A/N: I do not own Star Wars. I am merely playing with some of the characters.

Thank you guys for the support. I'm so glad you seem to be enjoying it. The mystery deepens with this chapter...

Chapter Two

"So how was yesterday? Bloody awful?" Ben's mate Hux asked as he slid another beer across the counter.

"You have no idea." Ben gratefully downed half the bottle and inwardly sighed as the familiar rush of alcohol filled his body. He knew if his mother walked in and saw him she'd likely disown him. After all she'd done for him yesterday, the last thing she expected was to find her son in his favorite bar, talking to the man she blamed for getting him into the mess he currently found himself in. It was hardly Ben's fault that his former roommate and current best (and only) friend worked in a bar and gave him free drinks whenever he came in. The First Order Brewery had been in Hux's family for three generations, and he wasn't about to give it up just because Ben was having trouble knowing when to stop.

"What exactly was the purpose of it, anyway?" Hux went on as he began mixing a long island iced tea for a patron who Ben had seen come in a few times. He didn't know the man's name, not that he cared enough to ask.

"To show that I can give back to the community and do more than get into fights and beat people up."

Hux shrugged as he accepted the money for the long island iced tea then turned back to Ben, who had finished his third free beer and was debating whether or not to ask for a fourth. "I don't know, mate. Just seems a bit dodgy to me. It looked like it was more to do with your mum than with you."

Ben had no reply for that. He knew that his mom had set the whole thing up for him, but he also knew that his mom wasn't one to pass up an opportunity get an edge on her opponent for the upcoming election. She was still the front-runner, though her lead wasn't as big as she'd like. But just because she had ulterior motives didn't mean she didn't care.

Instead of saying all that, Ben just shrugged, wanting to be done with the conversation. "It's over now. That's all that matters."

"I'll drink to that. Speaking of which, you want another one?"

Ben knew he shouldn't. He really needed to get a handle on his drinking. It was a wonder he'd talked Leia out of putting him in rehab, though he knew if she spotted him drunk she wouldn't hesitate to make good on her threat. He'd promised he would stop, and he did plan on making good on that promise. The problem was that every time he thought about the events of the previous day, the mysterious girl was always at the forefront.

Ben hadn't confided in his friend just how disturbed he'd been when he'd seen her. He had felt something he couldn't quite identify, and seeing her small frame hidden under the layers of dirty clothes and grime made him feel….well, it made him feel. And he hadn't been prepared for that. He couldn't tell Hux how he'd nearly been driven by an urge to go out and look for her. He'd even thought about going back to the shelter in the hopes of seeing her again. It was ridiculous because she certainly hadn't felt anything other than hate for him, which he supposed was the real reason he'd spent the past twenty-four hours obsessing over her. He wanted to know what he could have possibly done to make her hate him so much when he couldn't remember ever having met her.

So he'd kept it all to himself. He didn't have the strength to bring it all up, and even if he did he knew Hux would never understand. If possible, the Brit seemed to have an even firmer stance on the homeless population than he did. It was part of the reason why Hux had been so unsupportive when he'd heard what Ben had been forced to do to make up for his actions.

Ben turned down the beer Hux held out to him, claiming he had an early day tomorrow. It wasn't exactly a lie. His mother wanted him to come over to the family home to go over some numbers about how the population had viewed his community service. As much as he didn't want to, at least it gave him a good reason to say goodbye to Hux, who he suddenly did not want to be around anymore.

"Good luck, mate. Hopefully this will all be over soon."

Ben nodded, said his goodbyes, then headed out of The First Order.

October nights in California were not particularly cold, but it was unseasonably cool and Ben wished he'd thought to bring along a jacket. Of course that made his thoughts return yet again to the homeless girl. He found himself wondering if she'd managed to find some shelter against the cool weather. Had she made it to the homeless shelter in time to get a meal? Or had she been late again? He didn't think her meager frame could handle going more than two days without food.

Making a split second decision, Ben stopped into the grocery store that was across the street from Hux's bar and bought a box of granola bars, some bananas, and a case of water. As he paid for them, he noticed that the cashier was giving him curious looks out of the corner of her eye. She'd no doubt seen the news about him volunteering at the homeless shelter. He stopped himself from snapping at her, thanking her instead once he'd paid for his purchases.

He put the groceries in the backseat of his car, then began to drive around town, passing his apartment complex in the process. The sun had set an hour ago, so he knew it was past the time the shelter stayed open for dinner. If Holdo was to be believed, the girl…Rey, he reminded himself…never took a bed, so he knew she wouldn't be at the shelter. What could possibly be a better option for her? She went to the shelter for food, so why didn't she stay to sleep? None of the few possible solutions he thought of made any sense to him.

As he continued driving around town, it suddenly dawned on him just how many homeless people seemed to live in the small district of Alderaan, California. It was a small suburb only a few hours away from Los Angeles, yet it seemed to house as many homeless citizens as middle-class citizens. There didn't seem to be an age restriction, either. Those he'd seen so far had ranged in age from young children out with what he hoped were their parents, to elderly men and women who were camped out in alleys and underneath trees and benches. He almost felt bad for driving past them in his relatively new BMW, but he only had room in his mind for one person in particular.

One thing that was made obvious to him as he continued his drive around town, past the seemingly never-ending population of homeless, was that finding Rey would prove to be the same as finding a needle in a haystack. Maybe she had found shelter for the night and his efforts were all for nothing.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind did he see movement up ahead that made his blood go cold.

He'd stumbled upon a narrow alley between two restaurants that had appeared deserted at first glance, but as he drove up to it he saw two figures. One was tall, overweight, and unmistakably male. He towered over the second, smaller figure who Ben recognized instantly as Rey. The man was dressed in clean clothes. As Ben drove closer, he was surprised to find that the man's clothes almost looked brand new. He didn't have time dwell on that strange fact, however, because no sooner had he had the observation did the fat, cleanly dressed man punch Rey in the face.

"Hey!" Ben was out of the car before he knew what he was doing. Somehow he'd had the sense to park on the side of the street, but he nearly got run over as he crossed the street, barely noticing any of the cars blaring their horns at him in his haste to get to Rey and her assailant.

The man wasn't finished. Once Rey went down in a surprised heap, the man began kicking her, and it didn't seem to matter where. Ben continued to shout at the pair, but his shouts fell on deaf ears as the man's boot made contact with Rey's stomach, torso, legs and, Ben noticed without mounting anger, face.

"I said stop!" Ben snapped as he finally made it to the pair. He pushed the man as hard as he could, knocking him to the ground. He was pleased to see that he'd had enough strength to push the man into the wall behind him. He hit his head on the hard brick as he went down. Ben was about to help Rey to her feet, but he was stopped at the sensation of being pushed to the ground.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you just made a huge mistake," Rey's assailant snapped. He grabbed Ben's jacket and pulled him up. He raised his fist and punched Ben square in the nose. The force of it was enough to knock him back to the ground, but he wasn't done.

He got back to his feet, feeling nothing but adrenaline as he raised his own fist and successfully knocked it into the man's cheek. His hand instantly smarted, not quite healed from the last fight he had, not quite a week ago. But he barely noticed the pain as he went back to the larger man, getting in two more quick jabs to the face. The man was thrown off guard enough for Ben to get in some kicks. Once the man was on the ground, struggling to get up, he delivered the final blow that rendered Rey's attacker unconscious.

Ben didn't waste any time. He returned back to Rey's crumpled form and panicked for a moment when he didn't immediately see her chest rise and fall. Her clothes were so big on her that it made checking for breaths difficult, but he sighed in relief when he heard her labored breath. Like her attacker, she was also unconscious, but she wasn't dead.

Ben's body made the decision before his brain could catch up. Despite his injuries, he picked the girl up from the ground, quickly noticing just how little effort he needed. She was nothing more than skin and bones. It was a miracle the man's assaults hadn't done her in.

He hurried back the way he'd come. This time as he crossed the street he was careful not to get in the way of any cars. Not that it mattered since there were no cars to look out for. It made what he was about to do that much easier.

He fished the keys out of his pocket, which was no easy feat with the burden he was carrying, and gently laid the unconscious girl across the backseat. He impatiently tossed his earlier purchases to the floor in his haste to clear a space for the girl to rest.

Once that was taken care of, he did a quick survey of his surroundings, pleased to see that the area was still empty. The last thing he needed was for someone to think he was kidnapping a girl. His damaged reputation would never be able to come back from that. He was also pleased to see that Rey's attacker was where he'd left him, though he knew it would only be a matter of time before the man regained consciousness. Ben had no intention of sticking around and waiting for that to happen.

He quickly got in the driver's seat, took one last look to make sure Rey was still breathing, then started the car and drove back to his apartment, hoping like hell he hadn't just screwed up his life once and for all.