"Ben!"

The young boy responded by turning around, surprised to see his father, Han Solo.

"Dad!" He called out, excitedly running toward him with open arms.

Once they met Han lifted his boy up, followed by an embrace.

"Hey kid, how's my co-pilot doing? Don't tell Chewie I said that or he'll get jealous. And trust me, if there's one thing you don't want to see it's a jealous Wookiee."

Ben giggled, "I'm good…Hey! Could we take a ride in the Falcon, just a quick one? Please?"

"Well, I'll have to check with your mother…but uh… ah, of course we can take a ride!"

"Yes!"

Han chuckled as he led his boy toward the Millennium Falcon, beaming with pride. Meanwhile, Ben ran ahead, unable to contain his excitement.

All of the sudden he heard the sound of a lightsaber being ignited. He whipped around to see that a tall dark figure had just pierced his father with a jagged red lightsaber.

"NO!" The young boy shouted, running back to his lifeless father, kneeling down to him.

"Your father is dead. Accept it." The black figure said sternly through a modulated voice.

Ben looked up to see that this black figure was Kylo Ren; flinching at his intimidating stance over him.

"W-Why? Why did you kill him?" He cried out as he clutched at his father's shirt.

Kylo remained stoic. "I didn't kill your father, you did."

"What? No—I saw you do it—You killed him!"

Kylo moved directly in front of the child, looking straight down at him.

"Ben, I am you."

Before Ben had time to think, he found himself in the body of Kylo Ren, holding the lightsaber that had just killed his father. The young boy who he thought he was had disappeared. Only Ren and the damage caused by him remained.

His breathing grew heavy as he lifted the saber, hearing the haunting crackle of its low growl; staring at it in horror.

"No," he said to himself as he slowly backed away, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No," his volume increased as panic consumed him, shakily dropping the weapon responsible for his father's death.

"No!" he blared, desperately taking off the mask and throwing it aside.

His body started to tremble once he realized what he had done. That he killed his father.

Feeling so trapped and overwhelmed by his own guilt, he felt his knees begin to give and collapsed to the ground in intense grief.

It was like a shockwave. Everything hit her all at once, affecting every part of her body. Rey shot upright in a cold sweat, hardly able to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding and her hand was firmly pressed against her chest. She even found herself crying and she didn't know why.

And then she heard Ben moaning in despair, thrashing around and gasping for air.

Her feelings made sense now, but once his feelings became her main concern, she forgot all about her own.

She turned to him, laying a shaky yet careful hand to his cheek, hoping the warmth of her touch would relieve him.

"Shhh. Ben, it's okay." she soothed.

His breathing remained heavy and his brows drew together as his lips pursed.

"No," he mumbled in his sleep.

Her heart ached feeling and hearing the pain in his voice. Because of their forcebond she already knew the extent of his dream. There is nothing he regrets more than the day he killed his father. The scene haunts him constantly, and usually there's no comforting him when it comes to this subject. But Rey was determined to help him.

"Shh, sh sh. I'm here." she whispered while caressing his cheek, "Everything's alright."

"No," he shook his head against the pillow as tears ran down his cheeks, "no, it's not." he muttered quietly.

She let out a disheartened sigh, leaning forward to plant a tender kiss to his forehead. "It will be alright, sweetheart." her voice was soft, reassuring, "Wake up and I'll show you, okay?" Her one hand wiped away his tears while her other hand lightly stroked over his chest in an attempt to calm him. "Open your eyes for me."

His eyes began to twitch as he tried to respond to her request. Her voice and her touch were powerful enough to pull him away from the nightmare.

"There we go, almost." she leaned in kissing his cheek gently, trying to convey as many calming signals over to him as she could.

He started to relax, and for a moment he was completely removed from the nightmare. His mind was fixed on Rey, just Rey. Finally he opened his eyes, still half asleep.

"That's it. Focus on me." Her thumb caressed his cheek, wiping away the remainder of his tears.

After a few more blinks he was able to fully focus on her.

"Rey," he said with the faintest of a smile.

She offered a small smile in return, along with another light caress of the cheek, "I'm here."

The way she said that brought him another measure of comfort only she could provide. But soon after his smile faded, and his calm turned into fear once he remembered.

"Dad." His eyes widened as he shot up, looking around in a panic. "Where is he? Where's dad?"

"Ben-"

"I still have time. I can heal him. I can save him!"

"Ben!" Rey raised her voice to get his attention, grabbing hold of his shoulders so that he would be forced to give her eye contact.

"Ben," she took a moment to catch her breath, and to prepare herself for the news she was about to deliver. "It was a dream," she breathlessly told him, "only a dream."

He stared at her trying to comprehend what she said—not wanting to believe that he no longer had an opportunity to save his father. He exhaled shakily as a tremor pulsed through him—a result of the emotions he tried to suppress. His eye contact with Rey shifted as reality started to sink in, along with the familiar pain in his heart, and the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. The swirl of unpleasant emotions caused his breathing to increase—feeling panicked and tight at the chest. His whole body began to shake—his lips quivering as tears welled up in his eyes.

Rey was rubbing his back in a slow circular motion. "Don't hold on to it," she told him delicately, "you can let it out with me."

At that he broke into a sob, prompting Rey to cradle the back of his head bringing him down to her chest, hoping he would feel more secure this way. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, nuzzling his head against her chest as he continued to cry.

The most difficult part for Rey is how the forcebond allowed her to feel everything he was feeling, making it a challenge for her to be strong for Ben. Her natural sympathies were amplified by actually feeling his pain, and she couldn't help but cry with him.

"I know," she struggled to say, "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

He could sense her true understanding of his pain, her raw emotion; causing him to tighten his hold on her; afraid that she might disappear.

The interchange of each other's feelings made the pain slightly easier to cope through. But the emotions still ran high. Ben's breathing was hard. Really hard. And Rey knew that she needed to intervene.

"Ben," she said calmly, "Ben, you need to breathe. Can you take deep breaths for me?"

He felt like he couldn't, and there was no change in his labored breathing. It was only getting worse.

She then did her best to take a slow deep breath in, and a slow deep breath out. "See, you can do the same. Come on."

He attempted to breathe in and match her rhythm but was interrupted by short disruptive breaths in between, making him upset and anxious that he was unable to breathe properly.

"It's okay, we'll get there." She assured him lovingly, sensing his frustration. "Be patient with yourself."

She continued to take slow deep breaths in and out for him to follow; and if he had an irregular breath she would let him know with loving gestures that it was okay. She first kissed the top of his hair. The next time she held him closer. Another time she whispered to him that it was all right.

Eventually his breathing returned to normal, with the irregular breaths occurring less and less. He finally seemed to match her rhythm.

A steady breath in.

A steady breath out.

And then another sharp breath disrupted the rhythm once again, causing him to curl into her more.

"You're okay." She cooed.

Rey wondered if his position had anything to do with it, so with her hand she lifted his chin up from her chest slightly. And what she saw was heart-rending.

Gazing up at her were the swollen eyes of a sad, disheartened boy. And his eyes said what he couldn't bring himself to say, 'I need you.'

Her heart shattered for him. He was vulnerable and unknowingly pleading for her help. She didn't know what he needed from her but she knew what she wanted to do for him. Would it be enough though? She could only hope.

"Close your eyes," she told him.

He did so without question, trusting in her.

Wanting to offer a sense of security and comfort to him, she leaned in close, pressing her lips gently against his eye. The moment her lips touched the lid of his eye he felt a rushing wave of relief wash over him, causing him to involuntarily sigh. Her lips moved to the inner corner of his eye lingering there before moving on to his other eye. His hand came up slowly intertwining through her hair, the moment the tension in his body eased up. And then he finally relaxed.

She continued to feather these loving kisses across his eyelids; a simple action that made a deep impact. He felt safe. He felt calm. He felt loved. This is exactly what he needed from her.

It was a tranquil moment. They felt the power of their forcebond surrounding them like a protective shield. Nothing in the galaxy compared to the peace they felt with one another.

Then Rey, unknowingly caressed the side of his face the same way his father did before he died, re-awakening the emotions, breaking the peace.

She then felt fresh tears reach her hand, causing her to stop and look at him.

"Hey," she said tenderly, wiping away his tears, "What is it? You can tell me."

Her expression was inviting and most of all sincere. He never felt he couldn't talk to her, he just never wanted to burden her with his issues. One thing she had made abundantly clear to him was the fact that his issues were never a burden to her. And even though he knows she's telling the truth, it's still hard for him. He's never expressed his emotions to anyone his whole life really. But talking with Rey always made him feel better, reinforcing him to make the effort.

He swallowed, his lips pressing together as he looked down, the muscle beneath his left eye twitching briefly.

"My dad," he looked to the ceiling as more tears filled his eyes, "I killed my dad." was all he said—was all he needed to say.

Rey's right hand was stroking the back of his head while her other hand was over his chest. Her eyes solely focused on him.

"You didn't kill your father, Kylo Ren did."

He let out a dispirited chuckle. "Who created Kylo Ren, was it not Ben Solo?" He replied starkly—angry at himself.

"And was it not Ben Solo who killed Kylo Ren?" She whipped out, leaving him silent for a moment.

"I killed him too late." He responded finally.

"No, you killed him before it was too late for Ben Solo."

"But it was too late for my father!" He shot back, taking a shaky breath in before continuing. "My father…is dead...because of me." He stared at her as tears dropped after every blink, "Rey, he would still be here today if it wasn't for me."

"That may be true," she acknowledged, "but that was in your past. Ben, you have to let go and forgive yourself."

"How can I forgive myself for killing my own father?" He snapped unintentionally.

Rey remained calm, and responded in calm, "Because it's what your father would've wanted."

What she said took him aback. He was silent for another good moment before responding.

"Is it though?" he truly wondered.

"Yes." She said with pure conviction. "Yes, I really believe that and I'll tell you why. Ben, your father didn't need to confront you if he considered you a lost cause but he did. And what he said to you proves his forgiveness. Can you tell me something he said that could only be said by someone who has forgiven his son wholeheartedly?"

"Come home." He replied instantly and without any thought, as if those words replayed in his mind constantly.

"That's right. Ben, if he was willing to accept you as Kylo Ren, even after all you had done, don't you think he would accept you now, as Ben Solo?"

Her words struck him, he quivered and was ready to cry again. He looked straight into her eyes, unable to answer her. But on the inside he felt a slight weight being lifted realizing that his father might've felt this way.

"And I believe," Rey continued, "any father who forgives his son would want him to be happy—to forgive himself." She paused before she went on. "Ben, I know it will take time…but will you promise me you'll try to forgive yourself, for your father's sake?"

His face twitched, and the lump in his throat caused him to swallow hard. His mouth parted slightly before he spoke, "For you and my father, I'll try. I promise."

Rey slowly formed a grateful smile, and he gave a small smile in return.

"Do you want to know something I'm absolutely certain of?" She asked.

"What?"

"He would have been very proud of the man you are today."

Ben couldn't help the tears of joy that formed, the grin that spread across his face, causing him to look down bashfully. After everything Rey had said it made sense to actually think of him being proud.

He then cradled his hand against her face gingerly, "I know something too," he said.

"And what's that?"

"I know he would have been so proud…of the woman who saved his son's life."

She wasn't expecting him to say that, and it brought tears to her eyes just thinking about it. Han really was the father she never had, so to imagine his happiness and approval was emotional for her. Separately, she found it very touching of Ben to say that—to say she's someone worth being proud of.

Anticipating her next move Ben leaned forward the exact moment she did, brushing his nose against hers lovingly as she did the same. Their lips naturally met with a soft kiss. He tried to break the kiss to say something but she leaned forward to kiss him again. He still had something to say though, so he adapted.

"Rey," he said against her lips.

"Hm?" she hummed blissfully.

He was able to part the kiss just enough. "Thank you." is what he lovingly said.

He kissed her once more, being able to part his lips from hers again. "Thank you." he endearingly said.

He kissed her again, slowly, his lips not leaving hers this time. "Thank you." he whispered lovingly.

If there was ever a kiss to perfectly epitomize love, gratitude and contentment, it would be the kiss Ben Solo next gave to Rey. The kisses that followed were unable to be compared to others. For the dyad in which they shared allowed for the most pure affection ever to be displayed. They were two imperfect, damaged souls. But together they were one pure soul through the force, and forever their love lived on.