Chapter 10 is here! I will update rather fast, since I have written 17 chapters, and I'm now on the 18th! :) Enjoy, and thanks for favouriting, following and reviewing! Xx

Ben stopped searching inside Hux's mind. He looked at him, genuinely surprised.

"Me? What are you talking about? Snoke agreed to– to give me away to the Resistance?"

Hux sliced a thin line from Ben's chest to his navel, smirking. "The Supreme Leader finds that you've become a liability. Too much… ah, Light within you, apparently. We'll meet with General Organa to make the exchange. Do you think she'll slap you, after what you did?"

Ben gritted his teeth. "The Resistance will never hand over a planet for me."

"Oh, but you underestimate a mother's love," Hux said with a hint of disgust. He stepped away from Ben, looking him in the eyes. He smirked.

"She'll accept, you'll see. We'll make the exchange, and she'll take her husband's killer home."

If Hux's tone had been less smug, Ben would have probably started meditating to calm his racing heart. But the General's arrogance made him search his mind again.

Bloody fool. You'll just be our bait and your precious mother will die. That'll crush the stupid Light out of you.

"YOU SLIMY PIECE OF WORM-RIDDEN FILTH!" Ben screamed, trying to unbuckle his fastenings. He didn't need the Force to strangle Hux.

"Quiet. You know full well the Supreme Leader can squash you and make you crawl on the ground with a thought."

"YOU'LL BE DEAD BEFORE I LET YOU LAY A HAND ON HER! I'LL KILL YOU, HUX!"

Hux sighed, fishing a piece of cloth out of his pocket. He got close to Ben, pushing his head violently against the headrest and gagging him with the cloth. Ben could only emit muffled screams.

"Don't worry, we'll make it quick. We'll pulverise her."

Ben looked at him with death in his gaze. Hux merely smirked. He cut Ben's chest, drawing a line from one collarbone to the other. Then his smile widened.

"You know what? I've got an idea. Let's contact her now. Let her see how her poor, beaten, murderous son is doing."

Hux walked towards the wall opposite Ben's chair, and he noticed for the first time the presence of a Holonet Transceiver. Hux fiddled with some controls, until he opened a neutral line of communication, demanding to speak with General Organa of the Resistance. He took a step back, positioning himself so that his body hid Ben completely.

After a while, the screen lit up and Ben heard his mother's wary voice.

"General Hux."

"General Organa, it's nice to finally make your acquaintance," Hux said, mockingly.

"What do you want?" she asked, her tone cold.

"Oh, no pleasantries? I expected better from a former princess."

Leia remained silent.

"Alright, I'll get straight to the point then. We, the First Order, demand that you give us the planet Elbara Nine."

She made an incredulous noise. "And why do you think we would agree to give it to you?"

"Well, because we would give you something in return, of course. Something I believe you've been looking for." Ben could hear the hint of cruelty in Hux's tone.

"And what is that?" Leia asked.

Hux stepped to the side, and Ben was finally able to look at his mother. When she and the officers behind her saw him, they all visibly flinched and widened their eyes.

"Ben? Are you–"

Ben trashed wildly against his bindings, but he couldn't scream a warning, he couldn't do anything. He felt a sharp pain on his left temple, and suddenly his world went dark. A few seconds before losing consciousness, he projected his mind outside himself, calling Rey's name with all the strength he possessed.

Luke. Luke, can you hear me?

Leia frowned, focusing all her thoughts towards her brother's Force signature.

I am here. Are you all right?

Leia smiled. She had missed him.

You won't believe what I'm going to tell you. The First Order contacted me.

I see. What did they want?

They want… they want a Mid Rim planet in exchange for Ben.

She waited for her brother's reaction.

Leia, you… what did you tell them? There's a high chance that this is–

A trap. I know. But I already said yes. I want my son back, I don't care if the First Order gets closer to the Resistance. We'll fight back. But this is an opportunity I can't–

Alright, Leia. Alright. When are y–

We'll be there to get you and Rey in twenty hours.

Leia could see, as clear as if he were in front of her, Luke smiling and shaking his head.

We'll be waiting.

"Ben, calm down! Ben stop! You'll hurt yourself again, stop and listen to me!"

He turned towards her, stopping his wild thrashing for a moment. "THEY ARE GOING TO KILL HER! SHE HAS TO STAY AWAY!"

A few hours before, Rey had felt Ben calling her with a desperation she had never sensed from him, and she had projected herself to him without any preparation, in the middle of a sparring session with Luke, so abruptly she was sure her body would be covered in bruises for the fall.

As soon as she had reached him though, she had found him strapped to a chair, unconscious and covered in cuts, General Hux in a corner of the room talking quietly with someone on a screen. Completely focused on Ben, Rey hadn't paid the General much attention.

When it was clear to her that Ben wouldn't wake up, she had gone back to her body. And Luke had informed her that Leia would come to get them.

He had advised her not to go back to Ben, though. He was sure his nephew would take position against the exchange, fearing for Rey and his mother's lives, and probably even risk exposing the bond if Snoke chose to torture him while his mind was worried about this whole matter. Rey had reluctantly agreed, but after a while, when she heard Ben's desperate calling, she had been unable to ignore him.

He had told her about what he had seen in General Hux's mind, explaining that he would be used as bait to orchestrate his mother's assassination, and she had reported it immediately to her master. When Leia confirmed that they would be going anyway, Rey had made the mistake of telling Ben. He had lost it.

She finally managed to catch his wrists in her hands, blocking him and forcing him to look at her.

"Listen to me! We're all going to be with her. We won't let anything happen to her, I promise you. You can't stop her from getting you back."

"But this is a farce! I've seen it in Hux's mind, they won't let me go, they only want my mother dead!"

"We know this. We know. But we'll get you out of there, you'll see."

Ben leaned heavily against the wall, his head hung in defeat.

"I'm not worth the risk. I'm not worth it," he whispered, brokenly.

"That's not up to you to decide," Rey told him kindly. She let go of his wrists but she didn't lose contact, sliding her hands in his and intertwining their fingers.

"We'll be careful and we'll make it out of there alive. All of us," she said confidently.

"Where is the exchange taking place?" he asked.

"In a forest in… in Naboo."

Naboo. That name provoked a pang of longing in his chest.

"That's too close to D'qar. Why would they choose Naboo? And a forest, with plenty of ideal places to plan an ambush. Rey, you need to–"

"We'll keep your mother safe, Ben," she interrupted him, smiling.

"I wasn't– It's not that, I– I know you will. I–" Ben sighed, unsure.

Rey took a step towards him. They were so, so close.

Ben swallowed. He didn't want to expose his feelings more than necessary, but he had to tell her. He cleared his throat, delicately stroking the back of her hands with his thumbs.

"Rey, please don't put yourself in danger. Don't– if you can't get to me… I'll be wearing this damned collar, I won't be able to do anything if– I don't want anything to happen to you."

His words were met with silence. Ben didn't dare look up to Rey, but after an unbearable minute he glanced at her. She was looking at him with an expression he had never seen before, as if she was noticing him for the first time. Her eyes were full of wonder, her lips parted slightly. She swept her gaze over his face, impossibly slow, tracing the arch of his eyebrows, the constellations of his freckles and moles, lingering on his eyes, his nose, his lips… Ben felt a bolt of inexplicable exhilaration rushing through him. He immediately extinguished it.

At last, she spoke. "I'll– I'll be careful, I promise."

She let go of his hands, stepping away from him. "I'd better go now. I– Your mother will be on the island in a few minutes. I'll– I'll see you soon."

And just like that, she was gone. Ben tried with all his might to ignore the pang of disappointment cutting through him, and the insistent voice in his head that screamed too much, you said too much, you spooked her!

It was good to be back on the Falcon. Rey would have liked to fly it with Chewbacca, but she knew she was too worried and distracted. Poe was one hell of a co-pilot anyway.

They were flying towards Naboo, and they had scheduled their arrival a few hours before the exchange, to be able to scout their surroundings and to be ready for any surprises the enemy could have devised.

Rey had shielded her mind from Ben's. She had done it the moment she had come back to her body, after managing to calm him down. She had told herself that it was because she didn't want to upset him with the knowledge that his mother was with her, and they were willingly going straight into the enemy's trap.

The ship was a little more crowded than usual: Leia and Luke were talking quietly in a corner, while Finn paced back and forth, glancing at her occasionally. She was sitting on the floor, trying to feel soothed by the vibrations and failing spectacularly. She couldn't focus enough to meditate, her stomach had been twisted in a knot since that morning, when she had boarded the Falcon.

Finn stopped abruptly and walked towards her, sitting down as well. He took one of her hands in his.

"I don't need a Force-bond with you to know that you're almost panicking. Calm down."

Rey looked at him, trying to subjugate her roiling thoughts. "I can't. I just know something's going to go horribly wrong. I can feel it."

Finn sighed. "Rey, I don't need to remind you that you are Force-bonded with a guy who's not exactly stable. You need to be strong, and you need to calm down, otherwise he's going to lose it over your fear and then everything will definitely go wrong."

Rey paused. He was right. Ben had already lost control once, she couldn't risk making that happen again.

"Ok… ok Finn, you're right. I can do this. I can do this," she exhaled. She took a deep breath, trying to banish negative thoughts.

"Good girl," Finn said, smiling and kissing her temple. He stayed seated next to her, occasionally taking her hand in a comforting squeeze.

"We'll be there in about two hours," Poe called from the cockpit.

Finn waited a beat, then, seeing that Luke and Leia were still deep in conversation, he said "Thank you, Poe," with a little dopey smile on his face.

The pilot turned and flashed him a big grin. Rey watched the exchange with a smirk of her own. She caught Finn's attention by tapping her finger on his temple.

"So," she began.

"So what?" Finn answered.

"You and Poe."

"Um… What about us?"

"Ha! So there's an us, then."

Finn looked down, bashful. "Well, I don't– I mean, there's a– maybe?" He looked at her, a hopeful expression that warmed Rey's heart. She reached out and hugged him.

"I'm glad."

"We'll see what happens." He looked at her closely. "It seems you're more serene now. I'm glad gossiping about my love life has that effect on you."

Rey laughed heartily, and then, feeling calmer and more confident, she lifted the shield from her bond, immediately perceiving Ben's frustration.

Ben? I'm... sorry I shut you out. I'm here now. What's happening?

Where are you Rey? I'm– We're headed towards Naboo.

Hang in there, Ben. We're coming for you.