A/N - Welcome back to the story!

For the first few days after the battle, they remained on-planet, but neither Ben or Rey wanted to stay in the palace for long. Too many memories, and too much conflict.

Leia suggested they migrate back to Coruscant, which had long been the capital of the Republic, and would be ideal for the institution of a new system of government. Rey and Ben took up residence in the Imperial Palace, which had once been a Jedi Temple, and had once served as the Emperor's seat of power.

If all went well, it would fulfill that purpose once again, under better circumstances.

For the next week, Rey was mostly silent, and Ben knew that she felt the lingering effects of being tortured by Snoke. At night, he held her as she lay awake, mute as she stared unseeingly into the darkness, sometimes shedding noiseless tears that broke his heart.

In all his years he'd never felt more helpless, not even when Snoke had taken her from him. At least then there had been a plan, there had been a mission, there had been someone to destroy. There was nothing now, no one he could protect her from, no way for him to ease her lingering pain.

Ben didn't know how to handle grief, he couldn't beat it, he couldn't break it, and he certainly couldn't kill it. All he could do was lay helplessly beside her and hold her as she suffered through the nights. It didn't help that she wouldn't talk about it; the mere mention of Snoke made her flinch, and her face would become stony every time Hux was brought up.

Finally, one night, something seemed to change. Long after everyone had retreated to sleep, she'd risen from his bed, grabbed a robe and noiselessly padded away. His own exhaustion clung to him as he followed her to the balcony. He held back, hovering in the doorway, as she wandered to the railings overlooking the Galactic City.

"It's over," she finally whispered, and Ben wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"It's over."

Neither of them spoke again until the first rays of daylight broke over the horizon.

Ben carried her back to bed, where Rey fell into a fitful sleep for a few hours. It wasn't much, but it was far more than the mere minutes at a time that had been claiming her for the past three nights.

He reluctantly left her early in the morning to fetch breakfast for the both of them. When he returned she was awake, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"You have to start eating more," Ben told her gently, and she obliged. He was reminded of the time spent together in the palace, but he didn't dare to bring it up. Though those memories were still fond for him, he wasn't sure if they were fond memories for her.

"I'll be okay," She told him with a warm smile, noticing his concerned look.

"I just wish I could do something to make it better," He admitted. Rey brushed a hand over his face.

"I know," She replied softly. "You being here makes it better, you being with me makes it better. Together. We won, Ben, and that is more than I'd dared to let myself hope for."

"We did."

Ben knew that Rey had been so immersed in healing that she didn't know that they'd become heroes of sorts. The strange Jedi who took down the Supreme Leader, who balanced one another, who were in love.

"Are you alright?"

Ben blinked in surprise at the question.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Rey shrugged.

"I know Snoke was awful, but at one point he was your master. He was all you had at one point, your family."

"You are my family. Luke and Leia are my family. I've even come to terms with the fact that I've begun to like your friends."

A small smile flickered across her lips, her eyes lit with amusement as she actually chuckled. The sound of that small laugh warmed him and eased some of his fears.

"That surprises me, with Finn especially."

"He is the more annoying of the bunch," Ben agreed.

Her smile widened as her fingers danced over his.

"I noticed the two of you have been getting along better. I'm glad."

"I'm glad that you're glad."

A sigh escaped her and the smile slipped away.

"Would you tell me if you were bothered by the defeat of the First Order?"

"That's where my allegiances lay once, but not anymore," Ben told her firmly. "They were brutal people that never would have changed. Thousands upon thousands of lives will be better now. Including ours."

He kissed her gently, before pulling back.

"I know you have nightmares," He told her. She recoiled slightly, but he pressed her hand to his cheek before she could pull away completely. "I see the way you are now in the dark."

Her haunted eyes flitted away from him.

"The dungeons were awful," She admitted. "I'd like to say that I'll get over it one day, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to be in enclosed spaces like that again. Maybe one day we can turn the bathroom light off though."

Rey managed a tremulous smile as she met his gaze.

"The worst thing that happened was when Snoke invaded my mind," Disgust filtered over her features as her mouth pursed. "There may be lingering nightmares, but I'm sure I'll eventually stop having them. I'll learn to deal with my fear of entrapment and the dark, and time will eventually erase his presence in my head."

Ben fought to keep his face impassive even as something malicious coiled through his gut. The dark, he hadn't realized that it bothered her until now. She had insisted that he leave the bathroom light on at night, but he'd just assumed that was because she no longer slept.

Rey closed her eyes and for a moment she looked so young, so vulnerable that it took everything he had not to snatch her up and firmly declare that she was never going to leave his arms again. It was a foolish thought though, impossible, and one she would only resent.

"His mind was so different from yours. Even when you interrogated me on Starkiller, I never felt any pain." Then she was looking at again, her eyes questioning. "Why was it so different?"

"Because you belong with me." It was the most simple, basic, and truthful answer that he could come up with.

"I do, don't I?"

"Yes." He hadn't meant it to, but the word came out as a low growl.

She smiled at him as her fingers flitted over his arms.

"I could feel my mind rebelling against him, fighting his intrusion into our bond. His intrusion into you. Even back on Starkiller, my mind knew that you belonged there. Snoke didn't."

She'd rendered him speechless. Emotion entwined so firmly in his chest that he thought he might actually cry. He didn't think he'd ever done that in his life. It was rage that drove him, an ardent drive to keep her safe, and an overwhelming urge to possess her in every way. This though, this was different.

Ben loved her, he'd die for her, but he realized now that their relationship had been mostly driven by fear. Fear of her status as a Resistance fighter, the fear that came of losing her, fear of failing in this war, fear of Snoke.

However, at the heart of it, at the very center of everything they had accomplished was the two of them, and this miraculous gift they'd been given, his love for her, and hers for him. It had driven them both to do things they'd never imagined they could do, and in the end they'd won. He didn't know what their future held, but he knew that no matter what, this gift had been worth every nightmare it had brought to them, and every nightmare it may continue to bring.

Ben was astounded by the love that flared through him and pushed aside his enduring hatred toward Snoke and the First Order. They were his past, and sitting before him was a future more promising and beautiful than any he'd ever dared to hope for.

"You'll make a remarkable Empress, Rey."

She became rigid, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"Ben…"

"Leia decided to re-establish the Galactic Senate," He explained quickly. "But they want to discuss our role in the new system."

Before Rey could respond, there was a knock at the door, and Poe entered.

"Rey," Poe greeted fondly, and she offered him a small smile. He turned to Ben. "They would like to have a meeting tonight to decide what will be done with the remaining soldiers."

"What do you mean what is to be done with them?" Rey inquired.

"They worked for Snoke, Rey." Ben reminded her.

She shook her head as she glanced between the two of them.

"I know that, but are you going to kill them because of that?"

"That is not my decision to make."

"I know you expect to establish this democracy type of government, but to start with this type of slaughter is to create a government founded in blood," Rey insisted. "I know that it started with a war, but what happens from here on out will shape the future."

"There are times when blood is necessary," Poe told her. "We can't turn them loose to gather a rebellion, or start another war."

Rey hesitated.

"The soldiers were just following orders. Some of them must be worth saving."

"I'm sure some of them are," Poe agreed. "But there are others that have to be executed, you need to understand that."

"Does my opinion even matter?"

Poe shot Ben a questioning glance, that clearly conveyed his confusion at Rey's lack of awareness of her new status.

"Your opinion has always mattered to me, and now there are many in the Galactic Senate who admire and respect it also," Ben informed her. "You helped take down Snoke."

Her jaw clenched as she glanced away.

"I don't like being admired for death, no matter how awful Snoke was."

"I know that, Rey, but you're also admired for your bravery."

Her face colored, and she looked uncomfortable with the notion as she shifted uneasily.

"I understand that the men and women most loyal to Snoke would have to be put down. I know the way of the world, and the repercussions of war, but some of those guards had no other choice. Some of them were simply doing their jobs in order to take care of their families, in order to survive. We've all done things we didn't want to do in order to stay alive, you can't punish them for doing the same."

"Would you like to come to the meeting to state your opinion?" Ben asked her. This would be the first step in getting Rey closer to accepting her new role in all of this, beside him.

"I would."

Poe's eyes darted worriedly toward him.

"There is something else you should know first," Poe told her hesitantly. "Hux is one of the prisoners."

Rey paused, disgust evident on her features. Ben pulled her against his side as he sought to offer her comfort.

"I would still like for you to come," He told her softly.

Rey was quiet for a moment. Ben thought she might refuse, that she might retreat back into the world of despair that had clamped its teeth into her. Instead, she turned toward him and nodded firmly.

"So would I."

Ben couldn't help but smile.

His Rey had never retreated from anything.

A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)