Named after a song by Enya ("Diamonds on the Water"), one of my favorite artists of all time. Back in the day, I envisioned many of her songs for situations throughout the prequel and original trilogies. :3

Chapter Eleven

Diamonds in the Sky and Water

The floral arrangements just kept coming in for Anakin, who grumbled that people were wasting their credits on something so trivial. Because everyone loved what his shop had done for them over the years, old clients and current ones showed their support and wished him well by doing just this. Some large and extravagant arrangements, others small like Rey's choice, and the sight of them as well as the overwhelming putrid sweetness made her decide she had enough of flowers in one day.

However, before she headed over to the hospital, she decided to just visit the shop and check up on the droids and the place itself. R2 was giggling and shaking like a little excited animal, C-3PO telling her that an order of ruby red and jade-colored ROSES were waiting for her. A flower from Coruscant and anywhere else?! For a moment, Rey thought they were for Anakin, until being told by the protocol droid that they were from Ben. Oh, guess he felt obliged to send them to me after last night. Perhaps I should just give them to his grandfather instead, let them blend with the others still coming in.

"Oh, as pleasant as they all appear, just send them to the nurses' station," Anakin said when she brought them, face twisting. "I won't be able to stand the smell any longer. I just went through a heart attack; I don't need a migraine from too much perfume." Giving me one, too. Which just gave her another good idea, thanks to him.

"Maybe I can talk to the nurses and have all of these distributed to other patients who really need them. The senders don't have to know." Was sneaky and unlike her, but it was a better use than one person letting them go to waste.

Anakin really liked her idea. "Do that, and take one for yourself. You look like you could use brightening up yourself."

...damn it, she should have done a better job touching herself up after last night. After Ben was gone, she had forced herself to clean up the sheets, yanking them off her bed and replacing them with new ones. She shoved the old ones into her personal basket until she did the laundry when she got home today. Despite cleaning up, Rey had to sleep on the lounge in the living room, not wanting anything to do with what transpired in her own room. As a consequence today, she was forced to wear her hair half-up and was drawn in her neutral and dark garments, somber. "Just tired myself after yesterday," she said to the old man. "Ben was right; you did give everyone a scare."

"So my kids keep reminding me," he grumbled. "Just made a bigger fuss than it should have been - more Leia than Luke, if you ask me." He hissed in pain when he tried to sit up himself. Rey rushed to his side.

"You need help sitting up? I'll adjust it for you -" She reached for the panel on the side facing her, but he halted her.

"Just want to go home to my own bed." He really did look so amusing, acting like a much younger child than a man who had been there and done that all his life.

Rey couldn't help but smile. "Dr. Abrax is also worried about you." Even though he is a middle-aged pessimist. She jerked her head in the direction of the doorway at the sound of the surprising voice.

"Dear Maker, this looks too much like a florist's shop." Ben was there, but she could force herself to look at him without making eye contact. He came to stand right beside her, to her chagrin, and she could have sworn she felt his breath warm and sizzle her skin. "Grandfather, how are you?"

"Just peachy." Anakin chuckled, thankfully not coughing this time. "But if you ask me, the damned tests Abrax keeps wanting are just an excuse to run up the bill. If only I could sue him for that." His joke made all three of them laugh together.

"Oh, really? I could have sworn he was just a middle-aged pessimist worrying for the worst. Wasn't that what he said, Miss Kenobi?"

There he went using her surname for formality, but wasn't that what she expected after she made him leave her home last night? "I believe so, Master Solo," she said quietly. She had to keep fighting to not look into his eyes and see the possible indifference, which would be worse than the roses.

"Pleased to know you're both keeping tabs on me," Anakin muttered under his breath, snickering. "And Ben, I see you decided to look your best." Seeing what he was talking about, there was that pilot mode on day one: black which clung to his monstrously bulky frame. Seeing that made Rey's heart lurch a little, painfully enough. Her attention was diverted to the door when a medical droid came in, and thank the Maker it wasn't a human nurse who would no doubt fall off her feet at the sight of Ben.

Oh, Rey, why can't you let it go? You don't deserve to claim him.

The droid said it was time to once again check Anakin's vital signs, which Rey took as her cue to try and escape. She would also take the flowers in her hand to the nurse's station as planned - but damn it, she was cursed with HIM rushing after her.

She should have ignored him, but that wouldn't have worked, given how persistent he was. "Let me guess: he's having all these flowers delivered to the nurses."

"Them and other patients who deserve them," Rey answered.

"That's a great idea. Just don't give away ALL the flowers that are delivered." No doubt what he was referring to, and it brought forth the mush to her insides. Why couldn't he stop doing that? "I know you got those roses. I thought about sending them to your doorstep, but didn't like the idea of them sitting there all day. The shop was better luck." His mouth twitched.

"They were lovely," she said softly, looking down at the spotless steel floors of the elevator they were now in, and she punched the button to go down. Without even asking her, not that she minded, Ben took the flowers from her - various species which could be found in any desert or southwestern region, some in bright and happy shades of yellow.

"They were, but I thought the recipient was moreso," he told her, her insides getting worse. You really need to stop doing that, Ben Solo.

"You don't have to keep giving me compliments. Last night, I did tell you I expected nothing." She didn't have to look at him to see his face falling.

He sounded crestfallen. "Most women expect flowers and compliments."

She shrugged. "Guess I'm just more realistic than most of them."

To her surprise, he spoke nothing of her practicality for a change, which she was relieved about. And by this time, they were at the nurse's station, where one of them was speaking over a comm system, which meant they had to wait. Setting the flowers on the counter, Ben regarded her once again. "You think I'm setting you up for a letdown. I thought I was just demonstrating my admiration towards you. In fact, I was wondering what you were gonna do tonight."

Rey stiffened. "Tonight?"

"Yeah, I was thinking dinner at my place across the lake."

She blinked; he'd just asked her to have a second "date" with him, this time at HIS location, whereas they might have a view of the mountains, portions of the grasslands and the lake itself. It sparked a hopeful optimism she wished wasn't there. You're just doing this out of guilt for last night, since the roses clearly haven't worked. That was it: he just wanted to make amends.

She wished that nurse could wrap up the updates on a patient's condition, or whatever she was saying. Anything to avoid this subject. "I should just do these flower arrangements first -"

"- not without accepting my invitation." Another inexperienced girl could have mistaken that as an order, but she'd been around him long enough to know it was just an insistence. "You know you want to." Oh, there it was again, known only to her in that hushed tone - the lover's voice from last night which did all the right things in coaxing her. And gods help her, it was working. How right he was.

You heard her right: she wanted another night with him. Another night of his deep, rich voice whispering words in her ears and his hands on every inch of her skin. What good would it do other than pull her back into the magnetic ring of a man she was better off trying to forget? The crack widened between desire and common sense, and whatever they had carried no future.

"...when do you expect me?"

She just about sealed another part of her fate, but maybe she should just go with the flow like last night and worry about the rest later, so here she was just as evening was falling again. She was making a mistake, but it didn't stop her from taking her speeder across the bridge and to the other side of Aldera Lake. It was a refreshing and adventurous ride without abandoning her comfort zone; the thrill was something she wished could have lasted.

Taking in what she saw, she was impressed with the naturalism before her eyes: the small cottage itself looked like it'd been created from the forest, and there was an adjoined smaller structure which might be his garage he mentioned. She wasn't surprised the Grimtaash was parked some feet away. And as soon as she crossed the threshold of the little house, a heavenly aroma of meat filled her nostrils.

Ben told her to come however she wanted as long as it wasn't any of her work uniforms, so here she was: a light dress of rich jewel-toned colors, off-shouldered and with snowy lace at the neckline. It was an array she knew would set off her hair, which she let down and accented with a headband of white silk flowers. Wondering what could happen this time would just enhance the inevitable...

Just at the last minute when she was about to turn on her heel and leave, Ben's face appeared before her eyes. "Thought I heard footsteps." He chuckled, looking her up and down. "You look lovely...but I never thought I'd see the day where you wear flowers in your hair."

He himself never looked better, this time being in a dark blue tunic which was pushed to the elbows. Those dark curls of his flounced about his ears. And not only with what he said of her, but he gazed upon her as though never seeing a woman before. That was all it took for her to unabashedly begin stirring. Thank goodness she wore a lightweight dress, because she began to feel much warmer. "I look forward to the dinner you made."

He laughed again. "So do I...but how about we skip right to dessert first?"

What he meant by dessert was something else entirely. And it was just like the previous night, though unlike when he had glimpsed her body up and down, all she could do on her part was glimpse him from the waist up. If she so much as had a peek at what was below the waist, she'd lose her mind more than it already was. She focused only on what it was doing to her.

Three days since Anakin's heart attack...and three days with Ben. Every night with the stars in the skies and on the waters. And this morning, the fourth day, it's safe for me to really say this was a bad idea. I don't know anymore if I'm not over my head...

Staring at the red-streaked horizon in shades of blue, caf mug in hand, she perched on the bench beneath the window of the bedroom. Ben was still sleeping, based on the soft snoring. This was a habit she adopted since staying with him: waking up at dawn and watching the sunrise, every last star winking out. This time had remains of last night's mist, covering much of the mountains. She felt the chill and pulled the large black shirt over her head, only to tremble because his scent reached her nostrils. But it wasn't like it was a terrible thing; she should ask him if she could keep this when she left.

When I leave...who knows if he can remain here himself. He might take off again, for all I know.

As much as she wanted to live in the moment, her heart kept aching because of his inevitable departure.

"You're turning into quite the morning bird, you know that?" His voice brought her attention back to him, seeing him sitting upwards and giving her the appearance of a god carved from stone. Even Finn couldn't get to that physique, not to put him down. Ben was just so handsome at every hour of the day, but right now - especially in the mornings - his eyes seemed to light with a shade of smoky gray. Might be a product of the early rays. And there was the bed hair, being matted and all over the place.

"I just never knew how this part could be pretty at this time of morning." Especially with the heavens reflecting off the water. Rey breathed in the steam from her beverage. "It's so peaceful, away from bustling city life..."

"Exactly why I prefer it here." He slid out of the bed then, and it was too late for Rey to advert her eyes from what she'd fought to avoid seeing. Her cheeks heated up instantly. That big thing - it made her wonder how the hell it even managed to fit right in, or how she managed to ease for its way. She'd never seen one before, only heard about it and that each man's size varied. And wow, was there way more dark hair crowning it than she had herself! She tried so hard not to giggle, returning her attention back to the view out the window, where the gray sky was painted with pink brushes.

"Would it be nice to fly off into those colors?"

He chuckled, sitting right behind her, where she'd slid to make room for him, and his arms came to wrap around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. "I can picture it: you unable to take your eyes off anything but what's in front of you." And that was how they did it, by deliberately steering from anything heavy, which meant sharing but not sharing at the same time. Trying to avoid hitting the deep waters by mistake.

The two of them continued to watch the sun rise higher. "Tell me," Ben murmured into her hair, "does you imagining flying into that sky mean you're planning to accept my offer?" He meant flying lessons the way he did it, having brought it up last night. She was still dwelling on it, tempting as it sounded.

"Does that also include flying off to some tropical or jungle island, maybe to Naboo?"

"We do that, and my ship will be your ship."

My ship is your ship.

Could it get more enticing than that? If only it was a serious invite and not some playful sweet talk. "Think we're both better off if I remained on the ground," Rey said.

"Oh, you took flight all right just the previous night," he told her with a rumble in his throat, making the color join the heat in her cheeks. They took it aboard his ship not last night but the night before, to be a little more adventurous. And it wasn't like the ship had actually lifted off the ground! His lips found their way to her cheek. "You'll make a hell of a co-pilot." And when he dropped his voice the way he did, it was so hard to stay serious.

And speaking of serious, he was supposed to head to the shop and have a summit with his grandfather and the rest of the family, sans cousin Shmi. When she told him, he simply traced her lips with a finger and turned her face towards him so he could lay one there. There was still time until then, and not only would she relax with another caf, but he had to tell her there were still more ways to pleasure her for the hard day likely ahead. Rey couldn't refuse even if she wanted to.

~o~

Ben sat back in his chair, bored out of his mind when he listened to Uncle Luke talk about his daughter's newest portrait which was a perfected, realistic vision of Cloud City and had found its way to his Academy. Nothing ever erased the pride and sparkle in his eyes. But for Ben to hear about his cousin sticking to her roots, envious that she had both parents in her life and had the nerve to tell him he was a coward for leaving just because losing his father impacted him, and the additional gall to tell him to grow up...that's exactly why I left.

He would much rather distract himself with thoughts of Rey and how she looked this morning, in just his shirt which hid her petite body and showed off her long, lean legs. For the umpteenth time, he wished he'd just chosen not to come and stayed with her at his place. That disappointment in her eyes when she reminded him...

He'd have thought he had her out of his system after three days, only for the opposite to happen. His appetite just kept growing and growing. He could say the same for her.

But why wouldn't she go on a flight with me, to see the sights and everything? We are having such a good time; why not prolong this under a welcoming sun and right next to the oceans? I want to show her everything I talked about. I see her expression being no different than when she saw Coruscant.

"Ben?"

He was such an idiot, but when did he care? "Yes?" He turned his attention back to Anakin.

"I asked if Cos Palpatine had anything else to say other than what you told me," the old man said with a deadpanned blink.

Ben shrugged. "Nothing besides what I already mentioned, as you said. Was satisfied that Skywalker mechanics has a solid future. Why else?"

"...because yesterday, I received an inquiry about my health from none other than Unkar Plutt." His grandfather's eyes darkened with his mood, causing everyone to stiffen in their seats.

"I would say he was being professionally courteous," Luke said with a scoff, shaking his head, "but he smells blood as usual."

"You got that about damned right," Leia said through her teeth. "Heart attack or not, that fish blob does not believe in courtesy. Good thing you didn't suffer it just yesterday, Dad."

He nodded, grunting. "Dodged a blaster shot, but no guarantees that we'll be lucky again." All of this was making Ben wish that there would be no discussion of a next time regarding another possible attack on his grandfather's health or the business. His heart was burning enough if not from the steamed tea he managed down his throat. It was hard enough to not keep looking at his mother who stole a sideway glance in his direction from time to time. "And the matter of other shareholders, to make sure we're in the right hands - we'll have to convince them of that...and that means appointing a successor."

Anakin looked right at the one he referred to without so much as a blink.

~o~

"Ben, please wait."

Rey was about to leave the garage after handling the protocol droid of a client with R2 in tow when she heard Leia Solo call her son's name. The woman's voice was soft and unsure, which all but stopped Rey in her tracks. She should just leave, but something compelled her to stand and listen as mother and son engaged after days of distance.

"Ben," Leia repeated, "I didn't get the chance to thank you for everything you did with your grandfather. I was about to lose it for one moment, but if it hadn't been for you..."

"Mother, you don't have to thank me. I just did what needed to be done." Now he sounded more like her. She considered teasing him, but on the other hand, she was sort of intruding on a private moment between him and his mother.

Rey ended up peeking through the crack of the door anyway. Leia and Ben stood before each other, maybe much closer than expected of before, the former looking momentarily down at the ground. "Yes, we do," Leia insisted, followed by silence. "If you hadn't been there, then..." She couldn't bring herself to finish, strong woman with words as she was. "Your grandfather never told me that you came home. He must have thought that I'd bolt away, but I never would have. It's been a long time. I know you must have done well for yourself."

"Yeah, it has been ten years. Surprised you, Aunt Mara and Uncle Luke even bothered paying attention after I 'abandoned' all of you when I was old enough."

"Ben, you shouldn't have listened to that cousin of yours. She's too young compared to you to even understand what it's like to lose a loved one. Your father was her uncle, but she still has her father. You may think I'm being cold, but it's a fact. You were just a boy when it happened; you were tricked and lured by Plutt's men, baited for Han and it led him to his...execution." To finally hear that Ben blamed himself for his father's death like this, through no real fault of his own...it made Rey's heart break. She hissed at R2 to be quiet when he beeped softly.

"Your grandfather never gave up on you, and I never could. None of us did. We gladly waited as long as it needed to be. But do you plan to fly away again?"

He shrugged. "Is there really a reason for me to remain?"

Leia's face continued to remain ever passive. "Your grandfather's offer. I thought you'd reconsider, since you're family. We all need you. Your father would have wanted you to make peace and forgive yourself. Living in the past keeps you from finding true happiness." Her eyes were shining with waterworks as she reached and put her hand on her son's shoulder. "I wanted so much to reach out to you again myself, and Dad's heart attack made me realize that time would just run out sooner than later. I'm not saying any of this because of his offer; you should be where your heart is, son."

"...you really think my heart lies here in Alderaan?"

That cool defense made Rey's heart freeze in place after that single crack.

"Only you can answer that; I can't do it for you. But why else did you come home?"

"Grandfather asked me to." The answer made his mother sadder, and her hand came off his shoulder. She apparently knew she couldn't get through to him. She turned on her heel to leave, but before that, he called out to her hoarsely. "Mother - Mom. I'm here for a couple more days. What about hitting the Tranquility for a mocoa or something?"

This made Leia's face light up. "I'd love that very much."

Rey quickly closed the garage door leading out into that main area, taking great care to ensure they didn't know they were eavesdropped on. Talk about the wake-up call she anticipated but never thought it would be like THIS. But at least a couple more days would be until that ship took off, and it was back to reality.

Which just about came sooner than expected, when she returned home at the end of the day, and her family was back in her life.

Why am I not surprised? Mom in tears again over the latest breakup.

"Oh, gods, baby girl, we had a connection for sure this time," Lilé said with sniffles, tears streaking her cheeks as she reclined on one end of the lounge, her mother sitting on the armrest of the opposite side. Sabé clucked her tongue and shook her head; she'd done everything she could to console her daughter, knowing this result would happen just as Rey was thinking. There was ALWAYS a damned connection. "So damned nice, had the yacht and nice place in the countryside...and he assured me I could visit, for goodness' sake!"

"I told you, just like I have time and time again," Sabé said, "but you never learn." As usual, her grandmother was blunt after every chance.

Maybe she'd gotten so bold while being with Ben, but Rey decided she could put her foot down this very moment.

Part of her felt sympathy for Lilé this time, since she was no doubt heading for the same scenario based on Ben's words to his own mother: nothing to keep me here. Hence her mother's latest meltdown was the final reminder, and Rey refused to end up just like her. Perhaps it was time to abandon ship sooner than the deadline. But first...

"Every guy who 'dumped' you was a jerk, but did it ever occur, Mother?" Rey asked, getting both pairs of eyes on her. One was wet and red, the other dried and piqued. "How many more are there gonna be before you finally get the message?"

Lilé bolted upright, face shooting daggers through her tears. "How dare you talk to your mother that way when she needs you the most?"

"You mean always needs me as a crutch for your mistakes? When you always mistake acquaintance for something romantic, not knowing any better what men are like? Just like it happened with my own father, whoever he'd been? Did it ever occur to you that every week's worth of a man convinced me that it was just a girl's fantasy, a product of silly hormones, and that impression was enough to make me grow up faster than you so that I wouldn't be just like you?!"

She hardly ever saw her grandmother this way, but Sabé's eyes went wide like perfect balls as she never thought she'd live to see the day. Filled with pride for her granddaughter.

Lilé sputtered but couldn't find the words to say. Bingo.

Rey had to go on. "I was raised better by Grandma and Grandpa better than you ever did, even though I still love you. But I can't take this anymore." She had to get away, head to her room without so much as another word, or else she would explode into a rage.

Dinner that evening was different this time, because her mother passed out on the lounge, leaving her and Grandma alone, but not only did this consist of a simple but welcoming vegetable stew - Sabé had something important to tell her towards the end.

"I'm very proud of you, Rey. If only your grandfather could have seen it. I was prepared to bend your mother over my knee even though she's too old for it, but she needed it. Honestly, you ended up better than she ever did, but you deserve to know something after all of that. It's high time I told you now that you are old enough. Your father..."

Jade roses are cultivated in the upper-class section of Coruscant.

My God, the emotions were high in this chapter just like the last couple ones. Anakin nearly died, Ben and Rey's relationship took a new turn, he reconciles with his family - save cousin Shmi - and now SHE stood up to her mother...but now she's gonna at last learn about her father. :O Stay tuned and REVIEW!