He'd do anything for the girl in his arms and he's only known her for days. He felt a strange connection to her and something tickled in the back of his mind that he'd read in Jedi texts that might explain it, but Ben filed that away for another day.

Luke must have felt their presence in the force because he approached and Ben averted his eyes. I'm doing this for Rey. I'm doing this for Rey. He chanted to himself, trying to put aside the last time he'd seen Luke and the shame and embarrassment he still felt.

"So this is her? Leia commed me about her. I hope I can help," Luke said as he approached slowly. "How are you Ben?"

Ben didn't answer, instead met his eyes and held them for a beat. He ran through things he could say. What he should say. Should he beg for forgiveness? Demand that Luke treat him like other students? Because what Ben felt is that he was treated less than equal since Luke was determined not to show favoritism. But he shoved down all his feelings and settled on "Please."

Luke went to take Rey from Ben's arms and he couldn't hold back a snarl. Luke gave him a questioning glance. "I have to touch her to help her, you know?" It wasn't scathing, just gentle words. Luke scratched his eyebrow, a tic he had when he was thinking hard on something, then cupped his chin like he did when he might have an answer, but he was going to withhold it. Like a great Jedi teacher would. Make his students guess, and flounder around. Ben suppressed an eyeroll.

"Let's take her to the med center," Luke said in concession, not trying to take Rey from Ben's arms again. Ben nodded and they all followed Luke inside the academy hallways to their destination. Ben chose a cot, and pulled up a chair; planning to sit only after he attached her lines to the correct poles. Nutrition above, and cath bag below the bed. It had been clamped and a med droid beeped at Ben, taking over the lines. Ben conceded, flopping in the chair by her bed and taking her hand.

"Can you let go for a minute? I don't want your force mingled with hers, so I can try to pinpoint what's going on," Luke said.

"I'm going to step out, go make sure the Falcon doesn't need any repairs," Han said. Ben rolled his eyes this time, not bothering to hide it. Figures. Any time the Force is mentioned or used, Han wanted out. It's a wonder he and Leia ever made it work, but maybe her only being sensitive made it okay.

"She's in pretty deep. There's still bleeding in her brain, but it feels like she's protecting herself in some way. Not healing exactly, but some kind of latent talent. There's something else too. Ben, I feel… Nevermind. That's not changing her health. I did some healing, but it can only do so much. She's force sensitive for sure, did you know that?"

Ben nodded. "I could feel something when she showed up at the outpost. Then when our hands touched… Well, I'd never felt anything like it. I don't know if she knows it or not," Ben was reluctant to share, but he wanted Luke to have the information. Maybe it would help Rey, or maybe Ben still trusted Luke enough to help him find answers.

"Well that explained why I felt your signature, it was twined with hers around the… barrier for lack of better word, protecting her brain. Hmm, let me do some reading okay?"

"Don't pull the wise Jedi bantha fodder now, please. Tell me what you know," Ben pleaded.

"I'm not pulling anything, son. I've only read about this and I want to make sure that I'm getting it right."

Ben wanted to protest being called son, or still the feeling that Luke was hiding something, but he just let Luke go. He didn't want to give in to anger. He wanted to be there for Rey. He took her hand again and focused. He wasn't good at healing, or detecting subtleties in the Force like Luke, but now that he knew to look for his own signature, and some kind of barrier, he did find it. He didn't know what to do with it, but maybe he could look for any changes. He tried to push some healing into her again, even though Luke had just tried, Ben figured it couldn't hurt. Especially with how much he felt drawn to her. The barrier pulsed once and he could feel a slight change in how his force signature mixed with hers. He didn't understand it all, but he knew that it made him feel just a little more whole, the light in him a bit easier to access because she was shining with it. He could tell from the outpost, the muscles that were developed and the way she held herself, and touched her staff everytime she tensed like she could sense danger that she had lived a hard life. So it amazed him that she could shine this bright. The Force didn't feel developed, similar to what he felt in his mom in contrast to Luke who mastered it.

Dark had long since come, only the light of the stars and moon shone through the windows. The droids had long since extinguished the bright lights, candlelight cast flickering shadows and Ben struggled to keep his eyes open. He hoped that Luke would come back with answers, he doubted it, but didn't want to miss it. He finally gave up though and fell asleep.

As he dreamed, he saw Rey. She was encased in something akin to a bacta tank, and her hand was pressed up against the barrier. She looked at him with pleading eyes and tried to say something but Ben couldn't make out what. As he approached the tank, the connection was broken and he no longer sensed her. His eyes snapped open and he immediately felt for any changes in her, hoping that it wasn't a normal dream. But nothing was different, and he felt himself deflate.

It took awhile for sleep to find him again, but unfortunately he didn't get anymore glimpses of Rey.