A/N: Hi, I saw the Force Awakens about a week ago, and absolutely loved it. I had so many theories in my head by the end that I had to go and write something. This fic will be focusing on Luke and Rey going back and forth between the past and the present. It picks up where episode 7 left off. Hope you enjoy. Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Disney does and it was the brainchild of George Lucas. He's the one that started it all, so credit goes to him, Disney, Lucasfilms and JJ Abrams. Not me, nope. I'm just playing and exploring theories.

Chapter One

He feels her presence before she even disembarks from the ship of that old smuggler that had helped him so long ago. The light he had felt extinguish even from so far away. It hit him like a blaster bolt. Han was gone. It had begun. He feels her coming closer, as he breathes in the fresh cool air, turns and removes his hood.

He sees her then, such a determined stance. There is something awestruck almost reverent in the way she holds out the hilt of the weapon, but there is also a guardedness. She's not sure what to make of him just yet. Just as well, he thinks. To her, he is little more than a myth, a ghost. He sighs internally. Is that really what he had become? He argues with himself. Of course it is. He had vanished with not even a goodbye to his sister, left no clue where they could find him, at least didn't make it easy. He wasn't supposed to though. He keeps his eyes on the girl. If he had, she would never have found him.

He takes the hilt, letting the twinkle in his eyes speak for him as he nods his head toward the small dwelling. He sees her follow, long strides matching pace very neatly with his own. He can feel her stealing glances, but he doesn't look back to see if she's still with him. He knows she is, because she had found Luke Skywalker, and she would be damned if that work went to waste.

He still doesn't speak when they reach their destination, not because he doesn't want to, but because he is unsure if he can. He hasn't spoken to another soul in… so many years, too many years. His only communication has been with the living Force, a troubled mistress as of late. He had managed to contact old Ben, not an easy feat. It was he who had reminded Luke of the girl, the girl who stood in front of him now, the innocent one he had left behind.

"So," The girl speaks. "You're Luke Skywalker?"

He nods, pressing his lips together, before parting them and speaking, the words slow to escape, but so freeing once they did. "I am."

"I'm Rey." The girl held out a hand.

"I know." Luke sighed.

She examines him, he can see the surprise in her face, even as she buries it within a collected mask. She had Han's mannerisms, and his own Force potential. Luke recognizes the same potential , that ran through him even when he was the nephew of a moisture farmer on Tatooine, the same potential that permeated her cousin. Yes, he knows her still.

"How?" Rey narrows her eyes.

"It is a long story, for another time." Luke waves her question away. "Now," He fingers the lightsaber in his hand, the one he'd forgotten he'd been holding. "There is another purpose for your journey is there not? You wish to be trained?"

"You have to come back!" Rey bursts out, startling him. "The resistance, they need you."

Luke hums, feeling his body relax even as his mind whirred in a thousand different directions. Going back. Could he really? He wanted to. Oh how he desperately wished to see his sister again, see Artoo, and C-3PO, see how Dameron was holding up, his old friends, but there was another side waging war within him. There was still a part of him that remembered the boy, the betrayal and the pain, and most of all the objective of the First Order, that the boy now helmed. They'd see him dead, and if he went back with Rey, if he saw Leia and 3-PO, if he showed his face, his presence would surely destroy them all. Unless... he trained Rey first.

Rey watched him, waiting for an response. She had finally found him, the purpose of all of their searching was standing in front of her. She didn't know how to feel. She didn't know who he was. All she had heard were the stories, and yet… there was something familiar that she couldn't seem to lose. She saw the pain in his eyes and knew that there was a lifetime's worth. Why else would you hide away from those you claim to care for unless you were caring… from a distance?

"No." His reply came out rough. Rey could hear the emotion in his voice. Whatever had caused him to turn his back must have been overwhelming.

That single word caused Rey to clench her fists. "So, what? All this was for nothing?"

Luke shook his head. "I'll help you...by training you." He held out the hilt. "I make no promises of returning."

She stared as the weapon was held out to her. She had made the trip to return the lightsaber to him, to convince him to come back with her, but Rey couldn't deny it. She was curious about this power, the power that had let her escape Kylo Ren. Would it really be such a bad idea to let him train her? Perhaps, if she did, she could manage to convince him. She grasped the hilt, not taking it from him, but simply making an oath. "Fine."

A/N: Okay, so this fic is going to, as I said explore some theories I have about what happened prior to episode 7. It will focus on Rey and Luke, with a bit of exploring of Luke's past. He will be remembering during his time with Rey and some information will come to light about them both. I will be going back and forth between the past and the present, using what we know from the film and my own imagination to hopefully provide an interesting story and a possible explanation for Luke's absence and just how Rey ended up alone among other things.