At the door to the domed cottage, the strong young man held his friend in a tight embrace. The sound of his transport preparing for departure could be heard through a stand of trees, situated in a clearing just beyond. His bronze skin glowed in the sunlight. "Let me stay with you. At least until you get settled."
She shook her head, declining his entreaties. She knew she needed to be strong and to take this step alone.
Tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm coming back to check on you in one standard month. No arguments."
She nodded and held back her own tears. He was like the brother she never had. It would be so much easier if he stayed. But instead, she stood on her toes and kissed his forehead. "Then we shall see each other again. Soon." She watched him walk backwards and finally turn to thread his way to where Poe waited in the transport.
Inside, as her infant slept, she quietly and efficiently unpacked the three intergalactic travel trunks that had accompanied them on a convoluted journey through the known regions of the galaxy. Well, that is what the maps called them. But having spent the majority of her young life on one isolated planet, most of these worlds were unknown to her. Finn and Poe had acted as her tour guide and real estate agent of sorts, as Rey toiled to select a place that she and Benjamin could call home. A safe place. Far enough from the Core to avoid the ever present prying eyes of others. Neutral and insignificant enough to be overlooked by what remained of the First Order. And strong enough in both the dark and light side of the Force to camouflage her power. And baby Benjamin's. From any nefarious agents that may have the skills and desire to seek them out.
Peace and pain intermingled and emanated through her being. Rey had found her place in the grand story of the galaxy and the conflict between good and evil. And she had found her family and the belonging she had always yearned for. All of this was embodied in the tiny child that slept so peacefully in his portable perambulator. Her paramount concern was to love this child beyond what she had ever experienced or even dreamt of. And to raise him to embrace all that was good and pure in this galaxy. To grow into a man of character, confidence and compassion. To nurture this innocent little being into adulthood. A smile passed over her lips briefly as a tear stole its way down her cheek.
Benjamin continued to sleep as she ventured outside into the fresh air of this beautiful world. Her new home, surrounded by a small community of similar dwellings was on Nymeve Lake. As she looked carefully, she could just see the silhouette of the remains of Maz Kanada's former castle on the far side of the lake. Takodana would be their new home. In some ways she felt like she had come full circle, back to the beginning of this odyssey.
Rey let herself drift into the memories of the last two years and pondered all she had gained and lost. This was never the life she had expected to live. During the days on Jakku, her dreams were of her mother and father coming back for her. But at night, her dreams took her to places and people her heart secretly yearned for. She never thought she'd leave the sands of that forsaken desert. But since the day she had met BB-8, nothing had been the same.
New powers, new friends, new worlds, new conflicts, new enemies, new loves. Lost worlds, lost friends, lost hopes, lost dreams. Unanticipated victories and unexpected defeats. Nothing could have prepared her fully for any of it. Only the Force guided her through the labyrinth that had been post-Jakku life. And she was determined to continue to lean into the Force for the rest of her existence.
Her thoughts went back to the battle of Crait. As the door of the Millenium Falcon slid closed, she had looked into Ben's eyes for what she believed would be the last time. He had chosen dark side fueled power after saving her life in the Supreme Leader's throne room. The Force-choreographed events of the ensuing battle with the praetorians and Ben's fierce protection had made her believe, naively and fleetingly, that he had chosen to turn from his dark ambitions. Secretly, she had hoped her love for him would make the difference. It hadn't.
Her worst fears were confirmed when he mercilessly let the First Order continue to pick off the Resistance transports and then angrily hunted the remnant of rebels onto Crait. The small group of fighters that climbed aboard the Falcon at the end of that day seemed hopelessly insignificant for the challenge that lay before them. And of course they were.
The First Order played cat and the Resistance played mouse for many weeks. And while the First Order hunted down the Resistance, in the quiet of his private rooms, Ben quietly hunted alone.
The Force bond that Snoke had arrogantly claimed was his creation remained despite his death. Several weeks after Crait, Rey had awoken in the small cubby that was now her sleeping quarters on the latest Resistance base they had holed up in. Ben was sitting at the end of her pallet, his head hanging. As she surfaced from her sleep he lifted his head, bruised face and eyes swollen from the pain and turmoil inside of him. They exchanged no words. There was nothing that could be said. But he held out his ungloved hand to her, and she placed her own in his. She could not join him and he would not join her, but behind the closed door of her cubby they sat silently together. Until the Force connection slowly dispersed.
He continued to visit her over the weeks that followed and it was always the same. It was when she had just awoken and no audible words ever passed between them. They communicated through touch. Their hands at first, and in time, they began to hold each other closer. Ben would envelope her entire body as she curled against his chest. Rey could feel his pain and sorrow, regret, conflict, emptiness and sometimes his anger, but always his longing for her. And Ben could feel her loneliness, loss and sometimes her anger too, but always her unconditional love and belief in him. The war continued to roil around them, but in here they were at peace.
His manifestations became increasingly real, and one day Rey was stunned to find that he had left a glove behind. She wondered at the power of the Force and tucked the soft leather away into her personal pouch.
After some weeks had passed he appeared as she prepared for bed. Once again, she placed her hand in his. She had sensed the emotion of fear growing in him over time and tonight was no different. But there was something else. He formed words and spoke to her through the Force: I want you to be mine forever. This conflict is coming to a close. I have felt it but I am unsure of my own destiny. The future is in motion, but one thing is sure. I love you. Can you love me in return? A monster?
Rey knew that a thousand generations could come and go, and that she would never be able to satisfy another person's inquiry as to why she loved Ben with her whole being. She knew in her heart that they were two parts of a whole. He was pulled to the light and she had become strangely at peace with his darkness, which was still strong yet wavering. She spoke out loud for the first time. "I am already yours."
He lay gently down beside her and as the living Force flowed in and around them, they consummated the union of their souls with the union of their bodies. Never had either of them experienced such deep connection, peace, acceptance and wonder. Their griefs and joys merged as one as they held each other. He was so tangible and real as they fell asleep intertwined. During the night she felt him slip away as their Force connection faded. But she was not distressed. They belonged to each other forever.
In the days that followed, Ben's cryptic words became progressively clearer as events unfolded in the military conflict around them. A house divided cannot stand and before the galaxy's very eyes the First Order began to crumble from the inside out. General Armitage Hux led a coup against Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Blindsided by Hux's knowledge of the real events surrounding Snoke's murder, outnumbered by the troops which rallied alongside him, and quite possibly having lost the will to retain his crown, Ren had succumbed and reports of his death were legion.
Swiftly, these events were followed by a mutiny of Hux's own troops in an attempt to overthrow this General that had never earned their respect or devotion.
The Resistance took advantage of the disarray within their enemy's ranks and landed a fatal blow at the battle of Orhan, where the Resistance and its allies decimated the bulk of the First Order's fleet and high command. Remnants of the regime fled into the unknown regions or shed their uniforms and armor to blend in with civilians, as system by system regained their freedom.
Rey's grief at the loss of Ben was carefully concealed. The intense activity and emotions throughout the whole galaxy helped with the smoke and mirrors. And life on Jakku had taught her how to project a convincing façade. She smiled with her comrades and cried behind closed doors.
It wasn't until weeks elapsed that Rey became aware of an awakening inside her. Not like when the Force awakened in her in the days following Jakku, but an actual physical stirring inside. She reached out with her feelings and was alarmed to find that a new life stirred inside of her. How was this even possible? There was only one explanation. Somehow their Force connection had been more than just something she could experience with her senses – sight, sound, touch – but somehow the Force allowed their love to physically transcend time and space. She was carrying Ben's child. She was carrying the Balance.
As the battles became fewer and further between, Rey recused herself as often as possible. It was a testament to Finn's character that, when Rey could no longer hide her condition, he pushed through the emotional walls she had erected and stepped back into her life. This hero of the rebellion was her hero too, in so many ways. He never even asked her to whom the baby belonged but remained a steadfast shoulder to cry on and partner to help plan for her future. In all his glory, Poe came alongside both of them to transport her and her newly born baby to a system of her choosing. To quietly settle with her new little family. Just she and Benjamin.
Behind her in the cottage, she heard the little noises that Benjamin always made as he was waking up. He would soon be crying for his next meal. The realization caused Rey to come back to the present and began to center herself. For a brief instant, as she looked across the lake, she saw the flash of Kylo Ren's light saber as he stepped out from behind the trees surrounding the castle ruins. It was not unlike the day they had first met. Then he was gone.
When she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, she was not alarmed. She turned around to find Ben Solo's eyes looking directly into hers. He was clothed in pale-colored civilian clothes in place of where black leather had once been. It was true then: no one was ever truly gone. Again she marveled at the Force, and collapsed into his arms.