With the sun setting and the raindrops hitting her window like the fingers of the ghosts from her past tapping to get her attention to pointlessly try to make her let them inside, Rey was almost asleep. Nothing could hurt her anymore, especially now that her baby was in her arms. She smiled as Anna sighed in her sleep, and brushed her finger against her tiny hand. In those few days they have spent together, Rey reached the conclusion that motherhood was terrifying, but also the best thing that could have ever happened to her. Anna was fascinating and she loved discovering new things about her every now and then.

Every morning, Anna woke up on her own and went to the bathroom to wash her face, brush her teeth and hair and dress up. Once she was ready, she would return by her mother's side and cuddle at her chest, caressing her cheeks until she eventually woke up for a lovely session of kisses and tickling. After Rey was ready as well, she would normally change Anna's clothes as the little pumpkin wasn't that great at putting on her clothes just yet, then they enjoyed a nice breakfast together. Anna sure loved arugula, bell pepper and feta cheese sandwiches and a tall glass of milk. Once their bellies were full, Anna had a strict schedule and she refused not having her mother respect her schedule. So until lunch, they were not allowed to do anything but Anna's favourite activities and Rey sure didn't mind painting and playing with her daughter. Moreover, she was slowly trying to integrate her hobbies in her job. She was not sure whether her daughter would inherit her passion for cooking and baking, but so far, she seemed to be enjoying decorating cookies and bagels and making shapes out of sugar paste. Once exhausted after all the playing and arts and crafts, she ate her bowl of soup and vegetables, then dragged Rey with her in bed for her nap-nap. Usually, Rey took advantage of Anna's nap time to clean, do the laundry, cook or just stare at her in awe, watching her breath, whimper and seek her body for her maternal warmth. Hours later, the youngest Solo was going to have a snack, usually something sweet, before lazily retiring in her mother's arms for another less demanding activity such as reading, playing with Fufu and Bee or watching cartoons as her mom was making her new toys, completing Fufu's family. Before falling asleep again, it was bath time and Rey had learnt from their first night together that she was afraid of getting inside the bathtub, but loved the water and playing in it… unlike Bee. And once all clean, depending on how tired she was, Anna drank one last glass of milk before asking her mother to read her a bedtime story as she caressed Bee.

"Isn't she the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?" she said as Ben entered the bedroom, trying to make no noise. He parted his lips to point out that she was no longer a baby, but Rey didn't need another painful reminder that they'd missed her first three years, so he just nodded fascinated with his daughter's face oscillating between grumpiness and joy.

"You know… it's so easy to figure out when she's dreaming because she furrows just like you do."

"Yeah… she's a cuter mini-me," he chuckled joining them in bed and caressed her tiny hand, letting Anna grab his finger and hold it tight. With her other hand, she was holding Rey's hand, who was still analysing every single feature on her daughter's face.

"I made this…" she reached for Ben's hand and he took it without any hesitation this time. "We made this."

Ben continued to remain silent, looking at Anna pursing her lips and sighing. He bit his lip trying to keep himself from laughing too loudly and waking her up.

"I wonder what's she dreaming."

"She'll tell us later. Her nap is almost over."

She looked at Ben and caressed his fingers with her thumb.

"This morning she told me about how she dreamt her mommy from the sky."

Ben's face softened seeing Rey's wet eyes and chewing on her lip.

"It's ok," he took her hand to his lips and kissed her sensing the faint aroma of cinnamon on her skin. "It's been just a couple of days. She'll get used to us and learn that we are her parents."

Rey furrowed and pulled her hand out of his. It's been a couple of days that she adored, but that didn't change the fact that she had been mostly a single mother. Regardless of how selfish she was, she wanted Ben to be part of their daughter's life and be the family they were supposed to be.

"It would help a lot if you spent more time with us and move back here."

He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Please don't do this."

"Do what, Ben? Remind you that you broke your promise less than one day after making it? We were supposed to be a family and you bailed on us!"

"I don't want to have this conversation right now," he tried to calm her down, especially now that Anna was getting rather agitated in her sleep. Rey got up and stormed to him, pulling him by the arm and dragging him into the walk-in closet.

"What's your problem?" she lashed at him.

"This," he opened his arms exasperated and Rey raised an eyebrow rather confused before he continued. "The fighting and the toxic environment for our daughter."

Rey shook her head, not believing what she was hearing.

"Our family is a toxic environment for Anna?"

He said nothing, avoiding her gaze.

"You still want to divorce me," she concluded, clenching her fists.

"Need I remind you that you asked me for the divorce?"

Oh, no! She was not going to allow him to put the blame on her or act all the conceited.

"Look, Rey…" he sighed. "I'm not going to take Anna away from you or ask you to leave this house. I will be present in her life for as long as she wants me to be, but it is better for you two to be on your own and make up for the lost time."

"Without you," she snarled with her eyes getting wet.

Ben sat down on the bench and looked at her. Despite his serene face, Rey knew him very well and could read the misery in his eyes.

"I can't have Anna live with us if we keep arguing all the time. even if it means giving her up and taking care of her only when you allow me or when you're busy. And you too deserve to be in a relationship with someone less fucked up and maybe younger."

Rey snorted. Living with Anna those past few days, she finally understood how young she was and how unprepared she was when it came to taking care of a child. But that was why he was there. They were supposed to learn together and grow together… but he ended up bailing on her… them.

"I…" his voice trembled and he inhaled deeply, licking his lips. "I can't help blaming myself for everything. Luke is dead because of me, because of how reckless I was. And so are my mom and dad. I dragged you in this relationship full of misery and I couldn't even take care of you. You were right under my nose and I let him take you and torture you. Because of me, you've lost Anna an-"

"Ben, shut up!" she said grabbing his head and kissing him. At first, he rejected her, but as his body recognized her touch, he parted his lips, allowing her to make love to him. They stopped only when Bee's unhappy meowing distracted them. They turned and looked at a sleepy Anna holding the poor cat like a bag of potatoes.

"Ben!" she smiled and ran to him, throwing herself in his arms. Rey took the poor cat as her daughter was focused on climbing in her father's arms.

"Hey," he hugged her back. "How are you, my love?"

"Hungry," she said focused on rubbing her palms on his chin, giggling at his stubble tickling her. "Eat pie?"

"We have warm apple cobbler with cinnamon and vanilla ice cream," said Rey taking his hand as he carried Anna downstairs. He put her on a chair and pulled another one to sit next to her as Rey served three slices of cobbler with a huge scoop of ice cream.

"I see you're not fans of healthy dinners," he chuckled looking at Anna as she grabbed a teaspoon and shoved in the ice cream.

"It's her dessert from lunch," explained Rey joining them and barely hiding her smile. That was the closest thing they had ever had to a family meal. "She usually doesn't eat dinner."

"You stay?"

Ben looked at his adorable daughter, who already had cinnamon on her nose. He chuckled, not being able to resist her charm. As Rey previously said - they made that gorgeous little girl. How was it possible for someone so perfect to come out of a monster and a poor girl?

"So?" asked him Rey with a serious look on her face. "Are you going to stay, Ben?"

"Pleeeeeease!" begged him Anna pressing her cheeks to make a funny face.

Stay with them? If he had done that, he wouldn't have been able to leave that house ever again.

"Umm… I brought you a present!" he got up all excited and left the kitchen, returning with a gift bag. He put it on the table and let a very curious Anna take it.

"Whoa!" she smiled.

Following Luke's death, Ben had to call Kaydel to take Rey and Anna to the mall to buy all the necessary things for such a small child, while he took care of his uncle's remains. Those past days, he had been busy with the funeral and taking care of Luke belongings, so that he ended up not finding even five minutes to buy something for his daughter. Of course, she had the gifts he got her with Finn, Poe and Rose, but he wanted to give her all the things in the world. And maybe they were not modern, but he knew that Anna would love his old puzzles and Babar books just like he used to. In fact, had he not loved them so much, perhaps Luke wouldn't have kept them in a box in the attic.

Anna pulled out the puzzles and books.

"Read book, yes?"

Ben sighed and looked at Rey, who just shrugged with her arms crossed at her chest. She was really going to watch him succumb to the will of a three-year-old girl.

"Rey draw?"

She nodded and got up taking the empty plates and the teaspoons, dropping them in the sink, then took the mug full of coloured pencils and the paper off the counter. She put them on the table and pulled her chair closer to Ben's. Anna was now sitting in his lap, spreading the puzzle pieces all over the table.

"Do you want me to help you with the puzzle or draw you something."

"Mmm…" pursed Anna her lips just like her mother. "We puzzle and Ben draw."

The two parents chuckled. She had already noticed that Ben was the one with artistic talents.

"What do you want me to draw?" asked Ben playing with her curls.

"I want Fufu and Anna."

He took a sheet of paper and a turquoise pencil.

"Do you want daddy to draw you an elephant?"

Rey raised an eyebrow and smirked, making Ben look confused at her. His mouth opened in a silent exclamation and his gaze immediately lowered on his daughter, who was now staring at him with narrowed eyes as if analysing him. For a moment, he hoped she hadn't heard him, but he already knew that she was too clever to not understand him.

"Ben is Anna's daddy?" she asked as if interrogating him.

He did not know what to answer, too afraid of her rejecting him or having a shock.

"Do you want me to be your daddy?"

The little girl looked back at her puzzle and pursed her lips concentrated on matching the pieces. She slammed her tiny fist on the table, forcing the puzzle piece to go into its right place.

"Mmm…" she began murmuring and, knowing her, her parents sighed ready to hear her rejecting Ben's offer. But she was his daughter and she was going to be just like him - unpredictable. She looked at him again and smiled. "Yes?"

Oh, that was too much for his heart! He hugged her, then pointed at his wife.

"And Rey? Do you want her to be your mommy?"

Anna turned to look at Rey, but instead of a similar reaction, she furrowed and spoke on a radical tone.

"Mommy sky."

Ben expected Rey to shrug and act all brave, but it seemed that her daughter's refusal to accept her as her mother was the last straw. She stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the bedroom door behind her.

"Why Rey sad?" whined Anna.

"Let me show you something," spoke Ben gently, kissing her head. He put her on his shoulders, making her giggle and took her to his study. There, he put her on his desk and went to grab Rey's childhood photos and one of his, with him and his mom.

"Look, Anna," he sat on the chair and pulled her in his lap.

The girl looked at them for a while, then at him.

"Anna?" she asked pointing at his photo.

"No, this is Ben and this is my mommy. She is in the sky too."

"Ben mommy sky?" she pouted with sadness.

"Yes and look at this. Who is this?"

"Anna?"

"It's Rey."

The little girl furrowed and kept looking at the photos and her image reflected in the monitor. Maybe it was too much for someone so young, but even if she couldn't just understand yet, she was most certainly aware of the resemblance. She kept touching her nose while pointing at Rey's, then her hair, pointing at Ben's.

"Ben?" she called him grabbing his chin.

"What, my pumpkin?" he caressed her puffy cheeks.

"Ben my daddy, yes?"

/|\

"Rey-Rey?"

Rey rolled her eyes and sniffed.

"I want to be alone, Ben."

"But we have a surprise for you."

Sighing, she got up as Ben opened the door, entering with Anna in his arms. He put her down and the little girl ran to her mother.

"For you," she smiled handing her a piece of paper half her size. Rey wiped her tears and took it rather reluctantly as her daughter jumped in her arms and sat on her knee. "Here!" she pointed at her drawing. "Ben and Rey and Anna and Fufu and here mommy sky. Ben say Rey mommy sky too."

She looked at Ben rather confused. What was her little mango trying to say?

"I told her that our mothers are in the sky as well and that we now have each other. I also showed her some photos of us around her age."

"I want Rey mommy here," explained Anna bored by the adult talk. "Ok? I like Rey."

Rey smiled tearing up again. She hugged her daughter and kissed her cheeks. The tiny mango sure loved all the pampering and attention.

"I love you!" said Rey peppering her with kisses.

"I know," laughed the girl. "Bath now?"

"You want your bath already?"

"I want Ben bath."

Rey looked at her husband with a suggestive smile. He capitulated with a nod and took Anna back in his arms as Rey went to fill the bathtub with water.

"You come in?" pointed Anna at her dad and then at the water. "Water scary."

"It's not scary," he kneeled, holding her to touch the water with her fingers. "See? Warm and good."

"Yeah, but come in?"

Ben shook his head with an amused grin. His wife kneeled next to him and together they undressed their mischievous daughter. She did scream when they put her in the water, but before her tears even had the chance to come out, she was already waving her hands under the water, watching them all fascinated.

"I love her so much," admitted Ben, watching her play with the foam. "She's perfect."

Rey took his hand and they looked at each other feeling more in love than ever.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?"

"She's probably going to be my only child ever, so I must thank you for giving me such an amazing gift."

Rey bit her tongue, not wanting to cause a scene in front of their daughter… again. But of course, she was not happy with him being a loving father and yet refusing to be the family they were meant to be. Instead, she kissed his cheek, squeezing his thigh.

"Well… she's going to be our only child for now. I do plan to have this house full of baby Solo's in the next ten years."

She playfully ignored his red cheeks and focused on her daughter. Once Anna was all clean and her hands were all wrinkly, they covered her with one of their huge white towels, making her look like a burrito, then took her back in the bedroom. Rey let Ben take care of Anna while she came back with a clean pyjama. They dressed her in her green pyjamas with dalmatians, then let her hide under the duvet, with Bee soon following her.

"I should be going now," said Ben feeling a sharp pain in his chest, which ended up amplified by Anna's sad face.

"But I wanna sleep Ben and Rey!" she whined. "Your promise story!"

He capitulated once more. And after three bedtime stories, some Scooby-Doo episodes, some maze games and Anna's reenactment of her favourite Looney Tunes episode, she capitulated as well. Once asleep, Ben let himself fall on his back and stretched his arms and legs, then rubbed his eyes.

"She's something."

"She's usually not this agitated, but she was afraid you would leave and she wouldn't get to see you again."

Ben looked at his wife with a guilty look on his face but decided to change the subject.

"Have you taken her to the doctor?"

"Yeah," she nodded not understanding his sudden question. "She's perfectly healthy. A bit small for her age, but she'll grow tall and beautiful."

"And her speech? Shouldn't she speak better for someone her age?"

"She's only three," snorted Rey rolling her eyes. "Besides, she speaks perfectly. She's just lazy and hasty and doesn't want to waste precious time and words. If you catch her in one of her good days, you'll be surprised by her complex sentences. She's very smart.

Ben agreed, admiring his sleeping daughter as he and Rey said nothing else, letting an awkward silence build a wall between them.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she said much later. "The funeral was really beautiful and it's great that he was honoured like the hero he was."

Ben furrowed as he was chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"Yeah… How do you know about the funeral? I asked Kaydel to announce you, but she told me that you couldn't come."

"Well, I couldn't come at first," she yawned. "I didn't want to expose Anna to a funeral, but I had to go with Kaydel to change the plaque on Margaret's grave anyway. We buried the remains of her son in her grave and wrote 'beloved daughter and sister' on the plaque. It happened on the same day as Luke's funeral, so I watched it from the distance. I'm sorry I couldn't be by your side."

"It's fine," he shrugged.

"You know…" she said biting her lip. "Luke didn't die for us to be a family only to disrespect him by divorcing and sharing Anna every now and then."

"Rey, please…"

"Don't you love me anymore?"

"No, I don't!" he said on a radical tone, then quickly looked at Anna, who was still sleeping. "I don't love you anymore, Rey, and if I must say this a thousand times, then I'll do it. You need to divorce me and find yourself a nice man who can love you and give you all the babies you want and the safety you deserve."

She chuckled licking her lips.

"So you don't love me anymore?"

"No, I don't. All the secrets, lies and accusations killed my love for you."

"Ok," she shrugged, then turned her head to look at the rain. The flashes of lightning and the thunders were so scary that it surprised her how Anna had been ignoring them all evening. "You shouldn't be driving in this weather," she remarked. "And it would make Anna incredibly happy to have breakfast with you tomorrow. Maybe you can also join us at the farm to see the animals."

Ben intended to reject her offer, but he was indeed afraid of driving in that weather and he was dying to spend more time with Anna.

"I guess I can go to sleep in the guest bedroom."

"As you wish," stretched Rey getting up. "I'm going to take a bath. These past few days I've got used to taking baths with Anna, but today it seems that I'm going to take one by myself, especially now that you no longer love me."

Smirking like Bee when her belly was full of chicken, Rey took off her plain grey cotton dress, exposing her latest gift from Dahlia. Ben stared at the baby blue lace and mesh bodysuit, realising why it had taken Rey so long to bring Anna's pyjamas. His eyes followed Rey as she strutted on her way to the bathroom, realising that he had lost the war with this final capitulation. He went after her, grabbing her arm and wiped that smirk off her face with the hungriest and most desperate kiss.

/|\

\|/

"Horsey!" giggled Anna as the instructor helped her ride the pony. Rey waved at her, feeling proud of her brave little girl and equally amused by her helmet and boots, then returned to the table, by Ben's side. She took his hand for a romantic moment, but he remained cold and distant. She couldn't understand why. After the night they had spent together, she had hoped that maybe they were going to be fine. He had devoured her mouth and kissed every inch of her body and even after their bath, still unable to sleep, they hid in the guest bedroom for more caresses and kisses. Once they finished, they barely found the strength to return by Anna's side and the three of them slept together. In the morning, Anna woke up before them and after she finished brushing her hair, teeth and washing her face, she returned by their side, wearing only underwear and socks. She alternated between hugging and tickling each one of them until she made sure that they were awake. Still rather exhausted, Rey went downstairs to prepare the breakfast as Ben changed Anna's clothes into something more suitable for their trip to the farm. After some nice and delicious French toast, they left even with Bee wearing a harness for cats.

Therefore, if their time together had been so lovely, then why was Ben acting like that?

"What's wrong?" she whispered worriedly.

"We're going to have a visit tomorrow afternoon from the child protective services."

"Why?" she furrowed. "I mean… isn't it too soon?"

"Not for someone in our situation. Anna was found in a trashcan while I was in jail and you were kidnapped. We're not exactly the most reliable people."

"But we're her parents. Of course, we're taking care of her and giving her the b-"

"Her bedroom is not ready yet," spoke Ben ignoring her panicked voice. "And my work situation is not the best and you haven't been working as much as before. We can say that we have decided to take some time off to spend every minute with her and that we have money in the bank and an inheritance from Luke."

"Ben," she grabbed his wrist with a feral look on her face. "I won't let them take her away from me."

"See?" he said biting his thumb nervously. "That's why I told you that we should get a divorce. I'm a bad influence and I'm only going to make things more complicated for our case. Anna is not safe around me."

"Ben, what on earth?" she furrowed. "Don't you think that I'm scared all the time? I watch her sleep and I'm afraid that she might suffocate in her sleep and die without me even noticing. Or choke on her food. Or drown in the bathtub. She can be safe for years and then get hit by a car on her way to school. I'm panicking every single moment, but I choose to be present and enjoy this experience without letting those bad thoughts poison my heart. I can't isolate her from the world. And if I am an incompetent parent, but still trying, then you have no excuse to bail on us at this point. The only way you can help us is by being present, by being a father and a husband."

She stopped from her rant as the daughter of the farmer came to them with a wood cutting board full-on which she had a fresh out of the oven bread, and a tray with onions, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, salt and boiled quail eggs. She thanked the girl and waited for her to leave to carry on with her rant.

"So… Ben Solo. Tell me how me being a single mother in the middle of a messy divorce would help us keep Anna and not have her taken away permanently?"

Ben sighed and took a slice of bread, dipping it in the sour cream.

"I'll move back home today. When we leave this place, I'll drop by Luke's house to check if everything is fine and to take my things."

"Great," she smiled, though she was not feeling victorious at all. Ben seemed to have sensed her bad mood as he caressed her shoulder, soothing her pain.

"We won't lose her, Rey-Rey. I promise."

She smiled and looked at Anna laughing as she was riding her pony. She was not going to lose her again or ever. Not to the services, not to death.

/|\

"Best day!" jumped Anna with a terrified Bee in her arms. The animal had been chased by a bunch of fluffy ginger cats all day long and was now tired, despite sleeping on the bench for a long while Anna, too, slept in her father's arms. Now it was dark and the employees of the farm were preparing the fireworks for the show.

Once the sun set, more people began gathering with their children to watch the concert and enjoy the barbeque. Anna even got to befriend some of them, though Rey was beginning to believe that her daughter was a tiny dictator. They kept running around, playing with the animals as their parents listened to the romantic blues performed by local students. Though, it took Rey a lot of strength to listen to her own advice and just enjoy the moment, ignoring the fear she felt regarding the upcoming visit.

"We should do this more often," suggested Ben watching his daughter jump like a kangaroo.

"We should," nodded Rey feeling more relaxed as he hugged her with his huge body.

"Oh, I totally forgot about this," he said shoving his hand in his pocket. "The police found it in a box in what was left out of Maz's house."

Rey gasped as he revealed her long lost engagement ring. Ignoring the bad memories attached to how she had lost it, she covered her mouth laughing excited. Ben took her hand and put the ring on her finger. She watched him kiss her hand completely mesmerized and in love with him as the fireworks began lighting up the sky.

"Mommy, daddy, look!" yelled Anna all excited.

Rey's jaw dropped at the sound of her daughter's voice calling her like that. Her eyes filled up with tears and she looked at her husband.

"I love you the most, Rey-Rey," he admitted as he leaned in for a kiss. There was no need to ruin the kiss with her confession. He knew her heart had always been his and only his.