The Foundling

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners.

A/N-for the purposes of this story I have reduced the age gap between Rey and Ben down to six years.

Story background;

After a secret diplomatic mission within the Western Reaches of the galaxy's inner rim goes wrong, Han and Chewie are forced to land the damaged Falcon on a frontier desert world, Jakku-a home to thieves, outlaws and scavengers. While attempting to negotiate with Unkar Plutt for spare parts to fix the Falcon, they encounter a young scavenger girl, Rey, who was abandoned by her parents and sold into slavery. Touched by the young girl's plight, Han and Chewie kidnap her and bring her home to Leia, whose own history of being adopted moves her to do the same with Rey.

When we join the story, eleven-year-old Ben-who has already been sent away to train under the stewardship of his uncle, the famous Luke Skywalker-returns home for a brief visit to meet the newest member of the family…

Chapter One-Usurper

Ben didn't know what he had been expecting to see, but the scrawny looking girl standing half hidden behind his father's legs wasn't it. She wasn't just thin, but scary thin. He was incredulous that this tiny thing had managed to quickly usurp his place in the family. He had only been gone a matter of months and his parents had already replaced him. But then again, maybe she the perfect replacement. She was young and malleable enough for his mother to shape into her mirror image. Bitterness welled in his chest as Ben watched his mother put a gentle hand on the girl's slender shoulder and draw her forward into the limelight.

"Rey, this is my son Ben."

Leia had dressed the young girl in layered clothing in an attempt to hide the bones jutting out. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a twist at the back of her head, which did her no favours, only serving to highlight the razor edge of her cheekbones. The girl-Rey-peeked up at him with eyes of hazel and honey. They shone like sunlight on polished stone and hid a wealth of well justified mistrust. The connection between the child and Ben was barely a fraction of a second but in that brief snap shot of time a secret had been told. A cry for help had been sent. Ben was taken aback by it and it unnerved him.

"Don't stand there and glare, Ben." Leia said impatiently when he didn't respond. She turned to Han as she lifted Rey up and cradled her against her hip. "I told you this wasn't a good idea." She muttered, turning to her husband. "We should have waited."

"Leia." Han appealed to her. But his wife wasn't listening. She carried Rey out of the room, leaving father and son alone. Han sighed as he faced his glowering son. "She's right you know. You could have made more of an effort. Do you have any idea of what that little girl's been through?"

Ben scowled, angered by his parents obvious disappointment in him. He could never do anything right. He hadn't even opened his mouth and they were already blaming him. He didn't bother to answer Han, but stalked away to his room to brood alone.

Dinner was an awkward affair. A heavy silence settled over the table, thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. Unsettled eyes glanced unceremoniously around and tired to avoid catching other glances that passed by. Han shifted uncomfortably in his seat, while Leia concentrated on Rey, helping the little girl to cut her food into dainty portions. Ben cast his eyes down to his plate, the sumptuous food tasting like ashes in his mouth. Had his mother ever shown the same tender loving care with him like she was showing with Rey. He was saddened that he couldn't remember. She had always been more reserved with him, almost as if she was holding herself back from loving him too much, like she was afraid to shower him with too much affection.

His relationship with Han was different. While Leia was stricter with him, his father's approach had always been more relaxed. Han's blasé attitude toward discipline had put him at odds with his wife on a number of occasions. Their disagreements often became heated as they tried to find common ground with Ben when he acted out. Han was always the one who stayed up in the night and soothed Ben when he had difficulty sleeping because of the bad dreams that often plagued him. Ben adored his father as much as he felt distant from his mother. He wanted to be just like him. The happiest memories of his childhood were when he had learned to pilot the Falcon under his father and his surrogate uncle Chewie's tutelage. But his faith in his father had been shaken when Han hadn't put up much of a fight when Leia insisted on sending him away to his uncle to be trained as a Jedi.

Ben had proved to be force sensitive from a young age, and as it awakened in him, Leia grew to believe that he needed guidance. She and Han had active lives in their respective professions. Han, a smuggler before joining the Rebellion, was unable to stay in one place for long. Leia, meanwhile, became a respected senator in the New Republic, the government that arose after the Battle of Endor and that had served the Empire a final defeat during the Battle of Jakku around the time of Ben's birth. Their increasingly busy lives had left Ben with feelings of abandonment. It felt like they often had little time for him. So, when he was shipped off to his uncle with little discussion, it just increased his sense of isolation. Ben felt like he was a failure in his parents' eyes and coming home to find this young girl taking his place was another fresh blow to his low self-esteem.

"I'm going to give Rey a bath." Leia was the first to break the deadlock.

Ben watched resentfully as she lifted Rey into her arms as if the girl was incapable of walking to the bathroom on her own two legs. Leia opened her mouth as if to say something to him, but seeing the scowl on his face irked her and she changed her mind. She turned and walked away with Rey's chin resting on her shoulder. Ben felt the little girl's brilliant hazel eyes fixate upon him and he glared at her, feeling slightly ashamed of himself when he saw those same eyes grow dim and dark as if expecting his reaction.

"Hey, kid." Ben startled when Han's hand settled on his shoulder. "Maybe you could try and show a little empathy towards Rey. She's been through a tough time."

Ben wanted to laugh at the irony of that statement. He brushed his father's hand away. "I'm going to my room." He muttered, pushing his chair back and rising to his feet.

"Ben!" Han called out to him when he stalked away.

"What?" Ben didn't even bother to turn around.

Han sighed heavily. "I'm glad you're home." He said huskily. "We've missed you."

Ben felt moisture well in his eyes at the sincerity in his father's voice. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the familiar guilt that clouded Han's eyes when he looked at him. "Just not enough to let me stay, right?"

"Ben…I…" Han drew in a shaky breath as he looked at his crestfallen son.

"I know, Dad." Ben said sadly. "I know."

Ben woke up from another nightmare, his skin was bathed in sweat. He swung his legs out of the bed and put his head in his hands until his shaky breathing returned to a normal rhythm. When he felt more composed, he stood up, intending to slip out of his room to get something to drink. But before he took a step, he saw something move in the shadows. Fully alert now, Ben reached out and snapped on the overhead light. A quiet gasp caused his gaze to swing in the direction of his closet. His astonished eyes opened wide as he saw Rey cowering in front of it, like an animal caught in a trap. It took him a minute to absorb what he was seeing. The cheeky little scavenger had snuck into his room in the dark and was rifling through his personal belongings. She had pulled on his jacket-an exact replica of Han's smuggler jacket-as Leia had termed it when his father had gifted him the jacket on his tenth birthday. It looked ridiculous on her. The hem was dragging on the floor as she moved, the sleeves not much better. She had tried to push them up her thin arms but they kept slipping down.

"You little thief!" Ben accused. "Give that back to me!"

Rey was quicker on her feet then he expected. She darted out of his room and headed for her own. Ben chased her, accidentally knocking into things as he moved. He cussed under his breath, worried that the sound would disturb his parents. He held his breath for a heartbeat as he listened tensely for any sign of movement coming from their room. When he was convinced that they were still asleep, he breathed easy again. He moved swiftly to Rey's room and shoved the door open, sending the small girl tumbling to the floor. She had been leaning against it in a vain attempt to keep him out.

Rey was soon back on her feet, though. She scrambled for the nearest exit but Ben quickly blocked her path. He grabbed the collar of his jacket and hauled her up, leaving her dangling in front of him. "What else have you stolen?" He muttered darkly as he focused his gaze on her eyes. They were darting back and forth guiltily, but there was something else in them, something glistening.

Tears…

Rey's eyes were brimming with tears.

This sobered Ben up. He ser her down on her bed, and looked at her in confusion. "You can't just sneak into people's rooms and take things." He said to her. She remained mute as she stared up at him with those eyes that held so tightly to her secrets. "Damn, what am I supposed to do with you now?" He wondered. "What did you take my jacket for anyway?"

Ben didn't expect her to answer. "You don't need to steal." He continued as he walked over to her closet and opened the doors wide to show her all the new things that Han and Leia had bought for her. He wasn't prepared for the river of junk that poured out onto the floor. He stared in shock at the twisted bits of scrap metal, food and clothing. "What the hell is this?"

Rey trembled as she pawed at the long sleeves of his stolen jacket anxiously, and Ben finally got it. The frightened girl was scared to death, convinced she was going to be discarded again. She was following what she had been taught on Jakku. She was scavenging bits and pieces to survive and hoarding them in her closet in readiness for when the time came.

Ben turned to face her, his voice thick with shame and guilt for the way he had treated her. "I won't tell." He promised as he took a step in her direction, not noticing the pieces of metal floating up from the floor behind him. "And you can keep the jacket." He took another cautious step toward Rey. "But you might want to roll the sleeves up a bit. They're a bit long on you. Let me." He reached out to help her but Rey flinched away from him. As she did so, the pieces of scrap metal she had scavenged rained down on his head like a meteor shower.

"Ow!" Ben cried as he raised his arms above his head to protect himself.

His loud yell finally disturbed Leia and Han. His parents came running into Rey's room in alarm to find him crouched on the floor, rubbing his stinging scalp and surrounded by a sea of junk.

"What are you doing, Ben?" Leia demanded as she hurried over to Rey and scooped the shaking little girl up into her arms. "You've frightened her!" She then rounded on Han. "I told you it was a mistake to bring him home so early. He's not ready."

Ben climbed to his feet, hurt by the harshness in his mother's tone. He knew from past experience that she wouldn't believe a word he said if he tried to defend himself. He climbed to his feet; his brow furrowed in resentment.

"Ben…" Han reached out to him but Ben stormed out of the room before he could say anymore.

Ben whimpered as he woke up from yet another nightmare to find Rey standing next to his bed. He sat up and stared at her owlishly, wondering how she had managed to sneak up on him again without him being aware of it. He'd had little time to process what had happened earlier, instead he had gone back to his room and fallen into a restless doze, until the nightmare had crept up on him again.

Ben watched in stunned silence as Rey held out his jacket toward him, a silent apology reflected in her hazel eyes. "Keep it." He found himself saying. "It's a welcome to the family present."

He saw confusion register in her eyes, before a small smile flitted across her face. She slipped her thin arms into the jacket eagerly. Ben tried not to laugh. She looked absurd. The jacket swamped her. He motioned for her to come closer. This time, Rey didn't flinch away from him as he carefully rolled the sleeves up to her bony wrists, before zipping it up.

"That's better." He said before waving her away. "You better go back to bed before mom and dad catch you."

His warning sent Rey scampering out of his room. She tripped over the hem of the jacket in her haste to reach the door, but she valiantly picked herself up again, before disappearing back in the direction of her own room.

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think.