blinked, and then turned to her, an eyebrow raised. "Fattening me up?"

She shrugged. "I think your mother wants to."

He sighed and sat down. "If you say so."

"Are you-"

"Not with you here."

Rey turned, and began to leave. She couldn't do this - her heart was beginning to pound. As she turned to leave, suddenly a voice spoke inside her head.

Don't leave me.

Turning, she faced him, and let the door close.