Give a big thanks to Darksidefan5 for their awesome beta skills. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
It's been thirty-two standard hours since the Resistance fled Tanaab and most of the fleet has arrived safely at the entrance of the Maw Cluster. Upon the arrival, the fleet was met with several large ships, including the Errant Venture, Starry Ice, Idiot's Array, Wilde Karrde, Sudden Demise, and Etherway. All of them belonging to Talon Karrde. However, only the Errant Venture waits outside of the Maw Cluster for any stragglers who haven't arrived yet.
Inside the main docking bay, Poe is landing his modified X-Wing, or Stealth-Wing as these new fighters were being called.
"Any word yet on the Falcon, buddy?" he asks BB-8, hoping that there is an update but getting a negative response.
Silently, Poe sends a prayer to the gods that be and the Force that Rey and their baby are okay. He quickly jumps down from his ship, stumbling once he hits the floor.
"Mijo!"
Poe looks up to see his father running towards him.
"Dad?" His father's arms wrap around and hold him tight, but that's not what Poe is concerned about at this moment. "What are you doing here?"
Releasing his son, Kes Dameron begins searching his boy for any injuries while trying to ignore the question. But Poe quickly shoos him away.
"What are you doing here? You wouldn't just leave home unless something happened." Poe asks again.
Kes is silent for a long moment and he rubs a hand over his face. "It's a long story, mijo."
There's a haunted look in his eye; Poe's almost hesitant to have him explain.
"What happened?"
"It's – it's gone." Kes gives his son a strange, desperate look.
"What's gone, dad?"
"Yavin, the- the temples, all the settlements are gone. Just gone. Like that," he finished with a snap of his fingers.
Reeling back in back, Poe takes a moment before speaking.
"How? The First Order?"
Kes nods his head and his old eyes become glossy.
"They attacked during the night, caught us off guard but it wasn't their typical raid though. There were these machines, in the atmosphere, that they used. I'd heard of such technology being used by the Empire just before the Truce at Bakura was signed. World Devastators is what Antilles and Rogue Squadron called them. But these things weren't quite those." He stops to look down at his hands. He fidgets with his wedding band for a moment. "All they left in their wake was fire."
With his hands diving into his own hair, Poe begins pacing back and forth. If the Force was trying to find the very edge of Poe's sanity, it was just about there.
Everything is gone. The Resistance is few and scrambling. Rey's lost, or captured, injured… dea-. And what of their child? Is it in danger as well, or perhaps even…
There is a sudden lack of air in the room and darkness creeps into the corners of his vision. He doesn't see or hear his father asking if he's alright. The roaring sound of engines manages to break through his thoughts. Behind him, a pair of Stealth-Wings land, one significantly more gracefully than the other.
Looking up, Poe catches a glimpse of Jaina leaping out of her fighter and running towards the second one. Then comes the sound of running and shouting as Kalonia and two Errant Venture medics speed past him with a floating medical gurney.
As Jaina pries the cockpit hatch open with the Force, Poe rushes towards the action with his dad and BB-8 hot on his heels.
"How bad is he?" Kalonia shouts as she watches Jaina bring Kyp out of the cockpit and down to the waiting medical team via the Force.
Once Kyp's prone form hits the gurney, Kalonia and her medics rush back out of the docking bay with Jaina following them. However, the group pass by Leia and Connix as the pair head straight for Poe.
"Where's-"
"Chewie is bringing them in right now." Leia says just at the Falcon enters the bay.
Poe runs after the ship and doesn't even wait for the landing gears to hit the floor to approach the ship. The ramp is barely halfway down before Poe jumps onboard. The door at the top opens and a startled, harassed looking Finn is standing there.
"Where's Rey?" Poe shouts as he runs past his friend. A scream pierces through the ship. "Rey!"
With fear running through his veins, Poe runs as fast as he can towards the main bunk cabin. Slapping his hand at the door release, he charges in and comes to a complete stop. Kneeling on the bed, with her hands gripping hard on the shelfing above it, is a sweaty and red-faced Rey. Rose stands next to her, not quite sure what to do.
"Poe." Rey harshly cries out as another contraction takes hold of her.
"I'm here, love. I'm right here." Poe says, settling himself to kneel beside her. He gently places one hand over top of hers on the shelf while brushing back some of her sweat dampened hair back out of her face.
"It's too soon. Too early." Rey pants out through the contraction.
"Shit." Poe mumbles before looking over his shoulder at Rose.
Before he can even ask her a question, Rose is giving him an answer.
"She's been like this since we left Tanaab." The woman tells him, flinching as Rey's panting turns into a pain-filled scream.
"Did anyone think to request medical aid before landing?" Poe shouts at Rose, worry now mingling with the fear he has for the well-being of Rey and their unborn child.
As Rose is about to reply when two others enter the room, and someone else answers his question.
"They lost their comm unit during their escape." Leia states before sending Rose out of the room with instructions to get several blankets.
Kes takes one look at the situation, "Shit." But he doesn't have time to dwell and he immediately addresses Rey. "How far apart are your contractions?"
"Constant." Rey mutters out before biting her lip to keep herself from crying out again. Never has she felt this type of pain, and she never wants to feel it ever again.
"Right. Leia, I need you to find the medkit and bring it here." Kes commands as he takes off his battered old Pathfinder jacket and begins rolling up the sleeves to his dark gray shirt. "Poe, I'm going to need your help as well by helping the young lady take off her pants so-"
"Just what do you think you're doing, dad!" Poe shouts in horror, and a bit of embarrassment for Rey, at the idea of his father seeing Rey through the birth.
"I'm doing what I was trained to do during the Rebellion. Being a pathfinder wasn't just shooting and blowing things up, mijo. We also were medics when there wasn't a combat medic nearby." Kes huffs out with an eyeroll, knowing that his son isn't thinking straight. "Besides, who do you think was the one who delivered you on Hoth?"
"Poe." Rey huffs out. "Don't argue. Just help me."
"Okay." He mumbles to her, pressing a kiss into her hair before moving his hands to unbutton the waist of her pants.
He works the fabric of her pants and underwear carefully over her hip, and thighs. With a glance downwards, Poe can see the glistening of a reddish-brown mucus covering the inside of her underwear. A rise of bile starts to climb up his throat, but he's quickly to swallow it back down.
With her pants down to her knees, Rey shivers at the immediate relief the cool air gives her sweat covered body. However, it's short lived as the older man lets out a string of words that aren't in Basic. Somewhere in her mind, she knows something is wrong.
"What… what is it?" She asks between breaths.
Kes looks up at her and she can see that his tan face has gone a bit white. She's able to lock eyes with him and from that she knows.
"Dad?" Poe asks, looking back and forth between Rey and his father.
Shaking himself from his temporary stupor, Kes quickly fall back into his medic training.
"The head is almost at the point of crowning." Then he looks directly at Poe with a trepid look. "We can't move her without risking her life or the baby's."
"What does that mean?" Poe asks.
"It means that I'll have to give birth like this." Rey groans out before letting it go into a scream.
"That and you're going to need more room to spread your legs." Kes replies and swiftly pulls out vibro-knife from his boot to begin cutting Rey's pants and underwear in two.
While Kes works, Poe maneuvers himself so that he is between Rey and the shelf she was using to support herself on. Instead, he moves her hands so that they are resting atop his shoulders. Pressing his forehead against Rey's, he places his hands at her armpits to keep her body steady.
"Poe." Rey grunts out as she feels a pressing need to bear down and moves her legs further apart.
"You can do this, Rey. I've got you and won't let you fall." He whispers to her as he keeps his eyes focused on hers.
"Rey," Kes says from where he's settled himself behind her. "if you're feeling the need to bear down, go ahead and push."
As the need to do so builds, Rey begins to push and lets out a long, agonizing groan. Tapping into the Force, Rey can feel every person who is in the room. However, only three are so bright with it: Leia, Poe, and her daughter. She allows herself to latch on to Poe and Leia's Force signatures and is surprised to find both are sending her strength. She pushes for what feels like forever and at some point, had all sound had disappeared save for Poe's encouraging words.
Once again, Rey isn't sure just how long she's been trying to give birth when a sudden pressure within the Force fills the room. She refuses to acknowledge Kylo through their Force bond. Yet, she must have done or said something, because now Poe is cradling her head into his chest with one hand.
"Just ignore him. Focus on bringing our daughter into the world." Poe whispers into her hair. His other arm wraps tightly around her upper back.
Letting Poe protective feelings giving her strength, Rey refocuses on pushing and it isn't long till a sharp wail fills the room.
"It's a girl." Kes announces with a hoarse voice from shouting instructions.
"She's finally here." Poe chuckles through tears as he lifts Rey's chin up so that he can kiss her. "Mya is here. Gods, I love you, Rey."
"I know." Rey replies, wiping away the tears trailing down Poe's cheeks.
Neither one moves till after Kes has helped Rey birth the placenta; then Poe helps Rey shift to turn so that her back is pressed against his chest. With her arms held out, Rey accepts the partially wrapped bundle from Leia.
"Congratulations you two. She'll beautiful." Leia softly tells them before leaving the room to check in with Connix about the status of the medical team she'd requested for Rey.
Kes, however, stays in the room and settles himself on the edge of the bed. From his spot, he can see Shara's wedding ring hanging on the necklace around this young woman's neck and this has him intrigued.
"So, son," Kes looks over at Poe with a look. "Did I just deliver my own granddaughter?"
Leia, having stepped out of the ship, watches as the medics rush past with Rey and the baby on a gurney and Poe on their heels. Kes, however, lingers behind.
"You may want to change," she says, pointing at the smear of blood and mucus across his chest.
"Probably a good idea." There's a beat of silence, before Kes asks, "How the hell did I just become a grandfather?"
"I believe you know your son's reputation, and on how babies are made, Kes." Leia cackles at the look of disbelief and shock the man has on his face. "However, Poe and Rey's tale is not mine to tell."
Before Kes can say another word, Leia's attention is drawn towards her daughter, who is running to them in a clear state of panic.
"Jaina?" Leia calls out.
"He's gone. I can't feel him. He's not here. Jace isn't here." Jaina tells her mother, her own words coming out almost too quick to comprehend "Chewie said that he'd gotten them all on board, but after landing, he couldn't find him. I tried to reach out to Jace with our bond, but..."
"It's not there." Leia says, shocked that such a bond between a mother and young child would be severed. When Jaina went missing, it was like a cord had been broken within the Force between pair.
"Does he hide when he's scared?" Kes offers out, hoping that this might be the case. He hasn't seen Jaina Solo since she was a teenager and racing speeders with Poe all over Yavin IV. The last he had heard she went missing over ten years ago, along with Master Durron.
"Jace doesn't know how to mask himself yet with the Force." Jaina frantically replies.
Her mother suddenly pulls her into a strong embrace. "We'll find him, Jaina. Even if it means sending Black Squadron back to Tanaab. I promise you."
Several systems away, Jace wakes up in an unfamiliar room on a scratchy dark bed. The rest of the room is equally stark and uninviting. Turning, he notices the large viewport – he's in space. He climbs down from the bed and closer to the inky blackness of the beyond.
"Where am I?" Jace whispers to himself as he presses a hand to the cold window.
Then, off to his left, his eyes capture movement in the glass from just behind him. Jace turns and standing several feet behind him the tall man who had attacked Rey. He stares back at the man and his small body gives a violent shiver. Within the Force, he can feel the cold darkness coming from the man, and how it is wrapped around him.
"So," the man says, stepping towards Jace. "you are my sister's son."