Ɓen woke up to find that he was laying in the bed. He had thought that was just a dream. Maybe Rey was finally opening up to him a little bit, maybe she had finally began to see him as her husband instead of just a friend. At least she trusted him.

He had dreamt that she'd snuggled up to him and held him close, but he could never hope for such a thing to come true. He couldn't stop himself from longing to spend every night in her arms though. He loved her and she was his wife, so he guessed that it was only natural to want to hold her close as he slept. Though the thought of doing so made him slightly nervous, he longed for it. Despite his discomfort, he had never slept better than he had in a long time as she held his hand, and as he lay at her side. The frightening images of his past had entered his mind briefly, but they were quickly replaced by his hopes for a future with his wife.

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He felt utterly exhausted. It had been past midnight when they'd left the party, but he'd stayed up much later than that, worrying over Rey. He wished that he could have slept a bit longer and remained in his dreams of being held close by her.

The bathroom door opened and he looked up to see Rey. She was dressed in a beautiful dark blue gown, and several strands of her hair were twisted and pulled back. Ben couldn't stop himself from staring, she was just as beautiful as she had been on their wedding day. Almost more beautiful, because of that look in eyes. On their wedding day he'd seen nothing but pain, but now he saw joy. He almost thought that he saw love too, but he was sure that was wishful thinking on his part.

He wondered what the occasion was, she never wore anything that fancy because she wanted to. Even at the ball she'd worn a fairly simple gown. She usually preferred something comfortable over something elegant.

She was blushing so hard that he could visibly see the redness in her cheeks. She looked down, playing with the skirt of her dress.

"You look very beautiful, Rey," he whispered.

"Thank you," she whispered shyly.

"Is there a special occasion today?" he asked.

She blushed even more and stared at the floor, not wanting to meet his gaze. "No. I just wanted to look beautiful for you today."

He looked at her surprised. She'd dressed up so nicely just for him? He felt his heart swelling with hope that she might actually love him after all. "For me? Why?"

"Well...you were so kind to me last night. I don't know...I just wanted to make you happy."

He stood and hugged her. "Rey, you do make me happy. Just being around you makes me happy." He gently brushed his fingers through her hair, longing to kiss her. Finally he leaned forward and gently placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

꧁❀꧂

Rey and Ben went to the dining hall to have breakfast with the king and queen.

They all sat in silence for several moments. "Some of Snoke's leaders were in the castle last night," said Ben.

"How did they get in?" Han asked.

"They came to the party, they were both the children of well-known nobles, Hux the son of the Lord and Lady of Geonosis and Phasma the daughter of a knight. They cornered us in a dark hallway and threatened to hurt Rey if I didn't do what they asked," Ben told them.

"What did they want?" Leia asked, concerned.

"I don't know," Ben replied. "They gave me a note, but I never read it."

"Why not?" Han asked.

"I... I was worried about Rey," Ben answered softly.

Rey looked down at her plate, hoping that he wouldn't see her blushing as she thought about the way he had carried her and looked after her the night before. She could still feel the way he had gently touched her neck, making the pain seem to melt away. But she didn't want him to know how much she had enjoyed it, how his touch had made her secretly long for his lips against her neck.

"Hux hurt her," Ben continued. He gently lifted her chin to show his parents the wound on her neck.

Rey gasped softly at the contact, memories of her dream returned to her in a flood and she found herself gazing at his soft lips...imagining how it might feel to really kiss him. She found herself imagining how their first kiss might be, would it be soft and sweet... or hard and desperate?

Han slammed his fist on the table at the sight of the cut.

The sound pulled Rey from her thoughts, with a jolt. Why was she thinking about him like that? It was just a dream, they might be married but that didn't mean that she loved him...or that she would allow him to kiss her. But he had never tried to... and she knew that he never would unless she gave him a sign that she wanted him to. And he was kind and wonderful and beautiful, why wouldn't she want to kiss him? He deserved to be happy and now she thought that his kiss might make her happy too.

"If I see that little weasel, he's going to regret it," said Han. "He's going to pay for hurting my girl."

Ben nodded, smiling slightly. He knew that his father had always wanted a daughter and he was quickly beginning to treat Rey as if she was his daughter.

Rey smiled warmly at Han.

"Perhaps you should read the note, Ben," Leia suggested, gently.

He nodded. "I'll go get it," he said, then he stood and left the room.

Leia smiled. "He really cares about you, Rey," she said softly.

Rey nodded. "I know."

"You've been a good influence on him," Han added.

"I don't know..." Rey began, she still felt guilty deep down for how she had treated him. The more he treated her with kindness the guiltier she felt.

"I do," said Leia.

"I was cruel to him at first," she admitted.

"Did he hurt you?" Han asked, a bit concerned. "I love my son, but I also love you like a daughte. I am willing to protect you from anyone, including Ben."

"Thank you, but he has never harmed me. He has always treated me with kindness and respect. I just hated him so I showed him nothing but hate. And in return he only showed me kindness. I wish there was some way I could make it up to him, some way I could make him happy."

"You've already made him happy. I know my son and I've never seen him happier than when he is with you," said Leia. "I've never seen him like this, I know he's in love with you. All you have to do is be there for him, nothing else could make him happier."

Rey nodded. She looked up and saw Ben enter the room, she couldn't help a faint smile at the sight of him. She didn't understand why the sight of him filled her with such a warm feeling, before just seeing him had made her angry.

He came over and sat next to her, placing a folded piece of paper on the table. He unfolded the piece of parchment and began to read it.

"What does it say?" Han asked.

"Snoke wants me to come back to Mustafar and rejoin him. He's rallying his army there, he wants me to lie to you about his location. He wants me to give you false information to cover his plan."

"What plan?" Han asked.

"His plan to attack the castle and overthrow both of you," Ben replied gravely.

"When will the attack be?" Leia asked.

"The note didn't say," Ben answered. "But he's sending word across the land for his troops to gather in Mustafar to rally and discuss their plans of attack. My guess is that it will be several weeks before he attacks."

"That should give us time to prepare," said Queen Leia.

"We need to call a meeting with the council immediately," King Han added.

Queen Leia nodded. "Thankfully most of them haven't left yet after yesterday's celebration. We were supposed to have luncheon with them later anyway."

Han nodded.

"We need you to be present for the meeting," Leia said, then she looked at Rey. "Both of you."

Rey nodded solemnly.

Ben inhaled a shuddering breath at the thought of facing the council again. "Yes, Mother."