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

New chapter! Sorry this one took longer than normal. It was a busier week than I'd anticipated. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Chapter Nine

When Rey shuffled her way into the living room the next morning, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she didn't immediately notice the strange woman sitting on the couch. Her large legs were crossed and she leaned back in her seat, casually reading a magazine as though she had every right to be there. There were several bags at her feet, though Rey hardly registered them as she kept her suspicious gaze fixed firmly on the woman who had yet to notice her.

She was about to say something to the large blond woman, but another voice cut in before she had the chance.

"Ah, Rey," Ben said by way of greeting as he walked past her to stand by the couch the woman occupied. "I see you've met my neighbor Phasma. Phasma, this is Rey."

The woman, Phasma, closed her magazine and stood up. Both she and Ben stood together facing Rey, who felt suddenly ganged up on. She didn't like their attention fixed so directly on her. It made her think quite unwillingly about Unkar Plutt and all the people he threatened to bring over for her if she didn't "fall in line."

Her thoughts must've echoed on her face, because Ben was quick to explain, "Phasma lives a few units down from here. We've been friends for a while, and I called her last night to ask for a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Rey asked skeptically.

"Well, since you didn't bring anything from…" he trailed off, regarding Phasma thoughtfully, then continued carefully, "from that place, I gave her a call and asked her to pick up a few things."

Rey watched as Phasma bent down to retrieve the bags at the foot of the couch. "I guessed on the sizes, so hopefully they'll work."

She gestured for Rey to take the bags. After a brief hesitation, she accepted them, though she was far from reassured. She didn't know if Ben did this out of pity or genuine sense of caring. Either way, she knew she needed new clothes. She couldn't very well go around in the ratty jacket and pants that would be better thrown away than worn.

"Thanks," she mumbled, casting her gaze to the ground. If Phasma did this out of pity she didn't want to see it reflected in her eyes.

"It was no trouble," the other woman replied, though Rey detected something in her tone. Was it disappointment? Annoyance? Rey wasn't sure, and didn't think she wanted to know. "I'm happy to do my neighborly duty and help out."

"Yeah, thanks, Phasma," Ben put in dryly. "You've been a huge help. And I'm sure you've got plenty of other things on your plate than to hang around here."

Rey lifted her gaze to see Phasma nod. "As a matter of fact, I do. I need to get to the gym for my class. I'll see you around." She then turned her attention to Rey and gave her one last cursory glance. "It was nice to meet you, Rey. I'm sure we'll see each other around as well."

Rey nodded and remained silent as Phasma made her exit. The moment the door closed behind her, Rey rounded on Ben.

"You told her to buy me clothes?"

"Well, yeah. You needed them."

"But I can't pay her back for them! She doesn't know what I like, or my size, as she already pointed out! What if they're terrible, or I can't wear them?"

Ben looked taken aback by her abruptness, though his gaze hardened as he replied, "It's fashion, Rey, not rocket science! If they don't fit I'll tell Phasma to return them. If you don't like them, we can always exchange them for stuff you do like. At least try some of it on so that we know. Christ, if I had known it was going to be this big of a deal I would've waited. I just thought you might want to have some new things before you step outside this apartment."

Rey glared at him, hating that he had a point. She wouldn't have wanted to go shopping in the ratty things she had before, but she also would have liked to have some input in what she wore. She didn't want Ben's or Phasma's charity, any more than she already had it. She didn't want to feel like a project.

But she didn't say any of that to Ben. He thought he did the right thing. She didn't want him to regret taking her in. If she started complaining about the help he gave, would he kick her out? She didn't want to become difficult.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks. I'll go try it on."

Feeling properly chastised, Rey picked up the shopping bags and brought them into her room, refraining from slamming the door behind her.

Ben rubbed his temples after Rey disappeared inside her room. It was looking to be a long morning, and he had yet to fix any coffee. If he had been thinking clearly he would have made some when he let Phasma in, but he'd, foolishly as it turned out, thought his roommate would sleep later than she had and that he would have more time.

The news that he'd had Phasma go shopping for her had not gone over well. Though she'd tried to hide it, Ben knew that Rey was annoyed, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. Did she really want to keep those rags the Plutts had forced her to wear? Was she just so used to them that it no longer bothered her to look like a street urchin? Phasma certainly hadn't thought she would react any other way than grateful, so Ben had assumed it wouldn't be a big deal.

He went into the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee. As he pulled out a k-cup of Starbucks dark roast and inserted it into his Keurig machine, he thought on why Rey hadn't taken the news well. Nothing he came up with made any sense. If it were him, he would be grateful for something new, no matter where it came from. He would thank the person who had helped him instead of tossing around reason after reason why it shouldn't have happened. He'd only wanted to help. Couldn't she see that? Did it make him a bad person?

It simply boiled down to pride. Rey was proving to be a prideful person. It was becoming clearer to him with every passing day she stayed with him that she didn't like the handouts she was being offered, or at least didn't appreciate them. Had Ben made a mistake in offering her a place to stay? He didn't know what alternative there was, other than staying at the homeless shelter. Could she really not see that?

Ben had just started brewing a cup of coffee for Rey when she emerged from her room wearing a plain blue t-shirt and blue skinny jeans. He turned to look at her and nodded in appreciation at the sight of the clean clothes. They looked like they fit, but he wasn't about to say that without hearing Rey's opinion first. He needed to know where the waters lay.

"Some of the dresses will have to go. They're a bit too flashy for my taste, but most of the shirts and pants fit," Rey admitted. "Your neighbor did a good job."

Ben nodded, relieved, and walked over to her with both cups of coffee in hand. He gave one to her as he said, "She'll be pleased to hear it. And you don't have to worry about paying her back. We've all been in tight spots before. Think of it as a friend doing a favor for another friend."

Rey smiled for the first time that morning as she took a sip of coffee. "Okay."

The pair went to sit on the sofa, coffee cups still in hand. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Ben finally spoke. "So I was thinking that today we could go grocery shopping like I suggested last night, but before we do that we could go out for breakfast. Does that sound like something you would like?"

Judging from the way her eyes lit up and the smile she was trying very hard not to let spread across her face, Ben figured it was something she would like very much. But he let her tell him because he no longer wanted to assume anything about her. He was going to let her lead the way in terms of any decisions being made on her behalf.

"That sounds fun! I've never been to a restaurant before!"

The shock at hearing this was hard to mask, but Ben thought he did a good job of remaining neutral as he said, "Then I'm happy to be the first person to take you. I'll brush my teeth, then we can go."

Once they were both ready, Ben led the way to the parking lot and into his car. He asked her what she was in the mood for, and she replied that she was up for anything. So he took her to a breakfast café he was quite partial to called The Good Egg, hoping she would take to it as he had.

He pulled into a spot close to the door then led her inside, where they were promptly escorted to a booth close to the back of the restaurant.

When their waitress came over, Ben ordered a coffee while Rey ordered lemonade. They looked over the menu in silence, though Ben was tempted to point out a few of his favorites. He bit his lip and kept his suggestions to himself. Rey had made it clear enough that she wanted to make her own decisions, so that was what he would do.

"Are you two ready, or do you need some more time?" The waitress asked when she returned with their drinks.

Rey said she was ready. "I'll have the eggs benedict, please."

"That's a great choice! It's one of my favorites," the waitress said cheerfully as she wrote the order down. Rey beamed, looking pleased with herself.

"I'll do the traditional with scrambled eggs and bacon," Ben said when it was his turn.

When the waitress left to put in their order, Rey took a sip of her lemonade, then gushed, "This is the best drink I have ever had!"

Ben smiled as he took a sip of his coffee. "It is fantastic. This was one of my favorite places to eat as a kid. Sometimes my parents would take me if they both could find the time on weekends."

"I can see why. If the food is as good as that lemonade, I'll come here everyday if I can afford it," Rey replied as she gazed around the cozy restaurant. It was quiet despite it being relatively busy. As waiters and waitresses passed by their table carrying plates of food, Rey would glance at them in obvious interest.

"Maybe we can come once a week if you like it. It can become a Saturday morning tradition."

Rey smiled at that. "I'd like that."

Their food arrived a few minutes later. After reassuring the waitress that they were fine and didn't need anything else, they dug in, Rey with particular relish.

Ben watched her take a bite of her eggs benedict and was rewarded with one of the brightest smiles he'd seen from her so far. "We need to come here twice a week if it means I can have more of this!"

He laughed as she continued eating with an enthusiasm he hadn't had since childhood, barely swallowing before putting more in her mouth. "I don't know about that. There are plenty of other places to try. Plus so many recipes we can cook at home. The options are endless."

Rey was quick to declare that nothing would top what she was currently eating. Ben let her win the faux argument, silently telling himself she would feel differently once he broadened her horizons even further.

After they finished and Ben paid, they got back in the car and headed for the grocery store.

Once they parked and went inside, Ben could tell she wasn't nearly as impressed with this as she had been with the restaurant, but she still looked around with interest and pointed out all the things she wanted to try. It was clear as they went down aisle after aisle that she had been denied all the options that she now had at her disposal, and now that she was confronted with everything it was almost overwhelming.

Ben vowed to do everything in his power to change that as quickly as possible.

"Why don't you point out some of the cereals you want," Ben suggested when they went down the cereal aisle. "As much as I would like to, we can't eat out everyday. I'd go broke."

"Okay. But I still want to learn how to cook some of the things I saw on the menu. Cereal just doesn't feel the same," Rey said glumly as she tossed in boxes of Cheerios, Fruit Loops, and Frosted Flakes.

Ben simply shrugged as he moved on to the next aisle. "There will be days when you don't want to fix anything. That's what the cereal is for. Trust me on that."

By the time Ben steered their full cart to the nearest checkout stand, it felt like hours had passed. Ben could honestly admit that he was tired, and that he had never spent so much on groceries as he was about to. Rey had wanted a little bit of what felt like everything, and he didn't have the heart to deny her. She had been denied anything she wanted for her entire life. Ben figured he was helping her to make up for lost time.

Ten minutes and two hundred dollars later, Ben and Rey finally made their way out of the grocery store. After they loaded the groceries into the now packed trunk, Ben sat down, feeling more tired than when he'd woken up that morning. But it was all worth it to see the happiness on Rey's face as she stared out the window.

He wondered what it would be like to be deprived of simple things like eating out and grocery shopping for so long. He found that he couldn't. Those things had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember. They had become second nature to him that he rarely even thought about them anymore. Sometimes the prospect of going to the grocery store was so tedious and daunting that he skipped it. He'd always managed to get by.

Rey had never had that luxury, and that was heartbreaking. He found himself wondering what it must have been like for her to live with Unkar Plutt and his jackass of a son, doing all those mundane things without her, right under her nose. It made Ben want to punch something. How could they do that to a young girl who depended on them to take care of her? It pissed him off that there was nothing he could do about it now. She had slipped underneath the radar of social services for so long that reporting it now wouldn't make any difference. She wasn't even a minor anymore. Any accusations of child abuse would be thrown out before it could get to court because Ben didn't have any proof. Even if Rey decided one day to file charges, they likely wouldn't stick because of the statute of limitations. They would get away with it, and there was nothing Ben, Rey, or anyone else could do about it.

Even if he wanted to ask his mother about it, she would want to know why he was asking, and that would mean telling her about Rey. He knew no one was ready for that, least of all Rey. He knew his mother would fuss and obsess, and it would only chase Rey away. She wasn't ready to support herself yet, and if she left it would only be to end up on the streets. Ben refused to be the cause of that.

For now all he could do was introduce her to the things that she had been deprived of. As he continued the drive home, he made a mental note of all the things he wanted to show Rey. He would take her to a movie, to the library, to a museum, baseball game, bowling alley, skating rink. Soon there wouldn't be anything she hadn't tried yet, and she would no longer feel as though she missed out.

Soon she would feel as though eating out and shopping for groceries were the most mundane activities in her life. Ben would make sure of it.