"Come on, kid!" laughed Anna clapping as her brother struggled with his horse. Unlike her, it took James more years to get the courage to mount a horse. Of course, James didn't have her fiery personality, after all, being rather more pensive and quiet. He enjoyed working with their father, despite being only nine, and found fascinating all that talk about the quality of wood and the design of some brand new Brazilian furniture, and the texture of their cucumbers and kumquats. Somehow, she was envious. She was able to understand her father's business and was capable of designing gorgeous gardens as he did, and she was a good baker, helping her mother since she was about James' age, but she felt no attachment yet. She could not see herself designing all the gardens and homes in the entire county, nor as a renowned baker or a celebrity chef like her uncle. In fact, her cousins Ernesto and Maddie didn't seem to care about their parents' jobs either. And even though being a producer and editor like uncle Poe seemed rather boring, at least uncle Finn's job was a little bit more exciting.

"When can I ride?"

Anna looked at her other cousin, Esra. Auntie Rose had adopted her knowing perfectly well that the poor girl was paralysed and had few chances of survival. However, with all the dedication and care she could provide, Esra was still alive and now able to use her hands, despite her legs still not showing any chance of improvement. Anna kneeled in front of her and gave her the violet she had found by the fence.

"When the weather gets better. I promise."

The girl took the flower, smiling shyly and let her cousin take her on a stroll. It was a beautiful day for late October, despite the lowering temperatures and the cold breeze. She looked at her brother finally dominating that horse and smiled proudly, before looking at her family sitting at the table. Uncle Finn was talking as usual about his latest culinary discovery, whereas uncle Poe was playing with Ernesto, Maddie and auntie Kaydel's step-children too, as she was busy scolding her husband for being on the phone even at family gatherings. Pregnancy was making her rather irascible, unlike her mother, who had been perfectly fine during her latest pregnancy, but rather hysterical when it came to having a teen daughter, a shy nine-year-old and mischievous twin toddlers under the same roof. Not that she didn't love Alexander and Holly - after all, she named them after her characters from her favourite cartoons and books - but they were sure something.

"Oh, sorry," she said stopping suddenly as she almost hit the person in front of her. "I was not paying attention."

"It's fine," said the strawberry blonde tall man. In fact, was he even a man? He couldn't have been much older than her. "You have pretty eyes."

Anna shook her head all surprised, then giggled blushing, unsure where was that coming from. Her dark eyes were rather gloomy and scary, unlike his, which were the perfect mixture of green and blue.

"So do you," she smiled.

"Well…" the boy scratched his cheek and she could swear that his cheeks were pinkish. "See you around… umm…"

Oh, so that was what he was trying to do! Anna rolled her eyes and offered him her hand for a friendly, yet firm shake.

"I'm Anna."

"Elias," he smiled flustered by the touch of her skin on his, "Well… bye."

Anna watched him leave, biting her lip. He was cute for sure and so shy, despite his height. In fact, it was amazing that he was so tall, given her own very long legs, inherited from her gigantic father.

"You know you can't talk to him?" snorted Esra, lifting her glasses.

"Why so?" asked Anna too smitten to care anyway.

"He's a Hux."

Her eyes went wide and mouth opened in a silent exclamation. Everyone knew that Armitage Hux had kidnapped her mom, killed her grandmothers, aunt and almost two cousins. Perhaps she wouldn't have cared that much as the past was in the past, but even now, looking at her mom and dad playing with her toddler siblings, she couldn't help feeling envious, knowing that when she was around their age, she was in an orphanage, far away from her parents. But the Hux's were a bunch of social pariahs anyway, only making themselves remarked through their vast fortune. Their kids had been bullies, who still had the guts to spew venom regarding her family and past. However, Elias seemed rather nice. And as if knowing that she was thinking about him, Elias turned around to look at her and smiled again, waving. Anna waved back, then started pushing Esra's wheelchair again. Maybe someone, at some point, had to bury the hatchet.

/|\

The first step to burying the hatchet occurred a couple of days later, one morning when she was feeding the toddlers while her mom and dad were packing some boxes full of goodies for the cafe. Alexander was squeezing the cherry tomatoes in his chubby hands, staining his white T-shirt and blue pants, whereas Holly was too busy feeding her toy duck. She had made that duck for her baby sister just like her mom used to make her toy elephants. The toy looked fine, though the details were not the best, but at least Holly adored it just like she adored her adorable curls and button nose. All the Solo kids looked pretty much the same and it was fascinating.

"Bember, Anna!"

Anna rolled her eyes at her brother's feisty personality. If James had ended up so sweet after all, Alexander was for sure going to be just a mini-her. Trying to avoid a handful of tomato juice all over her shirt, she cut a cucumber into four and gave Alexander two pieces, as Holly looked at her with huge eyes, waiting patiently for the other two.

"Ring-ring?" whispered the little girl and her older sister turned to look at James running to the front door. Panicking, Anna licked her fingers and ran after her brother. He was not supposed to answer the door to strangers… or talk to strangers ever in his life or at least as long it concerned her.

"Jamie, wait!" she called right before slipping with her wool socks on the shiny floor and landing right in the arms of their guest. She blinked with a shy smile, then uttered a hello.

"Hey, sorry for dropping by unannounced," Elias smiled back. "I was taking a stroll and I saw your mom and dad, so I decided to check on you. Sorry if it's weird."

Anna chuckled at his constant need to apologize, then licked her lips and he did the same.

"It's fine. I was actually getting ready to go to school. Would you mind taking me there?"

"No, I would love to."

Anna barely kept herself from jumping all excited, mostly because it was awkward and she had just met him, then turned to look at her brother, who had a funny look on his face. If anyone was going to be her little conspirer, that would have been her beloved James.

"You know how much I love you, don't you?"

"I'll take care of the twins and then ask dad to take me to school," he sighed and left to check on his younger siblings, who were giggling and throwing vegetables at one another. Anna exhaled trying to calm down that excitement in her chest, then grabbed her black hoodie and backpack.

"Love you, pumpkins!" she waved at her siblings, feeling rather guilty for leaving James with those little demons. However, as soon as her eyes met Elias' once again, her guilt was all gone and she grabbed his hand, trying to pretend that she hadn't noticed his red cheeks and nervous blinking.

"You're not in high school anymore, are you?" she asked once her house was no longer visible. It was a weird question, but considering how Elias didn't seem to have any intention of breaking the ice, at least it was a first step in making him finally say something.

"Oh, no!" he chuckled. "Thank, God! I'm a med student."

So he really was older than her. But it couldn't have been that much of a bad thing or a bad thing at all. Her beloved daddy was so much older than her mom and that hadn't stopped her from pursuing him until they got married and had four pretty babies.

"You want to be a doctor?" she asked fascinated with the idea that someone truly knew what he wanted from his life.

"No," he admitted and Anna mouthed a silent disappointed exclamation. "Not really. Most of the men in my family are doctors, so I was told I should be one too. I didn't have much of a choice, tho."

"But you get to save lives. Isn't that at least a little bit fascinating?"

"So far, all I'm doing is analyse bones and stare at corpses pretending that I don't feel like throwing up every ten seconds."

The young girl giggled and, for a moment, she could have sworn that Elias looked at her with a similar gaze to the one his father had each time her mom smiled. And she seemed to feel the same butterflies her mom mentioned having in her old stories about how she fell for the grumpy Ben Solo.

"Why are you here?" she asked fighting the urge to touch his cheek.

"Umm… I sort of ran away from college. I needed some time alone, though I probably shouldn't have come back here."

Anna shook her head.

"No, not that. Why are you here with me ? I guess you know who I am, right?"

"Oh, yeah," he made an uncomfortable grimace. "I know my uncle kidnapped your mom and… stuff. And I know my siblings had been rude to you when we were in school. I guess I felt somehow responsible to check on you and make sure that my family hasn't fucked up yours for good. I am really sorry about everything. He seemed like a nice guy."

"You needn't apologize," she shrugged. "We've lost… a lot… time and people we loved, but my parents love each other and I have some adorable siblings. We're a cool family, I guess."

"I wish I were that lucky," he sighed and Anna bit her lip furrowing, making him feel pressured to give more details. "You see… my family used to seem cool too, but then uncle Armie happened and ever since my grandpa died and your aunt sued my family, everyone turned so bitter and… fake. We're not really a happy family, but we're supposed to pretend we are one and I hate it. I saw yours and I simply fell for those smiles and that energy. A family meal in my house is simply a boring meeting and the sound made by cutlery. Umm… sorry for boring you."

Anna snorted again at his need to apologize and how less tensed he seemed now that he had finally taken off his chest all that pain. Too bad their families had hurt each other so much that they both ended up with deep scars. She had to constantly remember that she didn't grow up with her parents in her first years and he had to constantly remember that his family had covered up a criminal.

"Hey, Anna…"

She lifted her head rather nonchalantly but blinked confused once she saw the desperate look in his eyes.

"Do you think we're doomed to become what we're most afraid of? I mean… what if I'm going to be just like him and all because we share the same blood?"

She parted her lips unsure what to say. It was not the best idea to make a joke about the rest of his family not being any better, so she put her warm hand on his shoulder and smirked knowing that she looked just like her mother when she did that.

"A bad person wouldn't worry about such things," she spoke on a soft tone. "I need to go to class now, but if you ever want to hang out while you're still in town… you know where I live."

Elias nodded with a shy smile, then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Anna felt her cheeks burn and, for a long while, she stood there frozen, watching him continue his stroll and seek a solution for his inner turmoil. Was he going to be her first teen crush or was it too soon to read that much into their small talk? Maybe the world needed people to just be friends first and foremost. Especially those whose families were at each other's throat.

That weekend and many walks and chats later, Anna was brushing her loose curls when she felt her mother's warm hand touch hers. She closed her eyes and, smiling, enjoyed that great hug and the kisses on her cheek. She turned to hug back her mother, then took a step back to admire her red dress.

"Are you and daddy planning to make some more babies tonight?"

Rey chuckled, then shrugged with a rather serene look on her face.

"I don't think your father wants more babies just yet and I think the twins are going to be enough for a while."

She bit her lip, then hugged her daughter again.

"Thank you so much for taking care of everyone tonight. Your dad and I needed this night out."

"You know you can always count on me," said Anna feeling slightly guilty about lying to her mother. She and Elias could have met any other day, but with her parents away, she had decided to also enjoy a special walk that didn't resume to her being taken to and from school. The twins were going to be put to be bed and James was going to enjoy his cartoons and video games until he would fall asleep as well, and, knowing her parents, they wouldn't come back until early in the morning. So she was going to have a proper night off herself.

"What is with that smile, my mango?"

The girl blushed at her old nickname and let Rey caress her cheek. No matter how tall she was now, she was always going to be that little girl who approached a stranger just to steal her toy elephant and her heart, not knowing that they were mother and daughter.

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you too, my beautiful girl," hugged her Rey, inhaling her sweet smell. "I will always love you the most."

"Just don't tell daddy," she giggled just as Ben entered holding the twins, who were laughing like crazy. Rey approached them and took Holly for a session of kisses and tickling, making Anna's heart hurt. It was not fair. She could barely remember her childhood, but somehow, just knowing that she didn't have all those things and that she had been so close to never having he r parents back, it was always going to make her feel like an outsider in her own house. Faking a smile, she took Alexander and allowed her father to give her one of his amazing forehead kisses, before they finally went to check on James.

"Anna?" whined Alexander until she brought him closer for a long kiss on his chubby cheek. The boy giggled and she decided to follow her parents, making sure that they were actually going to leave instead of feeling guilty about leaving them all alone and end up staying.

"Maddie and Ernesto are going to come stay with you," said her father while he caressed her shoulder. She furrowed no longer being able to control her emotions, even though that meant almost giving away her plans as her father raised an eyebrow at her sudden reaction.

"Why?" she almost yelled.

"Your uncles are attending a gala tonight and they were going to drop Ernesto here anyway. Maddie just decided to join in and keep you company. Aren't you happy?"

Anna pushed her hair behind her ears and pursed her lips. She loved the two, but it was not fair… unless…

"No, daddy," she gave him a fake smile. "It's fine. Maddie will help me take care of the kiddos. You just go have fun."

Ben Solo was not going to be fooled by his own adorable daughter, no matter how much she had grown up. However, he decided to let her enjoy her little lies and focus on his wife, who didn't seem to be so willing to put down her youngest daughter. After some protests from a very tired Holly, she finally let Anna take the twins and they left the place, but only as soon as the Dameron kids entered the house. The girl sighed rather frustrated at her own situation and rudely ignored her cousins. Ernesto didn't care much, joining James in his bedroom, but Maddie immediately observed the tension coming from her favourite cousin. She analysed her with her green eyes and furrowed, but didn't get to ask her what was bothering her as the girl stormed inside her bedroom and came back wearing a velvet mini-dress, a pair of long boots and a leather jacket. Maddie gulped and pursed her lips

"I have something to do tonight. Please take care of the kids and if anyone asks about me, I went to the pharmacy to get some… umm… stuff."

"Anna, wait!" Maddie ran after her.

"Not now. See you later!"

Anna slammed the door behind her, desperate to not let Maddie make her waste any time, and threw herself in Elias' arms, who smiled shyly at her embrace. She then took a moment to look at him and bit her bottom lip as he admired her, completely absorbed by her beauty.

"Where do you want to go, m'lady?"

"Anywhere. Far away from here."

\|/

After a nice date at the movies, some burgers and a late horse ride at the farm, the two love birds were only one street away from the Solo's home when they noticed all the cars blocking the road. Not paying too much attention to them, they kept walking until they saw the ambulance parked in front of her house, as well as her parent's car, the Dameron's and auntie Kaydel's. Letting go of Elias hand, she ran to her house and stormed inside, slamming the door, just as she had done when she left it hours before. Breathing heavily, she looked around until she found a paramedic bandaging Holly's arm. The poor babe had her face all swollen up and red from the tears she had cried. In a similar state was also Alexander, whose face was not only red from tears, but also bruised, whereas his palms were bandaged.

"Anna!" he cried and she ran to him only to be stopped by her mother grabbing her arm. With her makeup smudged after crying for the past couple of hours, Rey glared at her daughter with an empty stare until it started alternating between hatred and disappointment. Anna's bottom lip trembled and not only because her arm was hurting, but because it was the first time her mother had looked at her like that. She hadn't look at her like that when she threw tantrums, nor when she failed an exam now and then. She never saw the disappointment in her eyes when she preferred spending time with her father or auntie Kaydel, nor when she ruined a huge delivery by changing the ingredients in the bowls. However, everything had a limit.

"Let her go," interfered Kaydel, although Rey didn't even pay attention to her plea.

"What happened?" whispered Anna.

"What happened? What happened?" snarled Rey at her eldest child. "We left this house with the promise that you would take care of your siblings. Instead, you left them on their own and they almost died!"

"You're exaggerating!" Kaydel raised her voice.

The girl looked at her aunt, then at the twins, then back at her mother.

"I… I left Maddie to take care of them."

"Maddie is not their sister! You are! How could you have been so selfish and irresponsible, Anna Benjamin? I'm surprised you didn't ask James once again to take care of them!"

Oh, so she knew… Anna shook her head with her eyes filling up with tears.

"I just… I swear I never thought anything bad would happen to them. Maddie was here and she was supposed to just put them to bed. What even happened?"

"It happened that they somehow got downstairs and spilt hot water on them, while you were God knows where. In fact, where were you, young lady? I'm waiting for an explanation."

"She was with her boyfriend."

Mother and daughter looked at Maddie Dameron and her devilish smirk. Maybe Rey was too blinded by fear and rage to notice it, but Anna sure furrowed at that strange smirk. How did the twins even manage to get downstairs and pour boiling water all over them? They could walk and sometimes run for short distances, but not climb down the stairs or reach any chair or piece of furniture. It was perhaps unfair to even suggest that Maddie had anything to do with it, but still…

"Do you have a boyfriend, Anna? And you didn't even bother telling me?"

"He's not my-"

"He's a Hux, auntie Rey."

Anna glared once more at Maddie, this time being absolutely certain that her smirk was pure evil as were her intentions. If that was supposed to be her revenge for bailing on her…

"You're dating a Hux ?" spoke Rey overwhelmed by disgust and Anna once more furrowed. How dare she? She had read her notes and heard that story over and over again. She knew how much her mother had fought to be in a relationship with her father and how much her father had suffered following all the false accusations and gossip. Elias was not to blame for his uncle's crimes and his parents' disgusting stubbornness.

"Oh my… Anna, did that boy enter our house?"

Was she now suggesting that he had anything to do with the twins' accident?

"Mom, no! Elias is a nice guy, I swear!"

"Not that nice if you kept your little rendez-vous a secret."

"Why are you acting like this?" snapped the girl. "It was an accident and I am… not your freaking nanny, nor should I be responsible for any of my siblings! You were the one who wanted more children, then deal with it!"

"I can't believe I raised such an irresponsible daughter that she is not even willing to accept that she lied and messed up!"

"Raise?" laughed Anna bitterly. "When did you raise me? When I was in the orphanage? Is that your plan? To not be involved in your children's first years at all and blame the others for your failure? Because you are a failure as a mother and I won't have you blame me fo-"

Everyone gasped as the slap Rey gave her daughter echoed through the entire living room. Kaydel grabbed her sister's arm to avoid another scene just as Ben entered the room with a sleepy James behind him. He looked at Rey's trembling lips and tears streaming down her face once more, then at his daughter's rather skimpy outfit and her hands cupping her cheek. He licked his lips and approached the two just as his daughter made a scary grimace and growled at her mother.

"I hate you so much! I hate you! I wish I had truly been eaten by dogs rather than live knowing you're my mother!"

Anna ignored her father's presence and ran upstairs just as the paramedic approached the Solo's.

"The twins are fine. They need to remain hydrated and have their burns tended, but they are going to be perfectly fine. The wounds will heal and the scars will most likely disappear completely once they grow up."

Ben nodded, then looked at Kaydel, who immediately offered to stay and talk with the paramedics and the police, while he took Rey's hand and kissed her on the forehead as she cried.

"She hates me," she whined weeping. "She hates me and her siblings."

"She doesn't. She's a teen and mayb-"

"She's dating Phasma's son and Armitage's nephew. What if that boy made her do this on purpose? What if she's in danger, Ben? What if he is brainwashing her?"

Ben coughed torn between the urge to make fun of her paranoia and the pain he was empathetically feeling. He had once been like that too when she went missing and all sorts of thoughts and theories kept overwhelming him.

"Sweetheart, it was just an accident," he decided to calm her down. "The kids are going to be fine and Anna made a mistake. You can talk in the morning and everything will sort out just like before."

"Stop being so calm!" she snapped pushing him and crying even more hysterically. "Nothing is ever fine! And I am so done with being the bad guy, while you're always the hero!"

"Come," he pulled her in his arms while his eyes never left their younger children. Jamie was now lying on the sofa, caressing his brother and sister, whose pained faces could break any heart. "Let's take the kids in our bedroom and I'll go talk to Anna."

"Look at them, Ben. My poor babies..." she whined and Ben felt his heart break as well at the sight of James trying to cheer them up. Alex smiled for a moment, but Holly looked at him with her big eyes and made a pained face before crying again.

"I know, my love," nodded Ben. He wanted to add how Anna was still her baby as well, but he bit his lip and let go of her. He carefully took the twins, feeling his shirt getting wet with Holly's tears, while Rey kept Jamie close.

"Do you want to sleep with mommy, my peach?"

Jamie hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. He had other things on his mind.

"Will Anna leave us, mommy?"

"No, of course not," she smiled nervously, although she wasn't sure of her daughter's intentions anymore. She looked at Ben for support, knowing perfectly well that even though he seemed to be focused solely on the twins, he had been listening to Jamie's worries and was too questioning Anna's plans. Still serious, he put the twins on their bed and took James' hand to take him to bed as well, while Rey threw herself next to her youngest children. Their son had been a miracle baby after how badly damaged her body had ended up after Anna's premature birth and the terrible treatment following her surgery. And then it suddenly happened again and there were two heartbeats and then two tiny babies crying in her arms.

"Mommy, ow…" wept Holly and Rey caressed her curls and kissed her forehead. Except for her eyes, she was the living image of Anna. She held her as soon as she was born and they bonded immediately. So happened when she held Alex and Jamie, but her eldest child… no. She barely got to see her before that monster took her away and left her to die. And instead of letting her grow up peacefully, his own blood made sure Anna found out about their past and grow up marked by jealousy and by trauma even years after her mind had already forgotten about her time in the orphanage. Moreover, now that she was about to become an adult soon, his nephew was making her so full of hatred again and so utterly reckless. If he manipulated her under their own noses, she would soon be out of control and they would lose her.

"Anna, mommy," whined Alexander as if reading her mind. Rey kissed his adorable chubby legs. It was so weird seeing him, her always happy baby, so fragile and sobbing. Just how on earth did they get downstairs and so close to an entire pot of boiling water? Why was even Maddie boiling water in that pot? And how come the twins had burns only on those areas? Their clothes were not wet at all-

"Did you have fun with cousin Maddie?" she asked assuming that the two wouldn't understand much of her question. However, surprisingly, Alexander furrowed and Holly cringed.

"Mommy, no! No Manni!"

"Manni ow!"

Oh, dear! She sighed before running out of the bedroom.

"Ben, where's Maddie?" she asked breathlessly.

Her husband and son looked at her completely confused and Ben shrugged.

"Umm… When I entered the living room, she was leaving, probably to get Ernesto, so I guess she left with her dads and brother. Why?"

Rey shook her head still in shock about her own theory, then looked at Anna's bedroom door and ran to it. She knocked twice, then opened the door. As expected, the bedroom was empty. Anna had run away.