Rey had just hit month eight of her pregnancy and she could feel it. Her belly was very large, her feet were swollen more than they weren't, the acid reflux was unbearable, and she was getting very uncomfortable. She could not believe she still had another month to go. There's no way she could make it that long...

Leia had given her a recipe for a special tea that would help draw the fluid off her feet but the bad thing about that was she was up half the night having to pee. Which she already did an abnormally high number of times a day. This baby was just getting too large for her small body anymore. Rose always rubbed her belly when she saw her and told her how beautiful she looked. She told her how her skin was glowing and her hair looked healthy and on and on she would drone. Rey knew she was just doing it to make her feel better...but it kind of worked. Finn had calmed down a bit and they could at least be wishing proximity of each other without getting into a screaming match. Poe had been the biggest help, rubbing her back and feet whenever she needed it, making her plate when she couldn't get up, even holding her hair when she got sick a few times. She didn't know what she would do without her friends. She would truly be lost without them.

"I'm going walking!" Rey yelled over to Poe who was working on a fighter. He nodded to her and she grabbed her staff and took off by herself. The walking seemed to help her muscle aches as long as her feet weren't too swollen on occasion like today. She felt pretty decent overall and decided today would be a good day to explore just a bit further off than normal. She had come to know this landscape and surrounding area pretty well and felt confident walking a ways away from camp. She may have this belly sticking out but that didn't mean she couldn't take care of herself.

She walked out away from the camp following the same path she had taken many times before. It led around a large rock formation that she had been around numerous times before. She used her staff as a walking stick and was nearly halfway around it when she heard something behind her. She turned her head and saw two hooded figures in long robes walking behind her.

Shit. Come up with a plan, Rey. She knew she had to remain calm and think of what to do and fast. She couldn't go back the way she came or she would have to walk right past them. She couldn't out run them in he state she was in. She may be able to fight them off but she'd like to avoid confrontation if at all possible.

"Hey, baby!"

"We just wanna talk, come here!"

They called out to her. She gripped her staff tightly and walked faster, beginning to feel adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Don't be afraid sweetheart!"

Rey turned around angrily, holding her staff defensively, "leave me alone!" She said loudly and clearly. When she turned, they must have noticed her belly finally.

"Someone's already got this one, Jay."

"Wait a second! No way! Rey?!"

Rey furrowed her brow, very confused. The men stopped walking towards her and took their hoods down so they didn't appear as menacing. Rey looked them over but neither one looked familiar.

"Who are you?" She called out, not lowering her protective stance.

"We were stormtroopers. We turned on Kylo Ren. We'd had enough of his ruthless ruling and fought alongside General Pryde to try and overthrow him. We narrowly avoided being caught after the other troopers caught up with us. I think we may be the only survivors."

No freaking way. These two men had been part of the attack on Ben that had nearly ended his life before he came to her for help. She couldn't let on that she secretly hated them for it. They couldn't know she cared about him. She lowered her staff a bit but still kept a tight grip on it as they walked over to her.

"Well...in that case I better thank you," she said calmly. As they got closer she could see them better. One was tall and lean with black hair, the other shorter with red hair and freckles. Both of them fit from their years of being troopers.

"I'm Jay," the black haired one said, "and this is Red. We've named ourselves obviously, as troopers don't even get the privilege of being named when they're taken from their families."

"It's nice to meet you both," Rey said cordially. They seemed nice enough but she still had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The red head spoke up this time.

"You helped us get the motivation to do something, you know. You helped show us we didn't have to be pushed around by Ren and we could stand up for ourselves."

"Oh...well...I'm glad I could be an inspiration to you..." Rey said awkwardly, "um...I really should be heading back. My friends are waiting for me and they'll worry..."

"It's his baby isn't it," Jay said expressionless. The question caught her off guard and she felt her heart begin to pound.

"Oh...this baby? Ha no, no...this is my friend-boyfriend I mean- Poe Dameron's baby. And mine of course-"

"You know we can't let this child live," Jay said seeing right through her horrible lie. He stepped up so he was closer to her and spoke quietly while his red headed friend looked on with a weird expression on his face.

"We know where your camp is and as soon as that baby is born, it needs to be destroyed. We can't have another Kylo Ren in this world. Even if it wasn't your fault it was conceived...I won't allow it."

Rey grit her teeth together. This man was threatening her innocent unborn child. She knew she had to refrain from using the force to try and remain hidden from Palpatine...but she was so tempted to choke this man right now...

"Your not laying a FINGER on my child..." she growled up at him. He looked a little taken aback but quickly recomposed himself and stared into her eyes fiercely. Red spoke up this time.

"You want to keep that monstrosity? Even knowing what it's father was?"

Rey looked around the tall man over at Red.

"It's an innocent baby that is going to grow up good, call it a monstrosity again and see what I do to you..."

Red faltered a bit and glanced up at the taller man. Obviously Jay was the leader here and Red just followed suit.

"Don't threaten my friend." Jay said angrily.

"Don't threaten my baby!" She said loudly into his face. He took a step back.

"Hey what's going on here!?" Rey heard a familiar voice. Oh thank God...Poe. Jay stepped back away from Rey and held his hands up in a 'you win' sort of way. Rey remained scowling at him. Poe came to stand beside Rey as the two backed away a bit more from the two of them. Poe kept a hand on the blaster on his hip.

"They bothering you?" Poe asked Rey without taking his eyes off of them.

"Yes. They are."

"We were just leaving!" Red called out grabbing Jays arm and trying to pull him away. At first the tall man wouldn't budge and stared at Rey with hatred. But finally he relented to his friends pressure and turned to walk away. They both pulled their hoods up as they walked.

"What was that about?" Poe said finally relaxing a bit. Rey realized how tightly she had been holding her staff and relaxed her grip. The two of them started walking back towards camp.

"Rogue stormtroopers. They know this is Ben's baby. They said they would destroy it as soon as it was born."

"I thought stormtroopers were on his side?"

"Not these ones. They tried to kill him."

Poe snorted and made an approving noise. Rey shot him a dirty look.

"I mean...how horrible of them..."

Rey rolled her eyes.

"Rey, you need to get somewhere else. It's almost time for you to pop this kid out and it's not safe to do so here. Those won't be the only two people to threaten to kill this baby. And now that they know and they are both here on this planet with us? They are going to get others on their side. The resistance is strong, but we don't have enough people willing to fight right now. People are afraid. And the few we have right now aren't all going to be willing to risk their life for Kylo's kid if they find out the truth, which they will if you stay."

Rey sighed, "I know...I've been thinking the same thing. I don't want my baby born here anyway. I'd rather do it somewhere more personal and special to me."

"Please tell me you're not thinking about Jakku..."

"What? No I was going to say Ahch-To," Rey laughed, "I know I grew up on Jakku but I hated it there. Since I've seen so much of the galaxy now, I wouldn't ever live there again...but..."

"But what?" Poe said sighing.

"I would like to visit one last time. I'm sure other scavengers have rummaged through my stuff and taken everything...but I think it will let me say goodbye properly to my past. Maybe give me some peace. Plus I can't explain it but I feel like something is pulling me there. Like I need to go there one last time for something..."

They walked in silence a minute before Poe spoke.

"If you want to go back, I'll take you. But we can't stay long and I want you to stay as hidden as possible while we're there."

Rey smiled, "thank you. I promise we will be careful and quiet. We can go straight to Ahch-To afterwards if you want."

"Fine. But we are also bringing Rose. I don't want to leave you alone on Ahch-To until the rest of the resistance can get there. I still have to reprogram all the tracking devices. The only ship safe to take at the moment would be the Falcon and I'll have to convince Chewy to let me borrow it."

"Deal." Rey grinned. She would be so happy to get to the cool, rainy atmosphere of Ahch-To to have her child. She hated the heat anymore and it just made her feel more nauseated the longer she was in it.

The next morning Rey was packed and ready to go. She just had two small crates, her rucksack, and her staff. She wouldn't need a tent as she could just stay in the ancient houses that were on the island. She was excited and beyond ready to go. Rose seemed to be excited as well and both of them were loaded up on the Falcon in no time. Poe was going to fly them then return the Falcon to Chewy and come back in about two weeks when Rey should be closer to delivering. He insisted he wanted to be there to help when the time came. Rey assured him she would hold this baby in as long as she could but thought it would be running out of room soon. She promised to contact him if labor happened early though and he seemed happy with that.

Before she knew it, they were on their way to Jakku.

"Remind me why we need to go here first?" Rose said. She was excited to get to Ahch-To and explore. She didn't want to see another hot, dry planet ever again if she could help it.

"I have to make peace. I can't explain it, I told you. I just know it's where we need to go first."

"Oh right...the whole force thing. Do you often feel pulled to places like this?"

"No, honestly. This is different than anything I've felt. I think once I can see it one last time and say goodbye for good I'll feel better."

"Okay, fair enough," Rose said and left her alone about it after that.

Poe remained focused on flying and once they approached the desert planet, Rey got this excited feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was familiar and comfortable. She knew this place. She hated it...but she knew it. They landed after Rey guided Poe to Niima outpost. She threw a shawl over her head and arms to cover herself better. She was sure she would have some enemies in these parts that would love to catch her in a vulnerable state like this. She grabbed her staff, Poe made sure his blaster was fully charged and on his hip, and the two of them walked off the ship. Rose has volunteered to stay on board in the cool air conditioning while they walked.

Rey led Poe to the center of town and she nearly grinned as she saw all sorts working hard to make their living here. She had made it out...she didn't have to grow old here like she had so feared years ago. She was free of this life...

"What are they doing?" Poe said looking at a table full of people scrubbing random ship parts.

"Cleaning parts to exchange for food. None of those parts are worth much though...they may get a quarter ration if they're lucky..." she trailed off getting distracted by the nearby shops. She had never been able to afford anything from them. She always had to buy food when she had anything spare. She walked by them all, glancing at all the trinkets and survival gear these poor people tried to sell. The vendor at the end was selling handmade knives and Rey was so tempted to get one as a small reminder of this place. But she didn't. Maybe she did want to forget this planet afterall...

She walked them to the outskirts of the outpost and looked off into the distance.

"About a mile that way was where I lived. I was in an abandoned At-at. It wasn't much but it was home. I wish I could go get my old pilot doll I made. But I'm sure someone's stolen or destroyed it by now."

"Hey!" They both turned quickly towards the voice. Rey's heart sunk, it was Unkar...her old owner and junkyard master of this town.

"How dare you show your face here again! And come back on the ship that you stole from me!"

Poe gave her a questioning look and she shrugged her shoulders and shot him an awkward grin. Poe rolled his eyes and stepped up.

"Listen, Sir. We are leaving in just a minute and will never come back again. My friend here just wanted to see her home planet one last time."

"I don't give a damn what she wanted, that's my ship! She owes me and will pay either by giving me the ship back, or in blood!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Poe stepped up towards the ugly creature, "there's no need for violence! We can work this out! Why don't you just let me get back to the ship and I'll pay you for your trouble!"

"Ha! You think I believe that?!" Unkar motioned for a few of his cronies to come over to him. Rey knew and hated these guys. Personal body guards and thieves that would take food straight out of a child's mouth and not even blink. They were thin and wrapped in cloth like most of the people that lived here in protection against the sun and sand.

"Poe we need to go," Rey said quickly.

"Get them boys! I want them tied up and my ship taken back!"

"Poe, run!" Rey said and grabbed him as she took off as fast as her swollen belly would let her go. Her shawl fell off as she ran but she didn't dare go back for it. Poe fumbled with his blaster while he ran and finally used it to aim a few blasts behind them. It seemed to slow the men down some, Poe and Rey smiled at eachother as they ran back towards the Falcon. But a split second later, Poe hit the ground hard, his blaster flying away from him. Rey slowed her run and looked behind her. Poe had a rope caught around his ankle. She stopped in an instant and gripped her staff tightly. She ran back towards the men, yelling out in anger as she approached them. She swung her staff as hard as she could and caught one of them in the ribs. He let out a yelp of pain and fell to the ground holding his side. Another man came up to her side and she jabbed her staff at him catching him in the stomach. She prepared to swing at another but suddenly arms grabbed her from behind and the guard pulled her staff up under her own chin, holding it tightly against her throat.

"Poe..." she coughed out desperately, unable to draw a full breath in. Poe was struggling to get the rope off his ankle, but was quickly pinned down by the man Rey had hit in the ribs.

"Get the rope!" One man said to another one and came towards Rey with it intending to tie her while another one began on Poe, bonding his ankles together. Rey grit her teeth together and closed her eyes. She had no choice, she would have to use the force now. She concentrated hard, tapping into all the rage she felt against these men, and suddenly boom! It was as if an explosion came from her and every surrounding guard went flying ten feet away. She picked her staff up and gasped to catch her breath. The guards lay stunned and scared for a minute, looking around at eachother unsure if they should go back after them.

"Get them you cowards!" Unkar yelled at them.

"She's just trying to scare you-ahhh!!" He suddenly yelled and dove sideways out of the way as a shot from the blaster narrowly missed him. Rey looked over at Poe who's nose was bleeding from the impact of his fall, but he looked just as confused as she did. They both looked behind them and a tall hooded figure was the one holding the blaster Poe had dropped. The thieving guards scrambled to their feet and a few of them ran off, but three of them decided to take on this tall man. As they ran at him, the hooded figure looked at Rey and held out his hand.

"Staff!" He yelled. She couldn't explain why, but she instantly threw it to him, even though it was her only form of protection and she had no clue who this man was. She knew she had to do it. As soon as he had the staff in his hands, he tossed the blaster to Poe who caught it, but by the time he had taken the ropes off from around his ankles and stood to aim the blaster at the men, the hooded man had fought all three of the guards off, leaving two of them unconscious in the dirt and the other one bleeding badly from his head and limping off. Rey stared in awe. She hadn't seen that good of fighting skill since...no she didn't let herself think of it. As soon as they were safe, the man threw Rey's staff back to her. She caught it but continued to stare.

"Thank you..." she said incredibly.

"Yes, thank you...what's your name?" Poe said. The tall figure walked over to Rey and stood in front of her. Rey looked up into the shade of the hood and saw familiar eyes. Eyes she thought were of someone dead. She reached up and pushed his hood down. His hair was messy, face dirty and sweaty, and facial hair needed trimmed. But it was Ben. Her Ben Solo. She began to breath a bit hard, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. She brought a hand up to his face as if to see if this was real and not just some mirage. He placed his hand on top of hers and stared at her as if trying to communicate everything he couldn't say with his mouth through his eyes.

"Ben..." was all she could manage out before the flood gate of tears opened and spilled out down her cheeks.

She suddenly got mad at him though. How dare he not tell her he was still alive! She thought for weeks he was gone! She had mourned him! She pulled back and pushed him hard in the chest, catching him off guard and knocking him back slightly. He looked a bit surprised.

"Ben Solo where have you been?! And how dare you make me think that you died!" Her voice shook along with her hands, "You have no idea what you put me or your mother through!" She cried. Ben looked down, obviously ashamed.

"I wanted to tell you, Rey, I swear. But I couldn't risk using the force. I want Palpatine to think I'm dead and if I tried to talk to you through the force-"

"He already knows your still alive! I didn't believe him and...God why didn't I believe him?! And you!" She turned to Poe who backed up a few steps eyeing her staff she still had in her hand.

"You didn't tell me you thought he was alive! I asked you! And you didn't say a word of what happened!"

"In my defense, you didn't really give me a chance, Rey! You wanted to think he was! And now that he's not...fuck...well..." Poe ran a hand through his hair.

"It's not his fault, Rey. I wanted it to look real so no one would question it. And it worked didn't it? We're back together now so let's drop it and move on."

"I can't just 'drop it' Ben! You could have told me! Either of you could have!" Frustrated tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry..." Ben said unsure of what else to say. She tried to hide her face and wipe the tears away.

"Let's just go..." she said finally said to Poe and began walking towards the Falcon.

"Where are you going?" Ben asked following. Poe quickly answered this time.

"None of your business."

Rey raised a hand to him to calm him down.

"Poe, this is his child too and he has a right to know. I'm going to Ahch-To to have this baby. It's not safe on the planet we came from, which by the way, I met two ex-storm troopers who tried to kill you there."

Ben looked surprised.

"Did they threaten you?"

"Of course they did! They want this baby dead the minute it's born so there wouldn't another you in the galaxy!"

"Well...how did you get away? What happened?" Ben pushed her more.

"Poe saved my skin again just like he always does."

"Can I come?" Ben asked. Rey stopped and turned towards him. Poe spoke before she could even get a word out.

"And put the entire resistance in danger?! Absolutely not!"

"I'm not with the first order anymore!" He tried desperately to reason with Poe.

"I faked my own death just to get away from them! I'm on your side!"

"Oh well excuse me if I don't just take your word for it!" Poe stepped up to him, "last time I saw you I had been taken prisoner and kept in a cell! And the time before that I was beaten and interrogated, so my trust in you is close to none..."

"Listen, I'm sorry for everything I've done to you both...I can't stay here. This place is horrible. I promise I have no contact with the first order and won't tell a soul where Ahch-To is! Please, Rey..." he looked at her with deep, sorrowful eyes and took her hands into his own.

"You know I'm changed now, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was alive. I was waiting until it was safe. Please...don't let me miss the birth of my first child..."

Rey felt how sad and desperate he was. He was being honest...she knew that. She was mad at him but she also didn't want to leave him here on this God forsaken planet to starve. Rey looked over at Poe.

"Oh, no." Poe said, "no Rey, you're not actually considering this."

"Poe we have to...we can't leave him. He'll never survive here."

"A little harsh, but-" Ben interrupted.

"No, Rey! He's not coming and that's final!"

An hour later Ben had packed all of his essentials up in a rucksack and they were on their way back to the Falcon. Poe and Rey were a little ahead of Ben talking quietly.

"I can't believe we are taking Kylo Ren with us to the last safe planet in the galaxy. The one place he didn't know how to get to, he will now know how to get to. You had better be right about him Rey."

"I am. I wouldn't put everyone in danger if I didn't think he was honest. He was a mile away from the resistance for a week or so on the other planet and that would have been the perfect time to strike but he didn't. He wants to be good, I know it."

Poe shook his head and jogged up ahead of Rey to open the door to the Falcon. He ushered Rey in and when Ben came up to board he put his arm across his chest to stop him. Ben looked sideways at him.

"If you try anything, I mean ANYthing. I will shoot you no questions asked. No matter what Rey says, I don't trust you."

"That's fine, you don't have to. But Rey does and I promise you I will never hurt her or any of her friends again."

Poe looked him up and down and after a tense moment moved him arm to let him board.

Rose had been playing around on a data pad in the co-pilots seat. Not paying much attention to her surroundings. When she heard footsteps coming in she looked up.

"Hey Rey. Did you find what you were looking for-" she froze when she saw Ben putting his stuff down out of the way.

"Umm...I thought he was dead...what's happening right now?"

Rey spoke as she settled in, "he faked his own death to get away from the first order. He's coming with us to Ahch-to to hide and help me have this baby."

"Oh...um...ok...just real quick...have you lost your mind? Your going to let a mass murderer stay on an island with literally just you and I on it? Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Hes going to help us and protect us, Rose," Rey argued.

Rose gave Poe an 'are you really allowing this' look. Poe shrugged in response.

"I tried to reason with her but she won't listen. She insists he's on our side now," he said. Rose stared at him incredulously.

"I really hope she's right..."