Epilogue

"Luke! Leia!" Rey strode into the living room. "Put your sister down this instant!"

Her eight-year-old twins tensed and swiveled around. If she wasn't supposed to be angry with them, she might have smiled at the nearly identical expressions of guilt on their little faces.

"I tried to tell them, mama," Han said, looking up from the toy droid he was tinkering with, "but they didn't listen."

"That's alright, sweetheart." She ruffled her five-year-old's dark locks affectionately. "You did the right thing by calling me."

"Kiss-up," Luke coughed into his elbow.

"Luke!" she said scathingly.

"Sorry mama, we were just trying to entertain Evie like you asked!"

"That's right!" Leia joined in. "Look at her!" She gestured towards the levitating toddler, who was having a grand time trying to grab her foot in midair. "She likes it!"

Rey sighed as she gathered her youngest into her arms. "When I asked you to entertain her, I meant with toys, or books, not by turning her into a human balloon. And besides, you two know you're not allowed to use the Force inside the house."

"But papa does it all the time!" Luke pouted. "He always draws his coffee mug to himself when you're not looking."

Her husband flinched as her glare fell on him. She crossed her arms with an exasperated sigh. "Don't worry about your father, sweethearts. I'll take care of him. Now off to bed, all of you. It's getting late."

After she had ushered them upstairs, she turned back to her husband. "Ben, how many times have we talked about showing a united front for the kids?"

"You're right, sweetheart," he mumbled. "I apologize."

"I forgive you," she said as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Now, here you go." She handed their youngest off to him. "You can put Evie to bed—oh, and I think she's poopy, so don't forget to change her."

Her husband stifled a groan as she spun on her heel and flounced up the stairs, grinning to herself the whole way.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

An hour later Rey collapsed into bed beside her husband. "They're finally down," she sighed. "You know, sometimes I think what we had to do during the last war is easier than this."

"I couldn't agree more," Ben said tiredly.

She laid her head on his shoulder and he gently combed his fingers through her hair. "Do you ever regret it?" he asked quietly.

She tilted her chin to look up at him, her lips pulling into an amused smirk. "You mean having four little hellions with you?"

He returned the smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "That, marrying me, just…all of it."

She sat up and faced him seriously. "What brought this on?"

"I've just been thinking. It's been ten years already." He reached up and brushed her cheek tenderly. "I love you even more than I did then, but because of that"—he drew his hand back—"I can't help but feel that you deserve someone better."

"Hey," she whispered. "Look at me. That day in the cave, when I almost lost you, I made

a promise to myself. I swore that I would take your hand, and that this time, I would never let go."

"Right," he said with a hint of bitterness. "To make sure I never turned to the dark side again."

She shook her head. "You're wrong. That promise, Ben, it wasn't for you. It was for me.

I made it because I didn't want to live without you. For most of my life I was alone. Later I found friends in Finn, Poe, and some others, but they didn't truly understand me. No one did, except you. Even when I still didn't want to admit it, you were the only one who saw everything about me, and still accepted me—and I loved you for it." She smiled as she kissed him lightly. "Still do, in fact."

"Rey…" He gathered her into his arms. "How am I so lucky?" he murmured.

She smiled into his chest. "I ask myself the same thing every day."

He stretched out one hand, ready to snuff out their lamp with the Force, but stopped himself. "Sorry." He glanced at her sheepishly. "I'll be right back."

He started to climb out of bed, but she put a restraining hand on his arm. "No, stay," she said coyly as the lights went out. "It's alright, just this once."

She couldn't see his face, but she could sense that he was smirking. "Who's breaking the rules now, hm?"

She closed her eyes in anticipation as he bent over her, but Evie chose that exact moment to test her lung capacity and let out a loud cry.

Ben fell back beside her with a groan. They laid there for a moment, listening, before she heaved herself into a sitting position. "You put her down," she sighed, "so I'll get her."

He flicked on the lights for her as she padded softly to the door. "Are you sure you don't ever regret it?" he called teasingly.

She turned back with a smile. "Not even for a moment."

The End

Author's Note: And that's the end! Thanks again for reading, and please leave a review to let me know what you think! Reading them always makes my day.