Part XXXVI

When they reached the village, Arlan ushered Rey into one of the huts and gasped when her Empress shed the Alderaan styled cape. "Your dress," her voice was almost pained to see such a pretty dress be pulled to ruin.

Rey looked down and blushed, "Wasn't this the point of it?"

Arlan giggled, "That's one way to wreck a dress," she eyed the cut and stained lace with suspicion and then helped Rey out of the dress and into her more normal state of dress of leggings and a long tunic. "A gift," the guard said holding out a box. "From all of us."

"You guys didn't have to."

"We love you, Rey," Arlan hoped she wasn't over stepping her bounds when she continued, "We are friends…family, and we are so happy that Ren has you."

Rey could only smile at the lovely sentiment of her friend's words and opened the medium-sized package. Inside was folds of cream colored wool. Pulling the garment from the box, Rey let it unravel and enjoys the softness between her fingers. She wrapped the poncho cape around her shoulders, before threading her arms through the denoted sleeves and loved how it came to a point behind her knees and draped just below her hips in the front. The woven wool was warm and gave her a sense of feeling…safe.

"Thank you, Arlan. Not only for the gift but for being my friend…apart of our little family."

The girls hugged before Tyris stuck his head into the hut, "Dinner is ready."

When they walked out into the little courtyard between the huts, a lovely fire was roaring and Rey looked at the people seated around it. Her husband, her guards, friends, the Knights, all people that would die for her and ones that she would fight til her end for in return. Feeling the overall joy and acceptance from the small group, Rey thought for the first time in her entire life, she felt whole.

She snuggled up next to her husband and they shared a simple meal around the fire. Rey would not have hoped for more, knowing that he could buy out the largest ball room, take over the palace in Theed, cater in the best chef in the galaxy, but the hardy stew that Tyris made over the open fire was just what her soul needed.

They spent their first night as a married couple in the hut that she had occupied more than a year ago. A pallet of blankets had been brought in so that they didn't have to try to sleep on the narrow stone bench. The small stools still sat on either side of the small fire and Rey remembered sitting on one of them and reaching out to Kylo Ren from across the galaxy.

She also mused that the caretakers did an amazing job at reconstructing the hut that Luke had blown apart when he discovers Rey's connection to his nephew. Even though the Force had shown her that she was fated to have a future with Ben, if someone had told her that she would be here almost five hundred days later, as his wife, his Empress…she would tell them they were full of bantha shit.

But here she was, standing across the same fire from him, the same nervous but wonder-filled expression on their faces, but so much had changed and she knew that their lives would never be dull, never lack people that wished to see them fail or people who would wish to hurt them, but if they continued to love each other, stand with each other, Rey knew that they could handle anything the galaxy threw at them.

So as warm light bounced around the hut, they started to undress and even though they had consummated their marriage hours prior in a fit of passion, and were no strangers to each other's bodies, there was something overly intimate about this moment.

Both silent and with dilated eyes watching each move of the other, as tan and cream clothes tangled with blacks and grays on the stone bench top. In a gesture that causes him the slightest anxiety every time, Ben holds his hand out for her and he doesn't breathe until he felt her touch.

Gathering her in his arms, they make unhurried love to each other in the fire light of the small hut on Ahch-To. They peak with quiet moans and whimpers, speaking promises and affirmations against the other's lips as their air, hearts, minds, and souls mingle, mix, and become one.

They didn't dare waste any time on a proper honeymoon, but Ben still vowed to take her anywhere she wanted to go after the treaty was signed and she would be forever at his side. What time they did allow for basking in their marriage was only the half a day that it took to get back to Coruscant and then another day shut away in their apartment.

Ben being a proper gentleman, carried Rey over the threshold of not only the MK3 shuttle but also their home. They spent the next twenty-four hours with strict instructions to not be disturbed as they christened almost every surface in the apartment.

Rey enjoyed slowing riding him in the chair on the terrace and him taking her from behind against the kitchen counter when she was trying to make caf. Ben was partial to spreading her wide and devouring her cunt on his desk again and also when he had woken up to his bride's mischievous gaze as her head bobbed in his lap.

But like always, their time together was never long enough and Rey wept as Ben walked her out onto the tarmac. "Don't cry sweetheart," he said into the hood of her cloak. "This is not a good-bye, this is an until next time."

Rey nodded but her tears would not cease. "Six weeks," she swore to him. "Give me six weeks to get Rose and Finn to safety, someplace where they can raise their child. Forty-two days to make peace a reality and then…" she swallowed the lump in her throat, "it will be me and you for eternity."

"In the between and beyond," he confirms, pressing his forehead to hers before his lips moved slowly against hers.

As her shuttle lifted off and approached the diplomatic porthole out into free space, her heart ached, knowing that she was leaving a piece of herself with Ben, but she also felt a part of him with her now. When she entered the hyperspace lane, Rey clutched her left hand over her heart, feeling his signature in the stone of her engagement ring, but also there was something deeper, more rooted in her that held a pulse that was unmistakably Ben.

Approaching Dantooine, Rey sent the comm to notify the base that she would be landing soon, but more importantly, she placed a lingering kiss to her wedding set before slipping them off her finger and placing them safely in her breast band.

The base was quiet and Rey unloads her shuttle with the help of a few other hangar hands. She said a simple greeting to Poe with a promise to come to him the next day so that they continue their plans for peace.

She goes to her quarters, setting her traveling satchel on her bed and moved to her dresser. In the top drawer, under heaps of her underthings, Rey pulled out her secret box of Ben and retrieved the rings from her bust, kissing them once more, rubbing the kyber against her cheek as if she could feel her husband's caress through his power held within the crystal.

A quick shower was in order, she was sore between her legs from the precise and deliberate attentions of her husband these past days. Her body shivered under the steaming water and she ran her hand across the span of her hips and then up her breastbone to cup her throat and yearned for Ben's touch.

On tired feet she walked a few corridors over, rapping her knuckles on a steel door before entering. Rose was in bed, apparently morning sickness had set in and was making the expecting mother very unpleasant to be around. Rey flopped down in the bed next to her friend and sighed, wishing that she could gush about what an amazing few days she'd had.

But she couldn't utter a word, so instead, she let Rose prattle on about all the strange and admittedly horrifying changes that her body would go through with this pregnancy.

"I'm going to get you out," Rey whispered between them. "I'm going to make sure you and your family are safe."

"I know you will, Rey," and she rubbed at her just barely swollen stomach. Rose was just over two standard months along and she could already feel the subtle changes her body was undergoing.

Rey ventured out to get them lunch, soup and crackers for Rose and a protein brick that made Rey miss Tyris dearly. She only left again when Finn returned from his duties later that evening and he took up residence next to his wife.

Lingering in the door way for just a moment, Rey yearned for this, to be with child and have Ben come home to her, kiss her forehead, stroke her hair, fuss over how much she is eating and making sure she is drinking enough fluids.

"Six weeks," she breathed to herself as she headed back to her room.

The next day she was back to her duties in the hangar, keeping the borderline antique crafts going would normally be a job for a whole fleet of mechanics, but she was happiest when she was busy and she almost hated to admit it, but when her hands were coated engine grease, her heart hurt a little less for her husband.

In the evenings she took her dinner in Poe's quarters as they poured over archives of the laws of the Empire, along with the Old and New Republics. Rey made the point to insist that they also give credit to the newer laws as well, knowing that Ben's rule was benevolent and just.

They made lists and dogeared pages wrote down what they were and were not willing to compromise on. Rey knew exactly which way to lead Poe, having discussed many of the issues with Ben over their courtship. Finally, at the end of two weeks, Rey and Poe felt that had an alliance document that they both felt that not only Resistance leadership would agree to, but also Emperor Ren.

Three days later they presented it to leadership, tweaked a few items, and they were confident that the treaty was solid enough to present to the New Order.

"So how do we arrange a meeting?" Kaydel asked.

"Leave that to me," Rey smirked to a room of confused faces.

They gathered in the comm room, Rey and Poe sitting in front of a microphone, there would not be a holo video for this communication, the leadership thought it too dangerous to show their surrounding. Rey had covered a chuckle with a cough but agreed.

"How did you get this comm code anyways?" Poe asked as Rey started to type into the system.

"I do have a life outside of this base…" she inferred.

Poe sat back in his chair with amusement, "Do you now? I wouldn't take you for someone to shack up with someone from the First Order…"

"He's not First Order," she insisted and it wasn't a lie, Ben had shed Snoke's war machine at the same time as denying the title of Supreme Leader. "Like the pilot, you shot…" she gave him a pointed glance, "he's just a regular guy trying to survive."

"And he knows the comm channel to the Emperor's secretary?"

Rey shrugged, "I may have made the suggestion that he attempts to woo her with flowers and chocolates so that he could sneak a peek at the comm numbers."

Poe let out a full belly laugh, "You and Rose have been watching that dreadful holo-drama again haven't you? I told you before that show will rot your brain."

"Worked, didn't it?" She said with another smirk and finished typing in the sequence. "Ready?" She asked with one more reassuring look at the General.

"As I'll ever be."

The comm channel buzzed for a few heart-stopping moments before a woman's voice connected. "Emperor Ren's office, how may I direct your call?"

With a look of shock that this harebrained scheme actually worked, Poe had to take a few seconds to collect himself, stuttering some before he found his voice, "This is Poe Dameron of the Resistance…" He was already sweating and he cut his gaze to Rey who smiled and nodded with encouragement. "I need to be connected to Kylo Ren at once."

Rey gave him a thumbs up, almost feeling sorry for the anxiety she was putting her friend though. He didn't need to know that the light voice on the other end of the comm was really Arlan, most likely sitting within feet of Ben in one of the meeting rooms in their complex.

"One moment please."

"I'll hold," Poe replied, thinking back to when he had hailed the Finalizer asking for Hugs.

Imagining the glance that her husband and his guard were exchanging while sliding the comm unit across the table almost had Rey wishing that the bond would open so she could be witness to both sides.

But the Force was not in a joking mood this day and she sat with the main focus of helping her General make peace with her Emperor.

After an appropriate amount of time, the comm clicked again and Rey wanted to melt at the sound of his voice, unaltered and almost raspy like when he first wakes from sleep. She tried to do the mental math to calculate what time it was on the Capital World, but she had more important things to do, like poke Poe to get him to talk.

Ben beat him to it, "Captain Dameron…so we meet again, so to speak…"

"It's General now," Poe sat up straighter, and Rey thought she saw him try to conceal a shiver.

"Ah yes, the death of my mother was quite unforeseen."

Each group was quiet for a long moment, perhaps all of them thinking about the woman in question and the legacy that she left behind. Maybe even Ben was thinking of the warning that he had still not disclosed to Rey yet.

There was a bored sigh through the speakers, "What can I do for you, General Dameron?"

Rey again gave an encouraging nod and Poe sucked in a deep breath, "We would like to extend an offer for a treaty, a peaceful end to the war between our people."

"We?" Ren asked and Rey wanted to slap him through the Force.

Thinking it was no harm in outing his coconspirator, Poe reached out and gripped her hand reassuringly, knowing that she and Kylo had not parted on good terms the last time they met and a bounty still remained on her head. "Rey is here with me."

There was a beat, "Hello Rey," Ben almost purred.

She wanted to melt into the floor. Their bonds had gone back to being short and with the pending treaty, most of their time was spent talking about this very moment and what was to come next. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if it would be appropriate to come back in here later and sex comm him.

But she retained her wits when Poe nudged her with his elbow. "Hello Kylo," she said with some sneer in her voice. She needed to sell that she still held some disdain for him.

Ben knew why she needed to call him Kylo, but for some reason the name still made his heart clinch. "You speak of treaties and peace, but perhaps surrender would be a better term for what you are proposing."

He was playing his part beautifully and Rey suspected that he was perhaps having a little fun with the cocky bravado.

"It is not a surrender," Poe was firm. "It is an accord between two opposing forces that, Maker knows how, wants the same peace and prosperity for the galaxy."

The line was silent as if Ren was thinking over the proposal. "And what is in it for me, my people, my Empire?"

"Meet with us and you will see," Poe was trying to dangle the carrot just as Rey had instructed him to.

"Why should I trust you, General Dameron? You have already made one attempt on my life. What's to say this is not just another one of your cowardly tricks to lure me into a trap?"

"Trust me then," Rey's voice called out.

There was a scoff, "Have you forgotten our history, little Jedi?"

Rey was almost embarrassed to admit that this little game was churning a heat deep in her core and she filed arrogant Kylo Ren and doe-eyed Jedi Rey away for a later encounter of the carnal nature. "I have not forgotten you, Ben."

It was to be the killing blow, the words that would make him remember their connection and trip him up long enough for him to comply. Poe threw his hands up at the silence on the other end of the line, already celebrating in their victory. Ben was smiling like an idiot to hear his name, the name that only she called him to finally fall from her perfect lips.

The comm clicked again, "Fine," Ren spoke tightly. "Three days time, over the world of Akuria. If there is any plotting, if your intentions are anything but noble I will know, for I have been in both of your minds and will pick out a scheme before you could fire off your first cannon."

This time Rey did see Poe shutter and she wondered how badly Kylo had ripped into his mind, but then she remembered Snoke and she experienced her own chill, ever thankful for Ben ending that horrible creature's life.

"Three days," Poe confirmed.

Ren cut off the transmission after that and he breathed out a sigh as he sat back in his chair. "Do you think it went well, Emperor? That they will honor the treaty" Arlan asked as she looked across the table at Alister and Cale.

"Our Empress is at the helm and through the Force, she will not fail us."

Poe trotted into the hangar the next day, "Must you go?"

Rey was packing the rest of a day bag into the shuttle. "Rose had received no prenatal care apart from simple blood tests since discovered she is pregnant."

"But the timing…"

"Is perfect," Rey reassured. "We will be gone for a few hours, half a day tops. We are only going to Orinda where she can see a proper doctor."

The General could not deny his best friend's wife medical care in her delicate position and the need was made even more apparent when he saw Rose walk into the hanger, looking pale and drawn as if the nausea and fatigue that Finn talked about was sure to do her in at any moment.

So ever the gentleman, he moved towards Rose, taking her elbow and helping her board the shuttle. "Make sure to comm if there are any issues. I'm sure Finn will be beside himself until he knows both of you are safe."

Rey nodded and gripped Poe's shoulder with a friendly squeeze before boarding herself and closing the hull door. She sat next to Rose in the cockpit and pulled out a small container of cut melon. The cool, pink, water-filled fruit seemed to be the only food item that was able to settle her stomach.

Their flight was uneventful and Rose was able to doze off with the gentle hum of the hyperdrives. She brought the shuttle down in the same port on Orinda that she had landed in when meeting Ben before their trip to Kuat.

The same port master was there to collect her toll and he offered her just the slightest bow of respect, acknowledgment in his eyes. His head turned and when Rey followed his gaze, she saw Davin, in plain clothes, but it was surely her friend and guard checking the landing gear of a shuttle next to hers.

What was even more shocking but comforting was when she spotted Arlan trot down the ramp of the shuttle. They gave each other a warm smile and Rey reached out with the Force to see if she could feel Ben. But his signature was too far off for him to be planet side and her heart sank in her chest just a beat.

She understand though, in two days time they were to meet to start the talks of peace and just as she suspected Poe was doing, Ben was discussing terms with his counselors, going over laws, and…she closed her eyes and reached out, feeling that he was meditating in the Force to find guidance and strength and Rey couldn't help but sigh and smile with her love of him.

When Rey was walking back to shuttle to collect Rose, Arlan approached, "I'm sorry Miss, but do you know anything about hydraulics?"

Rose who was standing at the top of the ship's ramp snorted, "You've come to the right place lady."

Arlan smiled with false relief, "My husband is helpless with these types of things and the lot mechanic looks like a crook." She shot a cutting glance across the tarmac and Rey's eyes widened as she recognized Jix in coveralls and streaked in grease.

"He does look shifty," Rey agreed with a slight upturn of her lips.

"Oh shoot," Rose says looking at the chromo in the ship. "My appointment is in ten minutes."

Rey bit her lip, knowing that Arlan would not have engaged with her unless it was important, but she also had a responsibility to Rose. Seeing her unease, Arlan quickly offered, "I can walk with you if you are worried about safety."

Looking between her friends from the two sides of her life, Rey felt torn, knowing that she had always wanted this, their two groups to intermingle, become close, but she wondered if this was the right time.

Rose spoke up, "That won't be necessary," and patted the blaster strapped to her thigh before she swayed on her tired and underfed muscles.

Arlan stepped forward and just like Poe had done, gripped the young woman's elbow, "I insist."

With a smile and a nod, Rey watched Arlan and Rose start off across the tarmac and towards the small town. Turning back around she was met with Davin's smiling face, "Empress," he addressed with a slight bow.

She cocked her hip, "Are you really needing help with the ship or are you on the Emperor's business?"

"I could pull one of the hydraulic hoses if it would make you feel better about us being here."

Now Rey just laughed, "No Davin, there is no need for that. What is it my husband would like me to know?"

"Not know, Empress…have." Davin motioned for her to follow him into the shuttle.

Sitting on top of a crate in the middle of the main hold saw at the flat black box and Rey thought back to Padmé's jewels that she had worn on Naboo. It would be impractical for her to have such a piece when she was going back to the Resistance, even though she suspected that there were two worlds of crown jewels waiting for her back on Coruscant.

Giving Davin an incredulous look, he just smiled and she opened the case.

What lay inside was not at all what Rey was expecting and she ran her fingers along the delicate chain.

The simple necklace was made of a rosy gold with links so tiny that she couldn't fathom how it was made but she was almost certain that Ben's metalsmith Malkolm had a hand in its craftsmanship. The chain was longer so that it would hang between her breasts and at the apex was a squared rod of the same gold, perhaps only an inch in length.

Lifting the necklace from the case, Rey watched the bar dangle from the chain before noticing that not all of the sides were smooth. Taking the gold pendent into her palm she almost had to squint to see the engraving.

On two side of the pendant were carved the same coordinates that she had put on Ben's chronometer, -9774.08 , -5568.55. But on the other side, in perfect script, it said, 'The Star to guide you Home'.

"He thought that perhaps you could wear your rings around it until the treaty is signed," Davin offered.

Many nights since she begrudgingly left her husband back on the city world, Rey had worn her wedding band to sleep, needing to feel close to Ben through the kyber, but also to know that what they had was real, that he truly loved her, wed her, and crowned her.

Each morning though, when she removed her rings, it felt as if she was breaking a promise, but she also knew that she must and that Ben understood. But now he had given her a way to always keep the pieces of him close. Rey brought the gold bar up to her lips and kissed it before turning to Davin, "That was very thoughtful of him," and she held the necklace out to the guard before turning and pulling her hair away from her neck.

Carful not to linger on her skin, Davin fastened the clasp at the base of her neck and moved back around to her front, watching her admiring it once more before tucking it under her tunic. "Thank you," Rey offered with a kind smile.

She had turned to the hull door, making to leaving, knowing that she wanted to be with Rose during the appointment since Finn was unable to accompany his wife.

"Empress," Davin called out as she stepped onto the ramp.

Turning back, Rey saw that he was holding out a folded piece of parchment and her body seemed to heat with longing. It had been a while since Ben had written her a note and secretly she loved the sometimes old fashion tendencies of her husband.

"He said to not open it until tomorrow."

Rey nodded and tucked the note into her breast band for safekeeping before she thanked him again.

"Always an honor Empress," Davin smiled and offered another small bow before he watched her trot across the tarmac in the direction Arlan and the girl he now knew as Rose had ventured.

Rey moved at a fast-paced walk the four blocks to the medical center and quickly found the signs leading her to the obstetrics clinic. A part of her glowed with pride, ever since she had asked Ben about making medical care for pregnant woman and children more accessible, little clinics like these have been popping up all across the outer rims and regions.

Arlan was sitting in the waiting room when Rey walked in, "They called her back a few minutes ago."

Hugging her friend, Rey whispered a word of thanks. It was still incredible to her that in less than a year and a half since a white and orange BB unit droid rolled into her life, she was about to bring peace to the galaxy, she was married, an Empress, and had two groups of people who were so dear to her. She couldn't remember the last time she thought about her parents and the family that she would never know, because the one that she had now, the one she was about to bring together, was perfect beyond her wildest dreams.

When they parted, Arlan smiled, "I like her. She has spunk."

Rey laughed, "I think it is because she has to make up for being so tiny."

They giggled before Rey felt a pull towards the exam rooms beyond a closed door, "Tell Ben thank you and that I love him."

Arlan shifted feeling slightly uncomfortable having to say such personal words to her Emperor, but she would never deny her Empress, "I will relay your sentiments."

When the woman with pale eyes left the clinic, Rey moved to the reception window, asking about Rose and was escorted to exam room three.

Rose was only dressed in a medical gown and was sat atop an exam table and her face broke into an expression of relief when Rey walked in. "You get the ship fixed?"

"Yeah," Rey lied and pressed the gold bar necklace into her breastbone.

"I liked the lady, Ala she said her name was."

Rey only nodded and looked around at some of the informational posters that were hung around the room. The development chart seemed to keep her attention and she looked at how week by week, the baby was formed.

"The holonet says the baby should be the size of a fig by now," Rose mused.

Thinking that it was odd for the holonet to compare a developing baby to a food item, but Rey was pulled from her musings when there was a knock at the door and a nurse and doctor walked in.

The exam was…interesting and Rey paled when the male doctor asked Rose to move her hips down and put her feet up. She laughed when Rose made the comment, "Might as well get used to everyone seeing me down there."

Rey thought about how her jealous and possessive husband would balk at the thought of another male being between her legs, even if it was a doctor to bring their children into the world and she made a mental note to herself to find a female doctor as soon as she was settled on Coruscant.

It wasn't that she wanted to start a family right away, they had plans to tour their galaxy, to mend worlds and liberate people. They still had so much to learn about the balance in the Force and Rey was a little embarrassed to say that she just wanted some time, just the two of them, to enjoy their new life together.

The exam was over before Rey could get out of her own head, and the nurse was handing Rose a small black and white print out.

"That's our baby?" Rose said with tears in her eyes.

"Congratulations," the nurse offered before exiting the room to allow Rose to dress.

While Rose slid back on her leggings and warp shirt, she handed the picture to her friend and Rey studied the image. She could see a little head, arms, and legs, even a shadow of a small nose and her heart fluttered.

Here it was, the evidence of why she had to live in two different worlds over the last year. It wasn't just those already existing within her galaxy, it was a new life, it was the innocent, the unborn that also needed her. They would be the first generation to not grow up around war, they would be a generation of dreamer because they would never have to worry about the next threat to fall from the sky.

Rey and Rose walked back to the shuttle as if a bubble of sunshine and hope surrounded them. Rey felt the heat of the necklace and the roughness of the parchment against her skin and she couldn't wait until she would see Ben again when they would finally make the biggest leap towards peace and set the next stepping stone on the path of their future together.

AN: With all of your loving support, this chapter just poured out of me. Thank you for being so amazing and accepting of where I am taking this story.

Keep the comments coming, they are like crack and truly give me the confidence to get this story where it needs to go.