Rey leaned over Sal's neck and chirped to him. He responded by picking up speed, racing along the smooth shoreline of Lake Stearnes. There were very few areas near the Massassi Temple region that allowed for this, as the terrain was mostly jungle, so Rey liked to bring the Triss here from time to time to stretch out. She could feel his joy through the Force, and she allowed it to seep into her senses; she needed all the joy she could get, right now.

It had been about three weeks since Poe had visited. Rey had fallen into a deep depression and barely spoke to anyone after that night, and she remained like that for… about three days. After that, she became determined to stop with the self-pity-party and got back to business. She began working out again, pushing her body to the limit, only then realizing just how out of shape she was. She kept the babies near through most of it, Skyler napping in a home-made carrier and Shaina playing her own games always in sight of her mother. Rey only left them to stay with their grandfather when she took Sal out for a ride, like she was doing today. The Triss had been neglected since the war had started. Well, not really. Temiri and several of the other children continued to spoil him rotten, but he refused to let anyone but Rey ride him, so he was thrilled when Rey started taking long rides on him once more.

These rides had become even more important since the dream had changed. She was no longer being tortured or raped, Poe was no longer being forced to watch or in agony. No, these dreams started with her walking through the corridors of the Organa, heading for Poe's stateroom. She walked in, only to find a couple having sex in the dimly lit cabin. The woman's long blonde hair was spread about her on the bed as she moaned in pleasure, the man on top of her thrusting almost violently into her. The woman looked at her, a flash of triumph in her blue eyes as she dug her fingernails into the man's muscled back. In shock, Rey muttered, "Poe?" He turned his head to face her, his eyes angry. They suddenly flashed a bright, glowing red. Rey would wake then, trembling.

Rey finally sat back and Sal slowed down. He was breathing heavily but happy, and she turned him back toward the base. They walked calmly through the jungle, and Rey allowed herself to meditate as she let her body swing with her mount's motions; she trusted him to get her safely home. Once back at the barn and paddock where Sal lived, not too far from her little house, Rey slid off of his back and let him go, and he happily trotted off to join his Fathier friends. She started walking slowly toward the house, deciding she would wait a bit longer to retrieve the children; it would be nice to continue meditating without interruption, which was a given with her little ones.

She kneeled down in the shade of her second favorite tree (nothing could top the Force tree in Kes' yard) and closed her eyes. As usual, her thoughts turned to her husband. Just last week, they had received word of a major victory for the New Republic against the Traagmol; not only had a team infiltrated a Traagmol prison camp (which the Republic military called 'feed lots,' )and liberated over three hundred humans, mostly women and children, but then two fighter squadrons had followed up the shocking recue by destroying not only the camp, but the factory next door. Poe, who had come up with the plan, was being lauded as a hero.

Despite the way they had parted, Rey still felt tremendous pride in her husband.

She took a deep breath and felt a familiar presence appear. Without opening her eyes, she said with more than a little humor, "It's about time."

She opened her eyes to see Luke Skywalker standing before her, a grin barely visible behind his beard.

"What?" she asked him. "Did you finally get bored enough that you thought, 'I'm going to go visit Rey today!'?"

He chuckled. "I'm actually still convinced you're going to figure this problem out on your own," he told her. "But I thought maybe you could use someone to bounce ideas off of." He shrugged. "It's time to end this war."

Rey frowned. "You think my problem and the war are connected?"

"You don't?"

Rey considered a moment. "I guess I never thought about it." She sat back on her butt in the grass, looking up at him. "What I don't want is a lecture about attachments and the Jedi Code."

Luke walked over to one of the chairs that sat around the firepit and sat down, smiling. "What Jedi Code? I thought you weren't including that in your teaching?"

"Maybe I should," Rey groused.

Luke sighed. "You know, Rey. I'm going to pass along some advice, something I learned from one of the strongest people I have ever known." He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "She suffered more loss in her lifetime than any one person should ever have to face. Her husband, her son, her brother, friends through two wars, her entire planet…"

"Leia," Rey said softly.

"She loved and lost so many people in her life, yet she never, ever stopped loving." He paused. "And she never, ever felt the pull of the dark side." He stared at her intently. "So, after you 'lost' your husband, did you feel the sudden urge to go into the village and burn it down?"

Rey huffed out a laugh. "Of course not."

"And on Exegol, when you were about to do Palpatine's bidding, all to save the people you love, do you really believe you could have taken his place? Become as evil as he was?"

"I… I don't know."

"You know," Luke argued. "My father returned to the Light because of his love for me. Ben returned because of his love for his mother… and you. Real love cannot live in tandem with the dark side. It's impossible." He smiled again. "You would have made a horrible Sith."

Rey smiled, but then sighed and frowned at him once more. "And what about a broken heart?" she asked. "What does a Jedi do about that?"

"Well," he told her. "I can only speak from experience…"

"Wait! What?"

He grinned again. "Yes, Rey. I was once in love. And I stupidly gave it up thanks to that shortsighted Jedi Code you mentioned."

"When was this?"

"Long ago," he said softly. "She was a pilot for the Rebellion. One of the few women we had back then. We worked together several times after the Battle of Endor, and she made me feel so alive. Leia, of course, pushed me to make it 'official,' but I just couldn't find the courage to make that commitment." He paused. "She waited as long as she could, but even Leia didn't blame her when she moved on. I often thought about finding her in the months and years afterward, but then it was too late."

"What happened?" Rey asked, scared to hear the answer.

"She was on a simple training mission with another pilot when one of the torpedo launchers on her A-Wing sparked and blew. It was a fluke. An accident. She lost control and crashed into her partner, taking her down, too. They both crashed planet-side, but neither survived." He sighed. "Imagine, two talented fighter pilots who lived through the war with the Empire, only to die accidentally years later." Luke had been staring off at nothing, but then focused on her. "My biggest regret was never letting her know how I felt."

Rey was silent for a while, but then Luke spoke again. "You have a connection to that story, Rey," he said softly. "The pilot she died with was Shara Bey."

Rey gasped and touched the ring on her hand. "I never knew how she died," she whispered. "He never told me, and I never asked. He and Kes always seem to shut down when someone mentions her death."

Luke was silent for a moment. "I don't know your husband, but I knew his parents very well. Whatever is keeping you apart, other than this war, has an explanation, Rey."

"The dark side," she whispered. "But I can't find the source."

"What do you teach your students about the dark side?"

"That it's easy. Seductive. Addictive."

"Easy to spot?"

"Not always," she said. "It can be very subtle. Almost invisible when used carefully."

"Always in a person?"

Rey shook her head. "No. Objects can carry it, too." She stopped and looked at Luke with shock. "The Guapa!" She jumped up and ran for the house. Once inside, she moved quickly to her bedroom. The room all her nightmares took place in. The room Poe had been in when she first felt his anger, anger that only dissipated the longer she touched him. Feeding him her Light. She moved over to the dresser and picked up the small stone statue of a guapa. She saw Luke appear out of the corner of her eye and turned to him. "This was given to us as a gift from a group of people on Kef Bir the last time Finn was there," she said. "He was told it was once part of a long-destroyed Jedi Temple." She hefted the artifact. "It wasn't a Jedi Temple. It was Sith. I can feel it now. She's been using it to control my dreams."

"She?" Luke raised his eyebrows. "How do you know it's a 'she'?"

"I know," she told him firmly.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Luke asked her, his look sly.

Rey gave him an impish grin. "I'm going to get my husband back."

XXXXXX