Author's Note: Wow! I'm blown away by your wonderful comments! And I'm so excited there are others out there desperately wanting a happy ending for these two. I've outlined a full-size fic so I expect to be here a while with this one. Check me out on Tumblr under the tag Erickawrites and don't forget to comment. It is the fuel for my writing fire!


Rey cracked her eyes open tentatively, letting the morning light fill her vision gradually in a vain attempt to keep her throbbing headache at bay. At least she knew why Han had preferred the Corellian whiskey. What it lacked in flavor, it made up for in potency.

So potent in fact, it had caused her to experience auditory hallucinations after only one glass, and after three, well she could almost forget why she was still here on Tatooine. She could almost forget how her soul had been carved in two and one half ripped from her body.

And hadn't that been the point?

She rubbed her temples.

Through the fog of this horrific headache, it seemed like such a bad idea. But she knew that tonight, alone and with memories pounding at her consciousness, she would drink again. She would run out of whiskey far before she'd ever soothe the wound he'd left when he died.

And then what?

She couldn't think that far ahead.

Once Rey was sure she could tolerate the dim light of the homestead's bedroom, she rolled over and threw back the thin canvas blanket. BB-8 was already chittering to himself, rolling about, continuing the endless task of removing years of grime from the surfaces of the decrepit furniture. She watched his tiny arm extend and rotate, smearing the filth around with the remains of a towel.

He would be cleaning forever.

Why did he even try?

It took every ounce of effort for her to sit up and scoot to the edge of the bed. Her arms were weighted, her feet filled with lead.

But she couldn't find the energy to stand. Moving. Doing. Living. It was too much work.

She sighed deeply, falling heavily back onto the bed. Fresh tears clouded her eyes in an instant, yet another stinging welcome to a new day. She let them come, dabbing at them with the hem of Ben's shirt. She'd worn it all night again, despite her worry that it had already started losing his scent. Eventually, she would have to sleep alone again. More tears pricked behind her eyes with this new threatening revelation, another heart wrenching truth she wasn't yet ready to face.

Rey, please, I didn't want this for you.

The voice was deep and resonant, and it kick started her broken heart into a steady drumming beat. She jerked her head up, toward where the owner of that voice should be standing. The room was empty. She continued scanning, searching.

You can hear me?

"Ben? Yes! I – " She stood too fast, swayed on her feet a bit, before she was able to catch herself with a hand against the end of the bed. Once she was sure she wasn't going to pass out, she continued her inspection, examining every inch of the room. Was she dreaming? Still drunk? Or could this really be him? She didn't want to hope. That would only rip open new wounds she was trying to heal if this turned out to be something else. "How are you doing this?"

He sighed, his breath echoing off the pourstone walls. I don't know. I wasn't even sure you could hear me after last night.

"I thought," she shook her head, "I thought I was imagining you with me. She took a step forward, "Can you see me?"

Yes. He seemed to choke on the word. But I can't stand to watch you like this.

She looked down at herself. She'd been wearing his shirt for three days off and on. She hadn't washed her own clothes, hadn't bathed, she hadn't brushed her hair or teeth. For the first time, she saw herself as he must see her. She wrapped her arms around herself hoping she could shield herself from his view, keep him from seeing how pitifully low she had sunk.

"Ben, I – I can't believe you're really here, I thought I was going crazy last night."

No, not crazy. Just hopelessly intoxicated. His tone wasn't degrading or derogatory in the least. It held absolutely no judgement. It was just… sad.

"Why can't I see you? When Master Luke appeared – "

This was obviously a sore spot and he cut her off immediately. You can thank Luke for being such a horrible instructor in the ways of the spiritual Force. Without his incompetence, I could never have failed so completely at appearing to you as a Force Ghost.

Rey thought Master Luke had seemed pretty competent as a Force Ghost when he'd come to her on Ahch-To, but she didn't dare argue that point.

"Why now? Why didn't you come before?"

In an instant, all of the bitter humor had melted away and she could hear the raw emotion scraping the edge of his voice. I've been trying. I'm sorry, Rey. He was taking quick breaths between phrases now, as though he was running out of air. And I wanted to tell you so many things, on Exegol, but all I could do was smile like a fool. I can't –

He stopped mid-sentence to catch his breath.

"No, Ben. Don't say that. You gave me everything."

She wanted to tell him more. She should confess how much their kiss had meant to her. How she'd finally felt whole for the first time in her life. How she missed him so much, despite having so little time together with him, with Ben.

But she couldn't form the words.

Ben's breathing was growing louder now, as though he'd just run to her from the other side of the Dune Sea.

I wish I knew more about this. His voice came harsh, in struggling bursts. I can feel them here in the Force, Luke and Mother, but I can't find them. His voice was fading into the distance as he spoke the final time, like someone walking away, his words were gradually wrapped in silence. There's something dark here. Finding you is easier, with the bond, but I don't…

She felt the tether connecting them release, like a cord had snapped somewhere deep in her insides. "Ben!" Her pulse drummed unevenly in her ears as the emptiness crept back in.

She found the strength to breathe deeply, to center herself before her resolve had a chance to crumble under the weight of her grief. She held on to him. His memory, as she closed her eyes, and reached out through the Force for the first time since Exegol. The energy of life and death quivered in balance all around her and there, amidst it all, she sensed him. He was a part of it, the living Force. Did that mean he could appear to her as Master Luke and Leia had? Was he trying to say that there was a hope, a small shred of hope that she could see him again?

She was snapped back to the present, to where she stood leaning against the bed. BB-8 was worriedly tweeting, gears buzzing as he nervously rocked back and forth, questioning who she'd been talking to.

"Could you hear him?"

A negative buzz in response.

"He's one with the Force, BB-8."

A twittering question about who.

"A friend."

Another high rising squeal.

"No, not Leia… or Luke," she added. "But I think you'd like him, too. His name is Ben."

Of course, if BB-8 ever really found out who she was talking to, who Ben used to be, the droid would likely roll as fast as he could in the opposite direction. She hadn't gotten around to explaining all of the events leading to Palpatine's defeat, of Ben Solo's role in destroying the Sith to anyone. And now, that glaring hole in the story weighed heavy on her mind. Ben was a hero and the Resistance deserved to hear about his sacrifice. But instead, Rey had chosen to cloister herself aboard the Falcon, forge her new lightsaber, and head here to grieve.

She just hadn't expected to fall apart completely. For days.

But hearing his voice, just his voice was a medpac to her frayed soul, to that open wound that was left after he'd passed. She'd thought it was their Bond being ripped away. But could it be, that their connection remained? Despite the damage she felt to her heart, was it possible that the Bond was still there?

She thought back to something the Emperor had said. A frigid chill scuttled up her spine at the thought of him. She forced his image back, recalling instead, only the words he'd said. That she and Ben were a Force dyad, and within that dyad was "a power like life itself."

Ben thought it was the Bond that was letting him connect with her. That thought filled her with a hope that restored her energy, gave her the will to think again, to plan for tomorrow. If all they ever had was this… a different sort of connection. Just the ability to talk to him. Not all the time, even just…

She looked down at herself, taking in Ben's shirt, still stained with tears, her filthy leggings and boots, unwashed for who knows how long. She ran a hand through her greasy hair and released a long, ragged sigh.

"You deserve better than this, Ben."

She didn't know if Ben could hear her, but it didn't matter. She would show him. If he was somehow out there, a part of the Force, he didn't deserve to see her miserable. He didn't want that for her. He'd saved her so she could live, not so she could kill herself slowly like this.

BB-8 looked up, blipped an acknowledgment and went back to his cleaning.

Rey slipped Ben's shirt off, folded it neatly, and tucked it into her bag. She arranged her own clothing in proper order, gathered her hair into her signature buns and clipped her lightsaber to her belt, ignoring the blurred edges of her vision and the roiling nausea threatening to spoil her newfound motivation.

She forced down a packet of dried rations and a tall cup of water and headed to the Falcon. She was sure she'd have missed a hundred communications by now.

Her suspicions were verified by the blinking light at the comm station. She didn't bother to listen to any messages, but immediately patched a signal through to the Resistance, where Finn had asked her to contact him.

Finn's voice vibrated through the Falcon's cockpit, loud and breathless in answer to her call, "Rey!"

"Hey Finn."

His questions rushed out in one panicked stream. "What's wrong? Why haven't you responded? I couldn't feel - Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Finn," she assured, turning the volume down on the comm station to keep her head from exploding. "I just… needed some time."

"Are you ready to come home?" he asked, voice notably softer.

Home.

She still wasn't sure what that was. And couldn't really imagine it without…

"We need you," he continued. "There were some First Order ships not on Exegol, they are refusing to give up control of Corellia. Putting all of their existing resources into saving their shipyards there."

"You don't need me for that, you have the Free Worlds Fleet now. You and Poe – "

"Rey. Please. We need to talk. In person."

She inhaled deeply. She couldn't stay here forever, but something wouldn't let her leave. What if Ben couldn't find her on Ajan Kloss?

"I can't leave yet," she said, praying Finn wouldn't question further.

"Why?"

Rey sighed. "I just… I can't."

"Okay, then. I'll come there," he offered.

"No."

Something told her having Finn here, alone would be… awkward. And besides that, she wasn't sure the Resistance could spare him with everything going on in the aftermath of the battle of Exegol.

"Please Rey, there's more, I really need to talk to you."

Something desperate in her friend's voice pulled at her then.

And now, there were other things pulling her back to Ajan Kloss besides her friends. She needed to search for answers she could only discover in the sacred Jedi texts. She thought back to her year of training with Leia, flipping through the volumes late at night, trying to soak up as much wisdom as possible under her Master's tutelage. She was sure there were sections about Force Ghosts and resurrection, but it hadn't mattered to her then. She'd never thought… but maybe there was something she'd missed in those ancient pages that could be useful. And she'd left them at the Resistance Base.

And if a single piece of information from those texts could help Ben, then she would have to try.

The outline of a plan started to unfold in her mind. She would go to Ajan Kloss to talk to Finn, to tell the true story of what she and Ben had managed to accomplish against the Sith on Exegol, and look back at the sacred texts. But if she didn't hear Ben's voice after a few days, she would come up with another excuse to get back here to Tatooine.

"Rey?" Finn's worried voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Okay," she finally said. "Okay Finn, I'll come."

"You will?" His voice had shot up so high in pitch, it cracked a bit at the end. "You will," he repeated. And the obvious relief she heard there brought a smile to her face.

"Yes. I'll head out soon."

"We'll be waiting. And Rey?" He paused and she could practically see his bright smile on the other side of his comm station. "Lando brought along this new cook, and oh man are you gonna love his deep fried nuna drumsticks."

Rey chuckled, a foreign sound in her throat. "I can't wait."

Rey switched off the comm and with new purpose, she packed up everything she'd brought into the homestead. Except for the bottles of whiskey. She eyed them on the table, and left them where they sat, hoping she didn't need those anymore, and readied the ship.

With the coordinates to Ajan Kloss programmed, Rey pressed the command to make the jump to lightspeed and sank back into the pilot's seat as the stars stretched into ribbons of light.

"Ben." She breathed his name into the quiet of space. "Thank you."

This time, the silent response she received wasn't one of desperate emptiness. Because if she really tried, really reached out through that interconnected web of Force that held the universe together, she could feel him somewhere. A spark, a presence, far away, but there all the same.

And she was going to do everything she could to build that twinge of a feeling into something more.