Sorry to leave you all with that cliffhanger. Hoping this makes up for it x

Crimson Lane - Chapter 28 - Judgement

"I will always find my way back to you"

— Love and Space Dust

Rey was in the centre of a storm. The room exploded with screeching benches grinding against wooden floors and the clash of voices merged in one inaudible rumble. Her heart pounded like a war field, cameras were artillery firing over and over again and the blinding flashes of photographers burned white spots in her vision.

"Order, order!" The judge's gavel hammered loudly, almost lost in the explosion of sound.

"Your Honour!" The prosecutor stormed before the judge, lips twitching, his eyes practically bulging out of his narrow face. "Permission to treat the witness as hostile."

Rey stiffened. Amilyn had prepared her for this at least.

Ben's brows knitted, teeth gnawing at whatever fingernail they could find, and all he could do was look at her, as though he were watching a car crash unfold before his eyes.

"Granted," the Judge said apathetically and the interrogation began.

But this time the line of questioning shifted.

No longer was the focus on Ben but her. Over the next hour, Pryde gave no quarter as every inch of her life was dragged before the court, building evidence against her character, her sanity, and her motives in uprooting the case.

"Why should the jury believe a sex worker who sold her virginity to a wealthy businessman?"

"Where had the money gone? Why hadn't she given it to her parents to help them out of their ordeal if that was her intention?"

"Was it not a coincidence that she should find herself being Kylo Ren's whore?"

"And how, after everything, could she align herself with Snoke, the man who masterminded her demise?"

The picture he painted was that of an abuse apologist, a woman with rape-fantasies, weak, mentally disturbed, a whore, a deranged orphan who thrilled in the fact that she had sex with a murderer.

"Objection!" Amilyn had shouted more times than Rey could count and every time the question was rephrased in a way that was no less repulsive. Rey kept her eyes glued on the table before her, barely lifting them.

Once he was done, a hollow silence fell over the room. Rey watched Pryde walk away through blurry eyes, his shoes still squeaking as he returned to his desk. She felt like she had been violated, exposed, assaulted, and left strung up in front of a crowd of strangers.

All her secrets and shame exposed for the world to see. For people to write stories about, shifting the narrative in whatever way suited their bias.

How would she be able to live and work in a world like this? Forever a subject of speculation.

She sniffed as Pryde walked away, throwing the folder he had held with a loud thump.

In the crowd Rose and Finn sat there agape, a look of horror on their faces, Leia dabbed a handkerchief to her eyes as Han comforted her and finally, Ben — he looked like someone had struck him, his chin was pinched, eyes brimming with tears, he might have wept openly had the cameras not returned to capture his reaction. She knew how hard it must have been for him to witness that, unable to speak, unable to save her.

Yes, it was hard to see him now, but at the same time, he was the rock she anchored herself too. The crowd might despise her, the papers would tell the story of a money-hungry whore who swindled her parents out of money … but not Ben.

He knew her and she knew him.

As long as she could see him, she'd take whatever they said about her.

If there was any chance her admission would help clear Ben, then she would denigrate herself before the whole world to demand his freedom.

The sharp clip of stiletto heels broke through the silence, as Amilyn Holdo came into view, her eyes sparkling.

"Well now." She clasped her hands together. "We've had the honour of hearing a man tell you who you are for the last hour, Kira Rey Johnson. I think it's time you told us your story."

Amilyn's cross-examination was less of an interrogation and more like a counselling session. She caressed the truth from Rey, with the intimacy of an old friend. For a moment, Rey forgot that she was in the middle of a courtroom, surrounded by people judging her. Instead, she focused on the reason she was here and the truth she wished to speak.

It was time for the world to know who Kylo Ren really was.

"Ms Johnson, why did you throw a knife at Alastair Snoke that night?"

Rey glanced down at her hands, and then to Ben who watched her with rapt attention.

"I was so scared." She gazed at Ben, the haunted memory taking hold. "He was dying … I couldn't … I couldn't let that happen."

"Have you ever done anything like that before?"

"You mean-" Rey swallowed. Was Amilyn asking if she'd killed someone?

"Thrown a knife like that?"

"No. I didn't think - I just wanted Snoke to stop hurting him."

"You're referring to Ben Solo here?"

Rey gave a quick nod, forgetting how his real name had rarely been used within this courtroom. The prosecution, in particular, preferred to call him by his sinister alto-ego Kylo Ren. It was easier to demonise him that way: the monster in the mask.

"You love him?" Rey gaped a little, not expecting the question. Ben was gazing up at her, those umber eyes reflecting the overhead lights. He smiled at her softly, and she returned it.

"I do."

"The court, and clearly the prosecution, is under the impression that this man, this monster as he's been called today, should be your enemy. Yet, you are standing here, under oath, defending him, even going so far to say that you love him."

There was a twinkle in Amilyn's eye as she asked the question.

It was the opening they needed to present the court with a different point of view. As Rey finished giving her version of events, she glanced over to the jury and was relieved to see the conflict etched across their faces, some of them were shaking their heads in shock, a woman on the end was weeping.

Through Amilyn's questions and her own answers, they told a story of two abused children who had fought to find a way out of impossible circumstances, and as Amilyn presented their stories, Rey realised just how connected her and Ben had always been from the start.

The lawyer had called it a string of fate, holding them together, never breaking, pulling them into each other's lives.

"On your first night together, my client reported having woken up from a nightmare, when you comforted him. Can you remember what you told him that night?"

Rey was taken back to that first night, staring at his scarred back, naked in the moonlight. She had known the pain of haunted dreams … her fingers had reached out to touch his trembling shoulders and he'd stilled at the contact, covering her hand with his own.

Rey locked eyes with Ben, remembering the moment like it was yesterday.

"I told him he wasn't alone."

"And why would you say something like that?"

He was sitting across from her in the moonlight. The guttural groans he had made in his sleep had tugged at her heart. She'd known the pain of haunted dreams, to run away from your past during the day only to have it catch up with you in the night.

She'd reached her fingers to his shoulder and even then, at her touch he had stilled, his hand covering her hers.

"He'd had nightmares. They were horrible," she said, remembering the way he'd thrashed and groaned. "He seemed - haunted, broken. It scared me, but at the same time, I understood it. I'd lived it too."

"Thank you, Rey." When Rey returned to her seat the courtroom was in total silence. Had she helped? She released a shaky breath as she fell into her chair, every inch of her trembling, her heart still racing as Amilyn continued.

"Your Honour, this isn't a dark story, there are no sinister motives or evil villains in this room. The prosecution has painted their story as some twisted partnership to take down Alastair Snoke's empire."

Amilyn shook her head with a smile. "This is a love story. These two people have tried to save each other over and over again, and continue to do so even now…"

She could hear Leia sniffing behind her and Han put a hand on her shoulder rubbing it. She felt like sinking into the chair and turning into a puddle on the floor. To the far right, the reporters were whispering, jotting as much down of Amilyn's speech as they could, glancing up at Rey every now and then, taking notes, some faces kind and empathetic, others hard and accusing.

Those expressions were mirrored in the jury also. They were never going to agree on this case. She wondered how many months more they had of this, going in and out of court, reliving the same nightmares again and again.

As Amilyn finished her speech, Rey saw a young clerk slipping a folded note onto the lawyer's desk.

The lavender-haired woman took one look at it, rolled her eyes, and scribbled something back before returning it to the prosecutor.

"What's happening?" Rey whispered to Poe.

"Prosecution is cutting a deal," he told her quietly. "His case is screwed. Now he's just scrambling to save face."

Rey nodded, stiffly. "Relax, it's a good thing. Holdo has a will of iron when it comes to this stuff. She won't take anything less than what is fair."

As Poe was talking, the clerk stood again, marching across the polished wooden floors with a tap, tap, squeak of his shoes.

Eventually, another note was slipped in front of Amilyn and she took her time reading this one, glancing at Ben and back at the prosecutor who was glaring into a blank space ahead of him. With a slight cock of her head, she sought permission to approach the bar.

Rey waited, her hand clasped within Rose's, straining to listen.

The conversation lasted a while, all low-toned murmurs without emotion. In the end, the judge with his salt-and-pepper hair and weary expression leaned forward into the microphone.

"The prosecution and defence have agreed to settle this case via plea bargain."

Rey turned back to Leia, who looked equally stunned.

With a stoic bang of his gavel, the judge announced that the case was dismissed.

"Lift your top above the bra."

Rey balked at the request but one glance at the correctional officer told her this was non-negotiable. She obliged, lifting her simple white t-shirt to reveal a flesh-coloured bra beneath. The woman patted her down with cold-gloved hands, poking around her bra to make sure she wasn't concealing anything. It was confronting and mortifying in a way, drilling home the idea of how serious everything was.

Something warm and wet touched her ankle and Rey startled as a beagle wearing a navy-blue vest began sniffing her clothes and belongings.

"Hello, little guy."

The woman gave her a steely look. "Don't talk to the dog."

"Right. Sure."

"After this, you are to follow the red tape to Central Control. They will then let you through to the visitation room. You are to sit at table 24 only. When the prisoner arrives, you are permitted one brief hug and kiss on arrival and at the end, lasting no longer than one minute. You are not permitted to sit next to the prisoner but must remain across from the table at all times. Is that clear?"

Rey nodded.

Once she passed through Central Control the metal door locked behind her with a loud clunk. It was unnerving being locked into every room she'd entered since arriving, but now she was relieved to see her designated table in the middle of the room. She took a shaky breath and sat down with her hands cradled in her lap.

There was no music in here, apart from the muted mumbling of prisoners and their loved ones, a random burst of laughter and the slap of cards upon tables. The walls were surgical white, on one end was a smattering of posters advertising legal firms and a local church, on the other, was a vending machine and children's playpen.

Rey shivered as she waited on the metal chair, bolted to the ground an awkward distance from the table. Ben was late, so she spent the time watching new prisoners come out with an open and hopeful expression as they shared a hug with their loved ones that always felt too short.

After 20 minutes of trying to figure out if the couple two tables across were fighting or just having an enthusiastic conversation, she heard that low, metallic buzz to release the lock. She looked up, wide-eyed and hopeful as the door opened, and almost immediately her stomach fluttered with a kaleidoscope of butterflies.

The first thing she noticed was his dark, perfectly contrived devil-may-care hair. How in the world he'd managed to keep it looking so fine in prison she had no idea, but suddenly she had a sneaking suspicion as to the reason he was late. Before spotting her, he'd held his head up high, looking over the room in search of a familiar face, like a little boy lost in a shopping centre.

Rey shot her arm up and waved at him, unable to contain her smile. He rushed to her, and for a brief second, she was clamped in his arms, tight enough to feel the heat of his chest, to hear the rapid beating of his heart, Ben's warm hand closed around her shoulders, pulling her in close to fill every inch of space.

"I hoped it was you." His voice was thready, tickling the curling strands of hair across her face.

The hug lingered, too long, a guard started to approach and Ben's hands dropped by his side as they both stepped away with a regretful smile.

They sat opposite each other, hands reaching across the table, two inches apart, never touching. They could have been an ocean away for how it felt.

He looked like a bridegroom seeing his bride for the first time, eyes sparkling under the fluorescent lights.

Had he always looked so in love with her?

"Are you still angry with me then?" She peaked out beneath her lashes, her best attempt at looking submissive.

"Of course not. You proved me right."

She smiled. So, he was back to being a sarky git then? That was a good sign.

Rey left the sentence hanging, taking her time to look out the wired glass windows, to the endless blue skies and drab car park until she heard a huff.

"You're not going to ask?" He sounded disappointed.

Rey rolled her eyes. "Okay, Ben Solo, what were you right about?"

"That if you went to the hearing you would do something foolish." He lowered his voice. "One look and I knew you were going to confess everything as soon as you got on that stand."

"Excuse me, I didn't even know what I was going to say up there."

He placed his hands behind his head, looking smug. "I guess I know you better than yourself."

"Perhaps you do."

The couple a few tables across began to speak in raised voices and the guard shushed them.

Rey sat still, ruminating on the sterile table beneath her hands, she scraped at a raised bit of paint with her fingernail, peeling it off. There was one thing she needed to talk about; the thought of it had kept her up much of the night tossing and turning.

But he was so happy right now, and —

"You need to say something," he asked, guessing her thoughts.

"At the trial — I, uh, wasn't expecting…"

"Your parents."

It wasn't a question, but she gave a short nod, unable to trust herself with words.

Ben crouched forward, sucking on his lips until they paled in colour and his cheeks hollowed out.

"It's okay," she said in a rush. "I just wasn't expecting it."

"There was so much to tell you. Too much … I was scared it would have pushed you away."

She nodded warily. "Okay."

There was a bang, as a can of soda dropped to the dispenser tray on the vending machine. Rey jumped, smiling awkwardly, but Ben was still as stone, his face long and solemn as if waiting for her to finally walk away.

"Is that everything?"

He nodded.

"Okay then."

Ben's gaze dropped, as a tic feathered in his jaw and a great weight seemed to have stifled the air in his lungs.

Rey reached towards him. The quiet shuffle of her hand across the table was enough to rouse him and when he looked up and saw that she was smiling at him, his shoulders relaxed.

Ben then glanced at the guard, sliding his hand across the cold metal to brush a curved finger along the purlicue of her hand.

She relished in the touch, the smoothness of his skin, the warmth against her own. All the messages her brain were sending in that busy mind quieted as she focused on her connection with him.

I miss you, she mouthed in silence.

"Me too," he whispered. The guard turned and their hands retreated, back on other sides of the world. The heat of his touch, just a memory now.

Over the next thirty minutes, Rey came to learn that Amilyn's plea bargain had been more successful than they could have hoped. The sentence was time served plus another twelve months, and Ben's agreement to testify about Snoke and the First Order's involvement in the Resistance bombing. The charges against him were largely dropped, based on the fact they were under duress and a lack of evidence. Even the original murder charge for Lor San Tekka was reduced to justified homicide on the basis of necessity and coercion. Finally, all charges for the attempted murder of Alistair Snoke were dropped. For Ben's part, he had to complete twelve months of mandatory counselling and anger management classes. The last part, he'd added with a roll of his eyes, but Rey was grateful he'd have another person to help him process the trauma of the last fifteen years - she might even get their details for herself.

"And what about me?"

"I already spoke to Amilyn. They won't prosecute."

Rey breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're free. We both are."

Together, they decided that Rey would stay on the island until the press beat-up had died down and focus on her studies until the end of the year while helping Lando out with maintenance at the resort. This had easily become her second job and a secret hobby. She would continue writing for the paper but wanted to complete her degree before going full-time.

Then, after a year they would finally be together.

Twelve months ...

Three hundred and sixty-five days ...

Eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours...

"Rey!"

She jumped out of her reverie, trying to smile.

"It's not that long."

"I know."

"We're lucky Amilyn was a damn good lawyer. It could have been years — it probably should have been."

Of course, it was only a year, it wasn't long, but now their time was almost up. She would be leaving the mainland that evening and going back to her room and her bed without Ben.

"I'm grateful, I just—" She let her eyes trail to the clock above the main entryway. Their time had finished.

The buzzer sounded, and people got to their feet. The animated couple two tables away began screaming at each other and guards rushed over to settle them. Rey straightened her clothes, trying not to be obvious as she watched the commotion — but in a heartbeat, Ben had dragged her into his arms, kissing her with such passion she was left breathless. He absorbed her body into his, whispering how much he loved her while the room reigned in chaos.

They were the only two people on earth, tied together by an invisible thread. Ben held her too hard, his kisses too violent and still it felt like they were never enough.

"Break it up," a correctional officer snarled.

They stepped back, far slower than they should have. Rey flushed as she rubbed her lips where they still tingled from the ghost of his kiss.

"Come on, Solo." The correctional officer turned on his heels and Ben followed, looking back at her.

"I'll come back for you, Sweetheart. I promise."

Rey studied him as he left — that awkward gait, his upper body stiff and too still, shoulders wide enough to carry the world. He walked slowly, regretfully, as though he were moving against gravity. The main door to the jail opened and he looked back at her with a half-smile, a gift for her to take back into the world until they'd meet again.

Four months later

Rey ran on the edge of pain, throat bone-dry and legs aching with every step. Up, up, up along the overgrown path of shards of stone and shell.

A little bit more. A little bit more, she recited in her head until at last, the forest cleared to a rocky outcrop as she neared the top; sun bearing down as she added a stone to the large rock cairn.

Clutching at a stitch at her side, she leant over, gasping for air. Eyes fixed on the ground rather than the view ahead.

It was a gruelling hike up Marriott Mountain, the highest peak on the island, and even more so at a run.

After months of eating takeaway in bed and watching Netflix in the lead up to Ben's trial, she'd decided to kick her butt back into gear before he came home. She ran most days, often at full speed until her lungs burned and her face was drenched in sweat. On the weekends, she picked one of Bespin's three peaks and charged up it like she was running into battle.

From up here, she could see the colourful Sunday markets, Lando's resort and a line of white sand blending into an aquamarine ocean blotted with cloud shadows.

The other reason she'd hiked up here so early in the morning was due to her scheduled call with Ben. Lately, she'd taken to finding her favourite parts of the island for their calls, telling him what she could see, pretending that he was here with her. She was just about to dial the number when her phone pinged with a message.

Your scheduled call with Prisoner 5831 has been postponed. CO will advise new time in due course. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Her heart dropped. Bugger.

She took one last look at the view and snapped a photo to help her remember what it was like when she spoke to him later.

The climb down Mount Marriott was a lot slower, the forest feeling thicker and darker this time. There was a part of her brain that was flashing red. Why had the call needed to be postponed? That had never happened before …

Her thoughts fell in a spiral of panic; with every step, she tried to push away the dread that he may have been injured or attacked. He'd promised her that prison was fine, that the most challenging thing he'd had to deal with was the aching boredom.

But, God, if something had happened—

She pushed the thought away, trapped it deep in her mind, hidden in a vault. She just had to keep it there until she heard from prison.

Back at the resort, there were a few odd jobs she needed to do for Lando before lunch, changing light bulbs in the main foyer, checking the temperature gauge and cleaning the spa filter, as well as consulting with the landscaper about an area of the pathway that flooded in heavy rain.

Normally, she didn't mind the work. She could close her thoughts off for a couple of hours and get down to practical things, mechanical puzzles, things that made sense, pieces that fit. It didn't take her mind off things, but it helped.

By lunch, she was covered in sweat, even though the breeze had a sharp whip of autumn coolness. Rey had thrown herself into her work until Lando came and tapped her on the shoulder, urging her to take a break for lunch.

She did so, reluctantly. Checking her phone again. There were no new notifications.

Sitting alone at the restaurant, Rey sipped on ice-cold water with an intense stare of concentration. There was grease on her t-shirt and she was layered in sweat from both her run and the work. She'd go for a swim later this afternoon, but for now, she looked like shit, and she really didn't care.

She held off taking, knowing that would be a bad place for her. The melodious stream of water pouring onto the tiles would only let her mind drift away and the vault might open.

As she waited for a server, she scrolled through her phone's newsfeed, searching for any signs of trouble at the prison.

Nothing.

She was a second away from calling Poe when her phone began vibrating.

Unknown number.

Rey eyed it suspiciously, letting it buzz around the glass table, her heart rate increasing with every ring.

Please let him be okay. She answered it.

"Do you accept a call from Ben Solo?" a female voice asked, it was different than the usual CO who transferred his calls.

"Yes, yes!" Rey said a little too eagerly.

"Just a minute." The phone went silent but there was no waiting music, eventually, it clicked on the other end and she heard his velvet voice.

Her eyes closed at the sound of it, breathing a sigh of relief. "You're okay. I was beginning to panic that something had happened."

A beat.

"Shit, Rey. I didn't think you'd be worried."

She furrowed her brow. Of course, she would be worried.

"So, they're letting you make calls now?"

"They're letting me do all sorts of things. I get to talk to someone about my feelings twice a week, and attend a 30-minute cooking class—"

"Useful," Rey said with a laugh.

"And I've moved rooms. This one has a much better view."

She sat up a little, smiling. "What can you see?"

"The sky, amongst other things."

There was a pause as the words dawned on her with a sharp cut. She'd always thought of him, being able to look out and see the same sky as her.

"You couldn't see the sky before?"

"Not like this."

"Well, I'm glad you can now." Out of the corner of her eye, Rey spied the head waiter Threepio scurrying over to her table carrying a tall cocktail glass, with a flamingo stirrer and umbrella with a bendy straw.

"Miss Johnson, the gentleman over there—"

She covered the phone as she rolled her eyes. "Just tell him no."

Threepio scurried back again, taking the cocktail with him.

"Is someone coming onto you?" Ben asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"No. It was just a drink," she said, trying to see who ordered it for her.

"Erm, does this happen often?"

"Not often. Well, now and then, most of them are married men. It's gross."

"Right. I think it's time I—"

"Not again," Rey said with a groan. The waiter was coming forward with the resort's most prized dessert, rose-gold chocolate-coated strawberries and berry sorbet.

"What is it this time?" Ben's voice was flat on the other end.

"Strawberries." Rey stared at it briefly, her mouth-watering. Threepio held it out with a nervous smile. God, she loved that one most of all, and come to think of it, it was her favourite cocktail also.

"Threepio, please take it back."

"But Miss Johnson, it's been paid for already."

"Go on and eat it, I don't mind," Ben told her.

"No, I don't want him to get any ideas." She covered the phone briefly. "Take it back, okay? And tell him not to buy anything else. I'm not interested."

Rey settled back in her chair, feeling flustered that this was happening during her sacred time. "Right, where were we?"

"I think we were up to where you change the subject about random stalkers buying you gifts in my absence."

She rolled her eyes. "There's nothing to discuss."

"So—" he dragged the word out. "Have you ever accepted?"

"Of course not!"

"I told you I wouldn't mind."

Rey laughed at him. "You'd mind!"

There was a chuckle on the other end. "Maybe"

"I know you, Ben Solo."

"I can't blame him though. If I saw you sitting there alone, I'd want to try my chances—"

"Who said I'm alone?" she asked, peevishly.

"Just a hunch."

"Anyway," Rey interrupted him pointedly. "What about you? I hear prison can be pretty amorous?"

There was a kerfuffle by the bar, and Rey saw Leia drop her soda water, the liquid spilling out over the countertop as she ran over to something.

"I do what I have to," Ben said. "You know, pick up the soap, clean out the toilet, that kind of thing."

Rey craned her neck, leaning back on her chair to get a better look at what was going on until something clicked, and her mouth gaped.

"Wait, what?!"

Ben laughed loudly on the other end. "Your face right now."

"You can imagine!" she teased him, blushing that he'd gotten her so easily.

Threepio flounced over to her once more, head held high, buzzing excitement on his nervous features.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Another gift?"

"I told him not to bring me anything!"

"I don't know, Rey, I'm starting to root for this guy."

"Hold on. I'll sort this out."

Covering the phone once more, Rey stretched her neck out with a terse smile. "Threepio—"

The jittery man slid a plate on her table and backed away, as though he were leaving a ticking bomb.

Rey glared down at the dish. "What the hell is—"

"It's a taco."

"They don't even serve tacos here!" Rey stared at Threepio in disbelief and then at the taco, stuffed and overflowing with lettuce, beans, tomato and cucumber. It didn't even look nice.

"Eh—" Threepio faltered, looking around the restaurant for some kind of help. "I'm supposed to say—" he closed his eyes, taking a long, loud breath through his narrow nose. "It's a stuffed taco, but we didn't have any crab."

"What?" Rey asked, bewildered — but then she could hear him, laughing, on the other end of the line.

Stuffed taco.

Crab.

Ben!

Ben!

"Where are you?" She shouted into the phone, tears starting to pool in her eyes. She scanned the restaurant, standing now, one hand pressing the phone against her ear, the other shading the sun from her eyes.

Come on, come on, she chided herself. Ben Solo was a tree of a man, why could she not see him, perhaps he wasn't—

"Ben?" she spoke into the phone; an edge of panic to her voice at the dawning realisation that she could be wrong about this.

"What is it, sweetheart?" he answered softly.

"I can't see you anywhere." She searched for his dark hair and formidable frame but there was no sign of him anywhere. "Please tell me you're here."

"I'm here." The voice came from behind her, soft and languorous, those two small words filled with love.

She turned and saw that hair, dark as night, a pale face dotted with umber stars, each one she'd memorised like a map of the night sky and then his eyes, fixed on her as though he were faced with a waking dream. And at last, she lingered on his soft, full lips, noticing how dimples lined his narrowed jaw and for the first time she saw what Ben Solo looked like without the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You!" Rey started, but he enveloped her in his arms, crushing her close into his chest, those gentle hands caressing her hair, her back, sliding up and down her arms. "How?"

"Amilyn applied for early release for good behaviour."

She clutched him tighter, not daring to believe. "You — you're not going away again?"

"Not without you."

"Oh, Ben," she whispered his name; her ear pressed to his chest and for a long while she closed her eyes and listened to the deep thrum of his heartbeat, every beat filling her soul with sunlight.

"You're home."

One more written chapter (29) and then the artwork (30). We're almost there folks. Sorry for 27 chapters of pure torture.

As always, thanks for the comments, follows and favourites and thanks so much for making it to the end.

I'm pretty useless at social media but you can always find me on on Tumblr blog/wayofthepathfinder or Twitter /WayPathfinder. I like to share Reylo art, good fics and try to be positive. Come say hello any time.