A/N: Here is the last and final chapter. Sorry for any spelling mistakes. I worked all through the night to make sure you guys got this epic final just in time for Christmas.

The very first thing she was aware of upon waking was the white light above her and then the white ceiling. Where was she? She could hardly remember anything let alone how she got here. Tilting her head to the side she noticed Leia sitting there in the chair across from her staring down at the phone in her hands. That was her phone.

The sight of her phone brought it all rushing back and Rey forced herself to sit up and the motion brought Leia's attention to her. She could tell from the look on Leia's face. She knew. She knew everything.

"Rey... how do you feel?" Leia's tone was far from the usual cheery tone that she greeted her with.

"That's... mine." Rey acknowledged the phone and Leia glanced down at it. "Did you... you know..."

"I know." Leia confirmed the worst. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I know I should have, but he found out first... and he begged me not to tell you... I thought that I could get enough proof and stop him myself... but then... the crash... it was all my fault... he saw it. They both did."

"It isn't your fault, Rey."

"Are they alright?"

"They're alive. Poe is with Finn right now."

Rey took notice that Leia did not confirm that they were alright. Only that they were alive. It gave her a bad feeling.

"What are you going to do now?" It brought up the question of what action would be taken.

"I'm going to contact the police once Han gets here. He's picking your father up from the airport." With that Leia slowly stood up. "I'm going to call him now and see how far they are. Are you going to be alright by yourself?"

"I'm fine..." Rey felt responsible for this. If she had just told Leia in the first place then maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe Leia could have solved this in a way that would have been much better.

Now her father was coming here as well. He must have dropped everything to return all the way here. She had also ruined her father's chances at finally achieving a life long dream and taking his team to the finals.

Everything was falling apart and she knew the only thing in that could make her feel alright was seeing Ben, but she wasn't sure where he was or if she would be allowed to see him. Still she had to try so she pushed the blankets aside and made her way to the door. It seemed that Leia was gone so she could leave, but the nurses might see her and that would be a problem. She was going to have to change her clothes if she wanted to get where she needed to go safely.

The closet was her first thought. She opened it up and just as she had hoped they had indeed placed her clothes inside. She hurriedly changed so that she could get out before anyone could stop her and then left her room. This place was far too big for her to have any hope at finding him by searching rooms. She would have to risk asking a nurse at the desk and hope that they did not notice anything.

With a pounding heart she approached the desk and hoped that this woman would not recognize her as a patient.

"Can I help you?"

"I was wondering what room Ben Solo was in..."

"Nobody other than family can see him now."

"I'm... I'm his cousin." Those words felt so hollow now. Like it did not mean the same thing that it used to. It didn't.

"Room 302."

It was all she needed. She counted the numbers as she made her way through the halls. She was lucky enough that there was little activity right now. It made getting there much easier, but she hesitated at the door. She wasn't sure what she was going to find when she stepped inside.

She took a few deep breaths and then pushed the door open and stepped inside. There was only one bed. He had the room to himself. It was probably for the best. He hated being around other people. Stepping further into the room she halted all further progress as the sight was not at all what she expected.

He was awake. Conscious, but the entire right side of his face was bandaged and she could only imagine what extensive damage there must be to have led to such a thing.

"Ben?" She carefully spoke his name and he jumped a little. It startled him. He hadn't been paying much attention to anything outside of his own thoughts and he had to turn his head to see her standing there considering the door was on his right side. A blind spot now. She wondered if it was permanent.

"What are you doing in here? You should be resting in your bed." He shifted in his bed and tried to get more comfortable... or at least as comfortable as one could be considering.

"I'm so sorry..."

"For what?"

"This is all my fault." She came closer and he huffed and glanced away from her.

"What are you stupid? I let go of the wheel. It's my fault."

"Are you angry with me?" That was the thing that was bothering her. She couldn't even make out his expression now that he'd turned his face from her.

"A little bit." He admitted and sat up as best as he could manage. It revealed to her that the bandages went all the way down to his shoulder. "That was the only reason you... so you could get that information..."

"No!" Her protest came out weaker than she had wanted it to, because it was partially true. A part of the reason she had done that was to keep him from seeing those messages and running back into that situation like she knew he would. "That... it wasn't the entire reason."

"It's fine... I never expected anyone wanted me for anything else."

"Ben, no. It's not that. Please..."

"Go home." He insisted suddenly and her breath caught in her throat. That tone was so empty, so void of emotion that she knew she had hurt him the most out of everyone. "Did you hear me? Go home."

Rey quickly backed out of the room and disappeared, leaving him to rest the uninjured side of his face in his hand with a low groan. It was more painful than he had thought it was going to be. The sound of faint applauds came from behind the door and he glanced up to the figure that stepped out from behind it.

"Well done. I thought I'd have to kill your precious little girl. You're a convincing actor."

"It wasn't all acting... but I did what you wanted so leave her out of this, Hux." It was a demand, bordering on a plea.

"She's already involved. Your actions will decide if she lives." Hux flicked the knife shut and approached the bed.

"Your father is a police officer. If he knew you were dealing drugs for Snoke I wonder what he would say..." Knowing he had no other choice, Ben had to make a risky move.

Hux brought his arm back and struck him in the injured side of his face, sending Ben's entire world spinning for several long moments.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Leave... her out of it... or I will tell him the moment I see him..."

Hux clenched his fists in anger, but he said nothing more and turned to leave abruptly. He had not gotten an answer out of him, but knowing Hux the fear of his father was enough to keep Rey safe. For now.

A week or so had passed since that night and Rey had not returned to the hospital since he had asked her to leave. She had briefly visited Finn to find he was doing quite well and recovering quickly. It was a relief, but he was still angry at Ben. He blamed him for the entire thing even though it was her fault. Still she knew something didn't feel right about the way Ben had been acting. She knew she had to try and speak with him again.

Sneaking out was easy enough. Leia, Han and her father were in the kitchen discussing the situation and they did not notice her go out the door. They must think she was still asleep in these early hours of the morning. She caught a bus to the hospital for lack of better options and she made her way straight up to his room.

The voice on the other side made her pause and she ducked against the side of the door. It had gotten her into trouble once to spy, but... she didn't know who he was speaking with at this hour. She risked a glance to see an older man with greying hair in a police uniform. She thought she could rest easy and that Ben was fine with a police officer.

It was the next words that caught her off guard. Officer Brendol Hux was far from kind.

"Listen. We might spend hundreds of hours on it. Right now it's nothing. I'll let you, you know, tell me the truth or... you do know that a false report is a felony?" The officer stated, glancing up at Ben from his pad of paper. "Do you have enough evidence to secure a conviction? If not you're wasting a lot of people's time."

"Do I?"

"Easy. Don't be a smart ass."

"Well I wouldn't have to be if you would actually be helpful instead of acting like I'm lying to you! Why would I lie about something like this? You think I want everyone to know what happened to me?"

"Easy. If you start yelling at me that sort of behavior is going to have to go into your report... you don't need another mark against you. You're already down for substance abuse. Another question I'm going to have to ask... is were you high when this happened?"

"No! I... no. This was before all of that..."

"Look. What you need to realize is that as it stands it's a "he said, he said" thing."

"You just... you don't understand." Ben breathed in absolute exasperation. "He took something I can never get back and if you're not going to do anything about it you're just enabling him to do it to someone else!"

"Are you really sure you want to do this? File this report? Because let's be honest here... men... they don't get raped. It doesn't happen. Big guy like you? No. You want to know what I think went down? I think you were failing in school and you saw a way out... so you took it. Now you're going to ruin a man's life and career because you screwed up and you need someone else to blame it on."

"Fuck you!"

"Alright. I'll tell you what I'm going to do Mr. Solo. I'm going to work to establish the facts in the case and track Mr. Snoke down for questioning, but if I were you... I wouldn't put myself through the humiliation." Officer Hux flipped the notepad closed and stepped out of the room.

Rey was lucky enough that he was in such a hurry to leave that he didn't notice her. What things could he have to do that were better than doing his own job? She knew that after that she should not go in there, because he was going to now she was spying again, but he was going to need someone there with him.

She turned into the room and he glanced up, did a double take to make sure it was actually her. It was like he didn't expect to see her again. He probably didn't.

"Haven't you learned your lesson by now, kid? Stop spying on people."

"I wasn't trying to. Can't... you report him?"

"You heard him. My case is hopeless. They're not going to arrest Snoke... he's going to get away with it... and I'm going to be the one who's punished."

"But... the messages and..." Rey felt that everything she had done had been for nothing. It still wasn't enough. Snoke was just in too powerful a position. He couldn't be touched by the law. He was going to buy his way out.

"That's our justice system... helping victims every step of the way, huh?" If he was honest he just didn't care anymore. None of it mattered. Everyone at school was already going to blame him for this. He should probably just... end this all.

"He's not going to get away with it."

"Yes he is. I don't have enough evidence against him... and then... they're going to investigate... and they're going to find out about the drugs... and I'm going to prison... I'm going to drop the charges... this... it's more trouble than it's worth."

"You can't, Ben... you have to fight him. What you said earlier is right... he would just do it to other people."

"Well sorry if I don't exactly feel like losing the case then going to prison and getting gang banged alright?! Fuck!" He buried his face in his hand and groaned in despair. "This is why I didn't want anyone involved in this. I was going to leave after I graduated and forget all about this..."

She closed the door behind her and came around to sit in the chair next to his bed. He might not want her there, but she knew she couldn't just walk out on him when he was like this. Even if he was never going to forgive her for what she had done, but with a little sigh she realized that she had no right to stay here when he didn't want to see her.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Do you want to?" He sighed. "It wasn't real for you, right?"

"I did it because I love you." It was hard for her to imagine what he must feel like if he thought he had been used again. "I've always loved you."

He turned to give a brief glance to her and his gaze softened considerably. If he had a weakness she was it. His mind wondered back to her words earlier and he realized that it was true. If he did nothing Snoke would only do it to more people. He grimaced at the thought of her being in that situation. In fact... if he didn't do something then Snoke most likely would go after her to get back at him.

"You're right." He suddenly sat up. "I have to stop him."

"Ben?" She wasn't sure what to think of his sudden attitude change, but he was now moving to get out of the bed.

"I need your help... get me out of here..."

"You can't. You need to heal."

"I'm not going to get better if I stay here. Rey... Hux is coming to kill me... he's going to make it look like a suicide."

"What?" Rey almost couldn't believe it when she heard it. That sort of thing wasn't real. it only happened in movies right?

"I turned on Snoke... I'm a lose end. Now help me." He grimaced when he got out of bed and nearly fell. He hadn't expected the sudden pain when he put weight on his leg.

Rey quickly got up to help, but he had already moved away from the bed straight to the closet where his clothes were. Luckily enough for him they had been washed otherwise he'd have to go around in bloodstained clothing. It would make it hard to get out of here unnoticed.

Gathering up his clothes he disappeared into the bathroom. It took longer than she expected it would so she knew he was having a difficult time. She didn't now what to do at first, but then realized it shouldn't matter at this point. Not after the things that they had done. And nobody was going to be in here either.

With a sigh she made her way over to the door and glanced in at him. It seemed he was indeed having a hard time. He'd managed pants, but with the bandages down his right shoulder she could tell he couldn't mange his arm properly.

"Do you need help?"

"I..." He didn't want to accept help. He wanted to be independent and do everything on his own, but he knew that it was not possible under these circumstances. "Yeah..."

"Here." She helped him maneuver his injured arm into his sleeve and pulled the shirt on over his head. It was nearly impossible for him to do it alone.

Reaching up he unraveled the bandages that covered the side of his face while looking into the mirror, waiting to see how bad it was. The anticipation was bothering him, making him uneasy and as he pulled the last of the white wrapping away he frowned deeply. The scarring was worse than he thought.

"Is it terrible?" He asked quietly.

"No. I hardly notice." Rey glanced up at him and then brought a hand up to lightly trace her fingertips over his cheek just above the scar. Her fault. It was her fault. "Let's go home."

Leia sighed and pressed a hand over her eyes as she listened to the congressmen going on and on about important issues, but she could not bring herself to focus on what he was saying. Her concerns were elsewhere.

It was when the door opened that her concerned appeared right in front of her and her expression quickly turned to shock.

"I need to call you back..." She quickly closed her phone. "Ben... what are you doing out of the hospital?"

He was silent and Rey glanced between the two of them as she realized that if he could manage Ben was going to not tell her a single thing, but Rey had enough of the lying. It had already created enough trouble.

"Hux was going to kill him." She said suddenly and she felt the sharp glare that Ben shot at her, but she knew she had to. Nothing else was going to solve this, but the truth.

"What?" Leia glanced searched both their faces thoroughly and came to the conclusion that it was indeed the truth. "Ben... just what have you gotten yourself into? You need to tell me everything."

"I..." He glanced down and tried his hardest to come up with an explanation, but he knew that nothing he could tell her was going to sound good. What he had done had ruined everything for them.

"Did you do it for grades?"

That next question from Leia startled the both of them and Rey heard the sudden, sharp inhale as Ben quickly lifted his head to meet his mother's gaze. Leia didn't trust him. There the stoic expression Ben usually wore when dealing with his family was gone and in it's place was impossible to miss hurt.

Without waiting for another word or answer he quickly turned and walked right back out the door to the car.

"That wasn't fair." Rey had never raised her voice to her aunt before nor had she ever had reason to, but this was just too much. "He never meant for any of it to happen... he only made a deal with that monster so that you and uncle Han wouldn't be disappoint in him again."

"Rey..." Leia sighed. "I don't know what to think anymore... he let it go on... what am I meant to think?"

"You can't blame him."

"You know I wasn't blaming him."

"Maybe I do, but he doesn't." Rey didn't really know if she believed Leia this time. Her words had sounded an awful lot like an accusation, but then Leia did not know how to handle this at all it was obvious.

"Rey, would you please get him to his room and make him rest?" Leia knew that he would not come at her request. She had to rely on her niece to help her son. It was hard to accept that as his mother she had been so helpless to save him.

Without a moments hesitation Rey turned and went straight to the car where he was sitting in the driver's seat. It must have taken him a bit to realize that he could not drive in his condition. It must have frustrated him to no end. She opened the door and sat in the passenger side, but for now she was silent. He needed time she knew.

Seconds ticked by that turned into minutes and then finally after what seemed like an eternity he briefly glanced over at her. The car was dark so she could just barely make out his face.

"I'm not going back." He kept his voice quiet, barely above a whisper.

"Just for tonight. You need your rest. You were the one hurt the worst in that accident. Finn has already recovered."

"Him... nothing permanent?" Regardless of the fact that he personally disliked Finn... he didn't want to be responsible for permanent damage.

"No. I checked on him during the weekend."

"Angry?" He asked then and she hesitated a moment.

"For various reasons..."

"He dislikes me. Be honest."

"... yeah..."

"The feeling is mutual then."

"I wish it wasn't." Rey sighed faintly. It was hard for her that the two people she loved were not getting along, but she didn't know if she could change it. All she could do was try and hope. "Are you going to come inside?"

"In a minute."

"Alright." She leaned over and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth, leaving him pleasantly surprised before she opened the door to leave, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. Realizing his intent she had to stop his attempt at kissing her immediately. "The light."

"Oh..." He realized exactly what she meant. It was dark a moment ago, but when she opened the door the light went on and if someone saw them they were both in trouble. They weren't supposed to be together. He released her and sat back in his seat.

"I'll see you inside." With that she left him to his thoughts.

He sighed quietly and rubbed a hand slowly along his face. It really hit him hard that he should not be doing this. She deserved so much better than what he could offer. He was ruined. Tainted. She should be with someone that she could actually got out in public with. Someone who she could hold hands with. Someone that could kiss her and not have to care if the world was watching. She deserved to be happy and he couldn't give her that.

The trial coming up was not going to help. All eyes were going to be on him. With a groan of despair he buried his face in his hands. It was all too much. He felt like the weight every last sin he committed was about to come crashing down over him... and it was.

"The Court has been informed that the jury has reached its verdicts in this case. At this time the Court will read the verdict. The verdict reads as follows: We, the jury, find the defendant Warren Snoke not guilty of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct."

Those words felt like a hot knife straight to the gut for Ben. He barely held back the bile that he felt rising in his throat. Of course he knew that he never stood a chance against someone as powerful and rich as Snoke. The rich and powerful always got away with things because they were rich and powerful. Lowering his head he didn't dare look at the smug smile on Snoke's face.

He knew that Snoke was going to kill him now for his betrayal.

Han and Luke glanced at one another and without a word Luke stood and set a hand on Rey's shoulder, fully aware that his daughter was in equal shock as the rest of them.

"Rey... we're going home. No questions, no buts." He insisted.

As the room started to clear out Leia watched Snoke leave and quickly followed him out, Han in tow. She was not about to let this go without answers. She quickly stepped in front of the man and stopped him.

"Senator... what can I help you with?"

"The truth. I want the truth."

"The truth?" Snoke looked around as if he were considering this and then finally he smiled at her. "Alright. What shall I start with? How about the fact... that your son sobbed like a little bitch when I fucked him."

"You son of a bitch!" Han stepped forward, but Leia grabbed his arm before he could strike him. She knew that he couldn't. Not when Snoke had been cleared of the charges. It would be bad for everyone. She could not afford for Han to end up in jail right now.

"To top it off... he vomited all over my desk. Ruined a lot of my work." Snoke gave a triumphant smile as he had successfully upset them both. "But you know how it is... can't try me for the same thing twice. It was nice speaking with you Senator."

As he walked away Leia clenched her fists and glanced at her husband.

"Han... remember that party I canceled? I think we should reinstate it."

"What are you planning, Leia?"

"We'll talk about it in the car."

"The trial was rigged." Rey responded with distress, shifting the phone to rest on her shoulder as she glanced out the window when a car drove by. She was worried that it might be someone here to kill Ben, but it kept driving.

"I'm not surprised. The whole system is rigged. If they found out about the two of you he'd be in prison and on a sex offender list for the rest of his life..." Finn sighed.

"That's not fair... I asked him to..."

"No. It's not and it doesn't matter to them, but Rey... I wanted to try and help... I realized I was too harsh before... so I did some digging into Snoke." Finn informed. "I managed to hack into the school's computers. Ben didn't fail the test. Snoke changed the scores to make it look like he did all so that he could manipulate him into running drugs for him. That's not all. He's changed other people's scores. It isn't just Ben."

"Can you get that information to Leia?"

"Yeah. I can send it over." There was a moment of silence. "How is he?"

"Locked in his room... he hasn't been out in three days... and Leia rescheduled her annual Christmas party. A lot of officials are going to be there so I think she might be trying to start something."

"Knowing your aunt... I'm sure she has something up her sleeve to get back at that guy."

"I hope it works." Rey sighed and sat on her bed. "I think I'm going to go. Maybe try and get Ben to come out and eat something. He hasn't been eating since he locked himself up in there."

"Ben not eating? The guy eats like a horse!" Poe's voice cut in from the background. "Rey, you get some food in that boy."

"...hi Poe..." Of course she shouldn't be so surprised he was at Finn's house. "Goodbye Poe. Goodbye Finn."

There was a faint argument on the other end before they said their goodbyes. It seemed Finn didn't want her to know what he had been up to this evening, but it was fairly obvious. She realized though that Finn and Poe were in the same position. They too could not let anyone know about their relationship.

Maybe that was why Finn had a complete turn around. He recognized that fact as well. Poe was the one that was really the most open to it. Strange as it might be. She guessed maybe it was because they had been friends once and if anyone knew Ben well it was Poe. They spent their school years together were as she had left before she ever made it close to high school here. Though something must have changed in high school because they weren't really friend anymore. She wondered what that exact moment might have been.

With a sigh he shook her head. It was all too much and it wasn't even her that had to deal with the heaviest of repercussions. She had no idea how Ben was dealing with all of this, but she knew that she had to try and get him to open up. If he didn't talk about how he was feeling it would just start to build and build.

That in mind she left her room and made her way straight to his door. The house was so incredibly quiet with everyone gone. Almost creepily so. She knocked lightly on the door and listened as it filled the silence.

It seemed like she waited for so long, so she tried again. She wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Are you going to answer? It's just me." She hoped maybe if he knew it was only her he would come out. Several more minutes of long silence and then the door did open partially.

"I know it's you. There's nobody else here." He leaned against the door-frame and heaved a heavy sigh.

It was his appearance that startled her the most. He looked absolutely terrible. From the startling pale of his skin right to the deep, dark circles under his eyes and the sweat that covered his face. He looked like death.

"Did you start using again? Ben... you were so close to being free of it..."

"It isn't as if Snoke is going to hand me anymore and what little I had is gone."

"That doesn't make it any better." She responded and watched the way his face twisted up in a grimace as if he was disgusted.

"Don't act like my parents lecturing me. I don't need it." His tone was much more hostile than she could ever remember it being with her and she took a step back. she needed to be careful with him if he was going through withdrawal.

"So that's why you've been hiding in here the past few days." She did not want to think that he had relapsed so badly, but it all made sense.

"I've been in here because I don't want to see them! They sit there and act like everyone else has. Like all of this was my fault. Like I wanted all of this. My mother accused me!" He gripped the door a little harder and she wondered how it was that the wood didn't splinter under the pressure. "I suffered for three years and they didn't do anything. They didn't notice anything. They just let it happen."

"Ben it isn't like that. How could they have known?"

"They should have!"

She was a little taken aback that he blamed his parents for not knowing what had happened, but they couldn't have known. She did understand to a certain degree. His change in attitude should have led them to investigate, but they were too busy with their own lives to notice. If that was the case everyone was to blame.

"It's my fault too then." At her words his hand slowly slid down the door until it was dropped back at his side.

"No."

"Why not? I didn't notice either... I'm just as guilty as they are." Rey knew she was pushing it with him.

"But you tried." He moved past her and left her standing there to let that sink in as he made his way downstairs.

Just as she was about to go after him he had already returned with a bottle of some sort of vodka and she let out a breath of frustration. When he stepped into his room he made to close the door but she pressed her hands against it and slipped her way in before he could. It was his turn to sigh.

"You're not shutting me out that easily." She wanted to get that drink away from him, but she suspected it'd be near impossible. "You don't need that..."

"Yeah I do." Knowing it would be impossible to get rid of her he dropped down onto the bed and opened up the bottle to take a long drink from it. There was no way he was going to surrender the bottle to her. It was the only thing that was going to make him feel better. Perhaps not physically, but... if it blurred everything out for a little while... that was good enough for him as temporary as it was.

"Then you're going to have to hare, because I'm not letting you drink the whole thing by yourself." If she couldn't get it away from him the least she could do was make sure he didn't drink the entire thing.

"No way. You remember what happened the last time you drank."

"I slept with you." Her words made him choke on the drink and he struggled to sit up while trying to cough up the burning liquid. "I wasn't complaining..."

"I..." With a sigh he relinquished the bottle over to her. "Not too much, alright?"

"That's a lot to ask coming from you." She had a hard time taking his command seriously when he was determined to drink the entire bottle on his own. The important thing was she got it away from him. For good measure she took a drink and turned to the window to try and hide the grimace. It was awful and she had no idea how he could stand this. The site that greeted her however was much more pleasant. "It's snowing."

Without a word he slowly stood up and made his way over to glance out the window. It brought back a lot of memories of childhood. Both pleasant and otherwise. He reached over her and snatched the bottle away, took one more drink before he set it on his desk and then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him.

He held her for a moment or two and she decided not to say anything this time. It didn't feel like a time for words. Nothing would really be sufficient. She already knew what it was he wanted. What he needed. He needed her to stay there with him.

"Have you slept at all, Ben?"

"No." His weariness was evident in not only his appearance but his voice. He took a step back and dropped to sit on the bed where he could be comfortable and she moved to sit next to him. "How long will they be gone?"

"Leia is working and Han and my father are working on something."

"Awhile then." He acknowledged, but he was content in knowing that they would have plenty of time together. He wouldn't have to worry about things.

Another bout of silence and one thing led to another and this time it wasn't even the alcohol that led them into this. He suddenly leaned over and pressed his mouth over hers and pressed her back against the bed. She suddenly pressed her hands to his chest and stopped him.

"Wait, wait... you know this isn't why I came here right? That I'm not... only here for things like that... not like him..."

He paused for several long minutes and let out a faint sigh. It was hard for him to imagine someone wanting anything else from him, but her voice and her expression said everything he needed.

"I know..." Briefly licking his lips he glanced down. "Can I do something? I've... never... been able to do it for a woman... I'd prefer to..."

It took her some time to try and figure out what he could be talking about and then when he reached down to slip his fingers into her jeans and tug them down she guessed exactly what he meant. She didn't answer in words, because she wasn't sure how she felt about it, but if it was something he really wanted to do she wasn't going to protest.

She watched him toss them out of the way and then move down and the moment she felt his mouth on her she jumped a little and whimpered. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was strange. It was different from anything else they had done. She held her breath to try and quiet herself and wondered if he was really enjoying this or just being thorough.

Both. She decided when he let out a low groan against her. It was both. She entangled her fingers in his long, thick hair and relaxed. Although it had been awkward and strange at first it wasn't quite so now.

He stayed there awhile long until he finally couldn't contain himself anymore and he moved back up, shoved his pants down just enough and then pressed forward. She let out a long exhale and glanced between them. It felt a little impersonal that neither of them were fully undressed, but if someone came home early... it would be impossible to talk their way out of it.

This time was far different from the last. He was slow, took his time. Pressed his mouth against her ear and asked if it was alright. If she liked it. Little compliments on how good she felt. She came to realize it was a bit of a compulsion of his to keep asking if it felt good, because he was terrified of hurting her even still. He needed to know that she enjoyed it just as much as he did. An insecurity. A direct result of his particular sort of trauma. Despite this he took care to make sure her needs were met. He was far from selfish.

It was these moments that nothing else mattered. The problems didn't exist just for a little while. The night felt like it lasted forever and yet at the same time not long enough.

"Ben." Leia knocked at the door with a sigh and glanced at her watch. He still wasn't answering and she had been trying to get him out for a good twenty minutes. "You need to get ready."

The party was going to start in less than an hour and he was making things difficult. Rey glanced out from her room and Leia let out yet another sigh and set her hands on her hips as she continued to wait for some sort of answer. Finally the door opened and Ben appeared completely dressed if not a bit pale. Leia let out a breath of relief, because she had been worried he wouldn't even try.

"I'm ready. Don't get so worried. You should be more worried about Han. He's the lazy one."

"You're right... your father is the more difficult one. At least I can get you into a tux." Leia responded as she reached up to straighten his tie. A little messy, but he was still better at getting dressed than his father for these. "Speaking of... I better make sure he's dressed."

"You know he'll try and get out of it."

"Yes. By now I'm quite familiar with how he'll try and weasel his way out." Unfortunately the door bell rang and Leia knew she was out of time. "Ben just... check on your father... I'll get the door."

"Can I help?" Rey asked, finally leaving her room.

"Yes, actually. Make sure Ben doesn't strangle his father while I'm gone." Leia requested as she hurried downstairs to get the door.

"Unless... you want to be my accomplice and help me hide the body?" Ben asked the moment his mother was out of earshot. It was that dry sense of humor of his again. She wondered if that was a part of the reason he didn't get along with other people. They just didn't quite understand him. "I can handle it. You just help my mom. She look stressed already."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just go ahead. It's better to have no witness."

She rolled her eyes at him, but she decided that he could be adult enough to handle this small task. Especially when he knew this was so important to his mother that the party went well. Her reputation as senator relied on these get together.

People were gradually arriving. Important people. Top officials. She knew that she shouldn't worry, but she felt uncomfortable. They were all very judging. Any small mistake would bring a sort of shame to Leia and so she was trying to fake as much confidence as she could.

"Rey, how do I look?" She recognized her father's voice and turned to see him in a very fine suit for the occasion. It had been a long time since she had seen him so dressed up.

"You look very handsome, daddy." Though she did notice his tie was off and she sighed to herself. What was it with Skywalker men and tying ties? They were absolutely dreadful at it.

"Ah, there's Han." Luke stated as he and Ben came down stairs a few moments later. Luke headed over to Han and so did Leia.

"Han... we have a problem... I thought you had the drinks covered?" Leia started and Han threw his hands up.

"I completely forgot... here... I'll run out and get some and be back before anyone notices. You know nobody beats me when it comes to being quick." Han answered.

"That's for certain."

Luke covered his mouth and coughed to cover his smile and faint laughter. "I'll go with him. Make sure he doesn't get lost or run off on us without the drinks."

"Just hurry." Leia pressed.

Of course there was going to be something that went wrong. Rey wondered if Han didn't 'forget' the drinks on purpose so he could get out of mingling with the guests. Her father she expected better of, but he seemed to be jumping at the chance to run as well. Now... she even noticed Ben had disappeared. No wonder Leia was about to rip her hair out. These men were impossible.

"The guest of honor has arrived!" Poe called as he stepped in with a few gifts that he handed to Leia.

"Poe it's good to see you." Leia greeted and then Finn as well as she noticed him enter into the house. "Finn... you've recovered well?"

"Very. Thank you for asking." Finn responded. "I... uh I have something for you. Can we talk in private?"

Right. She almost forgot. Finn had uncovered information about Snoke that might help put him behind bars once and for all. Leia seemed surprised, but she and Finn left the room to find somewhere to talk. She hoped that the information he had recovered would be useful enough to put a stop to him. Now all she had to do was figure out where Ben had even gone and it wasn't hard to find him actually.

He found some spot in the corner, sat by himself and stared down into his drink. The Raucous party going on around him seemed to not touch him. Like looking through a glass that separated his reality from theirs. Nobody talked to him. Nobody noticed him. Rey realized that this was the reason that Snoke had chosen him. Because Ben didn't have friends. Snoke picked him because he was an outcast and he had nobody to turn to and ask for help.

"He's always been like that." Poe's voice came from behind her.

"I thought as much."

"Finn found a few more things on Snoke."

"I hope it's enough." Rey said quietly.

"It will be. It has to be." There was a short silence and Poe put a hand against her back and pushed her forward a bit. "Go over there so he's not alone."

"I can't... what if people think-"

"Rey... there's no way anybody is ever going to suspect anything. I'm going to get a drink. So go on."

From his corner he lifted his gaze and when he noticed her that particular sort of loneliness and sadness that was there shifted into something else. She couldn't quite recognize it whatever it was. She didn't get the chance to go over there when someone stepped in her way and by the time they passed he was already getting up and leaving the room.

It might not be a good idea, but she decided to follow him. He grabbed his long coat and headed outside. There were a few senator's kids. They were all standing around drinking and when he came through they stepped apart, surrounded him like a wolf might surround prey.

"You have the stuff." Ben asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I've got it. You got the money?" The young man reached into his coat and pulled out a package and held it out and as Ben reached for it he retracted his hand suddenly. "Or would you rather fuck me for it?"

The other boys burst into laughter at the comment. It seemed that everyone knew about what had happened.

"Comeon Ben you knew it wouldn't be that easy. You narked on our man... and not only that you're planning to skip town? I'm not letting you get away that easily. You need a fix... you give me something a little better. You're known for it after all." This boy she didn't recognize waved a hand and his companions followed him as they headed back inside.

Here she was overhearing things she shouldn't again. It seemed Snoke's reach went a lot further then she expected. Was this entire town under his thumb?

"When are you going to stop spying on me?" Ben questioned as he stepped off the porch to sit on the step. Right. Of course he knew. He was probably learning to expect it by now.

"I thought you were going to stop?"

"I tried... I just... I just needed a little. I just want to forget what a fuck up I am." It was still hard for him to try and drop this habit. Near impossible. He didn't think he could do it. She knew that it was now or never.

"I... need to tell you something... Finn was digging into Snoke. He hacked his files somehow and he found some things. You never failed any of your tests... Snoke rigged it. He changed your scores. He did it to a lot of other people to." Rey thought that he needed to know the truth, but she hadn't been sure exactly how to bring that name up without him slipping into a dark place.

"What...?" His expression was of pure shock when she said it and he groaned quietly and buried his face in his hands. "No... no..."

"Ben... Finn found the dirt on him... he can... finally get justice. The year is starting over... you can start over..."

"I can't start over! This doesn't just go away!" He snapped and stood up, stepping the rest of the way down the stairs and heading out into the yard away from her. "I can't stay here anymore."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm serious." He stopped and turned around to face her. "I'm leaving this place. I'm not going to come back. I can't... live here... not anymore."

"You're going to leave me?"

"Rey..." He let out a sigh.

"You can't do that."

"I have to." His words made her feel like somebody had just died. A similar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"You can't just..."

"I can't what?"

"You can't just have sex with me and then leave like none of it meant anything to you." She insisted and then his expression changed and he quickly glanced over at the door and she followed his gaze.

The young man in glasses, stepping out to get air looked completely started. He sniffed lightly and took a quick breath from his inhaler. "What are you two doing?"

"Practice for a play, Winston." Ben said, completely deadpan. "But she's terrible at it. Give it up, Rey. You're never going to be a good actress."

"I... I'm not terrible at it..." Rey tried, surprised at how good he was at lying, but of course he was. He was so used to lying all the time.

"Well I for one think Rey is an excellent actress." Winston spoke up. "I was very convinced."

"Sure you were." Ben glanced off to the side, seemingly bored and Winston coughed a little bit. The three were left standing in an awkward situation, but it was covered at the very least and Winston was non-the-wiser.

A car slowly pulled up and Snoke stepped out of it, glancing at the car that was parked ahead of him. He reached into his car and grabbed his case out of it and approached them. One man stepped out and walked around the front of the car, but Snoke could not make him out with the headlights still blaring in his eyes as it was.

"I've brought what you've asked for. I certainly hope you have the cash." Snoke stated and then the lights shut off and he recognized the man before him. "Luke Skywalker. What could you possibly want with fifty pounds of cocaine and seventy pounds of heroin?"

"A prop if you will." Luke responded.

"Prop? Can a man like you even afford it?" Snoke asked, but before Snoke could further insult him a loud boom echoed across the lake and he was on the ground screaming in agony.

Han stepped out from the shadows and cocked the shotgun in his hands and took aim to blow out Snoke's other knee. Leaving him incapable of escape.

"You hurt my boy." Han stated with a voice full of emotion and Luke made his way around to the back of the car and got rope and a block of cement from the trunk.

"You... you'll... you'll never get away with this..." Snoke wheezed out.

Han kneeled next to him as Luke came over and tied him by the ankles to the cement block, making sure that the knot would not come lose.

"That's where you're wrong... you're a drug dealer. Did you over look that little fact? I know the game. I was there once. And this little deal? This little deal went very wrong for you... and that is exactly what the police reports will say." Han stood up and lifted Snoke while Luke picked up the block and they carried him over to the dock.

"You... stop! Please! I... I'll do anything!" Snoke pleaded as they got closer and closer to the water.

"Is that how my boy begged when you hurt him? The shoe is on the other foot now isn't it, Snoke?" Han asked and then nodded to Luke and they both tossed first the block and then Snoke into the water and watched as Snoke desperately tried to stay above water, but the heavy cement just pulled him straight down.

They stood there on the dock for sometime and watched until the bubbles no longer came to the surface. The freezing winter water and those wounds would leave no possible way for Snoke to survive.

Han pulled out his cellphone and made the call.

"Leia... it's done."

The clock struck midnight and the party goers were gone by now. A success in Leia's eyes. The biggest success. All of it had been arranged perfectly. The set up of Han faking another bout of forgetfulness... and keeping all the politicians and chef of police distracted. If there was one thing that was for sure... it was that nobody would hurt her family and get away with it. Not ever.

She gave a glance out the window at her son and Rey, both still sitting outside on the step and talking at great length. She decided to leave them be for now. Han and Luke would be here any minute with a mission accomplished.

"It's Christmas Eve." Rey stated softly, briefly rubbing at her eyes and trying to control the emotions that she felt inside of her. She had initially been so angry at him, but... she understood that he couldn't live here. Not when everyone here looked at him the way they did.

"Yeah." He glanced down at his hands. That meant it he would be leaving very soon. "You know we can't be together. You're too young... and me... my reputation is already bad. Sleeping with my cousin tops it all I think."

"It shouldn't matter."

"But it does. We would never be able to have a relationship... we would have to constantly hide it. I don't want you to have to live that way. You deserve someone that can love you properly."

"That's not fair, Ben."

"I know, sweetheart." He reached over for her hand and held it between his and then brought it to his mouth to press a kiss against it. It was too soon when he let go of her hand and sighed to himself. "It's time to go."

"Wait..." She grabbed the edges of his jacket so he couldn't go yet and kissed him, left him shocked and startled, but he returned it just as intensely. It would be the last time. It felt too soon when they parted. "I love you."

"I know... I love you too." With a heavy heart he pulled her hands away from his coat and stood up. She watched him walk away for the last time and when he got in his car and started it up it was a sort of finality. Despite herself she stood up, wanting to go to him, but he pulled out of the driveway and the car soon disappeared into the darkness.

She tried so hard to be strong but she broke down into sobs and brought her knees up to her chest where she could bury her face in them. When the door opened she quickly tried to stop, tried to wipe at her face.

"Rey..." Her father's familiar voice came from the door and she knew she had to try hard to stop her crying. "I saw."

"It's not... it isn't what it looks like."

"Rey." Luke's voice was stern and she knew then that it was pointless to keep lying. She was never very good at it.

"I slept with Ben..." She admitted and Luke let out a sigh and came to sit next to her on the step and put an arm around her. "You're not mad?"

"No, Rey. I'm not mad at you." Luke wasn't quite sure how he should feel about all of this, but Leia had not seemed to know either. "You love him?"

"Yes."

"He loves you?"

"Of course he does."

"I see." Luke glanced down the darkened road.

"He's gone. He isn't coming back."

"No. He isn't."

"I'm so sorry..." She breathed, unable to control the tears at this point.

"You don't need to be sorry, Rey. And you don't need to feel guilty either." Luke wanted her to feel better, but he wasn't sure really how.

"How can I not... I slept with my cousin... I embarrassed our entire family..."

"No. You haven't." Luke pulled out a cloth from his jacket for her tears and handed it to her to dry her face. "Some very famous individuals married their cousins. Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, H.G. Wells, Edgar Allen Poe... it isn't unheard of."

Rey laughed through her tears at her father's words. "It sounds like you're talking about marrying him when you put it that way."

"You slept with him." He reaffirmed and her expression changed.

"Are... you're not actually telling me to marry Ben are you?"

"You can't change what happened... your feelings are sincere... the summer house is on the boarder..." Luke stood up and helped her up with him. "and you're still on vacation."

Christmas Day

Finally arriving at the Lake house for the last and final time Ben grabbed his things from the car and stepped inside. His cellphone had been going off like crazy and he knew exactly who it was. Now that he was here and they couldn't stop him he answered it.

"Yes?" He had to turn his face away from the phone as his mother's scolding voice came through. She was beyond angry that he had left without a goodbye, but he knew if he tried she would have impeded him leaving. "I had to. I can't stay in that town. Not anymore."

He dropped his bags on the floor near the couch and made his way over to grab something from the fridge. He hadn't eaten and it had been a long night's drive.

"No. Try and understand..." He sighed and closed the door and tossed the bacon package onto the counter. "I'm trying to get clean... and start over. It isn't like you can't come over here and harass me anyways..."

Those words seemed to calm her down as she lowered her voice. It seemed that she understood and the fact that he was willing to visit with them made it all the better. It was a great relief on his part.

"Graduation? I'm just going to get a GED. I don't want to go back. Like I said... I can't be there anymore... and I can't go back to that school. What? No. I can still get a good job with it." He heard a car pull up and frowned a little. "Wait... I have to call you back."

He tossed the phone onto the counter and approached the window. He wasn't sure who could be here and briefly wondered if Snoke was here to kill him now that he was alone, but it wasn't nor was it Hux. It was Luke?

In utter confusion he stepped outside, fully intending to ask what Luke was doing here, but instead he noticed Rey exit the car.

"What are you doing here?"

"Everyone knows..." She answered uneasily as Luke opened the door and leaned on it while he stared seriously at Ben.

"I... it's all my fault you can't blame her." He quickly spoke up, but at Luke's expression he felt a sort of panic.

"It is your fault you little ass and you're going to pay for it." Luke responded. "You don't just sleep with a girl and leave. Didn't you learn anything from your mother or did it all go in one ear and out the other? She's yours until summer."

"I will pay for it I swear-wait what?" Ben quickly glanced between the two of them in confusion. There was no way he had heard it right was there?

Luke grabbed her bags from the car and set them in the driveway. "You heard right. She's your responsibility until school starts up again. You take care of her or else you might end up at the bottom of a lake."

Rey shot a look at her father and realized where Ben got his morbid dry sense of humor. She should have noticed it sooner. With those final words Luke winked at them and got back into the car to pull out the drive and leave him with no way out of owning up to his actions.

"He's kidding right? This is a big joke." Ben asked and then quickly made his way over to grab her things. It was too cold out here to stay.

"I thought he was at first too..."

"This is for real?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm babysitting you until summer?" He asked as he set her bags inside the door and then he felt a snowball hit him in the back of the head.

"Excuse me? Babysitting?"

"Rey!" He scolded and turned to find her rolling another. The vengeance was strong in her for him daring to use that word. Before he got another warning she struck him right in the chest with it. "Ah! You're such a brat!"

He jumped over the railing and she quickly took a step back having not expected him to react like that, but he was right there in front of her before she could get any more ammo or get further away and he reached for her and grabbed her by the coat, but as she took another step they both slipped in the snow and came crashing down into a white mountain.

"Oh, get off..." Rey scolded. "You're heavy."

Despite falling awkwardly he laughed faintly and she found it infectious and she laughed a little as well. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and stared down at her for several long moments as he tried to comprehend everything. He was so sure everything had ended and that they were never going to see one another again, but for some reason that had not been the case.

"I have you all winter..." Bringing a hand up he lightly brushed the fallen strands of hair back from her face. "I couldn't ask for a better gift than to spend my time with you."

Leaning down he kissed her gently and she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close. These were the moments that made life worth living. Soft and tender moments that made all the bad a nothing more than a faded memory.

"I couldn't either." She breathed against his lips and he smiled faintly. "Merry Christmas, Ben."

"Merry Christmas, Rey."

This Christmas would forever be known as the year that his life had started anew and he had left the terrible darkness in the past. He would later learn that his tormentor had been found murdered. A drug deal gone wrong and that Hux had been busted for selling. By his own father no less. Soon enough that part of his life was far, far in the past even if things like that never quite left it had gotten much easier. He kicked his bad habit with Rey's help and support. And eventually... he would follow his grandfather's footsteps and get married in secrete. He learned that no matter how bad things seemed or no matter what one went through there was always hope in the end.

If there was such thing as a fairy-tale happy ending then this was most certainly was theirs.

The End~