He'd finally found her, sitting up on a rock, looking out at the wide expanse of water. Everything about her said relaxed – from the barefeet to the loose pants and tunic. Even her hair was open to the gentle breeze, ever-so-slightly fiery curls brushing her bare shoulders, making the dark curves of the tattoos on her upper arms appear to dance.

As he got closer, though, he realized that view was just that – a view. The tension practically vibrated out toward him in the Force.

"Hey." He ran a hand down her back as he sat on the rock beside her. She gave him a nod, only turning a hair in his direction. He took it for what it was and turned to take in the view himself.

This was why they were here after all – the quiet. Get away form the academy, the bustle of trainees. The hecticness of the growing resistance.

Darkness she'd said. She felt darkness. And she wanted to get away and try to understand what it was.

To see if it was her.

It wasn't a particularly special place. Just out of the way. An inconsequential spot that few people knew of and even fewer came to. The general impression was unimpressive – mostly due to the the rumors of ghosts and demons. He'd heard the same stories most had – hangings, tortures, hallucinogenic clouds leading people in circles and over cliffs. He had been hesitant when she first brought it up, but she'd confided in him – it was an illusion. Just a convincing deterrence to keep it a convenient hideaway.

It was their favorite vacation spot.

"Do you think balance has been reached? In the sense of the prophecy... Do you think Anakin actually...brought it? Shrunk it down to an individual dilemma?"

The question pulled him from his revery and he turned back to her, fully intending on answering, before she continued... "True – on the grand scale, between his...actions at the temple and Order 66, the overall numbers became closer. But, if you consider everything that's happened since... Seems to still be rather...unbalanced towards the dark..."

His original answer faded. The temple at Coruscant had been practically destroyed and it had taken years of digging and sorting to get everything he had. The goal had always been to find more to train Jedi. But part of him wanted to find more about his father. What he had found was...well... He'd understood why Ben had gone with the "certain point of view" route.

Not many talked to him or Leia about their father. They didn't either. What happened happened. There was no changing it. It was just...

But to hear the casualness in Kira's voice now... The matter-of-fact way she was discussing the elimination of hundreds of men, women, children...

"I...umm... I think it's broader than that." He unconsciously matched her tone. "It isn't that there was more dark. It was more that the light wasn't as...noticeable. I look at it more as a tide." He motioned to the waves in front of them. "The Old Republic was bright, even through the Clone Wars. But the spark of dark that was Palpatine grew and flourished. The Republic faded and the Empire grew. But as it grew, the spark that was left of the Republic turned to become the Rebellion. It grew to replace the Empire, that spark building to become the First Order...

"It's just the ebb and flow of the universe. As balanced as it can be. Even if you were to use the old definition of good and evil – Jedi and Sith – you'd still find a bit of...haze. We as Jedi aren't the same as what once was. The old ways are gone, turned into the scraps and bits we know. In a sense, we aren't really Jedi. No more than the Knights of Ren – whoever they are – are Sith."

"So...it really is up to us...individually."

"Yes...in a sense. We all have to accept that we are made up of both light and dark. Choosing what we do with that, balancing it in our lives – that is a balance in the Force."

He turned back to her then to find her practically crumbling in front of him. The blasé exterior was replaced suddenly with a look of dread.

"Kira... What is it? Why this sudden theoretical discussion of-"

"I'm pregnant."

That threw him. As he silently processed the information, mouth gaping, he grew excited. But that excitement was buffered by the fear she was unconsciously clouding his mind with.

It was that lack of control that was really scaring him.

"Kira... Oh, Kira..." He turned himself completely on the rock, reaching over to her, trying to calm and comfort.

"I just... I thought maybe..."

I needed someone to blame. The thought came to him crystal clear. A plea in the dark.

He tried to gather a thought, but she again beat him to it. "I was raised in the dark. Infected with it practically from birth. But I wasn't born with it. What if... How could I not pass it to my own child?"

"No, no-"

"Or worse! What if I focus all my light, all the good I have, on her. To make sure that doesn't happen. And I can't love her? I turn back to that...that..."

"No." He made it as firm as he could, turning her to face him. A hand under her chin had her finally meeting his gaze. "It won't happen. I wouldn't let it. You're not alone anymore Kira. You're safe."

She collapsed into his arms. No tears. Just a slow release of tension. Not completely, but he could tell she was regaining control. The cloud of dread dissipated.

"We'll be okay," he added. "You'll see. Everything will work out."

They sat for a bit, the silence just as comforting as their closeness. He was hesitant to break it, but a thought occurred to him. "Hey...that's not why you wanted to come here...is it? The dark you were sensing?"

"No..." She seemed reluctant to move, but turned to face him nonetheless. "I thought it might have been that... I just wanted to get away and...be sure..."

"What is it?"

"I...don't know exactly... It feels like...a...haze at times. Others...it's like...eyes. Like someone watching..."

"Us?"

"Us. The academy. But...casually... There's no real focus... Just...curiosity. But..." She hesitated. "With Ben...there's more focus."

"Someone...is watching Ben?"

"I don't think it's just watching... He's asked me about your father. Said he wanted to know more about him. The prophecy. Everything that made Vader."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth. The good and the bad..."

He took it in. If someone was watching Ben,trying to pull him to the dark through the stories – legends – of Darth Vader...

"I know it's selfish...," she stared, but paused. He turned and saw that she had drifted back to staring out at the water. "And...I shouldn't focus on my self and my own worries... As much as I adore your sister and Han... I can't help but think – if someone is so interested in the son of a Force-sensitive military leader and a scruffy ex-smuggler just because he also happens to be the grandson of Anakin Skywalker-"

She paused, meeting his gaze again. Her voice came out a whisper, as if she were trying to hide the thought even from herself. "What would the child of a great Jedi Master and on of the Children of the Emperor be worth?"

It had been so long ago, that trip. That conversation. They'd come back and Luke had insisted on talking to Leia about it. She'd seemed to sense the same, but couldn't put any more to it than Kira had. He'd promised to look after Ben, make sure to protect him...

How did it go wrong...?

As he sat and watched Rey talking with the two gentlemen sitting with her, he considered everything that had passed. Trying again – with the extra hindsight of his newly recovered memories – to figure out how he could have changed...anything.

"You know Han offered her a job."

He looked up to find Leia holding out a cup of caf. "A job, huh? Was wondering who had convinced Chewie to let her fly the Falcon."

She sat down next to him on the bench, sipping her own drink and taking in the same view. "She's yours, isn't she?" She gave a grin as response to his slightly astonished look.

"When did you get smarter than me?"

"Oh...I've always been smarter than you." She gave him a playful nudge. "Han... Han had told Chewie that he felt like... He didn't know exactly. Just that he needed to look after her. Like...like she was his own child... He swore that no matter what happened – she wasn't going back to Jakku." She paused. "I felt the same when she first showed up."

They sat, watching the trio across the room. Happy, laughing. Almost completely carefree.

"She doesn't know does she?"

Luke nodded. "It's there for her to know. Part of it is Kira's block... But part of it is Rey's fear... Like she doesn't want to know. Safer to not know what you're missing."

Leia finished her drink, patting his knee before standing. She went to step away but turned back.

"You know, I understand why she did it. Sometimes, I wish I could..." She shook her head. "Still...I have to say... She's braver than I am."