A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews/follows/favorites so far! I hope you continue to enjoy it!

I see myself in that other half, I feel that pain pull me underneath

The suns had already risen the next day before Rey did, which was unusual. She awoke in a cold sweat, breathing hard, the remnants of a dream scattering swiftly in the bright light. It left her feeling unsettled, but no more than the realization that she'd lost a great deal of precious time. This kind of behavior on Jakku would have meant not eating for at least a day.

With haste, she jumped out of bed and hurried to get started. One of the turbines had filled with sand again in the night, and she methodically cleaned it out once more. It had a hole in the shielding that needed to be patched. Impulsively, she placed her hand over it and concentrated. But nothing happened. She blinked at it and at her hand before shaking her head. She was being foolish, to expect a Force power to work better than her more reliable methods of repair.

A quick jog brought her back to the house and she grabbed the bag of tech she'd traded for the previous day, enjoying the physical exertion because it settled her nerves. She carefully sealed the hole by affixing a piece of scrap metal and sat back to judge her handiwork. Yes, it should keep out even a sandstorm. For a while, at least.

Things were up and running again, so she returned to the scrap pile to scavenge for what she could trade today. The nearest outpost would not suffice – she'd seen its offerings and it was unlikely anyone new would show up today. Niima outpost had often had rotating vendors and she'd never felt like she'd gotten everything she wanted from it. Here, she was tired of seeing the same faces every day. Not to mention her desire to avoid notice; unlikely after the previous day's events.

When the suns had finally left the apex of the sky, she packed up her trades and paused upon finding her blaster and lightsaber again having fallen on the floor. She picked them up and closed her eyes, feeling for something unfamiliar. Nothing. With a lingering feeling of unease, she made some final repairs on the rusted-out speeder she'd found and was soon racing just above the sand. Her speeder on Jakku had never been so fast. She grinned into the rushing wind, enjoying the thrill of seeing the landscape disappear behind her.

Unlike the sands of Jakku, Tattoine featured rocky outcroppings and hills, so she was eventually forced to slow down to navigate. And to slow further as the outpost came into view. She debated leaving the transport outside of the town but decided against it. Walking all the way home would be a nightmare, and it would be easy enough to steal without her nearby to guard it. Her previous speeder had remained hers only by her reputation and its relative worthlessness. This one was an antique but still too well-made to deter thieves.

It took several hours and perhaps a few unscrupulous uses of the power of suggestion via the Force, but she got what she needed. It was a satisfying feeling. When she had been living on Jakku, some of her bartering had gone remarkably well. Had that been the Force, even then? Long before she'd used it to escape the interrogation chamber and begun to realize her powers. In any case, the trick did not work all the time, but it was a useful tool, especially now. Perhaps not strictly something a hero would do, though – the thought troubled her so she pushed it away.

The trip back to the farm was much less eventful than the previous evening, though she arrived much later. There was barely time to clean up after the morning's work before it became too dark to continue. She settled herself with some rations in front of the family's holo projector, recently repaired, and stared at it for a long time.

Her food had gone cold before she turned it on, then began to scan methodically through the signals before finding the one she wanted. Pressing a few buttons swiftly, they were connected. Then she waited, setting her dinner down because her appetite had vanished.

"Rey?" a familiar voice broke through and the fuzzy holo solidified into Finn's face.

She smiled, pleased it had worked. "Finn!"

His happy expression changed to one of anxiety. "Rey, what are you doing? Where are you? Why have you been gone so long?"

The speed of his questions made her think he was avoiding the real one – would she ever come back? Her lips pursed as she waited for him to finish. "I'm just taking care of some things, for Master Leia. It's taken longer than expected."

He frowned at her. "Send me your coordinates – we'll come help you!"

The sinking feeling in her chest made her rethink her decision to reach out. "I'm fine," she replied sharply. "Tell me what you've been doing." Her brilliant smile made up for her terseness and was enough to get him to change the subject, though perhaps begrudgingly.

"Okay… Well, me and Rose and Jannah are still finding the former troopers and rehabilitating them. It's pretty easy, once they know the real history of the galaxy instead of what the FO propaganda told them. Poe, Zorri, and Maz left this morning to track down some of the officers who escaped to bring them to justice. I'm pretty sure Lando is going to be our new Chancellor," he added thoughtfully.

"Lando Calrissian? The gambler?" she asked with a laugh.

"He really knows how to deal with people, Rey. More than the rest of us do, I think."

Nodding, she considered what else to say. "Is the New Republic going to be on Coruscant?"

"Yeah, I think that's the plan. The Hosnian system is gone, obviously. And Coruscant is still set up for it, not to mention centrally located. I don't know, Rey. I don't really plan on being involved."

"You don't?"

Her surprise must have shown on her face because he smiled slightly. "I'm a former Stormtrooper, Rey. I don't know the first thing about governing. And who would trust me to do so, given my background?"

She shivered and looked away. "Oh. I suppose."

There was the sound of a disembodied voice on his end of the connection and he looked away for a moment. "Rose wants to talk to you," he addressed Rey again with a smile, then disappeared as Rose took his place.

"Hi, Rey!"

Her grin returned at the sight of her friend. "Hi, Rose. I hope Finn is appreciating your talents."

"I do have to remind him sometimes," Rose laughed and Rey could hear disgruntled noises from Finn outside her vision. "You look like you've been fixing something."

"How could you tell?"

"You really shouldn't fix things while wearing white, Rey. Don't you have a change of clothes?" Rose teased.

Rey swallowed convulsively as she considered what clothes she did have in her possession, but that they wouldn't fit very well. "Ah, no, I don't, actually. Perhaps I should get myself some tomorrow."

"You definitely should. Unless you're planning on returning soon?" Rose asked gently.

"Everything isn't ready yet."

Rose looked at her for a long moment and Rey had the uncomfortable feeling that she could read her mind. "Well. You come back when everything is ready, and you can tell us all about it. All about anything you want. We're your friends – you can always talk to us."

"Thank you," Rey replied, uncertain at the prospect of telling them everything. "I… I need to go. I'll talk to you again when I get a chance."

"Don't wait too long," Rose insisted.

"Goodbye, Rey," Finn called, echoed by Rose.

"Goodbye," was her quick answer before she turned the machine off.

Well, that may have been a mistake, she thought as she slowly got to her feet. She wasn't much in the mood to fix things now and she felt at least as unsettled as she had when she had awoken that morning. Her hands trembled slightly as she carried her uneaten dinner back to the kitchen and rested them on the counter. We're almost done, she reassured herself. Then we'll go back. It won't be long now.

Shaking her head to dispel her thoughts, she washed up and headed to the room she had taken while she was here. It had been the cleanest when she'd arrived. Now, she wearily threw herself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, taking deep breaths to steady herself. It was time to sleep. A good nights' sleep and she'd be all set.

"Rey."

The voice startled her and she jumped to her feet, pulling her lightsaber toward her from the kitchen. Before realizing that it would be of little use – Force ghosts were unlikely to be harmed by such a weapon. "Master Leia," she answered, trying to calm her jangled nerves.

"Rey, we need to talk."