Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it

Chapter 62- Back Home

(February 27, 2051)

At a short distance from the Earth, just inside the moon's orbit, the Millenium Falcon drops out of hyperspace. In the cockpit, Ben and Rey make a quick check of the controls and consoles to ensure the ship is still functioning alright before looking out of the viewport at Earth up ahead as a Star Destroyer passes by on their left.

"Well. At last, we're home," Ben says with a sigh of relief.

"Did you not enjoy the last few months we spent together?" Rey asks in a joking manner.

Ben chuckles in response before saying, "Of course I did. But being away from home for so long, you want to see it again."

Rey laughs a little as well before adding, "I know. It's good to be back. I've missed Earth."

As they approach the planet, Ben turns to Rey and asks, "Do you want to wait to tell my family that we are engaged? Or do you want to tell them straight away?"

Rey smiles as she extends her hand for Ben to take, which he does. "I am not afraid of your family, Ben. I feel confident that they will accept us being together. So, I do not mind sharing the news of our engagement straight away."

Ben smiles at her. "I'm glad to hear that you're so comfortable around my family," he says.

"I have already seen your family as my own, Ben. I barely remember my own parents. Your parents have felt like parents to me, and your mother especially has treated me like a daughter since day one. Your family is already the family I never had growing up. Now, we're just making it official," Rey says with a smile. Ben just smiles back at her happily before he returns his attention to flying the Falcon on its approach.

Ben clears his approach with Terran Space Traffic Control before descending into the atmosphere. Rey monitors the Falcon's radar system to keep them away from any aircraft or airspeeders in atmosphere while Ben remains on the controls, guiding it towards the family's homestead in West Virginia.

At long last, Ben finally reaches his family home. Ben does a single circle around the property to make sure that the landing pad is clear for him to land before he makes his landing approach and sets the Falcon down on the landing pad right next to his father's X-Wing.

Ben and Rey quickly shut down the ship before leaving the cockpit and heading for the boarding ramp. R2 is waiting for them at the ramp, beeping and whistling at them as they approach. "Yes, R2. We're home," Ben says to the droid, who trills in response.

Ben and Rey head down the boarding ramp, R2 rolling down behind them. As they reach the bottom of the ramp, the two see Kelly and Luke approaching from the house.

"Hey, mom. Hey, dad," Ben greets his parents as they get onto the landing pad.

"Welcome home, you two," Kelly greets them. She walks over and embraces Ben, then embraces Rey as well. "We missed you both," she says as she hugs Rey.

"It's good to see you too," Rey says with a big smile on her face, happy to see Kelly again. The two had grown very close in the last year and a half, and Rey really loves it when she gets a hug from Kelly.

As they separate, Luke steps forward and looks between Ben and Rey. "Welcome home, you two. I hope that your journey proved to be beneficial," he says optimistically.

"It was, dad. We went through a lot, but we learned more than we could have ever imagined before we left. Trust me, explaining all that we learned and all that we encountered will take the better part of a day or more," Ben says.

"I look forward to it. I can already sense a strength about you I did not feel before," Luke remarks.

"You have no idea," Ben says with a bit of a laugh, flashes of everything they learned and went through flashing through his mind.

"Well, perhaps you could share your journeys with us, and share with us what you learned?" Luke asks the two, getting nods from both of them. "Well, let's head inside and eat together, and then you can start telling us about your travels."

"Hold on just a moment," Rey blurts out. Luke and Kelly look at her, wondering why she's stopping them from going back inside. Ben looks at her, a little surprised she's so eager to tell them, but Rey looks back at him and gives him a reassuring smile.

Returning her attention to Luke and Kelly, Rey takes a breath before he says, "Before anything else, Ben and I have something to tell you. During our journey…we began to realize that we had feelings for each other. It took us some time for us to realize that we were falling in love with each other. And just over a week ago, when we both realized our feelings for each other and decided to try and pursue a relationship…Ben asked me to marry him, and I said yes." To emphasize the truth of her hands, she reaches and takes Ben's hand with her own. Ben squeezes her hand a bit to show he stands with her.

Luke and Kelly stand there for several moments, stunned into silence. This was the last thing they expected to hear from the two upon their return. They are completely stunned into silence for almost a full minute before Kelly finally breaks the silence, "Well. I did not expect that. What caused you to want to get married so quickly?"

Ben takes over the explaining. "Well, part of it was the bond that we forged through our journey, on top of us realizing how much we'd fallen in love with each other. But also, at the end of our journey…we learned something about ourselves. We learned that the two of us are a dyad in the Force."

Luke and Kelly's eyes widen in shock. They of course know about the concept of a dyad in the Force, and they knew there was a prophecy of a new dyad being born at some point in the future. But they would've expected their son and his best friend, now lover, to be that prophesied dyad.

Seeing his parent's shock, Ben continues speaking, "When we learned this, we came to realize that we were already going to be tied together for life in some way due to our unique Force bond. And so, we decided that if we were going to be bonded together for life in the Force when we were falling in love with each other, we might as well seal the deal and get married. And after I asked her, we both just knew it was right."

Luke and Kelly are quiet for a few moments before Kelly once again breaks the silence. A smile crosses her face as she says, "Well, I suppose I don't mind that so much. Now I just officially get a daughter instead of unofficially." She then steps forward and embraces Rey tightly, whispering, "Welcome to the family, Rey."

Rey feels a few tears come to her eyes as she embraces Kelly in return. She had longed for so long to see her parents again, but had finally given up on seeing them again after meeting Maz Kanata and receiving Maz' counsel. But now, at last, she has the kinds of parents she has longed for for so long. "Thank you…mom," she says, feeling like she can finally call the woman she's come to see as a mother figure "mom". This just makes Kelly cry a bit, and the two women keep hugging for a minute longer.

As the two women hug, Ben turns to face his father. Luke is still stunned into silence for a moment, but finally recomposes himself and walks up to Ben. "Are you sure that this is what you want to do with your life, Ben? Are you sure the two of you are ready for this decision?"

"Yes, dad. I know that we haven't actually dated like you and mom did, but with everything that we've been through, and how intimately I feel we already know each other, I feel certain that we are ready for this. Once you hear what we've been through and learned on our journey, I'm hoping you'll understand more why I'm so sure about this. But I know that I want Rey as my wife," Ben says firmly.

Luke is quiet for a moment before a smile begins to cross his face. "I see your dedication, Ben. I have looked forward to the day you would find someone to love this much and make this commitment. If you think you are truly ready for this, then I trust that you have made the right decision," he says. He pauses, then says, "I'm happy to welcome Rey to the family."

Ben feels a great sense of relief. "Thank you, dad. That means so much to me, dad," he says before he hugs his dad. Luke chuckles a bit as he embraces his son in return.

After they separate, Luke turns to Rey, who has by now turned away from Kelly to face her soon-to-be father in law. Luke smiles and embraces her. "Welcome to the family, Rey," he says to her.

"Thank you," Rey says softly in return.

After they separate, Luke looks between Ben and Rey and says, "Well. Let's head inside and get some lunch together, and you can explain a little bit more about everything that happened on your journey." He then puts his arms around the shoulders of both his son and soon-to-be daughter in law and leads them inside, Kelly following behind them with a big smile on her face.

And, I'll end the chapter there. I originally had more expansive plans for this chapter, but I felt it didn't make sense, so I decided to split those plans up into two chapters.

Next chapter will be up soon. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!