Flashback

The Millenium Falcon made it safe and sound to Ajan Kloss. Rey and Ben had been moved to separate areas. It was agreed by almost everyone that Ben be put in a cell. It took a lot of convincing for a number of the rebels to be alright with keeping him alive. Who keeps a prisoner of war when the war is over? Their only solace was that he would be locked up and kept away from the rest of the galaxy.

Finn stayed by Rey's side for most of the time she was unconscious. Sometimes he would be joined by Jannah, and Poe. However, Poe was busy helping out with the festivities, and Jannah spent a lot of her time talking to General Calrissian. After a day, Rey began to stir.

"Wake up Rey. We need you." Finn pleaded.

"Ben…" Rey whispered.

Finn became alert "Rey! It's Finn!"

Rey opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. She finally landed on Finn and smiled. She lifted herself from the bed and took him into a big hug. Pulling away she looked up at him.

"Finn!" She croaked. "What happened? Where are we? Where is everyone?"

Finn answered her in order. "We won! The resistance base. They are all celebrating!"

Rey rushed to her feet, but the speed left her dizzy and she had to sit back down. C3PO came into the room just then with R2-D2 and BB-8.

"Oh Mistress Rey! How good it is to see you awake!" C3PO exclaimed. R2-D2 and BB-8 gave happy beeps in agreement.

"Did I hear someone was awake?" Poe Dameron said as he peeked around the door. Rey smiled at the sight of him. He rushed to her side and all three friends embraced once again.

Rey felt peace, comfort and safety in the arms of her friends. For a moment all she thought about was how happy she was to be back at the resistance base. The moment left her quickly though as the fog in her newly awakened mind cleared and she remembered all that had transpired the day before. She released herself from her friends and stood back in contemplation. Worry crossed her face, and both Finn and Poe took notice.

"What's wrong Rey?" Finn asked.

"Do we need to get a medical droid?" Poe raised his hand to usher one over to the party. Before the droid reached him however, Rey put her hand up in dismissal.

"No, I'm fine. Just processing." Rey looked up at her friends in alarm, and then she looked frantically around the room. "Where is Ben?" Rey inquired sternly. Finn and Poe gave each other looks of shared concern. They were almost in agreement that they would not tell her, but before they could come to a conclusion Rey had searched their minds and was already off to find the ex-Supreme Leader. Finn and Poe quickly followed on her tail.

Rey approached the cave which served as a small holding cell for prisoners. Inside was a cot which held a large unconscious man with dark hair, dressed completely in black. He was laying on his back, completely still, with a blank expression. "Unlock this cell." Rey commanded the rebels which were guarding the cage.

"Sorry Rey, but Poe demanded that we let no one in or out." Said one of the rebels, a boyish character with short sandy blonde hair, brown eyes and freckles, just as Poe and Finn reached her. Finn went to catch his breath while Poe tried to explain the situation.

"He is an enemy of the resistance Rey!" Poe desperately exclaimed "He has killed innocent people. Not to mention that he kidnapped you, tortured me, and he took a laser sword to Finn's back!" Rey seemed absentminded for a moment. Her eyes only on the sleeping Ben Solo. Through the force she felt his breath. The deep in and out of a relaxed body. She had never felt him this way before. He had always breathed as if he was afraid too; taking in air only when he needed, and releasing it slowly as if he couldn't bare the abandonment of the only thing keeping him alive. Poe walked up to her "Rey?" he said and she finally turned her head to look at him. Her muscles tensed with an anxious desire to rip the bars away from the cave. However, when she looked into Poe's eyes she could see and feel his desire to be a good leader. She knew it would be irresponsible and unkind for her to undermine Poe's authority. She realized that she was the only one who saw Ben Solo for who he really was, and who he had become. With a heavy sigh, she turned her body towards her friends. Her eyes fell on their eyes, one at a time. She needed them to understand her.

"He has changed." She insisted "I would not have been able to defeat Palpatine without him."

"He was the leader of the First Order!" Finn said.

"Under the manipulation of Darth Sidious!" Rey continued "Finn! You were a stormtrooper! But you left that life behind. You joined the resistance!" Finn looked into Rey's eyes with sadness, and looked down at the ground to construct his argument. Rey turned to Poe. She looked deeply into his eyes with a tenderness that carried to her voice as she whispered "He's Leia's son…"

Poe's eyes softened. Although in his mind he always saw Leia as a mother and a mentor to him over Kylo Ren, he knew that Leia always wanted her actual son to be here, where she was. Still, he knew that as the new commanding general of the resistance that he couldn't let Ren free. He opted to ask for a compromise.

"I can't let him out." Poe stated gently. Rey pressed her lips together and let her eyes down.

She nodded her head somberly "I know."

"...but we can get him a fresh pair of clothes, a bucket of water and maybe some food." Poe replied.

Rey lifted her head again. Her eyes shining with tears but a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you!" she expressed. "I'll grab the clothes!" And with that she ran off towards the Millennium Falcon.

Finn folded his arms in disappointment. He was not ready to forgive someone who had caused him so much suffering. Still, he was glad that he would get to see Ren in a cage, where he figured a monster like him would belong.

The anger soon subsided after the thought. A feeling tugged at his chest. Although he wanted to hate Ren, he knew how Rey felt and her words stuck with him. He knew how scared he had felt when he had considered leaving the First Order... and he was only a stormtrooper. He walked away from the cave in frustration. He had other things he needed to worry about. This intuition he was exploring was shared with the other ex-stormtroopers he had met. He needed to attend to them. Poe lingered a bit longer. Looking at the face of Ren to try and find the face of the beloved princess general who had left him so suddenly. He turned and walked away in grief.