A/N: Just to make sure people don't miss the previous chapter, I just added Chapter 12 yesterday, so if you haven't read it, please do so before reading this one. :)

Epilogue

Five Years Later

"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Rey asked.

Leia sighed. "I wish I could, but the senate is voting on new trade laws tomorrow and I have to be there." She groaned as she stood up. "I'm beginning to wonder if it might be time to step down as Chancellor. It's starting to require more energy than I have."

Rey smiled at her as they both walked out onto the balcony leading to the stairs. Leia stopped, walking over to the edge of the balcony, placing her hands on the balustrade and looking out at the view.

"I do wish I could spend more time here," she said wistfully.

Rey placed her hand on top of Leia's. "We would love to have you." She too looked out at the view. Though Rey had lived on Naboo for going on five years, she had never quite gotten over her wonder at a world so full of color. "How is Admiral Dameron liking his new position?"

Leia chuckled. "He's dealing with politicians a lot more than he would like. I think he misses the inside of a cockpit as well, but he's finally figured out you can't be a flyboy forever." She paused. "And I think he has all the makings of a great leader, which is what the Army of the Republic needs."

Rey nodded. "How are Finn and Rose? I haven't seen much of either of them recently. Last I heard, they were stationed in the outer rim."

Leia nodded. "They both requested the assignment. I think Finn got tired of training new recruits, which is a shame because all his trainees are exceptional. But stopping the slave trade for good is personal for them both."

Rey nodded. "That's what Finn said when I last heard from him." Rey almost wished she could go with them, but she had other responsibilities of equal importance.

Rey pushed off the balustrade.

"Come say goodbye?" she asked Leia.

Leia smiled, years melting off her face as her eyes brightened. "Of course."

The sounds of lightsabers clashing filled the field around Ben, though he was too preoccupied with his own student to notice.

Placing a stone the size of his hand on the ground in front of him, where he sat cross-legged across from his pupil, he nodded. "Lift the stone."

He sensed the small child tentatively reaching out into the force, could feel her trying hard to lift the stone, though he sensed that it remained on the ground.

Huffing in frustration, the child said angrily, "I can't do it!"

Ben pressed his lips together in amusement at her fit of temper. "You can. Close your eyes and tell me what you feel."

He heard her sigh and then after a moment she said, "I feel the force."

"And where is it?" Ben asked.

"Everywhere," came the immediate reply.

"Can you feel it surrounding the stone?" He asked.

There was silence for a moment before finally a strained, "Yes."

He shook his head. "Don't force it. The force is not about size, weight, or how old you are. It's a balance. You simply need to use the force inside yourself to manipulate the force around the stone and command it to lift."

As the girl continued to concentrate on lifting the stone, Ben swept his own force out to those around him, ever searching for danger. Though he had been on Naboo for the past five years, banished by the Republic to remain here until his death, he still had not let his guard down. The Empire had given way to the First Order. With the death of the First Order, Ben wondered what new power would come to terrorize the galaxy.

Rey assured him that it had been the absence of proper balance in the force that had created that void. When the Naboo queen had readily volunteered her planet for his banishment, Rey had requested permission to start a Jedi academy on the planet. The queen had again agreed though she had also warned them they had to convince the Gungans as well. Indeed it had taken a lot of convincing, which Ben had found tedious, but eventually they had agreed.

With the help of his Knights of Ren, also banished, Rey and Ben had started their academy. The first year there were precious few students, as the galaxy still feared Ben's former self, but with each year after their ranks swelled. Currently they had forty students of various ages. Ben had translated the books Rey had taken from Ach-to and it was upon these tenets of the original Jedi codes that they had built their school. Not Jedi versus Sith, light versus dark, but a balance between them.

Finally the child managed to get the stone off the ground several inches. "I did it!" she exclaimed.

Ben smiled. "Very good." He placed another stone on the ground. "Now lift this one as well."

Ben could sense her concentration and pressed his lips together again in amusement as he sensed Rey and his mother coming towards them. He tugged on his bond with Rey and she, his mother, and their students all snapped into view.

He turned to look at the child before him, reveling always that the force allowed him to see her. She had his fair skin and temper, but Rey's green eyes and brown hair. Just that moment she gasped, sensing her mother and grandmother behind her. Letting the stones drop she jumped up and ran towards his mother as Ben stood up.

"Grandma!" she shouted, hugging her grandmother's legs, her head barely reaching Leia's waist.

Leia placed both hands on the child's head. "Padmé, you get bigger every time I see you."

Padmé looked up, smiling. "I used the force!"

Leia's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "You did?"

Padmé nodded excitedly. "I lifted a rock!"

As the pair of them chattered on, Rey walked over to Ben, placing her arm around his waist as he placed his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"She has to leave already?" Ben asked, disappointed. He tried not to dwell on the feelings of abandonment that arose every time his mother left because the republic needed her. Rey squeezed his side in understanding.

Turning her face to him, Rey said, "She said she's thinking of stepping down as Chancellor."

Ben raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

Rey nodded and turned to look back at Leia and Padmé. "She said she was getting too old, but I think she wants to be near her family."

Just then Ben noticed Padmé's face start to scrunch up. "Uh oh," he said as the child ran towards him.

"Make her stay, make her stay, dada!" she cried, wrapping her arms around Ben's knees. He stooped down and picked her up. She pressed her face into his neck as Ben sighed.

"You know what grandma does is very important." He looked at his mother as she walked towards them.

"I'll be back again soon, Padmé," Leia said, trying to placate the child.

Padmé lifted her head, her tears drying up. "Really? You promise?"

Ben raised his eyebrows at his mother, warning her not to give false promises.

Leia gave him a look of her own, warning him not to cross her. "I promise," she said to Padmé.

Padmé narrowed her eyes, and Ben could sense her trying to use the force to make sure Leia was telling the truth. He shared a glance with Rey, who sighed. "Padmé, we talked about this. You never use the force to sense the minds of those around you unless…?"

Padme stuck her lip out, pouting. "Unless you're on a mission," she finished.

"Sorry to leave you, but I really do have to get back," Leia said, and Ben was surprised to see real regret on her face. Maybe she would retire soon after all.

Ben handed Padmé over to Rey and went to hug his mother. It had taken a couple years to become comfortable enough in one another's presence for a hug, but hugging when saying goodbye was becoming a regular occurrence now.

As they watched Leia's ship depart, Ben looked down at Rey and Padmé, who was still sulking, and wondered how he had ever ended up with such a life.

The End

A/N: Thank you guys so so so much for reading this! It kind of became more sappy than I thought it would be, but there it is. I'm not changing it, even if I'm not a huge "Reylo kids" person for the actual movie. :P

On a personal note, this story has meant a lot to me for a couple reasons. I hadn't written regularly for about 5 years before this fic and hadn't written at all in about 3 years. 5 years ago I developed arthritis in my neck so that my vertebrae swell and press against my spinal chord. As a result I have chronic pain and have to take medication to manage it. I stopped writing because the medication makes it difficult for me to think and I have terrible short term memory. Enter Reylo and The Last Jedi (I've been a shipper since TFA). A friend of mine pushed me to write a fic for Reylo because she likes my writing and knew I used to enjoy it. Not gonna lie, it was really difficult at first, just stringing words together. And this is a plot driven story rather than a character driven story, so not my comfort zone. But I think overall this has been a great experience for me, a way of giving me a piece of my life back that the pain had stolen from me. So whether you just read this after it was complete or have been patiently waiting for updates since i started it in February, thank you so much for reading!