"Ben!"

Rey sits up in bed like a bolt of electricity went through her, arm outstretched towards the darkness. For a moment, she swears he is there with her, but in the dark, she can't find any trace that she is right. She relaxes, arm dropping back to her side as BB-8 rolls closer.

"I know," Rey says to him after he pipes up, "It was just another dream." 'Just like all of the other ones," she adds in her thoughts. Although she tells BB-8 that all is well, she waits for just another moment longer, then turns to lay on her side and stare at the wall.

She couldn't help but wish for him to return to her. He had vanished without a trace after she finally showed her true feelings for him, and after she saw Ben's true smile for the first time. She blinks a tear out of her eyes and puts her face into the firm pillow, hoping to wick away the moisture escaping.

Since the final battle against her grandfather, Emperor Palpatine, and the loss of the man who had come back to save her, the man she knew would come back for her, Rey had left her friends to lead a life on Tatooine on her own. Well, not totally alone since she had BB-8 as a companion. Even still, she had to admit, it was just as lonely as her life on Jakku, but at least now she had purpose and understanding under her belt. Rey, however, was at a loss as to what to do next. She completed her right of passage and created her own lightsaber with her kyber crystal that she obtained, but sometimes she almost asked herself, why? In a world without Palpatine and the First Order, what would she potentially need it for? She already stored away Luke and Leia's lightsabers.

Sometimes, Rey was almost convinced she felt a wave in the force, a familiar wave Ben Solo had when he was around her. She knew there were others out there who were force sensitive, that there were other fluxes in the force, but for something so familiar…

She had seen a vision the last time they bonded in the cavern of her grandfather's sin. With Ben coming to the light, a family of their own when he nodded at her. At the time, she could feel the tears coming at how happy it made her. But her visions were wrong before, and seemingly, wrong that time, too.

Be with me…Rey begged as she clenched her eyes shut. Be with me...Be with me...

Despite her efforts, Ben, or any Jedi of the past for that matter, came to her during her pleas and she drifted off into sleep instead.

In the dark of the hut, Ben Solo stood in the middle of the room. He never cared for any of the thoughts he had of his uncle's connection to this place, but with Rey here now, he felt compelled to stay. Late in the night, Ben watches as Rey sleeps, her brow furrowed like she's in pain. Every time she dreamt like this, he felt the same wave of protectiveness over her.

"Nothing's going to hurt you, it's all over now." He says, his commanding voice now in a murmur as he kneels by her bed and leans over her, studying her face. His hand reaches, twisting to lay flush against her cheek.

"Rey," he whispers. Suddenly she bolts straight forward, right through the invisible spirit of Ben Solo, as she calls out his name. It startles him nearly as much as she was and he shifts, leaning back and getting to his feet. She can't see him, although he can see her. In fact, over the last however many months, maybe even a year already, he had been by her side without her knowing. He had hoped that she could at least sense him, and from her actions, he could tell she did at least occasionally. It pained him to see her struggle with her loneliness and he wanted so badly to tell her it was all okay, that he was here for her. The problem was, he didn't have any way to connect with her anymore. Ever since he faded into the force and left behind only his garments, he had lost the ability to force link with her despite their bond as a dyad.

As the droid wakes up and rolls past him to Rey's side, he feels a pang of jealousy - Even this ball of scrap was able to converse with her. Frustrated, he turns to swipe a jar off the counter, hoping the crash of the clay will alert the two that he is there. His arm, instead, floats right through the object and doesn't have the same outcome as he wishes.

"It was just another dream...just like all the other ones," he hears her, though the second part echoes as it only plays in her mind. He wishes he could see these dreams, wanting to know what it is that she sees. Were they flashbacks of their battles, or even with her grandfather, Emperor Palpatine? Did she dream of the moment Ben left her? Though she tells the droid that she is okay, he watches as she pauses to look through the room again. He stills, even holding his breath, as if he could be caught. When she finally lays back in her bed, he relaxes and crosses over, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Be with me…" he hears her beg.

"I want to be," he tells her back, picking up a hand to touch her, but thinks against it. She already woke up from his touch, he assumed, so why keep her from her already restless sleep when she clearly needed it. On the other hand, if she really did respond to his touch and voice, maybe he was closer to her than he previously thought. He closes his eyes, too, and lets himself fade back into his place in the world between worlds.