Chapter 22

Rose and Rey were enjoying a quiet moment together, with their feet kicked up and Lina finally asleep. Rose was rubbing her belly slowly and smiling as she felt the baby kick. Without saying a word she grabbed Rey's hand and placed it on her belly. Her eyes sparkled as she felt the kicks under her cool hand.

"It's so amazing," she whispered, in awe of what was happening inside Rose's body. There was life forming and growing, right under hand. She reached out with her Force signature, gently and softly, to touch the essence of life growing in her friend's body.

"What's it like?" Rey asked with curiosity. "Being pregnant?" While she had been there for each step of the journey when they were expecting Lina, she didn't have the same level of personal interest as she did now.

"Honestly," Rose replied chuckling, "it's so weird. Things smell and taste different and most days I barely feel in control of my own body. Half the time I'm either too hot or too cold. Some days I feel amazing and full of energy and others I feel like the walking dead."

"That does sound rather weird," Rey laughed, trying to wrap her mind around what Rose was telling her. The pair got quiet as they felt the flutters of the baby under their hands.

"But mostly I feel powerful," Rose whispered, almost embarrassed by the admission.

"Powerful?" Rey replied, turning to look at her friend, seeing her blush slightly.

"Yeah," Rose admitted. "It's something I can't share with Finn because he will never really understand. I'm growing a whole new human inside of me. My body is creating life, giving it a safe home to grow in and then I'll birth my child into this world. Makes me feel like a superhero." She was giggling now as the words fell from her mouth. "I know it sounds so silly…"

"Not at all," Rey replied with a soft smile. "Honestly, I never really thought of it that way. The role that women play in the continuation of life. It's pretty darn impressive and magical actually."

They sat quietly with each other, Rose especially enjoying the lack of babbling and background noise that had become a constant in her life. Not that she didn't love Lina with every fibre of her being, but there were times she craved peaceful moments.

"Are you nervous about the birth?" Rey asked hesitantly. While she wasn't there physically, she had heard the stories from both Rose and Finn. The labour was long, but everything thankfully went smoothly. Finn gushed for weeks after the delivery, about how strong and amazing his wife was, while Rose just joked about never letting him touch her again. It made for amusing entertainment, watching her two friends with this exchange. Clearly her thoughts on touching her husband had changed as her gaze flicked to her swollen belly.

"Yes and no," Rose answered honestly. "I don't really remember much of the labour, which Maya said was pretty normal. The way she talks about birth is so different from Dr. Kalonia…" she trailed off.

"How so?" Rey replied, unable to help herself from asking question after question.

"It was very clinical with the doctor, which makes sense when you think about her training. But Maya talks about it as something sacred and primal that doesn't have to be scary or horribly painful. So I'm not nearly as scared, but also nervous that I might not be able to live up to that expectation," Rose answered. "If that makes sense."

Rey nodded as she looked down at Rose's belly, her hand placed gently on it. Her mind was spinning with thoughts and emotions as she tried to reconcile all of the information she had on babies and birth. For many women on Jakku, pregnancy was often treated like a death sentence. In such a hostile environment, where fighting for water and food was a daily struggle, trying to grow life seemed impossible and quite frankly dangerous at times. Those who had been through it only spoke about how horribly painful and excruciating it was. Hearing Rose talk about the experience had her wondering if the limited exposure she had on the hot desert planet did her a disservice.

"You're very inquisitive today," Rose remarked, looking at her friend with a twinkle in her eye. "Have you and Ben hit unpause on your baby talk?"

Rey couldn't help but blush in response as she averted her friend's gaze. Her reaction was telling as Rose's smile turned into a wide grin.

"What changed?" she asked.

"A few things actually," Rey admitted. She dove into the stories about Ben's conversation with his mother, helping to calm his fears about birthing monsters and being a horrible father. Then she explained about her implant and how it was literally clawing its way out of her body.

"The Force really doesn't mess around with you guys, eh?" her friend replied in response, acknowledging the gentle nudge from the universe.

"Not really," Rey laughed softly, then suddenly getting quiet and contemplative. "How did you know when you were ready to have children?"

"I don't think you're ever really ready," Rose admitted. "But let me ask you this. How do you feel about not using any birth control?"

"Excited, terrified, joyful, nervous, uncertain and so many other things," she laughed in honesty as she rolled her eyes in mock overwhelm.

"Sounds like you're ready to me," Rose laughed as she leaned over and wrapped her arms warmly around her friend.