Halo

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews on the last chapter.

Chapter Six-Father and Son

With a heavy heart Kylo was the first to climb out of the compartment. He could barely look at the man who had sired him, still too shocked to process that he was once again sharing the same space as Han Solo. How long had it been since he'd seen his father? He was too overwrought to conjure up a time frame. Any minute now his true identity was going to be exposed and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Kylo could feel his father's eyes boring a hole in his back as he leaned down and held out his hand to assist Rey. She took it gratefully as he hoisted her out of the compartment underneath the floor. BB-8 soon followed.

Perspiration broke out on his skin as he turned back to face Han and Chewie. A painful throbbing began behind his eyes as he finally gathered enough courage to finally meet Han's enquiring gaze. Kylo was shocked at just how much his father had aged. He was no longer the charming scoundrel of his youth. His face was heavily lined, his complexion drawn and carrying a weariness that only came from a lifetime spent just trying to survive. His stricken gaze slid to Chewie. The tall Wookie looked exactly the same, albeit a little more stooped then he used to be.

Han was as equally overwhelmed as his son. He swallowed thickly, rubbing a hand over his face as he fought to compose himself. "You're the last person I expected to see." He said eventually.

"I bet." Kylo couldn't conceal the bitterness in his tone.

Han's brows drew together in a deep frown as he continued to regard Kylo warily. Chewie whined a little, but didn't interfere, preferring to follow Han's lead. Eventually Han's gaze slid to Rey who had thus far maintained a respectful silence. "And you are?" He asked gruffly.

"I'm Rey." She said, smiling slightly as she held out her hand toward him.

Han seemed bemused, but he took her hand and shook it slightly. "Nice to meet you, Rey. I'm Han and this is Chewie." He said, pointing to his hairy companion.

"I know who you are." Rey enthused. "You're the famous smuggler-turned-Rebel fighter Han Solo and Chewbacca. I met two off-worlders at Niima Outpost once-Wookies-and they told me all about your famous exploits." Her excited eyes landed on Kylo. "Why didn't you tell me you were Han Solo's son? I can't believe it!"

"I doubt it would be something he would want to boast about, sweetheart." Han said heavily as his eyes flicked back to his glowering son.

Rey faltered, her face registering confusion as she finally picked up on the tension between the two men. "Oh." She murmured, the awed light in her eyes dying.

Fear engulfed Kylo's conscience, knocking all other thoughts aside. His silent panic tortured his guts, churning his stomach in tense cramps as he waited for his father to expose his true identity to Rey. He tried to assess his father's mood and fell short; he had no idea what Han was thinking. Kylo wondered how long it had been since he had been in contact with his mother. The two of them had been leading such separate lives when they had shipped him off to Luke. Were they even still together now? Kylo didn't think so, but wasn't entirely sure. His parents had countless reconciliations over the years. They couldn't live with each other, but they couldn't let go, either.

"So how did you two hook up?" Han was driven to ask as his curious gaze encompassed Rey.

Rey's face burned at the implication behind Han's words. She was completely mortified. "We're not…I mean…. we barely know each other…. I…." She took a deep breath as she tried to regain her poise. "I think this is where I make a graceful exit and let you two talk. It was nice to meet you, Han. And Chewie." She added as she hastily left to give them some privacy, taking BB-8 with her.

"Must you always be so crass?" Kylo demanded curtly.

Han threw him an irritated look. "It got her to leave, didn't it? Or are you ready for her to find out the truth about you?"

Fear overwhelmed Kylo's body, making his skin burn. However, most of all, the fear was making him calm and that's what scared him the most. It was how he always felt before he went into battle. He would use that to focus his mind, to give him strength for the brutal task ahead. But this wasn't a physical battle, but a mental one. The two situations were drastically different and he knew he needed to separate the two before everything came crashing down around him.

"What are you doing, Ben?" Han persisted when he didn't respond. "Its obvious that girl knows nothing about who you really are. How did you get hold of the Falcon?"

"And how did you lose it?" Ben countered sarcastically. "Did you use it as collateral to cover another one of your gambling debts?"

Chewbacca intervened, roaring loudly in defence of Han. Han frowned, raising his forefinger at Kylo as he tried to keep his temper under control. "You have no right to belittle me after everything you've done."

Kylo's emotional pain was acute as he glared at his father. He was one more blow away from breaking. "You know nothing about me or what I've had to endure." He accused.

"Endure!" Han scoffed. "You turned on Luke and destroyed everything he had built. You burned down the Jedi temple and killed all those innocent Padawans before running off like a coward to join the First Order!"

Kylo knew when the difficult conversation started it would break him. Breaking was hard, recovery almost impossible. Han's unfounded accusations pushed him over the edge and he lashed out at his father, hitting him hard on the jaw. Han grunted with pain as he staggered backward. Chewie immediately used his greater height and weight to restrain Kylo, yanking his arms up high behind his back in an attempt to keep him still.

The Force began to swirl around Kylo like a current of electricity. His chaotic emotions were careering out of control. The pain was always at the back of his mind like a pulse. Other times it pushed itself forward demanding attention in fraught circumstances such as this. Cutting his heart and mind in half. Stinging with every breath he took. Kylo could easily escape Chewie's clutches if he really wanted to, but something stopped him breaking free. He turned his resentful gaze onto Han, who stood a few feet away nursing his bruised jaw.

"I didn't turn on Skywalker, he turned on me." He ground out through clenched teeth.

Han stared at him, confusion clouding his vision. "What?"

"I woke up the night the temple burned to find him about to strike me down with his saber in my sleep." Kylo continued bitterly. "I used the Force to collapse the hut down on top of him to save myself."

"No." Han whispered in horror as he shook his head in denial. "Luke would never…"

"He did!" Kylo cried hoarsely. "He tried to kill me! I don't know why. When the hut fell on him, I thought he was dead. I ran outside only to find a strange storm brewing…and…and then I don't know what happened…the temple, it was burning…" Kylo felt like he was suffocating under the weight of his horrific memories. "I swear I didn't kill any of the other Padawans. I tried to get inside and save some of them but the temple…it exploded… and…and…."

During his garbled speech, Chewie had released him. The Wookie looked over Kylo's head to see Han staring at his son with glassy eyes filled with horror. Chewie let out a pained whine which seemed to jolt Han into action. He reached up and gripped the back of Kylo's neck tightly, drawing his son's head onto his shoulder while Kylo's shoulders heaved as he choked on his own despair.

"I didn't know, Ben. I didn't know. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Han lamented roughly. His brown eyes remained tight with suppressed grief as he intensified his grip on his son. "But I'm here now."

Rey fiddled with the antenna on top of BB-8's head nervously. She hoped the emotional confrontation Ben was having with his father would be over soon. She wondered what had made them so estranged from one another. She could still hear the sounds of their muffled voices, but struggled to make out actual words. Rey knew if she had a famous father like Han Solo, she would never allow herself to become alienated from him like Ben had. Ben didn't seem to realise how lucky he was and it aggravated her immensely.

Rey finished adjusting the antenna and patted BB-8 affectionately. "All done." She said with a small smile. Suddenly the Falcon shuddered, losing power once again. Rey rose slowly to her feet, eyes wide with anxiety. "What now?" She mumbled as she motioned for BB-8 to follow her.

The little droid beeped agitatedly as it rolled quickly in her wake. As she rounded the corner, she nearly collided with Kylo who had come looking for her. Rey's eyes widened when she took note of the red ringing his dark brown eyes and what looked like the silvery tracks of tears drying on his skin. "Ben, what happened?" She asked anxiously.

"We're being boarded." He revealed hurriedly.

"By who?" Rey gasped.

Kylo let out a weary sigh. "Some criminal gang my Dad's swindled. They've come to recover what he owes."

"Oh." Rey felt deflated as her high estimation of Han Solo disintegrated. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to judge Ben on his relationship with his father. There was clearly a lot she didn't know.

"We need to hide. Come on." Kylo pulled up a panel from the floor and ushered her into the same compartment they had sheltered in before.

"What are Han and Chewie going to do?" Rey asked worriedly as she lowered her slim body through the gap in the floor.

"Same thing they always do." Kylo said wryly. "Talk their way out of trouble."

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review.