~ Love Lives On ~ TRoS Alternate Ending

Chapter One: New Beginnings

Everything within Ben screamed and begged for rest. His entire body was wracked with pain in every way imaginable. Summoning all the strength he had left, he scaled the final few feet of the wall and pulled himself over the ledge. Weak and breathing heavily, he stayed on his hands and knees for a moment. Lifting his head, he saw Rey crumpled on the ground about ten feet away. Her white clothing stood out in stark contrast to the blackness around them. She looked angelic, the beacon of light that saved him from his darkness. With a grunt, he pushed himself to his feet and stumbled towards her, holding his side. After only a few steps, he fell and half crawled half walked the rest of the way to where she lay. He tenderly put his hand on her arm. He couldn't help but notice in that brief moment how beautiful the scars that marked her body were. They were testaments to who she was: strong, spirited, and endlessly resilient. Moving his reach up to her shoulder, he tried to get a better grip. He fought the turbulent emotions churning within him. He had felt Rey die only moments before, and it was as if a part of him had gone with her.

Rolling Rey over on her back and sliding underneath her so she was resting in his lap, Ben drew in his breath. Her lifeless body was limp in his arms, her eyes opened and unmoving. Distraught, he looked around, holding back his tears. What could he do? There had to be something, b              ut at that moment Ben could think of nothing except how unfair this all was.

Hugging Rey close to himself, Ben whispered, almost imperceptibly, his goodbye. Grief overwhelmed him. She didn't deserve to die, not like this. Rey had been nothing but good. He was the one that deserved death. He had wasted his life, given it over to the Darkside, and hurt countless people along the way. Rey was innocent, beautiful, and pure. She used her power to heal people, not destroy them.

It was then that Ben remembered the lightsaber battle he and Rey had had on the wreckage of the Death Star only an hour before. In the heat of the fight, she had struck him with what should have been a fatal blow, but when she realized what she had done, she had healed him.

"I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." Her words echoed in his mind.

Did he have enough strength, Ben wondered, enough life, left to give to her? He knew if he did, the effort would kill him. It didn't matter though. Not to Ben. Resigned to his fate, he lay Rey back down across his lap. This is the way it should be, after all. Him dead and her alive.

He put one of his hands on her abdomen and supported her head with his other. Closing his eyes, Ben summoned all the energy within him and focused it all into Rey. He felt it flowing out of him, sapping him of his strength, but more importantly, he felt it flowing into Rey. He felt her coming back to him. Determined to restore her life, he focused only on her.

A hand covered his, breaking his focus. Opening his eyes, he saw Rey looking up at him. She was confused at first, and then all at once understanding flooded her face. Pushing herself up to a sitting position, she faced him. "Ben," she said with a smile, joy and relief evident both on her face and in her words.

Ben didn't know how long he had before every ounce of energy left his body, but for the rest of his life, however long that may be, he wanted to sit there and memorize every inch of Rey's face. He took in her sparkling, chestnut eyes; the shape of her nose; the dimple's in her cheeks and the sweet smile that graced her lips; those soft, beautiful lips---

Ben felt the life slipping away from him and knew he didn't have much longer. Seconds maybe.

That's when Rey surprised him with a kiss. Using what he knew was the last of his strength, he pulled Rey closer to him and relished the release of all the emotions they had both bound up and buried for so long. Savoring the sweetness of their bond, he tried to imprint that moment in his memory.