Paralyzed

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners.

A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Two-Fight

Rey was in a state of sexual bliss. Ben had spent the last hour worshipping her body like the queen she was, leaving her feeling completely sated and relaxed. She let out happy sigh and smiled up at him. He was handsome from the depths of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice. She loved him so much.

"Feeling more relaxed now." He asked.

"Yes." Rey breathed another happy sigh as she reached for him, intending to pull him back down beside her. When he avoided her touch, she pouted like a small child. "Where are you going? Come back here right now."

Ben laughed quietly as he began to pull on his clothes. He loved it when she got all bossy. "No can do, sweetheart. You need to eat, remember."

"I don't need stupid food. I just need you." Rey continued to whine as she sat up, her messy bed hair falling around her slim shoulders in gentle waves. Ben groaned, already beginning to cave. She looked so damn sexy with her flushed cheeks and pouty lips swollen from his ardent kisses.

"You need food. You're eating for three now." He reminded her as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss on her delicious lips.

Rey looped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, so their gazes were on the same level. Ben looked into her eyes, they were a deep pool of restless reddish brown, almost like burnished gold. All the beauty of the universe could not even hope to compete with how simply stunning she was. "You're beautiful." He said honestly.

"Not beautiful enough to tempt you to stay?" She wheedled.

"Nice try, sweetheart." Ben laughed as he unhooked her arms from around his neck and reached for his tunic.

"No." Rey grabbed the other end and they engaged in a playful tug of war with the garment. "I much prefer you without it."

"Are you sure?" Ben teased as he won the tug of war. "I'm sure it was you who told me to put on a cowl once."

Rey fought a smile as she shook her head. "Nope. That wasn't me. That was the other Rey. She was a bit of a prude."

"Didn't stop her staring at my chest though." Ben countered, smirking.

"Well the view was nice." Rey conceded as she drew herself up onto her knees and scraped her fingers lightly over his pectoral muscles, making him groan again. He captured her lips in a heated kiss, his arm winding around her waist to pull her tight against him. "I thought you were leaving." She murmured when they broke for air.

"Another few minutes won't hurt." Ben mumbled as he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him.

"Right, I am going to get you some food. And you are going to eat it." Ben declared a little while later as he pulled his tunic over his head.

"I love it when you're being masterful." Rey pretended to swoon as she stretched her arms above her head and smiled up at him.

Ben laughed. He was enjoying seeing this more relaxed, playful side to her personality. "What do you want me to get you?"

"A little bit of everything." Rey answered as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"You better still be awake when I get back." Ben joked.

Rey fought her drooping eyelids. "I promise." She curled up on her side, the smile dying on her lips as her expression became troubled. All playfulness was gone now. "Ben, do you remember the vision…the one we had when we touched hands. What do you really think it meant?"

Ben was confused by her train of thought, wondering why she was bringing that up now. "I don't think it meant anything in the end." He tried to sound reassuring as he hunkered down beside her. "I've come to the conclusion that Force visions are subjective. In that moment, when we touched hands, I think our emotions were so heightened that we saw what we wanted to see."

"You really think that's all it was?" Rey asked in a small voice. "Us projecting onto each other what we wanted to happen?"

"I think we just both wanted to be together so badly, and the only way either of us could see it happening at that time was one of us giving up everything for the other." Ben explained.

"You to the light and me to the dark." Rey murmured.

"Don't dwell on it, sweetheart. Look at us now." Ben leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He felt Rey relax and rose to his feet. "I won't be too long. Love you."

"Love you, too." Rey answered as she watched him leave with worried eyes.

Rose stood beside Hux as she watched his nimble fingers programme the console to do his bidding as he hacked into the Steadfast's computer mainframe. She stared at the contrasting white pixels appearing on the viewscreen in wonder. Fragments of code clogged the screen, putting a strain on the overheated wiring. The jungle of algorithms played a laser show in her eyes as she glanced to the side at Hux. His eyes monitored the screen closely, moving from side to side rapidly like the eyes of a dreaming person but wide open. A tense silence enveloped them, broken only by the sound of Hux's fingers tapping a regular rhythm on the console.

In the air, the scent of Caf' and hot electronics was replaced by sweat as the tension increased tenfold. It solidified until Hux suddenly broke out into a triumphant smile. With one last determined click, file after file pertaining to the Stormtrooper programme began to download.

"Wow, Armitage, you are a genius!" Rose breathed in awe.

"Yes, I am." Hux agreed without a hint of modesty. Despite his ambivalence at the prospect of doing anything that might benefit Ren, he had to admit he was enjoying the subterfuge, just as he had when he had worked as a spy in the First Order. Rose referring to him as genius also benefitted in stroking his ego, which had taken a lot of knocks of late.

"I think this calls for a celebration." Rose said as she picked up the carafe and poured a generous amount of Caf' into two tin mugs. She passed one to Hux before picking up her own. "Here's to a job well done, Armitage." She toasted as she tapped her mug against the side of his.

The tips of Hux's ears turned slightly red with pleasure at her high praise. He thought Rose was looking even more beautiful today. Something radiated from within that rendered her irresistible. She had a kind of understated beauty, perhaps it was because she was so disarmingly unaware of her prettiness. She was all about simplicity, making things easy, helping those around her to relax and be happy with what they have. Perhaps that is why her skin glowed so, it was her inner beauty that lit her eyes, he decided as he took a sip of the hot drink. His inner musings were interrupted by the arrival of Finn. Armitage cussed under his breath when he saw the happy smile on Rose's face fade as she turned to face her erstwhile suitor.

"Rose, can we talk?" Finn asked huskily.

"I don't think so." Rose said, dipping her head as she avoided his intense gaze.

"Please." Finn persisted.

"I'm not ready."

Finn let out an impatient sigh as he gently took hold of her arm and steered her away from a glowering Hux. "Why does that guy always seem to be hanging around when we're trying to have an important conversation?" He complained.

"Armitage isn't hanging around. We have been working together on something important." Rose huffed as she yanked her arm out of his hold.

"Working together?" Finn scoffed contemptuously. "The guy is a devious bastard."

Rose's eyes narrowed. "You should leave." She responded sharply.

Finn knew he had screwed up. He ducked his head, looking at her despondently. "Please, Rose, I've missed you." His voice was a soft as velvet as he tried to persuade her to forgive him. "Come with me so we can talk."

"I said no."

"Rose…" Finn tried again.

"The lady said no." Hux stated icily as he decided to intervene. He stepped in front of Finn, blocking his view of Rose. "I suggest you do as she asks and leave."

"Are you for real?" Finn looked up and down Hux's thin, wiry frame derisively. "Stay out of this. Its none of your business." He was about to shove him to one side when Hux's fist shot out and bopped him on the nose.

The canteen was a cacophony of loud chatter, each table a cosseted huddle of people raising their voices to be heard above the din. The food was secondary to the information that was being exchanged there. Ben was standing in the queue, filling up his tray with a varied choice of food to take back to Rey, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Poe smirking at him. "I thought it was you." He said.

Ben refrained from rolling his eyes. "I'm hard to miss when I'm head and shoulders above everyone else." His height still surprised him.

"You are freakishly tall." Poe agreed amiably.

"So I've been told." Ben added some more fruit to his tray.

"I take it all that is for the mother to be." Poe said as he lowered his voice in order not to be overheard. "How is she?"

"Glowing." Ben's eyes softened as he thought of Rey.

"Good to hear." Poe drew Ben further away from the many pairs of curious eyes. "Just to let you know Rose and Hux are working on that thing we spoke about." He looked over his shoulder to check no one was within earshot. "Fingers crossed we get a break through soon."

"If I know Hux it will be sooner rather than later. He's good at what he does." Ben conceded reluctantly.

They were interrupted by a kerfuffle at the front of the canteen. Kaydel Ko Connix came flying inside, arms flailing as she tried to slow her forward momentum. When she saw Poe and Ben standing together, she changed direction and came hurtling toward them.

"Poe" She cried breathlessly when she reached them. Poe had to grasp her arms in order to stop her slamming into him. "I've been looking for you everywhere. They're f…f…fighting." She stammered.

"Hey, slow down." Poe could hardly understand what she was saying, she was so excitable.

"Fighting." Kaydel said again as she took deep, shallow breaths to calm herself down.

Poe exchanged a quick glance with Ben. "Who's fighting?" He demanded.

"Rose." Kaydel gasped.

"Rose is fighting?" Poe was completely confused now.

Kaydel shook her head. "Not Rose. She's trying to stop them."

Poe wanted to shake the information out of the breathless girl. "Who is fighting?" He asked again sternly.

"Finn and Hux." Kaydel finally revealed.

Poe's eyebrows rose to his hairline in surprise as he exchanged another shocked glance with Ben. "Hell." He muttered as he let go of Kaydel's arms and rushed out of the tent with Ben one step ahead of him.

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review if you have the time.