Chapter 2: Your Uncles Are Here

They should never have taken Rey at her word, Poe allowed himself to mentally kick both his and Finn's shins. They should never have allowed her to fly off of Ajan Kloss. Not even the tactical maneuver of placing BB8 in her care had guaranteed that she would come back the way he thought it would. He thought he had been so clever. Ha! Now, Poe just felt duped.

It had been five years since the Battle of Exogol... and in that time, neither Poe nor Finn had heard from their Jedi friend.

After those first several months of waiting, Poe had grudgingly confirmed his worst fear. That she had wandered off to die slowly from heartbreak. But Finn disagreed, insisting that Rey was alive, for he felt her in the Force. Of course, Finn could feel her in the Force, he just couldn't feel where she was. Her signature was like a homing beacon that would point them in one trail before fading out and leaving one hopelessly lost.

Poe and Finn had turned their attention to helping build up the New Federation, the galaxy's latest democratic government. Every so often, on breaks from their work, they would talk about Rey, wonder what she was doing, and again, Finn would reach out with the Force. The ex-Stormtrooper wallowed more in the loss of their friend than Poe did, and vowed that someday, when they found the time, they would go in search of their friend.

For right now, however, Poe was following a lead he had received from New Federation high command, to seek out a potential delegate in the Tatoo system, on Tatooine. Kitser Banai was well into his 80s, but a respected major domo in the city of Mos Eisley. He apparently lived in a mansion on the outskirts of the desert metropolis. Poe's mission was to find him, and convince him to come to Coruscant for a summit.

The General found Mos Eisley easy enough. After asking around, he eventually found a reliable source that told him the Banai estate was out closer to the Jundland Wastes. "It's just beyond the old Skywalker homestead."

Skywalker? Poe's thoughts tingled, intrigued. Luke? Perhaps he would stop there, for a little sight-seeing on his way. He knew the famed Jedi Master had grown up in this place, but had never seen his boyhood home.

Renting a speeder, Poe sped out into the desert wasteland. Beyond the city, there quickly grew an absence of structures and civilization for miles around.

Until, deep in the dunes and plains, Poe saw a domed hut rising up in the distance. A moisture farm... common around these parts...

PING! PING! Suddenly, Poe's speeder took heavy fire from the left side. Taken completely by surprise, Poe swerved and took evasive action. But he turned the wheel too hard, too erratically, and the whole hopper crashed, sending him sprawling into the sand.

ERRRRR! ER, ER, ERRRRR! The roar of Tusken Raiders grated Poe's ears. One stabbed down at him with a spear and Poe rolled away. Grabbing for his comlink, Poe made contact with Finn, hovering in his X-Wing above the planet's atmosphere. "Finn! Finn! I'm under attack! I repeat: I'm under..."

The Tuskens abruptly halted their assault, running away as a hooded figure in a grey cloak appeared on a sand speeder. The stranger chased the Tuskens away with several well-placed shots from a blaster.

Poe staggered to his feet. "Gee, thanks, partner."

The grey figure looked at him, though Poe could not see a face under the hood. Then, the figure let out a feral growl and lunged for Poe.

"Whoa, whoa, easy!" Poe tried to dance out of the way, as he couldn't get to his weapon, while the stranger beat at him with her hands and feet.

"Go away!" the stranger screamed, and the voice sounded distinctly feminine. And also... familiar...

She quickly kicked Poe's ass, throwing him down into the sand. All at once, a staff appeared in her hands, followed by the hum of a blade as a golden lightsaber appeared inches from Poe's throat.

Poe stared. There was only one person he knew who could wield a Jedi weapon's... who could fight like that.

"Rey, STOP!... It's me."

The gray figure froze for a critical parsec, staring down at him. Slowly, Poe removed the helmet he had been wearing, so she could see his face. Another beat, and then the grey hood was thrown back.

Rey had aged somewhat, having become more woman than girl in face. The distrust in her eyes was beginning to fade into something more like disbelief.

"Poe?"

Poe smiled shakily. "Hey, kid. It's been too long."

By degrees, Rey smiled, and helped the pilot to his feet. "Oh, Poe!" They embraced, hugging tightly.

All at once, the whine of another speeder came into being. A figure in a black cloak leapt off the vehicle while it was still in motion, igniting a green lightsaber and landing in a crouch beside them. "Leave this desert - NOW!" The growl was distinctively male.

Rey stepped away from the hug, raising her hands placatingly. "Ben, honey, it's OK..."

"Oh, is this your husband?" Poe brightened. "I'd love to meet him! Hey, buddy - ya wanna take off that hood for me?"

"Hey, buddy - ya wanna let me carve up your face?" Ben snarled.

"POE!" The voice bellowed over the hum of a small dust storm as Finn's X-Wing landed. "Poe, are you OK? I felt her! I think I felt..." Seeing his best friend for the first time in five years, Finn's eyes widened. "It is you!" he cackled, hugging her. The black figure stiffened at this.

"Where have you been?" Finn was prattling. "Why didn't you come back to us?"

Rey was beaming, and about to reply, when the black figure growled. "Rey! Damnit, honey, can't we just kill them and make it look like an accident?" He threw back his hood in discomfort, revealing his face.

Seeing him, Poe and Finn froze, mouths agape. Between them, Rey winced. For a long time, there was silence. Then Finn rounded on Rey.

"You... you LIED to me!" he screamed. "You told me when you first came home from Exogol that Kylo Ren was dead!"

"Kylo Ren is dead!" Rey insisted.

"Doesn't look like it to me," Poe grumbled, eyeing Ben with deep mistrust.

"What I told you was true... from a certain point of view."

"A certain point of view?" Finn squeaked, throwing up his hands. "Is this just more Jedi speak?"

"No, just my interpretation of the facts. Kylo Ren is gone. This is Ben Solo... my husband." And Rey gazed at Ben with such absolute love in her eyes that Poe and Finn squirmed uncomfortably.

After another prolonged silence, Poe managed to get out. "Is this where you came, when you left us?"

Rey nodded. Turning away, she began to walk back towards her speeder, point it in the direction of the distant homestead.

"Come on. We can talk inside. I'll have to start at that beginning..."

"... when Ben's body faded away, I thought he was truly gone, at first. That's why, for that first week on Ajan Kloss, I was so distraught. But then I came to Tatooine to bury Luke and Leia's lightsabers, and... I heard this voice calling to me. And there he was." Rey and Ben gazed at each other lovingly.

Across the dinner booth from them, Poe and Finn took in Rey as she finished her tale silently. She had told them everything: from Takodana to reuniting with Ben here under the twin suns.

"So, who talks first? I talk first? You talk first? He talks first?" Poe began pointing between himself, Ben and Finn.

Finn decided to take the initiative. "So... you're married?"

"By the Force itself, yes," Rey sighed almost dreamily.

"And so... what have you guys been doing these past five years?"

Rey was silent for a moment. Then she stood up and held out her hands to Finn. "Come with me," she bubbled, beaming. Taking his hands in hers, she guided Finn into another room beyond the kitchen; Poe followed at a leisurely pace.

Rey opened the door just a crack into a darkened room. Over the windows, the curtains were drawn, allowing very little of the evening sunlight to stream in. Within this dim dappling of light, three tiny forms dozed and dreamed in three little beds.

Finn stared. "You're a mama, Rey..."

Rey beamed adoringly. "Yup. I'm a mama."

Peeking over their shoulders, Poe stared in amazement. "Had them one right after the other, then? Year or two apart?"

Rey's eyes shone, and she laughed. "More like a minute or two apart."

Poe nearly fell over. "They're triplets?!"

Rey nodded with pride. "They'll be four in the spring. I carried them inside me for nine months. Gave birth in the middle of a dust storm. We lost most of the harvest, but I told Ben not to worry..."

Finn tried to imagine Rey lying on a bed in this little sandy hut, bringing three babies into the world. He could only imagine the labor, the undoubtedly agonizing pain. Peering into Rey's mind, a memory indeed surfaced: of Rey lying in Ben's arms, crying and weeping and screaming as she gave birth to her children. Having heard about Rey and Poe's skirmish, Finn now understood that Rey had been fighting like a loth cat, trying to protect her babies.

"That night you gave birth... I wish I'd been there with you," Finn expressed.

Rey stared at him for a long moment. Finally, she got out slowly, "You were."

Turning back to her babies, Rey glided into the nursery. Bending over each one, she shook them awake from their afternoon nap.

"Ani... Beru... Shmi... wake up, my lovelies. Suppertime."

Two girls and a boy roused from their beds.

"Mama?" the little boy chirped. "Where's Daddy?"

"In the kitchen, Anakin," she crooned. "But Mama has a surprise for you. Your uncles are here."

The three little ones, bleary-eyed, turned to see the two men standing in the doorway. One of the girls - sporting Ben's black hair and Rey's green eyes - grinned widely.

"Uncle Poe! Uncle Finn!" Sprinting forward, she hugged Finn around the knees. Rey laughed.

"Careful, Shmi!"

"Mama's told us stories about you! Are you staying for a visit?"

Finn glanced over the little girl's head at Rey. "Can we stay?"

Rey smiled. "Of course you can. Come, all. Suppertime."

The band of children and adults staggered back into the kitchen, Beru, Shmi and Anakin all talking at once.

"Daddy! Daddy! It's Uncle Poe and Uncle Finny!" Beru was practically dancing as Ben tickled her, hoisting her onto his lap.

"Well, isn't that something?" he murmured playfully.

Watching the sight, Poe sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, if he gets that way, with the kids... it's gonna be really hard to stay mad at him."

"And if he really loves you, and you're really happy... it's gonna be even harder to stay mad at him," Finn admitted to Rey.

Rey hugged both Poe and Finn, and beamed, giddy that the two parts of her family were reunited. "I love you, Poe. I love you, Finny."