Ƭhey traveled all day until the sun began to set and the road grew too dark to travel. Then they stopped to set camp. They all made themselves busy setting camp, building a fire and preparing the evening meal.

After they finished eating, Ben helped the boys put the food and supplies back into the saddle bags. But when he came back to the fire, Rey wasn't there and he grew concerned. "Where's Rey?" he asked Finn.

"She went to get some water for the horses," he answered.

"Alone... in the dark?" Ben asked, trying to hide his concern, but it was obvious. "Which way did she go?"

Finn pointed in the direction that Rey had went.

Ben nodded and began walking through the trees in the direction that Rey had gone.

"Rey!" he called. But there was no reply. How far did she wander off? he wondered, unable to keep himself from worrying. There were bears and wolves roaming in the shadows beneath the trees, and he didn't completely trust the men who had joined them. It was too dangerous for her to be walking around alone in the dark.

Finally he came to a small clearing in the trees with a small pool of water. He smiled as he saw Rey wading in the clear water. All around her, the water shimmered and glistened in the moonlight. The water came up to her shoulders, and her hair floated gently in the water behind her.

Ben watched as she slowly moved her hand through the still water sending ripples through the smooth, mirror-like surface. He sighed and leaned against a nearby tree, she truly was the most beautiful being he had ever laid eyes on.

She turned and saw Ben watching her. She smiled shyly at him. She gestured for him to come join her.

Ben took his cloak off, then removed his boots and sat them on a small boulder. He slowly stepped out into the small pool of water, the sun had not long set and the water still held the warmth of the sun's rays. He waded over to her. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He looked down at her for a moment before he smirked and began to speak. "What are you doing Rey? Your clothes are soaked."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So are your's." She gently pressed her forehead against his.

He looked at her and smiled. Then he leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

She pulled him closer and kissed him passionately.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly as she continued to kiss him passionately. This was one of the most beautiful moments of his life and he wanted to remember it forever. He wanted to remember every detail of how it felt to hold her here on this beautiful night. He wanted to remember every touch of her lips against his.

At last she broke the kiss and looked up into his eyes. They were as dark as the night sky but they seemed to glow as they reflected the twinkling starlight from above. She was lost in the world of his eyes and the endless affection for her that filled them as she gently reached up and caressed his cheek.

Ben smiled as he watched her, then he leaned down covering her cheeks with kisses. Then he began slowly trailing his kisses along her jaw until at last he reached the soft smooth skin of her neck.

She let out a soft gasp as he slowly moved his lips across her neck. Her heart was racing and her skin tingled at each touch of his lips, she didn't know how amazing his kisses would feel across her neck. It was even more wonderful than she had imagined.

Rey leaned her head back, welcoming his kisses and encouraging him to continue. She let out a deep sigh as he kissed her softly and slowly.

He placed his hand behind her neck to support her head as she leaned back even farther. He kissed her a little more intently as he realized how much she seemed to be enjoying it.

Finally his kisses subsided and he laid his head on her shoulder.

Rey gently rubbed his back and stroked his wet hair.

After several moments he sat up and looked at her. "Should we be heading back?"

She could hear in his voice that he didn't want to leave. She didn't want to either, she wanted to spend a little more time alone with him first. "Can we stay a while longer? I want to relax before we go to bed, I want to enjoy this place. Just you and I here under the stars."

"That sounds wonderful, " he replied. He leaned back and allowed himself to begin to float in the water.

Rey watched him and smiled, she was happy to see him so relaxed for a change. She wanted to join him. "How do you do that?"

He looked at her, confused.

"I don't know how to swim, or how to float like that, " she admitted.

He came over to her and smiled. "I'll teach you." He gently placed his hand on her back. "Just try to lay flat."

She tried, but didn't feel very buoyant. She panicked and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling at the way she was holding him.

"Try to relax your muscles a little more, " he told her gently.

"I'm scared, " she answered. "I'm scared that I'll sink."

"You won't, I promise. I will catch you if you do." He gently rubbed her upper back and her thighs to show that he had his arms beneath her, ready to catch her.

His touch calmed her and she slowly let go of his neck.

"Do you trust me?" he whispered.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Close you eyes." She did as he asked. "Now relax and concentrate on the sound of my voice."

"Imagine that you're floating through night sky, in a sea of starlight." He gently guided her arms and legs into a more relaxed position. "There's nothing around you for miles, but bright beautiful starlight."

"What about you?" she whispered. "Are you there too?"

Ben smiled down at her. His heart leapt at her longing to be with him. "Yes, I'm right beside you." He caressed her cheek.

A soft smile touched her lips and his own smile grew.

"You're doing it," he whispered.

"This feels wonderful, " she answered.

"Yes it does, it's almost like flying, " he combed his fingers through her wet hair.

"Especially with the way you describe it, " she replied.

Ben smiled and floated beside her. He grabbed her hand and closed his eyes, enjoying the brief moment of peace amidst the war that had torn the land.

Rey opened her eyes and looked up at the stars. "Which star is your favorite?" she asked him.

"You, " he whispered squeezing her hand and brushing his thumb over her wedding ring.

Rey blushed, unable to stop herself from smiling. "You're mine too." She pointed to a bright star in the sky. "But in the sky that's my favorite, it's one of the brightest, it's the one that I imagine as you. A beacon of light that God gave me to brighten up my life." She caressed her thumb over his hand.

He smiled at her. "That's my favorite too. Do you want to know why?"

She nodded.

"My tutor said that it's actually two stars that are so close together that they look like one, together they shine brighter than they could alone. That's us," he answered.

She stood and stepped towards him as he came to an upright position next to her. She snuggled into his warm embrace. "That's so romantic," she whispered.

Ben blushed slightly. "It's how I truly feel about you."

She grabbed his hand and pressed her palm against his, weaving their fingers together. "We are one," she whispered. She leaned up to kiss him affectionately.

Ben smiled warmly at her as they broke the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on her shoulder.

After a while Ben noticed that the temperature of the water had began to drop and the moon had climbed high into the night sky. "I wish that we could stay here forever, but we should get back before they get worried and send a search party."

Rey looked at him for a moment before a smile spread across her lips. She reached her hands into the water and splashed him in the face.

He stared at her surprised for a moment, then he laughed and splashed her in return.

She splashed him again and it didn't take long before they had started an all out battle. Water flew everywhere and they were both giggling loudly.

Finally Ben surrendered as he noticed her shivering slightly. It was summer, but the deepest part of the pool of water had lost all of the warmth the sun had given it and he wanted to get her warm and dry as soon as he could. He went over to her, even though she was still trying to splash him, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Rey you're shivering, let's get back to the camp so that you can get warm and dry."

Rey didn't want to stop, she was having too much fun and she loved the sound of his laughter. He didn't laugh very often and she found herself cherishing the moments that he did. But she nodded, giving in and snuggling closer to him, enjoying the warmth he provided her in the cool night air.

They climbed out of the water and Ben took his dry cloak, he wrapped it around her tenderly. "Better?"

She nodded.

Ben smiled and filled the empty bucket with water for the horses, then he went back over to Rey. She leaned closer to him to stay warm as they walked between the trees. He smiled down at her as she shivered and snuggled against him. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her shoulders to keep her warm.

When they got back to the camp they went to their tent and changed out of their wet clothes. They stood with their backs facing each other as they changed, still a little timid.

There were times when Rey acted like she wanted to be with him in an intimate way, but he was waiting for her to take the first step. He had promised that he would never touch her unless she wanted him to, and he had done his best to keep that promise.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. He wanted children, but Snoke had always said that he would be a bad father and he feared it was true. He decided to ask Rey if she thought that he would be a good father, her opinion mattered more than anything Snoke had ever said.

"Rey..." he whispered.

Just then he felt her bare skin touch his back as they accidentally bumped into each other. He reddened. "I'm sorry, that was an accident," he stammered.

She laughed softly. "It's okay Ben. I don't mind."

He was too embarrassed to ask her now, she wasn't upset but it would be really awkward to ask her about children now.

Rey pulled on a dry tan dress, unlike the green one she had been wearing the laces were on the back of her dress instead of the front.

"Ben, can you help me with this?" she whispered. She could do it on her own but it would take a little while and she wanted to show him that she trusted him. He seemed to think that she didn't, and she wanted to feel his touch on her back again, it had felt so nice.

"Of course darling." He pulled his shirt on, not wanting to trouble her again with the sight of his scars. She had enough weighing on her without his past adding to it.

He gulped slightly as he saw her bare back. He had expected her to be wearing an undershirt. But she had discarded it, most likely to keep from getting her dress wet. He swallowed nervously, as he looked at her smooth skin. She was so beautiful.

He reached over and began lacing up her dress. "You're very beautiful, " he whispered a little shyly.

She blushed. "Thank you."

When he had finished lacing up her dress, he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his chin on her shoulder.

Rey smiled and placed her hand over his.

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Do you want me to hang that by the fire?" he pointed to her wet dress.

"I can do it, beloved, " she replied. "You do so much for me all the time. I should do something for you too."

He smiled at her tender reply. It was the first time she had called him that. He could feel them growing closer, becoming more and more like a husband and wife should be. She was beginning to trust him, and he was beginning to trust her. It was hard to believe they had grown so close in two weeks time. Especially when most of the first week she had been angry with him. With good reason, he thought sadly.

"No stay here and get dry," he answered, kissing her again. Then he passed her his cloak to dry off with.

She nodded and passed it to him. "Thank you, darling," she said shyly.

He went to hang her dress out to dry. He hung his and Rey's wet clothes close to the fire so that they would dry more quickly.

"What happened to you, Ben?" one of Luke's students asked, as he watched him hanging out the wet clothes.

Ben smirked. "My wife splashed me with water."

His uncle who was listening doubled over with laughter. "That's exactly why I never got married."

Ben looked at his uncle and shook his head.

"By the looks of it, you got her back, " Luke went on.

Ben nodded. "We went for a swim together."

When he had finished hanging his clothes up, he returned to their tent. She was dryer now, but she still seemed a little cold. He sat down behind her, her hair was wet and he didn't want her to get sick sleeping that way. He took his cloak and dried her hair with it.

"Thank you, " she whispered.

"You don't have to thank me, " he ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm happy to take care of the ones I love."

She turned to face him. "So am I. But I also want to thank you for being so good to me." She placed a kiss on his lips.

He smiled at her, kissing her again.

She smiled. "Your turn." She took his cloak and began gently wiping the droplets of water from the tips of his hair.

Ben closed his eyes, enjoying her tender touch. No one had cared for him like this since he was a young boy.

She covered his hair with the cloak and gently scrubbed his head.

When his hair was dry, she sat the cloak aside.

Ben kissed her cheek. She kissed his lips affectionately.

"We should get some sleep, it's late, " he said as they pulled apart.

She nodded laying down and snuggling under a blanket, shivering slightly.

He smiled, "still cold?"

She looked at him and nodded.

He smiled at her and climbed into bed next to her. "Don't worry, I'll keep you warm."

Rey slid closer to him and snuggled into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her in a warm embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He kissed her forehead in reply. "I love you Rey," he said softly.

She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. "I love you too."