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

Trigger Warning: Small scene of brief child abuse. It takes place in a flashback that is italicized, so if it bothers you, please skip it.

Thanks for reading.

Chapter Five

Rey offered to help him clean the kitchen, but Ben was adamant that she stay put.

"How are you going to heal if you're constantly putting unneeded stress on your body?"

"I hate to break it to you, but you didn't exactly get off scot free either." Rey indicated his bruised face. He'd been downplaying it, brushing off his injuries every time she asked about them, but she could tell they bothered him.

"I'm fine. It's you who can barely stand."

When it was clear she wasn't going to win the argument she shut up and let him go about tidying up the apartment. It went against everything she was used to not to at least help him. Chores were always her responsibility. They had been for as long as she could remember. One of her earliest memories was Unkar sitting her down and explaining how he expected his household to be run.

"Listen up, girl, because I'm only going to say this once. You live here now, which means you follow my rules. I'm a very busy man, and my son is quarterback and captain of the football team. As such, we will not have time to maintain the house. All the chores are your responsibility, and if they are not done to my satisfaction, you will be punished. Do you understand?"

Rey had been four at the time and terrified of the two towering figures that hovered above her. She sat the center of the oversized blue sofa and cowered at the massive man and his teenaged son. Unkar's dark eyes had pierced her own. She was too afraid to answer.

Unkar bristled and hunched over her until his face was close enough to her own that she could feel his hot, stinky breath coat her face. "I asked you a question, girl. Do you understand?"

Behind his father, the teenaged Atkin laughed at her obvious discomfort. "Why did they give her to us? She's too young and stupid to be useful."

"Quiet!" Unkar snapped, turning his head away from her to glare at his son. Rey breathed in relief, but it was short-lived when he regarded her once more. She was about to answer, but not quickly enough to suit him, and she felt the backside of his hand make contact with her cheek. She cried out and tried to turn away from him but his hand grabbed her chin and held it in place so that there was nowhere for her to turn.

"Understand this. When I ask you a question, I expect an immediate response. The next time you fail to answer me, it'll be the belt. Now. One last time. Do. You. Understand."

Rey nodded her head as much as she was able to with Unkar's hand still gripping her chin. "Y-Yes! I understand!"

"Good." Unkar released her chin and returned to his full height. His eyes never left her as he ordered his son to start boiling a pot of water.

"But Dad," Atkin had whined. "Isn't that what we have her for now? Why do I have to?"

"Because she's too young. Do you want her burning the house down?"

Atkin had bristled but went to do what he was told. Rey was surprised to find she was even more terrified now that she was alone with this much older man who'd hit her. What was she supposed to do?

As though he'd heard her thoughts, Unkar said firmly, "After dinner you'll do the dishes."

Rey pushed the memory away with a shudder. Her time was better served forgetting the past and figuring out a way to get back to the Plutts without Ben noticing.

It was a task that proved more difficult than she'd anticipated because Ben wouldn't let her out of his sight.

He'd seemed to pick up on her anxiety because every time she fidgeted he looked at her worriedly and wanted to know if she was okay. Every time she answered yes. There was no way she could tell him why she was so desperate to go back to the Plutts. He wouldn't understand.

After a while Ben stopped what he'd been doing and tossed her something small and rectangular. She caught it with one hand and examined it.

It was a remote for his big screen TV.

"Feel free to turn something on," Ben said as he went back to his task. "You don't have to just sit there."

"No," Rey agreed as she placed the remote next to her and sat up. "I could be helping you."

Ben sighed but didn't look at her. "You need to rest. The sooner you heal, the…"

"Sooner I leave," Rey finished for him. She rolled her eyes but relaxed back in the sofa regardless. "I know. You've mentioned it once or twice."

She picked the remote up and turned on the TV. As she flipped through the channels, she couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of being able to watch something of her choosing. On the rare occasion that Unkar let her near his much smaller TV, it was always supervised and either he or Atkin chose what was being watched. Rey had been so excited at the prospect of some down time that she hadn't complained.

"Why do you want to help me so much?" Ben asked once she'd found a movie that looked interesting on HBO. "You don't live here. You're my guest. None of this is your responsibility."

Thoughts of Unkar and Atkin once again invaded her mind unbidden, but she pushed them away, refusing to let Ben see her weakness. "It just doesn't seem right to sit around while you work."

When she gathered the courage to look at him she could immediately see that he wasn't convinced. Luckily he let it go and didn't broach the subject again.

Rey lost all track of time as she lost herself in the movie. She knew enough about the world to know it was one of the Avengers movies, though she didn't know which one. It wasn't until the start of the big battle at the end that she noticed Ben had finally stopped his work and had settled himself on the floor in front of the sofa, leaning against it so that his head was beside hers.

A sense of peace filled the room around her, and as the heroes battled their bad guy on screen, Rey found herself wishing that she could pause this moment and savor it. Nothing was expected of her. No one was yelling at her or constantly reminding her of her place. She wasn't struggling to find food because the Plutts refused to feed her. And because of the omelet Ben had fixed for her, her stomach wasn't aching in hunger.

They were all foreign concepts to her, and she suddenly wanted more of it.

But like all good things in her life, it didn't last.

Once the movie finished and the credits began to roll, Ben stood up and stretched his large arms high above his head as though he'd been sitting around for hours.

"Well, that was…"

Whatever it was, Ben's sentence was interrupted by the shrill ring of a phone.

He groaned as he fished his phone from his pocket, and Rey got the feeling he knew without looking at the Caller ID who wanted to talk to him.

"Hello, Mother."

Rey could hear muffled talking on the other end but it was too faint to make out. Whatever Ben was hearing, though, it was clear by the horrified look on his face that it wasn't good.

"Now's not really a good time."

"No, nothing like that, it's just…"

"Can't it wait?"

Silence stretched for a minute before Ben let out an exasperated sigh then finally snapped, "Fine. Goodbye, Mother."

He hung up without bothering to say goodbye, then threw Rey a serious look.

"My mother's coming."

Rey was glad she felt steadier on her feet than earlier that morning because she was sure she would have fallen as she used Ben's impatient form as a crutch. He was helping her back into the spare bedroom, but it was clear he was impatient as he forced her to move quicker than she wanted to.

"Are you going to be okay here?" Ben asked once he'd helped her on the bed. Her ankle still throbbed and her body still felt like a used punching bag, but the pain was slowly starting to ebb. She nodded.

"Okay, good. Do you need me to bring you anything? Water, snacks?"

"How long is she going to be here?" Rey wondered curiously as Ben started to pace.

"I don't know, but if her track record is to be believed, I'd say a while."

"And I take it I can't leave this room while she's here?"

If possible, Ben looked even more anxious than he already was as he said softly, "Rey, it's not that you can't leave. It's just…"

"My being here is something your mother wouldn't like?"

Ben's silence was answer enough.

The peace she'd felt earlier when the two of them had watched the movie was gone. The tension and awkwardness was back, and suddenly Rey wanted very much to go back to Unkar and Atkin. At least with them she knew where she stood.

A knock sounded from the front door, and Rey jumped involuntarily. Ben regarded her for a moment as he paused at the bedroom door. "I'll try to be as quick as I can."

Rey said nothing. She could tell he wanted to say more, but another knock came before he had the chance to. He spared her one more apologetic look before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. Rey half expected to hear the click of a lock. At least he hadn't gone that far.

She had nothing else to do but listen as the sounds of the front door opening seeped into the room, followed by Ben's voice.

"Hello, Mother."

"This isn't a bad time, is it?" The woman's voice was deeper than she'd expected, and slightly gravelly, though she sounded enough like Ben that Rey was confident she would have been able to connect her as his mother if she didn't already know that was who she was.

"Of course not. I just finished some cleaning."

The woman laughed at that. "You, clean? Maybe I should make you volunteer more often."

"Hilarious, as always."

Rey smiled to herself as she listened to Ben and his mother banter for a few more minutes. She wondered what it would be like if her own mother hadn't left her with the Plutts. Would their relationship have been anything like the one Ben had with his? She liked to think so. But she pushed the thought away and continued to eavesdrop on the conversation outside her room.

"So the numbers are in. Seems as though the public is warming up to you."

"Just like that? They see one set up on TV and think they know me." Ben sounded irritated, though Rey heard a small hint of relief in his voice.

"Ben, like it or not, you've been in the spotlight long enough for people to have formed opinions of you. Getting into fights outside of bars is going to be more damaging to you than it would for anyone else. Putting someone in the hospital is going to require some damage control on our part."

"Mom, why can't you just admit it? You're doing all of this to save your reputation, not mine! You really think anyone cares what the son of a state senator is doing in his spare time? All they care about is you and how it is affecting you. So spare me your false concern."

"You know that isn't true," Rey heard Ben's mom snap. It was clear who he got his temper from. "My concern for you isn't false. I'm not doing this to get re-elected. This is about you and making sure you don't screw up your life. You still have so much potential. You can go back to college and get your degree. I know how much you used to love your art."

"I already told you I'm not going back to college," Ben replied shortly, a slight edge to his voice.

"Well, whatever you decide to do with your life, it can't involve losing your temper at anyone who makes you mad. You've got to learn to control your temper, which brings me to why I'm here."

"Of course you have ulterior motives," Ben mumbled, sounding more resigned than angry.

"I pulled some strings, and I made an appointment for you with Dr. Kanata."

"God, Mom, would you stop already? Volunteering at that homeless shelter was bad enough. Now I have to go to some stupid shrink?"

"You need to get your anger in check, and you also need to show that you're changing. The numbers from shelter are good, but it would do wonders if you showed that you were trying to take more responsibility for your actions rather than simply helping the community."

"And I suppose I don't have a choice in this?"

"Just go to one session. What's the harm in at least giving it a shot?"

Silence met this answer. Rey waited for his reply, which came a moment later.

"One session. That's all."

"Okay." Rey heard the smile in her voice as she said, "Grab your coat. It starts in half an hour."

"Nothing like giving a guy a warning," Ben mumbled, but he didn't argue any further. The door closed not long after that.

Rey waited, half expecting for him to have changed his mind, but when it was clear Ben and his mother weren't coming back, she slowly got to her feet and shuffled her way out of the spare bedroom.

As the conversation she'd overheard repeated itself in her mind, tears filled her eyes. She'd started to believe that he wanted to help her out of the goodness of his heart. The Plutts were right; she was stupid. It was all an act set up to help his image. She should have realized it when she saw him at the shelter and saw the cameras. He didn't really care. He was being forced to by his mother who, as Ben himself had said, had her own reasons for making him look good. He was nothing but a liar.

And she was an idiot for believing him.

She refused to be his charity case anymore. She needed to return to the Plutts anyway. This was simply the push she needed.

Rey hurried as quickly as she could into the kitchen and began rummaging around for something to eat. She wasn't in any condition to make her way to the shelter that night, and since the Plutts never gave her anything and she didn't have any money, it was steal Ben's food or go hungry. She could live with herself if she stole from him. He'd stolen an entire day from her. It was only fair.

She stuffed as much of the food as she could into a black garbage bag she found then headed for the front door. As she steeled herself for the unpleasant reunion she was about to have with Unkar and Atkin, Rey took one last look around the apartment. Though it was all a lie, her time here hadn't been unpleasant. It would be something good to hold on to while her life went back to being the miserable, lonely existence she was used to.

She couldn't remember ever having felt so alone as she closed the door to Ben's apartment firmly shut behind her.