A/N: I have seen The Rise of Skywalker a grand total of three times so far, and each time, I am inspired to write a new fix-it fic. This is my very first draft, which I wrote after watching the movie for the first time, and it's still one of my favourites. I do hope you all enjoy it too!

Rey's legs swayed treacherously as she fought to remain upright - dimly, she was aware of Luke and Leia's lightsabers clattering to the ground, the last remnants of Palpatine's lightning crackling into the ground.

Mere moments later, Rey herself followed, her ever-weakening legs finally losing the battle against gravity. As she fell to the ground, she heard her name, echoing in painfully bright clarity, shouted both through the Force bond and across the stadium: Rey!

She smiled, and as her eyes lost focus and the shining white light crept across her vision, she thought back, Ben.

Rey opened her eyes, and drew in a startled breath.

Alive. She was alive.

How was this possible?

She jerked herself into a sitting position, coming face to face with... Ben?

She gasped and blinked a few times, fast, simultaneously trying to catch her breath and make sure that this... that he was real.

Ben continued to look down at her, his eyes solemn and just a little worried, his heartbeat very real under her trembling fingertips.

"Ben," she breathed, joy such as she had never felt before filling her from top to toes.

They looked deep into each other's eyes, and it was as if every moment they had ever shared - good and bad alike - flashed before their eyes.

Rey knew, then, knew without a shred of doubt that she loved him like she had never loved anything or anyone before. For all his darkness, Palpatine had been right about one thing - Ben was her other half, for better or for worse.

Rey brought her hand to his cheek - his wonderfully warm, smooth, real cheek - and kissed him.

Ben's lips were soft and inviting, and moved perfectly against her own. She could feel his arm wrapped around her back to hold her close to him, and nothing had ever felt more right.

She pulled away after a moment, panting slightly and looking at Ben, wonder and embarrassment warring inside her.

Ben's face split into a smile that could only he described as radiant, and Rey felt her own lips tug upwards in response.

She brushed her thumb across his cheek, tracing the smile-crinkled corner of his lip, and leaned forward fractionally to kiss him again. But before she could touch her lips to his, the glow of the smile faded from his features, and he toppled over backwards.

Not really thinking about what she was doing, Rey followed, her unbridled joy turning into horror and frantic disbelief.

"You can't be dead," she said, feeling the tears welling in her eyes as she searched desperately for even the smallest flicker of life. "You can't be, Ben, I need you!"

But Ben's still form made no answer.

Rey drew in a shuddering breath and leaned down to press her lips to his, her hand cradling his cheek, which mere seconds ago had still been warm and alive beneath her touch.

No. The thought rose in her, sudden and wholly startling in its vehemence. She wouldn't lose him, she wouldn't!

Resting her forehead against Ben's still one, Rey willed the life-force inside her - his life-force - to flow through their bond and back into his body. She didn't stop until she felt his warm breath against her cheek, and then she allowed herself to collapse into his arms.

"Rey." Ben's voice was broken, horrified. "What have you done?"

I can't lose you, she whispered through the bond, her lips too weak to form the words. She reached up and put a hand to his cheek; it was damp with tears.

Rey smiled at him, and allowed the bright light to fill her vision once more.

Rey awoke for the second time, her eyes narrowing against the harsh light, and her breathing painfully ragged. Then the light, and her breath, were jolted out of her as a heavy form collapsed onto her.

She groaned and pushed the offending person out of the way, but froze as her hand made contact with long black hair.

Ben! She screamed his name, her voice hoarse and full of agony as it echoed through the bond.

I'm sorry, Rey, he thought, and she could feel him slipping away even as he spoke. But I can't lose you, either.

"No, no, no!" Rey shouted, angry tears pouring down her face. "Ben, no!"

She acted desperately, grabbing his hand and shoving rather than guiding the little life-force she had left in her back at him.

She knew the moment he got it, because he immediately tried to give it back.

But Rey would not accept it. Live for me, Ben, she told him fiercely, over and over.

And each time he replied, It has to be you, Rey.

Neither of them would accept the life-force anymore, and so it just... hung between them, hovering precariously on the threads of their bond.

And all the while, Rey and Ben argued fiercely.

I've done too much harm in this world, Rey. It's only right that I die, and you -

Bantha fodder! I'm not letting you die just because you think you don't deserve to live, you mean far too much to me.

I can't face the world without you, Rey.

And you think I can?

You're strong, and you're a hero. You deserve to live.

So do you, Ben. You're just as much a hero as I am.

But no-one knows that. If I go back, my life will be miserable. But you can go back and be happy.

How can I be happy without you, Ben? We're a Force dyad, two of us who are one. Without you, I'd live a half life, because half of what I am would be gone.

I need you, Ben.

And this time, Ben did not argue.

So do I, he said instead.

Then we go back together, Rey said.

Or not at all, Ben finished.

That's how it should be, she said, the truth of it resonating deep within her.

She knew Ben felt it too - their acceptance of it hummed through the bond.

You and I, he said.

Forever, she promised, and reached out to wrap her mind around his in a tender mental embrace.

Ben opened himself completely to her, and she to him, and the Force bond sang around them as they hovered between life and death.

"Rey," Finn breathed, stopping where he stood as he... felt her die. It was as though something in the back of his mind - he fancied it had been a bright golden glow - had been snuffed out.

He staggered into the Falcon in a haze of shock and grief, and then the strangest thing happened. Rey's glow... reappeared.

At the same time, the other glow - the glow that Finn had been trying his best to ignore - faded, and finally disappeared entirely.

Finn exhaled shakily in utter relief, holding onto the side of the Falcon to steady himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jannah approaching, a concerned expression on her face, but he waved her away.

But his momentary relief faded as quickly as it had come, as Rey's golden glow flickered alarmingly in the back of his mind before fading away again.

The other glow - Ren's glow, only there was something distinctly different about it - flared into existence again as Rey's died.

What on earth...? Finn wondered, but didn't have time to finish the thought, because just as quickly as it had returned, Ren's glow faded away again.

Rey's golden glow burned bright for a single, wonderful moment, and then it, too, dimmed into a barely-discernible haze.

"Okay, guys, what is going on?" Finn asked aloud as Ren's glow reappeared, just as dim and hazy as Rey's.

"We're winning!" General Calrissian called over with a grin.

"No, that's not - well, yeah, we are winning," Finn said, earning himself a rather confused look from the general.

Lando said something in a low voice to Chewbacca, who was seated beside him, and the Wookiee growled in acknowledgement.

"You alright, kid?" the general asked, crossing the room to sit down next to Finn.

Finn sighed. "It's complicated."

Lando looked at him with shrewd eyes. "Look, kid, I don't claim to know a thing about the Force, but I spent enough time around Luke to know it when I see it. Whatever your gut's telling you to do, do it."

He patted Finn on the shoulder, then rose and made his way back into the cockpit.

Finn opened his mouth to call him back, then hesitated, mulling the general's words over in his head.

It was true. Lando Calrissian had spent more time with Luke Skywalker than anyone else alive.

And if Lando thought Finn should follow his gut, that was good enough for him.

"Commander D'Acy?" he asked, flicking his comlink to holo mode. "I need a med-pod to dock on the Falcon, post-haste."

But it wasn't the commander's familiar features that appeared on the blue holo – instead, it was Rose's.

And she looked about to have his head.

"Where exactly," she said in a treacherously calm tone of voice, "do you think you're going?"

Finn winced, cursing himself for forgetting that Rose had been the acting commander of the Exegol mission. "Rose! Oh, nowhere in particular."

"You said you needed a med-pod. Why?" Her tone was controlled and even, but he knew her well enough to know that that meant she was truly furious.

"Look, Rose, I'm really sorry about the lander –"

"You could have died, Finn! Did you think about that? Did you think about what that would mean to the people who care about you? To me?" Despite her best efforts, her voice broke towards the end.

"Rose…" He trailed off, helpless in the face of her fury. The problem was, he understood exactly why she was so angry, and more than that, he even agreed with her. If their roles had been reversed, he would have acted in exactly the same way.

"Don't you 'Rose' me," she snapped. "Tell me why you wanted that med-pod, and tell me now."

"I don't know how to explain," he said, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Try."

"I felt something," he said, deciding that the only way to appease her was with the truth. After all, she would probably notice if he was lying, and the last thing he wanted right now was to make her even angrier.

Rose's features softened as she took in his strained appearance. "Is it bad?"

He nodded, bowing his head.

"Rey?" she guessed.

Finn took a moment to marvel at how well she had come to know him. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Her, and Ren."

Rose's frown deepened. "Are they fighting, or what?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "It's... strange."

"Give me an overview," she suggested, her holo moving backwards as she sat down on one of the lander's seats.

Finn took a deep breath, and explained about the glows as best he could.

Rose's brow knitted in confusion and concern. "But if the glow fading means Rey died, how did it reappear? And what does Ren's glow have to do with anything?"

"I wish I knew," Finn said bleakly. "But whatever it is, I'm willing to bet it's not good."

Urgency renewed, he started throwing medical supplies higgledy-piggledy into the first pack he could find.

"What in the name of all the stars do you think you're doing?" Rose demanded, her holo standing up and folding her arms. She looked positively formidable, despite being a full head shorter than him and an entire ship away.

"I'm going to find Rey," he replied simply.

Rose snorted. "On your own? I don't think so."

"I -"

"Don't want to put me at risk, I know," she said, and her eyes softened as she looked into his. "But, Finn, I can't stand the thought of not knowing if you're alright. Not again."

She seemed to realise that he wasn't quite persuaded yet, because she added, expression turning to one of determination, "Besides, Rey's my friend too. I want to help her just as much as you do."

When she put it like that, he couldn't possibly refuse. "Okay, Rose. But we're taking a frigate with proper shielding."

"Done," she said. "I'll arrange it. You update Poe."

"What do you mean, update Poe?" he asked, not liking this at all, but she just smirked at him.

"What's this I hear about taking a frigate down to Exegol?" Poe's voice asked, his holo-figure popping up next to Rose's.

"Come on, Rose," he grumbled. "You didn't need to involve Poe."

"Of course I did," she said roundly. "He deserves to know, too. And anyway, we could do with a proper escort. Just in case."

Poe looked from Finn to Rose and groaned. "Oh, no, please don't tell me. There's some super-dangerous planet killer we've just found out about and need to destroy."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Always so dramatic. You explain, Finn – I'll go arrange us a frigate."

"Gee, thanks," he grumbled as she unceremoniously severed the holo-connection, then took a deep breath and turned to face his friend.

"Well. First things first... I felt Rey die."

Poe staggered back a step, clapping a hand to his mouth. "No."

But then his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, you felt her die? That sounds an awful lot like the Force."

Finn was silent, and Poe's eyes widened. "No kriffing way," he breathed.

"That's what I wanted to tell Rey on Pasaana," he admitted. "What with the war and her training, I never really got the chance."

He took a deep breath. "And then about ten minutes ago, I felt Rey die. I can't explain it, really - it was like there had always been a kind of golden glow at the edge of my awareness, and I only noticed it when it wasn't there anymore."

"The golden glow means Rey?" Poe checked.

Finn nodded.

"And she's gone?"

"Well, that's the strange thing," Finn explained. "A few minutes after I felt her die, Rey's glow came back."

Poe looked blank. "Er, what?"

"The golden glow came back," Finn repeated.

"But how is that possible?" Poe demanded. "Could you have been mistaken about her dying?"

"No," Finn said decisively, and he could feel the certainty deep in his bones. Rey had died, but somehow, she had returned.

Poe studied him closely, then gave a little nod. "Okay. But how is that even possible?"

"I have no idea," Finn confessed. "But I think it has something to do with Ren."

"Ren?" Poe took a step back. "What does Ren have to do with anything?"

"I really don't know," Finn said wearily. "But I do know that Ren died when Rey came back."

"So he's dead now?" Relief filled Poe's face and voice.

"Er, no," Finn said, then took one look at Poe's hopelessly confused face and gave up trying to explain. He settled for paraphrasing. "Basically, she and Ren both died and came back again, and they're both alive now, but barely. Rey most likely needs life support, so Rose and I are taking a frigate down."

Even if he didn't quite follow the dying-and-coming-back part (and honestly, who could blame him?) Poe definitely got the bit about the frigate.

"I'll be your escort," his friend said immediately.

"I know Rose said we needed one, but you don't have to -" Finn began, but gave up once he saw the look on his friend's face. "Oh, all right. Thank you."

Poe grinned. "Great. I'll be with you in a minute."

"Where are you going?" Finn asked curiously.

His friend shrugged one shoulder, doing his best to appear unconcerned. "There's someone I need to talk to before we go. Don't worry, I'll just be a moment."

Finn tried and failed to hide his smirk. "That someone wouldn't happen to be a spice runner in a purple catsuit who goes by the name of Zorii Bliss?"

"That's none of your business," Poe said, but Finn could have sworn that through the blue distortion of the holo-image, his friend's cheeks were flushed slightly red.

"Poe Dameron, are you blushing?" Finn asked with entirely too much glee.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Poe said, turning away hastily. "I'll see you in a minute, okay?"

Finn watched him with undisguised amusement. "If you're not done talking to YOUR GIRLFRIEND when Rose and I are ready to go, we're leaving without you."

"She's not my –" Poe began, but Finn waved him off, smirking all the while.

"Girlfriend's waiting, Dameron. You have exactly two minutes."

Rose carefully landed the frigate in the most stable-looking part of the stadium, and Poe and Zorii's starfighters perched on fallen statues on either side of it. Despite the circumstances, Finn smirked to himself at the sight of his best friend and the masked spice runner gesticulating wildly as they argued some point or another.

Behind him, Rose lowered the entry ramp cautiously, obviously fearing that something else would topple over onto them at any moment. Fortunately, nothing did. But Finn gave an involuntary little shudder as his feet touched the cold stone of the stadium's floor – the very stones of this place seemed seeped in evil.

"So, where's Rey?" Poe asked, tension visible in the stiff lines of his shoulders as he walked over to them. The menacing aura of the place was clearly getting to him, too.

"I'm not sure," Finn admitted. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the glows, finding them weak but still very much there in the back of his mind.

"Over there," he said, opening his eyes and pointing at the far side of the stadium.

"You're sure?" Zorii pressed. "I don't like the feel of this place."

"Rey's there," Finn said confidently.

Zorii studied him, head tilted, then gave a curt nod. "Let's go. I hope Rey's not in too bad a state."

Her concern surprised Finn, but then he remembered that Zorii had actually gotten along quite well with Rey. He returned the spice runner's nod and began to pick his way through the maze of broken statues and other rubble to the far side of the stadium.

He could feel Rey's presence more strongly than ever once he walked around the last statue, even masked as it was by the lingering blackness of hundreds of Sith.

He looked around him, certain she was here somewhere. She had to be.

"Over there," Zorii's voice said from behind him. Finn turned, surprised, and found the spice runner pointing at the dais ahead of them.

He squinted, and realised that she was quite right. There was something on the floor at the far end of the hall, lying in a crumpled, indistinct mass at the foot of a jagged black throne.

But the golden glow in his mind shone stronger than ever, and it was definitely coming from the direction of the blurry, dark shape at the foot of the throne.

"Rey," he breathed, breaking into a run and sprinting across the hall.

The closer he got, the brighter Rey's glow blazed in his mind - and, despite how stubbornly he tried to squash it, so did Ren's.

A sharp cry from Rose stopped him in his tracks half-way to his friend's prone form.

"What is it?" he called, concerned.

Rose wore an expression of absolute disgust. "It's..." she began, then swallowed hard and tried again. "It's... It looks like the Emperor, but..."

Finn gave the shape by the throne a longing glance - he could make out Rey's white clothing by now - and turned and dashed over to Rose.

Bile rose in his throat at the sight.

It was the Emperor, there was no doubt about that, but his features were hideously melted, almost as if he were a wax figurine who had been stuck in a candle.

It was revolting.

"Come on," he said quietly, putting a hand on Rose's shoulder. "He's dead, you'll only upset yourself by hanging around him."

Rose nodded, leaning fractionally into his touch before squaring her shoulders and marching forwards. Finn followed immediately, his longer legs and driving urge to get to Rey allowing him to pass her mid-way to the throne.

He could see the outline of Rey's figure now - she had collapsed onto her side, one arm stretched outwards at an odd angle as though she was reaching out to someone just beyond his view.

He quickened his stride still further so that he was practically sprinting to Rey's side.

But a mere metre from his friend's still form, he stopped dead, mouth dropping open as his brain processed what his eyes saw - and processed it again, because what it had concluded the first time was so unbelievable that there had to be some mistake.

Finn shook his head. "What in all the stars...?"

"Kriff!" Poe yelped, coming up behind him with Zorii hot on his heels. "That's Kylo Ren!"

Finn could only nod dumbly.

"But he's... holding her hand," Poe said, the absolute disbelief in his voice so blatant that in any other situation, Finn would have laughed.

But he didn't laugh, because his best friend was on the floor in front of him, looking dead, and holding hands with his worst enemy, who also looked dead.

Except that they weren't dead - their respective glows pulsed away in Finn's mind - not brightly, exactly, but strongly enough that he knew for certain they were both alive.

"Well, what do we do now?" Zorii asked, folding her arms. She hadn't removed her mask, so he figured that it probably had some kind of night-vision software - which explained how she had spotted Rey so quickly, once he thought about it.

"Er," Poe said, for once looking completely lost for words.

Rose was the first one to recover a measure of reason. "We need to get Rey to life support. She doesn't look too good."

Finn snapped out of his stupor and turned to Poe and Zorii. "Did you bring the stretchers?"

"Oh, so that's what these big heavy things we've been dragging along are," Zorii said in the tones of one who has finally understood something monumental. "I knew we must have had them for a reason."

Poe pulled a face at her. "Just put Rey on the stretcher."

Zorii grumbled a bit, but her touch was gentle as she carefully slid the stretcher under Rey's limp form.

As she was about to pull the Jedi's hand out of Ren's, Finn shouted, "Stop!"

He didn't know what made him do it, but he was suddenly, unshakably certain that if Rey's hand stopped touching Ren's, she would die.

Zorii gave him a look that even through the mask gave off complete confusion.

Rose and Poe, too, had stopped what they were doing and were giving him similarly puzzled looks.

Finn took a deep breath. "Keep their hands together," he said slowly, the words foreign in his mouth but right all the same. "I think... I think they're keeping each other alive."

Rose's brow creased. "Is that even possible?"

Finn gestured at Rey and Ren, both of whom were breathing peacefully, their glows dim but undoubtedly there in his mind. "Apparently."

"Good thing I brought the extra stretcher," Zorii said, grudgingly considering Rey and Ren. She gave a small nod, seemingly coming to a decision, and heaved Ren onto a stretcher beside Rey's, taking care to keep their hands joined.

Finn couldn't help but notice that she was a lot less gentle with Ren than she had been with Rey, but he could hardly blame her for that.

Poe had been suspiciously silent throughout the whole ordeal, and Finn turned to his friend with raised eyebrows as they began to drag out the stretchers.

"I don't like it, either," he said when Poe still maintained his stony silence. "But I don't want Rey to die."

Poe gave a curt nod, but still wouldn't speak. Finn frowned - that really was most unlike him.

"He'll be all right," Zorii's voice said from behind Finn, and he turned his head slightly to see her watching Poe, masked head tilted slightly to the right.

"He just needs some time to come to grips with it all," the spice runner said softly. "We all do."

She touched Finn's shoulder lightly in a gesture of solidarity, then moved silently around the stretcher to stand by Poe's side. He could just-just make out her voice murmuring to him, and thought he saw her hand brush his.

Poe nodded and sighed, leaning towards Zorii, who placed a reassuring hand on his back. She saw Finn watching and gave him a little nod. He'll be all right.

Poe was lucky to have someone like her, Finn mused. They would probably deny it until their last breaths, but it was obvious that they genuinely cared for and understood each other.

He looked at Rey, and at the peaceful expression on her face as she lay unmoving on the stretcher, her hand in Kylo Ren's.

She has that too, he realised with a start. Somehow.

They reached the medical frigate some time later, their progress hampered by the fact that they were dragging two stretchers in place of just the one they had expected.

Luckily the frigate had plenty of room for both Rey and Ren, and after some tricky manoeuvring, they managed to get the pair hooked up to life support systems side-by-side.

But Finn was worried. Despite the highly sophisticated technology on the frigate, neither Rey nor Ren showed any signs of waking up. Their vitals showed they were in a stable condition, bar some minor cuts and bruises and a busted hip from Ren, but they just wouldn't wake up.

"Still nothing?" Rose asked quietly, joining him at Rey's bedside. Finn shook his head.

Rose sighed deeply, her features troubled as she looked down at the duo. "I just don't understand why," she said quietly. "There's nothing really wrong with either of them."

"They just won't wake up," Finn finished, and she nodded glumly.

He ran a hand wearily over his brow as he looked down at Rey's comatose form again. She looked totally at peace as she lay there, her hand tucked into Kylo Ren's and her golden glow pulsing in tandem with his.

But she wouldn't wake up.

Finn brushed his hand across Rey's forehead, gently tucking a curl of hair behind her ear. "Wake up," he told her softly.

She didn't stir, but something... flickered in the back of his mind.

Frowning, he chased the flicker, closing his eyes in concentration.

And then with a rush of light not dissimilar to a lightspeed jump, he tumbled head-first into his own memories.

He was in Pasaana again, watching Rey put her hand on the vexis snake's side, watching its gaping wound knit shut under her fingers.

"I just transferred a bit of life, Force energy, from me to him," she explained, turning to Finn with a smile.

Finn opened his eyes with a gasp. "I understand," he breathed.

The glows fading in and out meant that Rey and Ren had been healing each other. They had just-just enough life-force to keep them both alive and breathing, albeit in a coma, but not enough for them to wake up.

He pushed his confusion as to why on earth Rey would heal Ren of all people aside, instead taking a deep breath and steeling himself for what he had to do.

He put his hand flat on Rey's forehead, just as she had done with the vexis snake.

But then he hesitated.

It was easy enough to say or think, but how did you actually transfer some life from yourself to another person? That hadn't exactly been covered in stormtrooper training.

It was at times like these that Finn regretted more than ever that he hadn't told Rey about his probable Force-sensitivity when he'd had the chance. If he had, he might have been able to train with her for a while, and then he would at least have had some idea of what to do...

But there was no point in agonizing over what-ifs.

Finn concentrated everything he had on Rey's golden glow, and on how much he wanted it to brighten.

If this had been some movie, Rey would have gasped and sat up, and he would have hugged her tightly, the classic reunion between two best friends.

But this wasn't a movie, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

"I don't have a clue what I'm doing," he admitted. Saying it loud was therapeutic, somehow.

Rey's sleeping face made no answer, but her slight smile seemed to encourage him to go on.

"I just want you to wake up, Rey," he whispered. "You were my first real friend, and I don't think I can face a world without you in it."

He heard a low gasp behind him. "Finn!" Rose called excitedly. "Come look at this!"

She was pointing at the monitor in front of Rey's bed.

Finn walked to her side, a slow smile spreading across his face. He knew what he would see even before the machines confirmed it for him.

Rey was waking up.

You've never had hot chocolate?! Ben's astonishment was practically visible in the bond.

Nope, Rey replied, amused. And I've never had cake either.

You haven't had CAKE?

Hey, I lived on rationed portions on Jakku. I considered it lucky if I had more than a cupful of veg-meat a week.

Veg-meat is the worst, Ben grumbled. I'm making it my life's mission to ensure you never have to eat anything like that again.

Can you cook? she asked, genuinely curious.

Depends who you ask, he answered with a flash of wry humour.

Rey was just about to ask for details when something shifted.

Did you feel that? she asked, instantly on the alert.

Ben was at her side at once (or, at least, what would have been her side. Her frame of reference for hyperdimensional planes somewhere between life and death was notoriously small.)

Something's different, he said, confirming her suspicions.

What do you think – she began, but the sentence trailed off as her vision began to blur.

What's happening? Ben asked, obviously concerned.

I don't know, Rey said, pressing a hand to her forehead as her surroundings grew hazier and hazier. Ben!

I'm here, Rey, he assured her, and the feeling of reassurance his words brought her was the last thing she remembered.

Rey woke up, and the next thing she knew, she was being tackled in a fierce hug by Finn.

"Rey," he said over and over, adding a little breathlessly, "I can't believe it worked!"

"What?" she asked, looking around her in confusion and blinking as she tried to take it all in. "Where am I?"

She sat up, quite ignoring her disorientation, as panic knotted in her stomach. She tried her best to stay calm, but her face, voice and frantic scanning of the room surely gave away her desperation. "Where's Ben?"

Finn put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Breathe, Rey. Everything's fine. We'll be at Ajan Kloss soon."

"No!" Rey said, her panic only increasing. "You don't understand, I need to find Ben, I need to make sure he's..."

She trailed off, aware she was babbling and not making any sense.

"Ben," she said more calmly, looking up at Finn with steely resolve. "I have to find Ben."

"Do you mean Ren?" her friend asked, looking carefully at her.

"No - well, yes - no... It's complicated," Rey said, and winced. Even to her own ears, that sounded messy and nonsensical.

"Right," Finn said, drawing out the i. "Are you going to explain that, or -"

"Kylo Ren is dead," she said simply. "Ben Solo is back."

Finn looked at her, brow furrowed, and for a moment she feared he would argue. But then he scowled. "So that's why he feels different."

Rey's jaw dropped. "Finn!"

There was only one thing he could possibly mean by that – Rey reached out to him with the Force, really reached out, and sensed it was true.

"You're Force-sensitive," she breathed, looking at him and starting to grin.

"I know," he said, looking a little shy, almost as if he was worried how she would react.

Rey deliberately brushed his mind with hers, letting him feel her delight. "Finn, that's wonderful," she said happily.

He grinned back, looking at her in awe. "Did you just… show me what you were feeling?"

"It's a Force thing," she explained, then added excitedly, "and I'll teach you all about it!"

"Really?" he asked, shy again.

Rey laughed, pure happiness filling her from top to toes. "Of course."

"Told you so," Rose's voice said from behind her, and Rey turned to see her friend smiling affectionately over at Finn.

"All right, you did," Finn admitted, holding up his hands in surrender. "I'll never doubt you again."

Rose laughed, dropping down on the bed next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. "'Course you will. But that's part of the fun."

Finn smiled, wrapping an arm around her, and his expression was so obviously full of love that Rey's heart ached. Their easy affection for one another was a painful reminder of everything she couldn't have.

Wait.

Things were different now – why couldn't she have that?

Closing her eyes, she reached into the warmth of the Living Force, opening her mind to all the consciousnesses that surrounded her.

Closest to her were Finn and Rose, their respective Force signatures pulsing with slow, happy affection.

Also nearby was the tumultuous mix of thoughts and sensations that characterised Poe, and the steadier, sharper presence of Zorii Bliss.

Where are you? she asked Ben silently.

There was no reply, and for a moment, Rey panicked.

And then she felt him.

He was alive – sleeping, which explained why it had taken her longer to sense his presence, and also why there had been no reply. She sensed bacta around him, and concluded that he had been deliberately put under to speed up the healing process on his broken hip.

Relief flooded her, and she exhaled quietly as she lingered by his Force signature, drinking in his familiar presence, alive and well in the med-bay next door.

She couldn't remember when last she had felt so good – not just about herself, but about her future.

She had a future with the man she loved.

Warm, deep contentment spread from the crown of her head to the very tips of her toes at the thought, and she sensed a flicker of it returned from Ben's side of the bond.

Oh, stars, the bond. If it had felt like touching a live wire before, the only way she could think to describe it now was alive – alive with everything they felt for each other.

She took a moment just to revel in the feel of it.

Then she noticed something strange.

There was something different about the energy of the bond.

Furrowing her brow, she chased the feeling.

She recognised Ben's life-force – after all the time they had spent pushing it back and forth, there was no way she could not recognise it – and yet, there was another life-force in the bond, too.

Not much of it, that was true. Just a spark. But that spark had been enough to bring both her and Ben back from the brink.

The spark that will light the fire, she thought, and nodded to herself. Poe's saying had never been more apt.

But where had the spark come from?

Rey concentrated all her attention on that one little spark that had somehow managed to rekindle the fire of her and Ben's combined life-force.

Where are you from? she crooned to it, poking and prodding gently at it until she understood.

Her eyes flew open. "Finn!" she gasped.

Jumping to her feet, she threw her arms around her friend in a spontaneous hug, nearly knocking him off the bridge.

She could practically feel his confusion, but he returned her hug readily enough, steadying her as her legs swayed beneath her.

"Easy," he advised, guiding her back to her cot. "You've had a pretty rough day."

Rey snorted. "You don't know the half of it."

Finn gave her a wry look. "Care to tell me?"

Rey looked at him, at her first and best friend, and realised that keeping secrets had nearly driven them apart forever. Secrets had nearly destroyed the whole galaxy, and secrets had nearly taken everything and everyone she loved away from her.

No more.

She swore to herself then and there that she would never let that happen again, not with anyone she cared about.

No more secrets.

And so she did. She told him everything.

It felt wonderful, knowing that there were no more secrets between her and her best friend.

And what felt even more wonderful was that he didn't judge her, not at all, not about any of it. He just listened, and understood.

Afterwards, he drew her in for another hug, and she sighed into his embrace.

"Thank you, Finn," she said softly, pulling back to look at him and trying to convey every bit of her sincerity into the gesture. "For everything."

He hugged her again, even tighter this time. "Everything's going to be fine, Rey."

Even if there was no way he could be sure, the reassurance felt unbelievably good to her right then.

He patted her shoulder. "Get some rest, okay? We'll be back at Ajan Kloss soon."

Rest sounded very tempting right then, but she had to ask. "What about –"

"We'll figure it out," he promised, not even needing her to finish the sentence to understand what she meant. He smiled down at her and reached for her hand, squeezing her fingers. "Together."

Rey smiled.

Poe's head hadn't stopped whirling ever since they had left Exegol.

True, Zorii's words had helped, and he appreciated her support more than he could ever put into words.

But it was like she said – he needed some time to come to grips with it.

Rey had sacrificed her life for Kylo Ren, and he had done the same, over and over until they had somehow found the balance and figured out how to keep each other alive.

And that was all well and good, but it was Kylo Ren.

Kylo Ren who had killed countless Jedi. Kylo Ren who had callously given the order to decimate an innocent village. Kylo Ren who had tortured him, Poe, with pain such as he had never felt before. Kylo Ren who had murdered Luke Skywalker.

"Poe." The voice was warm and dry and wonderfully familiar – and wholly impossible. But he couldn't help turning around, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he did.

Leia Organa's face stared serenely back at him from the blackness of space, edged with a faint blue glow.

"Wh.. Leia? How… I don't…" he stammered, and the General smiled.

"Hello, Poe," she said with a smile.

He regained some measure of composure. "How is this possible?"

"The Force works in mysterious ways, Poe," Leia said, and he could just see the Skywalker in her then.

"Fair enough," he said. "Now, General, I don't mean to be rude, but –"

"Why am I here?" Leia finished for him. She smiled dryly at his shocked expression. "Oh, Poe. Mind-reading is the least impressive thing I can do nowadays."

"It's probably better not to ask, isn't it?"

"Probably," Leia agreed, the ghost of a smile flickering across her lips.

Ghost of a smile. Ha. That was a pun.

"And a bad one, too," the General said dryly.

Poe blinked. "I forgot –"

"About the mind-reading, yes, I gathered as much. But that's not why I came here. You're troubled about the return of my son, aren't you?"

Her son… With everything that had happened, Poe had completely forgotten that Kylo Ren was, in fact, the General's son.

"Many people do," Leia said sadly. "But, Poe, you must understand that Kylo Ren is not the son who has returned."

"He's not?" Poe failed to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"My son is Ben Solo," said Leia, "and he is a good man. I gave my life so that that good man could be returned."

Poe swallowed. "I'm sure he was really good, once, but that doesn't mean we can just forget all the innocent lives he destroyed."

"No." Leia's voice was heavy, her eyes sad. "You're quite right. Ben must face justice for what he has done."

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, looking directly at him. "I made you acting general not just because I could see you had the Resistance's best interests at heart, but also because I truly believe you are a good and fair man. I trust you to do what is right, Poe."

Her figure began to fade, but just before she was completely gone, she added, "And just for the record, Poe, I think you make quite an excellent General."

Then she was gone, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

"I trust you to do what is right," Poe repeated.

Well, what was right?

Leia had given her life for her son's, and he couldn't possibly disrespect her legacy by disregarding her last wish – a better life for her son. And then there was that whole life-saving thing with Rey… much as he didn't like it, Poe figured that he owed the guy.

But he couldn't just let him go free, either.

Ben must face justice… a trial, then. A fair trial. If he truly wanted to prove he had changed, he would give them the names and locations of all remaining First Order forces, and he would accept whatever punishment the Resistance chose to give him.

Poe nodded to himself.

A trial he could do.

And hey, it really couldn't hurt to have another powerful Force user on their side.

Poe expertly landed his X-wing in the clearing on Ajan Kloss, flipping open the cockpit and jumping out onto the crisp leaves on the forest floor. He was vaguely aware of BB-8 and D-O chattering away behind him, but he didn't pay them much attention.

He walked slowly across the clearing, returning a smile here and clapping a back there.

Then a flash of purple caught his eye, and he turned to see Zorii watching him from across the clearing.

She tilted her head almost imperceptibly to the side, asking him in the silent language they had perfected over the years, you okay?

He nodded at her, yeah. Thanks.

She responded with a nod of her own – I'm glad.

How glad? he asked cheekily with a tilt of his head and a suggestively raised eyebrow.

She shook her head at him. Not that glad. Idiot.

He shrugged. Fair enough. But he was grinning even as he turned away – catch you later.

There would be plenty of time for figuring things out between them.

He stopped to watch, grin growing fond, as he saw Maz Kanata handing Chewbacca a medal that he recognised to be Han Solo's.

Then he heard his name called from behind him.

He turned around and broke into his widest grin yet upon seeing Finn. Pointing his finger in a playful salute at his friend, he rushed forward and wrapped him in a warm embrace.

I'm sorry for being a headcase on Exegol, he tried to convey into the hug. But I'm okay now.

Finn seemed to get the gist of it, because he clapped Poe on the back and grinned at him. "It's all behind us, okay?"

"Brilliant," Poe said, returning the grin.

They walked through the celebrating crowds together, not speaking, just watching everyone's unbridled joy.

They all really needed a day like this one.

"There she is," Finn said suddenly, pointing straight ahead of them.

Poe looked, and saw Rey making her way through the crowds, acknowledging them with a smile and letting them clap her on the back.

She stopped dead at the sight of them, then began to smile and rushed towards them.

They met in the middle of the clearing, all three of them close to tears and yet more ecstatic then they could ever remember being before. Poe reached for Rey's hand across Finn's back, and she squeezed his fingers, burying her head in Finn's shoulder.

He had come so close to losing them; both of them – he couldn't put into words how glad he was to see them both up on their feet again.

"It's so good to see you guys," she said, slightly muffled by Finn's jacket.

"Us, too," Poe said, more emotional than he thought he would be. Overwhelming relief did that for you, he supposed.

He gave Rey's hand a final squeeze, then stepped back to look at his two best friends.

They were so, so lucky, all three of them.

Rey half-snorted, half-laughed, covering her mouth with a hand, looking simultaneously as if she might burst into laughter or start crying.

"What is it?" Finn asked, clearly concerned.

Rey's features relaxed into a wry smile. "It's Ben. He's just woken up, and he wants to know where in the name of bantha fodder he is."

"Charmingly put," Finn said dryly.

"Did he ask you this with his mind?" Poe asked, confused.

Rey looked awkward. "Well… ah, you see, I may or may not have been keeping the secret that Ben and I are force-bonded."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, I only found out about an hour ago, too," Finn put in. "Bit of a shocker, isn't it?"

"You knew?!"

"Calm down," Rey said, putting a hand affectionately on his shoulder. "It's not such a big deal – I mean, we're just almost Force soulmates."

He gave her an arch look, and she lost it, doubling over with laughter, quickly followed by Finn. Despite himself, Poe joined in, the funny side of it all too good to resist.

It felt unbelievably good to be laughing with his friends again – and yes, maybe they found it a lot funnier than it really was because of all their pent-up stress, but who was judging? Certainly not him.

Rey looked up, tears that were partially from laughter and partially from pure relief glistening in her eyes. "We're a mess, aren't we?"

"Yup," Finn said cheerfully.

Poe put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Hey," he said warmly. "We'll figure this out."

"You think so?" Rey asked.

Poe snorted, waving a hand. "Pffff. The three of us against the lot of them? Galaxy doesn't stand a chance."

They stood there talking and laughing until the sun set, bathing them all in its golden glow.

The time of the Emperor and his tyranny was finally over.

It was time for the sun to rise on their time now.

A/N: Thank you very, very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed my take on what the TROS ending should have looked like (well, draft one, that is. Drafts two and three will be along shortly, if anyone's interested.)

Anyone who favourites, follows or reviews gets the digital version of Chewie's medal. You guys are all stars, thanks again for reading!