Hux approached Ben.
"You. Are. A. Traitor!" Hux snarled.
In one swift movement, Hux stabbed Ben's arm.
Ben was in horrible pain. Rey had fury burning in her.
She stormed over to Hux, and as he turned around, Rey punched him square in the face. He fell down with a thud.
The Resistance had come on too strong for the first order.
"Retreat!" yelled Phasma, with a hint of exasperation. She pulled up Hux and took him by the arm. The duo boarded the ship again.
All the stormtroopers went back to their ships and flew off. Rey, who was glad about the win, was still concerned for Ben.
"Medics!" Rey yelled.
They were on standby during the whole battle, ready to take action. They took Ben to the medical bay.
"You'll be alright," said Rey, looking at Ben's bloodstained clothes.
She had to part with him.
Tears fell down her face. Poe and Finn were there to comfort her.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
The waiting was the worst part. Rey, Finn, Leia, and Poe had been waiting anxiously.
Rey tossed her staff from hand to hand; Leia worried she would hit something expensive with it if they had to wait much longer.
Leia, on the other hand, was aggressively typing up letters to important people and accounting for the damage.
Poe had his eyes closed, and his leg rapidly bounced up and down. He went over flight plans in his head.
Finn fiddled with a blaster, taking it apart and then putting it back together again to still his shaking hands.
"You can come in," said the doctor.
Rey quickly got up and walked in. Ben was laying in the hospital bed, shirtless.
Rey looked at his bandaged limbs, the bruises, the scars that marked his body.
'This battle really beat him up... or did it?" thought Rey.
Ben had been shot by Chewie's bowcaster before he even came to the base-maybe he had injuries prior to arriving at the base.
He had reason to lash out and revert back into his Sith self, but he didn't. He laid there, showing weakness and strength at the same time.
He was looking at Rey with big soft brown eyes.
They had changed since he had come to the base.... he had changed.
Rey walked up to Ben, and very gently kissed him. Ben honestly did not know what to think of today. The way her gentle hands cupped his face made him feel better. Love must really be the best medicine. It wasn't until this moment that Ben realized he loved Rey in a way that he could not describe. Rey parted and looked into his brown eyes.
"I love you." Rey said. "And after thinking I was about to lose you today, I just knew I had to tell you if you survived this."
"I love you too." Ben uttered the words.
"W-what?" Rey was taken aback. She didn't expect Ben to love her back.
"I love you too." He repeated.
"Oh Ben!" Rey said hugging Ben. Half cheering, half crying.
The others walked in and saw the scene.
"She finally spilled the beans." Poe whispered to Finn, only to have him be slapped on the arm by Finn.
Poe, Finn, and Leia joined the hug. Ben was overwhelmed by how many people loved him.
He started crying, but not from the pain in his arms and leg, not from his unforgivable past, but from the pure love he was accepting.
Rey and Leia were letting their tears fall.
Even Poe and Finn had a small trickle of tears. And someone else was there. Yes-Han was there. Standing in the doorway, smiling at his son.
"I'm so proud," Han said, chuckling, the cheery man Ben knew.
Ben wasn't the only one to see him, or hear him. Rey and Leia could, too.
He walked over to the scene.
"You brought our son home, Leia," he said to his wife.
"And you, kid, you cared for him when no one else did. I am thankful for that and proud of you. You all did the same,"said Han.
Before anyone could say anything, he was gone.
Just like always. Here one second, gone the next.
Ben felt loved in the arms of his makeshift family. Leia had hope for her son-she just never imagined him making a family of his own. An injured, but unbreakable, family.