Author's Note: Have a long chapter because The Last Jedi trailer was amazing.

Also! Remember to review! I love hearing from you!

While the state of Ashlyn Novafall was in question, the base needed to continue. Kylo Ren reluctantly agreed to that as he dressed for the day. Ashlyn barely moved for three days from his bed, forget even thinking about leaving the apartment. While he didn't mind her presence in his apartment, he did mind her crumbling state. That was something he'd never wanted to see her deal with. Yet, here they were and he was one of the only people who could ever understand what it felt like. She saw someone die repeatedly for weeks, yet had no idea it would have been Sid all along. Sid, someone even Kylo Ren didn't mind existed.

The two did not bring up the previous night or the fact that they slept the best they had in four months. Kylo Ren knew if Hux ever found out, he'd never live it down… or forgive him for doing the exact opposite of keeping suspicions down. Granted, how they could play off this 'sleepover' as another other than suspicious was already an issue. Maybe he'll just make up something about the Force and make it sound complicated. That could work. Regardless, he had other things to worry about as well as the red head on his bed.

He walked over to the bed, noticing her eyes were closed. He knew she wasn't asleep, but said nothing about it as he spoke. "I have to go meet with Hux and a few other department leaders over the events of the other day. Hux had asked you'd join too, don't feel obligated. We just need to discuss the future state of the maintenance department, I'll fill you in later. Please eat something." He said, keeping all emotion in check before ultimately leaving Ash alone and headed for the conference room.

A few moments after Kylo Ren left, Ashlyn forced herself to sit up. She swallowed hard, her throat aching from having cried so much in the last two days. She had so much on her mind right now, between Sid, how the crew was holding up and her current sleeping arrangements. Ashlyn's mind couldn't process it all. However, Ashlyn determined it was better to try and focus on the one thing she could control right now, and that was seeing how the crew was.

She didn't care how she looked, or that her body ached as though she went through a trash compactor. There were more important things to be concerned about right now than the stares coming from a few Troopers and StarKiller personnel as she exited Kylo Ren's apartment and stumbled down the hall.

The maintenance bay was dead silent as she wandered around, trying to find any signs of life among her team. She stopped in front of Sid's office door, staring at it for what felt like the longest time. It wasn't fair. Sid shouldn't be gone, the feeling of guilt taking over once more as she inhaled deeply and opened the door.

Upon entering, she saw the very solemn group sitting in the office. They looked up at Ashlyn, saying nothing as she stared back. Nothing needed to be said, they all felt it. Ashlyn felt their sorrow, they didn't need to be Force Sensitive to feel hers as the group came together and hugged. Ashlyn didn't hold back her tears this time. She knew what needed to be done going forward.

The meeting was exactly what Kylo Ren didn't want to deal with; no one did. The room was quiet as Hux looked to Kylo Ren with a hopeful look. "Ashlyn?" He asked. Kylo just shook his head, Hux understood. "Well, it's unfortunate that I have to call this meeting. I'm sure you're all aware of what happened in Launch Bay A to Sid." The group said nothing as Hux continued. "We need a plan of action to continue on. Our first move to figure a reliable replacement-" With that, the door to the conference room opened. The red head with the sad expression walked in, she looked at the group. Everyone had the same expression; shock. "Ms. Novafall." Hux said as Ashlyn found the closest empty seat and sat.

Her gaze was forward as Hux continued the meeting, she avoided the helmeted man on the opposite side of the table. 'Are you sure you want to be here?'

'I have to for Sid.' She said. 'They're my family too.' He had heard that sentiment from her before, and even in her mind it was just as strong as if she spoke it. He'd never understand her attachment to that wretched crew.

"We will discuss a future replacement. Currently, Ashlyn is on an agreement plan and set to return to her-"

"No." Ashlyn interrupted, her voice shook ever so slightly. Only Kylo really caught it. "I'll be staying." She added, looking at Hux whom slowly began to find some relief to all this. "I'll take over for Sid. I know the base; the guys. I can do it."

Hux looked to the rest of the group, unable to see the tension in Kylo Ren's face. "I can see no reason why not." Kylo Ren could, but he also knew better than to speak up now. He already overstepped so many boundaries by having Ash stay in his apartment, the last thing he needed was to express more concern for the girl. Thank the stars no one could read his thoughts.

From what Kylo understood, Ashlyn had a habit of overworking herself when things got tough. Things were way beyond tough; she would work herself to death if she could. It helped her forget, it helped her cope. He wouldn't allow that, he was going to push her through this without her killing herself. His plan depended on her; although he'd never admit that he wasn't so actively working towards the goal in the exact moment.

When the meeting was ultimately dismissed, Ashlyn was one of the last occupants to leave the meeting room. It didn't take long for her to hear the angry boots clashing with the ground to let her know his true feelings on the matter. She didn't need to be Force Sensitive for that, however in that moment, she wish she hadn't been as he caught up to her. His helmet was now on, she knew it was more so to give off the intimidating persona he strived for. Granted, he never really needed to work too hard for that. The base feared him. "I think you need to reconsider your position for now." The distortion harsh on her hears.

"Funny, I thought you'd be happy to know I'd be staying on base permanently."

"Believe me, I am more than happy to have more time to torture you-" He said, causing Ash to snort in reply. "But I cannot do so if you work yourself to death."

Ash pursed her lips. "That won't happen."

"Won't it?" He retorted. "You forget, I can tell when you're lying."

"And you can also tell when I'm not happy with you." She said dryly.

Luckily for him, Ash couldn't see the eye roll. "And what, may I ask, have I done to you now to deserve such apathy?"

Ash sighed, now feeling just enough remorse to really broadcast her feelings on the matter. "It's not you-" She began. "I just need you to trust me on this one."

"As you wish." Kylo Ren reluctantly gave in. "Only until you start to overwork yourself. Then I'm interfering."

"Deal." She said. "I know you won't be happy to hear this, but, I need to give more time to StarKiller for a while." Kylo Ren gave her a look, she couldn't see it, but boy could she feel it. "Listen, I'm not overworking myself. I just need to get things back up and running. Once I balance it, we can figure out my Force training nonsense."

He snorted. "It's not nonsense."

Ash audibly groaned in reply as she flailed her arms in the air. "You are single-handedly the most impossible person on base, I hope you know that." She said, trying to walk faster. Unfortunately for Ash, her short legs didn't take her as far as Kylo Ren's longer ones as he kept in pace for a few moments before Ash finally sprinted. His distorted chuckles echoing down the hall as she disappeared down it.

Then the nightmares started. For the next week, while Ashlyn was being briefed to everything on StarKiller, except for the weapon (Hux believed now was not the time to mention it), so she could fill in Sid's shoes. Her team needed a leader, while she could never replace Sid, she was going to at least get the team where they needed to be. She still hadn't told Laynor her new plan. In all honesty, she was reluctant to. He had been somewhat of a mentor to her, he had kept her safe all these years. Now, she was leaving for good.

To add to her problems that week, she couldn't escape the nightmares that came with Sid's passing. Every night Ashlyn found herself suddenly waking in a cold sweat as the memory of Sid dying invaded her dreams. She was losing sleep and sanity all at once. It was becoming increasingly noticeable as Ashlyn showed up to work every morning with dark circles forming around her eyes, her focus was completely off; the team began to worry. Even in the larger group meetings with Hux and the logistics team leaders, he was noticing Ashlyn dozing off in their meetings. While frustrating, it was also very concerning.

She wasn't the only one suffering at her own had. The other Force User on base was growing increasingly irritable due to Ashlyn's lack of sleep. If she didn't sleep, he didn't either. Every nightmare, every thought and concern, he felt it. She was interfering with his own sleep schedule and far worse than their shared dreams. In fact, their shared dreams would have been a welcomed change this week. Instead, he got to "enjoy" Ashlyn's nightmares just as much as she did.

"Nightmares?" It wasn't so much as a question as Hux tried to understand better as he and Kylo Ren walked to the cavern entrance that lead to the Supreme Leader. "I'll never understand your Force Sensitivity, but if it's affecting both of you-"

"It's not." Kylo snapped, realizing just how childish that sounded before exhaling deeply through his nostrils. "Even with training, Ashlyn manages to find ways around what I've taught her by either blatantly ignoring it, or the combination of her past along with this new understanding has caused her to have out-of-control moments."

Hux nodded. "Well, you need to fix it." Kylo glared at him. "She's your responsibility. If I could fix it, I would."

"I can't make her stop dreaming."

"Figure it out. The Supreme Leader is not going to be happy when he sees right through you. He's going to feel your exhaustion."

Ren smirked. "And you say you don't understand the Force."

Hux rolled his eyes. "I understand only enough to get me by when reprimanding you. Which hardly ever seems to work. You do what you want anyway."

"You're learning."

"And you're impossible." Hux retorted, only to have Kylo snort and unable to hide his now wider grin. "What is it?" Hux was slightly concerned at the mood shift.

"This is the second time this week someone has called me 'impossible'." He said somewhat fondly. "Regardless, Ashlyn asked me to let her settle in with her new responsibilities before we begin training again."

"Perhaps you should shorten that timeframe."

"Perhaps I should." Ren said smugly as the two stood outside the cavern entrance, reluctantly taking one final breath before entering the cavern.

Snoke was a Force User as well and a powerful one at that. However, Kylo Ren knew with the raw power he had been born with, he was ultimately stronger than Snoke. Yet, he still obeyed his every whim and command. Someday, he'd have the upper hand and with the help of Ashlyn, he could take down Snoke. While Snoke took him in and unlocked the unlimited power that he contained, he still didn't like to be kept on a leash. Granted, the leash was fairly loose compared to the governing counterpart to his left.

His plan to have Ashlyn be his second in command when it came to taking down Snoke was still a number one priority. Even in Ashlyn's current state, he knew she would overcome it. She had done so before with her family, she could do it again. He just had to get her in the right mindset and really utilize her Force Abilities. Yet, the Force always had certain plans for everyone and Ashlyn was no exception to that rule. While she may have not been radiating power like Kylo Ren was, she had something special. Her Force dreams, although a curse in her mind, would prove to be rather useful. Especially now that the more she unlocked her gift, the more they'd come. It was the only way he could potentially see any disruptions coming to his ultimate goal, if any.

Ashlyn's cooperation was another matter entirely. Although she'd be heavily opposed to the idea of being used, it was better to keep her in the dark for now. Ash had a problem when it came to broadcasting her that made Kylo's life easier when trying to decypher what the heck was going on in that head of hers, it also gave him a great headache.

Then there was the matter of her alliance. Ashlyn was not so black and white when it came to using her Force gifts. She was an overall good person, a heck of a lot better than he could ever be, yet she channeled so much of a neutral ground it was hard to find her focus at times. While this was ideal for any Force User in order to balance their power, it typically helped understanding what side they ultimately gained their strength from. Ashlyn was all over the page because of course she was. It couldn't be easy for Kylo. Ashlyn Novafall was anything but easy.

The final and more aggravating matter of it all was that Kylo Ren cared just enough to be a problem. Overall, Ashlyn's well-being mattered to him and while he tried to convince himself that her well-being was simply just to have the upper hand in his overall goal… it was also blatantly obvious that he was becoming more and more fond of the girl. It sickened him and yet was oddly comforting in the long run. She made him feel more human, she didn't simply let him get away with anything. While annoying to have a force before him that blocked his motives at times, it was refreshing to have someone make him rethink his stance.

The issue still stood, however, Ashlyn Novafall was quite the nuisance when she wasn't sleeping and he truly did need to find a viable solution. Even if it meant submitting to drastic measures. The overall distraction during the Supreme Leader's debriefing only confirmed that.

Ashlyn's eyes were closed as her head rested on a disconnected solar panel that sat off to the side of the main reactor. She began to doze off as her body finally relaxed, the much needed sleep coming to her as her maintenance team watched from afar.

The majority of response from the team over their new leader was mainly positive. They were happy that Ashlyn was staying, they just wished it was under better circumstances. The team was still trying to rebuild and recover from the events earlier in the week. Everyone was at a loss and no one really knew how to bring the team together the way Sid did. Yet, the crew had faith if anyone could do the job, it was Ash. However, they too had noticed Ashlyn's slow decline into madness over her lack of sleep. She tried so hard to make a seamless transition into their leader, yet still had so much going on below the surface. The crew knew she was battling with a lot, they just didn't really know how much.

"She's finally going to sleep." Taka noted.

Grim just shook his head. "She'll wake up almost as quickly as she passed out." Grim said. "Nightmares."

Taka looked at him. "Nightmares? Is that it?"

"My room is two away from hers and I can hear her." Grim added. "I know what night terrors sound like. She's got 'em."

"So she's not sleeping at all?" Taka asked, returning his attention to their new leader.

"She wanders the maintenance bay; can't sleep. I don't blame her, but she better get over it soon. Not sleeping could cause fatal mistakes here."

"Maybe we should give her the day off?" One of the twins suggested.

Grim just shrugged. "We could, but she might not sleep anyway." With that, a yelp came from across the station as Ashlyn sat up with a start. Her breathing heavy as she looked around the room, realizing what had happened before looking completely embarrassed as she tried to make it look like none of that had actually happened. "Let's just hope the Commander doesn't show up."

Taka grimaced. "Why would he show up?"

"I'm sure he knows when she's having nightmares." Grim explained thoughtfully.

"Well, he's not allowed here. Ashlyn made it so." Taka scrambled quickly as Grim smirked.

"You think that'll stop him?" Grim answered as Taka began to look visibly ill as the group watched Ashlyn awkwardly scramble to clean up her little nap area. "Let's finish up here, guys." Grim said in passing as he wandered over to his work station.

It didn't take long for Grim to be proven correct as the tall man dressed in all black stormed into the work sight. Taka nearly scrambling over himself as he rushed out of view to hide. Of course, that didn't go unnoticed by Kylo Ren as he smirked under his helmet, completely and utterly pleased with himself over it as he walked over to the now frowning Ashlyn.

"Didn't I say you couldn't come down here?" She said with a warning tone.

"And did I not say you were not allowed to overwork yourself?"

Ash frowned. "I'm not."

"No, but you are driving me crazy with your little situation." Ash looked visibly confused as Kylo explained further with utter annoyance in his tone. "Your dreams?"

Ash blushed slightly. "You're feeling them too?"

"You may be content with not sleeping, but I am not." He said, his helmet making him sound more intimidating than intended. "Now I'm being dragged into mending this problem for both our sakes."

She sighed, deflating slightly in her stance as she folded her arms across her chest. "Alright then, all-mighty-one." She said. "What do I do to fix it?"

"Obviously, your methods are not working." He said, receiving an eyeroll in reply. "I have a solution. One that has proven to work before, and yet you are not going to like it."

"The last time you said that-"

Kylo Ren interrupted her. "I know, I know. Now hear me out." Ash waited impatiently as he continued. "You slept better, we both did, when you were in my apartment."

"Oh no." She started. "That is not happening."

"You won't even attempt to try and get some sleep?" He asked skeptically. "You'd rather us continue to be miserable."

"Yes." Ashlyn was stubborn. "I will eventually fall asleep on my own."

"And if you don't?"

She shrugged. "Then I won't!" A childish answer, but necessary in her mind as she argued. Maybe she really was exhausted.

"Fine, keep us awake." Kylo returned her attitude. "Just remember, my supposed impossible standard will only get worse the less sleep I get." With that, he stormed out of the working area, leaving fear in his wake from the maintenance team. Everyone except Ashlyn, of course.

She wasn't going to give in that easy. It didn't matter if Kylo Ren had a point or not, she hated when he was right. Ashlyn lied in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Lights from outside the base barely illuminated the room, the blinds leaving a design on the darkened ceiling. She began to count the lines; ten. Well, that was easy. She thought to herself.

'My offer still stands.' Ashlyn heard in her head. Of course he had been listening.

'Not happening.' She said, shifting in her bed as she forced her eyes closed. Her mind focused on the light hum from the engines below, something she normally found comforting and welcoming. However, tonight they were actually quite loud and obnoxious. Ash did not find anything soothing about them. She had a lot on her mind and no relief in sight to find a stable focus. All Ashlyn Novafall wanted was sleep and it looked like she wouldn't get such relief.
Tossing and turning, her mind was full of everything and anything to keep herself awake. She took the covers off, feeling herself too hot, only to then put them back on once the cold returned.

The base was quieting down as many had gone to bed now. Barely any movement had been heard above her or around her as hours seemed to pass so easily and yet Ashlyn still had not slept. Finally, after seemingly forever, she begrudgingly left the safety of her bed and left her apartment. She gave in.

The door slid open, he was already standing there, leaning up the frame of the door. A sly smirk playing on his lips as he eyed the annoyed girl in front of him. "Don't say anything." She warned as he moved aside to let her in.

Raising his hands defensively. "Not a word." He was mocking her playfully as the door shut behind him. "Think of it this way, now we both can sleep" he said as he watched her crash onto his bed with a groan, he was quite amused as he walked over and carefully climbed into the bed next to her. She was lying with her against the wall as much as possible, curled up the blanket as she watched him cautiously. With a sigh, his body relaxed as he returned her look. "What is it now?"

She frowned, unsure if she liked the feeling of safety and comfort from him. At the same time, she wasn't even sure she cared. "This isn't going to be a regular occurrence."

He snorted. "Go to sleep, Ashlyn."

She rolled over, her eyes scanning the wall for any sign of imperfection and finding none. Her mind hadn't calmed down to help her sleep. It wasn't until she fully gave in. What other choice had she? "Hey, Kylo?" She didn't have to say anything more as his arm draped around her waist and pulling her smaller frame to his chest. Finally, Ashlyn relaxed.

The dreamless sleep was more than welcomed, it helped both Force Users find some serenity after a long and draining battle against sleep. Granted, it was Ashlyn's fault on that front. If she had only found that solution earlier this wouldn't have been so bad. Regardless, it didn't matter now. What mattered now was the fact that Ashlyn was still in Kylo Ren's apartment, lying in his bed no less, and was cuddling up into his side. Her next moves she'd have to plan carefully, did she panic and alert the man next to her of her panicking state. Ultimately, this would cause in for some ruthless teasing from said man. Or did she play it off like it was no big deal and pull away.

His arm simply tightened around her back, forcing her into his side more as he said with a groggy voice. "Your thoughts are quite annoying to wake up to."

She groaned. "I guess that solves my internal debate then." She said, trying to pull away only to be met with resistance from his end. He wouldn't let her get away that easy. "Let go!" Ash tried to roll away again.

"Five more minutes, this is the most sleep I've had in ages." He was smirking, his eyes still closed as Ashlyn glared up at him. He was doing this on purpose, of course. With another aggravated groan, Ash wiggled her way out of Kylo Ren's grasp and sat up on the bed. The blanket still on her lower half as she stretched. He opened his eyes now as he placed his hands behind his head. "Feel better?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"I suppose." Ash said, trying not to give him the satisfaction as she bit her lip. "We still haven't figured out why we don't share dreams if we are sleeping in the same room."

"I, for one, am relieved." He said. "Maybe you should sleep here all the time."

Ash scoffed. "No thanks." She said. "I told you last night, this isn't going to be happening again."

He smirked mischievously. "I think it will." With that, Kylo Ren sat up. His hands running through his black locks, Ash watched his hair fall back in place perfectly. She assume his hair was just ridiculously perfect due to a Force thing. Then again, her red hair was a mess this morning. "You should return to training today. Your focus is completely off." Kylo said in passing.

Ash smiled sweetly. "You spent the night with me and you still want to spend time with me? That's so sweet." She teased.

He snorted, rolling his eyes as he slowly got off his bed. "Perhaps we have been spending too much time together, you're starting to sound like me."

Ash stretched again. "I'm going to actually agree with you on this one." She said. "I should train. I feel so out of sync." She said, making a face. "Like everything is cloudy."

"Understandably." He said in earnest. "You've had an interesting week."

Ash deflated slightly as she pulled her knees to her chest. Her mind wandering back to Sid, like it had done so many times since his death. She missed him terribly, he was the voice of reason that kept her grounded during all the chaos on StarKiller. He was so simply ripped away from her, it felt like she was reliving the death of her family all over again. So easily everyone seemed to come and go in her life. What made things worse is knowing the end was coming and simply waiting for the other shoe to drop. It never made it any easier. "For once-" She began. "I'd like a positive Force vision."

He chuckled softly as he walked to the bathroom. "That would be a nice change."

"I suppose I should also inform Laynor that I won't be returning." It was more of a reminder to herself than anything as she put her head on her knees. "There's just so much to do and so little time."

Kylo returned from the bathroom, completely dressed now as he looked at the girl on his bed. "Which is why you're taking the day to train."

She sighed. "Right, Laynor can wait. Everything else can wait for a while." Kylo Ren was pleased with that notion as Ash finally scooted off the man's bed. She looked at him, narrowing her eyes as she reiterated her stance on the matter. "This still isn't happen again."

He smirked. "We'll see." Ash said nothing as she left the apartment quickly to return to hers. She needed to shower and wash off the feeling of lying next to Kylo Ren before training with him. Still, Ash had a pit forming in her stomach deep down that maybe Kylo Ren was right in assuming that this wouldn't be the last time. She hated it.

Ashlyn had agreed on training again, feeling much more up to the task than the previous week. She still worked on StarKiller in the mornings and in the afternoon she trained with Phasma on her combat skills and in the evenings she'd spend that time with Kylo. Slowly, this brought her focus back in check. She was even beginning to tune into the emotions around her again. This time, it didn't feel as much of a drain. Kylo had said it was due to her growing with the Force and that she should be proud. She was. With the project on StarKiller slowly moving closer to completion and Ashlyn growing stronger with the Force, things were pretty okay.

However, she would never admit that a lot of it had to do with her sleeping arrangements. Kylo Ren was disgustingly correct, they were destined for better sleep if in the same room. The night after their first sleepover, Ash fought as hard as she could to not give in. Around one in the morning, she did. The next night, she didn't even bother fighting. For the rest of that week, she stop caring altogether and would show up to his apartment a little after maintenance retired for the night.

She began lugging the rather large book on the Force around from her apartment and back to Kylo's. They'd go over a chapter or two on Force Visions, Ashlyn asking a million questions over what she could do. Kylo patiently (or at least he'd argue that he was being patient with her) would answer as best he could. As much as she hated to admit it, Kylo was a pretty good teacher when he wasn't teasing her or growing aggravated over the amount of questions. Yet, the two were getting along and Ashlyn was really growing comfortable around him… until…

The room was dark, yet Ashlyn knew where she was. She had been sleeping in that apartment for a little over a week now. She felt like she knew it better than her own lately. It felt like everything around her was moving slowly as the familiar figure appeared in front of her. She knew immediately this wasn't a shared dream. He was moving on a path that seemed predetermined by something other worldly. A Force Vision. Ashlyn grew fearful as to how this could play out. Every other vision she had, someone died. Now, Kylo Ren stood in front of her. Was he going to die too?

Her heart raced in her chest. This couldn't be happening, she couldn't watch how he was going to die in some horrific manner. They were finally getting along and things were good. Things were getting really good.

That all changed when his hands were gently resting on either side of her cheeks, his head lowering towards hers. When their lips contacted, it felt like electricity surging through her entire body as she jolted awake…

Ash sat up, gasping for air as the welcomed darkness of the room surrounded her. Her breathing labored as her heart thudded in her chest. That couldn't have been what she saw. No, something was wrong, that couldn't be how things were meant to be. This Force Vision had to be wrong. Her mind was panicking, what the hell had she just seen?

She was in such chaos, she almost forgot about the sleeping man next to her until he spoke, amusement in his voice as he said. "Well, that was interesting."

She jumped, looking over at him as he look back at her. "Crap."

Final Thoughts: uh-oh... remember to review!