Author's Note: I didn't intend for this to get so long, but it took on a life of its own. This is the epilogue, started as the end of chapter two, but it got too long.

Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

"Yes," she says softly. She takes a deep breath and asks, "Can we get married?"

He furrows his brow, blinking a few times. "What?"

"I want to marry you. I want to be able to say I'm Rey Dameron. I want you. Forever, however long that turns out to be." She blushes, seeing his shocked expression. "I've messed this up, haven't I? Was I not supposed to ask? I don't know enough about customs and trad…"

Her words are cut off by his lips on hers. He pulls her tight to him, and the kiss is deep, firm, and more than a little possessive. When they break apart, they're both out of breath. She presses her face into his neck. He can tell she's still embarrassed, so he strokes her soft hair and thinks, "I wanted to ask you, Beautiful, but this was so much better than anything I could have dreamed up."

She pulls back and asks, "Really?" A hint of a smile graces her face, and he can't help but kiss her again, this time softly.

"Really. And yes, I want to marry you, and no, you absolutely did not mess this up." He brushes her hair back over her shoulder. "I'll marry you today, if that's what you want."

She grins and steps back. "You have to put some clothes on first."

A short time later, after she helped him dress, they exit the medbay hand in hand. He still has a small bacta patch on the site of his wound and isn't steady, but she helps keep him solidly on his feet, whether with a balancing hand or with a minor Force assist when necessary. She tells Poe that Chewie let her know that he's keeping BB-8 occupied on the Falcon, and Poe smiles gratefully. He loves his droid, but BB-8 is a serious worrier.

She suggests that they go find Finn and Rose, but he says they need to go to their quarters first. When they get there, he goes to a drawer and pulls a small box from the back of it, and he turns and hands it to her.

She gives him a quizzical look as he sits on their bed. "Open it," he prompts, indicating the box.

She does, and she looks confused. "But Poe, I already have your mother's ring."

He shakes his head. "That's for the wedding. This is something different."

The ring in her hand is of the same metal and design as his mother's ring, but it's paved with a sparkling substance. "How does it shine like that?" She's suddenly mesmerized by the light glinting off of the ring.

He takes it and slips it onto the ring finger of her left hand. "I had Chewie help me with it. The sparkles are the dust and tiny bits of kyber that Chewie had to shave off of the crystal in your lightsaber to smooth it out. He figured out how to blend it with the metal, then he and BB-8 did the pattern work. You can stack it with Mom's ring." He looks up at her, a nervous look on his face. "Do you like it?"

She sniffles a little, struggling to hold back tears. "I can't believe you did that for me, that you went to that much effort for me, that Chewie did."

"Rey, you deserve every special thing we can do for you. I wanted, when we got to this moment, for it to be something you'd remember." He shrugs and smiles. "Of course, I can't wait to tell our kids that mommy is the one who proposed to daddy."

She grins then, throwing her arms around him. "I can't wait to tell Dad."

He leans back. "When did you start calling him that?"

Her face falls a little. "Is it all right?"

"Of course it is. And he'll probably be even happier about it than I am." He pushes her hair back. "As much as I'd love to celebrate here," he grins, "I am temporarily not allowed to celebrate in that manner. So, lunch?"

She laughs and stands, holding out a hand to help him up. "How long?"

He darkens and grumbles, "Until the doctor clears me." He lets her pull him to his feet.

"Well, if we have to wait a while, it'll just be that much more fun when you're cleared." She leans up and kisses him. "Kissing is allowed, right?"

"Right." He kisses her back. "Let's go find everyone."

She holds his hand tight and pulls him towards the door. "Good idea. Dad is probably starting to worry."

They head out of the room only to run into Finn and Kes in the hallway. Rey frowns and Poe asks, "What's wrong?"

Finn looks upset. "It's Rose. She thinks you getting hurt was her fault. I couldn't find her last night. I finally found her in the hangar, working on ships through the night. She won't stop."

Poe grimaces. "Damn it. Take me to her, Finn."

"Not on your own, Flyboy." Rey doesn't drop his hand. "Finn, show us where she is."

Finn just nods, leading them to the hangar. Kes follows close behind them, mainly watching to be sure Poe doesn't overdo it. Finn guides them past the main part of the hangar to a side area, one where they have a group of old fighters they're trying to repair and refurbish. Finn looks around. "She was here twenty minutes ago."

Poe looks around, his eyes scanning the area. "Got her." He cocks his head at his mom's old A-Wing. Rose is perched on one of the wings, looking out of the hangar into the midday sun. The platform ladder she used to climb up is still there. "Get me over there, Beautiful. I need to talk to her."

Finn starts to argue, but it's Kes who stops him. "Poe is right, Finn. This isn't about friendship or family. This is about the leader's responsibility for his team."

Poe nods to his dad, and Rey walks with him over to the A-Wing. He thinks at her, "I'm getting steadier, Rey. I can get up there on my own."

"Are you sure?" she thinks back at him.

He nods and kisses her forehead. "I am. I'll call if I need help. I promise."

When they get to the ladder, he finally lets go of Rey's hand. She backs away as he carefully climbs up to Rose's perch. A moment later, Rey slips back further, standing next to Kes and Finn. She slips her arm through Finn's, leaning her head against his shoulder. "She'll be all right, Finn."

He swallows hard. "I hope so."

Up on the A-Wing, Poe gingerly sits down next to Rose, breathing a sigh of relief when he manages it without falling or embarrassing himself. He wipes his hand on his pants. "You know, the doctor might be pretty mad if she was to find out that I'm out here sitting on a fighter."

She doesn't respond, so he adds, "Of course, she'd be angrier if I was in the fighter, so there's that." He looks at Rose, and he's dismayed to see tears on her face. "Rose, I'm fine. No permanent damage. I'll be back in the air in no time."

"If you hadn't been waiting for me…"

"Stop, Rose." She finally looks at him. "That's my job. It's my responsibility to make sure my team, my squadron, is safe before I go." He catches her eye. "I failed at that before. I failed Paige, Rose. I was so focused on the dreadnaught, on taking it down, that I made the wrong call."

"But it wasn't wrong, Poe! If it hadn't been destroyed, we'd likely all be dead." Rose protests.

He's glad that she's focused on him now, instead of on guilt. But she needs to understand. "Rose, that doesn't matter. I didn't know about the light speed tracking. I didn't know. I just wanted to win. To take out a dreadnaught. I was wrong. Your sister was a hero – nothing will change that. I wasn't. I was the leader who failed the heroes. I know that, understand that, now. I didn't until recently."

She blinks in surprise at his vehemence. He leans down to look her in the eye. "I will never fail my team like that again. If that means I get hurt, so be it. The team is what matters. I owe them my best as a leader – not my ego."

"But what about Rey?" Rose still looks anguished.

Poe shoots Rey a thought, telling her to come back over, but he keeps his eyes on Rose's. When Rey responds with a thought that that she can hear them, he goes on, "We have decided that the fear is entirely worth it. Rey knows what she's signing up for with me. And not for nothing, Rose, I know what I'm signing up for with Rey, too. You know," he smirks at her and motions to Rey, who now stands on the ladder, "The savior of the Resistance, our only hope for success?"

At that, Rose finally cracks a small smile. "There she is." He thinks at Rey again, asking her if he can tell Rose they're getting married. Rey readily agrees. Poe reaches out to brush Rose's hair back, and he wipes the tears from her face with his thumb. "Rose, if we let fear rule us, would I have said yes when Rey asked me to marry her? Hell, would Rey have asked in the first place?"

Rose's eyes widen. "What?" She jumps up, looking over at Rey, who holds up her left hand, the new band picking up the sunlight. Rose bounds over, nearly knocking Poe off of the wing.

He laughs, watching Rose, who is now completely distracted. He carefully gets up, following Rose over to the ladder. He grabs the ladder rail, sitting again, this time on the wing but with his feet on the platform. Kes and Finn come over, and Poe catches Rey's eye as she explains the ring to Rose. Rose turns and hugs Poe. He takes that moment to say, "You know, knocking your already-wobbly commanding officer off of an A-Wing? That would definitely be your fault."

Rose blinks. "Why are you wobbly?"

He arches an eyebrow and deadpans, "Rose, I have a concussion and was unconscious for almost a full day."

Rey plops herself down in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're also getting married. That might be contributing."

Finn's and Kes's eyes widen, but Poe just kisses Rey and says, "That's the one thing not making me wobbly at all, Beautiful."

Finn runs up the ladder, pulling Rey from Poe's lap and hugging her to him. Poe looks down and catches his dad's eye. Kes looks a little overwhelmed, surprising Poe. He pushes himself up, and using the railing, he goes down the steps. Kes meets him at the bottom, wrapping him up in a hug. After a moment, Kes says, "Your mom would be so damned happy for you, Poe. I am too."

"I'm glad you're here, Dad."

Kes steps back, a hand on each of Poe's shoulders. "I'm glad too, kid."

Rey, breaking away from Finn, runs down the steps. Kes turns in time to catch her in a hug, making Poe laugh even as he moves back to balance against the rail of the ladder platform. Rey leans away from Kes, laughing too. "Should I have asked permission first? I did tell Poe when I asked him that I don't know much about customs or traditions."

If it's possible, Kes's eyes and Finn's eyes widen even further. Finn is the first to speak. "You asked him?"

Kes grins and hugs Rey back to him. "Well done, Little Jedi."

"Thanks, Dad." She smiles up at him, hoping he reacts well to the name.

Tears come to his eyes, and he hugs her even tighter, whispering in her ear, "I love you, Little Jedi, and I'm proud to call you my daughter."

Rey clings to him. "And I'm proud to call you my father."

"What's all this then?" Leia approaches, trailed by Lieutenant Connix. They've been looking for them to pass on what Leia learned about what happened on Endor, and they're surprised to find a rather jubilant scene.

"Rey asked me to marry her. I said yes." Poe smirks at Leia, though he feels a headache building and his legs getting a little weak.

Rey wipes at her eyes and pulls away from Kes, who laughs at Poe's delivery of the news. The pilot in question, though, is telegraphing fatigue to her, and she moves over to him. She notices that he's gone a little ashen. "Do you need to sit?"

He hates to admit it, but he nods slightly. She helps him lower himself down to the second step of the ladder, and Rose and Finn both come down, passing him with worried looks on their faces. Rose wrings her hands together. "Do you need to go back to the medbay?"

"No." Poe shakes his head and frowns at the twinge the movement causes. "I just need to sit for a few minutes."

Rey crouches in front of him, her hands on his knees, and Kes settles on the step next to him, one hand going to his back. Leia's brow furrows, and she comes over to the three of them. "I was going to tell you about our Endor spy, but it can wait. Commander?"

Poe blinks a few times, but Rey can see that his color is already improving. "No, General, Leia, it's fine. I'm fine. Just needed to sit for a minute."

Leia nods. "My reports are telling me that the spy, sadly, is dead. The people who attacked you were mercenaries, black market weapons traders. They wanted to steal the X-Wings to sell."

Poe snorts. "Oh good. More people who want to kill us."

"One gets used to it, Commander." Leia arches an eyebrow at him. "But at least the spy didn't know our location. We should be secure here, at least for now. So, what this about a wedding?"

Poe can see a glint in Leia's eye, and he shakes his head. "No, General."

Rey shoots him a funny look, but Poe holds Leia's gaze. She begins, "Poe, it would be something to celebrate. It would be unifying."

He pulls himself up, stepping down to the hangar floor and looking down at her. "No. If we decide to do it publicly, it will be small and low-key, maybe a party for the people we know well. But we will decide, and we won't be used for some diplomatic purpose. The war takes everything else, Leia. It won't take this."

Rey follows him, moving to his right side and helping to support him, both physically and in this discussion with Leia. She frowns. "General, all due respect, I am with Poe on this. I am uncomfortable enough in my role as Jedi savior. I don't want this part of my life to be used. Please."

Leia looks at them both for a moment before her face softens. "You're right. I'm sorry. I spend so much time on the cause that I sometimes lose sight of other things. Congratulations to you both. I do hope you let us throw you a party, though." She turns to head back to Command.

"General?" Rey calls after her. When Leia turns and gives her a questioning look, Rey says, "Dad?" Kes steps over to Poe to make sure he's steady, and Rey walks over to Leia. "Will you marry us? You're clearly our ranking officer. Wouldn't that be right?"

Leia hugs her. "I'd be honored to. Even if I think you're crazy for marrying that one." She indicates Poe with her head.

Poe chuckles. "Appreciate the support, General." He gives her his usual smart-assed salute.

She responds with her usual vaguely obscene gesture. "Always, Commander."

Kes rolls his eyes and looks at the others. "And I give you the leadership of the Resistance, ladies and gentlemen."

They all burst out laughing at that, even Lieutenant Connix. Rey goes back to Poe and links her arm through his. She can feel fatigue kicking in for him again. "All right, Flyboy. Nap time."

Before Poe can argue, Kes adds. "I'll walk you two back. And don't argue, kid. You look exhausted. Unless you want the doc to track you down and drag you back to the medbay, you need to rest."

They turn to go, but Connix and Rose come over to Rey. Rose grins. "Fine for now, but tomorrow, we wedding plan."

Rey blinks in confusion. "What is there to plan?" She looks up at Poe. "Don't we just, you know, get married?"

He chuckles. "I'm staying out of this. I'm injured, remember?"

She moves them quickly away from the two women, Rey with an almost feral look in her eyes. She can feel Poe's amusement, and it irks her more, as does Kes's outright laughter. "You two are not helping." She scowls at Poe. "Laugh it up, Flyboy. I'll leave you here. I wonder if you can make it back on your own?"

"My dad will help me." He smirks.

Kes backs away, still laughing. "Oh, kriff no. I'm way more afraid of her than I am of you, kid. You're on your own."

As his dad leaves them, Poe yells, "Coward!"

His dad calls back, "Yeah, but I'll live to fight another day, kid."

Rey smiles sweetly. "Love you, Dad."

Kes grins. "Love you, too, Little Jedi."

"Are you two done?" Poe tries to sound put out, but the warm feeling she's getting from him is a dead giveaway, as is the unabashed affection in his eyes.

"We are." Rey replies softly. She gives Kes a wave, and he heads towards his own quarters. Rey entwines her fingers with his, leading him back to their room.

He's leaning heavily against her by the time they get there, and she pulls his boots off and helps him change into sleep clothes before settling him in their bed. She leans down and checks the bacta patch at his temple, swapping it for a new one. She then presses a kiss to his forehead. "Sleep, Flyboy."

"Stay," he mumbles, already curling onto his left side, his head on the pillow. His eyes are drifting closed, but his hand reaches for hers.

She pulls up a chair and gets a holonovel. After kissing him again, this time gently on his lips, she settles in the chair, putting her feet up on the bed. She starts the holonovel, and then she takes his hand in hers. He mumbles again. "You'll be here when I wake up?"

"I will, Flyboy," she squeezes his hand, "There isn't anywhere I'd rather be."