Chapter 11: Epilogue

The waves broke against the shores of Ahch-To, crashing like thunder against the rough surface of the jagged rocks before careening backwards into the watery depths below.

Ben Solo stood before it, looking down into the swirling deep blue waters. Each day the darkness called to him and each day he managed to keep it at bay because of his light.

Rey had decided on where they should disappear to. The planet was uncharted and very few knew of its existence — even fewer were alive. Months ago, he would have given anything to know the location of the island. He never had suspected it would become his home.

Chewbacca had dropped them off once they had managed to steal away from the failing Supremacy. The Wookiee has made several jumps in and out of lightspeed along the way, in the off chance they were being followed, but no one had come for them. They were blissfully gone — mere memories of their former Resistance and First Order compatriots.

Ben did not miss the First Order or his knights. For once, he did not feel the weight of a heavy burden on his shoulders. He did not wish to have a different life. Happiness was a foreign concept after the horrors he had faced but the day he had stepped out of the fire, he had accepted a new life.

He let his past burn in the flames and die.

Arms encircled his torso and a warmth pressed into his back. "I thought I'd find you here," Rey's sunshine voice floated above the sea breeze to his ears.

Ben turned around to face her. Her hair was up in three buns, as it had been when he first met her. She did it that way each morning when they rose from their bed. It was the most practical for their sparring sessions and for fishing, but it was also his favorite because it meant he could see her slender neck and her freckled cheeks.

"What were you doing?" She asked.

"Thinking."

"About?"

"Things," he answered, honestly.

She made a face and laughed. "You sound just like him, you know."

"I know," he groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Cryptic Skywalker Bantha fodder," he grumbled, but it was difficult to be angry when she was smiling at him the way she was.

He changed subjects. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she beamed. "I caught us dinner."

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled sharply. "I thought you were going to wait for me to come with you. You shouldn't be doing that alone right now, Rey."

"Why not?"

Stars! Was she serious?

"What if you had fallen in the sea?" He demanded, his protective nature rivaling her stubbornness.

She rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him dismissively. "I am one with the Force and the Force is with me."

He groaned.

It wasn't the first time he found himself wishing they hadn't settled down on a Force nexus. With them both here, the natural power of the island was magnified.

At first, Rey hadn't understood, but once Ben had located the pool where the Prime Jedi was depicted, he knew. They had spent the first few weeks on the island pouring over the ancient Jedi texts.

Most of it made little sense to him, which meant it made even less sense to Rey. Unsurprisingly, it was one night nearly a month after they had arrived, when his uncle had appeared to them.

He had not been pleased. Luke Skywalker's sudden appearance had made Rey cry. Ben was about to tell his uncle to leave so she wouldn't be further upset, when his parents also appeared. Suddenly their little hut was much too crowded and Ben was having a hard time dealing with Rey's emotions on top of his own suppressed feelings.

It turned out that a Force Nexus was a place where Force ghosts were able to appear more easily because of the strong connection be nexus possessed to the energy source.

This was both good and bad news. Good because Luke helped them understand more about the Price Jedi and how to translate the texts. Bad because he had to endure surprise visits from his relatives whenever they felt he needed their guidance — which was always.

As if that hasn't been bad enough, it turned out that familial ghosts weren't the only ones interested in meeting the two Force users who established the balance. Others began to appear.

Ben was convinced it was the Force's will to punish him, but Rey was elated. Never having a family of her own, she was eager for all the attention and support she got from their visitors. She took a particular liking to Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus, who had once been Guardians of the Whills on Jedha.

Which was where she had gotten the phrase she had just used on him. Chirrut said it often...more than often really. It was practically a prayer the way that man chanted those words over and over again.

But Rey liked him, so Ben let it go.

He'd find her some days training with a new staff — one she had made from the leftover wood of the burned Force tree — and practicing with Chirrut. The old guardian would call out different angles or attacks and she would respond in kind.

Ben was glad she had found a kindred spirit. Chirrut could get annoying with his constant monk-like advice, but at least he was calmer and easier to get along with than the Skywalker-Solo-Organa clan which frequented his hut. Their visits had only become more regular with the news of Rey's condition.

Which led him back to the cause of his frustration. "Sweetheart, you're pregnant. You shouldn't be pole-vaulting across the cliffs and spear-fishing." He tried to keep his voice even — really he did.

But the burning glare she shot at him could have melted carbonite.

Stars, those pregnancy hormones were nothing to trifle with.

"I. Am. Fine."

Yep, he was a dead man.

"I can't even feel the baby yet," she reminded him, some of the fire dying in her gaze. "It's too early for any of that, Ben."

He knew that. Of course, he knew that. Being the two strongest living Force users in the galaxy came with some perks — like feeling the new life they had created the second it happened.

Rey had been in his arms, pleasantly blissed out. He had been kissing her forehead and her shoulder and telling her how happy he was to be with her when it had happened.

Just like when the Force bond had first connected them, everything stilled and all he could hear was his breath and Rey's breath. Her eyes locked on his and her lips parted. She was just as confused as he was.

Until they heard the heart beat.

It was soft at first, so quiet he almost missed it over the sounds of his panting breath. Ben had been gearing up for a fight, convinced the Force was warning them they had been found, but then Rey's hand was on his and he saw tears pooling in her eyes. Her other hand went immediately to her stomach.

And he knew.

They were going to be parents.

It was still too soon for them to sense if the baby would be a boy or a girl. They could feel their child's Force signature, a perfect blend of dark and light — just like them, only better.

Ben had vowed that night their child would never know loneliness the way he and Rey had. He vowed to be at her side through it all to hold her hand, support her as her body changed to accommodate the new life, and ultimately share in the responsibility of raising their baby. It was more than he deserved — more than he could have ever hoped for.

"Have you decide on names yet?" Ben asked her, returning his attention to the present.

Rey shook her head. "You?"

"I know you won't let me name it Anakin, if it's a boy."

She crossed her arms over chest. "Nope."

He chuckled, "Then I'm out of ideas."

"I've got one," a new voice entered their conversation. "Han, after his gramps."

"Not now!" Ben snapped, slicing an arm through the Force ghost of his father. "We don't even know if it's a boy!" Han vanished, though his chuckle echoed in the morning air.

Ben groaned. Why now? Why couldn't he have more than ten minutes alone with his glowing, gorgeous wife—

He stopped his line of thinking right there. They weren't married.

It shouldn't have bothered him. After all they had been through, having a formal ceremony seemed ridiculous, especially given the fact Rey was pregnant. Still, he suddenly felt the need to make it official.

"Marry me," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Rey's eyes widened and she scanned his face, obviously wondering where his request had come from.

He dropped to his knee in front of her, making sure to go about his proposal properly this time. Ben wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He needed Rey to understand this ask was genuine.

Taking her hand in both of his own, he gazed up into her hazel eyes. "Rey, would you marry me?"

Tears filled her beautiful orbs, making it difficult for him to tell where the green stopped and the brown began. It was just a swirl of colors.

"Yes," she nodded, squeezing his hands with the one he was holding while wiping at her face with her free hand. "Yes, Ben."

He laughed, both from nervousness and the sheer backwards way they were going about it. "We are doing this all wrong," he chuckled, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss her.

"No," she shook her head, pulling on him so he stood up. "We are doing it our way — a new way for a new life — together."

Ben liked the sound of that. Rey hugged him, burying her face in his chest. He embraced her, staring over her head to their hut in the distance.

Words from their former selves trailed across his mind.

You're not alone.

Neither are you.

And neither of them would ever be alone again.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who stuck it out 'til the end. I'm actually pretty pleased with how this turned out and I hope you've enjoyed the epilogue.