The planet of Coruscant certainly earned its name as the cultural, political, and socio-economic epicenter of the galaxy. Even for Rey, the sight was impressive, but for her children—who had never been off of Ach To—it was like something out of a fairy tale.

"Whoa!" Han pressed his small, pudgy face against the window of their transport plane. "Look, mama!"

She smiled. "I see it, sweetheart."

"It's so beautiful!" Leia said dreamily. "I've never seen so many lights before!"

"And would you look at all those speeders!" Luke cried. "Boy, would I like to try driving one!"

"Don't even think about it, young man," she told him sternly.

At the look of disappointment on his face, she bent down and ruffled his hair. "You might not be able to drive one, but if you behave, you may ride on one before we leave."

The light returned to his eyes as quickly as it had left. "Really?" He threw himself into her arms. "Thanks, mama! You're the best!"

"You have a license?" Ben asked in a low voice.

"I thought you would."

He sighed and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "It'll be fine. I'm sure Finn or Poe will be willing to—oh, look!" She squeezed his arm excitedly. "I see them!"

Finn and Poe were waiting at the landing strip, along with Paige and a very pregnant Rose. Rey practically flew down the exit ramp to greet them.

"Rey!" Poe pulled her tightly into his arms. "I'm so glad you came."

She swallowed back tears as she breathed in the familiar scent of leather and fighter plane fuel. "Me too."

"Oh Rey!" Rose embraced her as well as she could with her burgeoning stomach. "It's so good to see you."

"You too, Rose." She wrapped her arms around the woman who had become one of her closest friends. "How are you?"

Rose made an expression that was halfway between a grin and grimace. "Ready to not be pregnant anymore."

"She's supposed to be on bed rest," Finn said, "but she insisted on coming here to see you in." He turned to his petite wife. "Are you satisfied now?"

Rose smirked up at him. "No, I was actually thinking of getting in some cliff climbing, skydiving, and maybe some pod-racing before we go back."

"Haha, very funny." He turned to Rey. "I have to get her back to the hospital wing, but

I'll see you at the ball, alright?" He scooped up Paige, then steered his wife toward their waiting plane. "Come on, honey."

"Fine," Rose huffed. "Enjoy the ball, Rey. And be sure to come and visit after. I'm bored out of my mind stuck in that awful bed."

She laughed. "I'll be there, don't worry."

After waving them off, she walked back to where Ben was still standing on the exit ramp. "Ready?" she asked softly.

He nodded, but she could read the insecurity in his eyes. She hadn't forgotten that he was doing this for her. Reaching for his hand, she entwined her fingers in his and they walked down the ramp together.

She could've kissed Poe when he came and cordially shook his hand. "Welcome, Ben. We're honored to have you."

"Thank you."

"And who do we have here?" Poe bent down so he was at eye level with her children. "Goodness, Rey!" He glanced at her in astonishment. "Are they all yours?"

Her children hid behind her and Ben, wide-eyed at the sight of an unfamiliar face.

Finn and Rose visited every few months, but Poe was able to get away less frequently. For her children's young memory, a year might as well have been a lifetime.

"Yes," she smiled proudly. "Come, darlings." She beckoned them forward with an encouraging smile. "Mama has a very dear friend that she wants to introduce you to.

"You've already met Luke, Leia, and Han," she said, laying a hand on each child's head as she said their name, "and this little one"—she took her youngest from Ben—"is Eva, but we all call her Evie."

"She's beautiful, Rey. She looks just like you—besides her hair."

She stroked her daughter's honey-colored ringlets with a fond smile. "She gets it from my mother."

Her mother's face had faded from her memory long ago, but she had never forgotten how beautiful her hair was. As a girl she used to sit and watch, completely mesmerized, as she combed her long tresses that shone like polished gold under the lamplight.

"Would you like to hold her?" She plopped Evie into his arms before he had the chance to answer.

Poe looked like he had been given an active bomb rather than a helpless infant. "Uh, hey there, Evie," he said, handling her so awkwardly that Rey had a hard time not bursting into laughter. "I'm Poe, but you can call me Uncle Poe." He bounced her for another moment before giving her back with a sigh of relief.

"I don't know how you two do it," he admitted. "You make having four look a piece of cake, while I'm not sure I could even handle one without killing it or myself in the process."

"Don't be ridiculous, Poe. You'd make a great father. Have you and Zorii talked about it at all?"

He shook his head dismally. "We're both so busy—it feels like we're on opposite sides of the galaxy most of the time. She's always traveling for her work, and I'm stuck here with mine. She'll be here tonight, though," he said, brightening. "I can't wait to see her."

Rey smiled. It had taken nine years and four proposals, but Poe had finally convinced the

former Spice Runner to marry him. Some joked that Zorii had only agreed so that he would stop asking, but Rey knew otherwise. She had sensed the woman's feelings for Poe the first day she met her and suspected that only Zorii's consideration for the importance of Poe's job had kept her from saying yes long ago.

"How are the others?" she asked. "Are they here?"

"C-3PO is waiting at the hotel. He wanted to come but I asked him to stay and interpret for our guests. BB-8 will be coming in with Zorii." His smile held a hint of regret. "He's her co-pilot now that I'm not flying anymore. Chewie should also be flying in sometime in the next few hours. He's been working on hunting down the remnants of the First Order's fleet, but we're giving him a reprieve for the occasion."

She nodded. "How are things going? Finn mentioned on his last visit that you've got them almost completely stamped out."

"It's only a matter of time now. Their fleet is almost totally destroyed—they only have a few small fry fighters left. It's taken ten years, but we're finally in the home stretch."

"That's wonderful."

He gave her a wry grin. "Yes, except that now that we have more resources free, we've been focusing more of our attention inward. That means organizing the Senate, rebuilding infrastructure, instituting the Trade Federation all over again…" He sighed deeply, running a hand through his already unruly brown hair. "I'm so out of my depth here, Rey. I'm no diplomat. The only thing I've ever been good for is shooting down planes."

She smiled, shaking her head. "You don't give yourself enough credit. I know that Leia would be proud of the leader you've become."

"I hope so." Then, searching her face, "And what about you, Rey? You look tired. Are you alright?"

She diverted her eyes from his concerned gaze. The truth was that she wasn't alright. Her nightmares were occurring nearly every night now, and she would often stay awake the entire night just to avoid hearing Palpatine's voice in her head. Still, she didn't want to tell Poe that.

"I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Is something wrong?" He glanced at Ben, who was busy watching the children as they explored a row of parked speeders. "Is it—?"

"No," she said quickly. "It's nothing to do with Ben. Please, Poe, can we not talk about this anymore? I'm alright, I promise, I—I just need time to work through some things."

He stared intently at her for a long moment. "Alright," he said at last, "but if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

She sent him a grateful smile. "I know. Thanks, Poe."

He clapped a reassuring hand on her shoulder, then glanced at his watch. "We should be getting back to the hotel. The ball starts in a couple of hours and we still have to get you all ready. I brought my speeder if you want a ride—there's plenty of room." He chuckled, gesturing to where Luke, Leia, and Han were admiring a flashy red speeder. "It looks like your kids have already found it."

She grinned. "You're going to be their favorite person after this, you know that?"

"Naturally," he smirked back. "I've got to establish my reputation as the cool uncle, after all."

Laughing, she made her way over to Ben and the children. "It's time to go, kids. Uncle Poe's going to give us a ride to our hotel."

"Ok." Luke reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the red speeder. "Where is it?"

"Right in front of you."

The priceless looks on her children's faces—especially Luke's—was enough to make her forget all about thrones and voices—for a time, at least.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, and as always, please leave a review to let me know what you think!