*Last time on WO: Ben tried to find healthier ways to manage his anger, and his old friend Poe showed up.*

They ate mostly in silence, and Poe didn't push Ben. Poe knew from past experience that Ben would talk when he was ready, and not until then. Poe watched him tear his food into little pieces and only put a few of them in his mouth, and also noted the dark circles under his eyes. He started to tell him to eat more, but then decided against it, because he knew how much of a nag Leia could be.

"Want to walk with me?" Ben finally asked. By the time he'd finished what he was going to eat and Poe was done with his food and caf, Ben was jittery. He knew that Rey was awake through the bond. Again, their bond was thin, but Ben didn't think it would do any good to intrude and try to speak with her. It didn't usually work anyways. But he couldn't resist pulling the light to himself and soothing the bond like he did the night before. She didn't jerk away, or slam the shield down, so he sent a gentle wave of comfort to her, and then backed off.

Poe nodded and followed Ben down the winding hallways of the academy, peeking in doors of the library, training rooms, and random students floating in the air, and completely silence with their eyes closed. It's not like Poe had never seen Ben do it, but it was still disconcerting. So he broke the silence, not to try to get Ben to talk before he was ready, but to distract himself. Poe told him about some of the ships he'd flown, some of the skirmishes he'd been with his mom, and the maneuvers he would help her pull off. Poe sensed that Ben was only half paying attention to him, but Poe didn't take it personally. He could talk and fill a silence and it was just the norm with his moody friend to get withdrawn into his own head, like he was fighting some inner battle, and for all Poe knew, he was.

They finally stopped walking, and Poe recognized FX droids and knew they were on the medical wing. Ben hesitated outside a door, raising his hand to knock, then withdrawing five or six times before he settled on just sitting down as close to the door as possible. Poe sat on the other side of him, crossing his legs in front of him and patting his friend on the shoulder. Ben started talking slowly, and then laid out all that had happened the last few months.

As Rey woke up her throat was scratchy, her eyes were swollen, and her head was pounding. And that was only the physical elements. It hurt to be apart from Ben, which she thought was ridiculous of her. She'd been alone for years, not depending on anyone but herself, and now she was pitiful. Her body was betraying her, so was her mind. Her mind felt different than the prickly darkness she'd felt the night before, but she still felt violated. When the bond was closed completely her chest ached.

She closed her eyes, and reached out her senses. She hoped that meditation would calm the anxiety and the way her mind was racing. And thoughts of Ben. She was going to pull herself together, she really was. She just needed a little more time to come to terms with the way their relationship was sure to change.

She focused on feeling the life outside her window, birds chirping, wind blowing, but then there was the inverse, plants were dying, and animals were hurt. Those were only a few of the things that kept a delicate balance and the force had a hand in all of it. She breathed in and out, trying to see herself in the bigger picture. She lowered the barrier in her mind, and felt less pressure there-amazingly after the day she'd had. She took inventory of her body, what she felt, how the force flowed through her. She wiggled her fingers and toes, then rolled her wrists and flexed her ankles. Her legs still felt mostly like dead weight, almost like they weren't hers so she moved on. She could tense the muscles in her abdomen, and obviously her diaphragm was in working order. Her brain had protected her vital systems, and she was grateful otherwise she wouldn't be alive. She knew that she'd somehow lifted her arms in her panic even further than she had yesterday morning, so she focused on that. She gathered the force and concentrated. She lifted the inch she knew she could without panic.

Then two, three, until she curled them up to her chest. She knew that she'd done a number on herself, so that may have been as far as she went. She remembered the pressure in her eyes that she was intent on reaching,but couldn't make it. She drew on the frustration she felt at not being able to move, to sit up on her own, to control body functions and brought her arms and hands even further to touch her face. She was exhausted but kept pushing herself, sweat running down her face, and arms trembling. But she did it and she was proud of herself. She knew when to stop, even if she didn't want to. When she pushed past what she could feasibly do on Jakku that was when she got hurt. She dropped her arms, and let the barrier cover her brain again. Now that she wasn't so determined, she was a little embarrassed. She was afraid that she might have drawn on the dark with her frustration and she didn't want to leave any weakness for the sith to have access to her.

She decided to meditate again, since she was too exhausted to anything else, but not really sleepy, just drained. She once again tightened her bond and prioritized them. The bond with Ben was the weakest and she felt him brush up against it, and he felt a wave of comfort. She basked in it, in the light he was sending her. That tender caress on their bond made her shiver and she opened her eyes, unable to concentrate. She knew if he came to her now, she would give in whether or not she was truly ready to face him, and own up to her feelings. A few minutes later she could feel him getting closer, along with an unfamiliar signature. She drew herself up and took a deep breath. If he were alone she would invite him in, she knew she would. But the addition of someone else, someone that she didn't know made her hesitate.

But no knock came, although she could feel that he didn't leave or go any further away. She focused as hard as she could, and heard a male voice talking to him back and forth. Rey could only catch snippets of what was said, but she definitely heard her name more than once. She couldn't place Ben's tone or his mood besides longing and a strange sense, guilt maybe. Rey herself felt guilty for listening in on their conversation, but tried to justify it-they were right outside her door.

She pulled away though, from the bond and from focusing on what they were saying, instead turned her attention to the sounds of life outside her window when a thought struck her.

What if this new signature was the person Leia mentioned Ben had met? It had never crossed her mind that the reason there was only friendship between her and Ben was because he liked boys.