A/N - Sorry to have left you on a cliffhanger.  I will try to do a double update tonight, and maybe tomorrow we'll finally get to the good stuff!  Enjoy!  Please let me know if you like it!  And thank you to everyone who has been reading so far!  

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Rey ran into the hanger and grabbed the box with the Jedi texts.  As she turned to dash back to the Falcon the next blast hit, bringing down the roof of the hanger.

She screamed and used the Force to keep most of the debris off of her, but wasn't entirely successful.  Her leg was trapped under a bunch of rubble, and it felt wrong.  Shit.  It was probably broken.  There was no way she could lift the debris off of it and make it to the Falcon in time.

She screamed through her comm link.  "Chewie!   I'm okay, but trapped.   You HAVE TO GO.  I'll be fine.  Don't worry.  They won't know I'm in here.  You can come back for me later, after they've left."  He roared in fury and obstinately refused to leave – saying he was coming to get her.   "NO. Chewie, I MEAN IT.  If you do that you'll be captured.   Listen to me.   I AM FINE.   GO NOW!!"  He chirped back angrily and told her if she wasn't dead when he returned that he was going to kill her.

Although she knew she shouldn't, she chuckled a bit – yes, that's Chewie.  She heard the engines roar and then grow quieter in the distance.  Taking a deep breath, she finally felt the pain in her leg.  She would have to pay attention to it at some point soon, but she could hear the ground troops now, and so needed to be quiet until they decided that there was no use to stay.   She lay back, closed her eyes, and began to quietly mediate.  Then she felt him..... and sighed deeply. Chewie's wrath was nothing in comparison.  He was really going to kill her.

**

There was no way that Kylo was going to stay back for this one.  Of course, Hux never got his hands dirty, and so elected to stay behind on the Finalizer.   Kylo waited until all the ground troops were dispatched, and then followed in his command shuttle.   He could operate it alone, but took a minimal crew to keep up some appearances.

As the command shuttle approached the planet, he could feel that the base was almost deserted.  But as they got closer, he realized that the Falcon was still there.  His gut clenched. There was no way she'd leave it behind!   She was still there!  Was she crazy?  She promised!!!  He clenched his fists and watched as a blast destroyed their now empty hanger, and a few seconds later the Falcon took off.

"Shall we fire upon her Supreme Leader?"

Kylo inhaled sharply.   "No.  Equipment and infrastructure only.  We're actually trying to minimize loss of life this time."

The captain looked at him oddly.  "Understood Sir."

He watched the Falcon in the distance as it jumped to light speed, but then realized he could still feel her closely.  His brow furrowed.  What the hell?  He tried to focus – to see if he could locate her.  She couldn't still be on the planet.  She simply couldn't.

As the shuttle landed, he could feel her even more strongly.  His heart stopped when he realized that she was in the now destroyed hangar, and he almost roared in fear and anger.

His hands began to shake, so he clenched them even more tightly.  He could feel her, so she was alive.  But she was likely underneath a bunch of rubble.  He needed to figure out what to do.

He exited the shuttle and strode over to the destroyed hanger.   Troopers were dispatched over the remains of the base, searching for any stragglers.  They had only sent 30 ground troops, plus the two on his command shuttle, and the pilot.

He stared at the wreckage of the hanger, and tried to focus.

Rey......can you hear me?

Yes.

He was silent for a minute, and she could feel him trying to control his emotions when she spoke to his mind again.   You were right, this does come in handy....

He growled, and was pretty sure she could even hear that, because he actually felt her wince through the bond.  Unless there was more to it.  Suddenly he was afraid.  Are you alright?

I'm fine.  She answered quickly.   Too quickly.  But trapped.  Chewie will come back for me later.

He began shouting at her in his mind.   A fact that came through loud and clear.  Goddamn it Rey! What in the hell were you thinking?!  Why were you still here?  And why would you still be in the hangar?

I was so busy loading the equipment that I forgot the Jedi texts in the hanger, and there was no way I was leaving those behind!  She shot back.

Wait – you have the Jedi texts?  THE Jedi texts?  How did you end up with those relics?

I kind of took them when I left Ahch-To.  But forgot to tell Luke....she sounded contrite.

He laughed.  Shook his head, and laughed again.  So you're telling me you stole the ancient Jedi texts from Luke Skywalker?   Did he even know?

He does now.

Kylo sobered.  What do you mean?

His Force Ghost comes around every once in awhile....

Kylo sucked in his breath and shook his head again.  Would he NEVER be rid of that man?

I still don't understand.  He said, trying to piece it together.  You ran back in to grab the texts, the building came down – and you were either extremely lucky or you used the Force to protect yourself – so why didn't you just use it to move the rubble out of the way and get to the Falcon?

He waited, but she was quiet for a long while before quietly grumbling.  Because my leg is pinned and I think it might be broken.

He wasn't sure of what he was feeling in that instant.  So many emotions threatened to overcome his currently stoic, outward appearance.   Inside, he was roiling.  SHE WAS HURT!!

He took a deep breath, trying to control his anger, and growled between clenched teeth.  Rey.....

I told you, I'm fine.  There is nothing to worry about.

The voice in her head escalated.  Rey.

It only hurts a little.

REY!!!  He shouted.  Now he was truly angry.

She knew she was in for it, and sighed.  But stayed silent, afraid that if she said anything else it would really set him off.  She could feel him trying to calm himself, and it actually made her proud.

He spoke again.  Don't you DARE be proud of me right now!   I'm going to clear the troops out and I'll be back in a few minutes when they're gone.

Even though she wasn't actually speaking, she clamped her lips together and focused on not saying another word – even in her head.  But she couldn't help a little giggle that escaped.  Yes, he really was going to kill her..... then she heard his voice once again.

No, I'm not.  It will be much worse than that.  She shivered.  And it was silent for long time afterwards.

**

Kylo gathered the troops and asked for an update.  They had found no one.  No victims, no remaining resistance fighters.  He nodded and sent them back to the Finalizer.   He also sent his shuttle captain and the two Stormtroopers that accompanied him back on the transports.   They all looked at him oddly, but he told them he needed to meditate alone on the base to see if he could feel where the Resistance had escaped to.

He hoped that worked, and nobody asked why he hadn't done that before.  He sighed.  He really was going to kill her..... he shook his head and thought about it.  He knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her – especially if she's lying there with a broken leg.  Her Force signature was still strong and bright, so he knew it wasn't serious, but he was certainly going to give her hell. Maybe he'd spank her instead.  That thought immediately sent a rush to his groin.   He shook his head again and exhaled deeply.  Could he no longer even think one thing pertaining to her without getting a hard-on?  Here he was, totally pissed off, and worried that she was in pain, and the mere thought of spanking her filled him with lust.  She would be the death of him, for sure.

With the last of the transports gone, he walked over to the hanger and tried to feel where in the pile she was.  He didn't want to just start moving the rubble, and possibly hurt her in the process.

He picked his way over the broken rock and metal till he could feel her most strongly.

Rey, I'm here.  Can you try to use the Force to protect yourself while I start moving some of this debris?

She responded immediately.  Hi. I'm glad you're back.  I was beginning to get worried....

I would never leave you – you have to know that.

I know.....I guess I just..... I don't know.  I'm sorry....

And with that, most of his anger evaporated.  She could probably feel it through the bond.  He had been so angry, he was almost muttering to himself the whole time.

It's okay.  I'm here now.  Let's get you out of there.

Once he had everything cleared away, she looked at him with shining eyes.  "Hi."

He looked down at her, and wasn't quite sure what he felt, other than sheer relief.  "Hi back."  He could see that her leg was indeed laying at a bit of an odd angle, but it looked like the break was in the lower part of the leg.  He lifted her as gently as possible and she looped her arms around his neck as he carried her back to his command shuttle.  At least it had a small med bay, with a medical droid.

"How bad is the pain?"  He asked gently.

She looked up at him.  "It hurts more right now that you're moving me – but it could be worse." Then she tucked her head back into his neck.

He was almost at the ship when he felt her lips graze his neck.  His breath hitched.  "Stop that".

He could feel her smile against his neck. "Stop what?"  She asked, as her teeth nipped at his ear.

He stopped and looked down at her cheeky grin.   "While I would definitely enjoy continuing this, I would suggest you stop now unless you want me to drop you."

Again, she grinned back at him.  "You won't drop me.  And right now, its distracting me from the pain...."  This time when he looked back at her, he could see it in her eyes, and was immediately contrite.

He leaned down to nuzzle her nose and kissed her lips gently.  "Then by all means, continue..." She smiled up at him again, and placed her hand on his face, stroking with her thumb.  He simply stared at her intensely, and began walking into the shuttle.

Rey looked around as he carried her through the small shuttle to what she assumed was going to be a med bay.  Everything was compact, black and sleek.  "This is kind of nice."  Rey remarked. "Sterile, but nice."

He looked at her questioningly . "What do you mean sterile?"

She thought about it for a minute.  "Everything is just so shiny.  And there is nothing personal, well, anywhere..."

He chuckled. "You mean clean?  New?  Not old and rusty like some other ships you may be used to."  She glared at him. "Rest assured, there are some personal things in my quarters."

He brought her into the med bay, laid her on the table and activated the medical droid, that rushed right over.  Rey winced.  "I hate those things.  Not the same touch as a real doctor."

Again, Kylo chuckled. "Yes, but so much more efficient than having to deal with a nosy doctor. And they're sometimes more likely to save your life than a real doctor."  He watched the droid take its reading for a minute, before moving to leave.  "I'll be right back."

She moved to sit up, clearly worried.  "Are we alone on the ship?"

"Yes, don't worry.  I sent them all back."  He could see fear in her eyes.  "There is no one here to hurt you.  Other than me."  At that, he smirked at her before leaving the room.

Rey lay back on the exam table and let the droid do its work.  Other than his parting threat, he really didn't seem to be angry with her any more.  She was glad.  They were together alone, and she didn't want to fight.

She thought back to the last time they were actually in each other's presence, rather than through the Force bond.  It was in the Throne Room.  When he extended his hand......how far they had come since then.  From that offer and the fledgling connection between them, to anger, resentment, and hurt, to now friends – which was rapidly moving towards more.

She sighed.   Did she really want to be his lover?   Kylo Ren's lover.. She shuddered, pushing that thought from her head.  She was definitely drawn to him - Ben.   And the way he made her feel.... He listened to her, really listened.  He looked at her like she was the sun – and that made her feel beautiful.  And although he was sometimes a bit gruff with her – usually when Kylo Ren appeared, he was mostly very gentle.  And when he touched her....... She sighed again.

Leia had asked her if she cared for him.  She did – no doubt.  Did she love him?  The thought scared her.   Knowing all that he had been, and all that he had done, how could she?  But she could feel his good through the bond.  See his light.  Feel what he had been through.  Feel his remorse.  Feel how he thought that he was undeserving of anything good.

There was dark too.   And some of it scared her.   But if she was honest with herself, some of it was also exciting.

But also, she could feel that he cared for her deeply.   He came for her.  She knew he did.  He had no reason to be here during this attack – could have stayed well away from it on the Finalizer. But he came to make sure she was safe.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.  He was her bonded, her soul-mate, her other half.  The one who knew her like no other.  The one whom she felt she knew almost as well as she knew herself. It was crazy.  Absolutely insane.  But yes, she loved him.