Chapter 2

All was quiet aboard the Millennium Falcon. At least, in the main guest quarters. At the holographic game table, Poe Dameron assessed his options, searching for a quick way to win. So far, it was a struggle.

Chewbacca, his game partner, roared at him to hurry it up.

"Acklay to D5," Poe announced. The holographic rendering of the Geonosian creature advanced... only to get stabbed in the side by Finn's rathtar.

"I win!" Finn crowed triumphantly.

Poe gaped in horror a few moments too late. "Uhhh! You killed it!"

"And now you gotta pay up!" Finn wagged a hand in Poe's face. The pilot started to hand over his blaster, but the former Stormtrooper shook his head. "Na, na, na - the jacket; give me the jacket..."

Poe huffed as he grudgingly shrugged the jacket off his shoulders. "How about three out of five?"

"Better luck next time. Good game, FN-2187." Ben Solo, having made a full recovery on the asteroid that had once failed to save his grandmother, nodded in Finn's direction. He seemed calm with these men - once his enemies - for the first time. However, the very next moment, a scream of pain from the next room made all the men nearly jump out of their seats. Ben instinctively rose, his muscles burning with tension, ready to fly into motion at any moment. Rey...

The door to the captain's quarters now flew open and a sweaty Rose emerged, breathing hard! "Connix! Doctor Kalonia, hurry!" Two women rushed past the game table, armed with blankets and medical supplies and Rose ushered them in, closing the door behind them. She had barely turned around before Ben was practically accosting her by the door. "Rose... please let me in..."

"I wish I could, Ben," she smiled at him with a mixture of sadness and sympathy. "But we can't risk any extra individuals being in the way." She meant well by this statement, but it still bothered the young Solo.

"Extra individ... I'm the father!" Ben spluttered, clearly offended.

"And when the delivery is over, you will get to see them," Rose placated Ben, holding up a hand.

"I don't blame you, Ben. It's taking so long," Finn fretted, and he got up from the game table, pacing the floor.

Poe leaned back in the booth, appearing out-of-sorts. "I'm amazed she even agreed to have his kid at all. Out of pity, probably." He didn't even bother to make these comments under his breath, but perhaps that was not his desired effect. Ben rounded on Poe and advanced, eyes burning.

"Who are you to criticize her? Who are you to despise her? Leave her, let her be now! Leave her - she's with me now! If your slate is clean, then you can throw stones; if your slate is not, then leave her alone!" He pointed a shaking finger at Poe. "Remember, Dameron, the Force is back in my command. You just remember that." Turning away, he huffed in frustration. "I can't stand it any longer." Using his Jedi reflexes, he danced around Rose and dashed into the captain's quarters.

"Hey!" Finn gawped.

"Why does he get to go back there and not us?" Poe whined, sounding like a little kid.

Rose smiled softly, still staring where Ben had just vanished. "He loves her," she sighed, and she clearly thought it romantic.

It was getting on evening by the time Doctor Kalonia emerged. "Mother and baby are ready for visitors now. Follow me." And she led the trio and Chewbacca back.

The group beheld Rey propped up in a fluffy bed, tenderly kissing Ben and holding a blue bundle between them. The new mother beamed, glowed even, and the hard heart in Poe melted away. Despite all his lingering problems with Ben, the Commander had to admit - the two of them (well, now three) looked pretty cute.

Rey smiled widely at her friend's arrival. Kissing the infant's forehead, she announced, "His name is Anakin. Anakin Solo."