"Where to now?" Rey asked smiling as she joined Ben in the cockpit.
"Anywhere you want." He responded as she observed him with a pleased expression.
"I love you sitting in your father's seat." She mentioned, "it suits you."
"I'm not about to be a smuggler..."
"Maybe not a smuggler... but definitely a scoundrel." She smirked setting two arms around his chest.
"I'll be cleaning up in the refresher." She said and kissed his cheek sweetly before she turned and walked away.
He sighed trying to calm himself from the incident with the Resistance as he piloted the ship outside the planet's atmosphere. Setting the ship on autopilot, he then reached into his pocket and clutched the small box his mother had given him in their conversation, suddenly feeling visions appear. They were of Endor, just over 30 years ago. Something was telling him to go there.
Almost as if the force willed it, he moved his hand over to the controls and changed the coordinates of their destination.
"Ben, I'm proud of you." Said a voice from the corner of the room.
Ben was stunned at first to hear a man's voice, only he and Rey had boarded the ship. He turned his head to see the force ghost of someone he'd never met before. But his presence was peaceful, almost familiar even though they were strangers.
"It's me, your grandfather, Anakin..." he said
"I know..." Ben spoke still in startled by his sudden visit.
Anakin then came around the seat and sat beside him.
"Where were you, all those years I called for you?" Ben asked
"Calling for you..."
"What do you mean?"
"You were calling out to Vader. I ceased to be Vader right before my death. I have been Anakin Skywalker ever since..."
Ben sighed, knowing this was the truth, and the one he dreaded. After years of asking for guidance, and learning that no one was listening made him feel ashamed inside. Incredibly foolish for allowing Snoke to twist his mind into believing Vader could really hear him and would answer someday.
"Ben, the important thing is that you realize this now." Anakin said sensing his thoughts, "and you came back. Now you have a chance at being happy."
Ben thought for a moment. Clutching the small box in his pocket and feeling anxious about Rey.
"Thinking about Rey and the baby aren't you?" Anakin said
"I feel terrible about everything..." Ben said regretfully, "she's 20... and just spent 14 years of her life in isolation on Jakku of all places... there's no way that she wants all this yet." Ben said with tears emerging in his eyes.
Anakin sighed, "half of it's already happened though hasn't it?"
Ben looked up at him in confusion.
"And she's still here with you isn't she? She defended you against the Resistance and her friends."
Ben looked down realizing this but still felt anxiety creep up on him.
"How do I know she isn't doing this over responsibility? Just because she's already pregnant and I'm the father? We never would have met on Hoth if it wasn't to discuss our plan."
"Do you think of her in that way?" Anakin asked, "a responsibility?"
"No. Never. I'd do anything for her."
Anakin calmly smiled and nodded his head as he remembered being exactly where Ben was right at this moment.
"Reach out to her. Talk to her. If she's still here after everything you've been through, it must mean something. Trust me. I had terrible moments also. And the fact that your grandmother stayed with me throughout everything meant that she truly cared."
"You had my mother and uncle after you were married. And my grandmother was 27 when they were born."
"Ben, aside from ages, you need to speak with her and be honest about your fears, hopes, and everything along those lines. You both have created your situation and must adjust. But if you ask her what she wants to do with it, it may not be too different than what you want."
Ben nodded silently.
"I need to ask you something else..." Ben began, "how do I help her with those dreams? The ones I had my entire life until they consumed me."
"With patience, with comfort, and with reassuring your support. Dreams are almost never an accurate revelation of your future. We both learned in the most terrible ways that one creates their future with each choice they make. Those voices are meant to scare you away from doing the right thing because they know being braver than your fears is the greatest test that one can face."
"Then what is this imbalance she talks about? That if we are a dyad of the light our child will be turned to darkness."
"That does sound like it would work within the rules of the force, balancing, unless all of you would meet in the middle."
"So to all be neutral force users? Without aligning with the Jedi or Sith?"
"Exactly. It is difficult, but it has been done by other force users."
Ben looked down with a worried expression. The reason why many gravitated toward being a Sith or Jedi was because the expectations were clear and belief systems so vastly different one could easily tell them apart. Being a grey Jedi, or neutral force user required an intense ability to control one's emotions and use them to their advantage without drowning in ones like anger, fear, and pain. Ben could imagine himself and Rey trying this, but the expectation of training a young child to control their emotions in such a complex way was overwhelming.
He turned to his grandfather, about to ask how he and Rey could even begin to train another force user in neutral ways. But Anakin had already vanished into the force. These were questions that the couple could be guided through but ultimately needed to discover answers for themselves.
He then took a deep breath. Taking the box from his pocket and hiding it in one of the storage units. He came here just to be with Rey, and that's exactly what he intended to do. He needed to talk to her. Indulge in her company. Anything.
Standing up, he exited the cockpit and made his way to the private quarters of the Falcon.
Sorry for the short chapter! I went to see The Rise of Skywalker a third time today and cried but hey I survived! Thanks for reading and of course a new chapter tomorrow! -Michelle