The Foundling

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A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Seven-Rey's Decision

"Its nice to see you, too, Mother." Ben responded sarcastically after Leia's cold greeting.

"Ben, don't! Can't you see something's wrong?" Rey warned him through their bond as she rushed to Leia's side and helped her to sit down. As soon as she saw Leia's drawn face, Rey sensed that something was amiss. "Would you like me to get you something to drink?" She asked solicitously.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, sweetheart." Leia put a gentle hand on Rey's cheek and stroked it tenderly. "Come and sit with me." She patted the empty space beside her on the plush leather sofa.

Rey settled down next to Leia and gazed at her anxiously. She really didn't look well. Her complexion was paler than normal. When Rey took her hands in her own, they felt cold, the usual warmth was missing. She glanced nervously in Ben's direction. She could tell by the troubled expression on his face that even he was realising that there was something wrong with his mother. "Please let me get you something." She pleaded with Leia again. "You don't look well."

"I'm not ill, Rey." Leia's voice quavered slightly and she closed her eyes briefly as she tried to compose herself. When she opened them again, she was shocked to find Ben kneeling in front of her, his expression full of concern. She kept swallowing as she tried to find her voice. She stared at her son's handsome face, her throat clenching, tightening so much that she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Ben said in alarm. He extended his hand toward her, but he saw her flinch, and he quickly withdrew it again, hurt pooling in his dark eyes at the way she reacted to his attempt to comfort her.

Rey saw the pain in Ben's eyes at Leia's unconscious rejection of him. Sometimes she couldn't understand what Leia was thinking. She knew that Leia loved her son, she had expressed it on numerous occasions, but still that distance remained.

"I've received some very bad news." Leia finally felt composed enough to speak. She glanced toward Ben again quickly, before hurriedly averting her gaze. It was like even looking at him seemed to pain her. That look didn't go unnoticed by Ben or Rey. He tensed and Rey quickly reached out to him through their bond, pleading with him to remain calm.

"What news?" Rey asked carefully. She shivered violently in the humid room. What if it had something to do with Han? It seemed like the same thought crossed Ben's mind as he asked about his father.

"Its not Han." Leia continued with difficultly. She glanced at Ben again and her composure crumbled, a slight hitch in her breathing showing how distressed she really was.

"Does it…does it…have something to do with me?" Ben questioned hesitantly.

Leia took in another deep breath. Her hands were shaking slightly now. "Why are you here, Ben? Luke promised me he would keep you with him until the worst was over."

"What?" Ben's eyes widened slightly. "So, it does have something to do with me."

"Not directly, but…" Leia paused as she rubbed her aching temples. "I didn't want either of you to find out this way. I wanted more time to prepare, but today's events have overtaken that option." She sighed, raising her head to gaze hopelessly at Ben and Rey. "I have been summoned to appear before the Senate."

"Why?" Ben demanded.

"Because they found out something-something that my opponents are determined to use against me. In politics, any reason to discredit your opponents is a good reason. It doesn't matter if the discrediting is justified or reasonable. As long as it helps to turn away support from some of those people who compete with you and rally more people behind yourself it is worth it." Leia stated angrily.

"What could they have possibly found out to discredit you?" Rey asked in disbelief.

Leia swallowed thickly, her hands clenching into fists on her lap. "The fact is I knew about my father's true identity and kept silent about it. That alone is reason enough to question my trustworthiness as a political figure."

Ben and Rey exchanged an uneasy glance. Ben shifted closer to Rey, as if somehow his mere physical presence could protect her from the fallout. "Why did you keep it a secret?" He asked stiffly. He watched as Leia flinched again, just like she had when he had tried to reach out to her. The fact that she couldn't seem to look at him directly told him that she wasn't worried so much about how this supposedly shocking revelation was going to affect Rey, but more how it was going to affect him.

"His name was Anakin Skywalker." Leia's breaths became shallow in her chest as she tried to contain the agony welling inside. "Anakin Skywalker became…he became…" She couldn't say it. She bent double as if struggling to breathe at all.

Alarmed, Rey hurriedly put her arms around Leia, gently guiding her head to her shoulder. Ben hunkered down again, wanting to reach out to his mother, but afraid that if he tried it would only distress her further. "Mom." He murmured.

Leia still couldn't look at him. She closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek, before the truth was finally wrenched out of her. "Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. I am Darth Vader's daughter."

Leia was more composed now. She smiled wanly as Rey passed her a glass of cool water. She took a few tentative sips to calm her nerves before placing it on the table in front of her. Rey and Ben were still clustered around her. She tried to look at her son, but his face became blurred in her vision. and all she could feel was the same deep anxiety and fear that had surrounded her since the first time she had sensed the darkness swirling around him even in the womb.

"My father-my real father-Bail Organa, made a recording for me to hear when I was of an age to accept the truth, telling me about Anakin becoming Darth Vader. One of my political rivals got hold of it somehow and leaked it to the Senate. They have demanded I come and defend myself."

"Why should you have to defend yourself?" Rey cried. "You can't help who sired you."

"Oh, Rey." Leia sighed heavily. "You know the way it works. The more sudden and scandalous a news story, the more people talk about it. The more they talk about it, the more emotions are dredged up and the faster opinions change. This is part of the art of politics. You don't just drop a bomb on someone, you drop it so it causes people to project their negative feelings on the easiest target-meaning me."

"But you have allies…" Rey reminded her.

Leia cupped Rey's face in her hands. "Oh, sweetheart, I lost those allies as soon as the news began to spread throughout the galaxy. You know as well as I do that its unwise for a politician to stay allied with someone who just went onto a political downward spiral. Keep supporting them and they will drag you with them. Good politicians don't have permanent allies or enemies anyway - just people who currently further or hinder their interests."

"So, you just give up?" Rey questioned.

"Not yet." Leia tried to muster up a smile. "I am leaving for the Senate now."

"You won't be alone. Ben and I will be with you." Rey replied stoutly.

"No, you won't." Leia emitted a weary sigh as she let go of Rey's face and stood up slowly. "I want you both as far removed from this as possible, at least until the initial scandal dies down. I've been in contact with Han. He will be here soon to take me to the Senate."

"You don't have to worry, Mom. I'll take care of Rey." Ben assured her as he put a gentle hand on Rey's shoulder before she could protest further. He had learned from experience it wasn't worth arguing with Leia when she had made her decision.

A slight frown marred Leia's forehead as she turned to face him. She kept her gaze focused on her hands as she answered him. "You don't need to worry about that. I've arranged for Poe Dameron to escort Rey home. He will stay with her until I return from the Senate."

"But I'm here now." Ben emphasised again. "You don't need this Poe Dameron guy."

"I'm not arguing about this, Ben." Leia touched her forehead again as if it pained her. "Its all arranged. You shouldn't even be here anyway. You were supposed to stay with Luke."

It was like Leia had stuck a knife in his heart. She sounded so cold. She was acting like he was some random stranger and not her son. It was like he had crossed some invisible line in the sand and now she was tying to place him firmly back on the other side. "You still don't trust me." He accused. "Do you?"

"Ben, please don't do this now!" Rey begged him through their bond.

Ben could feel Rey's panic leaking through to him. She knew he was on the verge of exploding. His hurt and betrayal seeped through his veins, clouding his better judgement. He saw Leia finally gain the courage to look into his eyes and he could see her answer, she didn't need to say it. She didn't trust him, even worse than that, she was afraid of him. Keeping her true father's identity a secret hadn't just been for the sake of her political career, it had been because she feared that her father's evil had been replicated in him. He remembered all those whispered conversations he had overheard between her and Han about his inability to control his outbursts when he was younger. The distorted view she had about him came into focus and suddenly made complete and utter sense.

Rey was a silent witness to Ben's chaotic inner thoughts. He hid nothing from her. She went cold all over, knowing that the tenuous cord that remained between him and Leia was stretched taut, and was in danger of snapping completely. She couldn't allow that to happen. Leia loved Ben. She just wasn't expressing it right. Rey hated that she was caught in the middle of it. She wanted Leia to put aside her reservations, to let go of her imagined fears, and reach out to Ben, to tell him his assumptions were wrong, that she did trust and have faith in him. But Leia remained silent, only the slight quiver of her lips showed she was struggling.

Rey knew she had a decision to make-go against the woman who had raised her with such love and affection, or go against her son-a son who was hurting deeply, who felt isolated and alone and who they were in danger of losing altogether if one of them didn't make a stand and show they had faith in him. Rey turned to find Ben watching her, the pain in his eyes evident. It hurt her. His pain was her pain.

"Rey, pack your things." Leia broke through the deadlock. "I'll contact Poe."

Rey blinked, breaking eye contact with Ben. She turned back to face Leia. "There's no need. I'm going with Ben."

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think! I have no idea if this story is going well or not, LOL :)