Chapter 3:
"Kylo Ren" she whispered. There she finally said his name. "Kylo Ren is the father".
Finn's face changes from hurt, to confusion, then to anger. "Kylo Ren? Since when have you been sleeping with Kylo fucking Ren!" He's angry now and Rey doesn't know what to say.
She thinks back to the night they shared together through their bond. She thought she was seeing a different side of him, the softer more human side. She's crying still but the thought that she could change him after one night in bed is laughable.
Poe interrupts their standoff with a look of pity, "Finn maybe we should give her some space". Poe is always trying to be the rational one and maybe its his age.
"No", Finn asserts, "No, I'm sorry but we need to talk about this". He's furious now and she can't find the words to argue.
"Your boyfriend, just killed everyone we've ever known! Your friends Rey, he killed your friends," he sneers.
"He's not my boyfriend," she corrects meekly.
Finn laughs out loud and starts pacing rubbing his hands over his eyes trying to make sense of this situation.
"He killed his mother in that raid Rey, who is sick and twisted enough to kill their own Mother?" His voice softens a little and he reaches out to her. She accepts his hand and allows herself to be pulled into a hug.
"I'm trying to understand this," he continues brushing her hair out of her eyes with his fingers. She looks up at him her face full of regret. "How far along are you?"
"Six weeks," she whispers
"The attack on the Resistance was six weeks ago"
She closes her eyes and musters up the courage to face what she already knows. "I know"
"I know you guys have that weird force bond thing and I'm not going to pretend I understand how it works, but did you tell him where we were?" He asks gently
She pulls away from Finn's hug and looks him in the eyes. She has to be honest. Finn, Poe and Chewie are the only friends she has left and she has to be honest with them, or she'll lose them too.
"I did," she atones, "He tricked me into telling him, but it's my fault. I know who he is and I know what he's done". Finn's face falls but at least he's not angry anymore. "I wasn't thinking, it slipped out of my mouth after we, after we—you know". She won't say it. Clearly this baby is evidence enough of what they had done.
"Oh Rey," Finn brings his hand up to cup her face catching her tears. "It's not your fault. He preyed on your loneliness, he's a Sith, evil and conniving. I don't blame you".
She smiles weakly at him, "Thanks Finn, do you forgive me?"
He smiles ruefully back at her, "I could never stay mad at you. You're my best friend. I don't understand what you could even see in him, especially after he sliced me up with his sword and left me for dead, but I forgive you".
It feels like a weight off her chest and she is in awe of just how fierce her friendship is with these guys.
"How do you know you're six weeks?" Finn asks.
"I can feel it through the force". She remembers that first time she experienced morning sickness. She knew then it wasn't just food poisoning she could feel the imprint of the fetus growing inside her.
Initially, she hated it, she wanted it out of her body. This thing is part Kylo Ren and that made her sick to her stomach. Another Skywalker is not what the galaxy needs. They are obsessed with the Force, they think they own the Force. Every war in this last century has been caused by the Skywalker clan and their obsession with controlling the Force and bringing peace to the Galaxy in their own twisted delusional way.
Rey has lived a simple life focused on surviving each day up until she met the Skywalkers. Learning how to scavenge wrecks from the battle of Jakku in order to eat for the day was her only cross to bear. The Skywalkers see themselves as chosen ones, placed in the galaxy to balance the force. Well she'll be damned if she lets this baby have anything to do with the Skywalkers and their stupid Force. She wants a simple life for her and this child, she won't be telling him. She is going to do everything in her power to keep this child from Kylo Ren. Her baby will not become dark like Kylo.
She wipes the tears away and pulls herself together. She needs a plan. She has more than just herself to worry about and this baby will be counting on her.
"He can't find out about this baby," she says with a clear head.
"Hell no!" Finn agrees.
"We need to think of a plan. I've been able to shut down our bond for 6 weeks. So, he knows nothing at this point". She racks her brain thinking of ways to make this work. Obviously, she'll have to live in the Rim again, far away from Coruscant, and far enough away from Kylo Ren. She'll have to get a simple job and hide in plain sight. She'll have to do something that won't attract the attention of the order.
Forget helping Finn and Poe rebuild the Resistance, she has her baby to think about now and she won't risk the baby's safety for anything, even if she hates the First Order. Rey is lost in thought back in survival mode, thinking of how this can work when Finn cuts in.
"I'll help you raise the baby,"
"No, I can't ask you to do that," she says shaking her head.
"You didn't ask me, I'm telling you, this is what I want" He looks her in the eyes and she knows he means it.
"I love you Rey. I have loved you since you tried attack me with your staff on Jakku," his eyes are soft and she smiles remembering. This has all happened so fast. It hasn't even been 6 months since her life changed forever the day BB-8 showed up on Jakku asking for her help.
"We can move to Tatooine. I'll get a labor job and you can get a job as a mechanic while we raise the baby. I won't pretend to be his father, I'll let you figure out how to handle that but I won't abandon you to do this on your own". She throws her arms around him in a big hug and she is grateful. Grateful for Finn, grateful to have a friend who would give up his life for her, to raise his enemy's child.
Finn pulls back from the embrace and kisses her gently on the lips. "I'm here for you, Rey. I'll always be here for you." He pulls away and leaves her alone in the cockpit to gather his things to start their new life.
She brushes her fingers on her lips thinking about the kiss. She didn't feel an electric spark, didn't feel herself melt into the kiss. She suddenly feels sad. Sad that she will have to raise this child alone, well sort of. Sad that her child can never know his or her father. Sad that the kiss made her feel nothing. Finn is a good man, a man who truly loves her, and yet when he kissed her all she could think was, he's not Ben. Ben—no Kylo. He hasn't been Ben in 7 years. She thought she was seeing Ben when he kissed her. That was a lie. Everything that comes out of Kylo's mouth is a fucking lie. She hates him—no loathes him.
Chewie growls at her softly and she gives him a half smile as he pats her shoulder. He knew Ben before Ben became Kylo Ren.
Chewie gives her a sad look before giving her some advice.
"I know I need to stay away from him. He killed Han and he killed Leia, I won't let him destroy this baby too".
Chewie responds in agreement and goes back to piloting the Falcon. He sets a course for Tatooine to drop her and Finn off.
Rey pulls her knees to her chest; her mind wanders back to six weeks ago when all hell broke loose.
Rey woke up alone. Kylo was gone. She didn't think it was possible to touch him, hold him, make love to him through the bond. Her body ached, but she didn't mind. She felt like they had a break through last night. He was so gentle with her, so in tune with what her body wanted, needed from him. She sat up and headed to the 'fresher to get ready for the day. She stripped off her clothes and let the warm water run down her body, washing away what was left of Kylo. Rey… she could hear him calling to her through the bond and it made her smile.
She had too much to do today to worry about him. Later…she thought back to him. The promise of what would come was enough for him and he let her bed.
She finished in the 'fresher and pulled on her clothes and headed to the conference room for their mission brief.
Her clothes still smelled like him and it was intoxicating. She could feel herself becoming slightly aroused at the thought of what they did last night.
"Ground control to Major Tom,"
Rey snapped from her thoughts to see Finn standing playfully in front of her. She giggled at his silliness and retorted playfully, "You mean Jedi". She loves her friends. Finn always finds a way to make her smile.
"Someone's in a good mood today."
Rey blushes a little and turns away grabbing a seat at the large wooden conference table. Yes, today is a good day, she woke up in a great mood and now she is here surrounded by friends.
General Organa entered the room and the chatter died down. Poe stands beside the General and gives her a playful wink.
"Many of our dear friends, brothers and sisters in arms have joined the Force," she starts somberly. "They died fighting they tyranny of the first order and it is up to us to ensure this movement lives on." The room is silent and the handful of Resistance fighters left nod in agreement.
"Supreme Leader Snoke is dead, killed by his own apprentice Kylo Ren". Rey starts to clam up hoping that the General won't announce her part in killing Snoke. How would she even be able to explain to the others that she fought with Kylo. They would wonder why he left her alive.
"Snoke may be dead, but Kylo Ren has taken the seat of Supreme Leader. He is just as oppressive and deadly as his Predecessor." Leia's face falls when she says his name.
It must be hard for her to talk about her son this way Rey thinks. Leia last saw her son when he was an awkward moody teenager. Now she sees him as oppressive and deadly.
"We can't stay here much longer. This old Rebel base barely survived the battle of Hoth during the Empire. We must plead our case to our allies and get their backing and financial support if we want to rebuild the Resistance."
The room fills with chatter as everyone takes this in. It's going to take an Army to defeat the First Order and right now there is barely 30 of them left. The noise eventually dies down and the General proceeds, "Our allies need to see faces they recognize from the Holonet. They need to know we have not given up". She pauses for a moment and her eyes find Rey's.
"Rey, Poe and Finn you three will join Chewie on the Falcon and head to Naboo to plead our case for more bodies and more ships".
Finn playfully punches her arm, excited to spend time with his friends. Rey knows General Organa's mother was once the Queen of Naboo. If any planet will back them it's going to be Naboo.
"The rest of us will spend time doing maintenance on the remaining ships in the fleet and search this old base for anything we can salvage. Let's not waste any time," she ends. The chatter picks up again as Team leaders dole out assignments and Rey squeezes her way out of the room to pack for her trip.
"Rey," General Organa calls to her and it stops her in her tracks. "Rey I would like to speak with you about something private if you don't mind".
Rey can't look her in the eyes but nods her head and follows the General to one of the storage rooms.
The General wastes no time and gets right to it, "I know you were with Ben when he killed Snoke."
Rey doesn't know what to say, but she has to be truthful. "Yes, I was."
"It's ok Rey, I'm not mad. Chewie told me he delivered you to The Supremacy to meet Ben". There is no malice in her face and her features are soft as she speaks. "How is my son?"
"He wouldn't be turned, I'm sorry I tried," She says simply. Leia doesn't need to hear the rest. She doesn't need to know she still talks to him and she especially doesn't need to know what they did together. She isn't lying, she is just keeping certain things to herself.
"I've accepted long ago that Ben is who he is," Leia says sadly. "He's not a little boy anymore, there is no need to make excuses for him. I've stopped long ago." She pulls Rey into a warm hug and continues, "Thank you for trying." Leia says this genuinely and gives Rey another warm motherly smile before she leaves the room.
Rey exhales and walks back to her room to pack. A couple hours later their shuttle takes off towards Naboo.
They jump to hyperspace and the three friends settle into the Falcon's crew bunks to take a nap on their eight-hour journey.
Rey falls asleep easily and dreams of Kylo. She imagines his touch, his kiss, dragging her fingers through his long black locks. It's almost like she can feel him again, their bodies tangled together under her sheets, his big muscular arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. Suddenly these thoughts are replaced by screams, horrible terrible screams. Her good dream dissolves into a nightmare. Kylo is still there but he's not the sweet gentle man she experienced last night. This Kylo is full of anger and contempt. She can't make out the other people in her dream but she can feel their fear. Kylo ignites his lightsaber, his crimson blade crackling as he drives it through a warm body. He continues down the hall leaving bodies in his wake. Rey… he whispers, and she awakes startled, panting and trembling.
She tries to reach out to him through their bond but all she gets is silence. Rey has a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She quickly throws on her boots and hurries to the cockpit to see Chewie crying. Seeing the Wookie cry is enough to confirm her worst fears, her dream was real.
Suddenly she feels dizzy and she can't breathe. Those weren't nameless people in her dream they were members of the Resistance. Kylo had found their base and is murdering them, all of them. She slides down to the floor slowly tears welling in her eyes. As she searches for the right words to speak. "Chewie what is happening," Chewie's voice is sad and low and he presses a button to replay a message.
In the background she can hear emergency sirens and the screams of people as Kylo Ren and crew hack them down. "Chewie, Rey, Finn, Poe," the General gasps. There is genuine fear in her voice. "I don't know how, but they have found us. There is no quarter and we will all be dead within the hour," she pauses briefly as the sound of the screams grow closer. "Whatever you do, don't come back here. It's too late, there are too many of them. You four are all that's left of the Resistance. Get to our allies, rebuild, don't let us die in vain".
Rey can hear the sound of footsteps approaching and the distinctly familiar crackle of Kylo Ren's lightsaber. Her heart stops. He retracts his lightsaber and speaks.
"Mother". His voice is filled with malice and contempt, it's the voice of Kylo Ren not her Ben. He's wearing his mask.
"Ben". Leia's voice is cold and unemotional. "Take off that ridiculous mask. I want to look my son in the eyes when he kills me," she continues.
Rey can't stop the tears. She is sobbing and she doesn't want to hear any more of this.
"As you wish," he replies and she can hear the helmet drop to the floor. She hears the lightsaber crackle to life and then thud of a body drop to the floor.
The transmission ends, and Rey screams.
Finn and Poe rush out from their rooms and find Chewie crying and Rey wailing and they know.
Chewie puts his hand on her shoulder and Rey snaps out of her stupor. The memory of hearing the slaughter over the transmission brought tears to her eyes. She wipes the tears away and blocks the memory from her mind. Kylo is right she needs to leave the past behind, and she starts with him.
