I Can Get It Back

Borders They Divide But I'm Inclined to Cut Across

Rey untied the rope from around her waist and handed it to Ben. Her heart was pounding with trepidation but she smiled at him. He bent to kiss her forehead and then she turned off her lightsaber to clip it to her belt. In the utter darkness, they started to climb. Despite all her walking – and running – the rope seemed as slack now as it had been upon her arrival. As if she hadn't actually gone anywhere. She didn't want to think about what that meant. Instead, she focused on moving up the rope, putting one hand in front of the other, until suddenly her head broke through the water.

"Rey!" came Rose's surprised and relieved voice. Rey blinked at the dim light, eyes adjusting as her friends pulled the rope up to help her. Soon she was aware of being fully in the water and not at all in the space below, so she quickly reached back, following the rope, until she felt Ben's hand. He released the rope to take her hand and she pulled. But getting him back from that Netherworld proved to be more challenging than her own return had been.

"Finn!" she cried, desperately when she encountered some kind of resistance. It was as if there were a barrier for him, a ceiling to the chamber, that she could go through easily but was solid for him.

Finn rushed over to her, looking distressed and uncertain.

"Help me!" she insisted, and he reached down, mirroring her position. His eyes widened as he must have realized Ben was, in fact, there. Rey closed her eyes, picturing her hold on one of Ben's hands and Finn's hold on the other, and how they could return him to this side. Maybe that worked – maybe it helped that Finn had been training for a few weeks – maybe it was just her determination. For whatever reason, Ben was suddenly able to go through with a splash.

The portal seemed to close up after him. The three of them sat in waist-deep water while Rose stood just outside the pool, holding the rope. A giggle bubbled up from Rey's belly and she couldn't resist it, no matter how strange it sounded, bouncing off the walls. The intense relief she felt was clearly shared by her friends, and then they were all laughing together. She slid through the water, heedless of her soaked clothes, and wrapped her arms around Ben happily. He was solid and warm – here, really here, at last!

"Well, perhaps you should introduce us," Rose suggested with a grin.

"Oh, right," Rey answered, refusing to move though Ben shifted a bit in her grip. "Ben, this is Rose Tico and Finn. Rose, Finn, this is Ben." She smiled up at him and thought he might be blushing, though it was too dark to be sure.

He held out one of his hands, dripping water, and shook Finn's. "A pleasure to see you again, Finn," he said, making Rey wonder what their previous interactions might be. He shook Rose's hand as well and the woman's eyes widened before she looked away with a cough. Rey realized – finally – that Ben was not wearing anything. The realization made her hasten to her feet, sloshing out of the pool and over to her pack, which contained the clothing he had left behind when he disappeared the first time.

"It's a bit cold," she teased, a little surprised at herself as she handed him the garments, intently making eye contact. Ben regarded her until she flushed and turned away. Finn climbed out of the pool and the three of them busied themselves with finding some way to dry off while Ben dressed. They had not thought to bring a change of clothes – Rey had mainly brought Ben's because of some vague idea about using something of his to summon him – so they would just have to return to the Falcon soaking wet.

"This seems like a place I'd like to leave forever. Let's go," Finn suggested, and he and Rose started off, returning the way they had come. Rey took Ben's hand, smiling up at him, and followed them. They were silent as they made the long, slow trek back through the throne room and the twisting corridors before they reached the chain that they had climbed down.