So this chapter is a bit longer than the last few. As a forewarning, there will be some light smut in this chapter. Enjoy.
Big thanks to Darksidefan5 for their awesome Beta skills.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars!
Sullust, Medical Facility…
"Trina. If it's a girl."
"No." Rey replies, scrunching her nose up in distaste as she looks at the medical gurney. "How about Matteo? For a boy."
Poe scowls at the name, watching as Rey removes only her shirt and puts on the bland, pale pink medical gown. "You'd want to name our son that? He'd be bullied before he could even walk."
"Well, if he's anything like you," Rey says with a grin, looking over at Poe before hopping up onto the gurney. "then he'll always be looking for trouble."
"We are not naming him Matteo. That's even if our kid is a boy. How about Rogue? Could work for a boy or a girl." Poe offers, moving so that he can sit next to Rey on the bed.
"Well if Matteo would cause him to get beat up, then Rogue would be his or her death. That's just asking for trouble." Rey leans her against Poe's shoulder and lets out a sigh. "I really wish I didn't have to be here. They've already done so many tests when they discovered I was pregnant. Why do they need to do anymore?"
"They just want to make sure that you and the baby are healthy." Poe places a hand against her still flat belly and presses a kiss against her temple.
"Then why do they want to do a scan?" Rey grumbles out. "On Jakku there wasn't this much medical intervention."
"What? Because there were like three mid-wives for the whole planet?"
"Sorry I grew up on an uncivilized planet."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It was wrong of me. I just want to make sure you're both safe. The scans are used to check on the baby's progression. My mum was adamant on having those done for both me and my little brother. Drove dad nuts the second time. 'Seen this once, why see it again?' was always his complaint." A smile appears on Poe's face at the small reminiscing of his past.
"What about you?"
"I was seven and a half when mum found out she was pregnant, so I was more focused on getting into trouble and wanting to learn how to fly." Poe admits, lightly blushing at the mention of getting into trouble. "But I loved mum, and tried to humor her by being all excited at the last two scans. Sounds horrible to admit it now, but back then I never really wanted a sibling. Yet seeing mum so happy about another child…"
Rey takes hold of his hand, which is resting against her belly, and threads their fingers together. "Makes you feel as though you wished you were more supportive."
"Yeah." Poe sniffles out, swallowing down a lump and wiping away a few tears that had built in his eyes.
The door to the medical room opens up to reveal Doctor Kalonia and a different Sullustian doctor than the one from two days ago. Neither doctor says anything to discourage Poe from being in the room, and they start the examination by drawing another sample of blood from Rey's arm. They also take her blood-pressure, heart rate, and temperature. From there, Doctor Kalonia asks Rey about her eating habits, exercising routine, and about any irregular symptoms.
"She hasn't been eating much." Poe announces, knowing that Rey was trying to hide this fact. "And last night, she was looking a bit green when food was placed before her."
"Hey! I ate the fruit, Poe!" Rey exclaims, not liking that Poe was talking for her to Kalonia.
"Food aversions, and their smells, are normal during pregnancy. The usual symptoms are nausea and vomiting. Have you been experiencing any of these?" Doctor Kalonia asks, taking the offered data-pad from the other doctor.
"Yes." Rey admits, her face going dark red with embarrassment.
"How often?"
"It happens to when foods or drinks are not sweet."
Poe lets out a chuckle. "Our kid has a sweet tooth, huh? Obviously doesn't get that from me."
Doctor Kalonia makes a notation of this latest information on the data-pad. "May I suggest you try something easy to digest foods for now. You and the baby need proper nutrition and only eating sweets is not healthy for either of you. I'd also keep recommending that you eat every so often to help alleviate any nausea or fainting spells. Now, if you're willing Rey, I'd like to do a scan to check on the baby's development."
Rey nods her head in agreement. With a glare from the doctor, Poe hops off of the gurney but keeps holding on to Rey's hand as the bed shifts to a laying down position. Looking down, Poe keeps his eyes focused on Rey's face as the two doctors push the medical gown up to just beneath Rey's breasts.
"Rey," Kalonia says, holding a cylinder tube of gel in her hands. "This is gel is warmed up and will help the equipment here to get a clear image of the baby."
"That's some low-grade tech you're using doc." Poe watches as Doctor Kalonia squeezes the gel onto Rey's belly.
"Kriff, that's hot!" Rey shouts at the sudden warmth of the gel landing on her abdomen.
This causes Kalonia to scowl and Poe to suppress a laugh.
"It shouldn't feel hot." The doctor states as she picks up a wand-like object and presses it into the gel and Rey's stomach.
"Well it did." Rey replies back, giving the doctor a scowl.
It takes the doctor a little bit to find what it is she is looking for. She presses a few buttons on the wand and on a holo-vid imager, that the other doctor brought over.
"Met your baby."
Turning their heads towards the imager, they watch as it flickers to life. The image of a fetus floats in the air, complete with tiny arms, and wiggling little legs. Rey and Poe are mesmerized by the image before them. Rey's eyes begin to fill with tears, and Poe leans down to give Rey a gentle kiss. Though he won't admit it, out loud at least, Poe is feeling a bit emotional too.
"Well that's odd." Kalonia states, pressing another button on the wand that sends information to her data-pad.
"What is?" Rey asks, suddenly afraid that there could be something wrong with the baby.
"I could have sworn that the fetus was at the ten-week gestation mark when you first came in." Kalonia tells the pair. "But if this image is correct, it looks as if your baby is at twelve weeks. Which would place the conception around the time you were on Jakku. Just before you even joined us."
"But that's not possible." Rey replies, death gripping Poe's hand. "I'd never been with anyone before."
"When was your last menstruation cycle?"
"Just after Crait." Rey tells the doctor, face darkening into a deeper red. "During our flight to Hapes."
"Was it normal? Light? Heavy?"
"A combination of the three."
Doctor Kalonia lets out a sigh, removing the wand from Rey's abdomen. She sets it down and grabs her data-pad to enter in the information. The imager, however, wavers for a few moments but the picture stays frozen still in the air.
"What's this mean?" Poe asks, finally coming out of his stupor at everything that's been said so far.
"I don't know yet, Commander." Kalonia doesn't say another word and leaves the room with the other doctor following suit.
Panicking, Rey looks at Poe with fear written all over her face. She lets him pull her up to sit on the gurney and tucks herself against him when he wraps his arms around her. Gripping the back of his shirt, Rey presses her face into his shoulder as tears run down her face. Poe's arms tighten around her, and he slowly starts a gentle rocking motion to soothe her.
But as he tries to be her rock, Poe's mind is racing. Thinking back, Poe had seen Rey after Starkiller Base was destroyed and when their two droids displayed their portions of the map that led to Skywalker. They'd had a small, but very brief introduction before she left D'Qar. Then, after she'd saved them on Crait, Poe had reintroduced himself to her. Even now, after spending so much time with her, Poe finds it difficult to believe that she'd lie to him.
"It'll be alright, Rey." Poe whispers softly into Rey's hair. "We'll figure this out."
"So, you believe me?"
"Of course, I do. Hells, I know you're not lying about never having had sex with anyone. Just your reactions alone when we've been alone together told me as such. Why do you think I drew back all those times? Your body was telling me you weren't ready." Poe presses his forehead against hers. "And I wasn't about to use your inexperience to take advantage of you."
They hold each other for a time, and give one another silent reassurance that neither one is going to leave the other. Eventually, they find themselves looking at the picture image that is still floating in the air.
"It's still hard to believe." Rey says, breaking quietness of the room. "But now that I can see it, I can't keep trying to ignore that this is happening."
"Yeah, I agree with you on that." Poe says, slowly moving off of the bed to grab Rey's top.
Behind him, Rey also moves off of the bed and removes the medical gown. With the gown in hand, Rey begins trying to wipe off the excess gel that is smeared over her belly with it. A thought runs through her mind suddenly as she begins to scrutinize her abdomen, looking for any outward sign that would reveal the pregnancy.
"It's barely noticeable, Rey." Poe hands Rey her top. His eyes focus on Rey's belly and he doesn't see anything different about it. However, when they've been in bed together, he's felt the thickening along her waist line and a hardening of her lower belly.
"But for how much longer?" Rey mutters softly to herself as she finishes securing her shirt, and pulling on the gray vest over it.
"I can't wait till we find out if it's a boy or a girl. But I think we have to wait a bit more for that." Poe says, looking back at the image of their child on the holo-imager. "Can't really tell, but I think it has your nose."
At that moment, Poe's mood shifts at the realization that Rey's child will have not just her features, but that of the actual father's. Even though he is willing to raise the child as his own, Poe can't help but wonder if there may be some genetic variances that could pose problematic for the three of them. Especially if these variances were dramatic in the expression of the corresponding DNA.
A pair of arms wrap around his waist, from behind. "Not having second thoughts at proclaiming the child as your own, are you?"
"Never." Poe turns to face Rey and gives her a gentle kiss. "I told you that I'm staying."
"Then what caused-"
"I was just thinking about what our kid will look like." Poe replies, rubbing at the back of his neck. "If he or she will have your hair, your eyes. Those kinds of things. But we won't find that out for several more months."
Giving Poe a shy smile, Rey allows herself to snuggle closer into him. She feels him let out a deep sigh as the tension releases from his body. Through the Force, Rey can feel his emotions settle down and only calm, peace, and love radiate from him now. And that is good enough for Rey.
Several hours later…
Poe is walking, stretching his shoulder muscles, as he heads down the familiar corridor that leads to the Resistance's briefing room.
After having left medical, the pair had a light-weight sparring match and shared the mid-day meal with Finn and Rose. From there, he assisted Chewie with doing a few minor repairs on the Falcon; while Rey had begun working with Threepio on trying to translate the Jedi Ancient Texts. Four hours later, and Poe had received a comm-message from Leia, asking that he come to the briefing room.
Turning another corner, Poe comes to a stop at seeing Leia, Wes Janson, Hobbie, and three Sullust government officials. He can't hear what is being said, due to their hush tones, but he gets the feeling that something major is happening.
It only takes a few more minutes before the three government officials bow to Leia and leave.
"What was that about?" Poe asks, starting to walk towards Leia and the others.
"The Sullust government has asked that the Resistance leave." Leia replies while heading into the briefing room with all three men following after her.
The room is filled with stone benches which protrude up from the floor. They surround a very large, circular platform which resides in the center of the room. Upon the platform are several work stations that monitor space, planetary movements of any ship that flies above ground, and communications coming and going from the planet.
"Why?" Poe notices that they are the only people in the room, which doesn't allay his fears.
"The First Order has made an appearance around Eriadu. It's only one system away from us. And because it shares the Rimma Trade Route, it has several members of the Sullust government feeling nervous." Wes Janson answers with uncharacteristic seriousness in his voice.
"We don't want to bring an unnecessary conflict to Sullust if it can be avoided. We'll need to begin issuing orders on preparing for our departure from Sullust." Leia approaches the platform and steps up to one of the work stations.
Pressing several buttons, the large glass screen comes to life with an image of the galaxy before narrowing down to only show Sullust, Eriadu, and the surrounding planets.
"With the First Order being so close, I'll be sending out only a few ships at a time. If we were to send out the whole fleet, though small as it is, it would capture their attention. I've already started working on assignments for which transports and fighters are to leave and when." Leia steps back from the station and looks towards the three men. "Hobbie, I'll ask that you be on the first transport, the Remembrance, that will have most of our infantry troops and weaponry. You'll be in command, so I hope you are ready for this."
Hobbie nods solemnly to Leia. "As you wish."
"Wes, you will be commanding our medical transport, the Erso. Both of you will have escorts which will be provided by the pilot recruits that Poe's been training." Leia states, giving Wes a stern look as if warning him not to question her orders.
"What about you?" Wes asks, knowing that Leia will sometimes wait till the last minute before leaving a base.
"I'll be aboard the Fulcrum. Both the Falcon and Poe's U-wing will be flying as my escorts." Leia announces, and tosses a data-pad to each of the men. "Your flight crew assignments as well as ship manifest are to be placed on them. You'll also find that I've placed the coordinates for our new base within. Now I suggest that you begin taking command of your people, and may the Force be with you."
Wes and Hobbie leave, not needing to be told twice. Poe, however, decides to stay and waits till the other two men have left the room before speaking with Leia.
"Is there something you need, Poe?"
"You do realize that if the Falcon and I are used as escorts for you, that Kylo Ren will most likely target your ship."
"This may have been true at one point, but I believe that he'll be more focused on getting to Rey than killing me. That will give the transport and the escorts enough time to reach hyperspace safely."
Anger surges through Poe at hearing that Leia plans. "No. Rey and my child will not be used in that manner, Leia. If you truly need a decoy, then I'm your guy. But you leave Rey and our child out of it."
Leia is taken aback by the ferocity behind Poe's words, and she isn't too surprised that he is against her plan. However, now that he knows the plan, maybe there should be a minor change to the details. With this in mind, Leia tries to address Poe.
"I understand you want to protect Rey and her child, but-"
"Our child." Poe sternly tells Leia. "She's carrying my child, Leia."
"Poe-"
"And I don't care what Doctor Kalonia says about conception dates. Nor do I care what your son says about claiming that the baby is his. We both know that there is no kriffing way he was able to conceive a child with Rey from half-way across the galaxy. That baby is mine and Rey's, and I'll be damned if I let them die. I've already lost my mum and little brother. I won't lose them too." Poe declares, not caring if he'd interrupted Leia. He's so pent up with energy that he marches out of the room.
Aboard the Falcon…
After Poe had left the Falcon, Rey had decided to stop working on the texts and joined Chewie in finishing up the repairs for the day. She wasn't the least bit surprised that Chewie knew about the pregnancy and was not allowing her to help him. So, Rey had decided to head into her bunk to nibble on a ration bar before her meditation.
Sitting on the floor, with an empty wrapper next to her, Rey takes a mouthful of water to chase the rest of the bar down.
"It's good that you're following the doctor and Poe's advice." A familiar gruff voice says before the shimmering blue image of its owner appears. "You'll be needing the extra energy to help keep from over exerting yourself while using the Force."
Rey gives Luke a confused look. "What do you mean by 'over exerting' myself? The Force is energy, isn't it? So why would I need to eat more often?"
"The Force is energy, but by using it, channeling it, also depletes the energy within us. And now that you're pregnant, it'll take even more of your energy to use the Force." Luke explains wistfully as his eyes get a far off look in them.
"How do you know so much about this?" Rey asks, wanting an explanation as to how much Luke knows and why he hasn't been forthcoming with the information. "It's not like you were married or had children."
"I did once." Luke lets out a sigh and moves to sit across from Rey.
"You were married? And had kids?"
"Yes, quite shocking, isn't it?" Luke chuckles out before continuing on. "Her name was Mara Jade and when I first met her, she didn't like me. In fact, she originally wanted to kill me."
"Why?"
"Because she blamed me for destroying her life. She was known as the Emperor's Hand. A secret, force-wielding agent of Emperor Palpatine's. With his death, Mara lost all the prestige and power that she was accustomed to. And since I had been aboard the Death Star when he died, but before it was destroyed... well, you get the picture."
"So, what happened that brought the two of you together?" Rey asks. She has a few, possible ideas floating in her head over how Luke and his wife could have gotten together. Even though one of them originally wanted to kill the other.
"Well, Mara had been working with Talon Karrde," Luke states and notices right away that Rey seemed familiar with the name. "who was a smuggler, but you already knew that. Anyways, she was his second-in-command when I first met her. She didn't like me and threatened to kill me on more than one occasion. Eventually, I was able to help her break free from Palpatine's influence and brainwashing; which, even though he had been dead for several years, he was still able to contact her. I offered to train her, but she declined and returned to helping Karrde. Eventually we'd meet up again, a few years later. It was then that neither of us could deny that the Force was drawing us towards each other. I proposed, and she said yes. We were married a year later, and it would take us years before Mara would conceive a child."
Rey notices right away the flicker of sadness that Luke held back, and she can't help but wonder why. As if he'd read her mind, Luke begins talking once more.
"Snoke. Or at least I think it was Snoke, who killed Mara while she was pregnant. She could feel something elusive, the dark side perhaps, growing in the galaxy. Yet she wasn't able to pinpoint where. Over the years, as it grew, Mara would use the Force to search for it but still was unable to discover its source. Then Ben came to join his siblings on Ossus and Mara began working with Ben. More than once she would tell me that he had a penchant for pushing the boundaries of what was and what wasn't acceptable during his training. It was during one of their training sessions that Mara discovered that she was pregnant. When she told me, I didn't want to believe it, at first. But then, when I'd reached out to the new life, it reached back. A few weeks after the discovery, Mara believed she had found the source of the growing darkness and left to find it. A month later, while overseeing a sparring match between Ben and his twin brother, I felt very large tremor in the force and came to the realization that it was Mara and our child's death that I had just felt. I…I stopped- I stopped being a Jedi. I let my grief consume me and… and I let me guard down. I stopped protecting the people I cared about. And that's what gave Snoke the opportunity to reach Ben. You already know everything else after that."
Rey felt a small shift in the Force and a bubble of serenity and comfort flooded over her. It didn't bother her to feel such powerful emotions, but it did cause tears to form in her eyes.
"I'm sorry." Rey says softly to him. "About your wife and child."
"Thank you, but at least now I can be with them." Luke states with a sad smile. "However, we should focus on your training; and with you being pregnant, we'll need to make sure you don't over extend yourself."
The rest of Rey's afternoon is spent learning new methods on how to meditate and new techniques to add to her training in the main hold of the Falcon. During this time, Luke had even told her to start working with Poe, and Finn, on how to fight a Force-user.
Having cleaned up after finishing her training for the day, Rey heads out of the fresher and walks towards the main hold. She's surprised to find Poe setting down a large tray of food on the Dejarik table.
"What's this?" Rey asks, coming up to Poe's side.
"Dinner."
Rey eyeballs the several types of food on the tray and is pleased to see the Sura fruit is also there. Then her stomach lets out an audible rumble which causes Poe to let out a chuckle. Yet the smell coming from most of the food is causing her stomach to churn.
"Hungry?" Poe teases, sitting down at the table.
"Possibly. All of the ration bars that I had with me today are now gone." Rey sits down and slides herself over so that she is right next to Poe.
"Doctor Kalonia gave me these when I was grabbing dinner in the mess hall." Poe pulls out a small cylinder from his shirt pocket and hands it to Rey. "It's meds to keep the nausea from being too overbearing so that you can actually eat again."
Rey opens the container and looks down at the tiny white circular pills inside.
"You're to swallow one of those and it normally lasts for 8 hours. However," Poe begins placing several pieces of the Sura fruit onto an empty plate while glancing every so often at Rey. "Doctor Kalonia said that it wouldn't hurt if you needed to take them every 4, if necessary."
Rey takes one of the pills out of the container and swallows it dry. Then reaches for one of the bottles that is supposedly for her. She takes a quick sip of the pale blue fluid and is immediately intrigued by the flavor.
"What is this?" She asks, taking another mouthful of the liquid. Luckily enough, her stomach has calmed down enough thanks to the medication.
"Blue milk, imported from Tatooine." Giving Rey a smirk, Poe finishes loading her plate with a few more items besides the fruit. "Nien was able to get me a case of it and it'll be stored with the rest of the Resistance edibles."
Rey takes another drink, and watches as Poe sets her plate down in front of her. There is diced up Sura fruit, slices of Gornt meat, and several purple colored tubers on the plate.
"The Gornt meat is from a fresh supply that was arrived early this morning via a cargo shipment. And I remember you liking those purple colored tubers back on Tatooine." Poe begins to fill his own plate with a little bit of everything on the tray.
"Thank you." Rey gives his cheek a quick kiss before slowly starting to eat the food on her own plate.
"The Sullustians are asking that we leave. The First Order is only a star system away, currently at Eriadu. Leia plans on having the Resistance leave Sullust in the next day or so." Poe tells her, finishing up loading his plate with food.
"Really?" Rey mumbles out, still chewing on a tuber. "Has she given out assignments on who is traveling on what ship?"
A sudden spike of agitation and frustration roll through the Force. She looks over at Poe and can see that his jaw has tightened. Something is wrong and Rey knows it.
"What happened?" Rey asks before eating a piece of the fruit.
Poe sets his gray plastic ware down. Both of his hands run up his face and into his hair as he lets out a groan. Removing his hands from his hair, Poe takes a deep breath.
"Leia wants to use the Falcon as an escort for her ship."
"And?"
"And that will put you and the baby in danger." Poe admits with a soft growl of frustration add to the last word.
Rey is silent for a few moments, realizing what it is that truly has Poe upset at Leia. Since finding out about the pregnancy, Poe has become very protective of her which leaves her feeling annoyed but also touched. Yet, after hearing of what had happened to Poe's mother, Rey can't fault Poe on it. So, the conclusion that she's garnered has Rey voicing what both of them are thinking.
"If the First Order decide to come to Sullust, Kylo would ignore our ships and come after me. I'm the diversion for the Resistance to escape safely, if necessary." She says softly, seeing Poe flinch at her words. "That is only a last resort contingency plan by Leia. I'm sure that everyone will be fine, and that the First Order won't be coming here."
Watching the man as he begins to eat again, though slower this time, Rey can feel his emotions ease a little. Though he's still feeling frustrated.
"Poe." Rey takes hold of one of his hands and gives it a light squeeze.
Setting his utensil down, Poe looks at Rey. "I want you on the U-Wing with me. Let someone else fly with Chewie. Hell, I'll even ask Nien to fly with Chewie if that's what it will take to keep you safe. I don't want you-"
Poe's sentence is silenced by a kiss, and he can't say that he's surprised to find that Rey has managed to climb into his lap. With a leg settled on either side of his, he allows his hands to cradle her hips and pulls her closer to him. The feeling of questing fingers running against the skin beneath his shirt, causes Poe to let out a gasp in between heated kisses. Not one to be idle during their make out sessions, his hands move away from Rey's hips and dip beneath her top. Keeping one hand pressed against the skin of Rey's lower back, Poe's other hand keeps moving up till it encounters a fabric covered swell.
"Poe." Rey mewls, feeling a wave of longing and desire flare inside of her.
Hearing this causes all other thoughts to fly out of Poe's mind as he focuses on the young woman.
At the feeling of nibble fingers making their way beneath her chest-band, her hips jolt forward. This causes Poe to let out an illicit groan, who uses his other hand to hold Rey against him as his lips trail down her neck. Then, to Rey's surprise, Poe presses his own hips up to meet hers. The feeling of a bulge being pressed against her has Rey letting out a moan which is quickly silenced by a kiss.
With dinner now forgotten on the table, Rey doesn't waste any time in pulling Poe's shirt and under-shirt off of him between kisses. Their hips move, pressing and releasing together as she tosses the two articles of clothing over her shoulders, not caring where they land. Soon her own top joins his, and before they can resume kissing, Poe's heavily-lidded eyes lock with hers.
"Ya sure?" He slurs out before letting out a hiss as Rey weaves one of her hands into his hair.
"Yes."
Poe gives Rey a thorough kiss as his hands move back to her hips. Somehow, he manages to slide them both towards the edge of the bench before standing up. Rey wraps her legs around him as her free hand clutches his shoulder to keep herself in place as Poe starts to walk towards her room here on the Falcon. She presses open-mouthed kisses along Poe's jawline and down his neck as he carries her.
Reaching their destination, Poe makes sure that they won't be disturbed by locking the door after entering. Even though the idea of taking Rey against the door flickers through his mind, Poe decides to carry her to the bunk instead. As he leans down, lowering Rey towards the mattress, his own body follows hers. Using his arms to keep his upper body weight off of her, Poe can't help but allow himself to look at Rey before diving in to kiss her.
Eventually the rest of their clothes soon find their way to the floor, and Rey has to reassure Poe, one last time, that she wants to keep going. Her mind fills with many different emotions as they begin the act of love-making. She becomes so lost in the new sensations she's feeling that Rey doesn't realize that she has entered Poe's mind with the Force. This causes them to share what they are feeling.
"Wha… What is that?" Poe gasps out between heavy breaths. He stopped moving when he felt something enter his mind, and has now lifted his head away from Rey's shoulder so that he can look at her.
"M'sorry." Rey's already blushed covered face turns even darker at realizing what she'd done inadvertently. "I didn't mean to…"
"Don't be sorry, love." Poe leans down to give her a quick kiss and gently shifts his hips. "Feels good. Feels right."
'Stay.'
The word echoes through Rey's mind as she realizes that Poe is not averse to allowing her touch his mind with hers. Their bodies start to move once more, and Rey keeps the connection open throughout the rest of their lovemaking.
~~~~P&R&K~~~~
Rey finds herself aboard the Falcon, sitting in the cockpit's pilot chair. Which is strange because she could have sworn that she was back on Ahch-To a moment ago. Swiveling the chair away from the controls, she is surprised to see that there now two new, fold-down seats at the back.
"What are those doing there?" She whispers to herself, confused by the two additional items.
Getting out of the seat, Rey heads out of the cockpit. She walks along the corridor, heading back towards her bunk. It was the last place she remembers being on this ship. When she reaches main cabin of the ship, she comes to a dead stop. Surrounded by numerous toys on the floor is Poe and a small boy of four standard years with dark wavy hair. Both of them are holding a model spaceship, and the boy is making zoom sounds.
"Poe?"
The man looks up, gives Rey a bright smile, and starts to get up from the floor. "Rey."
Hearing Poe call out to Rey, the small child turns his head and gives Rey the very same smile that Poe had.
"Mama." The little boy calls out, getting up from the ground. On his little legs, the child charges at Rey and wraps his arms around her legs.
"Poe? What's going on?" Rey asks. Her eyes drift from the boy at her legs and back to Poe.
"No clue, love." Poe says as he approaches her. He pulls her into a hug before continuing. "I was dreaming of being back on D'Qar and suddenly I was here."
"We must be sharing a dream then." Rey states and feels the child's arms detach from her legs. Then she hears the pitter-patter of the child's feet running across the floor of the ship and laughter.
"Possibly." Poe chuckles out, having watched the child flee from the room. He releases Rey from their embrace. "But who is the kid? Could it be ours?"
"Maybe? I don't know."
"Or it could be mine." A new voice enters the room as does the newly manifested Kylo Ren.
Poe immediately recognizes the voice, and is quick to place himself between Rey and the Sith Lord.
"What are you doing here, Ren?" Poe snarls out as he reaches for his blaster, only to discover that it isn't there.
"I could ask you the same question, Pilot." Kylo Ren glares at Poe and goes to draw his lightsaber, only to discover that it too is missing.
A loud thud echoes down the corridors as well as the sound of a child's whimpering which in turn becomes crying. This causes all three adults to turn towards where the sound is coming from.
Rey and Poe quickly rush down the corridor in search of the child, who they suspect is the one crying. What the pair doesn't realize is that Kylo Ren has joined them to find the child. All three turn a corner and their surroundings change in a blink-of-an-eye from the Falcon's corridor to a large throne room. Then, it's as if their bodies are frozen in place and they can't move.
In the center of the room is a group of children standing together in front of something. Then they see the young boy from before standing at the edge of the group of children. He looks back at them and his mouth moves, but no sound comes out of it.
"Don't be afraid, come forwards." A familiar but raspy voice calls out. Then a mist-like figure begins to materialize in the center of the children.
"Snoke." Kylo and Rey say at the same time.
As Snoke moves through the group of children, touching the tops of their heads. After each one is touched, the child lets out a gasp before their body shrivels up and Snoke's appearance becomes more solid. Finally, every child but the young boy is now lying dead on the floor, and Snoke smiles down at the boy.
"There you are." Snoke tells the boy. When he reaches out a hand to touch the child, his cold dark eyes zero-in on Rey. "Found you."
Rey lets out a silent scream as she doubles over in pain, clutching at her abdomen. Then her body slowly dissolves.
"Rey!" Poe and Kylo Ren shout, drawing Snoke's attention towards them.
Then, the most excruciating pain Poe has ever felt explodes in his head and he screams out in agony.
~~~P&R~~~~
Poe wakes violently to Rey letting out a blood-curdling scream. Using a voice command to turn on the lights, Poe is able to see tha Rey is curled away from him with one hand holding the edge of the mattress. The other hand, he notes, is clutched at the forest green blanket that is lying over her quivering form.
"Rey?" Poe asks in a panic as he hops over her form so that he can see her face. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"It hurts. Kriffing hell it hurts!" Rey tells him through clenched teeth.
"Where? Rey?"
Poe doesn't get a reply, so he decides that he's going to need to comm Doctor Kalonia for help. When he stands up, something catches his attention. There, on the blanket, is a spot that is darker than the rest. Something nudges at his mind to find out what it is. He reaches out, presses his fingers against it, and pulls back when he realizes that it's wet. Looking down at his fingers, he can see that they are light red and sticky.
"No." Poe whispers out and quickly tugs the blanket free from the foot of the mattress till it comes to rest above Rey's legs.
Blood. A small amount of it that is slowly trickling down Rey's thighs.
Poe wastes no time finding his pants, searching to find his comm-link and calling for help. Then he quickly goes in search for something to try and stem the bleeding.
Rey can sense Poe's panicked state, and she knows that there is nothing she can do to help him. She is in such pain that even the slightest movement is agonizing. There is nothing natural about this pain she is feeling and she can't help but wonder if the child feels it too. That sobering reminder is what sends Rey tapping into the Force to try and protect her unborn child.
"You need help." Kylo Ren says, appearing to her through their bond. His usual mask of indifference has been replaced with one of concern and worry.
Kneeling down next to the bed, Kylo Ren reaches out to place a hand against her forehead. Then he places his other hand against her own that covers her stomach. When he reaches out to her with the Force, she lets out another piercing scream.
"Let me help you both, Rey."
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" Poe shouts as he returns to Rey's side with a cloth. "Get away from her, Ren!"
"You can see me?"
Kylo looks up in amazement at the other man, but neither can dwell on this development long as the door to opens to reveal Chewie, Leia, and two harried medics. Ren immediately disappears.
"What happened?" Leia asks Poe once the medics begin seeing to Rey.
"We were asleep and the next thing I know she's screaming in pain." Poe explains, leaving out as many details as he can.
"She needs to get to medical, now." One medic says to the other.
Chewie doesn't hesitate and gently lifts Rey out of the bunk. He carries her out of the room and to the awaiting hover stretcher. The medics are quick to follow. When Poe moves to follow after them, Leia stops him with a hand against his bare chest.
"You may want to put on some pants before you scare our hosts, commander." she says with a quick look downward.
Poe, having been entirely focused on Rey's well-being, had forgotten in all of his haste that he was naked. A bit too late, Poe quickly uses his hands to cover himself.
Going down the hall, Rey is using every bit of energy she can muster from the Force to protect her child. Through the haze of pain, she can barely make out Chewie's roars as he runs ahead of the hover stretcher and the medics.
Another wave of nausea threatens to overcome her. On its heels though, the Force-bond suddenly flares brightly.
Kylo Ren is back.
'Let me help you, Rey.' His voice calls out in her mind.
'I don't need your help. Go away.' She replies back in the same manner.
'Yes, you do. That pilot can't help you; neither can the doctors. Only I can help you, Rey. Let me help you and our child.'
'It isn't your child, Ben.'
'Rey-'
Kylo's image disappears briefly as Rey is brought in to the medical facility. The medics are directed to take Rey into one of the intensive care rooms, where Doctor Kalonia, two GH-9 medical droids, and one FX-7 medical assistant are waiting.
As soon as Rey's stretcher enters the room, there is a flurry of movement. Between the pain and being moved to the awaiting gurney, Rey lets out a groan. Once again, her Force-bond with Kylo Ren flares and with it extreme nausea. Through the pain, Rey is able to turn to her side. Leaning her head over the edge, her body gives a harsh shudder as it expels the contents of her stomachs onto the floor. Letting out a moan once she's finished, Rey feels a set of hands helping to guide her to lie on her back.
There is a small pinch-like feeling on the back of her hand from a medic placing an IV drip line. Then there is another one that occurs on the upper part of her other arm. Both times Rey ignores it, and watches as Kylo Ren's image appears in the corner of the room.
"You've been given some medication that will hopefully stop your bleeding and help you relax." Doctor Kalonia tells the young woman. "It's perfectly natural for you to feel groggy from the medications. Also, you'll be given a dose of anti-nausea momentarily."
There isn't much Rey can say in response and simply nods her head very slowly. Within seconds of receiving the anti-nausea, Rey can feel it easing. Her head starts to become foggy from the medication and her eyes begin to lose focus. Just as the medical droids and the doctor begin running a scan to check on the baby, she can hear a voice call to her.
The last image Rey sees is that of Kylo Ren standing next to her before her world turns into darkness.
'Rey.'
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Selene