AN: Thanks as always for reading and reviewing!

"Dyad's Blessing, Dyad's Curse"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 43

"Rey did WHAT?" Poe exclaimed.

Finn held up his hands in a calming gesture – he seemed to be doing that a lot these days. "Look, I don't get it, but it's something to do with the Force and she felt she had to go see Ben immediately."

Poe groaned, resting his elbows on the meeting room table and digging his fingers in his forehead. "And what about how I already told today's representatives that they'd be able to meet the Jedi who defeated Palpatine? This isn't gonna go well with them."

"Well . . . we could comm her during the meeting or something."

"And tell the representatives that she couldn't come because she's visiting Kylo Ren?"

"Okay, so we tell them that she's interrogating him for information or something."

Poe looked up, twisting his mouth. "So we lie to the representatives? That's a great way to earn their trust! How the hell are we supposed to rebuild the Republic if we can't even keep our word about who's coming to the meetings?"

"Well, they still get to meet the general who led the attack on Exegol," said Finn, giving a slight grin in hopes of calming his friend. "Meeting you oughta count for something."

Poe sighed. "It's not like meeting the last Jedi. The Jedi – they're mystical, people are fascinated with them."

Finn put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short, Poe. You're important."

Poe took a deep breath, looking in Finn's eyes. "Well, at least they get to meet the stormtrooper who deflected the First Order and became a Resistance general."

Finn gave an embarrassed grin. "With a lot of help from the general who led the attack on Palpatine."

. . .

For once Rey wished she knew how to activate the connection with Ben. The airbus took a long time to get anywhere near the prison with Ben's pain throbbing in Rey's soul the entire way. Behind her blinks she kept seeing Han's face, glowing red. Even after she got off the bus, she still had to walk a good distance to get to the prison, her stomach knotting more and more with each step.

The prison guards led her down what seemed like endless gray halls flanked on each side by red forcefields. She tried not to peer inside the cells, though occasionally she caught a glimpse of a prisoner staring through a forcefield at the passing guards or pacing aimlessly around their cell, which made her shudder. How long could someone stay here before they lost all hope?

Finally they reached Ben's cell, where the guards ordered her to stay away from the forcefield. She did so, but her heart started racing as soon as Ben saw her and made his way to the forcefield, a smile breaking on his face despite the bags under his eyes.

"Rey," he murmured.

"Ben!" Rey exclaimed, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Are you all right?" She had to restrain herself from telling him about what happened in the restaurant – it definitely wasn't a good idea to talk about that with the guards present.

"As all right as I can be here," said Ben. "Is D-O with you?"

"No, but I'll bring him next time. This was kind of a . . . spontaneous decision." She swallowed, trying not to think of how the forcefield tinted Ben's face that same shade of red as Han's face in her . . . vision? Memory? Something else?

Ben's eyes widened as if he sensed what was in her mind. "I . . . I had a therapy session this morning. The prison counselor seems nice, but something . . . strange happened during the session."

Rey gave a slow nod, clenching her pants to keep her hands from shaking. "Something strange happened at breakfast this morning too."

They stared at each other through the forcefield, understanding passing between them. Her mind's eye saw him claiming – remembering – that he'd grown up on Jakku, that he was her. She wished she could break down the forcefield and wrap her arms around him – ironic, when they were physically in the same place, she felt more separated from him than when they linked through the Force.

"Tell D-O I said hi," Ben said in an awkward voice, as if he were trying to get acceptable conversation going.

"I will."

What else could she say with the guards watching? She could feel their stares on her, as if they wondered if she was in league with Ben and would attempt to break him out. Her heart was ramming against her ribs, the memory of Han's dying face dancing in her mind. When she'd witnessed the event from the balcony, she hadn't seen his face – that devastated, heartbroken face.

"Rey," said Ben, briefly eyeing the guards before looking back at her, "you should probably leave."

"I'm not leaving."

"I'm serious, the Resistance needs you and this . . . this isn't a good environment to talk in."

Rey swallowed, wishing they could talk about what happened but realizing they couldn't with the guards here. What had she expected, anyway? "Well, I'll see you later, then."

As the guards led her away, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes, filling her mind with what she couldn't say out loud and concentrating on sending it to Ben's mind.

Next time we link.

. . .

Next time we link.

Ben heard the words in his mind as he stared at the guards leading Rey away. The words settled in his stomach like a rock, confirming that yes, the identity confusion had happened to her too. His body trembled as he sat on the cot, his sleep-deprived brain going through this morning's event for what felt like the millionth time.

In that second when he'd blurted out Rey's memory, had he actually thought he was Rey?

Again he had no answer. The moment had come and gone in such a blur that he couldn't remember just what he was thinking then. He closed his eyes, inhaling, counting one, two, three seconds, and then exhaling, just like his Jedi training taught him, but just like during his Jedi training, it made him dizzy.

His eyes opened as he flopped down on the cot, trying not to feel like the cell walls would close in on him. "You belong here," that silent inner voice said. "You belong here, you are dangerous, you NEED to be here . . ."

He needed to be here . . .

That was the truth . . .

But he didn't want to be here.

He let out a long exhale and ran his hands over his face as he closed his eyes, contemplating taking a nap. Maybe sleep would clear his mind or maybe he'd dream he was Rey. Of course, that was assuming that he'd be able to sleep.

Next time we link.

There wasn't much point in thinking about the incident right now, was there? It wasn't like he could talk to anyone about it before he and Rey did link, right?

"You belong here . . ."

Again his chest tightened so hard he could barely breathe. His mind saw his victims' terrified faces, heard his prisoners screaming as he pried into their minds, smelled his father's burning flesh as the lightsaber pierced him . . .

"You belong here . . ."

He couldn't deny the words no matter how much he wanted to. Though again he inhaled, counted to three, and exhaled, nothing felt better. He ground his teeth, trying to imagine that he was lying in his parents' bed, snuggled up between them, swaddled in their warm embrace, but the fantasy wouldn't come.

Instead, they were stiff, cold, unmoving.

Corpses.