Author's note: The box that Captain Phasma was instructed to take from Hux's quarters was for Angeles Dollslayer. You can read about what was in the box in the story "Let Her Go/Let Him Go."
They saw Angeles' eyes narrow in anger.
"I swear, if you hurt Padme..." the senator threatened Ben.
"Relax, Senator," Ben said to her. "I am not going to hurt Padme. I am on your side."
"I don't believe you! You now control the First Order..."
"Senator Dollslayer, please listen to him. He is on our side. He wants to dismantle the Order for good," Padme pleaded with Angeles.
"Why would you assume the lead position, if you want to destroy the Order? It doesn't make sense!" Angeles smartly questioned.
"If you only knew the suffering I went through during my captivity, Senator, then you would not doubt my intentions," Ben insisted.
"Tell me then what happened to you. My colleagues in the Senate will need to know." Ben explained to Angeles about how he was captured by Hux after protecting a Force sensitive Twilek boy. He added that Hux forced him to reveal Rebel bases, to protect the woman he loved from harm. The woman was Padme. By the time Ben was finished speaking, the senator's face was red with embarrassment.
"I apologize for assuming the worst in you, Kylo Ren," Angeles managed to say.
"Please, call me Ben," he insisted, now hating the name he took when he turned to the Dark Side.
"Angeles, we need your help," Padme interjected. "There will be those still loyal to Hux, even after the Order goes bankrupt and reduces its military resources. We want to make sure those that want to defect to our side can do so without repercussions."
"You are asking for a difficult thing," Angeles admitted. "Many will be hungry for revenge."
"That is why we are giving away Hux's finances to those who lost family members to Starkiller Base. It won't bring their family members back, but it is the right thing to do."
"All we ask is that you bring forth a resolution, stating that no person with the Order that is willing to defect will be put to death for their past actions," Ben asked Angeles. "Most of us were forced to join, or were grandfathered in under Emperor Vader."
"I will propose the law, but it will be up to the rest of the Senate to pass it," Angeles honestly confessed. "Ben, I will need to share your story with my colleagues. I will keep you anonymous, so that they will not know that it is the leader of the First Order that wants the organization dismantled."
"Thank you, Senator." Ben was relieved to hear her say that. He still hadn't told Padme everything about himself, and he didn't want Luke to reveal who he was.
They were on the call for a few minutes with Angeles, before disconnecting. Padme walked over to the bed, and laid down.
"Padme," Ben began, as he removed his mask. He swallowed his throat. It was time she knew the truth. "I need to tell you a few things about myself." He turned around and saw her lying on the bed. He walked over to her, and smiled. Padme had fallen asleep.
He kissed her softly on her head, so that he would not wake her. She looked so beautiful as she slept.
"Get some rest, my love," Ben whispered to her. " I will wake you when it is time for you to leave."
Padme napped until the Finalizer landed on Corellia. Ben nudged her awake. Her sleep was short but good.
"We have landed," he said to her. "Ezra is waiting outside. He is giving me a holocrom in exchange for your 'release'. I will miss you terribly. Please visit me tonight when you go to sleep."
"I will," Padme promised. She knew she couldn't avoid confronting Ben forever. He gave her a soft kiss before putting on his mask. He put the special handcuffs back on her. Ben led Padme through the ship until they were outside. Stormtroopers surrounded the ship, as the couple walked towards Ezra. He held the holocrom in his hand. Only the three of them knew this was not a real exchange.
"Kylo Ren, as I promised, here is the Sith holocrom," Ezra told the masked man. He handed the holocrom to Ben. Once he held it, Ben used the Force to release Padme from her handcuffs. She quickly left his side and joined Ezra.
Ben nodded silently. To Ezra's mind, he said,
"Thank you for coming. Please look after her."
To Padme, Ben promised,
"I miss you already, but I will see you tonight." He turned around and boarded the Finalizer, along with the Stormtroopers. Ezra and Padme headed to the Ghost, with neither of them saying a word.
In fact, the silence was broken by a happy Twilek boy. He came running when he saw Padme board the ship.
"Padme!" Caleb squealed in delight. She knelt down, and the boy embraced her tightly. He didn't say anything at first, but she knew he was worried.
"I am okay, Caleb," she assured him. He replied back to her mind,
"No, you are not. You are angry at Ben." Padme was floored. How did he know this?
Ignoring what he had said, Padme asked how he was doing.
"I'm sad. I miss Mom and Chewy," he confessed.
"I know. I miss my parents, too," she told him, before breaking down. Ezra came and hugged her, while Caleb clung on to her legs.
After a while, the embraces were broken. Ezra gave Padme privacy when she spoke to Luke. He was overjoyed to see his niece on the screen.
"Thank the Maker!" he shouted, sitting up on his bed. "If I had lost you, too..."
Luke bit his lip. The grief over losing Leia, Han, Chewy and Herian weighed heavily on him. But he needed to be emotionally strong for Padme.
"Why didn't you call out to me for help?" her uncle asked.
"Because you would be in danger if you came," Padme replied. She didn't want to say the true reason. She didn't think he was well enough to rescue her.
"Padme," Luke sighed, knowing her thought. "I would give my last breath to help you."
That was when she started to cry. The realization that Luke was dying hit Padme hard. He used the Force to dry her tears.
"I am sorry," he apologized, trying to calm her down. "Bad choice of words."
"I can't lose you, too, Luke!"
"Padme, you will never lose me, if you keep me in your memories and in your heart."
It was the same thing her uncle had said to her the day her grandfather died. But it did not comfort her now.
"I would rather have you in the land of the living," she confessed truthfully.
"Death is a natural part of life. My time in the galaxy is almost over. Your time has just begun. Take the time to mourn for your parents and for me. But don't even think about not living your life to the fullest. Look at all that you have accomplished. You have a happy future ahead of you."
"How can I be happy if I am all alone?"
"But you won't be alone. You have Ezra, Sabine and Caleb. You have your 'Force bond buddy'. But most importantly, you have the Force," Luke reminded her.
They talked for a few moments, before Luke laid down and fell asleep. As she turned off the screen, Padme took a deep breath. There was so much she wanted to say to her uncle, before he passes away. It was hard for her to think about Luke dying. When that happens, she will be the only surviving member of the Skywalker family.
Padme kept to herself on the ride back to the Rebel base, which was on Mustafar. She went back to the castle where she lost Anikin. Ezra kept Caleb from bugging Padme with questions that he himself wanted answers to. But he knew Padme was not ready to talk, not until she saw Luke.
She ran into her uncle's arms, and hugged him tightly. No words were spoken between them. Just the fact that they were both alive was enough.
Padme told Luke general details about her experience as a First Order prisoner. He knew she was holding back a lot, but he did not press her for details. For he knew she had seen Hosnian Prime destroyed, just like how her mother saw Alderaan destroyed. Padme needed time to process everything that happened.
"If you are not comfortable talking to me about it, then find someone you can open up to," Luke suggested before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Padme was frightened. How could anyone understand what she felt? She didn't even understand herself! She couldn't share what was in her heart. Her parents were dead, and Ben... She still had not confronted him about his lightsaber, or the look in his eyes as he stabbed Hux. She loved Ben, but she did not know if he was going to be a part of her future.