Ɩt was several hours past midnight when the celebration had begun to die down. Ben was beginning to feel sleepy, he looked at Rey who was standing next to him, she looked tired too. "You look tired."

She smiled, "so do you."

Ben offered her his arm to escort her to their room. She smiled a little shyly as she took his arm.

As they walked through hallway past groups of lingering guests, Rey looked up at Ben through sleepy eyes. "Thank you for a wonderful evening."

He smiled at her. "Every moment I spend with you is wonderful."

She smiled up at him as they rounded a corner into a dark corridor. Suddenly a figure stepped out of the shadows of an open door on the left. The figure grabbed Rey, pulling her away from him and putting a dagger against her throat.

"Let her go," Ben demanded.

"Or what?" the figure asked.

Ben glared at him and his hand moved towards his sword.

"Don't try anything Ren, or your beloved servant girl will die."

(Art by xWinter-Wolf )

"Hux, I promise if you harm her, I will kill you."

Rey stomped down on his toe hard, and elbowed him in the stomach. He groaned in pain, and doubled over. But he recovered too quickly for her to get away, he struck her in the face, causing tears to sting her eyes. The man pulled her back towards him, pressing the edge of his knife painfully against her neck. The blade was so close to her neck that she could barely breath let alone move without it cutting her.

Ben yelled in anger, and moved to strike Hux for harming her.

"Don't move, or I'll slice her throat," Hux warned.

Ben froze, knowing that Hux wouldn't hesitate to do so.

"Hux was right." Ben turned to see Phasma standing in the hallway. "You have betrayed Snoke for her. You would give up all that we have worked for, for her. What's so special about her?"

"Everything," he answered sincerely.

Rey looked at him, in surprise, with the smallest trace of affection in her eyes.

"Hux, Phasma, we were wrong, but it isn't too late to change," he said.

"Never," Hux replied, grinding the blade a little hard against her neck.

Rey stopped herself from crying out in pain, but a small pain filled gasp escaped from her lips.

"Hux please, I'll do anything, just don't hurt my wife," Ben begged, hearing the pained gasp escape her lips. Tears were threatening to spill from his eyes at the thought of losing her, but he fought them back fiercely knowing that such a sign of weakness would only provoke Hux more.

Hux looked at Phasma and nodded. She stepped forward and held out a folded piece of parchment. He took it from her, barely moving his eyes from Rey.

Hux smirked cruelly before pushing Rey into Ben. She fell against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. He held her tightly, he wasn't going to let them pull her from his arms. He watched Hux and Phasma cautiously as they walked away.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. He felt her nod her head. He looked down at her and began placing a series of kisses on the top of her head, relieved that she wasn't hurt.

"Who were they?" she mumbled against him.

He stopped kissing her and looked at her. "General Hux and Captain Phasma, leaders of Snoke's army, I should have known that I would never be able to escape my past. I should have known I could never have a normal life, and now I've put you in danger."

"I can protect myself. What did they want?"

"I don't know, I'm just glad that you're not hurt." He brushed his thumb softly over the red mark on her face where Hux had struck her. Anger filled him as he thought about how Hux had slapped her in the face. If he ever saw Hux again, he'd be sure to return the favor. "If I ever see him again, I'm going to punch him in the face for hitting you."

"I deserved it, " she replied in a low voice.

He looked at her, knowing that she meant the slap she had given him. He shook his head. "No. I love you, you don't deserve this." He leaned down and placed a tender kiss on her reddened cheek. "This my fault. If you weren't married to me, you wouldn't be in danger."

Then he gently lifted her chin and looked at her neck. There was a cut from where Hux had pressed the sharp blade against her neck. "He hurt you," he whispered. He gently brushed his thumb over the cut, examining it to make sure that there was no serious damage.

"I'm alright, Ben," she breathed, leaning her head back slightly, enjoying his gentle touch.

He moved his fingers from the cut, but he saw that she was enjoying it so he continued to gently brush his fingertips along her neck, her skin was so soft and smooth. Rey let out a soft sigh and his heart skipped a beat. He longed to bend down and kiss her neck, stretched out as though she was inviting him to do so.

After a moment, he looked at the cut again. "We need to clean this before it gets infected."

She nodded, though she didn't want him to stop. No one had ever touched her like that, it felt wonderful. It was tender, yet intimate at the same time.

They turned and continued down the hall. Ben wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked. Normally he tried to keep a comfortable distance between them, but he didn't know if any more of Snoke's spies were lurking in the shadows and he wanted to protect her. So, he held her tightly and kept her close to him. She seemed to understand his reasoning for being so close...for holding her this way, and she showed no sign of apprehension or that she was uncomfortable. In fact if he didn't know any better, he would have thought that she was enjoying it.

He blushed as she timidly reached up and wrapped her own arm around his waist. He dared not look in her direction, knowing that his cheeks were as red as a rose.

After several moments, he felt Rey lean her head on his shoulder. He looked at her concerned. "Are you okay?"

She smiled up at him sleepily, her eyes barely open. "I'm just tired."

He rubbed her back gently. "I'll carry you," he whispered. Then he carefully lifted her into his arms, carrying her easily.

She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. She felt safe, secure in his arms.

He sighed contently at being able to hold her so close. Nothing he had ever felt could compare to her arms around him, the way her head was rested on his shoulder.

He carried her to their room and gently laid her down on the bed. She opened her eyes slightly to look at him as he began to gently remove her jewelry so that she would be more comfortable. He carefully lifted the necklace he'd given her over her head, then he took her hand about to slid her wedding ring from her finger. Rey took his hand to stop him. "I want to keep it on, " she said it tenderly and for the first time he felt that she actually wearing it for him, not for his mother's sake.

He smiled at her, then moved towards her feet and took off her shoes placing them on the floor next to the bed. He knew that her feet were probably sore from dancing and walking around all night, so he began to gently rub and message them. He grimaced slightly as he noticed the blisters on her feet. Next time he would make sure that she had comfortable shoes.

He looked at Rey and smiled. She was sleeping peacefully, she looked so beautiful. Some nights when he couldn't sleep, he would lay awake and watch her as she slept. It always comforted him to know that she was alright and at peace, after the nightmares of seeing her and his parents in danger. Or seeing Rey alone on the streets, an image that was often brought to his mind by his guilty conscious.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her as he continued gently rubbing her feet. He hoped that she felt as peaceful as she looked.

After a moment he went to the bathroom. He grabbed a piece of cloth and soaked it with healing ointment. Then he returned and sat on the bed next to her. He reached over and rubbed her forehead with his thumb.

"This might sting," he said gently.

She nodded but didn't open her eyes.

He looked at her affectionately, she was exhausted. The sooner he tended to her wounds the sooner she could get the rest that she needed. But he didn't want to rush and accidentally hurt her, he wanted to take it slow and be as gentle as possible.

He began gently cleaning the cut, careful that he wouldn't hurt her. He continued stroking her forehead with his thumb to soothe any pain that she might feel.

She opened her eyes and whimpered quietly as the ointment stung her open wound.

"I'm sorry, Rey, it'll be over soon," he said soothingly, as he gently rubbed her forehead with his thumb again.

Rey looked at him, watching as he tenderly cleaned her wound and comforted her every time she showed any sign that she was in pain. He really did have a good heart. And he acted like he really cared about her.

When he was sure that the wound was clean, he put the cloth away. He took some cream in his hands and began gently massaging it into her feet. "This should make your feet feel better, " he told her.

"Ben, you don't have to do that for me, " she answered.

"I want to, " he responded gently.

"Thank you for being so wonderful to me, " she replied. Inwardly she promised herself to return the kindness that he had shown.

He smiled at her. Then he came over to her and gently took her hand in his. "Do you need anything before we go to sleep?"

She shook her head sleepily, but a part of her wanted to ask him if he could sleep with her that night. She would feel safer if he was with her.

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Good night, Rey, I love you."

She didn't know how to reply, so she simply looked at him. Was it sympathy and compassion, perhaps even a sense of companionship that she felt for him? Or was it something more? Was it love?

Ben covered her with her blankets and made sure that her head was rested properly on her pillow.

He didn't want to leave her, it was just a minor wound but he was still concerned about her. He didn't want to worry her, but he was still afraid that Snoke's spies could be lurking around the castle. He wanted to stay close to her so that he could protect her.

He grabbed the chair that was sitting by the bed and slid it a bit closer. He reached over and grabbed her hand, gently brushing his thumb over the top of it. "Try to get some sleep, sweetheart," he whispered gently.

"What about you?" she mumbled, the tiredness obvious in her voice.

"I'm going to stay up for a little while."

"You're staying with me?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded, a small smile touching his lips at her longing to be near him. "I'm going to take care of you."

That seemed to relax her and she closed her eyes, still holding his hand in hers.