Bjorn was jolted awake by the sound of his cousin Tyler entering their trailer. As Bjorn buried his head back under the covers, trying not to groan from his hangover, he heard a distinctive thunk as Tyler placed something down on the kitchen counter.

Glass bottle. Liquor, maybe?

Bjorn's most recent binge-drinking session had gone on much longer than usual, but being that it had been committed in the wake of his mother's death, nobody had really given him a hard time about it. He was grateful for that, at least. As Tyler went back outside, Bjorn swung himself out of bed and staggered over to the counter.

No, not liquor. Wine.

Bjorn's head was swimming far too fast for him to read the label properly, but alcohol was alcohol. He quickly, expertly uncorked the bottle and took it back to bed, drinking all the while.

Tyler might not like this, but Mum's dead and this shithole colony's gonna kill me too sooner or later, so fuck it.

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Ben watched Rain speaking with Tyler and her friends from the grill, quietly helping Gavyn grill the meat on the barbecue. Gavyn was talking about working down the mines, but Ben wasn't really listening. He was trying to think of ways in which Aubrie and he would get Rain offworld and back to Alderaan.

Ever since they had arrived at Jackson's Star, Ben had, on occasion, slipped away to watch the docking ports people used to come and go from LV-410, and had come to the conclusion that it would be much, much harder to leave the planet than earlier anticipated. There were cameras and microphones everywhere, stormtroopers patrolled through the area constantly, and there were several checkpoints you had to pass through just to get to a ship.

Obviously, Ben and Aubrie couldn't cut their way through to a ship with their lightsabers, so their best option was most likely to leave in plain sight, with legitimately signed papers saying they were free to go. When they had taken the jobs as farm workers, they had received a quota of 12,000 working hours they needed to fill before they could leave, but that would take time they didn't have. Rain, fortunately, had almost fulfilled her quota in her time on Jackson's Star, so they didn't really need to worry about that.

Ben's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Gavyn instructing him to take the meat off the grill, and decided to put it out of his mind for now.

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"So, is Max seeing anybody?" Kay asked Rain, a sly grin on her face.

"Kay!" Tyler tutted.

"What? He's cute, Ty. Don't you think so, Rain?" Kay asked.

"Uh… sure", Rain replied. She could feel her face growing hot, and she hoped Tyler couldn't see her blushing in the dim light. "I… I don't think he's seeing anybody, though."

He will be, soon enough, Rain could hear her more lustful side whispering. As she saw Kay gazing towards Ben with renewed interest at Rain's words, she struggled to repress a stab of jealous anger.

It's alright. Ben said he likes you, not Kay, she tried to reassure herself.

Gavyn called them over to eat, and as they sat down, to Rain's annoyance, Kay chose the seat directly across from Ben, introducing herself with enthusiasm. As Rain sat down across from Tyler at the other end, with Aubrie and Navarro sitting across from each other in the middle, she couldn't stop herself from sneaking glances at Ben and Kay, gripping the cutlery she was holding tightly enough to turn her knuckles white.

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"So, what's Alderaan like?" Tyler's sister asked Ben. "Rain won't tell us anything about it."

I bet she won't, Ben thought. All the repressed pain Ben had sensed on Rain when they'd first met had very strongly indicated just how little she'd liked discussing her past home with anyone. It hadn't been until Ben and Aubrie had lied about being from there that she'd really opened up.

Regardless, he proceeded to answer Kay's questions about Alderaan and its climate, as they began to eat. Even from here, he could sense Rain's jealousy on the other side of the table. Ben inwardly sighed. It wasn't always a good thing, being able to sense people's emotions.

As they finished their meal and cleared the plates, they started to hear music playing a little way off, and Rain and Tyler started making their way over to it.

"Would you like to come dancing with us?" Kay asked. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"Sure, why not?" Ben replied, smiling at her as politely as he could.

Kay returned his smile, but Ben couldn't sense any politeness coming off it. "Great! Let's go!", she said, taking Ben's hand and practically dragging him after the others.

Uh oh, Ben thought, as he saw Rain glance at them and felt her jealousy once again. This might not end well.

He had no idea how right he was.

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Bjorn was woken yet again by the sound of his uncle Gavyn entering the trailer. Nursing his wine bottle, Bjorn clutched his head as he began to hear loud music playing outside.

"What the fuck is going on?" He asked irritably.

"Empire Day celebrations", Gavyn replied.

Oh, right. Bjorn slowly left his bed, still clutching the bottle, and looked outside just in time to see Kay holding the hand of a guy Bjorn didn't know, dragging him along towards the celebrations.

Although they were cousins, Bjorn had, against his better judgement, always had something of a crush on Kay, though he doubted she felt the same way about him. Given his current mood, Bjorn would have happily walked outside and punched Kay's new mystery man, but he wasn't nearly steady enough on his feet for that.

Then Bjorn saw someone else walk past the trailers, and his blood started to boil.

Andy. Rain's "brother". The droid. The synthetic droid. The same as the one who'd been his Mum's supervisor in the mines- until last week, when it had ruthlessly decided to trap Bjorn's Mum and two others in the mines to stop a gas leak from spreading.

Bjorn knew if the synthetic hadn't done that, more lives would have been lost. He also knew that Andy was not the same synthetic droid who'd killed his mother.

But the red mist had descended, and Bjorn wasn't in the mood for discussion. He quickly put his boots on, picked the wine back up and left the trailer. As he switched his grip on the bottle, he felt the remaining liquid pour out and slosh over his feet.

Fuck it. Tasted like shit anyway.

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As Rain slowly walked towards the music with Tyler, she watched out of the corner of her eye as Kay continued to drag Ben along behind them, her grip on his hand not letting up for a second. Rain had always liked Kay, but now she felt like tackling her. What if Kay tried to kiss Ben? What if… what if he let her kiss him?

No. He wouldn't do that. He told me he liked ME, just last night. Right after he admitted he'd been lying to me for the last two months and that he's actually a Jedi in hiding…

Rain was suddenly jerked out of her spiralling thoughts. How could she have forgotten? Ben and Aubrie probably lived in fear of their lives every single day, the same lives they had risked to come to this godforsaken planet and help her- and here she was, obsessing over Kay's schoolgirl crush on Ben. Rain instantly felt ashamed for forgetting just how high the stakes were for him.

"Rain!" she was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts by the call of her name. As she turned around, not sure what she would see, she felt her stomach drop like a stone.

Andy was slowly walking behind the four of them, waving at her.

"Rain, what's he doing here?" She heard Tyler ask.

"I- I don't know. I told him to stay-" Rain stammered.

"Tyler!" Andy suddenly called out. "Do you know what you do when your house is cold?"

That was as far as he got. Before Tyler could answer Andy's joke, or say anything at all for that matter, there was a hollow-sounding whack, and Andy suddenly pitched forward face first into the mud.

Bjorn. Tyler's cousin stood right behind where Andy had been, holding the wine bottle Ben had brought as a gift. He whacked Andy in the back of the head again while he was down, and Rain suddenly felt herself move towards him.

"Stop!" she screamed. "You're gonna kill him-"

But Ben had already moved. Pulling out of Kay's grip, he launched himself towards Bjorn with incredible speed. Even knowing he was a Jedi, Rain still gaped at how easily and smoothly he pinned Bjorn into the ground, placing his knee on Bjorn's shoulder and twisting the bottle out of his hand, quickly throwing it away.

Rain quickly ran over to Andy, who was already leaking the white, sticky fluid that kept him functioning. He was shaking like a leaf, and Rain could see Bjorn had made a visible dent in the back of his head.

"Oh, God-" Rain sobbed as she fumbled in her jacket pocket for Andy's resetter, her hands shaking as she inserted it into the side of his neck, twisting it around and beginning to reset Andy. But Andy did not suddenly calm down and begin to reset, like he was supposed to. Instead, he started to move wildly about, his arms swinging around like pistons, catching Rain of the side of the head. As she fell back, she suddenly saw Ben release Bjorn and jump on top of her brother, as Aubrie arrived to help, pinning Andy's legs to the ground as Ben pinned his arms.

"We'll take him back to your room, and fix him there", Aubrie said to Rain. Choking back her sobs, Rain nodded.

Meanwhile, Tyler rounded on Bjorn.

"Bjorn, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" he shouted at his cousin, who was wobbling to his feet.

Bjorn's only response to Tyler's question was to bend over and vomit onto the ground. Rain could smell the alcoholic fumes even from a distance, as she, Aubrie and Ben kept a tight grip on the flailing Andy while they carried him away.

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After twenty minutes of carrying Andy, who was still moving and twisting around, the three of them got Andy on to Rain's bed, face-down. As Rain locked the door behind her, Ben quickly immobilised Andy with the Force, while Aubrie moved her hands on top of the dent Andy's assailant had made.

As Aubrie began to heal Andy with the Force, Ben turned around to Rain, who had her back to them.

"Who was that, back there?" He asked.

Rain turned around, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at Andy.

"Bjorn. Tyler's c-cousin. H-he was drunk. He's always d-drunk", Rain hiccupped.

Seeing her cry, Ben turned around to envelop Rain in his arms, but without meaning to he stopped concentrating on Andy, who started twisting again.

Quickly moving back to hold Rain's brother down, he saw Aubrie's face screwed up in concentration as the dent in the back of Andy's head started to fix itself.

Despite the situation, Ben was impressed with his Padawan. "I didn't know you could do that with synthetics."

"To be honest, neither did I", Aubrie grinned at him in relief. Andy's injury slowly flattened out, and Rain tried to reset him again. This time it worked, and Ben heard Rain let out a gasp of relief as Andy slowly sat back up.

"Do you know what you do when your house is cold?" he asked Ben.

"I don't know. What?"

"Just stand in the corner. It's always ninety degrees there", Andy smiled, as Rain laughed in relief and hugged him. Then she turned to Aubrie and hugged her as well.

"Thank you", Ben heard Rain whisper. "Thank you so much."

"No problem, glad to help", Aubrie hugged her back.

Then Rain turned to Ben, and hugged him as well, burying her face in his neck as he did the same to her, inhaling her scent. No words were exchanged, but they didn't need to be. Eventually they pulled away from each other, and Ben could see Rain's gratefulness in her eyes.

"I think that's enough excitement for one day. Maybe we should get some sleep", Aubrie suggested, as he saw Rain nod.

As Aubrie and he returned to their rooms, Ben mulled over what had gone on that day. He was just deciding what he would say to Rain in the morning, when he suddenly heard a knock on his door.

Expecting Aubrie, he was surprised to see Rain instead, dressed in her pyjamas.

"Can… can I stay with you tonight?" She whispered.

"Of course", Ben nodded, taking her by the hand and walking her over to his bed. As he pulled the covers over them, Rain set her head down on his chest and snuggled into him while Ben wrapped his arms around her, enjoying her warmth. As sleep enveloped them both, Ben felt his determination to help the woman in his arms suddenly redouble.

I will get her off this planet, if it's the last thing I do.

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Waking up, Rain felt so comfortable and deliciously warm, she didn't want to leave Ben's bed. I could get used to this, she thought, burying her head in Ben's chest, listening to the strong and steady beat of his heart as she felt him stirring.

"Good morning", she smiled at him.

"Mmm… morning", Ben mumbled, smiling right back at her.

In that moment, Rain wanted to kiss him so badly, the knowledge that she still hadn't broken up with Tyler was the only thing stopping her. Fortunately, Empire Day had been on a Friday, so they had the whole weekend to work things out.

"There's something I have to do today, alone", she said, looking at Ben. "After that… I want us to talk. I want you to tell me everything."

"I will. I promise", Ben reached out and cupped the side of Rain's face with one of his hands, and she felt her own hand rise to cover his, stroking it gently.

After returning to her room, where Andy was still lying in recovery, Rain picked up her comlink to find about a dozen missed calls and messages from Tyler. They mainly consisted of I'm so sorry… Bjorn was drunk, you know how he gets… Are you okay?

There wasn't a single mention of Andy anywhere in his messages, and Rain felt the last of her feelings for Tyler die right then and there.

She sent him a single, short message in reply. Meet me outside the trailer park. We need to talk.

After a quick breakfast, she set off immediately for the park, wanting to rip the proverbial band-aid off as soon as possible. Tyler was waiting for her. He knew, she could tell. She could see it in his eyes.

"Rain, I'm so-"

Rain held up her hand, and Tyler stopped talking.

"I understand Bjorn just lost his mother. I understand grief can make you do terrible things. But that doesn't in any way justify what he did."

"I know it doesn't-"

"I'm not finished", Rain snapped. "I can't forgive what Bjorn did. Andy almost died yesterday."

"I know. Rain, please don't do this. It's not too late."

I slept in another man's bed last night. It is later than you think.

That was what she wanted to say, but even now, she had no intention of hurting Tyler more than necessary.

Instead, she chose to get straight to the point. "Andy and I are a package deal. We always have been. You and I tried to make things work, but… well, I think it was only ever a matter of time before something like last night happened. Your family doesn't accept Andy. They never have."

She paused. "I will not ask you to choose between me and your family, so… I think it's best if we end things now. I'm sorry, Tyler. We tried."

Tyler only nodded in response, but Rain could see the tears forming in his eyes. She turned around and began walking away.

Rain searched her feelings for any semblance of guilt, or even general sadness, but all she felt was relief that it was finally over.

She walked straight from the trailer park all the way to Ben's door. After knocking on it, Ben quietly ushered her inside.

"I just broke up with Tyler", she told him.

"Oh", Ben seemed surprised. "Are you… feeling okay?"

Rain shrugged. "Just relieved, really. We were having problems long before you showed up."

She looked into Ben's hazel eyes. "But you did show up, and in hindsight, I think my relationship with Tyler was doomed right then and there. I feel… sorry for him, I guess, but I can't be with him anymore. Because of how I feel… when I'm with you."

"Hmm", Ben took a step forward, and Rain felt the tension between them crackle. "So… there's nothing stopping us now."

"No", Rain stepped towards him. "Nothing at all."

Their lips met, and Rain felt a surge of arousal flood her from head to toe. She really had meant just to speak with Ben, but as the kiss steadily grew more and more intense, all logical thinking went clear out the window.

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Over the course of his life, Ben had known grief. He had known joy. Sadness. Happiness. Many other things. But as Rain moved him over to his bed and laid on top of him, pressing kisses to his lips, his cheek, his jaw, and just about every other part of him that she could, he realised he had never felt anything like this.

Over the next few minutes, they exchanged kiss after kiss as, one by one, their clothes were removed and thrown to the floor. It was only when they were bare against each other that Rain finally spoke.

"Have you ever… done this before?"

Ben looked down shyly. "No… sorry."

He felt Rain's hand under his jaw as she moved his head up to look into her beautiful blue eyes, which had turned dark with arousal.

"Then I am honoured to be your first", she said, as she lifted her hips up and sunk herself down on him. The feeling of her heat encasing him was so agonisingly beautiful, Ben almost didn't hear what Rain said, as she leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"And your last."

Then she started to move, and the next few minutes were a series of gasps and moans and cries, as they thrashed against each other like they were dying.

Rain grabbed on to Ben's face, kissing him senseless as she gyrated against him. Finally, she shuddered against him with a wordless, primal scream as he felt her reach her climax, which triggered his own, bellowing against Rain's neck as he felt himself release inside her. Somehow he had ended up on top of her, though he didn't remember it happening.

As he pulled away from her, Ben looked down into Rain's eyes. To his surprise, he realised he was crying, his tears dripping down on to Rain's cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay", she whispered.

"I had no idea. None. No idea at all-"

Rain silenced him by bringing him down to kiss her.

"It's alright", she soothed him, running her hands up and down his back. "That was… it was…"

"Beautiful", Ben finished for her. "It was the most beautiful moment of my life."

Rain smiled. "Mine too, I think."

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The rest of the weekend passed with them exchanging information about themselves.

"My visions didn't start until I was thirteen. I always knew there was something more to them, but it wasn't until you explained my connection to the Force that I finally understood."

"I grew up in an orphanage on Coruscant. I never knew my parents. One day, a nanny droid noticed me lifting one of the toys they had without touching them, and they contacted the Temple. It was Master Yoda himself, actually, who collected me."

"I have always had to be careful. So much as the slightest graze against… anything, really… and I would end up on the floor."

"Aubrie and I met on Jabiim. I was still a Padawan, at the time. It was a few months into the war, and it was a long, hard and bloody fight, but we survived. Both of our Masters… did not."

"Ever since my parents died, I've… I've felt so alone."

"You're not alone. Not anymore."

"Neither are you."

They smiled at each other, wrapped in each other's arms, the blankets covering them. Their time together passed with them making love, then talking, then making love again, only stopping to eat, or drink, or sleep, or shower together. Rain especially enjoyed that last one. Ben's hands would run over her as they stood together under the running water, cleaning every inch of her naked body as carefully as he could.

She was particularly taken with how dedicated he was to making her climax whenever they made love, as she guided him on how to use his fingers, and eventually, to her delight, his tongue, her hands tangling in his hair as he dipped his head between her legs, not letting up until she trembled in her release. Then he would move himself up to her to kiss her lips, and the dance would begin all over again.

Eventually, Monday morning came around, though both Rain and Ben were determined to enjoy each other one last time before they resumed their working lives. As she clasped her hand in his, her legs wrapping around his waist, Rain threw her head back and screamed in yet another orgasm, feeling the warmth of Ben's seed inside her as they ground up the bedclothes together.

As she collapsed into him, Rain smiled lazily at Ben, nuzzling her head against his.

"I love you", she said. "You don't have to say it back if you don't want to, but I just couldn't hold it in any longer-"

"I love you too, Rain Carradine. I loved you from the moment I first saw you."

Rain could only laugh, and kiss him as passionately as she could.

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After work, Ben, Aubrie and Rain met in Aubrie's room to discuss their plan.

"As of right now, Rain has roughly three months left before she fills her quota for her work hours here", Ben started.

"And once I have filled it, you will make your move?" Rain asked.

"Yes", Aubrie replied, "we will follow one of the people who organises the forms processing people out of here, then… convince them to sign an early-release form for both of us."

So it was decided. They may draw suspicion if all three of them were suddenly granted early-release forms, so Rain would finish her work hours legitimately. That way, her travelling with the others was far more likely to slip under the radar if things went bad.

The next month or so passed by in a blur for Ben. Rain spent every night in his bed, talking with him about everything and nothing. They discussed the war, the Sith… everything, including what was to come next. It was far too risky to begin her training here, as someone might easily see something or hear something. They both came to the agreement that Quinlan Vos would probably be the best person to guide Rain through her visions, but if he was dead… Well, Ben and Aubrie would have to do.

They even discussed children. Rain was currently on birth control, and though they both wanted to stay together for the foreseeable future, they both agreed that they were nowhere near ready to have a child yet. One night, as Ben thrust into Rain from behind, hearing her moan as he turned her head around to kiss her, he couldn't help but wonder what having a son or daughter with her would be like. In his time as a Jedi, the thought of having a child had never crossed his mind, but the idea of a combination of Rain and himself, someone to teach and pass on the legacy of the Order, made Ben happier than he could ever remember.

He was willing to wait, if that was what Rain wanted. He didn't mind.

And yet, once again, life would interfere, tearing all their careful plans apart.

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Rain gazed at the medical droid in shock. She had been feeling strangely ill the last few days, and had decided to visit the sick bay. Maybe she had eaten something funny? The medical droid had taken a blood sample from her to check- then had come back to tell her something that surprised and delighted and terrified her all at once. She had insisted on a scan, just to make sure, and it had come back with the same result.

"The scans are certain. Judging by the size of the embryo, I would guess you are about five weeks pregnant. My congratulations."

The droid said it casually enough, yet the news hit Rain like a hammer blow. Five weeks. So it was Ben's, then- Rain wouldn't have known what to do if it had been Tyler's. It had been almost two months since she had last had sex with him, but five weeks… that marked roughly the very first time she and Ben had made love. Rain knew it was cheesy to describe it that way, but that was how she saw it. She thought she had been careful with her birth control. Clearly, not careful enough.

They still had about six to seven weeks before Rain would complete enough work hours to receive a release form, but this threw a whole new wrench in their plan. Their baby would be strong in the Force, Rain was sure of it.

Their baby. Their BABY. She was going to have a baby with Ben, the first man she was utterly certain she loved. Rain didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

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As Rain entered their room (she rarely used her own anymore), Ben was surprised to sense the avalanche of emotions practically exploding out of Rain. She slowly walked over to Ben and met his lips in a long, sweet kiss. As she pulled away, Ben was surprised to see she was crying.

"What-"

"I'm pregnant", Rain suddenly blurted out.

Ben suddenly felt his knees buckle. A baby? They were going to have a baby?

An absolute cacophony of fear, love, dread and joy erupted within him as he cried out, lifting Rain in his arms and spinning her around.

As he set her down, Ben noticed they were both trembling.

"Whatever comes next, we will face it together. I want you to know that", he finally choked out.

Rain nodded, as she kissed him again. She reached out to wipe his face, and Ben realised he was crying as well.

"I love you. I love both of you. So much. So, so much."

"We love you too", Rain sobbed with happiness, as she kissed him yet again.