Ben pressed a gentle hand against Rey's chest. He slowly exhaled as he vigorously exerted the Force into Rey, feeling it travel throughout his veins and shoot out from the tips of his fingers.
This will work, Rey. Because if it doesn't. . . I will only have myself to blame, Ben thought as he breathed, focusing his attention solely on her--solely on the Force connecting them.
Finn watched, transfixed, his mind ablaze with the hundreds of questions he wanted to ask, like what exactly Ben was doing to Rey--and exactly just how Ben had been redeemed from the immoral man he once was. It was like a massive whirlwind of confusion trapped inside his brain, but he chose to override that somehow; Rey was the center of importance, and he knew that Ben was working feverishly to wake her of the comatose state.
Ben's hand quivered. His eyebrows scrunched together. Sweat beaded on his forehead, rolled down his temples. Rey remained in the same stupor, her body still as feeble and limp. Ben dared not to think of her like that--he dared not to imagine her stuck in the consuming coma. Please, Rey, Ben internally pleaded. His hand was actually aching now, veins protruding out of his skin. Muscles tensed.
Finn was feeling angst. Terrible angst. His palms were slick with sweat and he felt that he would explode just watching, unable to help, unable to hold Rey the way Ben was.
"Is she--"
Ben silenced Finn with his free hand. His eyes were still closed, but his eyebrows twitched, as if he was seeing something behind his eyelids.
"She's close. . ." Ben whispered so quietly that Finn would have missed it if he wasn't paying such fervid attention.
"Close?" Finn questioned, "Close to what?"
Ben remained silent. He was internally digging into Rey's Force presence. Into the energy that bridged their souls together. Ben had found it just then, and his consciousness was infiltrated with the shallow beats of Rey's heart. Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump. With one last exertion, Ben ejected the Force into Rey's heart. Her chest instantly jerked, as if she had been electrocuted, and Ben's ears were flooded with faster pulsations. Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom.
Rey's chest expanded suddenly as she breathed in a deep inhalation. Her eyeballs stirred behind their lids. Ben's own heart rate accelerated. It had worked. Finn held his breath.
Moments after, Rey's eyes fluttered open, bloodshot and wide with incredulity. Finn hollered in relief. Ben remained calm, eyes searching hers. But suddenly, as if Rey immediately had all the strength in the universe, she pushed herself from out of Ben's arms, into his lap, and with pure conviction, she fervently pressed her lips against Ben's. He kissed back, fully immersed in the moment. The precious, heart-pounding moment. Unable to think, unable to breathe, unable to register anything. Anything but Rey's delicate body in the grasp of his hands. His real, human hands, and his real, human body.
Finn flushed and his face seared. He forced his eyes to divert away from the occupied lovers beside him. It wasn't the first time he felt their wholehearted passion--the raw power that surged with the Force whenever Ben and Rey grew close together. It was intimate and unhindered, but beyond that, it was genuine. The most genuine thing he had ever felt.
Rey pulled away from Ben. For once in her life since she could remember, she felt warm, she felt perfect right where she was—tucked away in Ben's lap. Her heart palpitated in quick throbs. Both of her hands clung to Ben's brightened face. He was relieved, more than he could express. More than Rey could ever know. She sacrificed everything--her life--for him. And Ben could never expel enough gratitude to make up for it. All he could do was hold her and never, ever let go.