"If we are mark'd to die, we are enough

To do our country loss; and if to live,

The fewer men, the greater share of honour.

God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more."

- William Shakespeare's play, Henry V, in Act IV Scene iii 18–67.

Poe remains silent, there isn't much to be said after General Leia Organa had finished talking. He furrows his brow and glances at Rey but she shakes her head. They will wait till the General sends them away.

Leia slowly turns around and smiles at them both, "forgive me, I was lost in sweet memories." She reaches out and rests her palms on the flat of her desk, absentmindedly stroking the cool surface. She seems to still be adrift in thought.

"Is there anything else you need from us?" Rey asks, hoping that Leia will give them leave to go.

Leia shakes her head, "no, I think that will be all. You are leaving to tomorrow to collect kyber crystals. You should go pack and get some rest. Poe, you do need to prepare for your mission. But I think we're all due for a day to relax."

Rey and Poe rise in unison turning to make their way to the door. But Rey suddenly feels the urge to throw her arms around Leia and give her a hug just as she did the first day they had met. They have both been mourning the death of Han Solo then. Han Solo had been like a father to Rey even though she had only known him for less than a day. And Rey had instantly felt their connection through the Force, just as it calls her to Ren, it had called her to Leia. Kindred spirits. One with the Force. Instead of pulling the woman into her arms she says, "General Organa?"

"I've told you my dear, to you I am Leia. I will always be Leia. Please don't call me General again. It makes me feel so old," Leia replies kindly, pulling herself up to her full height and crossing her arms.

"I'm so sorry about Ren- I mean Ben. I don't think he could be the leak," she says.

Leia seems stunned at this admission but slowly beams a smile at Rey. "Well I am very glad there are some who haven't lost hope."

Rey can't think of anything further to say. She feels that anymore talk will just make the situation more embarrassing for herself and Leia. So she takes her leave with Poe at her side.

As soon as they are out of the General's quarters Poe lets out a slow breath. There is always an edge of mirth in his voice and his eyes are filled with laughter as he says, "Hey, do you think you ought to talk to Leia about what's been going on with you and her son?"

It's a simple question but Rey feels a flash of guilt and her stomach churns. "Absolutely not! Are you mad!? How could I possibly speak to that wonderful woman about making out with her son?!"

Poe chuckles, "wow you catch on quick!"

She smiles at that, she's always been adept at learning new speech. "Now how exactly is make-out another word for kissing? Is it some sort of slang?"

Poe laughs all the way back to her quarters.

He's there at her door again, slowly tapping. She didn't think he'd be back so soon after she rejected him and yet there he is.

She pulls the duvet covers back from her bed and stretches, she might as well see what he wants. She hasn't enjoyed the silence that comes from the closed bond. It makes her feel so alone. You're not alone.

She wobbles her way to the durasteel door and presses the comm, "what?"

He taps again, not responding to the question. He knows she has a harder time sending him away if she sees him.

She presses the comm again, "I'm not opening till you tell me why you're here."

He taps again.

"I mean it!" she says pressing the comm button so firmly she thinks it might stick.

"I couldn't sleep," his voice comes over the comm, it is weary and somewhat strangled. "Let me in."

"Go back to bed," She replies trying her best to stand firm. "I was sleeping."

"Please."

She sighs, contemplating. If she lets him in she might have to deal with what has transpired between them. If she doesn't let him in they will be stuck collecting kyber crystals with Master Luke and she is certain that Luke would notice the tension. And Ren would likely make the situation unbearable if she doesn't deal with it.

She can feel the tug of him against her mind, his thoughts are erratic and dark. Something or someone, he feels is twisting his emotions. She recognizes the descent, he is falling deeper into the dark. Fear the driving force behind his plunge.

She leans in to the comm and presses the button, "if I let you in, you have to promise me that you will behave yourself."

There is a dark chuckle on the other side of the durasteel door as she waits for his reply.

"Promise," his curt tone sending shivers down her spine. It reminds her so much of his voice through the modulator.

She presses the button and the door slides open to reveal him there, slumped in the doorway, sticky sweat matting his hair to his forehead. The bags under his eyes and the dark purple around his face give him the appearance of someone who hasn't slept in weeks. He says nothing as he walks past her and settles himself against the wall next to her bed.

"What happened? You look terrible," she says.

"I couldn't sleep," he replies, his tone icy.

"I gathered that. Otherwise you wouldn't be calling on me at such a late hour," she snaps. If he is going to be rude then she shouldn't have to be cordial. "More to the point, why couldn't you sleep?"

He looks up at her, his hooded eyes settling on her mouth for a moment and then darting back up to her eyes.

"I saw him." His trembling fingers clutching against the wall like a drunk man trying to steady himself.

"Snoke?"

"Yes," he pauses again, searching for the right words. "I saw you too. We were there. With Snoke and-" he pulls his words out in raspy whispers. "I saw him kill you."

"It was just a dream," she says.

"No," he looks up to meet her gaze. "It was a vision of the future."

At the word vision, Rey feels the tight coil in her stomach, whatever future doom he has foreseen it does not bode well for her or for the resistance.

She shakes her head, "How do you know?"

"I feel it," He is so earnest in his tone and the Force echoes his sincerity. He is certain this came from the Force.

"Wait, tell me the whole vision," she reaches out for his shoulders and pushes him up where he's curled in on himself. His eyes are haunted, and he seems unable to speak until she hears him in her mind.

I'll show you.

His hand finds hers and the bare skin on skin is enough to send a current of electricity through her veins. Then the room seems to fold in on itself and suddenly they are there, standing together in a room, dark red, bare but for a solid throne on dais at the furthest end. Atop the throne sits the Supreme Leader, his thick gold robe draping over the steps to the dais. Anakin Skywalker's blade set on the armrest and Snoke strokes the metal hilt with an idle finger until his voice, gritty and vile, cuts into her head.

Good work my young apprentice. You have brought me the girl. And now you will fulfill your training. Cut her down. Your true enemy.

Rey gasps as she feels herself rendered immobile. Snoke's power in the Force is stronger than she realized. He turns her to face Kylo Ren. Fear, panic, she can't breathe. But then she sees Ren reach for his own blade and she almost feels her heart stop. He won't do it will he?

He unlatches his saber and raises it with one hand, she cannot move so she does not see how he crooks his fingers to turn and ignite the Skywalker blade. But he is too late, Snoke has pulled the saber into his hand at the same moment that Ren ignited it. A crushing pain fills Rey's head and she screams as her body is pulled back to the dais by Snoke.

Ren is running towards her screaming, lightsaber igniting and she feels a sudden heat slice through her and then a deep cold as she stares down at the blade that has struck through her back, blossoming out her chest.

The anger in Ren is roiling, his eyes wide and she sees the tears streaming down his face as she falls forward off the blade. The last thing she sees is Ren surrounded by red guards and the last thing she hears is him calling her name.

Then she feels like she is underwater, she can't breathe again and suddenly she is falling, falling, falling. But then strong arms pull her up and set her on the bed as a wave of nausea overtakes her and she feels as if she is going to be sick.

Ren's breath is coming in heaves as he kneels in front of her. "See? I told you, I can't- I won't let that happen," he says as he buries his face in her lap. She's still too stunned to even move but then her hands find his hair and she tangles her finger in it.

"It won't happen," she says, though her confidence in her own statement is shaken. "We won't fail. When we fight him, we will win." He feels her then. Her strength, her light, her resolve flowing over him, and he looks up at her.

"I don't know," he says. She sees the tears in his eyes as she pulls him up and brushes his forehead with her lips. "But I won't let him hurt you."

The way he looks at her as she pulls back makes her feel something, the delicate touch of something unspoken. If not for the bond would she still feel this?

He stares at her, his eyes pleading. But she doesn't exactly know what he is pleading for.

"You can stay here tonight," she says.

His eyes widen, this is clearly more than he expected her to say. "I shouldn't," he whispers it, more to himself than to her.

She bends down and kisses the top of his head. "You should, you'll sleep better." He presses his head into the crook of her neck and sighs.

"I didn't come here to tell you about the vision in hopes you would have pity on me," he says quietly.

She almost smiles at that. The last thing he wants from her is pity. "I didn't think that. If I had a vision like that I would have come to you." But then would she? If she had a vision that he brought her before Snoke and was commanded to kill her, would she trust him to do the right thing? How often has he made the right choice in the past?

He seems to sense her hesitancy even though he has tried to dampen the bond so she cannot feel him. "I can sleep on the floor." He says finally, pulling away from her to stand.

She reaches for him again, gripping the rough fabric of his tunic. "Absolutely not. I highly doubt you have ever slept on the floor. I have, for years, and now that I've finally slept on a bed I don't plan to ever go back."

Her eyes rise to meet his and he seems to shake under her touch. He's ashamed of his upbringing of how he was treated like a prince, the son of Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. He had been given every luxury, but Rey, she had been abandoned in the Jakku desert. He knows only a little of the life she had carved out for herself and he knows it was not easy.

His wet eyes gleam back at her. "The life you have led, the hardships, and to still be so strong. You are so strong."

Her heart is hammering in her chest again, "Ren, I think we have both had hardships."

He nods slowly, "but while my hardships were only emotional, yours were also physical. You had to survive on your own in a wasteland, without any support—"

"So did you," she interrupts. "You forget, I have seen into your mind as well. I know what you experienced. How you felt."

She doesn't give him a moment to respond instead she pulls him back down and onto the bed. "Lay down now and get some rest."

She rolls to her shoulder and props her head on her arm, trying her best to not feel his weight on the mattress, or how he shifts to roll onto his back and settles on top of the blankets.

Rey is so tired she falls asleep almost instantly, but before she drifts she thinks she hears him whisper, "thank you."