The Foundling

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A/N-thank you for reviewing this story!

Chapter Five-Fallout

"Ow!" Rey shook her hand irritably as the Marksman-H training remote hit the back of her hand, leaving a stinging sensation behind.

Ben laughed at her disgruntled expression. "It's your own fault for losing concentration." He said as he lounged in the tall grasses of the butterfly garden. It was still early morning. The two of them had been out there since dawn, training together. Well, Rey had been training. Ben supposedly teaching.

Rey shut the training saber down irritably. "I'm done for the day." She muttered.

Ben's amusement disappeared when he noticed the disappointment in her voice. "You can't give up now. You're good, my little Padawan. You just need to be patient."

"You make it look so easy." Rey complained as she flopped down beside him on the ground.

"Relax. Just take a deep breath." Ben encouraged her. He watched as Rey followed his instruction to the letter. He saw the stiffness in her shoulders go away. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard on the sound of his voice as he told her to let the Force guide her. "Feel better?" He asked after a minute.

"Yes." Rey said, opening her eyes again.

"This time I want you to try it with the helmet on." Ben lifted the training helmet and placed it carefully over Rey's head. She immediately began to protest again, complaining that she couldn't see. "Let the Force be your eyes. Let it guide you."

Rey mumbled something under her breath, but she followed his advice and ignited the training saber. Ben sent the small remote flying and then took a step back and watched Rey as she took a defensive stance. Even all these years later she was still extremely thin. She struggled with so much food around and remained a picky eater. She had gained a little height but was still smaller than your average ten-year-old. But what she lacked in height, she made up for in gumption. Ben hadn't been lying when he said she was good.

He folded his arms across his chest as he watched Rey whirl around like a skilled dancer and deflect one of the remote's blasts. She had done exactly as he had instructed her. She was tuning into the Force, letting it flow through her and guide her actions. He continued to watch proudly as she deflected another blast from the remote, actively showing off now as she gave the training saber a little twirl as she deflected yet another blast.

"Don't get overconfident." Ben warned her, laughing.

"Rey!" Leia's impatient voice came from some distance away. "Rey, where are you?"

"Shit!" Ben cussed as he hastily shut the remote down and saw Rey pull the helmet off her head. "Quickly, she can't see you here. I can't believe she's up so early." He took the training saber from Rey's shaking fingers and urged her to run.

Rey quickly scuttled away in the direction of the trees, and just managed to get out of sight before Leia rounded the corner. She halted when she saw Ben alone in the middle of the butterfly garden. "Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt your practise session." She apologised awkwardly as she noticed the training saber he held in his hand. "I'm looking for Rey. Has she passed this way?"

Ben just shrugged as if he didn't care. "If she did, I didn't notice."

Leia frowned, irked by his blasé attitude. "I'm so sorry to have interrupted you." She said sarcastically.

"Whatever." Ben mumbled as he sent the remote flying and ignited the saber. He turned his back on his mother as he began deflecting the laser blasts as easily as if swatting a fly.

Leia opened her mouth to scold him, but decided she didn't have the time or the energy to engage in another battle of wills with her son. She turned on her heel and walked back to the house, calling Rey's name as she went.

"I can't believe I have to sit through another two days of boring meetings again!" Rey complained as she fiddled with the belt on one of the elaborate gowns that Leia had made especially for her. This one was a deep forest green. It brought out the subtle green in her hazel eyes, but she hated its constricting nature. She felt like she couldn't breathe in it. She perched on the edge of her bed and began to braid her long hair into a complicated plait.

Ben looked at her sympathetically. He knew how much she hated dressing up and posing for the benefit of the other senators. Being Leia Organa's adopted daughter meant she was always under the spotlight. She had to act with impeccable decorum, treating even the most irksome dignitaries with nothing but the upmost respect.

"Why don't you come to these things?" Rey wound the long plait around the back of her head and pinned it up expertly. "Why am I the one who always has to go?"

"Because I'm not the perfect little princess like you are. And my mom's afraid I would embarrass her or show her up in some way when she's networking. She'd rather pretend that I didn't exist." Ben answered her bitterly.

Rey glanced up at him sourly. "I wish you would stop talking like that!" She snapped at him irritably. "You're a Jedi, Ben. Why would you think she would be ashamed of you?"

Ben glared at her moodily. "You know why. She's afraid of me. You've overheard them talking about me behind my back, just like I have. Mom doesn't like you hanging around me because she thinks I'm a bad influence. She can't wait until Skywalker comes back so she can ship me off again."

"That's not true, Ben." Rey's expression turned sad. "You're hearing the words but I don't think you're listening to what they're actually saying. They're worried about you."

"Bullshit!" Ben swore at her.

Rey rose unsteadily to her feet. "I've got to go. I'll see you when I get back."

"Don't count on it." Ben said defensively. "I've got better things to do then hang around with a whiny baby like you anyway."

Rey's lower lip quivered as she tried to hold back her tears. She knew he was just being nasty for the sake of it. He was lashing out because he was hurt and angry. He always got like this after another difficult encounter with his mother. It was true that Leia and Han had been arguing a lot more lately now that Ben was back home. Leia would bring up her worries, but Han refused to discuss them, immediately jumping to Ben's defence without actually giving her a chance to express herself properly. It always ended in just another bitter argument. It was affecting all of them, especially Ben. Rey wondered whether Han and Leia realised how sensitive he really was.

The long skirts of her dress swirled gracefully around her feet as she ignored Ben and strode past him with as much dignity as she could muster. There was no way she was going to let him see how his harsh words had hurt her. But she didn't get far before she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He apologised thickly. "I didn't mean what I said."

Rey knew how hard it was for him to admit he was in the wrong. She turned to look up at him and was rewarded with one of his rare smiles. Her face softened and she ran back to hug him. "I'll see you when I get back." She promised quickly, before letting go and running off quickly before he had a chance to hug her back.

Ben sighed when the doors to his room slid open and Han walked in. He had been in a dark place since Rey had left. He had tried meditating, but he couldn't concentrate enough to relax. He felt restless- a trait he had inherited from Han. In the end he had retreated to his room, wanting to avoid everyone as he tried to rest. He was often only getting maybe two or three hours of sleep every night. The same nightmares he'd suffered from his whole life continued to plague him during the night, the voices were becoming louder and more insistent. He was becoming more and more afraid that he was going crazy. Sometimes he couldn't blame his mother for insisting on keeping Rey away from him.

"Hey, kid." Han greeted him as he hovered in the doorway. "I didn't disturb you, did I?"

"No." Ben lied. It was such a rare occurrence for his father to seek him out voluntarily that his curiosity was piqued.

Han ventured further into the room, smiling slightly. "I've got a proposition for you…" He began hesitantly.

"What proposition?" Ben asked eagerly. He had a feeling if his father was excited about it, his mother wouldn't be.

"Now Chewie's decided to relocate back to Kashyyk to be closer to his family, I'm kinda missing a wingman." Han replied with a casual shrug. "I wondered…seeing as you're not preoccupied at the moment…whether you'd like to be his stand-in on this job I've just been offered."

A sly grin lit up Ben's face. "Is it legal?" He asked.

"Hey, keep it down, kid." Han hushed him. "It's off the books if that's what you mean."

"I'm in." Ben practically bounced off his bed as he went to join his father.

"That's my boy!" Han smirked as he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "We will need to keep this between us, though. What your mom doesn't know, she doesn't have to worry about, okay."

"That's fine by me." Ben agreed, feeling suddenly energised again now he had something daring to focus on.

The diplomatic fall out from Han Solo's smuggling expedition had a ripple effect that was sorely felt by everyone in the family. Leia was deeply embarrassed when she was approached at the senate by one of her diplomatic droids, only to be told her husband, along with her son, had been captured on Tatooine smuggling illegal contraband off the surface. The news soon spread amongst the other members, and she was immediately brought before the new chancellor and interrogated. Leia was an experienced politician, but even she had trouble explaining this one away. The new chancellor decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, but Leia knew her reputation had been tarnished. The senate's trust in her had been damaged. She didn't think she would ever be able to forgive Han for putting her in such an untenable position.

Rey put her hands over her ears as she tried to block out Han and Leia's raised voices. But it did no good. Their fight had been going on for days-they would stop, withdraw for a few hours as they licked their wounds-only to start all over again. She was genuinely afraid that they were going to split for good this time. As soon as Leia had paid the bond for Han and Ben's release, she had banished Ben back to Skywalker again. Luke had been forced to return early to bargain for his apprentice's release without charge. It was only because of Luke's legendary reputation that this had been agreed. Han hadn't been so lucky, not that he cared, he was used to living by the seat of his pants. He thought Leia and Luke were making a big deal out of nothing.

"Rey?"

The sound of Ben's voice in her head startled Rey. She sat up and rubbed her eyes tiredly as she tried to block him out. He had been trying to communicate with her for days through their bond, but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge him. She was too angry.

"You can't ignore me forever." He tried again.

Ben sounded so tired, but Rey refused to feel sorry for him. He had known what he was doing when he went on that trip with Han. He had only himself to blame for the fallout.

"I hate it here, Rey." His voice was barely a whisper now. "No one's talking to me. After his initial lecture about bringing him and the Jedi order into disrepute, Skywalker pretends like I don't even exist. I feel so isolated. I can't leave. I can't come home. And now I've lost you, too…."

Rey sighed as she felt herself crumble under the weight of his despair. "You haven't lost me. But that doesn't mean I'm not angry at you."

"I'm angry at me." Ben materialised in front of her. She couldn't see his surroundings. Only him. It appeared like he was hovering in mid-air, but in reality, he was sitting on the floor of his hut. "I knew it was wrong when Dad asked me…but I guess I went along with it because I was just so desperate to feel a bond with him."

"I know." Rey knew he was speaking the truth, and it saddened her that he felt this way. There wasn't much she could say to make him feel better, only time and distance would do that. "Read to me." She suggested in an attempt to distract him.

"I haven't done that in years." Ben mused, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. He gave her a grateful smile as he picked up one of his books. Rey curled up on her side on her own bed and turned to face him as he began to read.

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review!