Chapter 10

Rey

Rey was lying in bed staring at her ceiling. It had been a full day since she had stepped back onto the Resistance base. She was struggling to sleep, and each time she closed her eyes, she could hear a heartbeat pound against her ears. She concentrated on the gentle thumps and soon realised that it wasn't her own. Could it be Ben?

His voice resonated within her mind, "I'm not surprised you would go there."

She swiftly sat up and her eyes urgently began searching the shadows. "Ben, is that you?" When she didn't hear a response or see any movement, she lied back down. She greatly wanted him to be there, had she imagined his voice? Was she going crazy?

She reached out her mind and she was able to finally grasp the invisible string that linked her to Ben. She tugged on it and felt his presence appear beside her. She turned her face to look at the place she would find him, but her eyes were met with a sight she didn't expect. He wasn't solid like he normally was, she could see straight through him. He was like a ghost, barely visible and it looked like he could disappear at any moment.

Only seconds had passed before she spoke. "Is this real or am I dreaming?"

He smiled at her. "As real as any other force bond."

"How is this happening?"

He shook his head. "I honestly don't know."

She was staring at him afraid to blink, fearful that he would vanish. "Ben, I'm being torn apart."

His voice was soft and soothing. "I know, I can feel the conflict within you."

Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. "I don't know what to do."

"You need to let go. You can't let what happened define you."

The invisible wall she had built around her emotions was crumbling. "I slaughtered all those people."

"Sweetheart, you didn't have a choice." He reached out to wipe away the tear that had fled her eye, pulling back when he realised he couldn't touch her.

She wrapped her arms around herself. Her ability to speak trembled, "I want to be free of this pain."

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It was hurting him to see her like this. "You don't need to suppress your emotions, you need to draw strength from them."

"I don't want to do this without you," she whispered.

"You need to let me go, you can't come for me."

Her body was starting to shake. "Why?"

"I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I need to finish this, and I can take them down from the inside."

"What will you have me do?"

"When the time comes, you'll know what to do. Trust the force and let it guide you." He faded away from the spot he had been lying next to her. Her hand touched where he had been, and she allowed the tears to flow. She cried into her pillow and for the first time since his capture, she allowed herself to feel.

The following morning, she called a meeting with Leia, Finn and Poe. It was time to tell them the truth. When they were assembled in a small room together, she was staring at a mark on the table that they were all seated around.

"I called this meeting because you all need to know something." She bit the inside of her cheek nervously. "To bring down the First Order you all need to know the truth. If we are to trust each other and work together, we can't have any secrets. While I was away, things between Ben Solo and I changed." She peered at Leia.

"Ben Solo?" Finned inquired. "Who's that?"

Poe answered without removing his gaze from Rey. "That's Han and Leia's son. I thought he was killed by Kylo Ren."

"Not exactly," she replied. She hadn't broken her eyesight from Leia, who was calmly taking in her words.

Rey was having trouble continuing; her heart was pounding. Leia could sense how much she was struggling and reached out her hand with her palm facing up. Rey deliberately lifted her left hand out from under the table to grasp her fingertips. Leia's eyes grew wide as she took in the thin silver band with black lined edges.

She smiled. "You married him?" Her eyes were shining.

Rey sighed with relief allowing a smirk to creep across her face. "Yes, I did."

Poe and Finn's mouths were both gaping open.

"You're… you're married?" Finn managed to spit out. Not quite believing what he was trying to confirm. "What! Since when?"

Rey turned her focus on him. "There's more."

Finn let out an exaggerated groan. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Rey continued. "I didn't just bind myself to Ben, I'm also bound to Kylo Ren."

Poe waved away this confirmation like it was an annoying fly buzzing around his head. "We already know about your force bond."

"No, Ben Solo is Kylo Ren."

The realisation struck both men hard. Finn leapt to his feet. "How could you bind yourself to that monster?"

Rey was just as swift and the seat she was sitting on had fallen to the ground with a loud bang. "There is a man behind the monster."

Poe was in shock, but he tried desperately to understand. "How could you forget all the horrible things, he has done?"

Finn was still shouting, "how could you let him seduce you?"

Leia silenced both men. "Enough!" She pointed a finger as she addressed them both, like a mother scolding her fighting children. "She didn't need to tell us the truth, but she did. Keep your thoughts to yourself."

She turned towards Rey. "I'm happy you told us." She stepped closer and cupped Rey's face within her hands delicately. "I couldn't be more delighted to have you join my family."

Finn crossed his arms across his chest, "of course you're pleased, you gained a daughter."

Both women looked at him with daggers in their eyes.

Poe now stood in between them with his hands raised. "Okay, we all need to calm down. I'll admit, I'm not too happy with who Rey chose as her husband, but I'm willing to accept it. There is clearly a reason that she is revealing this to us and I want to know, what is it?"

"I told you because Ben was captured by the First Order and I need your help to bring them down. Hux thinks he can use our relationship to lure me in to rescue him, but that's not what we are going to do."

Leia was confused, "you don't want to save him?"

"He doesn't need saving. I know he will find his way back to me, all on his own. Our priority is to take down Hux by destroying the Finaliser."

Rey observed Poe, "do have any ideas?"

"Most of my plans involve getting in my X-wing and blowing stuff up." He looked to Leia who tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. He smirked, "let's do it."

Finn nodded his head in agreement. Finally, they were all back on the same page. It was nearly time for the First Order to fall.