Tomorrow he would die.

Again.

Dex sighed and stared at a photograph of Amy. He had retreated back into Ben's mind to give him a chance to be alone with Rey. The two of them had so much to look forward to... and so much more to face. The best thing he could do for them would be to give them space.

There was a knock at the door.

"It's unlocked. Come on in." He chuckled wryly. "It's your mind, anyway."

Ben was there. So was Rey.

And much to his surprise, Leia.

"Shouldn't you guys be resting?" Dex asked them. He kept on looking at Amy's photograph.

"You're lonely," Ben stated in a tone of voice that did not brook disagreement.

"I guess I am."

"We're your friends," Rey added.

"So we're here for you." Leia was looking like her young self again.

"I appreciate that, guys. You don't have to be here, but I really appreciate it." He smiled at them. "Have a seat."

Leia sat down beside Dex and looked at the photograph he had in his hands. "So that's Amy?"

"Yes."

"She's pretty."

Now it was Rey's turn. She looked at the photograph as well. "She must be something for you to feel like this."

"I think so too." He smiled. "She's also smart. Funny. Sometimes bratty. And she can pout like nobody's business." He sighed. "And I can't imagine a life that she's not a part of."

Ben smiled, and a look of perfect understanding passed between them.

"We should take advantage of this moment." Dex smiled and got up. "You guys ever had pizza? Of course you haven't. Well, if nothing else, I can introduce you guys to one of the best foods that my world has ever produced."

"Food?" Rey chirped like a hungry bird.

"Yes, food." Dex got up and walked over to his refrigerator. He pulled out a frozen pizza and put it into the oven. "In a perfect world, I'd be able to share stuffed crust pizza with you guys, but apparently my imagination isn't that great." He opened some more bottles of water and handed them to the others. "Now what shall we do while we wait for the pizza?"

"We don't have to do anything, Dex," Ben said gently. "We can just sit and talk."

"Talking is good, but music could be better." Dex still had a stereo in his real apartment, so of course there was one here. "And Amy made fun of me for hanging onto my CD collection."

"Why are you doing this?" Ben asked him, a trace of his old anger in his voice. "Why are you trying to distract us?"

"Because you're going to try to talk me out of going back home, and I don't want you to come up with something that could get any of you hurt."

"Dex, we aren't ready to give up on saving you," Rey told him. "We have the sacred Jedi Texts. There may be something that can help you- at least something that might help you get back home without going back to your death. We just need time-"

"You don't have time." Dex nodded at Leia. "Right now, the Resistance is on the ropes. The First Order is going to stumble around while someone tries to take command. No matter who it is- Hux or someone else- they're going to be after you guys. You should be focusing on that- not on trying to save someone who can't be saved."

"Ben, Rey- it's Dex's choice." Leia looked at them. "We have to respect that."

"You don't have to do this!" Ben roared. "I'm fine with letting you stay, Dex! So is Rey."

"I know." Dex looked away. "And you'll probably never know how much I appreciate that, but ..."

"You won't stay." Ben sat down on the couch and angrily folded his arms. "You're bound and determined to go racing back to the death that a miracle saved you from."

"It's my destiny, Ben." Dex sighed. "I think I did what I was supposed to do here. It's been an incredible experience, but I don't belong here. Search your feelings. You know this is the right thing to do."

Ben snorted.

"Ben … you don't need me. You have Rey. You have your mother. And in time, you're going to make other friends. You're with some amazing people. It'll be okay. You'll see. You just need to have some faith."

"In the Force?" Ben asked with derision. "In the Resistance?"

"In the people that you love. In the people that love you." Dex smiled and laid his hand on Ben's shoulder. "I'm glad I got to make this journey and spend this time with you. I'll never forget it. But we both have our own roads to travel. You know I'm right." He let go of Ben. "So instead of wasting what time we have, let's enjoy ourselves."

"So music?" Rey asked, gently coming over to take Ben's hand.

"Music." Dex smirked. "And food."

Rey smiled.

..**..

Rey loved pizza, though Dex had to caution her against eating so fast that she burned her mouth. Ben let her devour most of it, settling for a single slice. Leia did the same. She was quietly watching them all. Dex had a feeling that she wanted to talk to him, so after the pizza he brought out the Rocky Road ice cream. Leaving the other two with that, Dex nodded to Leia and went into the kitchen.

"You look like a woman with something on her mind." Dex leaned against the counter. I have Princess Leia in my kitchen. Kinda.

"I respect your choice, Dex-"

"I sense a but coming up-"

"But I wish you would reconsider. We could really use you."

"I can't fight. I can't fly a space ship. I don't have the Force. I don't even have a body. I fail to understand how I would be an asset to your Resistance."

"You help Ben make good decisions."

"He doesn't need me for that." Dex frowned. "He had Snoke whispering in his ear for most of his life. He doesn't need me to play Jiminy Cricket."

"I don't understand that reference."

"You're a bright woman. You can figure it out." Dex frowned. "Stop acting like he's fragile. He's a grown man. He's made mistakes. He's going to make more. But … I have faith that he'll make the right choices. When the chips were down, he chose Rey over Snoke."

"That may not be enough."

"He's still got the capacity for empathy. I've seen it. I've felt it." Dex sighed. "Treat a man like a monster- make him believe it- and that's what he'll become. Treat him like a human being- have faith in him … and maybe he'll surprise you."

"Now you remind me of Luke."

"There are worse people to be compared to."

"You've said that on your world... this is all fiction."

"Yes. There have been eight movies, numerous books, and several different television series about all this." Dex spread his arms.

"Do you know what happens? Do we win?"

"Things changed when I show up." Dex smiled. "But I'll tell you this- your family- this Galaxy- has gone through some dark times- but hope … hope always survives. And daylight follows darkness. Trust in that, Princess."

"I haven't been a Princess in a long time."

"General, then."

"You can call me Leia." She smiled at him. "If you're not going to enjoy the Resistance, that is."

"Not this lifetime." Dex grabbed the remote to his sound system and made a selection. He walked back into his living room. "Ben, why don't you ask Rey to dance?"

"I don't know how," the Jakku girl admitted.

Ben's lips quirked. "You need a teacher."

Rey rolled her eyes, but took his hand.

The two of them walked into the center of the room.

Dex smiled as he keyed the song selection.

"Don't Deserve You" by Plumb.

Ben looked into Rey's eyes. She looked into Ben's. The two of them began to move together, tapping into the symbiosis they had shared when they fought Snoke's Praetorian Guard. Ben in his black, Rey in her white and Grey. They danced as though they had been doing it all their lives.

Leia stood beside Dex. "They've totally forgotten about us."

"I know." Dex smiled. "And that's okay. They need this. And I need to see it."

There would be no more dances for him. No more nights where he could hold the woman he loved in his arms. That was over.

But Ben and Rey were just beginning.

And that was enough.