CHAPTER 7
And with that, the doorbell rings.
Ben's head snaps up from where he had is resting in his hands. He can feel his heart begin to race and he struggles to catch his breath. Within seconds, Rey is kneeling beside him and her hands are on either side of his face.
"Hey. You're okay. You hear me? Everything is going to be okay," she says tenderly. She sends waves of calm across their bond. It helps, but only a little.
"I'm not okay. I don't remember anything about her. I don't know anything about being a dad," he continues to panic. Rey refuses to break eye contact with him despite his efforts to look away.
"Ben, I want you to reach out to feel what's on the other side of that door. Can you do that?" He nods. He allows the force to radiate outside of the bond he says with Rey. He can sense the resistance pilot outside and then he feels it. A strong force presence. Such light. His child is force sensitive...incredibly so. He reaches out tentatively to touch her mind. She's asleep.
"She's sleeping," he says breathily, closing his own eyes in relief.
"She's sleeping," Rey confirms. "That will buy you some time. She sleeps like a rock."
"Okay." He lets out a breathe he didn't realize he was holding.
"Plus, your mom had a discussion with her about whole memory loss thing earlier today. So she's not going to be completely blinded by your confusion." One of her hands slides down to give his shoulder a squeeze. "Let's go get our girl, Ben."
She uses him to hoist her body off the ground. She jerks her head, signaling for him to follow. Within a few strides, she's at the door. He chooses to stay back a few feet. She swings the door open to reveal the pilot with a small child in one arm and a few bags in the other. Ben can't get a good look at the girl. The hood of her purple jacket is pulled up, shielding her face.
"I come to return your offspring, but I also come bearing food," he says in hushed tones.
"My two favorite things." Rey leans in to give Poe a peck on the cheek. "My hero. Come on in." Rey grabs the bags from Poe's hand and passes it off to Ben.
"I went to the Twin Suns Diner down off of 11th avenue. Apparently you go there a lot, cause when I gave them your usual order, the guy at the counter asked if I was picking up for the Solo's."
"Okay, so maybe we need to find a new diner," Rey laughs lightly.
"Hey, man. Good to see you," the pilot exclaims as he gives Ben a slap on the back. "How the memories coming?" He still isn't sure about the extent of his relationship with Poe.
"Some stuff is coming back here and there," Rey saves him the awkwardness of replying.
"Hm. Just curious. What's your last memory of me, man?" Poe asks.
"That would be the questioning after your capture on Jakku," he answers quietly. He raises his arm awkwardly to rub his neck.
"Kriff, Ben," Poe says surprised. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we're on good terms now. You haven't interrogated me like that in like three months. Wouldn't you say Rey?"
Ben's face pales. "What?"
Rey swats Poe's arm. "He's kidding, Ben. Poe, I love you, but I believe you have officially worn out your welcome. Now, give me my baby." She reaches her arms out to pull the sleeping child from his arms.
Poe makes eye contact with him mouthing a quick "Sorry." He gives Ben a friendly smile indicating there are no hard feelings.
"What are you up to next?" Rey asks once the girl is safely nestled in her arms.
"Well, Finn and I are going out to have a beer, or seven. Then, we will return home to the women in our lives and tell them that we no longer have any desire to have kids," he chuckles.
"Sounds like fun. Thanks for all your help, Poe," Rey replies guiding him towards the door.
"You know I'm kidding. We love Padme," Poe says with hands raised. "Let us know if you need anything at all. Goodnight."
"Night, Poe." She closes the door softly, taking care not to rattle the sleeping child.
"Are you still okay?" She looks at him with concern. "Poe was teasing you. You really are friends."
"We were friends when I was little. He was the son Leia Organa wish she had," he retorts a little sharper than he intended.
"Well, you've gotten over that cause you and Poe hang out all the time. If it makes you feel better, your mother once shot him with a stun gun."
"That makes me feel a little better," he smirks.
"And a mother doesn't love any child more than she loves her own. I can attest to that." She looks down fondly at her daughter. Their daughter. She looks back up a him. "Now, there's someone you need to meet."
She walks over to the large couch and settles in. Ben follows suit. Once he's made himself comfortable, Rey pulls back on the girl's hood revealing a mess of black curls. His curls. The child briefly becomes restless and he's afraid she is waking up. Her head turns facing Ben, but she falls back into a sound slumber with a sweet sigh. He gets a good look at her face. He can see Rey in the trail of freckles across the girl's button nose and the way her mouth turns down every so slightly. Rey rubs circles on the child's back, but quickly lifts her hand to move a mound of curls revealing some very familiar ears in the process.
"Told you." Rey smirks.
"I will take credit for those, but I would like to make it clear that Han Solo started it," he says softly, in total awe of the angelic face in front of him. How could anything so perfect come from him? "She looks like you."
"A little, but I think we can both see that she takes after her daddy more." Ben's thoughts are drawn to his own father. He hopes that he hasn't failed his daughter the way his had failed him. He realizes he has been projecting his fears when he feels Rey's hand intertwine with his own. "You are the best dad, Ben. She thinks the world of you. She's been a daddy's girl from day one."
He isn't sure how long he sits looking at her. How could he not remember this exquisite child? Rey thumb rubs soothing circles over his hand. He reaches out to touch his daughter's face, unintentionally mimicking Han Solo's final moment.
The moment they make contact, he's met with brown eyes that mirror his own. He inhales sharply drawing his hand back to his side. Padme watches him with inquisitive eyes.
"Hi," he stutters. He wasn't sure what else he could say.
He watches as her wide eyes fill with tears. "Oh, daddy," she cries as she throws herself off Rey's lap and into his own. He wasn't expecting the sudden physical contact. Before he knows it, there's a pair of tiny arms thrown around his neck and he can feel the girl's tears seeping through his shirt.
He's eyes dart around to meet Rey's, an unspoken call for help. She takes his hand and gently glides it up to rest on Padme's back. Rey scoots closer to the pair, her thighs now flush with Ben's. She lays her head down next to her daughter's on his shoulder.
"Hey, sweet girl. I'm so sorry we scared you. Your daddy is just fine. That was all my fault."
Padme lifts her head to look at her mom. "S'okay, Mommy," she sniffles loudly. "I couldn't feel daddy in the force," she sputters, stopping to hiccup. "And...I..got...so sad," she whimpers as tears continue to stream down her face. She turns to press chubby hands against Ben's face, as her mother had done not too long before. She then proceeded to shower him with sloppy wet kisses. Out of instinct, he draws his head away from her. When he sees the look on her face, he regrets it immediately. Betrayal. She quickly reaches out for her mother, who takes her swiftly into her arms.
Rey is apparently prepared for damage control. "Padme, do you remember what you and grandma talked about this morning."
"She said that daddy's memories are broken."
"That's right," she confirms as she runs her hand through the girl's curls.
"He still remembers me though. Right, daddy?" She looks at him with hopeful eyes and he wishes more than anything that he could tell her yes.
"I'm sorry." He shakes his head.
"Oh," She says. Her jaw quivers as she tries to keep from crying. Then, she turns to her mother and says, "Mommy, are we going to fix him?"
"Oh yeah. You and me, sweet girl. We will help him get all his memories back," she reassures the devastated child. This seems to calm her for the time being.
With newfound confidence, she turns to Ben, sticks her hand out and says "Hi, daddy. My name's Padme Hope Solo. I'm your best girl and I'm four."
