"Cara, wake up. Please, wake up."

She heard the familiar voice somewhere in the distance, pulling her out of a dreamless sleep. It was hard to pry her eyes open, and she opted against it, annoyed at who she knew to be there. Ben had started waking her up in the middle of the night more often lately, and it was beginning to take its toll. She could feel exhaustion creeping up on her, her mind willing her to block out the sound of his words as she drifted back off to sleep.

"Cara, come on. I can't sleep."

"So you thought you should burden me with the same problem?" She whispered, turning her whole body away from him, trying to tell him to leave without actually telling him to leave. He paid her body language no mind though, and continued torturing her with the sound of his deep and melodic voice.

"Please, can we just talk? The way we used to?"

She sighed, finally giving in to his demands, turning her head towards him so that her pillows would not muffle her words. "I'm fairly sure we never actually stopped speaking, Ben."

"And I hope we will never have to."

"Is that all you came to say?' She said, her eyes still closed, so dry she could barely force them open, 'because if it is, then I may actually have to stop speaking to you for a while."

"No. That is not all I came to say. At least, I don't want it to be."

"This conversation would be helped if you actually had a topic you wish to talk about."

He said nothing for a while, his hand having seized hers, tracing the patterns visible on the palm of her hand. She enjoyed his soft touch, so much in fact that it almost lulled her back to sleep. Just as she thought she was going to get some rest, he spoke again, her mind shocked once more by the sound of his voice.

"Do you remember when I took you out to see the lightning storm?"

"Of course I do, Ben. It was only a few weeks ago."

"What did you think of it?" He asked, a strange hint of pain in his voice, as though he was expecting her to completely reject him and tell him to leave at once because of the question.

"You asked me that in the moment, and I will answer the same way I did then. I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen."

"Yes, I know. How could it not be? But that's not what I'm asking."

She turned to face him then, using all her willpower to open her eyes. Thankfully, he had not turned on the lights in her room, making it easier for her eyes to adjust to being in use once more. She eyed his silhouette sitting on the edge of her bed, and she could still feel his thumb tracing along her hand.

"Then what are you asking?"

"I'm asking what it made you think of me; of who I am. I shared a weak moment with you, Cara. And yes, I know that wasn't the first time, but ultimately I hope it will be the last. My memory of being trapped there, of my father coming to save me; I need to know that that hasn't made your opinion of me change in any way that could alter our relationship."

"What kind of relationship is it that you think we have?" She asked, sitting up. It was not often that she got to see this side of him, questioning everything, second-guessing what people thought of him. It was a side she liked, because it made her feel more equal to him.

"This isn't the time for games, Cara. I'm being serious."

"So am I, Ben. You'll be leaving someday. I think I have the right to know what it is you think of me and what we have as much as you do."

"Yes, but you already know the answer to that question."

"If I do, then shouldn't you as well? You cannot tell me that these questions have only just now come up because you shared some distant memory with me, Ben. Why is this bothering you so much, what has changed?"

He was silent, and she scooted closer to him, trying to pressure him into answering her. She stopped his ministrations on her palm, giving herself some reprieve to concentrate as she awaited his answer. His touch had had an overbearing effect on her as of late – every time he came near her she had the sudden urge to feel his skin against hers, touch his cheek, run her fingers through his hair, be embraced in his arms. She had noticed that he had willingly given his touch to her more frequently as well, almost as though he was worried that he was going to lose her if he did not show his affection more often. She would never complain about that, of course. Nor would she ever tell him how confused she was whenever she was around him.

"There are things that you would not understand, Cara; certain things that guide us through our lives even though we have no idea why or when something will happen. That is happening to me right now. Something is guiding me, a voice."

"Does this not have something to do with The Force? You are incredibly sensitive to it, Ben. Your parents have told me so."

"It is not only about the Force. A lot can change, even in the span of a short time. I need to know that my moments of weakness won't affect the way you see me, the way – the way you feel about me."

"And I expect the same courtesy from you."

"This is not a joke, Cara!' He suddenly stood up from her, and she could feel the mattress rise once more as his added weight left. She suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness, once again realizing just how much she craved to be around him. She needed to get control of herself if she was to prevent herself from doing something foolish.

"When during this conversation have I given the impression that I was merely trying to make you laugh? I don't understand what it is you're trying to tell me, Ben. Just help me understand." She longed to get out of bed and move closer to him, but she refrained, thinking that he would be more willing to express himself to her if she kept a safe distance.

"There is nothing to explain, nothing that you really need to understand, nothing that you need to be worried about. All I want is to know how that memory I told you about – the one so beautifully encased by lightning, made you see me. I need to know. I need to know so that I can ask you to make me a promise."

Curiosity burned inside of her, and she finally gave up trying to distance herself from him. Moving the sheets off of her body, she shivered slightly as she felt the cold air of her room hit her skin. If he noticed, he showed no sign, standing clear on the opposite side of the room as he awaited her answer.

"I find it hard to believe that you even need me to answer this question, Ben, but here it goes. When we met each other that first night I was here on the base, twelve years ago, there was something about you that instantly made me feel drawn to you. You were exciting, interesting, and for some reason, you were willing to share that with me. During the next few years I sometimes thought that the only reason you were still sharing your wisdom and experience with me was simply because I was the convenient choice – how could I ever live up to the standards by which you lived your life? Force sensitive, the parents you have, the family you come from. I often wondered why you kept me around."

"I never-" He tried to interrupt, but she held out her hand, indicating for him to stop.

"Please, just let me finish,' she said, taking a few steps closer to him, 'I realized something, even though it took me a while. I really listened to you when you spoke, and I realized you were not just complaining about your parents to me, but you were sharing. You were sharing the part of yourself that made you feel weak and not in control. That was when I realized that it doesn't matter if one friend is smart and the other one creative, one friend is strong and the other one weak, one is fast and one is slow. As long as you trust in someone enough to tell them when you're feeling confused, frightened, worried, or fragile, that's all you really need to keep a friendship that lasts. Teaching one another skills is one thing, opening yourself up to one another is a whole other concept."

"What are you trying to say?" He asked, without having noticed that he too had taken a step closer towards her.

"I'm trying to say that I have only come to respect you and value the friendship we share more because you feel free to share such memories with me, Ben. I want you to know that you can always tell me anything and show me who it is you really are."

As soon as he was close enough, he grabbed a hold of her hand once more, as though it was an anchor tethering him down to reality. She squeezed his back, hoping to show him that she had meant every word, even if she did not fully understand why she had needed to say them in the first place.

"And yet I know that I sometimes scare you." He said, smiling down at her, trying to search her face in the darkness for any signs of dishonesty.

"Yes, sometimes you do. The intensity with which you feel and think can be frightening – especially if it involves me in some way. On the other hand, that intensity only makes me realize how well it is you know me, and how much you care about me. When you try to help me work through my nightmares, there is a change within you, and I see it as a desire to protect me, just as I want to protect you. Intense as it may be, it is a defining quality of yours, Ben Solo. One that only serves to make up the whole of what you are."

"How can you be so sure that all of this is true? That all you know about me is real?"

"It is no way to live a life to believe that everyone around you is trying to betray you, Ben."

He was silent again, and she thought that this was the end of it, that he would suddenly walk out of her room now as he did so often when they became more intimate and honest with one another. He surprised her when he also grabbed her other hand, squeezing them tightly within his, giving her his full attention.

"I need you to make me a promise." He said, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"If you'd like me to say I'll never abandon you, I think you already have that covered for the both of us." She said, smiling softly at him, trying to make him feel more comfortable.

"No, that's not it."

She stayed silent as she waited for him to continue, curious as to what it was he wanted her to agree to.

"I need you to promise me that you will tell me whenever I stray from the person that you believe me to be. I need you to tell me when I've crossed a line you think I cannot come back from. I need you to show me the only thing that will always bring me back to reality."

His words were so full of emotion and urgency she could barely look him in the eye as he spoke. The moonlight outside gently lit up his features, and she could see the force with which he gazed at her, awaiting her confirmation of this promise that he asked of her.

"What could I possibly show you that will bring you back from wherever it is you think you'll be?"

"If you leave me, I will know. Not just that you are willing to leave me; that will not be enough. Leave me, and I will know."

His words frightened her, but she was determined not to show him just how worried she was becoming. He needed her now, and she was not about to let him down. She needed to feel the surety of his presence though, and before she could stop herself she had wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck, inhaling his comforting scent as she tried to form the words that would make her agree to what it was he asked of her. She could not imagine a scenario where any of that would be necessary, much less that she would need to leave him – but if that was what he needed to hear, she would give it to him.

"I promise, Ben Solo,' she kept quiet as she felt the tension in his shoulders release and his arms wrap around her waist in response to her embrace, 'I love you."

"I love you too, Cara Nova."

It was strange that that memory had not resurfaced at any time over the past few months; not all those hours that she had been left alone in her cell, nor any of the times that Kylo Ren had rooted around her mind in search of her true feelings towards him. It was one of the more sensitive memories she had of him, but now that it was no longer suppressed, she shed a tear, knowing that this memory held the answer she had so desperately been looking for.

Chewie was nowhere to be found; but instinctively she knew that he would not blow the Oscillator Bay to smithereens unless she was clear of the destruction. She got up and followed Kylo's footsteps up the ladder and onto the platform. Wind whipped at her hair and face, a shiver running up her spine as her body got used to the cold of the planet she had been kept on. She quickly wondered if the stars she had seen from her cell window had really ever been there at all, or if they were just planted there to make her feel even lonelier than she already had.

Knowing that Kylo would have followed Rey and Finn into the forest, she climbed her way down; her mind trying to tell her to go as slowly as possible to delay the inevitable, and every cell in her body telling her to run towards them before it was too late. Taking Kylo's teachings into account, she followed her instinct, sprinting towards the trees that would soon protect her from the howling wind of winter.

A/N: I'm sorry to say that the next chapter will be the last! I hope you've enjoyed this story so far, and I hope that I won't have to make you guys wait all too long for the last chapter. I'm not actually at home at the moment though, I'm traveling, so I can't say when I will have it finished. Thanks again for all the support for this story, it means a lot to me!