A/N: Assumptions I am making (just so we are on the same page): it has been about 2 weeks since Rey and Finn started off on this crazy adventure-one week for the events in The Force Awakens and one for The Last Jedi (or even, half a week for TFA and a week and a half for TLJ). I also assume that there are only about 2 dozen survivors on board the Millennium Falcon, based off my very thorough examination of the final scene at the end of TLJ (here the italics denote sarcasm). I'm a bit of a Reylo shipper (and whole-heartedly support Rose and Finn growing old together with adorable babies with her spunk and his charm) but am more interested in the development of Rey and Finn as people. And, though they're from drastically different backgrounds, they both came from very limited experiences and will have to figure out this crazy world. I assume they will lean heavily on each other throughout this, so to me their relationship is the most important one in the series now.

So, those are my assumptions. I hope you enjoy it!

"We have everything we need."

Rey felt the warm squeeze on her hand and smiled slightly, accepting the implications of the General's words. General Organa's gesture was intended to be reassuring, but the words weighed heavily on her shoulders. Because she could sense the older woman's expectations—could sense everyone's expectations. That she now had a responsibility, a role in this fight. That she was the Resistance's Jedi.

Barely trained (if one could even call it that), unsure of her abilities and feeling very alone, an ache burned in her chest. If only. If only Master Skywalker had been willing to teach her more before she left. If only he was still alive and she could return to training. If only there was someone else to help shoulder her new burden—this thought stung the most. She had been so certain she'd return to the Resistance with Ben at her side. How incredibly foolish of me, she thought. His own father had tried to bring him back and failed—how could she have expected to succeed where Han had failed?

Suddenly, unexpected certainty welled up inside her and swallowed her doubt—No, she wasn't foolish. She'd felt the conflict in him. She knew he was lost and alone and that part of him yearned to move toward the light. Seeing him, kneeling in the abandoned Rebel base where the Resistance had slipped through his fingers, she'd felt his misery. Hunger for power, and then for revenge, had won him. But the pull of the light still was there.

Looking at his mother, she wanted to tell her all these things. Taking a deep breath, she searched for the words to begin.

"Excuse me, General Organa." Someone else broke in before Rey found the words, stepping up and launching into a conversation. The moment was gone. Rey now saw several people standing nearby, waiting for a moment of Leia's attention. Realizing she would have to wait for more time with the General, Rey quietly slipped away to find Finn. Other than their reunion hug and a few significant looks, they hadn't yet caught up. And it appeared he had a story to tell.

For her part, she wasn't sure how much to tell of hers. She was quite certain what his reaction would be to learning of her connection to Kylo Ren. Not good. He had so much hatred for his former superior, if she told him about this connection, he would no doubt explode. She doubted Finn would ever be able to see past the monster. She understood it, really. If she hadn't been forced to share space with him, if she hadn't felt the turmoil of his emotions, if she hadn't seen that vision of his future...a future bright with the light side of the Force, she wouldn't have been able to see past the monster either.

Finn had disappeared down the corridor moments ago, following a cadre of people moving a wounded survivor, and Rey wandered in that direction now. She weaved her way through clusters of Resistance members talking excitedly to one another, comparing versions of the recent events, and made her way down the corridor. A few individuals stood or sat alone against the walls, clearly shell-shocked. For them, the initial euphoria of survival had already drained away and Rey could feel the despair radiating off them. To squeeze past a particularly gangly alien, she had to brush against his shoulder and, in the moment of contact, she felt his mind dwelling on a friend who had perished on the surface of Crait.

She found Finn in the tiny sleeping quarters, where a makeshift infirmary had been set up and the few surviving wounded had been moved. Finn was standing by Rose's bedside. He smiled tightly to Rey as she appeared next to him and slipped her hand briefly into his to give it a squeeze. Rey thought how funny it was that the gesture felt so natural and comforting, when only a few weeks ago, she was infuriated by his habit of constantly grabbing her hand.

They both gazed down at the young technician. "Her name is Rose," he said without preamble, then added in an awed tone, "She loves me." Rey looked at him with slight surprise, but Finn kept his eyes fixed on Rose. Rey's sharp wit was ready to launch any number of teasing remarks—You've had a busy week, or Did that happen before or after you woke up from your coma—but seeing his earnest expression, she held her tongue and he continued in the same hushed voice, "She saved my life."

Rey asked quietly, "How did you meet?" A slow grin grew on his face at the memory. He glanced around the quiet space. As eager as he was to tell the whole story, this wasn't the right place.

Lieutenant Connix was nearby, having finished attending another wounded fighter. Watching their exchange and, reading the reason for his hesitation, she nodded toward Rose and said, "Go catch up. I'll stay with her. When she wakes, we'll get you right away." Finn blushed and looked sheepish. He desperately wanted to be the first face Rose saw when she woke up, but he was also desperate to talk with his best friend. Connix nudged him, while smiling warmly at Rey, and that seemed to get him going. With a nod and another sheepish grin, he cocked his head toward the hallway and Rey nodded. When they got out to the hall, he gestured dramatically while grinning, "She hit me with an electro-shock prod. Blasted me back 2 meters and knocked me right out."

Rey was surprised by her own laughter, as it bubbled up. With all that had happened, she'd not thought it possible to find joy in anything. Leave it to Finn to bring it back to her. Looking at his open, grinning face, her eyes threatened to tear up and she said bluntly, "I missed you." His animated expression softened to affection.

"I missed you too."

From waking up in the infirmary of the Raddus to the decimation of the bridge and General Organa's miraculous survival, he told her everything. Looking sheepish again, he admitted he'd been about to desert the Resistance with the General's tracking bracelet in an escape pod. He made Rey chuckle again at his description of the after effects of being shocked by Rose's prod. When he got to the part about bringing their plan to Poe, he was interrupted by Lieutenant Connix popping through the door. Rose was stirring. Finn rushed back in and Rey followed, hanging back.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" He gazed down at Rose and the young woman smiled up at him in a way that made Rey feel she was intruding. Suddenly awkward, Rey backed out without a word and made her way to the cockpit, hoping to find Chewie alone. Unfortunately, all the cockpit chairs were occupied by exhausted Resistance fighters.

Not knowing where else to go, she perched on the edge of a console. Chewbacca looked up at her with a meaningful expression and growled a question. Want to talk about what happened now?

When he'd picked her up in Snoke's escape craft, shaky and tear-stained, she had refused to say more than a brief, "He's not coming," before immediately changing gears, "We have to get to the fleet. The First Order will be coming for them." He'd let it go at the time, more comfortable taking action than having an emotional discussion.

Rey sighed deeply, prompting him to continue, What did he say? At mention of he, Rey looked meaningfully at their dozing companions and Chewie growled dismissively in response. You know the chances they understand me are small. But he let whatever had transpired on the Supremacy drop, asking instead, Does Leia know? Rey knew he was referring to her connection with Ben Solo and the vision she'd seen of his future. She sighed heavily.

"Not yet. There are too many people waiting to talk to her. I'm waiting for the right moment."

He huffed, She deserves to know. Rey could only nod in agreement.

They settled into a companionable silence, watching the mottled blue of hyperspace. She appreciated that he wouldn't push her for more information. She wasn't sure how much she wanted anyone—even the General—to know. It had been an extremely intense series of exchanges. Which had become intensely intimate. But, as with Chewbacca on leaving Ahch-to, she couldn't see how to justify her going to the Supremacy without explaining how she'd felt the conflict in Kylo Ren.

She didn't have much time to dwell on these thoughts as Commander D'acy rounded the corner and called down the passage, "General Organa is going to say some words to everyone in a few minutes." Rey and their no longer dozing companions obediently moved to the door. She waited expectantly for Chewie, but he demurred, growling that she could give him the highlights as it would be crowded enough without a Wookie crushed into the mix. Rey nodded appreciatively. "The highlights, then."