I'm so excited to see such a positive response to this fic! I really don't get to write that often and am really thankful for this small burst of inspiration! I was also typing the entire first chapter in past tense and didn't even realize it - so if you catch me struggling with that I apologize! Enjoy!


Rose led Rey, Poe, and Finn to the Falcon's cockpit where a new distress transmission was beeping wildly across the controls. "That code is too old to be First Order...but it's definitely a Tie..." "It just sent out a distress signal?" Finn and Rose took a step back and let Poe read the transmission. "Do we know where it's going to land-Rey...Rey where are you..."

Rey left her companions and shuffled out of the Falcon in a trance. She felt as though a tight rope had snared her waist and was pulling her forward. As she stepped down the ships' ramp she reached behind her and summoned her saber from her quarters. She barely hears Finn shout after her as the weapon slaps into her palm and she begins to jog into the jungle.

"Rey!" "Rey!" "Rey!"

Rey

Rey shakes her head. This can't be real. As she wandered farther into the thick jungle, she can hear the many voices of the rest of the Resistance who heard the distress transmission. None of their signatures could hold a finger to the overwhelming sensation flowing throughout Rey's entire body. A bright light flashed in the night sky, revealing a Tie-Fighter plummeting towards the earth below.

Rey froze suddenly as the crash of the ship echoed through the trees, shaking the ground with it. Poe caught up to her, struggling to catch his breath. "Rey...Rey we're right behind...jeez...right behind you." He puts his hands on his knees. "We gotta go over something-"

"It's him. I know it is." "And I believe you! But we have to be on the same page here."

She ignored him and started again towards the billow of smoke rising in the trees. "Rey stop!" She turned to the general and frowned at him. "Poe..." "You gotta hear me out for a second. We have a lot on our plates here...the rest of the Resistance doesn't know your story...his story...they still look at him as an enemy. People are counting on us to be leaders we can't just welcome Kylo Ren back with open arms."

Rey glared at him. "Then we'll tell them the truth. They will accept him once they know the truth!"

"And I will make sure of it, but you have to help us get there. If he comes out of that ship looking for a fight I need you to help me stop him..." Rey began to sputter a protest as her friend took her hands in his own. "...Think about this the way Leia would have. She would have absolutely wanted to save her son but she would have to handle it like a Resistance leader, not just a mother. Now I promise I will make sure no one raises a blaster before he does...but if he does you need to put your...feelings aside and help protect everyone." And then we can focus on bringing Ben Solo home. Rey's own consciousness whispered back to her, almost taking the tone of Leia's voice.

Rey searched Poe's feelings for any signs of resentment or untruth, but she found nothing. She nodded and stepped away from him as Finn catches up to them. "The ship just crashed and there's only one life sign on board." He didn't sound surprised. Rey turned back towards the direction of the crash site. "I'll go first. Watch my back."

Rey was alone in the clearing as she approached the smoking wreck of the ship. Her heart was slamming in her chest as the Force pulsed around her. I can feel it. I can feel him.

Without a second thought, Rey reached out with her power and began tearing pieces off the ship off. She could hear the clicks and groans of the old ship parts as they fell to the ground piece after piece. The signatures of the Resistance spread throughout the outside of the clearing, creating a perimeter around the ship. And you. Rey could barely hear Poe over the sound of her heart as he shouted orders. "Hold your fire!" Rey grunted as she was able to move the ship's viewport with her power, letting it crash on the jungle floor.

Sitting in the pilot's seat was none other than Ben Solo, covered in sweat and blood. His dark hair was sticking to his head as he coughed and opened his eyes slowly. Rey willed her tears away as they looked at each other. The intensity of meeting his gaze once again was enough to make Rey's knees weak. He's alive. He's alive.

"...Rey..." He sighed as his head rolled back and he fainted in the pilot's chair. Rey was stuck in her place as his signature took over her own. The whispers of his voice echoed through her mind in time with her racing heart. ReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyRey

Poe and Finn shot past her and began helping unbuckle Ben from the ship. Poe shouted orders for someone to go back to the camp and fetch a speeder. Jannah and Rose appeared beside her. "That's Kylo Ren?!" Jannah scoffed. Rose stepped into Rey's line of sight, waving a hand in front of her face. "Rey are you feeling okay?" She blinked slowly as she kept her eyes on Ben.

ReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyReyRey

Despite Rose's efforts to get her back to the camp early, Rey waited for the medics as they cautiously put Ben onto a speeder and started back towards the Falcon. Finn stayed close to her and deflected the many more questions they were getting from the lieutenants. "But General, what are we going to do if he wakes up and attacks someone!" Rey glared at him, scaring the daylights out of the poor recruit.

"His lightsaber is missing and he seems to be knocked out from his injuries. It'll be alright." Finn saluted him. "You are dismissed, lieutenant." The young man skittered off, leaving Rey and Finn alone as they walked behind the speeder. He sighed deeply and stared at her as she kept her eyes on Ben. "Well this night turned around." Rey shakes her head. I can't believe it.

They followed the commotion into the Falcon and Rey orders the crew to deposit Ben into her quarters. She can sense their unease even as they obey her. Rey hears Poe and Finn clearing out the ship, sans their group of friends - the Resistance Leaders. Poe orders the medics to send Chewie back with a med droid and extra rations. Drowned in her own worry, Rey sat on the edge of her bed and stared at Ben as he slept soundly. She relished in the happy hums of the Force as she ghosted her hand over his own. Shortly after the ship cleared out, she could hear Zorri and Poe start shouting at each other down the hall.

"Would someone PLEASE explain to me why we brought the baddest of bad guys into our ship instead of locking him up?!" "Zorri it's more complicated than that!" "OH REALLY?! Then start talking!" Jannah chimes in. "I'm with Zorri on this one! Why isn't he in a cell?" "EVERYONE STOP!" Finn shouted. He took a breath and launched into an abridged version of the story Rey had told them earlier that night. Rey tuned out most of it out and focused on the pulsing of the Force as she traced a pattern on Ben's hand. His heavy breathing seemed to slow and calm as she touched him.

As Finn finished explaining how Ben found her on Exogul, she got up hesitantly and shuffled into the lounge, leaning against the doorway. Everyone turned to face her with worried looks in their eyes, she shrugged. "You can finish."

Finn nodded. "And well...it wasn't Kylo Ren who followed Rey to the Emperor. He turned back to the light side of the force. He saved Rey and gave his life for her own...or so we thought..."

Zorri shrugged and leaned back into her seat. "I guess it'll take a little more convincing once he wakes up. Kylo Ren did a lot of damage. Damage we can't be certain the rest of the galaxy will forgive him for." "Zorri-" "You can call him whatever you want Poe but I'm just being realistic. Kylo Ren is an enemy of the Resistance. He's our enemy. Am I speaking another language or is that not making sense to everyone?"

"Kylo Ren is also the son of Princess Leia." Poe snaps. "A beloved symbol of hope throughout the galaxy."

"As if that matters now! She's gone!" Zorri sneered.

Rey clenched her fists and began to conjure a response, but she was interrupted by the feeling of a hand against her back. She gasped as the touch sent a shock up her spine, her own Force signature weaving with the one beside her. Ben.

"Ben Solo."

Rey's friend's all jumped in shock as they acknowledged the deep voice. Rey couldn't stop herself from smiling softly as Ben - her Ben - looked down at her with a small smile and then turned back to her closest companions.

"My name is Ben Solo."


Thanks for reading!