Monday morning, he was once again the first one up and showered. He remembered to take clean clothes down with him, and while the door couldn t be locked, he shoved his sleeping garments against the jamb to at least slow the entrance of any sleepy women who hadn't realised he was already in there. His efforts were unnecessary he finished, dropped his gear upstairs and was back making breakfast before Rey came in.

She'd only had the one glass of wine the night before, but she looked wrecked. Sitting silently at the table, she ignored the bowl of oatmeal he put in front of her and clutched her coffee cup as if it were the saviour of the coming Armageddon.

"Are you all right?"

She blushed and put two spoons of sugar in the coffee, paused, then put in another one. "I'll be fine. This is normal for me when sometimes."

"Oh." The wheels in his head made the connections. "So do you need anything? Supplies? Chocolate? I'm afraid the last hot water bottle here perished years ago, but I could work something out if you need." He was a little uncomfortable, but tried to make sure it didn't show.

Rey looked up, her eyes heavy but a slight smile on her face. "I should have known you were able to cope with periods. Unkar used to freak out didn't want to know, didn't want me to mention it. It was horrible when I got my first one. Miss Phasma looked after me then, told me what to expect. Did your girlfriend teach you?"

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Never?"

"Are you going to study today?"

"Aha! A subject change! Could the cool-as-a-cucumber Kylo Ren have finally been presented with something he can't cope with?" She drank her coffee, then pulled over the bowl of oatmeal. "I'm not really hungry, but I can't take the painkillers on an empty stomach. And I'm not up to interrogating you while I feel like this either. But don't think you're off the hook, Ren."

"If you're feeling this bad, you should probably have a day off the books."

"I usually do." She ate half the oatmeal, then pushed it away. "I'm sorry you went to the trouble of making breakfast, and I can't appreciate it properly. But yes, I had a feeling I was due. I don't get pre-menstrual, but quando arrivato il marchese, sometime it hits so badly. This way I can take the day off without feeling guilty."

"What do you want to do?"

"To be honest, I'm going back to bed. I feel terrible. Could you wake me for lunch, do you think?" She got up from the table, taking her coffee with her.

"Sure."

Once Rey was clear of the kitchen, he put the bowls in the washing up, then headed out the back door to a spot on the slope where the dark rocks protruded from the bank. Picking two the size of housebricks, he brushed off the snow and dirt, and brought them to the kitchen to wash. He set them on top of the logs on the fire, then covered them with new wood, and settled back with his own coffee and yet another of the Murder Mysteries, grinning when he saw his own mark on the fifth page. Oh how wrong he had been.

Half an hour later, Kylo headed up the stairs. A slight groan from the right hand room told him his instinct was correct. He knocked on Rey's door.

"I'm not asleep come in." She was curled up on the bed, looking miserable. Kylo held out a towel-wrapped bundle with a smile on his face.

"You probably could make use of this." He felt the side of it. "It's not terribly warm, but I've got a second one heating that'll be much better in half an hour."

She reached out to take it, and almost dropped the entire bundle when she felt the weight. "Heated stone?"

"It's old-fashioned, but it works. Holds the heat quite a while. Wrap yourself around that and try and get some sleep."

"Thank you." She tucked the wrapped rock under the covers, then reached out for his hand. "I'm ungrateful sometimes, but I do appreciate what you're doing."

He sat on the side of the bed, took her hand, and chafed it. "Is there anything else that might help?"

"I don't know. Can't think." She squeezed his hand back. "I just don't seem to be able to relax."

"Let me try something." Letting go of her hand, he moved to the end of the bed and untucked her feet from the quilt and sheet. He gently levered one up, and began a slow, methodical rubbing from her toes up to her ankles and back.

After a minute or so, she smiled and groaned. "That is unbelievable. Please don't stop. Where did you learn that?"

"My mother used to do it for me when I couldn't sleep." In this very bed, no less.

"She sounds lovely. Is she still alive?"

"I haven't seen her in years." But she sent me the mask, so she must be. "She was a strong woman. Determined to make her own way in the world. "

"Tell me something about her."

"Well, when the State was first aiming to flood our town, she formed a resistance group against it. She was all sweetness and light to the authorities, but they kept finding their bulldozers' batteries flat, or the bolts missing out of the steering columns on the graders, and they had no idea she was creeping in at night with her friends. One time, she told me, they carved a pile of wooden fish and painted them, and put them in the middle of the river so you could only just see the colours, then they took photographs and sent them to Fisheries and Wildlife, claiming they were a rare type of trout only found in this one place, to try and get the dam cancelled. And her friends broke into the corporation's office and stole the plans to the dam, found out it was being supported by corrupt politicians. The worst part was when she faced up to the president of the development corporation, who showed up to the dam works on the day she chained herself to a tree at the front of the track. It was pouring rain, bitterly cold, and the mud was everywhere. Two of her fellow protesters had actually been hurt by a tractor but she wasn't moving, no, not her. You should have seen her. She's she was tiny, like you, but so brave, standing up to the president in his black suit and raincoat and large rain hat. It wasn't until later that you're asleep." He put her feet back under the quilt and tucked them in.

Kylo left her sleeping until well after noon, heating the soup up for himself and leaving her portion ready for when she emerged. He followed her footsteps through the wall, noting that she was much slower than usual and halted at the door to the kitchen. When she came in, she was carrying several things in her arms.

"Thanks for the rock. And the footrub. I don't think I've ever gone to sleep so fast before."

"You're welcome. Ready for some lunch?"

"I I'm going to take a shower, then get some washing done. Give me fifteen." She carried the bundle through to the bathroom, and he noticed she had the bedsheets with her, wrapped around her waist like a toga. Nodding to himself, he turned the soup back on and put the bread in the toaster.

Rey finished her lunch, her demeanour much perkier than it had been that morning.

"The first day is always the worst, and that hot stone really helped. Thank you."

"Do you think you'll need another one tonight?"

"Possibly." She grimaced. "Sometimes I hate my body. At least it only usually lasts four days. But I'm definitely not studying this afternoon. My brain isn't up to it. Or reading. Serious painkillers mean serious brainfog. What else have you got to do here?"

"Not much."

"I hadn't noticed a telly."

Kylo smiled at the London accent that came through sometimes. "There never was one here. No signal." And my mother would never allow it. Not even for a video player. She valued the quiet. "But I think there's some board games in the lounge room. When you're finished?"

"Sounds good."

When the soup was finished, Rey set up a rack from the linen closet in the lounge room, while Kylo rummaged through the small cupboard there and unearthed a couple of battered boxes. Taking them through to the dining room and the table they hadn't yet used, he opened one up and set up the board. He lined the blue and red pieces up on each side, pleased that the gold markings were still visible.

"What's this?"

"It's a strategy game."

"But it looks like a space movie."

He held up his favourite piece. "Well, it was originally a military strategy game, but they put out a set for the Space Wars movies. See this one has the Dark Emperor on it." He handed it over, and she laughed.

"It looks a bit like Poppy." She handed it back, and he started explaining the rules to her.

Three hours and eight games later, Rey stretched her arms above her head. "Six-two. You're very good at this."

"You've got the hang of it nicely." Kylo was confused. He'd intended to be easy on her for the first couple of games, but she'd worked out the main tactics quickly and he found it a struggle to beat her. Then suddenly she was losing badly, taking huge gambles that didn't pay off.

"One more game, and the loser pays a forfeit." She had that smile on again, and he was immediately on his guard.

"What forfeit?"

"If you win, I make dinner?"

"Including the washing up? Sounds fair. What about if you win?" Kylo collected the pieces on his side again.

"A future favour."

"That's a dangerous bet."

"I promise it won't be more than you can do."

Kylo looked closely, but her face was down studying the pieces. Her last game had been terrible. She had ground his defences down, leaving him with the lowly fighters, but then sent the highest level piece of her set straight onto a thermal detonator. It had only taken three more turns for him to capture her token. "Right. But I want dessert tonight too."

"Deal." She held up one of each side in separate fists. "Choose who goes first."

He chose the Dark side, and they set up their pieces and played. Suddenly it was a different game, as if having a prize to play for had given her the clues she needed to beat him. Not ten minutes later, he watched in disbelief as she destroyed his well-fortified base and captured the light sword.

"Does this mean you're making dessert, Kylo Ren, Lord of the Dark Side and no-longer possessor of the prize?"

"If that's what you want as your future favour."

"No it's not. I'm going to make dinner anyway, and dessert, but you still owe me." Grinning, she packed the pieces back in their box. "I think I should hit your bookshelf now."

Dinner that night was the over-salted over-processed frozen food packs, and a fresh stack of pancakes for dessert. Rey checked the washing and declared it still damp, leaving the rack where it sat behind the old sofa, then she dragged out the second rock as Kylo banked the fire. Grabbing a spare set of sheets from the linen closet and a pair of old towels for the rock, she headed upstairs, taking a glass of water with her. When he looked in on her on his own way to bed, she was a motionless shape in the dark.

Breakfast the next morning was early Kylo called in to Rey at eight when he headed down for his shower, and she was yelling through the bathroom door while he finished.

"You could just let me in to start while you're getting dressed. I wouldn't look. Honest!"

"Lava pits."

"Maybe I wouldn't tell him. You certainly wouldn't."

He opened the door to find her hopping from one foot to the other.

"What?"

"It's cold. Have you thought about having a mat here or something?"

"Or you could wear socks down."

"Oh shush." She pushed past him and into the bathroom, shutting the door in his face.

He shook his head. "We need to leave at nine to be in town in time." Walking away to make the oatmeal and coffee, he started a mental list of what they needed. Take in the garbage and throw it in the dumpster behind the bar. More bacon, milk, some fresh fruit would be nice if he could find any, and books. There had to be something in that tiny store.

She was prompt, which surprised him. He shouldn't be by now Rey Jackson was making it a habit to not fit into the stereotypes he had thought when he first met her. He'd never been at her grandfather's Sunday lunches, and the one time he'd attended a family party, he'd been told she was on holidays in Paris. Her grandfather's present for something or other. But when he'd picked her up four days before at her Naboo townhome, she matched his preconceived notions perfectly. The high pigtails, the ultra-short denim cutoffs and puffy jacket she'd even blown bubblegum then stretched the gum out on her finger before shaking it off and dropping it on the sidewalk. The housekeeper, Miss Phasma, brought out one of her bags, and the police officer guarding the front door carried the other down to the car. Several more of Naboo's finest were working in the back of the house, where Plutt's body had been found against the door to the tiny back garden. Kylo made Rey stay in the car while he went in to look.

The holes in each side of Plutt's chest and the final one to his forehead had all been made by the same ice-pick, said icepick holding his head to the door and making the cause of death fairly easy to determine. When he got back to the car, Rey didn't seem upset another thing that surprised him. He would have expected a sheltered innocent young lass like her to be nervous, freaking out or even outright terrified. Instead, she'd put her feet up on the dashboard, (he grumped at her to take them down, which she did with a grin), slipped on the earphones and been silent for nearly the whole trip.

No, there was one thing she'd complained about. He'd insisted on giving her phone to the housekeeper. It would too easy for it to be traced in fact, he'd be surprised if her grandfather hadn't arranged for some sort of tracker on it already. The way she whined about it, it was as if he had cut off her nose and nailed it to the front door. He still found it surprising that a young woman would know the names she called him, although that was the first time anyone but his mother had used the insult nerfherder. It didn't help that he'd grinned at the small woman yelling it at him.

But now she was lively, interesting, intelligent and engaging. She dressed appropriate to the weather and situation, and behaved like any sensible, hard-working young woman. And she accepted responsibility for her actions, and worked hard to keep the atmosphere civil. More than civil. He was starting to have his suspicions about her character, and those suspicions were disturbing. And distracting.

Pulling into Main Street, he had to travel up and down a couple of times to find a parking space, finally grabbing one at the very end. It meant he'd have to walk past the library to get to the bar, but the day was dim and drizzling, and he was well wrapped in his dark coat, thin scarf and mask. He left Rey at the front of the library with instructions to find him back at the car at twelve, then he turned and headed back to the store. There were two hours to kill, and he didn't want to spend them all in the crowded petri dish that was Chalmun's bar. At least he could get the shopping done and in the car while he waited. In this weather, the car was cold enough that the food wouldn't suffer.

The pitiful shelf at the store included a dozen books, most of which were movie tie-ins or airport novels, and one that seemed to be the third in a long series of a space opera, with no sign of the first two. He abandoned them with a sigh, and collected the rest of the groceries. The car would be the best place to make the call anyway, away from any prying eyes and curious ears.

Once more the phone rang twice before being answered, and once more the answer was silence.

"Hux. Hi. All ok?"

"Ren. I'll go see if the old man's awake. He's not well."

"Thanks." Kylo waited while the tinny music started again, then it stopped and he heard Miss Phasma talking about getting the old man sitting up. Good of Palpatine to give her work once Rey was out of the house. Then the Don's voice came on, wheezing and whispering.

"Are you safe?"

"Yes."

"And my granddaughter?"

"She's having her lesson at the library."

"Eating properly?"

"She's feeding me well. Made me pancakes for dessert."

"Good. We've got a problem. The vultures are circling. I think Snoke has plans." A gasp, and a hacking cough. "You haven't caught this stupid virus?"

"If I had, it'd be showing by now."

"Maybe not. It can take up to two weeks. If either of you get sick, get out of there. Go over the mountains, find a big town, and hit the hospital. Don't come to Naboo." The voice was getting more and more strained. "You didn't come to the meeting two weeks ago, did you? Why not?"

"You sent me to check on Canadyy's place while he was in the meeting, remember? And then deliver those packages across town."

"Oh right. Look, I'm not ready for this."

"For what?"

"I'm dying, Ren." The old man's voice was down to a breathless wheeze. "I wasn't supposed to go like this. Not gasping my last to a stupid virus. I've got her sorted trust fund. She'll be fine. But if I go, the whole thing will disintegrate like an exploding Morte Nera. Make sure you're ok."

"Don't know how I can from here, but I'll try." Kylo shook his head. Palpatine might be a nasty piece of work, but this was no way to die.

"I've told Hux I don't want the ventilator. If they put me on that, I'll never come off. But I've got oxygen here. And drugs. If it gets bad, I don't want to know."

"Do I tell Rey?"

"No. She's got exams coming up. She's going to be la pi sorprendente studentessa di bellezza di sempre. Make me proud. Better than that puttana of a mother of hers, or her Giuda of a father. She's my granddaughter. Watch out for her, Ren. She's more than she seems." The phone dropped, and Kylo heard anguished wheezing and concerned voices. Then the phone was picked up again.

"Kylo? Do you need anything else? He's pretty sick." Hux, sounding worried. "How can I reach you?"

"You can't. I'll come back into town every couple of days, check for messages. And ring through. I've got to go."

He hung up and turned the phone off. He needed to sit in peace and quiet for a bit, think over what he heard. And although he didn't believe, he knew the old man did. For all his sins, Palpatine was a human being and was absolutely right. This was no way to die.

Kylo put his mask back on and headed for the church. Inside, the candles were keeping it above freezing, although the light was dim. The confessional was marked as open, so he lit a candle for the old man as he waited behind an elderly lady and what could only be her teenage grandson. Kylo sat thinking through the implications if Palpatine died. Or when. He had his orders. But did they still apply if the old man wasn't around?

The previous occupants left the confessional, heading up to say their rosaries and light another candle. The priest came out of his side with a cloth and a bottle of blue liquid, obviously being careful to disinfect between petitioners. He caught sight of Kylo and paused, then went into the booth and applied the solution. Then he came over to the chair.

"You came in on Saturday."

"I sin a lot."

"I'll be back in a moment, my son. Please wait."

Kylo supposed even priests needed their bathroom breaks. He sat watching the candle nearby flicker in the silence, wondering how Rey's lesson was going. Then a firm hand grasped his shoulder, and a voice he hadn't heard in years spoke low.

"Hello, Ben."

quando arrivato il marchese - When the Marquis arrives. Much thanks to my mentor for correcting my Italian.

Morte Nera Death Star

la pi sorprendente studentessa di bellezza di sempre Best beauty student ever.

puttana whore

Giuda Judas

There are actually a few Star Wars Stratego sets. You'll have to search for them - Fanfiction doesn't let me post URLs.