Chapter 4: FLASHBACK – Three Months After Exogol

Rey searched far and wide for a doctor on Tatooine who might help her through her pregnancy. She scoured Mos Eisley, Ancorhead, and Tosche Station. But of the few doctors there were on the desert rock, none of them knew how to treat an expecting Jedi carrying a likely Force-sensitive baby. Sometimes, the right medicine wasn't even available.

But there was one doctor who still might be able to help Rey prepare for her baby: Dr. Kalonia. And that meant going back to Ajan Kloss.

After the Battle of Exogol, most of the surviving Resistance had settled on the jungle world. Contacting Kalonia, Rey told her she needed to come in for a check-up. The Jedi knew that word would get back to her friends and by the time her X-wing was in the air, a hologram had patched through from a jubilant Finn and Poe.

When Rey arrived on Ajan Kloss, it was deep night. She touched down in front of a spacious domed hut and compound, from which two men were sprinting to meet her. Scaling the ladder, Rey ran into the arms of the darker-skinned man, her smile able to light up both Tatooine's suns.

"Finn! Oh, Finn!" Her voice came out in a happy squeal.

Finn clutched her close as Poe ambled up, ruffling her hair. "I have the spare room set up. It's all arranged. It'll be nice to have someone other than Finn crashing it."

"Hmm," Rey mused dryly, looping her arm through his. "I'll expect a mess, then."

"Oh, kriff! I forgot to take care of the vaporators..." Poe started to double back.

"Oh, you go ahead, Poe. I'll power down the vaporators," Rey offered. Then, as soon as the Generals were out of earshot, she added softly, while cradling her baby bump, "And figure out a way to tell them about you..." She almost moaned in fear, taking her time in powering down the vaporators before following the boys into the house. Entering the foyer, she stopped: it was completely spotless. Rey smirked, amused. "Wow. You guys got a maid or something?"

Poe chuckled almost nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "No. Not exactly..."

"Then..." A sudden crash from the next room made the trio jump.

"POE! Damn it, you nerf-herder! Where did you put my lingerie?"

Poe winced. "In the laundry hamper, dear."

Zorri Bliss suddenly emerged, her hair in ringlets and looking beautiful. "I can handle my own drawers, you... sexy... Peeping Tom!"

Poe frowned at how unusually flustered Zorri appeared. "I thought you'd appreciate me cleaning up a bit!"

Zorri huffed, hands on her hips. "Why did I even marry you?"

"We were drunk and had just had really good sex," Poe deadpanned.

Rey gasped, whirling to him. "You got married?!" she squeaked. "Without telling me?!"

"It was very sudden," Poe justified. "And quiet. This idiot was the only one there!" Finn scowled, but it looked forced.

"I still say you guys should have waited until Lando, Jannah and Rose returned, never mind Rey!"

"If we had, then I may never have gotten Zorri down the aisle!" Poe slung an arm over his wife's shoulder and dove in for a kiss; Zorri surprisingly allowed it.

"RAWWR!" Everyone glanced back to see Chewie arriving in the doorway. Poe grinned. "How about a round of Sabaac?"

The friends gathered around the kitchen table as Chewie circulated the cards, Poe stepping over to the bar to pour drinks. "I've got Coreillian wine, Coruscanti whiskey, Mustafar Merlot..."

Hearing the options, Rey's stomach roiled. "Oh, no thanks, Poe. Just water for me." She smiled as Chewie dealt in her hand.

Poe frowned in bemusement. "Just water?" He shrugged and reached for the ice pitcher. "Well, you are a desert girl..."

"So, Rey: you're finally here to start my Jedi training, right? You said when you returned, we would start my training!" Finn was nearly bouncing in his seat.

Rey grinned tightly. "Well, actually, I have an appointment with Dr. Kalonia..."

"What the kriff for? All your injuries healed from Exogol."

"It's not that, Finn. And anyway, we'll have to delay your training."

Finn looked dejected. "Delay? For how long?"

Rey winced and spat it out. "About 9 months." Around the table, she saw only Zorri raise an eyebrow. The bounty hunter pieced it together instantly.

"9 months?!" Finn yelped. "Why would you need to..." His voice suddenly, abruptly trailed off. Rey just gazed at him apologetically. She took a deep, shaky breath.

"There's a part about me you don't know... The part I once swore not to tell you..."

"Rey, if this is about you being the granddaughter of the Emperor, we don't care!" Poe insisted. But he was eyeing her curiously.

"It's not that." Rey's eyes never left her best friend's, as she took his hand and rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. "Finny..." she crooned. "I'm pregnant."

A heavy silence fell over the kitchen. Finn seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Finally, his eyes flashed. "All right, little desert flower, who do I have to kill?"

Rey trilled out a laugh, her expression affectionately bemused. "Kill?"

"Yes, kill! I'm gonna bloody kill whoever did this to you!" The protective anger was rolling off him in waves and for the first time since she had lost her precious Ben, Rey was glad he wasn't here so Finn could try and murder him.

"That won't be necessary," Rey stammered. Her gaze snapped to Zorri for a moment.

"Did someone get fresh with you at the bars?" Finn was asking. "I've heard those traders at Mos Eisley can be some shady characters." Poe nodded in grim agreement.

"No," Rey got out quickly. "It was consensual... sort of."

Poe's one eyebrow cocked dangerously. "Sort of? But who's the father?"

Rey glanced to him before getting out in a whisper, "Ben Solo."

Poe's eyes nearly popped. "What?! Ben Solo?!"

Rey smiled weakly, strained. "I suppose I should start from the beginning..."

"Kylo Ren captured me on Takodana," Rey started, the Sabaac card game long forgotten. "He took me aboard his flagship and interrogated me about BB8. When I resisted, I used the Force for the first time, and... Kylo and I built a connection. After I left for Ahch-To, Kylo and I discovered that we had a Force Bond. We could see and talk to each other from lightyears away. The more time we spent together, the more I saw Ben - the real Ben."

"And what happened?" Finn demanded.

Rey's smile was heartsick. "I fell in love."

Finn nearly choked. "You fell in love... with... him? Of all the people..."

"And I loved him enough that I thought I could save him, so I went to him aboard the Supremacy, to try and turn Ben back to the light. His master, Snoke, tortured me, but Ben saved me from him. But when I asked him to come away with me..." Rey's eyes glistened with tears at the memory. "He couldn't do it. We got separated, but the Bond remained. We continued to see each other."

"And you kept this from us? For a whole year?" Finn's voice rose several decibels.

Across the table, Poe turned to Zorri. "Am I blacking out?" he asked his wife, his tone oddly mild, but his expression bewildered and pained.

Rey nodded regretfully.

"But all those times he chased us... especially in those final hours..." Poe spluttered.

"He wanted me to be safe with him. From Palpatine. But after our duel at the Death Star ruins on Kef Bir, when I went to Exogol... Ben arrived to save me. He redeemed himself and risked his life to save me. And then... when I died... Ben used the Force to bring me back to life." At this, Rey's expression became lovesick, dreamy. "We kissed... I've never felt such love before, and... and..." She broke down in tears. "He died!"

For a while, all that could be heard was Rey's sniffles. At last, she croaked out, "But when Ben placed his hands on my stomach... I remember holding his hand when I woke up... he did more than revive me. He inadvertently created new life - his baby - inside me."

"So he knocked you up with the Force? He Force raped you?" Finn looked sick.

"It was not like that!" Rey insisted. "The Force and I consented to him! And Ben didn't realize what he had done!"

"Consent or not...Rey, how did you even have the time to become pregnant out of wedlock?" Finn got out.

"I didn't become pregnant out of wedlock. I'm married."

At Rey's declaration, Poe and Finn gaped at her. The Jedi explained. "Ben and I were two halves of a Force Dyad - a rare phenomenon. We are soulmates. Married in the Force."

"How can you be married?" Poe choked. "Was there a chapel? A minister? Wedding vows?"

"The interrogation room on Starkiller Base was our chapel. The Force was our minister. And we gave our wedding vows when we laid down our lives for each other on Exogol!" Rey proclaimed.

Beside her, Finn was steaming. "And I suppose Kylo - oh, I'm sorry, I mean, darling Ben - was simply carrying his bride across the threshold when he literally abducted you on Takodana!"

Rey angrily leapt to her feet. "My husband was a good man!"

"Your husband was a monster!"

Rey stood deathly still. "I should challenge you to a lightsaber duel for that."

"One that I would win."

Rey barked out a mirthless laugh. "Without a Jedi's weapon or any training in the Force? Think again!" A strained pause, and then Rey cried, "I thought you guys were my friends, my family - that you would understand and accept my choice." She turned to Poe demandingly. "If Ben had lived, what would you have done? If Ben had asked me to marry him and I said Yes - and I would have said Yes - what would you have done?"

"I would have refused to give you my blessing! I would have forbidden the marriage."

Rey's face churned with disdain. "Who are you, my father?"

"Clearly not, but I am still your commanding officer! Do you really think I would have allowed my dear friend to wed a war criminal? No!"

Rey glared. "We would have eloped," she declared defiantly.

"Oh, no you wouldn't have, because your fiancé would have almost certainly been seated on death row! And tell me this: if you are married to Ben, then why did you take the last name Skywalker? Why didn't you take the last name Solo? How can you both adopt and marry into the same family?"

Finn buried his head in his hand, rubbing his temple insistently. "Kriff, my head hurts."

"Should my married name serve as a constant reminder that I am a widow? That I am all alone?" Rey wailed.

"But you're not alone!" Poe thundered. "The darkness wins when it makes you think you're alone! But you're not! We're your family!"

"Family?" Finn sneered. "Oh, no - I am not helping raise Kylo Ren's bastard brat!"

Rey shook with anger, her teeth bared. She lunged at Finn. "You son of a bitch!-"

The pair struggled before Poe got between them. "Stop it... stop it!" The pilot pulled the pair apart, holding up a hand as Rey ignited her golden lightsaber and Finn tumbled backwards onto the floor, the former trooper reaching for his blaster. "Now you just put that down, Jedi."

"He insulted the love of my life! Our baby!"

Poe quickly lost patience. "What do you expect us to do, Rey? What do you want from us?" His voice rose an octave and several decibels as Rey stormed for the door. "Don't turn your back on us, Rey Palpatine - tell me what you want!"

Rey whirled around, blinking back tears. "My husband!" And she fled with a strangled sob.