Chapter 1

Rey stared at herself in the mirror, running her fingers through her flowing brown hair and taking in her waifish form in the wedding dress. Her wedding dress. The dress that had actually once belonged to General Leia Organa.

She did not recognize the fairy princess that was apparently her reflection. And if she was being honest with herself, Rey did not feel she deserved to look this pretty.

She was so busy boring her eyes into the ones staring back at her through the glass, that she did not notice the other reflection taking up space in the corner of the mirror.

"You look exquisite." Ben Solo's commentary was drawn forth in a whisper. Nevertheless, his presence made Rey jump. She really should have been more prepared for his intrusion; they did share a Force Bond. Could read each other's thoughts and feelings. Appear to each other even if they were separated by lightyears. In this moment, however, she was very grateful that he was here in the flesh... even if his timing was a little off.

"Ben!" she squealed, spinning around to chide her husband-to-be. "Don't you know it's bad luck to see the bride in her dress before the wedding?"

Ben just smirked, clearly satisfied that he had annoyed her and sauntered over, taking her in his arms. "Oh, that's just an old superstition. Dad never followed it - he barged into my mother's chambers the night before their wedding with Uncle Luke on his back, trying to stop him."

Rey burst out laughing at the image in her head of Han and Luke wrestling with each other - one trying to see his bride, the other trying to keep the groom away from his sister. Her joy quickly faded, however, as she stared up into his face.

"The wedding is in one week," she murmured. "You nervous?"

Ben grinned even more broadly and shook his head. "Absolutely not. I just can't wait to be with you forever."

Rey beamed at him. "Me too." Then she bit her lip. "Only..."

"Only what?" Ben's brow creased, eyes full of concern as he searched her face. "Something's bothering you. I can sense it in your thoughts."

Rey took a deep breath and returned her eyes to his. "Have you written out your vows yet? How do they start?"

Ben quirked an eyebrow at his fiancé and smirked, amused. "Of course. 'I, Ben Solo...' and then I say my piece, which I am leaving as a surprise for you." A moment's silence before he queried. "You?"

Rey nodded. "Mine starts, 'I, Rey of Jakku...' and then I give my vows."

Ben beamed. "Perfect. Nothing wrong with that."

"That's just it, Ben," Rey sighed, stepping out of his embrace and gliding slightly away from him. "There is something wrong with that." She glanced back to him before confiding in a whisper. "I don't have a last name to give in my vows."

Ben chuckled, and taking her hand, rubbed his thumb over her knuckles comfortingly. "And that's what's bothering you?"

"Yes," Rey admitted, gazing at him. "Doesn't it bother you?"

Ben frowned. "Should it? It doesn't." He shook his head to clear it. "Rey," and his voice was soothing. "Everyone else might think you come from nothing, but what is the one thing I've always told you?"

Rey sighed. "I am not nothing to you."

"And you never will be," Ben whispered. "Besides, what's in a name, especially a last one? In any event, moments after we give our vows, you will have a last name: Solo."

Rey's eyes shone as she imagined that moment. "And I can hardly wait! But... I have always wanted to find out my family name. My last name. My identity. My... family." Her eyes flitted downwards self-consciously. "Even if it will just turn out to be my maiden name, it would mean a lot to me... if I could just know." She forced her gaze to return to him, willing Ben to understand.

Ben's brow was creased, his mouth in a tight line - his usual expression whenever he was deep in thought. Finally, he spoke:

"If it would give you closure, would you want to go search for answers about your family?"

Rey stared at him, overwhelmed by his selflessness, his willingness to give. His generosity was something that would probably never cease to amaze her, even after his return to the Light side had faded long into the past. "Yes."

"Even if that meant postponing our wedding?"

"No," Rey amended quickly. She pressed a hand into his chest and stared deep into his eyes. "I would love to know my last name, discover my family. But not at the expense of our wedding." All at once, a plan began to fall into her head. "We could leave first thing tomorrow; take this week to find answers. And if, at the end of the week, we still have not discovered who I am, we just come back here and get married and I become Mrs. Ben Solo. Deal?"

Ben thought about it. Gradually, a glint began to peer in his eye. The glint of adventure.

"Deal," he affirmed. And the couple kissed chastely.

There was a reason that Rey decided to wait until the next day for her and Ben to depart on their sleuthing mission. Because that night was the night of Ben's bachelor party. Poe Dameron and Finn and Chewbacca were taking him out for a joyride on the Millennium Falcon, to hit some of the dive bars on various Inner Rim worlds.

Now as they flew along, Finn broke out some bottles of Coreillian liquor from a back cabinet on the famed freighter. "It's a party now, gentlemen!"

"Aw yeah! Jackpot, baby! Show it!" Poe goaded.

"It's right here!" Finn laughed.

"Show it!"

"Right here!"

"Show it!"

Finn frowned. "It's right there," and he thrust it under Poe's nose, not exactly understanding the joke the Resistance commander was trying to land. In the co-pilot's seat, Chewbacca gave a roar of laughter.

From his perch in the backseat, Ben Solo said nothing, only giving the slightest of smiles at the antics of his new friends. He knew he should be enjoying one of his last nights as a single man, but his thoughts instead kept shifting back to Rey. It was a good thing he had shut off their Bond, just for tonight - if his bride knew what he was thinking, she would be upset he was not focusing his energies on having a good time.

Poe noticed the former Supreme Leader's odd silence. "What's the matter, Solo?" The hotshot pilot had yet to call Ben by his first name, a reflection of the hero's struggle to accept Ben's turn to the Light Side of the Force. Aw, well. Baby steps.

Ben shrugged. "I had an interesting talk with Rey today."

Finn nearly dropped the bottles of liquor and shattered them, as he unnecessarily panicked. "What's wrong? She's not getting cold feet, is she?"

"No," Ben shook his head.

"Are you?"

"Of course not! It's just..." Ben sighed. "She was all worried about the delivery of her wedding vows. She got hung up on the fact that she doesn't have a last name to give..."

Poe frowned as he gave a slight turn of the Falcon's wheel. "And what did you tell her?"

"I told her that it didn't bother me," Ben explained.

"As well it shouldn't," Finn agreed. "Besides, a few moments after that, you'll both be man and wife, and she'll be Rey Solo."

"That's just what I said!" Ben concurred, exasperated. "But..." And he said the last in a rush. "She wants to spend this next week seeking answers about her family. See if she can uncover her last name and where she comes from."

The other men swiveled around in their seats to stare. "But... the wedding..." Poe protested.

"We're not postponing the wedding," Ben shook his head reassuringly. "Rey has no intention of doing that to everyone. She just wants to see if we can't uncover who she is over this next week. And if it turns out we can't, we come right back and get married and she finally has a last name: Solo."

Finn frowned. "And let me guess: you've already agreed to this plan that sounds really, really dangerous."

"Of course!" Ben returned the frown. "I don't expect there to be any danger, Finn. And even if there is some, Rey and I will protect one another. All I ever want is to make Rey happy. And if possibly finding her family name is what will make her happy and at peace enough to marry me, then that's what I'm gonna do!"

Chewbacca gave a howl that sounded in Wookie like, 'Hear, hear!'

Poe gave the matter a little more thought before finally smiling. "You know... you're a good man, Solo, I mean... Ben." His grin grew a little wider. "May the Force be with you - both of you."

And Ben smiled back.

Meanwhile, back on Ahch-To and lightyears away from where her fiancé was gallivanting, Rey was enjoying her own bachelorette party. The festivities involved Lieutenant Connix, Rose and some of the other female Resistance officers treating the Jedi bride-to-be with a do-it-yourself fashion show and spa treatment. Who knew the thala-siren's green milk made for a great soaker?

"You're getting married in a week!" Connix squealed. "Time to pull out all the stops!"

"And divulge all the secrets!" Rose added. "Rey: is he really good in bed?"

"Rose!" Rey squeaked, turning a faint shade of pink. "We've always said that we are going to wait until after the wedding!"

It was true, Rey did enjoy hanging out with her friends. She actually didn't have many friends who were girls, so the chance to indulge in feminine fantasies and talk - something she had never been afforded while growing up on Jakku - was welcome. Even so, her conversation with Ben earlier kept plaguing on her mind. So much so, that she felt the need to ask:

"Does it bother any of you girls that I don't have a maiden name?"

Rose and Connix looked at each other, thrown by the question.

"No. Why should it?" Rose frowned. A beat, and then: "Did Ben say something?"

"No," Rey quickly amended. "In fact, he made it clear my last name didn't bother him, when I brought it up. But….. I still want to know, if I can find the answers. So….. we are going to take this week to go searching. And if we can't find the answers about my family, we come back and get married on schedule. What do you gals think?"

Rose and Connix looked at each other, thinking it over. Finally, Connix smiled.

"Then, we will support you. May the Force be with you, Rey."