"Every one! Go back inside!" Leia then walked over to Rey, and put an arm around her waist, Rey was crying harder than ever now, "Come on sweetie, let's go back inside. There's nothing left to see here." As she walked back with Rey, she gave Luke, Finn, and Poe a concerned look.
Leia led Rey back to her quarters; she was trying her best to comfort her. As she entered the room, and Rey sat down on the bed, Leia pulled up a chair in front of her. She watched as Rey tried to pull herself together.
She waited a few moments before she spoke to her, "Rey, you need to tell me what's going on." Rey looked up at her, tears still falling from her eyes, "Where is my son?"
She wiped off her face then, and sighed, "Well we…we were in the shower and-" she paused feeling mortified by what she just said. Leia acted like she didn't notice, "And what?"
She met her eyes then, "He…proposed…..to me."
Leia's eyes widened, "I'm assuming your answer was no based on Ben's sudden departure," Rey looked down. "Am I correct?"
Rey was still looking down, and she was picking at a hangnail on her thumb, "No…I said… yes."
Leia said nothing, and hugged her tightly.
"I don't understand then," she said as she released her. "Why did he-?"
"I told him yes, but I told him I wanted to wait. Wait until all of this was over. And well, you can see he didn't like that answer very much."
Leia looked at her puzzlingly, "So what did he say to you? Did he say where he was going?"
"He said, 'If you won't marry me now, you never will. I'm going to go stop all of this madness, once and for all.'"
"He's so stubborn," she continued. "I don't know where he gets it from." Leia looked to side and muttered to herself, "I have a few guesses."
"He went to Snoke, five days early. He went there, by himself, he-" she started crying again.
"Rey, look at me," Leia pleaded. She looked up, and Leia wiped the tears away with both of the pads of her thumbs. "Look, Rey, it is obviously known that my son is very strong willed. But he is also very, very foolish. He loves you, more than he loves himself. You've got to find him, before he confronts Snoke."
"No," she said. "He made it very clear he wished to fulfill the mission alone. He doesn't want me there, he doesn't want me at all anymore. Besides, I don't know where he is, I don't know where the base is located, I have no way of getting there, I-" she started crying again.
"You get some rest Rey. You've had a rough day," she told her.
Rey nodded and buried her head in her pillow, drifting off into a peaceful sleep.
Kylo Ren was about to embark on the most dangerous mission of his life, and he was do it now, alone.
He thought about turning back many times. He thought about turning back, running back to Rey and apologizing to her for his actions. But it was too late now. He was too far, and he knew she would never forgive him.
He had left her there, after one of their most intimate moments. He had chosen to propose to her, there, naked with her in the shower. He was over the moon when she said yes, and was heartbroken when she said she wanted to wait. He had left her there, crying, screaming, for him to stop, for him to come back, for him to stay.
As he saw the base in the distance, he thought of talking to her through the Force, but it was too late, it was all too late.
"How is she?" Finn asked as he spotted General Organa.
"Rey is a strong girl, but I am not going to lie to you Finn, she is in pretty bad shape over Ben's departure. She doesn't want to go after him." she said honestly.
"Where is she? Maybe I could talk to her, try to cheer her up a bit," he replied.
She sighed and patted his shoulder, "Yes, yes that's just what she needs. You're a good friend, Finn. Try your best to convince her to go. She's in her room, sleeping. She should be up by now."
Finn smiled warmly at her, and turned to go find Rey. When he finally made it to her room, he paused for a moment outside of the door to see if he could hear any movement. When he finally heard her shuffling about the room, he knocked on the door.
"Come in." he heard her say.
As he slowly inched in his way into the room, he saw her. She was remaking the bed. Her eyes were slightly swollen from crying, her face was flushed, and her hair was gathered atop her head in one single bun. As she finished tucking in the left corner of the sheets, she paused for a moment. "If you're going to say 'I told you so' or any nonsense like that, you better just leave now."
Finn exhaled deeply, shut the door, and walked over to Rey. She moved over to fix the other side of the bed, "Rey," he paused, thinking that he must choose his words very carefully. "I have known Kylo-erm...Ben for a long time. I've seen first -hand the destruction he has done. So of course I was quick to judge him when he first came here with you. I apologize for that." Rey met his eyes then, "But over the past two months, I have been thoroughly convinced that he has indeed changed. Everyone can see that. Especially whenever he is with you." Rey licked her lips, "And that is supposed to make me feel better…how? He left me Finn, he left all of us. How do you expect me to forgive him for that?"
Finn looked to the side,"Because," he said as he met her eyes once more. "Despite all of the confusion, and frustration you are feeling right now, you still love him. Despite all of that, you still love him."
"I know you're angry at him, I am too to be honest," he continued. "But you've got to put that aside Rey. He needs you now more than ever."
"So please, don't just stay here and torture yourself worrying about him. Go. Go get him."
Rey looked up at him, and smiled through her tears. She reached over and hugged him tightly, "Thank you, Finn," she muttered in his ear. She released him then and kissed him on the forehead, "Thank you."
She smiled at him, and then rushed out of the room.
Kylo Ren had now successfully landed his ship into the hangar. He saw a chrome armored figure walking in the distance as he now walked down the track of the ship. "I apologize for the delay in the return of your ship, Captain," he said. Captain Phasma paused then for a moment, for she was shocked to see him.
"Sir, I am happy to see you are alright," she said. "Where is the girl?"
He looked to the side, "There has been a change of plans," he met the eyes of her mask then. "The girl wished to stay on D'Qar with the Resistance, so I have now returned upon the Supreme Leader's request, alone."
"Oh," she said surprisingly. "Did you happen to have any… visitors while you were there?" she asked. He smiled, "Why yes, as a matter of fact there was one particular visitor that unfortunately overstayed his welcome. But I don't think he will be much of a bother to anyone anymore." She smiled underneath her mask, "Excellent. I am glad to hear."
"Well, I am very tired. Inform the Supreme Leader of my arrival if you would please. I am positive he will wish to see me in the morning."
Rey walked outside, and spotted General Organa out in the field, staring out into the distance. "General Organa? I need your assistance."
She turned around, "Yes Rey, anything. What do you need?"
"A ship?" she said with a smile.
She walked over to her then and hugged her tightly, "I know the perfect one," she stared out once more into the distance, at the Millennium Falcon.
The Millennium Falcon?" Rey asked. "Are…are you sure?"
She looked back at Rey, "Yes of course. It may be a piece of junk, but I've heard it's the fastest ship in the galaxy," a slight tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of its last owner. "I'll have it prepared for you tonight, and you can leave first thing in the morning."
"But like I said before, I have no idea where he is," Rey said.
Leia placed her hand on Rey's shoulder, "You leave that up to me. I'll have my team track his coordinates. You just focus on getting a good night's sleep tonight? Alright?"
Rey nodded, and walked back inside.
Her sleep that night was nothing but restless. She tossed and turned, and slightly screamed in frustration. She could not turn her mind off. She wondered what he was doing at that moment, if he had confronted Snoke, if he had thought of her at all, if he was still alive. She was scared. She hated to admit it, but she was scared.
She was still angry with him of course, but she did still love him. She thought about what Finn had said to her earlier, 'He needs you now more than ever.' Was it true? She thought. Did he really need her? Or would she just be another distraction?
She was tired now, thinking of him. It physically made her tired. She rolled over to her side then, and fell asleep.
Kylo Ren was now in his bed, he couldn't shake how weird it felt being back there, back at such a horrible place. As he lay there, he thought of her. He wished desperately that she was there by his side. He always slept his best when she was there, for that was the only time he didn't entirely feel alone.
He felt for her through the force then, she was scared, worried about him. He exhaled deeply and turned onto his side. He then turned back over and laid on his back, for lying on his side was not a comfortable position. He wondered then if he would ever see her again, if he would ever get the chance to explain himself. As he pictured her face perfectly in his mind, he found himself slowly drifting into a peaceful sleep.
Rey awoke the next morning feeling extremely refreshed. She rose out of her bed then and walked over to her mirror. She rubbed her face and took her hair out of the one single bun she had done the day before, and let her hair fall to her shoulders. As her hair fell down in waves, she began to gather it and put it into her signature three bun style.
She changed her clothes then, putting on a short sleeve black shirt, and her black leggings that came to her knees. As she put on her boots, she stared at her long sleeve black shirt that was in her bag. She had an idea. She took the shirt and began ripping it into long pieces. As she finished, she took the pieces and wrapped them then around each of her arms. She smiled as she admired herself in the mirror. She put her bag over her shoulder then, grabbed her saber staff, and rushed out of the room.
As she walked outside she was overwhelmed by the sight before her. Everyone was there, Finn, Poe, Master Luke, even Chewie, who had been keeping his distance from everyone while Kylo Ren was there.
She walked up then to Poe and hugged him, then to Master Luke, Finn, Chewie, and lastly, General Organa.
"You're good to go, Rey," she informed her. "We tracked him down, and the coordinates are now in the Falcon's database." Rey nodded and started to walk off towards the ship until she heard Leia call back at her, "Rey," Rey turned around and gave her a puzzled look. "May the force be with you."
Rey gave her a slight smile, and turned to enter the ship. As she entered the cockpit, she set down her saberstaff. She sat down in the pilot's seat then, and exhaled deeply. "Okay," she muttered to herself.
And she was off.