Rey freezes. Everyone turns towards the phone in Finn's hand.
"I'm serious," Poe says. "We found all these receipts that look like they've been hidden, but they're, like, for bank transfers, and it's for that Praetorian guy."
"You mean someone left receipts for a fucking assassination just hanging around?" demands Finn.
"Well, it's on an open laptop, but—"
"So some idiot left their laptop open?" Finn doesn't understand. Who the hell would be that dumb? That's like a whole new level of idiocy. And if Brendol Hux is in jail right now, awaiting arraignment—
"Fuck," whispers Ben. Rose's face is white as a ghost. Finn grabs her shoulder, supporting her.
Poe suddenly lets out a shout. Connix whimpers. "There's another receipt—for another guy—hey!"
"What?" Rose screams. "What are you talking about?" She grabs her own phone. "Paige—"
"Call—" Finn starts, before the garble from Poe's end breaks.
"Let me go!" yells Connix.
"You kids have snuck in here for the last time! This time I'm calling the cops!"
"Go!" shouts Poe. "Finn—"
Rose looks to Finn. He darts for the door, swinging it open to find DJ standing there. "That's them."
"Huh?" Finn blinks. Rey steps in front of Ben.
Three security guards stand behind him, all nodding.
"Wait, what?" Rose yelps as they grab her. "What are you—no! Let me go!" She kicks out.
"We just uncovered an assassination—" Rey tries.
A security guard wrenches Finn out of the office. He gapes at DJ. "You bastard!"
DJ leans back against the pale wall, a light flickering above him. "You kids are the ones breaking the law."
"No, but he hired another assassin!" shouts Finn. "To kill that girl—but he's in jail—" His mind churns. It wasn't Brendol Hux.
"Keep talking, kid," grunts the security guard.
"It's just business," says DJ. "Wasn't worth losing my job for, kid."
"Stop calling me kid!" Finn bellows. "A girl's life is in danger! Or do you not understand that? Call the police!"
"We are. On you," returns the security guard who's grabbed Ben. Rose struggles, her eyes wet with tears. Security pats Finn down, ripping his phone away.
"You can't!" Rey objects. "This is serious! You know that—"
"They're all loyal to him, Rey," says Ben, voice low. "It's not going to get you anywhere."
"Oh hello," says another voice, a slithery one. "Fancy meeting you here again. Can't get enough of this place, can you, Kylo Ren? Or are you just trying to ensure that you have enough money to support your baby mama? How does child support work anyways when you don't have a job and your parents hate you?"
Ben freezes. Finn turns to see Hux striding towards them, a smirk playing with his lips. He stops in front of Ben, arching an eyebrow, curling his lips as if to express the utmost disgust. "I hope you have fun with a criminal record too. Both of you. You should have an abortion, by the way, Rey. You're a waste enough of space."
That does it. Finn lunges, but security's too strong. Rose spits at him. Ben kicks free for only a moment before two security guards catch him, one holding onto each arm. Hux sends his fist flying across Ben's face. Blood spurts from his nose. Ben squeezes his eyes shut.
"You're despicable," Finn seethes. He's seen this so often. So many people hurting and himself unable to help, because the helpers got hurt too. In all of his foster homes before Han and Leia's. In the bully-swarming hallways of his old school. He meets DJ's eyes. "You too. You should be ashamed of yourself."
DJ gives a mock bow. "It's practicality. We all need money to survive."
Finn shakes his head. Survive, sure.
What about living?
Rose sobs. "My sister—call the hospital—call the police, warn them—"
"Based on rumors?" Hux scoffs. "No chance.
"Poe said—"
"No," Hux states again, eyes glittering.
Horror settles like an ice-covered rock in Finn's stomach. He can barely breathe. "You."
Hux turns to him, brow furrowed.
You.
You did it.
Why? Did you hit Paige? Or no—are you trying to cover for your father?
You did it. You hired the assassin.
"Come with me," orders the security guard, tugging at Finn's arm. Up ahead, he spots Poe and Connix, both dejected.
Blood still streams down Ben's face, mottling his skin and staining his shirt. Finn catches his eye. Ben nods.
Finn thrusts his skull back, bone clacking against the guard's chin. The guard howls. Spit and blood fall onto Finn's scalp. He twists out of his grasp and grabs the guard holding Rose. She's already kicked him in the balls. Ben elbows one guard in the nose and punches the other one with his freed arm. Rey goes limp, and then kicks out her guards' knees.
"Go!" Poe and Connix struggle, but can't break free. Poe tosses something at Finn. He catches it.
The keys.
"Go!" Poe yells again.
Finn grabs Rose's arm, pulling her down the hallway. Ben makes it to the emergency exit door before Hux kicks him from behind.
"Murderer!" accuses Rose. "You—"
She shrieks. A guard grabs her from behind, by the waist. Finn lunges.
"Go!" Rose bellows at him. "Don't—let—Paige—"
Rey grabs Finn's arm. He gapes at her.
"Go!" Rose yells again.
He swallows and lets Rey pull him outside into the whirling snow, keys jangling from his hands. "I don't know how to drive!"
"I do!"
Finn tosses the keys to her. She catches the, unlocking the car and leaping inside, unlocking his door. He's barely in before she takes off, leaving the security guards in the snow-filled parking lot.
"I don't have my phone to call the cops," Finn whispers.
"We'll tell someone at the hospital," Rey promises.
Rose, I won't let you down.
Ben's nose throbs. He squeezes his fists together. His fingers dig into the skin of his palms. He hopes Rey and Finn succeed. Paige can't die. Not for that disgusting piece of shit.
The ride to the police station is silent. Poe, Connix, especially Rose—they're all worried. They're all wondering.
Ben's brought into the police station, snow blowing against his swollen nose actually feeling like a relief, and then he sees them. His parents. Already waiting.
Fuck.
His parents march over to him.
"Ms., Organa, Mr. Solo, they're trying to kill Paige again," babbles Rose. "They're—" Her chest heaves. "Hux—"
"Someone's been sent to the hospital to protect her," says Mom. "And to catch those two other kids of ours."
Ben's chin scrapes his chest. He doesn't want to look at them. Rose still cries, terrified. Comfort her.
"It's okay," Poe tells her. "It's all going to be okay."
"You don't know that," Rose returns.
"Ben," says Dad, turning to him.
Within minutes he's in a small interrogation room, his parents sitting across from him. "Really? Fighting a security guard?" Dad begins.
Of course. Negativity. Ben hunches over.
"Is that what happened to your face?" Mom asks.
He lifts his face, glaring. "Like you care."
"Don't talk to me like that, Ben Solo—"
"Why?" he demands. "Why should I believe you?" He remembers Rey, holding out hope against all evidence that her parents didn't care about her, believing that they did because she needed to survive. And he, he needed that belief to survive too, and he didn't have it anymore, not after what happened with his uncle. "You've never believed me. Or in me." His voice catches.
Why? Why? What did I do wrong?
"Someone who loves you," Rey said earlier.
I've done wrong by you, Rey, but I'll do right from here on out. I promise. I love you.
"That's not—"
Dad rolls his eyes. "Okay, Ben. It's always our—"
"Why didn't you ask me what happened?" Ben demands. The lights are too bright. They're blinding.
"We are—"
"No! Not about this. About Uncle Luke. About what happened then." He gulps. His lungs quiver. "You never asked." His chest heaves. "The fire was an accident—he had plans for weapons—he's a liar!"
"Excuse me?" Dad asks. "That's a—"
Mom stiffens. Her lips press together. "Ben?"
"What does it matter?" he manages. "You won't believe me. No matter what I say. No matter what I do." He lowers his head towards the solid table and smacks his forehead against it, again and again.
"Stop!" Dad wrenches his head back.
"You won't believe me!" he screams again. "Why not? Why not? What did I ever do to you? Why can't I be good enough? Why can't I—why did you have to send me away? Why did you have to go away?"
I just wanted you to notice me, so I lashed out, because it worked.
I just wanted you to be proud of me, so I bit my tongue.
I just wanted you to break down my door, so I played my music loudly, didn't clean, refused to come out.
Stop me. Why didn't you help me? Why was everything else so much more important to you?
Dad's fingers grip his hair, preventing him from slamming his head again, preventing him from hiding his face, his eyes. Ben gapes at him. Fuck, now he's crying. Tears and snot dribble down his face. "Why?" he rasps again. His chest heaves.
It's too late. Isn't it? It's too late.
Why did you wait so long?
Mommy! Daddy!
He remembers being a child, seven years old, awake with nightmares, the taunts of his classmates after he failed a quiz drumming in his head, but they were gone for the evening and he couldn't cry out to them. A babysitter was no replacement.
I'm such a fuck up.
But he doesn't get the luxury of being a fuck up anymore. Rey's carrying his child. If she wants to have it, he has to step up. He swallows, looking into his father's horrified eyes, as if he's seen a monster.
His mother grabs him in an embrace. Ben stiffens.
"I'm sorry," she says. "I'm sorry, Ben. I'm sorry."
"I'm not—lying," he manages. "I didn't tell you because—I thought—you'd never—believe me."
"It can't be true," whispers Dad. "Luke—how? Why?"
"Snoke was there for me," Ben chokes out. "You weren't. He believed me. He was the only one…"
Was he? Or would they have believed him? Ben shakes his head. He doesn't even know what his own thoughts are anymore. His mind is a mess and he doesn't know how to begin cleaning it out.
I love her.
She lights his way, but she can't do it alone. That's not fair to her.
"I never meant to burn anything." And you didn't bother to get to know me well enough to know that.
Dad gets to his feet, walking away from him. Of course. Of course. And then Dad sents his fist flying into the wall.
"Han!" barks Mom.
He turns to look back at them, face twisted in—in agony. His own eyes water. "Ben."
Don't run. Don't run. Don't run.
"I'm sorry," his father chokes out. "I'm sorry, Ben. I—God fucking dammit, there isn't enough I can say—you're—"
"Why don't you like me?" Ben croaks. "Why did you always look at me like—like—"
Dad drops back into his chair, knuckles reddened and swollen. He grips his skull. "I didn't want you to turn out like me, kid. Like a smuggler—like a—you were too smart and too good for that." He meets Ben's eyes, his own wet. "You—nothing matters to me compared to you. I've been shitty at showing it, but I want to try, Ben, I want to try—but dammit, I don't know if you can believe me." His voice cracks.
"Han," says Mom.
Ben glances at her. What?
"Can I hug you, kid?" Dad asks, voice rough.
Ben flinches, and instantly he sees his dad's face cave in sick realization. "I guess."
"Snoke," Mom begins. "Ben, did he—how did—"
"He's the one who told me about Luke. But I didn't believe him." Ben hunches over, still too ashamed to look them in the eyes. Do you regret your guilt or your actions? "He said he could help me. When Luke couldn't anymore. When no one else did after everyone though I burned the lab down."
"Did he ever touch you?" Mom's voice sounds sharp. Her breaths come too quick.
You think—what? Ben shakes his head rapidly. "Not like that."
"Like how, then?" Dad asks, tone tight.
"He hit me. Sometimes. When I wasn't good enough." Ben meets his mother's gaze. "I wasn't falling. All those times I said I was—when I had bruising."
Dad swears, covering his face with his hand. Ben lowers his head. I'm pathetic. And now you know.
Dad reaches out, lifting Ben's face with his calloused hands. Ben gapes at him. "Not your fault, kid. None of—none of this is your fault."
"I'm sorry," Mom manages. "For making it seem—as if you couldn't trust us."
"I couldn't trust you," he snaps.
"I know." Mom swallows. "But Ben—all of my achievements—it's all nothing if not for you. You're the thing I'm most proud of in this life."
Ben blinks. "What do you have to be proud of?"
"You've brave," Mom says, tears falling down her face. "And you shouldn't have to be so brave if we hadn't—" She grits her teeth, unable to continue.
Dad finally reaches out and grabs Ben, holding him. And Ben breaks down again, because this is all he's ever wanted.
You don't see me as a mistake. He thinks of Rey, of the baby forming in her stomach. Even if it isn't ideal. Even if it's a result of him being irresponsible—no, it's a result of love too. He loves Rey. She loves him, by some miracle. I really treated her terribly at first.
His child is not a mistake. He won't ever view them that way. "If—" he begins. He squeezes his fists together, popping a knuckle. "If I tell you something—you might get angry with me."
"What is it?" Mom asks, her hand warm against his shoulder.
Ben covers his face. To say it or not to say it? "Rey's pregnant." It comes out muffled. It punches his stomach to say.
"What?" Mom sounds confused.
He lowers his hands and looks her in the eye. She did hear him. He can see it. Her face pales. "Is that—are you—"
He nods. "I love her." She's everything good. Flawed, but good. She inspires him. She gives him life. She makes him want to live.
"Shit," says Dad.
"Please don't kick her out," Ben pleads. "I want to—I can't let her go through this alone; I'm just as responsible for this as she is. She's scared."
Mom groans.
"We wouldn't kick her out, kid," Dad informs him. He lets out his breath. "Geez."
"Sorry," he whispers again. I always let you down.
"I'm too young to be a grandpa," Dad mumbles.
Ben blinks. Are you—joking?
Dad's smiling at him. His brow's creased; he's worried, but he's smiling.
"We're going to help you," Mom promises. "Ben. Why didn't you use—"
"We have already asked that ourselves many times," Ben replies. "I kind of don't need to hear that right now."
"Okay." She actually listens to him.
Rey, please be okay.
Rey parks the car and curses. The snow's made the roads icy, and she had to drive slower than she wanted to. Finn's shaking.
"Do you think they're all right?" he asks her.
She nods. They have to be. She presses her hand over her abdomen. Isn't stress supposed to be bad for pregnant women?
They have to save Paige. They have to. Rose doesn't deserve to lose her. Being alone is like a crushing hand on your throat every single moment of the day. Rey knows this all too well.
She and Finn race into the hospital. Finn jabs the elevators, pushing the buttons to close the door.
"I'm sure the security guard is there," Rey whispers. "They won't let some random stranger into the building."
Finn nods. "Yeah."
He's still worried. Of course he is. He loves Rose. Like she loves Ben.
The elevator dings, and Rey and Finn race off of it, towards the nurses' station.
"IDs?" asks the nurse. "You need them to get into the ward."
"Paige Tico's in danger," Finn blurts out. "There's been another assassin hired—he—"
The nurse blinks. "One of her friends just went back."
"Shit!" Rey charges past the nurse, Finn on her heels. A friend? Who? Why? Her sneakers squeak on the tiled floor. Machines beep around them, and in the rooms lie people asleep, waiting to wake up.
The security guard frowns at them as they approach. Rey gestures. "They're trying to kill her!"
The security guard whirls around. Rey whips into the room.
Phasma stands next to Paige Tico's bed. And next to the ventilator.
"Don't you dare, you bitch," Finn snaps.
"I'm not doing anything!" Phasma insists, hands in the air. "I just wanted to visit—"
"She's not your friend," Rey says. "You—"
"Why don't you come with me, ma'am?" asks the security guard. "We can pretty easily set this matter to rest—"
Phasma's icy gaze darts around the room, panicked. She shoves a cart at Finn, ramming it into his chest. The security guard leaps at her. Phasma twists, kicking him in the balls.
Oh, no you don't! Rey throws herself at Phasma.
Phasma sends her boot directly into Rey's stomach. Rey cries out, crashing back against the glass wall. Her elbow clips the ground. The wind flies out of her. She can't breathe.
My baby!