Chapter 30


'You are aware that you can die from a concussion, Captain?' Doctor Kalonia murmured as she scanned Rey's body.

'Is that the case now, Doctor?' Rey questioned, trying to peer over at the scanner without moving too much.

Doctor Kalonia sighed disapprovingly and put away her scanner. 'You're incredibly lucky. Though you did have a concussion, there are no long-lasting issues apparent as a result. I will give you some medicine to counter any possible issues just in case. I'm honestly quite surprised and relieved that you didn't return with far more extensive injuries, it seems your prisoner took the brunt of them.'

Rey swallowed guiltily. 'How is he? I wasn't sure if I was helping at all or making it worse?'

The Doctor began to neaten things up in the infirmary before looking back at Rey. 'Though he has healed to a reasonable degree, there are still trace amounts of extensive muscle damage which may cause issues in the future. The sites where there seemed to be broken ribs are healing well, though there is still some bruising on several organs. I'm sure he will be fully recovered in a short time, though with an unknown future, that may be unimportant.'

The younger woman nodded. 'Thank you, doctor.' Rey paused for a moment and then continued. 'And thank you for being plain with me.'

Doctor Kalonia waved her away with a hand. 'I can't do much about the decisions of others, or even this ridiculous thing you call the Force.'

Before Rey could respond in any manner, the woman left the room for her office, leaving Rey sitting on the edge of one of the cots. The young woman sat there for several minutes, taking in her surroundings before she looked at the time.

There was still a short amount of time before she was due to meet her friends, so Rey, bolstered by the interactions she had had since arriving back on D'Qar, went to the hold to see Ben.

As she expected, there were two guards with their blasters to the ready guarding the door and with minimal effort on her part, they let Rey inside, likely understanding that for one she could subdue the prisoner if necessary and also that there would be no worry for escape when Rey had brought him in the first place.

The medium-sized hold held a small cell with a cot and a small cubby that was both a toilet and sink. Ben was meditating on the cot, much to Rey's contentment, and she watched him for a few moments before he eventually opened his eyes.

She sat in front of the cell's bars and he did the same, close enough that they could reach between them.

'Have you been completely abandoned yet?' Ben questioned, though noted that Rey was ultimately relaxed.

Rey smiled and shook her head. 'I'm waiting for the mob, they haven't come for me yet.'

Ben nodded, relieved that Rey wasn't suffering because of him. 'What do you think they will do with me?' he questioned.

She sighed and shook her head. 'I don't know. The General says it all depends on how much of a threat they see you as, whether your information is valuable and how they will contain you. I think you'll be a prisoner for the rest of your life regardless.'

'Even if that life ends next week,' Ben added. Before Rey could comment, in frustration Ben guessed, he continued. 'At least we enjoyed ourselves at the end, right? I could die somewhat happy at least.'

Rey reached forward and pinched his hand lightly. 'Stop it.'

Ben tried to chuckle, but it was a weak attempt and he met Rey's eyes. 'Could you have imagined this situation? Me willingly sitting in a cell that I could so easily walk out of?'

She narrowed her eyes and frowned but Ben just sighed and looked around the hold, as if he were searching for something interesting. His eyes eventually rested on Rey again. 'You should go.'

'Why?' she questioned, looking quite annoyed.

'So I don't ruin your credibility even more.'

Rey rolled her eyes but stood anyway. 'I think it's far too late for that. I wouldn't be surprised if half of the base thinks I seduced you here with my feminine wiles.' Though there was still mirth evident in her words, Ben sensed that she believed her words may have been accurate.

'And that would be absolutely true.'

She chuckled, shaking her head. 'Be serious.'

Ben didn't say anything, but his expression told Rey that he was being honest and rather than continue the back and forth, she moved to the door, looking back at Ben briefly before stepping out of the hold.

XxX

As she walked about the base, just breathing in the humid air, Rey reached out to her friends, sensing their Force signatures pulsing lightly. It relaxed her somewhat and she was incredibly relieved that she hadn't completely destroyed everything. She could handle disappointment, but anger and resentment from those she loved, she wasn't sure how to handle.

Rey was beginning her way back to her quarters to meet her friends, when she heard her name from a familiar voice. She turned to see Finn bounding towards her, Jess and Poe on either side of him. He was smiling widely, but the other two looked somewhat timid.

'I didn't expect you to be early,' Rey said wanting to smile, but holding back her expression for Poe and Jess' sakes.

Poe slipped a hand into his jacket and then pulled out a half-sized bottle of whiskey. 'We were incredibly interested in hearing your explanation.'

Rey nodded, trying her hardest to sincerely meet Poe's eyes. 'Then I suppose we should get comfortable in my quarters.'

They weren't very far from Rey's room, so it was a quick walk before they were all sitting cross-legged around the small table in the centre of the room, glasses already filled with the first round of whiskey.

'Before I begin, I would first like to apologise for withholding information,' Rey started, coddling her glass of whiskey. 'If you want to curse me or hit me, you are more than welcome, now or during the next ten minutes.' Rey took a sip of the drink and the alcohol burned on her tongue.

Jess seemed to clear her throat and they all looked at her, despite her eyes being wide. 'I just had something stuck there, go on, don't pay me any attention.'

Rey nodded and placed her glass on the table.

She begun at the start. Telling her three friends about her difficulties with her emotions during the beginning of her training on Ahch-To and what eventually built to the first dream she had with Ben in it. They were mostly silent, though sometimes Poe would make a sound as if he wanted to protest, but he held himself back.

Rey talked about the dreams that followed, how she had felt unwillingly attracted to Ben, but had been forced in his presence, to the extent that they began to rely on each other as company and as something familiar. The connection that had been forged at no fault of their own, only increased their dependency and bond until they were both floundering in each other, lying to their masters in order to hide what was ultimately a deplorable secret.

Rey hesitated then, thinking back on when her resolve had broken, when the darkness had tried to swallow her whole and trick her, and the fact that it had just set her own desires into motion. She closed her eyes, wanting to rid it from her mind, but found it difficult.

'Nevertheless,' she added. 'I was weak. If I had been stronger perhaps I could have resisted the bond, but my heart followed where my body went.'

Poe and Finn had drunk back several glasses of the whiskey by this point and Jess sat silently, her chin rested gently against her knee.

Rey started on her admittance to Luke and the subsequent ridding of her dreams and her return to D'Qar. Moving swiftly onto the incident at Lothal and her connection with the Knights of Ren. The three looked astounded to hear of her coercion into helping them, but Rey continued, deciding to close her eyes as she spoke of Snoke's death, Ben's near miss and their recovery and return to D'Qar.

There was silence when she finished and Rey opened her eyes, glancing from one friend to another.

'Well…' Poe began, but trailed off.

Jessika's eyebrows were deeply furrowed and she rubbed her glass between her fingers.

'You kept this all from everyone? You didn't need to do that,' Finn murmured, his glass resting on the table as he looked earnestly at Rey.

She nodded. 'Perhaps I was being selfish when I thought I was being selfless. It all eventually spiralled and by the time I realised the mistakes I had made, I was already unconscious and sprawled in front of Snoke and four knights.'

'You're an idiot,' Poe said simply. He chuckled to himself for a moment before he shook his head.

'I think what Poe is trying to say is that he agrees with Finn.' Jess said, sending Poe a sharp look.

Rey shook her head and breathed out heavily. 'It's okay Jess, I was an absolute fool and I know that now.'

'Then what will you do about Ky-him?' Finn asked carefully.

'Won't the Resistance just execute him?' Jess asked, then folded her lips together at having spoken so soon and in front of Rey at that.

Poe drank back his whiskey and met Jess' eyes. 'They could do anything. Kill him, keep him for information and then kill him, or just simply lock him up forever.'

'I don't think she wants to hear that,' Finn murmured.

Rey smiled wryly and shook her head. 'I'm not blind to reality, Finn. Don't worry. I know what could happen and Be-he made the choice to come here with me. It doesn't matter that we are connected, it doesn't matter how I feel.'

Her three friends looked down into their now empty glasses and Rey sighed as she watched them all. 'I just wanted to tell you guys in person, so that if you wanted to hate me, you're more than welcome to.'

Finn smiled then and reached for the whiskey, pouring them all fresh glasses. 'I trust you, and that's what I think matters the most right now.'

'I haven't made up my mind yet, so you're gonna have to get me lucid to get a decision out of me,' Poe said with a grin, seeing Finn's smile.

Jess nodded in agreement, lifting her glass towards Finn with a huge grin.

Rey watched the three of them begin to clink their glasses and she laughed happily as they gestured for her to pick up her own. She hardly noticed the tears that she quickly wiped away as she brought the liquor to her lips.

XxX

The four of them had collapsed around the room; Poe and Finn across Rey's bed, Rey in a chair and Jess on the floor, her face pressed into a small rug. It was only when there was a light knock on the door that Rey managed to stir, her body aching from the amount of alcohol they had drunk.

Everyone else was rather more unwilling to get up, so she pulled herself up, attempting to neaten her clothing and she approached the door.

'Uh…morning Captain.'

Rey blinked several times, her eyes shuffling through the persons features before she smiled brightly, noticing that it was Lieutenant Braut. 'Good morning Lieutenant, sorry about the mess,' she said, gesturing to the semi-conscious young adults behind her.

He smiled and shook his head. 'Sorry to disturb you, though the General would like to speak with you.'

Rey paused, considering what the General could possibly want to speak with her about and she found herself swallowing.

'Thank you,' she said with a nod and the Lieutenant nodded and made his way down the hall.

'Who was that?' Jess murmured with a mouth full of rug.

Rey turned back to the room and touched her hair, checking that it was neat. She then moved around the room, nudging the others to wake up. They eventually did and begrudgingly, they cleared up and left her quarters with goodbye grunts.

She followed them outside and made her way to General Organa's ready room, her hands tightening in front of her as she walked. Rey briefly greeted those she passed, though she walked with firm determination towards her destination.

When she had reached, Leia was already at the open door, gesturing her in.

'Apologies for the early morning, Rey,' she began, not sitting down.

Rey didn't know what to say, so she waited for Leia to continue.

Leia took a breath and reached for Rey's hands, separating them and squeezing them softly between her own. 'It's been agreed that he will not be executed yet,' Leia began, trying to contain her smile.

The young woman breathed out, closing her eyes for a moment. 'What do they intend on doing with him?'

The General frowned briefly. 'You have been relegated to being his personal guard. Rather than keep him in the hold, we will set up a more appropriate place for him to live on a long-term basis, where it will be easier for you to watch him. Right now, the hold is only appropriate for temporary prisoners and the guards there are already growing agitated at their new prison guard status.'

'How long will that take?' Rey asked.

'Major Brance has already given them the order, so at some time today he should be moved.' Leia responded.

Rey's brows furrowed. 'He could move to my quarters; would that not be far easier on our resources?'

Leia opened her mouth to respond, but was not able to find words for a moment. 'I'm not sure what the senior officers decided together, as I was removed from the decision. Perhaps that was brought up, but I won't know until Major Brance returns. Perhaps you can find him on your way?'

Rey was ready to nod, but shook her head instead. She felt that it would be better to maintain some distance, to not appear so heavily distracted by Ben's well-being.

'I would advise against being too rash, Rey. This is only just beginning. Not just the beginning of Ben being here, but of Hux being our sole enemy. Anything could change, whether it's next week, a month later or even a year from now. You need to be prepared for the worse. Both of us do.' Leia spoke, her tone sombre.

'I know,' Rey nodded, looking to the ground. 'I just hope that at the very least he can find his redemption here, with us, with me.'

Leia smiled wryly, a hand reaching to touch Rey's cheek softly. 'Take care of him for me.'

Rey nodded again and lightly pulled her hands from Leia's, moving back to the door. She took a deep breath as she walked, relieved to some extent that it seemed most of the workers had moved out of the hallways.

She decided on going back to her quarters to better prepare for the day with a sonic shower. Rey didn't have any idea of what would happen next, whether Luke would halt their training for the time being, especially with the fact that Rey had to be with Ben for a large portion of the day. Nor did she know whether his information would be useful and whether once it no longer proved useful, would mean his death.

If her old self were walking beside her, she imagined she would have chided her against thinking so pessimistically, yet Rey knew it would always be there in the corner of her mind. Even if she was happy right now in this moment, she couldn't hide that she was scared.

Rey typed in her door code, her heart feeling heavy. When the pneumatic door opened and she saw Ben standing in the middle of the room looking out of place, she didn't move for several seconds, and then she found herself in his arms, her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist. His hair still smelled like Jakku and it felt as if nothing had changed.

'How are you here?' she questioned, looking up at him.

'Naturally I eluded my guards and searched every room until I found one that smelled like you.' He responded, his expression serious.

Rey frowned and poked him. 'Must you make fun?'

Ben smiled lightly, his eyes moving across Rey's features and chuckling when she realised he wasn't cuffed.

'Major Brance said he went to look for you and hoped that I wouldn't cause any issues while I waited. He took the binders with him.'

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'Are you sure you didn't compel him to do that?'

He shook his head, but Rey could read the lie in his eyes. Before she could berate him on the dangers of so outwardly utilising the Force against his imprisoners, his lips were against hers in a sweet and brief kiss.

'I won't do it again. I understand, don't worry.'

Rey sighed and pulled him to her, holding him tightly. 'It's up to you from now, just know that. There's only so much I can do.'

Ben nodded, his arms tightening around her waist. 'I'll be good. I'll be good now.'

She believed him. If there was anything she could truly be sure of, it was that this connection, that their love for each other, could be enough, it would be enough. So when Major Brance's knock eventually came, she could think more readily to the future; when the galaxy could be balanced, when there would be no more Hux or First Order and at least for a while, they could be at peace.


THE END


Thanks so much for taking the time to read this story of mine. I hope you enjoyed it!

Also I saw the new movie last night (thankfully I finished this today!) And I'm Reylo trash4LYFE. Hopefully new stories come to me in the future. We have two years baby!

Goodnight and Goodbye.