Rey huddled next to Finn, holding his head in her lap, certain that this would be the end for them. Though chaos reigned all around her, she was cocooned in a bubble of silence. Tears slipped down her cheeks but were dried by the vicious wind before they had a chance to fall. Life was so cruel. Just when she'd thought she'd found a family, it was all being ripped away from her.

And it was all because of him. She glared in the general vicinity of where Kylo Ren had fallen in the snow and berated herself for letting him live. She could have ended it with one strike. She had been so tempted. A dark part of her had demanded she end him, then and there. She should have done it, yet something stayed her hand.

The look in his eyes. When he'd offered to teach her; when he'd lain in the snow, staring up at her, waiting for the deathblow. There had been pain. Anguish. Regret. Almost as if he'd had no choice in his actions. It was a pain she understood. In her desperate bid for survival, she'd often done things that had put the same pain in her own eyes.

She shook her head and almost laughed at herself. She was trying to find excuses for her own failure to act. She was trying to humanize a monster. Wishful thinking. Hoping against hope that the son of Han Solo couldn't really be all gone. That the youngest of the Skywalker line, the nephew of a legend and the son of a great leader could not have completely lost his way. That there was still good in him. Plutt had always told her she had a tendency to dream too much, to be too optimistic.

She was yanked out of her musings by a glow that enveloped her. Had it not been so localized, she might have closed her eyes, accepting death. But the light was too bright. To centered on her for it to be coming from the planet. She held her hand up against the glare, trying to shield her eyes as best she could. And that's when she realized what she was seeing. It was the Millennium Falcon!

The ship landed relatively smoothly and Chewie came bounding down the ramp before it had fully opened. Had he not stooped over and picked Finn up as soon as he reached their side, Rey would have thrown herself into his arms. With Finn safely settled in the medbay, Rey ran to the cockpit and took the copilot's seat.

As the Wookie started the maneuvers to get them off the ground, she turned to him with tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. This was the second time in one day that someone had come back for her. The pitiful scavenger.

Chewie whined and growled. "We are family," he said, as if that explained everything.

Rey swallowed to knot of emotion that had formed in her throat. Have to get out of here. Can break down later. She gritted her teeth and focused. They broke through the atmosphere of the planet and moments later, they jumped to lightspeed, just as the energy wave caused by the implosion of the planet overtook their position. Had they dallied for a mere second longer, they would have been debris, just like the rest of the planet.

She leaned back against her seat with a sigh of relief. She looked at her hands in surprise. They were shaking. She took a deep, calming breath and glanced over at Chewie. The Wookie stared out into space. Grief. She felt it so acutely. But was it her own or was it Chewie's? She didn't know. She figured it was part her and part Chewie. She grieved for everything that might have been, while Chewie grieved for all that had been.

She rose slowly to her feet and placed a hand on Chewie's shoulder. The Wookie whined and growled, but he turned. She looked at him hesitantly and he seemed to understand. He held open his arms and she almost threw herself at him. He held her close and they rocked together, their pain intermingling until she was no longer certain where his began and hers ended.

Ever since Chewie had found them, a question had been burning in her mind. "How did you know where to find us?" she asked, her face buried in the Wookie's fur. She wasn't sure he had heard her. He pulled back for a moment and gave her a confused look.

"I'm not sure. Somehow, I just knew. I took off and flew straight to your location without thinking. It was as if…," he shook his head. "No. It doesn't matter. I found you. You're here. You're safe. Nothing else matters."

Rey nodded and burrowed deeper into the Wookie's fur. He hugged her close, petting her head and back with his huge hands. It would have probably looked funny to someone else, but for Rey, it was the most affection she'd received since she could remember. She was barely holding her tears back.

The ship suddenly began to slow and Rey pulled out of Chewie's arms. They had dropped out of lightspeed. They'd arrived at their destination. D'Qar.

As soon as the ship touched down, medical personnel swarmed on board to take Finn away for treatment. Rey had seen the crowd that had gathered near the landing pad when they were coming in to land and she was afraid to move. Afraid to face so many people. Chewie growled at her and held out his hand.

"You faced down the First Order. You can handle a bunch of cheering Resistance members," he'd said.

She grinned at him and took his hand, letting him lead her off the ship. As he'd predicted, the crowd cheered when they saw them. But it was bittersweet. Han Solo should have been there with them. Getting off the ship with his cocky swagger. She swallowed back her tears and gave them a watery smile.

And then she saw Leia Organa, the famed resistance general. The sister of Luke Skywalker, the legend. The woman who had fought against oppression and tyranny her entire life. But all Rey could see was the woman who had lost so much. Her husband. Her son. They faced each other, analyzing, understanding, for a single moment, and then Rey broke down and hugged the diminutive woman, who held her just as fiercely.

Their grief was shared. Tears ran down both their faces. Rey knew she couldn't fathom the depth of Leia's pain. She had lost her family. Her brother, who should have been there to hold her, to support her, had disappeared. Retreating from the world. Part of her was angry at Luke Skywalker. So very angry. He could have stopped this. He could have saved Han Solo. But he'd chosen to run away and sulk. She gritted her teeth and pulled back the rising tide of fury. It was not right. She didn't have the right to judge. Not yet.

The rest of the day passed in a flurry of activity. Rey wouldn't leave the medical center until Dr. Kalonia confirmed that Finn would be alright.

"Your friend's going to be just fine."

"Thank you," Rey whispered. She didn't know what she would have done had Finn died. But he hadn't, and she wouldn't dwell on it.

"I don't treat many lightsaber wounds," the doctor said. "It's such an old weapon. People today prefer to fight with rifles and blasters, from long range. I suppose it doesn't matter. Death is death, no matter the mechanism that is employed to beget it."

Rey looked at the doctor and then a thought struck her. Why isn't Finn dead? She had wielded a lightsaber herself. Knew precisely how dangerous and deadly the weapon was. She had faced Kylo Ren. Knew precisely how dangerous and deadly he was. Even injured, he'd been a force to be reckoned with. So, why isn't Finn dead?

She shook her head. She wouldn't dwell on it now. All that mattered was that he would live.

Late that night, after a very agitated afternoon when they'd finally discovered where Luke was hiding, thanks to Artoo 'waking up' after years of inactivity, Rey lay in her bunk, twisting and turning. She couldn't seem to fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried. And she was exhausted. But she just couldn't seem to find a comfortable position.

With an annoyed huff, she got up, dragged the bedding to the floor and lay down, pulling the blanket over herself until she was covered to her chin. Finally, she managed to settle down. The bed had been too soft.

She closed her eyes and thought back to the events of the past few days. Her whole life had been spent on Jakku, waiting for her parents to return. To be honest, if she had really wanted to, she could have left the planet at least a few times, like the time she'd rebuilt that Ghtroc freighter only to have it stolen out from under her.

Now more than ever she couldn't fault Devi and Strunk. Not after everything she'd seen. They'd said from the start that they wanted off Jakku but she'd refused to really listen to what they had been saying. She'd allowed them to help rebuild the freighter because she knew it would have taken her a lot longer on her own but she hadn't considered their needs as much as she had been thinking of her desire to finally complete the ship and trade it into Plutt for enough rations to keep her going for a few more years, so she could keep waiting.

The sad thing was that deep down, she'd known her parents weren't coming back. She didn't even know if the people who'd left her on Jakku had even been her parents. She remembered very little before Jakku. The only real memory she had wasn't even a memory – it was the vision she'd had on Takodana of herself as a child, begging someone to come back.

If Rey was completely honest with herself, she hadn't wanted to leave Jakku because she'd been afraid. It would have meant admitting that she really was alone and that no one was coming back for her. She'd been afraid of giving up hope, of having her fairytale shattered. The fairytale that someone out there loved her and would come back for her.

She snorted. Now that she thought back on it, it felt childish. And now that she'd discovered this ability, this connection to the Force, she knew she could not be childish any longer. Maz had already made her face her worst fears – that she'd known all along who she'd been waiting for was never coming back. No, they weren't coming back. They very well could have just been figments of her imagination. The imagination of a lonely child holding on to a bright spark of hope just to have a reason to survive another day. But she wasn't on Jakku anymore. And she had the chance to become so much more than a scavenger. She could make a difference. And she would. No matter what it took.

As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered whether Maz had been talking about Luke Skywalker when she'd said Rey could help someone come back. It had to be…

… Rey opened her eyes and squinted against the scorching sun. She was back on Jakku. It had all been a dream. Han Solo, Kylo Ren, the Starkiller Base, the Force, it had all been a dream. She wanted to fall to her knees and scream in agony. But a voice in her head urged her to look closer.

Sand everywhere she looked. Cliffs too. On either side of her, rising at least twenty meters, reaching for the sky that was bathed in an orange glow. In front of her, she could see a pyramid-shaped structure, it's dark walls gleaming in the soft light. A walkway flanked by statues clothed in robes led up to the entrance. Red flags with a symbol she hadn't seen before hung on either side of the massive entrance into the pyramid.

"Acolyte!" someone shouted. "Are you waiting for an invitation signed in blood? Get a move on."

She looked around but no one else was there. She felt herself move forward. It felt like she was in control of her body, yet not. It was strange.

The view faded out and she suddenly found herself in an office, facing a man many years her senior.

"I have never seen an acolyte as powerful as you. With the right training, you could become the greatest Sith the Empire has ever seen. But we must keep you hidden from those who would destroy you before you even started on your path to greatness."

"My lord, I shall endeavor to exceed your expectations," Rey heard herself say.

"Oh, I know you will, acolyte. Because, if you do not, you will die…"

Rey woke with a start and shook her head, trying to clear the haze of sleep. She looked around and saw the stark walls of the small room she'd been assigned. She breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been a dream. Nothing but a dream. But it had felt so real. As if she'd really been there. Why had she been dreaming of the Sith? And how could she have been dreaming of the Sith?

She didn't know much about them, except that Darth Vader was supposed to have been the last Sith lord before he turned back to the light. And she'd certainly never been on the planet in her dream. It might have resembled Jakku at first, but it wasn't. She knew that deep in her bones. So, how could she have dreamed of a planet she'd never seen before?

Maybe it hadn't been a dream. Could it have been another Force vision? But to what end? What was the Force trying to tell her? She felt like screaming in frustration. Why didn't Force visions come with a manual?

However, the question that burned most was: what had she been doing there, on that planet? And why had it felt so right? So familiar?

The following day Rey grabbed something to eat – she still found it incredible that she could eat her fill – and rushed to the medical center to check up on Finn. In a few hours, she'd be leaving with Chewie and R2-D2 to find Luke Skywalker and hopefully bring him back to help the Resistance and destroy the First Order. And maybe even convince him to train her as a Jedi.

You are no mere Jedi. You are so much more. Rey looked up quickly, trying to find who had uttered those words. Yet no one was there. She shook her head. It had been in her mind. What the Force was going on with her?

First the strange dream and now hearing voices in her head. Something was definitely wrong. She was tempted to ask the doctor to check her over again, just to make sure. She'd gone through a medical exam yesterday, almost as soon as she'd gotten off the Millennium Falcon, but Dr. Kalonia said she was fine, other than a few scrapes and bruises and some malnutrition, there was nothing wrong with her.

She looked back at Finn and softened, placing her hand over his. He was in a medically induced coma. Though the doctor had assured her Finn would be fine, she'd explained the coma was necessary to help his body focus on healing. She only hoped that her definition of fine was the same as the doctor's.

You can heal him… help him along, that voice said in her mind again. Her first instinct was to ignore it. To pretend it wasn't there. Especially since the voice sounded so much like her own. But the words – how could she ignore the words? Maybe it was the Force telling her what to do. Guiding her to help her friend. Could she really ignore it?

How? she asked.

Use the Force. You know how. You always have, the voice said. Rey wanted to scream in frustration. She didn't know how. She had never known how. She hadn't even known she was Force-sensitive.

That same voice snorted in her head. It actually snorted. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Maybe the voice was right. After all, she had managed to use the Force quite well against Kylo Ren. She placed her hands on Finn's chest and … nothing.

She snarled in frustration. I have no idea what I'm doing, she thought.

Yes, you do. Stop trying so hard. Let it come naturally, that voice said.

Rey wanted to scream in annoyance. But this was Finn. He'd come back for her. He'd gotten hurt because he'd come back to rescue her. It didn't matter if she was going insane. If she was hearing things. It wasn't important.

So, she put her hands back on Finn's chest, closed her eyes and just let go. She thought of Finn being whole, of him laughing and happy, of him joking around with Poe. A small smile curled her lips. She and Finn were alike in so many ways. They'd both grown up with family and they'd both found friends who could become their family.

A gasp behind her made her eyes fly open. Focus, that voice in her head snapped. So, she didn't look up. She looked at her hands again. They were glowing a strange purple. She closed her eyes again. Whatever she was doing, it was working. This time, she could actually see the Force so she pushed it into Finn's body, willing it to travel through him and heal any injury it discovered. She could feel his heartbeat growing stronger.

She started to sway as her strength ebbed. Hands settled on her shoulders, steadying her. That's enough. Let his body do the rest, the voice said.

Will he be whole and healthy again? she asked.

Yes.

She withdrew her hands and opened her eyes with a deep breath. The hands still rested on her shoulders. She looked back to find Poe Dameron staring at her curiously.

"What were you doing?" he asked softly.

"Healing him. I hope," she replied with a small smile.

He looked down at Finn, concern marring his features. "He certainly looks better than he did an hour ago." The pilot paused for a moment. "Thank you," he said softly.

She cocked her head. "He's my friend, too," she said with a shrug, but she covered the hand that still rested on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. He squeezed her shoulder and she smiled. It felt good to be around people who cared about more than themselves.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded. Yes, she was. She was very okay. She was more okay than she'd been in a long time. She had more than hope now. She had faith. She had people who cared. She had the Force. Everything would be fine.

"General Organa sent me to find you. It's time," Poe said. She nodded and got to her feet.

She bent over Finn and gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead. "We'll see each other again. I believe that. Thank you, my friend," she whispered. Though she suddenly had a sinking feeling it would be some time before they encountered each other again.

As the Millennium Falcon touched down on one of the larger islands of the planet that was mostly ocean, Rey felt a knot of apprehension tighten in her stomach. Everyone had put their faith in her. She was supposed to bring the legendary Luke Skywalker back. But what if she couldn't? What if she failed? Would she be alone again?

No, she couldn't think like that. She wouldn't. She would succeed. There was no other choice. Too many people's lives depended on her success. She'd bring Luke Skywalker back if she had to tie him up and drag him onto the Millennium Falcon.

She got up from the pilot's seat and slowly made her way down the loading ramp, her feet sinking into the lush grass as she stepped out onto the ground. Chewie and Artoo followed her. They would wait with the ship, while she searched for Luke Skywalker.

She knew he was on this island. She'd felt his presence. Why he'd be at the top of a mountain, she had no idea. At least there were steps that would make the trek easier. Slowly, she made her way to the top, resting every now and then, looking back at the Falcon. Chewie would wave every time and she'd smile, her strength somehow renewed by that small gesture.

Once she reached the top, she found a small clearing. It seemed deserted, yet she still felt him. She turned and that's when she saw him standing on the edge of the clearing. His Jedi robes fluttering in the wind, he had his back to her. She approached him slowly. She had no illusion that he wasn't aware of her presence. But his silence, his stillness kept her quiet. All she could do was wait.

Then, he turned slowly, and pulled back his hood. His hair and beard were peppered with white, yet where she had expected to see sadness, she only saw hope. He didn't say a word, and neither did she.

Instead, she pulled the lightsaber from her pack and walked forward. She stopped only a few feet from him and held out the weapon to him.

He cocked his head and looked at it curiously. He raised his eyes and when their gazes locked, he smiled.

"I've been waiting for you, Rey," he said.