Warnings at the end… I don't want to spoil it for anyone!
Finally finished with the extra stuff! I can't believe that I got all that done. But now, I can focus on finishing this up—oh a little bit of a disclaimer, I'm not a corporate person. The biggest company I worked for was a hospital and I think there were almost 1000 employees? But not in the department I worked, I was a CNA (certified nursing assistant and then I went to go play with the puppies!) and it wasn't in a skyscraper in New York City. Forgive me if the details are vague. But I think you'll like what's coming… I hope so anyway!
And… I started a new story! if I can write what is in my head then it will be good. Hopefully with the next chapter I can include the beginning! Then there's the canonverse…
Anyway, thank you again for coming back. And Greenumbrella03, I hope you feel better!
"What do we do now?"
"Whatever we want—" he says with the biggest, goofy-ist smirk she's ever seen on him or anyone.
Rey props her chin on his chest and looks up at him. It's been at least three or maybe weeks since they found out everything and life is—she never would have guessed that she of all people could be this happy. Even when they went by Morosis last night, Cassian and Jyn laughed but in that we're so happy way. But when their butlers introduced them to each other and admitted that Ben's Artoo was who Threepio took with him—she just had to wonder at the way their lives intersects.
But even as the trees begin to change color in the park below them, she doesn't want to think about the fact that she hasn't had her period since before Vegas.
Morning sickness only happens in the morning, right? Because if she lays here long enough then the slight boat sickness feeling goes away. Even if yesterday morning she thought she was finally going to vomit—yeah, she should probably get a test.
A hum of contentment from Ben, then a kiss as he starts to untangle her limbs from his. A grunt of protest from her and another kiss to pacify her for the moment before he hurries to the bathroom.
No sooner than he closes the door that she hears his phone start to ring. She doesn't really think that much about it until Poe's ring on her phone echoes in Ben's bedroom. Even though it feels like she's going to lose what's in her stomach if she moves, she does reach for her phone that's plugged up on this bedside table.
It still warms her heart when she thinks about how he took a minute that first night she stayed with him to find a cord that would work with her phone.
"What's wrong?" She answers.
"Now, we need to meet now—" Poe begins but when Ben looks at her the same way—
"Can I invite some friends?"
Brbrbrbrbr
"Thank you everyone for coming on short notice—" Rey begins as she looks around the table. They are sitting in her office around the table they use for their weekly meetings. It's also the most secure place Rey knew of since her and Rose have the only keys. It's so short notice that Rose, like her, is still in yoga pants and a t-shirt. No make-up either while the guys do have on jeans. As of right now, it's her, Ben, Rose and Hux then Poe and Finn. The odd thing is, Ben or Hux can't find Gwen Phasma. She's not in her apartment, or at least not answering the door.
And as a major shareholder of Skywalker, she kind of needs to be here.
But Ben and Hux decided to go ahead with the meeting. It's just odd, since no one had eaten breakfast, they decided to meet at Rey's apartment where Threepio and Artoo are busy cooking breakfast for everyone.
"I figured since this effects both companies, we should all meet. Poe, Hux?" Rey sits down as the two men glance at one another
With a nod from Hux, Poe begins. "As I was catching up on stuff this morning, I noticed that Palpatine stocks were being traded yesterday at an alarming rate. Then my gut told me that I needed to check Skywalker stocks."
"Same for us too," Hux continues. "Both companies still have the majority at fifty-one percent," he pauses and a bitter smile or more like a grimace, "but the First Order is buying everything they can from our shareholders."
"But we still have control? Right?" Rose asks.
"Where's Gwen?" Ben quietly asks. "Has anyone seen or talked to her since yesterday?"
The friends grow quiet.
Ben quietly begins to swipe on his cell before he puts the phone up to his ear. "Hello security, this is Ben Solo." Everyone quiets to listen. "Cin Drallig? You're the boss, what are you doing there today? Well, I hope they feel better. Can you do me a favor? Would you look on the security footage of the penthouse floor and tell me when was the last time Gwen Phasma arrived and left. Yes, please. Alright, thank you. Just email me the footage if you don't mind. Thank you." He lays down his cell on the table.
"Do you really think it was Gwen?" Hux asks.
"I hope not. But I have a bad feeling-if she sold her shares to Snoke—"
"How many does she have?" Finn asks, the number man of Rey's organization.
"Ten of my fifty-one," Ben mutters. "But there's stipulations on it. She can't sell without my signature."
"What about Baz?" Hux asks.
"What about her?"
"Can she still sign for you?" Hux reminds him.
"Fuck." Ben grunts. "Damn it."
"I guess that's a yes," Rose says.
Rey doesn't even have to be asked to go get his bag for him. it's the same messenger bag he had in Vegas for his laptop. At first, he wasn't going to bring it until she carried it out with them.
When she brings it back to him, he blinks up at her at first, then smiles when he sees what she has. Instead of just saying thank you, he pulls her onto his lap. a deep breath before he kisses her like it will fix this- "Get my computer out, please?"
For some reason his soft command in his dom voice makes her, well needy. She pulls the messenger bag onto her lap, and he unzips the pocket he keeps it in—
"Oh, for fucks sake you two. We're trying to have a business meeting here," Finn swears.
Rose giggles as both Rey and Ben show Finn how well they can leave their middle finger pointing up while folding the rest down.
The room grows quiet as they wait for Ben to check his email. When he softly says, "There it is—" they all gather around. The video begins with what Rey now knows is the hallway going to their apartments. Ben starts to swipe and the video speeds up.
"Stop!" Hux says behind them. Ben clicks the touchpad, and everyone sees Gwen Phasma on the screen. "Let it play, there's someone with her."
As soon as Ben starts the video again, Rey gasps and Rose cusses, "Fuck me!"
"Who is that?" Hux and Ben ask at the same time.
"That's Beaumont Kin." Rose supplies. "That's Rey's personal assistant."
"What in the hell?" Poe asks. "Does that mean—"
"Someone check the First Order's stocks." Rose and Hux both are on their phones looking but Rey stands. Before she can take another step, a wave of nausea washes over her. Her personal bathroom is just right there and if she goes in there, they might hear her- but there's another one just outside her office—Ben grabs her wrist as he tries to get her to stay. She quickly shakes her head as she pulls away and hurries out the door.
She barely makes it in time. As she loses the breakfast Ben cooked for them, she hears the door open. "I guess you were right. I need to take a test—" the door of the stall squeaks open. "Do you still have those—" she looks up from her place on the floor before the toilet. But instead of Rose, it's Ben. "It's you."
"Rey—are you ok?" he whispers and for the life of her she can't figure out what he's thinking as he stares down at her.
"I will be. Can you help me up?" Her voice hoarse from vomiting.
"Come here," he crouches down to her level and holds out his arms. she shifts so he can help, but here comes the rest of the contents of her stomach.
"Oh, that's bad," she says. As she leans back against the wall. "I want to go home—I wonder if I can make it upstairs—" the words are hardly out of her mouth when he's scooping as gently as he can with her in his arms.
"Hang on to me, Sweetheart," he murmurs as she wraps her arms around his neck.
"I'm sorry—" she says.
"Let's get you upstairs."
As if she just knew, Rose opens the door for them. By the way Rose's eyes widen when she meets Rey's eyes, Rey just knows that she must look as bad as she feels.
"Rose? Can you go before us and open the doors?" Ben asks.
"Let me grab my keys—" Rose disappears into Rey's office as the guys makes a path for her. Rey closes her eyes and lays her head down on his chest as she tries to will her stomach to stop rebelling.
She can feel him shrug before he starts moving again. Just the slight motion in his arms, adds to the queasy feeling in her stomach. She slowly opens her eyes just as he's getting on the elevator. A deep breath as the elevator moves. A moan escapes as the motion reminds her of what she just did in the bathroom.
"Rose? Should we take her to the emergency room? Too bad it's Saturday I could get her in right away at my doctor's office. I bet I could call—"
The doors open, momentarily interrupting Ben's montage. He follows Rose, who walks to Rey's door. As soon as they are in her apartment, Rey pats Ben on the chest. "Let me down?"
"Are you—"
"Down, Ben," Rose says with a hand on his arm. He must finally remember the urgency and sets her on her feet. A burp, and she rushes to her hall bathroom because she knows that she won't make it to hers—and she kneels oh her hardwood floor to get rid of the rest of what's in her stomach.
She glances up and there on the counter is a pile of washcloths Threepio must have left. "I need one—"
"Sweetheart—" Ben comes around the corner in time to see her reaching— "Let me get that for you. Do you want it cold?"
"Please." She's been nauseous, but nothing like this.
"Here—" the coldness is the best thing she's ever felt besides Ben when his arms are around her.
"I feel so bad—" she can barely manage a whisper.
"Do you want to go lay down? Or better yet let me take you to the hospital—" he begins.
"No, she needs this," Rose says as she rounds the corner. "Hop up, Ben. Rey needs to go to the bathroom."
"You do?" he asks.
She opens a eye and sees the box that Rose keeps under her bathroom sink. "yeah, I do. Help me up?"
With a hand under each arm, they get her on her feet. Both Ben and Rose wait for a moment while she wobbles then she reassures them with a half-smile. Rey holds out her hand for the box and after Rose gives it to her, Rose drags Ben out with her and closes the door behind them.
Finally, alone, Rey manages to pee on the stick and not her fingers. The stick sits on the counter and for a moment she thinks she wants to be alone.
But then she doesn't. She needs them—the knob turns and she opens the door to the two people she loves the most in the entire world.
"Will you please tell me what's going on?" Ben asks. She's never heard him sound this way, half scared, half excited, all nerves.
"Well, that's a pregnancy test and I just took it."
"You might be—" he whispers as everything starts to catch up with him.
"I forgot to take my pills in Vegas. And before I could take them again, I had to wait on my next—you know, monthly." He nods, still in a daze. "But it never came."
"Can we look?"
"Paige always said that if it's positive it changes—go look Rey," Rose says. Rey can tell that she wants to be excited too, but wants to see—
She side-steps to the counter and glances down. then back to the box. Then back to the white plastic stick.
Growing up with Sheev Palpatine, life wasn't easy. She learned early that she couldn't show any emotion. Even when she won the first part of the spelling bee, she couldn't be as excited as she wanted to be until she got to the Tico's. Rose won second but Ms. Tico made sure that Rey knew the cake was for her too.
The greatest gift Rey will ever give this new little one is the ability to never know what that's like.
"I'm pregnant. Holy crap, I'm pregnant," she whispers.
"A baby? You're having a baby? Our baby—" Ben grabs her but before he can kiss her, Rose grabs them both in a huge hug.
"Congratulations you two! I won't tell them downstairs, but don't take too long. I can't keep a secret forever." Rose grins at them. "Call me, I know you have some stuff to celebrate."
Rey waits for the front door to shut before she meets Ben's eyes.
She's seen him look at her in a hundred different ways since they started playing together.
He's never looked at her like this. Wide eyed, goofy smile, he actually looks happy. He cups her cheeks, but before he can kiss her—she puts her finger on his lips like she's hushing him. "I love you, too, but I really need to brush my teeth. I've been vomiting."
"Alright." Eyes still alight with promise she knows he won't let her go far out of his sight as he follows her to the bathroom. While she brushes, she notices in the mirror that he still has the test and he'll look at it, then look at her. Then back at the test.
"Are you ok with this?" He asks, and it hurts that he sounds almost afraid of her answer.
"I am. Yeah, it's scary, but we'll be ok, are you?" She still watches him in the mirror as he grins.
"A family, with you—its everything I didn't think I needed." His grin is catching.
"You're not mad about Vegas and my pills?"
"No—" he says. "Mama always said that when a baby wants to be born, it always finds a way."
"That's one way to think about it." She smiles as she rises off her toothbrush. "I guess it's time to invest in ginger ale and crackers."
"Are you still feeling bad?" He asks, his worry evident in his voice.
"More drained than anything. I think I'm going to lay down for a minute. You don't have to stay—"
"Are you sure? I want to stay—" he says.
She watches him for a long moment, and it hits her. He really does love her. She reaches for him, and he reaches for her, and she leads him to her bed. Before either one of them can sit, she says, "Take off your shoes?" As she walks around to the other side of the bed.
He lays down and she crawls up beside him, into his open arms. He manages to pull the covers over them and with a deep breath, they both go back to sleep.
Brbrbrbrbr
"You don't have to do this—"
The words barely leave her mouth when he says, "Every doctor visit, every little thing, I'm here. I want to be." He cups her cheek as he stares into her eyes.
"Ok," she whispers as she takes a shaky breath. She was able to get a appointment at her OB and she's not surprised when he insisted on coming with her. "I think you'll like Dr. Imwe."
"Will we get to see it today?" She wants to hug him he sounds so excited.
"Yes, I think so? I've never been pregnant before—are you sure this is what you want, with me?" She doesn't know why she asks probably hormones, but still, up until a month ago, all they had was a night here and there and a club contract that said if they were at the same place at the same time, they had first dibs along with negotiated needs, wants and please don't do that.
"Rey—why do you say that?" His voice is calm and low as if he's talking to a scared animal. She supposes that's a little bit how she feels.
She watches the people of the City as the hurry by, always going, always moving. Ben comes to a stop at the next red light, and with a deep breath, she says, "I guess if anything it seems like while we had plenty of time to play and to screw around, is a relationship what we really want? I mean if we do this, have the baby I mean—then we'll be a part of each other's lives forever. At least until the kid is eighteen and graduates high school."
He reaches over and grabs her hand. She lets him guide it to his mouth where he presses a kiss to her palm. "I've known from the first time we scened at Morosis that I wanted you to be a part of my life. I was just waiting for you to tell me how big of a roll you wanted me to occupy. Even if you decide right now that all I got was an hour a week of the baby and we were done, well I'd be more than sad but so be it. But also understand that I want to fight for you and the baby with everything I have. This little one is the greatest gift that you could ever give me—besides your love."
"Ben," she breathes his name as she brings the back of his hand up to her cheek. "Can we go to Morosis after this?"
"That's not the question I was expecting," he chuckles. "But yes, as long as we can play safe, we'll go." He pulls up to the building and slows as they both start to look for a parking spot.
"I guess next time we take a uber?" She asks. "There's one." He hurries over to it, and parallel parks the fastest of anyone she's ever seen. "How—" she asks while she giggles. "Did you do that so quickly?"
"I'm not sure—" he pushes the button to turn off the ignition and they are left in silence. "Ready?" He sounds nervous again. not sure what she can do to help, she nods and grabs her purse.
But before she can open the door to get out, he's there ready to help. "I should have guessed you'd be one to open doors for your girlfriends."
He shuts the door behind her and with a beep of the lock, he tucks her hand into his elbow. "You're more than a girlfriend, you're my love and the mother of my child. And there's not as many as you'd think."
"Are you sure? I know at the club there were many subs who wished that you would have picked them," she teases him.
"But I chose you—" he murmurs as he holds the glass door open for her.
"Yeah, yeah," she says as she walks by him only to hold the next door open for him. He walks through, but waits, ready to grab her hand as the second door shuts behind them.
They're left facing a long hallway and it's Ben who spies Dr. Imwe's door. Quietly, they walk to the third door on the right. The waiting room looks like any other, but he still hangs on to her while she signs in.
He leads her to a love seat, but she tugs him to two separate chairs side by side. he lifts those eyebrows in silent question. and she shrugs. "it's easier to get up from these."
"Understandable." He sits when she does. "This doesn't look like the waiting room of an Ob/gyn.
And it doesn't. Simple, stark, even in its decorations unless one knew that Dr. Imwe was a Ob/gyn you wouldn't have a clue from his waiting room. "It's always been like this. I never really thought about it. did you expect pictures of babies?"
"Rey Johnson—" the nurse calls. He follows her to the door and down another hallway. The nurse stops in a little glass room, much smaller than his walk-in closet at home. After weight and blood pressure check, they're led to an exam room. She's given a half a sheet as the nurse asks her to take everything from the waist down off.
As soon as they are alone, Rey has to laugh. "Nothing in here will hurt you."
He looks around sheepishly with his hands in his pockets. Gone is the confident Dom and the COO of Skywalker and in his place is a nervous first-time dad.
She unbuttons her skirt, and it slides down as she shimmies out of her panties. That, of course gets his attention. But first she grabs them, hides her underwear in her skirt before she tucks it all in her purse. She grabs a corner of the sheet and walks over to the exam table.
"What are you doing?" He asks. A machine sits by the table with what Rey knows is a ultrasound wand and the machine has a screen.
"I'm assuming that Dr. Imwe is going to look for the baby."
She loves how his face lights up. "We are going to get to see her today—"
"Her?" the door squeaks open after a soft knock. "I thought you just figured out that you're pregnant?"
"Doctor? I'm Ben Solo—" ever the businessman, he holds out his hand to shake with the doctor.
"Are you Dad?" Dr. Imwe asks.
"Guilty as charged," Ben answers.
"Excellent. Let's take a look, shall we?" A nurse must have followed him in because the lights in the room dim. "Hello, Rey. How are you feeling?" he asks as he turns the machine on.
"Morning sickness is kicking my butt."
"I have some books and pamphlets to send home with you. They'll have some helpful suggestions. Now for this first one, we'll go a vaginal one, then the rest will be what you see on tv and the movies." He grabs a wand with a condom and lots of lube. "Let me know if this hurts."
She nods and looks up at the dark ceiling. It doesn't hurt, she can thinks of something else she'd rather have there and at least it's warm.
"Alright, there's your right ovary, your uterus and your left ovary." He pauses to click some buttons on the machine and smiles. "Congrats Mom and Dad, there's your new little one."
Brbrbrbrbr
"Why in the world is Ben going to an Ob/gyn?"
"What? Let me see that!" She grabs the phone with the tracking app on. "Holy crap. Wait till I tell Snoke."
"Make sure you tell him that I found them—" Beaumont whines. But as soon as she grabs his cock with a tight squeeze, the man grins and shivers in the most delightful way. Man, she loves bossing this dip-shit around.
"You will do what I tell you, remember?"
"Yes Phasma, ma'am."
Warnings! Baby stuff is starting!