A Mother's Love

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to their respective owner.

Chapter Two

On Ahch-To the suns were setting, drowning in their own blood. On the ledge overlooking the sea, Luke Skywalker fell heavily to the ground from where he had been floating only minutes earlier. The wind was completely knocked out of him and it was a good while before he was able to regain cognitive function.

"Leia, what have you done?" Luke lamented in despair when he was finally able to breathe. He pulled himself upright, his face strained with the effort of even that minimal movement. He closed his eyes again, trying his best to communicate with his sister, to feel his twin through the Force.

He couldn't sense her at all, however. Beneath his grey beard the tendons of his neck stood out. Tears streamed down his face as he poured his strength, the very essence of his being into the Force in a desperate bid to reach her again. But all that was reflected back at him was a deathly silence.

Kylo staggered as the first blaster bolt hit him in the back. He had barely recovered before another followed in quick succession. He felt his mother's hand fall from his face as she let out a restrained gasp as the vicious wound that had been inflicted began to seep with blood, painting his black tunic crimson.

"Ben, you need- "

"I know." Kylo rasped. He was having difficulty drawing breath, let alone speak. The burning in his back was acute, he gritted his teeth against the pain. One more hit and he would be done for. He reached for his lightsaber, feeling reassured when his trembling fingers closed around the familiar hilt. He ignited it, the sharp hiss coming from the crackling blade causing a red halo effect around him and his mother. "Help is coming, but you need to stay behind me."

Leia managed a grim smile, knowing there was no fighting him on this one. She did as he asked, keeping herself shielded behind him as he used his saber to deflect the constant stream of fire heading in their direction, while flakes of salt fell around them like snow on the shattered plain.

With so many TIE fighters swarming in their direction, Rey was forced to return to the gun turret to deal with them. As she watched another one of the TIE fighters explode into flames, there was already two more taking its place. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes at the unfairness of it all. She tried to swallow down her fear that they were already too late. How much longer could Kylo and Leia survive down on the ground under such heavy artillery fire?

"Chewie, we need to get down there!" Rey cried frantically as she got another one of the enemy in her gunsights.

Chewbacca answered her with an aggrieved howl. He sent the Falcon spinning away from the TIE fighters. Rey let herself sink into the Force, allowing it to guide her actions. As she dispatched more of the TIE fighters, she noticed more position themselves above the First Order walkers. With a grimace, Rey peppered them with murderous gunshots. She watched in satisfaction as two of them collided in their desperation to get away, causing them to collide with one of the walkers. The resulting explosion rent the air as if it was intent on shattering the universe by ripping apart every atom.

Chaos ensued as the command was given for the walkers to retreat to a safer distance to avoid the deadly Falcon, which swooped above, raining hell down on all of them.

The temporary relief from the gunfire came a little too late for Kylo. He collapsed onto the ground at his mother's feet, his chest heaving with every laboured breath. He had managed to stem the tide of his blood loss with sheer will of the Force. But each moment that passed weakened him further, each swing of his saber cost him dear. He felt his lifeforce draining away, exhaustion creeping in. He was tired. So damn weary.

Kylo felt his mother's hand on his face as she knelt down beside him, her warm brown eyes, so filled with sorrow, were riveted to his. Even as he tried to bring his best self to the fore, to meet her eyes and be fully there in that moment with her, his nostrils remained filled with the smell of blood and his stomach lurched. He was afraid. So afraid. This is not how imagined he would die.

Leia knew with deadly certainty that time was fast running out. A tremor ran through her body as she cradled Kylo's head against her chest, each of them bathed in his blood. Her greying brunette hair fell out of its perfectly coiled braid and tumbled over her face. She swept it back impatiently. Her fingertips grazed his cheek, feeling the coldness of his skin, she leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead. "I love you, Ben." She whispered close to his ear. "I'm here. You're not alone."

"Mom." Kylo mumbled, his eyes glazing over.

Leia saw a brief smile cross his face before his breathing became a noisy rattle... then he was gone. A lone tear began to trickle down her cheek. And that's how Rey and Chewie came upon them. Kylo departed, Leia sitting in a pool of cold blood, hugging her son's body as if he was still in there somewhere.

Rey would never forget Leia's agonised protests as Chewie wrenched her away from her dead son. Her own anguish was just as acute. She watched with burning eyes as the Wookie carried the older woman to the Falcon, his body rigid with tension, his own eyes dulled with grief.

"This can't be happening." Rey's hands shook as she sank to her knees, her eyes staring into nothing. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. She had felt the moment when Kylo had come back to the light. She had felt the ripple in the Force, the luminous light, so vast and eternal, like a bright flame inside her head. He was Ben again. The wave of relief that had bloomed inside her, the joy she had felt. Then, abruptly, nothing.

Tears streamed down her face at the overwhelming loss she was feeling. It squeezed her heart in two, making each beat a painful thrum inside her chest. Rey let out a quiet whimper as she reached for Ben in the Force-nothing. Their connection had been snuffed out. The loss of that connection left her feeling carved out and broken. She couldn't bear it. She had failed so utterly. Luke had been right when he had warned her that things would not turn out as she expected.

What would Leia do?

The answer came to her gently, like a soft morning breeze.

She had to give. She had to give everything.

Calling upon her limited training, she reached into the Force, feeling perfectly resolved. She was going to give Leia back her son.

"Ben." She whispered. "Be with me. Be with me."

As she concentrated, everything around her disappeared. She was no longer on the salt plains of Crait. The battle faded. Instead, she found herself gazing up into a perfect sky, filled with the brightest stars she ever seen. Peaceful. Light filled. It was like she was staring through a window to somewhere else, a place between places.

"Be with me." Rey breathed delicately. She relaxed her body, loosening every muscle, until she was in a deep, meditative state. She reached for Ben's lifeless hand and cradled it between her own. And as she held it, she sensed something, the tiniest spark. And she realised: the Force hadn't taken him yet. She still had time.

Chewie lay Leia gently down in Han's old bunk. She had passed out from the intensity of her grief. He pulled a blanket over her, gently brushing the greying strands of her hair to one side so he could see her face. Wherever she had gone, it wasn't peaceful. Her brow was furrowed, her eyelids clenched tightly shut. He saw a tremor ripple through her, making his eyes moisten again. He couldn't bear it. This pain. Han was gone. Ben was gone. He was losing too many people he loved. He wondered how Leia would bear the pain, knowing how much she had lost already. Was this loss one too many?

Chewie knew he couldn't linger to watch over his grief-stricken friend. There was no time. He needed to help Rey retrieve Ben's body. They were still in the midst of a battle. And the Resistance still needed rescuing. They might have won a slight reprieve but it wouldn't last for long. He needed to put his own grief to one side. He would mourn later.

With a heavy heart, the ever-loyal Wookie left Leia's side and lumbered toward the ramp. The sky outside had darkened to a pitch black, making it difficult to see. Chewie tapped into his innate instinct to retrace his steps toward Rey. He saw her outline in the distance. She was kneeling beside Ben's fallen body, her head bent as if in prayer. He thought it strange she would leave herself exposed like that. He expected to find her standing guard, watchful and wary, with weapon in hand. Not this.

A faint whine escaped him as he approached her, intended as a signal of his approach. But she remained unaware of anything around her. She was totally absorbed in what she was doing.

What was she doing?

And then to his horror, he watched Rey collapse on top of Ben as if she had been shot. He looked around wildly for the bearer of the weapon, only to find nothing there. He increased his pace, reaching her within seconds. Pulling her against his broad, hairy chest, Chewie hugged her to himself. She wasn't breathing. A quick search showed him no wound. He didn't understand. He cradled her gently, releasing an anguished howl into the empty air.

What had she done?

On his other side Ben's diaphragm began to rise and fall.

Luke heard the wail of the wind and the cries of the birds. He heard his own faltering breaths as he felt his nephew's passing in the Force as well as his resurrection. He struggled to get up, the rhythmic thumping of his heart in his chest causing him to stagger.

He heard a familiar voice. He wasn't sure it was real, or perhaps he was hallucinating. It was Rey.

"Where are you, child?" Luke called out.

There was a reply, faint, but there. Luke felt tears begin to drip from his eyes. He could sense her spirit in the Force, lingering, seeking release. "Let go, Rey." He murmured. "Let go."

A/N-thanks for reading!