A/N: Thank you so much for the continued support, everyone! This one's an angsty chapter...please don't hate me! *hides behind Chewbacca*

HHHHHHHHHH

The moment Rey's eyes opened, she immediately closed them again. Her head felt like it was going to split open. Reaching up, she lightly pressed her fingers to her right temple and felt a dry, crusty substance. Where was she? What had happened after she lost consciousness? The last thing she remembered was… Ben.

Her eyes flew open again, a wave of nausea rolling over her as she lurched against two thick straps that formed an X over her chest. Breathing hard, Rey squinted and blinked several times, struggling to take in her blurry surroundings. An identical chair directly across from hers. Another to her right, situated in front of a damaged console. The space itself was small and oddly shaped, with what appeared to be an exit hatch to her left.

An escape pod, she realized. Grimacing, she managed to unbuckle the straps, and she slumped forward with a yelp. One hand instinctively flew to her ribs, where a sharp, searing pain had suddenly stabbed her. Several excruciating seconds passed, during which she focused entirely on drawing slow, even breaths.

Finally, when the worst of it had subsided, Rey shifted her gaze to the viewport. But she could see nothing out of it. Something solid and gray had obscured it completely.

Hiss.

She spun to her left, simultaneously crying out and clutching her ribs with one hand while the other flew to her belt. But her lightsaber was gone.

The hatch had opened, and Ben was forced to duck as he entered the cramped pod. A chilling wind rushed in behind him, causing Rey to shiver, and a light dusting of snowflakes scattered along the durasteel floor. The hatch closed with another hiss, and she found herself staring up into his deep brown eyes.

"What happened?" she demanded, fearing his answer.

"The station was destroyed," he answered with little emotion in his voice, "but I managed to get us onto this pod before it blew."

Her heart plummeted. "Destroyed?"

He said nothing in reply, watching her closely as she processed his words.

"The ships in the hangar—did they escape? Did you see if—?"

"Every escape pod was launched," he interrupted, failing to conceal a flicker of disapproval in his eyes. "We took the last one."

"That isn't what I asked."

"I don't know what happened to your rebel friends." He spat the last two words as if they disgusted him, and he clearly had no interest in discussing them further.

Fighting to swallow the anger that was steadily rising within her, Rey averted her gaze and took a breath. "So where are we now?"

"Adamus. We crashed here along with the rest of the pods that made it through."

She glanced up at him, her brow furrowing. "What do you mean? Who fired on the station?"

His lip curled, his eyes downcast, and he seemed reluctant to respond. "It was the Finalizer—General Hux's ship."

She blinked, stunned. "The First Order? You mean…your own men fired on the station—fired on you?"

He shifted irritably and clenched his jaw, refusing to look at her.

"Ben…"

She tried to stand, but her attempt ended in miserable failure. With a cry of both pain and frustration, Rey collapsed back into her chair, and he instinctively moved to her aid. Kneeling, he extended a hand but quickly thought better of it. He swallowed, drawing it back to his side and balling it into a fist.

"There's a medpac in the—"

"I'm fine!" she growled through gritted teeth.

Ben smirked, a knowing look in his eyes, but he did not press her further. Instead, he reached down and unhooked something from his belt. "You dropped this."

Her lips parted in surprise as he offered her the gleaming hilt of her lightsaber. Embarrassed and grateful all at once, Rey hesitantly took hold of it, and both of their hands lingered for a moment. Her eyes silently pleaded with his.

"Ben, come with me," she said softly. "Leave the First Order behind."

"And what of the Resistance?" he countered. "Would you abandon them?"

She gave an exasperated sigh and stubbornly shook her head. "That's different. We trust each other—support each other. They would never turn their backs on me as the First Order has turned its back on you."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't they? If they knew?"

She swallowed, her throat suddenly constricting. He was, of course, referring to their mysterious bond. Even after all that had happened—on the Supremacy, on Crait—it had never gone away. No matter how many times she tried to ignore it, tried to pretend that it was not there, she could always feel his presence gnawing away at her resolve. How long could she hide it? How long before her carefully concealed secret was dragged into the light?

The pod shuddered as something rumbled overhead and then became still again. Rey knew that sound all too well, and hope flickered inside her. Had Finn and Rose and the others finally come back for her?

Ben's eyes widened ever so slightly, his hand jerking away from the lightsaber as if it had burned him. He stood suddenly, his brow furrowing.

"Stay here," he ordered as he turned and moved swiftly toward the hatch.

"What?" she exclaimed incredulously, struggling to rise. "No!"

Every fiber in her body was screaming for her to stop, to sit. But she refused.

"Ben!"

He was already ducking and stepping through the opening, and by the time Rey managed to get herself upright, the hatch had closed again. Catching herself against the interior of the pod, she gritted her teeth and used her left arm to drag herself forward. Just a little farther…

She nearly collapsed when she was forced to let go of the wall and reach for the access panel. Thrusting out her palm, she breathed a small sigh of relief as it slammed into the desired button and activated the hatch once more. Loose strands of hair whipped across her cheeks, a chill running through her. More snow blew into the pod, and Rey shielded her face with one hand as she ventured out into the blinding sunlight.

Above the howling of the wind, there rose something else. Muffled shouts. Blaster fire. A lightsaber.

Squinting through the gaps between her fingers, she saw the glistening armor of stormtroopers—two squads of them. Some had already fallen, lying motionlessly in the snow as a dark figure loomed over them. Ben's black cape was flying, his red blade flashing. More troopers dropped as their shots were deflected back into their own chests. One was lifted off his feet in an invisible chokehold and dragged through the air until he was within reach, then cut down.

Meanwhile, Rey was wading through the almost knee-deep layers of snow, thousands of tiny pinpricks piercing her sides as she went. A First Order Transporter sat nearby, and she feared that more might be on the way.

Catching sight of a sudden movement on the ground ahead, she stopped and snatched her lightsaber from her belt. It seemed that one of Ben's dispatched opponents was still alive, and he was reaching for his blaster.

"Ben!" she warned, igniting her twin blades and flinging them through the air.

Having just slain who he thought was the last trooper, Ben whirled around just in time to see her double-bladed saber slice the helmet off of one who was about to shoot him in the back. Breathing hard, he stared as the weapon returned to her waiting hand.

"You're welcome!" she called.

He opened his mouth to reply but promptly shut it again when he spotted another incoming carrier, whose blaster cannon opened fire as it flew overhead. Two bolts pounded the snow between them, a third heading straight for him. There was no time to stop its momentum. It was too close.

Thrusting out a hand, Ben managed to alter its course slightly to the right, where it collided with the ground and sent a cloud of white dust into the air. With a flourish of his lightsaber, he turned toward the transport as it made an about-face and landed some fifteen meters away.

But he was not alone. Rey drew alongside him, her narrowed gaze focused on the lowering disembarkation ramp.

"This feels familiar," he said, suppressing a smile.

She shifted, unwilling to meet his gaze. "Don't get used to it."

Moments later, they were met with a barrage of blaster fire, and Ben aggressively charged toward the advancing troops. She followed closely in his wake, but her movements were slowed by her injuries. Several of their opponents were equipped with Z6 batons, and Rey could feel the electricity pulsing and crackling as they approached.

Ben's blade crashed against one of them, sweeping the weapon downward and then promptly decapitating its wielder. Meanwhile, she dropped into a crouching slide, passing between two troopers and slicing both of their batons in half. Coming up behind them, she sent the soldiers flying with a powerful Force push.

"Rey!"

She did not need to ask why he called to her. She already knew. They were working in perfect sync, every thought, every intent freely exchanged between their melded minds.

She drew close, standing back to back with him as he reached skyward. Simultaneously, Rey shifted her saber to her left hand and grabbed the blaster pistol that was strapped to her right hip. For a fleeting moment, all atoms in the surrounding area thrummed with a vibration only they could hear, and then a deafening wave rippled outward. Every stormtrooper was lifted off their feet, blasters and batons torn from their grasp.

Rey held her breath, her gaze focusing and her hand steadying. She fired. One, two, three, four, five! Ben lowered his hand, and the bodies hit the snow. Five of them moved no more.

Holstering her blaster, she returned both hands to her saber. The remaining stormtroopers were dazed, disoriented, and defenseless. They posed no true threat now, but they had their orders, and they refused to abandon them. When Rey realized that those who still lived were crawling toward their fallen weapons, she clenched her jaw in frustration. They needed to finish this fight quickly, before their attackers could recover.

She shared a glance with Ben, and he gave her an understanding nod. Gathering what little strength she had left, she rushed toward the troopers, and when she jumped, he Force-launched her into the air. A savage cry roared from her throat as she descended upon them, her blades carving through them so quickly that she became a blur dancing across the white battlefield.

While she moved right, Ben went left, and it was not long before it was just the two of them standing alone amidst a barren wasteland. Smoke rose from the other crashed escape pods against a bleak horizon, flaming meteors falling from the decimated asteroid field and cutting across the sky.

Rey watched them burn, having collapsed onto her knees moments after the fight ended. Her adrenaline was ebbing away, and a new tide of pain was rolling in. Each intake of breath felt like her ribcage was being stabbed by more than a few vibroblades, and the rest of her was starting to ache from the cold. She shivered, the involuntary movement causing her to wince.

When she opened her eyes again, Ben was standing there, his gloved hand offered down to her. Grimacing, Rey managed to reach up and grasp it. As he pulled her to her feet, she clenched her teeth to keep from crying out. Her legs nearly buckled, and she caught herself against his chest.

Breathing hard, Rey stared at the backs of her own fingers, pressed into the black fabric of his tunic. She could not bring herself to look up, could not withstand the intensity of his gaze. But she was not given a choice in the matter. Gently, he lifted her chin and tilted her face toward his. She saw his lips, his scar, and finally his eyes—those dark eyes that were desperately searching every inch of her countenance. She could feel his heart pounding, could sense the paralyzing fear that was clawing at his insides.

"What's wrong, Ben?" she inquired softly.

He swallowed hard, his gaze unblinking, as if he believed that she might vanish at any moment. "It's been so long since I've seen you—really seen you. And now…"

"What?" she pressed, her voice barely a whisper.

He released a slow, shuddering breath, his hand moving from beneath her chin and coming to rest upon her shoulder. "This might be the last time I ever see you."

Rey's brow furrowed instantly, and she frowned. "What? Ben, what are you talking about?"

"Hux commands the loyalty of only a fraction of the First Order's ranks. His attempt at a coup has failed, and now I must return. He must be dealt with."

"No," she pleaded, her hands unconsciously clutching his tunic. "Ben, come with me. We can fight him together."

He shook his head. "Don't be foolish, Rey. You know that the rebels would shoot me on sight, just as you once did."

Guilt and longing stabbed painfully into her heart all at once, and she refused to let him go. "I don't care. I don't care what anyone else thinks. I'll show them. I'll prove to them that you've changed!"

"But I haven't changed, Rey. You're imagining a future that can't exist—not while there is a war. You have chosen your side, as I have chosen mine."

"You're wrong!" she spat. "There is a future! I saw it, and I know you saw it too. We will be together."

He glanced away from her, his jaw clenching. She could feel his torment just as he could feel hers, the agony tearing both of their hearts asunder.

"Goodbye, Rey."

He let go of her, but she clung to him, her eyes wide and frantic. "No. No! Don't leave me—not again."

There was profound sorrow in his gaze, and the echo of an unforgotten betrayal. "I didn't, Rey. You're the one who left."

Blinded by tears, she choked back a sob. "Ben…please…"

He wavered for an instant, his lip trembling. But then he pulled away and turned his back on her before he could change his mind. He headed for the nearest transport, a single tear sliding down his scarred cheek. And he did not look back.