A/N: Sorry for the late update - this chapter was giving me a little trouble! Tomorrow will be the last chapter :) Enjoy! Thanks for reviewing!

I'm that invasion of the body by the soul, sickened from the cold but soon a certified whole

Some part of her was aware that it was late, that she should really go to bed. But Rey remained in the hangar, staring at where the Falcon had been, unable to move. A logical part of her chided that she should not have been surprised that Ben had confessed his love to her – he had, after all, given his life for her. Not to mention his behavior in, well, any of their previous interactions, if she was being honest. But to have him just blurt it out…

She was not prepared. That was all. If she had been prepared, she would have said it back – right? That was what one was supposed to do, she was pretty sure. Especially if it was true. Which it was – it was! Of course she loved him! How could she not? He was so understanding, and gentle with her. And tall. She couldn't discount that, even if it made kissing him a bit of a challenge. But she was always good at climbing things, so she was not going to complain.

"Hey, Rey, what are you doing up here?" Rose's voice broke her out of her reverie at last. She shook her head slightly in a vain attempt to settle her thoughts, and turned to see her friend crossing the hangar toward her. The other woman was dressed in her work clothes, carrying a crate with another mechanic at her side – Riva, she was pretty sure her name was. Rose raised her eyebrows when Rey met her gaze, so her face must have been flushed – it certainly felt flushed.

"Ben just – Ben and Chewie – they left," she explained awkwardly.

"Did they?" Rey nodded numbly, and Rose waited for her to continue before changing the subject. "You know Riva, right? I used to work with her back when I was stuck behind pipes all day," Rose reminded Rey gently.

Riva smiled at her a little shyly and Rey found herself grinning back – a more conservative expression would not do. "Yes, I remember," she assured them both, nodding more than was necessary.

Obviously catching Rey's strange behavior, Rose set down the crate and leaned toward Riva. "Why don't you go get the rest? I'll be along in a minute." Riva nodded and headed back the way they had come while Rose walked over to Rey. "What's going on with you? I didn't think you had any lessons today, and we're both waiting on word from Klaud about the children."

"Ben left," was her brilliant answer.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "So you said. I thought the stormtroopers were usually brought here. Did they find a bunch of officers hiding out or something?"

Rey shook her head silently.

When she didn't say anything else, Rose folded her arms and regarded her appraisingly. "Did he tell you where he was going?"

"No."

"Hmm. Are you worried?"

Worry wasn't exactly the word she would use, but her uneasiness was plain. "He promised he'd come back," she offered.

"Naturally. And what else did he say, Rey?" Rose prompted with a growing smile, as if she knew the answer.

Was it too private a thing to tell anyone? Would Ben prefer her not to say anything? She paused, uncertain again. No one had ever told her they loved her before, as far as she could recall. Whomever her parents had been, there had been no loving goodbyes. And while her friends certainly cared for her, they weren't going to declare their feelings in such a dramatic fashion.

Rose was suddenly laughing and Rey looked at her sharply. "Oh, of course, he finally told you how he feels. What did you say?" Rose asked and Rey was thrown momentarily, wondering if she'd said her thought process out loud. Rose giggled some more at her confusion. "I mean, there really is only one thing he could have told you to make you so stunned and tongue-tied, Rey. And it's been obvious from the moment you brought him back that he's crazy about you."

"It is?" she asked, blushing.

"Only a fool could miss it. That boy would do anything for you."

While Rose seemed to find the concept endearing, Rey's heart sank as she thought of what the Dark version of herself had told her. She didn't want him to do anything for her – he'd already done that. She wanted him to be able to live without any master telling him what to do, and she had no interest in taking the place of his other masters. She loved him for who he was, what made him Ben. Not because of his love for her, though she had to admit that it did add to her feelings. He knew her, really knew her, and still loved her. All of her, darkness and light. How could she not love him for that?

"I think we should celebrate. It's too late to go out, but I think we can get some treats from the kitchens. Let's go," Rose suggested firmly, and Rey was glad to follow her. They found something tasty and sweet, though Rey didn't know what it was, and were soon giggling about boys. She imagined it was something young women might often do, if they were not scraping by to survive, and was very happy to be able to share her excitement with someone.

Before too long, though, Rose insisted that it had been a long day and they needed to rest up before tomorrow. It was true, of course, and already terribly late. Rey begrudgingly returned to her room, feeling like her heart would burst and unsure if she wanted to laugh or cry. Sleep was the last thing on her mind, but she must have dozed off eventually. The next thing she knew, it was morning.

Ben did not return all that next day, and Rey did her best to focus on the work that she and Rose were doing. It was an insurmountable challenge, even if Rose was patient with her continual distractedness. By the time night fell, she was exhausted and feeling guilty about how little she had managed to get done. Sleep that night was no easier, though this time due to encroaching anxiety rather than unfettered delight. She had no idea where Ben was and if he might be in trouble. She could attempt to activate their bond, to see him, but she decided against it. If he was in trouble, surely he would activate it himself? Or she would be able to feel his distress. When she reached out, sensing his emotions, she found that they were tumultuous but not anxious or afraid.

There was also the fact that the prospect of seeing him again made her terribly nervous. She would have to tell him her feelings. And she hoped to have some finesse instead of just blurting it out the moment he appeared, which she currently could not trust herself to avoid doing. So she spent much of the night crafting what she would say when she saw him again, to be sure she could get it right.

On the second day, she was in a meeting with Rose when he appeared in the doorway, like a vision, making whatever she had been in the middle of saying disappear entirely from her head. "Ben!"

"I don't mean to interrupt," he began, looking more at Rose than at Rey. "Can I borrow Rey for a bit?"

"Yes, of course, Ben. We were nearly finished," Rose lied and Rey smiled at her in appreciation. They had only just started, but she was happy to follow Ben out of the room.

"You're back," she said, wincing at the mundanity of the statement. She cast about for something more interesting to say as they walked along, but suddenly they were in the lift, heading for a hangar bay, and she had thought of nothing. She could feel his nervousness even while he stood perfectly still, having long since overcome most of his physical tells. He did not fidget or shift his weight the way everyone else did, but she could tell he was upset when he was unmoving. What had upset him? Her eyes narrowed as she considered how she would deal with anyone who had put him in his present mood. Was his mission, whatever it was, disappointed? What could she do to fix the situation?

"Rey," he said softly, and she looked up at him, losing her train of thought. "Would you be willing to go somewhere with me?"

"Right now?" They were already nearly to the hanger where the Falcon surely was – of course he meant now. It was a silly question and she wished she could take it back.

"Preferably."

She swallowed at the way he was looking at her. "Yes, um, of course. Where are we going?"

"I'd rather it be a surprise," he said almost apologetically.

Surprises tended to activate her fight or flight response, but she smiled nonetheless. A surprise from him would be a pleasant experience, she decided. "Alright."

They exited the lift and walked across the empty hangar to board the Falcon. Chewie was not aboard, apparently, and Rey wondered about that. But Ben was back beside her and holding her hand, so she had trouble caring much about anything else. Especially when she realized that they were going to have to fly together for the first time, as copilots. She had never flown with anyone but Chewie before and was delighted at the prospect.

She grinned up at him, sure they would be just as in sync flying as when they were fighting together. They settled into the cockpit and he smiled at her as they started up the Falcon and took off. She was elated to discover that her theory had been correct – they flew beautifully together and it was a vastly superior experience to flying alone. She was dismayed to find that the trip was quite short – only to another world in the Core – and almost asked to keep flying around for the thrill of it. Later, she reassured herself. They would have to fly back together, soon enough.

The planet they were approaching was not one she recognized by sight, but she enjoyed the view. It had large seas and lot of greenery, which always made her smile. It wasn't as nice as flying with Ben, but looked quite pleasant. Instead of using a docking port, Ben directed them to land in a field, which prompted her to look at him sharply. He didn't respond to her unasked question and the Falcon set down gently on the turf. She followed Ben out onto the grass and stopped to take in the beautiful lawn surrounded by a thick forest. It was like a fairy tale. In the distance, there was a large building – a gigantic house, it seemed to be.

"Where are we? Who lives there?" she asked, her voice an awed whisper.

He was amused by the question, or by her reaction to the scenery, and he caught her hand to kiss it lightly. "This is the Castle of Lake Andrasha," he explained, pointing through the trees at the giant house – the castle – she had spotted. Then he cleared his throat self-consciously, glancing at her then away, his hand trembling a little in hers. Her brow furrowed as she tried to understand why he had brought her here so suddenly.

"As for who lives there, I was hoping you would."