Chapter 23-

"General, they're here."

Leia clicked off the comm unit in her room. She'd been waiting for this message ever since Rose had left earlier in the day. Her heart sped up. So many emotions were swimming around in her head. What would they say to each other? How would they react to seeing each other after all this time? Her motherly instincts kicked in first, wanting nothing more than to see her son again...to wrap her arms around him. There were so many things she wanted to say...so many things she needed to tell him.

Then the 'general' side barged into the conversation, reminding her that he was also the cause of so much of what she'd been fighting against for years. In any other case, she knew exactly how she would deal with an enemy. But what now that the enemy just so happened to be her only child?

Han's face sprang to mind, his smile of wonderment when he held Ben for the very first time on the day he was born. He had been very reluctant about becoming a father, thinking he would not be very good at it. But Leia knew better. Despite his doubts, she knew Han Solo's heart was made to be a father. And Ben had adored him, toddling after him as soon as he could walk on those chubby, dimpled legs.

This led to thoughts of the last time she had seen her scruffy-looking nerfherder as he promised to do his best to bring their son back home. He had looked older, grayer- but his was still the handsomest face in the galaxy to her. So much wasted time. So much she wished she could do over...different decisions she should have made. Maybe they wouldn't all be in this current situation if she had chosen differently.

"You know that doesn't do any good."

Leia turned to see Luke sitting on the edge of her bunk.

"Worrying about things that can't be changed is really just a waste of time. But you can affect the here and now," he added.

Leia grinned sardonically. "So, now that you're a Force ghost you've become a boundless fount of Jedi wisdom, huh?"

He shrugged. "One of the perks."

She smiled. "Are there many of those?"

"A few," he chuckled.

She walked over and sat down next to him. "Luke, I'm just not sure what to say to him. I should've done so many things differently...should have never sent him away...should never have given up trying to get him back," she said, hanging her head in regret.

"What's done is done, Leia. Ben is going to need you here and now. It won't be easy for him, making this change. He needs people to believe in him...to fight for him. Regardless of what happened in the past, he still needs his mother." He laid his hand on her knee, and even though he wasn't physically there, she could still sense the comfort he was offering through the Force. "Now," he said, standing to face her, "they're landing and you need to be there." With a smile and a nod of reassurance, he was gone.

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Rey and Rose eased the Falcon into the Resistance hangar and settled it down into an empty berth. Ben stood behind Rey's seat, observing all he could see out of the cockpit's viewport. The place was not very big or seemingly advanced compared to the First Order, and the array of other ships sitting around looked like a collection of relics from the time of the Empire. How did these people ever think they would be able to defeat the First Order? What gave them such hope?

Then it hit him. His mother. Leia Organa Solo gave them hope.

Suddenly, his hands felt clammy and a lump formed in his throat. His heart started beating faster and he felt light-headed. Rey glanced back up at him over her shoulder.

"It will be okay," she said quietly, offering a comforting little smile.

Finn watched their interaction from his side of the cockpit. Although the man had given him no reason to doubt his change of heart- yet- Finn could still not bring himself to just forgive and forget Kylo Ren- no, Ben Solo's past. He took it upon himself to be the watchdog if no one else would. The first time he showed signs of going back to his old ways, Finn would be there to deal with him. Of course, he didn't know exactly what he could do, but he would do something.

No one else but Leia knew that Ben was on board the Falcon. She had not told Poe or even Chewie, uncertain how they would react. They could deal with the aftermath once Ben was there with her, safe and sound.

Unfortunately, she ran into Poe on her way to the Falcon.

"Leia," he said, changing direction to walk with her, "I was just coming to talk to you. We just got word from one of our Stormtrooper contacts-"

"Not right now, Poe," she interrupted. "I've got something I need to do."

He seemed somewhat taken aback by her dismissal, but wasn't deterred. "What do you need? I can help."

"I don't need any help, Poe, but thank you for offering. We'll talk later." She kept walking, leaving a confused Poe standing in the corridor.

'That didn't seem like Leia,' he thought to himself. She seemed distracted and… nervous. Not like her at all. She was not only his mentor, but had become like a mother to him over these past few years. He decided to follow her just to make sure she was all right.

Rose and Finn were first to disembark, Artoo rolling along behind them. Rose saw Leia waiting anxiously near the bottom of the ramp. She shot her a smile, hoping to allay some of Leia's obvious nerves. Finn gave the general a knowing glance, but said nothing.

Leia saw Rey come down the ramp next, looking around cautiously, checking to see who else was present. Everyone in the hangar was busy doing his or her job, not really paying attention to the Falcon's return. She turned and nodded to someone behind her, giving the go-ahead.

And then there he was. Her son.

Her heart nearly burst and her eyes welled with tears. He walked down the ramp and she got her first good look at him in years. He was so tall and broad- not the gangly young boy anymore, but not too old either. His dark hair had grown out nearly to his shoulders, and he had a scruffy-looking goatee. He looked a bit like a scoundrel.

As he made it to the bottom, he noticed her and froze...just staring at her. She looked so little, was his first thought. And her hair was shot through with streaks of gray- new since he had last seen her in person. And her face- so familiar and yet... not. He noticed wrinkles now. She was getting...older.

She stepped closer to the ramp, and he watched her every step. Neither one took their eyes off the other. He felt his throat tighten and his bottom lip start to tremble.

"Ben," she said in a whisper and held out her arms.

"Mom," he said, before falling to his knees and throwing his arms around her, holding on for dear life. Her own arms quickly surrounded him.

"Oh, Ben!" she cried, "my sweet boy."

Rose felt tears trickle down her cheek as she watched the reunion. There was something so powerfully moving about seeing this big, imposing man revert back to a little boy in his mother's embrace. She heard a sniffle coming from next to her and turned to see Finn wiping his eyes.

"Finn, are you crying?" she asked.

"Me? Crying? Um...no, I'm not crying...just got a bit of dust in my eye, is all," he tried to explain.

"Dust?" she replied, knowing what he was doing. "Right...dust."

"Yeah, yeah," he repeated, "dust...in my eye."

Rose rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the mother-son scene playing out in front of her.

Leia was stroking Ben's hair and kissing the top of his head. She kept repeating his name over and over softly, as if she couldn't believe he was really there. Rey stood off to the side, her heart full as she watched them. Part of her wanted to run over and throw her arms around them both, but knew it was not her place nor was it the time. Leia glanced up at her, eyes glistening, a grateful smile on her face, and mouthed a silent 'thank you.' Rey nodded and smiled back.

After a few more moments, Ben pulled back and got to his feet, towering over his tiny mother. She gazed up at him adoringly and he returned it. "I think you're even taller than your father," she said innocently. However, the mention of his father brought instant pain to Ben's eyes.

"Mom, I-" he started to say, but she put up her hand to stop him,

"Later," she told him. "We have a lot to talk about. First, let's go to my quarters." She hooked her arm through his and started leading him out of the hangar. He turned back to look at Rey who offered him an expression of reassurance.

Other nearby workers were growing curious. Some were even figuring out who this mystery visitor really was. However, none of them knew quite what to do or say about it. Except one- a late arrival who had just entered the hangar to see the tail end of the happy reunion. Only he wasn't happy about what he saw.

"What the hell is HE doing here?!"

It was Poe Dameron, storming up to face Leia and Ben.

"Poe," Leia started.

"Are you kidding me?! He shouldn't be here! He's with the First Order! Do you know how many of our people he's killed?!"

Leia had heard enough.

"No, but I do know how many of our people you've killed. Or have you forgotten your dreadnaught bombing fiasco?!"

Poe was stunned to silence.

She sighed deeply. "Poe," she said, her tone softening, "we'll talk later. I promise." Then she and Ben walked away.

Finn stepped next to Poe. "I know how you feel, man." Poe gazed up at him, a mixture of anger, disbelief, and injured pride in his brown eyes. "But he is Leia's son. Her only son."

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There were tears...many tears from both Leia and Ben. Years of misunderstanding and miscommunications were finally cleared up as each one of them offered apologies and explanations. She couldn't stop looking at him, drinking in the sight of him-still her little boy in so many ways. Hints of Han showed in the way he cocked his head as he listened to her or in the arch of his eyebrow or his roguish lop-sided little grin. Yet there was so much that was changed about him- internal scars from the past that had most definitely left their marks. She held on tight to his large hand, marveling at how it dwarfed hers and remembering holding his pudgy one as a little boy.

"I don't know how I can ever do enough to make up for all of the bad choices I've made," he was saying, after they'd already been talking for hours. "I shouldn't have been so weak...so easily manipulated by Snoke. I was so determined to NOT be what you expected me to be, that I ignored what he was doing to me. I was a fool." He hung his head shamefully.

She pushed a strand of hair behind his ear. "We were all fools. Your father and I let fear guide us- fear that we would never be good enough parents for you. I should have known better. Our family history is full of stories about the dangers of being afraid of losing a loved one. It never turns out well." She was, of course, referring to her father, Anakin Skywalker and his attempts to stop his mother's and his wife's deaths. He had not handled it well, to say the least.

Ben glanced up at her. "I saw him," he said. When she seemed not to realize whom he was speaking of, he explained. "Grandfather...Anakin. I saw his Force ghost on Ahch-To. He appeared to me one night."

"Did he, now?" she asked, truly curious. "Seems like a lot of things happened on that island. Rey was right to take you there." She felt a subtle shift in his demeanor at the mention of Rey's name. Just as she suspected. "She's quite an amazing young woman." She watched for his reaction and saw a slight blush creep into his cheeks.

"She is," he admitted.

Leia continued. "We're lucky to have her on our side." She paused for a moment. "Now, you must be tired and hungry. Let me find you a room and something to eat. We'll talk more tomorrow." Getting to her feet, she declared, "I'd like to pick your brain about the First Order," and shot him a wink.

Ben stood up as well, towering over her. "I would expect nothing less, General." He pulled her into his arms for another hug. "Did you shrink?"

She glared up at him. "Don't be a smart ass, Solo."

Ben turned off the shower faucet and dried himself, slipping on the clean pair of sleep pants Leia had rounded up for him. Then he turned his attention to the facial hair that was really starting to itch. Usually he had his grooming droid take care of it, but was on his own here. As he shaved it off looking in the mirror, his mind replayed the events of the last few days. Everything had changed.

Everything.

No longer was he Supreme Leader of the First Order, most powerful man in the galaxy who could have anything he wanted. No, now he was just Ben Solo. He wasn't exactly sure who Ben Solo was just yet, but he was ready to find out. He certainly hoped his future included Rey. She had quickly become very important to him, and he didn't want to go through this change without her.

The buzzer to his door sounded just as he finished shaving. He'd assumed everyone else was already asleep, but maybe...maybe a certain pretty Jedi was coming to say good night. He opened the door expecting to see her face, only to find Poe Dameron, who pushed past him angrily.

"I don't know what you think you're doing," he started.

"Please, come in," Ben said sarcastically.

Poe ignored it. "You really think you can just show up here, after all you've done, and just act like nothing ever happened?!" He glared daggers at Ben, who just stood calmly staring back without saying a word. The silence grew awkward. "What? Are you going to mind probe me again?" he finally sputtered. "Maybe a little Force choke?"

Ben kept staring silently until, "I could… but I'm a little too tired. It's been a really long day."

That only made Poe angrier. "You know, you put Leia through hell. She didn't deserve any of that, but she loves you anyway, so she's letting you back into her life. And if you do anything to hurt her-" Poe was so worked up, he couldn't even finish his threat.

"I know, I know," Ben said. "Look, I appreciate your dedication, but what goes on between my mother and me is our business. And I'm not here on some secret infiltration mission trying to sabotage the Resistance. Now, if you don't mind, I really am tired and would love to get some sleep."

He walked over and hit the panel to open the door. Poe hesitated for a moment before starting out the door. Once he crossed the threshold, he spun around, his mouth open to say something else cutting. But before he could get out another word, Ben said, "Good night!" and hit the 'close' button.