Ben looked around to see where the voice was coming from.
"Daddy, talk to me!" the little girl insisted. "Can you hear me?" Her voice was pure and innocent.
"Yes, I can hear you," Ben finally said. "But I can't see you."
"That's because I'm growing inside of Mommy. I am happy I get to hear my daddy speak to me."
"I am too, sweetheart." Ben was amazed that Padme was expecting and that he was communicating with his unborn daughter.
"Daddy, please forgive Mommy for hiding her secrets. She feels really bad."
"I do forgive her, but I don't know if she can forgive me."
"She will, Daddy. She loves you. Tell Mommy about me. She will be happy. Are you happy, Daddy?" The little girl suddenly got quiet.
Ben smiled and replied,
"Of course, I am happy that I am going to be your daddy. A little surprised, but definitely happy."
"Yay! I'm happy you're happy, Daddy. I don't like seeing you or Mommy sad. Mommy is very sad, because Uncle Luke passed away."
"Yes, along with two good friends of hers. But don't concern yourself about that, Leia."
"You know my name?"
"Yes. Caleb said that is your name. Unless you turn out to be a boy..."
"That's not funny, Daddy! I am a girl!" Hearing Leia get upset about that make Ben chuckle.
"Yes, I can hear that, Leia."
"Do you want to come see me?"
"Can I?"
"Yes, Daddy. Just close your eyes. You will see me as a little girl, not as a baby, since babies can't talk."
Ben closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was back in the meadow. He headed in the direction of the tree, and there she was. Leia was the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen. Her eyes were blue like Padme's, and her hair was curly and black like Ben's.
"Daddy!" Leia shouted when she saw Ben approach her. He got on his knees so that he would not tower over her. She ran straight into his arms, and he gave her a big hug.
"My brave, beautiful Leia," Ben whispered.
"I don't want to let you go, Daddy. But I know you have to get back to Mommy and Caleb. Come visit me soon."
"How about the next time I come, I bring Mommy with me?"
"Can you, please?"
"I will do my best to." Ben placed a soft kiss on Leia's forehead.
"I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, Leia," Ben said to her before he opened his eyes. He was back in the medical ward.
"I have a daughter!" he gasped to himself.
It took him a couple of minutes to calm himself down. Ben had to honor his promise to Leia, to bring Padme with him to visit. Even if Padme did not want to get back together with him. he vowed to be very involved in his little girl's life.
Ben remembered Caleb's midichlorian test. He felt this test would be less of a shock. Obviously, the boy was Force sensitive.
But when he saw the test results, Ben had to sit down. He blinked, thinking it was a mistake the number that was on the paper. But every time he looked at the paper, Ben saw the same number, 27,000.
"There has to be a mistake!" he muttered to himself. The count was higher than any force user he knew, including himself and Luke.
Ben used a different sample of Caleb's blood, and ran the test again. When the results were done, the same number of 27,000 appeared on the paper. He went to the screen and typed in "Highest midichlorian counts in history". He saw the counts of his grandfather Obi Wan, Master Yoda, Luke and other former Jedi masters, as well as former Sith Lords. Then he saw the same number of 27,000 next to one other person's name.
"Oh Maker!" Ben marveled in realization. "He has the same midichlorian count as Anikin Skywalker! He was a child conceived by the Force!"
Now he understood why he rescued Caleb from Hux's troops nearly two years ago. If the boy had ended up captured by the Order, who knows what the general would have done to him? Would Caleb even be alive today, if that happened?
Ben had a lot to think about and process. It looked like a new family was forming: him, Padme, Caleb and baby Leia. But he needed to know if Padme wanted to be a part of this family. He placed the tests in a manila envelope, put his helmet on, and headed back to his bedroom.
Ben placed a chair by the end of his bed, so that when Padme woke up, the first thing she would see was his masked face.
Padme finally stirred from unconsciousness. She had the most wonderful dream! It was of her and Ben getting married. She sighed and sat up in the bed, and glanced over in Ben's direction. She was startled to see him, still wearing his Kylo Ren outfit.
"The girl I know so much about," he uttered smoothly.
"Ben, please remove your mask," Padme asked him.
"Why? Does the mask scare you? Or does the man behind the mask scare you?"
"I'm not scared..." Padme denied unsuccessfully.
"I will remove my mask if you tell me the truth about your family." Her face went pale, but Padme had no choice. There was no way she could escape the ship.
"Do you agree to tell me the truth, about whatever I ask you?" Ben emphasized. Padme nodded her head.
"Padme, did you kill my father?' Ben asked. She bit her lip, and then nodded her head. Tears formed in her eyes. Ben felt Padme's fear, but he was not done with her yet.
She tried to read Ben's mind, but couldn't. Padme went to get off the bed, but couldn't. Ben had frozen her in place!
"No moving until I tell you it's okay to," Ben told her, smirking behind his mask. He stood from the chair and sat next to Padme in the bed. She quivered in fear.
"My father attacked you, didn't he?" Ben continued, bringing his gloved hand to her cheek. She trembled when he touched her.
"He did. I didn't want to kill him, Ben. But he was hurting Vader!" Padme explained, knowing that Ben would not understand. She knew he hated Vader.
Ben's other hand came around Padme's waist. He was enjoying seeing her squirm nervously.
"And who is Vader to you, Padme? Was he your Emperor, your captor, or something else?"
She took a deep breath and confessed,
"He was both, but most important to me, he was my grandfather." After she said this, Ben pulled her close to him. She gasped at this action.
"What should I do with you?" Ben asked, knowing exactly what he wanted to do with her.
"Are you going to take my life?" Padme moaned nervously. Ben tilted his head to the side.
"You still think I want to kill you?" he uttered in surprised. As promised, he removed the helmet. Padme gazed into his brown eyes. Gone was the fury she saw when he was stabbing Hux.
"Padme, I do not want to take your life," Ben promised, as both of his arms wrapped around her. He looked into her eyes. Their breathing became synchronized, as their Force Bond was rekindled.
"Then what do you want to do?" Padme asked, as she laid her hand on Ben's cheek. She missed him terribly, and she had no intention of ever letting him go.
"I want to take you to bed!" Ben cried out, before he gave Padme a passionate kiss.
