"What the hell happened to Rey?!" Poe said almost in a panic
"Get her to the nearest medical facility, fast." Ben spoke urgently, holding Rey close and trying to keep her conscious.
Poe nearly jumped at the sight of Kylo Ren boarding his ship.
"General...?" He asked borderline freaked out by the whole ordeal.
"Get to a medical facility!" She told him as Poe didn't even think twice to question Leia. He blasted off in a heartbeat.
But it was Ben who was the most panicked. There was her. All of her. And now their child.
Leia sat close by, trying to bandage the wound until they arrived.
"Ben, I love you." Rey blurted out with her consciousness slipping away from her. Her injury was critical.
"No... Rey... no." He said over and over as tears streamed down his face. There was nothing inside him that would allow the love of his life to be taken from him.
Searching deep in her memory, Leia remembered a healing method of the force she'd read about from one of the Jedi texts many many years before. She had no idea how to summon it, or even if she had the power to perform it. But seeing her son, who would be forever torn by losing the only person he truly loved, pushed her to the realization that at this point anything was worth trying. Rey was still conscious. So they would only had a few moments to do this.
She reached out into the force, calling every Jedi spirit to help her. She set her hand gently near the bandaged wound on Rey's abdomen, Calling to Luke, her father Anakin, Obi-Wan, anyone that could help her. Ben immediately realized what she was doing, and set his hand beside his mother's. He too began calling out, for the first time in several years, to anyone who would listen.
'Dad' he cried in his thoughts. 'I'm so sorry, for everything. Please, help Rey.' He pleaded to the force in desperation.
Suddenly, the two heard Rey gasping for air, as her abdomen raised and fell perfectly now.
"Rey?" Ben asked looking into her eyes.
"Ben." She answered in tears lifting a hand to the back of his neck urging him to come closer. He eagerly complied, burying his face into her neck and crying hysterically.
"I'm here." She whispered, "thank you." She added still holding Ben close and reaching a hand out towards Leia.
Leia smiled and took the girl's hand in her's comfortingly. She didn't know if it was the love she had for her because what she meant to her son, or whether she seen Rey as the daughter she never had, or whether it was because she carried her grandchild, or all of it, but Leia felt immense love and relief for Rey at that moment. She was her family now. And nothing could ever change that.
"But something's wrong..." Rey addressed
Ben, almost uncharacteristically concerned turned to her and felt it too. Leia even felt some kind of distress through the force. But it all quickly ended peacefully.
"Poe, let's still get her to that medical facility," Leia asked urgently
"I'm on it." He acknowledged and increased the speed of the ship.
"Rey, what do you feel?" Ben asked searching her eyes.
She shut her eyes for a moment, sensing death, but sudden, and peaceful, but also life, a second chance, and another hope.
She told this to Ben and Leia, who both could not fully understand what these feelings were telling her.
"We're here!" Poe announced landing the ship.
"I'll go get the doctors and tell them it's an emergency. You two stay with Rey." Poe said before rushing out.
"Rey, we're at the medical facility." Leia said soothingly as she and Ben helped her up
The three walked out of the ship, to be met with doctors who brought a wheelchair out for Rey to bring her in with.
"I'm gonna re-park and I'll be in the waiting room." Poe told Ben and Leia as they separated to stay with Rey.
Nearly an hour later, Rey laid in a medical bed seeing Leia and Ben sit beside her in chairs.
The doctor came into the room; a woman with a regretful look spread across their face. The three immediately sensed bad news.
"Hi, Ms..." the doctor began looking through her document but not seeing a last name for Rey listed.
"Solo. Rey Solo." Rey spoke immediately sensing Ben and Leia's reaction, and reached out to take Ben's hand. She needed all of his presence just in case this was in fact bad news.
"Ms. Solo..." She said sitting in a third chair across from the rest, "I'm so sorry, but it seems that you were carrying twins, but one has passed on."
"What about the other?" Rey asked eyes filling with tears, still clinging on to hope.
"The other is perfectly healthy... it's quite incredible really, considering the trauma you went through before arriving here... I'm truly sorry about your other one," she doctor sighed, "it is just much too early in your pregnancy to have had them delivered."
"I understand." Rey responded before they all thanked the doctor for her help.
"How far am I along?" Rey asked really having no idea what week it could have began.
"I would say... right around the three month mark. Is there anything else you have questions about?" The doctor asked sympathetically, "routines, diets, things of that sort."
"Yes," Leia began, "what things shouldn't she be doing, especially after this situation?" Spoken like a true mother who needed the doctor to tell their kid something so they would be more apt to listen.
"No stressing. You need to relax." The doctor told Rey, "you just saved a galaxy, go home with your family."
Thankfully, even though Rey had become very recognizable over the past few months, Ben was hardly recognizable to the general public without his mask and would probably be able to get by in some planets for the rest of their lives.
The doctor left the room and left the three on their own. Ben moved closer to Rey so that he could hold her close. She buried her head into his chest. Still conflicted over the feeling of pain or joy.
As she stayed embracing Ben, Leia walked around to the other side of the bed and sat beside her, comfortingly setting a hand on her shoulder.
Even though having twins still terrified Rey, she deeply regretted what she had said before. If it happened to be twins it was meant to be. But now with only one something felt incomplete.
"It's not your fault, Rey." Leia told her soothingly, "we'll get through this, I promise."
Rey searched for Ben's eyes. Needing his comfort now most of all. His promise.
"I'm not going anywhere." He spoke stroking her face gently.
—
After a while, the group finally left the medical facility and boarded Poe's ship.
It had been several hours, and the group was exhausted by the time they finally headed home.
Leia rested on one of the ships seats, trying to close her eyes for a while and process all that had just happened in that short time.
Ben and Rey sat together by a wall, still holding each other and also trying to get some rest before heading home. Near him, she never felt like a nobody. She felt complete, wanted and needed.
"So let me get this straight..." Poe said interrupting them as he had just left the ship on autopilot, "you're no longer with the First Order?" He asked looking to Ben.
"No... not anymore."
"What exactly... changed your mind 'cause you know it wasn't too long ago you had me held in an interrogation chair tortured by your droids until you sucked the information pretty painfully out of my mind..."
"I'm sorry about that... but, I realized that I was wrong."
"That fast? Because only a few months ago you had us blacked up and almost dead on Crait."
"It was Rey... she changed me."
"Poe you know about the relationship already... but it's been going on for months... I shouldn't have hidden from you, Finn, Rose and Leia for so long but it wasn't an easy time... we still weren't sure if what we were doing was right, or even safe." Rey explained
"Wait... how many months are you along?" Poe asked
"Three months."
"Yeah... so not too long after Crait..." he figured
"Whenever it was, it's not exactly your business. What's important is that Ben's here and that he's on our side."
"Yeah, okay..." Poe said still with a bit of disappointment.
After all Kylo Ren had done, it wouldn't be that easy for everyone to welcome him back. He had cost Resistance Fighters more than he could ever account for. And the pair realized this.
"Do you think we should go somewhere else?" Ben suggested already foreseeing all the distrust and disapproval he'd receive when arriving back on the Resistance base
"They'll get over it, Ben. Eventually." Rey smiled slightly, trying to remain hopeful as she leaned back into Ben's embrace.
"It's not that simple." He reminded her. "I know what I've done. What they think of me."
"Give them a chance. Like you gave me a chance." She said taking his hand and intertwining their fingers gently.
"You're different, Rey. Quite a bit different. We have a special connection that probably has never been seen before... we understand each other in a way that no one else can."
"Here we are again, then." She said sadly
"Look, it's not about us Rey, there is nothing that could make me want to leave you. But as soon as I get there I just know they'll want me dead."
"We'll warn them, before you walk out of the ship-"
"I know what I've done," He sighed, "to their friends, their families... my father... I can understand why they wouldn't want me alive after everything."
Rey shut her eyes painfully and turned her face towards Ben's chest, tears falling against the black patterned material.
He set his other hand around her shoulders, holding her close
"You're going to be like this for a while aren't you?" He asked empathetically only for her to sniffle through her tears as an answer.
"That's okay." He comforted
"After everything I just want to be with you." She sobbed into him, "I'm tired of always being something I'm not for others."
"I know that feeling. Quite well in fact." He said
"I know." She cried
Leia heard the two speaking and had woken up to Rey crying.
"Rey, dear, what's wrong?" Leia asked her walking over to the two
"Mother, I don't think I can face the Resistance..." Ben said shamefully.
"I figured that you would feel like this." She sighed. "And to be honest... I know the people down there will never understand this whole situation."
"What do we do?" Ben asked in despair, "Rey shouldn't have to put up with all of this."
"I know," Leia said painfully. "If it would help, maybe we can find another planet for the two of you to stay on until we come up with a plan on what to do next." Leia told her.
Rey nodded her head into Ben's chest trying to overcome her moment of frustration with a deep breath. She was supposed to be the light in the balance. But the past few hours felt like this whole unending test. Making her feel anger, pain, and then everything all over again.
It wasn't too long until they got to the Resistance base, where they found an adequate ship to lend Ben and Rey. It wasn't much and was a bit aged, but it could fly well, had a place to sleep and a small refresher. It was what they needed, and very generous of Leia and Poe to give them such a ship.
"I'll see you soon then?" Rey asked Leia as they boarded the ship.
"Soon, I promise." She said giving the girl a hug.
"You'd better take care of her, son." Leia said looking toward Ben and even getting a small smile out of him, "I know we aren't used to Rey needing a lot from us. But even if she refuses you remind her you're always there for her."
"I know," Ben replied, accepting a hug from his mother.
BB-8 then rolled out of Poe's ship asking if he could give Rey a communication chip.
Rey smiled and took it from the droid. "I'll miss you, little friend."
He beeped cheerfully, reminding Rey it wouldn't be too long until they saw each other again.
Rey lovingly smiled at BB-8 and then turned back to Leia sadly.
"Anything you need, whatever time, you call me." Leia told her.
"Thank you." Rey said softly before giving her one last hug.
"Go on you two." Leia said with a smile and a tear in her eye watching Ben and Rey board the ship and shut the door behind him.
'Here's hoping they can actually stand the test of time.' She thought, knowing it would be one of the hardest challenges of all.
Okay but like, Leia being such a mom! Writing this was so much fun and I can't wait to release the next chapter tomorrow! :) Hope you all enjoyed and please review! -Michelle