Ben wakes up the next morning with Rey curled against him. Padmé actually only woke up twice during the night, and neither time for more than thirty minutes.

She opens her eyes when Ben approaches her crib, reaching her chubby arms up for him. She wants me.

Ben swallows and reaches down, picking her up. She gurgles and Ben checks her mouth. The small white tooth is starting to protrude more prominently.

"C'mere." Ben grabs a small jar of small grains. He pours a few of them on the floor, setting Padmé down. He eats one. Padmé reaches for one, crushing it with her fingers.

"No." Ben smiles and picks one up, trying to put it in her mouth. Padmé wrinkles her nose and jerks away.

Dammit.

"Here," Ben says, levitating several of them with the Force. Padmé's eyes widen and she follows the floating grains. Ben drops one in her small palm. She puts it in her mouth.

Yes. "Good girl," Ben croons as his daughter gums on the grain. "You wanted to do it yourself, didn't you?"

She's gonna be just like Rey, Ben thinks.

"Are you Force feeding my child?" Rey asks sleepily.

"I'm using the Force to manipulate her into thinking grains are interesting enough to chew on," Ben reports, levitating a few more.

Rey laughs and slips down onto the floor.

"Sleep well?" Ben asks her.

She nods. "No nightmares."

"Good." He watches Padmé take another one.

You ruin everyone. Your mother's life. Rey's tormented by Snoke because of you. You'll ruin Padmé's.

No. Rey loves him. Mother loves him. Father loves him.

"Don't do that to yourself," Rey says. "Did you have nightmares? Because I know you do, too."

"Not last night," Ben admits, grateful to Rey for flaying him open again. He can't hide from her. He doesn't want to.

"Hey!" Someone pounds on their door. Rey snatches the baby as Ben hurries over.

"Hey," Lando greets them. "You need to come. Right now."

"Is it Luke and Finn? And Poe?"

Lando nods.

"Shit." Ben scrambles to get dressed and races out the door with Rey beside him. The Resistance gathers in a room.

"They were supposed to check in last night," Mother reports. "They didn't, and we can't reach them."

Chewie moans.

"It is a hostile planet, presumably," Ackbar reminds them.

"They were supposed to land away from civilization and avoid detection—"

"Yeah, but they weren't supposed to stay incognito," retorts Major Ematt. "We should send a team to investigate."

"Rey should go," Jess Pava puts in. "She's got the Force. They might need that."

Chewie grumbles and puts his hand on Rey's shoulder. If she goes, I go.

"I can go with her," Ben suggests, knowing what the response will be and not giving a damn. He doesn't want Rey to have to do this by herself. "I have the Force, too."

"Yeah, we're aware," snaps another resistance member.

"Seriously, he hasn't done anything in a year, minus that one incident where he tried to rescue Rey on his own," Snap says. "Why don't we trust him?"

"Hey, I even fought him on that occasion," Jess says. "He's not Kylo Ren. I trust him."

Ben gapes at her.

"Well, I don't," counters Shiv.

"I can watch Padmé," Leia suggests. "I'd love to spend time with my grandchild."


"Ouch!" Poe slams into the floor on his elbow. He winces.

"Poe!" Finn races over to him, lifting him up. "Are you hurt?"

"No." Poe shakes his head and relief floods Finn. "Just my funny bone." He glances at the shut metal door, biting his lip. "Why didn't you guys use the Force?"

"They're kids," Finn points out.

"Exactly," Luke confirms.

"So, can we use the Force to get out of here?"

"Why don't we wait and see?" Luke suggests.

"They're scared," Finn says softly. He tries to imagine what it would be like for him, if he was still a part of the First Order, for everything to have fallen apart. If it had happened when he was a child…

These past few months, Finn's thought that if only the First Order had fallen when he was younger, he might have found a happier life. But if everything he was being trained to be, everything he was invested in, was suddenly gone—what would have been left?

"Do you have any ideas?" Poe prompts, studying Finn.

"I don't know what to tell them," Finn says. "It's like—if we were to find out the Resistance was gone, and we were the only ones left, and the First Order showed up and said they wanted to help us. How the hell would we respond?"

Poe groans.

"I don't know that we can help them unless they want to be helped," Finn says, pushing the words he doesn't want to say into the air. He leans his head against the metal wall. It's too smooth.

"Did you ever want to leave? When you were younger?" Luke queries.

What's the right answer here? Finn doesn't even know what the truth is.

Poe reaches out and takes his hand, squeezing it. Even if the answer's no, it won't affect how Poe sees you. Who you are today.

"I don't know," Finn admits. "I don't think so. I do remember—I always felt different. I wanted to help people. Some learned to like cruelty, to enjoy it, and even those who didn't learned to tolerate it as something necessary. I tried to think it was necessary, but it never worked. But I remember wishing it had. I wished I could be cruel, could be what the First Order wanted me to be. And at the same time, I wanted the First Order to be what I wanted it to be." He snorts. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I think it does," Luke says, studying Finn with guilt inscribed in his forehead, in the grimace holding his mouth.

"But essentially what you're saying," Poe muses. "Is that there are degrees in how the stormtroopers feel about—about everything. They're people, still."

"Yeah." Finn nods, and Poe leans his head against Finn's shoulder.

The door to the cell slides open.

The little girl from the woods stares at them.

"SN!" Poe yelps.

"SN?" Luke questions.

"SN-3237," the girl recites.

"Are you taking us someplace?" Poe asks.

She shakes her head.

"Are our droids okay?"

"Yeah." She focuses on Finn. "Are you the one he was talking about? Who used to be with us?"

Finn nods. "My number was FN-2187." He jerks his head towards Poe. "Until this one named me Finn."

"Why did you betray us?" The word betray sounds so cumbersome, so ugly, coming from the child's lips.

"They were going to kill him," Finn says, rising to a crouch and nodding again at Poe. "I couldn't let them."

"Why not?"

"He might have been an enemy, but he was nice too. And I didn't want to hurt people."

"Why not?" she repeats.

"Because I was scared, and I didn't want to make what people were afraid of happen," Finn says.

The villagers screaming, so afraid of dying. He hears them still. And he sees others, accepting, calm in the face of their fear. That's never been me.

"Aren't you scared?" Poe asks the girl.

She backs away, her eyes wide. But when the door shuts, Finn and Luke exchange a glance. They know she'll be back.


"Stay safe," Jess says to Rey, waving as she jogs off.

Rey can't deny that she's nervous about leaving her daughter here. She hasn't been away from Padmé for longer than a few hours since she had her.

You'll come back.

What if she doesn't? What if something happens, and they leave Padmé alone in the world? Padmé needs you.

So do Luke, Finn, and Poe.

"Rey?"

She turns around to see a golden droid tottering towards her. "3PO? Has there been any—"

"Nothing from Master Luke, I'm afraid." The droid sighs. "Or R2. But I think you ought to know. I overheard some concerning conversations regarding Master Ben and your daughter."

"What?" Rey's heart stills in her chest.

"Some members of the Resistance are not fully convinced that Master Ben isn't interested in declaring himself the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, after Master Luke and Finn are out of the way."

"Are they insane?" Rey demands, fury lashing through her. "Ben doesn't want—"

The droid waves its arms, which flash in the sunlight. "I know, but that's what they've been saying. They don't want him to go with you, and they have a plan to keep him here."

Rey grabs 3PO by his metal shoulder. "What plan?"

"I left before they could say, but it involved Padmé."

"Shit!" Terror ignites inside her as she spins on her heel and races towards her room. She yanks her lightsaber out of her waistband, flashing it on. Ben. Padmé.

Nothing will happen to you, sweet baby, she'd promised when Padmé was born.

What if circumstances makes her a liar, just like her mother?

No! Rey surges down the hallway and bursts into their room.

No one.

Where are you, Ben?

Rey closes her eyes, focusing on each breath, on the painful way her chest quivers as she breathes in and breathes out. She needs to find them, warn them—

Chewie groans from the doorway. Are you okay?

Rey whirls around to face him. "Chewie, where are Ben and Padmé?"

They went for a walk, Chewie tells her. By the ships.

"Okay," Rey gasps. "Chewie, I need you to find Leia immediately—tell her—tell her that Threepio said that they're planning on—some Resistance members—who don't trust Ben—they want to use Padmé—I don't know what for but that's enough, isn't it?"

Chewie roars as Rey darts past, heading outside. Groups of pilots gape at her as she runs with her blue saber sparking. How many of you? Rey thinks furiously. In this moment, she hates them.

"Rey?" Lando calls after her. She can tell from his footsteps that he's following. Good. She can count on Lando to carry a blaster at all times.

A flash of orange. Rey sees a pilot fly through the air. "Ben!" she screams, leaping around the corner and seeing Ben half-kneeling, his lightsaber aimed in his left arm and his right arm at the blue alien, Shiv.

Who's holding a sobbing Padmé.

"Bastard!" Lando shouts, aiming the blaster, but he can't fire the gun for the same reason Ben can't use the Force or his lightsaber. Padmé is Shiv's shield, and an effective one. "Threatening a baby? How long can you possibly—"

"I'm not going to harm her," snarls Shiv as Rey creeps up behind him. She sees Ben's eyes focus on her. "I just—he cannot be allowed to go on this mission! He's a menace!"

"It's probably safer for her to be with us anyways," wheezes the pilot whose name Rey doesn't know, the one Ben sent flying with the Force. "We know how he regards family."

Ben visibly flinches. "Don't take her—"

Rey pauses, half-hidden by the wings of an X-wing. She holds her hand out. Forgive me, Luke.

Shiv starts to gasp as his airway tightens. Rey scrambles closer and jabs her saber close to the side of his face, the same way Kylo Ren did to her in the Takodana forest. "Give me back my daughter."

Gurgling, Shiv's grip loosens, and Rey snatches Padmé away as a howling Chewie arrives with Leia, Maz, and a whole groups of red-faced, enraged Resistance members behind him.

"Great job," Lando tells Rey as Chewie lunges, grabbing Shiv and thrusting him against the side of the X-Wing. Ben aims his lightsaber at the other pilot, who cowers on the pavement.

Padmé screams against Rey's shoulders, clutching her as if she knew that something terrible almost happened. Rey's lightsaber snaps off, and she clutches Padmé in both of her arms. "You're safe. You're safe," she repeats, as much to herself as to Padmé.

"Rey—I—" Ben staggers over to her, his face white.

"What happened?" she demands, tears tearing at her voice.

"I thought—he came and he asked to let bygones be bygones—he asked about the mission—he asked to hold her and I said no, but then he kept asking and I—" Ben's face crumples. "If I hadn't wanted him to trust me so badly, I wouldn't have let him—I almost—"

"Don't," Rey snaps. "Ben. It's not your fault. He's a liar and he tricked you."

"She's okay?" Ben gasps.

"Scared, I think." Rey smooths Padmé's thick hair. "She'll be okay. She has to be." And Rey breaks down as Ben wraps his arms around them both.

Three hours pass, and Leia's still furious but determined. "You three need to go," she tells them. "If you plan to rescue the others."

Rey does not want to leave Padmé, but she sees the steel rage in Leia's eyes and hopes that she can rely on the woman.

"We'll handle things," Lando declares grimly.

"We won't let her out of our sight, or arms," Maz promises, taking Rey's hand. "I do need to give you something, though."

"What's that?" Rey gulps and follows Maz out of the room.

"These. I found them with Dr. Kalonia." Maz hands Rey dark, folded garments. Kylo Ren's outfit.

Why? Rey shakes her head.

"I think it may come in handy," Maz says


"She gave you what?" Ben can't believe what his eyes are telling him. No, no, no.

"She said it might help."

"I don't think they'll listen to Kylo Ren," he insists, glaring at his wife as she and Chewie pilot the quadjumper.

"Well, we'll never know until you bloody try. We might not even have other options." Rey's voice catches. "I can't lose Luke and Finn and Poe, Ben."

"You think I can?"

Rey shakes her head. "Ben. I know you're scared. But please."

"I'm scared because there's still darkness in me, Rey! You know that. I can't—if I go back into that mindset—I'm trying to distance myself from it. For Padmé. For my mother. For you."

"Oh yeah, because trying to prove yourself to be exactly what people want you to be has worked really well," Rey snaps. "Try being who you are for a change. And Kylo Ren is part of your history whether you like it or not. Being abandoned is part of mine, and I hate it, but it's there. We're not getting anywhere by pretending it doesn't exist."

Ben closes his eyes.

Like it or not, Padmé will find out.

Chewie snuffles. Evidently he agrees with Rey. Ben's eyes fly open, and he looks at the Wookiee, unable to understand. You'll be looking at me like I'm my father's murderer again.

I'll look like I did that night.

Rey fell in love with you when you still dressed like that. It's just clothing. You were different inside, and that's what mattered.

"Fine," he relents.

Rey leaps up and grabs his hand. "Thank you." It's our best chance for getting everyone out alive. Getting back to Padmé, he hears her thinking.

Ben shrugs out of his vest and shirt, slipping Kylo Ren's dark robes back on. Rey raises her eyebrows as he changes.

"Aren't you supposed to be piloting?"

"You're distracting me," she teases.

Ben finishes and heads over to her. "Aren't you scared?"

Rey bites at the inside of her cheeks. "I'm not particularly thrilled about having to deal with the First Order again."

Chewie growls.

"Thanks."

As they land, Ben clutches his lightsaber. Rey focuses on landing them.

"There's the Falcon," Ben points out.

"I see it." Rey grimaces. They glide to the ground in another small clearing, albeit taking a few trees down with them.

Chewie groans as he stands up, gripping Ben's shoulder and looking at him not as a monster, but as someone he trusts.

I hope this crazy plan actually works.

They don't even make it to the Falcon before tiny stormtroopers swarm them, blasters raised. All three of them raise their hands.

"Who are you?" demands a small boy, blond and freckled.

"Kylo Ren," he says, and he is. He's Ben Solo, but Kylo Ren is a part of him he can't exorcise, not ever.

"What?"

"You're not Kylo Ren," declares a girl. "He's dead."

What is he even supposed to say? "Not quite." Ben spots a downed branch and levitates it. "Now escort us to your leaders."

"You're Kylo Ren," breathes the first boy, eyes wide and jaw hovering open. Not in horror.

In… respect? Awe?

Ben doesn't know if he should feel horrified or relieved, or if he should feel any way at all other than what he does feel, which is a mixture of both.

"Who are they?" the girl asks, nodding to Rey and Chewie.

"My wife, and an old friend," Ben answers. "Take us to your leaders. Now." He strides after the troopers in training, who scuttle to obey. He feels Rey behind him, even though he can't see her. He flexes his hands, looks at the black gloves. They don't fit quite right, not anymore, and yet he's still unnerved that they don't feel even more out of place.

Rey lets out a gasp as they emerge from the forest to see a small girl, hair dark and skin bronze, talking to BB-8 and R2.

"SN-3237!" barks the boy. "What are you up to?"

SN-3237 shrinks. "I was just following orders."

"Whose?"

"Never mind," Ben interjects. "She'll follow Kylo Ren's orders, won't she?" He studies the girl. "Take the droids and take Rey—" He motions to her. "—to the cells where you've kept the Resistance members. Follow her instructions from there."

SN-3237 nods.

Ben glances behind him at Chewie, who nods at him. He trusts me.

Ben just hopes he doesn't get them all killed, because he has no plan, and no ideas.


"I didn't know Kylo Ren was married," remarks SN-3237 as she leads Rey along, the droids bleeping and following.

"It's a recent thing," Rey mutters. She looks at the girl and sees Finn, and she wants to scream and cry.

"They're in here." SN-3237 stops.

"How old are you?" Rey questions.

"Six."

Rey clenches her jaw. This is so wrong. "Open the cell."

"Rey!" shrieks Finn.

"You're not with the First Order?" SN-3237 gapes at her, as if she's a traitor, a liar.

"No." Rey shakes her head and grasps the girl's hands, kneeling down as Poe and Luke slip out of the cell, both relieved to find their droids unharmed. "Kylo Ren isn't either. Not anymore. He was born by the name of Ben Solo, and he went to join the Resistance."

The girl gasps. "But—"

"Do you really think we're monsters?" Finn questions, crouching down beside Rey.

"N-no."

"Not everyone in the Resistance is bad. Or good," Rey says, thinking of Shiv in fury. "Same with the First Order."

"What did you come for?" the girl cries out.

"To let you know you can leave. If you want to," Luke puts in.

"If we want to?"

"Yeah," Poe says. "It's up to you. If you want to stay, we can't—I mean—" He glances at Rey. Ben?

She shrugs. Who knows? But she highly doubts he'll be able to persuade everyone to abandon the First Order.

"What will happen if I go?" she demands. "I don't want to be a Resistance fighter."

"You don't have to be," Finn encourages. "I didn't want to be. I'm actually more of a Jedi than a Resistance fighter, and if I'd chosen not to be, no one would be mad at me."

Poe shrugs and smirks.

"The first thing you'd get is a name," Finn says. "Like when Poe started calling me Finn instead of FN-2187."

She shakes her head and backs up. Rey bites her lip.

"What name?" she inquires.

"What…" Finn glances at Rey, at Luke, at Poe.

"SN…" Poe muses.

"Sini," suggests Finn. See-nee.

"Sini?" The girl's lips curve upwards, and tension dissolves in Rey's shoulders.

They're safe. Finn, Poe, and Luke are all safe, and coming home. And so is Sini.


"You're lying!"

"I'm not. Snoke is dead," Ben states, crossing his arms.

"Why aren't you leading the First Order, then?" demands one of the head stormtroopers, a tall woman who almost reminds Ben of Phasma. He shudders as he remembers her end, according to Rey.

But the desperation riddling the woman's face is enough to tear at Ben. He swallows. "Because I've joined with the Resistance."

"So you're going to build a new Republic, then? After all the work Hux put into—" snarls a male captain.

"Hux is dead," Ben shoots back. "He died killing Snoke, not that you'll believe me."

The woman aims her blaster and Ben sends it flying through the air. Blue bolts to his left, and Ben waves his other arm, freezing the blast before it can slam into Chewie.

"Now," Ben says. "You're going to gather your troopers. You're going to let me explain things. And then you're going to give them the choice as to whether to leave or stay, and whatever choice they make will be respected. You hear?"

Chewie growls, grabbing the woman by the throat.

"Order them to assemble," Ben commands, sparking up his lightsaber for added affect. "Now."


Lights flash red and yellow.

"Shit!" gasps Poe. "Sorry, Sini. What does—"

"Assembly," Finn says quickly. "If it was an alarm, there would be, you know, an alarm blaring." He glances at Sini, who nods.

"It's got to be Ben," Rey says.

"Do we go? See if others want to come?" Luke questions.

"We should," Finn confirms, meeting Poe's eyes. He grabs Sini by the shoulders. "Why don't you go with Poe? He'll take you to our ship. You, and BB-8. R2, Luke, Rey, and I will be right behind you. With B—Kylo Ren. We promise."

"Is Ben his new name? Like Sini's mine?" she asks.

"Kind of. It's also his old name." Finn shrugs. "Poe?"

"Don't take too long." Poe grabs Finn by the back of his head and kisses him, long and deep. In the undercurrents, Finn senses his actual message, the one he doesn't want to speak in front of Sini: don't get killed.

Finn traces Poe's cheek. I won't. "See you soon."


Rey knows Ben spots her the moment she steps out of the corridor and into the large expanse of pavement. Hundreds of children stand in rows too neat, too even. Are they even human?

She glances at Finn and knows the answer.

Ben stands on a stage, clad in black and with his hair whipping about his face. He's looking at her, and she doubts he can make out her features, but she hopes he knows she's proud of him.

"What you're heard about the First Order, about Supreme Leader Snoke's death," Ben begins. "Is true. He was killed by General Hux, who was defending a member of the Resistance. A Jedi."

Me. Rey closes her eyes for the briefest of seconds before remembering that's likely not a wise move in the face of enemies, some of whom are starting to snap out of their stupor, glancing at her with mistrust.

"Let's split up," Luke murmurs. "I'll go towards the center, at the back. Finn, far left. Rey, far right. Don't mix in with the crowd. We might have to make a fast exit."

Ben shouts about how the First Order is certain to fall, how they don't have to become members of the Resistance, but if they want a new future, they're welcome to go with them. Or stay, but they can't guarantee their safety in that case.

Leia would never authorize any sort of attack, Rey knows. But someone, sometime, might. Surely the new New Republic won't want stormtroopers teeming in the galaxy.

Come with us, she wants to beg. Come with us, please.

I know what it's like to be lost. I know what it's like not to have a family. I know what it's like to be scared, so scared, of leaving.

It's not the end. Leave. Please.

Rey spots Chewie approaching her, snuffling.

"Your leaders have given orders than anyone who wishes to leave should not be harmed," Ben adds. "If you do want to leave, there are three Jedi here."

"Four!" Rey hollers.

"Four," Ben amends. "And a Wookiee. Head towards one of us if you want to leave." He steps back, hands clasped.

No one moves. Rey wants to scream.

And then one child, the boy from earlier, with sandy hair, takes a step. Others turn to stare at him, and he scrambles over towards Rey and Chewie, who puts a furry arm over the boy.

A group gathers around them, around Finn, around Luke, around Ben. The largest group gathers around Ben, and he may not notice, but Rey sees the awe with which the kids gape at him. They may not actually want to leave the First Order, but they want to follow him, and maybe that will be a bridge for them, a bridge away from this terrible place.

Kylo Ren isn't evil to everyone. They adore him.

See, you might have a chance to live up to that.


Finn knows they have limited time to escape with their refugees, all of whom are about a hundred in total. It's not going to be easy to fit all of them on the Falcon and the quadjumper.

"Go!" Ben suddenly shouts, and Finn whirls around to see him freezing a blaster bolt. Rey freezes another.

"Move, kids!" Luke yells, pushing them ahead. Chewie leads them, carrying some of the smaller ones.

A blaster shot barely misses Ben's head. Finn thrusts his hands up.

The shot stops.

Ben's jaw drops. "Thanks."

"No problem, cuz." Finn grabs Ben's gloved hands and yanks him up. Several kids have stalled to watch. "Keep running!" He turns to jog after them. Rey slashes at a blast with her saber.

"We're flying the jumper!" Rey hollers at Finn. "Just get out as fast as you can and get to D'Qar!"

"Right!" Finn launches himself up the Millennium Falcon's ramp, checking to make sure no one's been left behind. All clear. He shuts the ramp and Poe instantly jerks it into flight.

"They made it!" Poe hollers. "I see the quadjumper behind us!"

"Yes!" Finn pumps his fists, and then looks around him at the dozens and dozens of children, some clutching each other, some with eyes wide, some crying, all confused.

I know, kids, Finn thinks. I know.

He peeks inside the cockpit just briefly, seeing Poe flying with Sini curled in the co-pilot's seat, asleep. Poe smiles at him.

Finn heads back out to find BB-8 flashing its fiery thumb and merrily chatting with several of the kids. Luke powers up the Dejarik board for several of them to play with.

"We did it," Finn breathes to his father. "For some of them, at least." A lump clogs his throat as he thinks of the ones who stayed. Did some of them want to leave, and stay from fear?

"If more want to leave, we can go back for them. We will," Luke insists.

"Thanks…" Finn swallows.

Luke throws his arms around Finn, hugging him. "I'm so proud of you."

Finn hesitates, and then embraces him back. "Thanks... Father."

Luke's eyes tear up.

Hours later, Poe allows some of the smaller kids to climb on him as the ship heads towards D'Qar. These kids won't have it easy back on the Resistance Base, Finn knows.

"Where will they go?" Finn asks Poe when he finally wiggle away, citing a desperate need for water.

"Leia might be able to arrange adoptions for them. We can help. Try to find people… we won't leave them abandoned."

"Some of them are gonna feel that way anyways," Finn warns. "Especially the older ones."

"Yeah, but…" Poe bites his lip as he watches Sini wrap her arms around a chubby-cheeked boy who looks like he's about three. "She was crying when we first got back to the ship. Said she wanted to go back."

"What'd you say?"

"That she could if she wanted to, but I didn't want her to," Poe says. "She started to leave, and then decided to say."

"There will be more meltdowns in the future," Finn comments. "For all of them." His heart aches. He so wants them to make it. Especially Sini. She pinches the boy's cheeks, and Finn thinks how there's so much childish goodness still in her. The First Order wasn't fully able to stamp it out.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Finn asks.

"About Sini? And maybe one or two more?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, I think it'd be cool for them to have a dad who knows what they're going through," Poe confirms.


"Thank you," Rey whispers to Ben as they approach landing on D'Qar. Rey and Chewie have been able to fly mostly, while Ben's been entertaining kids for hours. Which is fine, but he's far more tired now than he ever was, even from the trainings Snoke and Luke put him through.

"I'm glad I did it." Ben sighs. "Maybe… when we get back, if they let me, if I can, we can find other training centers, go there, try to help as many escape as possible." But then where will they go?

Ben doesn't know. But any place is better than where they are.

How many of these kids will grow up to resent you when they realize you used to support the First Order? When the reality of what was done to them hits them? Especially for the ones who won't get a family?

I'll deal with it when it happens.

In the meantime, these kids love Kylo Ren, and Ben doesn't want to let them down. Hopefully, they'll love Ben Solo too, once they see that Kylo and Ben are the same person.

He's always been Kylo Ren, and Ben Solo. Maybe he doesn't have to fully exorcise that part, pretend it never existed.

Maybe he can redeem it.

They land on the base, and several pilots—Jess Pava, Snap Wexley, and others—rush over to help gather the stormtroopers. Maz grins at them.

"So, Ben Solo, you did it."

"We did it. I just helped."

"Hm." Maz winks. "Your mother's with Padmé. I'm sure they'd both be delighted to see you."

"Let's go," Rey says quickly, taking Ben's hand. "She's—"

"Fine," Lando confirms. "No problems. Except she doesn't want to sleep without you guys there. Or with her teeth coming in. Or both."

"You're going?" calls out the sandy-haired boy, his face falling.

Ben kneels down. "I'll come back. I promise. I'm just going to get my daughter."

"You have a daughter?"

"Yup," Rey confirms. "She's a baby."

"You can meet her," Ben promises. He rises and hurries away, feeling the glances of the Resistance pilots. Hopefully Luke and Finn and Poe can explain why he's dressed this way, if Maz hasn't already.

Mother's door is open, and Ben remembers all the times Father used to sneak in and scare her, winking at Ben as his signal for Ben to distract his mother, or at the very least not to giggle and give it away.

He puts his finger to his lips and winks at Rey, who scowls.

Oh well. Ben slips into the room and spots Padmé sitting on the floor, reaching for a rattle on a table she'll never be able to reach. He doesn't see his mother.

Better yet… Ben floats the rattle over to his daughter.

Mother shrieks. Padmé clasps the rattle and bursts into a flurry of chortles.

There she is.

Ben can't restrain himself any longer. He rushes over to his daughter, gathering her in his arms. She gurgles and bangs the rattle against his chin. "Ouch!"

"I heard you were back," Mother comments, wrapping her arms around him. She doesn't care that he looks like Kylo Ren. She knows she's hugging her husband's murderer, and she loves him anyways.

Grandfather appears in the corner, with Obi-Wan, both looking at their great-granddaughter and smiling.

"Come here, baby girl," Rey coos, prying Padmé from his arms and kissing her forehead. "Mother missed you."

"Your mother missed you," Mother tells Ben.

Ben embraces her again.

Rey yelps.

Ben and his mother whirl around to see the rattle floating several inches in front of Padmé's face. She giggles. Ben looks at Rey, who shakes her head.

"Well then," Mother says with a sigh.

The rattle starts to drop, and Padmé lets out a cry.

Ben and Rey go to lift it at the same time, raising it back up for Padmé.

"Did he start doing stuff like this when he was this young?" Rey asks.

"Nope." Mother shakes her head. "Maybe two or three, you were?"

"Let me guess." Rey says. "Han screamed."

"Of course."

"Not true," counters Threepio. "I apologize, Princess, but you were the one who screamed."

"Oh really?" Ben turns to his mother, who shrugs.

"The Force isn't something to be afraid of," Rey says.

"No," Ben agrees. Respected, yes. Feared, no.

And he hopes he and Rey will raise his daughter to know the difference.


Thanks for reading, everyone! The longer canon-verse fic I'm working on should be up by the middle of next week.