The blue hard shell suitcase is the same one Rey's mother had packed before dropping her off with Aunt Ginny, who wasn't Rey's aunt at all, or mama's aunt. She was a cousin of some kind, and the only living family that Lila Kenobi knew of.

Lila had knelt in front of five-year-old Rey and told her that she would be back. For a long time, Rey believed it. And for a long time after she stopped believing, she pretended she did. Aunt Ginny had died when Rey was eight, and CPS was never able to locate her mother. The last known trace had been an arrest in Reno the year before. There was no father listed on Rey's birth certificate, and Lila had never called him anything but "that bastard."

All attempts at locating any family met with dead ends. Rey had fallen into the foster care system, and this suitcase had transported her possessions through five different homes before settling in the cramped closet of this trailer two days after Rey's eighteenth birthday. She hasn't been out of town long enough to need it since.

She sips at a glass of whiskey and Coke while she contemplates her clothes. Every stitch she owns is piled on her bed. There's more here than she thought she had, but then again, she hardly ever gets rid of things and she's been the same size since she was thirteen, just growing taller instead of wider.

Finally, she decides to bring what she loves, not what other people might like. It's all going to scream "country bumpkin" anyway.

The sun is barely up, but it's warm enough to have the windows open in the trailer and drive out the lingering winter stuffiness. It'll be warmer still in LA, so in addition to her jeans she packs light dresses and flowy skirts. As much as she fantasizes about getting a massive Pretty Woman style makeover when she arrives, she understands nothing like that will happen until she's signed, and it would all end up going on her tab anyway.

The excitement of flying for the first time burns away the nervousness she has over it, but the rest of this trip is so completely unknown, and intimidating. The furthest she's ever been from home was a sixth grade trip to El Paso. Having Ahsoka drive her to the airport will be a huge comfort, but things have changed so much since she recorded her last album that she may not be able to adequately prepare her.

Rey looks at her watch and her stomach drops. Ahsoka will be here in fifteen minutes. Why had she put this off until the last minute?

She finishes with her clothes, goes into the bathroom, throws some makeup and toiletries into a plastic bag, then puts it in the suitcase with her clothes. Checks her backpack for her ID, plane ticket, money, and the gum that Ahsoka had suggested in case the pressure changes bother her ears. She puts the suitcase, backpack and her guitar by the door and closes all the windows. She's just started to get antsy sitting on the sofa when she hears Ahsoka's old Mercedes pull into the driveway. Rey bounds out, somehow carrying everything in one load, and Ahsoka helps her load the car.

"Don't let them convince you to check your guitar," she tells Rey. "That pretty little neck will snap from the pressure changes. They can check it at the gate for you."

"Thank you so much, again," Rey says as she locks up the trailer. "I know things have been crazy at the shop with the Equinox and all."

Ahsoka closes the trunk. "My customers have been patient with my erratic schedule for twenty years. This is once in a lifetime."

Albuquerque is only two hours away but it has never felt longer to Rey. Even the anticipation of going to concerts has never made the drive seem this interminable, and she's usually in the driver's seat.

"Do you want to drive?" Ahsoka asks after half an hour of Rey fidgeting. She's tried losing herself in the music, in the scenery, but all she's doing is counting mile markers.

"Please?"

Ahsoka pulls over and they switch. "I've always wanted to drive this car," Rey says as she adjusts the mirrors. It's a diesel Mercedes from the 70s, built like a tank but tricked out with more features than most new cars. Once they're back on the highway, Rey relaxes a bit, finally in control. Ahsoka has never changed out the eight track player in the car so they listen to all of Hotel California and Rumours, before Albuquerque's modest skyline comes into view.

At the airport, Ahsoka helps Rey through check in and baggage screening and walks with her to the gate. They'd given her a little trouble about the guitar but Ahsoka had firmly but sweetly told them that checking it at the gate would work out perfectly.

They settle into hard plastic seats facing the windows.

"I have a weird gut feeling, like I'm making a mistake? But I think it may just be fear."

"I'll pick you up and put you on that plane if you try to back out."

"That won't happen. I can't back out now." After a few minutes of silence, Rey asks what she's always wanted to know.

"Why did you leave it all behind?"

Ahsoka takes Rey's hand. "It's a long story and we can talk about it more eventually, but it all came down to the fact that it wasn't what I needed or wanted anymore. All I wanted to do was express myself, and I got to do that for a long time. And then it felt like I wasn't expressing myself so much as this person we'd all created. There's a lot that went into my coming to this realization, and none of it is pretty. I don't want to discourage you, Rey, but I want you to be careful. I'm not the worst cautionary tale out there."

"Like you said the other day, I know who I am. I'll be fine."

"Well, you'd better be. Now let's talk about something silly until they start boarding."

Rey sobs as the plane takes off. She'd managed to hold back when she'd hugged Ahsoka goodbye, but had barely been able to speak through the lump in her throat. Now she watches the desert scroll out below her behind the plane's wing, and as they rise above the clouds she says goodbye, because even if she comes back, somehow it won't be coming home anymore.

She spends the entire flight looking out the window. It's only ninety minutes and now time is speeding by. She's not even finished with the Coke the flight attendant brought her when they begin the descent. Chewing furiously on her gum, she presses her face to the window, enraptured by the sheer scope of everything. A never ending grid of buildings and roads, distant sky scrapers, and swimming pools. And as they begin their final descent, they swoop over a massive freeway with more lanes than she can count. Her stomach dips as the wheels touch the earth again and her ears give a satisfying pop.

When the plane slows and begins taxiing to the gate, the lady next to her puts away her rosary and pats Rey on the arm. "We made it!" she says.

"We did," Rey answers.

A man holding a sign with Rey's last name stands among other men and women holding signs with other names and Rey sighs. Finn's assistant Robyn had said they'd send a car but hadn't said exactly where they were supposed to meet.

"Hi! I'm Rey," she says to the stony faced man and holds out her hand. He looks at it for a moment, then shakes it.

"Alexei," he says. "Did you check a bag?"

"Yes."

He takes her guitar. "Follow me, we'll collect it."

She follows him, letting him cut a path through the crowd as they walk down the concourse. Rey's primary impression is of light and steel, and more types of people than she's ever seen.

The bags are already circling the belt when they reach baggage claim. She spots her suitcase and moves to get it, but Alexei gets to it before her, giving her a stern look as he hefts it from the belt.

"Just one?"

"That's it."

He nods and starts off toward the sliding doors. It's just as hectic outside, with cars and people everywhere. Alexei leads her to a black town car and opens the door for her. She slides into the back seat and waits for him to load her guitar and suitcase.

The car is spotless on the inside and smells new. Rey looks out the window as they pull out, but avoids putting her forehead on the glass like she had on the plane.

"How long have you lived here, Alexei?"

"Twelve years."

"And before that?"

"Ukraine."

"Did you come here to be an actor?"

"I came for freedom, Miss Kenobi."

"Oh." Rey says. She wants to ask him how old he'd been, how he'd gotten out and who he'd left behind, but he's put on his sunglasses and entered the freeway. His face becomes a closed door. Rey looks out the window again. Her lack of sleep the night before catches up to her and she dozes, using her backpack as a pillow. She wakes up when the car stops.

Alexei opens her door and she gets out. A bell boy has already jogged over to the car. He takes her suitcase and guitar from Alexei and puts them on a bell cart.

"Thank you, Alexei."

"Have a lovely trip, Miss Kenobi," he says. He nods and returns to the car.

Rey follows the bell boy, looking for any sign of Finn as they cross the lobby. She can't recall if he'd said he would meet her to check her in or if she should check in on her own. She'd missed getting a look at the hotel when they'd pulled in under the canopy, but judging from the lobby it's massive.

And fancy. As they get closer to the desk her heart rate quickens. Surely they'll figure out any second she doesn't actually belong here.

"Rey!"

Rey turns at the sound of her name to see a tiny red headed woman in a suit coming her way.

"Hi, I'm Robyn, Finn's assistant. We'll get you checked in and let you change clothes but then we've got to scoot over to a meeting with the label. You'll probably want lunch, too? I can have them send something up while you're getting ready. They have an amazing Caesar salad here. Come along."

In no time Robyn has secured a room key for Rey. The bell hop follows them to the elevator and they get out on the fifth floor. A short walk down a hall and they open the door to a room about the size of Rey's trailer.

Robyn takes care of tipping the bellboy and sending him away. Rey stands in the middle of the room. What if she moves too suddenly and it all dissolves, and she wakes up in New Mexico? Then her stomach growls, and she's pretty sure that's not something that happens to her in dreams, so she sets her backpack on the desk and goes to the window.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like for lunch, dear?"

"Can I just get a hamburger and fries?"

"Of course. Milkshake, too?"

"Um. Yes? Chocolate?"

"Done. I'll order that then get out of your way. You can take a shower or whatever you need to do. I'll be in the lounge. We need to leave in an hour."

"Okay."

Robyn closes the door and her ears ring in the silence. She relishes it for a moment, then begins a thorough investigation of the room. Dark wood furniture, rich green carpet, and a bed the size of her entire bedroom at home.

"I will not climb into that bed and take a nap," she tells herself. She doesn't have that long to get ready.

The bathroom is predictably huge, with an enormous bathtub as well as a shower. The toilet is in a separate little room. There's a phone in that room as well as in the main bathroom.

Forty-five minutes later, Rey steps off the elevator and locates the lounge. Between devouring her enormous lunch and trying to figure out what to wear, she'd run short on time. In all of her research on the recording industry she'd never come across advice for what to wear to meetings with record executives. She'd brought the black suit she'd worn to her high school graduation, but once she got it out, it seemed way too formal. Finally, she'd put on a baby blue A-line dress and topped it with the suit jacket. Paired with her cowboy boots, it wasn't not bad. She put her hair up in two coils on the side of her head, leaving a few whispies.

"Fuck it," she'd said, after putting on some lip gloss and mascara.

Finn is with Robyn in the lounge and Rey has to keep herself from running to him and giving him a hug. His presence is so comforting, even though she's only met him once.

He stands up when he sees her, coming over to meet her.

"Rey, you look incredible," he says as he shakes her hand. "I need to update you on a couple of things before we head to our meeting." He gestures to the table. It's small and glass topped, and the pedestal is lit from within. The chairs are rather lush and she's not sure whether to sink back into hers or lean forward and rest her arms on the table. She settles for sitting on the edge of the chair with her hands in her lap.

"Do you want something to drink?" Robyn asks.

"Just a Coke."

Robyn goes to the bar, leaving Rey and Finn to talk alone.

"Rey, there have been some pretty big changes as of yesterday so I need to fill you in before we go to this meeting."

"Oh God they haven't backed out, have they?"

"No. It's just that… I'm not with First Order anymore. I've moved on to Resistance Records. Your meeting is at their office. Now, my resignation isn't effective until Monday so if you still want to sign with First Order I can facilitate that. But I won't be there after you're signed."

"Finn, this is a lot to take in. Why are you leaving?"

He tells her about the situation with Aayla, and his reservations about how her career would be handled at First Order.

"Okay. Well, I definitely want to take the meeting with Resistance. And then we'll decide from there. You know you could have called me last night."

"And that's completely my bad, Rey. I was freaking out a bit, though, going back and forth. I wasn't even totally sure even after I talked to their head of A&R. That's who we're meeting with."

Robyn comes back with their drinks and they talk about the pros and cons of a major label and an indie.

"But Resistance is barely an indie anymore, really," Robyn says. "They've grown a lot. So it's probably the best of both worlds."

"And you were willing to quit, too, to keep working for Finn?"

"Absolutely. Things are a bit miserable over there. Speaking of which, I'm going to take advantage of the quiet time to start slowly cleaning out my desk. It was nice meeting you, Rey."

After Robyn leaves, Finn looks at his watch. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Rey says.

They're ushered in as soon as Finn gives his name to the receptionist at Resistance. The offices take up the ground floor of a converted church in Silver Lake. From the foyer, they push through a pair of heavy wooden doors into what used to be the sanctuary but is now a bullpen of sorts. There are spaces vaguely delineated as offices with rugs and furniture and plants, but the offices have no walls. There are only two people actually at their desks.

"It's Friday afternoon. Official start to the weekend," Finn says to her. "We don't work in the office on the weekends unless we have to."

They pass through the sanctuary, past the choir loft-turned-breakroom through a smaller wooden door that opens onto a bank of traditional offices. The one on the left has a sign that says "Leia Organa" right below the hand painted gold lettering saying "Pastor." The one directly ahead is Poe Dameron's, formerly the Assistant Pastor's office. Finn knocks on the door and a bright voice tells them to come in.

Poe Dameron's office is as orderly as the sanctuary is haphazard. He stands and comes around his desk to shake hands with Finn. When he gets to Rey, he looks her in the eyes and smiles while shaking her hand. Her face burns and she can barely get out a "hello," he's so good looking. Big sleepy brown eyes, perfect dark hair, and the most generous smile she's ever seen. From the looks of Finn, Poe has this effect on everyone.

"Have a seat," Poe says.

When they're all seated he aims that smile at Rey again and she manages not to duck her head and blush again. Or worse, giggle.

"Did you get a chance to listen to Rey's demo?" Finn asks.

"Of course! Rey, it's fantastic. I knew it would be, because Finn has a golden ear, but I was truly blown away. I'm certain we can find a place for you here at Resistance. Now, we won't be able to offer you as big an advance as First Order, but we believe in making sure that artists get the highest cut of sales possible. Plus, First Order won't have Finn anymore."

The door pops open and a short, round person with spiky, bright orange hair and glasses comes in with an armful of beverages. They hand a bottled water to Poe.

"Here Finn," they say. "Poe said you like pink lemonade Snapple. And he didn't know what you like, Rey, but, based on your music, figured you for an apple juice kind of girl."

Rey accepts the juice.

"Rey, this is my assistant, Bebe."

"Thank you, Bebe."

"No problem!" Bebe leaves but comes back seconds later with a file folder. They hand it over to Poe and settle into a corner chair with a pen and notepad.

"I'm sure Finn explained a deal memo before? It's not a contract, it just establishes an official business relationship. We'll get into negotiations as soon as you hire a manager. Do you have anyone in mind to introduce her to, Finn?"

"A couple of people. One's going to be at the ASCAP party tonight, but I'm having some trouble pinning down a meeting with Maz."

Poe sighs. "You're probably not going to get very far without Han. She keeps saying she's not taking on anymore clients but Han always talks her into it."

"Is he in Bali with The General?"

"Lord no," Poe says. He shoots Finn a look that clearly says he'll fill him in more later. "I'll see if I can find him and get something set up."

Rey reads over the deal memo as they talk. It's similar to the one she signed for Finn, which he said he'd shredded before anyone at First Order had seen it.

The words blur a bit and then it's almost like she's outside of herself observing everything. She's never trusted anyone as quickly as she does these two men and it's terrifying. But there are going to be a lot of terrifying things in the months to come and having people to trust is a good thing.

Rey looks up and Bebe hands over a pen.

She takes a deep breath, sets the memo down on Poe's desk, and signs her name.

After a long talk and a tour of the rest of the headquarters, Poe takes them to a celebratory dinner at an old school steak house where they serve a salad that's nothing but blue cheese dressing poured over a wedge of lettuce. It's delicious, as is her steak. It takes all of Rey's will to eat slowly, but the good conversation helps keep her from gobbling her food and licking her plate.

In Finn's car on the way to the party, Rey looks at Finn with a raised eyebrow. "You like him."

"What?"

"You like him. I don't blame you, but you totally do."

"Doesn't matter," Finn says. "He's about to be my boss."

"We'll see."

The car pulls between two gates. Finn gives his name and they're waved through. The driveway meanders up a hill, on top of which sits the most stunning house Rey has ever seen. Like so many things here, it's right out of a movie. Maybe she has seen it in a movie. It sits low and flat on the plateau, two long wings in an L shape, nothing but steel and glass.

"Do I really look okay?"

"I wouldn't have brought you if you didn't look far more than okay. I have a reputation to uphold, you know? Let's go inside."

Rey is handed a glass of wine within moments of walking through the door, with no question about her age. She still has that feeling of being slightly outside her body, but maybe that's a good thing. Everything is too perfect, from the beautiful people and exquisite white furnishings, to the ambient music played at just the right volume for conversation. There's a good chance she would absolutely freak out if she didn't feel so detached.

The manager Finn wanted her to meet hasn't arrived yet, so he introduces her to everyone he knows, emphasizing her songwriting skills at every turn. She meets more than one person whom she's seen on MTV and in magazines. All of them seem shorter in person.

"By the way, have you joined ASCAP or BMI yet?" Finn asks.

"I hand out my demos to strangers, what do you think?"

"That's my girl," he says.

"But one day I want my own publishing company."

"I can believe it. Wait here a minute. I need to go talk to someone and he gets grabby as hell with women."

She waits a few minutes for him, but her stomach roils from her two glasses of wine (and the two full meals she's had.) The hostess, a music publisher's wife, stops as she passes by.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"Yeah! Great. Just a little warm."

"You can go out on the west deck for some air. I've got it closed off this evening. There's always someone who needs to get away from the din." She ushers Rey through a guest bedroom and points the way to the deck.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure, sweetie."

Rey steps out onto the dimly lit deck and immediately comes back to her body. The wind kisses her hot cheeks and her stomach stops its rebellion. She walks straight to the railing. This deck is on the opposite side of the plateau from where they came up. Lights from other houses dot the dark canyon below and the downtown skyline looms bright in the distance. She leans over a bit and lets the breeze tickle her face, spots twinkling in front of her eyes when she stands up straight.

She's not alone.

Unnoticed when she came out, a tall man, wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood up, leans on the railing twenty feet from her, smoking a cigarette. The sweet smell of cloves lingers in the air. He looks over at her, then back out toward the canyon, shaking his head.

"Hello, Rey," he says.

Rey closes her eyes. Of all the places and all the people. Letting out a breath, she opens her eyes, and looks over at Kylo Ren with what she hopes is a smile.

"Hi."