7-1-2021 NOTE TO STORY FOLLOWERS: If you received an update to this story, the reason is that I split the previous chapter in two, and changed several chapters' epigraphs after coming across some passages that were too fitting not to use. If you want to see them, look at Chapters 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, and 17.

Published February 14, 2021. Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Epilogue: Celebrations

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

~ Luke 1:78-79, unknown translation

Ben and Rey made a point of going to Takodana at least once a year. Maz always shared a meal with them and, if they stayed in the castle, gave them the first night free. They usually visited on their anniversary, which coincided with Ben's birthday as well as the galactic holiday commemorating the Rebellion's victory over the Empire. As much as he had once resented sharing his birthday with that of the New Republic, Ben found that he did not mind sharing it with the anniversary of the best thing that ever happened to him.

He was concerned, initially, that revisiting the castle and Nymeve Lake might reawaken bad memories along with good ones. But he need not have worried. Over time, the pain and anguish they had experienced there were eclipsed by times of joy.

On their first anniversary, they stopped at Hosnian Prime on their way, to visit Han and Leia and borrow some clothes. They did not stay long, though, as they were eager to be alone, and Ben's parents understood that. Even though Ben and Rey had seen each other on a daily basis for the past year at the training temple, it was a special treat to have this time for just the two of them to be together.

The morning after they arrived, they made sure to get up just before dawn. Rey wore Padme Amidala's pink and yellow gown, which left her arms, back, and shoulders bare. When the sun rose, they knelt on the beach and let the sunlight wash over them. Then they sat watching the light sparkle off the lake as the sun rose higher.

"I think this is the most beautiful thing," Rey said. "Until I came here, I didn't really know that light sparkled on water. I had never seen so much of it."

Ben knelt behind her and hugged her, kissing her shoulder and her cheek. "Are you ready to finally learn how to swim?"

She leaned back against him and demurred, "Once it's a little warmer."

While they waited, the porgs began to gather near the water. They watched the birds without comment, a mixture of feelings swirling in each of them, until Rey ventured, "Ben … would you mind if we went over to say hello?"

"If … if you really want to."

"I do. They were good to me, and they helped us when it mattered most."

They walked around the lake together, but Ben held back as Rey approached the porgs. She came up slowly, cautiously, wondering if any of them would remember her. Some of them were skittish and flew away as she drew closer, but others regarded her curiously, their faces as blank and bemused as usual.

"Hello," Rey said softly. "Do you remember me?" She gathered up her skirt to kneel again, and held out her hand in invitation.

A few porgs came up to her and sniffed her outstretched hand; then they squawked and alerted the others, who came closer and gathered around her.

A wide smile broke out across Rey's face. "They remember me!"

Ben could not help grinning in amusement as he watched Rey pet and hold the porgs. Between her memories and BB-8's lessons in translation, she could still communicate a little with them. Ben thought she seemed like an animal charmer, or a half-animal princess in a story. He supposed she was close to being a princess … but that would come later.

They spent the sunniest part of the day swimming in the lake. Ben sometimes suspected that Rey was taking her time with learning so he would continue to hold her up in the water. But when she finally was able to do a few different types of strokes, they started splashing and chasing each other mercilessly. The porgs fled in the wake of their shouts and splashes.

They spent the evening in the cantina, eating and drinking and listening to music, and finally had a chance to dance in a crowd.

On their second anniversary, they arrived separately, with Rey coming from the Jedi training temple and Ben coming from Hosnian Prime. After a great deal of discernment and a few emotional conversations with his family, he had opted to leave the budding Jedi Order and try working at Han's shipping company. This allowed Han to ease out of the business and spend more time with Leia, who was up to her braids working to keep peace in the Senate and the wider galaxy. It turned out, though, that Ben was still needed by both the Jedi and his family in helping to investigate and fight the First Order. It had been difficult for Ben and Rey to live apart, and they were both looking forward to this reunion.

Ben arrived in the evening, and went straight to the castle as Rey had requested. He did not understand the reason behind it—he would have preferred to greet her somewhere private, where he could sweep her off her feet and kiss her without any seedy characters leering at them. But he found her waiting just inside the door. After a tight hug and a fierce kiss, before he could ask how she was or tell her about his last adventure, she held out a scarf and asked for permission to blindfold him.

"I mean, I won't say no, but … really, Rey?"

She smiled, seeming both sly and apologetic as she tied the scarf around his head. "I know you can sense your surroundings with the Force, but I want you to be surprised by what you see." Once his sight was gone, she led him by the arm back outside and down the castle steps.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"It shouldn't be that hard to guess, Ben," she said in lieu of an answer.

"This feels rather like an abduction," he teased.

"Well, I do, eventually, want to take you away and keep you to myself. Mostly."

"Funny—I always pictured it the other way around."

When they had almost reached the far side of the lake, she began to explain. "I actually thought about doing this the week we first met … but obviously things got kind of sidetracked. I wanted to do something for your birthday, and to thank you for all your training."

"Rey, there's really no need."

"If I have to accept nice things from you and your family, then you have to do the same for me," she said adamantly.

"… I guess that's fair," Ben conceded.

Finally, she made him stop, then stepped away. "Okay, you can take it off now."

Ben did so, slowly, and stared at what he saw.

Rey had improvised a table by setting a round sheet of scrap metal over a wide tree stump—the same tree, in fact, that she had cut down when practicing with her lightsaber. It was laden with two plates of food, a bottle of Corellian brandy, and a small vase of flowers. Lanterns were set out on the ground and in the trees to illuminate the arrangements.

R2-D2 stood nearby, having guarded the food from any scavenging animals, and played slow, contemplative music. There were porgs in the nearby trees and a row of them standing by the shore. Rey stood next to the table, her hands clasped behind her back, a shy smile on her face. In Leia's Endor dress, she looked like she was exactly where she belonged, in harmony with nature.

"You did this?" Ben said in amazement.

"Well, it wasn't just me. They helped." She gestured to the porgs lined up on the beach. A few of them waved their wings when Ben looked at them. "Happy birthday, Ben."

"Oh, Rey." He came up to her, took her face in his hands and kissed her again. She kissed him back, putting her arms around him. By silent agreement they ignored R2-D2's impertinent beeps and the porgs' confused chirps.

When they finally broke apart, Ben said, "Being with you is the best gift I could ever hope for." He ducked his head and stuck his hand in his pocket. "Actually, I—I have something for you too."

She blinked in surprise. "For me?"

"I was going to give it at the end of your vacation, but … I don't think I can wait that long. In fact, I wanted to do this when we broke the curse, but I thought you should have time to train and make sure you wanted to be with me. And being apart for the past year—it just confirmed what I already know."

He withdrew his hand from his pocket and held it out. On his palm was a tiny gold chain with no beginning or end—its links formed a circle. A ring.

Rey's eyes widened at the sight. "Ben—is this—"

"Yes. I made it from the dice on the Falcon. I made one for myself, too." He knelt down holding Rey's left hand and the ring. "Rey, you're my best friend. I still want you to be my copilot. Will you be my wife too?"

She was smiling through tears as she nodded and answered, "Yes."

They seriously considered having their wedding on Takodana. Instead, they settled on a moderately sized wedding on Hosnian Prime—too big for Ben's taste, but relatively small for a senator's son.

To Rey's delight, BB-8 came with his owner Poe Dameron. They had met him briefly when they returned his droid to him, and he had later enlisted in Leia's growing Resistance, but Rey had not seen them for a few years. During the toasts, she credited BB-8 with leading her to Takodana and therefore to Ben.

Korr Sella caught Rey's bouquet, and Ben strongly suspected that someone—perhaps Rey, or Leia, or one of the few Jedi present—had influenced its arc with the Force. He could not help noticing how much time she spent with Tai during the reception.

The newlyweds flew to Takodana to kick off their honeymoon, spending their wedding night on the Millennium Falcon and a week in Maz's largest guest suite. Then they spent a week on Coruscant, and then another week on Naboo, where they paid their respects at Padme Amidala's mausoleum and explored the picturesque lake country. It was gorgeous, and the lake house owned by Leia's biological relatives was more luxurious than any lodgings either Ben or Rey had ever stayed in. Yet somehow they felt happiest when they returned to the Falcon.

"It's kind of ironic," Rey remarked as they settled into their cabin on the battered freighter. "This ship is named after a bird, but it's actually more like our nest."

"Do you think you'd want to bring up kids here, or in a real house?" Ben asked. He had wondered about this quite a bit, but did not have strong feelings one way or the other. The important thing, he believed, was to keep their family together as much as possible.

She hugged him and said, "We'll navigate that asteroid field when we get to it."

One thing did not change over the years: Ben generally did not like receiving presents. He did, however, manage to be nicer about it when his family or friends tried to press one upon him.

Now, however, after eating a birthday dinner with his family, he could only stare dumbly at the gift he had just unwrapped. Rey had presented him with two items wrapped together in thin decorative paper: a small plush toy shaped like a porg, and what seemed to be an article of clothing for a very small creature. The garment was brown and beige, with two legs, two arms, and a hood, and looked as though it would fully cover a humanoid infant or a small animal. The material and accessories made it look like a porg—a feathery texture, a webbed pattern on the tiny feet, sleeves shaped like wings.

"What is this?" Ben intoned.

Rey replied, with her arms folded casually, "It's a porg costume. For a baby."

Ben spoke slowly and deliberately. "Rey … if or when we ever have children, we are not dressing them up as porgs."

Her expression suddenly lost its levity; but then she rallied herself. "Why not?"

"It would feel wrong … like wishing they were porgs. What if we jinxed things, somehow? Or what if they got confused and thought—"

"Ben," Leia cut in, "Rey is trying to tell you something."

He stifled a sigh. "I know, I know; we've talked about it."

"Actually, you don't know," Rey said.

He blinked at her. "What?"

"This isn't for some hypothetical child." Rey rested her hand on her stomach.

Ben's eyes widened with sudden realization. "Wha—you—Rey, are you—"

"Yes, I'm pregnant, you idiot."

"Rey!" The next thing she knew, Ben was lifting her off her feet and spinning her around; Han and Luke and Chewbacca were so loud with their exclamations that it was hard to make out anyone's words; and Leia just smiled proudly.

Finally Ben put Rey back down on her feet and looked at her with adoration. "This—this news has to be the best gift."

"I'm so glad." Rey looked longingly at the outfit and toy on the table.

Ben followed her gaze, his smile fading. "But we're not going to dress it up as a porg," he repeated.

"Why not?"

"It's just—weird to think about."

Rey pouted. "I think it would be cute."

Ben smirked. "I'm sure our kid will be cute enough without it."

If Ben was protective of Rey, he was even more notoriously protective of his daughter. Even just introducing her to friends and relatives wore on him. He was happiest when it was just the three of them, with Anaka in one or the other parent's arms.

Rey tried to be patient with him about it, but she drew the line when it came to their annual visit to Takodana.

"Ben, they're porgs. They're not going to swipe a claw at her."

"Who knows that they won't try to bite her, if you hold her out close to them?"

"They wouldn't! They may be mischievous, but they're not malicious. Besides, they know me, and they'll understand that she's our young."

Ben finally relented—he could never last very long when he and Rey argued—but he insisted that he reserved the right to chase the porgs away if they misbehaved.

They approached the porgs as they usually did, with Rey stepping forward first. Ben hung back, holding Anaka in his arms. She had been playing with her porg plushie, but Ben slipped it into his pocket so the real animals would not see it and be confused by it. He bounced her weight in an attempt to soothe her so she would not cry over the toy's disappearance.

At the signal, he came over and knelt down next to Rey, who took the baby and showed her to the porgs. "Friends, this is my porglet. Her name is Anaka Rey Solo."

The porgs looked on in surprise, confusion, and awe. When Rey held her upright, Anaka looked back at the birds with the same kind of bewilderment that every new experience inspired in her. Then they began to squawk in excitement. Anaka smiled and laughed.

"See? There was nothing to worry about!" Rey said to Ben. He returned her smile sheepishly.

Despite their lasting and undeniably positive relationship with the porgs, Ben was consistently unamused whenever Rey or one of their friends tried to give Anaka any kind of gift that had to do with porgs. Unfortunately, her having a toy porg gave other people ideas for items with this theme. Maz tried to give her a mobile with carvings of porgs made from materials of different colors. Even Luke fashioned a toy for her, a wooden whistle shaped like a porg. But Ben was especially against dressing her up to look like a porg, even though Leia and Rey kept making such outfits for her as she grew from infancy to toddlerhood.

"Come on, it's all in good fun," Rey prodded. "I want her to like porgs. They're a part of our story."

Ben scowled. "I don't like to remember how you almost became a porg for good. And dressing her like that—it's like passing our trauma on to her."

Rey shrugged. "Maybe this is my way of coping with that trauma. At any rate, we'll have to tell her about it eventually. You don't want to hide it from her, do you?"

He softened at that. "No, of course not."

On the floor, Anaka gurgled and pulled at her feathery hood. Rey had dressed her in the one-piece that made her look like a porg. She flashed a smile at her father, whose shoulders sagged as he gazed down at her.

"She does look cute," Ben conceded.

Rey smiled at her victory.

Anaka did not clearly remember the first few times she visited Takodana, in the earliest years of her life. She did, however, recognize the species of bird that they found as they walked from the castle to the far side of the shining lake.

"It's my bird!" she exclaimed, pointing with one hand, while the other carried her plush toy.

"Yes, Anaka!" Rey praised her. "They're the same kind of bird you have. They're called porgs. And these porgs are Mommy's special friends. Can you say hello?"

Anaka raised both of her hands, waving one of them and holding up her plushie with the other. "Hewwo!" A few of the porgs squawked back, causing her to squeal in delight.

"You know something?" Rey held her daughter up to look at her directly. "I used to turn into a porg sometimes."

Anaka looked just as confused and incredulous as she had when she learned that grown-ups used to be children. "Really, Mommy?"

"Really. Would you like to hear the story?"

"Yeah!" Anaka was at the age where she could not understand all the details of a complicated story, but she could follow the emotions based on the teller's tone of voice.

It had been so long since they recounted their experiences that Ben found himself listening, just as transfixed as Anaka, to Rey's narration. It seemed even more fantastical as she added dramatic emphasis for her young audience's entertainment. Ben wondered how the telling might change over time, even within their own family.

For now, Rey left out some of the more painful and frightening parts, and instead focused on the love, loyalty, bravery, and ingenuity of the Skywalker-Solo family members. He hoped that those parts would always be remembered.

Then Rey gave an ending that surprised him as well as Anaka: "And so Daddy and I got married, and had some adorable babies."

"Babies?" Ben repeated, wondering if Rey had misspoken or if he had misheard.

"You had one baby—me," Anaka corrected.

Rey nodded. "First we had you, Anaka. And now Mommy's going to have another baby."

"What?!" Anaka shrieked.

"You're going to have a little brother or sister."

Ben was almost breathless. Neither he nor Rey had any siblings, and while he would have been content with just one child, the ability to give her a sibling to grow up with seemed an incredible gift.

"Why do we always come here?" Anaka asked, spinning in her chair. At seven years old, she now remembered several trips to Takodana. It was one constant in a life filled with travel between different planets. In some ways, it felt like home, at least more than any other place. In other ways, the Millennium Falcon felt more like home than anywhere else.

In the front seats of the cockpit, her parents exchanged fond, nostalgic smiles. Rey shifted Lars on her lap as she explained, "This is where your daddy and I first met, ten years ago."

It was hard for Anaka to imagine her parents not knowing each other. They were hardly ever apart, and they did almost everything together. If one of them had to travel for work, or wanted to visit a certain planet, they always took the whole family instead of splitting up.

"How did you meet?" she asked.

Ben answered, "Well, your mom was working for Maz, and I came to drop off a delivery. We sort of ran into each other in the forest."

"More like you ran after me," Rey teased. She looked over her shoulder. "Ana, do you remember what I told you about the porgs and me?"

"I remember a story about you turning into one." Anaka was a little more skeptical now about the credibility of that claim. She had visited many planets with different folk tales, mythologies, religions, and superstitions. She was beginning to understand that some stories had different kinds of truth—some were literal, historical, while others were figurative, symbolic.

"Well, the full story is longer than that. It's also a little scary. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes!"

"Then I'll tell it at the castle, before your bedtime."

Once they made planetfall, Anaka wanted to do everything: visit Maz, swim in the lake, explore the forest, collect rocks and leaves, and climb the trees. They ate dinner in the cantina, and then the kids wanted to dance. In the past, Anaka had stood on Ben's feet to dance with him, until he finally lifted her up and set her on his hip, bringing her almost to his height. Now, Anaka let Lars stand on her feet to dance, which gave Ben and Rey a rare moment alone on the dance floor. There was a great deal of laughter, but no words were needed; they could feel each other's happiness.

Lars eventually fell asleep on Ben's shoulder, but Anaka was still full of energy when they settled into their rented room, and she insisted on hearing the story she had been promised. Now that she was a little older, her parents told it in almost full detail. They took turns narrating, sometimes overlapping, and sometimes even arguing about whether they remembered certain parts correctly. When they argued too long, Anaka would interrupt and insist that they carry on with the story.

She also had some questions about things that had occurred to them but had gone undiscussed. "Do Anakin and Obi-Wan still see us? Will I ever see them? Are there other sorcerers that do what Snoke did?" They had to reassure her that they were perfectly safe; that if there were other dangerous Dark Side users in the galaxy, their family and the Jedi would fight them and defeat them; and the Force Ghosts gave them privacy when they wanted it (they hoped), but would continue to watch over them in case they ever needed help.

They still left out some details, such as the backstory of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They had agreed to tell each of their children about Darth Vader after they turned thirteen—perhaps while on a trip to Tatooine, where Anakin and Luke had been born and the Lars family had lived their entire lives.

For now, Ben and Rey stuck to the essential facts of the story, with some additional artistic flourishes.

"And that's how a scavenger married a prince," Rey finished with satisfaction.

There had been a time when Ben thoroughly rejected that title; but now he simply qualified it. "I only claim that title because it makes you two princesses, and Lars a prince." Truth be told, he felt as though it was the other way around: Rey was so noble and beautiful, and their children were so precious, that being their husband and father made him feel like a prince.

"If I'm a princess, then you have to do what I want, right?" Anaka said with a hopeful twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," Rey said loftily, but Ben asked, "Is there something you want, Princess Anaka?"

"I want a pet porg!" Anaka proclaimed.

There was a pause as Rey and Ben exchanged glances. Anaka could tell that they were having one of their silent conversations, as though they could speak their thoughts directly into each other's minds. Soon, perhaps, she might learn to do similar things with the Force that her family talked so much about.

"The porgs are our friends," Rey said carefully. "They have homes and families here. It wouldn't be right to take them away." She tilted her head, thinking it over. "But maybe if you led them to the ship, and they seemed to want to stay there …"

"Rey …" Ben said with a note of warning.

"… I suppose they could nest with us."

"YAY!" Anaka cheered. "Then I'll be the princess of the porgs, like you, Mommy!"

That made Rey laugh out loud. "The Porg Princess," she mused. "There's one title I never thought I'd have."

"And yet, I have to admit, it sounds fitting," Ben said, putting an arm around each of them and pulling them both in for a kiss.

Author's Notes:

[Cue End Credits music. Text card:] Written By JackieStarSister.

… Sorry, I couldn't resist. This is the first novel-length Star Wars story I've written, and it has been a joy and privilege to share it with you. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Special thanks to all who gave feedback through reviews. If you have made it thus far but not left a review, I would love to hear from you!

If any of you readers are artists, I would love to have scenes from this story illustrated. I'm also happy to commission artwork or trade writing for drawings.

If you want to read more Star Wars content by me, I have other stories you can check out on FanFiction . Net. Keep an eye out for my next major project, "Saving Love." It will be a crossover similar to this one, based on the myth of Psyche and Cupid/Eros, with Rey and Ben as the protagonists.

Thank you again for coming on this adventure with me! I hope you will join me on others in the future! God bless and keep you.