Chapter Twenty

Thank you to everyone who has read this story – I hope you enjoyed it. 3 You're all amazing.

"Are you afraid?" Poe turned to an uncharacteristically subdued Finn.

"Hell yes."

"I would kiss you, but I'm afraid we'll crash our landing."

"Pfft, I have the force. And you have more skill than that." Finn leaned over to press his lips against Poe. His husband.

Beeeeeep. BB-8 turned away.

In the five months since Snoke's defeat, he and Poe had seen everything he'd ever imagined and more, and he'd acquired the one thing he'd thought was beyond his grasp: love. Especially love with another man.

Their landing might have been a little rougher than usual, but Finn didn't mind. Still, now that their break was over, it was time to save the stormtroopers. Time to help Leia rebuild a Republic.

"Finn!" RT-3131 threw her arms around him as soon as he stepped out of their ship. Unlike most of the stormtroopers, she'd elected to keep her numerical name, to reclaim the name they'd given her.

"3131!" Finn embraced her back. Hundred smiled at him from behind his lover.

"Bet you weren't expecting to see me here, eh?" Ben's face popped into Finn's sight.

"Uh, no, no we weren't," Poe answered. BB-8 dropped to the ground, chiming in its agreement.

"It's a large moon; why separate children from Force-sensitive and less Force-sensitive if we don't have to?" Ben shrugged. "Looks like Luke, Rey and I will be staying here a bit longer."
"With your former nemesis?" Finn joked.

"We're still nemeses," Ben growled. "Just the other day, he was so upset by how Rey had arranged things –"

"I'm sure it's mutual. Though I do find your fondness for Rey adorable." Poe smirked.

"Don't think just because I'm Light Side I won't hurt you," Ben grumbled.

"But we're friends," Poe said in a wounded tone.

"My, my, this is amusing." 3131 crossed her arms.

"Um, but the reason we're here, and not General Leia – " began Hundred.

"–Is because she's a bit busy helping Zaira," 3131 finished.

"Helping?"

"The baby?" Finn asked eagerly.

"Eventually. Rey and Leia are dealing with Zaira, but we've got Hux," groused Ben.

"I imagine he's worried?"

"That's one word for it." Ben ground his teeth. "Really, we had been getting along great, but now –"

"I can imagine," said Finn with a shudder.

"Good, someone gets it." Ben stuck his tongue out at Poe. "You weren't with the Order long enough."

"Oh, is that it?" Poe asked with amusement.

Zaira pressed a hand against her mouth. Her insides were being torn out. She was certain her insides were being torn out.

"You'll almost through," Rey promised, clutching her friend's other hand.

"You said that this morning," Zaira gasped.

"But you are closer than this morning." Rey caught Leia's eye and hurried after Leia. "I'll get you water."

"I wish we had a medical droid," mumbled Leia.

"Why, is something wrong?" demanded Rey.

"Shh." Leia glanced behind her. "She seems to be bleeding more than normal. Not that I have much experience beyond my own."

"I can hear you," Zaira called out.

"You can?" Rey blinked.

"No, but I can tell from her face something is wrong." Fear scalded her heart – she couldn't abandon Hux. "Go find Phasma. Her mother was a midwife."

"Really?" Rey couldn't imagine how a woman with a life-giving profession could birth a woman whose job had been training children for death. She ought to acquaint herself better with Phasma.

"Ye – " Zaira felt another contraction begin and promptly clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn't scream.

"I have a bad feeing about this," muttered Leia.

Rey sped down the hall of the former bunker towards Hux's room. A very relieved Luke stood up to greet her. "Rey."

"How is Zaira?" Hux broke in. He was visibly sweating and trembling.

Poor Luke. Rey forced a smile on her face. "Coming along. You don't happen to know where Phasma is?"

"What's wrong?" Hux narrowed his eyes.

"Er – nothing," Rey said lamely. "Apparently Phasma's more of an expert than us, that's all."

"You're lying!" Hux leapt to his feet and charged past Rey.

She darted after him. "You're not helping – help me find Phasma!"

"You're going to listen to Rey," said a calm, familiar voice.

And then Hux was turning around. "Yes, I'm going to listen to Rey…"

"Thank you!" She whispered to Ben, who stood there flanked by Poe and Finn. "And hello!"

"Again?" Ben nodded towards Hux.

"Is it really that surprising?"

"No, no it isn't," answered Finn.

"Did you use the Force against him again?" Luke sighed, padding up to them.

"No," Ben said meekly.

"Oh, really?"

"It was Rey!" He pointed.

"I'm going to murder you when I return," Rey threatened. "Hux, lead me to Phasma."

The former general nodded blankly.

"BB-8," Poe said suddenly.

Beep. The droid swiveled away from his reunion with R2-D2.

"If he tries that again, sting him."

"I love you," Ben said.

Poe cast him a funny glance. "Too bad, I'm taken."

"Aside, General." Phasma shouldered her way past Leia with a small twinge of pleasure. "How do you feel, Zaira?"

"Fine." Zaira's face was surprisingly pale. Alarm spread through Phasma's mind.

"Don't lie," she snapped.

"I feel like there's a rathtar inside me every time a contraction begins."

"Hmm." Phasma knew she shouldn't be there. She wasn't her mother. She was a soldier, a mass murderer, not a life-saver.

She reached out and palpated her friend's stomach. Zaira winced, producing a surprising amount of guilt in Phasma.

After a few minutes of examining Zaira, who seemed too tired to care much for modesty, Phasma was fairly certain she knew the answer.

"What's happening?" Rey crossed her arms.

Phasma brushed a strand of blond hair out of her eyes and straightened up. "It looks like her womb may be tearing inside."

"What does that mean?" Zaira demanded.

"It means we may have to cut you open." Phasma scowled. "Where did all the medical droids go?"

"Most of them were designed to ignore pain and leave those dying," said Leia coldly. "They were being re-programmed. They should have been back next week, but apparently the baby couldn't wait."

"You had five months to fix them, and you waited until now?"

"We've been busy rebuilding what was lost, and she showed no pre-labor signs last week!"

"Do you know what to do?" Rey pressed the captain.

"I've only seen this once before, practically thirty years ago," snapped Phasma.

"Can we stop arguing and keep me and my baby from dying?" Zaira piped up. "Because, I can still hear you all."

"I can try to remember," Phasma said tightly. She couldn't. She was too far gone from her youth.

Yet…

Maybe she could reclaim what she'd thrown away.

"Where is Hux?" Zaira mumbled, her face now alarmingly pale. "He should be here…"

"Get him, and force knock her out as soon as I open her up," Phasma instructed Rey.

Hux came rushing in, his face paler than his wife's. "Zaira, Zaira, I'm so sorry!"

He'd done this to her, he thought as he knelt by her and clutched her hand. He should not have risked her life. Not that either of them had the foresight to see this, any of this ridiculousness, happening.

"Don't worry." Zaira smiled at him.

"Calm down," Leia said.

"Uh…hold on, sorry Zaira." Rey remembered how Ben took her consciousness back on Takodana, back when they were enemies. Who knew that could be so useful?

"I suppose the dark side has benefits," Leia muttered, sharing Rey's sentiment.

When Zaira was appropriately unconscious, Phasma heaved a sigh and began cutting into Zaira.

Hux promptly began crying. In spite of her fear and horror, Rey had to hold back a laugh at the sight.

"I hate waiting." Finn paced back and forth in the hallway.

"Please calm down," Poe encouraged, though he knew his husband wouldn't.

"Son, you're making me more anxious," said Luke.

"But that makes me feel worse!" exclaimed Finn.

"They said your name is Finn now."

Finn spun around to see the intruder who'd snuck up on them. The scar, the dark, dark skin.

"Zeroes."

"That's still my name now," said the man awkwardly.

"It suits you."

Sensing Finn's discomfort, Poe sidled up and but his arm around Finn. "Hi. I'm Poe Dameron."

"everyone knows who you are. All of you, really." Zeroes nodded from Rey to Ben, from Chewie to Luke, from Poe to Finn. "I'm glad. They always said you were destined for greatness, Finn."

"Not this kind," Finn said with an ironic smile.

"True. But maybe this is better." Zeroes' eyes brightened. "I'm helping teach the younger kids, but it's hard, you know? I was hoping when you arrived you could help me."

"You're helping teach…" Finn shoved Zeroes playfully, hope stirring through him. Slip had saved him, and now he could help save Zeroes. "Of course I will."

"Wish Nines were here," Zeroes said quietly.

Finn blinked back unexpected tears.

Traitor! They could have used Nines' fire, that was for sure.

"Yeah, me too."

Leia didn't know why she'd expected a sharp cry like when Ben'd emerged from her body – echoed immediately by Han's cry – but instead she heard just a soft whimper.

Hux gasped.

"Keep her unconscious while I put her back together," Phasma commanded Rey. Her friend would never have children again, but perhaps the stormtroopers would prove enough for her. But no one needed to know that now.

But then Leia's eyes met hers, and she knew that at least this woman understood. Perhaps she and the general had more in common than she'd thought.

"Here." Phasma shoved the child toward Leia.

"Wait – what is it?" Hux leapt to his feet, still clutching Zaira's hand.

"Here. Meet your daughter." Leia smiled, general to general, person to person.

"Daughter?" Hux gasped again at the bloody, messy bundle in his arm. For some reason he'd always expected a son.

But she was here, and she was perfect. He knew he had no idea how to parent, but he would at least make sure his daughter controlled her own destiny. That she knew all people were light and dark and forever capable of choosing between the two.

"Sooooooo where's my niece? Sort of." Ben strolled into the room.

"I wouldn't disgrace her heritage," Hux retorted as he stroked Zaira's hair.

"I resent that," Leia replied, throwing her arm around an unsuspecting Ben.

Hux pouted, cuddling his daughter closer.

"But Rey should be her aunt," protested Zaira, her voice fainter than normal. Still stronger than when she'd awoken, though. She wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. "And Phasma."

"Me?" Phasma was stunned.

"Why not? You helped save us," Zaira murmured.

Luke bounded in behind Chewie. The Wookie strode forward with outstretched arms.

"Chewie likes children," Finn explained from the doorway.

"Can we be uncles, too?" asked Poe.

"Fine, sure, why not," grumbled Hux, but there was a small smile on his lips. Family he'd never dreamt of.

"What's her name?" Luke asked as Chewie sang softly in his unique Wookie way.

"Uh." Hux glanced at Zaira.

"Lunea?" she suggested. "For the moons. For the dancing."

"I think that's perfect." Hux leaned down to embrace his wife.

BB-8 rolled in, followed by a gliding R2 and a tottering 3PO. Beep bleep beeeeep!

"Droid family," Rey translated.

"Wonderful," Hux said, rolling his eyes.

"You like us, admit it." Finn grinned.

"He does," Phasma confirmed, grateful for the opportunity for revenge against that uptight general. Finally.

"I –" Hux blushed.

"We all do." Zaira grasped Hux's hand and smiled at Luke wrestling Lunea from Chewie's arms.

A child! Children lived again! Blooming hope overtook Luke's heart.

Rey nudged Ben. "I think your family just grew a little."

"Well, we could make it even more official," Ben whispered back, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey." She grabbed his face and pulled him down for one long, passionate kiss.

"I'm afraid," Hux confessed later that night to a sleepy Zaira. He perched next to her on the bed, holding Lunea like a delicate treasure. "She might hate me when she finds out what I've done."

Zaira shrugged. "Or she might admire your change."

"How many like her did I end?" Hux whispered, stroking Lunea's wispy red hair.

"How many like her have you saved?" Zaira countered. "It won't be easy, Hux. We both did shitty things. But we're here, we're doing better, we're doing good, and at the end of our lives the ghosts will see the whole picture."

Hux nodded, a lump in his throat. He wished the guilt would leave, but he didn't feel it moral to move on just yet. "Well, I know you and Lunea will be the prettiest parts of my picture."

"I have a feeling you'll shine just as beautiful, Hux."

Hux. He was just Hux now. No General. And despite the heaviness, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Lunea stirred and began crying.

"Uh – uh –" Hux waved his hands around in a very uncontrolled fashion. "What do we do?"

Zaira smirked. "I think we feed her."

"Oh. Right."

Zaira chuckled as Lunea quieted on her breast. "You're going to have a beautiful story, Nea. Just like your father."

Kindly note that the idea for Lunea's name came from Aurora Lynne's suggestion, which I loved. JAlthough I'm sure they don't have Latin in the galaxy far, far away, I imagine they still refer to "lunar eclipses" and the like, so maybe the word independently evolved from whatever language they speak.

Thank you again, dear readers, and I know you all have lovely stories to tell from your own lives, too. 3