"You thought it would be so easy to get rid of me, boy?"

Oh, gods, the pain! His head feels like broken glass is scraping along the inside of his skull and he can dimly hear his father frantically calling his name.

"Thought you could survive without me!" thunders in his mind.

"Get out!" Ben screams.

"You're mine!"

He falls to his knees, pounding at his temples. He has to find his center in the Force, push him back, but all there is is pain.

"Ben, talk to me," his father pleads.

Right. His father, he's not alone. Not this time. He feels his dad's hand grasp his and he holds on to him as if he's his last chance at survival. Maybe he is.

"Snoke," Ben manages to grit out.

"You think Han Solo cares? He never has before," the voice sneers.

"That's not true, you can't twist things like when I was a boy," Ben loudly propjets back.

"You think because you've found some girl to rut with that you don't need me?" the voice bellows.

"You couldn't understand," Ben pushes. Something like Snoke couldn't possibly comprehend the love that flows between him and Rey.

"Oh, I understand everything. Found the light between her thighs-"

"No!" Ben roars, and he's finally able to find some purchase, eke out a small foothold.

"Ben, Son, tell me how to help you!" His father sounds terrified, and somehow, he's able to find more strength, forcing Snoke out further.

"I'll never stop," the voice promises.

"You can't have me!" Ben screams and he's now completely collapsed on the floor, his father's arm around him while his fingers crush his hand. But it doesn't hurt. It feels like love.

"I already do." His oily voice takes on that seductive quality and it makes Ben's stomach turn.

"Never. Never again," Ben snarls through gritted teeth. Force, it hurts, it hurts!

"Then I'll content myself with her."

Pure fear blooms in Ben's blood and he falters, losing ground to the violence in his head. Rey!

Rey.

Clutching at his father's hand, he focuses on their bond. At first, he can barely find it, but there it is, that golden, blissful tether between their shared soul. The warm completeness is hard to discern through the chaos, but now that he's looking for it, it's like a beacon.

Breathing harshly, he begins to push him back methodically.

"What is this!" The voice is laced with rage. Rage and fear.

Ben doesn't answer, keeping his attention honed on the blade of his love for Rey. Because he will always fight for her.

"Ben, please, tell me what to do," his father chokes out and Ben weaves his father's obvious care into his fight. He's not alone.

He's never been alone.

With every last scrap of strength he's ever possessed, Ben reclaims more and more of his mind, the pain receding with each regained bit of what should have always been his and his alone.

"How are you doing this?" the voice screams.

"You'd never understand," Ben proclaims with surety as he finally takes back control.

The last thing he hears is a far away, strangled, "No!"

Then he's free. Blessedly free.

His vision clears and he looks up to find his father's haggard face, tears streaming down his face.

"Ben?"

He breathes hard, trying to fill his lungs with air, and his head is killing him, but he smiles at his dad. "I'm okay, I'm okay."

His father is wrapping him up in his arms and holding on more tightly than Ben can ever remember. All he says is, "Ben," with a broken voice.

Ben's breathing is finally evening out when they hear the front door. They're struggling to their feet when he hears his mother scream, "Han! Ben! It's Rey!"

That has him standing in an instant, just as Poe bursts into the living room, carrying Rey in his arms. She's slack and pale and he's taking her from Poe without saying a word. Seeing her like this has him almost lost to panic.

"Rey!" Ben cries out and he almost sobs when she opens her eyes. That's when he sees that her face is tracked with tears and he lowers them both to the ground cradling her close. She's conscious; she's going to be alright. She has to be.

"Ben! Gods, Ben!" She throws her arms around his neck and clings to him. "He's back," she shudders out.

"What happened?" Ben asks with frantic fear, bundling Rey even closer.

"We were almost to the shipyard when Rey started screaming. She just kept crying and banging her head. The dark side was all around her," Leia answers.

"It was Snoke. He must have attacked us both," Ben proclaims grimly as he finds Rey's eyes, stroking her face.

"Sweetheart," he murmurs, trying to quell the dread rising in him. If Snoke had hurt her … Then ice dances along his spine as he realizes she might have felt what was happening to him and his belly coils with rage. If she'd sensed even a fraction of what he'd experienced ...

At that moment, Rey notices his disheveled state and her hand goes to his cheek. "What happened to you?"

"I'm far more worried about you."

She purses her lips and he can't help but smile at their stubbornness. She smiles back and lets out a long breath.

"There was a voice in my head, and it hurt so much, like knives were stabbing my eyes from behind." Ben nods for her to continue, but he's already cataloging what he's going to do to Snoke when her gaze fills with a queer combination of anguish and humiliation. Finally, she whispers, "It wasn't Snoke. It was Palpatine. He's back."

All he can do is pull her to his chest, murmuring his love softly.

Then her body shudders in his arms and he pulls back to find her eyes full of tears. He wants to ask her more, but the look on her face and the way her gaze flits back and forth reminds him they have an audience.

He looks up to find his mother holding his father, his form bent and somehow diminished. Poe has discreetly removed himself to the edge of the family room.

"I know we have to talk about this, but I think Rey needs to rest," Ben says.

His mother nods, and softly says, "We'll talk later," as she soothes her hands along her husband's back.

Standing, he lifts Rey and begins to move towards their room, but his father stops him.

"Son, wait." Ben's eyes find his father's and the haunted look makes him turn fully towards him.

He nods to Han, and he swallows, his eyes searching Ben's. "I just need to know you're okay."

The question makes him sense the exhaustion pulling at his limbs and he says, "I'm okay. I promise. Just tired."

Rey has stayed tucked under his chin, obviously sensing their need for privacy.

Han's lips tremble slightly, but he only says. "Good. Good."


As he's placing Rey on their bed, she asks, "What happened?"

"Shhhh, we need rest."

He goes on his knees and pulls off her boots while Rey frowns. "Is it … safe?"

"I don't think he … they … can reach us when we're together. I had a headache yesterday when you were at the other end of the apartment. He must have been trying to break through, but we were still too close to each other."

"My head hurt, too …" she says with a pensive voice.

"You didn't say anything," he says with dismay. He doesn't like the idea of her in pain.

"Well, neither did you," she points out.

He has to shrug at that, because she's right. But he doesn't mind his own pain, it's hers that concerns him. "Does it still hurt?"

She shakes her head. "No … I feel how I always feel when I'm with you, just really, really tired."

Kicking off his own boots, he sits next to her on the bed. "Then let me hold you."

"Yes, please." She lies down and he curls around her, his front to her back. A deeply relieved sigh is pulled from him. This is what he needed. This is what he always needs.


Rey's huge yawn draws him from sleep and he smiles as she stretches in his arms. "How long did we sleep?" she asks.

He cranes his neck to check the time and his eyes widen. "Over three hours."

She turns over and makes a funny little smile before saying, "I guess having an evil dark side madman in your head will really take it out of you." Then her face falls. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"It's alright," he soothes. "Though it was never like yesterday. It never hurt."

"Well, that's something I guess. Are you sure it was Snoke?"

"I … I honestly don't know. We've assumed. It was the same voice."

"Well, Palpatine was definitely in my head. He … knew things." She grimaces and looks away.

"Gods … are they working together?" Ben asks. They'd hoped that however Palpatine had come back in the future, it hadn't transpired yet. This is the worst possible confluence of circumstances.

"They must be … maybe it was the only way to overwhelm our bond," Rey suggests.

Ben nods and holds her close. Whatever comes, he refuses to let them hurt her. Ever again. They're going to hunt them down and kill them both.

Permanently.


As they make their way to the family room, he hears his mother yell, "If you aren't here by tomorrow, I swear to the Maker, I'll never talk to you again!" Then he hears something that sounds like his mother slamming the comm down on a surface.

When they enter the room, his mother is in full strop, pacing furiously.

"I don't know what's wrong with my brother!" she exclaims, while Han's eyes follow her as he leans against the wall, each step ratcheting up her fury. "Sometimes I could just strangle him!"

"Uh, Mom?" Ben hazards.

"Oh, Ben! Rey! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine," he responds as Rey says, "Much better."

"From what your father told me, it sounded awful. Even worse than Rey."

"He … he wasn't happy that he hasn't been able to reach me. We thought the bond would keep him out, but I guess … I guess they found a way."

His mother nods somberly. "Yes … we heard Rey."

"So … who was that?" Ben asks, feeling Rey shrink into herself. Talking about Palpatine is always difficult for her.

"That, was my good-for-nothing brother!" she spits.

Ben's eyebrows rise. "He's coming? Here?"

"We need him."

"No, we really don't," Ben says with rising anger.

"We can't face this with you and Rey so vulnerable."

Pulling Rey to his side forcefully, he says, "We aren't, as long as we're together." Just the way he likes.

She cocks her head. "And if you're separated?"

The thought of being parted from Rey, where he can't protect her, makes a wave of potent fear crash into his chest. "That won't happen," he grits out. "I won't let it."

Han clears his throat. "I hate to admit it, but your mother is right. We need Luke."

He might be making progress, real progress with his parents, but Luke is another matter entirely. The man treated him like less than even an apprentice, more like a burden and he's shaking his head. "No! Rey and I are fine."

Then Rey is pulling from his fierce hold and turning towards him. She takes his face in her hands and he can tell she's trying to project comfort through their bond. He wants to just close his eyes and feel her slide over him, let her compassion bathe him like cool, refreshing water, but he's too … too … angry? Trepidatious? He doesn't know anything but that he doesn't want to see Luke after his rejection.

"Remember what he does for us in the future," she says with a calm, entreating voice.

That, that lands, right past his anger and hitting the part of him that does love his uncle. But he can't agree, not fully, so all he does is nod stiffly.

The whole family lets out a collective sigh of relief.


They all sit quietly after that, his parents murmuring to each other while he contents himself with the feeling of Rey's fingers tangled with his. Poe has made himself scarce, for which Ben is grateful.

"I should go check on my orchid," Rey says as she begins to get up.

"I'll come with you." Ben isn't letting her out of his sight.

"Son, wait," Leia requests as she stands.

"I'll be right with you," he says to Rey and she nods, padding down the hallway.

His mother pulls him to the side and says, "Talk to your father. He's … shaken. He feels incredibly guilty."

Ben's brows furrow. "Why?"

"Because he couldn't help you. Just … just talk to him," she says as she, too, slips from the room.

His dad is sitting with his elbows on his knees, and Ben sees that something is definitely off with Han.

He sits next to him and silence reigns. It's clear neither of them knows what to say.

Eventually, Ben ventures, "There was nothing you could have done."

"Oh, I know." There's a level of self-loathing in his voice that makes Ben blink. "I never was much good for ya."

"What? No, that's not true."

"I couldn't help you with your nightmares, or when your powers started to show … What's an old smuggler like me know about the Force?" His eyes are full of a lifetime of feeling useless and Ben suddenly sees how powerless his father must have felt with his acutely Force-sensitive son.

"But … I never cared about that."

Han snorts. "Well, I sure as stars cared today. That bastard's attacking my kid and all I can do is watch. Some father I am."

Ben turns until he's facing his father, who stubbornly stares straight ahead. "Dad ..." Still he keeps his eyes averted. "Dad …" Then his eyes flick to Ben's and he decides that's enough. "Feeling you with me, knowing that you were there, it did help."

"Sure, kid," Han says sarcastically.

"That's all I've ever needed. For you to be there. And today, today you were." Funny … he never knew forgiveness could feel so right.

"I'm gonna be." He finally meets Ben's eyes fully. "From now on."

Ben makes a small, boyish smile.

"I know."


A/N: Thank you, ArtemisBare. I'm so grateful for how generous you are with your time.

Thank you, Readers! It occurs to me that I haven't mentioned my tumblr in a while, perrydowning. Come on by and say hello! Thank you all for every hit, follow, favorite, and review! Love and hugs!