As soon as she had passed the line where the forest began Cara heard the familiar cracking sound that accompanied an explosion. Chewbacca had finally detonated the charges in the Oscillator Bay, but she feared to look back, worrying that it would stop her from setting out to do what she had followed Rey, Finn and Kylo into the forest for in the first place. She needed to find them, and quickly. There was so much she needed to say to him. To Ben. To Kylo.

It was hard to get her bearings; lights flashed in the sky from the recent devastation Chewie had caused and the blaster shots from Resistance pilots and First Order pilots did nothing to dissipate the confusion. It was impossible to discern any sounds as well, and she walked recklessly into the forest, shivering from the cold but marvelling at the sight of the snow on the trees that she walked past. She had never seen an environment like this before, and she knew that if circumstances had been different she would have been more than happy to live in such a beautiful design of nature; but the simple splendour of the landscape did not last very long, as every snowflake she thought had fallen into her hair turned out to be a fleck of ash and the sea of white that surrounded her was only a cover for the dangerous ice that lay below. As determined as she had been mere moments ago when she had made her decision within the confines of the base, as scared as she was now that she was in the midst of a forest she did not know.

She pushed on however, slipping on rocks and tripping over tree branches as she desperately looked for any sign of them. Finally, she heard it – the unmistakeable sound of a lightsaber being powered on, the unmistakeable sound of a battle about to begin. She knew that Kylo must have been ready to fight, unable to allow the scavenger and the traitor to get in his way. She followed the sounds she heard, hoping that she would still be on time before Kylo could do any real damage to either of them. As complicated as her relationship may be with him, she still cared about Finn and Rey and did not wish for anything bad to happen to them.

Finally, she saw the blue glow of a lightsaber, a surprising sight after Cara had gotten so used to the menacing red glow of Kylo's crossguard weapon. She wondered who wielded it, where it had come from, and what would happen as a result of its presence. As she stepped through the last of the trees that blocked the scene of the fight from her view, she gasped as she saw what had already come to pass.

Rey was lying on the cold ground, seemingly knocked unconscious. Finn wielded the blue lightsaber, obviously wanting to protect his friend from whatever harm had befallen her. She did not blame him: seeing Rey in such a state worried her too. The most important thing she saw however, was Kylo. His red lightsaber in his hand, twirling it as though to show Finn that he was not at all worried about what the ex-Stormtrooper may attempt. Kylo was a skilled fighter, she had seen it first-hand. Snapping out of her stupor she ran to Rey's side, hoping to see some form of life, relieved when it turned out that she was beginning to come back to her senses. Kylo had done this to her, there was no doubt – and as Cara studied his face from the shadows of where Rey lay she could finally see his face. There was no remorse expressed upon it, none of the caring concern he showed whenever he looked at Cara. There was only rage there; an unrelenting rage that showed no sign of being alleviated any time soon. She was scared to go out and face him now, unable to form the words that she knew she needed to say. Horrified, she watched as Finn and Kylo engaged in battle. It was a battle she knew would end sooner rather than later.

Each swing of Kylo's lightsaber was graceful yet strong, and Cara could see the amount of willpower it was taking Finn to hold him back. Her Stormtrooper friend had good motivation though, and she could see it in his eyes. His willingness to protect Rey allowed him to fight for longer than he should have been able to, even through the searing pain that Kylo's lightsaber had burned into his shoulder, and the fatigue from the sheer force he needed to deflect each blow. Finn had even managed to cut Kylo, but his victory did not last long. It only served to anger the Master of the Knights of Ren more, and Cara finally made her presence known as she screamed in agony at the sight of Kylo's lightsaber cutting straight across Finn's chest after the blue lightsaber had been thrown from his grasp.

Kylo stilled, turning in Cara's direction, and his eyes widened as he saw her sitting there. She barely registered what was happening around her anymore as she noticed the change on his face – the look of shock that was then replaced by fear, and then by sorrow, before finally settling on disappointment. Whether or not it was merely disappointment that she was there or that she had to witness this crueller side of him she did not know.

"Cara, I told you to go back to your cell. None of this concerns you."

"Everything that involves you concerns me, Kylo. You should know that by now. You are the only one that concerns me. You and Ben."

She could tell that his breathing had quickened at the use of his old name, and she thought she saw a hint of guilt flash across his eyes. She hoped that he remembered what he had done to his father, the last person who had called him by that name. She hoped he felt guilty for what he had done. Even the largest measure of remorse would never be enough though. It was an ugly stain on their relationship that already needed too much forgiveness to function.

Suddenly, Kylo turned his gaze away from her, reaching his hand out to some unknown object Cara could not see, before a flash of silver flew straight past him and into Rey's hand, who was stood behind him. In the midst of her focus on Kylo Cara had not even noticed her young friend stand up once more, now holding the abandoned lightsaber in her hand that Kylo had so desperately been trying to retrieve with his own use of The Force. Anger once again morphed his features into something sadistic, and all thoughts of Cara seemed to be forgotten as he turned his attention on the young woman he had so easily been able to take prisoner only days before.

"That lightsaber belongs to me!" He screamed, and there was something maniacal about his voice, a change in tone that Cara could barely recognize. Rey looked shocked that her call for the lightsaber had been answered before his, but Cara could tell she was ready to fight; ready to fight for her fallen friend Finn, ready to fight for what he had done to Han Solo, ready to fight for all the horrible deeds that Kylo was sure to have done in the past. Cara could not blame the young woman, feeling a similar sort of fury towards him that she did not even know she was capable of. She sucked in a breath as Kylo once more pounded the wound on his abdomen that Chewbacca had inflicted on him mere moments before. The action left her with a sickened feeling in her stomach – it was the action of someone desperate enough to inflict pain on himself to gain the upper hand. It was the action of someone who had no regard as to the consequences of his choices.

Cara made her way over to Finn, Kylo and Rey's encounter giving her enough space to go check on him. She was relieved to see that he was still alive – his breathing was shallow and his eyes were unresponsive, but he was alive. She packed some ice onto his wounds to numb the burning sensation in case he woke up. It angered her that all those years of medical training were of no help to her in a situation like this. It angered her that she had to see her friend lying there in such a state. Everything angered her. She was afraid that nothing would ever stop the rage that had begun to grow within her; but she had seen what Rey was capable of, she had seen how the young scavenger had channelled her rage into power, a power that she used to defend her friend – and Cara decided that she needed to channel her anger as well. She needed to channel her anger into bravery for what she was about to do next. The one thing she never thought she would be courageous enough to attempt.

Kylo's and Rey's duel had taken them deeper into the forest, neither one willing to let the other one get the best of them. Cara followed the sounds of lightsaber crashing on lightsaber, allowing the flashing blue and red colours to guide her way. She needed to make her way behind Rey, if only to show Kylo whose side she would be on if he continued down this path. She needed to keep her promise to him from all those years ago. She needed to tell him what her nightmares had been trying to warn her about when they had been younger.

She finally reached the pair just as a massive rumbling sound filled her ears, and Cara yelped as she saw a part of the ground she had been running across just a second ago begin to tumble downwards into a black abyss. She ran faster, faster than she ever had before, just as Kylo's weapon came crashing down against Rey's, forcing the young woman to bend backwards to avoid the burning red sparks that crackled from his weapon.

"BEN!" Cara yelled, in much the same fashion his father had done before. She was going to force him to listen to her, even if it was the last thing she did. He needed to hear this. No matter how angry she was at Kylo for murdering his own father, no matter how angry she was with Ben for allowing himself to be sucked into the Darkness, she was not one to break a promise. Especially not one that she thought may actually help her cause.

He did not respond, but Cara had noticed his eyes looking towards her, towards the sound of her voice, and she knew she had his attention, even if his weapon was still poised right over Rey.

"You need to let her go, Kylo. Allow Ben to let her go." Cara spoke, her words deliberate and assured. Somehow, she knew that this was supposed to happen. She knew what she had to say to him.

"I could kill her right now. But there is another way." He said, and Cara knew that he was speaking to both her and Rey, and she began to panic a little as she saw the droplets of sweat rolling down the side of the young scavenger's face. Still she pressed on, knowing that he needed to hear these words.

"You're a monster, Kylo. I've wanted to deny it for so long, because in some sick and twisted way, I fell in love with you the same way I fell in love with Ben. You knew me so well, you knew what I was thinking, what was troubling me. You knew of the capacity I had for anger and you unlocked it within me. And it frightened me, but I thought that as long as we were together, you could teach me how to use it. It just did not turn out that way."

"She needs a teacher. I can show her the ways of The Force! I can still teach you how to channel your anger. You can both learn from me."

Cara noticed the tension in Rey's shoulders, almost as though the young woman had had an epiphany due to his choice of words. Cara continued, hoping to allow the girl some time to gather her thoughts.

"You don't need to teach me how to channel my anger anymore, Kylo. I can learn by example, and the example I'm choosing to learn from is that of Rey and Finn. They channel their anger into protecting those they care about, to protect what they believe in. I'd like to do the same. I'm channelling the anger I feel towards you now into bravery in order to say something that I was too scared to admit to myself until now."

His concentration waivered as his eyes finally met Cara's gaze, and Rey seized this opportunity to use the Force to push him back rather powerfully. His expression betrayed his shock – both at Rey's sudden burst of power and at the words that Cara was directing towards him.

"You need to listen to me, Ben. I know that you are inside of him, somewhere. I know that you can still make a choice. I want you to know that I am keeping my promise. I am keeping the promise that you asked of me a long time ago."

Rey thrust her lightsaber at him with a new found ferociousness, and Cara knew that she needed to get through to him one last time – it was no longer about being close to him, or getting him to express himself to her. All he needed to do now was hear what she had to say, and really listen. Truly listen. He had said it himself. It was the only thing that would bring him back from the darkness.

The young scavenger had him pinned down to the ground, but Kylo would not give up so easily. He stood up, but he was not quick enough to deflect the full brunt of her attack, and before he could get a handle on his weapon it went flying out of his hand and landed somewhere in the distance. All he could do to defend himself now was use the Force, and even Cara could sense that he was putting up some sort of shield to defend himself from Rey's angered blows. She took this moment to kneel next to him, to get him to look into her eyes one last time.

"Do you remember the nightmares I used to have? I always knew that they were trying to tell me something, but I could never quite understand what they meant. It had always puzzled me that you would be so interested in what my dreams were trying to tell me – but then I think you always knew. I think you always knew this would happen to you. I think you always knew that you would allow yourself to go too far, to be seduced by the Dark Side. You gave me so many warnings – ' Cara's words were cut off by yet another of Rey's attacks, desperately trying to break the Force shield that he had put up around himself; 'You knew. You always knew. Do you know what that nightmare was trying to tell me, Ben? It told me one word. Traitor. You may call Finn that because he abandoned what he was forced to do since birth without ever being given a choice, but you became the real traitor, Ben. You betrayed your family, and you betrayed me. You abandoned me even though you had promised not to. But I won't break my promises, Ben. Not to you. Not if it will help you see sense."

His eyes softened at her words, as though he knew exactly what she was talking about, and he brought his hand up to stroke his thumb across her face in an attempt to tell her that he understood what she was trying to say. She appreciated the gesture, taking it as a sign that she was doing the right thing – but his lack of focus caused his shield to shatter, and Rey broke through. Before Cara could comprehend what was happening, Kylo had pushed her away, and she went tumbling into the snow, the cold suddenly striking against the flush of her skin she had come to feel from being so honest with him. Cara watched as Rey brought down her weapon in an arc towards Kylo, and it was as though time was slowing down, and a cocoon of silence enveloped her as she watched the pulsing beam of blue light slash across his face and down his chest. Somewhere, in the distance, she heard herself emit a scream. It was a scream she let out for the pain of seeing him hurt, even after all he had done, and it was a scream she let out for the pain of being emotionally torn between doing what was necessary and doing what her heart had wanted her to do. Her heart wanted to run to him, to heal the wound on his face, to stay by his side and comfort him. Yet she knew she could not. She had to keep her promise.

The ground rumbled beneath her again, just as she noticed Kylo trying to attract his weapon towards him again. She stood up, looking for Rey, feeling slightly more at ease as she felt the slender hand of her friend on her shoulder, trying to pull her away from Kylo for the last time. Cara could feel tears stinging her eyes, seeing him sat there, and the Earth suddenly split between them, as though it knew exactly what had just transpired between the two.

"I will make you a new promise, Cara! I will find you. I swear on my life that I will find you again." He shouted at her, and it was the last words she could hear before the deafening roar of destruction drowned out any and all other sounds.

The two women ran back towards Finn, somehow still holding onto the hope that they would get out of there alive. As they reached his unmoved body, Rey began to cry of her own accord, holding her friend's limp form in her arms. Cara felt her heart ache watching the two, and she could feel tears running down her own cheeks, allowing herself to feel everything that she needed to feel. The anger at what Kylo had done, the guilt she felt for leaving him, the sorrow she felt as she left behind her oldest friend, the pride she felt in having been able to keep her promise. Everything mixed together, and the tears kept on coming, until her vision was so blurry she was sure that the reflection of lights she saw on the icy surface they stood on had just been a trick of her own imagination. But the lights became brighter, despite the watery barrier that clouded her vision. It was a light she knew well. It was a light she knew from when she had been a child.

"We've only known each other for a week, you know. How can I know that I can trust you?" Ben asked, an unruly curl of his dark hair having fallen in front of his face as he tried to shield his most prized possession from Cara's inquisitive hands.

"I haven't lied to you yet, Ben! Just let me hold it. I won't drop it, I swear."

"How do I know that you haven't lied to me?"

Cara kept quiet, trying to think of a retort that would satisfy his question. The blaster he held in his hands was from an old X-Wing, and it looked so interesting. Cara's curiosity had gotten the best of her. She really wanted to take a closer look at it.

"Don't you think you would be able to tell?" Cara responded, hoping he would fall for her little mind trick. Ben may be the clever one, but she was the creative one.

He regarded her for a moment, his brows furrowing in concentration as he searched her face for any trace of a lie. When he found none, he sighed, gently placing the blaster in her hands. She smiled a toothy grin, and he could not help but respond to her enthusiasm. He honestly had no idea if she had lied to him so far; but her curiosity was as infectious as her smile, and Ben smiled back at her, following the movements of her hands with his eyes as she turned the blaster around to inspect it more closely. Suddenly, he had an idea, an idea that would make their friendship much more solidified.

"How about we make a deal? How about we promise to never lie to each other? That way, we don't have to worry about if one of us is lying or not. Because we promised each other we wouldn't."

Cara did not even have to think about it – she was excited by the idea of making her first promise with him, hoping that there would be many more to come, and somehow already trusting him not to break them.

"Deal."

Cara smiled a sad smile, sitting in the booth around the table in the Falcon where she and Ben had played so many games during their childhood. Finn was resting next to her, his breathing still shallow. She had manged to bandage some of the wounds Kylo had inflicted with supplies Chewie had found within the ship, but there was nothing more she could do for him now. All that was left was to wait for the medical officers on D'Qar to be able to treat him and wait to see what the verdict would be.

D'Qar. It had been years since she had been back there, and she was not sure if she was ready for the onslaught of familiar faces she had blocked from her memories so long ago. There was one face in particular she was not ready to see. Leia's. Cara could literally feel her heart burn in her chest as she thought of all that she had done to betray the woman. Leaving without saying goodbye, not trusting her enough to tell her of her suspicions of Ben's possible treachery when she had the chance. Worst of all though, Cara had failed to bring the woman's son back. Another tear escaped her eye, and even Cara was surprised by its presence. She could have sworn she had no more tears left to give.

Rey and Cara had barely said a word to each other once they had boarded the ship. Rey had joined Chewie in the cockpit so that they could pilot the ship together, and Cara had been left alone within the familiar confines of the ship to mull over everything that happened. She kept seeing his face, that long, harsh scar etched into his beautiful pale skin, and she curled her hands into a fist, angry with herself that she had done nothing to prevent it from happening to him. She did not blame Rey, not even for a second. She blamed herself for not having pushed harder to pull Ben from the depths of Kylo Ren. She had allowed herself to be seduced by her feelings for both of them – she had allowed herself the dream of being close to him once more. She had disregarded the consequences of her choices – and now they were both paying the price.

Cara was pulled out of her reverie as she finally noticed Rey standing in front of her, the young girl looking down at her with sympathy in her eyes before shifting her gaze to where Finn lay. Cara knew that she was worried, but Cara had assured her that the doctors on D'Qar were the best in the galaxy. At least that was something she could be sure of.

"Thank you." Cara said suddenly, surprising even herself. Rey was apparently surprised as well, blinking her eyes as if coming out of a daydream to once again look at Cara as she spoke.

"For what?" Rey asked, genuine confusion in her question.

"For sparing him." Cara replied. It was a relief to get this off of her chest – she needed to admit to herself that she was happy that Kylo – Ben – might still be alive, if he had been rescued by his comrades in time. She needed to know that he was somewhere out there. That she would have another chance at bringing him back, even if it was only for the sake of his mother. She was still not sure that she would ever be able to look at him the same way again.

Rey nodded in confirmation, understanding that there was no need to say anything more. Gradually, they could feel the ship descending, indicating that they had arrived at their destination. Cara sucked in a breath, trying to steel her nerves as she prepared herself for her reunion with the General.

As the hatch door opened, Cara could already smell the familiar air of the planet that she had grown up on. She could see the green of the trees that surrounded the base, the familiar tarmac that she and Ben had run around on. She could see the planet she used to call home. She hoped she would be able to call it that once more.

A woman stood there waiting for them; a woman who exuded both power and kindness, just as she had always done. Cara could feel her heart leap into her throat – what if Leia did not even recognize her anymore? It had been years since they had seen each other. Chewie ran down the ramp first, signalling for the doctor's to come and carry Finn off to the medical bay. Rey was behind her, still in awe of the planet they had landed on. Cara took tentative steps towards the woman, scared to make the first move or say the first words. Luckily, she did not have to. Leia pulled her into a hug; a familiar hug, full of warmth and kindness, and Cara could feel herself start to cry again as she remembered all the things this woman had done for her in the past. She had no words, nor the courage to say how sorry she truly was for letting down this woman's son. Cara felt undeserving of the hug, and pulled herself away, trying to understand the compassion behind the gesture.

"We'll get him back." Leia said, and Cara could feel herself release a breath. The older woman had incredible determination in her eyes, and it was reflected in the tone of her words. It was almost enough to make Cara's doubt fade away – almost.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Think of it as one of your stories, Cara. There is always a way. We can bring him home, if we really want to."

"He is not the same as you remember."

Leia laughed, and it was a sound so joyful and out of place that Cara felt as confused as she ever had before. "Oh, I know, dear Cara. I know he isn't. But Ben is still my son. I know that you've seen him inside of Kylo Ren. If you can find him, then so can I."

"Do you think you will be able to forgive him, after everything he has done?" Cara asked, wanting some sort of answer to the question that had been seared into her mind ever since she had watched him kill his own father.

"The only one that can decide if it is even possible to forgive him is Ben himself. He has to be willing to accept it. I think you already know that, Cara. That is why you made the decision to leave him."

"I'm not sure if he will." Cara whispered, knowing in her heart that was truth.

"You know, Ben once told me that the two of you made a deal to always be honest with one another. You were as honest with him today as you possibly could have been, even though it would hurt him and yourself. That was true bravery. Don't ever forget it." Leia laid a hand on Cara's cheek in an attempt to comfort her. The gesture only reminded Cara of Kylo, of all the times he had done the same thing. What she needed right now was to feel close to Ben, to the Ben she had once known. The one who had shared his toys and book with her, the one who had taught her how to fight, the Ben who had explored the base with her, the one who had shown her a beautiful lightning storm. She needed to feel close to the Ben who had crawled into bed with her when he could not sleep, who had kissed her so suddenly in a dark tunnel on her way to training. She needed to feel close to the Ben who had allowed her to sit next to him in his own private space even though they had only known each other for a few minutes.

She knew where she needed to go. She needed to go to a small storage room where relics from the past teetered dangerously on old and rusty shelves. She needed to go to the place where she and Ben had always been able to hide away together, away from their troubles and away from the world. The place where they could just be the two of them, and they could be surrounded by a past that was usually far more comfortable than the present.

A/N: I can barely believe this story is finished! When I first started writing it I honestly thought I was only going to be able to write about 16 chapters. Now, here we are, 38 chapters later! The reason I was able to expand this story is because so many people followed, favourited and reviewed on it. You guys have no idea how motivating that is. I hope you loved this story as much as I loved writing it. Thanks again for all the support!

Since there's been quite a few reactions of people that want me to continue, I've been considering doing a sequel. It will have to wait a while though, because I have to focus on my thesis for the next few months, and at this point I genuinely have no idea how I would continue. If you want to be informed if and when I do publish the beginnings of a sequel, feel free to follow my profile for a new notification. Just to warn you guys, I'm not promising anything. I don't want to write something that I can't fully appreciate myself. Again, thank you for all your lovely thoughts and the support. It just reminds me why I love writing so much :) xxx