Author's Note: And yeah, it's been forever. Life is crazy, and my muse is on vacay. But here we go. I'm sad to wrap this one up, which is probably why I haven't been motivated to finish this. But here is the promised epilogue – sorry I didn't quite make my eight-month promise.

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.

"Ben, no way." Rey shakes her head as she walks across campus with her older brother. His hair is longer now, nearly four years after his world imploded, four years since, as she teases, he stopped being such an atrocious wanker.

"What? Why not?" He throws his hands in the air, nearly dropping the backpack he has slung over one shoulder. He's wearing worn jeans, a t-shirt, and of all things, a flannel shirt. It's nearly fall in Connecticut, and a first cool snap blew in early, so flannel is fine. But if someone had told her four years ago that Ben Solo would even own, much less wear, a flannel shirt, she'd have laughed out loud.

She rolls her eyes. "You want to take retired Senator Leia Organa camping? In what universe do you think she'll go for that?"

He laughs, a twinkle in his eye. "I don't know. It'd be fun to watch, though, don't you think?"

Rey marvels at the change in Ben. It's as though he's a completely different person. She knows it took a lot of trauma, time, and counseling to get here. She also knows that finding his friend dead and subsequently finding out about Hux like he did was the catalyst for everything. She's not happy about how they got here, but she's sure as hell happy that they did. "Yes, it'd be fun to watch, but sadly for you, it'll never happen."

They stop walking in front of the library. He works here part time; it's August, and freshman orientation starts next week. Though Luke has been threatening for years that he's going to retire, he still hasn't, and Ben helps him out a lot.

Blowing everyone's mind, Ben actually finished his Master's of Library Science recently, and he now divides his time between the library here and at a non-profit Leia established to help victims of domestic violence. Rey had been honored when Leia asked her to sit on a special advisory board for the non-profit and even happier when she also asked Finn to do the same.

Ben is still on probation and will be for several more years. He's good with that, and he often comments, especially when he's feeling low, that it isn't enough. Rey learned a while ago that her response to that needs to be something along the lines of, "Maybe not, but keep paying it forward, Ben. Keep doing good."

She is also thrilled that Ben and Poe have made their peace. Poe will always be slightly wary around Ben, something Ben knows and respects. It took Rey a while, but she finally relented on Ben, largely at Poe's urging. Poe knows that his feelings about Ben are uniquely personal – in couples counseling, Doctor Kalonia was clear with Rey to not make Poe's fight hers, especially because Poe doesn't want her to. Kalonia was just as clear with Poe that he can't be too over-protective with Rey.

"You good, little sister?" She blinks and realizes she was lost in thought. She looks up at Ben, towering as always but no longer menacing.

She smiles at him. "I am. I'm really good." She plays with the rings on her left hand. "Who would have believed that we'd be here five years ago?"

He hugs her close, and she no longer flinches like she used to. "Love you, Rey."

She's still surprised when he says that, and she's almost more surprised that when she replies, "Love you too, Benjamin," she means it.

She steps back, ready to go find Poe to go to lunch, when she hears a squeal. She turns and grins. Poe is approaching, his arms full of a squirming two-year old. "Mama! Unca Ben!"

Poe puts the child down, and the boy streaks towards them. She knows that their tiny curly-headed tornado makes a game of trying to take Ben down, so she mutters, "Brace yourself," as Ben laughs.

A moment later, the boy slams into Ben's legs, and Ben pretends to stagger, dramatically going down on the steps as the boy crows his victory. He then throws himself on Ben, who grunts, this time for real, and Rey says, "Lucas Finn Dameron, please don't do any further damage to your uncle."

"'K, Mama!" He looks contrite. "Sowwy, Unca Ben."

The boy was born almost nine months to the day after the wedding. They'd decided to just have her go off of birth control and see what happened. Lucas is what happened, turns out. Lucas hugs Ben, and Ben hugs him back. It makes tears prick at her eyes, still amazed at the sight.

She looks over at Poe, and her heart warms even more. He has some grey in his hair now, and it annoys her a little that it only makes him more attractive. He's also wonderful with Lucas, a completely hands on, all in dad, changing diapers, late night feedings, and everything else. They've not spent a single night apart since the night before their wedding, but neither of them is particularly apologetic about that. He's her best friend, her support system, and she know she's the same for him.

X

Poe watches as his son slams into Ben's legs, and he laughs out loud at Ben's dramatic performance. His eyes land on Rey, and he can tell that the sight is getting to her emotions. When he gets to her, he murmurs, "Behind you," something unnecessary these days, but something he does anyway. He wraps his arms around her, his hand coming to rest on the small bump. "How are my girls?"

Rey leans back into him. "We're good, but she wants pancakes for lunch."

He kisses her temple before resting his chin on her shoulder. "Does she now?"

She tips her head to touch his. "She does."

"I'll call Maz. She'll hold a table for us. OK if I call Dad, too?" He loves having Kes here. He's a huge help with Lucas, and he is an amazingly doting grandfather.

"Of course." She covers his hand with hers. He nods, and he watches Ben play with Lucas. She must be doing the same, because she softly says, "This is good, isn't it? Amazing, surprising, and good."

He's surprised that he means it when he says, "It is, Sunshine." He watches Ben and Lucas for another moment or two before calling, "Ben, lunch at Maz's?"

Ben looks at his watch. "I need to check in with Uncle Luke. Can I meet you there?"

"Yep. We'll save you a seat." He walks over to Ben and Lucas, holding his hands out to his little boy. "Come on, Taz." Ben snorts from his place on the ground at the nickname they all used for Lucas, Taz, after the Tasmanian Devil from the old Warner Brothers cartoons they watched as kids.

The boy lets Poe pick him up, and Poe settles him on his hip before holding a hand out to Ben to pull him to his feet. Ben grins. "Thanks, Doc."

"See you soon, Ben. Text Rey with what you want for lunch if you already know. We can order it for you, and Maz'll keep it hot until you get there." Poe steps back, and Lucas clings to Poe, putting his head in Poe's neck.

"Will do." Ben gives them a wave and heads into the library.

Poe looks at Rey, and he grins. Her clothes are the same as usual, leggings, a t-shirt dress, and her Converse, her hair in a long braid over one shoulder. She still takes his breath away. Her bump is more pronounced with this being her second pregnancy. She's due right after Christmas and will be taking the spring semester off.

What he hasn't told her yet is that he requested and has been granted a sabbatical for the spring semester, too, as opposed to the weeks of paternity leave he'd usually get. He plans to tell her tonight; he is going to be home with her, Lucas, and the baby all spring long. They're also going tell Kes soon that they want to name her Shara if Kes is OK with it. Poe thinks Kes will be more than OK with it.

Rey comes over, and she nods to Lucas. "He's almost out."

He pulls away, peering down at his son. Rey's right, his eyelids are heavy, and he rubs his eyes before sticking his thumb in his mouth and resting his head on Poe's shoulder. Poe nods. "He is. Let's get him to the car."

Before he can turn to go, Rey softly says, "Hey."

He looks at her, and she leans in, kissing him. When she pulls back, he presses his forehead to hers. "Love you, Dr. K."

She smiles and laughs softly. She still goes by Dr. Kenobi on campus, though she's legally Rey Kenobi-Dameron. "Love you too, Dr. D."

They walk to the parking lot then, him with one arm wrapped around Lucas, and his other hand tight in Rey's. They load Lucas, who plays hard and naps harder, into his seat in the back without waking him up. He stirs slightly and then drops back off as they strap him in. It's Rey's new SUV today, so he climbs in the passenger seat while she drives.

He still has his Porsche, and he usually drives it to school when he knows Rey will handle Lucas for the day. They drive separately most of the time to accommodate child care pick ups as needed. This week, though, getting ready for the new semester, they've been bringing Lucas up to campus with them sometimes.

She takes them towards Maz's, and he finds her hand on the console, entwining their fingers. He raises their joined hands, dropping a kiss on the back of hers. He is amazed that this is his life now. She squeezes his hand. "What are you thinking about?"

He looks over at her. "You, me, us. This life. I'm just really grateful, Sunshine. Grateful that you insulted me and then brought me tacos, grateful that you kissed me first, grateful that Han never tried to kill me. Just really grateful."

They stop at a light, and she looks at him, her eyes soft. "I'm grateful you saved my life that first day, that you forgave me for being a jerk, that you wanted to kiss me. So yeah, me too."

He releases her hand and reaches over a little further, his hand resting on her bump again. "Grateful for the future, too, and more than anything, grateful for today."

"Amen to that, Flyboy. And by the way, Kalonia would totally give you a gold star for that last part." She grins.

He rolls his eyes, laughing as the light turns green. "Just drive, Sunshine."

Thanks for sticking with me to those of you who did!