My eyes fluttered open, and in the dim light of my room, I saw Rey's head on my chest. Her arm was around me, and her leg was in between mine.

Her breathing was even and slow.

I untangled myself, and got up, changing out if my sleep pants, and pulled my workout clothes on.

I left my lightsaber and headed out to the lakeshore, opting for more traditional military conditioning, sit ups, push ups and the like.

It did little to distract me.

The events of last night played in my head. All we'd done, not done. Said, and not said. There was more that I needed to tell her, now. Not only about the Bond, but also how I felt about her. And, where I was scared before, now I was terrified.

I'd been on the beach an hour, maybe two, when I heard light footsteps approach.

"Wish I woulda known we were training." Rey said from behind me. "I would've brought my saber."

I turned to see her in a tight fitting long sleeved shirt and leggings.

"I'm not training." I told her, turning back and stretching out to go for a run.

"Do you regret last night?" She asked, her voice low, and I whirled on her.

"No!" I said, too quickly, panic making my voice sharper than I'd like. "Do you?"

"Well," She counted on her fingers. "I woke up alone, spent the morning alone, and when I finally see you, you act like this."

I looked away. "I have alot on my mind."

"I know." She sighed. "You're sending everything right down The Bond."

I checked my mental shields. They were up, and had been up all morning.

"No," She amended. "I cant hear you, but I feel everything."

Fuck.

I'd wanted space to sort everything out, needed time to figure out how to tell her. But, all she felt was my anxiety and hesitation without a shred of context.

And, insecurity had gotten the better of her.

Maker above, what have I done?

I looked at her. "Rey-"

"I'll ask again." She seethed. "Do you regret it?"

I stepped forward, and she let me take her face in my hands. "No." I assured her. She looked away, tears misting her eyes.

"Rey, look at me." I begged.

She did.

"No." I said, again. "I dont regret it. And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I made you feel that I did."

She looked away again.

"Rey," I called, and her eyes slid back to mine. "I just needed some time to sort some things out, that's all."

She reached up, and pulled both of my hands away from her face. "Why didn't you make love to me last night?" She demanded.

Before I could think of some bullshit excuse, she went on. "What is this Bond between us? Why are you so terrified of me finding out about it?"

My heart skipped a beat, her questions sending ice through my veins.

I'd told myself that if she ever asked about the Bond, point blank, that I would tell her the truth. And, she just had.

I didn't know where to begin, so I just stood there with my mouth hanging open.

"Just tell me." She begged. And, I decided to just start from when I found out about The Bond.

"Do you remember," I said, my voice quaking. "When we learned that we could shield?"

She nodded.

I swallowed. "When I was researching that, I-"

The Bond groaned, low and guttural, making the hair on my arms stand on end. A frantic warning that my mate was in danger.

Then several things happened at once.

Rey's face drained of color, as she moved to thrust her body behind mine, and I focused all of my power to form a Force shield around her.

A shield that did not hold, because a dozen stun darts pierced my back and shoulders. Tiny pricks of pain that spread into all consuming agony as my muscles locked up.

Another wave of arrows hit, embedding into my thighs and legs, and my only thought, my only focus as I sank to my knees, was Rey.

The Bond between us went still as death as the Force was drained from me, and in its wake, a cold empty ache settled into my gut.

Rey screamed my name, and knelt down in front of me, panic clouding her face, and then she looked up, teeth bared, at the Resistance fighters who encircled us.

FN-2187 approached us cautiously, as someone would a trapped animal, and Rey stood, extending her arms to shove him away with The Force.

He didn't move.

He stared at her, frowning, and she looked down at her hands in shock, then to the tiny dart now protruding from her side.

"It's just a sedative." FN-2187 explained, as him and Poe approached us from different sides. "After yesterday, I realized his hold was too strong for you to break free on your own."

Rey fell to her knees next to me, and I set my jaw, groans of pain escaping through my clenched teeth as I pushed myself up. "Get the fuck away from her." I growled.

Some fighters took a step back, but Poe lept forward and swiftly put his boot in my stomach. I doubled over, the breath knocked out of me, and he grabbed a fistful of my hair and pushed my head down, bringing his knee up to meet it brutally.

I felt and heard the crunch of cartilage, the snap of bone, and went down onto my side, gasping for breath around the blood now pouring from my nose and mouth.

"Ben." Rey whimpered weakly, and I looked up at her through the blood in my eyes. She'd fallen into the sand, with her arm stretched out toward me.

"Leave-" I spat out a mouthful of blood. "Leave her alone. Take me-"

Poe laughed once and kicked me in my ribs, once, twice, a third time. I felt something snap with his third kick, the pain threatening to swallow me.

"Stop." Rey pleaded, and I could barely hear her broken whisper over the roaring in my ears. "Please, stop."

"Get her." He said over his shoulder.

FN-2187 bent down and gathered her into his arms, "We'll get you home," He said to her. "And this nightmare will be over." I watched as silent tears streamed down her face.

I put my hands under me, and put all my strength into pushing myself up, into going after her, the urgent need to protect her more important than the pain I felt, or the stun darts that rendered my limbs useless.

Because my existence was useless without her.

Poe grabbed the front of my tunic and hoisted me up, punching my temple with his clenched fist.

Everything went black, and came back in an instant.

"I would stay that arm," I heard Ciir'sae warn. "If you wish to keep it."

"With all due respect, your Majesty," Poe sneered. "I dont think you know who you're harboring."

She hummed. "You came for the girl, you have her. I'm afraid your welcome is now overstayed."

Poe pulled me closer to him, and said under his breath, "One day, I will repay every horror you've done to her these past few weeks." Then he released me, and backed away, as a ship docked behind him.

I watched, as the Fighters filed in, and FN-2187 carried Rey on board.

The loading door closed behind Poe, and the ship disappeared as it jumped into drive.

And I started screaming.