I loved writing this!
Yes, this is a flashback, and it ends with Ben's point of view. For some reason, these two wanted you to know a little bit of how they got to the spring of their fifteenth high school reunion.
I need to thank Sohypothetically and Cole. Without you, this wouldn't be that pretty lol…
I counted today, I have up to chapter 8 done! I have a clear vision of where this is going… so hopefully the words will keep flowing.
And thank you for taking a moment to read! I appreciate every single one of you!
Fall 1990
"It's going to be a good day, you just have to believe it." Amilyn says as she fixes their lunches.
"But they don't know me here," Little fifth-grader Rey grunts. She tries not to smile because Amilyn is putting her favorite chocolate pudding in her old Star Wars lunchbox. Amilyn offered to buy her a new one, but she's had this one for years. Sometimes she pretends that her parents left it with her like Annie and her broken locket.
"I know it's hard, but this will be good for both of us. You get to start over with me, and a new school," her newly adopted mom, Amilyn, assures her. "Didn't I tell you that I had to start a new school in the fifth grade too?"
"You did. You also said that it sucked."
"Well, because it did," Amilyn chuckles. Rey laughs too, making a wide smile appear on the new mom's face. "Now, do you remember Ben? Leia and Han's son? He'll be in your class too."
"But he's a boy," Rey whines, not wanting to tell Amilyn that she actually thinks he's cute even with his ears.
"But he's also someone you know. Come on before we're both late for the first day of school."
Once the adoption papers were signed, Amilyn packed up and moved them back to her hometown, a small town outside of Asheville, North Carolina. Amilyn was Rey's fourth grade teacher. After finding out how badly Rey was treated in her last foster home, she became a foster parent herself so she could rescue Rey.
Amilyn likes to tell everyone how she is so proud to be a foster fail.
It's still early when they reach the school so Rey follows Amilyn into her classroom. The two of them have been coming for the past two weeks to get ready for the first day of school. Rey didn't want to admit it at first, but she really enjoyed helping her new… "Amilyn?"
"What?" She answers as she unlocks her desk.
"When can I call you Mama?" Rey whispers.
"Rey?" Amilyn mutters and at first Rey thinks she's done something horribly wrong when she sees the tears in Amilyn's eyes. "You want to call me Mama?"
"I don't have to-"
"Oh, sweetie!" Amilyn wraps her arms around Rey. It's not until Ami says, "You can call me whatever you want to." That she knows it's ok. Especially when Ami- Mama kisses the top of her head. "I'm so glad that we belong to each other."
"Me too," Rey replies, wiping her own tears.
"What's going on in here?" A gruff voice asks from the doorway.
Rey turns to smile at the vice principal, Mr. Chewy. "This is my mama." She remembers Mama telling her that she went to school with Mr. Chewy back in the day.
Understanding dawns on his face. He comes into the room and gives them both a hug. Rey lets them talk while she walks over to the wall she helped decorate. She remembers that Mama did the same wall last year for her class.
"Rey? Ms. Erso just went into her classroom. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Let me walk you over, then if you want, you can come back with me until the bell rings?"
Rey doesn't say anything, but she does grab Mama's hand. Amilyn squeezes her hand and together they walk next door.
Ms. Erso smiles at them as they enter the classroom. Rey returns her smile while Mama says, "Good morning Jyn."
"Good morning Amilyn. Good morning Rey."
Mama walks over to Ms. Erso to talk, and Rey wanders over to the cubbies and the hooks by the door. She quickly finds hers, and a little smile appears when she sees Rey Holdo instead of Rey Niima.
She notices the name tags are in alphabetical order. But since they just moved, she doesn't recognize any of the names. She continues down the row anyway, until she comes to Ben's. He hasn't talked to her much, only at the couple of cookouts his parents had this summer that she and Mama went to. She's still relieved that she knows at least one more person here.
"Hey, Rey? Do you want to stay put, or come back with me?" Mama asks behind her. "Ah- you found Ben's cubby. Did you find yours?"
"It's over there," she whispers, suddenly shy. "I have to get my backpack."
"Ok," Mama murmurs. "Jyn, Rey will be right back. At least before the bell rings."
Even though Rey is ten, she reaches for Mama's hand, again.
Fifth grade is good for Rey. She's finally in a place where she can relax and learn to be herself. It helps to finally have a mom who loves her. And every day, she learns to love her back. Ben is nice to her, well he's not mean, so that means he's nice, doesn't it? Rey quickly makes other friends with the girls in her class. There's only six of them out of a class of 25, so they have to stick together.
Rose is her best friend, though.
She comes over when she needs to get away from her five brothers and sisters and Rey goes over there to experience a big family.
But then Mama starts dating. At first Rey wasn't too worried about it, after all she got to go to Rose's. If they were too busy, then it was Ben's. When it was too cold to swim, they would play video games and of course, she would beat him. That was her favorite part.
That Christmas, they were eating dinner at the Solo's when Mama introduced her to Tobias Beckett. Rey doesn't think anything about it until Ben whispers, "He's going to be your new daddy."
"No, he's not," she hisses back. "How is he going to do that?"
"By marrying your mama that's how. I heard my Mama and Ami talking about it. Ami thought if you meet him here at my house, that would be better than at yours."
She watches the man sitting across from her talking to the other adults. He looks nice enough, years of being in foster care she can tell a lot about a person when she meets him. So far, no red flags.
He looks kind with the blond fuzz on the sides of his head and blue eyes. He does have a funny laugh. And Mama laughs along every time he laughs so that must be a good thing?
Rey finishes her dinner. Ben pokes her halfway through. "I got a new game. Do you want to go play it?"
"I thought we were opening presents?" She asks. It took her weeks to pick it out, and she wants to know if he likes it. Her little heart falls thinking he's not going to see it.
"Oh yeah, we are." He bumps his shoulder into hers, almost knocking her out of her seat. He looks guilty and looks around to make sure none of the adults saw what he did. "What did you get me?"
"I'm not telling. What did you get me?"
"I'm not sure?" Her face falls and he looks sorry. So much that he grabs her hand. "I'm just kidding Rey. I got you something then Mama picked you out something too. I think you'll like it."
"Are you two done?" Leia asks with a huge grin and a wink. "I'm ready to open presents!"
Rey is all smiles as she follows everyone into the living room. Her eyes grow wide as she takes in the presents around the tree. There were a lot when her and Mama first got here, now the pile seems even bigger.
Mama and Leia kneel by the stack of presents and motion for Rey and Ben to come. "Go pass these out, please," Leia says as she hands them each a present. They soon form an assembly line Mamas sorting, kids taking the gifts to the people they are for, while making their own piles by Leia's big picture window.
When the presents are all passed out, Mama grabs Rey in a hug, "Merry Christmas, sweetie."
"Merry Christmas," Rey wishes and she tries not to wiggle away as Mama hugs her. She's never seen so many presents at one time. "What if Ben doesn't like what I got him?"
"He'll love it," Mama whispers. "Look, isn't he opening one of your presents now?"
They both turn to watch him open the long rectangle package. "A nerf gun? And it's the one I wanted too!" Ben nearly shouts. "Rey? Did you get this for me?" He gives her time to nod, then rushes over to her pile and pulls out an almost identical present.
Even Mama has to chuckle when she sees the look on Ben's face as he hands Rey the gift. Rey tears off the paper then has to laugh. "Mama, he got me the same nerf gun I got him!"
"I see that," Mama says before she steals a kiss.
Spring of 1998
"Are you sure you want that dress? I thought you liked the black one?" Mama asks.
Rey turns in the mirror, looking at the back of the red strapless. "I don't know. Maybe I should get the pink?"
"No pink. it's already been taken from someone at our school," Rose says from outside the changing room. In a moment, a teal shimmery dress comes through the curtains. "Try this on."
"I didn't see that one," Rey coos. "Unzip me, Mama."
"I do like that one," Mama agrees. She helps Rey into the dress Rose picked out. The zipper is up, and Mama breathes, "Rey, that one is—"
"The one!" She opens the curtain. "Look! You're right! It's perfect."
"I love it!" Rose gushes. "You should let me pick out all your formal wear from now on."
"That I can do. Now what about shoes? Do I need panty hose?"
Amilyn watches the girls, well, young ladies walk around the dress shop looking at all the accessories. And not for the first time, she wonders who has it easiest, her or Leia helping Ben pick out his tux.
"Mom, it doesn't matter! Everyone is going to be wearing the same thing!" Ben fusses from the changing room.
"But this jacket looks like it will fit better," Leia explains as she gives him the garment through the curtain. Prom is still three months away and by the way the boy eats, Leia knows that he'll be hitting another growth spurt between now and actual prom time. He comes out of the little room and he takes her breath away. "You look so handsome." She doesn't miss the look of sadness that flashes in his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Mom. Are we done?" He fidgets, full of teenage boy energy: I-want-to-be-anywhere -but-here angst.
"There's something wrong. You can talk to me, Son. Did something happen? Is everyone not going to prom together anymore?"
He shakes his head, then in almost a whisper, "No we're all going. Just Poe said that he's coming home just to take Rey to the prom."
She sees the grief now. "Honey, it's just prom. Trust me, nothing that happens that night is forever. Besides, if you want Rey to go with you—"
"I can't ask her that. We're best friends. She doesn't want that from me anyway."
"You don't know until you ask. I just don't want you to have any regrets. Trust me, I know. The could've, would've and should've will kill you."
He's still for a long minute, then a huge grin appears. "Alright, Mom. I'll ask her."
They hear a weird chime and Leia looks around. "What's that?"
"That's your cell phone, mom," Ben chuckles. "It's in your purse."
"Did you put that in there?" She digs it out but by the time it's in her hand, the phone isn't ringing anymore. She flips it open. "It was Amilyn. Let me call her back."
Ben can feel his face heat up, and he wonders what Rey is doing today. She told him yesterday, but he was too busy noticing how long her legs looked in that mini skirt she wore to school…
"Hey, Ben. Ami and Rey and Rose are here at the mall too. They asked if we wanted to meet them for lunch. I said yes," she pauses as he comes back out of the dressing room. "I told her that we'd meet her at the food court as soon as we finish here. Is that alright?"
"Yeah, that's fine," he replies while giving the pants and jacket he just tried on to the Mitchell's employee.
"Is this what you want to reserve?" The young lady asks.
"Yes, but if the jacket doesn't fit by prom, how hard will it be to get another one?" Leia asks.
"Not hard at all. we always have extra on hand."
Leia follows her to the counter and while Leia gives her all their information, Ben stares out the window. "Alright, you're set for prom. Well except for a button up shirt and shoes. I know you can't wear the ones from last year," she says, coming up behind him. She stops and then follows his gaze. "Oh, Ben," she exhales. Rey and her friend Rose are across the way looking at shoes in the shoe store window. "Go say hello."
He looks at her and her heart remembers when he was only three and she took him to go buy that special toy. She couldn't tell you what it was. But he has that same look… then he's gone. He bounces across to them unlike the moody teenage boy he is while she watches from the window.
It's not until she sees Amilyn as she walks down the corridor that she goes out to meet them. Rey looks back at the moms and says, "We'll meet you at Chick-fil-a."
The teens walk ahead and Amilyn asks, "Are they speeding up?"
"You know they are," Leia says. "Did you find the dress?"
"We did find the dress. Did you get a tux?"
"He did. He'll probably outgrow it by prom time, but we have one. Has anyone asked Rey to the prom yet?"
"I thought they were all going together?"
"That's what I thought too." The moms fall silent as they watch their teens talk as they walk. "He's going to marry her one day, you watch."
Amilyn giggles. "That would be amazing. Can you imagine how sweet their babies would be?"
Leia has to blink fast at her surprising tears. "They would be."
"Ben? Are you sure you don't want to go? I know she's going with Poe," Leia has to stop and shake her head at that news. Ben didn't ask in time, and Poe did come home and ask Rey to go instead. Her son has been broken-hearted since then. "Finn and Rose are at the door. What do you want me to tell them?"
"Nothing." His door opens and her heart hurts for her son. She can tell he's been crying, his eyes red just like hers get when she's been crying. But he does have his button up shirt and dress pants on. Her heart goes out to him when she sees that instead of the matching tie and cumberbun he'd gotten to match Rey's dress, he has on the black one that came with the tux.
She straightens his collar and then helps him fix his bow tie. He's been experimenting with his hair, so she doesn't mess with it. "Well, you shine up like a new penny."
His cheeks flush pink. "You have to say that, Mom."
"No, I don't." She smoothes away an invisible wrinkle. "Just go, have fun. Trust me, what happens tonight has no bearing on the rest of your life."
Man was Leia wrong.
The whole group does hang out at prom. For a total of five seconds. Even Ben can see everyone pairing off as soon as they walk in the door leaving him to bounce from group to group.
But when Rey leaves early with Poe and just Poe, only then does Ben accept the party invite to meet the rest of the baseball team down by the river. Then when Poe and Rey show up, he grabs the nearest girl, who just happens to be Bazine. When he wakes up next to her in the back of his truck and can't remember anything…
He sees the worry on Rey's face when she climbs out of Poe's tent before dawn. Not sure what to do when she makes her way to his side, he opens his arms. A watery half smile is his reward as he leads her to a log someone put beside the campfire the night before.
While Bazine and Poe sleep, the two old friends drink the nasty coffee someone made over an early morning campfire. Neither one of them utters a word about what happened the night before.
Even though the way Rey looks at him makes him want to wrap his arms around her and tell her that he's the one that will make sure everything is going to be ok.
But he doesn't.
Instead Poe comes out of the tent, still drunk, while Rey tearfully asks Ben to take her home.
Aunt Ami doesn't say anything to Rey as she runs past them to go upstairs to her room.
"What happened?" Ami and Tobias ask at the same time.
"Can we go outside?" Ben whispers.
Needless to say, her parents are not happy. Amilyn went upstairs after Rey while Tobias says gruffly, "Thank you. I'm glad that you didn't leave her."
Surprisingly, Ben does see Rey that summer after graduation. Both of them admit that they figure she was grounded for the rest of her life.
She does beg Ben not to tell her parents that she's still talking to Poe.
Ben just tries to ignore the older boy.
Before they know it, it's time for Ben to go to Charlotte for pre-med and Rey to start at Western Carolina for her degree in English.
Ben would never tell that he almost stayed home to watch out for her.
But that isn't his place. Even though he loves her with everything he is, he can't do anything like that. Not until she says she's ready and needs him back.
He runs into Bazine while going to medical school at Duke. While it's nice to have someone close that he's known since high school, but he's known Rey even longer… Bazine's still there when he graduates.
He supposes he should've told her to go away. But after he works ten to twelve hour days at Duke for his residency, it's nice to have a pair of welcoming arms when he needs them, even if he isn't sure who else is in those arms when she isn't with him.
The small still voice inside him that sounds a lot like his mother at times would say, "Rey wouldn't do that to you."
"Yeah but Rey is with Poe. Not me." Then the voice would stop, until the next time he doubted.
When Bazine came to Ben and said that she was pregnant, he didn't believe her. She agreed to a DNA test, he softened a little bit, but still wanted it done. The test came back saying that the little one is indeed his, and Ben couldn't wait to meet him. Her. He repeated what excited parents have said for generations, "As long as the baby is healthy—"
The day Jackson Solo- or Jack was born was the happiest day of Ben's life. Well, except when Wyatt Solo comes three years later.
By then he's done with his residency and joins a practice in Durham. Everything is good until
Baz starts staying out all night, leaving him with the babies as soon as he gets home.
Not long after that, after screaming at him that he should have gone into plastics so she could have the million-dollar house, Ben knows that it's time to go home.
Thankfully he never married her and it was easier than he thought it was going to be to get custody. But then Uncle Luke, who is also Ben's lawyer, makes sure of that.
Soon he and the boys were headed back to the mountains.
"Are we going swimming today, Dad?"
"When can we go play in the water?"
"Artoo ran outside."
"Crap," Ben swears. "Who let him out?" He doesn't wait to see if Jack or Wyatt fess up, he knows that if he doesn't go now, he'll never catch the overgrown pup.
The screen door slams behind Ben, and he knows the boys are right behind him. "Artoo!" He hollers and they echo his shout. He heads down to the lake, because newfies are water dogs after all and Artoo is all newfie and he just happens to loves anything wet.
Artoo shoots past their dock and heads over to Paige's. "Artoo!" He shouts as the pup runs up to a woman watching. She braces for a jump that never comes.
"Ben?"