Together

"We'll take Snoke's ship," Ben says, as he grabs their lightsabers, and begins to move quickly to one side of the room. "The ship will leave soon, and we want to be on it when they do. At least, if we are going to do this, then we must."

"We do need to," she said softly. It didn't matter that she had a tracking beacon to Leia. That would only help her track the Rebels. No, if the First Order came in now, with proof of Ben's betrayal laying out for them all to see, then they were as good as dead.

She stretched her hand out to him, for they were in this together now. They would face it all, the First Order and the destruction they caused, the Rebels and the doubt they would hold. She was with him, every step of the way, no matter what it was that they would face.

"Then let's get going," he said taking her hand, as he led her to a door at the back of the room. He placed his hand over a sensor, and it opened.

"It's been configured," he explained to her slowly. "So that very few people have access to this room."

She followed him in, as he took a seat in the small ship there, room for barely two people in it. She sat down beside him, taking over a set of controls, as he took the other. "Cloaking on?"

"Yes," he nodded, "They're only scanning for big ships; they won't see us leaving."

"Good," she nodded. It definitely would make it easier if they didn't have to fight their way out of this, well at least any more than they already had.

She flipped the switches, turning on the aircraft, and Ben looked over at her. She could feel the uncertainty radiating off of him, through their bond, and she placed her hand over his.

"She'll be happy to have you back," she told him softly. "She's only ever wanted you to come home. Yes, she'll be mad, furious even, but at the end of the day, all she'll want is for you to be home safe and sound."

"Home," his voice echoed, sound distant.

"We need to leave, Ben," she said gently, "Before the Resistance jumps to hyperspace."

He nodded at her, and turned to what was in front of them. He flipped his switches, and the engine began to come to life.

They left the hanger, and flew in space, and her heart was racing the entire time. She was sure it was only a matter of time before the First Order found them.

They were close to the Resistance ship when she heard the voice come out across the radio.

"Approaching ship identify yourselves," she heard a voice come through. "I repeat, identify yourself."

"This is Rey!" she spoke into the radio, "We have come back from our mission."

She heard what sounded like the radio being grabbed from the original speaker by another, "Rey?" Finn's voice called out. "You're back! You need to hurry. We're about to make the jump to hyperspace, and I don't think we can hold on much longer before we need to leave."

"Affirmative," she copied, as she pushed the controls forward and they landed on the ship.

"Ready?" she asked, turning to face Ben. He had gone pale, and she reached her hand out to him. "We'll face this Ben. Together."

"Together," he echoed, as he took her hand. Gone was the formidable Sith lord, and in front of her was the boy who was scared all those years ago. Scared by the darkness. Scared by his family not believing in him.

She jumped out of the plane, and was immediately swept up into a hug by Finn.

"You're safe," he said softly, and she relaxed into her friend. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she whispered.

"We need to go, now!" she heard another voice exclaim, speaking into a commlink. "That's the last of the people we were waiting to return. We don't have long before their tracking beacons come back online. Make the jump to hyperspace."

She felt the ship take off, speeding away from the First Order, and away from the imminent danger. But now came the hard part. Now came explaining to them all what exactly had happened.

She pulled away from and looked up at another man standing beside Finn.

"Poe Dameron," he said, stretching her hand out to him. "I talked to you over the radio. Nice to finally meet you."

"And you," she smiled looking up at him. "BB-8 was quite worried about you."

"He's a good droid," Poe said, smiling proudly. "I'm lucky to have him."

"Rey, good to have you back," she heard an older, familiar voice call out.

"General," Rey greeted Leia. She looked behind her, and knew that Ben was still in the ship, and she wondered if he had any plans of coming out any time soon.

She could see it in Leia's face, that she sensed it, that she knew something had shifted. That she could sense his presence onboard.

"Ben," she said softly, turning to the ship Rey had returned on, and immediately Finn and Poe turned to face Leia.

"Here?" Finn yelped. "You brought that murderer here? Are you insane?"

"I took a detour on my way back from Luke," Rey explained softly. "I have a bond with him. I can't explain it, but I can see him sometimes, when he's not there. I can feel him, in my mind, in my body, all around me. He was scared, he was torn."

"So you went to him," Poe spoke, looking curious.

"I went to him," she confirmed. "On The Supremacy."

"And?" Leia asked, looking anxious. And she knew why. Her son had returned, from years of being lost to the Light side.

"And he took me to Snoke, who tried to read my mind, and demanded Ben kill me," Rey said softly. "But instead, Ben killed him, and we escaped."

"Kylo Ren killed Snoke," Finn repeated, not believing the words he was hearing. "Are you sure? It seems like some sort of trap. That he's making you believe he changed to gain your trust and try and turn you. Or worse, kill us all."

"He's not!" Rey snapped, surprising them all. "Trust me," she said, looking up at the General. "Please. He's scared and wants to make a change. Don't you see how hard this is for him? He's terrified that you'll reject him, and that you won't want him anymore."

"Could you blame her?" Finn scoffed, "He killed his father!"

"Enough," Leia commanded. "I want to see him."

Rey nodded, and she knew Ben could feel through the bond the support she was offering. "Come out, Ben. It's time."

She could feel the fear and the worry, and she sent a rush of support.

The door opened, and she watched as Ben Solo stepped out of the ship. She could see the fear in those around him, unsure of whether he was going to take out his lightsaber and kill them all. Unsure of what was happening.

But none of their reactions mattered. Not when Leia stepped forward and slapped her son for them all to see.

She felt shocked, watching it happen, unsure of whether she should say something, do something. And from the worry on Ben's face she knew he felt the same. But then she did something that Rey wasn't expecting.

She pulled her son into a tight hug and began sobbing.

Rey watched as Ben held on tightly to his mother, and buried his head into her shoulder.

It wouldn't be easy, that much was for sure. But they were on track to making things right.