A/N: Thank you all for the love on the first chapter! I've decided (based on your encouragement) to continue and see where this takes me. At this point, I think I have one or two chapters that I definitely want to write and have a plan for. Additionally, I have not read the novelization of the movie so don't know if this is contradictory. I'll be looking into it, and will edit this chapter if necessary.

Rey caught herself tugging at her connection with Ben throughout the day. A few times she didn't even realize that she was testing it until her head started hurting behind her eyes. There were a fair number of meetings that she sat through as situations were assessed and details thought out. She didn't have much to say in most of it. Being relatively new to the Resistance in comparison to some and not as well-travelled as others, she distracted herself with what she had learned.

"Rey? You with us?"

She glanced up to see Poe looking at her expectantly. Every set of eyes in the room were on her. "I'm sorry," she apologized, hunching her shoulders in an old defense mechanism to make her look smaller and less threatening. She caught herself, reminded herself that she was among friends, and straightened. "I've got a lot on my mind, and I feel like I don't have any answers for you. This… diplomacy thing is all new to me." She ended with a shrug and a wry smile. She didn't need her friends worrying about her.

"Go and rest if that's what you need, Rey. The galaxy can hold itself together for a few days," Poe assured her.

"Thanks," she said heartfully, pushing herself off of the wall and retreating towards her room. She noticed Poe nod to Finn, who got up to follow her.

She allowed him to follow at a distance until they were out of earshot.

"I don't need a babysitter, Finn. I'm fine, I promise," she said without turning around.

"Who said you didn't need a friend? Besides." He approached her and clapped an arm around her shoulders. "I want to talk to you about some things if that's okay."

"What things?"

"Force things." She noticed the slight hesitation in his answer.

"Force things," she repeated. She nodded, slowly. "Let's check on the Falcon. I need to busy my hands with something."

In comfortable silence, the pair made their way to the ship. Chewie was loading several small crates, and roared an enthusiastic greeting at them.

"Thanks, Chewie. I feel better," Rey answered. And it was a true statement, to an extent. Her wounds were washed, and the worst of them lightly bandaged. When Ben saved her life, most of her cuts and bruises had been healed, but a few of the deeper, more severe ones remained as reminders of what had transpired only a day ago.

"Heading out soon?" Finn asked.

"Just to take me back home," a familiar voice answered. Lando Calrissian appeared at the top of the ramp, taking a crate from the wookie. "And I wanted to speak with you, Rey."

"What about?" Both Rey and Finn grabbed one of the remaining crates to bring it on board.

"This ship."

Rey put her crate down on the floor of the Falcon and turned to Lando.

"It's Chewie's ship," he began, wiping his hands on his pants. "But she's really not meant to be flown alone. She needs a copilot." Chewie huffed his agreement. "I have no interest in returning to my old life. And I knew Han, knew that he would want you to fly his ship with Chewie."

The wookie stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

"However," Lando continued, "someone is worried that you might have other plans that don't include him. Or the best ship in the galaxy."

"Is that true?" Rey asked Chewbacca. He gave a noncommittal shrug. She grinned. "You know that I love this ship, and you. There are some things I need to take care of, but all this diplomacy stuff really isn't for me. I'm not needed here anymore. I think that I need to be doing something else, somewhere else."

Rey found herself suddenly surrounded by Chewie's big, furry arms, and she smiled and hugged him back. When he withdrew, he patted her head and left to continue loading the Falcon.

Later that day, after Rey had moved her belongings back onto the Falcon and was returning after lunch for a quick inspection, she was pleased to see Poe, Finn, and BB-8 on board.

"What are you three doing?"

"Well," Finn said, straightening, "we're a team. We go together."

"That's right," Poe agreed.

"Because you're not needed here…?" Rey let the question hang in the air.

"Maybe there are a few things that I need to do myself," he answered. Rey raised her eyebrows. "Okay, okay, I need a break."

"Already?"

"Yes. Plus, it wouldn't be a bad idea to survey the changes this has made, to see where the highest need for Resistance involvement is in reestablishing order."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night," Finn said with a smile, clapping Poe on the back as he approached Rey.

"Either way, we're with you. If you don't mind some extra stops."

"As long as I don't have to get political," Rey agreed easily. She enjoyed having her friends with her, especially when she didn't want to be alone ever again. Plus she had wanted to teach Finn some of the mechanical work on the Falcon, and this would give them ample time to get started.

"You know," said a deep voice from beside her, "that's a very interesting design."

Rey almost dropped her project in surprise. She turned from the workbench where she was finishing her lightsaber to see Ben Solo's glowing form. She frowned at him.

"Isn't it rude to sneak up on people?"

"I don't think I have much control of when or where I appear," he said thoughtfully. "Or to whom."

"Mmm." Turning back to her work, Rey carefully began calibrating the dial that would power up her saber.

"I seem to have caught you at a bad time. Would you like me to leave? Not that I know how to disappear completely, but I could probably just walk away."

"No! I just…" Rey's face scrunched up as she squinted at the parts in front of her. "I just need to finish this one bit…"

Ben waited patiently, looking over her shoulder at her handiwork. Rey's hands stilled, and she turned to give him a look.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, holding his hands up in surrender and stepping back. He waited another fifteen minutes or so before she appeared to finish, wiping her hands on her thighs.

"You get really focused on your work," he observed after she turned to face him. Her heart fluttered as she took in the sight of him, leaning casually against the wall. Never had she seen him so at ease; she had thought it was impossible when he was alive.

A wave of emotion must have reached Ben because he straightened and took a few steps towards her.

"Is everything alright?" His voice and face were filled with concern. "What is it?"

Rey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's nothing. Just got a little… distracted for a moment."

"I get the feeling that you aren't telling me everything. In fact," he took a few steps closer, causing her to reflexively lean back against the workbench, "I know you aren't telling me everything. You can trust me."

She instinctively pushed back against his thoughts and found herself falling into his mind. It was a struggle to pull herself back but she managed quickly. Eyes suddenly filled with tears, she turned her face away from his.

"I... sorry," she weakly apologized. To her surprise, she heard Ben chuckle.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose," he said with a shrug. He reached out towards Rey and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped again in surprise and whirled on him. "But if things continue this way, maybe there will be time to break them."

She didn't want to hope, but couldn't help herself. Ben saw the light in her eyes, and could feel the hope emanating from her. Even if he couldn't use the Force, he bet that he would have sensed it.

"Do you know why this is still happening?"

"No more than you, unfortunately. But I can't say that I'm complaining. All things considered, I think I got the better deal here."

"But you're dead," Rey blurted. "How could that be the better deal?"

"You're still alive." He shrugged like it was no big deal, but to Rey his sacrifice had meant everything. "It wasn't right what had happened, and I knew that it should have been me. So I fixed it. I have no regrets and would do it again."

His eyes blazed into hers with conviction and passion that made her breath catch in her throat.

"Rey," he all but whispered. "I don't think you realize how important you are. To the entire galaxy. To me. I don't think there is anything I wouldn't do for you."

As he began to fade, he leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. Her skin tingled at the contact and she let her tears fall as she found herself alone again.

In that moment, Rey resolved to find out more about their connection. If there was any hope of bringing him back, she would do it.

A/N: So I have at least one (maybe two) chapters planned beyond this. Would you like it to continue beyond that? I need to know if I should tie this up nice and pretty with a bow on top or leave some loose ends to manage in the next chapter. I want this to be as cohesive as possible. Thanks!