A sharp kick of a boot in his ribs roused him from his sleep. His eyes suddenly flashed open to the white walls of the cold cell that has been his chamber for a week. A week without food, and barely enough water.

   He never realized he was slightly crying, his heart was a shallow of what it used to be. And he could still feel the warmth of his wife and daughter beheath his touch, as if they were still there, in his arms.
   His fingers clutched the air in a fist, as if that could bring solace.

   If only he could close his eyes, and go back into that dream, ask Anakin how to get there...

   But Rey... How could Rey be his wife? He wanted that, but on the other hand, he had done so many bad things to her, he wasn't worthy of her attachment, he could never make up for it. He dearly would have loved to touch her fair skin, to hear her voice, to taste her kiss in that moment. No, not only in that moment, but always. Always, something that was forbidden.

   Looking up at the two men dressed up in orange clothes that stood on each side of him, and the woman between them, he scrambled to his feet. The cell was small and narrow and barely high for him to stand straight and he almost hit his head against the ceiling.

   "General Poe has requested your presence in the hall. It seems that the jedi wants you to speak." one of the two men said harshly as he was binding his hands in iron cuffs, the other holding him.

   Ben's ears pricked immediately as he got it he was speaking about Rey. His eyes searched the pilot's face, asking for answers he knew he'd never get.

   "Ask her, when you get there, murderer. Not me." the man snarled before he yanked Ben roughly out of the cell.

   His heart was still aching when he almost stumbled, but caught himself against the wall, choking on nothing. His eyes rose up to the girl that had brought the two pilots with her. He knew her; she was the one who had shown him the tiniest bit of understanding back on the falcon.
   But now her arms were crossed against her chest as her eyes probed him while being walked along the corridor, bearing an unforgiving look.
  
   He almost felt ashamed he wanted to talk to her after all he had done to her. And even though he didn't know exactly what, he knew it must have shaken her to the core.

   Still he tried to hurry his pace to get closer to her. He didn't want to have to talk to her, yet someone had to listen.
   His eyes were pleading with her to understand, and she must have gotten it, for she finally stopped and turned around on her heels.

   Rose gestured with a sharp flicker of a hand to the guards to stop behind her. "I'd like a few private words with him." her eyes flashed from the two of them, and locked on Ben's.

   He couldn't bear it, he felt like looking away, anywhere else but not to her. So much blame, and so overwhelming...

   Closing his eyes for a brief moment was what helped him out. "Please..." he croaked, his parched tongue stuck to his teeth.

   But what happened then surprised him. He watched as Rose unstrapped a pouch of water from her belt, unclasped it, and tilted it to his lips.

   "Here, drink." She said in a soothing voice as her other hand patted his arm.

   Ben let the cool water slide down his throat without hesitation. As he worked it down his mouth felt free once again. Only then did he stop, and looked her in the eyes. He craved that water; but would not feel well until he had said the two words that have been trying to get out of his mouth ever since he had seen the girl willing to let him speak. "Thank you."

   "Don't hurry, we have time." she said.

   But he knew he didn't have much. He had to tell her, someone had to know his last wish.

   His eyes were locked on her dark ones as he continued to suck thirstily at the last drops of water. He desperately wanted to speak to her, and his eyes tried to plead with her to understand.

   She will, a voice in his mind told him. One that gave him the strength to let the words roll from his lips.

   "Rey... Please protect Rey. And Anni." and then, as if he were chased by some invisible monster, he added with his last breath, "It's my dying wish."

   Rose's gaze seemed to soften in an instant, as she gave his arm a squeeze.

   "I will." She nodded her head. "She's..." Ben watched as the girl's eyes wandered across the floor. "I can't imagine the world without her... And I..." her gaze traveled back to Ben's. "I know she was right. About you, about everything..."

   He could see it, almost see the flicker in her eyes that stood for a belief he's hardly seen, except at Rey.

   Rose squeezed her eyes and opened them again, as if some words were locked down somewhere deep in her heart.
   But flashed them back to his, after glancing furtively at the two pilots waiting impatiently for her command.

   "Ben, what you did can't be looked away. Rey believes in you. And I do, too, " and then her voice saddened as she blinked her eyes. "But that won't save you from your sentence. Think about the whole galaxy."

   He had had no idea what was in store for him, no idea what they have been discussing during his imprisonment. Until now. Such a fool he had been, to have hope, to believe they'd give him a second chance, to believe they'd let him live.

   He nodded, his eyes dropped to the ground. "I know it..." he said, humbly.
  
   In that moment, right there, he wanted to cry. He wanted to cry because he was happy the girl believed in him. And he wanted to cry for the chance to mend what he had undone, the chance he was never going to get.

   Suddenly, he felt a light pat on his upper arm that roused him from his thoughts.

   "Hey." Rose's soft whisper made him snap his head up. "She'll be happy to see you. And the little one as well, if she's there." She tried to smile just to give him strength. But he could feel it was drowned by sadness.

   When they arrived to the main hall, was a misery to him. It had taken all of his strength just to put one foot in front of the other, and not only because his weak state, but because of the dread that threatened to make his knees buckle beneath him. The people along the corridor kept giving him odd glances, and he could feel the fear emerging from their souls at the sight of him.

   I wish I never let those people down. I wish I never made them see me as their enemy, he thought. Some of them were known to him. They have been his mother's friends, they have played with him when he was little and innocent. But now they saw in him Kylo Ren.

   What would they do? What sentence have they prepared for him?

   Ben had never been afraid to die. He had even done it once, and had embraced his death as if it were an old friend. Back then, when he had thought his destiny had been fulfilled.
   But now he knew he had been wrong. He knew he was still alive for some greater purpose. And if he died now, how would he make up for his crimes? How would Rey fight alone the peril that was looming over them?

   Still thinking at her, she was the first thing that jumped in his eyes as the doors opened before him.

   He beheld her, for the first time since their parting.

   Poor thing... In spite of her state, her face lit up at the sight of him. She was sitting in a chair, dressed in a thin gown they might have given her after the surgery, her feet bare. Her once shiny hair now flew in all directions and stuck to her face. And her eyes were lost in deep holes, her face gaunt and white. Still, she made herself stand up, her legs trembling beneath her.

   She stumbled and reeled to the table as she ran toward him. He broke free from the two pilots' grasps, and caught her on his shoulder before she could fall.

   "You're alive!" she whimpered weakly, her voice muffled by his tunic. And he could feel that place wet, as her tears began to seep in the cloth.

   He nudged her head in response, as his eyes were beginning to wet, too. He couldn't explain how he felt now, that he was finally able to hold her, to feel her heart beating. The last he had seen of her before he was dragged in prison, had been her limp form collapsed on the ground in a pool of blood. Anything could have happened. Yet she was alive.
   And some of his nightmares, he couldn't even dare recall them, had been so real, he had thought he had lost her for good.
   In those mornings, he would wake up crying fiercely, all alone. And awareness didn't bring solace, either. All he wanted, was to feel her, to know she was safe.

   He could catch a glimpse of an impatient and fearful Poe looking at him. One of a jealous Finn watching with hurt in his eyes. And all those of the many people gathered there, to decide his fate.
   He wondered, why were they staying there, staring at the two of them, not making a single pace toward him? He was, after all, the prisoner, the one to be feared.
   Could he see, though, confusion replacing the fear and anger on the people's faces? Confusion, and maybe even sadness at some of them, at the sight of Rey crying helplessly in his arms?

   They were indeed astonished of his change. Maybe they have expected him to push her away, weak as she was. And the way he continued to brush his cheek against her hair, to nuzzle her in that comforting manner, had arisen murmurs of confusion in the hall.

   But all that mattered in that moment was Rey.

   "Shh. I'm here now." he tried to soothe, but tears were coming out in torrents, shaking her frail body. She was holding on to him for dear life, he could feel the effort she put into it.

   Placing his chin on top of her head, he tried to push some of the Force he had got left toward her.

   "I love you." he whispered close to her ear. "And I will always be with you."

   And she knew what he had meant. She knew in that moment, that he had heard about the fate the resistance had prepared for him.

   Instead of letting go, and maybe even look into his eyes, she tightened her hold on him. "No!" she cried.

   Subtly, so only she could take notice, his lips caressed her temple. He could feel those two pilots that have brought him coming toward him and he knew he didn't have much.

    "Anni." he whispered, right before one ward grabbed his arm. "Train her in the force. Train her in the light." were his last words to Rey, as they were torn apart. And his heart tore once again, with this parting.

   He watched helplessly as Rey was about to crush to the ground, when Finn and Rose came behind her and offered her their support.

   She was still screaming out his name by the time she was placed on the bench. And he couldn't forgive the harsh and disgusted looks those people were giving her. Almost all, except for Rose. The girl even brought a blanket and wrapped a shivering Rey in it.

   Supposedly, he should be satisfied by now. He had seen her, and that was not the reason he was there for. It was answering for his crimes he had been summoned for. It was the chance Rey had given him.

   So he straightened his back, with his hands tied behind him, and looked directly at Poe. He wanted to make the young general understand, yet his eyes did not beg for mercy. Be it in the darkest moment, Ben would not beg.

   He stood there, right where he was, and his eyes followed Poe as he walked across the floor to settle no more than two paces away from him.

   "Ben Solo Skywalker." he greeted with an unsettling smile. "Or should I say Supreme Leader Kylo Ren? Anyway, I never expected to meet you here." he unclasped a roll of paper from his belt, let it unroll in front of Ben's eyes. It was a record of his crimes, the first words on it inked so long ago they almost faded, the newest ones only months before, reopening the wound they have left in Ben's heart." You are convicted of genocide, twice of kinslaying, with a sentence to death to follow and...what is this? Our little traitor took a portion of your punishment." his head turned to Rey.

   "No..." Ben began, the worst chasing in his mind.

   "Five years for her with no function, just to prove her loialty." his chin was held up high, and his voice was stern and clear, eyes piercing Rey. Slowly then, he returned to the prisoner. "What of you... Murderer?" he almost spat the words in his face as he narrowed his eyes. "What trick have you played on the poor girl's mind? What is making her believe you so...heartedly?"

   Ben knew what he had to say. The path was so clear before him, like a smooth valley toward a ship he would get to, climb into, take off and be free... But the distance seemed infinite, unreachable. As his dream about a family had felt.

   "What she had said about my turn, it is all true." he said at last, though he knew that the effect will be none. "I want to change." he said, and looked each of them on the eyes in turn.

   Poe broke in a histerical laugh. But Ben found nothing amusing.

   "And you'd expect me to believe this...story you've made up with her? What affairs have you dragged her into, that she is so frightened to escape your grip?"

   "Liar!" Rey's weak and cracked voice surprised them both.

   She was looking at Ben. She was pleading with him to beg, to say something that would save his life.
   But he knew better than that. And the freshness of his last murderous acts was enough to make him restrain.

   Once again, his mind went back to all the crimes that weighed on his soul. To all the blood that stained his hands. How could he repay all these years of torture? Could he turn back time and erase his mistakes?

   No.

   Just when he thought he had nothing to say, the unexpected happened.

   "Rey is right." Rose's voice rose above the crowd, and all the eyes were on her. "I can see it, the change. I can see it clearly."

   He had tried all the time to remain calm. In fact, it was nothing hard for him now, it was like it had always been one of his traits. It was rather hard to be angry instead.

   Looking at Rose, he nodded his head to thank her. That was what he had needed, a bit of encouragement, a bit of hope. And his eyes moved to Rey, who had been the one to give him a chance at a trial, to give him a chance to make himself heard.

   "What I'm trying to do is not erase my past. Nor deny my crimes. But make up for them." his eyes passed each man and woman gathered there in turn. "I got to die to come alive." he confessed. "And Rey knows it."

   His words had the desired effect. Or if it had been the way he had acted toward Rey, he didn't know. All the same, some people seemed to have let go of the fear and hatred, to regard him rather as a mistery.

   And the most troubled of all was Poe. He didn't know whether to believe him or not, didn't know what to say anymore.
   Dropping his eyes to the ground, hands clasped at his back, he began to pace back and forth. His brows were furrowed, and a shadow of concern had fallen over his face.

   Finally, after long moments of weighing, he returned to Ben. "Was that kindness toward Rey an act prepared for this trial? To make us change our minds? What trick have you played on our friend?"

   "No! It was not!" Rey burst out in outrage. And Rose patted her shoulder lightly to calm her down.

   The one to answer to that, was Connix. "We could give him a try. Poe, is there no way to make them give us more time? More than just a week?"

   "The contract had been signed." his voice was edgy, a breath away from yelling. "And unfortunately, Rey is not a reliable source yet. Not until she's spent some good time to come back to herself." he told his comrade, before looking io at Ben, eyes showering him with daggers once again.

   But Ben managed to remain calm. His brown eyes bore into Poe's angry ones. If seemed that this rather annoyed the general.

   "And... You are to be tried and executed. I will not be the one to swing the sword above your head, though. It will be the New Republic. Their ships will come to collect you one week forth." Poe said next.

   Ben felt like he was about to be sick, right there, at Poe's legs. The New Republic? When did they have time to recover so fast? And... What would happen when he would show up before the whole galaxy, a self exile with no place?
   So that had been waiting him for a week... And his dreams where he was dying would soon turn out to be true.

   The death that would follow would let his destiny unfulfilled, his life open like an unfinished road. Just when the deeps and chunks of pitch have disappeared, and it was all smooth, it would end abruptly.

   "Are we done?" Poe asked, jerking Ben from his thoughts. He was impatient to send him back in the cell, impatient to be free of the presence that was the memory of a menacing monster over him.
  
   They were done, indeed. There was nothing Ben could say, that would probably change the general's mind. Rey had told them everything, he knew it. And he was even grateful for the blonde girl dressed in garments that gave her a higher rank than the others that had shown understanding toward him. It was more than he could ask for. And it was enough.

   "General." the words escaped his mouth right before he could restrain himself.

   "What is it you want from me?"

   "Please, make sure that Rey and Anni make it out alive. Please make sure that no harm will come to them."

   He might have looked a bit too intently into the man's eyes, his voice that has been used to command a bit too harsh. Poe could have taken it as a kind of defiance. But if he did, he showed no sign of it.

   "Rey is our friend. Of course, we'll take care of her." he snapped. With a curt swish of his hand, he ordered the two pilots to walk Ben back to the door.

   They grabbed each of his arms roughly, and for a moment he felt like he were swaying on his feet, the room spinning around him.

   He would have gone to Rey once more. But not wanting to make their parting more painful, he tried to connect with her.

   Stay there, he told her, and their eyes met as he glanced over his shoulder. Stay here and recover, do it for me, sweetheart, please.

   But her face bore a look he knew just too well. A look that fueled his strength.

   I won't give up, she said through the bond, catching a last spark of his eye just before he disappeared behind the doors, and the darkness of the corridor swallowed him whole.

~Thanks for reading! ~

A/N: Heya! I'm back! I know I haven't written in a while, I kinda had a series of events that slowed down the process.

   Again, you may have questions regarding the way I depict the resistance VS Ben. I'm not taking anyone's part. They are both right and wrong at the same time.
Many people think of a version where Ben is alive like, "Yeah, they can all be friends now. " but thinking from the resistance's pov, it's not like that. And I don't want you to see them as villains, I want you to see them as people that want to make justice. Sadly, though, those who have a honest opinion are often seen as the villains of the story.
   We're all heroes and villains, it depends on whom you ask.

    Don't forget to vote and comment if you liked it!