I Know Who I Am Now

Coming clean again.

"Did he hurt you?" Poe asked as Rey stepped on board the Falcon.  Rey shook her head and Poe embraced her, holding her tightly.  Chewie appeared next, roaring a greeting and wrapping his huge arms around Rey, pulling her into him.  She patted his arm gently, "Hi Chewie".  Chewie roared again and let Rey go, walking to the cockpit where Poe was already getting settled in the pilots seat.  Rey joined them, leaning on the back of Poes seat as the falcon lifted into the sky.

The flight was short and soon they were circling over Akan Kloss, the site of the new rebel base.

"Rey" Leia said, hugging her as she came down the ramp and into the damp heat of the jungle planet.  Rey hugged her back, suddenly remembering her promise to Leia to find Ben on Chandrilla.  The two women broke apart and Rey smiled sadly as Leia took her hands, "Leia I'm sorry, I found Ben but then he...." Rey watched Leias face drop as she listened, ready to be disappointed by her sons actions, her eyes coming to rest on Rey's hands in hers.  "Ben saved me.  It was him who put me on that escape pod". Leias eyes rose to meet Rey's, "He sent you back to us?".  Rey nodded, "I know, I can hardly believe it myself.  He's a good person still Leia, underneath it all".  The noise of someone clearing their throat and then Poe appeared, his arms crossed tightly across his chest "Ok I call bullshit". Leia lifted her hand from Rey's, "Poe....". "No General I'm sorry this needs to be said" Poe said stubbornly, his eyes on Rey, "You expect ne to believe that Kylo Ren kidnaps you, takes you to his base, holds you there and then takes you to an escape pod and lets you go? Come on... and Ben? Really?" Leia let go of Rey's hands then and stepped in close to Poe, her face cold, "Let Rey explain. Maybe just maybe talking less will benefit all of us. And yes, his name is Ben, it was the name I gave him when he was born". Poe held his arms tighter against himself, biting the inside of his mouth. Rey swallowed hard, Poes anger making her uneasy, "I found Ben whilst I was looking for Leia. He came out of the trees. He said he was looking for me, that he didn't want to hurt me.."Poe straightened, "Did he say why he was looking for you?" He asked, his tone cold.  Rey shook her head, "No.  We were just standing there, in the clearing and suddenly there was a bang and he fell down, he'd been shot.  I, I knelt down next to him and lifted his head onto my lap....".  Poe exploded then, his arms flying into the air, "So whilst our people were being slaughtered like pigs you were lifting his head onto your lap?  General are you hearing this?".  Leia held her hand up, her brow creasing as she looked first at Poes angry eyes and then Rey's tear filled ones, "Rey, go on".  Rey swiped at her eyes, "The next thing I know stormtroopers came out of the trees and handcuffed me.  I ended up on the first orders base, in a cell.  Kylo, Ben, came down to my cell, he asked me if I'd shot him?". Poe shifted his weight, "Did you see who it was, who shot him?".  Rey nodded, "Someone in a First Order uniform, with red hair".  Poe nodded then and Rey was surprised to see that he was smiling broadly.  "Care to share the joke with the rest of us?" Leia snapped.  "Shot by one of his own.  His General it sounds like, Hux".  Leia shook her head and sighed.  "How did you find me?" Rey asked suddenly.  It was Poes turn to swallow hard, "I sent a transmission to the First Order, told them that we were coming for you.  We didn't know for sure that they had taken you but it seemed like a good guess when we couldn't find you".  Leia was watching Poe intently and when he hesitated she leant in towards him, "Go on".  Poe swallowed again "I spoke to Kylo Ren. He told me that you had escaped on a pod. I guessed it was some sort of trap but when I checked our scanners there was a pod heading to Bogano like he said". Rey nodded feeling tears brimming in her eyes, "It's like I told you, he put me in there, he sent me back to you. He doesn't want to hurt me Poe, I could get him on side, he could help us win this". Poe scoffed, throwing his hands into the air, "So you are saying that the survival of the resistance lays in the hands of a mass murderer just because you have the hots for each other? Give me a break Rey!". Leia held her hands up, "Poe stop. Rey is right. My son has saved her life twice now. There's a reason for that. He cares for her. Maybe we can use that to our advantage?". Poes face was flushed, his arms tightly folded across his chest. He bit the inside of his mouth and shrugged, "Whatever you say General" and then he walked away, shaking his head as he went, Rey watching him with glassy eyes.