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

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and added this story to favorites/alerts. It really does mean a lot! Up next is Rey's POV. With some answers come more questions. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Four

Rey woke with a start.

The first irrational thought that went through her mind was that she was comfortable, which was at odds with every experience she'd had up until that point. The thought had barely occurred to her before the pain started. At first she thought it might only be cramps, but as the events of the past twenty-four hours slowly came back to her, she knew it wasn't as simple as that.

Atkin's fist connecting with her face. Crumpling to the ground as he kicked her as hard in the stomach as he could. Not being able to defend herself from the endless array of blows that kept assaulting her body. Finally losing consciousness after a particularly violent assault to her head, only to wake up later in a strange apartment with no idea how she got there.

She'd been convinced that Atkin and his slime-ball father had finally made good on their threats and sent her to one of their friends in order to 'break her spirit.' The thought had absolutely terrified her, and it had only grown when she'd registered the person in the apartment with her.

He was older than her; thick black hair that nearly reached his shoulders; long face with a long nose and piercing brown eyes. The most striking feature about him was his height. He towered over her and had enough muscle mass to bring down a man twice his size. He regarded her with an intensity that reminded her all too much of Plutt and his jackass of a son. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

So she'd screamed.

He'd reacted by covering her mouth with his enormous hand, and that was when the memory came, unbidden and unwanted.

She'd lost all track of time. Finn had started on one of his tangents as they finished the oil change on the black Honda Civic. He was full of stories he claimed were true but were too wild and exotic to be believable, though Rey humored him all the same. By the time either of them bothered to check the time, it was nearly ten o'clock.

"Shit!" Rey exclaimed, dropping the wrench as she jumped to her feet. "Unkar's going to kill me!"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Just tell him I needed an extra hand and it took longer than we thought," Finn said, though the words were futile and they both knew it.

"Finn, it's an oil change. We're not building a car from scratch."

She threw on her dirty jacket, ignoring the pitying look her only friend tried to hide from her.

"At least…"

"What?" Rey snapped, immediately regretting the harsh edge in her voice.

"Just stay here with me. You know there's room."

Rey sighed as she headed for the door of the garage that led out into the street. "We've been over this. You know why I can't."

"But we could…"

"No, Finn. All right? Just leave it alone."

She left before he could argue further.

The streets were empty at this hour. Rey hated being out this late, mostly because it meant she'd missed her chance to eat. The shelter had long since closed their doors, and there was no time to loot the dumpsters. She was late enough as it was. She would just have to go hungry.

She hurried down street after street, ignoring the looks thrown her way from the few people still out. She hoped she looked repulsive enough in her dirty rags to repel any would-be attackers away, though she knew there were plenty of people who wouldn't hesitate to pray on a young woman out alone at night, no matter how dirty they looked.

An old man with a long gray beard noticed her and didn't bother to hide his interest as he stood from the bench he'd been sitting on and began walking in her direction. Rey cursed her bad luck and ducked into the nearest alley, which happened to be a short cut to her destination. She could lead the man to Unkar and his gang of thugs and let them take care of the rest. They never passed up a good fight.

Just as she was about to turn the corner out of the opposite side of the alley, she stumbled upon a man who looked as though he'd dressed for church. His eyes were wide, his attention focused on the door of the building that Rey knew led in to The First Order Brewery. She'd never been there, but she knew it attracted all walks of life. Atkin had often warned her against going in there, though it wasn't out of any concern for her safety. He never hesitated to tell her what would happen to any man who showed any interest in her. Rey hated his possessiveness, but she wasn't yet twenty-one, so it was a moot issue regardless.

Rey gasped in surprise as the door to the bar suddenly burst open, which caught the attention of the finely dressed man. He regarded her in obvious alarm, then grabbed her and flung her behind the dumpster on the opposite side of the door. He covered her mouth with his enormous hand and whispered for her not to make a sound. He tucked her body into his and pushed them down so that they were crouched behind the dumpster. His hand was so large that it covered both her mouth and her nose, making it difficult to breathe.

"I'll find you, you piece of shit!" The man who had burst from the bar, the one they were hiding from, yelled into the alley. "And then we'll finish this!"

The man disappeared back into the bar, but Rey's captor made no move to release her. An eternity seemed to pass before he finally let her go. She took the opportunity to run as far away from him as she could, noticing through her peripheral vision as she did so that he had the darkest shade of black hair she'd ever seen.

It was clear to Rey that this man had no memory of her. His eyes held no recognition as she'd declared that she knew him. His confusion didn't seem to be an act, so Rey had dropped the subject. By the time he'd shown her into the room where she spent the night, Rey had vowed that she would escape at the first opportunity.

But she had fallen asleep before she could make good on that promise.

Now that it was morning, Unkar and Atkin had to know that she was missing and probably thought she'd run away. The thought filled her with anxiety because she knew neither of them were ones to make empty threats. If she didn't show up, there would be nowhere for her to go, and she truly would be as homeless as she looked.

She fought through the pain as she forced herself out of the entirely too comfortable bed. Leaning against the wall for support, she told herself that she would use the bathroom then leave before her captor woke up. If she got lucky, he'd forget all about her a second time.

Rey quickly did her business and was just about to leave the bathroom when the pounding of footsteps filled the air.

The man was awake. It was too late.

She flushed the toilet and began limping toward the spare room, but stopped the moment she saw the man's frenzied expression. It was clear he'd been in her room, and the anxious look on his face did little to put her at ease.

"Where were you? I heard movement and thought…"

"That I left?" Rey interrupted angrily. "So much for not being a prisoner."

The man's eyebrows pinched together as he replied, "I never said you were a prisoner."

"So I'm free to leave whenever I want?"

"Of course," the man began, though Rey noticed the slight hesitation in his deep voice. "Though if I were you, I don't think I'd take my chances on the streets in your condition."

Rey frowned at that. "I'm not homeless."

"Your presence at the homeless shelter would suggest otherwise."

"I don't stay at the shelter. I just…"

"Get a free meal from time to time?" Her captor interjected. "Dress like a hobo because it's the latest fashion trend? Somehow I doubt it."

"You don't know a thing about me," Rey snapped, suddenly furious. "You must think pretty highly of yourself if you think a woman is going to thank you for rescuing her from a situation she didn't need rescuing from!"

At that the man stared at her incredulously. "You were knocked out cold, Rey. What else would you call it?"

Rey held out a hand to silence him, staring coldly into his dark eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"What?" Suddenly the man looked nervous again.

"You heard me!" Rey all but yelled, causing the man to flinch and steal a quick glance before turning back to her. "How do you know my name?"

"The woman at the shelter told us. After you ran out of there, my mom was worried about you, so the lady who runs it told us your name is Rey. That's all."

"That's all?" Rey repeated. "The next day you just happen to find me in an unfortunate situation then take me here to your place? I'd say that's one hell of a coincidence."

"Well, it's also the truth. This city is smaller than you'd think."

Rey wanted to argue the point further, but her leg chose that moment to give out from under her. She gasped as she began to fall, but before she made contact with the tiled floor she felt steady arms around her waist stop her at the last second.

"I got you," Ben said softly. He moved her body so that she was tucked into his, then he took her right arm and wrapped it around his shoulder so that she could use him as a crutch as he helped her back to the couch he'd left her on the previous night. She bit her lip to keep from crying out with every step she took. She had a feeling her ankle might be twisted, though with the stack of injuries currently weighing her body down it was hard to tell.

Once he sat her on the couch, he moved to her legs. The movement was quick and she reacted instinctively, flinching away from him. "Don't!"

The man stopped where he was and raised his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. As he turned to look at her, his face had that pitying expression she saw all too often in Finn, so she turned away from him. She didn't want or need his pity.

"I'm just going to stretch your leg out on the sofa so I can see if your ankle is twisted. I promise that's all."

Reluctantly, Rey turned back to him. After a moment of silence and no more swift movements, she nodded her assent.

The man was as careful as anyone had ever been with her as he touched her left leg and slowly helped her stretch it out on the sofa. He was quick to apologize every time she flinched from the pain any movement caused her, but eventually her pained leg was where he wanted it.

"Ben."

"What?"

"Ben. It's my name. I know yours so it's only fair you know mine."

Rey nodded slowly and did her best to ignore the jab of pain even that slight movement brought her. "Ben," she murmured as she looked at him. Somehow, it suited him. "I like it."

The man…Ben…laughed. It was the first time she heard him laugh and she was surprised to find that she liked it.

"I like yours too."

The ghost of a smile threatened to twist upon her lips, but Rey fought back the urge. If she gave him even the smallest indication that she might feel at ease around him, he might get the wrong idea. Despite her injuries, she needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Are you hungry? I can make us breakfast."

The thought of food made her stomach rumble loudly enough to fill the room. She hadn't made it to the shelter in time for dinner last night, but a quick rummage through the dumpster had at least given her a half-eaten piece of bread and a few bites of an apple. It wasn't much, but it had at least kept her from passing out.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Rey watched as Ben got up and headed into the kitchen. He rummaged through his stainless steel refrigerator and pulled out a carton of eggs, butter, and milk. He pulled out a pan from a shelf underneath his stove and began cooking.

Soon the room was filled with scents Rey had only dreamed about. Unkar and Atkin had rarely cooked when she was younger, and by the time she was old enough to learn they'd told her she was too stupid to learn. She had secretly taught herself, but she was never granted access to their kitchen so it left her relying on the shelter for food. The shelter had never cooked anything good enough to elicit the smells that were currently wafting from whatever Ben was cooking.

Minutes later Ben returned to the living room with two plates and two forks. He handed one of each over to her, which she gratefully accepted. She paused, though, when she looked down at what was on her plate.

"An omelet?"

Ben's face fell as he settled at the small kitchen table he'd sat at the previous night. "Do you not like them?"

Rey felt her face flush as she shrugged. She looked down to hide it, hoping like hell he hadn't noticed. "I don't know. Never had one."

She took a bite of her omelet then looked back up at her host as she began chewing. She couldn't quite read the look on his face. It was a mix of surprise, disbelief, and concern. She didn't know which one bothered her more.

"But it's delicious!"

It wasn't a lie. Whether it was the omelet or Ben's cooking, she decided then and there this was the best thing she'd ever eaten.

"Are you messing with me?" Ben asked once he'd swallowed a bite of his own omelet.

Rey shook her head and replied through a mouth full of food, "I love it."

Ben smiled again. Despite her feelings over being kept here in what felt against her will, she liked making him smile. It was a somewhat foreign concept to her because no one smiled at her except Finn.

"If you want, I can teach you. That way you can make them when you're…" He trailed off, looking uncomfortable again.

"Yeah," she said, not knowing why she wanted to reassure him. As she finished the last of her omelet, she knew it wasn't a lie when she said softly, "I'd like that."