A/N: Just going to throw in a CW for Pregnancy here; in case anyone is upset by it.

Rose laughed as she watched her toddlers wobble about the deck, delighting in the salty sea spray hitting their faces, as their ship, the Falcon crested another wave. Her chubby dumplings; she'd called them that since their birth two years ago. If you asked Poe, he'd tell you all about the "dark and stormy night the twins were born during a hurricane at sea." In reality, Zain & Lily had been born safely at home. His colorful telling was much more entertaining, but not one she had any desire to live through.

Poe's trading business has flourished in just a few years thanks to hard work and a lot of encouragement. The first year or two was pretty lean, but Poe had been able to forge good working relationships with traders across the region, and now they had four ships sailing the seas, bringing goods from exotic locations. The best part was that he was able to run the company from Agrabah and didn't have to leave for months at a time anymore.

This was their first trip since the children were born and she relished this time away from it all. Out here on the ocean life was quieter, it flowed with the currents. There were nights spent sleeping in a hammock on deck, under the stars with Poe. Colorful ports with new experiences and cultures, and new vistas to explore. It was a way of life she'd never had as a Princess of Agrabah, and she loved it.

The Falcon was currently sailing east, home to Agrabah after a six-month voyage. Their trip along the Arabian Sea coast had been profitable, thanks in no small part to Poe's ever-present charm. Poe could talk the grumpiest merchants into sweetening the deal every time. A stalwart few could resist him, but her husband had never forgotten his past on the streets, and he knew how to disappear quickly.

Rose was looking forward to this homecoming especially. Her father was throwing them a party in honor of her and Poe's fifth anniversary. It was to be quite the spectacle because Rey and Ben had, of course, been married on the same day; a double wedding. She missed her twin dreadfully when they were apart, and with Rey's due date coming up, Rose was determined not to miss this birth.

A thump and a tiny clunk alerted her to imminent tears so she swooped down to pick up Zain who was trying to climb atop his sister's back to reach his toy monkey. Abu was his best friend, next to his daddy of course.

"No, Zain. Sister isn't a ladder, thank you very much!" page placed him back on the deck and grabbed his monkey off the cargo pile. "Time for a nap!" she chimed, and slowly helped them walk to the cabin. She tucked them into their bunk for a nap, then sat down in her rocking chair to knit until they fell asleep. The door to the captain's cabin opened twenty minutes later and Poe walked in.

"I came to say goodnight. Are they out already?"

"Like rocks," she whispered.

He walked to the children's bunk and leaned down to kiss precious cheeks.

"How about we take advantage of the quiet and take a nap too," he smirked, his arms wrapping around her middle and pulling her close.

She answered with a kiss.

A few nautical miles (and several hours earlier) the palace of Agrabah was wrapped in quiet, save for the servants up and about their chores. Upstairs, Ben slept, wrapped around his heavily pregnant wife. He dreamed peacefully, with no worry about being rudely awakened. He should have been...he'd taught his little ones how to sneak like street rats; quietly and unseen.

His four-year-old son, Ali, presently climbed up his father's bedpost, like the little monkey he was. Ali's two-year-old sister, Cassia, watched, her hazel eyes wide, sucking her thumb in the doorway.

"Awie dunna jump?" she lisped, quietly.

Ali shook his head at her and held a finger up to his lips. "Yeah. I wanna show dad how good I am at sneaking," he loudly whispered. If he'd been paying attention to his target, he'd have seen his father's eyelids twitch at their "quiet" voices.

Without warning, Ben sprang up from his prone position pulling the distracted young prince off the bedpost and began the sacred art of tickle torture. Ali, writhed on the bed, trying to escape, but it's a hard thing to do while giggling hysterically.

"UNCLE!" Ali's shout finally rousing Rey from sleep.

She wiped the sleep from her eyes and smiled at the merry war between father and son. A normal morning at their home.

"Who's your uncle?" asked Ben. "I'm your Daddy!"

"No!" Ali shrieked, "Uncle means I give up!"

Ben continued tickling toes, "Who told you that?"

"You, Daddy!" a tiny little voice called from the doorway.

Ben turned to acknowledge his daughter, "I would never be so silly!" he cried defiantly.

"Yeth, you did!" Cassia ran across the carpeted floor to stand beside Ben's leg, "Up! My turn!"

"You would offer to take his place, brave little flower?"

"Yeth, but I want kitheth inthed!" Cassia demanded with a little foot stomp.

"Deal! The brave princess saves the prince this time!" Ben announced. He lifted his daughter up and smothered her face with kisses as she giggled.

"Who's ready to see Aunt Rosie and Uncle Posie?" Rey broke in. At Ali & Cassia's insistent 'me's' she smiled and reminded them they needed to get dressed and make sure they had the special gifts ready for Zain and Lily. Ali and Cassia tumbled off the bed in search of their nurses; they didn't want to miss anything, today of all days!

Once they'd left the room, Rey wobbled to an upright position. "Up, up!" Rey mimicked, with arms outstretched. "You know I can't get up easily and it's all your fault."

Ben chuckled and walked around the bed to help her.

"I don't remember you complaining at the time," he smirked, as he reached down to support her to a standing position. "How is baby bean today? Any contractions yet?" He rubbed her belly lovingly before bending down to kiss her stomach, followed by her lips.

Rey rubbed her aching lower back. "No, nothing yet, but soon I hope. We've got a tie to break," she winked.

Speculation on the baby's gender was a source of amusement in their small family and the source of bets in the Court. Ali, of course, wanted a little brother, Rey wanted an easy delivery and Ben...Ben wanted twins. The first time he had mentioned it, Rey told him he could have twins when he gave birth to them himself. She couldn't blame him entirely, they loved having children filling the halls with laughter and life, but the thought of two at once was overwhelming.

Life the past five years had been sometimes sweet and some days sour, as all lives are. She and Ben had only been married a few months and were still adjusting to new roles when she became pregnant with Ali. Her morning sickness had been so wretched that she'd needed nursing those first months, but it had gotten better eventually. Ben had stayed beside her as often as he could, making sure that he spoiled her with every comfort when he had to be gone. Ali would always be worth it, she said.

While their kingdom had been swift to embrace Ben's new role as Prince, the neighboring countries had been scandalized and much colder. It had taken several years before they saw his worth and relations improved. Cassia had arrived in the midst of the tension and been their ray of sunshine. She was definitely Daddy's girl; Ben had been wrapped around her finger from her first cry.

The afternoon passed in a whirl of party preparations; final menu approval, children to keep out from underfoot, and a last-minute dress alteration for her comfort. Rey was grateful for the distractions though. It kept her from having to watch time pass waiting for Rose's family to return. She expected their arrival in time for dinner before the official party started. Ali & Cassia were bounced off the walls with excitement to see their cousins again. She wasn't much less excited than they were but being the grown-up, she had to hide it better.

Her first contraction caught her off guard just as the dresser finished pinning up her hair before dinner. Her grimace must have alerted the other woman.

"Did I poke you, Princess?"

"Oh. No... thank you. Just a foot cramp. It'll pass," Rey lied easily. She'd rub her foot to lend credence to the statement, but she hadn't seen her feet in weeks. The initial discomfort passed quickly, and since it was only the beginning of her labor, she decided to keep the news to herself for the moment. Ben would want to hover, and wouldn't want her to attend the party, and she was going, the end.

She stood and admired the lovely outfit that had been made for the celebration. It was a long, deep emerald green silk tunic over matching trousers. There was a heavily embroidered border of flowers in gold thread along the hem. Instead of a veil, fresh jasmine flowers were pinned in her hair, cascading down. The finishing touch was the malachite cuff Ben had given her; his first gift.

Rey made her way down to the dining room and was surprised to find the large space empty. Even if Poe and Rose hadn't arrived, Ben and the kids should be here. She peered into corners, around the curtains, and even thought to check under the table. There was that one time…

"BOO!"

"Yahhhhhhh!" Rey jumped out of her skin and turned to find her twin doubled over in laughter.

"Gotcha!" Rose squealed, "I hope I didn't scare you too badly. I wouldn't want to make you go into labor or anything," she wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

"Nope! No danger of that," Rey replied, popping her 'p'. She gathered Rose into a warm embrace. "I've missed you so. Did you have a nice trip?"

Rose's answer took up most of the dinner conversation. She and Poe had been gone for six months and had many stories to tell. Rey managed to eat fairly normally throughout the long meal and didn't think Ben had noticed in the hubbub of the family gathering. Little Cassia did seem a bit attentive to her, but it was most likely because there were so many people around. She tended to be a shy doodlebug.

It was into one of those sudden lulls in conversation that Cassia showed Rey just how perceptive little children can be. Her tiny voice fell like cannon shot on the gathered family, "Mommy, why's you pwaying the statue game wifout me n' Awie?"

"I'm not playing a game, Doodlebug. I'm eating dessert," Rey forced herself to reply in a light tone despite the grip of a contraction and took a bite of her dessert in an effort to look untroubled.

"Yes, you is!" Cassia vehemently asserted. "You keep fweezing and stop talking. That's the statue game. It's not fair if you win, cuz we not pwayin' too!"

Ben put down his fork and walked around the oblong table to his wife's side, "Are you okay, Rey?" he asked as he rubbed circles into her shoulder lightly; his eyes searched for the cause of Cassia's assertion.

"I'm fine! Just a little indigestion. Don't fret, Master. I'm not," she patted his hand, as the old title fell from her lips unheeded.

Ben would have bought it if not for her slip of the lip. But his wife only called him master when she was well and truly distracted; an automatic response from the past.

"You never call me Master anymore. Something's up," he hushed his voice to give them a modicum of privacy from the others.

Ben decided it was time to bring out his secret weapon. The only sure way to crack through his wife's defenses...his eyes, or rather what his wife termed his, "whiskey-brown-melts-me-like-butter-puppy-dog-eyes."

He knelt down before her chair and took his wife's hands in his bigger ones, then met her gaze. It was the kind of staring contest that only true love knows. Affection pouring from one person to the other through the eyes, no words are necessary, just two hearts beating in-time. He waited patiently, smiling. Her eyes darted about for a bit, trying to look everywhere but at him. Eventually, she couldn't help but meet his loving gaze.

He won the staring contest after that...

Heaving a deep sigh, Rey finally allowed herself to lean back in her chair, sore and emotionally fatigued from keeping up the charade. She cradled her baby bump while gently massaging it in an attempt to help herself relax a little through the oncoming contraction. Her head fell to her chest as she slowly inhaled through her nose, and out her mouth. Once the worst was passed, she re-opened her eyes to see eight sets of eyes zeroed in on her. Ben's wide eyes and hanging mouth told her that he'd caught on.

Rey shrugged her shoulders and plastered a please-don't-kill-me smile on her face.

"I guess baby bean wanted to attend the party too?"

Ben ran a hand over his face and placed his head face down in her lap, "Woman, you are going to be the death of me. No party is as important as you and the baby." He rose up from his kneeling position and helped her to rise. "Come on, let's get you to bed. Time to meet our littlest wish..."

And I'll leave it to your imagination, dear Reader, to decide how the tie is broken 😉. Let me know what your headcanon would give them in the comments.

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A/N: Welp! That's all folks :) I can't believe it's finally finished. Thanks for hanging in there through my last two delayed updates. I've never had writer's block so badly before :(

A couple of notes:

1. Cassia and Lily are obviously flower names. I thought it'd be fun to keep up the family tradition. Cassia (pronounced Kay-sha) is a flower known for it's spicy "cinnamon" scent. It seemed very appropriate for a Reylo baby.

2. Ali is an obvious nod, and Zain is actually an Arabic name as well.

3. This was not beta'd and allllll mistakes are my very own. I just wanted to finish.

4. I should have a new story posted within the next two weeks! Only Make-Believe is a Modern AU; Rey gets amnesia after an accident and wakes up believing she and Ben are married. It's such fun to write him suffering ;p The second story is called Country Roads. Rey is an over-worked, hyper stressed CEO who thinks she is going to a luxury resort to recuperate. Uh...no. There will be Ben in plaid, chickens, and sass...lots of sass.

Stay Tuned!

Until next time, thanks for reading :*