Author's note: Star Wars does not belong to me. Reviews are like drops of water on a desert planet. This is my first Star Wars fic, so don't judge too harshly!

It has been a month since Rey and Kylo Ren defeated Snoke. She could still see the scene clearly. Her, standing over Ren, holding the lightsaber close to his throat. Snoke's cold laughter as he watched, expecting her to kill him. She should have killed him. He had killed Luke, Han, and thousands of innocents. But some impulse grabbed her, and she spoke through the bond. Help me kill Snoke. I can't do it without you. There's hope for you, I know it. To Snoke's shock, she helped Kylo Ren up. Together they defeated the guards surrounding Snoke. Two sabers pierced his body. Kylo Ren, or Ben, as Rey learned he was called, was brought back to the Rebel Base and put on trial. However, no matter what strings Leia pulled, or how many times Rey told them about how he had helped her defeat Snoke, the masses still wanted justice. And so, he is sentenced to a life of imprisonment and torture. By torture, they mean making a droid inject him with drugs that emphasize his pain and shocking him over and over again. Rey wants to believe this is just. Afterall, she had seen first hand the wake of destruction he left behind. She would never forget Chewbacca's howls as Han spiraled into the darkness. But then again… she had seen the desperation in his eyes. The unbalance. How torn he was. Still, she feels there is nothing she can do now.

One day she makes the mistake of walking down the hallway of where he is enduring his punishment. She can hear him screaming. How she wants to believe he deserves it. And he does… thousands and thousands dead. Entire planets blown up. But she can't help but hurt. She walks away, shaking. He deserves it, he deserves it, she chants. Maybe if she chants it long enough she will believe it. In the fresher, she turns the heat up and scrubs violently, but she feels more dirty than she ever did on Jakku. She lays down on her bed and shakes. She has nightmares.

She is in the desert again, walking past the AT-AT unit. It is like walking past a ghost. But she hears something inside. A sob. She goes in. He is lying there, shuddering on the ground, stripped down to his shorts. He looks up.

"Oh God Rey, Rey…" he shivers. "Make it stop, make it stop."

She inches closer, like coming near to an injured animal.

"There is no escape, even in dreams I can feel the pain. Please Rey… please!" Another little sob leaves his throat.

She reaches down and touches his temple. He grabs her wrist. Rey tries to pull away but his grip is strong.

"Rey, Rey… if you have any mercy at all, kill me. You can tell them I was trying to escape and you had to… make up something, anything! Please."

His grip loosens and he reaches up to place his shaking hand on the side of her cheek. "Oh Rey, please."

Those eyes are so dark, so filled with pain. And behind that, ghosts. The ghost of his father, and Snoke, and thousands of the dead.

"I don't want to kill you, Ben." She whispers. To him, her voice is like a drop of rain in the arid land that surrounds him.

"Rey, just make it stop. Please Rey. Promise me!"

His eyes are so desperate, so beautiful. In that moment, she decides she will end his pain. He is like the little gadgets she encountered on Jakku. Broken.

With that thought, she wakes up. The force bond has become a torment to her. Their dreams are shared. His pain leaks over, spilling over her like hot desert sand. She wants to cool him with her touch. In that moment, she decides that she will fulfil her promise, whatever it takes. She will find a way.