A/N: Hey all! I hope I haven't lost anyone with all these angsty cliffhangers. I promise a happy ending! But, not quite yet... On that note, this is probably my favorite chapter. The events in this chapter were the first I envisioned and the rest of the story evolved around them, so enjoy!

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Poe's dream was disjointed and perplexing, as most dreams are, but it felt real, more like a memory than a dream. He was walking along the bank of Jakku Creek with Rey. It was summer and it was hot. They must have been about nine or ten, and they were chattering to each other about some kid that they both disliked from school, wondering if he would be back in the fall. Suddenly, he became aware that she wasn't answering him, and he turned to find she was no longer there. He looked around desperately, his eyes searching the creek, which was far too shallow for her to have disappeared in, over the rise to his left, even up in the trees. But it was no use.

She was gone.

"Rey?" he shouted as he sat up in the bed, awake in an instant. Even as he looked at the empty space beside him, he instinctively knew she was gone. Still, he pushed himself out of the bed, rushing to the bathroom. "Rey?" he called again. Empty. He looked about the room frantically. It was daylight, but knowing the sun came up around five, this didn't tell him what time it was. As he searched for his tuxedo jacket, knowing his phone was in the inside pocket, he noticed the chair where Rey had tossed her dress was empty. As he grabbed up the jacket, he took note that her shoes were also gone. As were her panties, stockings, and even the garter belt he had removed last night.

He pulled out the phone, briefly registering that it was shortly after seven, and dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail. "Shit," he mumbled, as he grabbed up his pants and pulled them on, then headed out the door and into the main room. The fairy lights were still on, the balloons and other decorations floating about the room undisturbed. He found his keys in his trouser pocket and one glance out the front window confirmed his car was still parked where he had left it. She could have called an Uber and met them at the end of the drive, he thought. Or maybe…

He opened his phone and found Rose's number. It rang four times before she answered. "Poe?" she mumbled groggily.

"Have you heard from Rey this morning?"

"What?!" He heard her move about and could imagine her sitting up in bed. "What time is it? Geez, it's barely seven!" There was a pause, and then her voice turned accusing. "What did you do?"

Poe sighed. "I didn't…" he stopped. "She's just gone, Rose. I need to find her."

"You said you were going to fix this!"

"I did!" he argued. "At least, I thought I did!" He ran his hand through his hair, walking back up the steps and toward his bedroom. "I need to talk to her, Rose. If she calls you or you find her before I do, tell her I need to talk to her!"

"When's your meeting?"

He stopped short. Shit! The meeting! He hadn't even given it a thought! "Nine," he said, his voice tight.

"She'll be there," Rose told him. "You know she'll be there."

"God, I hope you're right," he whispered. Whatever he had done to upset her, she wouldn't back out of their deal, would she? Or had she up and left for Los Angeles already? To hell with him and Organa Enterprises? "Please, Rose…"

"If I hear from her, I'll let you know. I promise."

That was all he could ask. As he looked up from turning off the phone, something caught his eye. His mouth suddenly dry, he walked over to the nightstand and stared down at the object sitting right on the edge. The sapphire and diamonds sparkled in the sun that was shining through the window, but it seemed a sad sort of radiance, as if it was mocking him. It was his mother's ring, the ring Rey had worn on her finger for the last year. Poe felt panic explode in his chest and he began to hyperventilate. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on his breathing, slowing it down, ignoring the tears that began to seep from under his lids. She had left. And she had no intention of coming back.

No! She would not leave until the deal was done, he thought. He opened his eyes and grabbed up the ring, putting it in his pocket. Whatever he had done to destroy their bond, he knew she would not break her promise. She would be at that meeting.

With determination, he finished getting dressed, then locked up the cabin and headed down the mountain. The normally relaxing drive had never seemed to take so long as it did then, but finally he reached Aldera. He felt no surprise when he did not see Rey's car in her spot, but he still rushed into the building and raced up the stairs to the 3rd floor condo, not wanting to wait for the elevator.

"Rey?" he called as he entered the apartment, but only Beebee's pitiful meow welcomed him. "Hey, buddy," he said to the cat. "Was Rey here?" He headed for her bedroom, the cat following him. The first thing he saw when he entered the room was that magical dress of hers hanging from the vanity mirror. Then he saw the open suitcase on the bed. Some clothing had been thrown in haphazardly, but not a lot, as if she had started to pack and then either got distracted or changed her mind. He moved into his bedroom, where most of her belongings still resided for appearances sake, and noticed her overnight bag was missing. He also noticed one of her two business suits was not hanging where it normally did. Had she indeed left, deciding she would come back for the rest of her things later, or had she just taken what she would need for the meeting and left to prepare elsewhere?

Taking a deep breath, he knew there was only one way to find out. He pulled off his own clothing and jumped in the shower. Shave, tame the mane, dress in his best suit. The dark blue one, Rey's favorite. He chose the grey/blue tie to go with it. Sharp without being too stuffy. He grabbed up everything else he needed, checked to make sure Beebs had food and water (he did; Rey must have done that before she left), then headed for OE.

Most of the board members were already there by the time he arrived, and D'Acy and Lars both showed up right after he did. He was very aware of the looks he was getting from many of them, and remembered that D'Acy had informed them all last night of the true conditions of Leia's will. Poe sat down in his normal seat around the circular table, glancing at the empty chair next to him. The one that had been added for his wife. He glanced up at Ben who was watching him with a frown. He tilted his head at Poe questioningly when they made eye contact and Poe just shrugged. Zorii walked in right before nine, the last of the members to arrive. Poe looked at the door worriedly. Was this it, he asked himself? She didn't really need to be here, of course, but he had always assumed she would be here for this. He looked at his watch. It was time.

The door opened and Rey rushed through. Though she acted harried, she looked perfect. She wore the suit he had noticed missing, the navy blue one that matched the suit he was wearing. The pencil skirt ended just above her knees, and though he knew she was probably wearing a camisole underneath the form fitting jacket, he couldn't see it. She had on black open-toed pumps and wore her hair down. Her makeup was subtle and understated. She looked perfectly put together and professional.

She gave the room a bright smile. "I'm sorry I'm late! I had a meeting of my own this morning and it ran long!" She walked behind Poe and leaned over his shoulder, kissing him on the cheek. He couldn't stop himself from closing his eyes and breathing her in; she smelled divine. She moved around him and sat in the empty chair, then looked at him, meeting his eyes with her own for the first time. This close, he could see the red that rimmed them. He was pretty sure she could see that his matched.

"Are we ready?" D'Acy asked.

Taking a deep breath, Poe looked away from Rey and toward the lawyer. "Yes. We're ready."

D'Acy nodded. "As you were all informed last night, this meeting is to determine not if Poe Dameron is qualified to run Organa Enterprises, because I think everyone in this room knows he is, but it is to determine if his marriage to Rey Skywalker is valid. Leia insisted that Poe not only marry, but that the marriage be legal and binding. So today, myself and the fifteen members of the OE board will vote, 'yes' if you believe the marriage is authentic and Poe should remain the CEO and majority share-holder of Organa Enterprises. 'No' if you believe his marriage to Ms. Skywalker is not real and if so, the majority share will go to Ben Solo.

"Before we vote, you are required to know of a change in the conditions of the will. While Leia was thorough and had prevented any sale of the majority share for the next ten years, she did not ban gifting a part of that share." There was some nervous shifting among the group. "Mr. Dameron did his homework, and should you vote 'yes,' 25.5% of the majority share will be gifted to Rey Skywalker."

Poe felt all eyes in the room land on him, but there was only one astonished stare he cared about. He tightened his jaw and continued to look at D'Acy.

"Mr. Dameron will remain CEO and official owner of OE, but Ms. Skywalker will have an equal share not only in the company profits but in any future voting. This of course means that the minimal share she was to originally receive upon completion of this year is no longer valid."

D'Acy paused once more, then she nodded. "Shall we vote?" As the group nodded back, she looked to the woman seated on Rey's other side. "Ms. Holdo? Your vote?"

"Yes," the woman said.

One by one, D'Acy circled the table. And one by one, the members voted 'yes.'

"Mr. Solo?"

Ben looked at Rey with a soft smile, then looked at Poe, and his expression seemed approving. "Yes," he said firmly.

"Mr. Hux?"

Hux frowned. "I think they're faking it," he griped. "So, no."

"Mr. Windu?"

The older man glanced at Hux and smirked. "I agree with Armitage. I think they're faking." He paused. "But I also know Dameron is the best thing for this company. He's done great things already, and I can't wait to see what he does next. So, I vote yes."

"Ms. Bliss?"

Zorii was staring daggers at Rey. "No," she said simply, but there was venom in her voice.

D'Acy nodded. "And I, of course, am voting yes." She smiled at Poe. "Congratulations, Mr. Dameron. Organa Enterprises is officially yours." She handed him a document. "Just sign this." She reached around him to hand Rey another form. "And Rey, if you'll sign this, then Poe please sign after her. This is for the split share."

Poe handed the signed form back to D'Acy, then took the paper Rey had signed. As he did so, he noticed that her hand was trembling. He signed under her name and gave that sheet back to D'Acy. He took a deep breath and looked around the table. Most of the faces looked pleased. "Thank you, everyone," he said, and cleared his throat as he heard the tremor in his voice. "As you know, I'm taking the next couple of weeks off. I think I just may sleep the whole time."

There was laughter from some of them.

"When I come back, we'll continue to do what we've been doing: making Leia proud."

There was a smattering of applause.

"Meeting adjourned."

Slowly, everyone got up from the table and exited the room. Ben gave one last look at Rey, who was still sitting at the table looking a bit stunned. Eventually, only he, Rey, D'Acy, and Lars remained.

"Congratulations, you two," D'Acy told them. "Very good acting. If I didn't know better, I would have thought your marriage was the real thing."

Poe looked at her in shock and he knew Rey was also staring at the lawyer.

"You didn't think I really believed it, did you?" She shook her head in exasperation.

"Uhm," Owen Lars stood from his chair along the wall, having been silent through the whole proceeding. He pulled some papers from his briefcase. Poe's heart sank. "I have the paperwork for the annulment, if you both are ready to sign?"

D'Acy scoffed. "Not wasting any time, are you?"

Poe looked back and forth between the two lawyers, panic fighting with embarrassment. Lars placed a copy in front of Rey and another in front of him. He looked at Rey, but she was staring down at the sheet in front of her, her face expressionless.

No! This wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't let it.

He stood, taking up the paper in front of him. Slowly and deliberately, he tore the sheet in two. Rey looked up at him, her face no longer impassive.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lars," Poe told the lawyer, who was looking at him with wide eyes. "An annulment is no longer possible." He looked down at Rey's shocked expression. "The marriage has been consummated." He reached down and grabbed up his briefcase, the one Rey had gotten him for Christmas. He turned to her once more. "If you want out of this, you'll have to file for divorce," he told her, then he swung around and walked to the door. When he reached it, he turned back to look at her. "And I'll fight it, every step of the way."

With a nod to D'Acy, he left.

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