A/N Well, we've reached the end. I have to admit, I'm a bit sad. This was my first long, in-depth Star Wars story (but not my last!) and I really enjoyed writing it. Just a heads up, I have upped the rating to 'M' for this final chapter. There is nothing explicit, but seriously, after all they've been through, Rey and Poe need some time to themselves, and it gets a little steamy. Thank you for reading and please feed the author!

General Poe Dameron sat in his office in the command center of the Resistance Base on Yavin IV trying to finish up his review of the reports from his officers this past week. There had been a half dozen skirmishes with an Imperial sect that called themselves Black Star. Though he wouldn't declare complete victory, he was confident his army had successfully rendered the faction powerless. It helped that Senator Ketterly and three other Senators had been arrested for treason after a quick investigation by Republic Security a few days ago. If they hadn't gotten overconfident and tried to assassinate the last Jedi, they may have stayed hidden for a bit longer.

Poe looked at his chrono and immediately closed out the data pad he was on; he would have to finish tomorrow. It was getting late, and there was no way he was not getting home on time. He needed to be there for Rey.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was worried about his wife. It had been a little over a week since she had come home from Kolbe, the desolate and rough planet she had spent several days surviving on by herself. Though she had come back bearing no injuries, her clothing had been torn and bloodstained, and she had lost weight. She had requested to be seen by a medic immediately, and afterward had told him in private that she had learned she was pregnant while on the planet and had wanted to ensure the baby was in good health before letting him know. She had then come with him to Kes' house to retrieve Shaina; the toddler had clung to her mother for hours afterward, as if she was terrified Rey would disappear again. Rey had gone back to her normal routine just a couple of days later, including going back to teaching. She spent at least an hour or two every evening with the Triss she had brought home; Sal had become a favorite with her students, too. By all outward appearances, Rey was back to normal. But nobody else saw how she huddled on the bed every night, waiting for him to join her, and then curled up in his embrace, shivering, until finally she fell asleep. He never pushed her for any intimacy, he just held her. Every night the trembling was a little less.

She had been through the ringer, and though she put up a brave front in front of everyone else, he felt the responsibility of being the one to see her fall apart at the end of the day.

He left the command center, glad to be out of the artificially chilled building and back into the warm, humid Yavin evening. He turned toward the north, where he and Rey kept a small house just off base, and was more than a little surprised to see BB-8 rolling up toward him. When he didn't see Rey behind the droid, he started to panic; BB-8 was not supposed to leave her side. "BB-8, what's going on?" he demanded.

BB-8 went on a long spiel about how EV-D3, one of the mechanic droids, had notified him that Poe's X-Wing had apparently been broken into. Rey had known Poe would be on his way home soon, and had sent BB-8 to catch him so he could check up on the X-Wing on his way home.

Poe breathed a sigh of relief. "So, Rey's still at home?" he asked the droid.

BB-8 paused a moment, but then replied 'yes.'

"Okay, let's check out the ship," he told his droid. BB-8 chipped excitedly and lead the way. The landing field happened to be on his way home, so it was no real problem for him to check out the X-Wing; he would comm Rey if he thought it would take longer than just a quick inspection.

The landing field was fairly dark, with only a few flood lights here and there throughout the 10-acre field. His X-Wing was parked right next to the much older Red Five, Rey's X-Wing, and both a bit separated from the rest of the fighters. Though there was no flood light close, the red-orange orb of Yavin lit the area well. He noticed right away that the canopy of his ship was opened slightly and one of the service ladders was still attached to it. It looked as if whoever had gotten in the ship had high-tailed it out of here without worrying about closing the canopy completely or putting the ladder back in the service shed. He didn't think whoever had been here was still here, but he drew his blaster just in case.

Quietly, he climbed the ladder, flipping the lever to raise the canopy completely as he did so. He moved up one more rung and was able to look inside. He about dropped the blaster in shock. Rey was sitting in the cockpit, smiling at him, naked as the day she was born. "It's a good thing I could feel you coming," she told him. "This would be really embarrassing if it hadn't been you climbing up that ladder."

Poe holstered his blaster and glanced down at BB-8, who was chirping merrily to himself as he rolled away. He looked back at his wife. "Kriff, Rey! You about gave me a heart attack! How did you get BB-8 to lie for you?"

"I promised him you wouldn't be mad at him," she told him. "That you would thank him, in fact." She tilted his head at him. "Was I wrong?"

He folded his arms on the rim and looked down at her, his eyes roaming her body. "That depends," he told her, his voice low. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm just helping you out," she told him. "I know this has been on your 'wish list' for a while, and I had promised myself to make sure it happened when I got back home." She gave him a soft smile. "Shaina is with your dad for the night."

It was her smile that decided him. "Well, if this is gonna work, I'm the one that's gotta be in that seat."

"So, get in, Flyboy," she told him, moving up and toward the side of the cockpit. Poe pulled off his jacket and threw it on the ground, then undid his holster and hung it on the ladder. Carefully, he climbed in and slid into the pilot's seat while Rey pulled herself in front of him and straddled his lap. He pressed the switch to close the canopy. Quickly he reached behind her to jack up the joystick and get it out of the way so it didn't dig into her back, then he brought his hands to her side, sliding his fingers along her ribs as she lowered her head to kiss him.

He felt her shiver as he touched her, and he knew it wasn't just desire that made her do so. "Sorry," he said against her mouth. "I know my hands are cold."

"S'okay," she whispered back. "They'll warm up soon enough." She kissed him deep, and he brought his hands up to her breasts. She caught her breath, and he remembered how tender her breasts had been during her last pregnancy.

"Does that hurt?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. Not yet."

"Good," he told her, then dived in to latch onto one with his mouth. She gasped and grabbed his head with one hand, pulling gently on his hair. He felt a sudden surge of desire that was far stronger than he expected and he pulled away, looking up at her with surprise. "What was that?"

She swallowed, looking apprehensive all of a sudden. "I opened myself up to the Force," she said softly. "To you. I want to feel what you feel. And I want you to feel what I feel." She licked her lips nervously. "I know it sounds scary, and if you don't want me to do it, I won't."

"Rey," he told her, his own nerves suddenly on edge. "Making love to you on a normal day about kills me. Doing this will for sure end me."

"Well," she said softly. "How do you want to go? Getting blown up in your X-Wing or blowing up in your X-Wing?"

He laughed out loud, throwing his head back against the seat. Her answering grin was vibrant and all Rey. He reached up to run his thumb along her lower lip. "Okay. Let's do this."

She kissed him again, still smiling against his lips. He moved in to kiss her neck and collarbone and felt her reach down between them to work on his belt and trousers. He ran his hands down her back to cup her buttocks and felt her approval. The tingling of their connection was suddenly familiar and he pulled back a bit.

"Rey?"

"Hmmm?" She was focused on the task of opening his trousers.

"Did you happen to have any weird dreams while you were on Kolbe?"

She stopped what she was doing and pulled back to look at him. He could see her eyes reflecting the glow of Yavin shining through the canopy. "They were the only thing that kept me going," she told him. "I knew I had to make it to nightfall, so I could see you again."

Poe took in a deep breath. Almost every time he had dozed off during the search, either trying to catch a quick nap or falling asleep at his desk, he had had dreams with Rey front and center in all of them. Memories, skewed memories, fantasies. There had been no rhyme or reason to them. "They were what convinced me you were alive," he whispered. "No one believed me. Except Finn. He believed."

She smiled at him, and he could feel her love envelope him. Then she finished with her task and pulled him free of his trousers. He groaned as she readjusted her position on his lap, then lowered herself onto him.

He didn't die, but he was pretty sure he passed out for a moment.

When they finally recovered enough to move, the laughter began again. It was more than a little humorous as Poe tried to fix his clothing and Rey tried to find the dressing robe she had worn from the house to the X-Wing, which had slipped between the pilot's seat and the back of the cockpit, all in the tight confines of the ship. Finally, Poe opened the canopy and they tumbled out, still laughing. Poe retrieved his holster and jacket and they began walking toward home, holding hands like two teenagers.

They met with BB-8, who had been standing guard a short distance away, and the droid happily rolled along with them. They were about half-way there when Poe brought up the subject that had been bothering him since he and Rey had been reunited on Kolbe.

"Rey, when I saw you on the Organa," he started, and he felt her tense. "You weren't alone."

Rey nodded slowly. "He helped me reach you," she said softly. "I didn't have the strength to do it alone." She stopped and looked at him. "He also helped to heal me," she told him. "I was pretty mangled when he showed up." She touched him softly on the cheek. "I know you can't forgive him after what he did to you, and you shouldn't have to, but…"

"Stop," he told her, taking her hand in his. "Without him, you wouldn't be here," he told her. "I'll never forget that." He paused. "Was he with you the whole time?"

She shook her head. "No, just that last hour. When he knew I had given up hope."

"Kriff, Rey!" he exclaimed. "Even more of a reason to thank him."

She smiled. "I'm pretty sure he knows. He knew we were connected through those dreams before I did." She brought up the hand holding hers and kissed his knuckles. "He may have helped me out in the end, but you were the one who saved me," she said. "My back-up," she smiled. "As promised."

"Always."

THE END

A/N I hope you all enjoyed the ride as much as I did! Just remember, I will ALWAYS have a happy ending! On that note, my next story is ready to go, and it's longer and more in-depth than this one. It's also my pride and joy. I hope to start posting that one a week from today, so look for Naboo coming soon!