A/N: Hey all! I hope you are still enjoying this ride! Tomorrow is going to be a tough day for me, and knowing my readers are still here and digging this story will go a long way towards making it easier. Let me know what you think!

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Life in the condo changed after that night, and Poe felt he was to blame. While their daily routine remained the same, there was a new tension. They talked less during dinner and any extra time spent together, like watching movies or just sitting in the living area together reading stopped. In one month, Poe had done the one thing he feared the most with this marriage: he had lost his friend. All because he had been stupid enough to let his true feelings show.

He had no right to be jealous, he thought. Yes, Rey was his wife now, and as he told her, he trusted her not to do anything improper, but that protectiveness, the possessiveness he had always felt, seemed to have only increased now that they were married.

One week after the auction, their marriage scheme was truly tested for the first time. As promised, Rey and Poe invited their dads to the condo for dinner.

Poe cooked, of course, but Rey spent a great portion of the afternoon cleaning, which included moving her belongings back into Poe's bedroom. Most of her clothing and personal objects had remained in Poe's room after she moved in, but as the weeks had gone by, many items like books and mementos had ended up in the guest room, as Rey became lazy and never put them back. Both of them were convinced either Luke or Kes (or both) would get snoopy, so they had to ensure everything looked as if they were truly married and sharing the master bedroom.

The meal went well, and Poe was more than a little taken aback by Luke's open and friendly attitude. Either he had come to terms with his daughter's marriage, or he just didn't want to look like an ass around Kes. Either way, Poe appreciated it. Everything was going great… until the end of the meal, when the question neither he nor Rey had expected was asked.

"So," Kes started. "Luke and I were talking the other day, and we started speculating..." He grimaced. "We don't want to be pests, but have you two given any thought to when you might start a family?"

Rey, who had been picking up the empty plates they had served the cheesecake dessert on, dropped one. It clanged loudly as it hit the corner of the table, but she caught it before it hit the floor. Poe looked back and forth between her and his father, panic creeping in.

"Uhm…" Rey looked at Poe, her eyes wide. "Uh, we've talked about it…"

"But we decided now wasn't really the time to be thinking about that, yet," Poe interjected. "We're both so busy right now," he continued. "I'm still getting things organized at the company, trying to get more support for the low-income projects, and Rey has been thinking about joining a private practice and getting away from the hospital."

Rey gave him a startled look.

"Until we've resolved those things, we really don't want to add kids to the mix."

Luke was looking at Rey in confusion. "You want to leave the hospital? Since when?"

Poe cringed inside. Okay, so he shouldn't have gone that far.

"Uh…" Rey breathed. "I've been thinking about it for a while, Daddy," she finally said. "They don't pay well at all and I feel like I could drop off the face of the earth and no one there would notice." She glanced at Poe, and he recognized the honesty of her words. He had known she wasn't happy there. "I feel like I've got enough of a professional reputation now that I could do well on my own, and now that money isn't an issue," she nodded toward Poe, "I could make that break someday soon."

Luke snorted. "With money not an issue, you could just not work at all."

Poe laughed. "Rey would go crazy if she couldn't work," he said before she could respond to her father. "She loves her job, just not the way she's treated by her employers."

Her expression became soft and she gave him a small smile before nodding. "Poe's right. I love helping people feel better, move better. I would just like to do it on my own terms."

"Rey, you are an amazing person," Kes said, smiling at her, his chin on his laced fingers as he rested his elbows on the table. "Mijo," he looked at Poe. "You two are like peas in a pod, you know that?" He stood straight and looked at Luke. "How did two viejos gruñitos like us raise such kind souls?"

"I think a lot of the credit goes to your wife, my friend," Luke answered softly.

The two men left a short time later, both in good spirits, and Rey and Poe began to clean up the kitchen together.

"Well, that went well," Poe said, relieved. He gave Rey an inquisitive look. "You know, I've never asked. Do you want children someday?"

Rey gave him a nervous glance and shrugged. "I guess I've always assumed that I would have children someday, yeah," she said. "I always envied those families that filled up a pew at church."

Poe laughed.

"What about you?" Rey asked.

Poe shook his head. "Well, seeing as I never wanted to get married, the idea of having children never really crossed my mind." He paused. "The fact that I never even considered it while engaged was yet another warning sign I should have paid closer attention to."

Rey snorted. "You had plenty of signs you ignored with those women, Poe."

"Yeah, I know," he grumbled. He tilted his head and looked at her intently. "The thought of being a dad doesn't scare me, though."

"Good," Rey said with a soft smile. "Because I think you'd make a great dad."

He smiled back. "I hope you get a whole passel of babies someday, Rey. They'd be the luckiest kids in the world."

Rey looked away, and Poe saw her cheeks color a bit. She glanced around the now clean kitchen, then back at him. "How did you know I wanted to go into private practice?"

He shrugged. "I knew you weren't happy with the hospital, and I guess I just started thinking about what would make you happy."

Rey looked at him for a long while, and Poe found himself, not for the first time, in awe of her uniquely colored eyes. Licking her lips, she turned away. "I better go. I'd like to read a bit before bed."

"A bit?" Poe smiled. "Five chapters or ten?"

Rey laughed softly, then headed for his room. "I've gotta get my stuff."

Poe followed, his hands in his trouser pockets. "You think they snooped?"

Rey paused in the bedroom doorway. "Well, they both headed this way to use the bathroom during dinner, so I can assume they did a little."

"We should have messed the bed up. Made it look like we had a quickie before they got here."

Rey laughed out loud at that. "Oh, my God! Their faces! Could you imagine?" She headed into the room to get her pajamas and book.

Unbidden, an image formed in his mind of Rey sprawled on top of his bed, naked, an inviting smile on her face as she spread her legs. He shook his head, trying to chase the thought away. "Yeah, I can imagine," he whispered.

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