AN: Hello hello hello, I have another chapter for my faithful readers!
"Rey!"
"Master Luke!" She wraps her arms around his neck, and he holds her in a fatherly embrace. "What are you doing here?! I thought Chewy was coming-"
"We have to move, I'll explain on the way." Luke says, and Rey nods. She takes her daughter back from Eloriah, who's staring in awe at the middle aged jedi master. "You must be the nurse, my sister said that my Nephew told her there would be one." Eloriah nods, and scoops up the bag. "And this must be Gemma." He says gently, his attention turning to the little girl. Rey nods, and holds her so that Luke can see her clearly, watching closely for his reaction. He reaches out, and Rey doesn't hesitate to put her into his arms. "Wow...Rey, she's beautiful. She looks just like her father."
"That's what I said." Rey smiles, the smile on his face making her heart leap for joy. "She's a little Solo."
"She is." Luke nods, and hands her back. "Let's move." They move quickly, following closely behind Luke. "I came to help locate you. Without the force, it could have taken hours, hours we didn't have, so I volunteered. Chewy and Poe are waiting; they wanted to come, but I said it would be faster this way."
"Poe is here?" Rey asks, her mouth hanging open.
"Yes- Rose and Finn would have come, but they were out on their break, and there was no time to lose." Luke explains. "BB-8 came too; he's more excited to see the baby than anyone." Rey has to smile at this. "Get down!" They duck quickly beneath the cover of trees as a swarm of ties flies overhead. "Go!" He waves his mechanical hand after a moment, and they begin to run again. When the Falcon comes into view she sighs in relief, and she runs up the ramp almost directly into Poe. But there's no time for any conversation, Eloriah falls, and Poe runs out to pick her up and carries her into the ship.
"Chewy, Now!" He calls, and Rey feels the familiar jump of the ship taking off. He sets the nurse down, and runs down to man the guns.
"Who was that?" Eloriah whispers, grabbing onto Rey's hand.
"That...was Poe Dameron." Rey says with a half smile as she observes the nurse's cheeks turn pink while she gazes slightly over her shoulder after him. There's a twinkle in her blue eyes, and Rey can recognize what has caused it without delving into the force. Eloriah takes a seat at the bench, her gaze still flickering down where Poe had vanished. Rey sits down on the bunk, and looks at her daughter again.
"How is she?" Luke asks, coming up to sit beside her.
"She's perfectly fine...she's...she's sleeping!" Rey laughs as she observes the gentle rise and fall of her baby's chest. She lays her down on the cot, and leans herself back so that she's leaning on the wall. "I can't blame her. It's been an exhausting day."
"How are you?" Luke asks, reaching to place his hand on her shoulder.
"I hated leaving him." She shrugs, glancing down at her daughter, who looks so much like her father. "If it weren't for Gemma, I would have stayed with him in a heartbeat. I'd have faced Snoke with him. But he told me that I had to protect her first...and I couldn't disagree."
"I'm glad you listened. He was right." Luke says gently.
"I know that. But I'm so...I'm so scared, Luke." The tears are back again, and she hates it, but Luke doesn't judge her. He gazes at her with such great understanding in his clear blue eyes, that it makes her cry a little harder. "I'm scared for him- Snoke...Snoke has hurt him so much over the years! He's tortured him, beaten him, degraded him into submission!" Her mind races with images of what she'd seen in his memories, of his scars, and by the look on Luke's face, she knows that he's seeing them too. She hadn't made an effort to hide it, really.
"We...We didn't know." Luke says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We knew he went with Snoke, but after that, we never thought that Snoke would have to go through such lengths to control him."
"It was because he couldn't kill the light! There was too much of it, and he wanted it gone...what if he does it again? What if Ben can't kill him, and he hurts him again?" Rey whispers fiercely.
"When we lost Ben, all those years ago, he didn't think that there was anyone who cared for him. He thought we were holding him back, that we didn't trust him, and I wish that I could say that he was wrong, but in a way, we did. I could have taught him more, but I was so worried about the darkness growing, I held back. I focused on other students. He thought that we didn't care, but we cared so much." Luke sighs. "But you're not going to lose Ben. Not now that he has something to fight for. Someone who has never betrayed him. Someone he is sure loves him- because you do, don't you?"
"Yes." Rey nods.
"That's what Leia told me. Ben is-has always been extremely protective of those that he loves. There's nothing he won't do to come back to you, to protect you. He won't fall for Snoke's tricks again." Luke assures her.
"I know that you were alright with continuing my training when I had the baby, but I know that I've made an attachment now. I know that is against everything the jedi taught-"
"It was. But I've told you before, things have been changing. Denying love and attachment was what caused the downfall of the Jedi order to begin with. If my father had been allowed to love, had been able to speak to the Jedi masters about his fears, then he wouldn't have fallen under the sway of the darkness. I'll continue your training, Rey, if that is what you want." Luke says, and Rey nods.
"It is."
"I was hoping that you would say that." Luke smiles at her. "She really is beautiful, Rey. Congratulations." Rey beamed; she didn't know how it hadn't really occurred to her that Gemma shared DNA with Luke Skywalker. In her mind all she could think was that she was Ben's child, Leia and Han's grandchild. But Luke was her great Uncle, wasn't he? The thought of the baby growing up with so much family made her heart swell.
"Thank you! I love her so much...I can't wait until Leia gets to see her. I can't believe how much she's grown in a month, either...she's just growing into a beautiful little person...have you seen her eyes? They're just like Leia's, just like Ben's. They have been since the day that she was born. Eloriah told me that it was unusual, that most babies had light or blue eyes when they were first born, and then they faded to a darker color over time, but hers...hers were always beautiful and deep and brown."
"You sound like a proud mother. That's good." Luke smiles.
"There is nothing I wouldn't do for her." Rey says, gently brushing her black curls away from her little forehead. Her heart ached with the truth of those words; she'd do anything for the tiny human, even leaving the man she loved alone to face the most dangerous force in the galaxy. Luke catches her hand, and looks at her daughter again.
"You did the right thing, Rey." He says, and she nods slightly. "I know that it's difficult to know that, I feel your conflict. But you've done the right thing. Look at your daughter; she's safe right now, because of you, because of the choice you made. She's safe, and she's with one of her parents. That's what you wanted for her, wasn't it?"
"Yes. Yes, it is. And I know that you're right, I do. I know that he was right, and that I was right to listen to him. But knowing that something is right never makes things easier." Rey sighs.
"You're right." Luke nods. "But sometimes, it will at least give a bit of comfort."
"Yes. I suppose it does." Her daughter's eyes flutter and open, and Luke smiles.
"Look at that. Just like Leia's." He observes. "Just like her sons."
"We lost them!" Poe announces, coming back up. Rey smiles at him, and his eyes fall down to Gemma, now awake and wiggling.
"Wonderful! I'm going to go and uh, see if Chewy needs any help. Maybe see if I can get Eloriah more comfortable." Luke says, awkwardly leaving the space.
"So, this is Gemma." Poe observes, stepping forward awkwardly.
"Yes." Rey nods. He comes a bit closer, and kneels on the floor beside the cot.
"She's uh, she's beautiful." Poe says, smiling at her. "Looks like you. And uh, like him, I think. I haven't really seen his face in person, just in some spy holos, but uh, she's got his hair, doesn't she?"
"She does, she really does." Rey tickles the baby's belly with her index finger. She glances up at Poe through her lashes, and remembers the last time they'd seen each other, the gentle kiss they'd shared. "Poe…"
"Everyone back on the base knows, that it's Leia's grandkid." Poe says casually, and Rey nods. She'd suspected as much, and she wouldn't really have it any other way. Not now. "I mean, we never officially said it was mine, just let people assume. Some of them feel pretty stupid." He smirks.
"Poe, I can't even begin to thank you, for what you were willing to do for us. When I thought that was the only way, Well, you really were my hero." Rey says softly. He shrugs. "You really were, Poe! You were so much better than anyone really deserved."
"I was happy to do it, Rey." It doesn't need to be said that he'd done it not just to be a nice guy, but also because he'd had feelings for her. She opens her mouth to speak, and he holds up his hand. "Hey, I understand, Rey. In another life, right?"
"Yeah…" She says softly.
"Do you think I could hold her?" He asks, and Rey nods. She's surprised how easily Poe scoops her up, and holds her. "She really is gorgeous. Just like mom."
"Flatterer." She rolls her eyes.
"Rey, do you think- Oh, sorry- I didn't...I'll just…" Eloriah begins to back out of the alcove just as quickly as she'd come in.
"No, that's alright Eloriah, come in." Rey says, glancing down at Poe and then at her redheaded friend again. "Poe, this is Eloriah, she delivered Gemma. Eloriah, this is Poe Dameron, best pilot in the resistance."
"Well, we did meet briefly earlier, didn't we?" Poe laughs. He hands Rey her daughter, and shakes Eloriah's hand. "You know, it didn't occur to me until just now that you probably could've walked in on your own. Sorry about that...sometimes I just pop into hero mode. That's what General Organa calls it."
"Oh, no, it was fine, I mean, I'm really not great on my feet- or, I mean, I'm pretty good with my hands, delivering babies and stuff, but coordination has never been my best...thing." Eloriah stammers, her face turning red. "Sorry, talking has never been a strong point either, I guess."
"That's alright." Poe smiles at her, and rises. "Oh- hey, you're bleeding." He gestures to her knee, where she'd scraped it during her tumble.
"Oh- oh! I...guess I didn't even notice." Eloriah shakes her head.
"Can't say I blame you. Probably in a little bit of shock." Poe shrugs, and puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Come on then, let's go get you cleaned up."
"Oh, I can handle it myself, I mean, I am a nurse." She says, looking down nervously.
"Come on, what kind of gentleman would I be if I left a lady in need?" He insists. "Besides, I know where we keep our Med Kit. It's a little hard to find. Neatness has never been priority on this ship."
"Go on then." Rey says, tilting her chin towards the opening of the alcove. "Take good care of her Poe, she's a great nurse. She'll be a lot of help in our Med bays."
"What? You can trust me kid." Poe teases, and Rey smiles as Poe makes a quiet joke that makes Eloriah giggle, and then snort. Her daughter looks up at her with her big brown eyes, and she presses a kiss to her forehead.
"What? Mama can play matchmaker sometimes, can't she?" She whispers, and Gemma coos. "Yes, I think so. I knew you'd agree at least." Gemma yawns, her perfect pouty lips parting, and then smacking together gently. "You know, that's exactly how daddy yawns. Did you know that? He wouldn't admit it, but he's absolutely adorable when he yawns. No, not as precious as you, but no one is." A small bubble of saliva forms between those perfect lips, and Rey laughs quietly. "See? You prove my point every second of every day, just by breathing. Oh I love you so much. So does papa. He'd be here with us if he could, you know. But he's doing everything he can to keep you safe, to keep us safe. You're going to be so proud of him, when you're older. I know that you are. I know that I am. And I miss him. It's stupid, he's barely been gone, but our bond hasn't been this silent...ever. Not even the two days he was gone. It's so quiet, empty. But at least I have you- you're so like him. Once, when he thought I was asleep, he was talking to you...and he told you that you were the best thing he'd ever done. The only good thing. I don't quite know if I agree, but it shows how much he loves you, doesnt it?" She asks, holding her a little closer, letting her curl gently against her chest. "But you are the best thing I've ever done. I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt."