Well, its seemed like a few of you enjoyed this, and since I already had a bit of a second chapter formed, I thought - what the hell - let's see where this takes us, shall we?

Chapter 2

Getting them both actually into the fighter had been another trial altogether. Ben's tall form had hunched over behind the pilot seat while gingerly placing his broken ankle near Rey's right-hand controls in a superhuman attempt at fitting into the single-pilot craft.

"Rey?" Ben asked through clenched teeth, thoroughly uncomfortable and talking towards the floor, seeing as how he could barely turn his head.

"Yes?" She answered without looking away from the task-at-hand of taking off.

"What happened to my ship?"

"Oh, the TIE Silencer…?"

"Yes, unless we're discussing another of my ships that you've stolen and that I'm unaware of," The sarcasm was unmistakable in his voice, yet remained lighthearted.

"Oh, I-, uh… I burned it," Rey said sheepishly, remembering her weakness of giving up on Ahch-to, of her tantrum that had only ended with Luke's Force ghost appearing as she threw his lightsaber into the fire. She was glad she didn't have to say it to Ben's face in that moment.

"You burned-," shock wound through their shared Bond, followed by a small spike of anger, and then, strangely enough, the feeling of relief.

"I'm sorry, Ben –" she began.

"No, it doesn't matter. It's a First Order ship, and won't be of use to me any longer. I did painstakingly customize those controls, though," he ended on a quiet, yet wistful note.

Rey could detect none of the fury she would have expected from him had he gotten this news before that day on the ruined ramparts of the Death Star. His lightsaber rages were notorious even to those outside of the First Order. The light and balance of their Bond was truly taking hold within a changed man, and a strong surge of tenderness welled within her.

The actual flying was mediocre at best, compared to Rey's typical piloting exploits. The entire balance of the ship was off kilter with the added weight of a passenger and maneuvering anything more than simple turns was near impossible. It had taken the two nearly double the time it should have when they finally had the planet Ajan Kloss in sight.

"Great. It looks just like Dagobah," Ben muttered to himself, peering over Rey's shoulder to take in the planet that played home to the Resistance. His annoyance at his own reference to his uncle's former training grounds was quickly replaced by anxiety. How in the galaxy was he going to just show up here, being the scourge of the Resistance that he had been? No one but Rey could know how his heart had changed, how his very soul keened to be reconciled with the light as it once was. No one could know how his mother's dying act had broken the last pieces of ice around the crumbling façade that was his link to the dark side.

The sharp, pleasant thrum of the Bond perked up at that moment, giving him sudden calmness that he knew wasn't his own. He was feeling Rey's emotions and her attempt to soothe his anxieties.

"What are you going to say to them, Rey? How can you possibly explain me?"

Rey was silent in reply. She almost wished she could say that she hadn't thought about that until now, but in truth, she had been running scenarios through her head for hours. What could she say to explain him? To explain them and what they had?

"The truth," she finally answered, only to be rewarded with a flustered groan from Ben.

The truth was good enough for her, wasn't it? Rey knew his heart and mind through their Bond, and had learned him inside and out over months of their spontaneous connections through the Force. He had been twisted, nearly overtaken with the dark side, with delusions of Snoke and his Grandfather, and had committed heinous crimes under the name of Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order. That part, everyone knew. What they didn't know was the conflict Rey had felt from him since the very beginning, the Ben Solo that had been shielded deep within him; the Ben Solo that Leia had promised was still there.

But Leia was gone. No one else would believe his true story, his transformation from a broken, warped mind to a balanced, compassionate soul, would they?

"Rey! You're back!" Poe's voice excitedly crackled over the ancient communicator of the X-wing.

Rey couldn't help but smile, but she could only imagine the scowl Ben probably wore in response to Poe Dameron's greeting.

"Its good to hear your voice, Poe."

"Get down here, you're clear for landing, put 'er down next to the Falcon," The newly minted general directed.

The landing was smooth, but something in Rey told her that this would be the last smooth part about this experience. She unbuckled her restraints slowly, listening to Ben's hitched breathing as he readied himself to finally dislodge from behind her seat and face what was next.

"Balance, Ben, remember. We will get through this. Together." She twisted in her chair to look at him just then, all her effort going towards reassuring him in that moment. He was dirty and bloodied like herself, but even more disheveled with his torn clothing, the singed hole in the torso of his tunic flashing the memory through her like a blaster bolt. She reached out, taking his hand. He closed his fingers around it in response, giving a gentle squeeze of acknowledgement before looking into her eyes and holding them until a pop and hiss signaled the opening of the X-wing's transparisteel canopy.

Rey clambered out of the fighter and she could see the crowd gathering towards her ship. Instead of running to greet them as they no doubt expected, she turned back towards the fighter and looked up, holding out her hand. A collective gasp could be heard from the growing crowd as Ben eased himself up and then down the side of the fighter, using the Force to soften his landing on the ground. Rey positioned his arm around her shoulders for support before finally looking towards the victors of battle, the Resistance; her friends.

Wide eyes stared back at them in question and shock.

"Move aside, move aside," Finn waded through the crowd, Poe close behind him.

When they exited the group, both Finn and Poe's jaw went slack.

"Rey! What-" Finn started.

"What in the hells –" Poe began at the same time.

"BEN SOLO!" a voice boomed from the crowd, silencing everyone. Maz Kanata, the small orange humanoid marched from the throngs of Resistance fighters and straight up to Ben and Rey who stood just as stunned as everyone else.

Maz stopped in front of them and looking up to Ben's face, gestured sharply with her hands that he was to come down to her level. Ben looked at Rey's face quickly and gulped before slowly kneeling to the ground in front of the petite, yet commanding female.

"You destroyed my castle," She said, matter-of-factly. Ben's only answer was to look down in shame, his dark lashes fluttering nervously.

In turn, Maz gave him a hard tap on the side of the head and he quickly looked back to her gaze. She looked into his eyes for a moment before slowly removing her googles, not breaking eye contact and staring deeply as if she could see straight through him.

It was so silent around them that the rustle of the trees overhead could be heard clearly as everyone watched this interaction with acute interest.

"Even now, I can see it, feel it. You have so much of your father's heart in you, Ben Solo. And your mother's soul."

Ben flinched when she said the word 'father', as he could not help but be reminded of the time he knelt in front of Snoke, who had berated him with the same sentiment after the destruction Starkiller Base. However, instead of the torment Snoke meant to inflict with such a comparison, Maz meant it with affection and hope.

Maz edged back an inch, still eyeing the former Supreme Leader with interest as Ben looked up towards Rey who had the same wide-eyed expression as much of her fellow Resistance members. Rey looked down at him with a small but growing smile, seeing the hope of forgiveness cross his face just as she was feeling it bleed across their Bond.

Maz now refocused her gaze to Rey, and smiling, reached out to take her hand as she spoke, "I told you, girl, that there was someone who could still come back."

It was Ben who the woman had been talking about all those months ago on Takodana? Rey had been heartbroken at facing the ever-growing realization that her parents were never coming for her when Maz had told her that whoever she was waiting for on Jakku was never coming back. Reassuringly, however, she had been left with a small hope when Maz had finished with: But there's someone who still could.

Rey stared in wonder at Ben, understanding now that this Bond had been formed to bring them together, to bring him back, and to bring balance back to the Force once again. Had she gone back to Jakku, she, the people around her, and the galaxy itself would have been in chaos. She helped him back up from his kneeling stance and leaned into him only slightly, closing her eyes for just a moment as she soaked in his warmth.

Maz turned to face the throng of onlookers and put her hands on her hips. She looked towards a slight man with brown hair, "You man, get this boy some bacta before he keels over! And you," she turned to a tall humanoid female, "Get them some new clothes before those rags fall off of them and we're all given a real show to watch!"

The small 'pirate queen' had nothing if not an authoritative presence, and the two 'volunteers' scurried away to fulfill her orders, lest they face her wrath. Confusion, wariness, and even disgust crossed the faces of some as the group of Resistance members began to disperse. Yet, both Poe and Finn remained, both standing with arms crossed and stunned looks.

Rey and Ben limped forward, following the path Maz was creating for them. Rey stopped as she neared Finn and Poe and looked at them apologetically.

"I promise, I will explain everything. But please, keep an open mind." Rey implored before continuing on. They had to find some medicine, food, clothes and beds before the heavy exhaustion finally claimed them both right there on the forest floor. They would need the strength to face her friends.

Thanks so much for reading! Thoughts?