AUTHOR'S NOTE: Back from the dead! ha ha! I was working on my piece for the Tumblr Reylo Anthology so this was put on hold temporarily. I'm back! Sorry for the long delay. Thanks!

Everything was too bright. The lights. The hallways. The sun streaming in from the windows. Rey squinted her eyes as she was led to her quarters by her still confused friends, Finn and Poe Dameron. General Leia Organa had tried to approach her in the hangar but Rey all but ran from her, having no desire to speak with her after having Kylo Ren arrested and taken away to detention for murder and war crimes against the New Republic.

"Rey," Finn said, but stopped as Poe looked over Rey's head, signaling him not to say anything just yet. Rey's tears had stopped but she still clutched Kylo Ren's mask to her chest. It felt odd to hold onto a thing she had hated so much…. but now it was all she had left of him. For now. They reached Rey's quarters and she keyed in the code for entry. When the door didn't open, she tried again, frustrated. She then realized she was keying in the code for her quarters at the First Order base. Tears welled up in her eyes again as she tried to remember the pass code for her quarters here at the Resistance base. Finn put his hand on her shoulder, "It's ok, Rey."

She wiped her eyes and nodded as she remembered the right numbers. The door to her room hissed open. They entered. Poe flipped on both sets of lights, almost blinding Rey. She reached over and turned one set off, darkening the room a little. Finn and Poe exchanged worried glances, but didn't say anything. "The First Order didn't have such harsh lighting," Rey said blandly. She took Kylo's mask and threw it across the room into the corner. Finn and Poe took a step back as she did so; it felt good, familiar. She wondered how many times Kylo had entered his own quarters and done that. She looked over at Finn and then Poe. "Would you like to come in?"

Rey had a small couch towards the back of her space. All three headed for it, Rey in the middle, Poe to the left and Finn to the right. Rey leaned over and put her head on Poe's shoulder and he cradled her. Finn wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her. They all sat like that for a moment, until Finn finally straightened himself and broke the silence. "Rey."

"I know," she said. "You want to know what happened."

Poe kissed the top of her head, "It is a bit much to take in, love."

"He's not all that you think he is. Not entirely."

"Rey, he tried to kill you!" Finn exclaimed. "He tried to kill me!"

"No, Finn. He didn't try to kill me," she said. "He did try to kill you, though." She had to concede that.

"How can you possibly defend him, Rey?" asked Finn, already exasperated. "You watched him murder Han Solo. We watched him murder Han Solo, his own father. How can you even have any sort of feelings for a monster like that?"

Rey shook her head, "It will take longer than you want to give me right now to explain everything."

Poe stroked the top of her head, "We want to understand, Rey, but you have to tell us how this has happened. What did he do to you?"

Rey looked at him with pleading eyes, "Poe, he didn't do anything to me. He was supposed to torture me, question me, find out where Luke Skywalker is, get me to reveal the location of this very base and if he couldn't, he was supposed to kill me and he did none of that. None of it. He didn't even try. He had dinner with me and talked with me and trained with me and," she stopped. "He is a monster, but not entirely. There is still Light in him. I've seen it and I've felt it." She paused again, unsure if she should continue. "And he is scared."

"He should be," Finn said. "He'll be executed for his crimes."

"No," Rey said. "He's been granted immunity from execution. It was a term of my return."

Finn blew out a long breath, "Rey, you have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. You haven't seen the things I have or experienced them!"

"Finn, wait a minute," Poe said.

"No, Poe, I can't let her go down a road she's not prepared to take!" Finn stood up as his voice rose.

Rey rose from the couch to meet him, but her voice did not, "Do you think I'm some innocent flower plucked from the sands of Jakku? That I've not seen things or done things that might be questionable? Do you think I had never killed before meeting you, Finn?" Finn started to speak but Rey stopped him. "I killed my first man on Jakku when I was twelve. He tried to steal my portions and my virtue. He got neither. The last man I killed has left the First Order without a military leader and I took their figurehead with me when I left. Do you dare to talk down to me further?"

Poe and Finn looked at each other, exchanging concerned looks, with Poe speaking, "The last man you killed?"

"I killed General Hux," she said flatly.

"I don't know if that's a good or bad thing," Finn said. "I'm glad the bastard is gone, but I don't know if I'm glad that you're the one that did it, Rey."

She shrugged, "I had no choice," she knew she was lying. "I was afraid he was going to kill me." She sat back down, Finn joining her.

"So Hux is dead and Kylo Ren is here," Poe said. "Who is running the First Order?"

"I don't know," Rey said. "Ben said he was making some arrangements before we left but I didn't ask for details. I don't care."

"Now would be an excellent time for a strike! Do you know where the base is?" Poe asked.

"No more than Ben knows where this one is. We agreed to not give each other an advantage over the other on coordinates. We're trying to make the exchange as even as possible. I know it sounds crazy but," she stopped again. "I don't expect you to understand and I don't even expect your support but don't try to talk me out of it. My mind's made up. My heart is made up. Please don't think this is something I came to easily or quickly or that I still don't struggle with."

Poe put his arm around Rey, "I imagine you need some rest?" She nodded. "Then we will let you get some. We can talk more later. Let's go, Finn." He gave Rey a squeeze as he stood up.

Finn hugged Rey and also stood up, "If you need anything, call us. We'll be right there."

She just nodded and reached for his hand and held it for a moment before he and Poe walked out. She stood up from the couch and went to the corner where she threw Kylo Ren's helmet and collected it, taking it back to the couch with her. She sat it next to her on the sofa, expecting tears to arrive, but they didn't. She only felt anger. Hot anger, creeping up the back of her neck and into her ears. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Ben should be with her, in this room, right now. Not in a cell somewhere, in shackles. This isn't what she agreed to, not what she wanted, not what he wanted. Ben, I'm so sorry...I will fix this, she vowed.

General Leia Organa entered the cell of Kylo Ren. She placed a tray of rations on the table that was bolted to the floor, and sat on the chair that was also secured to the floor. Kylo Ren sat on the cot attached to the wall and did not acknowledge her presence in the room. He seemed to be meditating. "Ben," she said.

"You no longer have the right to call me that, General. Aside from the fact that Ben Solo is dead."

"You seem to let Rey call you that."

His head snapped up, "Whatever is between Rey and myself is none of your concern, General," his eyes flashed angrily.

"I didn't know if you would be hungry or not and not sure of what you would want, so I brought a bit of everything from the cafeteria," she said, trying to break the tension.

"Of course you have no idea what I want. You never did."

Leia blew out a long breath. This was going to be drawn out and painful. She knew that beforehand and had prepared herself, but can you ever truly prepare yourself for something like this? Facing your son after fifteen years of war, resentment, hate and murder? "So Snoke is dead?"

"Yes. I killed him. Finally," Kylo said slowly.

"Why? After all this time."

"Because it was time. I should have done it long ago, long before," Kylo stopped, his words hanging in the air.

"Go on, son," Leia said.

Kylo looked up at her, "Long before he gave me the order to kill Han Solo." Kylo's voice cracked slightly as he said his father's name. "It should have been done long before that but I didn't do it. I was weak."

Leia felt the urge to go to her son but resisted, "What's done is done. It cannot be changed. If Snoke is dead, who is now the Supreme Leader?"

"I am."

"But you're here?" Leia asked.

Kylo shrugged. "I imagine things will be a bit chaotic in a few days." It wasn't a complete lie.

"Why did you release Rey?"

Kylo narrowed his eyes at her, "Why wouldn't I? I never considered her my prisoner. That was Snoke's doing. Not mine. She was my guest. I always treated her as such."

"Didn't you question her?"

"No, not once."

"Weren't you under some sort of orders from Snoke?" she asked.

"Of course I was. I ignored them."

Leia stood up, angry, "You could ignore orders about Rey, but you couldn't ignore the orders to kill your father?"

"I told you, General, I was weak. Have you any idea what it took for me to admit that, especially to you?" he stood up, his height towering over the diminutive General Organa. "The longer Rey was there, the stronger I grew in my ability to defy Snoke. Do you have any idea how much sooner I wish I would have met her?" A single tear made its way down Kylo's cheek.

"Why didn't you just come back home, Ben?"

"After all I had done? You make it sound so simple," he reached up with both shackled hands to wipe his cheek.

"You could have come back. We could have worked things out," she wanted so badly to reach out to her son, to touch him, but she couldn't.

"What? And bring the First Order fully down upon the Resistance? Do you think I could have just fled from Snoke with no retaliation? I couldn't do that to you, to Da... to Han Solo. After the public fallout from the revelation of who your father was and my reaction to it?" More tears slid down his cheeks.

Leia started to raise a hand to wipe Kylo's cheek but stopped and sat back down in her chair, "Did Rey tell you anything at all?"

"About the Resistance? No. Nor did I ask. I wasn't interested in this...operation."

"Or Luke?"

"No, nothing regarding Luke Skywalker, either and again, I did not ask," Kylo said. "The only person that had the audacity to ask her died because of it." Kylo seated himself again on the cot and wiped his face with the pillowcase.

Leia leaned forward in her chair and her eyes grew wide, "Rey killed someone while she was there?"

Kylo smiled, "More than someone. She killed Hux and two of his lackeys. Snoke gave him the order to question and torture her. She did not take kindly to it."

"Well, it was self defense, right? She had to, I'm sure of it. She wouldn't kill unless she had to," Leia looked to Kylo for explanation.

He only gave her an evil smile, "If that is what you want to believe, that is fine."

"Ben, what did you do to her?" Leia asked.

"General, I did nothing to her. I talked with her, I made her dinner, I trained with her," he paused. "I made love to her, but I did nothing. I killed Snoke for her, I came here for her, but I have done nothing."

"You dance around responsibility just like your father," she shook her head. "And you tell me too much."

"Rey made her own choices. You should be grateful she decided to return. Someone with her power and abilities is an invaluable asset."

"What about her value as a friend?"

Kylo looked down and spoke softly, "She means much more to me than that and I'll not discuss it with you or anyone else. Rey is well aware of her worth to me. It is why I am here. She had hoped we would remain together. I told her it was...unlikely but," he stopped. "All that needs to be said is that I would give my life for her. Without question or hesitation."

"Is the First Order aware of the location of this base?" Leia returned to her line of questioning.

"No. No more than Rey is aware of the location of the First Order base. We made an agreement to not exchange that information. We don't want either of us to be accused of being traitors. Though I am sure we both are in some fashion, somehow if a case were to be made. Myself more so than her."

"Where is the next strike for the First Order?"

"I'm not sure. With my orders surrounding Rey, I had not dealt with any military operations since her arrival at the base. My days...and nights...were consumed with her."

"How were you able to convince Snoke you were following orders when you clearly were not?" Leia asked.

Kylo shrugged, "I convinced him I was getting close to her, gaining her trust, wooing her to the Dark Side, to the First Order cause. From there we would get the information we needed and gain her as an ally."

"Was there any truth to that, Ben?"

He smiled, "Of course. Do you really think I wanted to come back here? I knew this is where I would end up."

"Then why did you kill Snoke?"

"Because I knew even if she turned to the Dark Side, she would never reveal the location of the Resistance base because of her emotional ties to her friends and to you. If I did not get the location of the base and Luke Skywalker from her, my orders were to kill her. I knew I would not get that information from her so I had to kill him. He had already tried to have Hux gain the information and that certainly did not go as planned. The only way for Rey to live was for Snoke to die."

"Did you think she would stay with you after that?"

"Even a man as dark as I is allowed to hope, is he not?" Kylo sighed. "Rey made it very clear she would not stay with the First Order. And here we are." He pushed his hair back from his eyes. "What are you hoping to hear me say, General? I am not the prodigal son that's happy to have returned home and wants to make everything all better."

"No, nor did I expect you to be. I didn't expect you to be in love with Rey, either. I honestly didn't think you had that capability left in you. Not after…." Leia couldn't bring herself to say the words. "At some point there will be an official debriefing, but, Ben, I want to come back later, no, tomorrow. To talk. Not as General Organa, but as your mother." Kylo simply shrugged in response. "I'll see you then." She exited the detention cell and the door swiftly shut behind her.

Leia headed from the detention area to the staff quarters. She figured she might as well get the confrontation with Rey out of the way, as well. It certainly wasn't something she was looking forward to. She knew she hadn't been completely forward with Rey about the terms of her return with Ben, but then again, she didn't understand how Rey would think he wouldn't have to answer for his crimes. She asked for immunity from execution so she realized he was liable for something so why was she so upset that he was detained? Leia wondered if Ben had requested the immunity from execution and Rey went along with it. Perhaps that would explain her confusion.

Leia arrived at Rey's quarters and pressed the comm button on the wall.

"Who is it?" Rey's voice asked.

"Rey, it's General Organa."

There was a long silence. "I don't want to see you right now, General."

"Rey, please. I need to explain."

Another long silence but the door opened this time. No lights lit her quarters, only natural lighting illuminated the room. Rey was sitting on the couch in her quarters, cradling Kylo Ren's helmet. Leia entered, but only enough so the door would slide shut behind her. "Rey," she began.

"Why?" Rey interrupted.

"Rey," Leia said softly. "I had to. Not only for the safety of others, but for his own safety. I told you I would keep him safe."

"You didn't tell me you would arrest him!"

"He's a war criminal, Rey! He's done terrible things, you know this. You're a witness to the murder of Han! You'll be called to testify."

"I won't do it!" Rey stood up to face General Organa. "I promised Ben that we wouldn't be separated and I'm not even here an hour and that promise is broken. All I have left of him is the thing I hate the most, that thing he never wore around me."

"Rey, I had no idea what had developed between you two. How could I? And it wouldn't make a difference. I have to do what is right. Do you think this is easy for me? He is my son. I have been waiting fifteen years for my son to come back. I have to put duty before anything else even when I do not want to."

"And that's the problem, General! You've always put duty before everything else and that's why we're exactly where we are!"

Leia clearly looked pained from Rey's comment, "Always remember, Rey, you're only getting one side of the story. One day I will sit you down and give you mine. You are young and foolish…"

"Young I might be, but I am far from foolish," Rey interrupted. "I could have stayed with the First Order. I killed their military leader, I have control of their figurehead who I am more powerful than, yet I chose to come back here and you dare to call me foolish?"

Leia looked at her sharply, "Rey, listen to yourself. Those are the words of the Dark Side." Leia hadn't felt anger and fear like this since…

"No, General, you are hearing what you want to hear. I speak the truth. Ben should be here. With me. You lied to me!"

"Rey, I did not lie to you! I granted the immunity you requested and Ben is safe. Do you realize how many people on this base would like to see him dead? Finn is included in that number! And can you blame them? He's responsible for the death of billions!"

"NO! No, he is not! He was completely against the destruction of the Hosnian system. He wasn't even on Starkiller Base at the time the weapon was fired. You of all people should understand that!"

"It doesn't matter, Rey. He's still guilty because he's a member of the First Order command. Beyond that, there's still the murders of Lor San Tekka and Han, not to mention the order of killing the villagers and how many other countless similar orders?"

"Did you come here for anything besides reminding me of how horrible your son is?" Rey asked tartly.

"I wanted to about some things ," Leia replied.

Rey sighed, "Go ahead."

"Did Ben request immunity?"

"No, I did. Why does it matter anyhow?" Rey asked.

"I thought you might be confused about the arrest versus immunity if Ben requested it. I see now. How were you treated while a prisoner of the First Order?"

"When I was with Ben, I never felt like a prisoner. He treated me like a guest. It was rather surreal. I knew I couldn't leave, I knew full well I was a prisoner. He never treated me as such."

"He never interrogated you, questioned you, anything?" asked Leia.

"No," Rey replied. "Only General Hux tried that. It ended poorly for him."

"So Ben told me. You killed General Hux?"

"Yes, I felt my life was threatened," Rey felt that keeping her answers neat and tidy was the best approach on this subject.

"And two of his men?" Leia continued.

"Yes."

"Do you have anything more to say on the matter?"

"I don't think any more needs to be said on the matter. I don't know what Ben told you, but they were interrogating me. Hux decided to use torture methods that he said could end my life. As you know, I'm stronger in the Force than I truly realized and I was able to break my bonds via the Force and I killed Hux and his men before they could kill me. That's all that really needs to be said unless a formal investigation is going to be opened on the matter." Rey crossed her arms, indicating she was done speaking about it.

"Did you ever figure out the location of the First Order base?"

Rey shook her head, "No. Nor does Ben know the location of this base. Neither of us can attack the other. It was term we agreed up with his coming here."

"Didn't you find it odd that Ben never questioned you about Luke Skywalker, the Resistance or really anything?" Leia asked.

"At first, yes, I did find it odd, but then it seemed like he was trying a different tactic."

Leia raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I do believe he was trying to seduce me to the Dark Side."

"Oh. I see," Leia said. "Seeing as you're here, he wasn't successful…."

"No, but it was tempting. The lure of the Dark Side is tantalizing." Rey could tell the General was getting uncomfortable and she was starting to like it, especially since she was still angry about Ben being detained.

"So, next…."

"I want to see him," Rey cut Leia short.

"Rey, you just got here and he just got into a detention cell…"

"Please."

"Alright, but after this there will be regular visitation hours, just like the other prisoners, same rules and regulations. Nothing special. I can't have people talking just because he's my son and you have some….thing going on, even if you did bring him back."

"Fine," Rey nodded. Anything. Almost anything to see him, to touch him….to apologize.

"Follow me," as Leia turned, the door opened. Rey rose from her seat and followed Leia out of her quarters back to the detention area where Kylo was being held. Leia nodded to the guard at the front desk as she keyed in the entry code for the door. He said nothing as she entered with Rey. They passed by a few cells before coming to the door that housed Kylo. The two guards at his door stepped aside as Leia approached, keying in another code to enter. She motioned for Rey to enter ahead of her, following her inside.

Kylo's back was to the door as he sat on the floor with his legs crossed, meditating. His head tilted as he heard the door closed. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow, General," he said.

"Ben," Rey said.

He quickly stood up and turned around, "Rey."

She crossed the room and took his shackled hands into hers as if she could hardly believe what she was looking at, "Ben, I am so sorry."

He awkwardly put his arms around her, "It's alright. We'll figure something out. I told you."

She threw her arms around his waist, "I'm so sorry, you were right." She started to cry into his chest.

He held her as tightly as he could and kissed the top of her head, "It's alright," he repeated, lying his cheek against her head.

Leia stood back, watching in almost disbelief at the tender display from her son. While there still might be Light in him, a Dark energy surrounded them, disturbing Leia to her core. Rey had been with the First Order too long, alone with him for too long. Rey was at a dangerous point in her journey in the Force. Leia only hoped she knew enough to help guide her in the right direction. They reminded her of herself and Han when they were young and that partially frightened her; she would have done anything to free Han from imprisonment and she had. She was going to have to convince Rey to trust in her again and to listen to her friends. Leia tried to organize her thoughts as she watched her son and Rey whisper to each other and exchange small, soft kisses. "Rey, we have to go."

Rey shot Leia a withering glance, but didn't argue, "Fine." She turned her attention back to Kylo, who still held her in his arms. "I'll be back."

He smirked, "I know."

Rey shook her head, "I won't be able to sleep without you."

"I'll be with you. Just reach out. I'll be there," he kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Ben."

"And I love you, Rey," he kissed her on her lips this time, still gentle. "Go, so you can come back to me." He raised his arms up over her and she reluctantly moved away from him.

"I can't do this, Ben."

"You have to."

She wiped tears from her eyes and nodded.

"Rey," Leia said.

Rey lowered her head and walked over to Leia as she was keying the code to exit. She looked up at Ben before leaving the cell, tears overflowing. He said nothing, just nodded. She followed Leia out before she broke down sobbing.

As they made their way down the hallway, a roar came from Ben's cell. A feral, furious sound that echoed off the walls and traveled down the length of the hallway. They heard the bolts holding down the furniture in his room shatter. The bed slammed to the floor with a resounding thud from it's mount on the wall. Mandalorian shackles could only control so much of the Force, and could do nothing about a Force wielder's voice.

Leia looked back towards Ben's cell, mildly worried, his temper being nothing new to her, though it had been many, many years. Rey simply shrugged her shoulders, surprised it had held for that long and more damage hadn't been incurred already.

"Looks like I'll be calling maintenance," Leia said. "Rey?"

"Yes?"

"I just ask that you let things settle down for a bit. Don't do anything….rash. Let things play out." Rey nodded, feeling more and more numb as she followed Leia back to her own quarters. "This might not turn out as badly as you might think, but you have to give it time. If Ben is cooperative, he might not sit in detention for years. There might be a place for him in the Resistance. It's hard to say."

Rey didn't say anything as they continued their progress back to her quarters. While she still felt that Ben had Light in him, she didn't feel like there was a place for him in the Resistance. She wasn't feeling very optimistic about much currently so perhaps it wasn't the best time to even think about the possibilities. As they reached her door, she turned to Leia and said, "Thank you for letting me see him."

"You're welcome, Rey. I know this day hasn't turned out like you would have hoped. I'm sorry."

Rey only nodded and let herself into her quarters, letting the door shut behind her. She trudged over to her couch and flopped down on it, letting her hand trail over his helmet. It was hard and cold, echoing how she felt. She decided to take a nap and then afterwards she would go to Kylo's ship and collect a few things from it to bring back to her quarters, including some of his. She hoped that would make her feel better and maybe a little less distant from him. She curled up into a dreamless sleep, the type that can soothe the weary and heartbroken, as she was both.