Almost... there!

NSFW warning.

Chapter 17

Poe awoke with a start, his first thought wondering if he was back on Naboo and this had all been a terrible dream. His head hurt! His body groaned, still feeling as though he was being pummelled by Ben. He turned his head, and let out a groan at the sight of her.

'Rey?'

She stared at him, her eyes looking over his face.

'He did a good job on you didn't he?'

Her voice echoed in his head, making him wonder if this was what she heard when she talked about hearing voices in the Force.

'I had to tell him,' She continued, not waiting for an answer. 'He's my husband. I must trust him with everything, and he must trust me.'

Poe wanted to shake his head, but he was afraid that might scramble what solids were left in his head. Instead, he asked her a question.

'Why, are you here?'

She turned away, looking out the windows to the ocean.

'Do you know what it means to forgive someone, Poe? It means permitting yourself to let go of something that hurts. Something out of your control.' She turned back to him, eyes searching his mangled frame. 'You're not the first to try to have his way with me,' She spoke at him like he was a Teedo on Jakku, unworthy of kindness. 'I built my quarterstaff when I was a child. I remember the first time I felt something crawl into my bed palette and reach for my legs. I bit him, and earned for it a slamming against the wall. I didn't care. Not about him or the others that tried after him.'

Poe practiced his breathing as he listened. He was on the floor of his bar, exactly where he had fallen from the night before. He blinked, and pulled on his leg, feeling it tug back. He lifted himself, and felt his world right itself in a sickening snap!

He had been chained! A manacle gripped his ankle tied to a chain that then wrapped around a table! No wonder he hadn't been able to crawl his way to any sort of comfort, he hadn't been able to move! He looked up at Rey, watching her expressionless face as she sat with her legs tucked under her, a necklace of three misshapen pearls stacked one on top of the other nearly shooting out to him as he tried to focus. If the place caught fire 'accidentally' then she was his only chance of getting out alive.

'I fought them all off,' She continued. 'Every last one until they knew I wasn't a girl they wanted to try and take advantage of.' She inhaled through her nose, nostrils flaring. In her hands, she held two objects that swirled in Poe's vision. One he knew to be bacta spray, the other…

'What did you see in me that made you think you could try and rape me?'

Poe swallowed, his throat screaming.

'Water,' He croaked, 'I need water.'

She shuffled her knees under her and pressed a lukewarm bottle to his lips. The crisp, clean water was such a relief! He gulped, his body greedy as Rey tilted and lifted the bottle, keeping him from choking. When he had drunk enough to satisfy his throat, Rey moved back and set the bottle down next to her. He blinked, the world around him coming slowly into focus.

'I've wondered about that moment.' He began, 'I've talked about it with the doctor who saw to a lot of the Resistance. You weren't, a thing, Rey. In my anger, you were so many feelings made tangible, something that I could grasp. I… I wanted to hurt you for hurting me. I wanted to embarrass you for being so damn good…' He shook his head, and pressed a hand to his forehead. 'I wanted… deep down I wanted you to want me back. To stay with me no matter what.'

Rey sat there, listening. She inhaled deeply.

'I did want to stay with you, Poe. I just needed time to understand that this was the new way of life.'

'No,' He shook his head, and sat up. 'You wanted him! You wanted to make sure that Ben was really gone before you committed to me!'

'Was that so terrible?' She demanded softly. 'He meant so much to me-'

'He tried to kill you!' Poe scoffed. 'He wanted you dead! His mission for most of your lives knowing about the other -then and now- was to take you from this galaxy!'

'That wasn't your decision,' Rey told him, her voice calm. 'You don't get to decide who gets to love and for how long they get to do it.'

'Clearly,' He spat, doing his best to sit up.

'All I wanted, was more time,' She continued. 'You could have asked me to marry you after a year or so and I would have done it. You could have led me to your bed before that and I would have followed, but I needed, more time.'

Poe huffed, her words hitting him like serrated knives. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

'And if Ben showed up like he did, what then Rey Dameron?' He looked at her. 'Would you have stayed my wife, or run off to the pirate planet to be with him?'

'I would have honoured our marriage,' She told him, looking to the floorboards. 'I would have been happy knowing that he was alive and that we had a chance to be a dyad once again.' She shrugged. 'It would all have depended if we'd had children or not. I wouldn't have taken my children from their father, no matter the callings of my heart. If, however, we didn't have any… I probably would have asked for a divorce and gone to be with Ben.'

Poe closed his eyes and shook his head. No matter what he did, no matter what he said, she wasn't his! She would never be his. Only Ben's.

'Isn't that obvious, by now?' She asked, shifting on the hard floor. 'He and I were always meant to be together. If it hadn't been for Palpatine's interference, we would have met as children, and we would have had a proper courtship when I was a teenager, then married. We would have discovered our bond earlier, we would have been even stronger than we are now. But, that wasn't to be our life.' Her voice cracked as though she was ready to cry. 'We have each other now, and I'm glad of it.'

Poe opened his eyes and looked at her, pointing an unsteady finger in her direction.

'No mind-reading, that's not fair.'

She giggled, the trilling sound something he hadn't heard when they had been together. She laughed so little when they were together. Now, all Ben had to do was look at her and she could toss her head back and laugh.

'So, what now?' He asked, taking in her smile. Damn, she was beautiful!

She inhaled, looking at him. From her lap, she lifted the bacta spray and rolled it to him. He caught it, seemingly every part of his body beginning to scream for it. Rey in the meantime moved to his foot and unlocked the manacle.

'Stay away from Ben,' She told him. 'I cannot guarantee that he won't attack you again if you cross him. He says he won't but, best not bait the Rafthar. The Widow is expecting that King ordered the raid to come quickly, so we can only prepare for when that is.'

'What kind of raid?' Poe asked, turning the bacta spray and shutting his eyes as he squirted his face and head. The liquid burned! It stung his open wounds, but with a quick inhale, he could feel the throbbing of his head begin to lessen. Soon, it would be gone entirely.

'We don't know,' Rey's voice told him. 'Anything from mischief to the total annihilation of the Cove. King was vengeful, he and my grandfather would've gotten along.'

Poe winced, flexing his mouth open and closed.

'And you want to use the Canteen as a stronghold?'

'No, but now that you mention it, thanks for offering.'

'Glad to be of service.'

SWSWSW

Ben was at the forge when Rey returned to the shop. Rose was in the shop lighting candles while BB-8 moved out the door to her.

Is he alright?

Rey knelt before him, and nodded.

'Yes. I gave him the spray and he'll be up and walking in a few hours.'

The men wanted to burn the tavern, did you know that?

Rey snorted a laugh.

'Yes, with him inside it. I saw the chain.'

BB-8 jolted backward, chirping his surprise. Apparently, that was too much for the little droid.

'Don't worry, I let him go.'

BB-8 rolled forward, narrowing his central sphere at her.

Why did you do it? Why did you spare him? You had the right.

Rey shook her head.

'I didn't have the right to murder him. Not here.' She looked up at the forge, knowing that Ben had seen her. 'A Jedi's first act is to show compassion and mercy. I had every right when Poe attacked me to kill him because he attacked me first and he attacked with the intent to hurt.' She inhaled deeply, 'I let him live then, because… I don't know why. I think I was just tired of losing the people I loved.

'I let him go now because… because I'm tired of being afraid of him. I'm tired of hating him, of being ashamed for not being strong enough to keep his mind from attacking me.' She inhaled, 'I forgave him, for me. So that I can move on, and move away.'

You're going to move away?

Rey smiled, and looked down at the dirt between them.

'Ben and I will have to decide on that,' She told him, looking up. 'We will have to see what it's like on Naboo for the two of us. I've been promised that school, and we don't know who is out there to recognize Ben. Or if we should tell the truth and let everything fall as it may.' She sighed. 'There's so much to consider.'

Can I go with you?

Rey chuckled, and nodded.

'Yes, you can always come with me, Beebee Ate.'

'Is he alive?'

Rey looked up, seeing Rose exit the house with a small oil lamp, Finn shaking hands with Ben before heading out himself.

'Poe's alive, though with a bit of a headache.'

'Can't believe you went to see him,' Rose told her, shifting her weight. 'Especially after this morning.'

'He's a good pilot, if anything,' Rey told her as Finn drew near. 'We will need him in the raid.'

Rose exhaled, and shook her head.

'If you say so.'

Finn flinched like he wanted to hug Rey, but stopped. Instead, he looked back at Ben as he stood in the forge workshop watching them.

'He's all yours,' Finn told Rey, jerking his thumb back at Ben.

Rey snorted, then crossed the distance and wrapped her arms around her friends.

'I love you, guys.' She told them. 'Never forget that.'

'We won't,' Rose told her.

'Not in this lifetime or the next,' Finn breathed, squeezing her back a bit tighter.

Rey smiled, then let them go. She crossed the distance to her husband, seeing him shift his weight as she came into the forge shop.

'Is it settled?' He asked, watching her.

Rey moved around the worktable, slipped her hands around his neck, and kissed him, closing her eyes and savouring the taste of his liquid warmth. He wrapped his arms under hers and lifted her inches above the ground and hobbled with her inside, stopping only when he seated her on their hammock, sending them swaying back and forth, feet dangling.

He pushed a strand of hair out of her face, studying her. He was still waiting for an answer.

She nodded. 'I've forgiven him.'

'Why?' His voice was soft, asking a genuine question than an accusation. Though she could sense the faintest hint of judgement.

'Because I'm tired of remembering it each time I see him. Not just what he did, but how defenceless it made me feel. I'm over it. I'm over him. I want to remember something sweet.'

He smirked, 'Like this morning?'

Rey giggled, unable to contain herself. 'That was something sweet-'

'That was interrupted,' He reminded her, lifting his eyebrow.

'But the door's open!'

He shot an arm out and used the Force to slam it shut, the gust of wind knocking out half of the oil lamps. His smile was still bright in the darkness.

He slid himself to the floor, eyes locked onto hers in a perpetual tease, his fingers tickling her legs as he glided her dress to her hips, and lifted a knee onto his shoulder. Rey dug her fingers into the rabbit fur bed mat and shifted her hips to his touch. She inhaled sharply at the feel of his velvety tongue exploring her flower folds, coaxing her nerves to sing within her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto the edge of the hammock, exhaling into the night. Outside she could hear whistles and beeps, the sound of BB-8's indignant demands to be let in and wondering if he should keep the forge burning or put it out. Ben paused, his shoulders shivering with laughter.

'Don't stop,' Rey breathed. 'Don't… mmm!'

She slipped her hands into Ben's fluffy hair, holding him down and mentally begging BB-8 to forgive them because she was not going to let him get up and he was not going to let her go so easily.

SWSWSW

For a month, they waited for the raid. It was suggested that the more experienced pirates go down and attack the Hive, but Rey was the first to step forward and shoot that idea down. Why create a problem they weren't completely sure was going to arise? The men agreed with her, but then another question came from that one:

Was there actually going to be a raid?

Finn stepped forward with Poe, offering to go into the Hive and spy on them, gathering intel as they had in the war. At once, all eyes turned to Ben who did nothing to hide his glare at Poe, but shrugged and admitted that it was a good idea. The question hung in the air as to who would guide them as Ben was clearly not volunteering to be anywhere near Poe. It was decided that one of the Harbour Master's crew, a girl named Kuri would lead the mission.

A big help to their speculations was Rose's sudden report that the Shot-Caller had not come into the radio tower roughly two weeks after Titan Mi-Lor had been dethroned. A search of her hut revealed that she had left quickly sometime the night before, leaving behind no trace of her whereabouts, though the Hive was still the only place to leave the planet.

The Widow hastily left the Cove, returning only at night with reports of her dealings. The pirate crews that patrolled the moons had been sparsely paid, the result of her ex-husband's careful cultivation of his kingdom. As a result, the Widow had to painstakingly negotiate with the pirate captains to first allow ships to come and go unharassed, and secondly to build another spaceport near the Cove which would halve their already pathetic paycheques. For that, Ben had offered to help her, but the Widow politely declined. If they were to suddenly have to leave, they would have to fight their way out and to do that Ben and Rey had to be together.

What Ben did do alongside Rey, was design quick and easy defences against anyone coming to raid them from the Hive. They oversaw trenches dug for the Omet Gang's one AT-AT crawler, ocean skimmer bombs for the newly emerging Yardu Death Gangs who liked to use the ocean as a means for surprise attacks. The Blacksmith and Finn forged chains with spikes that could stretch across the traditional entry from the Hive and Rey oversaw the security of Merchants' Avenue to the docks using heavy, metal decko pods that scraped the ocean floor and set them up using the Force where it would be most effective to use against speeder bikes.

At night, the villagers would move about as usual, though a heaviness had descended upon their peaceful home. None of the Glitterati were seen in the Prolet areas, with some of the Needler servants reporting that more and more Glitterati bosses were seen down in the Hive. To keep them safer, the Widow gave Rose and Finn the house closest to Ben's, allowing them to come and go as they needed with BB-8 delivering messages to Poe as needed.

At night, Rey and Ben would hold hands and talk about their future together. Ben was extremely nervous about returning to Naboo where it would be a lot easier to be identified, but didn't want to keep Rey from the promise of a new Jedi Academy. Rey, on the other hand, was nervous for an even more pressing reason: her blood had not come. She had been expecting it a few days before their sudden wedding, but it had yet to arrive. She had been around enough promiscuous pilots in the Resistance to know that the absence of a monthly blood cycle meant the arrival of a 'junior co-pilot' could be on the horizon.

Rey wanted a baby! And Ben was excited at the thought of a potential pregnancy, but he would hesitate just as quickly. Their child was going to be Force-sensitive, there was no doubt about that. But it was going to be a baby, with needs and demands unique to itself that would require every ounce of patience and learning that he had taught himself to understand and apply it to his offspring. Rey would soothe his worries, however. Always assuring him that he wouldn't be a single parent or that he wouldn't be the only clueless one. Neither of them lived in their parents' world, so it was impossible to get this new one wrong.

He would carry her to bed after such talks, many times to make love. He had an insatiable appetite! In the mornings, Rey would awaken to feel his arms adjusting her legs around his hips, and his kiss searching for her like morning milk. She didn't mind! She often found herself lusting after her husband's firm body, imagining his deep voice grunting in her ear and moaning at her touch. She had a trick of her own, one that she'd gently searched through the girls' minds at the Girl's Dorm for tips on. She tried it once when she knew Finn and Rose were on their way and so he couldn't carry her to their bed (the hammock had been replaced when the tents came down). She had knelt before him, unbuckled his trousers making him squirm with concern for someone seeing them. Then, quick as anything, she popped his muscle into her mouth and tugged at it with her lips and a soft bite, making his squirming stop and his head rocket back onto his shoulders, his hands gripping the work table as he huffed for dear life. It was awkward, it tasted weird, and before he could start breathing even heavier, she released him, fixed his trousers, and went inside, throwing a wink over her shoulder before rushing to the dry larder for a piece of bread to get the taste out of her mouth.

Searching for pleasure tips and fantasizing about her husband's touch pulled Rey from peaceful meditation in the Force. She wanted Ben to join her, but he gave her one look and they both decided that being alone overlooking the ocean away from the village was probably not the most productive idea she'd had. She shook her head, forcing herself to refocus. Again.

'Peace,' She whispered. She felt the swirling tide, the grass swaying around her like fingers, Ben's hammer falling rhythmically over the skeleton of a sword, the sweat rolling between his pectoral muscles, his hair sticking to his neck as he exhaled with each release.

Her eyes wrenched open, the Force seizing her. She stood, feeling, knowing that across the Village, Ben had stopped and set his hammer down, his movement cutting off Finn from telling him something. They watched the horizon, listening to the Force. Something was coming, something dangerous.

She felt Ben bolt into a run the same moment she did. Her breath beat in his, but his voice spoke for them when he shouted, 'They're here! Man your stations! They're here!'

Rey skidded to a halt on the path, overlooking the tundra that separated the Cove from the Hive. She gasped, seeing four spacecraft hovering in the stratosphere, their paths set on them.

The life drained from her face, and her heart skipped a beat. Below, she could feel Ben skid to a halt and whirl around to her, sending a questioning feeling to her. She couldn't speak due to her heart choking her throat, and her stomach twisted so that she felt like vomiting. Ben pressed her again, his question turning desperate. She turned toward him, his body the only stillness in the village.

The raid had come. But it didn't bring renegades from the Hive set on causing mischief. It came from the Republic, and they were coming for Kylo Ren.

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