Rey woke up feeling hungover, even though she hadn't had a drop to drink the night prior. Ren standing at her door came rushing back to her, the look in his strange eyes, his awkward, somewhat stilted confession. She recalled all of the times he had insulted her, and decided that he was just setting her up for some sort of cruel joke. She could imagine him and that woman laughing at her.

She slept most of the day away. Without classes, she had an excuse to sleep, and she figured she had better catch up on it while still still had time. She remembered what Ren had texted her, that he expected her to be in even if she was half dead, and she rolled herself out of bed a few hours before work was set to start. She made something to eat and made a mental note to go grocery shopping again. She dressed in a knee length black swing dress and a pair of thick tights. She pulled on her heeled booties and found the warmest jacket in her closet. She did her make-up, just barely, because she didn't want to give the impression that she was trying to make an impression.

She rode her bike to work, stopping to get a coffee. Jo was at the desk, getting ready to shut down for the night. She waved and Rey said hello. They exchanged pleasantries, and Rey moved into the elevator. She was glad that she hadn't run into Ren. In fact, when she went in, his office still stood empty. She frowned a bit, but shrugged it off, moving into her own office to get started with the night.

She hadn't even realized she'd forgotten the necklace on her desk at home, but she doubted that it worked, anyway.

Ren never showed up.

Half the night passed and his office stood empty. She had no texts or calls from him, and she began to wonder if he was alright. She reminded herself that she didn't care if he was alright. She looked up every time she heard a noise, but it dawned on her that she was all by herself up here. She finished the work that had been hanging over from previous days, and the odds and ends put on her desk while she wasn't there. She watched cat videos, and checked her phone.

Around three am, the lights flickered off. The entire top floor became dark. Had Ren forced her to come into work so he could play a sick prank on her? She was immediately terrified when she heard the click-clack of heels on the floor outside. She turned her phone light on and shone it into the hallway, but she saw nothing. She gathered up her courage and went out into the hallway.

"Hello?"

She swung her phone light in both directions, and the second time she did, she saw a figure standing in the hallway. Rey's gaze took her in, and she felt like she was going to swallow her own tongue. It was Hilda. She looked wild, feral even, but she wasn't wearing the same clothing she had the night before. Rey heard her whispering her name, just like she had dreamed. Miss Beckett, Miss Beckett, Miss Beckett.

Rey turned and ran back into her office, slamming and locking the door behind her. She crawled down underneath her desk, grabbing her purse and fumbling with her phone. She dialed 911, but she couldn't get any ring. Her hands were shaking so badly that it was hard to dial any other numbers. Desperately, she tried them all. Rose, Ren, Poe or Finn. None of them rang.

She heard the sound of sharp nails scraping against glass. She turned to look, finding Hilda silhouetted against the door in the dark. Her eyes were something out of a bad horror movie, glowing red. Rey was sure she'd fallen asleep and was having a bad dream. She began digging around in her purse for the bear mace spray that she carried with her. She didn't know if it would help against a dream-ghost, but it was better than nothing. Rey heard a big clamor, and she heard something come into contact with the floor, spinning away into the dark. She wasn't sure, but it sounded as if the woman had just broken the lock out of the door.

She pulled herself back, getting as far as she could under the desk. She heard the woman whispering her name, and it was so eerie that Rey had to stop herself from just outright running to the door. She heard her saying something else, and it sounded like 'should have been me', over and over again. Was Hilda the one who had been following her?

She didn't have long to think about it. The woman found her, underneath the desk, and reached out with lengthy finger nails and untoward strength to drag her out from underneath it. Rey struggled, trying to get a hand on her mace. She kicked and fought and screamed, but she realized no one was coming. Ren would have heard her, had he been there, but he wasn't there. She wished, for once, that he was.

The woman's fingernails caught her throat, causing Rey to cry out as she drew blood. She sunk them in, and Rey finally got hold of her mace and unleashed a huge spray into the woman's open eyes.

Hilda reared back, hissing and wiping the stuff from her eyes. Rey didn't know how long she had, but she grabbed her belongings and ran as quickly as she could towards the elevator. She heard her shoes, and they were loud. She stopped for just a moment to take them off so she could run silently down the hall. She turned the corner, making her way towards the elevator. She ran as quickly as she could, sliding across the shined floor in her stocking clad feet before she heard Hilda make a recovery. The woman was fast. She was hitting the buttons on the elevator, but who knew where it was in the building. She didn't know if she had time to wait.

Finally, the door pinged open, but she felt the womans' claws sink into her leg. She yelled in pain, kicking her away before slamming the door close button. Hilda slunk back, a smile on her face. She had the thought that she had just been let go, and that it might not be the last time she saw her. But had she seen her? She was dead, or supposed to be dead. Rey broke out into the main floor, realizing the security guard wasn't at his desk. She didn't have time to make sure he was OK, but she hoped that he hadn't had a run in with their previous employee.

She could call Rose, or the police, or even Finn and Poe, but she realized that none of them would believe her. She thought she might have to make up or omit details just to account for her injuries. It was raining. She limped out and looked for a cab, and when she saw one, she realized she was lucky. This time of night, they weren't around much - as the bars had just closed.

"You alright, miss?" He asked as he pulled up.

"Just take me here," She pulled out Kylo Ren's business card, and on the back was his address. The cab driver nodded.

"That's a long way, miss, fare will be expensive,"

"It's okay, just go, please," She breathed out. He hesitated. "Please!" She shouted.

The cab driver peeled out with a squeak.

Rey's wounds hurt, but her adrenaline kept her from feeling them too much. This was the second time in a short period of time where she'd felt this way, and she felt the need to blame it all on Ren. She tried to convince herself that she was going there to quit, once and for all. She had some notion that he wouldn't just accept a resignation letter, but the pay he offered was not worth what she had had to suffer in the last month or so. Of course, he might have been the only thing standing between her and certain death, but she really believed that if she quit, all of this weird and frankly spooky shit would stop.

The cab driver didn't want to get close to the apartment building. He was a bit like an animal in the forest, superstitious and spooked. He mentioned something about that building being 'no good'. Rey handed him a wad of cash and then told him that she knew it was no good. She walked from where he left her.

It was raining heavily by that point. Her dress stuck to her and she realized she'd forgotten her coat at the office. She hadn't had much time to get it, after all. She was being murdered. She quickly walked up to the building door, knocking on it. She hoped that someone was at the desk. She peered through the rain, her hair sticking to her face and the water rolling into her eyes making it hard to see.

The door man heard the commotion and opened the glass door to look at the insane woman who was banging on the glass.

"Miss, we're only open to the residents," He warned.

"I need to see Kylo Ren," She said, hoping that he would take a look at her and let her in. "Please," She said. She didn't know if Hilda had followed her here.

The door man let her in, shutting it behind her. He called up to what she assumed was Ren's room. He explained that there was a strange girl down there, asking for him. Ren hung up on him, and Rey wouldn't have been surprised if he told the door man to kick her out. His curiosity was obviously enough to allow her access, and the door man opened the elevator for her.

"Have a better night, miss,"

He had obviously noticed her cuts and scrapes, and the general disarray of her person. Her tights had gotten torn and there were bloody cuts beneath, revealing pale flesh and red blood. Some of it had washed away in the rain, but it hurt more than she was expecting. When the doors opened, Ren was there waiting for her. He took in her appearance, dropping his brows curiously as he came towards her. He looked unfettered, but he was wearing a simple white shirt and a pair of sleep pants, which lead her to believe he hadn't been working.

"Miss Beckett," He said. "What happened?"

"Hilda," She said, barely able to spit it out.

"Come inside," He said, firmly.

Normally she would have argued with him, but she had sought him out this time.

When the door was shut behind them, Ren came closer to her than she was expecting. He reached out with both of his hands and grasped her chin, tilting her features up so that he could get a better look at the scrapes. She hadn't asked him, but she was already so shocked that she couldn't fight him off. He smelled like sleep, and she noticed his hair was a bit mussed. She couldn't imagine Ren sleeping. He was less sharp than he normally was. She didn't put together that his appearance might have had something to do with the strange conversation they'd had the night before when he'd shown up at her door.

"We should clean these up," He said, releasing her face and moving away from her.

"I-" She said, watching him turn to look at her. "That's not why I'm here,"

"No?" He turned, leaning himself up against the bar that stood in his kitchen. He wrapped his arms around his slender middle.

"I'm here to resign," She said. She was shivering. It was cold in here, considering how thoroughly damp she was.

"Couldn't have called?" His tone echoed hers from the previous night.

"You wouldn't have accepted it," She said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Miss Beckett," He said, his voice tired. "Let me help you,"

"I-"

"I know, you don't need it. But it would make me feel better if you allowed me to assist you,"

She was stunned into silence by the statement. It was, perhaps, the nicest thing he'd ever said to her.

BREAK

He had told her to get undressed. He had done so with enough firmness that she almost did so in front of him. She was half way through lifting her dress up from her thighs when she saw him turn away and she realized what she was doing. She finished undressing as he was turned around, peeling her wet clothing off. The tights caught in her wounds, causing her to hiss a bit as she pulled them away. He handed her a towel, which was big enough to wrap around her slight frame. He finally turned around, and she handed her dress to him. She'd left her underwear on, and decided that the tights were too far gone. He threw them away for her.

He disappeared, and she heard a dryer start up somewhere in the flat. He returned with what looked to be a first aid kit.

"Have a seat," He said, motioning for her to pick one.

She did as she was told. She hated to admit it, but she felt safe here, comforted by the fact that she wasn't alone in her apartment, wondering what might slip in through the open window. Had it been Hilda who had been stalking her? She was drawn from her thoughts as she saw him lean down in front of her. He folded his legs gracefully beneath him and he grasped her leg, gently. She felt his cool touch, which seemed to warm the longer he touched her skin. It was almost as if he was sapping her warmth, just a bit. She was distracted by him, her mouth hanging open just a bit.

He looked up at her, his face exposed and almost warm.

"Apologies, Miss Beckett," He said simply. "I'm only trying to get a good look," He admitted.

"It's alright," She said, surprised at the apology.

"This will sting," He said simply, wiping the wounds clean with anti-septic. He seemed curious about them, as if they didn't quite look normal. "What did this?"

"Claws," Rey answered, obviously surprised.

"Claws?" He asked. "I thought you said it was Hilda,"

"Hilda's dead," She said, feeling her eyes water up from the sting. Or was it from something else?

"Yes, that is an established fact,"

"Is it? Did you ever see her after that night?"

"What, in the morgue? No," He said, smearing antibacterial goop over the wounds before he slid a large bandage over the surface area of her leg.

He cleared his throat, motioning up towards her face. She tilted her head out of the way to give him access to the wounds. He cleaned them and repeated the same motions.

"I'm sorry," She said. "I'm sure this is not how you're used to spending your time,"

"It's no trouble," He admitted. "I used to be a medic in..." He cleared his throat, again. "Well, it's not important,"

"No," She said softly, trying to put forth her interest. "I want to hear,"

It was easier to like him when he wasn't barking orders at her.

"I was a medic in my younger days," Was all he said in reply.

"You don't look so old," She said.

He didn't say anything in response to that, though they did look at each other for just a moment. When he was finished, he put the kit away and returned. She expected him to start grilling her about Hilda, but he didn't. He made her a cup of tea and offered her something to wear. She got dressed in the over sized sweat shirt that smelled vaguely of the laundry soap he used and pulled on the loose fitting sweat pants. She pulled the draw string as tight as it would go, but they still were huge on her. Finally, she just took them off and decided to use the sweat shirt as a night shirt. It was long enough to cover her up to her thighs, anyway.

He was standing in the kitchen. She found her cup of tea and moved her hands around the mug. He'd turned the heater on, so the apartment was warmer. She watched him move around in the kitchen, taking a sip of the tea before she was drawn to the window. She pulled back the curtains, but she realized that the pastel light of the sun was obvious. Was it sunrise already?

Ren made his way over to her as noisily as he could. She got the feeling he was trying not to startle her. She took another sip of her tea, and watched as he took the black-out curtain in hand, carefully sliding it closed. She watched him curiously, wondering at it.

"Don't like sunrises?"

"No, that isn't it," He said simply. "Uh, will you stay?" She could tell he was making an effort, but he wasn't used to having to ask.

"You don't...mind?" This was even more awkward than when he was being an outright asshole.

"No, not at all," He looked a bit pleased, even. "Were you able to get all of your things from the office?"

"No, but I got the important stuff,"

"Can I sleep on the couch?"

"Fine," He said, surprised by the question.

She sat down on the couch and pulled her knees up into the sweat shirt. It was big enough to do so. She watched as Ren grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. He did so out of habit, she supposed, but when they both looked up they realized that it was a news report. She was outside of the office.

Last night officials reported another suspicious at SoloTech industries...

Rey looked at Ren, utterly confused. He seemed to realize that he hadn't been looking at his phone, and he disappeared to retrieve it. She didn't see him again, and when she didn't, she followed him into the back room. He'd left the door ajar, and she took a step into his inner sanctum. It was warmer than the outside of the flat. He had books lining every wall, and there was a slept in bed that looked too big for just him. She wondered if he had Amalia over a lot. She looked at the photographs he had up, realizing some of them looked very old. When he realized she was in there, he quickly redirected her out and shut the door in her face.

She frowned.

Well, it had been nice while it had lasted.

It had been the security guard. At the end of the day, it had been determined that he had hung himself, but Rey couldn't believe that to be the case. At the time, he had been the only one in the building, as Ren had decided to keep the offices closed over night. Apparently it hadn't helped. Now, it seemed as if he might keep them closed altogether, and do his business from his personal office. It was going to cost him money, considering he had to put people on leave. There had been no sign of Hilda.

Rey fell asleep on Ren's couch, and at some point he draped a heavy, warm blanket over her. She had strange, muggy dreams that gave her a faint sense of unease but she couldn't remember them when she woke up. She woke up to find him talking softly on a phone call, trying not to wake her up. There was something so domestic and intimate about it she shot up from the couch as if she'd had a bad dream. She rubbed her eyes and saw him pacing back and forth. His feet were bare and he was still dressed for sleep, even though it looked as if he hadn't done much of that.

Rey pulled the blanket around herself and stood up, before she began rummaging around in his kitchen. When he hung up the phone, he found her pulling open drawers and looking in cabinets.

"Miss Becket, what are you doing?" He asked, obviously interested.

"Coffee," She said, in reply. "Gotta get home," It was like she was sleep walking.

"I'll send the security out for some," He said. "Why don't you sit back down?"

"Are my clothes dry?" She looked at him with squinty eyes, before reaching up to rub the sleep from them.

"Yes," He said. "They're in the laundry room,"

She went in and got dressed, somewhat more awake once she went back out into the living room. Ren was there, watching the news report repeating the same information for the fifteenth time. She thought that it would be on the news for awhile, especially on the heels of Hilda's murder. She pulled her dress down, looking around for her shoes.

"Rey," He said, glancing at her. "I would really like it if you stayed here," She was a little surprised he was trying it again. At least he was being much nicer this time.

"I did resign last night," She said. "I don't think I'll be a problem for you anymore,"

"I don't think it's going to help," He said, honestly.

"Why not?"

He was silent, and he looked at her with an even gaze.

"They didn't stop with Hilda," He finally said. "I think even if she had quit, she would have ended up in that bathroom,"

Rey must have looked shocked.

"What makes you think that?"

"The text messages, the stalking, the encounter last night," He paused. "It seems like you've been marked,"

"Just for working for you?"

"I don't know," He said, and he seemed earnest. "If I'm being honest, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I sent you back to that apartment and I ended up sending you to your death," He was interrupted by his phone ringing, which he answered with: This is Ren.

She found herself wanting to know more about him. Was he related to all of this? Did he know what was going on, or was he as clueless as he seemed? Was he right about the apartment? Even with all of the extra security, would it matter? She couldn't stay inside forever. And if she wanted to keep paying for the apartment, she was going to have to find another job quickly. She was having a hard time thinking about walking back into that place, however. She had been so terrified the night before, that she hadn't even thought she might have to go back.

Once he hung up the phone, she bent down to grab her shoes. She seemed to be decided on the fact that she would go home, but she hesitated in the doorway. Ren was watching her with some curiosity, his hand around his phone.

"We'll be working from here for awhile, anyway," He admitted. "The police want to do a sweep of the entire building," He leaned up against his kitchen island, and Rey found herself looking at his corded forearms.

Damn it.

Damn it.

"What about the apartment? You just sunk a bunch of money into that security system, and I don't want to pay for it if I'm not there,"

"I don't care about the money," He finally said, his tone resembling that of the man who had intensely regarded her and told her that he 'liked' her.

"Where were you last night?" She finally asked.

"I...thought it would be a good idea to work from home," He could have said: lick my wounds.

"I was all alone in that place,"

"I know," He finally said, seeming resolved with the fact that he had, perhaps, made a mistake. "Miss Beckett, I should tell you something about who I am,"

It was over too quickly. He was distracted by his security guard knocking at the door. He presented the coffee with a flourish, and Rey turned around to pull a face at him.

"Thanks, Roman."

some fluffy fluff after the horror. also, probably the last of the fast updates for a time.