Ch 54

Rey

I sat in silence for a few minutes after Finn left. I didn't detect any lies when he said he would try to help us find any information on anyone who'd been or even seen a dyad in the Force before.

Palpatine had said it hadn't been seen for generations, so it had to mean there was one at one point, right?

I didn't want to think about it anymore. The more I did, the more anxious about Finn being gone for too long I became. Being locked in a cell didn't really help either.

The only thing that kept me somewhat sane was Ben sitting with me, sort of.

"For someone that was stuck on a desert planet for years, you are extremely antsy. I thought you were used to waiting?" he asked me at one point.

"That was different, I had a routine, I had some form of freedom, and I had something to hope for. Here the only thing I have is you and the hope that Finn will try to sway Poe in our direction. I don't like being in confined spaces, I'm used to being out, being this cell is agitating me" I told him, a little snappy at the end.

"I understand, but you have to get used to it princess, if you trust him as much as I sense, there's no reason for you to doubt things will go as bad as you assume. There's a high chance they'll let you go free, it's about time I really pay for my actions against the people of the galaxy"

The way he said that really bothered me, how could he be so at peace for what they could do to him?

"Ben how could you say that? You don't owe anyone anything, that wasn't you, that was Ren. Surely we can use that to get you out of a trial or… worse!" I yelled.

"Rey, try to keep you voice down, they'll think you're either crazy, or that we've found a way to communicate. I know we have this bond, but if they separate us more than we already are it's going to make everything more difficult" he said in a hushed tone.

I sighed frustrated, I knew he was right, but so much had happened in the span of what, 2, 3 weeks?

"I know, I know, I just cannot bear the thought of you being taken away from me again, whether it's by your choice or not Ben." I told him on the verge of tears. The thought of being alone again was terrifying, the bond we'd created was beyond of anything in existence. It was like oxygen, if it was taken away, I had a feeling I would die.

"I know, I don't want to lose you either, in any way, but we have to prepare for whatever outcome we may face." I didn't know how he could possibly be so calm at a time as this, but sometimes I needed to remind myself he was leading the entire galaxy at one point, he probably had worse situations to handle at the time.

"I wish we could just run away to some uninhabited planet and lived out the rest of our lives… far away from all this mess" I confessed to him, well he probably already knew those things, but it was nice to say them out loud. Admitting that those desires were there.

"Maybe one day we can do that. I know you wanted to live on Naboo, but maybe there's other places out there where we can live our lives with no one to bother us and no one to answer to" he laid down on my cot, struggling a little, he'd received a blaster shot on the shoulder and it was in bad shape. Someone had apparently forgot to set their blaster to "stun", I didn't think it was an accident at all.

"Can I please fix your shoulder? I hate seeing you in pain like that" I told him, but he shook his head.

"No, remember, emergencies only. Besides, if they came to check in on me and saw the wound was gone without a trace, it would raise some suspicion. We want to try and lay as low as possible in our current circumstances.

Right again.

"Fine, but why don't we try to rest a bit then? I'm still tired from those four days in whatever stasis we were in, we're gonna need all the energy we can get" I told him.

He nodded in agreement and I laid down next to him. He immediately adjusted himself to give me some room, not without pain of course.

"Are you sure you don't want me to heal you?" I asked him, he hesitated to answer.

"Rey, we don't know the consequences if you try to, especially after Exegol"

He had a point.

"I know but… I can't bear to see or feel you in pain, whatever you feel, I can feel too and I can't bear to see anything harm you" I told him.

He sighed quite loudly, but he agreed to let me heal him anyways. I sat up and put my hand on his wounded shoulder. There was a bacta patch on it already, but it wasn't the same as my healing.

I reached out to the Force and felt it course from my inner most being into Ben's shoulder. I felt the flesh and every cell regenerate, felt the wound close up like it had never been there in the first place.

I opened my eyes and he caught my hand before I took it off his shoulder and looked up into my eyes.

I went a little tense. The look he was giving me was… longing, yet tender. Soft, yet like a predator was hunting its prey, trying to lure them in.

"Rey… I didn't want to tell you this… but when we were connected… I also saw that a part of you desired more than anything a family… a child. And… I'm sorry I am not ready to gi-"

"Stop" I said interrupting him, "I saw it in your head too, it's what you want… you want us to have a family, but your fear is what's crippling you from making a choice. I will not force you to do it, but you have to conquer and overcome that fear too. We both do… we both feel the same about the situation, but we will get through that and through this together"

He smiled and craned his neck up towards me, I met him halfway in a soft kiss. I knew it could turn into more but… in our current circumstances, anyone could walk in at any moment.

He read my thoughts and agreed, laying on his side with ease this time and patting the spot next to him. I laid down and felt his arm wrap around my waist and pull me closer still. Touching through the bond wasn't the same as real life, but for now it would have to do until we could leave this place.