AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Yes, Rey's Luke's daughter in this universe – it's an AU after all. Anyway, RIP Peter Mayhew – I wrote the Chewie scene in this chapter in his honor.

"The Pull to the Dark"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 4

Ara woke up the next morning to find Ben's side of the bunk empty. She gulped, wondering if he'd had another nightmare or if he had slept at all. Maybe he'd had a different nightmare, something even more threatening.

"I felt like I was being raped."

With a few grunts and little aches, she pushed her rotund body to a sitting position and stared down at her stomach, covered by her yellow silk nightgown. Though her bladder was demanding attention, she made no further moves to get up. Leia's words were repeating themselves in her mind over and over again.

"I felt like I was being raped."

Ara stared at her stomach as if it would speak to her if she stared long enough. "Are you all right, baby?' she whispered.

The baby kicked, but was it a happy kick or a frightened kick? She pressed her hand down on her stomach as if trying to feel for the baby's soul like Ben said he could, but all she felt was another kick. Her breath shortened, chills spreading through her body. Something could be after her baby right now, but she was blind to it, deaf to it, cut off from whatever wanted her child. Her little girl could be in pain, terrified, the dark side slowly eating away at her soul, but Ara couldn't help her.

Aside from a few moments of mild envy, Ara had never wanted her husband's powers, yet now she closed her eyes, focusing on her womb, trying to send her center of consciousness to her baby. Feel something, dammit, FEEL SOMETHING! But again, nothing came. She was cut away from the baby.

Ben entered the cabin, a stumble in his step and shadows under his eyes. "Breakfast is ready," he mumbled, stumbling over to the bunk so he could lean over and kiss his wife.

"Ben," Ara said, grabbing his hand and pressing it on her stomach, "can you feel anything from our daughter?"

Ben blinked at her. "I feel her soul touching me, like always."

"But do you feel anything else?"

He looked at her with wide eyes, glistening with a layer of unshed tears. "I sense that she's frightened."

Ara couldn't stop herself from gasping. "Do you think the dark side's trying to get her now? Like, at this moment?"

Ben swallowed. "I don't know." He inhaled through his nose, trying to block a sniffle.

"You can cry," Ara found herself saying, her hand trembling on top of Ben's as her other hand reached up and ran through his sweat-drenched hair. "You don't have to toughen up for me." The baby bumped her again, making her flinch. "I think the little one's hungry. She's filling up her mommy's bladder too."

Ben leaned over and kissed her stomach. "Then you should take care of her. We'll meet you at breakfast."

As he rose, Ara noticed the tears streaming down his face.

. . .

Little was said at breakfast, but Ben preferred it that way. What was there to talk about besides whatever was threatening the baby? His stomach flipped as he took a spoonful of bland-tasting Corellian oatmeal, but he didn't know if it was actually bland or if his mind was too occupied to pay any attention to his taste buds. It was only a few bites before his stomach started rejecting the meal, warning him that it would start purging excess food if he ate any more.

Suddenly he became aware that he was gasping. Waves of negative energy crashed into him from all directions – fear, he realized. Cold, hopeless fear, and not just his own. It was flowing from Ara, Leia, Han, Chewie – all their fear was mixing with his own, crushing his chest, shaking his hands, welling up his eyes. He gripped the edge of the table in order to prevent himself from knocking over anyone's breakfast.

Then suddenly, a soft, strong, furry hand was massaging his head. [It's all right, Ben,] a familiar, tender voice growled. [It's all right.]

"N-no, it's not all right."

Chewie wrapped his arms around Ben, much in the manner he once did when Ben was a child. Ben had long grown out of the habit of calling the Wookiee "Uncle Chewie," but now, enveloped in his soft, warm embrace, he was almost tempted to revert back to that habit.

[Your daughter will be all right,] Chewie growled in his most tender voice.

"You don't know that," said Ben, his voice muffled by the Wookiee's fur, and Chewie only responded by running his paw up and down Ben's back.

Han sometimes said that a Wookiee hug was the best therapy in the galaxy. Ben didn't believe that, and he didn't think Han usually believed it either, but Wookiee hugs were at least warm and soothing, like fluffy heated blankets.

His eyelids were drooping, his head nodding into Chewie's chest, but the small voice in his mind screamed No! Don't fall asleep! You're have the dream again! and jolted him awake. He pushed himself out of the embrace, momentarily wondering if he was being rude, but Chewie seemed to understand, given that he rubbed Ben's head again.

[There's still hope, Ben,] Chewie growled in a fatherly voice, though no one else voiced any agreement.

. . .

It had been years since Ben had last entered Luke's Jedi Temple, but nearly everything in the entrance hall was still as he remembered it. The small fountain still spurted out geysers in the center of the hall. The statues of long-ago Jedi, including Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, still stood against the wall. Ben felt his chest tightening as the group passed the statue of his grandfather. With its heroic stance holding up its lightsaber and determined face, no one would guess the fate that befell Anakin, though of course everyone knew anyway. Ben glanced over at Ara, seeing that she was gripping her stomach as if trying to protect the baby from suffering the same fate.

The only thing that was different from Ben's training days was that his cousin was sitting on the floor, leading a circle of young teenagers in a breathing exercise.

"Another breath in through your nose," Rey was instructing, her eyes closed. "Savor the air, let it fill your lungs, then slowly let it out."

"Rey?" Ben exclaimed. "You're teaching now?"

Rey's eyes shot open and she looked up at her cousin with a slight grin. "Hello Ben, it's been a while." She then nodded at her students. "Everyone, meet my cousin Ben Solo."

A pale-skinned Twi'lek boy cocked his head up at Ben. "Yeah, the Jedi doctor . . . hey guys, look, there are his parents! And Chewbacca!" At the mention of Han and Leia and Chewie, the boy and all his classmates scrambled to their feet and rushed towards the older heroes, leaving Ben and Ara to knowingly shake their heads.

Rey snickered a little as she too got to her feet. "I think they'll be busy for a while. Anyway, answering your question: no, I'm not teaching, just assisting here and there. Dad thinks I might be ready to officially teach soon, though."

Despite all that was happening, Ben managed to smile a bit at the thought of his little cousin growing up. Rey, on the other hand, turned to Ara, a melancholy look on her face. "Ara, I'm so sorry." She swallowed. "That's probably not much help, but I don't know what else to say."

Ara wrapped an arm around her cousin-in-law and patted her on the shoulder. "Well, I probably wouldn't know what to say either." She glanced down at her pregnant stomach. "I don't even know what to say when it's happening to me."

"Master Luke! They're here!"

"Yes 3PO, I can see that."

All heads – guest and Jedi trainee alike – turned towards the stairs, where Luke was descending with 3PO by his side. Normally there would be hugs and laughter and exchanges of how everything was going in their respective corners of the galaxy, but today Luke simply strode up to Ben and Ara, a worried look in his eyes.

"Come on," he said. "We need to talk right away."