Thank you so much for your comments!

I want to thank my wonderful beta-readers who helped me so much in this fic:
- hellostarlight (AO3)
- Megara09 (AO3)
- Everren (AO3) or Everren327 (Twitter)
- asongstress1422 (AO3)

Luke Skywalker's concerned eyes study his one-time pupil. "What's wrong, Rey?"

"I— I don't know..." Rey chokes, her chin trembling. Luke watches on as she tries to breathe in deeply, not wanting to cry in front of him. Turning her back to him, she hides a sob with a cough and wipes her eyes. "I, uh— I can't do this anymore."

Nodding understandingly, he eases himself onto one of the large rocks that litter the island and taps the space beside him. More tired than she remembers ever being, as if someone had reached in and ripped a bit of her life force out of her, she lets herself fall heavily onto the offered seat.

"Why did you return here, Rey?" Luke asks, his eyes full of warmth.

Rey averts her gaze and looks at the burning ship instead, jaw clenched. Where was this understanding and compassion when she needed it most? When she was a lost little nobody given an important mission and he just ignored her, tossed it all away like it was garbage.

"I...I almost ki—" She chokes on her words, terrified that speaking them will make them even more true. "Ben..."

"You once left Ahch-To to go to Ben, now you've returned to run from him?"

Rey blinks, caught off guard by the amusement in the old man's eyes. Hurt, she returns her glare to the crackling flames, the fumes from the burning hypermatter thick in the air. "He's the one who should be running from me."

Luke sighs. "Rey..."

"I almost killed him, Master!" she says as her head whips back to him, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was so blinded by my anger and I stabbed him! I wanted to stab him — to hurt and kill him. When did I become such a monster?"

"Anger is a double-edged sword. Sometimes it gives us the strength to continue fighting. Other times it makes us act without thought, and that can be dangerous. It's up to us how to wield it. You chose wrong this time. That doesn't make you a monster, Rey, that makes you human."

"You don't understand!"

Luke raises a brow. "Don't I?"

Comprehension crashes down on her, and her words get stuck in her throat. This is what Luke must have felt all those years ago; the kind of shame and guilt that makes you wish you'd never been born. He felt like a monster and, like her, decided the best way to atone was to hide himself away to punish himself for the mistake.

Her mouth opens and closes, then she lowers her head. A mistake, one moment that changed everything and brought to life that she could never be the one to destroy Ben, no matter how much he hurt her. Dropping to her knees beside him had been second nature, her hand reaching, giving, healing without instruction from her. She couldn't let him die like that. She would have —

Her heart rate increases as the realization hits her. "Once I struck him down, I gave him some of my life. In that moment, I would have given him all of it, died if I had to."

Luke nods, laying a comforting hand on her knee. "Your compassion saved him."

"Oh, I think that was more than compassion , Luke."

Rey jumps to her feet, spinning to face the direction of the voice in a defensive crouch, when another force-ghost materializes behind them. He looks much younger than Luke, closer in age to Rey herself, and rather handsome. Something about him seems oddly familiar.

He grins at her, just sitting there with his legs casually crossed.

"Who are you?" she demands.

The grin turns into a smirk as he turns to Luke, shaking his head."Young people..." he bemoans. "Always asking questions with no greetings at all."

Luke sighs, head going into hand as if deeply embarrassed. "Father..."

Rey gawks at him. Now she can see it. He has the same blue eyes as Luke, and his dark blond hair falls in waves around his face like Ben's. "You're Anakin Skywalker ?"

"The one and only." He spreads his arms and inclines his head. "And you are Rey from Jakku. I've heard a lot about you."

She should feel excited to be in the presence of two Skywalkers because of the legends. But a knot of dread forms in her stomach because they are Ben's family.

"Ha! Did you notice, my son?" Anakin exclaims triumphantly, tapping the older man on the chest. "It rhymed!"

"Yes, yes, Father...well done," Luke sighs and throws a side-look at Rey.

"I always told you, I should have become a poet!"

Rey's eyes jump back and forth between the two, not understanding how they can be father and son. And not only because of their age differences. Luke seems much more...grounded than Anakin.

"Well, that might have saved us a lot of trouble," Luke grumbles, rubbing his forehead.

Or maybe grumpier is the better word.

Rey shifts awkwardly and both Skywalkers focus their attention back to her. She lowers her eyes.

"I don't know what to say..." she begins and stops herself. She takes a deep breath. "I don't know what came over me, but Ben and I were fighting, and I was so frustrated. I couldn't think, I was so angry — but that doesn't excuse anything. I failed in every way. I'm not a Jedi."

"I don't think that not being a Jedi is what causes you so much pain," Anakin says meaningfully, and Luke wheezes out a pained breath. Anakin turns to him. " What, it's true."

Luke turns to Rey, his expression serious. "You surely remember what I said about the Jedi. That they have to end. What the Jedi have preached for millennia eventually led to their downfall." Rey opens her mouth to protest but he forestalls her with a raised hand. "I'm not saying that everything the Jedi stood for was complete nonsense, but their teaching was too rigid."

"They rejected every emotion and were forbidden to form any attachments to prevent the fall to the Dark Side," Anakin continued, kicking his dangling legs like a child, hands in his lap as he stares off into the distance. "The Jedi believed that this was the only way to maintain peace in the galaxy, that any emotion or attachment was a threat to that peace." His expression grows solemn as his stare turns to the fire. "Instead, it finally led to the fall of the Jedi Order."

Rey had learned from Luke that Anakin had been a very emotional person and fell deeply in love with Padmé Amidala. His inability to deal with strong emotions and the fear of losing his wife had finally pushed him to join the Dark Side.

"I heard that the Jedi refused to train you at first because you were already too old," Rey says and frowns. "But Luke was way older than you when he first began his training." She turns to Luke. "And still you became one of the most powerful Jedi. Even though you were tempted by the Dark Side, you never fell."

"The Jedi thought that by recruiting young children, they would not form attachments and would instead lead a life without passion or selfishness. But some people will simply never adapt to that life no matter how young they start," Luke says and gestures to Anakin, who nods. "They are taught to control or even suppress not just their negative emotions but all their emotions. And because they never learn how to deal with them, they can become a great danger to themselves and others. Powerful people who never learned to handle their emotions, who feel imprisoned by the rigid rules of the Jedi Order, will eventually rebel and look for alternative belonging."

"And all they can find is the Sith, who are also unable to offer them the freedom they seek. They only run into a different kind of cage without even realizing it," Anakin continues, his eyes darkening. "The way the Masters reacted to my rebellious behavior didn't help — not that I'm trying to excuse any of my actions. There's not a day when I don't regret the atrocities I've committed."

There's a sadness in his eyes, a look full of regret and hurt. Rey has seen it in Ben's eyes. He stares into the fire for a long moment before he blinks and turns back to her.

"I was forced to hide my relationship, my marriage , with Padmé. For years, I lived a double-life, a lie, and forced her to live one with me. I could ask for no help or seek any advice as my fear of losing her grew every day."

"Most of the Jedi were detached from the real world," Luke interjects. "They lost touch with how ordinary people function, how emotions and attachments are essential to survive and that most draw strength from them. The Jedi were so afraid of the potential destructive nature of emotions that they lost sight of their good aspects. The balance they always sought was no real balance at all."

"Hadn't anyone tried to criticize their ways?" asks Rey and throws her former master a sheepish look. "Besides Luke?"

Anakin vaults up from the rock, folding his hands behind his back like a general. "Qui-Gon Jinn didn't follow the Jedi Order completely. He had even rejected a seat on the Jedi Council to follow his own path. He cared about individuals, even if it conflicted with the wishes of the High Council," he muses, taking a few steps towards the flames before turning back, a fond expression in his eyes. "He saved me from slavery as a child. Not because of the Order, but because he truly cared about people."

"Just like you, Rey," Luke says. He contemplates her for a moment, then nods. "Maybe you were never meant to become a Jedi. Maybe you are destined to become something else. Something different, something new ." A smile steals its way to his lips. "Remember lesson three?"

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Yes."

They had been standing on the ledge, the place where she'd sat for her very first lesson. They'd been talking about Ben and what had happened on the night of his fall, when she'd seen ships approaching the island. Ships of the tribe from a neighboring island. Luke had fooled her into thinking they would raid and plunder the Caretakers' village, and she'd wanted to stop them, of course, had bid Luke to help her. But he'd refused.

' Do you know what a true Jedi would do right now? ' he'd asked, 'Nothing .' Ignoring her protest, he'd added, ' That burn inside you, that anger thinking what the raiders are going to do? The books in the Jedi library say ignore that. Only act when you can maintain balance. Even if people get hurt .'

She had been furious and, ignoring his lesson, raced across the island to stop the attack. Only to find out she'd interrupted a party.

"What lesson?" Anakin approaches, eager to hear the story, and Luke chuckles, standing also.

"I was trying to teach Rey that the old teachings of the Jedi are not what the galaxy needs anymore. That her breaking the rules is what might save the Resistance." He puts a hand on her shoulder. It doesn't feel like a real touch; it's not warm, and it tingles a bit. "And you taught me a lesson in return. You pointed out to me that, even though their teachings are outdated, the myth of the Jedi and the legend of Luke Skywalker are what the galaxy needs, too. I'm grateful for that. You helped me understand that, despite my mistakes, I could still do some good."

Rey smiles hesitantly and lowers her head, undeserving of such praise.

Anakin nods heartily in agreement. "That's all well and good, my son, but what's so amusing about that?"

Luke laughs and opens his mouth to answer, but she shoots him a warning look, cheeks reddening. "I'm just saying that I've never seen someone run so fast, " Luke quips, and Rey wants the ground to open up and swallow her. He leans over to Anakin. "I'll tell you later, Father," he whispers.

"I heard that," Rey snaps as she begins to pace. "I may care about people, but that doesn't make me a good person." She stops and looks at the two Jedi, the corners of her mouth turned down. She stretches out her hands. "I can shoot lightning out of my fingers. That's a Sith ability."

"Force lightning was an ability that was forbidden to use by the Jedi Order, and for good reason," Luke says. "It's dangerous and hard to control. But Jedi are able to use it, too. It's not exclusive to Sith or other Dark Side wielders."

Rey exhales shakily, feeling relieved and more confused at the same time. She massages her temples. "How am I supposed to differentiate between good and evil, then? How do I decide what's the right way to act?"

Both Jedi watch her calmly, their eyes sympathetic. They probably understand her turmoil; they must have gone through it themselves when they were young, after all. But how can they keep their calm when Palpatine has returned, the Sith Lord that both of them helped to destroy? The Sith Lord who is now tormenting her and Ben and threatening to destroy the galaxy once and for all. Have they forgotten how much is at stake, or do they simply not care anymore? Is it like that when you're dead? Do you simply stop caring?

The tightness in her chest returns, and she clenches her fists. The fire behind her crackles, then glass breaks with a loud crack. Her eyes jump between Luke and Anakin, waiting in vain for an answer.

"I need your help! Please! Don't leave me alone with this, I—" She swallows and shakes her head, pushing down the panic and fear that threatens to drown her. "I know that if I don't face Palpatine, the galaxy will be lost… But I can't do this alone."

"You won't be alone, Rey." Anakin approaches her like one would a skittish gallaze. "I wish I could tell you that everything will end well, but that would be a lie. I don't know. What I can promise you, though, is that you won't be alone." He stops a scant step in front of her. "You never were."

Rey looks up at him, sniffling and blinking away tears. She thinks of Ben, how they sat in her hut and comforted each other. You're not alone . So much time has passed since then, so many things have changed. They found comfort in each other's presence then, but now she's left him behind on Kef Bir. Alone.

Anakin touches her upper arm. "You're worried about Ben, aren't you?" he murmurs, and she looks up at him. He has a knowing look in his eyes, and her cheeks begin to burn even as hope blooms in her chest.

"Do you know how he is?" she whispers, staring at him with big pleading eyes. "Can you tell me?"

"Use your Force-bond and search for him, then you can be sure," he suggests gently.

"No." She shakes her head, working her jaw. "I've done enough harm to him, and I won't hurt him again."

Anakin opens his mouth but stops at Rey's palpable pain. He nods instead and lets go of her, running a hand through his hair. "I understand. Ben is still on Kef Bir. He's fi— alive. He's talking to someone who has missed him very much."

She expels a long breath, nodding to herself. "That's...good." She wipes her eyes and clears her throat. "Do you know anything...anything about…" She fumbles for the right words. Has Ben forgiven her? Does he care for her, too? "...about his plans?"

A glimmer of amusement crosses his features, but he taps the side of his nose twice. "I think it's best if you ask him yourself." He winks at her. "Trust me."

She nods and averts her head, sniffing. A harrumph makes them both look to Luke.

He's still standing off by the stone, staring at them. He cocks his head. "Enough with all the secrecy. Father, let's stop bothering the poor girl. I think she has seen enough of the Skywalkers for a while." Anakin chuckles in his youthful way, nodding his agreement as Luke turns to her. "It's time for you to get some sleep."

She stares at him, confusion written all over her face. "But what will—"

"If you face Palpatine in this state, you won't be able to do much against him," he interrupts her, firmly but gently. "Your body needs rest, Rey. And your current emotional state is not the best to resist his taunts and temptations." He raises his eyebrows and looks at her meaningfully. "I speak from experience."

Rey huffs, but exhaustion is already beginning to weigh her down. Her shoulders and legs feel so heavy. It's a wonder that any energy is left at all after fighting Ben and healing him.

Anakin pats her on the shoulder as he moves past. "My son is right. You should take all the sleep you can get!" He nods to her, then smirks at his son. "Well, Luke, we have some catching up to do, don't we?"

Rey lets herself slump to the bed in one of the huts. The caretakers must have prepared it before she arrived. Almost as if they'd expected her or something. She's glad that since she crashed their party, they are much less hostile towards her.

Trying not to think about what the two Jedi might be talking about, she takes off her boots. Her eyes begin to flutter, then she yawns, blindly reaching for her lightsaber and tugging it under the pillow. As soon as her head hits the pillow, she's asleep.

The desert is vast, the sand soft and hot under her naked feet. The sun is burning down on her. A breeze blows through her hair as she continues her walk through the sands. The sky shines above her, a brilliant azure blue with not a single speck of white anywhere.

The breeze turns colder, wind whipping as clouds begin to form on the horizon. Rey narrows her eyes against the gale, trying to peer into the distance. Sand turns to snow between one step and the next. A figure materializes from the darkening background, moving in her direction, seeming to drag the storm with him.

Ice pierces her lungs as she gasps, recognizing him. It's his way of walking that gives him away, the full body strut that captures a room. He's close enough now that she can see his hair whip in the wind. His eyes, fixed and warm, never leave hers as he strides through the snow, stopping a step away.

He's only wearing an undershirt and dark pants, hands ungloved. They stare at each other. The storm mixes with the blue sky above them, forming a swirl of blue and gray.

"Ben," she breathes and steps towards him, craning her neck to look into his eyes.

"Rey." He looks at her like springtime, like the promise of growing things and hope.

The storm screams above them, raging all the faster, tearing at their hair and clothes, threatening to rip them apart. Rey reaches up and touches Ben's cheek with her fingertips.

The world around them turns a blinding white. With no sense of direction, they reach for each other and fall into an embrace. He's there and solid. Rey's face presses into his chest as his nose burrows into the crook of her neck, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. When the roaring of the storm dies down, they open their eyes and look around.

Gone is the desert and the snow. Gone is the storm, the smoldering heat and freezing cold. The sky above them is calm and blue, and tiny, white puffed clouds float lazily by. They are standing in a meadow, the grass soft and cool under their feet. They turn their heads in unison and look back at each other.

She's struck by his beauty, the way the breeze plays with his silky raven hair, his eyes shining a deep brown. She notices just now that the middle of his irises is surrounded by a lighter, almost creamy color and framed by a dark circle. Their faces draw closer to each other. His lips part, his warm breath tickles her face, as she goes up on tip toe, and then—

A hammering sound wakes her rudely. She bolts up from her cot, her heart pounding wildly. More pounding against her door sounds a moment later. "Rey!" Luke's voice booms from outside.

Rey breathes deeply, trying to find her bearings, and rubs her face, groaning. "Yes?" she growls and pushes the blanket away from her, wincing. Her entire body is sore.

"Get dressed and meet me outside; I have something to show you."

Author's note:

Of course, Luke had to ruin the moment, even in their dreams :P

If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review :3