Ben didn't much care for the smug look that Lor San Tekka gave him as they said their goodbyes. The Force Priest seemed to believe the Force itself was guiding Ben and Rey's steps. Ben himself had never been one to take "Let the Force be your guide" literally.

Maybe that was why he had washed out of the Jedi Academy.

"The Falcon is now yours," Unkar Plutt said as he pressed the key into Ben's hands.

Han scowled. "The Falcon is mine."

"Yes. Yes it is." Ben nodded at his father. The days when wanting to follow in his father's footsteps were long past. "I know what's important to you, Dad." And it's never been me or Mom. "You'll get the key to the Falcon back once Mom gets a chance to talk to you."

"Ben-" Han raised his hand in appeal, then lowered it. "Fine. Let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

Ben nodded his head again.

Rey took his hand and squeezed it. "Until your old man showed up, I never would have guessed that old freighter was the Falcon. The ship that did the Kessel Run in less than fifteen parsecs-"

"Twelve," Ben and Han corrected together.

They looked at each other. Father and son both smiled sheepishly.

"You remembered," Han said with a surprised smile.

"Are you kidding? That was my bedtime story." Ben stared at his father for a moment. "C'mon. Let's go home, Dad."

"Okay, kid," Han said. "Guess it's time."

Rey hugged Plutt. "I'm going to miss you, Daddy."

"I'll miss you too, little girl," Unkar tousled her hair. "Just call me when you get a chance. You know if you ever need me and the boys we'll be right there."

"I know." Rey hugged him one last time and picked up her staff.

They walked to Plutt's space port. Ben's New Republic Shuttle was parked beside the Falcon. "BB-9E, we're back."

The shuttle opened and a small droid rolled out of the ship. He was jet black and whistled a hello to Ben when he saw him.

"Why is your droid black?"

"He likes it. He says it makes it look him thinner." Ben shrugged. "Niner, I need you to help Chewie pilot the shuttle back to Hosnia Prime."

Chewbacca roared.

"I know that you don't need any help, Chewie," Ben said in a soothing tone of voice. "But Niner knows the shuttle better than you. You'll get there a lot faster if he helps you. I need you to let Mom know that Dad and I are going to be a little late."

Chewbacca looked at him- and then at Han who nodded. The Wookie roared again and made his way into the shuttle. Niner beeped and then followed him.

A moment later, the shuttle took off.

"You still know how to fly, kid?" Han asked as they made their way into the Falcon.

"I'm a Solo," Ben retorted.

"That you are." Han gave him a crooked grin as they walked into the ship. He glanced over at Rey. "You have anything you want to bring with you, little … I mean Rey?"

"I have what I need." Rey glanced out the hatch one final time before they closed it. Unkar Plutt stood with his bodyguards. He raised his hand and waved- as did his men.

Rey waved her staff in return and closed the hatch.

Ben glanced at her. "We can always come back for visits." He smiled at the girl. Truth be told, he was a tad jealous. She seemed to have the relationship with her adoptive father that he had always longed for with Han. Can't change the past. Han Solo is not one to let the dust of any world cling to his feet.

"I'll see Daddy and the boys soon enough," Rey said. "I just have to make good first. He wants me to ..." she shrugged her shoulders. "He wants me to have a good life- but that just means I gotta do something good with it." She looked at Ben. "I think … I think I'd like to help Jakku and the rest of the Outer Rim Worlds. Get some help from the New Republic to make things better here and on the other worlds in the Rim."

"That sounds like a good plan." Ben smiled at the girl. "I'm sure Mom would like to help you with that."

"And you?" Rey asked him.

"I'll do what I can." Ben smiled at her. "But I'm a lousy at politics. That's why I'm Mom's personal assistant."

"That what you do?"

"Yep. That's what I do."

"What does that mean?"

Ben pondered a delicate way to explain. "I take care of Mom's problems. Sometimes when you're a Senator, you need things done that you can't do yourself."

Rey cocked an eyebrow. "That sounds a lot what Daddy's boys do. Fix his problems. Though that tends to involve beating up people. Do you beat up people?"

"Not as a general rule. I stand and scowl occasionally. Sometimes I shout. Once in a while I have to break things. But the last time I beat up someone was when ..." Ben trailed off.

Han looked at him. "What happened, son?"

Ben looked at him. "You don't know? You don't know why I'm not married to Kay Connix?"

Han shook his head. "Leia mentioned you and Kay didn't work out the last time I spoke with her, but she never told me what happened."

"She cheated on me."

"I'm sorry, Ben."

"You would have known that if you had shown up for the wedding like you promised."

Han looked uncomfortable. "Something came up."

"It always does, Dad."

"I'm here now, Ben," Han said quietly.

"Only because you have to be. I don't really want to talk about this right now, Dad. Why don't you get the Falcon into space? I'll show Rey to her room."

"The Falcon's a little … messy right now, son. Your old room is probably the only one left that's fit for human habitation." Han chuckled. "It's just the way you left it before you went to the Academy."

"Oh joy. C'mon, Rey."

Rey followed him. "I know he's not been the galaxy's best dad, but he does seem to be trying."

"I guess. I've just been let down by him before." Ben led her across the ship, glancing here and there as he did so. "Force! It looks worse than it did the time that Chewie got a case of the Mange. There was Wookie hair all over the place."

"So you have some good memories of your old man," Rey laid a hand on Ben's shoulder. She had to stretch to do so. Force! He's big. Wonder if all of him is? Kriff … why am I thinking about that? This isn't a real marriage. I can't let myself start thinking about it like that. Ben's a good kisser, but he doesn't care about me at all …

"Yeah, I guess so." Ben shrugged. "There was a time when I thought I had the coolest Dad ever."

"What happened?"

"I grew up. He didn't." He was silent till he got to his old room. He opened the hatch and looked inside. "Oh, Force. He wasn't kidding when he said it was just the way I left it."

"You're blushing. Oh, this I gotta see." Rey pushed her past him. "Oh … wow."

The room wasn't large. There was a bunk bed and a writing desk. One of Ben's old calligraphy sets was still on the desk. There were posters on the wall- faded and torn posters now, but actual paper posters.

There were pictures of Ben's parents when they were young, and his uncle Luke. Brightly colored posters showing a young Luke with a light saber. A radiant young Leia in her royal garments. A cocky Han Solo holding a blaster in one hand, his arm around Leia in the other … with Chewbacca standing in the background.

"Rebellion posters," Ben explained. "They made my folks and Uncle Luke the symbols of the Rebellion. Growing up, I heard all the stories- about Dad and Uncle Luke and Chewie helping rescue Mom … Mom and Luke going to the palace of Jabba the Hut to save Dad … the battle for Endor …" Ben reached out and touched one of the posters. "And I wanted to be just like them. A pilot like Dad. A Jedi like Uncle Luke. A Senator like Mom ..." Ben reached out and touched the posters, tracing his family's faces with his fingers.

"What happened?"

Ben sighed. "I found out that I wasn't cut out to be a hero." His eyes flickered towards another poster. This one was a generation older, hidden in the corner. It was of two Jedi Knights.

One was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The other … the other was Anakin Skywalker.

Ben's eyes found Anakin's on the poster. "It just wasn't in my blood."

Author's Note: Bit more straight plot this time around. Going to cheat a bit and say that Han has reasons for being gone so much that Ben isn't aware of. Yet.