A/N: I do not own Star Wars. I am merely playing with some of the characters.

Thank you so much for your response to this story! It means a lot! Please let me know what you think because it really helps.


2

Rey didn't know whether to feel annoyed, relieved, or terrified as she reluctantly leaned back in the seat of the car that belonged to the strange man who had unknowingly saved her life. Her guardian hadn't liked it when she told him she didn't want to fix up the stolen car for another one of his goons and let her know by way of his foot making contact with her body. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd gotten physical with her when she'd refused to do one of his 'jobs,' but it was the first time she'd been truly fearful for her life. The moment he walked away after the mysterious man stepped in to defend her, she knew he'd left the property and tried to leave her with the bill. She supposed the joke was on him because she'd left before checking in and the room was under his name.

She watched silently through the window as the man merged on to the highway and waited for him to start talking, but it seemed he was waiting for the same thing from her. She didn't especially feel like talking just yet so she hoped he was okay with silence. Judging from his stony face every time she chanced a glance at him, he was perfectly fine with silence.

It wasn't until he eventually pulled into a gas station a little after noon that the man turned to face her. She immediately steeled herself, ready for the moment when he decided to kick her out. But he didn't. Instead he said, "So what's your deal?"

She frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes and unbuckled his seat belt, though he made no move to leave the car. "I mean, what was that back there? Why was that man hurting you?"

"Oh I get it," Rey replied, her hackles instantly raised. "I must've done something to cause that, right? Because I had to have provoked him to beat me up."

"Well, most people don't just go around beating each other up for no reason."

"That one does."

Rey unbuckled her seat belt and was out of the car before she'd fully registered what she was doing. The slam of a car door behind her told her that the man had done the same thing.

"Hey, wait!"

She stopped but didn't turn around. If she did and looked into his eyes she knew she was likely to take a page out of Unkar Plutt's book and attack him.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that. It came out wrong. What I meant was…" he paused for a moment then sighed. "My name's Luke."

He spoke the last three words so softly it was barely more than a whisper, but was enough for Rey to turn around and look at him.

The man she now knew as Luke looked both dejected and frustrated as he regarded her with sad gray eyes. He seemed to convey a silent apology to her and something else that she couldn't quite name. Warily, she replied, "I'm Rey."

The name brought a small smile to his lips. It looked strained and unsure, as though he'd forgotten how to smile, but it was enough to at least temporarily put her at ease. "Rey." He nodded thoughtfully, though it was impossible for her to even guess what he was thinking about. "Are you hungry?"

The question was one that she normally had to think about. Every time the question was posed to her by Unkar Plutt it had been used to tease her or provoke a reaction that would get her punished. She glared at the man…Luke…but could find no malice or ill will from him so she reluctantly nodded.

"Can you go inside and get some food for the road?" Luke fished around in his pocket and produced a beat up wallet. He opened it up and pulled out a twenty.

Rey shrugged. Her leg hurt every time she put weight on it and her side felt like her organs were trying to push their way through, but it wasn't anything she hadn't dealt with before. "I guess."

"Okay. Get as much as that will cover while I fill up the tank, then meet me out here."

She took the twenty-dollar bill Luke gave her then went into the store and bought a variety of chips, soda, and candy as she was able. When she met Luke out front he was already in the car looking through a box of CDs she hadn't noticed before.

"How do you feel about the Rolling Stones?" he asked her by way of greeting.

Rey shrugged. "I don't listen to music that much."

Luke raised an eyebrow at her, but she pointedly ignored it as she set the bag of food by her feet and buckled her seatbelt. "Well, I guess it's up to me to educate you."

"Just where is it that we're going?" Rey blurted out. "I thought you were taking me to a hospital."

"I am."

"Well, why is it taking so long?"

Luke scoffed disbelievingly and gestured around them. "I can't take you to a hospital if my car runs out of gas. We needed to fill up first."

Rey sighed and leaned back. "I'll be okay if we don't go."

"Are you sure?" It was clear that the older man didn't believe her.

"It's just some bruises and a sore leg. I'll be fine."

"Is there somewhere you want me to take you? Any family within driving distance?"

Rey didn't answer at first, unsure how to respond. If she told him that she didn't have anyone except her sleazy foster father he might take her back or worse, to a police station or homeless shelter. She'd been in both back when she'd still been a ward of the state and they'd made living with Plutt feel like a luxury. She refused to go back to them. But the other option was finding a place for the night in a park or an alley and the prospect of that filled her with a fear she wasn't quite ready to face.

"I'll tell you what," Luke said after a minute's silence. "I'll take you to Coruscant, and we'll figure it out from there. Deal?"

Once again Rey felt uneasy and told him as much. "Why are doing all this? I'm not your responsibility."

"Honestly?" When Rey nodded Luke replied softly, "Because if it was my daughter I'd want someone to help her."

"Do you have a daughter?"

It was the wrong thing to ask. Immediately he turned away and started the car. The defenses she'd sensed around him earlier were back up and she felt as though a wall had been built between them.

"No. I don't." He pulled out of the gas station and merged back on to the highway, leaving them to drive in silence.

Rey wished she had something to do other than stare out the window and add up each mile marker on the road. By the time the sun had set and Luke pulled into a dumpy motel that was eerily similar to the previous one, Rey figured she'd put six hundred and two miles between Plutt and herself. The prospect filled her with both fear and elation.

"So how far is Coruscant from here?" Rey asked as she walked with Luke to the receptionist's desk of the motel.

"We should be there after another day's drive," Luke replied.

After they checked in and got a room with two queen beds, they found the room and dumped what little they had.

"Are you okay with having the snacks for dinner? I'll treat us to a proper meal in the morning," Luke said. She watched silently as he tested the mattress and closed his eyes in obvious exhaustion.

"That's fine," she replied quietly. She kicked off her ratty shoes and sat down on her bed, the one closest to the bathroom. A quick glance at her companion told her that he wasn't about to get up any time soon she took the liberty of having the first shower.

It felt as though she hadn't showered in days. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to shower without the constant knocking of Unkar Plutt and shouts of, "Hurry up! You're wasting water!" She half expected to hear a knock on the bathroom door and Luke's impatient voice and sped up anyway.

By the time she'd dressed in the same clothes she'd worn for the previous two days and returned to her bed, she saw that the older man was asleep on top of the bed, his shoes still on his feet. She debated with herself over whether she should wake him up or leave him be, ultimately deciding on the latter. He'd driven all day and was undoubtedly exhausted. Best to leave him alone.

After running her fingers through her short dark hair to get as many of the tangles out as she could, she threw her towel in the corner of the room and laid down, both hating the silence and relishing it. Sleep was usually harder for her to fall into when there was nothing for her to concentrate on other than her uneasy thoughts, but she found that the events of the previous twenty-four hours had brought her to the same level of exhaustion as her companion, and she had no trouble falling into the first peaceful sleep she'd gotten in a long, long time.