Disclaimer: Characters contained within do not belong to me. Well, except for one...

Notes: One more chapter to go! Thank you so much for sticking around:)

Little Star

by Kristen Elizabeth

"Making the decision to have a child—it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body."

- Elizabeth Stone

The day that Dr. Kalonia predicted the baby would arrive came and went.

"It would be weird if it happened on the exact day," Poe said. "Just relax; it's going to happen soon."

"I can't get any bigger," Rey complained. "Can I? Poe...can I?"

Another day went by. And then, another.

"It's okay," Poe soothed, rubbing lotion across his wife's distended belly. "This just gives us time to prepare."

"We've been prepared for weeks," she reminded him. "It's time!" Rey told the baby. "We're ready now!"

Yet another day came and went.

"Rey...honey, are you okay?" Lying behind her, Poe kissed her shoulder. "I'm still not sure about this..."

She shook her head, clasping his hand at her breast, encouraging him to move within her. "I'm fine. Dr. Kalonia says...this can help." Rey gasped as he tentatively thrust. "Do that again...please..."

Two more days passed.

"Babies have their own schedule," Dr. Kalonia told the very worried couple. "This little one isn't ready to make an appearance yet." She looked back and forth between them. "You've tried what I suggested...?"

"Several times," Rey said, her cheeks hot. Poe squeezed her hand.

"If you don't go into labor by the end of the week, we will discuss inducing," the doctor said. "In the mean time, go home and rest. You will need it."

That night, Rey woke from a dreamless sleep with a low ache in her back. It was a struggle to silently get out of bed with her rounded belly, but she managed to not wake Poe. After visiting the bath, she made her way to the kitchen for a glass of joban juice, trying to rub the ache away.

On full alert ever since her due date had come and gone, BB-8 followed her as she started back to the bedroom.

The pain came out of nowhere, so sudden and severe that Rey dropped her glass. It shattered on the floor around her feet as she clung to the wall to keep from falling.

Torn between staying with her and getting Poe, BB-8 opted for help. He rolled into the bedroom, but Poe was already scrambling out from under the covers, having been awakened by the sound of broken glass.

He found his wife in the hallway, in the middle of a field of glass shards, one hand on her belly, the other on the wall for balance. Her face was screwed up in pain.

"Rey?" he asked.

She nodded, answering the unspoken question. "I think it's time."

The medical centre's delivery room was little more than a private room with a wide, birthing bed and a large tub that could be used if the mother-to-be decided that a water birth was best for her.

Rey had opted out of that. She liked water, but wasn't sure she found it relaxing enough to give birth in.

So, twelve hours into labor, she found herself on her side in the medical bed, breathing through the latest contraction.

As she had held his hand in the aftermath of the space yard accident, Poe held onto hers, guiding her through the pain.

"Breathe, honey," he murmured. "Squeeze my hand and breathe."

She did as he asked, hard as she could. Poe tried not to wince; his wife was doing really well about not blaming him for the pain she was in, but he had a feeling that wouldn't last if she saw that he couldn't take a little crushing pressure on his fingers.

"Good," Poe squeaked. She couldn't speak, but nodded.

After another minute, the contraction eased and Rey's entire body visibly relaxed. She opened her eyes and looked up at Poe.

"That one was the worst so far," she whispered.

Poe kissed her damp forehead. "I'm so sorry..."

"You're doing really well, Rey," Dr. Kalonia said, approaching the bed. "I'm just going to check to see where we are. Poe, help me get her onto her back."

While the doctor determined how far along things were, Rey looked up at the ceiling, blinking back tears. Poe watched her, wanting to ask what she was thinking, but it didn't seem the right time, with the doctor examining her.

"Good news," Harter said a moment later. "You're at seven centimeters. Almost there, Rey." She looked at Poe. "But we're getting to the really difficult time now. The contractions are going to get stronger and more frequent as we head into active labor. This is the point where she is going to need you more than ever."

Running his hand through his messy curls, Poe assured her, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good man. By the way, you have a few people out there who are all very anxious about what's going on." The doctor smiled. "Shall I update them?" Poe looked at Rey who nodded. "I'll be back to check on you in a little while," Harter said.

When she was gone, Poe sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Honey...do you want some ice?" Shaking her head against the pillow, Rey brushed tears off her cheeks. "Is there anything you do want?" he asked, desperately. "Just name it, I'll make it happen."

Rey dragged her lower lip between her teeth, but couldn't stop it from trembling. "I wish my mother was here," she whispered.

"Oh honey..."

She lifted one shoulder, dismissively. "Ridiculous, I know. I can barely remember her." She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "It's just...there isn't anything that ever really connected me and her...until now." Rey spread her hands over her belly. "She went through this to have me. I suppose I just want to know..." Her face crumpled. "Was I worth it?"

"Rey," he asked after a second. "Is our baby worth it?"

Her head lifted. "Absolutely."

"Then...even without knowing her, you know what your mother would say." Poe brought her hand to his mouth, turning it over so he could kiss her palm. "It won't be long now. Just hold onto me and we'll get through this."

Rey's eyes flooded with fresh tears. With her free hand, she lovingly stroked the stubble on his cheek. Her fingers fell away as the familiar pain of a fresh contraction gripped her lower belly.

He was ready, shooting to his feet, helping her roll into a better position. "Breathe...in and out..."

The urge to push came two hours later. With Poe sitting behind her, supporting her by holding onto both of her hands, Rey bore down as hard as she could.

"And relax!" Harter said from between her legs. "I can see the head. You're doing brilliantly."

Poe kissed her ear. "You amaze me, honey. Almost there."

Rey let her head flop back onto his shoulder, but it was only another moment before she wanted to push again.

"Push, Rey..." she heard the doctor say.

It all happened in a blur. Burning, stretching pain. A scream she couldn't smother. Poe's voice in her ear, whispering encouraging words; his fingers entwined with her tense ones. The earthy scent of blood.

Silence.

And then...there she was.

Panting for breath, Rey opened her eyes at the sound of the baby's first cry. Dr. Kalonia held her up for them to see, a wide smile on her face. "Meet your little girl."

She was tiny, wrinkled, her grey flesh slowing turning pink, with wisps of dark hair smeared with blood...still, she was the most beautiful thing either of them had ever seen.

The doctor placed the squirming infant on Rey's chest, although it was shaking with her sobs. Reaching around Rey, Poe touched his daughter's tiny hand. Instinctively, her delicate fingers wrapped around his much-larger finger.

That was all it took for Poe to fall head over heels.

A single tear dripped off his nose. "Welcome to the world," he whispered. "We've been waiting forever for you."

When Kes, Finn and Rose entered the birthing room a half hour later, Rey was sitting up with the freshly cleaned baby curled against her breast. She looked exhausted, but she smiled at the new arrivals. Poe sat on the edge of the bed beside her, watching over both of them; he looked up when he sensed his dad.

Kes hesitated, but Harter put her hand on his forearm. "Go meet your granddaughter, Kes."

Approaching the bed, the older man shook his head in wonder. "She's beautiful. Poe..." He couldn't continue, unable to think of the right words to say to his son at such a momentous moment in his life. He could vividly remember the day when he'd been in the exact same position as Poe, watching over him and Shara-what would he have wanted his father to say in that moment?

But Finn saved him. "What are you going to call her?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I apologize for him," she told the new parents. "We had a lot of time in the waiting room and potential names came up a lot. There were bets taken..." Coming closer to the bed, she clasped her hands together in delight. "Oh, she is the most precious thing ever!"

Smiling, Rey looked down at the baby. "She is..." Glancing back up, she looked at Finn. "We have picked a name."

"And?" he prompted. Clearly, some credits had been wagered.

Poe cleared his throat. "Well, we wanted to honor Mom," he said to Kes. "But give her a name that was only hers, too."

Kes nodded his head. "Shara would understand that."

Rey adjusted the baby, so everyone could see her little face. "Bria," she said, with no small amount of love and pride. "Bria Bey Dameron."

TBC